Grey’s teeth grazed my shoulder, and then he relaxed against me, pressing the weight of his body against my back. We both let out a long relaxed breath. I wasn’t sure why we hadn’t done that before, I didn’t even know what that position was called, but it would be my number one request from now on.
Grey rolled onto his back, and I tucked my head against his shoulder. “I’m glad I flew up here.” He ran his fingers through my hair.
“Me too. I couldn’t imagine not doing that with you on Christmas.” I giggled. “That, and I was miserable without you here.” I leaned forward and kissed him.
“I don’t want you to be miserable. Ever.” His hand slipped to the curve of my waist. I closed my eyes, knowing all I wanted for Christmas was lying here with me.
I woke up naked and alone. The covers beside me were flat.
“Grey?” For a second, I was worried I had dreamed the entire reunion and he was still in South Padre.
“Hey, darlin’.” He appeared in the doorway, his hair wet from the shower. “I think you should get dressed before we go to your parents’ for coffee.” He walked toward the bed and sat next to me.
I cocked my head to the side. “I was hoping you’d still be naked when I woke up.” I chewed my bottom lip and eyed his flannel shirt.
“Oh no, I’m not starting off on the wrong foot with your dad.” He tried to stand from the bed, but I wrapped myself in his lap. “Eden, what are you doing?”
I kissed his neck and started with the top button on his shirt. “We can walk over in a few minutes, can’t we?” I slid my hands in his shirt, and smiled when I felt him take a sharp inhale.
“No, no.” He took my wrists in his hands. “Coffee, Christmas itinerary, pageant, and then you can have your way with me tonight.”
I pouted. “You’re serious?” I watched as he took a few steps back from the bed.
“Dead.” He smiled.
I stretched my arms overhead and pointed one foot on the floor followed by the other. “Not even shower sex?” I strutted past him toward the bathroom.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“That’s all I’m trying to do.” I turned the hot water on, waiting for him to walk in and say he had changed his mind, but once the steam filled the bathroom, I knew I had lost the morning’s battle.
“I’ll just wait for you in the living room,” Grey called through the shower curtain.
I showered and was ready to make the short trek to the main house in twenty minutes. Without Grey, there wasn’t much point in dragging out the shower.
“Good morning, honey.” My mom placed a stack of pancakes on the table.
“Good morning.” I marched over to the coffee pot and retrieved two mugs for Grey and me.
“How did you sleep, Grey?” Mom asked.
Grey cleared his throat. “Great. Thanks for letting me, eh—us stay in the guesthouse.”
“Of course. We thought you’d be the most comfortable there instead of Eden’s old room.” She circled back with butter and syrup.
My dad walked in the room. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, sir.” Grey’s posture seemed to straighten as soon as my father entered the kitchen.
I stifled a giggle. I handed Grey a cup of coffee. He smiled as he took it from me.
“Mom, what else do you have planned today before the church pageant?”
She settled into her seat. “Nothing, but baking and wrapping. Was there something you wanted to do?”
I looked outside. Snow covered the ground. We had to have gotten at least eight inches. “I don’t think I want to drive around in this if we don’t have to.” I turned to Grey. “Unless there’s something you wanted to do.”
“This is all you, darlin’. I’m just along for the ride.”
I thought about our options in my small town. If we were going to be snowed in for the day, there were a hundred things I thought we could do together, but adding my parents to the mix complicated the options.
“Actually, I could use some help getting more wood loaded in the garage.” My dad rustled the newspaper.
“I could help with that, sir. No problem.”
“Thank you. Between the two of us, it shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
“Have you ever been in snow before?” I asked. Clearly, it never snowed in South Padre.
“I took a few ski trips in college, but that’s all. Driving in it last night from the airport was a first.” Grey cut into his pancakes.
There were still a lot of gaps in Grey’s past I didn’t know about, such as his college years. We never talked about his time at Texas State.
“We could go for a hike later after you’re done with the firewood.”
“All right. Sounds fun.” He smiled over his coffee.