Chapter 26 Milk and Cookies
Milk and Cookies
Ilay in bed staring at the ceiling, watching patterns of light from the veil dance across it. My mind refused to shut down despite the late hour. Tomorrow we’d cross through the veil to the North Pole, and the thought left me caught between exhilaration and terror.
Rolling onto my side, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and checked it for the twentieth time in an hour, even though it was too late for a response.
Still nothing.
The strangest thing about this whole situation was how difficult it was to maintain my anger.
Every time I tried to nurture the fury that they had let this happen to me, memories would resurface: my dad patiently teaching me to skate backward, Mom singing lullabies when I couldn’t sleep, the three of us making snow angels.
How could I reconcile these warm memories with their twelve years of deception? I knew there were magical gag orders, but there had to be something they could have done, right?
I kicked off the covers and sat up, running my hands through my hair. Sleep was a lost cause. What I needed was comfort food.
Specifically, milk and cookies.
I groaned at the stereotypical craving. It was as if my brain was programmed for Christmas clichés. Soon I’d be roasting chestnuts on an open fire and letting Jack Frost nip at my nose.
Shuffling down the hallway, I took the stairs quietly, hoping to avoid waking anyone. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, a soft glow from the dining room caught my attention. I padded toward the light and paused when I saw Rudy sitting alone at the table.
He was sitting in the dark, but the glow from the veil silhouetted him against the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The guys had always gathered there the most, and I’d assumed it was for the unobstructed view of nature, but now I understood.
Even I was drawn to the magic of the veil, which was why I’d left the curtains open in my room.
Something hung from his fingertips, catching the light. I nearly backed away, not wanting to disturb whatever private moment he was having, when recognition hit me like a snowball to the face.
The object in his hands was the glass ornament from the market, with the snow-covered tree and tiny silver stars suspended inside. The one that had called to my magic and disappeared before I could buy it.
I must have made a sound because Rudy’s head snapped up, his eyes finding mine in the dimness. His hand jerked in surprise, and the ornament slipped from his fingers.
Without thinking, I reached out with my magic, feeling it flow through me like cool water. The ornament froze mid-fall, the tiny stars inside it glittering as if celebrating my intervention.
Rudy sucked in a breath, then reached out to pluck it gently from its magical suspension. “Thanks.”
I walked across the living room and into the dining room. “It was you.”
He raised an eyebrow, the ornament now cradled protectively in his palm.
“You bought the ornament before I could.”
His broad shoulders lifted in a half-shrug, but his eyes never left mine. “I followed you guys that day.”
“Why?” I moved closer, drawn to him like a magnet.
Rudy set the ornament in a velvet-lined box. “Your magic is waking up, and I wanted to be there just in case.”
I leaned my hip against the edge of the table. “Makes sense.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You and your herd have been babysitting me since you showed up in Palm Springs.”
Rudy’s eyes caught the light from the veil, turning them almost silver. “Not babysitting. Protecting.”
“Is there a difference?”
“There most definitely is.” He stood, his chair scraping softly against the floor. “I was hoping we’d be back in the North Pole by the time we did the tree lighting ceremony so you could put your ornament on it.”
My heart did an annoying flutter as he held the box out to me. “Tree lighting ceremony?”
“It’s a tradition on the last day of November.
There’s a giant tree in the central square, and everyone places an ornament on it to celebrate the coming holiday…
and to get drunk before a month of working nonstop.
” Rudy moved into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator.
“Do you want plain, chocolate, or strawberry milk?”
“Huh?” I blinked, still wrapping my head around the fact that he’d bought me the ornament to hang on the North Pole Christmas tree.
“Milk and cookies.” Rudy’s mouth curved into a subtle smile as he reached for a glass. “That’s why you came downstairs, right?”
My jaw dropped. “How did you know that? And plain, please.”
He chuckled as he pulled milk out of the refrigerator and poured a glass. “You’re not as mysterious as you think.” He grabbed a plate from the cabinet and moved to a cookie jar on the counter.
I watched in silence as he placed cookie after cookie onto the plate, creating a small mountain. He carried everything back to the table and sat down. His eyes met mine, and he patted his knee.
The invitation was clear, and my heart raced as if I’d chugged three espressos.
