A Touch of Christmas Magic (Peppermint Hollow #2)

12. Colby

CHAPTER 12

COLBY

“Couch, now.” One kiss with Kai would never be enough. Every single fantasy I’d ever had about the man raced through my head, begging to take the spotlight, screaming at me to make things happen before I woke up and Kai was gone.

But he was there. In my arms. Hands and lips exploring, savoring, reaching for promises that stretched before us. We’d started an insatiable inferno, our bodies begging for more.

He grinned and licked his lips. “Bossy.”

“We’ve got very little time before Else wakes up,” I warned.

Kai kissed me again. “Good point. Get naked.”

“Now who’s bossy?” But I yanked my shirt over my head and grabbed the hem of Kai’s.

By the time we kissed, stripped, and fumbled our way to the couch, we each had a bundle of clothes and balls about to explode.

Shirts and jeans ended up unceremoniously tossed to the floor. Laptops slammed shut. Folders and papers shoved from the couch. The baby monitor placed on the corner of the coffee table.

And then we were stretched out, on our sides, facing each other.

“I can’t stop touching you,” Kai murmured against my neck, his hand roaming up and down my back. “I want to enjoy it, but I’m scared if I don’t soak it all up now, you’ll disappear.”

“We’ve got time.” Dragging my thumb over his lips, I dipped to press our lips together. “Fast, slow, hard, soft,” I panted, “whatever you want, I’m here for it.”

Kai huffed out a laugh. “Yes, please. All the above. We could hide away for a year, and it still wouldn’t be enough for all I want to do with you.”

“Sex fiend,” I teased.

Kai sobered, shaking his head. “I like sex, it’s fun, and I definitely want to explore with you. But this is different. This has my chest hot and about to burst. My heart has never been involved like this before.”

Our kiss was long and slow, hot tongues gliding together.

“Maybe that’s why it feels so right,” I murmured against his lips. “Our hearts were in it long before our bodies.”

“Oh, my body was down long ago,” Kai teased. “Do you know how many nights I dreamed about touching you? How badly I wanted your hands all over me?”

“Tell me what you dreamed.” My husky words brought a shiver from Kai. We both moaned when I rocked my hips, bringing our hard lengths together, only thin layers of cotton between us.

“Me on my knees.” Kai grunted when I thrust again. “Swallowing you, taking your load.”

“Fuck, Kai.” I gripped his ass and pulled him close, wanting our bodies to be one.

“Your mouth on me, hands stroking, getting me off. Never went much further because I usually blew my load before I got to anything else.” He rocked, rutting our cocks together. The underwear was definitely in the way.

“I wanna know every single thing you like so I can do it all a million times,” I said. “But I’m not gonna last long and I might die if she wakes up before we get off.”

Kai snaked an arm between us, shoving his underwear down, the elastic waistband under his balls, his rock-hard cock bobbing between us. “This good?” he asked, his words rough, delicious tension building between us.

My garbled answer made little sense, but he caught my meaning when I mimicked his move, nearly ripping the fabric as I yanked my underwear down to expose my dick.

Kai anchored his arms around me and threw a leg over mine, our precum-slick cocks pressed firmly side-by-side. In a haze, like every wet dream come true, I kissed him and thrust into him. It was too much all at once, and not even close to enough.

“Colby,” Kai panted. “Fuck, Cole, I wanna come. Wanna feel you all over me. Fuck. Don’t wanna stop.”

My body understood his frantic pleas, begging to savor the moment, screaming to explode. “Fuck,” I grunted. “Fuck, Kai, I’m close.”

He reached between us and took our throbbing cocks in hand. “Give me your hand.”

I wrapped my fingers around his, and we stroked. Kai thumbed over my leaking slit. I did the same. “Oh shit,” I moaned.

Our stroking eventually divided, and we jerked each other off. My eyes couldn’t pull away from the gorgeous sight of Kai’s fist around my dick. The sensation of another cock in my hand was new and exciting; all I wanted to do was make Kai come.

“Fuck, Cole, I’m so close,” Kai whimpered.

“Kiss me.”

Our lips melded together as our slick fists glided up and down rock-hard shafts.

My balls drew tight moments before my cock erupted between us, cum splattering my belly and dripping down Kai’s knuckles. Moaning, Kai thrust hard into my fist, his orgasm exploding, coating my hand.

We lay together, catching our breaths.

I waited for a freak out.

Waited for regret.

For the world to end.

Nothing happened.

