Chapter 9
OLLIE
Everything Blake cooked tasted better than I expected. I still dreaded the thought of kale chips, but the chocolate chip cookies melted in my mouth, and the vegan lasagna didn't give me heartburn, unlike my mom's meat-loaded version.
Our cabin felt even cozier with the small Christmas touches he found at the general store.
My mom decorated to the point of being overbearing, but the small touches I noticed on the fireplace mantle and the battery-powered lights around the windows overlooking the porch and in the back door were the perfect touches of magic we needed to make the holiday bright.
After dinner, I tried to read in the main room, but the fire was too hot. The door to the bedroom was still closed, leaving it nice and cool. I left Blake sweating on the loveseat and curled up in bed with my book.
I lifted my head to the sound of a soft knock a half-hour later. It was only eight o'clock, too early for me to think about going to sleep.
"Mind if I join you?" Blake asked. "It's way too hot out here, and the windows are stuck shut."
I laughed. "Sure." I slid out from under the covers and smoothed the comforter back into place before Blake opened the door.
"I didn't mean to disturb you," he said. "With the fireplace and the oven going, it got really hot out there."
I nodded. "That's why I came in here."
He leaned back against the door and sighed. "I can see why. It's nice in here. Do you mind if I sit and write for a while?"
I sank back against my pillow and patted his spot on the bed. "Go for it."
"Thank you."
"It's your cabin, too." I stared at him until his cheeks tinged pink again.
"Yeah, but neither of us expected to share it.
" He sighed and propped his pillow against the headboard.
The satisfied sound he made when he leaned against it made my heart beat a little faster.
"I don't want to keep you from enjoying your vacation.
If you want me to go hang out in the lounge during the day, I can. "
"This is fine."
Better than fine. I liked having him near me. My bear stopped asking, "What's Blake doing?" when I could see him. Now, he was purring like a satisfied kitten.
"Really?"
"If I need space, I'll go outside." I pointed to his notebook. "You don't seem like the type of person who likes to write in crowded areas." If he was, he wouldn't have come all the way out here to be alone with his thoughts.
"No." He shivered. "I hate the sensation of someone reading over my shoulder." He motioned toward the space between us. He'd angled his body toward me with his knees up, so I couldn't read his notes, even if I wanted to.
"Are you cold?"
"Are you? I heard you rustling around before. Were you under the covers?"
My face heated. "It was comfy, but I don't need them."
"Don't bears like caves and close spaces?" He scoffed. "Do you sleep under your covers at home?"
"Yes."
"Then you should do the same here." He waved his gel pen in the air like a magic wand. "You're on vacation. I don't want you to go back home and tell everyone your roommate wouldn't let you sleep comfortably! If I ever meet your friends, they'll all hate me."
My chest ached at the thought. I wanted him to meet my friends, family, and everyone I knew. If given the chance, I would introduce him to Mai at the Korean grocery and Bonnie at the library, and those were the people on the very periphery of my life.
"Here." Blake stood up and tugged his corner of the bedsheets down. "Let's do it together."
That's how we ended up beneath the sheets for the first time, completely clothed. I read my book to the susurrus of his pen gliding across paper.
When I finished the first book in the series, I pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time. It was past ten.
Blake's pen had stopped moving a while ago, but I'd been so immersed in the thriller's climax that I hadn't noticed. He'd leaned his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes. The angle looked uncomfortable.
"I'm just resting my eyes," he mumbled when I said his name.
"You should go to bed."
He sucked in a breath. "Santa! We should leave out cookies and milk." He chuffed a laugh. "You don't mind me stealing a cup of your milk, do you?"
"Take all the milk you want, but … Santa?"
"You don't believe in Santa?" He blinked at me like a cartoon child stumbling upon the Grinch as he stole Christmas.
"I'm thirty-two years old." Blake was around my age, too, or so I thought. Now I wondered how much younger he was. "I would play Santa for hypothetical children, but I don't believe some random stranger will swoop out of the sky with presents."
Blake laughed. "I know it's silly. It's not like I believe some magical elf is going to pull up to the cabin with a sleigh led by flying reindeer or anything, just … Mom always left out a plate of cookies and a cold glass of milk, and this is the first time I'll have an actual chimney."
"Do it," I said, climbing out of bed. "I call dibs on the bathroom while you're doing your thing." My bear would probably clean the plate in our sleep, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. If he wanted to believe in Santa, who was I to stop him?
Later, when we both lay in bed, my bear could already smell the treat waiting for us the moment Blake fell asleep. That wouldn't be anytime soon, by the sound of his racing heart.
"What do you do for a living?" he asked after a few minutes of both of us shifting uncomfortably.
"Construction. I build apartment buildings and condos, mostly, but I built my own house."
He sighed. "Of course. Put all that muscle to good use. Do bear shifters have natural muscle mass?"
"Alphas do, yes. Our omegas look more like you."
He turned onto his side facing me, so I rolled to face him. A sliver of firelight from the living room lit up the bottom of the door and allowed me to see his face in the dark. I doubted he could see me with human vision, but his grin was adorable.
"Do you have an omega waiting for you back home?"
"Depends."
He pinched his lips together for a moment, and then said, "I see."
"I met this guy on vacation," I continued. "Still seeing how it goes."
"Oh." He snorted. "Me? I'm a mess, Ollie. You don't want this."
"I've never met someone who not only knew they were a mess but also wanted to do something about it. You hit a rough spot, but you're doing your best."
He blinked his eyes a couple times, and I saw a single tear slide toward his pillow. "You definitely saw me at my worst," he whispered.
"Come here." I tugged him to me, rolling him over so his back was to me. I curled my arm around him, holding him in place. We fit together like two puzzle pieces.
"What are you doing?"
"We need to sleep." I nuzzled his nape and up into his sweet-smelling hair. "We can talk more tomorrow."
"If you think I'm going to sleep like—" a yawn interrupted whatever he was about to say. He snuggled closer to me, and his ass brushed up against my cock. I squeezed my eyes shut and thought about my least favorite place, the dentist's office, until I heard Blake's soft snores.
I was too comfortable to sneak out of bed for a late-night snack. My bear tried to remind me I had the perfect snack in my arms, but I was already too close to sleep.