Bought for Christmas (10 page)

“But
what could you possibly have to do? There’s a storm coming. You said so.”
Emilia was all too aware that her voice had risen to an unnatural high, but the
wind was picking up and the snow was falling heavily now.

Hunter
stepped back and kissed her. All of her objections flew out of the window as
his hands fisted in her hair and he deepened the kiss when she opened to him on
a sigh. God, the man could kiss. By the time he finally released her they were
both covered in snow, and Emilia giggled when he shook it off him. Flakes still
clung to his stubble and his eyelashes, and he winked at her.

“Be
a good girl and go inside. I won’t be long and I need to get that done, before
this snow gets too thick and makes it impossible.”

“Makes what impossible?”
Emilia knew she
was pushing it. She ought to just do as she was told, but worry for him drove
her on, and she hung onto his biceps in a desperate attempt to stop him.

“Trust
me, kitten. Go inside. I won’t be long I promise.”

****

Hunter
didn’t think she would follow his request, and he was running out of time.
While his bear could deal with the storm perfectly well, he needed his hands
for what he had in mind, and he didn’t want to have to venture too far out,
because she would worry, and he didn’t like to think of her on her own. The
cabin had its own generator, and he’d stocked up for several weeks’ worth of
food, but that wasn’t the point.

After
what seemed like an eternity she finally nodded.

“Okay,
but I’d feel a damn sight better if you told me what was so important that you
need to head out in this.”

A
particularly vicious gust of wind whipped up the snow around them, and despite
her layers and the huge hood of his parka he’d insisted she wear over her ski
suit, Emilia shivered.

“I’m
going to cut you a Christmas tree,” he said, and he rather enjoyed the way her
mouth fell open in surprise.

“But
you said—”

Hunter
cut her off by turning her round by the shoulders, and shoving her inside the
cabin.

“I
know what I said, but you’re right. It’s time to let the past go. I won’t be
long.” He shut the door on her astonished self and jumped off the porch. His
bear huffed, itching to be let out and play in the snow, but now was not the
time. He’d seen the perfect tree earlier, or rather Emilia had on their way up
to their sledging hill, and he hadn’t missed the yearning in her eyes, when she
had pointed it out to him.

His
curt reply of, “I don’t celebrate Christmas,” had meant she had refused to take
another step until he had explained himself. Hunter picked up the pace and
ducked his head against the bitter wind. He should have just told her it wasn’t
a subject he wanted to discuss, but like every other
confession
she’d
wrangled out of him already, his mouth had opened and the words had tumbled out
regardless. And another chunk of his emotional armor had lifted to never
return, at least not in front of her. In truth it was freeing to share his past
with her. To see her look at him not with condemnation but understanding when
he told her things that should have repelled her, yet didn’t.

True
to form, when he’d hesitantly told her his reason, her blue eyes had filled
with tears and she’d stood on tiptoes to pull him down for a hug.

“I’m
so sorry, Hunter. I can see why you wouldn’t celebrate Christmas. What a
horrible reminder for you every year, not that you’d ever forget losing your
brother like that.” She’d dropped a kiss on his nose, and they’d kept on walking.

“If
you want me to get a—”

“No,
I don’t want you do that just on my account. It will be odd without a tree at
Christmas, but hells bells, Papa’s place has several, and that house is so
devoid of the Christmas spirit, it’s beyond a joke really. It’s just not the
same since Mama died.” She’d swiped at her eyes as though she’d been on the
verge of crying, and he’d made up his mind there and then to get that damn tree
for her. Clearly it meant a lot to her, and he wanted this weekend to be
special.

Lost
in his thoughts as he was, he almost went past it, and then had to retreat his
steps. The snow was falling so hard that he could barely see his hand in front
of his eyes, and he let his bear senses guide him.
 
He’d been right to hurry her back to the cabin.
He’d dread to think of her out here in this storm.

Hunter
got the axe out of his back pack and swung it high. That tree was his.

****

What
was taking him so long? Emilia worried her bottom lip with her teeth and she
was sure her pacing in front of the windows would wear a groove in the oak
flooring, but what else was she to do? She couldn’t see a thing out there but
white, as the blizzard had taken hold in earnest, and worry churned a hole in
her gut. It was all well and good to say his bear would be fine out there, but
he couldn’t fell a tree in his bear form now, could he?

She
needed something to do, and fast. Trying to get something together for dinner
would seem the obvious choice, but where did he keep his food? And come to
think of it, if he didn’t celebrate Christmas what were they going to do about
Christmas dinner?

Emilia
busied herself by setting the coffee to brew, but a search of the cupboards
came up empty. The small fridge in the kitchen galley just held essentials.
Frowning she spun round and then she noticed the door at the opposite door of
the galley. It blended in so perfectly with its surroundings, it was no wonder
she missed it up to now. The light came on automatically, and a cold blast of
air hit her in the face when she pushed the door open to find some sort of
combined larder, utility room.

Emilia
whistled through her teeth at the wall to ceiling shelves of stacked food
items. Cans, dried fruit, milk powder, root vegetables, smoked fish, you name
it he had it. A washer and dryer sat in one corner, a huge chest freezer in
another, and Emilia shook her head. She should have known he wouldn’t leave
anything to chance. A man his size would make sure there was enough food
around.

Rummaging
through the shelves, and then the freezer, she found the perfect ingredients
for her mama’s stew, and half an hour later, she shut the oven door. Now what?

Decorations.
He might not
have any, but she was sure there were things she could use to make them. With a
determined grin, Emilia went on the hunt.

Chapter Eight

This
whole thing was taking too fucking long. Hunter stopped to wipe the sweat and
snow out of his eyes, and his bear grumbled at the delay. The animal didn’t
like being away from Emilia for this long. Not that they’d had much of a
choice.

