Hot for the Holidays (21 Holiday Short Stories): A Collection of Naughty and Nice Holiday Romances

by Anthology

  Chapter Four

  Selene

  I was going to try damn hard to block any thoughts of Colette from getting in the way of enjoying quality time with my husband. She had been a looming presence ever since that phone call.

  Pressing my palms to my dress, I smoothed the invisible creases on my skirt before proceeding down the hall.

  Remington’s eyes were focused on the stairs as I appeared at the top of them. Even when Luc pressed something into his outstretched hand, his eyes never left me as I descended the steps. He slipped whatever his brother gave him into his pants pocket. The look in his eyes said everything. It was consuming and filled with adoration for me. How did I ever get so lucky to be loved by this protective, lovable, brooding man? Dressed in a charcoal suit and navy tie, pristine white shirt and black dress shoes, he looked breath-taking. Add Hope Estelle in his arms and Adrien swinging around on his leg, I was a goner. Sophistication and parenthood.

  His gaze didn't leave me as my Louboutin-heeled foot hit the bottom step. I'd become quite good at reading his expressions, but at this moment, I couldn't. That is when I realized something: he had let me read him, allowed me in, giving me permission to know him.

  My heart swelled as it always did when I saw Remington with the kids. Even with Adrien swinging on my husband's leg and Hope Estelle grabbing his face with her small, drool-filled hands and tugging the collar of his shirt toward her mouth with all her might, he looked debonair. He humored the children, dragging Adrien with him as he walked toward me, tossing a sweet, dimpled smile to our daughter. That was my life right there and my chest was bursting with love.

  This is the stuff dreams are made of.

  "Mon Dieu, Selene. Those shoes and the dress..."

  I grinned and winked at him. "You remember."

  He still didn't let on what he was feeling behind his green eyes. "I do." Adrien let go of his leg and shot up from the floor.

  He pressed his body to mine, hugging my hips. "You look pretty, Maman."

  "Thank you, Sweetheart." I linked his fingers with mine.

  "Wow, sis-in-law. You look gorgeous," Luc piped in.

  Remington kept his eyes on me as I slinked closer. I pressed kisses on Hope's forehead then leaned into my husband. His free hand caught me around my neck and he pressed his lips to my ear. "You do, and you're mine. Your body, heart and soul belong to me, just as mine belong to you." He sounded proud, sensual, and my knees did that thing they did when he said things like that with that voice.

  I pulled back and crouched so I was eye level to Adrien. "Hey, Tiger. I need you to do a favor for me. Oncle Luc needs your help with Hopie, okay?"

  He puffed his chest and stood taller. "Oui, Maman."

  I pulled him into my arms and hugged him tight then straightened to my feet, turning to face Luc. At the same time Remington walked to Luc and handed him the baby. "Don't forget to burp her after her meal."

  He nodded. "I've noted down everything." He patted the pocket on his shirt. Then he grinned, the laugh he'd been fighting breaking through. "Come on, Selene. Give me a little credit here. How hard can it be taking care of two of the most perfect children in the world?" He ruffled Adrien's hair and gave Hope a loud kiss on her cheek, which made her squeal and laugh.

  I eyed him as I fiddled with the clutch in my hands, fighting the urge to cancel the whole thing and stay home, and sighed. I leaned forward and touched Hope's forehead with mine. God, I'd never get tired of her and Adrien's scents.

  I stepped back and Remington's arm slid around my waist, pulling me to his chest. My body sagged as tension melted away as if he was absorbing some of it.

  "One more thing, mon frère," Remington’s breath ruffled my hair as his voice rumbled out of his chest. "My life is in your hands."

  Luc's smile vanished and his face sobered up. He nodded, his arms tightening around my children. "You can trust me with your life."

  Remington's hold on me loosened a bit. I hadn't realized how tense he was at the thought of leaving Adrien and Hope with Luc until this particular moment. He turned me in his arms, bent his head and pressed his lips on mine, groaning as soon as our lips connected, as if he couldn't get enough of feeling his skin to mine.

