A Cozy Little Christmas

by Laylah Roberts

  “Bart?”

  “Yeah. What? You don’t think Bart is a good name?”

  “Well, I didn’t even know you could get Christmas gnomes, so who am I to say?”

  She gasped, taking a step back in horror. “You didn’t know about Christmas gnomes. How? Why? What?”

  “Christmas isn’t exactly my favorite time of year,” he muttered.

  “Oh, yeah. You said that.” She felt sorry for him. Christmas was just so magical. It felt like miracles were possible.

  “Still doesn’t explain what’s with the gnomes in the trees.”

  “They’re not all in the trees. Many of them are around the tree roots. It’s safer for them there. I put them out here for the Littles and each evening I move them.” She shrugged, feeling a bit silly. “They come out each day to see where they’ve moved to.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I’ll just find a lower branch to put Mr. Grumpy Face in.”

  She moved around to another tree, but none of them seemed quite right. She wanted him to be well-protected, but also visible. She attempted to shove him up onto another branch, but he fell over the other side. She huffed out a breath, frustration filling her. It was cold and she hadn’t had her dinner yet.

  “Here,” a low voice said. “I’ll help.”

  He pressed himself up behind her, reaching over to pluck Mr. Grumpy Face from her hands. Then he placed the gnome high up in the tree on his tummy so just his head was visible, looking down.

  The heat of his body made her insides tingle. He could have stepped around her. Instead, he was basically plastered against her.

  “T-that’s perfect,” she said, turning around. She expected him to move out of her way, but he simply stood there, staring down at her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Um, yes. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Ivy.”

  Okay. Hell. Even her name coming from his lips was sexy. She hadn’t been attracted to anyone since Davis left her. And now she was interested in this grouchy, bossy man?

  “You sure you’re not a Little?”

  She narrowed her gaze up at him. “I’m not.”

  “Huh.”

  Jeez, he was kind of rude!

  “You sure you’re not a Daddy?” She crossed her arms over her chest and his gaze dropped to her breasts, then back up to her eyes.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Huh.”

  Was it her imagination, or did his lips twitch again?

  “You’ve got some spunk.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “I’m not used to people giving me shit,” he told her as he lit his cigar.

  “I find that shocking.”

  A deep chuckle surprised her. He took a drag of the cigar.

  Should that be so sexy? It was going to give him cancer. He shouldn’t be smoking on the Ranch grounds. Yet, her silly traitorous body wanted to wrap herself around him and hold on tight. To bury her face in that chest and let him surround her, protect her.

  You can look after yourself, Ivy.

  Yeah, but it was freaking tiring. Always making all the decisions. Sometimes it would be nice just to curl up next to someone, watch some TV, and not stress about anything. To have someone hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. To just take everything off her hands for a few hours.

  “Can I try it?” she asked.

  “Try what?”

  “The cigar.”

  “Fuck, no.”

  “Why not? I promise, I don’t have germs.”

  He snorted. “Not worried about your germs. But you don’t need this shit in your lungs.”

  “Oh, but it’s okay in your lungs?” she challenged.

  “Yep.”

  “That’s kind of silly, don’t you think?”

  “No, I don’t. And it doesn’t matter if you do, because you’re not going to try my cigar.”

  She shrugged. “All right, guess I’ll just have to buy my own.”

  “That’s not happening either.” He took another drag, then to her shock, he put it out and placed it back in the case.

  “It’s not like you get a say in what I do,” she pointed out.

  He leaned over and put his hand on the tree trunk above her head. She was forced to lean back unless she wanted to be plastered up against him.

  And, of course, she wanted that. But it wasn’t wise. Nope. It was a bad, bad idea to lean in and take a lick of his skin.

  Bad Ivy.

  But she bet he tasted good. A shiver ran through her.

  “Are you cold? Where’s your jacket?”

  “I’m not cold. My cardigan is warm.”

  “It looks like something my grandma would have worn.”

