The Captain's Snowbound Christmas

by Eleanor Harkstead

  He passed the steaming mug of hot chocolate to Reuben. “How about we keep each other warm? It’s a cold night, after all.”

  Reuben took a sip. The warm milk ran through his chilled body, and the brandy gave him a kick. He put the mug down on the worktop. He sank to his knees for a moment to unlace his boots, then he stepped out of them in his soggy socks and picked up his mug again. His toes began to come back to life as they warmed. It shouldn’t have felt like the prelude to a romantic night, a breakdown and wet hosiery, but he and Bunny had been given a second chance in such an unexpected way, and the thought excited Reuben.

  “We should be able to make each other nice and toasty,” Reuben said. He knew it was a cheesy line, but he went with it anyway. “In fact, I think it could get pretty hot.”

  “It suddenly feels like summer again.” Bunny quirked his eyebrow. “Let’s get comfy in front of the fire. We both need warming up.”

  Reuben took off his socks and stuffed them into his boots. He wiggled his bare toes. “I already started to warm up. When I saw you again.”

  Bunny slipped his arm through Reuben’s and together they strolled back into the sitting room. Everything felt so peaceful and right, but nothing felt more right than sinking onto the sofa in Bunny’s embrace.

  Reuben rested his chin on Bunny’s shoulder. “Your house is lovely,” Reuben whispered. “It’s very you.”

  “If this snow sets in, you might be spending Christmas here,” Bunny told him. It didn’t sound like such a bad fate to Reuben, though. “Just you, me and a house full of treats.”

  “There’s worse places to get stuck!” Reuben slid his chin a little farther along Bunny’s shoulder and let the tip of his nose brush Bunny’s cheek. “I don’t have any presents for you, though, unless you want my dad’s socks and my mum’s lavender hot-cloth cleanser gloves!”

  “I don’t think I need presents,” Bunny replied. He turned his head to catch Reuben’s lips. “I’ve got my Christmas wish right here.”

  Reuben’s eyelids fluttered closed as he gently kissed Bunny. It seemed the most natural thing in the world. He tasted hot chocolate and brandy on Bunny’s lips, and the scent of his spicy cologne seemed to surround them. It was so gentle and warm, but Reuben remembered the passion and heat they’d felt before Reuben’s faux pas had spoiled everything and he sensed it there at the very edge of their kiss.

  Tonight was going to be different—he could sense that too.

  “How do you feel”—Bunny drew his fingertip down Reuben’s chest—“about picking up where we left off?”

  Reuben gasped in appreciation. Any vestiges of the cold in his body had gone. “I’d really, really like that.”

  “I seem to remember that I was wearing a lot less.” He kissed Reuben again, playing his tongue softly against Reuben’s. A charge of desire shot through his blood, following the path of Bunny’s hand down to his thigh.

  Reuben tugged at Bunny’s shirt button. “You mean you want to strip off? Like this?” Reuben unfastened the button, slow and teasing.

  “I’m an actor, you must know we’re all terrible exhibitionists,” Bunny said, his expression one of utmost innocence. “But if you’d rather I kept all my clothes on…”

  “Oh, no, I think it’s much better if you’re naked. And I promise not to squirt all over you.” Reuben realised what he’d said almost at once and laughed at himself. “I mean, squirt baby oil all over you!”

  Bunny widened his eyes and gasped. “Mr Sheldrake!”

  Reuben kept laughing as he carried on unbuttoning Bunny’s shirt. That chest…that stomach… “You have no idea. When you were standing there with nothing on except that guard, you looked so hot. You even made that horrible sock thing look sexy.”

  “I couldn’t risk looking at you,” Bunny admitted with a smile that was nothing short of devilish. “Usually it’s the most unsexy thing in the world, but the makeup guy isn’t usually you. You and that baby oil were an explosive combination.”

  Reuben ran his hand back through his hair. “Are you saying you very nearly got aroused, Mr Bunny?” He brushed Bunny’s shirt from his shoulders then stroked his firm chest.

  “I’m saying that I had to employ every trick in the book to keep things in check.” His voice was breathy with desire. “And that you’re very arousing.”

  Reuben wondered if Bunny could tell that he was blushing. Christopher Manners finds me arousing. Well, that wasn’t something he heard every day. He drew his hand lower, down over Bunny’s stomach, and stroked the hard shape of his erection in his trousers. It sent a spike of desire through Reuben.

