Chapter 19
NINETEEN
VIX - PRESENT
We soak in the hot tub for a good hour, drinking champagne—Kash’s choice, saying if we’re going to look rich, we have to act rich, and we hang out sharing our best and worst Christmas stories.
Kash and Leah step out to get us more drinks and find some finger foods for us to dine on tonight.
Austin and I are left in the hot tub alone, and I’m suddenly feeling bold.
I move from my position beside him, coming around to his front and sliding onto his lap, straddling him.
His hands immediately grip the sides of my ass, like magnets drawn together without hesitation.
The look in his eyes is feral. I lean in and place soft, sweet kisses on his lips, teasing and tempting him, but never putting too much pressure.
He lets out growls from deep within, and I know without a doubt my pussy heard it and is whimpering for him to make that sound again. I deepen our kiss, sliding my tongue between his lips as he devours me, his tongue twirling against mine.
I rock my hips on his hard cock, just the fabric of my bikini and his swim shorts between us.
I feel him, solid as steel, twitching beneath me, and I grind down hard.
He moans, such a sexy sound, I can’t help but whimper myself as we continue to rub up against each other.
I slip my hand beneath the water, trailing my fingers down his body as I find the waistline of his shorts.
Sliding my hands beneath the fabric, I grip his shaft and start pumping his length.
“Vixen,” he warns, and it just encourages me to continue with more intention than before.
His head rolls back, mouth slightly open, and I can see the pleasure coursing through his body.
Watching this man come undone in the palm of my hands sends my confidence skyrocketing as I continue to grind myself against his leg and pump his cock.
“Vix, I’m gonna—you have to—” he tries to warn me he’s about to erupt, but I keep going.
“Uncle Donald!” he says, and his release coats my hand under the water.
I stare at him, his eyes wide and completely thrown by what just came out of his mouth.
“I meant… I didn’t mean—” His words are staggered as he tries to explain what just happened.
I completely lose my composure and burst out laughing, the build-up of my own orgasm having disappeared.
Austin scowls, crossing his arms over his chest, and it just makes me laugh harder.
“Oh come on, Aussy, it was definitely funny,” I say while wiping the tears from my eyes.
“Kash can never know about this,” Austin says, looking at me with wild eyes, half pleading, half warning. I sober up my face and nod at him.
“Sir, yes, sir,” I salute, and Austin sighs.
“You’re going to hold this over me forever, aren’t you?” he asks. I give him the most angelic expression I can muster and nod my head, grinning from ear to ear. “I think I’ve just ruined hot tubs for myself,” he says.
“I don’t blame you. Forever haunted by Uncle Donald, huh?” He gives me a wicked glare and then starts to laugh, taking my hand and pulling me with him out of the hot tub.
The next day is full of excitement. We are introduced to so many members of the Morgan family that I’m having trouble keeping track of all the names I need to remember. Tori and John give us warm, welcoming hugs, and I can genuinely say I am happy to see them. Their presence is warm and inviting.
The guys hit the slopes while Leah and I wander into the small-town Christmas market, a short distance from the lodge.
We pass several little shops filled with sweets, small trinkets, and homemade goods.
It’s like a scene from a Hallmark holiday movie.
We stumbled upon a quiet little cafe, decorated with so many Christmas decorations, you would think Santa himself threw up on the place.
The cafe has small wooden tables decorated with miniature Christmas trees and nutcrackers.
The walls are lined with Christmas lights, and there are shelves of snow globes and ornaments from all over the world.
We browse the phrases on each of the ornaments before I find a cheesy one to get for Aussy. ‘Our First Christmas.’
We’ve celebrated Christmas together when we were kids, but never as a couple. This is our first Christmas together, and I want to celebrate all of the firsts. I buy the ornament along with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and head back into the market to see what other gifts we can find.
As we are about to call it a day and head back to the lodge, we come across a cute little bakery, the smell wafting out of the doors, beckoning us inside with the sweet, delicious aroma of pastries, cookies, and pies.
I am such a sucker for sweets, and looking around at the amount of sugar this place contains, it might just be my undoing.
“I need everything,” I tell Leah.
“Slow down there, cowgirl,” she teases. “You’ll end up in a sugar coma if you walk out of here with everything.”
“Aw, come on, Mom,” I tease, giving her a pouty lip. She nudges me and walks over to the pies. “Now this I can get down with.” She looks longingly at the blueberry pie before us.
“A little pie never hurt anybody.” I shrug, a mischievous look on my face.
We get back to the lodge, our arms full, carrying every flavour of pie we could find—strawberry rhubarb, blueberry, lemon meringue, sugar pie, pumpkin pie, and a traditional apple pie.
“Are you out of your minds?” Kash shouts, running over to take the pies from our hands.
“Did you get these for the whole house? Why so many?” Austin asks. Leah and I exchange a look and shrug.
“These pies are for us,” I tell them. “You know… dessert…” I say. Kash nods his head.
“She’s completely lost it. There’s no saving her now, man.” I glare at him.
“I’m crazy because I want pie? I wanted options!” I protest, trying to justify my reckless shopping spree.
