I laughed against him. "I'malreadyin trouble. I'm sleeping with a monster, you know."
When he growled against my skin, I had a fit of the giggles because, in truth, we hadn't done a whole lot of sleeping.
After Cole had shown up in his Santa suit, I'd practically dragged him upstairs, where I'd removed the costume piece-by-piece while he did the same with my pajamas.
Afterward, we'd engaged all kinds of activities that no kitten should ever see.
When the scratching continued, I gave the door a quick glance before asking, "Do you care if I let them in?"
"It depends," he said. "Do I get to see you naked?"
I gave him my sauciest smile. "Maybe."
He grinned. "Luckyme."
Feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, I threw aside the covers and scampered, naked, out of bed. When I cracked open the door, Fred and George bounded into the bedroom and leapt onto the bed, settling themselves into the warm, comfy place that I'd just vacated – the spot right next to Cole.
As I shut the door, I looked back to the guy I loved. He was stretched out with his bare chest on clear display.And oh what a chest it was.His expression softened as he watched the kittens settle deeper into the covers.
I smiled at the sight. I felt like I could stay in the bedroom all day long, making up for lost time. And yet, I knew this wouldn't be possible – or the right thing to do.
Cole's sister deserved to have a Christmas, too, so I couldn’t keep himallday, even if I sorely wanted to.
Still, I decided to enjoy his company while I had it. I crawled back into bed and claimed the spot on the other side of Cole, leaving the kittens to keep the territory they'd already claimed.
With a laugh, Cole said, "I'm surrounded."
I gave him a playful poke to the chest. "Just wait 'til you're pounced on."
He looked to the kittens. "Oh, yeah?"
"Not bythem," I said, leaning close to give his ear a tiny little nibble. "Byme."
And even though I didn't pounce right away – because wedidhave an audience after all – I had zero doubts that I would be doing plenty of pouncing from now on, now that Cole and Ifinallyunderstood each other.
And yet, hestillmanaged to surprise me, especially in early January when he did something so unexpected, I had to pinch myself all over again.
Chapter 45
Cole
Lexie should've been smiling.She wasn't.Instead, she was pinching her arm as she studied the document in front of her.
The others would be receiving their letters by mail, but Lexie was a special case, and I'd delivered hers personally.
Today was January 2nd, and we were sitting on the sofa in her aunt's living room as the kittens scampered on the rug in front of us.
Finally, Lexie looked up from the letter. "Are you serious?"
"That depends," I teased. "Are you gonna stop pinching yourself?"
She looked down, where her fingers were still squeezing the skin near her wrist. The wrist was attached to the hand holding the job offer that I'd just hand-delivered.
With a shaky laugh, she stopped the pinching and said, "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming."
"It's no dream," I said. "The offer's legit."
Now, shedidsmile. "It's great news." She paused. "And I'mreallythankful, but…" Her smile faltered, and she looked down at her wrist.
