My lips curve up faintly. “How far had you gone before last night?” I ask, running my fingers along her jaw and drawing her gaze back to me.
“Only as far as I went with you. I had a boyfriend for part of last year, but it wasn’t super serious. We never made it past, like, over the clothes action.”
Pure as the driven snow, then.
“I intend to dirty you up quick,” I warn her.
Offering me a playful smile, she says, “I’m a very fast learner. You can ask my teacher if you don’t believe me.”
“Nah, that guy’s a dick,” I joke.
Scowling in jest, she pokes me in the shoulder. “Hey, don’t talk about my man that way.”
My gaze drops from her face and follows the trail of her robe. I push the rest of it off her and slide my hand down her side, caressing her bare hip, then running my hand over her smooth little ass.
Noelle sighs softly and wraps her arms around me, curling a leg around my thigh. “Are we going for round four?”
I nod as I lean in to kiss her. “I think we have to,” I murmur against her lips.
“I don’t have to do anything,” she brags, mocking me again.
I roll my eyes and push her onto her back, pinning her little ass to the bed and showing her just how wrong she is.
Epilogue
Noelle
One Year Later
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring tingle tingling too.
Come on, it's lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you…
I hum along to the Christmas music as I refill the chest full of plastic-wrapped candy canes. My early shift at the North Pole is nearing its end, but my day isn’t even half over. I’m so preoccupied thinking about my plans for the evening, I don’t even notice the extremely dashing dark-haired gentleman approaching.
“Excuse me, miss. I was told I could get an Elfie over here. How do you feel about posing topless?”
Pleasure washes through me and I feel myself light up like a Christmas tree as I lift my gaze to Cal’s. “What are you doing here, troublemaker? We’re supposed to meet up at my mom’s house in an hour.”
Cal leans over the countertop, claiming my lips in a quick, possessive kiss. “I was in the area. Picking up something for tonight.” He lifts the Daring Dolls bag so I can see. “Figured I’d drop by and see my favorite elf while I’m here.”
“Mm, well, I’m glad you did,” I murmur, leaning in to steal another kiss. One is never enough with him.
Speaking of one, it has been one whole year since we spent the night together at the Marymount Inn. One beautiful, intense, incredible year with this maddening, gorgeous, wonderful man.
Cal promised me that morning that he would be good to me from then on, and while I hoped it was true and he wouldn’t push me away again, I had my doubts about his ability to follow thro
ugh.
It turns out, he was better than his word. He hasn’t just treated me well since deciding to give in to this attraction, he’s been the absolute best—my shoulder to cry on when things get stressful, my challenging partner, pushing limits and demanding my best when I forget to be brave. He’s my best friend, my lover, and yes, my teacher. Cal still teaches me things all the time, even though he doesn’t get paid to anymore.
Now that I haven’t been in his class for a good six months, we’ve finally decided to go public with our relationship. It’s been a hard secret to keep, especially from my mom, but I started dropping hints that I was seeing someone a few weeks ago, and tonight I’m finally bringing Cal home.
He doesn’t stay at the North Pole for long since he has to get ready for dinner, too. I’m sure it’s not his first choice to spend our anniversary having dinner with my mom, but he made our after-dinner plans, so he’s going along with it.