***
"Lara?"
"Hmmm?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking that I can't believe we just did that."
Alex laughed.
"And in the middle of the day, too." Lara added. Alex smiled and kissed her shoulder.
"This has got to be the best Christmas I have ever had." Alex murmured.
"Hmm, is that just because you took me to bed?"
"No, well, that's part of it." Alex admitted. "But, finding someone to love is better." He gently kissed Lara's lips.
Lara lay next to Alex, her head buried in his shoulder. Alex stroked her naked back underneath the thin sheets that they were wrapped in.
"So, what now Alex?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do we do from here?" Lara brushed a strand of Alex's unruly hair back onto his brow.
"Hmm, I can think of something." Alex smiled, bringing their bodies closer together.
"You are insufferable, Mr. West." Lara said, kissing his nose. "But you have such a nice arse."
"Why thank you, Lady Croft." Alex laughed. "Who ever said that you Brits were stuffy?"
I'll have to remember to ring Isis and tell her that she was right. . . Lara thought as Alex made love to her again.
***
"Alex, Alex, come look at this!" Lara said as she rushed into her bedroom. She hopped onto the bed, next to Alex's sleeping form feeling like a child who had just met Santa Clause.
Alex moaned and rolled over.
"Come on, get up." Lara said, pulling the covers off of Alex.
"Can't it wait until morning?" Alex moaned, groping for the covers but finding Lara's waist instead. Satisfied with that, he rested his head on Lara's lap and closed his eyes.
"It IS the morning!" Lara said. "Now come on, you've got to see the front of the manor!" She pulled Alex out of bed. He groaned but got up, stretching.
"Alright, alright, but after I do I'm taking you back to bed." Alex grumbled.
"Whatever you say, darling." Lara laughed. She dragged Alex downstairs and flung open the front door. Outside the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow. The sun was raising above the trees in front of the house. The sky was streaked with pink and purple as the golden sun made it's way into the sky, making the fresh snow appear golden in the sun's rays.
"Wow." Alex murmured, looking around the Croft estate.
"Merry Christmas." Lara said, kissing him full on the lips.
And what a very merry Christmas it is. Alex thought happily.
"Mew?" Donnica weaved her way between Lara and Alex and stepped out onto the door step. She looked around at the strange white substance and decided to explore it. She hopped into the deep snow only to discover that this white stuff was very cold and very wet. Donnica let out a kittenish shriek and ran back into the house. Lara and Alex laughed and watched her try and shake off the wet and cold before scampering out into the kitchen where the warm stove was.
"Come on, I've got something for you." Lara said, pulling Alex back into the house.
"Oh really?" Alex asked imaging what Lara could have gotten him. "Can you give me a hint?" He asked, a silly smile spreading over his face.
"No."
"Just a little one? Like does it come from Victoria's Secret?" Alex smiled.
"I don't think you would look very good in anything from Victoria's Secret." Lara laughed.
Lara lead Alex into a secret room next to Bryce's computer area. She flicked on the overhead lights and walked in.
"Whoa, what is this?" Alex asked, he looked around the large room. There were several tables all holding an array of papers, notes, books, assorted pens and pencils, artifacts, replicas, maps and mapping tools. There were several large bookcases lining the room all full of books and more note books. There were several pedestals with artifacts on them near the back of the room.
"This is my junk room." Lara said. "Even Bryce doesn't know this is here. My father used it as a his study, but Robert boarded it up so I wouldn't get any of those silly tomb raiding ideas into my head, but I opened it up after he died."
She walked over to one of the pedestals. "This is what I wanted to show you." She said, softly.
Alex walked over to her and looked over the object that sat on the stone pillar. "It looks like the prayer wheel." He murmured.
"It is. The original anyways." Lara said.
"What do you mean 'the original'?"
"The one we found and that you sold was a fake."
"What?!" Alex shouted.
"Calm down, Alex. No one else knows about this, the fake was such an close duplicate that even I thought it was the original. But I went back to the tomb we raided and I realized that I had translated an inscription wrong and I was able to locate the real prayer wheel."
"How long did you know about this!?"
"For a month or two."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Because if I did then it would look like I was trying to rub it in your face and you wouldn't have believed me anyways."
Alex stopped and thought for a second. "No, I probably wouldn't have believed you, but still."
"Still what?" Lara asked, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and kissing him.
"Never mind." Alex said, kissing her back. It's not worth it anyways. . . He thought. What's done is done, not much point in worrying about it now.
Alex leaned Lara against a clean space on one of the large tables and began to pull at her night shirt.