  "Jesus. I know you two haven't had some alone time for a while. But I would appreciate if you'd take it elsewhere. Hopie doesn't need to get a play-by-play on how she was conceived. And I don't want to watch my brother going at it with his wife." Luc made a gagging sound, turned and returned to the living room with Hope Estelle cooing and babbling.

  As soon as I stepped out the door, Remington was waiting next to the car parked in front of the house. He strode toward me as I came down the path, slid his arm around my waist and brought me to his hard body. He navigated us along the path carefully, sidestepping the lumps of fresh snow that had fallen in the last hour.

  He halted in front of the passenger seat, dipped his head to the crook of my neck and brushed a kiss there. God, I loved it when he did that.

  "You smell fucking amazing."

  I leaned my body into his. "And you, monsieur, look rather dashing. Ready to play?" I winked, biting my bottom lip.

  His eyebrows shot up and as if his cock was waiting for those words, hardened, pressing into my stomach. "I'm always ready when it comes to you, ma belle. Always. Minx, I can't wait to spend time worshipping your body. Mon Dieu, these curves, this sweet arse belongs to me and I can't seem to get enough. That look on your face right now, I want to keep it there forever. It's warm, gentle and the love shining through shakes me to my very foundation every single time."

  After he made sure I was settled, he rounded the car and slid onto his seat. Right before he started the car, he looked at me. If I was wearing underwear, it would have disintegrated right there and then. Remington didn't know that. I had waited until he left our room and went downstairs to talk to Luc before I dressed. Remington wanted to play. I wanted to play. There was no need to waste time with unnecessary clothing, so I was actually doing him a favor.

  I laughed to myself.

  The look he gave me before he turned to focus on driving conveyed two messages: "You are loved" and "You and I have a lot of catching up to do."

  Indeed, I was loved by the most possessive man I'd had the pleasure of knowing. And I loved it. I loved basking in it.

  "I want you to relax. Luc might be reckless, but there is no way he would let anything happen to Adrien and Hope Estelle. I trust him with my life."

  I blinked quickly to stop the tears stinging my eyes from breaking free. "I know. It's just difficult leaving Hope. And Adrien, he has gone through so much, I don't want to see him hurt. And—" I bit my lip and stared out the window to keep him from seeing what was going on behind my eyes.

  "Ma belle," he murmured softly. When I didn't turn to face him, he grasped my chin and tugged gently. "Selene. Adrien doesn't know his mother and hasn't known her all his life. You will always be his maman. Nothing will ever change that. The love my son has for you is unbreakable. No one can ever sever that bond. No one."

  I sniffed, bowled over by his ability to see right through me. I nodded.

  "Let's go and have some fun."

  Chapter Five

  Luc

  "Alright, Adrien, Hopie!" I said, my arms around my little niece and nephew. "Let's do this, oui?"

  Adrien raced ahead of me, skidding to a halt at the counter in the kitchen. "What do we do first?"

  I glanced at the clock in the living room. 3 p.m.

  Selene had fed Hope before she and my brother left. We had at least two more hours before I fed Hope again. And if she was the way Selene told me, then it was more likely to be in an hour and a half instead..

  "What would you like to do?" I asked Adrien, lifting Hope up and pressing my lips on her stomach and blowing it, making the funny noises she loved so much.

  Adrien glanced at his little sister, his eyebrows pulled down. "I would like to play with my trucks, but Hopie likes to put things in her mouth.
Maman says it's dangerous and that there is a chance she could choke."

  He didn't look heartbroken about not playing with his cars, though.

  His face lit up. "Can we bake something? I really want to bake cookies for mamie Estelle. Can we add more lights, too?"

  I shifted Hope in my arms and glanced around the living room already brimming with lights of every color. "I think we should talk to your maman and papa before we do that."

