Wicked Winters: A Collection of Winter Tales

by Lucy Smoke

He grinned and knew he must look like a smiling fool. “How do you understand me so well?”

  “I guess I’m just good that way.” She sighed, a mock display of temper. “Rip it off.”

  He did, pleased with the feel of it under his hands and the sound of tearing fabric. He felt strong, and Ruthie felt like his. He kissed his way down her neck, down to the spot between her breasts. Oh god, her breasts. With her back supported by the wall, he used his hands to squeeze her breasts. She gasped, followed by a sigh.

  Using his fingertips, he rolled her pert, pink nipples. Ruth banged her head against the wall. “Oh god.”

  “Like that?”

  “God, yes.”

  “Want me to do it again?”

  She squeezed the back of his neck. “If you don’t, I might have to resort to violence.”

  He was the happiest he could ever remember being.

  Ruth was hot, so damn hot, she thought she might explode. Her insides were dripping pools of lava, and the only thing that could relieve her pain was Ben. He didn’t, however, seem to be in any hurry to give her the release she wanted. No, he acted perfectly content to continue to torment her.

  A naughty thought entered her mind. He’d never had vampire sex before. He didn’t know all the things they could do together. Letting her fangs elongate in her mouth, she leaned over to his neck. His fingers still played havoc with her nipples, and she thought she might actually come with no penetration, just from his ministrations to her breasts alone.

  Not that she was complaining. No. It was time to give him some stimulation of his own. Leaning over, she bit down hard on his neck.

  He gasped and grabbed her head, before leaning his forehead against hers. She could feel his erection jerking beneath his pants. Vampire bites from other vampires were a huge aphrodisiac.

  “Shit…” Ben’s voice sounded rough and sent chills up her back. Pulling her tighter up against his chest, he held her close before he turned around and threw her across the room.

  One second, she was embraced, the next, airborne and landing on the bed. She had time to blink before Ben was over her. Reaching up, she pulled off his pants, ripping them from behind. They were going to have to get him new ones before they could leave the mausoleum. She’d take care of it later.

  Now all she wanted to do was touch his legs. Running her hands from his feet all the way up the thick hair of his calf and thigh muscles, she shivered as she felt him respond. He fell to his knees, pulling her up against him.

  He spoke on a snarl. “I just threw you across the room.”

  “I liked it.”

  She pulled down his briefs, giving herself access to his most sensitive spot. With a quick smile, she licked his hard length, getting excited when she saw some pre-cum immediately form on the top.

  “You’ve got to be careful, or this will be over too soon.”

  She arched an eyebrow as she took him in her mouth. “What’s too soon?”

  Ben pulled her neck to bring them face to face. “You want it fast.”

  “I want all of you. We have eternity for slow.”

  His eyes were hard. “Damnit, Ruthie, I feel like an animal. You’re killing all my best intentions.”

  “Give in to the feeling. I don’t want you to hold back. We’re both vampires. I can handle what’s inside of you now.”

  With a roar, he ripped off her pants and underwear, dropping her down on the bed again. She screeched as he devoured her core. Pushing open her legs with his hand, his mouth was on her, licking her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her legs tried to close around too much sensation, but he’d have none of it. Holding her even tighter in his hand, he spread her even further open.

  “No more, Ben.” She panted. She could barely speak. “I want you inside of my…damnit.”

  He laughed, and she lost control, seeing colors before her eyes as the vibration from his laughter sent her over the edge. A pressure unlike any she’d ever known exploded inside of her. Her body shook as her back arched. She heard herself screaming his name.

  Ben pulled back, and Ruth opened her eyes to regard him. “Now, I’ll come inside of you.”

  With one swift penetration, he filled her up. He was long, hard, and thick, and she wasn’t sure she could take another inch of him when finally, he was all the way inside.

  “God, Ruthie, you are so tight, baby. You are made for me. It’s never been this good.”

  She ran her hand down his chest muscles as Ben moved inside of her. Over and over, he pushed in and out. She closed her eyes as she held on tight, until the pressure that had built up inside of her like she hadn’t already had an orgasm overtook her. Scraping her nails against his chest as she came, she felt Ben go over the edge moments after she did.

  They panted like they’d run three marathons as he collapsed on top of her. Ruth wasn’t sure what happened next. She might have fallen into an oblivious sleep. The next thing she knew, Ben kissed her face gently, murmuring her name.

  His voice was a caress. “Did I kill you?

  “No!” She laughed as she kissed the end of his nose. “But I think I did pass out there for a minute.”

  His eyes were serious. “Is it always like that between vampires?”

  “No. It’s like human sex, I guess. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not good. That was fantastic.”

  “That was beyond words.”

  She pressed her head against his chest, loving the warmth of having Ben there. “Are you sorry you decided to do this?”

  “No.” He held her tightly. “Far from it. I told you, you’re my Hanukkah gift, and being with you for eternity is an endless present that I’ll always be glad to keep receiving.”

  She knew it was sappy, but his words brought tears to her eyes. She sniffed. “You make me feel like I never died, Ben. I feel like I’ve just been reborn. You lit me up inside.”

