LUKE
After breakfast, I helped Clara finish the decorations in my apartment. She talked me through all the different sections of lights, but I quickly got lost. Her words became static in my brain.
I had no idea how she’d kept all these different strands organized, even with her “grid” system. To her credit, the cords were taped up and out of the way, but it was still chaos to me.
I couldn’t be mad about it. Clara beamed brighter than the lights while explaining the plan she had followed. Her excitement was enough to get me on board. Seeing her happy filled me with joy, and letting her go wild in my apartment was a small price to pay in exchange.
The decorations looked great once they were all up and lit. My penthouse felt like Christmas in a way it never had before. I suspected it wasn’t just the lights and the tinsel making it feel that way. Clara’s presence was the difference.
She was teaching me that everything meant more when you had someone to share it with. The string lights blinked brighter, the fireplace spread more warmth, and even the Christmas songs playing from her phone were less annoying.
I caught myself softly singing along to “Frosty the Snowman”. I shook my head and chuckled. Two weeks ago, nothing could have persuaded me to sing a Christmas carol. Had I really changed so much in such a short amount of time?
Clara was standing on her tiptoes, reaching up to bunch up some light strands that had gone droopy. Her sweater pulled up, showing off a strip of her back, and her ass looked round and juicy in her yoga pants. I wanted to drop to my knees and take a bite.
As if she could read my thoughts, Clara glanced back at me, busting me ogling her butt. She smiled at me and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you with something?”
“You can help me with lots of things,” I said, waggling my brows at her.
“Uh huh.”
“I’ve been dying to ask you something,” I said to her, trying to pretend like I hadn’t been hypnotized by her curves.
“What is it?” She stopped fiddling with the lights to face me fully. “I’m not taking off my pants. Not until we’re finished.”
I laughed and nodded. “That’s good to know, but it’s not that.” I walked up to one of the twelve-foot nutcrackers and slapped it on the ass. “How the hell did you and Kerri get these giant nutcrackers in here? There’s no way they fit on the elevator.”
Clara laughed and came over to look up at one of the nutcrackers. “It seemed a shame to put them all in storage. I knew they would look amazing here.”
“Sure, but it’s twice your height.”
Clara grinned and shrugged. “Maybe I just asked them nicely and they walked right in here.”
I snorted. “Look, if anyone could sweet-talk some statues to life, I truly believe it would be you. But I have a feeling you’re messing with me.”
“Fine,” she said with sigh. “They come apart in sections. Sorry to ruin the magic.”
“You’ve already brought more than enough magic into my life,” I said, looking into her eyes. “I’m not sure I can take any more.”
Clara stepped toward me and put her hand on my chest. My heart started galloping immediately. It was difficult for me to think when she was so close to me. Difficult to breathe.
“There’s one thing your place is still missing,” she said. “But I needed to talk to you about it first.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you planning, Clara Snow? There’s nowhere for you to put a reindeer. And I’m not letting you bring home any elves you find out on the street. Imightbe open to putting up some mistletoe, but that’s just because I’ll take any excuse to kiss you.”
She groaned. “You don’t need an excuse to kiss me.”
So I did, parting her lips with my tongue. My hands grabbed two delicious handfuls of her ass which I had so recently been admiring. I was rock-hard instantly and I pressed my body into hers so she could feel what she did to me.
Clara shivered and pulled away as if it took real effort on her part. “While reindeer and elves all sound lovely, I was thinking of something a lot simpler. Something way more traditional and fundamental to any good Christmas decorations.”
“I’m drawing a blank,” I said, shrugging. Still looking in her eyes, I could barely remember my own name, much less figure out what she was talking about.
“You’re missing a Christmas tree,” Clara said simply.
My mouth opened in surprise. “Of course! How could I forget a tree?”
She laughed. “You didn’t decorate at all. So really, you didn’t forget the tree. I just didn’t bring one here.”