  He pursed his lips, frowning. This is how I imagined Remington looked when he was Adrien's age. The first time I met my brother, I was twelve. My father had just met Estelle a few weeks before and invited them for a weekend in our home in Provence. Remington had been quiet during his entire stay and rarely smiled. Every time he looked at me I'd feel my chest squeeze in pain. His eyes were the saddest I'd ever seen in my life. And even at twelve years old, I strived to look for something that would make him smile. My brother, Dom, and I strove hard to make him laugh. Our antics got wilder; swinging with my legs hooked up around a branch, beating my chest like a chimpanzee and running around; Dom, who was older than me by three years, swung around on his pony which nearly gave my father a heart attack.

  Eventually, he'd shaken his head and smiled slightly. By the end of the weekend when Remington and his mother left for Paris, the ever present sadness and tension in his eyes and body had receded. It had taken another five visits before he would let my father, Dom, or me hug him. We'd been a team since then.

  Hope farted, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her face was scrunched and flushing at an alarming rate.

  "Ew, I think Hopie pooped," Adrien exclaimed, pinching his nose shut and giving his sister a disgusted look. "When will she start using the potty?"

  I laughed. "She still has a long way to go."

  He wiggled his nose and scooted away from us.

  "Come on, Captain. I need help changing her."

  Shit. I hoped she had only let out gas and not the real deal. I loved my brother and Selene. In fact, I would kill for them. But wiping baby butts filled with baby poop wasn't my forte.

  Adrien led the way to the room down the hall designated as a second nursery and flicked the light on. He collected the tools we needed to get Hopie cleaned up, put them on the changing table and stepped back, looking up at me expectantly.

  I laid Hope on the table and began to pop open the silver buttons on her onesie. "You've done this before, haven't you?"

  He nodded, his eyes shining with pride as he brushed his sister's curly hair from her face before giving her a loud kiss on her cheek. Hope seemed to revel in this. She let out a delightful chuckle, trying to imitate the sound her brother made. "Oui. I help Maman and Papa all the time. But her poop smells."

  I laughed again. "I hate to break it to you, Captain, but every poop smells. Even yours."

  He shook his head. "Hers smells worse. She is so little, but smells worse."

  I had to agree with Adrien the second I unwrapped the diaper. Mon Dieu, what the hell did my brother and sister-in-law feed this baby?

  "Shit, baby Hope. You really meant business, didn't you?" I muttered under my breath.

  I glanced at the diaper, then the clean-up tools Adrien had arranged neatly beside the table. Probably a good hosing-down would do the trick. Hope would probably not appreciate it though.

  "All right, let's do this." I folded up the sleeves of my shirt.

  Adrien held out the pack of baby wipes, his fingers still pinching his nose shut while breathing through his mouth. I noticed him shifting on his feet, giving me furtive looks several times.

  "What is it, Adrien?"

  He stopped shuffling around and frowned. "She has a small bottom."

  I choked back a laugh. "Because she is still a baby."

  "Do you think she will be like Maman when she is bigger?"

  "In what way?" I asked, wondering where this conversation was going. Adrien had always been, well, Adrien. He spoke whatever came into his mind without filtering the words.

  "Papa likes to smack Maman's behind and whisper it belongs to him."

  Jesus. "When did you see this?" I prayed quietly that Adrien hadn't walked in on them while they were having sex. This conversation was going sideways, fast.

  He put the baby wipes back on the table and fully focused on me. "I was watching Spiderman on TV. Maman was making dinner for us in the kitchen. Papa came home from work, went to the kitchen and smacked her on her behind. He does that a lot." His eyebrows pulled down. "Do I have to do that to Hopie when she is big?"

  This chat had swiftly escalated from poop to inappropriate touching.

  "No. Hopie is your sister. Only people who are married do that to each other. I could do it to, say, my girlfriend."

  His frown vanished, his shoulders visibly relaxing. "Dieu merci. I really don't want to touch my sister's behind. Do you do that to your girlfriend?"

  After cleaning Hope, I picked her up while Adrien laid out a clean diaper on the table.

  He blinked up at me expectantly. "Sometimes," I said, hoping this topic was done with. The things I did to women wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with my nephew.

  Shit. Remington and I needed to have a serious talk.

  "So I can do that to Claudia?"