  Ben rolled off her to look at her and turned onto his side to face her. He kissed her nose. “We have to talk about surfing.”

  “Surfing?”

  Life was never going to be dull again or endless. She smiled. If she had been his Hanukkah present, he was her eternity.

  Did you enjoy this delicious read?

  Grab one of Rebecca’s newest releases right here and dive into more awesome romance right here!

  About Rebecca Royce

  These days Rebecca splits her time writing all different kids of Romance. Reverse Harem Science Fiction, Reverse Harem Paranormal, Reverse Harem Contemporary, Werewolf Romance and rumor has it she's going to be writing some Young Adult Romance again soon....

  She can almost always be found online www.rebeccaroyce.com

  The More The Merrier

  K.B. Everly

  This would be Lowen Westmon’s first Christimas since the passing of her father.

  She decides she'll make the most of it and spend her holiday with nothing more than sappy Christmas movies and a ton of alcohol to get her through it.

  However, her plans are derailed when the second half of her duplex cabin, gets rented out for the next two weeks by three sexy men that are in town for an all-male, holiday strip show.

  At first, she's thrilled to have such hot man candy right next door. But between their loud music, incessant need to use all the hot water, and constant badgering for her to join in on the fun, Lowen might just lose her mind instead.

  That is, if she doesn't lose her heart to them first.

  Naughty Santas, blizzards, and one too many spiked egg nogs, are just a few of the things in store for Lowen on this holiday. But the question still stands; What will happen after Christmas is over?

  The More The Merrier © K.B. Everly 2017

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain othe
r noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  1

  “Thank you, Santa!”

  Love, Actually was probably one of my least favorite Christmas movies of all time.

  So, why I was subjecting myself to the torture of it; I couldn’t give a plausible answer. It was probably because none of the good movies were on TV at the moment, or because I liked to laugh at the couple in it that are faced with a dilemma when the best friend of the guy is in love with his girl. Like how fucked up was that? This was supposed to make people happy? No one had epic love stories like this. At least, no one I knew. It was all just bullshit.

  The song Trouble by Valerie Broussard shrilled from my phone, saving me from having to watch the last thirty minutes of this wreck. My best friend Sara always had the best timing.

  “If I have to watch Love, Actually one more damn time, I’m going to shoot myself!” I answered before she could say anything.

  I’d shouted it loud enough my neighbors two miles away probably heard me. But seriously, why was this damn movie so overplayed? I could get behind a comedy Christmas movie with just a little romantic action, but this was just driving me insane.

  I flipped through the channels angrily, trying to find any other Christmas movie than that one. There had to be something.

  “I can’t tell if you’re talking to me or yourself. Though, I’m worried about the latter of the two,” Sara said to me through the phone. Sara and her husband Caleb didn’t like me being alone for Christmas and had invited me to stay with them, but I didn’t want to impose on them after Sara just had their first kid, Jackson. This was their first Christmas together and they needed this time. I’d go see them after Christmas, though. They only lived about thirty minutes away closer to the city.

  “I guess you’re just going to have to figure that one out for yourself,” I replied with snark.

  This was almost the exact same conversation we had last year before Christmas. Only then, I was depressed from the death of my father. He passed the September before from a heart attack and I wasn’t doing so well at the time. I may have actually thrown the remote at the TV the last time we had this discussion.

  Dad and I were close. My mom had walked out on both of us when I was only five and never came back. What little girl wouldn’t be heartbroken if her mother left? All I could think about after she left was what I had done wrong to make her want to leave. No matter how many times my dad told me it wasn’t my fault, it took a long time for me to believe him. He was my best friend and never stopped being the best parent he could be taking on the role of two parents. I watched every day as he struggled to make ends meet working construction jobs here and there. I mean he drank a good bit and was probably a bad influence, since he cussed like a sailor, but he was a good man and took care of me. He pushed himself to learn everything he could about what a mom was supposed to teach a daughter, but many nights he had to miss out on time with me to work. I was usually stuck with a babysitter, but it had to be done so that food could be on the table. Dad wanted to give me a comfortable life, never letting me want for anything because of the absence of my mother.

  Dad and I had the same traditions every year on Christmas Eve and Christmas. We would light a fire and roast marshmallows, until we couldn’t eat anymore. We drank eggnog and made cookies, while watching every Christmas movie there was. We even went door to door singing Christmas carols to the neighbors. The only thing that ever changed in our routine, was once I turned twenty-one, we started throwing a wee bit of alcohol into the eggnog. It made things more interesting come caroling time. ‘Deck the Halls’ became ‘Check the Walls’ because we always got a little too tipsy.

  I planned to mostly keep up with the traditions by spending my entire holiday in front of the TV. Pajamas, alcohol, and binge-watching Christmas movies was my idea of a great way to celebrate. I just hoped that the approaching storm headed my way in a few days wouldn’t knock out my power. I’d lose half my plan that way.

  “I still think you should be here with us. What if your power goes out? You’ll be all alone and have nothing to do,” Sara said, using that concerned voice of hers that she used when she was about to start begging.

