A Holly For X-Mas

He puts his hand out to Holly and I nearly grab it and snap his fingers in half. I’d like to, but I got to control this insatiable animal part of me if I don’t want to ruin my brother’s party. Instead, I slap his back hard, just like he did to me (only I didn’t go flying forward like he does).

“This is my girl,” I say, part words, part growl. “And I was just about to get her a drink.”

I swallow her tiny hand in mine and pull her to the bar, possessiveness ripping through me. I want to own this girl. I want everyone to know it too. I want everyone to think one thing when they look at her: off-limits.

Of course Tom has a bar in his living room. There’s no more Tom thing than that.

“What can I get you two lovebirds?” the bartender asks. She’s a young blonde whose eyes linger on me as she runs her finger around the rim of the glass filled with maraschino cherries.

“Champagne?” I ask my new girl.

She nods. “Okay. I’ve never had it, but I’ve always wanted to try it.”

The bartender grabs two glasses and fills them with some bubbly.

“Cheers,” I say as I clink my glass to Holly’s. “We’re celebrating tonight. Our lives have changed forever.”

“Oh, really?” She’s grinning at me. “In what way?”

The bartender is eavesdropping. I don’t want anyone to hear this next part but my girl.

“Come.” I take her hand and guide her over to the huge Christmas tree. The thing is enormous. I have to tilt my head all the way back to see the top and even then I can’t see the angel. My brother and his wife will spend their money on anything. If they’re not more careful, Tom is going to be back to flipping burgers and asking me for money every month.

“This place is gorgeous,” Holly says as she touches the tree. “I’ve never seen such a big tree in a house before.”

“My brother loves Christmas,” I repeat with a shrug as I stare at her. She’s admiring the tree, that adorable chin tilted up, her sexy neck exposed in front of me. I groan from need when I see the lights reflecting in her blue eyes. She’s lit up with the soft glow of it, giving her an ethereal almost magical look.

She wraps those sweet plump lips around her glass and takes a sip of the champagne. I smile as her nose twitches up when the bubbles tickle it.

“You were saying something about our lives changing?” she says as she looks up at me with those wide curious eyes. “I know how my life is going to change. I’m going to be taking the bus from now on.” She covers her eyes with her hand and shakes her head. “I can’t believe I lost my car. It’s probably under ten feet of snow by now.”

I take her wrist and gently pull her hand away from her face. “I’m going to take care of it. I promise. I’m taking care of you now, Holly. I’m taking care of all of your needs. All of them.”

Those sexy little lips part as her eyes roam down to my big shoulders and then over my arms. I hope she likes tattoos because my arms and chest are covered in them.

“Tell me about yourself,” I beg. “I want to know it all. Every fascinating detail.”

“It’s not too fascinating,” she says shyly. If only she knew how absolutely captivating I find her. She doesn’t see her true value. “I’m a daycare teacher.”

“You take care of kids all day?”

She smiles and nods. I can see that. There’s a sweet gentleness to her that kids would respond well to. I can’t wait to see her with our kids. I’m going to give her as many as she can handle. I can’t wait to get started breeding that ripe budding womb. I groan from thinking about it.

“I do,” she continues in that soft lyrical voice. “I know most adults find it boring, talking to kids, making crafts, singing silly songs all day, but I don’t know… It’s fun. It’s very rewarding.”

She catches herself and drops her eyes. “Not as rewarding as saving lives like you, obviously…”

“It is,” I say as I take her hand and get those stunning blue eyes back onto me. “You are saving lives. A lot of those kids can’t get a second of attention from their parents. All they see is them staring at their phones. You give it to them. You’re a light in their day, like you’re a light in mine. Their spirits would be broken if it wasn’t for you.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she says with her cheeks turning pink.

“I would.”

We look at each other for a long heated moment, our eyes locked on one another. I step closer and a quiver teases through her as those sweet lips part.