  I glanced down at Adrien. "Claudia?"

  He shrugged. "She is pretty and she likes me. I think she is my girlfriend from my class. She gave me a Spiderman pencil case."

  "Yeah?" I finished buttoning Hope up, lifted her into my arms and kissed her forehead. She rubbed her fist against her eyes. Selene had mentioned she liked to take a nap in the afternoon. Hope was such an easy baby, as long as she was fed and clean.

  "She kissed my cheek, too."

  I glanced at my nephew, relieved I’d been let off the hook about ass-spanking but wondering what other question was running through that small head of his. As we entered the living room, his steps faltered. I sat on the couch, lay the baby on my chest and started to rub her back in gentle circles to soothe her.

  "Can I ask you something, Luc?"

  I nodded, bracing myself for whatever he was about to say.

  "How do you know you like a girl?"

  Was this boy six? Sometimes he seemed and acted more mature than his age.

  I thought about this for a few seconds. I loved my cars. The thought of anything happening to any one of them made my heart split open. Women, on the other hand, were a different commodity altogether. The last girl I really liked was five years ago. Actually, I loved her, but our expectations were different. She wanted to settle down and have a family. My career was on the rise and still rising. When she left, my heart broke. But I used my career to get over it. I’d been avoiding any entanglements since then. Until recently, that is. That red-haired woman had done something to me to make me like her.

  I sighed. What did I know about liking a girl, huh?

  "How do you feel about this girl?"

  "I like it when she smiles at me and when she holds my hand."

  "She sounds really nice."

  "She is." He nodded as he settled on the couch. "I bought her a scarf for Christmas. Is a scarf a good present? Maman says it’s the perfect gift."

  I nodded, wondering if I should start taking relationship tips from my nephew. He seemed to have that down pat, but sought approval.

  "Looks like you like her enough. A scarf is pretty special. It will keep her warm during winter and that’s something just for her. Have you given her the gift yet?"

  He nodded, smiling. "Oui. We exchanged gifts on the last day of school." His gaze dropped to Hope’s head on my chest. "Hopie is asleep. Can we bake now?"

  I looked down at Hope snoring softly in my arms while sucking on her thumb. After letting Adrien know I would be back in a few minutes, I stood from the couch and made it up the stairs.

  I returned moments later to find Adrien watching The Amazing Spider Man on television.

  "Baking time, Captain," I said, walking toward the kitchen. He leaped off t
he couch, grabbed the remote control and turned off the TV.

  He skidded to a stop beside the kitchen counter, bouncing on his feet. "What are we baking?"

  "Let's see what we can use in the fridge first, oui?"

  He nodded enthusiastically, rushed to the fridge and flung the door open. He shoved his head in and started mumbling to himself.

  "Found anything in there?"

  He stepped back, folded his hands and looked up at me with a hopeful look on his face.

  I bit back a smile, bent at the waist and braced my hands on my knees as I stared inside the fridge.

  "Can we make the M&M cake please?"

  I looked at him. "Great idea. Do we have M&Ms?"

  He shook his head, scowling, reminding me again of my brother. "Maman says my teeth will fall out if I eat a lot of sweets."

  "Such a spoil sport, huh?"

  "Papa agrees with her." He sounded defeated.

  "Party poopers," I said. Adrien giggled.

  How would it feel to have a wife and children to come home to after a long day? My nephew's cheery disposition, Remington and Selene's love for each other and Hope's cuteness, made me think about having a family of my own one day.

  What the fuck was I thinking? I still had some milestones to conquer before settling down.

  I straightened, took the egg carton and handed it to him and pointed to the counter with my chin. He shuffled toward the island and placed it on top of it, then climbed on the stool.

  "What are we making?"

  "La Bûche de Noël," I said, walking around the kitchen and collecting what we needed to make the Christmas cake. After preheating the oven, I began to mix the ingredients in a bowl.

  Baking was one of my fortes. I'd refined it to an art. Women had been known to have an orgasm after having a taste of one of my creations. Between what I could do to a woman and my French Silk frosting, I was a god.