Welcome, welcome, to this year Christmas story! I just love that!

Effie impersonation aside, this story (on which I bleeeeed to have ready on time) is loosely inspired on "The Holidays" movie. I insist on the loosely because I only took the original concept of house swapping and one night stands, the rest comes straight out of my little brain so don't expect it to follow the movie plot too closely.

A few warnings are necessary: there will be smut a-plenty. My gift, from me to you, bad smut for Christmas, what could be better? (anything, you say). The title and the chapters' titles all come from Christmas songs (which is very original and has never been done before but hey, it's Christmas, we have to go with tradition).

Ah, and it is a modern AU. There are 7 chapters in all, I will post one a day, which will bring us to the 25th…

Another year gone and I feel that I must really say I love my hayffie fandom very much, even if some of you hate me and would love to see me gone (but the hate anons on tumblr mostly makes me laugh so it's ok). I made a lot of friends in this fandom and I'm grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for your support this year and thank you for always being awesome about our awesome ship.

I hope you enjoy your Christmas smut feast, my dears.

A Christmas Love

1 – Baby, It's Cold Outside

"I wish you hadn't gone to the other end of the country, Effie… You are always welcome to stay with us, you know that…"

Effie sighed, trailing her hand on the fireplace's mantle as she walked around the small living-room, taking in details she hadn't noticed during her first tour of the house. Like the collection of china doll bird miniatures.

"I know, Portia, thank you." she offered. "I really needed a change in scenery."

An acting career was never easy, she knew that better than most, it was an arena in its own right and you either survived or ended with the flock in the background of a B movie. For a while, in her twenties, Effie had been it. The girl on every poster, the girl you needed in front of your camera if you wanted to guarantee a success, the girl people wanted to see, to meet, to touch… A dream. She had been a dream.

It had lasted a good total of five years before someone else had taken her place, leaving her to scamper after roles and a tarnished glory, fending made-up scandals in the press, courting fans that got less and less numerous as the years trickled by…

At thirty-five, Effie was only offered second roles, mainly mother parts – and that was the end of the line, accept one and you would get stuck playing variations of it until it was time for you to be the grandmother.

"But Virginia?" her best friend lamented. "What is there to do in Virginia?"

Not just Virginia but The Seam. A quiet little town a couple hours away from Richmond where, from what she had found on her Google search, nothing really happened aside for random mining incidents.

With Christmas looming ahead, the perspective of going to her parents' house, where her mother would spend the whole holidays ranting about what a failure Effie was when she still had a regular role on the same soap opera she had been on for twenty years – and didn't Effie want her to put in a word? – and her other daughter was a bankable actress, hadn't really been an exciting one.

Getting the call from her manager about the latest movie she had auditioned for – a movie she had really been interested in because it was a good role, a strong capable woman with a touch of sassy humor that would have been right down her alley – had been the last straw.

Suddenly, it had been too much.

Her huge empty mansion, the subtle hints from her manager that he had not yet declined the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' offer to join the cast, the knowledge that he was probably right and that, saved from reality TV and mindless soap operas, she wouldn't get any big role anytime soon…

She had opened her computer on a whim and looked up ideas for last minute holiday plans, with the vague thought that she might convince Portia and Cinna to go on a cruise. She had found the house swapping program instead and it had sounded even better.

Effie wasn't very good at solitude but she was done with the fake world she lived in on an everyday basis. A little cottage in a rural mining town in Virginia had seemed like the perfect solution to her problem. She would disappear for a while. It would be relaxing, anonymous, and it would help her get some needed breathing space to evaluate her life.

"Well…" she hesitated, pondering Portia's question. What was there to do in Virginia? None of the crazy glamorous parties they were used to going to, that was for sure. "There is a hiking trail in the woods and…" She desperately tried to remember what else had been in the cottage's owner's description on the site. "Oh, and there is snow. How charming. I will send you a picture tomorrow. It really looks like a little Christmas village."

That might have been a slight exaggeration.

She had seen little in terms of decorations. But there was snow, and trees, and a blue sky. It certainly felt more like Christmas than California and its harsh sun.