  “But there’s no need to hold back now, is there?” Reuben said. Bunny replied with a soft kiss and undid the first few buttons on Reuben’s shirt. He slid his hand inside, caressing Reuben’s chest with his palm.

  “No,” he murmured. “There isn’t.”

  Reuben moaned softly at his touch. “I didn’t get my clothes off before, did I? You got down to your shorts, and I…” Reuben moaned again, robbed of speech as Bunny stroked his chest, his touch affectionate and assured. As he caressed Reuben, Bunny continued to unbutton his shirt until he could part the fabric. Then he ducked his head, softly kissing his way down Reuben’s neck.

  Reuben sighed at Bunny’s kisses. He wanted more of him, so he undid Bunny’s belt before popping open the button and drawing down the zip on his trousers. “I want to touch you,” Reuben whispered. “Can I?”

  “I’d love you to.” Bunny slid Reuben’s shirt down from his shoulders. “I’m all yours. Again.”

  Reuben opened Bunny’s trousers and stroked inside his shorts. He gasped as he finally touched Bunny’s erection. It was so intimate, the one part of him that had been hidden from him before. “You feel really good,” Reuben murmured.

  “I haven’t stopped thinking about you.” Bunny gave a gasp of pleasure at Reuben’s touch. “And what I walked away from.”

  Reuben rested his face against Bunny’s, dropping little kisses to his cheek as he stroked his erection. “I’m so sorry I lost your number. You must’ve thought I was sitting there stewing with rage. I wasn’t… I just really regretted it.”

  “And we’ve got another chance, so we should make the most of it, shouldn’t we?” Bunny rested his forehead against Reuben’s. “What would my gorgeous guy like? Consider me entirely at your disposal.”

  “I want to go to bed with you,” Reuben replied. “I want to be in your arms and I want you to make love to me.”

  “Shall we go upstairs?”

  Reuben nodded. “I want to more than anything.”

  And as he watched, Bunny rose to his feet, and without so much as a moment to think about it, stepped out of his trousers and shorts.

  He was naked in front of him, properly naked. No fake sweat here, no unpleasant sock, no bright makeup-room glare. An aroused, handsome man in a lounge lit gently by soft lights. Reuben couldn’t do very much more than stare.

  “You’re gorgeous, Bunny.” Reuben sighed. “Bloody hell, I can’t believe my luck!”

  “Oh, shush,” he teased. Then he held out his hand and said, “Let’s go to bed.”

  Reuben grinned as he took Bunny’s hand. His legs wobbled as he stood. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

  “I bloody well hope so,” was Bunny’s reply as he led Reuben through the house to the bottom of the stairs. “No flouncing this time.”

  “Flouncing into a blizzard might not be wise!” Reuben chuckled. “Especially without clothes.”

  They kissed on every other step until they reached the top of the stairs, and here Reuben put his arms round Bunny and gave him a deep, sloppy smooch. Bunny held him tight, stroking his hands down over Reuben’s bottom as he returned the smooch with everything he was worth. It was the sort of kiss that Reuben might’ve dreamed about, but he couldn’t remember experiencing many of them in his life so far.

  And now he had a lively, passionate, naked man in his arms. Reuben struggled to break from th
e kiss. Breathless, he said, “Bed, Bunny?”

  Bunny caught Reuben’s hand and led him along the landing to a door from which pale light was spilling. He stepped back a little, allowing his lover to enter ahead of him.

  Reuben went in. The bedroom was the counterpart of the rooms downstairs, a patchwork of different eras and styles, yet it all, somehow, worked. And it all seemed very Bunny. Reuben stood at the side of the metal-framed bed and quickly lost the rest of his clothes. He smiled at Bunny.

  “Two naked men, a big bed. I can’t imagine what’ll happen next!”

  “I can’t wait to find out.” Bunny laughed. He embraced Reuben and tumbled him down into the pillows.

  Reuben lay back on the bed, surrounded by cushions, on a beautiful quilt of old silk. It was so soft against his body, and he shivered with all the sensations passing through him—not just at Bunny’s touch and his caresses but at the emotional intensity of Bunny’s affection and desire. Reuben pressed his lips to Bunny’s shoulder, kissing those firm muscles, as he stroked Bunny’s chest and tweaked his nipples.

