Chapter 9
Levi
She’d spent the afternoon sightseeing while I’d lain down for a rest. It made me feel like an old man doing that. But lying flat on my back was the only thing that ever relieved the pain.
Before she came back, I hunted around in my closet until I found my Santa costume. I used to wear it on the holidays for Annie when she was younger. I hadn’t worn it in years.
After that, I got a fire going in the fireplace, then did my stretching exercises until I heard her car pulling up on the gravel driveway.
When she came in through the door, it was like life started up again. In the few hours she’d been here, the place had come alive in her presence, and it had felt too quiet after she’d left.
Both the dogs scampered at her feet as she rushed inside, a swirl of cool air following her in.
“Red Oak Mountain is lovely! I thought North Pole was the best town of all, but Red Oak Mountain might be just as nice, maybe even nicer. Although you don’t have a reindeer farm. It’s hard to compete with that.”
I chuckled at her enthusiasm. I’d smiled more today than I had in a whole year.
“We’ve got a few old horses and a bunch of cattle down the mountain in Red Oak Valley. Does that count?”
“Horses are pretty special, too. Maybe you’ll show them to me. I went to that bookstore you mentioned, Bookish. What a cute place! Did you know they have a whole corner of mountain man romances in there? I didn’t even know that was a thing.”
Robin was infectious.
“Did you buy any of those mountain man romances?”
She twitched her lips into a gorgeous smile. “Of course I did. I need something to remember this place by after I leave.”
That put the reminder right in between us. She was only here temporarily. It’s not like she was a woman from town. Whatever the hell was happening right now was just part of a temporary adventure. Nothing permanent.
But I could still enjoy the time I had with her, right?
I ignored the tiny sting in my chest at the thought of her getting in her car and driving away. It was ridiculous to think this was anything more than a strange anomaly in the long, straight stretch that my life had become. My days tended to blend together until they were a blur of nothing.
But today was going to stand out in that blur as the most exciting day I’d had in years.
“What titles did you get?” I asked her, my curiosity getting the best of me.
She sat down on the couch and pulled a huge stack of books out of one of the bags she’d walked in with.
“Well, first is The Mountain Man’s Secret Lover. That sounded spicy. Then there’s Trapped With The Mountain Man, Ho-Ho-Ho With The Mountain Man, and Picking Pumpkins With The Mountain Man.”
Robin put the first stack down and picked up the second. Then she recited those titles, too. She wasn’t kidding about liking to read.
We ended up sitting on that couch and talking for hours. The dogs got tired of playing and lay down in front of the fire while we chatted. And the winter sun crossed the sky until it threatened to dip below the tree line.
“If we want to see the Winter Wonderland Festival, we should go soon,” I told her. A sunbeam was shining on her through the window, making her look like she practically glowed.
“I definitely want to do that. But… are you sure you feel up to it?”
I hated that she’d seen me at a low point. I didn’t like the worry I saw peeking through her expression. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just overdid it earlier with the wood chopping.”
It was almost time for my next pill, so I got up to take it now. It would help me get through the event.
She stood up. “Do you mind if I change first? I have a special outfit I bought just for Christmas Eve.”
I couldn’t wait to see what that looked like.
***Robin screamed and squealed, completely oblivious to the fact that she was drawing a lot of attention. “This is amazing!”
We were riding on the Peppermint Twister.
It was a typical fair ride. The kind that spins every which way.
The ride came to all the Red Oak Mountain Festivals, but right now it was dressed up to look like Christmas with garlands of red and green tied around the edges of the platform and plastic reindeer decals stuck to the sides of the long metal posts that lifted the seats in the air.
She grabbed my hand as we spun around faster, and I couldn’t believe my luck. Robin was making it feel like we were on a date. And even though I’d said no to approximately a thousand women since I got injured, I didn’t want to say no to her.
Robin had captured my attention pretty damn thoroughly.
The hem of her red velvet skirt flew up as we spun, catching my eye.
Robin was wearing thigh-high candy cane stockings with her skirt, but from the quick flash I’d just seen, she wasn’t wearing any underwear with them.
She had thick, juicy thighs that led straight to a decadent patch of dark, unruly hair.
Robin left things natural.
Which just happened to be my favorite.
Any relief I’d given myself in my bedroom earlier disappeared, and I went hard as a rock right there on the ride.
She hastily tugged her skirt down, her cheeks flushing with life and excitement.
