Chapter 25 Kat
The first day we see snow is in mid-November, and despite not loving the cold, I can’t deny it’s beautiful.
I stand at the window in my room, looking out over the yard as the tiny flakes fall, slowly blanketing everything. It all looks so peaceful, so beautiful.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” I ask, feeling Nathan move to stand behind me.
He’d come to sleep in my bed with me last night. Usually, I end up in his room for my nights with him, but occasionally he comes to me, and it leaves me feeling giddy like I am right now.
“Breathtaking.” He braces one hand on the window, his other wrapping around my waist, pulling me back into his warmth as he presses his lips to the spot behind my ear that he knows drives me crazy.
I don’t even need to look to know he isn’t looking at the yard. I hear it in his voice, the deep rasp that leaves me weak in the knees and wet for him.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“Nathan.” I attempt to reprimand him, but my body betrays me as I melt into him, and my voice is hardly more than a whine.
“Yes, my Queen?”
Goosebumps break out on my arms as I suppress a shiver, both from his words and the way they make me feel as he breathes into my ear.
“Behave,” I breathe, as he playfully nibbles at my ear before moving down my neck. My eyes fall closed, and I let my head fall back against his chest, giving him better access even though I know I shouldn’t.
I’m weak, unable to resist them.
“How could you possibly ask that of me when you look so sinful?”
I scoff at him because he’s crazy. I literally just rolled out of bed.
“You're ridiculous.” It doesn’t come out with nearly enough attitude, but whatever, I’m just happy I’m still speaking at this point as his teeth graze my neck and his hand grips my hip, pulling me back against his very obvious hard length.
“You’re just lucky the weather is on your side this morning, but tonight you're mine, dear.”
This time, I can’t stop the shiver that runs down my spine, and I feel his chuckle against my skin.
It takes me a second to really process what he just said.
“What do you mean, the weather is on my side?” I peel my eyes open and see the snow still falling in big, fat flakes.
With a grumble that sounds a lot like annoyance, he pulls himself away, pressing a kiss to my cheek, but doesn’t let me go.
“The first snow of the season,” he says, as if it’s supposed to mean something, but it doesn’t.
Oh! I wonder if he means Addy?
I turn to look up at him over my shoulder and find his gaze already on me. A smile turns his lips, and my breath catches.
I’ll never get used to the way he looks at me, the way his smile makes me feel.
With his hand still on my hip, he turns me to face him, his lips finding mine as if they are two halves of a magnet pulling toward each other constantly.
He tastes like the whiskey he had last night and smells like home, and I swear I was never this needy before, but something about these men leaves me wet and wanting more often than not.
With a loud groan, he pulls back, wrapping me up in his arms and holding me. I hear the way his heart races and can’t help but feel smug knowing I do that to him.
This man, who is so powerful and perfect, wants me; chose me.
I’ll never understand why, but I’ll be forever grateful.
“Tonight, Kat,” he says, his voice sounding strained. “My room, no excuses.”
“Yes, sir.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them, not that I would change them. After all, I know how much Nathan likes that word.
He growls, his arm tightening around me and making me giggle.
“You’re playing with fire, my dear.”
I look up through my lashes at him and watch his eyes narrow. I know he’s telling the truth, but I just can’t help myself.
“Good thing it’s cold out.” I push up on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his jaw, which is as far as I can reach.
With a sigh, he takes a step back, leaving me on my own. Though his eyes look like he’s seriously regretting it, he holds out his arm toward the door.
“After you.”
Huh, whatever it is must be important. Maybe something at work?
Either way, I behave and don’t push despite the way I want to, tonight for sure. I move out of the room and head to Addy’s, excited to show her the snow.
“Addy! It’s snowingggggg!” I sing as I make it into her room and pull the curtains open.
I’ve never seen her wake so easily or move so fast. In the blink of an eye, she’s out of the bed and at my side, her face pressed to the glass with a smile so wide the Joker would be jealous.
Her eyes are wide and full of wonder, and my heart squeezes watching her.
“Mommy, can we go play outside?” She all but begs, and I can’t help but laugh at her little pouty lip. She’s so good at that, but it’s not necessary now.
“Let’s go eat some breakfast first,” I tell her, and her little face falls as if I told her no.