  She gasped. Even though he was kind of right. “You’re a bit of a meanie, you know.”

  “I’m not a bit of anything. I’m someone you should stay well away from. I’m definitely not someone you should be staring at like you’d like to lick them from head to toes and claim them as yours.”

  Son of a nutcracker.

  How had he known? She hadn’t said it out loud, had she? Mortification filled her.

  “And I should stay well away from you. What is it about you that’s so damn intriguing? In your granny cardigan, playing with gnomes, your Christmas cheer. Definitely not for me. Too sweet.” He leaned in as he muttered until his mouth was a mere inch from hers. “Far too fucking cute.”

  “Would you mind not swearing in front of the gnomes? They’re not used to such language.”

  He grinned. “My apologies to the gnomes. You should really step away from me. I’m not in a good mood tonight. My restraint is shot to hell.”

  Step away from him? How did he expect her to do that?

  “Tell me to leave. To get away from you. Tell me you don’t want this.”

  “Want what?” she whispered.

  “Want my kiss. Tell me.”

  “And if I do?” she asked bravely.

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  Oh, Ivy. What are you doing?

  But then his lips were pressed against hers. Her head swam at the taste of him. Had he been drinking? Reaching up, she placed her hands on his shoulders.

  He suddenly jolted away, taking two steps back. It was fully dark by now and she couldn’t make out the expression on his face. “Fuck! Fuck! Shouldn’t have done that. Why did I do that?”

  A sting of hurt filled her.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Sorry.” Knowing she had to get out of there before she said anything more, or before he saw how upset she was, she took off out of the trees.

  “Ivy! Wait!”

  Don’t let him follow. Please don’t let him follow.

  She could feel the tears welling and she swallowed thickly. As she came out onto the footpath, she slowed to a walk. A golf cart came rattling up behind her and she stepped to the side with a grimace.

  Please don’t be Derek.

  She wasn’t sure she could take a scolding right now. No matter how well-meaning.

  When she glanced over, she sighed with relief as she saw Lawson.

  “Ivy? What are you doing walking out here on your own?” he asked. Lawson was the new head of security for the Ranch.

  “Hey, Lawson. I was moving the gnomes around, and Mr. Grumpy Face was giving me trouble. Didn’t realize how late it was.”

  “Come on, hop in and I’ll take you back to the apartments.”

  She was staying in the employee apartments while she worked here. It was a temporary job, but she was grateful to have it. She had no idea what she was going to do in a few weeks’ time once her job here ended.

  Davis had really left her in a mess.

  Stop worrying, Ivy. Nothing good ever comes from worrying.

  “Ivy? What’s wrong? Did something happen? Was there someone out there with you?”

  “Oh no, I’m fine.”

  She hated lying, but she also didn’t want to get Cullen in
trouble. It wasn’t his fault. He’d asked her if she wanted her to kiss him. He’d given her plenty of opportunity to tell him no. But she’d wanted it. Wanted to feel him pressed against her. Wanted his lips on hers.

  Idiot.

  Then she’d gone and pressed for more and he’d seemed to come to his senses. Because why would someone like the gorgeous, sexy, arrogant Cullen Cutler want a boring mouse like her?

  “You’re a terrible liar, Ivy,” Lawson rumbled. “I’ve half a mind to take you over to Derek and get him to talk to you.”

  “What? No! Please, don’t. I’m fine. I am. I just…I’m feeling a bit down at the moment, okay? Realizing that my time here will soon be over. It’s making me sad.”

  Lawson pulled up outside the employee apartments.

  “You don’t have to leave, Ivy girl. You know you can stay.”

  “Maybe if a job comes up for me.”

  He gave a nod. “Or you could just stay anyway.”

  Right. And live off charity? She couldn’t do that.

  “I’m going to be fine. It’s just that I really love it here, is all. Thanks for the ride.”

  “Don’t let me catch you out here on your own after dark again, got me?” he said sternly.

