Sera grinned at him as she placed the logs next to the fireplace. Kathleen began to stack wood carefully inside of it. Liam sat on the other couch, while Jack slid in next to Doug. Mike plopped into the recliner, and popped out the footstool. "I could stay here forever," he said as he closed his eyes and leaned back.
"I'm sure my parents would love that," Kathleen quipped as she lit a piece of paper and placed it under the logs.
"Do they know that we're here?"
"They know that Sera, Danielle, and I are here. They wouldn't appreciate you guys, but what they don't know won't kill them, right?"
"True, true."
Kathleen stood up as the logs began to smoke, and a flame sputtered to life. She shut the grate and stepped back with a look of pride on her face. "Hot chocolate's done!" Danielle called from the kitchen.
"Great," Kathleen said as she held her hands over the fire. "Who wants some?"
"I do," everyone said at the same time.
"Jack or Bailey's?"
"I'm in heaven!" Jack cried. "What could be better?"
"You actually getting laid," Mike retorted.
"Screw you."
Mike laughed and leaned further back in the chair. Sera shook her head as she headed back to the kitchen to help Danielle carry out the pot of hot chocolate, and cups. When they came back to the living room, Kathleen had pulled out bottles of Jack, Tequila, and Bailey's from the bar and set them on the table.
"There are three bedrooms upstairs," she was saying. "One down here. The little bathroom's down the hall and the full bath is upstairs."
"So what are the sleeping arrangements?" Mike inquired his eyes focused on Kathleen.
She grinned at him flirtatiously. "Well now, we'll just have to figure that out later, won't we?"
Sera put the hot chocolate on the table, poured herself a glass, and added a generous shot of Bailey's to it. She sipped it as she slipped onto the couch next to Liam and kicked off her shoes. The fire crackled and sputtered as it filled the room with warmth. Liam slid his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled closer to him.
"Actually, I figured that Sera and Liam could have the room down here." Kathleen sipped her hot chocolate as she settled onto the floor. "Danielle and I will take my room, and the three of you can figure out the other two."
"Sounds good to me," Danielle said as she sat next to Sera.
She glanced over at Liam as he sat watching the flames. The light danced across his face and lit his eyes. A forceful wave of possessiveness swept through her. He was hers, and she was never going to let him go. No matter what happened, no matter what she had to give up for him.
She looked back over at the flames, feeling completely at peace in Liam's warm embrace. No one spoke as the fire crackled and the room steadily became warmer. The grandfather clock in the corner chimed ten o'clock. "This is wonderful," Danielle finally said.
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "I can't wait to go skiing tomorrow."
"The ski hills are about two miles down the road; we'll take the snow mobiles out there. There's a hill right behind the house, I've come down it a few times, but it's not very big and it's a bitch to climb."
They fell back into a lulled silence, watching the flames as they started to sputter down. Kathleen got up to toss more logs onto the fire, and then settled back down. An hour drifted by with little conversation. When the clock chimed eleven, Sera stood and stretched her legs. "I'm pretty beat," she said.
Kathleen stood up and stretched. "I'll show you the room."
Sera followed her back to the main foyer. She stopped to pick up her bags as Kathleen walked to the side of the staircase. "We don't use this room often," Kathleen was saying. "But it's private," she added with a sly grin, and a wink.
Kathleen stopped in front of the door behind the staircase and swung it open. Stepping inside she flicked on the light switch. Sera looked into the small room and smiled. It wasn't very big, but it was furnished with a large oak bed, a dresser, and an antique nightstand. A brass lamp with a rose-colored shade was on the nightstand, and the entire room was done in a pale, rose color.
Liam appeared in the doorway behind her. "Very nice," he said as he rested his hands on Sera's shoulders.
Kathleen grinned. "I knew you'd like it. I'll leave you guys alone. See you in the morning."
Sera had to fight the urge to grab her and tell her to stay away from Mike as she left the room. She kept her arms by her sides though as Kathleen left.
