“I don’t want it to end either. You look handsome, by the way. I love the suspenders and bowtie. And see, we match.”
She held up her sleeve of satin. The deep shiny green matched the darkest forest on his plaid bowtie.
Pressing his forehead to hers, he said, “We match. We fit. Follow me. I’m going to show you the prettiest place on the property tonight.”
She tipped her head back and met his eyes. A slice of fear flickered through her gaze.
“Don’t be scared,” he said.
She smiled. “Lead the way.”
Perry held tight to Sasha’s hand as he led her through the house. Candlelight made her skin glow.
“We need to grab our coats.”
They made their way to the coat check to retrieve hers. It was that same green trench. The color on her reminded him of Santa’s elves, especially with her pixie-ish face. She was gorgeous—vibrant and fun and sunny. He grabbed his coat and scarf from the coat closet by the front door.
His heart felt too big for his chest, and he couldn’t stop kissing her. In fact, they’d had to stop every twenty feet so he could press his joy into her lips again and again. Eventually, they made it to the back door. He opened it and escorted her out into the cold.
There was still snow on the ground but not as much as the days before. The temperature was below freezing tonight, but the sky was clear and the moon bright. Christmas lights lined the walkway to the gazebo. An older couple was snuggling on the swing on the back porch, but other than them, they were alone out here.
They reached the gazebo, which was alight with warm lanterns and candles. Several heaters kept the small circular space toasty, despite the biting cold outside. A speaker piped in the music from Cherry and the Pits.
Sasha turned in a circle, her skirt swirling around her legs, and his pulse hitched, his heart soaring. She stopped with her back to him, gazing toward a huge white pine tree dripping in snow and colorful Christmas lights.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “I can admit that now, right? That you guys here at Winterberry know how to make Christmas beautiful.”
He needed to see her here among the candles—her cheeks and nose rosy from the cold, lights reflecting in her big blue eyes, so he turned her slowly back toward him. He tipped her chin up, and she parted her kissable lips.
“You’re beautiful.”
The corners of her lips quirked. “What if all this between us is Christmas fever? What if it wears off?”
“It won’t,” he said. “For me, it won’t.”
“You’re so sure after two nights together?”
“Aren’t you? Because you just stood up on a stage in front of a large crowd and admitted your undying devotion,” he teased.
She playfully pushed him away, then reeled him back in and kissed him soundly on the lips. “I’m sure. More than I’ve been in a long time. It’s not me I’m worried about.”
He cupped her cheeks and thumbed her berry-red bottom lip. He had gloves in his coat pocket but preferred the warmth of her skin to the scratchy wool. “You inspire me. You brighten up every room you’re in. You’re hilarious and brash and beautiful. I want to spend as much time in your orbit as possible. My life is in shambles, and I know it’ll take time to earn your trust. And I also know that nothing is guaranteed. But, Sasha, I’ve never been so positive that someone is special and that what we feel for each other is special. I knew it the moment you dropped the Pulse 2 on my sister’s hardwood floor.”
She laughed, her eyes twinkling and her breath frosting in the cold air. “I’m really good at first impressions.”
He pressed their foreheads together. “You’re so brave. Coming here, standing on that stage.”
“Your sister told me that was your favorite Christmas song. Which is silly. The best Christmas song is obviously ‘Good King Wenceslas.’”
He laughed. He should have realized Valerie had a hand in this. “Obviously. It wouldn’t have been as romantic, though.”
“And you’re Mr. Romance. I had a lot to live up to.”
He threaded his fingers into her hair. It was slightly crunchy with hair product, and he enjoyed the texture against his palms. “You don’t have to live up to anything. You need to be yourself. You’re pretty miraculous just as you are.”
“Even as a Scrooge?”
She slipped her hands to his stomach and gripped his sides.
He melted in her hold. “Especially as a Scrooge. Keeps me on my mistletoes.”
