Chapter 7
Levi
Before coming out, I took a minute to jack off furiously into one of my old socks.
I locked my bedroom door and whipped myself out. Listening for any sounds of her approaching down the hall, I stroked myself hard and fast.
It was embarrassing as hell that I’d gone hard at the sight of her.
But she’d checked out my dick at least half a dozen times. Any man would have gone hard with that amount of attention from a woman like her.
Having this beautiful stranger ogling me so openly had turned me on like nothing I’d ever experienced before. When I’d realized she’d been studying the bulge in my underwear, I’d wanted to drop them and give her a real show.
Just the idea of it made my cock strain in my hands. What if I had tugged my underwear down to show off my beast? Would she have run away? Or stood there with that same entranced look on her face?
Fuck, I was going to come fast.
I gripped myself tighter and stroked faster, a feverish blur taking over my movements.
Shit. I forgot to tell her where the bathroom is.
She was probably standing out there waiting for me while I did this.
The idea of that turned me on even more. She was so close right now. Just twenty feet away.
If she had any idea what I’m doing right now, she’d run screaming again. Or come take a closer look.
I didn’t know anything about her other than her name, and I wanted to drag her straight into my bedroom and keep her there for a week straight.
As I stroked, I thought about that red sweater she’d been wearing.
The one that clung to her breasts, highlighting their soft curve.
They were perky and high, standing at attention in that pretty sweater, the material thin enough that I’d been able to make out the hard tips of her nipples jutting through the fabric.
I wanted to go rabid on her, kiss every inch of her body. Then bury my cock in her.
Precum was spilling out of my tip now while I imagined going back out there and tugging that sweater up, testing how soft her tits really were.
And that was all it took.
Holy fucking shit.
A steady stream of come shot out of me and into the sock. I grunted as I came, probably too loud. But I couldn’t hold it back. She’d probably heard that.
I’d come fast. Faster than usual.
But it wasn’t every day that a Christmas present showed up on my doorstep. Especially one with a soft, festive sweater clinging to her curves, and pretty, kissable lips begging for an inspection.
I quickly wiped myself down with the sock and got dressed.
When I looked in the mirror, I realized I was still wearing the damn Santa hat. I’d lost my real hat somewhere and dug this one out until I could make it to the Ozark Outfitters to buy a new one.
“What a fucking dork. And you thought she was staring because you’re a mountain stud.” I muttered to my reflection.
Not only had I been half-naked in front of the woman. I’d been wearing a goddamn Santa hat, too.
That made me start laughing, and I tugged it off my head and dropped it on my dresser.
I’m surprised she hadn’t run off after seeing me half-naked in a Santa hat. What a thing to walk up on.
Maybe that’s why she tried to leave earlier.
Looking in the mirror, I saw a hint of the man I used to be staring back, an easy grin on my lips, the haunted shadows missing from my eyes.
That soured my mood in an instant, and the smile dropped from my face.
It didn’t feel right being happy when my friends were underground.
But at the same time, I was determined to host this mysterious woman who’d apparently driven halfway across the country to meet me. And I didn’t want to drag her mood down along with mine.
So maybe it was okay to feel a little happy today. I could go back to my normal miserable state again tomorrow.
What are the chances that she’s going to fuck me?
It was a bold thought to have about a stranger. But I felt something brewing between us. And there was a damn good chance it would end the way I wanted it to, with my cock stuffed up inside her while she sang Fa-La-La-La and Jingle Bell Rock.
Now that I felt half-civilized, I was ready to join Robin Merryweather in my kitchen for a cup of tea.
As I left my bedroom, my pulse still pounding in my chest, I could already feel my cock rising again.
Damn. It’s like I’m sixteen years old or something.
I’d gone from a celibate mountain grump to a horny teenager in a matter of minutes.
“Bathroom’s down the hall,” I rumbled as I joined her in the kitchen.
“Thanks! I’ll be right out.”
Then I watched her cute butt swish away. She had these hips that were just made for a man’s hands. Or at least my hands.