"So the cottage looks good, then?" her friend insisted. "Isn't it odd? Being in a stranger's house?"

Very much so.

There were framed pictures on the walls. A blond woman she assumed to be Aster, the person she had talked to on the website and who had seemed as desperate to get away from her life for the holidays as she had been, a man, and two little girls. She was wondering where the man and the little girls were. She had found a room with two beds on the first floor, next to the master bedroom she had claimed for herself, but it hadn't seemed recently lived-in. And there were no pictures of the children past six and eleven, which was odd because the room upstairs hinted at two teenagers rather than a toddler and a child.

It felt weird to be in Aster's house and it was difficult to make herself at home in a space that was so different from what she was used to. The house was functional but small, the appliances were rustic at best… By the time she had unpacked, it had seemed as if she had brought more stuff than there originally was in the cottage.

"Absolutely not." she lied. "I think I will really enjoy myself here. Why, perhaps I could even write a book on the industry…"

It was an old joke between the two of them that if they ever wrote down every piece of gossip or scandal that had never made it to the public, they would be rich until their dying day. Portia was a costume designer and she always had the juicy rumors.

"If you are sure…" Portia finally relented. "As long as you are happy… You are coming back in two weeks, right ? You will be back for New Year's Eve? Plutarch Heavensbee is planning the most outrageous party."

Plutarch Heavensbee hadn't wanted her on the last three movies he had produced because she was too old and not enough of a guarantee of success – nothing personal, just business, Miss Trinket, you are a lovely professional woman and I would have loved to work with you – she was as impatient to go to his party as to go to her next dentist appointment. Nevertheless, that was how the game was played. Go to parties, meet the right people, make sure they liked you…

"It sounds delightful." she declared. "I will be back by then, of course. Oh, if it is not too much trouble, darling… Might you pop at the house when you have a moment? I just want to make sure Aster is settling alright and doesn't have difficulties with the technology…"

Her at the cutting edge of technology mansion certainly wasn't what the woman was used to. She was afraid Aster might be finding it overwhelming. She wasn't always sure what she was doing with all the buttons on the control panels and she had been living there for years.

"Of course." Portia agreed at once.

They chatted a bit more and Effie used the opportunity to finish the second tour of the cottage, not any more impressed with it as she had been the first time. She ended up back in the kitchen just as she hung up, working herself into a panic when she realized there would be no staff to feed her in Virginia.

She had never cooked a meal in her whole life.

She had tried once, for Seneca, thinking it would be a nice surprise to give their evening to the staff so they could have the house for themselves. The meal had been inedible and Seneca had told her to never try that again. That if they had maids, cooks and a butler, it was for a reason.

Then again, Seneca had always liked his standing.

Which was probably why he had ended up caught in a financial scandal and had killed himself – or gotten killed – pushing her back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, despite the fact that they had been separated for a couple of years at that point.

She chased her ex-boyfriend from her mind, put her hands on her hips and contemplated her options.

Going out it was.

They must have take-out in this town.

It turned out, they didn't.

Or if they did, it was too well hidden for her to find.

She discovered quickly enough that you could walk around The Seam in a good total of an hour. It was the time it took her to circle back to the dusty road that led up to Aster's cottage. There was a bar she bypassed, a restaurant that looked like it wouldn't pass any sanitary control, a bakery that had been closed for an hour already like most businesses in town, a big white cube she supposed to be the Justice Building right in front of a square adorned with a few fairy lights and a small pitiful tree in the middle of it, the school, a nice suburb that looked mostly uninhabited – probably because it was expensive for the area – more small cottages and even poorer looking buildings.

All in all, not quite as festive as she would have liked.

Determined to be positive nevertheless, she cheerfully hurried to the shop that would only be open for another half hour according to the sign on the door, grabbed a cart and tossed everything she fancied in it without worrying about carbs, calories, or how much exercise she would need to do to keep up with her diet. She was taking a vacation – that might become a permanent one as far as her acting career was concerned if she didn't find out a solution – and she would enjoy herself.

