A Christmas Home (3 page)

Chapter Four

The
next day dawned bright and clear, the snow from overnight a fresh, white,
fluffy layer on every surface. Streets were being scraped clean, and some folks
were out dusting off their own vehicles.

By
lunchtime, Ophelia had used up her entire store of patience and was more than a
little anxious for Jagger to arrive. She even started to watch the clock with
fifteen minutes to go in the hopes it would speed up the time she still had to
wait. It didn’t and only made her more anxious to see him again, something she
really would have to examine at some point.

His
voice reached her at one minute to one, sending her pulse into orbit. Her palms
began to sweat, and she had to resist the urge to jump him when he came into
sight. A hell of a lot harder to do than she’d realized. His long stride
brought him quickly toward her but still gave her a couple seconds to
appreciate his sauntering walk.

“Hi.”
She was a bit breathless as she spoke. “I was getting a little nervous that
maybe you decided not to meet me today,” she admitted with a small frown. “I
was hoping I was wrong. Then again I was here really early, too.” She took a
deep breath and damn her ass but she reached out and touched a long scratch on
his cheek. “Did you get into a fight or something?” She stroked her fingers
over the scratch that oddly enough looked to be healed over already. She was
sure she hadn’t seen that on him yesterday. Then again he’d said he was a
mechanic so maybe something happened there?

“No
fight,” he told her. Jagger stepped in closer so they were nearly pressed flush
to one another, his hands coming to land on her hips. “I made a promise to be
here and to show you around and I always keep my promises. I don’t make them
all that often, so when I do folks know I’m serious. So you are aware, I plan
to kiss you now. I’ve been thinking about it all night and all morning long.
Any objections?”

“None,”
she whispered and turned her face up to him, going up on her toes. “As long as
you don’t object to me kissing you back.” She moved her free hand from his
chest and wrapped it around his neck, tugging him down toward her. She kept her
other hand over his heart.

“No
objections at all from me.” Lowering his head, Jagger cupped her ass to grind
her against him. At the same time, his lips made contact. Firm and yet soft,
they were warm against her own. Ophelia had a hell of a time focusing, though,
with his hands on her ass. His lips teased hers open for the wet slide of his
tongue to her own.

He
was hard all over. She felt the length of his cock against his jeans. He
nibbled at her lips, took the kiss deeper and showed her what a real kiss was.
Man, she had been missing out like crazy all of her life if this was a kiss.
She tightened her hand around his neck, leaned into him even more, and took the
kiss deeper. His low growl sent vibrations through her entire body. His hands
flexed, then relaxed on her ass. Slowly he lifted his head to rub his nose to
hers. “We should go to lunch before I give in to the ideas running through my
head.” Another quick kiss, then his hands let her ass loose and slid up to her
lower back.

“Probably
a good idea.” She licked her lips and tightened her hand on his shirt, the hand
that was still on his chest. “You growled. That was so sexy.”

“You
liked that, huh?” At her nod, his lips twitched into a crooked grin. “I’ll
remember that for later. Come on, it’s time for lunch. Have you tried the diner
up the block yet?” he asked, stepping back to take her hand in his, lacing
their fingers together.

“Not
yet, no. It was on my list of places to try.” She gave his hand a squeeze and
chewed her lower lip, taking the taste of him into her mouth as she did so. “I
think I could become addicted to your kisses.” Which would make it that much
harder to leave when the time came. Damn. She liked this man, a lot. She had
done nothing but think about him since she met him.

She
caught him licking his lips. “I’m already addicted to your taste. So I guess we
should talk a little and get to know each other. That way when I eventually
give in to the urge to throw you over my shoulder, haul you off to a room with
a door that locks, and do plenty of sweaty, naked activities with you it won’t
feel so awkward.” Jagger pulled and held the door for her to step through
before following her out onto the sidewalk and reclaiming her hand.

That
had her grinning. “Or before I somehow trick you into going to my room with me
and doing all sorts of naked, sweaty things with you.” She shook her head.
“This is crazy. We’ve just met.” She wasn’t one to simply jump in. Her ex had
dated her for months before she slept with him, and her ex before him was the same
but for some reason with Jagger she wanted to have everything with him as soon
as humanly possible.

