Jingle Bell Wolf by Terry Spear
Chapter 24
The next morning it was Christmas Day and Gabrielle woke in Landon’s arms, knowing that she had gone to heaven. She didn’t want to get up for anything. This was getting to be a typical trend for her with him. Normally, she practically jumped out of bed to get her day started, no matter what she had to do, whether it was a workday or a fun day off. But Landon had changed her morning wake-ups to something altogether different—and infinitely more fun and sexier.
He kissed her mouth.
“Merry Christmas, honey,” she said.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. You know, the sooner we get up to bake our casserole, the sooner we’ll be able to return to bed,” he said.
She chuckled. “Are you excited about Christmas?” She wished they could have been at Doc Mitchell’s house already.
“Not as much as I’m looking forward to returning to bed with you.”
She laughed. “You are such a wolf.”
She threw on some blue pajamas and slippers, and he dressed in some gray pajama bottoms and slippers. She had some Christmas ones under the tree, but they needed to unwrap them.
She started baking the sausage casserole in the oven while he made them a cup of coffee and hot tea.
Gabrielle was used to working on Christmas Day—at least for emergencies, since she’d been the only vet at the clinic without a family. This time, Phillip was taking the calls for Christmas and she and Landon were excited about moving tomorrow. She hadn’t had anyone special like this to actually share Christmas with since her parents had died.
She and Landon were having steaks for lunch instead of a turkey or ham, because they were moving the next day and didn’t want to have leftovers. And they weren’t really opening a bunch of presents here, though she’d been amused he’d brought some smaller packages with him in one of his suitcases. Of course she had bought him some things, too, once he said he was going to be with her for Christmas.
She smiled when she opened the hand-carved wolf ornaments for her tree—their tree. “I was going to wait until I returned to Silver Town to get some.”
He smiled. “I figured they were small enough and packable, and I wanted you to have a Christmas memory of the time you spent with us at the lodge.”
“I love them.”
He opened a package and found a pair of pajama bottoms for Christmas—howling Arctic wolves on red flannel. “Yes!”
She laughed.
He kicked off his slippers and stripped out of his gray pajamas right in front of her. Smiling, she shook her head. He was just so hot. He pulled on the new pajamas and looked down at them.
She ran her hand over his buttocks. “Hmm, it fits, but it’s still loose enough to be comfortable for sleeping, and it’s fun, Christmassy, and looks hot on you.”
“They’re great. Once I’m in bed with you, they’ll be joining your pajamas.” He leaned down and kissed her.
She kissed him back, and then she opened her present from herself so she’d have matching pajamas with him. She hadn’t worn Christmas pajamas since she was a little girl. This was going to be fun.
“Now I like that.” He helped her unbutton her shirt and kissed her bare breasts.
She chuckled. Then he pulled the new shirt over her head and cupped her breasts in the soft flannel top. He leaned down to pull on her pants, touching her between her legs as if he’d gotten distracted, and then helped her on with her new pants.
She was ready to return to bed with her sexy wolf.
Next, he opened a gift card that was for a store that sold great barbecue grills.
“For our new house. I’m expecting all kinds of grilling from you once the snow melts.”
He laughed. “You’ve got it.”
She opened a package and found her very own staff T-shirt and sweater. “Awww.” She ran her hand over the embroidered wolves.
“As our honorary member for helping to save a snowboarding guest of our lodge, for helping with an injured skier on the slope who ended up shifting into a wolf, for locating the kittens and momma cat in the room near yours, for helping find Rosco and bringing him home, and for being one of the family.”
She wiped away tears and gave him a big hug and kiss. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be part of your family.”
He hugged her to his chest. “We feel the same way about you. None of us wanted to let you go.”
Then he opened one of his presents and smiled. “Blue board shorts. These are great.”
“For lake swimming and swimming in the pool.”
And she opened a package that contained a string bikini—hot pink. She laughed.
“I figured you might want one for the lake instead of always wearing a Christmas one out of season.”
“I thought we were swimming in the raw.”
He smiled. “You can start out in the bikini.” He opened a package and found she’d given him a beach towel featuring a couple of gray wolves on a blue background.
He’d bought her one too—only hers was a wolf on a bright-pink beach towel to match her bikini. He’d gotten her gift cards for skis, poles, ski boots, ice skates, an annual ski pass, and snowshoes.
She’d given him a gift card for a canoe he’d been eyeing in a store in Daytona Beach. But the company had stores in Colorado too so they would deliver it to the house before they arrived home, someone from the family accepting the delivery.
The timer went off on the oven, and she hurried to get their sausage casserole out.
“Thank you for all my gifts,” she said.
“I love mine. My family wants us to have a little Christmas get-together when we arrive home.” He set the table, made her a cup of tea, and poured some more coffee for himself. Then they sat down to eat.
“That would be great.”
“This is delicious. We’ll have to make this next Christmas for the family,” Landon said.
“You all make such special dishes, I’m glad you enjoy one of mine.”
“You bet.”
Once they finished breakfast, they were going to clean up, but she stuck the casserole dish in the sink to soak and he put the dishes in the dishwasher. Then she pulled off her Christmas pajamas and he smiled.
“Sex later. I’m trying out my new string bikini in the pool—last chance.” Since they were moving tomorrow and she didn’t think she’d get another opportunity to wear it in the pool. She headed into the living room to dress in her bikini.
Joining her, he stripped out of his Christmas pajamas and grabbed his new board shorts. “I’m totally game. I’m off to catch my mermaid in a string bikini this time. The first time I tried, she did a vanishing act.”
She laughed and hurried to tie up her bikini top and headed for the pool. It wasn’t as big a pool as the lodge’s so she knew it wouldn’t take any time for Landon to reach her. This time, she was perfectly happy to have her wolf catch her as she jumped into the pool.