A crack of a laugh burst from her. “That was horrible.”
“You liked it.”
“I did.” She crowded her body into his, and he realized they were swaying to the beat.
“Sasha, it feels like I’m finally right where I’m meant to be.”
“I think you are.” She tilted her head slightly to kiss his cheek, then the hinge of his jaw. He gripped her hips and drew her closer. She whispered in his ear. “So once this merry shindig is over, I think we should head back to my place. Maybe we can start making our own Christmas traditions. You know, watch a couple Christmas horror movies, bake a fruitcake, role play Santa and his naughty elf.”
Perry grinned, happiness making him reckless. He lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder. Her peals of laughter made him walk faster. “Let’s go, naughty elf. Time to leave,” he said.
“Who says I’m the elf? I’m the one with all the toys!”
Perry stopped in his tracks and set her back on her feet on the top step of the gazebo. “That is so true.” Then he kissed her, long and lingering, until they were both grinning and alight with joy.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Sasha handed Perry his fuzzy red Christmas stocking before flopping over in bed to kiss his hipbone. She knew, after a year together, that it would make him shudder. And it did. His head also hitched back, his fingers finding a home in her short hair. Dim, wintery morning light filtered in through Perry’s apartment window, illuminating his bare skin. The window was frosted from the cold air, but this year they weren’t lucky enough to have a white Christmas.
After a few seconds, he said, “Let me grab your stocking. It’s under my bed.”
She gladly rolled off his legs because she was thrilled about this new tradition. She hadn’t been excited about getting presents since she was a kid, but the thought of what Perry might have stuffed her stocking with was enough to make her bubbly with eagerness.
Really, this whole holiday season had proven her to be the epitome of eagerness, from choosing trees at a Christmas tree farm to ice skating in the city to a date at the symphony to hear the Gay Men’s Chorus Christmas Concert. Seeing Perry’s pure love and celebration of the season had made her feel like a child discovering Santa’s workshop, all fervor and hope and happiness.
And now, here they were on Christmas morning, and Sasha hadn’t once felt the suffocating pressure of the holidays, not like in the past. Plus, this year, there were stockings!
Perry leaned over the side of his queen-sized bed, giving her a smoking view of his back and ass, which she grabbed, of course, before he reappeared with a green Christmas stocking filled to the brim with presents. She sat cross-legged on the bed, her flannel nightie riding up around her thighs, and smiled at her beautiful boyfriend.
He grinned lazily back.
“God, Christmas is the best,” he said.
“Oh yeah? Why?”
“Well, for one, you bought me my favorite lube.” He pulled the bottle out of the top of his stocking. “Two, I have three whole days off before I’m due back at the nursery.”
Sasha smiled and rubbed his leg happily. Perry had gotten a part-time job at Boon’s Nursery and Tree Farm shortly after the New Year. He’d been supplementing that income with seasonal accounting work for a personal tax company in addition to attending classes, which he loved. Last week, he and Sasha had started on a business plan for his own company. That was still years away but filled her with excitement and pride
for his dreams. She couldn’t wait to see them come to fruition.
“And three, I’m spending it with my favorite person in the world.” He reached out and cupped Sasha’s cheek. She kissed the base of his thumb, then the center of his palm.
It was hard for her some days. Hard to trust that this wasn’t false or too good to be true. But Perry trusted her to get over her insecurities, and he believed in the power of them together. She never doubted that she’d made the right decision by jumping onto that stage last year and putting her heart on the line.
“Dump that baby out.” She waved at his stocking. “We have four hours before we’re due to meet the whole fam at the inn for Christmas dinner, and I expect to use every second of it.”
Their little clans had meshed into one crazy, happy family. Sasha’s siblings were thick as thieves with Valerie and Louise—they all enjoyed torturing and teasing Perry and Sasha together. And Perry’s mom, Rhoda, and her hot young boyfriend, Brand, had made the trip from Hawaii to spend Christmas here. Sasha loved Perry’s mom. She had the outgoing irreverence of Valerie with the sweetness and compassion of Perry.