“If you want options, babe, I’m right here,” Kash says, gesturing to his whole body. Austin rubs his forehead, not sure how to respond to Kash’s comments. I pick up a pie and walk slowly and sweetly over in Kash’s direction.
“Isn’t Lemon Meringue your favourite?” I ask him. Fingering a heaping scoop of meringue onto my finger and suggestively licking it off. Kash’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, watching me approach him.
“Uh-huh,” he replies, lips slightly parted, watching my every move, his eyes never leaving my mouth.
“Perfect.” I smile and then move quickly. I slam the lemon meringue pie right in his face. I grin, licking the rest of the pie off my fingers. Austin and Leah are in hysterics while Kash wipes the pie off his face. Licking and cleaning himself off like a feral animal.
“Well played, Gremlin,” he says, his eyes narrowed. “Well played.”
AUSTIN
Leah’s predictions on her family’s behaviour were exactly as she had expected.
Aside from the slight family drama, it was an overall great weekend being able to share this experience.
The way Vix’s face lit up every time we would do something holiday-related made my heart warm and my cock twitch.
Her beauty is something that never dulls and lights up any room she walks into.
Today is our last night at the lodge, and it’s the most exciting one yet.
Christmas Eve. Tonight, we drink hot cocoa with Baileys and sit by the crackling fireplace, listening to classic Christmas tunes while Tori and John tell us stories about when Kash and Leah were kids.
We laugh, Leah cries, Kash sings a terrible rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and I take mental pictures of these moments so I never forget how happy we are.
I wrap my arm around Vix’s shoulder as she presses her body into my side, and I feel whole. I have everything I could ever ask for, and I can only hope to give her the same. I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her palm. She hums, and my body reacts to her sound. I lean down to whisper in her ear.
“Can I give you your gift now?” I pull back to see Vix’s eyes light up, a huge smile spreading across her face.
“Oh! YES!” She sits up straight, waiting for me to get her present.
I kiss her cheek and lean down beside the couch, pulling up a black gift box wrapped with a silver satin bow.
I place it on her lap and sit back, my body relaxing as hers gets more and more excitable.
She gives it a little shake, holding the box to her ear, as if trying to figure out what it could be, and frowns when she doesn’t hear any sound.
She opens the lid to find the box filled with over a thousand paper butterflies.
Her eyes meet mine, already brimming with tears.
She takes one out, turning it in her fingers and then locks eyes with me in question.
“When we were apart, I made a lot of wishes. One a day, to be exact. This is all of them. Every wish, hope, and plea that I made to the universe that we would make it back to each other again.”
“I thought of you every day and never let go of the thought that we would someday end up right here, together. I love you, Vix. More than a thousand paper butterflies.” I tell her, giving her every last part of my heart.
“Austin,” she whimpers. “This—you—I don’t even know what to say,” she stutters, speechless by my grand gesture.
“If ever you doubt for a single second how I feel about you, if ever you need that extra love on a day you are feeling unlovable, read the butterflies. You’ll see that living the rest of my life without you was never an option for me,” I tell her, and tears begin to trickle down her cheeks.
“I love you so much, Aussy. I don’t know how I got so lucky.” She wipes at a tear dripping off her chin.
“You’re my best friend… my soulmate.” I take her face in my palms and cup her chin. I kiss her, softly, and then we hear someone clear their throat.
“Kash, don’t ruin their moment!” Tori chastises her son.
“Sorry,” Vix apologizes, wiping away the rest of her tears. She lets out a small laugh as if embarrassed that we got so swept up in our moment. My eyes meet Kash’s, and he looks a little uncomfortable. He looks away and loudly begins speaking to the entire room.
“Present time for all!” he declares and heads over to grab everyone’s gifts that lay under the tree. He starts handing out gifts and brings two over to Vix and I.
“Merry Christmas, bro,” he says, handing me the large box.
“Gremlin.” He nods, handing her a smaller box wrapped in deep red wrapping paper. I can tell he’s trying his best not to look directly at her.
“Thank you,” she tells him, already trying to tear through the paper. My girl sure does love gifts. I hand Kash his gift from me, and the gift Vix brought for him.
He takes them from my hands and lowers his head, making it impossible for me to read his face, returning to his chair beside Leah.
I hear a laugh rush out of Vix’s mouth, and the tears once again start flowing down her face.
She holds up a black coffee mug with the name Gremlin etched into the front.
“It comes with a lid so you can use it like a sippy cup, because, well, you know…” Kash grins at her, and the mixed feelings inside of me start to stir like I’ve never felt before.
It’s Kash. I don’t know why I feel this way.
I know he means no harm, so why am I feeling like the room is suddenly a million degrees?
Does he have feelings for her? No, don’t be an idiot.
I watch him, trying to figure him out while he has his eyes set on Vix, a warmth within them I’ve never seen before.
The banter. The teasing. The jokes. Is it all for fun?
Or is it something more? Kash catches me staring and looks to the ground, immediately shifting his gaze away from Vix.
It was only for a moment, but I saw it. The love and emotion flicker across his face—the admiration he holds in his eyes when he looks at her.
And suddenly, I feel as if I’m looking at a stranger. A stranger who is my roommate, a stranger who is my best friend. A stranger who is in love with my girl.