CHAPTER FOURTEEN Killjoy
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Killjoy
I pulled around back of the cabin and parked.
Normally, I’d put my truck away in the garage and make the trek to the back door, but that wasn’t gonna work tonight.
One, I didn’t want Danny to have to walk that far in the snow.
While he seemed to love it, I could tell he wasn’t used to it.
His sun-kissed skin gave that away. And two, I had a tree to haul inside.
I still couldn’t believe I bought a damn tree. What the fuck had I been thinking? I was damn glad the old man had a base for me to use too.
“Go on in. I’ll get the tree,” I said. “Door’s unlocked.” Because I never bothered to lock the back door. No one was gonna mess with the place. Hell, most people probably didn’t know it was out here.
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, popping open the truck door.
I hesitated for a moment, even as the wind blew snow into the cab. I was feelin’ a little reluctant to move away from his heat. I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but I liked the press of his thigh against mine. I liked the cute way he cuddled up to me on the drive home.
I’d never had anything like that. Truth was, I never had the urge for that kinda shit. It wasn’t me. I didn’t need anyone, didn’t want anyone.
Or so I thought.
Danny was starting to reshape my world, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
Did I like it? Maybe a little, but that wasn’t saying that I could stomach all his sugar and spice all the time. Lord help me, I couldn’t keep up with him, and there was no sense in trying. But sticking to the sidelines and watching him, well, maybe that wasn’t so bad.
With a grunt, I forced myself to move. I didn’t think much of it as I turned and helped him out of the truck. The last thing I wanted was for him to slip and fall. It would make the whole tree thing pointless if we ended up at the hospital tonight. Right?
“Thanks,” he said, all teeth and bright eyes.
“Yeah,” I clipped out as I let him go.
With a shiver, he headed for the back door.
After some grumbling and awkward maneuvering, I got the tree into the mudroom. I paused to ditch my boots and jacket. I also needed a minute to catch my breath. I wasn’t weak by any means, but moving a fucking tree was a lot of work.
It took me a few minutes to shake off the snow that had collected on it. Then I headed inside, doing my best to be gentle as I hauled the fuckin’ tree in with me.
“I’m making hot chocolate,” Danny announced. The excitement in his tone was almost infectious. Maybe I didn’t show it on my face, but I felt it in my chest.
When I turned my head to look at him, his smile was wide, and it breathed life and warmth into the cabin.
Could it have been that I was starting to like that damn smile? Was I starting to fall a little bit for it?
Yeah. Yeah, I was. If I had any doubts before, that kiss he’d given me in the truck would have been a big hint.
It damn near blew my socks off. I’d never been into kissing.
It had always been a thing you did, which usually led to other things.
However, kissin’ Danny had in itself been a fuckin’ treat.
I had to play this right. Danny was special.
He wasn’t just a one night and walk away.
And though I’d been against all that shit most of my life and had never thought of even looking for a partner or forever with someone, my mind was beginning to open up.
If I kept on the path I was on, my future looked a little lonely.
I wondered if, perhaps, it didn’t have to be.
While our hot chocolate cooled, we fiddled with the tree. It took a lot of grunting, huffing and puffing, shifting, and terrible communication before it was just right.
“Perfect,” Danny said as he stepped back and beamed at the bare tree.
And that right there was all that mattered.
While he admired the tree, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“Careful, Scrooge,” he said with a teasing tone. “Someone might think you like Christmas…” He turned his face my way, smile never dimming as he held my eyes. “Or me.”
I cleared my throat and dragged a hand over my beard.
Instead of saying anything back, I hooked a finger into the waist of his pants and pulled him flush against me. He chuckled as he about near lost his balance, but I held him up.
“Oh,” he said, blinking those warm hazel eyes up at me as the breath caught in his lungs.
My mouth descended on his slowly. He didn’t push me away, so when my lips brushed against his, I went in for the kill.
I devoured him like I’d been wanting to do since he kissed me in the truck.
Fuck, more like since I first laid eyes on him, though I wouldn’t admit it back then.
He moaned into my mouth as his body melted into mine.
His hands were on my chest, and I didn’t doubt he could feel my heart pounding inside there.
Having him in my arms was like nothin’ I ever wanted.
And I had been a damn dummy for it.
If I’d known it could have been like that, I would have been doing things differently for the last twenty years.
“So is this a thing we do now?” he asked, eyes bright and voice husky.
“Got a problem with it, elf?” I shot back gruffly.
“No,” he said, clearing his throat. “Not at all.”
Then his lips were back on mine.
I could have kissed him all night, and I sure as hell wanted to, but what was the sense of buying a tree just days before Christmas and not decorating it?
“Alright,” I said, using all of my will to pull myself back, going as far as to move my feet so we’d have some distance between us. I reached down and adjusted my cock. Wasn’t no sense in trying to pretend like it wasn’t hard and he hadn’t noticed.
“I could help you with—”
“No.” I cut him off a little too forcefully. I let out a small laugh, which sounded rusty. I hadn’t meant to sound like I was about to bite his head off. I tried again, calmer this time. “No. It’s… I’m good. Maybe another time.”
He snorted, but didn’t press.
I wanted him. Oh fuckin’ hell, did I want him. I wanted him so much it was damn near about the only thing I could think about, but lucky for me, a little tiny part of my good sense pushed through.
I never wanted to do something so right in my life.
While I didn’t know his story, I knew there was one.
And somethin’ deep in my gut told me it wasn’t all good.
I didn’t doubt people took advantage of him.
He had that sweet puppy thing going for him, and I knew it wasn’t an act.
But that made him vulnerable to cruel people.
I didn’t think I wanted to fix him. After all, I wasn’t really the type that believed in that shit.
So, yeah, it wasn’t that. I did, however, have this deep urge to protect who he was, protect him.
For me to realize that, it was fuckin’ weird.
Which was why I pushed it to the back of my mind.
“So, what do you plan to do to this tree now that you have it?” I asked, trying my hardest not to scowl.