Snow and Mistletoe(10)

It’s Christmas Eve, and I feel like a kid waiting on Santa Claus to show up. Only Santa Claus is in my guest room upstairs and I’m scared shitless to go up there. If only there was a way to know what she’s thinking. Is she disgusted by my scars? Is she disappointed in what she found when she showed up? God, how I pictured meeting her, seeing a thousand different scenarios in my mind, none of which included her showing up here in the middle of a snowstorm and seeing all my scars.

Sighing, I roll over onto my back and look at the wooden ceiling. I don’t know what to do. I need a sign or something. I look over at the fireplace in my bedroom. I watch the burning embers and wish for a Christmas miracle.

Suddenly, there’s a pop, and the night light in the bathroom goes out. I sit up, and it’s utterly silent. No refrigerator running, no hum of the heat kicking on upstairs. Shit. This is definitely not the Christmas miracle I was referring to.

I get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and flip the switch. Nothing.

There’s electric heat and air in the cabin, but in the winter, I often lose power. There’s a backup generator, but I never bothered to get kerosene for it. Shit. It’s always just been me, and I can make do with the fireplace in the living room and bedroom. Hell, there’s a cook stove in the kitchen for me to make hot meals on, and outside is basically a twenty-four-seven refrigerator this time of year. I’ve never thought twice about the power going out. Until now.

Looking up at the wooden ceiling in my room again, all I can think about is Noelle getting colder by the minute. I start to walk out of my bedroom and realize I need to put some clothes on. Normally, I sleep naked, but I don’t think she’d appreciate my showing up in her bedroom naked and asking her to come with me.

My cock twitches at the thought, and I reach down, pinching the tip a little to try to get it to go down. I can’t have a fucking hard-on right now.

Taking a few breaths, I look down and see my cock getting bigger instead of softening. “Fuck.” Now is not the time. I pull on some tight boxers and some sweats and a long T-shirt. Hopefully, all the layers will cover it up.

I make my way up the stairs and knock lightly guest room door. When there’s no answer, I knock a little louder. I pause, waiting, but when there’s no sound, I start to panic and wonder if something could have happened to her. Maybe she tried to leave, after all.

Opening the door, I look in and see her sleeping on the bed, still all bundled in her coat. I walk over silently and stand by the bed, looking down at her. The soft moonlight streaming in through the window makes her look like an angel. I never thought in all the times I looked at her picture that she could be more beautiful, but here she is, proving me wrong.

Her soft full lips part slightly, and all I can think about is kissing them.

“Alex,” she whispers, and I start. I think for a second she’s awake and knows I’m here, but she doesn’t move and doesn’t open her eyes.

She’s dreaming of me.

The thought has my heart beating out of my chest, and the biggest, goofiest smile crosses my face. She’s dreaming of me. Me!

I reach down and scoop her up in my arms, carrying her out of the room. She wakes a little at the movement, wrapping her arms around me, her body clinging to mine.

“Alex?” This time when she says my name, I can hear she’s still a little sleepy but coming round.

“The power’s gone out, and there’s no heat up here. You can sleep downstairs with me.” My cock tries to break free of my underwear at the feeling of her in my arms and the image of her in my bed. Even though there are about three feet of layers between me and her body, having her against me is heaven.

The temperature is in single digits outside right now, and the chill is settling in fast upstairs. The house is built well and insulated for the cold, but even a place like this is affected during this kind of winter.

“Okay.” She leans into me a little more, and I feel her cheek press against my neck. I nearly lose my footing on the last step. My body goes rigid with equal parts fear and lust.

I walk back to my bedroom and place her on my bed, and she looks up at me sleepily. “Where am I?” She blinks awake, and I turn away from her to grab some more wood and throw it on the hot coals. The fire comes to life, crackling as the flames lick the logs, and I stand still, facing away from Noelle.

“You’re in my bed. It will be warm in here for you tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.” I grab a blanket and pillow from the closet and throw them on the ground between the bed and the fireplace. “The fire in the living room is out, and it’s late.” I don’t mention that I could get it going again in about sixty seconds, opting instead to keep that fact to myself.