She was like a peppermint kiss dropped in a cup of hot cocoa. Sweet as fuck and too good not to drink down to the last drop.
After busying myself in the kitchen, I fed Comet breakfast, and the little one, too, because she was prancing around begging. Then I sat down at the table and waited for the kettle to whistle.
The two dogs were playing at my feet. It looked like Comet had made a new friend.
It still didn’t make sense that Robin would have driven all this way over a letter from three years ago that hadn’t even been addressed to her.
But I had to admit that something inside me was beginning to stir. A feeling of hope or excitement. Something new and unexpected was happening.
It was then that I realized I hadn’t been excited about anything in years. Not since that day.
The excitement felt good. I hadn’t even realized I was missing that in my life. I’d thought I was too old for it, the way some dogs will outgrow their toys as they age.
Robin was causing seismic shifts inside me, and we’d hardly spoken a word.
When she came back out of the bathroom, she hung her coat on my rack without any preamble and plopped down on the kitchen chair across from me like she belonged here. Like she’d always been here.
With the widest grin I’d ever seen, she said, “Hi.”
“Hi,” I rumbled back, my voice sounding scratchy to my ears.
Then we just stared at each other for a minute.
“You came a long way,” I muttered inanely.
I still couldn’t believe she’d just manifested out of nowhere right into my day.
“Yeah.” The grin somehow got even bigger. “I did. Thanks for making me tea!”
She seemed delighted over such a small gesture. It was hard not to feel her enthusiasm.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” I growled. Where were these words coming from? I wasn’t even making sense.
“It is. It’s Christmas Eve. Do you always play the naked lumberjack on Christmas Eve?”
“I wasn’t naked. I had my boots on… and my hat.”
She giggled lightly. “I’m surprised you don’t have a stream of cars coming down your driveway to watch you work. I couldn’t believe it when I pulled in and saw you. You looked like a sexy backwoods Santa.”
Her compliment left me feeling flustered. But I focused on what she’d just said. I’d been so absorbed in what I’d been doing that I hadn’t even noticed her car pull up.
“How long did you watch me work?”
Robin’s cheeks flushed lightly, and I realized she had watched me work. A sense of masculine pride shot through me at the idea of her watching me swing an axe. But it was quickly overshadowed by what she must have thought when she saw my legs.
“What you must think of me,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to the table, long lashes brushing her skin.
I wanted to pull her close and kiss her eyelids, feel her lashes flutter against my skin.
She cleared her throat. “I didn’t watch long. But I did watch for a few minutes. I’m sorry that I invaded your privacy like that. I’ve never seen a man who looks like you before.”
My heart shadowed over. “I try not to show off my legs to company. I’m sure that was hard to see.”
The look on her face didn’t waver, even for a moment. “Oh, I’m not talking about your legs. I meant your body. You’re so… you’re so… well, I never knew that a man could look like you.” A sharp giggle escaped her lips, and she finished, “You’re sexy as hell, Levi.”
That clocked straight down to my cock.
“Did you say I’m sexy?” Twice. In the last five minutes.
Something strange was happening. Because in my world, beautiful women didn’t swing by my cabin on Christmas Eve and start throwing around the sexy word.
She laughed again. “Yeah. Isn’t this crazy? I’m a librarian, and I don’t get out much. I never do things like this. My life is boring. And I can’t believe I just told you all that… but it’s true. They don’t build men like you in Minnesota. I don’t know what the difference is.”
My chest warmed at that. If she was bothered by the marred skin on my legs, she was doing a great job of acting.
“A librarian?”
“Yeah. I’ve got my MLS and everything.”
“Huh. We need a librarian.”
“You need a librarian?”
Chuckling, I said, “No. Not me. Grace needs one. We got our own library last year, and my friend Beckett’s wife runs it.
She’s the uh, what do you call it, the director?
Anyway, she’s been looking for a librarian for a while to help her run the place.
Everyone wants to work there, but she says she’s holding out for someone with the right degree. ”
Robin grinned. “Well, I have that degree. It’s called a Master of Library Science. But I’ve already got a job in North Pole.”
