“And this is a reason to elope this week?”
“We’ve admitted to each other we’ve been in love for at least two years. Why waste any more time?”
“Is he there with you now?”
“Yes,” she replied, looking over at Christopher.
“Let me talk to him.”
She handed the phone to her fiancé. He took it and said, “Hello, Hunter. I figured you’d want to speak to me.”
“I have one question for you, and I want the honest-to-God’s truth. Do you love my sister?”
“With everything I’ve got,” was the quick and simple reply.
“That’s all I need to know. Congratulations. But know this, if you ever do anything to hurt that girl, you’ll answer to me. You got it?”
“Loud and clear, and there won’t be a problem.” Christopher handed the phone back to Holly.
“Hunter, are you okay with this?”
“Yes, sis, I’m okay with it, as long as you’re sure this is what you want.”
“I am.”
“I’ll put Mom on the phone.”
After she’d told her mother and her dad the news and had convinced them she knew what she was doing, they also congratulated both her and Christopher.
Allie got on the phone and told her there would be a reception for them at home soon, to celebrate. “Give me some time to get it together,” she said.
The call ended not long after and Christopher said, “Well, the hard part’s over. Now who’s calling Nick and Carol?”
“You can handle that one.” She laughed. “I’ve got to hear this.”
As Christopher waited for Nick to pick up the call, he grinned at Holly. “I love you,” he mouthed.
Just then, Nick answered. “Hey, Christopher, what’s up?”
“I’m just calling to wish you and Carol a Merry Christmas. How’s Florida?” he asked.
“Florida is great. How about you? How’s your holiday?”
“Actually, mine has turned out to be a pretty good one.”
“Where’d you end up going? I know you said you were getting out of town.”
“I’m in Gatlinburg.”
“You like that place, don’t you? You go there often.”
“Yes, I like it even more now. I’m going to be spending my honeymoon here, next week.”
“Your what? Excuse me, I thought you said honeymoon.”
“By the way, Holly won’t be back in the office until the Monday after New Year’s. She’s decided to stay on a few extra days.”
“Holly? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Holly and I ran into each other here at the lodge. It seems we both had the same idea about a Smoky Mountain getaway. She booked a room for the week and I had booked one for two weeks.”
“And she’s staying to attend your wedding? Who the hell are you marrying? I thought you had it bad for… Oh, my God.”
“Yes, she’ll be attending my wedding. After all, she’s the bride. We’re eloping, here, on New Year’s Eve, if we can get it all arranged in five days. No one knows about it except her family, and now, you. And, of course, you’ll tell Carol.”
Nick let out a low whistle. “How did you pull that off?”
“When we both ended up here by sheer coincidence, I decided that fate had stepped in. I made up my mind; she was going to be mine by week’s end. Actually, she finally caught on to the fact that I’m really not the arrogant ass she’s always thought I was. We’ve spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other better.”
“And, I take it, you found out she’s not really an ice princess,” Nick finished for him.
“I’ve been in love with her for a while now; you knew that.”
“But she didn’t like you. How’d you turn her around so quickly?”
“Ah, but she didn’t hate me as much as she’d have liked you all to think she did. Let’s just say, we had a meeting of the minds.”
“And a few other things, I’m sure,” Nick said with a chuckle.
“Is Carol around?”
“No, she went down to the pool, but I’ll fill her in. She may call Holly later. Congrats to both of you; it’s been a long time coming, but it’ll be worth it. I can assure you of that. Marriage is good.”
When he hung up, Christopher grinned. “Nick sends his congrats.”
“Was he surprised?” she asked.
“A little, about how it all came about, but he’s good with it.”
She got up and sat on his lap. “Now that’s over with. The calls are made and we can’t do anything else wedding related until tomorrow, so how are we going to spend the rest of our Christmas?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
She touched her lips to his. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. As he stripped off his clothes and then hers, he said again, “Merry Christmas, babygirl.” The heat was building again. Would it always be like this? Would she always be a volcano ready to blow whenever she was close to him? How could she have not seen it before? Truth be known, she did. She’d always known it could be like this.
He kissed, caressed and tormented her. After undressing her, he playfully spanked her, then checked between her legs for the telltale sign of her arousal. He teased her, “Aha, proof that you are a sub.” He laughed as he kissed her, then seriously began to create some magic with his fingers. He found her button easily and began working it, circling it while his lips moved to first one pert nipple, then the other.
Holly moaned, anxious for release.
“Babygirl, you need to learn patience.” He smacked her again. “I swear, I will find an implement somewhere in one of these shops if you don’t.” He raised up and kissed her before she could protest.
Christopher masterfully tuned her body like a fine musical instrument. He caressed, kissed and played her like the master that he was. Although he denied her release time and again, when it finally happened, it was more forceful and powerful than she had ever felt before. She knew she would do whatever he asked. How could she not?
As he murmured sweet love words in her ear, she smiled. When he kissed her neck and it tickled, she laughed softly. And when his tongue began its assault of her body again, she moaned. When he left her on the brink and denied her again, she pouted.
