Chapter 6 Kade
KADE
The cabin looks amazing.
I stand in the great room, coffee mug in hand, watching as the morning light catches on every carefully placed ornament, every strand of garland, every twinkling light.
The trees are magnificent—the great room's nine-footer with its joyful chaos of color and sparkle, the loft's elegant silver and white display visible from here through the railing above.
It's exactly what I wanted for Sadie and the family.
Warm. Magical. A Christmas worth remembering.
But my thoughts keep coming back to the woman currently humming ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ in the kitchen while she makes breakfast.
Nia emerged from my bedroom an hour ago wearing one of my flannel shirts and nothing else, her hair a wild mess of tangles, her lips still swollen from last night's kisses.
She'd given me a sleepy smile that made my whole body ache, then announced she was making pancakes because "champions need fuel. "
"Champions of what?" I'd asked.
"Squirrel wrangling, obviously.” She’d winked. “Among other things…” Then she'd kissed my jaw and headed for the kitchen, and I'd stood there like an idiot, completely gone for this woman.
Yesterday, after we had defiled most of the rooms in the cabin, making love like two wild animals, we spent the day putting the cabin back in order—rehanging the ornaments the squirrel knocked loose, adjusting garlands, ribbons, and lights, making sure every detail was just right.
By evening, the place was immaculate. Magazine-worthy. A Christmas wonderland.
We had enjoyed a light dinner and she stayed over.
The blizzard raged all night, leaving us snowed in and wrapped up in each other. We'd barely slept. Every time I thought we were done, she'd touch me or say my name in that breathy way, and I'd need her all over again.
I should feel guilty. Should be second-guessing this entire situation.
Instead, I feel settled in a way I haven't in years.
"Pancakes are ready!" Nia calls. "And I found real maple syrup in your fancy pantry. None of that corn syrup garbage."
"Only the best," I say, joining her in the kitchen.
She's plated them up—fluffy stacks with butter melting on top, fresh berries on the side. It looks wonderful.
"When did you learn to cook?" I ask, sliding onto a barstool.
"Dad taught me." She sits beside me, close enough that our thighs touch. "He said everyone should know how to make a proper breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day."
There's no sadness in her voice this time when she mentions him. Just warmth.
"He was right." I take a bite and groan. "These are delicious."
"I know." She grins, bumping her shoulder against mine. "So what's the plan for today, Deputy?"
"Well, the inside’s done, Christmas angel. We finished the last bedroom."
"Oh." She blinks, like she hadn't realized. "Right. Wow. We just need to put up the exterior lights and some additional decor and it really is done, isn't it?"
The implication hangs between us.
The job is almost complete. Technically, she won’t need to be here anymore.
"Sadie and Ledger come down tomorrow," I say. "Harlon arrives the day after. Then it's Christmas Eve."
"Time flies when you're decorating, bribing rodents, and having incredible sex," she says lightly, but I catch the tension in her shoulders.
I should say something to ease her mind.
But to be honest, I’m not sure what to say.
"We should get going on the outside before the weather turns again," she says, gathering the plates and sliding off the stool. "Make sure everything's ready before your sister gets here tomorrow.”
She's deflecting again.
But all I can do is nod.
We get the outside done in record time, worried the weather will force us to stop.
And well, the thought of stopping to talk about…us, terrified me more than spending hours on the 32-foot ladder with a nail gun.
I’ve never hung so many lights over three stories of house—over decks and eaves and around garages and gables.
While I did that, Nia put up wreaths on every door, arranged the front yard with white Santa sleighs, reindeer and frosted snowmen with pops of red, gold, and silver to bring everything alive.
By early afternoon, the place looks spectacular.
Worth every penny.
For lunch, I have pizza delivered from Pizza Palace, the only place in Deepwood Mountain that still delivers in this kind of weather, and we eat on the couch in front of the fireplace.
"Your family's going to love it," Nia says softly, curled against my side with her feet tucked under her. "This is the most beautiful cabin I've ever decorated."
I press a kiss to the top of her head. "You brought it to life."
"We make a good team." She tilts her face up to look at me. "Don't we?"
The vulnerability in her question makes my chest tight. "Yes, Christmas angel. We really do."
She sets her plate aside and shifts in my lap, straddling me. Her hands frame my face, thumbs stroking along my jaw.
"I don't want this to end," she whispers.
