9

…..

"Alone at last," Jack grinned at me as he closed the door on our last departing guest. Everyone was gone, except Jellybean who snoozed in front of the glowing fire. The whole scene looked like a Christmas card picture.

Jack put his large calloused hand around mine and led me to the couch. I looked longingly toward the kitchen and Jack chuckled. "I want to clean up as much as you do, but I did a lot while you were running the door. Don't worry."

I leaned back into the cushions and sighed, anxious relief filling me. The adrenaline of the party wound me so tightly, I was still trying to come down from it.

Jack knew this about me and he sat with his arm around me, patient and quiet. He ran his fingers up and down my arm and smoothed my hair. I slowly relaxed and snuggled into him and watched the fire burn down.

Watching a fire was so meditative. How many people over how many millennia did exactly what we were doing?

Cuddling close to your loved one and watching the fire, and feeling safe from the storm felt like a very ancient and primal thing to do.

I looked around the darkened room, still filled with bright burning candles. If this didn't look like Christmas eve, then nothing did.

Jack kissed the top of my head and said, "I have a present I'd like to give you tonight, unless you would rather have it in the morning."

I sat up a little, suddenly alert again, and looked into his vivid blue eyes, dark in the shadowed room. I had a gift for Jack too — and I was kind of planning on giving it to him on Christmas morning. But if he wanted to do gifts tonight I could pivot — I think. Or, I could ask him to wait, but curiosity was getting the better of me.

Jack squeezed me a little. "I love watching the war inside you," he said, his eyes dancing with amusement. "You want to wait until Christmas, but you are dying to find out what your gift is."

Laughter bubbled up inside me. Jack was right. I raised my chin and smiled at him. "Let's wait until tomorrow. I didn't get us these stockings for nothing."

Jack looked at the empty stockings we had hanging on the mantle and smiled. He scratched the top of his head and said, "All right. Tomorrow morning it is. I can keep a secret a few more hours."

"I know you're trying to tempt me, but it won't work," I said, and slid myself around to straddle his lap.

"This works for me too," Jack said, and pulled me in even closer. I silently wished we'd put our pyjamas on first. My tight pants were too restrictive for this to be as entertaining as it could be.

I wiggled on his lap and enjoyed feeling the swell of his erection growing under me.

"I was always told that if we didn't go to bed Santa wouldn't come." I laughed at the end of this sentence, unable to keep a straight face with my double entendre.

Jack grinned and laughed softly as he traced the shape of my body with his large experienced hands. "Let's get ready for bed, and by then I can put the fire out."

I climbed off his lap, sorry to leave his embrace, and held out my hand to pull him up.

"You can have the bathroom first while I finish putting away food and let the dog out. Then I'll get ready while you do the fire," I said. The gears turned in my mind as I planned out the next twelve hours.

Jack considered. He always planned everything, so I knew he was doing the same thing. "That works. I'm excited to put my Christmas pyjamas on."

He reached over and picked up his gift from my mother and looked at the print. My mother had found him black pyjamas with little saws and hammers all over them. At first glance you didn't realize what the print was. Mine were like that, except they were navy and had little dogs all over them.

I shook my head.

"Don't ever underestimate my mother's shopping skills," I said as I grabbed my gift pyjamas.

I led Jack upstairs by the hand and then kissed him before he went into the bathroom. The moment I knew he was safely locked away for a few minutes, I ran to the bottom of my dresser and pulled out the gifts I'd been hoarding. I had just a few minutes to get them downstairs and into Jack's stocking.

All of my commotion roused Jellybean again and he got up to see what I was doing. He sniffed all the packages and wagged his tail.

"Not for you, sweet doggie," I whispered.

I crept down the stairs, and he followed behind me, wondering what I was up to.

I laid out all the other things I'd gotten for Jack's sock and padded his main gift with other things so even if he felt his stocking he wouldn't guess what he was getting.

By the time I was done, his stocking was full to the top. I snuffed all the candles and made sure everything was locked.

As soon as Jack came downstairs to tend the fire, he'd know what I'd been doing, but I knew he wouldn't snoop.

I hung the bulging sock on a hook away from the fire so he wouldn't have to touch it to do his work. Then I hurried to the kitchen to put away what was left of the party.

Jellybean followed me and I let him out for his last break before bed. He didn't want to go at first. I can't say I blame him. It was cold and snowy.

"Go on fancy dog," I laughed, and he finally ducked his head and went outside, his tags jangling in the night.

Jack was right — he had put most of the food away. I took care of the rest and surveyed the kitchen with satisfaction. Then I let Jellybean back in and headed upstairs. Giddy anticipation filled me and I wanted to bounce with excitement. It was like the feeling I got when I was a little kid on Christmas eve, except this time I was excited for what I was giving someone else. I loved this feeling. I got it with my girls too. Every holiday and occasion was new again because I experienced it both from the other side and also through their eyes.

And now I got to have it with Jack too. Every holiday, every occasion, and every anniversary that rolled around I would marvel that I was with him. We'd make it special together.

By the time I made it back upstairs Jack was ready for bed and in his pyjamas. They fit him perfectly and he looked so manly yet — adorable, I couldn't help but smile.

