Cole For Christmas

by Kelly Collins

  Don’t look up, Cici. Don’t. Look. Up.

  Elias retreated into his office to wrap presents. I snuck upstairs to do the same.

  I sat on the bed—Elias’s bed—and wrapped the gifts I’d bought him. I hoped he would like them. If I could accomplish one thing this holiday, it would be to help him have a wonderful week with his family.

  Elias moved like a ghost through the house. He showed up without a sound and each time he snuck up behind me, I swear a year of my life had been taken. This time was no different.

  With my back to the door, I sat Indian style on the bed, putting the finishing touches on his wrapped scarf. I was imagining it wrapped around his neck. His blue eyes were fighting against the cashmere for attention. Of course, his eyes would win.

  When his hands touched my sides, I rose from the bed by inches. He tickled me from my hips to my armpits, and I couldn’t control my laughter. He wouldn’t let up. Within minutes I was pinned under him. He had straddled my body and pressed me between his thighs into the soft mattress. There was no way to get free even if I had wanted to, so I stopped fighting and he stopped tickling. I lay on the bed and looked up at a man who had turned into a boy. A happy boy.

  When he leaned down, I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to touch mine, but they didn’t. When I opened them again, he had the gift I’d just wrapped in his hands. Was I relieved or disappointed? Part of me wanted him to throw caution into the air and kiss me. The other part of me knew another kiss from him would change everything.

  “For me?” He straightened his back and furrowed his brows in question.

  “Yes, it’s for you.”

  “Why?” He turned the package in his hand as if grading the wrapping job.

  “Because it was perfect for you.”

  Putting the gift aside, his gaze as he looked at me, could only be called smoldering. “I’m beginning to think you’re perfect for me.” His head descended, and his mouth covered mine; all thought was lost. The kiss started soft as his tongue drifted across my own, tasting and teasing with care. The kiss quickly grew like a firestorm and became fierce and demanding as he explored my mouth and invaded my mind.

  And there we were, locked in a passionate kiss when his mother walked into the room. Like teenagers caught with our pants down, we jumped from the bed and straightened our clothes.

  Most people would have been embarrassed to walk in on such an intimate moment, but his mother looked pleased. Pleased with herself or pleased with us. I had no idea.

  “I knocked, you didn’t answer.”

  “Mom, we’ll be downstairs in a few minutes. I was helping Cici with something.”

  “She seems to be breathing again. No additional mouth-to-mouth necessary. What a shame.” She turned and walked out the door. I could hear her laugh all the way down the hallway.

  “Cici, I’m sorry. You make me lose myself around you. Something about you is addictive. Your happiness is contagious, and I want it around me always.”

  “Elias, this is such a bad idea. I promised myself I’d never sleep with the boss again. You’re the boss.” I couldn’t begin to describe the look he gave me. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or hurt, but if I were going to protect myself I had to draw the line. And it was going to be right here on Elias’s plush carpet.

  “We aren’t sleeping together, Cici. It was just a kiss.” He sounded like I did this morning when I said something similar. When I dismissed the kiss, it was in an attempt to convince myself it was nothing. I’d been lying. Was he doing the same? That wasn’t just a kiss. The man was lethal if he thought that was just a kiss.

  To bring order back into our lives, I loaded his arms with wrapped gifts and asked him to take them downstairs. When he got to the door, he turned to look at me. Stopped. Stared. Then turned and walked away without a word. What did that look mean?

  In the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. My lips were kiss swollen and my cheeks reddened by passion . . . or maybe it was embarrassment. It had been years since a parent had caught me sneaking a kiss. With a twist, I piled my hair on top of my head and clipped it in place. While the Coles watched Christmas movies, I’d whip together something for tomorrow’s breakfast. I was good at breakfast.

  The entire gang was awake when I came downstairs. Elias was on the phone, ordering pizza. I slid past the family and into the kitchen. I could make a killer breakfast casserole. This was where my chef skills would sparkle. I hoped we had lots of eggs and cheese. When I opened the refrigerator I took a thorough look and found everything I needed and some things I didn’t. Sitting on the second shelf was a cow’s ass. I was certain of it. There was no place else a piece of meat that size could come from.

