A Summit City Christmas
Table of Contents
A SUMMIT CITY CHRISTMAS
ETHAN DAY
mlr
press
www.mlrpress.com
Holiday’s with friends and family are never dull and Boone’s first Christmas in Summit City is no exception to that Yuletide rule. You are cordially invited to join Boone and Wade for a Christmas Eve extravaganza, including many of your other favorites from the
Summit City - Sno Ho
series.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2011 by Ethan Day
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by
MLR Press, LLC
3052 Gaines Waterport Rd.
Albion, NY 14411
Visit ManLoveRomance Press, LLC on the Internet:
www.mlrpress.com
Cover Art by Deana C. Jamroz
Editing by Kris Jacen
Ebook format ISBN# 978-1-60820-495-3
Issued 2011
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.
CHAPTER ONE
Christmas Eve morning…
“Once upon a time, in fairy land far, far away…lived a smokin’ hot boy-toy and his big, hairless Yeti.”
I sighed, watching the steam created by my breath rising up along with that from my giant cup of freshly brewed coffee. Large fluffy white flakes slowly drifted down from the clouds above dusting everything the eye could see in a fresh layer of snow. It was early, not quite seven thirty and I was the only one awake, which was unusual. Wade would’ve typically already left for the lodge by this time.
“I did ride him pretty hard last night, though,” I said, laughing as I surveyed the terrain wondering who the hell I was talking to. “The raccoons?”
I took a sip, shaking off a shiver from the cold air all around me. I was tucked safely under the short eave of the house, protected from the falling snow. It had become a ritual each morning, stepping outside with my coffee – an attempt to desensitize myself to the much colder temperatures which I was unfortunately
not
getting used to.
Thankfully Wade has no problem warming me back up.
I never realized how much time I spent talking to myself until Wade pointed it out. Apparently, I was secretly in love with the sound of my own voice. It had embarrassed me at the time, which for anyone who knew me was really saying something.
I think it’s kinda cute, Boone.
That’s what Wade said after he’d noticed my reddening cheeks. He’d made my cheeks red often enough, but this was one of the few times it happened to the ones located
above
the waist.
Personally, I think he enjoyed the fact he’d made me blush way more than my verbal rambling, but I loved him for lying in an attempt to shield my not so delicate feelings all the same. One more thing on the long list titled,
Shit I never knew about my boyfriend before moving in with him
. For the two of us in particular, it was a very long list. We most definitely had a cart-before-the-horse kinda relationship.
“That’s what happens when you give the milk away for free, boys and girls.”
I sighed, clutching my coffee-bowl with mitten clad hands. It was ridiculously quiet, standing just outside the back door on the deck. I’d never realized the world around me could actually be that silent. I’d tried telling myself that was at least part of the reason I made so much noise, but I was beginning to think it merely a convenient excuse.
The early morning light in the eastern sky was diffused by the thick clouds which hung overhead. I turned, concentrating on my reflection in the large picture window off the dining room which looked out over the valley below at the sleepy little Victorian mountain town that was Summit City. I’d slipped on Wade’s snow boots he kept by the back door to use when he needed to bring in more fire wood. My long, thermal underwear clad legs were jutting out from underneath the huge, puffy winter coat I’d bundled myself into. Thankfully I’d grown into my long legs and arms otherwise I’d have looked like the son of Lurch.
My lip curled into a snarl after noticing my hair in the reflection and I tried reminding myself it was temporary, that eventually it would all grow back. I simply needed to keep myself distracted for another year and I will have returned to normal. I’m not sure which would be easier, finding the patience to wait on my hair, or coming up with a year’s worth of distractions for my ADD ass.
One thing was certain, I was nervous about the day ahead. The new and possibly combustible combination of two families, who couldn’t have been any more different, mixed together with the Christmas holiday. It might be a recipe for disaster, a catastrophe that no one on this planet could do anything to stop at this point.
“Can you imagine dear old dad deciding to wax poetic about his experiences with a strap-on?” I asked myself.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, following that up with another gulp of caffeinated courage. I could picture Del and Uncle Pete’s ashen faces staring silently back at my parents in shock—the spoonful of mashed potatoes slipping off Del’s spoon and making splat as it hit the table. I felt the smile forming at the thought. I’d be completely embarrassed but still, oddly amused. I was sick like that.