However, their family felt miles away as they both emptied their stockings, making Perry’s bed a filthy winter wonderland. There were plugs and clamps and vibrators and cock rings and lingerie.
Once they’d opened every last present, Sasha closed her eyes and hummed deep in her throat. “God, I adore our relationship.”
Perry grabbed a Santa hat from the pile of toys. It had the words I Love Snowballs embroidered on the white trim and had made Sasha giggle so hard when she’d spotted it online that she’d been forced to impulse buy.
He slapped it on his head and said, “Your pick, sweetheart.”
She grinned, excited that he was letting her choose. Every once in a while, Perry took over in bed, normally when he’d been teased to within an inch of his life, but usually he was happy to let Sasha have her wicked way.
She quickly grabbed up everything she wanted to keep on the bed with them—silky bondage straps, lube, and a fancy new prostate toy—and pushed the rest unceremoniously off the bed.
Perry helped her wash the new toys off quickly with toy-disinfecting wipes. Then he yanked her flannel nightie off and flung it across the room as if it had offended him. She immediately shivered against the chill in the room, her nipples tightening and goosebumps blooming across her skin. Perry tumbled her onto her back and blanketed her with his body heat.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear after leaving a trail of kisses up her neck. “I love you so much.”
She threaded her fingers into his curly hair, trembling as his beard scratched against her skin. “I love you too, Perry.”
A weight always lifted off her shoulders when she admitted that, when she said it out loud, making her feel light and airy and free.
“What do you want to do? Who gets the silk?” he asked, smiling against her throat. They mixed it up often enough that it was a necessary question.
“Me.”
“Okay. I have something I’d like for you to put on first. But only if you want it. You can say no.”
That piqued her curiosity. “Sure. What is it?”
He reached for the bedside table. His hands were shaking.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. Just nervous.” He straightened up, and only then did she see the tiny red velvet box in his hand.
Surprise, quickly followed by joy, suffused her and she said the first thing that popped into her brain. “Oh my God, I’m naked.”
He barked out a laugh. “Should I wait until you’re not?”
“No, I think this is pretty standard for us.”
They were both laughing when he kissed her and tears filled her eyes when he whispered, “You’re my true love, and you give me so much—happiness, joy, love, laughter, understanding, acceptance—and frankly, those things top milking maids and jumping lords and loud birds any day. I’ll cherish you forever. I’ll love you forever. I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing your smile. I’ll happily do so in whatever role you’d prefer. As your boyfriend. As your boy toy.” She laughed again, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “As your husband. I’d really love to be your husband.”
“Okay,” she managed to choke out.
“Sasha, is that a yes?” His eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe it.
“You haven’t actually asked me anything. For all I know that box could be filled with tiny sex toys.”
He grinned, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright, and popped the box open to reveal a simple gold ring with a modest emerald stone. “Will you marry me?”
“Fuck yes, I will!”
He whooped in happiness and triumph, his hands thrown into the air, before she yanked him down onto the bed to celebrate.
Over an hour later, after Sasha had worked Perry’s new prostate massager into him, which always made him shaky and weak and fucking gorgeous, and he’d tied her ankles to the footboard of his bed, she fisted his curly hair as he ate her out.
The glint of her engagement ring threw her, upped the desire zipping through her nerves as his tongue circled her clit. Perry had written over every bad Christmas memory and every horrible experience she’d had with his nimble tongue and his laugh and the lovelight in his eyes. And he’d continue to do so for the rest of their lives. She twisted against the bonds, loving the resistance of the soft silk on her legs.
He groaned, a rough hungry sound, and yanked her back into place. She shattered against his mouth, sobbing out her pleasure and her love for him, until it was too much and she had to tug his mouth from her swollen, pulsing center. He sat up onto his knees and stared at her. His beard was wet from her and, geez, that was probably her favorite sight in the entire world. She couldn’t believe she’d get to see it forever.