  “I won’t. Promise.”

  “If you need to move the gnomes in the dark, you call me. I’ll help you.”

  “I think I’ll do that.”

  She climbed out of the cart, feeling tired and defeated. Her body ached as she made her way into the building.

  She fumbled with her key, wincing as she tried to get her hands to work. They were stiff from the cold, despite her gloves. She really needed some warmer ones. And to remember her jacket. Getting inside her room, she threw off her woolen cardigan, stuffing it under the bed.

  She wouldn’t be wearing that again.

  With a groan, she carefully lay back on the bed. She shouldn’t lie down. She should get undressed and ready for bed first. Because now it was going to be twice as hard to get back up.

  Closing her eyes, she could feel the press of his lips against hers. What would it feel like to have him hold her? Touch her? Spank her?

  Cullen Cutler was just wrong, all wrong.

  But damn, he’d felt so right.

  Fuck.

  Cullen slipped back into the suite he was sharing with Marcus. The other man was sitting up in bed, wearing a black T-shirt with a yellow digger on the front and the words, I dig it, underneath.

  The remote was in his hand, and he was flicking through the channels. He glanced over at Cullen, his eyebrows raised. “Thought you’d be at least an hour.”

  Cullen grunted and drew out his cigar case, putting it on the dresser. Then he started pulling off his clothes. He needed a shower. He needed to wash away her scent.

  “You okay?” Marcus asked.

  “Yeah, just tired. Gonna shower and go to bed. You should too.”

  “I’m too buzzed to sleep.” Marcus eyed him. “And you never go to bed before midnight.” He moved onto his knees, studying Cullen.

  What was he looking at?

  “Is that lipstick on you?”

  “What? No! Don’t be ridiculous. How would I get lipstick on me?”

  “My guess is by kissing someone wearing lipstick,” Marcus said. “Who’ve you been kissing?”

  Cullen narrowed his gaze. “Nobody. Go to sleep.”

  “You’re not the boss of me.”

  Fuck. Those words were too close to what Ivy had told him. He’d really messed up. He barely knew her, but it was obvious she wasn’t the holiday fling type of girl.

  And he had no business messing around with her.

  Cullen might be a bastard, especially when it came to business, but he wasn’t completely heartless. And he wasn’t in the business of hurting the feelings of sweet little subs, even when they claimed they weren’t subs. Maybe especially then.

  “I think I messed up.”

  “How?”

  Cullen shook his head.

  “Did someone catch you smoking? Are we going to get kicked off the Ranch? Damn it, Cull, I know you don’t want to be here, but—”

  “We’re not going to get kicked out.”

  He hoped.

  But he hadn’t done anything wrong. Just kissed one of the Ranch employees. And he hadn’t forced her. He would never do that.

  No, you just upset her so much that she ran off on you.

  Way to go, asshole.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise. I wouldn’t let that happen. I know I’ve been a bit of an ass about coming here, but I want you to have a good time. I promise, all I’m going to do is watch out for you and work.”

  “I want you to have a good time, too.”

  “I’m fine. Now, go to sleep.”

  Tomorrow, he’d find Ivy and apologize. Make sure she knew that kissing her was a mistake because he wasn’t the type of guy she should want. He wasn’t a forever guy.

  Easy.

  Chapter 3

  “Jingle bells!”

  Cullen froze. Surely, there was only one person who would swear like that.

  The same person who he’d been looking for these past two days without any luck. She had to be avoiding him.

  He walked around the path to find her bent over a wagon filled with fairy lights. He stood there for a moment, taking her in.

  Damn, who knew she had such a spectacular ass? It was full, firm, and having her bent over right in front of him was a temptation he really shouldn’t give in to.

  He felt himself growing hard and took a deep breath.

  Chill. She’s not your type. You just need to apologize for kissing her the other night.

  “Ivy? Everything all right?”

  She stood and whirled, her hand going to her chest. He studied today’s headband. Gold tinsel with five baubles along the top. Then he ran his gaze over her.