Jack looked down at himself and gave me a sheepish grin.

"Jammies," he said, the sweet word contrasting with his deep soft voice. A thrill ran through me. I swear he got sexier every day.

He kissed me and I headed into the bathroom to do my night-time routine. He banged around a little in the bedroom before he went downstairs. I brushed my teeth and wondered if he was doing the same thing I had. Just like him, I wouldn't peek. Imagination was often more fun than reality, and anticipation was always at least as much fun as the event.

But I didn't think Jack had any idea what I had in store for him. My heart skipped a beat and I tried to wipe the gleeful smile off my face so he wouldn't think I was deranged or something.

I was just climbing into bed when Jack and Jellybean came up, finished with their chores. Jack's cheeks were flushed and he had a mischievous smile on his face.

"You look pleased with yourself," I observed, enjoying watching him try to reclaim his own poker face.

Jack leaned over and petted Jellybean one last time before bed. His teeth flashed white as he twisted his smile into submission. Jellybean trotted onto his own bed, curled up, and put his head down. Delight buzzed through me. I was so excited about…well…everything.

"Come're," I said, patting the bed.

Jack pulled off his pyjama top, revealing his broad chest, his beautiful tattoos, and his carved abs. Then I could see just how low slung his pyjama pants were. My mouth watered as I took in the sight of him. He noticed me looking and smiled.

"Too hot to sleep with a shirt," he said.

"Poor me," I drawled, and slid up next to him as he settled into bed. He put his arm around me and I ran my hands up and down his burly smooth chest. He was warm — so warm — and I cuddled up like a cat next to a radiator.

Jack pulled another blanket over me and held me close.

"Tonight worked out great," he said. I knew he was talking about so many things. My parents, all our friends and family visiting and having a good time, the food was delicious and we had enough of it, the girls liked their gifts, our pyjamas fit, the weather was Christmasy…the list went on and on.

I sighed a happy sigh, thinking about all the ways everything was perfect. And tomorrow would, hopefully, be even more perfect.

The morning came early with Jellybean's nose in my face, his tail thumping on the dresser. He knew better than to lick me, but his whiskers tickled my cheek and his breathing woke me with a start. He smiled at me the way golden retrievers do, and his tail sped up. Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump.

"Do you need to go out?" Jack said from behind me.

I groaned and pulled the blankets over my head. That was a rhetorical question. Jellybean was a morning person.

Jack was a morning person.

I was not a morning person.

Jack unburied a portion of my face and leaned down to kiss me. He got a section of my temple next to my hairline. I smiled to myself inside the covers in spite of my grouchiness.

Then Jack climbed out of bed and took Jellybean downstairs. I snuggled into the bed, making the most of them both being gone. All the more reason to sleep in.

Besides, it was cold outside. I heard Jack downstairs say, "Go on!" to Jellybean, who probably didn't want to go outside once he realized how cold it was.

I drifted off to sleep while listening to Jack go about the sounds of morning, including the whirr of coffee beans in the grinder. Mmm…coffee. Jack would bring me some, and until then I could sleep just a little longer… I drifted off into a dream, floating on the clouds of the perfection of sleeping in on a day off. It wasn't a weekend, but for some reason I still got to sleep in… My eyes flew open. It was Christmas morning! Jack wouldn't have gone through his stocking without me there, right?

I blinked and shook my head. No way would he do that.

Did I have time for a shower? Should I take one? Should I leave my Christmas pyjamas on? Why hadn't I thought through the exact logistics of today?

I sat up, and just then Jack walked in with a tray of food and a mug of coffee for me. "Hey, you're up!"

"As up as I can be first thing in the morning," I said, watching Jack closely. He had a big smug Cheshire Cat smile on his face.

I wanted to ask him what he was up to, but maybe I was just projecting.

"Did you already eat?" I said, forlornly looking at all my food and wondering if I was going to eat alone.

"Of course not," Jack laughed. "I just have to make several trips."

He arrived a few minutes later with another tray of food, and settled into bed with me. We ate in semi-awkward silence while my mind raced with possibilities for the day.

"Did you know it's Christmas?" I said to him in a conversational tone, like we were strangers discussing the weather.

"Oh really?" Jack's eyes crinkled with amusement. "I heard something about that," he said, and took another bite of eggs. After he swallowed he said, "I guess I should have gotten you something."

I laughed into my coffee, trying not to burn myself while also getting it inside my bloodstream as fast as possible.

"I built a fire downstairs," Jack said, as if he had said, "I replaced the furnace filter."

The guy was playing it really cool. Maybe he knew what I was up to?

"Maybe we should go enjoy it after breakfast and see if Santa came," I said, batting my eyes innocently in response to Jack's amused face.

"I know for a fact Santa didn't come last night, but I'm hoping for this afternoon," Jack said, looking me over intently. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to make me blush.

Two could play at this game.

"Good idea. We should go down and see if there's anything bulging just for you," I said. I held my breath, trying not to laugh at the over-the-top innuendo, but Jack cracked first, his laughter shaking the bed so much I had to hold our breakfast trays steady so they didn't tip over.

He didn't stop laughing, and then I lost it. Could I have come up with a more crazy innuendo? I couldn't think of one.

Good thing Jack likes me.