Kim was just finishing up wrapping the last few Christmas presents she needed when her phone rang. Without even looking at the caller ID she knew it would be Adam. "Hey, what you doin'?" He drawled.

"My usual last minute Christmas panic wrapping."

"Don't waste paper on my present. Just a bow on your head will do me." Adam whispered, laughing lightly. He was sitting in a car as the snow fell around him waiting for Al to come back with a coffee. It was a dark cold miserable night and they were watching the house of a suspect. It was cramped, boring and no matter what you did to stay warm the cold seeped in somehow. Added to the fact that him and Al nit-picked at each other like an old married couple. He was grateful when Al offered to grab a coffee from the café on the corner so he could break the monotony by talking to Kim. "So tomorrow night?"

"Yep." Kim mumbled half heartedly as she wrangled with the tape dispenser.

"You coming over?"

"After work." Kim was back on shift tomorrow and she was also working Christmas Day so trying to fit everyone in had been a challenge. Tomorrow night, Christmas Eve she was spending with Adam and it was their first Christmas together and after work, Christmas night she had her family dinner. Adam had his family to deal with all day, lunch with his father and dinner with his mother.

Adam hung up as Al came back. They had been seeing each other for a few months now and it was going well. It was quickly becoming something more, they enjoyed each other's company, had a lot in common and while neither of them was ready to admit to anything deeper it was definitely heading there. "Why do you look so friggin' happy?"

"Its nearly Christmas Al, the most wonderful time of the year." He sang the last part and Al looked at him sideways and rolled his eyes.

He took one more look around his apartment, making sure he had cleaned it up properly. It had been a hectic week and looked like someone had trashed the place. Stopping on the way home he had picked up dinner. Initially he wanted to try and cook something but those plans had been quickly abandoned when they all decided a quick drink at Molly's was needed.

Kim knocked lightly on the door. It was freezing outside and she'd had a long tiring day at work. The day before Christmas had bought all the crazies out and her and Roman had been run off their feet all day. She had headed home, grabbed a quick shower and packed a bag for work tomorrow and quickly did her hair and make-up and pulled on a dress. Giving herself the once over she was pretty impressed with her work, not bad for 15minutes.

"Merry Christmas Baby" he sang as he opened the door. He grabbed the bag from her shoulder as she entered and dropped it to the floor.

Kim leant in for a kiss and shivered a little. "It's a cold one."

"I can tell." he grabbed her scarf and started to unravel it. "You are all rugged up."

"Well lucky for me you are so hot." Snaking an arm around his waist she smiled sweetly as Adam threw his head back and laughed. Kim turned her back as Adam helped her out of her coat and tossed it over the back of the couch.

He let out a long slow whistle. "Merry Christmas to me."

Now he had seen her dressed up before and there was a lot to like but the short red skin-tight dress was something else. It barely reached mid thigh and the deep V-neck left little to the imagination. No wonder she felt cold, the only thing keeping her warm was the coat and the over the knee black leather boots.

"I wore this once to a Christmas party, I was dressed up as Mrs Claus."

"Really?" Adam couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. "And how did that go?"

"Kidding." Kim nudged him playfully. "So, what is for dinner? I am starving."

"You are always starving." Reluctantly Adam headed towards the kitchen and firstly poured her a glass of wine. Kim perched herself up on the kitchen stool and watched him as he moved around the small kitchen. He had obviously just showered, as his hair was still damp and she doubted he had even run his hands through it. He dressed simply in a pair of blue jeans and a white button down shirt. Kim loved him in blue jeans, they fitted him perfectly and the view from behind was pretty damn good.

He placed a plate of cheese and crackers between them for her to nibble on while he heated up the potato bake and pulled pork he had picked up on the way home and popped some bread rolls in the oven to warm through. "So crazy day?"

"Oh yeah. Roman and I barely had time to eat today." She mumbled as she swallowed a mouthful of cheese and washed it down with wine. "What about you?" Jumping down from the stool she came around to his side of the bench rested both hands either side of his hips and leant in close. "I thought about you all day and was so looking forward to tonight. I thought this get up would get you all worked up."