I shook my head. “Of course. You don’t live here. I don’t even know why I’m telling you about that.”
Then, I changed tack. “So you really came all this way because of that silly letter I wrote? What did you want to happen when you got here?”
“Oh, I didn’t have a plan. It’s just supposed to be an adventure. My friend Jan talked me into it. And she said it was important not to get attached to an outcome. According to her, that’s rule number one about adventures.”
“Adventure. So, that’s what you’re doing? Looking for an adventure?”
She nodded. “I think I already found it. Even if it’s just a cup of tea with a stranger. This is the wildest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Somehow, Robin managed to look sexy and innocent all at the same time. Did she have any idea of the effect she was having on me?
The kettle whistled, and I got up to fix us both a batch of tea. “You like elderberry tea? I gather the herbs myself every year.”
“I’ve never had it before, but it sounds like fun.”
I poured us both a cup and sat down. “I drink it every day in the winter. It’s supposed to keep your immunity up.”
She grinned and took a sip.
“So, what are your plans? Considering it’s Christmas Eve,” I asked her.
“Mm. Well, I haven’t thought that far ahead.
I’m not spending Christmas at home this year, obviously.
I’ll miss the Reindeer Festival we host every year.
But I have about two weeks off from work.
So I, uh, plan to find a motel in town and maybe do some sightseeing.
The square was dressed up prettily when I drove past it.
Do they have lights at night? I might go see them. ”
My mind ping-ponged around everything she’d just said. Motel room. Two weeks. Christmas crap. Reindeer.
Then I blurted out, “Do you want to spend Christmas Eve here? I mean, not to spend the night. I’m not trying to insinuate anything. I just mean, uh, well, fuck.”
I ran out of words and went silent on her.
She didn’t seem to mind the fact that I couldn’t string two words together in her presence. She just seemed delighted. Like this was her natural state of being, a ray of sunshine beaming on my gloomy patch of woods.
“What were your plans for today before I showed up?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “You were looking at it, hon.”
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You were going to chop wood all day?”
“Naw. I would have stopped for breakfast at some point. Then lunch.”
“But what about your family?” she pointed at the picture on my mantle. “Don’t you see them on Christmas Eve?”
My sister was always asking me to come over, but I felt like I was intruding on her private family time. And my friend Ryder was having a Christmas party. He threw one every year. But I hadn’t planned to attend that either.
So I told her, “I just keep it simple. I see my family on Christmas Day. That’s enough togetherness time, right?”
Her eyes dimmed, and it was the first time her cheery expression cracked a little. “So you just stay home by yourself on Christmas Eve?”
Robin made it seem like that was a national tragedy. Then she perked back up, her enthusiasm too buoyant to be stifled for long.
She told me in a flurry of words, “I always make the rounds. I see everyone I care about on Christmas Eve. Cocoa and I stop at about a dozen different places.”
My leg twitched.
Shit. It was almost time for my medication. That was the sign.
“Uh, I should get breakfast. I got pills to take. You want breakfast?”
Robin gave me a tiny head nod. “I’d love that.”
While I pulled out the bacon and eggs, I broke every personal rule I had and made my offer a second time. “You want to spend Christmas Eve with me? There’s a Winter Wonderland Festival at the town square. And a friend of mine is having a party. Maybe we could…”
Everyone would be shocked as hell if I showed up at either of those two places. Especially if I showed up with a woman.
The whole town had given up on me dating or having much of a social life after I got discharged from duty. I’d been like a beat-up, old mountain bear for years, out here licking my wounds in the woods with no one around to see me.
If she were willing to go with me, I guess I’d be her escort. I didn’t want Robin trying to spend Christmas Eve by herself in a town where she didn’t know anyone. That sounded lonely. And while I might be used to being alone, I got the feeling she’d prefer some company.
Plus, she was obviously a fan of the holiday. That much was evident from the white and red candy-striped hat on top of her head. It looked like a peppermint swirl and made her seem like a delicious piece of dessert.
I didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from. I hadn’t been with a woman for years. But something about Robin was making me feel crazy.