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Purring was considered a private matter by her generation. I managed to stop so she wouldn’t be embarrassed, but wound my tail around Scarlett’s leg under the table. I couldn’t stop touching her now that we were back.
I lost her on that mountain trail. Maybe just for a few minutes, but it was enough to last me a lifetime. I was never letting her go now, no matter what it cost me. When she looked at me with a sweet smile that turned sly as soon as our eyes met, my stomach lurched with want and affection.
She was perfect.
The rest of the Yule went by in joy and good fun. Mother was determined to teach Scarlett all the traditional Yule recipes, so they spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. One night, when we lay in bed, Scarlett boasted she could now make twelve varieties of mulled wine and tell them apart by taste and smell.
“You’re a proper Frost now,” I rumbled with pleasure, seeing how proud she was. Family life and my mother’s attention served her well. “Everyone in the family is a mulled wine connoisseur.”
I spent my mornings and early afternoons in my workshop and other places I visited in secret. Once I committed to being a husband, it became obvious what I had to do, and even though it was the Yule and hardly anyone worked, I cajoled and threatened my way into getting all the supplies I needed.
I wanted to make my wife happy.
We spent our evenings in the main square, dancing and falling into each other to the tune of cheerful mountain music. Colorful fairy lights played in Scarlett’s eyes and hair, making her look like a creature of dream and song. My heart was full, and sometimes, I still couldn’t believe she was mine.
When the old fears crept out of their hiding places, I asked her to make me crawl and beg so I could stop worrying and just be. Be with her.
Every night of the Yule, we had a sumptuous meal. Whatever festive cheer we had lost due to the curse, we made up for now. All the family gathered in the main house, and we ate and drank, laughing and singing. Scarlett fit right in, chatting with Ma and my sisters-in-law, playing with the children, and even serving human specialties.
She was still tense around my brothers and father, but that was going away, too.
Finally, the last night of Yule came, and my gift was ready. Or as ready as I could make it in the short time I had available. After dinner everyone got up, groaning and complaining about the end of the holidays while kids chatted excitedly, wondering what gifts Ole Frost brought them this year. Traditionally, he left the gifts in children’s bedrooms on the last night of Yule. I knew Ivo and Ruslan had snuck out during dinner, so I was certain the gifts were already waiting.
Adults usually didn’t give each other presents, but I really wanted to make an exception. It seemed fitting. After all, Scarlett was my own Yule miracle. It made sense to do this now.
I took her hand and led her out of the room.
“We’re going out, snowdrop. Put on your coat and boots.”
She gave me a surprised look but put on her coat without a fuss. “We’re coming back here, right?” she asked before tugging on her boots. When I didn’t answer immediately, she straightened and put her hands on her hips.
“We might not,” I said carefully, not wanting to spoil the surprise.
She narrowed her eyes and then grinned, catching the fur on my chin to drag my face down for a kiss. “In that case, I need to fetch something. Won’t be a minute.”
She jogged up the stairs and promptly came back, holding a black bag. She didn’t offer an explanation and I didn’t ask, too excited and anxious to focus on anything else other than my gift. Ole Frost, I really hoped she’d like it. As we walked down the path, snow crunching under our feet, I fretted. What if she found it lacking? Should I have waited until everything was perfect?
But before I could worry myself into a state, Scarlett clutched my hand, staring at the fairy lights in the windows of the second house down the street. “Jack… Is that…”
“Come on,” I said, my voice gruff. “You’ll see.”
She followed me, her quick breaths puffing out in the freezing air. Somewhere in the distance, a cat yowled, and we both flinched and then laughed. When I opened the gate, the hinges didn’t creak. I had oiled them earlier, and it was just one of many jobs I did around the house in secret.
It stood empty for decades, and even though we did periodic upkeep in the houses, a lot had to be done to make it fully habitable. I cleaned it of dust and washed the windows, swept the chimneys, brought in wood for the fireplaces. The piping worked fine, which was fortunate. No plumber would undertake repairs in the middle of winter.
“Is this…” Scarlett asked, staring at the front door, now decorated with a simple gold and blue wreath. The colors of her eyes and hair.
“Our house,” I said. “It still needs a lot of work. There’s little furniture, and I didn’t have time to…”
I couldn’t finish, because Scarlett tugged me down for a hot, happy kiss. Her warm mouth pressed to mine, her breath caressed my face, and she kissed me so deeply, my cock instantly perked up with interest.
The prospect of finally being truly alone with her helped, too.
“Jack, this is amazing! Your ma said it would take months before we could move. How did you manage it in such a short time?”
I rubbed my face in embarrassment. “You’ll see. It’s not finished but we can live here already.”
Then, before she could go up the porch steps, I swept her off her feet and grinned, carrying her to the door. “It’s tradition, snowdrop. I have to carry my wife inside our new house.”
