Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Cole
I ran a hand through my damp hair, the coffee maker gurgling along beside me. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t hoped that Peyton would wake up in Little space, but I was glad they felt better.
In the privacy of the empty kitchen, I let myself daydream a bit. They’d made the cutest Little I’d ever seen. Outside of that, we’d shared a connection that made me crave more of it.
Over the years, I’d wondered if the feelings I had for them were reciprocated and—given what I’d just heard—that thought shoved itself to the forefront of my mind.
I’d doubled back to my bathroom to ask if they wanted coffee, but as I raised a hand to knock, a moan had me freezing in place.
My first instinct was to burst through the door to see what was wrong.
Only, they did it again. Entranced, I leaned against the wall to listen.
The sounds were strangled, as if they fought to keep from making any noise at all.
Muffled by the spray of the shower, I had to listen closely, but I still heard when the sounds increased along with their gasps for breath.
They were… oh… A choked cry, and a sigh of relief.
Peyton had just orgasmed in my shower, and it had me so hard that I rushed back to the kitchen before I threw the door open and took them right then and there.
I was pulling the milk from the fridge when they walked into the room, wet hair falling into their face.
Despite having clothes of their own, they’d stolen a t-shirt and pajamas from my dresser—both of which were falling off of them, but it was still adorable as fuck.
“Feel better?” I asked, adding a second mug to the counter.
The blush over their face deepened. “What?”
I arched my brow. “After your shower.”
“Oh… uh, yeah.”
Peyton didn’t address having stolen my clothes but then again, I didn’t expect anything less. They’d always been a brat.
I stayed quiet until we sat at the table with our coffee in hand.
Knowing Peyton like the back of my hand, I would probably need to feed them sooner rather than later or else face the wrath once they became hangry but for now, I left them to their caffeine.
They’d never been a morning person, after all.
“Jesse called while you were in the shower,” I said, and the color over their cheeks deepened.
“He asked how you were, but I dodged it.”
Peyton ducked their gaze into their coffee. “We need to talk about last night, don’t we?”
“I think so, but it can wait until after you’ve been fed.”
“Nuh-uh,” they said, shaking their head. “Don’t let me do that, because I’ll just keep putting it off, and you’ll allow it because you can’t tell me no.”
“Aww,” I teased. “Look at you being all grown—hey!” They’d balled up a napkin and thrown it at me.
“Shut up!”
I sobered, regarding them across the table. “Seriously, Peyton. Are you uncomfortable with anything that happened?”
Their answer was instant. “No. Not at all. It was…” They let out a breath. “Perfect. It was everything I needed. And you? I didn’t force your hand in anything, did I?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Good.”
An awkward silence fell between us then and desperate for something to do, we focused on our drinks.
Peyton was the one to break it. “What now?” They dissolved into a fit of laughter that was so contagious I spit out my mouthful of coffee.
“Um…” I wiped my mouth clean with their choice of weaponry for that morning. “If I’m being honest, I don’t know.”
Peyton twirled their mug around in their hands. “I don’t want last night to break us, Cole.”
“It doesn’t have to, but I’ve never played with a friend before. Coming out of that is new for me as well.” They nodded in understanding and as I watched them, something dawned on me. “How have you been getting by since you lost your job? Jesse hadn’t mentioned you getting another one.”
Peyton flushed again, looking everywhere but at me.
“Jesse doesn’t know. I wanted to find something else before I told him because I didn’t want him to worry.
I’ve been taking commissions; gamers mostly and character art for indie authors.
Though I’ve recently branched out into book covers.
I’m glad my tablet survived, or I wouldn’t even be able to do that. ”
“And that’s been enough?”
“For now, but it’s unpredictable and I’m new. Savings have helped but that’s slowly starting to wind down too.”
Suddenly, I got the sense that Peyton didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
Their gaze focused over my shoulder, and I followed their line of sight to the tree.
Currently, it only had lights on it—it came that way.
I hadn’t had the time to decorate it, so the ornaments sat in their boxes beneath it like the saddest presents ever.
“Why don’t you help me finish decorating that?” I asked, guzzling the last of my coffee and rising to put it in the sink. “It looks sad sitting over there with no ornaments.”
Peyton only crooked a brow at me. “You’ll have to excuse me if I’m not feeling so holly jolly this Christmas.”
“Oh, come on. Christmas has always been your favorite.” I came to a stop behind their chair, throwing my arms around them. They easily relaxed, resting their head on my shoulder. “Don’t be a Grinch.”
“Actually, the Grinch didn’t hate Christmas. He hated people, which—ah!”
I’d dug my fingers into their ribcage again, tickling them.
They giggled and squirmed, trying to wrestle out of my grip, but I was that much stronger.
