“H-hi, Ivan,” she says, her voice thick and stuffy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately. “Are you okay?”
She swallows back a sob and nods, beckoning me inside. “Come in out of the storm.”
The cabin is warm, the remains of Ruby’s breakfast still on the table. I join her by the fire, watching her like a hawk. Seeing her cry hurts like hell. It makes me want to do something…anything to make her smile again.
“What’s going on, Candy Cane? Talk to me.”
Ruby shakes her head. “It’s nothing. Sorry, I’m being dumb…I shouldn’t be getting so upset.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “I just got off the phone with my brother. He’s snowed in, and the road to his cabin is totally blocked. I thought it might clear up in time for tomorrow, but”—she gestures miserably at the window—“it’s not letting up. So, I don’t think I’ll make it to his cabin for Christmas.”
“Shit,” I mutter. “I’m sorry.”
I hadn’t even considered how the snowstorm would ruin her Christmas plans.
“It’s okay. Just one of those things, I guess.” Ruby musters up a watery smile. “Thanks for coming to check on me. Do you want a hot chocolate?”
Fuck, she’s so sweet. Her tears are barely dry and she’s already offering me drinks. I can’t let this angel spend the holidays alone. But before I can find the right words to ask her, I’m already grunting like a damn caveman. “Come over.”
She blinks at me. “Sorry?”
“Do you…will you come over?” I clear my throat. “To my cabin. For Christmas.”
Ruby cocks her head. “But you hate Christmas?”
I shrug. “Yeah. But you don’t, and it would suck for your day to be ruined ‘cause of some snow.”
She’s still looking at me. I can’t figure out her expression. Maybe she’s trying to think up a polite way to say no. But I need this. Hell, I need it way more than she does. I needher. She might think I’m just trying to be nice by inviting her over. But the truth is, I can’t keep my distance any longer. The last three days have felt like a fucking eternity. Even if she’s heading back to Miami soon…even if I’ll never see her again…I still want to savor every second.
Sure, I don’t give a damn about the holidays.
But Ruby?
Well, I guess I care about this curvy little angel more than is good for me.
“Look, I know it’s not exactly your dream Christmas,” I tell her, breaking the silence. “I know I’m just an old Grinch with no holiday spirit. But I’ll try to make it special. We can do whatever you want?—”
The final word is barely out before Ruby rises on her tiptoes and throws her arms around me, pulling me down toward her. I’m too shocked to move. Frozen. My heart roars in my ears. Then she squeezes tight, and I jerk to life, hugging her back. She’s so tiny that I have to crouch a little, my thigh tingling in protest. But I don’t care. I could be in agony right now and I still wouldn’t let go. All I care about is Ruby: her vanilla-sweet scent, the feel of her plump curves melting against me. Driving me wild.
Fuck.
I can feel my cock swelling against my jeans. Soon, she’ll feel it too, pressing against her belly, impossible to ignore. The rock-hard evidence of exactly what she’s doing to me. But then she pulls away just in time.
I miss her warmth instantly. My body feels cold and taut without Ruby in my arms. But then she beams at me—a bright, beautiful beam that radiates from every pore.
“Thank you, Ivan,” she says. “I’d love to come to your cabin for Christmas.”
And suddenly all the warmth comes flooding right back.
7
RUBY
I can’t stop smilingat myself in the bathroom mirror as I pull on a fresh festive sweater and some jeans. Ivan is waiting for me in the living room. I can hear him pacing around, the floorboards creaking beneath his feet. Just knowing he’s there sends butterflies flapping around my belly.
I was pretty devastated when I got that call from my brother this morning, but Ivan has changed everything. It was so freakin’ sweet of him to ask me over. He didn’t have to do that. I’m sure he would have preferred a quiet Christmas, just him and North, so it means the world that he offered.
This “Grinch” has officially saved my Christmas.