“You
wouldn’t need to trick me.” Reaching the diner, he held the door for her, and a
minute later they were seated in a booth by the windows, menus in hand. “It
also doesn’t matter that we only just met. Sometimes it happens that fast,
instant attraction, the pull to another person. It’s rare but not unheard of.
But like I said, we should learn a little bit more about each other before we
get to stripping our clothing off. By the by, the pulled pork sandwiches are
great, and all the soups are top notch.”

Ophelia
picked up a fork and idly twirled it. “I’d like to get to know you,” she said
and took a breath. Her mouth watered at the mention of pulled pork. “I love all
things pig. Funny, I know. Bacon, ham and pulled pork, yum. I would eat pig
over cow anytime. I know that’s pretty unusual, but that’s me, weird, but I
like me being weird.” She set the fork back on the napkin and reached for his
hand. “And dessert. If you are going to get me naked, you need to feed me
something sweet, you know.”

Jagger’s
lips twitched. “I’ll take that into consideration. There’s a bakery across the
street we could hit up on the way back to the hotel. Maybe once I’m through
with my meeting I could come back for dessert.”

She
nodded slowly. “But it doesn’t have to be tonight. From the way you were
talking, the meeting’s going to be pretty intense.” She didn’t want him to be
forced to do anything he didn’t want to do. “How about we eat, get the dessert
to go, and have it while we’re out on the snowmobiles? I’ll take you to the
spot that I like the best. It looks out over the valley and it is stunning.”

“Or
we could do that. But I’m still going to want to come back to see you after my
meeting. Maybe not for dessert, but definitely to spend time with you. I want
to know you, Ophelia, all about you. Let’s order and then you can tell me all
there is to know about your sexy little self.”

That
had her smiling. She wasn’t exactly a tiny girl. She was a fit size sixteen
with big boobs and a bigger butt but she was healthy and that was all that
counted. No one, not even her ex, had ever called her sexy. “I want to get to
know you, too, Jagger. I like your name, by the way.”

She
placed her order with the waitress who came to take their order, a woman who
was a perfect ten, the type of woman that handsome, sexy men like Jagger
typically went for. Oddly enough he didn’t give her attention save to give his
order. “What is it with this town? Everyone is so handsome or so gorgeous. All
of the world’s magazines could have came here to get their cover models.”

“Good
genetics, for the most part. The majority of the town are shifters. Even in the
animal kingdom they find their mate based on a number of factors, strength,
skill, and whatever ticks the box for looks in their mind. Which leads to damn
good-looking kids. Works the same way in the shifter world, although the fates
do have some help in choosing who we hook up with. They throw them in our path
and then it’s up to us to decide if they are truly the one for us or not. Why
are you staring at me like that? I know for a fact I haven’t grown a second
head.”

She
had her drink in her hand and stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait. What?” Her
hand shook when she put the drink down. “Shifters? Like werewolves?” Oh God,
that was it. He was hotter than hot but crazier than a fucking loon. That’s why
he was attracted to her. Was this him making fun of her? Did he lose a bet?
“That’s not even funny.” She scooted to the edge of the booth seat. “At all. If
you lost a bet or something or you were told to find the next
fattie
that came into town and fuck with
her I don’t appreciate it.” She was angry now, shaking. She was hurt, very
hurt, because she liked this man and now he was pretty much trying to weave a
tale of bullshit around her. She didn’t appreciate it and dammit she was
crying, which made her angrier.

“What
the hell, Ophelia?” Standing, he tugged her from the booth and led her to the
hall where the bathrooms were located. He pulled her into his arms and held
her. “There is no bet, and I don’t see any fatties in here, sweetheart. I’m not
lying to you, or pulling your leg. I’m giving you the facts as they are. You
can ask any of the locals, shifter or human, and they will tell you the same
thing. There are currently six shifter packs living here. I’m with the Kodiak
bears. We do have wolves, jaguar, lynx, grizzly, and tiger. Plus a nearly equal
amount of humans. We all live in harmony working and living side by side. I’m
sorry if you thought I was teasing you, but I’m not. I don’t do subtle very
well, have never liked playing games unless they’re sexual in nature, and I
prefer straight-up blunt truth. It tends to keep hurt feelings to a minimum.”