She kisses me before I can say anything, soft and sweet and devastating. I melt into it, my hands settling on her hips, pulling her closer.
When she pulls back, her eyes are dark. "Let me make you feel good."
"You always make me feel good."
"No." She slides off my lap and sinks to her knees between my legs. "I mean really good."
My brain short-circuits as her hands go my belt buckle. "I want to taste you, Kade. Want to feel you come in my mouth."
Jesus Christ.
"Nia..." My voice comes out strangled. "I want you. Always."
Her smile is pure mischief as she unbuckles my belt, unzips my jeans. I lift my hips to help her pull them down, and then I'm exposed to her hungry gaze.
"So hard already," she murmurs, wrapping her hand around my length.
"Been hard since you put on my flannel this morning." I brush the hair back from her face. "You have ruined me in the best way, Christmas angel."
She strokes me slowly, watching my reactions. When she leans forward and licks the tip, I nearly explode right there.
"Fuck—Nia—"
She does it again, then takes me into her hot, sinful mouth.
My head drops back against the couch. She's tentative at first, exploring, but when I groan and tilt my hips toward her, she grows bolder. Takes me deeper. And uses her tongue in ways that make my thighs shake.
"That's it, baby," I rasp, my hand fisting in her thick hair. "Just like that."
She hums around me, and the vibration makes me curse. I'm trying to hold still, let her set the pace, but it's torture.
Sweet, ball-tightening torture.
"You're so good at this," I tell her, because she needs to know. "So fucking amazing."
She takes me deeper, her hand working the base. The sight of her blonde head bobbing up and down in the firelight, those full lips stretched around me, the way she's completely focused on me and my pleasure—it's almost too much.
"Nia, baby, I'm close—"
She doesn't pull back. Just intensifies her efforts, sucking harder, moving faster. The pressure builds at the root of my spine, spreading through my entire body.
I'm right on that glorious edge.
"I'm going to—fucking hell."
The orgasm hits like a freight train, pleasure exploding through every nerve. I groan her name as I come, my hand tightening in her hair.
She takes everything I pump into her, swallowing and continuing to work me through it until I'm trembling and jerking with sensitivity.
"Jesus, Nia," I breathe, still trying to recover when I hear it.
Car doors slamming outside.
"Shit!" I pull back, and Nia looks up, confused. "Someone's here."
"What?"
"Car doors. I heard—"
The front door bursts open, followed immediately by the scrabbling of paws on hardwood.
"KADE!" Sadie's voice rings through the cabin. "We saw your truck outside. What are you—oh my god, this place is AMAZING!"
A black blur of fur bounds into the great room ahead of her, tail wagging frantically.
"Bear, heel!" Ledger's voice follows, but the dog is already making a beeline for us.
Nia scrambles to her feet, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand while I frantically zip my jeans.
Bear reaches us first, sniffing enthusiastically at Nia before sitting and wagging his tail…well, his whole back end actually.
"Well hello there," Nia says breathlessly, patting Bear’s head while trying to smooth her hair with her other hand. "Aren't you handsome?"
"Just a second!" I call out, my voice too loud. I glance at Nia. "You okay?"
She's biting her lip, eyes wide, but she nods. Her hair is thoroughly messed up and her lips are swollen and there's absolutely no way anyone looking at us won't know exactly what we were doing.
"Kade?" Sadie appears in the great room doorway, and stops dead. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the scene—me disheveled on the couch, Nia standing nearby looking flushed and petting Bear like her life depends on it, the general air of interrupted intimacy.
"Sadie." I stand up quickly. "You're early."
"Clearly." Her lips twitch. "I thought I’d take a look at the cabin to see what I could do. I swear I didn’t know you’d be here already…or that you’d have company.”
Ledger appears behind her, taking one look at the situation and immediately finding something fascinating about the ceiling.
The dog trots over to me and I give him ear scratches, silently thanking him for the distraction.
"This is Nia Wallace," I say, trying for normal and probably failing spectacularly. "She helped me decorate the cabin. Nia, this is my sister, Sadie, and her husband, Ledger."
"I know Sadie and Ledger, Kade," Nia gives a small wave, and I notice her hand is shaking slightly. "But lovely to meet this gentleman, Bear.”
At his name, the dog's tail wags harder.
“Oh, right. I completely forgot.” Probably because seconds ago I was getting my cock sucked by a Christmas angel.