Damn
fucking foolhardy idea it had been to cut down a Christmas tree in a blizzard.
And for what?
All to see Emilia’s face light up when he
dragged the thing inside the cabin? After all the time it had taken him, she
was more likely to throw something at him, and dragging the blasted tree
through the snow meant it looked far from perfect.

His
bear huffed his annoyance, and sniffing the air to orient
himself
,
Hunter set off again. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was going round in
circles. It shouldn’t take this damn long to get back to the cabin, and windy
as it was, he was fairly certain that it wouldn’t have been whisked away
Wizard
of Oz
Style.

As
ridiculous as that notion was, cold sweat ran down between his shoulder blades
at the mere thought of anything happening to Emilia, and he upped his pace.
After what seemed like another eternity, he finally cleared the trees to find
the country road that led up his cabin. He fucking well had veered off course.
God only knew how long he’d been away. Hours if his rumbling stomach was
anything to go by, and when at long last the welcoming lights of the cabin came
into view he breathed a sigh of relief. Every window was ablaze with light, and
hot puffs of smoke escaped the chimney. Hunter grinned, and some of the tension
left his aching muscles. Stomping up the stairs to get rid of some of the god-awful
snow sticking to him, he was half expecting the door to open. He was making
enough noise for a herd of elephants after all. Instead the delicious smells of
cooking assaulted his nostrils, and his bear grumbled in appreciation. She’d
cooked for him? He frowned as an annoying sound registered.
Jingles
of all things.
The little minx must have found a radio station on his
entertainment station. He sure as fuck didn’t have any Christmas CDs in his
collection. Hunter rolled his eyes, opened the door with one hand, and heaved
the bedraggled, snow covered, fern into the cabin. A blast of hot air greeted
him, and his stomach rumbled loudly at the enticing smells filling his cabin.
He leant the tree against the wall, shrugged out of his coat, unlaced his
boots, and then had a second’s warning before an Emilia shaped missile launched
herself at him. Wearing nothing but a flannel nightshirt, which she must have
brought with her from home, because he sure as fuck didn’t recall buying that,
and a pair of his long walking socks which she’d pulled up to just above her
knee, she was a delicious morsel of soft, warm, curves. Hunter grabbed hold of
her ass automatically as she jumped into his arms, and the soft skin he found
under his fingers sent his beast wild.

Fuck,
she
wasn’t wearing any underwear, and with her long legs wrapped around him, the
heat of her bare pussy on his groin meant that all his blood shot south.

“Where
… have … you … been?” Emilia dropped kisses all over his face in between
murmuring the words, and Hunter swung round until he had her propped against
the wall. Held up by his body as she was, her nipples were hard little nubs
digging into his chest, and she gasped when he rocked his still covered
erection into her cunt. Hunter grinned down at her, and brought one hand slowly
up her side underneath her night dress.
 
Pulling his upper body back slightly, he cupped one of her breasts and
squeezed, while the hand on her ass cheek yanked her lower body further into
his cock. A shudder went through Emilia at the contact, and they groaned in
unison.

“I
was worried about you. You were gone so long.”

Hunter
laughed and kissed her. It was meant to be a mere brush of his lips on hers to
reassure her, but his bratty little sub bit his lips, and Hunter’s bear took
over. He deepened the kiss, branding her with his teeth and tongue, and fangs
fully released, he ran them up and down her neck line with enough force to
leave red marks. The dominant in him roared at seeing the marks of his
possession on her skin, and his bear prowled to be let free, to cement their
bond with the mating bond.

“Hunter, Sir … please.”

Emilia’s
needy little whisper made his balls draw tight, and Hunter pulled back and
groaned.

“Fuck,
I need to be in you now. Hold on.”

Breathless
and wide eyed Emilia complied by tightening her hold on him with his arms and
legs, while he somehow managed to yank down his jeans enough to free his cock.
Another hasty adjustment meant he slid deep into her tight sheath, and he
caught her gasp of pain in his mouth. Moving his hands to her ass cheeks, he
pulled out slightly and then drove back inside her.

“Fucking
hell, you’re tight like this. Let me in, kitten. I don’t want to hurt you, and
fuck, I can’t go
slow
.”

Already
his orgasm built, and when Emilia clenched and released her internal muscles
around his cock, he lost any restraints.
Pistoning
in
and out of her he slammed her into the wall with every thrust into her body,
and Emilia’s head fell back. Mouth open, her needy breaths skimmed over his
neck and her fingernails dug into his biceps, as she tightened her thighs
around him and ground herself against him. Her breasts bounced with each
thrust, and her breaths grew more and more erratic as he drove himself deeper
into her body. Emilia’s orgasm wrenched from her, and her internal ripples sent
him over the edge, too. He pumped faster, as he emptied jet after jet of his
seed into his mate. His claws ran out piercing her skin, and his bear growled
in triumph at having marked his mate. Yet it wasn’t enough. Her shoulder called
him, to bite her, and make her his. Her scent in his nostrils, Hunter bent his
head, and something fell on his head, bringing him back to his senses.

His
bear snarled, and Emilia giggled, making his balls tighten anew as her muscles
pulled him in deeper, and he glared at the paper chain that had now wrapped
itself around his neck.

“What
the fuck?”

“I
thought we just did that, Sir?”

Still
shaking inside from how close he had come from doing something they might both
regret later, he quirked his eyebrows at her and tried to shake the damn thing
off. All he achieved was to over balance, and he went down heavily with Emilia
landing on top of him.

She
gasped as the fall meant she was now utterly impaled on his still hard cock,
and then the little minx lifted off slowly, only to drop back down again.