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“But it’s not Christmas yet,” I said, and he smiled at me, love permeating through every line of his face. He tucked my hair behind my ear in the tender way he always did.
“I wish I could have given this to you sooner,” he said, and I pulled at the ribbon of the bow.
‘When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter,’ Rycon continued as my fingers tugged at the black glossy ribbon.
‘I sprang from the bed, to see what was the matter!’ Kasha continued.
I peeled back the wrapping paper. Everyone was watching me, Rycon and Kasha’s voices churned through the words of the poem, faster and faster.
‘As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky…’
I wasn’t sure why I was shaking. My fingers closed around the lid of the box. I paused. It felt as if the world were holding its breath.
‘A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know, I had nothing to dread.’
I pulled the lid away and peered into the box.
There, lying with deadly quiet at the bottom, was a pair of, bloody, severed hands. The air rushed from my lungs and I gasped.
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” Amon finished the poem, with a hushed whisper in my ear that left my skin flushed and my chest short of breath.
When it was time for bed, Jeremy made a bit of a fuss about Amon and I sharing a room, but Clair frowned at him, slapping him playfully on the shoulder.
“They’re mated, Jeremy,” she scolded him, “You can’t separate mates, it’s cruel.”
He gave a gruff “harrumph” and Amon’s eyes twinkled in amusement.
“I have some blowup mattresses downstairs for you three,” she smiled at Dossidian, Meredith and Conrad, before turning to Rycon, who was cradling Kasha against his hip. “Rycon, there’s a crib upstairs for Kasha, I set up the futon for you in there as well, I figured you would want to stay close to her.”
Rycon smiled at her, his canines flashing briefly as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, Mama Cat,” he purred before turning to head up the stairs.
“I don’t want to go to bed.” Kasha cried, the panic in her voice rattled through the air, causing Rycon to pause.
“We have to go to sleep or Santa won’t come.” He explained to her patiently. She looked up the dark stairwell and curled her tiny fists into his t-shirt, large brandy eyes filled with terror.
“There are monsters under the bed.” She whispered, her voice shaking. Rycon frowned.
“If a monster touches you, I will kill him.” He promised her, and she buried her face in his neck, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.
“Promise?” She asked, her little toddler accent leaving out the ‘r’ sound. He cuddled her closer into his chest, before heading up the stairs.
“Of course,” he affirmed, “I promise.”
Amon held his hand out, smiling that dangerous little smile that he reserved just for me.
“Ready?” He asked me, and I knew he wasn’t asking if I was ready to sleep. I nodded, sliding my hand in his and allowing him to lead me up the stairs. I thought for a moment that the lights in the garland took off to follow us up the stairwell. Fiery wings buzzed around us as we walked. The buzzing was distracting. It felt urgent, but Amon waved them away casually. I frowned as they seemed to disappear into the shadows.
I followed him into my room and he closed the door softly behind us.
We were alone, and the light of the full moon was the only thing that broke up the heavy blanket of darkness that pressed in around us.
My skin hummed at his closeness, and his breath on my cheek left me feeling warm and safe. He rested his fingers so gently on my hips I could barely feel him as he guided me closer towards him, his lips hovering just far enough away from mine that it hurt.
“I love you,” I wasn’t sure if I said it out loud or into his mind, but in response he slid his fingers gently up underneath my sweater. He traced feather light circles up my sides, against my bare skin. I gasped at the explosive sensation and my lips parted. He took the opportunity to close his mouth over mine, breathing my gasp into himself.
He teased me with one painfully slow stroke of his tongue, before breaking away to pull my sweater over my head. Wrapping his arms around me, he moulded my body against him, burying his face into the crook of my neck. He gently nipped at my skin, causing me to arch. My breath caught as he left a series of tiny bites up the side of my throat, kissing each one better as he went along.
“Do you have any idea, what you do to me?” He asked softly, as he pulled and sucked at the skin just below my ear. My breasts peaked and I felt the first flood of wetness bloom between my thighs. “Do you know what it’s like, to be addicted to your touch? To want you so much that I must hold myself back from devouring you whole?”
