Chapter 13 Sweet Baby Reindeer
Sweet Baby Reindeer
Kip jerked back, hot chocolate dripping from his forearm, his face contorted in pain. “Sweet baby reindeer, that’s hot.”
I froze, paralyzed by what had just happened and what I remembered. The mug slipped from my fingers, hitting the edge of the tailgate as it fell to the ground. Wind whipped my hair across my face with sudden fury, and the temperature seemed to plummet in seconds.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t… I can’t…” My teeth started chattering, not from the cold but from something deeper, more primal. Fear. The same fear I’d felt in that kitchen memory.
Something white drifted past my peripheral vision. A snowflake. Then another. In Palm Springs. In the desert.
Cole moved with surprising speed, positioning himself directly in front of me. His massive frame shielded me from the wind that howled around us.
“Neve. Look at me.” His hands, impossibly warm, cupped my face. “Focus on my voice. You’re safe.”
I tried to look past him at Kip, panic rising. “But he’s—”
“I’m fine.” Kip appeared at Cole’s shoulder. The angry red mark on his arm was already fading to pink before my eyes. “See? Reindeer healing. Pretty neat party trick.”
My pulse thudded, and my breath came in shallow gasps. “The hot chocolate... I was at the North Pole. I was fourteen, and I lost control and hurt someone and—”
“Breathe.” Cole’s thumbs traced small circles on my cheekbones. His eyes anchored me, steady as stone. “In through your nose. Out through your mouth.”
I struggled to follow his instructions, but my mind kept flashing back to that kitchen, to the elf’s cry of pain, to the man’s cutting words. You can’t control it.
“You’re spiraling.” Cole’s forehead pressed against mine. “Stay with us.”
A snowflake landed on my eyelash. Another on my nose. The desert sky was spitting snow around us in a circle, as if we were inside a snow globe someone had shaken.
“I can’t make it stop.” My voice cracked with the admission. “I don’t know how.”
Cole’s eyes darkened, determined. “Yes, you do.”
Before I could argue, his mouth descended on mine. His lips were firm but gentle, tasting of chocolate and cinnamon whiskey. The contact sent a jolt through my system, like touching a live wire. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping in with a confidence that made my knees weak.
The wind died down, and the snowflakes hung suspended in the air around us for one impossible moment before dissolving into nothing.
Cole pulled back enough to look into my eyes, his expression intense. “Better?”
I nodded, still reeling from both the kiss and the abrupt end to the weather anomaly.
“Let’s make sure.” Kip’s voice was husky as he moved in next to Cole.
His hands tangled in my hair, angling my head as he claimed my mouth with unmistakable hunger. He tasted sweeter, the chocolate more pronounced on his tongue as it slid against mine. I melted into him, my hands fisting in his sweater to keep myself upright.
The cold that had radiated from my core moments ago transformed into molten heat, pooling low in my belly and spreading outward until my fingertips tingled with it.
When Kip finally pulled away, his eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, his freckled face flushed with desire.
“Holy shit,” I whispered, looking between the two men. “Is that how you solve all magical emergencies? Kiss the evil snow witch until she stops freaking out?”
“You’re not evil.” Cole’s thumb danced across my bottom lip, making me forget for a moment what had even set me off.
I looked between the men who’d just kissed my impending blizzard into submission as they exchanged a look I couldn’t quite interpret.
Cole’s fingers brushed my cheek, drawing my attention back to him. “Do you want to talk about what you remembered?”
I shook my head, my throat tight. The memory of that kitchen, of my younger self losing control, felt like a bruise I wasn’t ready to press on. “No, I just want to forget it happened.”
His eyes darkened, searching mine. “Are you sure that’s what you need?”
“Yes.” The word came out more breathless than I intended. “Please.”
Kip stepped closer, his fingers tangling with mine. “We can help with that.”
Cole’s hand slid from my face to the nape of my neck, his thumb pressing gently against my pulse point. “Tell us to stop, and we will.”
I nodded, unable to form words as his mouth descended on mine again. This time, there was nothing gentle about it. His kiss was demanding and consuming, as if he wanted to draw out every thought from my mind and replace it with pure sensation.
Kip moved behind me, his hands finding my waist. His lips brushed the sensitive spot below my ear, making me gasp into Cole’s mouth. “Is this okay?”
“More than okay.” I broke away from Cole long enough to turn my head and catch Kip’s mouth with mine.
Cole’s hands found the hem of my jeans, unbuttoning them while Kip’s fingers played with the edge of my sweater, lifting it just enough to expose a strip of skin above my waistband. The cool night air kissed my flesh, a sharp contrast to the heat building inside me.
“Too cold?” Kip’s teeth grazed my earlobe.
I shook my head, arching into his touch as Cole’s fingers dipped beneath my jeans, teasing along the edge of my underwear.
Cole backed me toward the tailgate, his massive frame crowding me in a way that made it hard to think. When my ass hit the metal edge, he lifted me effortlessly, setting me on the tailgate. His hands moved to my ankles, slowly removing one boot, then the other, his eyes never leaving mine.