They tossed their drink to the table, liquid sloshing over the sides and splashing to the surface—I didn’t even care.
Their laughter was one of my favorite sounds and the fact that I was the one to make it happen? Pure magic.
“Okay, okay! I’ll help you with the tree! Stop before I wet myself!”
I ceased the torture, but only because they’d just taken a shower. I knew from past experiences that they weren’t joking.
They still hadn’t forgiven me for last time.
“Come on.” I nudged them out of the chair, taking their drink with me as I moved to the living room. In truth, I was trying to forget how good they felt in my arms. Keeping my hands busy meant that I was less likely to haul them into my lap and never let them go.
Peyton was meticulous about their ornament placement. It only took a few sloppily placed baubles before they ordered me to sit down and watch.
Happily.
I made myself comfortable with another warm drink, watching as they carefully placed each ornament in respect to the red and green lights strung through the branches. Every once in a while, they’d pause and toss a knowing grin at me.
Christmas was Peyton’s favorite holiday, and the idea that they just weren’t going to celebrate wouldn’t fly with me.
While they were distracted, I’d managed to put their favorite Christmas movie on TV—The Polar Express—and it took them half the movie to even realize it.
Ornament placement was neglected then. Knowing how much they’d loved it the night before, I slipped another hot chocolate into their hand.
They stared into the mug, confused. “I’m not Little right now. ”
“Who said you had to be Little to enjoy hot chocolate?”
The corner of their mouth quirked, and they hid their face in their drink—but I didn’t miss that stunning pink washing over their cheeks. “Thanks.” Shaking their head, they reoriented themself. “Your tree’s been saved from disaster.”
Peyton spun to admire their work and this time, I didn’t hesitate to move in close and wrap my arms around their waist. They didn’t even flinch, instead relaxing into the touch. “I knew you’d pull it off. Want to help me with the star?”
Their brow scrunched. “You know I can’t reach that high.”
Setting their mug down, I handed them the star.
Hands on their hips, I lifted them. They gasped, but settled the topper onto the tree, fluffing the branches and plugging it into the end of the lights.
I set them back on the floor, but I didn’t move my hands.
I didn’t want to. Instead, I took a step closer—they didn’t stop me.
My arms wrapped around their waist, and their hands laid on top of mine.
My heart thundered, and I wondered if they could feel it.
“Gorgeous,” I muttered nuzzling into their hair.
“Mmhmm.”
I wasn’t sure about them, but I sure as hell wasn’t talking about Christmas decorations. “Peyton…”
What the hell did I have to lose? Peyton and I knew each other like the back of our hands.
What was stopping us from taking that plunge from friends to…
more? I’d have been foolish to think that Jesse would wish us anything but the best, but that didn’t stop that doubt tickling in the back of my mind.
But when Peyton rotated in my arms and looked up at me with those big brown eyes, that little flicker was banished.
When they looked at me? All was right with the world.
“Cole, are you about to do what I think you are?”
I lifted my hand, brushing an aggravating lock of blond hair out of their eye—it was obstructing my view. “Would it be a bad decision if I did?”
It was small, nothing more than a twitch of their head. If I’d have blinked, I would have missed it. I curled my hand around their neck, cupping their cheek. We were chest to chest, nose to nose. The pad of my thumb stroked silky-soft skin.
And with a slight turn of my head, I sealed my mouth over theirs. They whimpered, and I happily swallowed the noise. With a deep inhale through their nose, they folded.
Pressing hard against my lips, Peyton’s arms wrapped tight around me.
Nails dug into my back, cutting deep, red lines into my skin.
I moaned, sweeping my tongue across the seam of their mouth.
They happily opened up, and desire tightened my gut.
This wasn’t just a kiss anymore. I wasn’t going to stop until I unraveled Peyton McKauley piece by piece.
Without breaking the embrace, I lifted them into my arms. They gasped but wrapped their legs around my waist, plunging their tongue into my mouth to chase the new angle.
I’d have been happy to hold them all day long but when they ground their hips against my rapidly thickening cock, my brain was no longer running the show.
I carried them to the nearest surface: the dining room table.
Setting them on the wood, one hand curled around their hip while the other cradled their neck, as if I could take the weight of the world off their shoulders.
Peyton tugged with their legs, bringing me flush against them.
My cock throbbed at the heat there. I guided them to lie back, keeping our lips connected.
My hands slipped beneath their t-shirt, rough, calloused palms over smooth, flawless skin. They sighed, arching into my touch.
Getting an idea, I unraveled the tie on the too-big pajamas, and the fabric easily fell away, pooling on the floor.
Our fingers wove together on my shoulder, and I guided that hand between their legs.
I took a step back to admire the sight. Shit, there was already a visible damp spot on their underwear.
“Show me what you were doing in the shower, Peyton.”