She
did the only thing she could think of. “Show me,” she whispered. “If you are a
bear, show me. Change your hand or your face, something?” she asked and found
herself soaking up the heat of him. God help her. She wanted to believe him but
it was so hard because she didn’t believe in silly things like shifters, or
whatever. “And why me? Why tell me? I’m just a tourist who will be gone in a
month, so why?” Okay, so maybe she was getting ahead of herself.

“That
part we’ll get to later,” he said. Then he threw a look around before he lifted
a hand between them. When she looked down she saw it thickening up, the nails
getting longer, thicker, and curving as they darkened. “Will that do for
proof?”

She
was gasping and felt her vision going blurry. “Holy shit.” She put her hand on
his paw and looked up at him. “You, oh God.” She couldn’t think. She could
barely breathe. “You’re
…
” She was typically pretty
talkative but right now she couldn’t seem to form words to save her ass.

“A
bear shifter. Why don’t you hit the little girls’ room to wipe your eyes and
come to grips with what I’ve told you so far? Lunch will be on the table in
five minutes so don’t dally too long.” Cupping her face with both hands, which
were hands again, he pressed a light kiss to her lips. “I will never lie to you,
Ophelia. You may not like or be able to process all the truths I will give you,
but you can believe them. Now go clean up, sweetheart, and I’ll see you back at
the table.”

 
She nodded and leaned into his touch. “I
…
I
feel so much better when you touch me,” she admitted with a sigh. The more she
thought about it the more she realized that this man was nothing like any other
man she’d ever met in her life, and it wasn’t just because he was a shifter but
because he was the man that he was. He was someone that put her needs and
desires above her own and she’d never had that before in her life. Even though
her thoughts came quickly, in the blink of an eye she realized that this man,
this one being on the entire planet, was worth taking a chance on. Someone worth
giving everything up for? Taking a deep breath, she pulled back from him. “I’m
going to trust you, Jagger, because I like you, a lot. I’m going to trust you
because my soul is telling me to,” she told him. “I will see you in five
minutes, promise.” With that said, she walked into the bathroom so that she
could get herself cleaned up.

Chapter Five

Their
lunch was delivered to the table. As the waitress left, Jagger spotted Ophelia
coming back from the bathroom. Her face was dry but her eyes were still
somewhat puffy. They were clear, though, so he relaxed a little and stood until
she’d sat down opposite him. “You okay?” he asked quietly. Reaching across the
table, he gave her hand a squeeze when she offered it to him.

“I
am. I’ve just never had something dropped on me like that before. But I want to
know. I want to know everything. Why me?” she asked before he could speak. He
could see by the look in her eyes that was the question she needed to know
first.

Nodding
slowly, he took a deep breath. He understood where she was coming from, and
he’d promised not to give her any lies. “Remember what I said about the fates
putting certain folks in our paths?” When she nodded with a confused
expression, he began to rub his thumb over her hand. “Until you ran into me in
the hotel I didn’t believe that shit. After all we’re in control of our own
lives. We decide who we are going to be, what we’re going to do, and where
we’re going to go. Then there you were and I realized I’ve been fooling myself.
We were meant to meet, Ophelia. To what end is still up for us both to decide,
but the cards have been dealt and we’ll need to figure out what we do from this
point forward with care.” Jagger could say more but he’d already laid a lot on
her and he didn’t want to overwhelm her all at once. Besides which he’d told
her the truth, just not all of it. Yet.

He
could see that she was weighing the words and formulating a response. He took
heart in the fact that she hadn’t pulled her hand from his. In fact she gave
his hand a squeeze. “I think I get that. I was engaged.” He growled at that
knowledge. “It didn’t feel right. I was doing it because I didn’t want to be
alone and I thought that he might love me as much as I was hoping to love him.
It didn’t work. I was deluding myself,” she said, and he noted how she took a
deep breath when she said that. “But then I ran into you and I couldn’t stop
wanting to touch you. How weird is that?”