“I’ve been thinking about this all night.” Cole’s fingers hooked into my jeans, tugging them down my legs.
Kip climbed onto the tailgate beside me, his hands finding the bottom of my sweater again. “Can I take this off?”
I lifted my arms in silent permission, but he only pushed it up, bunching the fabric above my breasts along with my bra. The night air pebbled my nipples instantly, drawing a satisfied sound from Kip.
“Fuck, look at you.” His thumb brushed over one hardened peak, sending a jolt straight between my legs.
Cole finished removing my jeans and underwear in one efficient movement, leaving me bare from the waist down. I should have felt vulnerable and exposed on the tailgate, but all I felt was a heady surge of power at the naked hunger in their eyes.
“Anyone could see us,” I whispered, even as I widened my knees at Cole’s gentle urging. “Drones.”
Kip’s mouth closed over my nipple, his tongue circling the sensitive flesh. He released it with a wet pop. “We repel flying objects.” His hand slid up my inner thigh, stopping short of where I wanted him.
Cole dropped to his knees between my legs, his broad shoulders pushing my thighs wider. “Tell me what you want, Neve.”
I threaded my fingers through his hair, attempting to guide him where I needed him. “Your mouth. Please.”
A smirk crossed his face, there and gone in an instant. “Since you asked so nicely.”
At the first swipe of his tongue, I fell back onto my elbows, a strangled moan escaping. He settled in, licking and sucking with single-minded determination. Kip’s mouth moved between my breasts, lavishing each with equal attention while his fingers plucked and rolled my nipples.
“The sounds you make.” Kip’s voice was strained as he kissed his way up to my neck.
Cole hummed against me, the vibration sending a fresh wave of pleasure coursing through my body. His tongue circled my clit before dipping lower, teasing at my entrance. When he pushed inside, I cried out, my hips bucking against his face.
“That’s it.” Kip’s hand replaced his mouth on my breast, squeezing hard enough to walk the line between pleasure and pain. “Show us how good we make you feel.”
Cole’s fingers joined his tongue, one thick digit pressing inside me while his mouth focused on the bundle of nerves at my center. It pushed me toward an edge I was desperate to fall over.
“More, please,” I begged, not even sure what I was asking for.
Cole seemed to understand. He added a second finger, curling them inside me to hit a spot that made stars explode behind my eyelids. My thighs began to tremble, my back arching.
Kip twisted my nipple between his fingers, sending even more heat between my legs. “You should see yourself, Neve. Spread out like a fucking feast.”
Cole pulled back, his lips shiny with evidence of my arousal. “I want to feel you come on my tongue.”
His mouth returned to me with renewed fervor, his fingers pumping in a rhythm that matched the pressure of his tongue. Kip leaned down, capturing my mouth in a bruising kiss that swallowed my increasingly desperate moans.
The tension built until I was a taut wire ready to snap. Cole curled his fingers once more, sucking hard on my clit, and I shattered. The orgasm ripped through me with such intensity that I nearly screamed, my body nearly levitating as pleasure crashed over me.
Cole worked me through it, easing off only when I whimpered from oversensitivity. He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, his scruff leaving a pleasant burn on my skin. “Beautiful.”
I lay there panting, staring up at the night sky, my mind blissfully empty of everything except the lingering pulses of my orgasm. Kip brushed hair from my forehead, his expression soft with wonder.
“Better?” His voice held a hint of smugness.
I nodded, my limbs feeling pleasantly heavy. “Much.”
Cole rose from his knees, adjusting himself through his jeans with a grimace that told me he was far from comfortable. I reached for him, wanting to return the favor, but he caught my hand.
“Tonight was about you.” He brought my palm to his lips, pressing a kiss to the center. “We have time.”
Kip helped me sit up, gently pulling my sweater and bra back into place. “Cole’s right. Besides, your first time with us shouldn’t be on the back of a pickup truck.”
Heat flooded my cheeks at the implication. “Us?”
Cole slid my underwear back up my legs, the corner of his mouth lifting in a rare full smile. “If that’s what you want.”
My mind filled with images so explicit my cheeks burned. “I... yes. That’s definitely what I want.” And I wanted it with all nine of them.
I stood on shaky legs, letting Cole button my jeans while Kip helped me back into my boots. The tenderness in their actions, after what we’d just done, made something warm unfurl in my chest. They took such good care of me.
“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure if I was thanking them for the mind-blowing orgasm or for helping me forget the memory that had triggered my magical meltdown.
Cole’s hand cupped my cheek, his thumb tracing my lower lip. “You never have to thank us for something we wanted as badly as you did.”
I leaned into his touch, my body still humming.
Kip wrapped an arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Just wait.”
The promise in his voice sent a fresh surge of heat to my core. I looked between them, these two men who had seen me at my most vulnerable, magically and now physically, and somehow still wanted me.