When we got off the ride she was laughing, and her arm naturally wound itself around mine, her whole body leaning in to me.
We walked like that as we took in the festival.
“What’s under your skirt, girl?” I asked quietly as we wove through the crowds, passing a snowman-making competition that was in full swing.
She flushed and gave me a shy look that turned sly after a moment. “Something special.”
I rumbled out a laugh and tugged her closer. “Because it looked to me like you left your pretty pussy bare in this cold weather. You wouldn’t do something crazy like that, would you?”
Her red cheeks told me how embarrassed she was.
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” she whispered as we walked by the Christmas Kiss With Santa selfie station. Amos from the logging camp was playing Santa this year, and he looked pretty damn happy about it. But not as happy as me.
I grinned down at her. “Well, I’m kind of glad I did. Although it was over in a flash. I didn’t get a really good look.” Just enough to know that her carpet matched the drapes, and that she was a wild, hairy thing down there. Nothing manicured about my woman.
Robin swallowed hard, and leaned in to me. “I just felt like doing something crazy. I’ve never done that before in my life.”
“Gone out without any undies on?”
She nodded.
“Well, you’ve got my approval, Robin. You should do it every day. As long as you don’t let your skirt fly up for any other man.”
Despite the crowd of people all around us, it was like we were lost in our own universe. I wanted to pick her up and put her on my cock right here in the middle of the Winter Wonderland Festival. Then I’d spin her around and give her a ride like the one we’d just been on.
But if I didn’t get my mind out of the gutter, I was going to mount her right here in front of an audience.
So I took my eyes off her and tried to focus on the fact that we were at a family-friendly event.
It’s not like we were at the Bear Den, the local bar where on some late nights after way too many drinks, magic could happen in the shadows behind the old brick wall.
Maybe I’ll take her there next.
No. Not tonight. I wouldn’t fuck her by an old storage shed behind the Bear Den.
Robin deserved something special. I’d take her out to the frozen waterfall. It was beautiful out there when the forest was covered in snow. I’d spread out the wool blankets I kept in the back of my truck and make love to her until the sun came up on Christmas morning.
I’d keep her warm even though it was below freezing today.
“What are you thinking about, Levi? You have the most curious look on your face.”
I wasn’t about to tell her I’d been thinking about all the different places I could make love to her. I cast around for anything to mention, then spotted my buddy Tex up ahead.
“Look, Robin. There’s a reindeer for you.”
She grinned up at me. “That’s not a reindeer. It’s a horse wearing reindeer antlers.”
“Yup, that’s old Sally. She belongs to Tex’s uncle. You mind if we say hi?”
“Sure! I’d love to meet your friend.”
Tex was up ahead, scowling and looking at the sky. The weather was about to turn bad.
I introduced her, then Tex and I talked for a minute. We had some business to attend to, mainly to find out how his uncle was doing. He’d recently gone into the hospital.
When we were done she asked, “What’s that up ahead?”
“That’s the Mistletoe Kiss-Off.”
Robin looked at me curiously.
“Every year they have a Christmas kiss competition. Couples kiss under the mistletoe, and the audience cheers for the couple they want to win.”
“What do you win?” she asked, her eyes shining brightly.
How could she be so damn excited about everything and anything? I had no idea, I just knew my blood was stirring faster in its veins because of her. Being around Robin made me feel like I was alive again.
A tiny smile popped up on my lips. “You win a cup of hot cocoa. The prizes aren’t big on Red Oak Mountain. But the cocoa’s made by Stephanie and Cory. They run the local bakery, and it’s a damn fine cup of hot cocoa.”
“Hot cocoa? Like my dog? We have to do it.” Then, for the first time since I’d met her, she looked nervous. “I didn’t mean to presume. That was a silly thing to say. Of course we’re not going to do the competition, right?”
There was nothing I wanted more than to kiss Robin in the Mistletoe Kiss-Off, even though I knew it would set the whole town’s tongues wagging.
There was no way in hell I’d say no. So I rumbled, “I’m game if you are. You’re on an adventure after all. Might as well kiss the random man you drove halfway across the country to meet, right? Give you something to remember the trip by.”
She stared up at me, hesitation and hope mingling in her eyes in a tangled swirl. I could tell she was considering it.
I kept my eyes trained on her, steady and strong, giving her time to make this decision.
After five seconds, the pendulum swung in my favor.