“All
part of the greater plan, I’m sure,” he said. Lifting her hand, he pressed a
kiss to her fingers. “I can’t stop from touching you whenever I get the chance.
I’ve had to rein myself in a bit because I didn’t want to freak you out or
scare you off. But now that you know I don’t plan to hold back any longer,
sweetheart. First, though, let’s have our lunch so we can head out. There’s a
lot I want to show you, and a few spots we can stop in to warm up.”

“So
don’t hold back,” she told him without her gaze wavering, and he knew she was
telling the truth. There was a pause. Then she leaned in closer and added, “I
really do want to see all of you, every single part. Please?”

“Why
do I get the impression you don’t mean my very impressive cock?” When she
blushed he chuckled deeply and winked. “I think we can make that happen. But it
won’t be in the hotel room. It’s a little small and claustrophobic for the
bear. If you want the full show and tell I’ll need to do it either at my place
or outside somewhere. Now eat,” he ordered. Pointing a finger at the plate in
front of her, he pulled his hand free from hers to pick up his burger. After
taking a large bite he looked to her to see what she had to say.

He
watched her as she took a bite of her pulled pork sandwich and felt his cock
harden when she moaned at the taste. “Oh this is so good.” She wiped her lips,
then took another bite. It was several minutes before she added, “And I do want
to see your very impressive cock so I can tell if it is just that or not.” The
little minx was teasing him; he saw it in her eyes.

“Sweetheart,
you will likely swoon with how impressive my cock is.” Said cock was throbbing
and pressed up tight against his zipper. Jagger would reach down to adjust
himself but he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d made
him hard. “But remember I will get even for you messing with me, slowly, and
with my tongue.”

“Promises,
promises,” she told him, laughing just a bit as she did so. “So while we’re out
maybe you can show me your bear and then if I haven’t passed out you can take
me home?” She took up another fry and ate it, goddamn her for taking the fry
and running it over her lips before sliding it over her tongue and out again.

“If
you do pass out maybe I’ll just leave you there. The chill might do you good,”
he muttered. Glaring at her, he took another big bite from his burger. The
little wench was trying to mess with him and doing a damn fine job. Be nice if
his damn body didn’t react instantly with her but there was no getting around
that. He and the bear wanted her, wanted to bite, nibble, and lick until she
was begging him to fuck her hard, fast, and deep.

“Maybe
your bear would wrap around me and keep me warm till I woke up and then you
could make me even hotter while we’re both naked?” There was hope in her voice.
“I should be freaked out, I really should. I’m not, though. It’s so weird but
I’m not. I know what I need, what I want in life, and I think that it might be
you. I want to get to know you.”

“I’m
glad to hear you think so, sweetheart. And we can talk all you want about
whatever you want. You already know the biggest thing there is to know about
me, and you know what I do for a living. Not overly glamorous, I admit, but
it’s a good gig and makes me a ton of money. I also happen to be really good at
it. So lay some of those pressing questions you have on me and I’ll answer
whatever you’ve got.”

“I’m
jobless right now,” she told him bluntly, which took him by surprise. She was
nervous, though. He saw it in the way she was folding the napkin and that
piqued his interest. “It was time for a change anyway, so it’s really no loss
there. But there’s more.” She drew in a deep breath. A frown crossed his brow
as he watched her breasts rising and falling in her uncertainty. “I think you
need to know something.” There was that damn whisper again that had him hard
once more. “I never knew that there were shifters, I really didn’t.”

She
looked around and as if realizing that they were pretty much alone she leaned
over the table so she could lower her voice again. “Last year I saw myself in a
dream. I was huge pregnant. I mean, huge,” she told him. “I lived on a
beautiful piece of land with woods all around it, a huge lake, and I felt
loved. Now before you say anything I should tell you more, so let me? Please?”
He’d been about to interrupt her. How had she known?