The few people in the store stared at her. She didn't really mind, she was used to it, but she couldn't tell if it was because she had been recognized or because she was a stranger in a small town where everybody knew everybody. If it was the first case, she hoped the notion that Effie Trinket would randomly choose to go to the back end of Virginia for Christmas was ridiculous enough that no one would believe it. Not that it would be interesting to a lot of people anyway…

She smiled at the man tending the cashing machine who seemed a bit disturbed by her chirpiness. People weren't chirpy enough around there, that was plain to see.

She made it out of the store and back to the cottage without anyone asking her for an autograph or a picture.

She didn't know if she was happy about it or not.

By nine thirty, she had eaten as much of the junk food as she could stomach, had drunk two glasses of red wine, had surfed on the ten channels this house got, and she was bored out of her mind. The cottage was silent. She hated silence.

She walked around with her third glass of wine, inspecting the pictures more closely, straightening frames that leaned too much on one side or the other… She did the dishes out of boredom, thought about calling her mother to cancel her original plans to go over for the holidays and then sent a text to her sister instead, burdening her with the task of playing messenger, she started a book only to toss it away after two pages, checked out the DVDs collection and pouted at the meager bounty she found… She picked up The Escort, looked at her younger self on the cover and then placed it at the very bottom of the pile with a displeased wince.

Everyone agreed it had been her greatest role, her best movie, the one that everybody would always remember about her…

She wished it hadn't been about playing such a stereotype of a stupid blond woman who had been in over her head in mafia business and appeared too many times in her underwear. Critics agreed she had brought an unsuspected depth to an otherwise very flat character and that it was what had made the movie a classic. Effie wasn't that convinced.

By ten thirty she had had enough of solitude, breathing space, and countryside. She gave up and went upstairs, repacked her suitcases, and vowed to get on a plane as early as possible the next morning.

She tossed and turned in bed for what felt like hours, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar house's noises.

Truth be told, it was almost a relief when the racket started.

It was a hammering sound.

And it took her a while to realize it came from downstairs.

She slipped on her pink silk dressing gown and crept out of bed, hugging the walls as she made her way to the stairs. It became obvious soon enough that the hammering came from the front door and that it wasn't a ghost or a monster that only lived in the countryside and preyed on foreign women in isolated cottages – as her imagination had conjured – but a man who was clearly impatient to be let in.

"For fuck's sake, Aster!" the man shouted, punctuating every word with another frantic knock. "Come on… I drank too much and I really need to pee! Don't think I ain't gonna do it on your flower beds… " She opened her eyes wide, wondering if he was a lunatic. He clearly knew Aster but… "You know I can hear you, right? I know you're there." He had stopped knocking, at least, but Effie held her breath all the same. If she screamed… Would someone hear her? The cottage didn't have any close neighbors… The man sighed and lowered his voice. "Okay, I'm sorry about the other day, alright? Shouldn't have said what I said. You've got enough on your plate and I ain't the best one to judge… Come on, I'm an asshole but I really really need to pee…"

Effie hesitated.

Her instinct told her to run to the kitchen, grab a knife and hide. That was what she would have done at home if a strange man had tried to knock down her door – that, and call the police and then the press because it would have been good publicity. But it was different around there, wasn't it? Tight neighborhood and all that jazz?

The man obviously was an acquaintance of her host and Aster hadn't warned her against anyone. She had simply said she needed time away to rethink her life – something that Effie had echoed wholeheartedly.

She tentatively switched the light on, unlocked the door, wrapping her dressing gown tighter around herself against the chill of the night, and opened it only wide enough to get a peek.

"Finally!" he scowled "The fuck you…" He abruptly stopped when his grey eyes settled on her face. "You're not Aster."

He was gorgeous.

Not the drop dead handsome models she was used to seeing at parties or on movie sets but gorgeous nonetheless. Broad shoulders, stormy grey eyes that looked a little glassy – but he had mentioned alcohol, hadn't he? – an out of control stubble that covered his chin, not styled too long dirty blond hair… His voice had a low timbre and a southern accent. He was manly in a way very few men in California were. Gorgeous.