  “Do you need help?” Gretchen took a seat across from where I was cutting green peppers and onions.

  “No, I’ve got this. I’m just getting it ready for tomorrow morning. It will be the perfect breakfast before you all go skiing.”

  She set her book on the table and gave me a perplexed look. “You’re going skiing too, right?”

  “No, I’m not a good skier. I would only slow you down.”

  Elias ghosted into the kitchen. “She’s going skiing. I hired an instructor for her. He’ll work with her in the morning, and we’ll all take a run in the afternoon.” He grabbed a six-pack of soda from the refrigerator and left as fast as he’d entered.

  “He’s gotten bossy in his old age.” Gretchen flipped through the pages of her book.

  “Tell me about that book. It seems to be in the hands of every single girl on earth.” After breaking twelve eggs, I began to whip them gently before adding the vegetables.

  “It’s simple. Basically, it says it takes twenty dates to fall in love. Forty hours really. The author claims that after twenty, two-hour dates, a person can tell if they’ve met their match or not. If after forty hours there are questions about the person’s character, integrity, or things of that nature, then you should walk away. If the forty hours worked for you, then you’re probably good to sign on for full-time.”

  “It’s a good premise, but I’m sure it’s not that easy.” I poured a little cream in my eggs and continued to stir.

  “I don’t know. You and my brother look in love. How many dates have you been on?” She laid her hand on the book like it was the Bible.

  This would have been the perfect time to confess my sins and tell her that her brother and I weren’t in love, but I couldn’t betray Elias. This whole ruse was important to him. He wanted a holiday free of badgering, and I would give that to him.

  “I don’t know. Lately, we seemed to be spending all our hours together. Does that count?”

  “The author says forty hours. Would it matter how they were divided up? I would think spending long strings of time together would give you better insight. It shows how a person acts all day not just for two hours. Anyone can behave for two hours.”

  “What about you? Who are you spending your time with?” Her face flushed red. She tried to hide it, but I had her trapped with a tell-me-everything look.

  “I’ve been seeing a guy named Dave Sparks for a couple weeks now. He’s all right. I don’t know if he’s the one though. We kind of want different things. Family is important to me, and I want one. I’m twenty-seven, so I need to think about these things. He’s thirty-five and has been married before. He has a kid and doesn’t want any more.”

  “It sounds to me like you might have come up with a stumbling block. How many dates have you been on?” It would be interesting to see how this plays out, according to the book.

  “I’ve got twenty hours invested. Which is half the time it would take to make a decision, and yet saying it out loud makes it all clear. We want different things. The problem is, he’s so good in bed. That’s hard to find these days.” A blush, the color of a Gala apple, covered her skin. She really was like Elias with different parts. They were both so open, but their skin betrayed their verbal bravado.


  “Sex is an important consideration. Although my mother once told me, you can correct bad in bed, you can’t correct cheap.” Saying it out loud was even funnier. She’d been mad at my dad for not getting her the purse she’d wanted. He’d bought the knock-off. In the end, she went back and bought the authentic brand, and he never noticed.

  “How is Elias in bed? Does he need fixing? I don’t want details, but he has always been a guy that wants to please so . . .”

  “Gretchen, I’m not talking penis size or sexual prowess with you.” Of course, Elias would have perfect timing and walk in just as the word penis exited my mouth. The look on his face was priceless.

  “What am I missing in here? And they say men are awful. I leave you girls for a few minutes, and you’re talking about men’s penises.”

  Hoping to make Elias’s blush match his sister’s, I walked over to him and slid my hand up his chest. “We weren’t talking about just any penis, we were talking about yours.” He looked at his sister and pointed toward the door.

  “Out. Cici is in big trouble. Unless you want to be witness to me throwing her over my knee, you should leave now. The pizza is in the living room waiting.” When his sister sat looking at us, he took a predatory lunge toward her that sent her running and squealing from the kitchen.