“When
I dream.” There was that fucking hesitation again and he was ready to shake her
to get the words out faster. “When I dream they are never wrong. My hair in
that dream was cut like this. There was a light snow falling and I saw
snowmobiles and the mountain range out there.” She pointed toward the window.
“Just a different view. I have had so many dreams, waking and sleeping, that
come true. I went to a palm reader because I wanted to know what this was and
she wouldn’t touch me. It was in New Orleans and she was a Vodun. She shouted
at me to leave her place and leave it now. I saw another reader and she told me
it was the soul that the Vodun saw inside of me, that the soul was destined for
something that scared the woman. She told me.” She paused to take a drink of
her soda. Fuck he wanted to hear the rest of it. “She told me that I was a true
born psychic. Said my dreams weren’t dreams but visions of the future. So
someday I’m going to stand out on a wild and beautiful piece of land, drinking
hot chocolate, and I’m going to be massively pregnant.” He could see just how
much her confession cost her.

He
wanted to question her on so many points but didn’t want to press her yet. “You
say all of that like you expect me to freak out. I’m a guy who can shift into a
Kodiak bear. Not much surprises me anymore.” Although he had to admit hearing
she was a natural psychic was definitely one for the books. He’d never met
anyone like her before. Shifters were one thing, but he had to admit that if
they existed then it made sense there could be others out there with
extraordinary gifts. “Come on, sweetheart, if you’re done let’s head over to
the bakery to pick out some sweet goodness before our ride.” Standing up, he
pulled out money for the meal and a healthy tip before holding out his hand to
her.

She
stood, once more trusting him in placing her hand in his. “Thank you for not
thinking I’m a freak. My parents had me in treatment for years until I finally
acted like I was normal and just going through a phase. It was hard to tell you
that. Thank you for letting me get it out. I appreciate that more than you can
possibly know.”

“If
you are a freak, so am I and you know what they say, right? We freaks have to
stick together.” Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he wrapped his arm around her
shoulders as they left the restaurant. He kept her pressed to his side, happy
when she slipped her arm around his waist to hold him just as close. He led her
across the street to the bakery and let her go wild in picking out whatever she
wanted. Jagger wasn’t overly picky about his sweet treats, and he’d had pretty
much everything in the bakery at one time or another.

He
watched her as she selected the items and asked for tastes of things here and
there. She took her time in figuring out what she wanted. But when she finally
made her selections he had to smile. One of the things she picked was honey
brittle. His little mate was born to be a bear’s mate. “Oh, and peanut butter
fudge, please?” she added, then leaned back against him. “Go ahead, Jagger.”

“Vicky
already knows what my favorites are. I’ve tried everything here but I always
come back to the same old same old.” Hooking his arm around her neck, he
pressed a kiss to her jaw. “She’ll box everything up for us. You’re going to
need to put on a few more layers before we head out. I have some stuff in my
truck for me, so we’ll store anything we’re not taking with us on the ride in
there until we come back and head to my place for dinner. Speaking of which,
let me call Con real quick so he can make our dinner take-out.” He pulled his
phone out to make the call, then dug out money to pay Vicky for all the goodies
Ophelia had chosen and the ones she’d packed up for him.

“I’ll
grab my snow gear and be back down in fifteen? You can pay for this and get
your things while I run up?”Jagger nodded. “Go ahead while I talk to Con. I’ll
meet you at the front doors. My truck’s around the side so it won’t take me
long to grab what I need.” He gave her another kiss, then let her loose and
watched as she headed out. Damn the woman had a fine ass on her. He fully
intended to take a bite out of that luscious rear end before the night was
over. Hopefully they’d get to that point. Wrenching his mind back on task, he
spoke to Con about the meal that night. He let the other man know about Ophelia’s
preference in meat, then left the menu in the other man’s hands. He knew when
to step back, and when it came to food Con knew his shit.

Accepting
the baked goods and other items from Vicky, he headed back to the hotel and his
truck. He had a plan for the afternoon, and if everything went well he’d have
his little mate in his bed at the end of the day.