  “You forgot your jacket again.”

  “What? Oh. I’m not that cold.”

  Not that cold? She’d just shivered. It was freezing out here. “Are you lying to me, little girl?”

  Her eyes widened. “No. What…I…what?”

  She looked so flummoxed that he nearly smiled.

  “You need a jacket on,” he told her firmly. He unzipped his jacket and then put it around her. She gaped at him.

  “Have you been avoiding me?” he asked bluntly.

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “You ran away from me.”

  Her cheeks flushed red. “I wasn’t running away.”

  Uh-huh, sure she hadn’t been.

  “You’re having trouble with the wagon?” he asked. For some reason, he got a surge of pleasure at seeing her wearing his coat.

  “Oh yeah. One of the tires has gone flat.”

  “You should have used one of the golf carts.”

  “I like to walk. It’s good for me.”

  “Not in the cold when you don’t have a jacket on. Here, I’ll help you with it.”

  “That’s really not necessary. Lawson’s coming. He can help me. Oh, here he comes now.”

  Cullen turned to see the head of security making his way over to them in a cart. He ground his teeth together at another interruption. “I need to talk to you.”

  She smiled his way, but he noticed that she wasn’t really looking at him.

  “I’m sure I’ll see you later. Hi, Lawson.”

  “Ivy, everything okay?” The big security guard eyed him as he stopped the cart and climbed out.

  “Everything’s fine. Cullen just stopped to see if I needed help.”

  The security guard nodded before lifting up the wagon and putting it in the back of the cart. “I’ve got it now.”

  “Thanks for stopping,” Ivy said to him in a fake-cheerful voice. She turned to Cullen. “Here, I’ll give you back your jacket.”

  “Keep it. You can give it back to me later.” Reaching out, Cullen gently clasped hold of her upper arm, then leaned in to speak to her quietly. �
�We’ll speak later, little girl. You can’t hide from me forever. And next time I see you, make sure you have a damn jacket on.”

  “Do you think this is a good shirt for the Christmas party tonight?” Marcus asked.

  “Uh-huh,” Cullen replied.

  “Really? Because I thought I might go shirtless instead.”

  “Whatever you prefer.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe I’ll go naked then. Naked is the new black, right?”

  “What?” Cullen turned to Marcus. “What are you talking about? You can’t walk around naked. This isn’t that sort of resort.”

  “Too bad.”

  Cullen rolled his eyes. Marcus would spend most of his time naked if he could. Luckily, Cullen had managed to find a housekeeper who didn’t take offense to seeing his penis on a near-daily basis.

  “You’re not going naked. Wait. Where did you say you were going?”

  Marcus sighed, giving him an impatient look. “I’m going to the Christmas party tonight.”

  “What Christmas party? Where is it? What’s happening? You can’t go on your own.”

  Marcus put his hands on his hips. “Cullen, I don’t mind if you work all the time or don’t pay attention when I’m talking to you about this stuff because I know you hate everything Christmas related. But you can’t turn around and get all upset because you don’t know what’s going on when I darn well told you.”

  “Sorry! Sorry, you’re right. Please, will you tell me now?”

  “There’s a Christmas party in one of the event rooms. Everyone can attend. There’s gonna be some Christmas games and eggnog and hot chocolate and Santa. I’m going. End of story.”

  “You’re going alone?”

  “Nanny J is taking the Littles. You just need to walk me over to the Littles’ wing. Although I don’t see why I need an escort everywhere. I’m not going to get into trouble walking from one end of the building to the other.”

  “Uh-huh. Do I need to remind you about the time we went to the zoo?” Cullen said.

  “Look, I didn’t know you couldn’t go into the monkey enclosure.”

  “There were signs and a fence!”

  “Yeah, but those monkeys were so damn cute. So, this shirt?” Marcus held up a green shirt with candy canes all over it.

  “Where’d you get that shirt?”