“That’s your birthday,” I corrected with a laugh.
“April seventeenth.”
“What?” My mind was all foggy from the heat of his mouth against the back of my neck, but also the wine and spiked eggnog catching up to me.
“My birthday. It’s April seventeenth. I’ll take my wish in advance if Scrooge here won’t give me a Christmas one.”
“Hey!” I spun so I could meet his twinkling eyes. Like I could deny this man anything. If anyone deserved a Christmas wish, it was Paul. “You can have a wish.”
“Good. It’s Christmas Eve, it was a great day, and I get to wake up with you tomorrow. Let me put you to sleep the fun way.”
“It was a good day.” I looped my arms around his neck. He was right. It was Christmas Eve, and for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t by myself. That alone deserved celebrating. Being here felt a little like a dream, like a wish I’d been too scared to make on my own, but if this was what Paul wanted, I wasn’t going to hold back. I pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. “We still better be quieter than usual.”
“Trust me, I can be plenty quiet. You’re the screamer.” Smiling, he deftly undid my pajama shirt buttons. “Let’s save these for the morning.”
“Deal, but I get to pick out something better for you.” I finished undressing, making sure not to leave them on the floor.
“I have a rather limited selection of plaid.” He wriggled out of his sweatpants, giving me an excellent view of his ass as he put them on the chair next to my pajamas. Turning back to me, he smiled, and for a second, all those cheesy wishes I tried never to make bubbled up.
“I could fix that.” I made my voice light, another joke, nothing serious. But in a perfect world, this would be Paul’s last Christmas in ratty sweats, and I’d boss him and Jim into matching me next year in some ridiculous print that made for a good photo opportunity. But this wasn’t a perfect world, and next year was something I dared not think about, let alone get my hopes up for.
“Ha. I have better uses for you than shopping.” He gave me a sinful grin. I supposed that was a win, him wanting me for sex, but part of me wanted him to need me. For planning. For shopping. Something. That he didn’t was both a joy and a frustration. I loved watching him succeed, but I couldn’t help wanting to be needed too.
“Put me to work.” I pulled him close for another kiss before he could meet my eyes and see how much I wanted exactly that. He even tasted like Christmas—rum and spice and sweet, a memory in the making—and I couldn’t get enough. Our bare torsos met, and we both groaned. The rough rasp of his fuzzy chest countered by the gentleness of his mouth was enough to make me dizzy.
“Bed,” he growled as he released me long enough to flip off the lights. I crawled into the bed, but he took a moment to open the window curtains. The Reeds’ cheerful lights across the street filtered in along with other glimpses of the neighborhood displays farther down the hill.
“Oh, that was a perfect idea.” I grinned as he slid in next to me under the covers and gathered me close. “I’m thanking the Reeds for their lights.”
“Uh-huh. Put that thank you on the app you all use.”
“Sure. Thank you to the Reed family for inspiring Paul to…” I trailed off on a gasp as he lightly bit my shoulder.
“Go on.” He licked where he’d bit before dropping kisses on his way back to my neck.
“Thank you. Just that. Thank you.” I meant him, not the Reeds, and he seemed to get that as he snuggled up tighter along my back.
“That’s my line. You made a great night for Brandon and Elaine.”
“You did that. I was just along for the ride.” My tone was far more wistful than I’d intended.
“Gideon.” Paul’s voice went deliciously stern. “It was your plan. You saved our Christmas. Accept the praise.”
“All right.” Arguing wasn’t what I wanted to do right then, not with his hard cock against my ass and his voice all warm in my ear.
“Mmm. I like you all compliant.” He kissed the back of my neck, hands roaming all over my front and sides.
“Don’t get used to it. And you should let me play too.” I tried to turn, but he flexed his arms, locking me against him. Damn. Displays of brute strength had never done it for me before, but apparently, Paul going all he-man on me was my new favorite thing. I sagged against him, letting him have his way and reaping the benefit as he touched and teased.
“I want to be the one to light you up,” he whispered. Continuing to nibble my neck, he swept his hands over my chest, thumbs flicking against my nipples.
“You do.” Already every nerve ending was singing, simply from being this close to him. He slid one hand lower to stroke my stomach before gripping my cock. Much as I liked the attention, I worried I should be doing more for him. “We can…”
“Quit trying to direct.” He nipped my shoulder. “Enjoy. This right here is perfect.”
He punctuated his words by grinding against my ass, erection rubbing on me.
“Hard to argue with that,” I snickered.