Chapter 12
Robin
As he put me down on the bed, he crawled right on top of me. His words came out as a throaty growl that sent shivers of anticipation through me. “We’re going to do some snuggling, hon.”
The look in his eye told me I was going to like the snuggling he had in store for me.
I was still recovering from the orgasm he’d given me in the living room, but it seemed like Santa Levi had more gifts to give me tonight. I must have been a very good girl this year.
He kissed me, rough and hungry, not at all like earlier at the festival. And my body instantly responded to him as an aching need filled me.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes, Robin. Then I’ll give you a special holiday treat straight from the real North Pole.”
But just as he got my silk shirt off, calloused hands raking across my breasts, his phone let out a terrible alarm. It was loud and sounded like a fire engine.
Levi groaned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, Robin. We’re going to have a slight delay. I’ve got to check that. I’m part of the volunteer fire department.”
And just like that, he was gone in a flash. The man could move fast when he wanted.
The comfortable press of his weight on me was gone, and all I saw was the tail end of his Santa costume pacing out of the bedroom, phone in hand.
“Yup. Yup. Yup. Mick’s place. That sweet young thing? Who let her near a stove!” He barked out a short laugh as he kept walking to the other end of the cabin. “Turkey. Trent’s on it?” As he went his words faded, and I couldn’t hear him anymore.
I stood up and paced nervously around the room.
My heart was still hammering in my chest, hormones dancing between my thighs.
This was the day I’d finally lose my virginity.
I knew I was making the right decision. Levi was absolutely the right man for the job. But it didn’t stop the nervous butterflies from dancing around in my stomach.
Hopefully, he’d like what I could give him. I’d never even given a blowjob before. Although my friends had taught me how using a cucumber.
I need to calm down.
It was just that Levi was a twenty on a scale of one to ten. As solid as the mountain and hot as hell.
The fact that I was about to sleep with him felt like something out of a movie. These kinds of things just didn’t happen to me.
At least he didn’t seem put off by my weight. I liked the way I looked, but I knew I wasn’t the sleek sports car package of a woman. I was more like a sensible SUV. The kind with lots of storage in the back.
He was still on the phone. I could hear his heavy footsteps pacing across the wooden floors in the cabin while he talked.
Looking around, I saw that his bedroom was decorated simply. There was a shadow box containing military ribbons hanging on the wall and a bedframe made of logs. An old patchwork quilt was spread across the foot of the bed.
The space felt solid and grounding, and I let out a deep breath, my nerves calming. Being in Levi’s bedroom felt safe, like I’d been transported back in time.
There was no computer desk sitting in the corner. No phone chargers. No laptop or tablet.
It was just a man’s space. A tray held coins on the dresser. A whittling knife sat next to it, with a half-carved mermaid figurine a few inches away.
A mason glass half full of water sat on his nightstand. And muddy boots were kicked into the corner of the room.
I grinned as I noticed the tiny trail of wood chips on the floor. He wasn’t superhuman. He was just a guy. I needed to take him down off the pedestal I’d placed him on.
He wants me. And that’s okay. People can want me.
They just never had before.
I wandered over to the shadow box. I was still standing there when he came back in.
“Do you need to go?” I asked.
“Naw. Trent’s already there. Mick Harrington’s new wife isn’t much of a cook, and she managed to burn their Christmas Eve dinner. The fire’s out. I can stay.”
Good.
Turning back to the shadow box, I asked, “What’s this pretty purple one?”
“That’s…” His voice turned husky, “the Purple Heart they gave me for getting wounded in the service. I was in the Marines for a long time.”
Glancing back at him, I saw his expression close down. And I knew this wasn’t a topic he wanted to talk about. So, I changed the subject. “Well, it’s pretty. And so is this quilt. Has this been in your family a long time?”
“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “My grandma Jessamine quilted it.”
Despite what had happened earlier in his living room, I felt shy. I’d never been in a man’s bedroom before. I had an idea of what came next, but it was different watching a romance movie versus experiencing it for real.
I was still shirtless, and I’d stripped out of my skirt while he’d been on the phone. So now it was just me in my bra and my candy-cane striped stockings.
Even as I hoped he liked what he saw, I knew he did, because his eyes had been roaming all over me ever since he’d come back in, a hungry look in them he wasn’t bothering to hide.
Levi seemed to sense my hesitation because he grinned and asked, “You want Santa to put you to bed tonight, hon? It’ll be a Christmas Eve to remember.”
How could I say no to that?
“You’re going to keep your Santa costume on while we… snuggle?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll leave it on if you want.”