  He was laughing when he took me by the arm. “We weren’t talking about yours. I mean, your sister asked if you were good in bed, and I couldn’t tell her, so I just made a funny. I promise I wasn’t attacking your manhood.”

  “I’m not upset. I think it’s funny. The funniest part is I have a feeling you’d like to know the answer to that question.”

  He let go of my arm, and I turned away so he couldn’t see my face. I did want to know. I had a lot of questions that begged for answers, but I played stupid.

  “What question is that?” I pulled the plastic wrap over the sides of the pan. Breakfast was ready to throw in the oven tomorrow morning. The oven wasn’t on, but it was getting hot in the kitchen.

  “Whether I’m good in bed.”

  “You shouldn’t eavesdrop.”

  “You shouldn’t say things that could be misconstrued.”

  “You shouldn’t stand there and be so tempting.” I brushed past him and walked into the great room where his family was dishing up pizza. I looked at the boxes to find the one with the least meat on it. I was hoping I could pick it off inconspicuously. I was the only omnivore in a land of carnivores.

  Elias rushed in after me and pulled a few pieces from a box. “This is for you.” He handed me two slices full of artichokes and mushrooms. In that moment I knew I was a goner. He was too damned sweet, too damned considerate, and too damned sexy. I was too damned stupid to turn and run.

  The sweet smile he gave me when I said thank you further melted my heart. So. Not. Fair.

  I sat on the floor in front of the tree and nibbled on my pizza while I studied the Coles. Clint and Maggie sat on the couch and talked skiing. Fritz stood by the pizza boxes like a warrior guarding their contents. Gretchen leaned against her brother, who was leaning against the fireplace mantel. Izzy sat in the leather recliner watching me. What questions bounced around in her brain? She looked happy. In fact, they all looked happy, and that made me happy. Wasn’t that what Elias wanted?

  Each time I looked up, Elias was looking at me. There was warmth and appreciation in his eyes. Maybe even a little heat. Damn him for being so sexy. It was a constant challenge to keep my head in the real game. My mind and body were beginning to believe the lie.

  His sister watched us both, her eyes held questions. Could Elias and I fool them all?

  After we ate, we moved into the family room, which could only be described as the coolest man-cave ever. It was where we’d wrapped presents the night before. Had it only been a day? It felt like a lifetime ago. I needed a drink to calm my nerves and libido. Each time Elias looked at me, my internal furnace cranked up and threw another log on the fire.

  When I returned from the bar area, all seats had been occupied leaving only the floor for me. I sat in front of Elias. It seemed the smart place to go, considering we were a “couple.” It would have appeared odd for me to sit across the room. Another poor decision.

  I wasn’t on the floor for more than two minutes when he reached down and pulled me up on his lap. The muscles on this man. How I’d love for him to pick me up and carry me to bed. Hovering over my naked body, his arms would flex . . . Cici! Head in the game. He twisted me around so my legs hung over the side of the chair, and my cheek found the perfect place to rest against his chest.

  “Comfortable?” His whisper floated over me like a heating blanket on high.

  “Very.” I sipped my wine and glanced at the screen. Miracle on 34th Street was starting, and I knew I wouldn’t hear a single line of the movie. All I could hear was the rhythm of Elias’s heart, and all I could feel was mine trying to keep pace.

  “Let’s go.” He lifted me in his arms like I weighed nothing. I startled, remembering I’d had a glass in my hand. “You’re fine. I’ve got you. You fell asleep.”

  I opened my eyes to see his family looking at us. His mom could light up an entire room with the wattage of her smile.

  “I can walk.” I struggled in his arms until he pulled me tight into his chest. He wasn’t relenting. I was getting the full girlfriend treatment. I looked over his shoulder and waved goodnight to everyone in the room.

  When we got to the room, he set me gently on my feet. “You can use the bathroom first. I’ll get my bed ready while you’re in there.” He turned and walked into the closet.