  In his will, Dad left me his cabin and instructions to change it however I wanted; make it mine. But, I didn’t have the heart to do that. I quickly moved out of my shitty apartment and into the cabin. It may not have been much, but it was what I had left of Dad besides memories.

  Unfortunately, Dad only owned half of the cabin. The other half of the duplex was owned by an older man named Stanley, who rented it out to tourists during the holidays and sometimes the summer. In Telluride, Colorado, there were a lot of tourists that flocked here. Tons of them stayed in the area because it was close to the lodge and ski resort that was about thirty minutes from here. I had yet to have to worry about neighbors, thankfully, but I knew my luck would run out sooner or later. Sooner came a lot faster than I’d have liked. Mr. Stanley apparently hired some construction company to come stay and renovate a few things before he finally sells his half. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of permanent neighbors after the construction crew left.

  “Sara, I will be fine. Besides, the other side of the cabin will be occupied for the next two weeks by some construction guys. Apparently, Stanley wants these renovations done by Christmas. He dropped off the key to me yesterday before getting out of dodge. See? Not completely alone.”

  I liked being alone nowadays. I’d become a little reclusive since Dad died, and I wasn’t ashamed. I used to be a party girl who went out every night and even had multiple boyfriends at once. They knew about each other of course, because it was never anything serious. I didn’t do serious relationships. I did fun and easy, not complicated and surrounded with feelings.

  But now, I preferred life a little quieter.

  She sighed. “What if they’re axe murderers? Then what?”

  “I have Dad’s shotgun handy. Besides, Stanley does background checks on his waiters at the diners he frequents, so I’m fairly positive they aren’t axe murderers and I’ll be all good here.”

  “Point taken. But what if you can’t figure out how to light the fire? I know you. You can’t light a fire to save your life. I bet you anything that you have yet to light one since it started getting cold.”

  I looked glumly at the unused cobblestone fireplace before shooting it a glare. I really did suck at lighting fires. Dad always lit them for us. Now, it felt like such a mockery having it there.

  “Well, the good news is, if I get desperate enough, I have enough alcohol in this cabin I could start a small bonfire. I’ll just throw one of these bad boys in there with some wood then stick a match in,” I replied sarcastically, holding up my almost empty bottle of Jack. I would never actually do that. Knowing this, she caught my bluff quickly.

  “Yeah, you’re so not going to be that desperate. Anyways, with your luck, you’d set the whole cabin on fire.”

  I stuck my tongue out at her. I knew she couldn’t see it, but it made me feel better.

  “Stop sticking your tongue out at me,” she replied blandly.

  Damn! She knows me too well.

  “Fine. But I’m still not coming to your house for Christmas either way. You guys need that sweet family bonding time. I’m perfectly alright where I’m at. I promise.”

  “Okay, Low,” she relented with a sigh. “If that’s what you want. Just call me if you change your mind or if you’re in any trouble. I don’t know how fast Caleb could get there, but you know he’d come get you in a heartbeat. Right? He’d steal the snow plow from Sampson Gregor if he had to. You did it for us that one year, so it would only be right to return the favor.”

  Poor Sampson. That guy never forgave me for stealing the snow plow two winters ago. He just made it way too easy to access the keys. I’d honestly probably get blamed for it if Caleb was to do it, though.

  “I know, but I’m a perfectly responsible adult, Sara. I’ve got this!” I replied with mock
enthusiasm.

  “I so do not have this!” I shouted in panic as I fanned out my burned meal that I’d just taken from the oven.

  I was a horrible cook and thought a simple oven lasagna would be no problem. Apparently, the cardboard bullshit that it came in catches fire super fucking easy and smoked up the cabin to the point I had to open the windows. It amazed me I could light food on fire just fine, but God forbid I try to light a fire on purpose and I get nada.

  Now, I was hungry and freezing. Stupid cardboard.

  A knock at my front door caught my attention as I waved the towel at the smoking food.

  “Coming!” I yelled over my shoulder. I quickly shoved the oven rack back inside and closed it before going to answer the door.

  I was not expecting the man candy that stood there. I was suddenly a little self-conscious with no makeup, my caramel curls up in a messy bun, wearing my stained white, knit sweater, plaid pajama bottoms that had a hole in the butt, and my slippers that were made to look like bear paws. It made it doubly unfair that I looked like this, while he looked like sex wrapped in a leather jacket with dark jeans and thermal sweater. All of which hugged his body builder frame like a second skin. Add in the fact, his jaw was covered in a thick, dark beard and he had that bad boy look down pact. I loved beards almost as much as I loved bad boys. If I could drool right now without looking like an idiot, I’d have made a puddle at his feet.

  “Holy shit. Who are you and who do I have to thank for sending you here?”

  Smooth, Lowen, I thought to myself. My non-existent filter mixed with this special sexy look probably came off really stupid to this guy.

  Thankfully, he only gave me a smile that looked like he was more flattered than anything as he casually leaned all six-foot-two of himself against the doorway. His rich, chocolate brown eyes, that had these slight gold flakes inside, looked me over curiously.