And she was staring.

Which was rude.

"I am not." she said at last. "We swapped houses for the holidays."

"Swapped houses." he repeated as if it was a foreign concept.

Then again it wasn't that common.

She had never heard about it before stumbling on the website by accident.

"Yes." she confirmed with a smile, relieved to see he didn't look like a lunatic after all. "I am here and she is in Beverly Hills."

He blinked and then licked his lips.

Her eyes immediately darted down and back up. She flushed, hoping he hadn't spotted the tale, a little too aware that she was being the creepy one right now.

She had been having a dry spell for a long long time and she blamed her hormones.

And he was attractive.

That didn't help.

"Right." He didn't really sound pleased. "She didn't say."

"It was last minute." she offered. At least, it had been for her.

He studied her a moment longer and then cleared his throat. "You mind if… I really need to…" He wanted to come inside and she wasn't sure about that. Opening the door to a stranger wasn't clever, inviting him inside was even worse… He must have realized she was wary because he showed her his hands in a peaceful gesture – very big, very calloused, very powerful hands. It seemed her brain had stopped computing and she barely heard what he said. "Look, I'm sorry for the banging on the door, I was expecting Aster. I'm… family. I promise I'm no creep but I really need to use the bathroom."

She noticed the hesitation before he said family and she figured he might be a boyfriend. He had said he was sorry for something earlier… Perhaps they had gotten in an argument and that was why Aster had left, to decide what she wanted to do about her relationship. It didn't really explain the pictures with the other man and the little girls but… Maybe they were divorced and the children lived with their father. Those things happened.

Going with her guts – at least, she hoped it was her guts telling her he didn't really look dangerous and not other parts of her doing the thinking – she stepped aside and opened the door wider.

"It is down the hall." she said unnecessarily.

He shot her an amused glance and she pursed her lips at her own stupidity as he disappeared down the corridor. She awkwardly waited near the front door with her arms folded over her chest. It didn't take him long to come back and he looked steadier on his feet. A little more sober.

His grey eyes took her in from head to bare toes, lingering a little on her legs. Effie awkwardly patted her hair, certain it was spiking in every direction and regretting the absence of make-up. He wasn't quite openly doing it but it was clear he was checking her out. Or, perhaps, trying to figure out if she really was who he thought she was.

"Name's Haymitch." he offered eventually, outstretching his hand. She eyed it uncertainly for long enough that he snorted. "I washed it. It's safe to touch."

She flushed red at her own lack of manners and shook his hand, swallowing hard when she found it warm under her palm. He had a strong grip too.

"Those are things you do but never allude to in polite society, you know." she pointed out. "It is rude."

His eyes were twinkling with amusement. "One think you should know about me… I ain't big on manners, sweetheart."

She wrinkled her nose at the pet name. Realizing belatedly that they were still holding hands, she snatched hers back with some embarrassment. She never got so flustered. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She blamed Virginia.

"Clearly." she huffed.

If possible, it seemed to amuse him even more. "Still haven't gotten your name…"

"Oh." It had been so long since she had needed to introduce herself… "Euphemia."

"That's a mouthful." he commented.

"Effie." she amended with a sigh, waiting for the inevitable are you really… or the more polite version excuse me but are you… Her name, associated with her face, was usually enough for people to be certain of her identity.

She waited and waited for the spark of recognition to flare in his gaze but it never came.

"Effie." he repeated with a slow smirk. The way he said her name, slowly and with a hint of humor, sent a wave of want through her body. Truly, Virginia wasn't agreeing with her. It was making her crazy. A bit like the way he was eyeing her, like she was candy on legs and he was starved for sugar. It was gratifying to be looked at this way when she had a bad case of bed hair and no make-up on, she figured – because she knew how plain she looked without artifices. She wasn't sure how long they spent standing there, staring at each other more or less covertly, trapped into an odd spell, but he suddenly seemed to snap out of it. "You said Aster was in Beverly Hills? Aster Everdeen in California… The fuck she went there for?"