My body was caught in a moment of indecision while my mind raced ahead to all the outcomes of this simple action. The rational part of me whispered I was far too old for sitting on someone’s lap. But the other part that responded to these men in unexplained ways didn’t care about rational thought.
Sighing, I lowered myself onto his lap, very aware of how solid he was beneath me.
Rudy lifted a chocolate chip cookie to my mouth, his eyes watching me with an intensity that made my stomach flip.
I parted my lips and took a bite. Whoever taught these men to bake deserved all the cold sides of pillows and the best fuzzy socks. The flavors were the perfect balance of crumb to chocolate, and I couldn’t help the small sound of appreciation that escaped me.
“Good?” His voice had dropped lower and taken on a gravelly quality.
I nodded, suddenly aware of how intimate it was sitting on his lap while he fed me cookies in the middle of the night.
Rudy reached for the glass of milk, bringing it to my lips. As I took a sip, a drop escaped, trailing down my chin. Before I could react, his thumb swept across my skin, catching the droplet.
Our eyes locked as he brought his thumb to his own mouth.
I bit my lip to stop myself from whimpering and grabbed the half-eaten cookie, raising it to his lips. He took a bite, chewing slowly, his gaze never leaving mine.
My eyes landed on the crumbs at the corner of his mouth. “You have some crumbs…”
Instead of wiping them away, Rudy remained perfectly still, his eyes challenging me. My pulse thundered in my ears as I leaned forward, pressing my lips to the corner of his mouth. I meant to pull back immediately, but Rudy’s hand came up to cup the back of my head, keeping me close.
The tension that had been building between us since the moment at the hot springs snapped, and I pressed my lips firmly against his. The kiss was nothing like our previous one, which had been explosive and desperate; this was slow and deep, like sinking into warm water.
Rudy’s arms tightened around me, one hand splayed across my lower back while the other remained tangled in my hair. I tasted chocolate and milk on his tongue, sweetness and warmth mingling together in a way that made my magic hum beneath my skin.
The heat between us intensified with each passing second. His lips moved against mine with a deliberate pressure that made my toes curl. When I shifted on his lap, I felt him hard beneath me, and a small gasp escaped my lips.
Rudy pulled back, his eyes hooded with desire but somehow still maintaining self-control. “You haven’t finished your snack.” His fingers brushed across my swollen lips.
I glanced at the mountain of cookies still waiting on the plate, then back to the heat in his eyes. A boldness I hadn’t known I possessed flooded through me.
“I want a different snack.” I slid off his lap, lowering myself to my knees between his spread legs.
A surprised laugh rumbled through his chest. “You’re talking about…”
The laugh died in his throat as my fingers found the waistband of his sweatpants. His expression shifted to something more primal as I tugged the fabric down.
When I freed him from his pants, my breath caught. His impressive length was standing at attention, a bead of pre-cum glistening at the tip. I wrapped my fingers around him, his skin hot and smooth as I stroked from base to tip.
I reached for the glass of milk with my free hand, maintaining eye contact as I took a drink of the cold liquid. A drop clung to my bottom lip, and Rudy’s eyes fixated on it.
I leaned forward and took him into my mouth, the lingering sweetness of milk mingling with his taste. His hips bucked involuntarily, pushing him deeper until he nearly hit the back of my throat. I pulled back slightly, adjusting to his size as I hollowed my cheeks.
“Fuck.” The word sounded strangled, like it had been ripped out against his will.
I hummed around him, enjoying the way his hands gripped the edge of his chair, his knuckles turning white with restraint. The power I felt bringing this mountain of a man to the edge of his control was intoxicating.
I grabbed the milk again, and Rudy’s eyes widened as I tilted the glass to slide his cock in.
“I told you I wanted a different snack.” I reached for the plate of cookies, taking one and crushing it in my palm. He groaned as I sprinkled the cookie crumbs along his wet shaft.
“What the hell are you—” His words dissolved into a groan as I licked along his length, gathering the cookie crumbs with my tongue.
Something snapped in him then. A growl rumbled from deep in his chest as he watched me devour the improvised dessert. My arousal dampened my underwear as I took him deeper, the crumbs and milk quickly vanishing.
Just as I found a rhythm that had his thighs tensing, his fingers threaded through my hair, and he gently pulled me off him.