Adam tilted his head sideways and looked at Kim thoughtfully. "I thought you said you were hungry?"

"I am." She slipped her hands under his shirt and dragged her short nails down his back. "How long until dinner?" With her boots on she didn't need to stretch much to capture his bottom lip with her teeth, sucking on it lightly.

Adam groaned when the timer on the oven went off. "Damn Burgess." He growled when she suddenly let him go and sat back down and waited for dinner to be served. "You are a little feisty tonight."

"What can I say, Christmas gets me going." She shrugged, helping herself to another cracker with cheese.

They flirted and teased each other all through dinner but as soon as it was over Adam couldn't wait any longer. He pulled her up out of the chair, placed both hands on her hips and lifted her up so that she wrapped her legs around his waist and carried her to the bed.

He liked that her body was pressed hard against his side. He liked that she was drawing lazy circles around his naval. He liked that her hair was spread out across his shoulder. He just liked having her in his arms, in his bed and in his life.

Lightly running his hand up and down her spine he broke the silence that surrounded them. "What do you love about Christmas?"

Kim kept her hand moving in slow circles. "It was always a big thing in our family. My parents went all out for Amanda and I and dinner was always with the whole family. Aunts, Uncles, Cousin and Grandparents were all there and we got to eat whatever we wanted all day. And my parents always seemed to get me exactly what I wanted." She wiggled around until she could rest her chin on her hand and look up at him. Adam was propped up on a few pillows, his hair messy and wild, just like she liked it and a little stubble on his face made him look impossibly handsome. At times it made her catch her breath. "What's your favourite Christmas memory?"

Adam sighed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "This one." He smiled sadly, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Seriously?"

"One year…" he started slowly. "My parents had just separated so things were pretty rough. I was staying with my Grandmother Polly and she was so worried that I wasn't going to have anything to celebrate. I didn't know where I was going to be living and my parents just argued about where I was spending the day that Grandma Polly just stood up and declared that Christmas was at her place and she went nuts with presents. I think I got a new bike that year. That was the one I remember the most."

"Grandma Polly? Is that who looked after you when you're parents split? How long for?"

"Not long. Just a few weeks at the start but I spent a lot of time there. It was pretty hard when she died."

Kim rested her hand on his cheek and rubbed her thumb back and forth across his cheek. "She sounds wonderful. And I do like this Christmas so far, it's definitely in the Top Ten."

Adam jumped out of bed, pulled on some sweats and a t-shirt and tossing another shirt in her direction he encouraged Kim to do the same. "Come on." He beckoned her with one finger. Back in the lounge room he drew the curtains open and turned off the lights. Grabbing a couple of rugs he pulled her down in front of the windows and wrapped the rugs around them both. "Let's watch it snow." He had also grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass for them to share.

In the distance the streets lights were casting a soft glow so that they could see the light flutter of snow. It settled quietly on the trees and the veranda railing. It always seemed so peaceful when it snowed and could make you forget that out there, somewhere shit was happening.

Kim curled up between his legs and he looped one arm around her shoulder and started kissing her hair, cheek and neck. "We should do this more often."

"Every Christmas." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. They hadn't talked about a future yet and she bit her bottom lip nervously wondering if he heard it. Adam grabbed the glass from her hand, brushing her fingers lightly.

He whispered softly in her ear. "Deal."

They settled back into a comfortable silence, the glass of whiskey passing wordlessly between them. Kim eventually was the one who broke the tranquillity when she jumped up suddenly declaring it was "Present time." She was almost giddy with excitement as she skipped over to her long forgotten bag and pulled out a small brightly wrapped box. Kim knelt down in front of him. "Merry Christmas Adam."

Her enthusiasm was infectious although when he started to open the present she chewed her bottom lip nervously. She had bought him a box of cigars, encased in a beautiful wood and leather box and included a clipper and lighter. It wasn't the thing she liked about him the most, his cigar habit but he enjoyed it and she hoped he would like the gift.