"Vacation?" she hummed, uncomfortable betraying the other woman's confidences about wanting some space from her current life. "It is only for two weeks."

"Yeah, sure, only." he grumbled. "She could have warned us first. And for Christmas too. Nice." He shook his head with obvious annoyance but the smirk slowly came back when his eyes found hers once more. "Means we got you for the time being though… Can't say it's a bad view…"

She bit on the inside of her cheek to prevent the smile from bursting forth. "Does that line usually work out for you?"

"The line and a couple of glasses…" he shrugged, his gaze darting down to her legs. "You might want to buy some warmer pajamas, sweetheart… It gets cold fast in winter around here."

"Perhaps I intend to have someone keeping me warm." she retorted, lifting a challenging eyebrow. "Perhaps my husband is flying down to join me tomorrow."

He leaned his shoulder against the wall, all casualness, mirroring her folded arms posture. "You've got no ring."

"Perhaps I take it off to sleep." she argued.

"Nobody takes their wedding ring off to sleep." he countered.

"What are you?" she scoffed "A cop?"

"Spy." he corrected, clearly enjoying her small frown. "Long retired though."

He looked serious enough but she was certain he was having her own so she chuckled. "A regular James Bond."

"Never liked martinis." he joked. "I'm a whiskey man."

"Too bad I only have red wine, then." she grinned.

"Wouldn't say no to a James Bond girl, though…" he teased.

He tilted his head to the side, looking smug enough that it annoyed her. It was one thing to share such chemistry as to immediately feel an attraction, it was entirely another to act so sure it would lead up to anything. She looked at the front door but he didn't really seem to take the hint so she decided to go for the jugular. Flirting had been fun enough but she highly disliked being the other woman. "How long have you and Aster been an item?"

He frowned, clearly taken aback, and then made a face as if the thought was actually painful.

"Never." he offered. "We're just old friends, sweetheart. Kinda like a sister, to be honest."

"Effie." she corrected through gritted teeth. She didn't like the familiarity of the pet name. She didn't like the thrill it sent down her spine either.

He ignored her. "I like red wine."

It was as rude as it got, imposing on her like that, fishing for an invite to stay…

She ought to kick him out the door.

She ought to…

"I am leaving tomorrow." she stated. "This trip is not at all what I thought it would be. I do not even know why I left, truly. I do not… What I am trying to say is… I do not need anything complicated, nor am I looking for anything really, and…"

"I don't do complicated." he cut her off with a shrug. "Look, if I read the whole thing wrong, I'm sorry… I can go. No problem."

He pushed himself off the wall and walked past her.

She grabbed his arm.

And then stared at the fingers gripping the sleeve of his grey coat, wondering why her body seemed to have chosen today of all days to get a mind of its own.

"I do not usually do one-night-stands." she confessed, still looking at her own hand.

She couldn't afford one-night-stands. Too many people faked interest for fifteen minutes of fame later on, spreading tales about her that were either humiliating or embarrassing. She had long become something inhuman for most people, a doll without feelings that could be used for their own purposes and then put back on a shelf. She had accepted that when she had realized what being a public figure entailed. She had been willing to put the discomfort aside for the fame. But fame was a flitting mistress.

"Funny." he teased. "That's the only thing I do."

She looked up at him, pursing her lips in a determined line, jutting her chin out a little. "Do you know who I am?"

Because if he did… If it was just about fucking a movie star…

He looked genuinely confused. "Should I? What… You're famous or something?"

"No." she lied immediately, without an ounce of shame.

It was the first time in a long time someone had expressed interest in her and not in Effie Trinket. She pulled on his sleeve hard enough that he stumbled closer, catching himself with a hand on the wall over her head, trapping her between his warm body and the hard surface at her back.

He didn't move immediately like she expected him to though.

He stared straight into her eyes, his free hand coming to rest on her waist… She grabbed the lapels of his coat, automatically smoothing the creased fabric before moving down to undo the buttons. His fingers tugged at the belt of her dressing gown and she swallowed hard when it came loose, opening over a lacy nightgown that didn't really hide much.