  Bunny arched his back and let his head tip against the pillows, soft moans of pleasure catching in his throat. He ran his hands down Reuben’s back, tracing the planes and contours of his body until one palm came to rest against Reuben’s bottom, his hand squeezing very gently.

  Reuben lifted his mouth from Bunny’s shoulder. “Is that a subtle hint?” he asked with a giggle. “Keep doing it, it’s nice.”

  “A subtle hint?” Bunny caught Reuben’s earlobe between his libs and whispered, “What am I hinting at? Maybe that you have the best arse I’ve seen?”

  Reuben beamed at Bunny’s words. “And maybe you want to get to know my arse better? There’s certainly parts of you I’d like to know very well indeed.” He closed his hand around Bunny’s erection, giving him long, slow strokes. Bunny responded with a sigh of contentment, then took Reuben’s erection in his hand in turn, matching the pace he had set with his own strokes.

  Now this is a pleasant way to pass the evening.

  Reuben bit his lip—not to restrain any irritating catchphrase that might pop out, because that had finally left his head. He was holding back, enjoying their leisurely exploration of each other.

  Bunny eased him back with soft kisses. He trailed his mouth down Reuben’s neck to his shoulder, enticing gasps of pleasure slipping from his lips against Reuben’s skin. Reuben murmured Bunny’s name. His kisses were so warm, so passionate. Reuben couldn’t remember ever connecting so fast with a lover.

  Bunny’s lips were soft on Reuben’s chest and he circled his nipple with the very tip of his tongue, teasing it to a peak. He lifted his gaze to meet Reuben’s and whispered, “I’m going to make that flounce up to you. All night long.”

  The sparkle in Bunny’s eye sent a dart of pleasure through Reuben and he trembled in every limb. Reuben stroked Bunny’s cheek. “Let’s hope the snow keeps falling. We could be trapped here together for days. And I won’t mind one bit!”

  “Seconded!” Bunny called, apparently putting the thought out into the air just in case the weather was listening. Then he returned his attention to Reuben’s pleasure, those kisses more than teasing now as they trailed lower, circling Reuben’s navel as they went lower still.

  Reuben’s erection twitched. He almost turned his head, embarrassed that his body was giving him away. But it didn’t matter. Not really. “I’m keen,” Reuben whispered.

  “So am I,” Bunny admitted. He dotted a kiss to the tip of Reuben’s erection. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Reuben did his best to keep his hips against the bed. He sighed. “I thought I’d lost you!” He pushed himself up a little on the cushions, just enough that he could reach to ruffle Bunny’s hair. “But it’s all right, Bunny. Really, it is.”

  “We can do better than all right,” Bunny concluded. He circled his tongue around the tip of Reuben’s erection then drew it down the length in one slow, sinuous movement.

  Reuben let his head fall back against the pillows, moaning at the teasing intimacy of Bunny’s mouth. No rush, just pleasure, lingering and slow. He could hear the soft sighs that slipped from Bunny’s lips as he drew his tongue back up the length of Reuben’s erection, pausing to kiss and nuzzle against it along the way. He reached up and teased his fingertips over Reuben’s nipple, rolling and tweaking it.

  How did he know what Reuben liked in bed? Perhaps Bunny was one of those people who had an innate sense of how to draw pleasure from his lovers. Reuben sighed and moaned, his hips rising from the bed even as he fought with himself to keep them down.

  “Oh, Bunny…oh…”

  As his fingers played against Reuben’s nipples, Bunny took the very tip of his erection between his lips. He closed his hand over Reuben’s hip and slowly took his full length into his mouth, circling with his tongue as he moved lower.

  Reuben’s body came alive at that moment, as if a switch had been flicked and sensation flowed through him, of an intensity that he’d never felt before. He murmured Bunny’s name again as he gave himself over to his lover entirely.

  It was perfect, his whole being composed of nothing but pleasure as Bunny rose and fell on him. Of course Reuben had done this before, but it hadn’t felt anything as intense, as pleasure built from deep within him. Bunny lifted his gaze and met Reuben’s, and his blue eyes sparkled, filled with desire.

  That look only stoked Reuben’s pleasure all the more and his climax started to ripple through him. “Oh, Bunny…I’m going to—Bunny…”

  Bunny’s response was to draw his lips just a little tighter, holding Reuben in his mouth as he tumbled into ecstasy. And Reuben’s climax appeared to go on for minutes, holding him hostage to a pleasure that seemed unending.