He loved it; reaching forward he grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her close. "Thank you, it's amazing. I love it." Crashing his lips into hers he hoped that she could tell how much it meant to him that she had got something that was a passion of his even though he knew she didn't really like it.

"Do you like it really?"

"I really like it and I really like you." He repeated. Reaching out and grabbing her hand he tugged it lightly until she fell against him. "I suppose you would like your gift now."

"You don't have to give me anything." Kim rocked back on her heels as Adam pulled himself up off the floor. He disappeared into his bedroom and came back with a store wrapped present.

"Of course I do."

Inside was a pair of beautifully soft long black leather gloves. She held them up against her cheek and inhaled their subtle leather scent. "Oh Adam, they are beautiful." She slipped them on and then ran her hands up and down his arms. "Thank you." Her kiss was soft.

"I might even let you keep them on while we have sex." He cocked his head to the side and smiled cheekily. "Maybe with those boots you arrived in."

Kim leant towards him and paused as he tried to kiss her. She leant past him and grabbed the bottle of whiskey and glass making sure that her body pushed him back against the couch. "That would look ridiculous."

They shared another glass, passing it back and forth while talking more about their families at Christmas. "There was never any presents under the tree on Christmas Eve, so Amanda and I would go to bed trying to stay awake to see if we could hear Santa coming and dropping off all our presents because in the morning they were all there. It was amazing."

"Did you ever stay awake long enough?" Kim crossed her legs and bounced a little as she spoke. He could sense her excitement and he loved it when she started telling stories. They were always wildly entertaining and generally quite interactive.

"Never." Kim chuckled lightly. "As you can imagine I was always first to fall asleep." Adam often teased her about her ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat and sleep through anything.

"I am going to think about you a lot tomorrow." Adam lamented, as they lay curled up in bed together.

"I am glad we spent tonight together though." Kim mumbled sleepily. The wine, the whiskey, the wild sex and a long day at work catching up with her as her breath evened out and he realised that she was asleep.

Kim groaned at the sound of her alarm. Adam's arm was draped over her waist. He stirred and mumbled something as Kim turned and buried her head into his shoulder. "Morning Babe. Merry Christmas."

Kim kissed his shoulder before pushing herself up. "Merry Christmas." He smiled as she captured his lips in a slow long kiss and they spent a few moments together before Kim reluctantly climbed out of bed and into the shower. She had half and hour to be out the door. By the time she was showered Adam was up and had made her a coffee to go and had a bagel ready. He lingered for as long as possible over a goodbye kiss. "Stay safe and go spread some Christmas Cheer."

They sent a few texts back and forth through the day. Adam keeping her informed on how his day with his family was progressing and the status of his present haul while Kim was regaling him on the Christmas Crazy count and it was getting higher by the hour.

'Finally heading to dinner with the family….Final crazy count 14.'

When she got to her parents house she grabbed a quick shower. Opening her bag in the bathroom, sitting on top of her clothes was a present with a note slipped in the fold. 'Merry Christmas Baby, this is for you to open with the rest of your presents. No cheating.'

"I guess we are ready for presents now." Her mother rounded everyone up. As they worked their way through the pile of gifts she left the gift from Adam until last. "Who's that from?"

"Secret Santa…." She showed them the card and that is exactly what it said. "We had one a work." She carefully unwrapped the gift. "Oh my." She gasped. He had bought her an early edition of Pride and Prejudice – her favourite book. It was always on her nightstand; no matter what she was currently reading it was her go to book. Occasionally she would catch Adam read a few pages and they had talked about it being her favourite book since the first time she read it and now he had bought her a beautiful copy. Opening the front of the book she was hoping to find a note but there was nothing.

She grabbed her phone. 'I wish I could show you how much I love present right now.'

'So do I. Glad you like it, by the way I think you have very fine eyes too'

'Very smooth. Mr Darcy.'