She tried not to think back to all the articles that had appeared lately, about how she didn't look as firm as she used to be in her twenties, about how she should get her breasts done, about how…

He brushed his knuckles up her stomach to the flat plane between her breasts, up her collarbone and to her chin. She hadn't realized she had ducked her head until he nudged it up. Her heart was racing in her chest and, for a brief moment of lucidity, she wondered what she was doing. Having sex with a stranger in another stranger's house was so not her…

"Beautiful." he whispered, sounding almost awed, and it was enough for her insecurities to disappear.

She had always been a rather confident person, the rare few moments of doubt notwithstanding.

She coiled her hand at the back of his nape and pulled him in a kiss. It was awkward at first, like all first kisses were, but they soon found a rhythm. The kiss was brutal, hungry. There was no sweet build-up, no slow testing period. It was teeth and tongue. It was an immediate fight for dominance that tore a moan from her throat and right into his mouth.

The sound seemed to drive him mad.

He scooped her up.

His palms ran on the back of her thighs and then she was lifted up, kept in place by the wall at her back and the hands on her ass, under the nightgown. His little finger brushed her core and her hips automatically buckled, wanting more of that sort of attention.

It made him chuckle against her lips. "Eager, yeah?"

"Do not sound so smug." she rebuked, a bit out of breath as she struggled to push the coat off his shoulders. "It is not as charming as men think it is."

He pinned her to the wall with his hips long enough to get out of the coat and the navy blue woolen sweater he had on underneath, forcing her to lock her legs hard around his waist. She took the opportunity to lose the dressing gown, immediately going back to the kissing once the offending pieces of clothing weren't in the way. She was annoyed to find he still had an undershirt on and she pouted, tugging on the cotton shirt.

"Off." she demanded.

For the first time since he had stepped inside, he didn't look cocky. A dark shadow passed over his face and she wondered if she had trespassed on unmentioned boundaries. He slipped it over his head before she had time to tell him he could keep it if he preferred it that way and immediately kissed her hard, almost as if he wanted to punish her for the request. Her hands explored the skin of his back, bumping on small scars, only to roam up and to tangle in his hair once more, forcing his head down to her throat. He accepted the change of direction easily enough and started sucking and nipping at the tender flesh, eventually bowing over her breasts. The feel of his hot mouth closing on her nipple over the nightgown, the raspy feeling of the lace coupled with his wet tongue…

She tossed her head back with a soft whimper, her hands forcing his head even closer, making him chuckle even as he fought her grip to draw back long enough to nuzzle the gown out of the way. How she ended up completely naked, she wasn't sure, but she didn't complain. Not when it felt so good.

She could feel how hard he was against her and she kept on rocking her hips as much as she could, trapped as she was, rubbing herself on him, trying to create friction, to get her release…

His fingers reached between her legs just as he playfully bit down on her nipple and she cried out a little.

"Please…" she breathed out, untangling her fingers from his hair to try to reach his belt. The angle was too awkward for her to work with, not with his arm in the middle. "Haymitch…"

The name passed her lips as naturally as if she had been uttering it for years instead of for the first time. It made him growl in a very primitive way and she wished it hadn't been as arousing to her as it was because she could feel herself melt embarrassingly fast. She was too far gone though. Completely lost to lust. The only thing that mattered was to find release and fast.

In two seconds, he had the belt undone and his pants down to his ankles but instead of doing what she wanted him to do, he pinned her further against the wall, their chest pressed flat against each other, and he brought his mouth to her right ear. "What do you want, sweetheart?"

She rolled her eyes and tried to rock her hips. "You know what I want." She could feel him against her stomach. Hot and hard and big…

"Say it." he ordered, biting down on her earlobe, sucking it in his mouth…

If she had been in her right mind, she might have been embarrassed by the loud moan that escaped her.

"Fuck me." she begged, long past any sense of pride.

"Thought you were all about manners, Princess…" he mocked, his fingers teasing her by slowly brushing against her clit, not putting on enough pressure for her to even hope getting off. "A bit rude, that…"

Of all the men in the world, she had to end up having a one-night-stand with one who got his kicks out of torturing her with pleasure… That was her kind of luck.