He dove into the pool and she glanced back over her shoulder. He was gaining on her, his perfect muscular arms and shoulders rippling with the effort. She did the unexpected: stopped and waited for him.
And he smiled. This time he would catch her, and she was so ready.
He wrapped his arms around her. “Merry Christmas, my wolf and mermaid all wrapped up in one.”
She wrapped her legs around him. “Merry Christmas, my hunky wolf, ski instructor, and all-around superhero. I so love you.”
They began to kiss, and he untied the straps to her bikini top and let it fall to the bottom of the pool. She chuckled and kissed him back. “You will have to dive to retrieve it later. Can you imagine what would happen if Phillip took possession of the house and found it?”
“He would know I caught a mermaid in the pool before we left. Only I kept her and left something behind.”
“No way. That’s half of my bikini Christmas present.”
Landon began to untie her bikini bottoms and once he had untied them, they went the way of the bikini top, sinking slowly to the bottom of the pool. She looked down at her bright-pink bikini down there. Two could play at this game. She pulled off his board shorts and they sank to the bottom of the pool.
He chuckled, and then he was kissing her and she was thoroughly into this. In the pool on Christmas Day with the love of her life.
Their tongues laved each other’s as she wrapped her legs around his and hugged him tight. He was keeping them afloat with his hands on her bottom, clasping her close to him.
He released her bottom and slid his hands up her waist, then to her breasts and squeezed them gently, kissing the swell of them. “This makes up for me not catching you the first time,” he whispered against her forehead, then placed a reverent kiss there.
“The game would have been over too quickly if you had.” She kissed his mouth, her hand cupping the back of his head while she really gave the kiss every ounce of passion she possessed.
“I was glad to catch you the next morning.”
“I was glad you were the one doing the catching.” She kissed him again, their tongues sliding over each other’s before he reached down between them and began to stroke her.
His erection was already full blown, ready for pleasure. Something about water and sex came together for them. She was a Florida girl, what could she say?
He carried her out of the pool and into the house, and they ended up on the bed.
He was kissing her mouth, her neck, nibbling on her shoulder. She was arching away from him as he applied his erotic touch to her feminine nub. The climax was coming and she was stretching for the peak. Wanting it now, to sleep afterward, and make love to her wolf again.
She kept her feet anchored around him. She couldn’t think of a better way to make love to him before she left her Florida home for good. But only because he truly was the one for her, the kind of lover she couldn’t ever have envisioned having. The one who gave her everything she needed when she hadn’t thought she needed anything more in her life. Boy, was she wrong.
He made her whole world complete. She tightened her legs around the back of his, and before she could come, he surged into her—exquisite ecstasy, filling her to the brim—thrusting deep inside her.
The wolf was hot. Oh so hot, and heating her blood to sizzling. Their hearts were beating as if in a swimmer’s race, their bodies united in that form of intimate bliss that mated wolves could share.
She was so glad they hadn’t waited to mate, that she had opened her heart up to him and he had reciprocated. She’d never expected making love to him would feel this intensely satisfying.
He was holding her hips while she kept her legs wrapped around him as he continued to thrust, and then he moved one hand to her feminine nub and began to stroke her with determination.
He was a sea god in the flesh as he sent her over the edge, winging across the galaxy, the climax consuming her all at once. “Ohmigod, yes.”
Then he was filling her with his hot seed and he groaned with pleasure. He continued to thrust until he was spent, and then he pulled her into his arms and just hugged her soundly.
“I love you, Gabrielle. You are the only one meant for me.”
“Hmm.” She kissed him back. “I love you. I will dream about this forever. But before we clean up the dishes and take a well-deserved afternoon nap…”
“I have to go diving.”
“You sure do.”
“But you have to retrieve my new bathing suit.”
“Last one out with their treasure…” She left the bed and headed outside, him following her out to the pool. She dove into the pool to retrieve his board shorts.
He dove for her.
Life would never be the same for her, and she was so glad it wouldn’t.
* * *
Gabrielle couldn’t have been more suited to his personality, Landon thought as she dove for his swim trunks and he went after her. She was infinitely more fun to dive for than their clothes. And she loved how he wasn’t about to concentrate on getting them, but playing with her instead. He loved her, and when they finally finished playing with each other, chasing each other across the pool, and trying to grab their bathing suits after tackling each other numerous times, they rescued their bathing suits and ended up in the shower, then in bed. And finished their Christmas off just right as two newly mated wolves would.
* * *
The next day, the movers came bright and early. Landon was glad it was finally time for Gabrielle and him to move. Now they could settle down at Doc Mitchell’s house and she could start working once her license came through. Until then, his siblings had said he had all the time off from working at the lodge to be with her—skiing, riding snowmobiles, ice skating, getting the house set up the way they wanted it, and whatever else they wanted to do. Call it an extended honeymoon, they’d said. One of the things they had to do was shop for furniture. Blake had said their sisters could go with them and he would hold down the fort.
Once the moving van was on its way, Phillip arrived with his own moving van and Gabrielle wished him well at the clinic. He thanked her for the house and the job and wished her well at her new home and clinic.
Then Landon drove Gabrielle’s car and they headed to Colorado. His family would take delivery of the household goods when the moving van arrived, while he and Gabrielle were driving back to Silver Town at a more leisurely pace.
“I love your family,” Gabrielle said, settling against the seat as they drove through Florida.
“They’re great. We’ll do the same for Kayla and Roxie—when they find mates too. It’s what family is all about.”
“You know, we’re going to have to stop driving early.”
He smiled at her. “At a hotel with a swimming pool and—”
“An extra-soft bed.”
