Christmas Delights 3 (10 page)

“You never need to try and make me jealous, my pretty cat.
Every time you offer a drink to some good-looking shifter I want to rip off his
head. Why do you think I don’t wait for you at the club anymore? Silver banned
me from the bar while you’re working. He says I’m bad for business.”

Steven’s laughter rumbled across Dare’s stomach, making him
hard and aching for his lover. He had to concentrate to focus on Steven’s words
instead of his body.

 “I’ll never tire of you, my mate,” Steven continued.
Leaning down he kissed Dare on the lips, a kiss that conveyed not only desire,
but true affection. “What other wolf is lucky enough to have someone as sweet
as you, who can also crush a man with his teeth. That is so fucking sexy.”

Dare laughed. “You’re disturbed. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Adoration glowed in Steven’s eyes. “And I’m so in
love with you that when I see you every morning, I can barely catch my breath.”
He cupped Dare’s face in his hands. “So shred every present in the house, eat
the tinsel, destroy the lights, but never leave me. Because if you do, it would
be kinder to cut out my heart with a knife.”

Sighing, Dare tilted his head up and kissed his lover.
“You’re such a romantic.”

“Merry Christmas,” Steven said. “And just so you know, you
have tinsel in your teeth.”

“If I floss, will you take me to the bedroom and fuck my
brains out?” Dare asked, giving Steven his best pouty face.

“Now look who’s being romantic?” Steven teased. “Come on,
tiger, you can finish shredding your presents tomorrow.”

Dare followed his lover down the hall. “You’ll remember you
said that, right?”

* * * * *

It had to be perfect. Henry added small silver balls onto
the decorated cake. It was a multi-layer Christmas tree complete with ornaments
and an edible foil gold star covered the cream cheese frosting. He’d spent days
on the design. Little sugar-spun wolves and tigers peeked out from between
green pine tree branches. He knew he’d gone a little overboard, but Dakota had
let it slip he’d never had a Christmas before.

Of course wolves in the wild wouldn’t celebrate Christmas,
but Henry wanted to share part of the fun of being human with his wolf mate.

The kitchen door banged open.

Dakota’s blond head caught Henry’s eyes and pulled him away
from the cake. “Hi, love.”

The blue wolf eyes caught and held Henry’s attention. Henry
set down his pastry bag filled with frosting before he added an unintended
branch to the tree.

“Wow, that looks amazing.” Dakota offered Henry a warm
smile.

Henry relaxed. His beloved’s smiles were like precious
treasures doled out rarely, but they were brighter than the sun when offered
up.

“Thanks. I hope everyone will like it. The cake is pumpkin
ginger.”

“I’m sure it will be amazing, but why didn’t you let your
pastry chef do it.” Dakota narrowed his icy eyes at his mate as if he could see
into Henry’s mind.

Henry shrugged. He ducked his head to avoid Dakota’s
penetrating gaze. “I made it for you.”

Dakota walked closer to get a better look at the cake. “No
one has ever made me a cake before.” His blue eyes filled with wonder. “You are
the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Henry kissed Dakota on the forehead. “Good the feeling is
mutual.”

He’d only been half a man, living day to day without much
hope for a better life. Dakota changed everything.

“What do you do on Christmas?” Dakota asked.

“Well I generally spend it with friends since I don’t have
any family. We exchange presents and eat enough food to keep us stuffed for few
days.”

Dakota hopped onto the stool beside Henry, putting himself
at perfect kissing height. “Sounds great. I don’t know what to get you though.
I’m still working on the money thing.”

Henry wrapped his hand around Dakota’s waist. “Don’t worry
about a present. I have you and you’re the best thing I could ever hope for.”

“I still want to get you something.” Dakota frowned. “Maybe
I can get one of the others to take me shopping.”

Henry kissed Dakota’s forehead. “I’m sure any of the pack
would be more than happy to go with you.”

Most of the Moon Pack were friendly and genuinely liked each
other.

“I’ll ask Dare.”

Henry raised an eyebrow at his mate. “Why Dare?”

“He’s the friendliest. I don’t have that whole wolf alpha
battle. My wolf knows Dare is tougher so he generally stays quiet.”

“Makes sense.” Henry tried not to coddle Dakota; the wolf
shifter didn’t want Henry to hover over him. However, he knew Dare would keep
his mate safe when they went out.

