“Hmm?”
“Get on your knees, Piper.”
The command ran straight through her, sparking just enough energy to do as he said. She turned over and scrambled up onto all fours, and then Kol’s hands were on her hips, pulling her back against him. He ran a hand along her spine, taking her gently by the back of the neck and guiding her down into the softness of the blankets. “Relax,” he said, and she wiggled her hips as she set her cheek against the pillows.
With a hand hooked around her hip to keep her back half aloft, his knees came between hers, and he pressed slowly into her opening, slick and eager. Piper moaned into the blankets, grabbing handfuls of fluff as he filled her up from behind inch by throbbing inch. She pressed back, but there was very little room to move, and she savored being held onto so snuggly, the ridge of his head knocking against newly sensitive spots as it slid deeper.
Fingers massaged at her neck, another hand sliding away from her hip and caressing her breast. She could feel the drool pooling around her face as she rocked her head sideways to glance over her shoulder. Kol notched himself all the way inside her, and she sucked in the deepest breath. His eyes were closed, lip bitten, hair falling in his face.
“Fuck me,” she finally demanded, and she pressed back against him hard.
Kol drew backward and plunged in, and Piper shrieked with delight at the electricity that sizzled through her. He persisted, and she met his rhythm, and she never wanted to stop.
But then he did, and she could hear him breathing as he pulled out of her. “Flip over,” he grit out.
She made a perplexed noise, more alert than before, but he took her by the hip, and she was on her back again.
Kol gathered up her leg and tossed it over his shoulder. “I want to see your face when you come,” he huffed, sliding himself inside her once again, and Piper nearly did then, toes curling as his fingers found the spot that would take her all the way. “Tell me when you’re close, baby.”
“Oh, god, now,” she cried, matching his speed, and the two collapsed together in a panting, satisfied mess.
“Happy Christmas Eve Eve,” Piper hummed against Kol’s cheek when they finally settled into one another’s arms. She was so drained, she didn’t notice that there was no hesitation in his desire to hold her.
“Christmas Eve Eve,” he repeated with a chuckle. “Is that a thing?”
She shrugged. “It is now.”
“Oh, shit.” He sat up. “It’s the twenty-third. You missed ice skating.”
Piper pressed her hand to his cheek and pulled him back down. “That was a lot better than ice skating.”
He groaned but fell in next to her and they lay there together, listening to the wind howl. After a bit, Piper worked up a little courage and asked, “Okay, Kol, please tell me why you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to know what’s actually wrong with—oh, god, wait,do youhave a girlfriend? A real one, I mean.”
Kol’s chest rumbled with laughter. “No, no I don’t.”
“You’re sure? There isn’t a gorgeous, leggy elf who would get very angry if she heard you say that?” She squeezed onto him. “Someone with scary tree powers that would turn me into an elm for touching you?”
“Elves are actually a lot better at sharing than you’d expect, but no, there is no one who cares enough about me to do anything like that to you, and there never has been.”
She looked at him dubiously.
“There have been girls, er, elves. A lot of them, actually, but I’m only appealing to them in one very specific way which means I’m good for a good time but only for a short time. Elves don’t explore too far outside their own kind, so when they want something adventurous, they come to me, but not when they want to mate, you know? Actually mate, I mean—longterm. Obviously I can’t give them children—I can’t even give them longer than, what, maybe a tenth of their life?”
Piper traced circles on his chest, frowning. “You told me there are all sorts of beings where you come from, but you never tried to date anyone who isn’t an elf?”
“That would just ostracize me more. My mother has a hard enough time cleaning up after me.” Kol tightened his grip on her despite his words feeling like they were pushing her away. “I don’t want anyone to have to clean up after me.”
Piper nodded, appreciating that, but her chest still filled up with melancholy. “Well, what are you going to do then?” she asked quietly.
Kol hummed, and he rested his head on hers. “I’m going to fall asleep beside you for a little bit, and then I’m probably going to wake you up in an hour and beg you to fuck me again.”
She let herself laugh because it was all she could do, and the truth was that she didn’t want it to end, the night they had carved out of space and time itself, so she was happy enough to doze beside him before the fire and wait for him to rouse her to do it all over again.
26