“An adventure. Yeah, okay, let’s do it.”
Her gloved fingers twined into mine, and we held hands as we headed over to the contestant sign-up spot.
Martha Ellis, one of the town elders, was manning the booth. And she gave me some serious eyes when she saw me walk up holding hands with a pretty woman ten years younger than me.
“Who did you bring to the fair, Levi?” Martha asked.
“This is Robin,” I grunted. “She’s visiting me.”
Martha grinned. “You’re visiting our Levi? Well, Robin, you couldn’t have picked a better man to visit. He’s one of the good ones. Are you two entering the kissing competition?”
Now that I was doing it, I felt like a fool. I was going to stand on a stage and kiss this woman in front of the whole town? But I might not get another chance, so I had to go forward with it.
“Yup, sure are.”
Martha handed us both matching numbers. We were couple number twenty-three. I put the sticker on my coat, then peeled the other one off and delicately placed it on her sweater.
As we headed onto the stage I asked Robin, “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to back out.”
Concern flashed across her face. “Do you want to back out? I don’t want to be the crazy woman who drove across the country and made you enter a kissing competition.”
She was worried about me. That was sweet.
“No, ma’am,” I rumbled. “I definitely want to kiss you on a stage in front of the whole town. I woke up this morning dreaming this would happen to me.”
My joke set her at ease.
“So how does it work?” she asked as her entire posture relaxed.
“When the song comes on, all the couples kiss. Anyone who stops kissing before the song’s over is disqualified. So, we have to keep going for a few minutes. Sound good?”
A flush of pink landed on her cheeks. It made her look like a chubby Christmas elf with that candy-cane striped hat on her head.
“It sounds great,” she squeaked out. “Only one thing. I’ve never kissed anyone before, so you might need to lead.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise right as the music started. “You’ve never been kissed in your whole life? But you must be almost thirty!”
Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Randy Travis played through the speakers.
She looked sheepish. “I know. That’s weird, isn’t it? I’m a bit of a mess, Levi. You just don’t know that yet. I get a lot of first dates, but not many second dates.”
I could hardly comprehend what she was saying. Robin was one-thousand percent kissable. Who could have gone on a date with her and not kissed her at the end?
Hell, I wasn’t even on a date with the woman and I was desperate to get my mouth on hers. I wanted to do a lot more than kiss her, too. I wanted to give her a Christmas bang she’d never forget.
“And you’ve never kissed anyone on those dates?”
“I never felt compelled to kiss any of those men.”
Something warm and soft gathered in my chest. “And you feel compelled to kiss me?”
She gave me a tiny head nod, hope and wishes shining out from her pretty eyes.
Right then, Martha Ellis got on the loudspeaker. “Levi, you’re about to be disqualified. Kiss that girl already!”
I glanced in her direction with a harried expression.
And then the chanting started.
“Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!”
The whole town was cheering us on.
And how could I do anything other than kiss her on a stage in the middle of the town square with snowflakes gently falling down on us, and a Christmas tune playing in the background?
I was still stunned by her revelation.
Never been kissed?
But I wouldn’t let that stop me. Not when the most beautiful woman in the world was looking up at me expectantly.
I gently slipped my hand to the back of her neck and dipped down towards her. My lips brushed hers, and that’s when all time stood still.
The chanting got louder as I showed Robin what a Christmas miracle could look like.
She moaned and wrapped her arms around my waist as our lips said hello, and our heartbeats aligned.
This is the woman I’m going to marry.
It was a crazy thought. But it had been a crazy day.
And here I was kissing her under the mistletoe in front of the entire town. But I couldn’t think about them. Not when I was getting lost in the softness of her lips, the warmth of her mouth, and the faint taste of peppermint on her tongue.
I was losing myself in this woman, and I wanted to be lost. I never wanted this dream to end.
When the song came to a close, we weren’t done yet.
That’s when the crowd went wild, hollering our names and cheering.
I swear I kissed her for another five minutes as the whole town watched on.
When we finally stopped, I looked around the stage in a daze. Trying to process how a kiss like that could exist in this universe.
Robin was the woman I hadn’t known I’d been waiting for my entire life.
Martha Ellis got back on her microphone. “And the winners of this year’s Mistletoe Kiss-Off by a unanimous vote are Levi and Robin! Congratulations, you just won the best cup of hot cocoa on Red Oak Mountain!”