“All in good time, princess,” he said with a chuckle. He flipped her so she was on top of him and kissed her.
“Arrogant ass,” she teased.
“Oh, I think the ice princess needs to be taught a lesson,” he retaliated, flipping her back over.
He teased her, she whimpered; he tantalized her, she stuck her tongue out at him; and when she was almost to the brink again, he entered her, gently, teasingly, not forcefully as he’d done before. He teased some more, and just when she knew she could take it no longer; he gave her exactly what she needed. She was gone, completely, as the fireworks exploded and the earth shook.
As he watched her face, he smiled and said, “I love to watch you do that.” As he felt his own release, he held her tightly, whispering in her ear, “I love you, princess.”
Later, she grinned at him and asked, “So, am I still an ice princess?”
“Oh, no, not ice, but you’ll always be a princess to me. Daddy’s princess,” he replied. “How about me, am I still an arrogant ass?”
“Oh, yes, but you’re my arrogant ass, so it’s okay now.”
“You’re not going back to your room, are you?” he asked.
“I think I should, don’t you?”
“Why?”
“We have a busy week ahead. If I stay here, we won’t get anything done but play. We need to rest and work on the wedding, don’t you think? After that, we’ll have a few days for fun before we go home.”
“Of course, what you’re saying probably makes sense in some universe. But I don’t want you to go,” he said in a low voice as he nibbled at her ear.
“Indulge me,” she said.
“I’d like to indulge you,” he teased.
“You know what I mean.”
“Okay, if you insist, but at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, you meet me in the lobby. Or I will be knocking on your door.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said solemnly as she kissed him.
When she was finally back in her room, showered, in her pajamas, and in bed, alone, she had a moment to reflect on all that had happened. Reality set in.
What the hell were they doing? This was crazy. Wasn’t it?
She lay awake for hours, piecing it all together. The seduction, the surrender, the admission of feelings and finally, the proposal of marriage, the memories flooded her psyche. He was everything that, deep down, she’d known he would be. And the way her body, as well as her heart, responded to him, told her all she needed to know. It may be crazy, but she was going through with it. Come hell or high water, by the New Year, she would be Mrs. Christopher Winters. And that fact brought to mind another issue. What name would she use professionally? What would he think if she kept her maiden name? Oh, she would be Holly Winters on paper, but as an attorney she wanted to remain Holly Evans. Carol had done it. But Christopher wasn’t Nick. Christopher was her Dom. Would he agree?
When sleep finally overtook her tired mind and body, she was down for the count. She slept for eight solid hours.
After several kisses at his door, Christopher had finally agreed to let Holly return to her own room, reluctantly, but he had agreed nonetheless. As he showered and lay down on his bed, he thought about the whirlwind of the past few days. It was the first time he’d had to himself for three days, and he missed having her by his side. He missed her smile, her laugh, her teasing and, most of all, her submission.
He thought back to all that had happened. He had known the night he’d pushed her up against her door and kissed her, she’d be his by week’s end. He’d left her panting and needy, hot for him. He’d known she’d be his physically, but what he hadn’t known was that she’d be his completely, heart and soul. And that he’d be hers. What he hadn’t planned on was proposing, at least not the first week. And he sure as hell never thought they’d be eloping. But when he’d splurged on the diamond choker on Christmas Eve, her “collar,” he’d known. He had to have her. Forever. In his life. As his wife. As his submissive. And when she’d said yes, he’d known. He’d done the only thing he could have done. There was no way he could have gone back home, to work with her day after day, and not have her to go home with. He’d known she’d never just move in with him. A rendezvous at a mountain lodge was one thing, moving in with him out of wedlock was an entirely different matter, given her professional persona. Yes, it might seem crazy, but they were doing the only thing they could do, given the feelings that had surfaced between them, not to mention their professional lives. She would be his forever. In a way, he’d always known that she was the one. He truly believed fate had stepped in to lend a helping hand by sending them to the same place that Christmas to be alone. It was time. They’d wasted enough of it and fate had decided to take matters into her own hands.
He slept like a rock when his mind finally stopped replaying everything over and over. He was exhausted, a happy tired, but exhausted all the same.
Chapter 5
The next morning, they met at eight in the lobby, had breakfast and went to see about the marriage license. The next stop was the chapel. There, the problems began.
“I’m sorry; we have a wedding at two, one at four, and one at six on New Year’s Eve. I’m going to a party that night. Can’t you do it the day before?” the minister asked.
“We could, but we had our heart set on New Year’s Eve,” Christopher explained.
“Can’t you do a quick ceremony at eight? We don’t need fancy or long,” Holly pleaded.
The minister had looked at the couple sitting in front of him. Finally, he agreed to an eight o’clock ceremony. “But make it quick. Are you saying your own vows?”
“We hadn’t thought about it, but, yes, we can,” Christopher said, glancing at Holly. She nodded in agreement.