She fumbled the remote in her hand, but once she managed to get her thumb on the trigger button, she met his eyes.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck,” he chanted, before she’d even done anything.
Then she pressed the button, which turned on the vibration on the P-Spot 3. His head hitched back as if he’d been punched, which, in a way, he had. The muscles in his chest and abdomen stood out in stark relief, veins bulging on his arms, his tattoos and body hair gleaming with sweat. He almost reached for his cock, which was hard and thick and pearling with pre-come at the tip, his hand close to connecting with the rosy head before he snatched his palm away.
He put the Santa hat back on—it had fallen off when he’d been servicing her so thoroughly. Her mind was a bit blurry from her orgasm, but she knew she needed him inside right that instant.
“In. Me. Now,” she said, her voice raspy and tight. She ripped open a condom and practically threw it at him. He rolled it down his length with shaking, careful hands, his eyes wild at that barest touch against his cock.
“I’m not going to last inside you for longer than a second, sweetheart. I’m barely hanging on.” Nevertheless, he knee-walked toward her. She sat up and licked his chin, her arousal a tart burst on her tongue.
“Tell me how it feels,” she said.
“Like my body’s on fire. Full. Overwhelmed. Everything is tight and swollen and …” He gulped and she collapsed back onto the bed. He teased the head of his cock across her clit, then down between the lips of her pussy. “Needy. I feel so needy.”
His words sparked over her skin, and excitement made her body flush hot. She loved when he got like this. Uncontrollable. Greedy.
Needy.
Lord, she loved him needy.
He licked his thumb, getting it messy with spit before rubbing it over her clit, hitting her with precisely the right amount of movement and pressure. She whined, still sensitive from her orgasm. She needed something large and hard to counteract that overstimulation.
Perry gave her exactly what she desired. He slid into her slowly, with so much power and strength, it turned her to jelly.
Her eyelids dropped to sl
its, and she stared up through her lashes at the man she loved more than life itself, as he came immediately, just like he’d warned.
A funny little laugh burst from his throat as his orgasm shook through him, his eyes rolling back and bliss slackening his mouth. Because she was naughty, she used the remote to increase the vibration inside him before his climax could peter off.
He shouted, his voice high and feral, before bucking into her hard, again and again, chasing every last dredge of pleasure he could. He fell onto one elbow above her, his other hand working magic against her clit, and bit her nipple hard, smothering his own cries for mercy.
She saw stars, her orgasm long and rolling. When she finally opened her eyes, she realized Perry had wrestled the remote from her fingers to turn off the prostate massager. He was resting his forehead against her clavicle, pressing open-mouthed kisses to her flushed chest and collarbones.
“This was the best Christmas ever,” she said into the sudden silence.
He lifted his head, bringing her left hand to his lips and kissing her fingers, one of them adorned with a ring. Then with a few quick tugs, he untied the binds around her ankles.
“Next year will be better,” he said. “And every year after that. Maybe not as intense as this year.” He sent her a tiny, ornery smile and she laughed. “Or as life-changing.” He ran a thumb over the engagement ring. “Every day we spend together is only going to make me love you more fiercely, more completely. Each year will be a gift, the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for, because I’ll get to spend it with you.”
Emotion stuck in her throat, and she tried to cough it away. “So can I preemptively veto a Christmas wedding?”
He touched her chin, a small smile on his lips. “Definitely. We should have one of those hipster-chic weddings on a ho-hum Saturday in June like every other millennial in the Midwest.”
“It could be in a barn!”
He nodded solemnly. “It’d have to be. Them’s the rules.”
“As long as your sister makes those fig and goat cheese tarts, I’m there. In fact, I think I’d marry you for those tarts alone.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know exactly the wedding I want.”
Stocking Stuffers Page 13