Dinner passed quickly and as always was filled with plenty of food and laughter. She really did love being with her family and did look forward to one day introducing Adam to them. They were almost ready for that but they still were trying to work out how to do it and keep it from everyone at work. It was just too hard at the moment so they pushed it aside.

Amanda watched her sister carefully since she had arrived, from the secret gift to the texting she knew that she had something going on. "So who is he?" Amanda handed her a glass to dry as they were doing the dishes.

"Who is who?"

"Who is the secret Santa that has you all so giddy and happy? I saw the look when you opened that present and the goofy smile with all the text messages and it's not like you've been around much lately."

"Can we not talk about it right now." Kim grabbed the next glass. "It's a little complicated."

"Oh god, please don't tell me he's married or got kids."

"No he doesn't." Kim answered defensively.

"Then what?" she eyed her sister suspiciously trying to figure it out. "You're not seeing Gerry again are you? I thought we'd seen the back of him." Amanda rolled her eyes dramatically.

"No I am not seeing Gerry again. Have a little faith in me please." Getting out of this conversation was harder than she anticipated. No one was coming into the kitchen to save her. "It's just really early and we are just keeping it to ourselves right now. God knows I have jumped in with both feet before and it's hasn't worked out. I want to see where this is going before I expose him to the three hundred questions I know you have." Amanda opened her mouth to protest. "And don't even try to deny it."

"Okay, okay….but soon?"

"Soon I promise."

They had done the dishes and re-joined the rest of the family when Amanda noticed Kim again looking at her phone. Adam had sent her another message. 'My view is not as good as last night.' He accompanied it with a photo of the view out onto his balcony with just his feet in the picture and a glass of whiskey.

Amanda encouraged her to leave. "Go and see him. You know you want too. Just tell mum you are tired after work."

She barely gave it a second thought. Stopping at her place quickly she grabbed some clean clothes and got changed and she was out the door within minutes and shortly after was knocking on Adam's door. He was surprised to see her. "Yay." He cheered.

Stepping aside to let her in he tilted his head slightly to take in her appearance. His heart started beating a little quicker hardly daring to hope. Despite being rugged up in her long black coat she was wearing the gloves he had given her and he spied her black boots. "Don't tell me?" he grabbed the collar of her coat and undid the top button. Kim smiled sweetly as Adam peered down beneath her coat. "Oh yes, HO HO HO Merry Christmas to me." Beneath her coat she was wearing absolutely nothing.

As he took a step closer to her Kim stepped back and undid the next button, turning on her heel she walked over to the couch where she spied the empty whiskey glass and filled it up. Taking a mouthful she held out the glass for Adam to take. Smiling he stepped forward, liking the game she was playing brushing his fingers over hers as he grabbed the glass and took a slow mouthful of the whiskey. His eyes never left her face as she undid the next button. Again turning his back to him she headed towards the bedroom while undoing the final few buttons but she was still holding the coat closed when she turned around. Adam was standing in the doorway. "Take it off." He growled.

The coat slipped to the floor leaving her exposed wearing just the gloves and those boots. "Are you just going to stand there gaping like an idiot or what?"

"You know it's like standing at the edge of the water on a hot day. Sometimes you've gotta take a moment to imagine how perfect the water looks before diving in and finding out that it feels as good as it looks." He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor as he closed the distance between them. Kim's grabbed his belt buckle and worked at getting it undone as quickly as possible, not the easiest feat with leather gloves on. "Let me help." Adam removed his own jeans.

"So what made you change your mind about coming over?" Adam was lying with his head on her stomach while she played with his hair. "I thought you were staying at your parents?"

"Pride and Prejudice."

He looked surprised by her answer and when he caught her eye they both laughed. "I underestimated the power of that book. I am not sure Jane Austen had this in mind when she wrote it."

"Okay, maybe not the book as such more the thought behind it." Their hands were doing a silent dance as they often did, their fingers entwining softly.

"I was trying to think of something that when you opened it with your family it wouldn't scream this is from the guy who I am screwing but from the guy who is really enjoying getting to know you and what makes you tick."

"You nailed it."

"Why thank you."