What the holy fucking fuck? A gay guy who’s a ten and teaches kindergarten?
Now my body and my heart both had a hard-on.
If he said he rescued abused puppies, I would be done for.
“Any pets?”
His brows knitted in confusion. Apparently I had slipped into twenty questions.
“I actually just lost my dog a few weeks ago. He’d been sick for a while.”
Hot, tenderhearted, and needing comfort. This actually could be an equation where a ten and a five added up to an unusual mathematical solution, for a little while at least.
Dear God, save me.
It was Logan who saved me instead. “And you? Your family won’t miss you?”
Thank you, Lord Logan! If anything could make an erection deflate, it would be my family. “Similar to your aunt. A bunch of Bible beaters, and not the nice kind. So, no. Christmas is not a family thing any longer.”
The hurt on his face was truly genuine, and oddly comforting. Maybe an eleven on the ten-point scale wasn’t so stupid. “Oh, jeez, that’s horrible. At least my aunt’s the only homophobic nut job.” His brown eyes met mine, and the corners crinkled into a smile. “You can spend Christmas with us. My brother and his wife won’t mind. Plus, he’s less likely to murder me over the snowmobile if there’s a witness.”
In my experience, most men who looked like this one didn’t act like this. At least not to me. Logan had to be some type of Christmas miracle. Or a delusion.
Maybe I had gotten run over by the snowmobile and I was unconscious from a blow to the head from a recently fallen spruce. I could be dying under the accumulating snow at this very minute, dreaming of a man who was as sweet as he was hot.
Ah, whatever. There are worse ways to go.
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” I cleared my throat, suddenly caught with emotion. “Christmas is better now than it used to be actually. Every Christmas evening, I have my Gay Boy Christmas Dinner. A bunch of my closest friends come over. It used to be just the ones of us who had families like mine, and we’d do it Christmas morning. But then, our friends with families like yours wanted to join, so we moved it to evening so they could come over after their families. It’s pretty great. A huge dinner, I’m a really good cook.” I patted my lack of a six-pack. “And we do the Horny Elf Exchange, which is always a ton of fun. There’s a lot of laughter and love there. It’s my favorite night of the year, actually. While everything is prepped, I need to spend the morning finishing the cooking and such. Thank you for the offer to be with your family, though.” And I so wanted to invite him in return.
“What’s a Horny Elf Exchange?” There was the sound of a laugh in his voice.
“Oh, right. I forget not everyone knows about it. It’s the same thing as a white elephant exchange. Except, we each bring the sluttiest, dirtiest, or most profane Christmas item we can find. We try to outdo each other, of course. I think I’ll win this year. I found this dildo shaped like Ms. Clause. She lights up in flashing green and red, and plays ‘O Holy Night’ as she vibrates.”
Logan did laugh then, and gave me an unreadable expression.
“What?”
He shrugged, and this time I was distracted by the mass of his shoulders. “I just didn’t expect that. You seem so straitlaced. I would have pegged you for a wine exchange or something. Not who can find the best dildo or whatever.”
My cheeks heated. “Yeah. Not the classiest thing I guess. Probably offensive to most people.”
His grin was brilliant. “I love it. I would love to see that in action.”
“Well, you’re more than welcome to join of course. It’s not till five, so if your brother doesn’t murder you, you can show. I’ve made extra food and have a spare Horny Elf gift, so you wouldn’t need to worry.”
“Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? Mr. Boy Scout.”
I could swear there was a huskiness in his tone at the use of the nickname. I’d never not hated being called a Boy Scout before.
“Are you a teacher? The job would be a lot easier if I were as planned out as you. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.”
“No. I make candles. I have a shop in part of my house.”
“Seriously? You make candles? That actually pays something?”
“Well, I live in a mountain town. It gives the tourists something to buy besides T-shirts.” I was always somewhat defensive about my career choice. “And they’re great candles. Each hand poured, smokeless, environmentally friendly, they glow more than any candle you’ll buy anywhere else—”
Logan put a hand on my chest, cutting me off. “Whoa, Paxton. I wasn’t judging. Just surprised. I like the different sides of you. All anal retentive and a dirty elf-loving artisan. Good stuff.”
It was the first time he’d said my name, and it sounded even better than the nickname. I glanced down at his large hand, warm on my chest. Surely he felt my heart begin to speed to a pounding tempo. His breath was warm on my cheek, and I looked back at his face, so much closer now. Close enough to see red mixed in to the blond of his stubble.
“This okay?”
His whisper negated any attempt the five layers over my lap had to hide his effect on me. I nodded.
Logan closed what little distance there was and pressed his partly open lips on mine.
A groan escaped, causing me to accidently breathe into his mouth.
Instead of pulling back, Logan increased the pressure. His body shifted a little, the curve of his heavy chest muscles pressing against my arm. His lips were soft and warm, and pleasantly dry. His tongue darted into my mouth, slightly touching my own before he pulled back once more.
“Still okay, Paxton? I know you’re a planner. Don’t wanna freak you out.” There was definitely teasing behind his voice, but also genuine care, which made it so much better.
I nodded, unable to speak. I never would have planned on this in a million years. It wasn’t possible, and it, for certain, meant I was freezing to death buried under a foot of snow and having the best dream of my life as I faded away.
And there would be no complaining from me.
Then a thought hit me, and I let out a nearly agonized groan.
Logan pulled further back, looking wary. “What? I’m sorry if I misread—”
“No. It’s not that.” There was definitely a whine in my tone. I motioned toward my backpack that had been shoved down toward our feet. “I’m not as prepared as you think. I didn’t dream of this happening. I’m not exactly equipped to do this safely.”
It took him a second to understand my meaning, then his grin returned, and he leaned back in, his voice all heat and sex. “That’s okay. There’s plenty of other things I’d like to do to you, and if we stall out, we can always channel the spirit of your Horny Elf gifts.” He leaned down and kissed me again.
Maybe I was afraid Logan would come to his senses or that I’d freeze to death out in the snow before this delusion came to an end, but whatever it was, I pushed him away lightly.
Hurt crossed his face.
I moved to a seated position before he could respond. “Sorry, I’ve been dying to do this all night.” I reached out and undid the three buttons at the top of his waffle shirt. “Please take that off.”