"Ooo! Alex! What are you doing?" Lara said, removing his hand in protest.
"Well, I was GOING to make love to you." Alex said.
"What? Here?!" Lara asked, turning red.
"Why not? The table's sturdy enough, no one is going to walk in on us." Alex smiled, and kissed her hand. "Besides, never knock what you haven't tried." Lara let Alex slip his hand under her shirt and cup one of her breasts. She unbuttoned his shirt, running her hands over his rippling muscles.
"Well, I suppose. . ." Lara murmured. "New experiences should always be embraced."
"And made love to repeatedly." Alex added.
***
"You know, we should go out to dinner." Alex said, massaging more shampoo into Lara's scalp.
"But where? All the restaurants are closed." Lara asked, toying with the soap subs that clung to Alex's muscular figure.
"Not Chinese restaurants." Alex said. He smiled, taking more bath oils from the small crystal bottles on the rim of the tub and rubbing them into Lara's shoulders. "God bless the Chinese for not celebrating Christmas." He said.
"Hmm, well, after we finish our bath." Lara smiled.
"No problem." Alex's hands slipped under the water stroking her legs.
"Do you know that I have never done this before?" Lara asked, wrapping her legs around Alex's torso and pouring some shampoo onto her fingers.
"You have never taken a bath with someone before?" Alex asked as Lara began to massage the shampoo onto his hair.
"No. The British aristocrats that I've dated had never engaged in sexual activity other then in a bed with silk sheets at night after a date."
"You poor thing. I'll have to make sure you never have these unfortunate limitations put on you again." Alex smiled. "I want to make love to you, right now." Alex murmured.
"Not now. I have to wash my hair first."
"I'll wash your hair." Alex snickered. "And make love to you until you're too sore to even walk."
"That would be quiet a challenge, Mr. West."
"I'm always up for a challenge."
***
A phone rang. Alex opened his eyes and looked around. He recognized the ring tone. Alex gently set a sleeping Lara onto the pillows and slipped out of bed. He pulled on a pair of his boxers which had been strewn around the bedroom along with his other clothing. Alex grabbed his pants and fished around in the pocket until he located the ringing cell phone.
"Yeah?" He asked after hitting the 'talk' button.
"Hey, Alex. It's Sam. How are you?" Alex glanced at Lara who was sleeping soundly. He walked out of the bedroom and went down to the living room so he wouldn't wake her.
"Oh, I'm fine. Had a great Christmas." He said.
"No kidding!" Sam laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Come on, Alex. I saw the papers, along with the rest of the world. Why did you tell me that you were nailing Lara Croft?"
"What?! Papers?! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"You didn't see the newspapers? The tabloids are having a field day about you two. But that's not why I called."
"Why did you call?" Alex demanded. Shit! Just what I need. Stupid tabloids.
"I have a client who needs a tomb raider. Are you interested?"
Alex sighed. "You know I am, when does the job start?"
"Right now."
"Right now? Sam, I'm kinda busy."
"Well, tell Lara not to wait up for you and you'll be back before she can close her legs."
"Hey! Take that back or I'll ram my desert eagle up your ass the next time I see you!"
"God damn, Alex! Calm down, it was just a joke."
"I didn't see the humor in it."
"Yeah, yeah. So are you coming or not?"
"I don't know. . . ."
"Come on, Alex. Christmas was almost a week ago. Time to get back to work."
"Alright, alright. Where does the client want to meet me?"
"In Mexico. I'll e-mail you the specifics. Talk to you later Alex."
Before Alex should say anything Sam hung up. Alex rubbed his temples. That means that he would have to go back to his house to pick up his laptop and charter a flight from there. That also meant that he would have to leave Lara. Alex glared at the cell phone in his hand. He wanted this Christmas holiday to last forever. But he knew that could never happen. He would have to go back to work and he would have to leave Lara. Alex couldn't tell her to her face. He knew that she would think that he was leaving her. He walked into her junk room, sat down and started to write her a letter.
After he was finished he looked over the letter.
Dear Lara,
The last few weeks have been wonderful. But nothing can last forever. I have to go back to work and I'm afraid that I won't be able to see you that much. I have to go to Mexico right now but I'll return as soon as I can. I would love to spend every hour every with you, until that's possible I have to say good-bye.
Love,
Alex
Alex cringed. He was a horrible writer, but he didn't know what else to say to her. He sighed and walked back up to Lara's room. He collected his things, set the letter onto her night stand and gave Lara one last kiss.
"Merry Christmas, baby." Alex murmured before he walked out of the room and out of the house.