Dakota turned his attention back to the cake. “How does it
taste?”

Henry picked up the pastry bag and dabbed a bit on his
finger. “The frosting tastes like this.” He held out the offering.

Dakota’s icy blue eyes darkened. A sultry smile curved his
lips for a moment; then his tongue flicked out to lap up the sugary topping.
Once all the outside had been cleaned, he wrapped his mouth around Henry’s
finger and sucked.

“Oh, hell.” He knew he’d been playing with fire but he
hadn’t realized how badly he’d burn.

His wolf might not have been born a man, but he’d quickly
picked up seduction when it came to how to twist his mate into knots. Unable to
resist his mate’s allure, Henry captured Dakota’s mouth with his own. His mate
tasted of sugar and something untamed. Dakota would never be completely human.
The wolf-turned-human still had a streak of feral animal even in his bipedal
form.

Dakota slid to the edge of the stool to tangle his legs
around the back of Henry’s thighs. “It tastes delicious.” Dakota’s deep voice
rumbled deeper; the sound settled into Henry’s libido and made him harder than
before.

“Damn you’re sexy,” he whispered against Dakota’s lips,
unwilling to separate far enough to speak louder. He’d thought he’d be alone
the rest of his life. Waking up to find Dakota beside him each day was present
enough. He doubted he had words eloquent enough to convince his mate.

“I’m sure I can think of other places to taste frosting.”

Before Henry could say anything else, Dakota dropped to his
knees and unfastened Henry’s pants in a stunning display of speed and
dexterity. “I don’t think there’s any frosting there.”

He’d be the first to admit to being a messy cook, but even
he didn’t drop things inside his pants.

“Hand me the frosting,” Dakota demanded, holding up a hand.

Amused, Henry obeyed his bossy mate.

Dakota sloppily squirted the icing it on Henry’s exposed
cock. “Look how messy you are.” Dakota shook his head sadly before tossing the
pastry bag back on the counter. Henry gasped at how close it got to his cake,
then groaned when Dakota’s hot mouth swallowed him down.

“Oh, damn.” He clutched the counter before he took a header
into his culinary masterpiece.

“Easy, babe. Don’t mess up the cake.” Dakota returned to his
task of worshipping Henry’s cock as if he planned to make it his new religion.

“You are so good at that,” Henry moaned. He slid his fingers
into Dakota’s hair, careful not to grab on too tightly.

Dakota hummed his agreement. The vibration did nothing to
encourage Henry’s willpower. A bit more suction and Henry spilled down Dakota’s
throat.

“Oh, you are so amazing.” Henry stroked Dakota’s head as his
mate tucked him back in his pants.

Dakota smiled. “Happy Holidays.”

Henry returned the grin with a shy one of his own. “It will
be a very happy holiday with you in it.”

* * * * *

 “Are you insane? That’s not good enough!” Viell glared at
his brother. The diamond glimmered in the sunlight, blinding pedestrians
through the large pane window.

“What’s wrong with it? Humans like diamonds.” Vien frowned
back at his twin.

“Gabe is worthy of more than a mere diamond.”

“We have emeralds and sapphires over here,” the jeweler
interrupted their staring match. Luckily they were in a gem store run by a
gnome so she didn’t think it odd they were shopping for their mate.

“No. Gabe is special. He needs a special jewel.” Viell
snatched the ring from his brother and placed the diamond back on the cloth
platform left for the ring. Diamonds were boring and he’d stand by that
statement. No clear gem could glitter and shine as well as their mate. He
sighed with frustration.

“Easy, brother, we’ll find something.” Vien patted him on
the back.

Vien’s frustration tumbled through their connection letting
Viell know he wasn’t the only one upset about their lack of progress in finding
a present. “We’ve been looking since July. There has to be something in the
city to suit our Gabe.”

“Does he wear jewelry?” the saleswoman asked.

Viell exchanged a glance with his brother. “No but Anthony
wears a big-ass ring and Gabe looks up to Anthony. We thought he might like
one.”

“Perhaps you should think about what he likes instead of
copying what others have,” the jeweler said with a kind smile.

Vien ran his fingers through his hair. “He was looking at
cars.”

“Too dangerous. Have you seen the accident statistics?”
Viell demanded.