Glancing back out across the snow covered tree tops and the valley below, I sucked down another mouthful of java and wondered how in the hell I’d managed to end up living in this particular picture-post card. I caught the answer to my question out of the corner of my eye as Wade walked into the kitchen. He looked like Christopher Reeves on steroids, with his wavy black hair and cheekbones to die for. I sighed in a swoon while he headed directly to the coffee pot, stumbling along like a zombie on a one-track mission for fresh brains. He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweat pants which hugged the lower half of his thick, muscled body in all the right ways. He paused to rub the sleep out of his eyes before pulling a mug out of the cabinet.
The fact he was drinking coffee at all was the first clue my poor baby was a bit hung over today.
Funny how quickly one hops off their high nutrition horse when desperation comes calling.
“I never have a damn camera when I need one.”
I watched as Wade mindlessly shoved a hand under the waistband of his sweats, scratching his hip. I’d thoroughly enjoyed the drunken sex we’d had the night before. It was an occasional little bonus, especially when I managed to not drink so much that I forgot all the details. Wade would inevitably lose control, forgetting himself just enough for things to get a bit rougher. I loved it when he got all man-handsy, enjoying the blessedly smoking hot results immensely. Not something I’d want every night, but waking up sore all over the next morning was incredible—like working out, but with orgasms. Being able to feel where his hands had been the night before made the pleasure last well into the following day.
Wade jumped, startled once he noticed me standing on the other side of the window. He was trying not to spill his coffee. I could see a smile forming, though. He was always happy to see me, which was a nice change from my pre-Wade life.
I laughed, watching him curse after burning his tongue on the coffee. He always did that, the man had to dive right into everything.
“Why savor when you can devour?”
I felt the glass door I was leaning against begin to vibrate and I knew the cause was neither earthquake nor avalanche, merely the thumping bass beat which was now shaking the entire house.
Wade turned toward the back of the house and I laughed watching his lips moving as he’d no doubt begun mumbling curses. He was definitely disgusted, shaking his head as he turned back to look at me as if I were to blame.
“The twins are awake.” I said to myself.
Wade was less than pleased to see I was finding pleasure in his grumpiness. Taking one last gulp, I finished off the last of my creamy, chocolate and caramel-infused java jolt. My own witchy brew-a-go-go. Weaker men would’ve crumbled under the weight of my sugary, caffeinated concoction. It required the special training that only years of blatantly misusing coffee condiments could hope to prepare one for.
Reaching for the door knob, I groaned my approval seeing my hunky boyfriend rearranging the goods currently wrapped up inside those dark grey jersey pants.
I grunted, pushing the door open with my shoulder. The blast of warm air immediately created a tingling sensation over my entire face as I forced the door closed behind me before locking the deadbolt. I caught a whiff of what remained from the fire we had going the evening before.
“I may never fully get used to this cold, you know.”
Wade wasn’t distracted by my attempt to steer the conversation anywhere other than where he wanted. “Your friends are the rudest houseguests. No manners whatsoever.”
I sighed, forcing myself not to laugh over his huffiness as I bent down and set my mug on the floor. I removed my mittens with my teeth, spitting them across the wooden planks before kicking the pair of them over against the wall. “You could try being a little more gracious, Professor Fuddy-duddy.” Grunting, I pulled off each boot, placing them neatly on the thick mat lying next to the door.
“In the future, we’re getting those two a room at the lodge as well.” He took another anger-induced sip from his mug.
I slipped off the coat and hung it on one of the large iron hooks protruding from the wall. Wade was now paying slightly more attention to my body, even more so when I bent over to retrieve the coffee cup. I’d discovered he’d had a bit of a fetish for thermal underwear bottoms. I wore them for practical reasons, the fact it turned him on was merely a bonus.
“The twins are strangers, visiting from a far away, foreign land called Homolovefunia.” I sauntered over toward him, gyrating slightly to the beat of the club music we could clearly hear all the way upstairs. “Their customs may seem odd to you and your Mayflowery-puritanical ways, but all they want is to share their gift of fevered frivolity with the rest of the world. They should be praised for their generosity, not reviled for what makes them different from you and the other mountain people ‘round these here parts.”
Wade still appeared irritated, though he’d already moved on to other distractions as I allowed him to back me up against the large island in the gourmet kitchen with its smoky, caramel stained cabinets and professional grade stainless steel appliances. The island created a visual barrier, separating the eating/dining areas from the butch cabinesque design of the living room.
Wade’s large hands were now on my hips and he pressed his mouth onto mine, quickly warming my frozen lips as our tongues thrust into one another’s mouths.