“None of that, Princess. It’s the first snow,” Nathan says, and I jump. I didn’t realize he had followed me. I turn and find him standing in the doorway, watching us both with just a hint of a smile.
It’s strange, really, how often I get to see him happy now. He wasn’t exactly cold before, but his smile is definitely something that is only for a select few and the fact that I’m one of them… My heart pounds just thinking about it, and him, and this wonderful family I get to be a part of.
Addison turns away from the window with a squeal and runs from the room, right past Nathan. He shakes his head and follows after her, leaving me slightly confused but with nothing else to do but follow them.
What I don’t expect is for everyone to already be in the kitchen. It’s rare for everyone to be home this early between all their businesses and just having lives, and on the off chance they are, well, not everyone is a morning person.
Yet even Desmond sits at the counter with a cup of coffee.
“Kitten, there you are!” Des says with a smile. Addy sits on his lap, already devouring waffles and fruit, from the looks of it.
“Morning,” Alex says, dropping a kiss to my temple before he presses a warm cup of coffee into my hands.
“Done!” Addy yells, jumping down from Desmond’s lap and taking off back toward the stairs.
“Where is she going?” I ask nobody in particular, only to turn back to see them all looking at me with the same knowing look in all their eyes. “What am I missing?”
“It’s tree day, love,” Alex answers as if that is supposed to mean something to me; it doesn’t, and judging by the way he laughs, I get the feeling my face says as much.
“On the first snow, we go and get our trees,” Oliver says, offering me an adorable smile that takes my breath away.
Things have been a little tense since Italy, when Nathan made them watch as he fucked me, almost as if he couldn’t bear to look at me. For a little while, I was concerned he would never be able to look at me again, but slowly it feels like we're working our way back to at least friendly territory.
Not at all what I want, but better than the silent treatment.
It takes me longer than it should for me to process what he’s said, and I didn’t even hear Des until he’s right next to me, his hand waving in front of my face.
“Earth to Kat.” I snap out of it and feel my cheeks heat at being caught. “What ya thinking ‘bout, Kitten?” Des asks, his voice little more than a raspy whisper in my ear that gives me chills.
“Don’t get any ideas. She’s mine tonight,” Nathan says, making Des move away, shooting him a glare.
“Bullshit, you had her last night.”
“We were in her room last night. You were more than welcome to join us,” Nathan says as he moves through the kitchen to get his own cup of coffee.
I almost feel bad; Alex got me mine. Should I get him his?
I move toward him, but I don’t make it more than two steps before Alex stops me. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me to his chest.
“I don’t think so. What is the point of me making your coffee if you're just going to make his?” he asks me, attempting to sound stern, but I know better.
Alex is rarely serious; he just sounds like an asshole.
With a huff, I let him direct me to a stool. Sitting down, I stick my tongue out at him before taking a sip of my own coffee. He made it perfectly, which only makes me more annoyed.
It’s not fair how perfect they all are.
I gasp when his fingers grip my face, not hard but enough to turn my face to meet his gaze.
“I’d suggest you keep that tongue in your mouth.” His eyes blaze as his lip twitches in a hint of a smile that he pushes down. “Unless you want me to put it to use.”
“Fuck me, can we get through coffee before we start this shit, please?” Vince snaps, making me pull away from Alex’s grasp. Embarrassed, I take a sip just for something to do.
“Aw, don’t listen to the old grump. He’s just mad because now he’s got a boner before coffee,” Des whisper-shouts, and I almost spit out the sip I’d just taken.
Between Des’s comment and my almost spit take, everyone's laughing now. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vince adjust and wonder if maybe Des is right.
Great, now I’m thinking about Vince's cock…
“I’m ready!” Addy yells as she comes rushing back into the kitchen, dressed from head to toe in enough winter gear that it’s a miracle she can even walk.
“Go get dressed, love. We have a tree to pick.” Alex takes my cup from my hands and nudges me to go, and this time I don’t even try to resist. I’m too excited.
“So why haven’t you ever gotten a real tree? I mean, even before your dumbass ex.” Des asks as we pull up to the tree farm, and I unglue my face from the glass to look at him.
I might be a little too excited, and I try to get a grip.
I probably seem silly to them.
“My mother is allergic to pine, so growing up, it wasn’t something we could do and then once I moved out…” I shrug because I don’t need to explain it again; from the way his nostrils flare, I’m pretty sure he remembers.