  I felt bad about making him sleep on the floor. So bad that I couldn’t allow him to do it. Surely we could sleep in the same bed in our flannel pajamas and behave. Couldn’t we?

  “Elias, we can both sleep in your bed. It’s certainly big enough to get lost in, and if you’re worried about me molesting you in the middle of the night, we can put pillows in the middle as a barrier.” The man came out of the closet wearing his flannel pajama bottoms, an Aerosmith T-shirt, and a smile. The slow, sweet, melting-panties smile.

  We stood at the double sinks and brushed our teeth. I debated washing off my makeup. Even though he had seen me this morning, I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to really see me. Our encounter this morning had been brief, and I had hidden behind the blanket. Did I really want to scar him for life?

  Mom said every day you don’t wash your face you age seven days. Not wanting to look a day over thirty, I took heed of her wisdom and scrubbed off the day’s makeup.

  He was lying in bed when I approached. My side of the bed had been turned back like a fine hotel. Rolled up like a log and placed in the center of the bed was a comforter. Disappointment crushed me. It would appear Elias questioned my self-control, or maybe . . . he questioned his own. We were walking a thin line between acting and actively flirting, and it was getting blurry. It all felt too real.

  “Don’t trust me?”

  “I trust you, I just wanted to make you feel more comfortable. It was your suggestion.”

  I wanted to kick myself for saying anything, and yet the rolled up comforter was a defined line. A solid reminder this wasn’t real. It was a job. Employer. Employee. Nothing more.

  When I climbed into the soft sheets and turned to my side, the only thing I could see was the tube of fluffy down. It was a sad substitution for what, or rather who, I preferred to look at. Trying to be sneaky, I crushed down the comforter to get a final glimpse of him and came face to face with the man I knew would fill my dreams tonight.

  The light behind him gave him an ethereal glow. We didn’t say a word, just stared at each other for minutes on end. My mind was full of questions. How could Becca leave this man? How could Kimberly have broken his heart all those years ago? How could I stay on my side of the mattress all night long? That was the most difficult to answer.

  “Thanks for everything, Cici. You’re the most amazing woman.”

  “I’m not so special, Eli
as.” I pulled blankets over my shoulder and snuggled deep into them.

  “I disagree.” He shifted his body and rolled over the barrier to kiss me on the forehead. When he turned back, the light went off, and we were cloaked in darkness.

  Chapter 9

  Heat surrounded me. Not suffocating heat, but the kind of heat that made you want to stay in bed all day. It wasn’t until my pillow moved I realized I wasn’t on my side of the bed. Somehow I’d crept over and made myself comfortable on Elias’s broad chest. His arm was wrapped around me and rested comfortably on my hip. His fingers splayed wide. All he needed to do was close his palm to get a handful of my ass.

  Could I slip out from under him without waking him up? I had to try. When I picked his hand up from my hip, he pulled me in closer.

  “Don’t go anywhere. I’m too comfortable for you to move. Don’t. Move.” His voice was not the voice of a man who’d just woken up. I’d bet he’d been awake for a while.

  I was mortified. “Oh my God. I’m sorry, Elias. Even though you put up a barrier I couldn’t be trusted.” I squirmed, trying to get loose of his grip, but he wouldn’t let go. He laughed.

  “I’m not complaining. Best night of sleep I’ve had in a long time. You’re a snuggler. There’s no shame in that. You drifted over early into the night.” His fingers brushed over the small of my back sending chills through my body. “I thought you were cold, so I loaned you my heat.”

  “I’m embarrassed.”

  “If that embarrasses you, I suppose I shouldn’t tell you what you did with your hands.” He held me tighter as I tried to get away.

  “What? What did I do?” I groaned in shame. I couldn’t be held responsible for what my body did while I slept. This was bad.

  “Well, your hand slowly traced down my chest and slipped—”

  “Oh my God, don’t tell me. I’m so sorry.” He rolled over so we were looking eye to eye. His eyes flashed with mischief.