Adrian's eyes found mine across the distance, and even behind the mask, I could read the mixture of admiration and possessive hunger there.
But there was something else, something that made my pulse quicken for reasons that had nothing to do with our romantic surprise.
They looked... predatory. Like hunters who'd just spotted their prey.
The realization hit all three of us at the same moment.
They hadn't been expecting us to be outside. Theyhadn't been expecting us to be nearly naked. And they definitely hadn't been expecting us to be vulnerable and exposed in the freezing mountain air.
The masks transformed them from our loving, protective boxers into wilder, more dangerous monsters.
Festive monsters that set every instinct I had screaming that I was in the presence of predators who could overpower me without breaking a sweat.
"RUN!" Sierra shrieked.
And we did.
Pure instinct took over as we scattered like startled deer, our carefully planned seduction forgotten in favor of the most basic survival impulse known to humanity.
Behind us, I heard the sound of heavy footsteps giving chase. The part of me that had looked into those masked faces and seen something wild and untamed was focused entirely on escape.
The night exploded into chaos as the chase began, Christmas lights twinkling overhead like stars bearing witness to the most animalistic Christmas game any of us had ever played.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, even as I ran, I couldn't help but think that this was going to be the most unforgettable Christmas of our lives.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Connor
Pure fucking hunger consumed me the moment Sierra bolted into the darkness.
The winter air bit at my bare chest like frozen daggers, but nothing could cool the inferno blazing in my veins.
Sierra, my sweet, innocent girl, had transformed into pure temptation wrapped in black lace and red ribbons, her Santa hat the only innocent thing about her as she fled through the snow.
Every step she took was agony and ecstasy combined. The way her ass moved beneath that barely-there lace, the flash of her thighs against the dark fabric, the ribbons trailing behind her like a beacon, it was all driving me to the edge of sanity.
My cock strained against the red velvet of my Santa pants, rock hard and aching as I watched her navigate the snow-covered yard.
And then I was running. Running after my prize, my girl, world.
Heat burned from my overheated skin, creating clouds in the frigid air, my body running so hot I was melting the snowflakes that dared to land on me.
She was mine. She’d always been mine. But seeing her dressedas the most perfect Christmas gift and running from me like prey, awakened something primal tonight.
The ski mask covering my face felt suffocating, but it served its purpose—hiding the feral need written across my features.
The lights strung along the cabin's eaves lit our path, making Sierra’s darker skin look luminous as she darted between shadows.
Her breath came in visible puffs, and I could hear the soft sounds of exertion she made with each stride.
She reached the dark edge of the forest and stopped abruptly, her survival instincts warring with the game we were playing. She knew better than to venture into the unknown wilderness half-dressed.
That moment of hesitation was all I needed.
I closed the distance between us in powerful strides, my hands finding her waist and lifting her clean off the snowy ground before she could even think about running again.
She was light, so delicate in my grip, it was like holding a Christmas ornament that could shatter if I wasn't careful.