"Fuck me, please." she answered dutifully, and a bit desperately, trying and failing to rub herself on his hand. Anything at that point. "Please. Please. Please."

She heard him lick his lips and take a deep breath and it occurred to her it might ask a lot of restrain of him to not just simply take her then and there. The muscles of his shoulders were almost shaking with how tense he was.

"How do you want it, sweetheart?" he asked. His voice was a bit different this time, less playful and more… Serious, maybe. As if he was really asking for directions, for boundaries not to cross.

She wasn't in any state to understand or appreciate that though.

"Now, you… You…" she stammered.

"Asshole?" he suggested, chuckling a little.

"Yes!" she snapped. "Oh, I hate you… I hate…" Two fingers were pushed into her and whatever she was going to say ended up in gibberish as he pumped them in and out. "More." she demanded. "Please. More."

"How do you want it?" he insisted, biting down on her collarbone and immediately licking the sting of it away.

"Hard." she panted. "Hard."

"See? Wasn't so difficult to say, yeah?" he snorted, taking his fingers away and guiding himself to her opening. She closed her eyes, readying herself for what would come next… And let out a whine of frustration when she felt herself being abruptly placed down on her own two feet. "Shit." he spat.

Cold swooped down on her sweaty skin, leaving goose bumps on her arms and legs, and she wrapped her arms around herself, unsure what was going on. He was crouching over his clothes and she didn't understand what had gone wrong, why he would get dressed and leave before they even got to…

It was only when he pulled his wallet out of his coat and a square silver package out of the wallet that she understood and relaxed, blaming herself for not thinking about it first. Sex with a stranger was crazy enough. Unprotected sex? What was going on with her tonight?

He did a quick job of putting the condom on and then he was right back there. It could have been uncomfortable because the mood had shifted a little – and it was a bit – but when he lifted her right thigh up she didn't hesitate in pulling him closer. And when he hooked his elbow under her knee and finally entered her, she hissed in bliss. He was careful at first and for that she was glad, because he was big and she needed a few seconds to adjust.

"Move." She wacked his ass as soon as she was ready, the sound of slapped flesh echoing hard in the silent house. He drew his head back from her neck long enough to lift a challenging eyebrow and she flashed him an innocent grin. "Two can play that game."

He pulled himself back almost all the way before slamming home in one short thrust, making her clutch his shoulders for purchase. Her legs were already trembling and she wasn't sure she would manage to stay up for long. After a few erratic thrusts, they found a rhythm that worked for both of them. Fast and violent. And it wasn't long before she came, hard, muffling her scream in his shoulder. It didn't take much more to trigger his own release.

They remained against the wall for a while, trying to catch their breath and huddling together for warmth because the air on their cooling skins was very uncomfortable.

Eventually, he stepped back and that was when the awkwardness set in. He cleared his throat and rubbed his neck before pulling his pants and underwear up. "So… You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes." she nodded, her eyes darting everywhere but to his face. That was how she spotted the long scar on his stomach, probably the reason why he had been reluctant to take off the undershirt. It was an angry white on his tanned skin and very swollen. It looked old but… "I wanted a quiet place for a few days but this town might be a little too quiet. I am a city girl, I am afraid."

He was quick at getting dressed. He was back in his clothes and she was still standing there stark naked. She bent down to grab her nightgown but he was quicker, he snatched it from the floor and placed it in her hands, letting his fingers linger.

"It's a boring place but there are good people." he said. "If you need quiet… It's a good place to be. Give it a shot." His grey eyes fell on her mouth and he didn't really hesitate before following that statement with a kiss. It was soft compared to everything that had happened between them. And it shook her to the core. "Bye, sweetheart."

"My name is Effie." she protested.

"Not likely to forget." he snorted. "Or you."

She wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Not that she had to. With a last farewell peck, he was out the door.

For the first time in months, she slept like a baby the whole night.

The next morning, she looked up flights but didn't book any.

Very long chapter haha! What did you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know!