When the plans had been made, they made their way to the jewelry store. After choosing the perfect matching diamond-studded bands, they broke for lunch.
“Well, that’s three things off our list. Do you want to shop for a dress this afternoon while I try and find a suit?”
“Can I pick out your tie?” she asked innocently.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
“Aw, come on, my taste can’t be that bad.”
“We’re going to have pictures taken, pictures that will be in our family for generations to come. Our children and grandchildren will look at them. Do you really want them to make remarks about their dad’s cheesy tie?”
Holly shook her head and bit into her sandwich. “Okay, I get the picture. Mr. Arrogance is picky about ties.”
“Your name is going to be Mrs. Arrogance, so there,” he teased.
“About that, funny you should bring up the name thing,” she began nervously.
“What, you don’t want to change your name?” he asked.
“I thought, professionally, I would keep the Evans name, but for everything else, I’ll be Holly Winters. Are you okay with that?”
“I never gave it much thought. I have no objection to that. Carol kept her maiden name for professional reasons. I’ll know you’re my wife and so will everyone else, so it shouldn’t matter, should it?”
“You’re really okay with it? I’ve been agonizing over this since last night and you’re okay with it?” she asked, unable to believe he had agreed with no fuss.
“Would you rather I stomp my feet and throw a fit? Or better yet, turn you over my knee? I still need to go implement shopping, you know.”
“That won’t be necessary. I just thought you might object.”
“Holly, I don’t want to run your life. You’re still Holly Evans, and that’s who I fell in love with, both the professional ice princess, and the warm, soft, loveable, fun girl I’ve seen this week. I love both of you.”
“I love you, do you know that?” She smiled shyly as she reached across the table and touched his hand.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. As much as it took to get us to come to our senses about our feelings, this means nothing,” he assured her with one of his crooked grins.
After lunch, they went their separate ways, Christopher to search for a suit, while she scoured the shops for the perfect dress.
She looked in every shop, tried on countless dresses, and came up with nothing.
When they met later for dinner, he told her he’d found a suit, shirt, and a tie.
“Well, good for you; I found zilch,” she reported sadly.
“Is it that important what you wear? I mean, you’re only going to have it on for the ceremony and for dinner. And maybe for the reception your family is throwing later, at home.”
“It’s very important. I may have to drive into Pigeon Forge tomorrow. Surely, I’ll find something at the mall.”
“Do you want me to come with you? We could take in a movie and go out to dinner.”
“Sure, that’d be great,” she said, still upset she couldn’t find the perfect dress.
“And I won’t look while you try on dresses. I’ll go do something else, I promise.”
“I don’t think the superstitions hold true in our situation. We’ll be lucky to pull this together in five days. Look at the problems we’ve encountered already.”
“It’s all going to work out. Eat your dinner and we’ll go back to the lodge. I think you need to relax. Maybe we can hit the hot tub tonight.”
“Sounds heavenly,” she agreed as she took a sip of her water.
They spent time in the hot tub and, later, the sauna at the lodge. When they returned to her room, he gave her a soothing, relaxing massage. And when she was almost asleep, he kissed her goodnight and left to return to his own room.
“You’re not staying?” she asked sleepily.
“No, get your beauty sleep. We have ano
ther big day tomorrow.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, princess.”
The next day, after trying on several more dresses, she finally found the perfect one. Knee-length, white lace, and simple, with a short jacket to match, it fit her figure well, and she was able to find a pair of white slippers to go with it. She needed no new jewelry, so once she found a little blue garter, she was set.
She had new, she had blue, she had old – a pair of earrings that had been her grandmother’s that she wore constantly, and now she needed something borrowed. Thinking about what items she’d brought with her, she realized she had borrowed a watch from Allie when hers had broken. She’d been busy and hadn’t had time to buy a new one. She was set. The only thing left to do was order the flowers. In three days, it would be time. She would be wed to the hottest, most exasperating, dominant, sexy and loveable man on the planet. Oh, yeah, she had to write her vows; she’d almost forgotten. Now, that might take some time.
After an enjoyable date night at the movies and a romantic dinner, she was ready to go back to the lodge.
They said goodnight at her door and, again, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. The fantasies about Christopher had stopped, once she’d realized that real life was much better than any dream she’d ever had about him.
The next day, she drove to the flower shop to order a small bouquet and a matching boutonniere for Christopher. That was done, now to concentrate on the vows. The witnesses and photographer were included in the wedding package at the chapel. She really was done. They’d managed it. With time to spare, they’d put together a quickie wedding. There was no turning back now. But then, she’d known all along she was his. It was way too late to think about turning back.
They’d decided to spend the day separately. He wanted to work on his vows and she needed to do the same. They weren’t even planning to meet for dinner. She was going to order room service and stay in her room.
As she kicked off her shoes, she brewed a pot of coffee and sat down on the bed. Propped up against the pillows, she took a pad of paper out of her briefcase and began to think about the all-important wedding vows.
12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2018 Page 6