  But it finally did and Reuben flopped back, blinking at Bunny. “How…how did you do that?”

  Bunny released Reuben’s cock and kissed the tip. He dabbed his tongue to Reuben’s navel them drew it along his body, kissing his way back up to the pillow. Only then did he say, “Isn’t this a lovely way to start Christmas?”

  Reuben held him. Another tremble of pleasure went through him before he replied, “The best. You’ve warmed me up, that’s for sure. And look, I didn’t even need baby oil.” Reuben gestured to his chest, where sweat gleamed.

  With a soft laugh, Bunny pulled the crisp duvet over them. The room wasn’t cold, but Reuben snuggled against him beneath the quilt and happily surrendered to his lover’s kisses. Bunny’s limbs were tangled with his, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

  Reuben caressed Bunny, running his hands over his body and feeling nothing but joy at being so close to him and so connected. “You’re very strokable,” Reuben said.

  “You can stroke me all you like,” Bunny breathed, tensing his muscles beneath Reuben’s touch. “You’re very kissable, in case you hadn’t guessed.”

  “Kissable all over!” Reuben chuckled. “And all through Christmas, too! Did you get mistletoe? Not that we’ll need it, but…”

  “What’s Christmas without mistletoe?” Bunny propped his head up on his hand and smiled down at Reuben. He was really here. It wasn’t a dream or a wish—he was here in Bunny’s bed, in Bunny’s arms. And Christopher Manners was so, so much sexier than Captain Firth could ever be. “Sure you won’t be too disappointed if you can’t make it out to Cornwall? I hate to think of your plans being ruined, even though I’m selfishly glad your car went kaput.”

  “I’ve been to Cornwall for Christmas plenty of times,” Reuben said. “I mean, it’s nice to see Mum and Dad, but they’ll understand. I won’t be the only person who couldn’t get home for Christmas because of the snow. And…well, I’m stuck in your lovely cottage, which seems a pretty decent place to end up, if I’m honest.”

  “My lot’re all at Mum and Dad’s in Richmond. They were driving down tomorrow, but…” He snuggled down against Reuben again. “They won’t exactly starve in Richmond, I’m sure. I love the snow—it feels like being in an
old movie.”

  Reuben walked his fingertips back and forth over Bunny’s chest, through the hairs he had once been paid to coax into position with a comb. “So we’re all on our own. We could spend days and days in bed if we wanted, couldn’t we?”

  Bunny pretended to give the suggestion some serious thought before he said, “We could… Me and you and a very big bed.”

  “We might have to move to the shower, or the bath,” Reuben said. “And if we’re hungry, we might have to go down to your kitchen to get food, and that worktop of yours…” He tweaked Bunny’s nipple. “There’s lots we can do on that worktop.”

  Bunny closed his eyes and gave a sigh of approval. “Why don’t you tell me what you’d like to do on that worktop?” He reached his arm round Reuben’s waist and stroked his fingertips over the curve of his buttock.

  “Well…” Reuben’s mind was invaded by an image of writhing naked bodies and he felt himself blush all over. “It’s saucy. Do you mind if I say something saucy?”

  “Do I mind?” He beamed. “I’d love you to!”

  “Imagine… I’m helping cook the dinner. I’m standing there at the worktop peeling sprouts. I mean, sprouts aren’t that sexy, but they’re seasonal. So…I’m standing there, and I feel your hand on my arse. And you’re squeezing my buttock. Then you’re kissing my neck and we push my trousers down, and shove aside the vegetables, and I’m leaning forwards over the worktop, and—” Reuben paused. Was this too much? Feverish and silly? But the sparkle in Bunny’s gaze told him to carry on. “And you have me, there, over the worktop.”

  “What’m I wearing? Do you want me naked?” Bunny asked, his voice low. “The thought of you over that worktop…we might have to make that come true.”

  “Of course I want you naked,” Reuben murmured. “I’d see your reflection in the window. Walking in, naked, and I’d pretend I hadn’t seen you, just to tease, except I’d tense my buttocks so you’d know I was ready for you.”

  “That sounds perfect.” Bunny skimmed his fingertips down the cleft of Reuben’s bottom. “I was thinking about Christmas night…us on the fire rug in the sitting room…”