Hyde and I were bound to have a beautiful but chaotic life together. It was going to be an imperfect masterpiece. I couldn’t wait to experience all the ups and downs, all the colors and rainy days, all the magic and mayhem.
But more than all of that, I couldn’t wait until we took our little girl home.
Remy
I COLLAPSED ON top of Hyde as the lingering traces of a powerful orgasm made my fingers and toes twitch. The Santa hat I was wearing had long been knocked askew by Hyde’s hands, and our skin kept changing colors along with the lights that blinked on the big Christmas tree that took up a corner in his living room. The sweat on Hyde’s bare chest glimmered blue and white, making him look like some kind of ethereal being as the lights cycled through a variety of colors and effects. I was pretty sure the cool highlight was lost on me. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d bet with the hat and the colors reflecting in my pale hair, I looked a lot like a cartoon character. However, the quick and vigorous sex I’d just had in the shadow of all the presents Santa left for Hollyn was anything but family friendly. I was never going to look at the fuzzy rug Hollyn liked to roll on in the same way.
Hyde chuckled as he reached up to play with the fuzzy ball on the tip of the red hat. One minute he’d been giving me grief because I bought what looked like a whole toy store for Hollyn’s first Christmas. I told Hyde if he helped me wrap everything up and put together the few items that needed some assembly, he’d get the best gift of all. He reminded me she was still little and didn’t need much, grumbling with each new package he had to put in colorful, decorative paper. I couldn’t care less. This was my first Christmas where there was someone I wanted to spoil, so I refused to curb my impulsive and excessive tendencies. It was the first Christmas where he and I were together, and I wasn’t wondering what part of the world he’d been shipped off to. I knew he was safe. I knew Hollyn had defied all odds. And I knew we were all doing our best to become a family.
I planned on making him some extra special Christmas cookies as a reward for all this hard work and indulgence, but I should’ve known he would want something else to commemorate our first major holiday together. We had to skip Thanksgiving together because he was called away to a partial tunnel collapse on some mountain pass I’d never even heard of before. I took Hollyn to my parents’ house, and they invited his mom and dad, as well as his aunt and uncle, so the baby would be surrounded by family and friends. While I was busy integrating myself into Hyde and Hollyn’s everyday life, my mom had made it her duty to bring all the extended family together. She’d even talked to Hyde about reaching out to Hollyn’s other biological grandparents to offer some sort of olive branch. He didn’t agree, but I knew my mom well enough to know she wasn’t going to give up after one try. And if anyone could bring them around and make them see what they were missing as Hollyn grew, it would be her. I was starting to appreciate her bulldozer method when it was aimed at anyone who wasn’t me.
Since Hollyn’s last brush with a life-threatening illness, she bounced back beautifully. She was still prone to respiratory issues, so when I came down with bronchitis a couple months ago, I made sure to keep my distance. But the reality was that the baby adjusted better than any of the adults to all the changes happening around her. She adapted to me being around permanently like a duck to water. Now, there were often times she reached for me first instead of Hyde. I secretly thought he was jealous she preferred me on occasion, but I never teased him about it because I was thrilled Hollyn fell in love with me almost as quickly as I fell in love with her father.
“Next year, I’m getting you an entire Mrs. Claus costume. Not just the hat.” Hyde chuckled again, and I felt it between my legs where our bodies were still connected. My insides fluttered lightly around his softened cock, and he groaned in response.
I rubbed my face against his shoulder like a big cat and asked, “So, does that mean you’re gonna dress up as Santa? I’m talking the big belly, long, bushy beard, and everything.” I couldn’t hold back a grin. “It might be kind of hot, actually.” I bet he’d look good with a beard. He looked so much like his dad, and Zeb had never been without facial hair. It looked so great on his ruggedly handsome face.
Hyde shifted his hips, and it was my turn to moan and groan as our lower bodies rocked together. “The beard, maybe. The belly is a hard no.” He turned his head slightly as the light illuminated his face in red and green. “You do realize we’re the ones who are going to have to open all those damn gifts we just wrapped? Hollyn can’t even read what’s on the box. It was a lot of work for nothing.”
“It makes me happy.” I also turned my head to look at the overflowing pile of gifts under the tree. “This is the first time in a long time I actually feel like celebrating.”
Hyde ran his hand down my back and paused to rest his palm on the curve of my ass. “Well, if it makes you happy, then it was worth it. You can spoil Hollyn rotten whenever you want.”
I sighed and wiggled against him suggestively. “I used to put all my effort into finding Zowen the perfect gift. I mean, he’s easy; as long as it’s something for a computer or his motorcycle, he’s happy, but I could only ever afford one nice thing for him.” My business had picked up, and I was gathering more and more repeat customers for design work. For the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t struggling to make ends meet. I also totally planned on starting a retirement fund, as well as a college fund for Hollyn when the new year rolled around. “Now that he’s planning on going to California, Hollyn is the only one I can go overboard with when it comes to gift-giving.” Hyde was too practical and too sweet. Whenever I asked him what he wanted, he would just say, “You. All I want is you, Remy.” So, my gift to him was to make sure his home was festive and decorated to the nines for all his daughter’s big firsts. He didn’t have to do anything other than come home. It worked out because I wasn’t sure when he asked me what I wanted either. As long as he was mine, I already felt like I had everything I ever wanted or needed.
“Your brother is really going to California?” I felt Hyde’s body start to react the more I rocked my hips and the tighter I clenched my insides around him.
I sounded a bit breathless when I spoke. “He’s going. He finally talked to my parents about it. He promised my mom he would finish this current semester and only take a year off if nothing worked out. They weren’t happy with his decision, mostly because motorcycle racing is so dangerous, but I think they learned their lesson about trying to keep us too tightly controlled. They told him they wouldn’t fuss about him leaving, but they weren’t going to offer him any financial support if he goes. If he wants to make it, he has to make it on his own. My dad made sure to tell him their door is always open, and Zowen can come back whenever he wants, no questions asked. I think he’s taking Zowen leaving harder than my mom. The two of them are so close, and they really understand each other. It’s going to be hard for my dad to adjust to Zowen being halfway across the country. But letting your kids go is part of parenting.”
Hyde grunted his agreement. “What about the girl? Did your brother finally admit he’s going for the girl?”