“True. Besides as long as he carpools with Anthony, he can
be saved if he gets in an accident.”

Making sure nothing injured their mate wasn’t easy. Gabe
objected when they tried to coddle him too much. They had to be sneaky about
it.

“How about a tracking device for my mates.”

Viell spun around at the sound of his beloved’s voice.
“Mate! What are you doing here?”

“I saw you through the window on my way back from a
meeting.”

“You were walking the streets alone?” Vien asked in a hard
tone.

Gabe approached Vien with a slow cautious step. “I wasn’t
trolling the streets for a date. I was finishing up a design review for a
building downtown. I was perfectly safe.”

Viell stepped forward to smooth things over. “We just
worry.”

“I know but I’m fine. What are you guys doing here?” He
looked from one twin to the other. “You aren’t buying me jewelry, are you?”

“Of course not.” Viell wrapped an arm around Gabe’s
shoulders. “We know you don’t like things flashy.”

Gabe shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind some plain bands to show we
belong together, but I’m not really the sparkly jewel type.”

“Band?” Vien asked. He snatched Gabe from Viell’s grasp.
“You’ll need two. One to represent each of us. I don’t want a band to match my
brother; that’s too close to marrying him.”

The twins shuddered.

Viell thought about it for a moment. “Maybe if they were
thin you could stack them.”

Gabe nodded as Vien steered him to the proper case.

“Wedding bands for three?” The jeweler tapped her chin.
“Wait I think I have the perfect set. Give me a minute.”

She left the counter to head back into the stockroom. Viell
waited impatiently for her to return. He entertained himself by petting Gabe’s
neck, his shoulder, and his back in slow stroking motions.

“Stop that,” Gabe scolded.

Viell snatched his hand back. Gabe grabbed it and entwined
their fingers. “I don’t mind you touching me, I just don’t want to come in the
middle of a jewelry store.”

Gabe’s warm smile took away the sting of rejection.

“We will get married,” Vien announced.

“Will we?” Gabe’s raised eyebrow caused warning bells to
clang, ring, and all but deafen Viell inside his head.

Viell dropped to his knees. “Will you, Gabriel, the love of
my life, do me the honor of formally marrying me?”

Suck up!
Vien’s wry tone in his head almost made
Viell laugh. He purposely blocked his brother.

Gabe blinked back the sheen of tears in his eyes. He cleared
his throat before he nodded. “Yes.”

Viell kissed Gabe’s hand. “Thanks.”

He stood up and plastered another kiss on Gabe’s lips. When
they parted they both turned to Vien, who had crossed his arms to give them a
sour look.

“I’m not going to ask you. You might say no just to be
difficult. You will be my husband and after I kick his ass I’ll share you with
my brother but no one else.”

“Do I at least get a kiss?” Gabe asked.

Vien scowled. “After we get the rings, I’m going to take you
home, strip you, and kiss you all over. Until then you’ll have to behave.”

Gabe laughed. “I don’t know about that. I do have my other
husband here to keep me company.”

The wolf shifter gave Viell a sweet smile. “Care to ravish
me, my husband-to-be?”

Viell almost choked on his laughter. He knew Gabe was just
riling up Vien. The wolf shifter was so circumspect in public no one would ever
know how wild he could be between the sheets. “I think you can behave until we
get home.”

Gabe shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Here we are!” The jeweler walked back into the room and
waved a box victoriously. “I almost forgot about this ring. Our designer was
playing with different styles and came up with one. Unfortunately no one liked
the ring as a single.”

She flipped open the box and exposed a three band ring with
a series of three square rubies. Each band had a different color. One was
oxidized black, the other copper, and the third platinum. She pulled them apart
and presented one to each man.

Gabe examined the copper one he was given. “I like them.
What do you two think?”

 Viell nodded and saw his twin agreeing. “They are perfect.”

Vien grunted. “They’ll do. They are different enough we
don’t have copies and still look like they go together.”

“We’ll take them.” Gabe smiled at the jeweler’s squeal of
delight.

Vien wrapped an arm around Gabe’s waist and yanked him
close. “You will marry me, won’t you?”

Viell’s heart ached at the uncertainty in his brother’s
voice. His twin often suffered from insecurity even though he knew their mate
loved him. A lifetime of poor treatment had left its mark.