A chuckle escaped my lips.

“What?” Kai asked with a satisfied grin.

“That was over embarrassingly fast.”

He huffed. “A decade of edging will do that.”

I winced as the evidence of our naptime activity cooled between my fingers. “Good thing this couch is easy-to-clean.”

Knowing we had to leave our little bubble of bliss, I groaned, leaning in to kiss him. “I wasn’t just angling for an orgasm when I said I love you,” I whispered against his lips. “I do. I know we’ve got a lot to figure out?—”

Kai shut me up with a kiss. “You love me and I love you, that’s the biggest hurdle and we’ve already soared over it. We’ve got this. CoJack forever, don’t ever forget.”

Elsie’s little wake-up noises filled the air. We had about three minutes before she let loose with wails to express her extreme displeasure.

We were dressed and cleaned up in record time.

Walking into our bedroom to get our daughter from her nap was something we’d done about a hundred times.

But that day was different.

That day was a new beginning.

The rest of the day was every bit as normal as ever but also filled with secret smiles, soft brushes of hands, stolen kisses, and giddy anticipation.

Elsie, oblivious that her two favorite people—our only true competition was Magic, if I was being honest—had confessed their love to each other almost a decade after the fact, continued being the most adorable baby in the world.

Two grown men, completely wrapped around a tiny human who hadn’t even been on the planet a full three hundred and sixty-five days, stretched out on the floor and made absolute fools of ourselves as we vied for her attention, and stimulated her perfect little brain.

“Oh my god,” Kai whispered. “I think she’s going to do it.” He nodded toward Elsie, who was about half an inch from an actual rollover to her back.

I wanted to help her, wanted to reach out, but Kai took my hand.

“Let her do it. She knows something is supposed to happen. Look how determined she is.”

There, in the soft living room light, a faint hue of blue shining on us from the Christmas tree, and the scent of cinnamon hanging on the air, we watched with bated breath as our daughter cooed and rocked.

And rolled over.

We whooped.

She looked shocked, arching her neck to look at us upside down from her new position.

And then she cried.

Kai scrambled to pick her up, patting her back. “Shhhh, it’s okay. You’re such a big girl, rolling over already.” He kissed her head.

Once she’d settled down, Kai put her back down on her tummy.

Elsie, like anyone excited to learn a new skill, rolled about a hundred times. The first few times continued to shock her, and she hadn’t figured out how to get herself back to her tummy just yet, but she’d play on her back until she got fussy. Then one of us would turn her back over, and the game would begin again.

“She’s a genius,” Kai whispered against my lips.

“Obviously,” I agreed. “Takes after her dads.”

“I know we said there was no real reason for gifts this year since she wouldn’t even know what was going on—and our parents will spoil her rotten with a million presents—but…” Kai’s eyes sparkled.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“I just got her a couple things…”

“It’s fine,” I said with a sheepish smile, “I just want to make sure we didn’t get duplicates.”

Kai beamed. “I got a couple books for bedtime, the sweetest little black dog stuffy—seriously, it looks just like Magic—and this set of sensory balls.” He shrugged. “And this walker thing that can turn into a grocery cart or toy stroller when she’s older. I asked in the group for ideas. Everything is highly rated for her age, I made sure before buying it.”

“God, I love you,” I said, leaning close and kissing him. “You are fucking amazing.”

Kai blushed and kissed me back. “What did you get her, Mr. No Gifts this Year?”

It was my turn to shrug. “A gigantic caterpillar with a bunch of different sounds and feels on each section, a stacking toy, and bedtime books.”

Kai kissed me again. “So, we’re good. No duplicates. I might have picked out a couple super cute outfits, too.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes.

“What? I got them in bigger sizes for later.”

“You’re too good to be true.” I pressed my forehead to his. “How did we get so lucky?”

“It must be the Christmas magic,” Kai quipped with a grin. “The town is brimming with it, you know.”

We both laughed.

Elsie made a noise and we turned.

And gasped.

She was up on her hands and knees, rocking forward and back.

“Oh my god,” Kai whispered. “She’s trying to crawl.”

Elsie blew raspberries and rocked some more as if to celebrate her two huge achievements in one day.

My heart hurt.

I loved watching her learn and grow, but every next step meant my baby was one moment closer to being a toddler, then a child, then a teen, then an adult.

“Hey,” Kai murmured against my ear. “You okay?”

I sniffed and swallowed the melancholy. “Yeah, it’s just hard to be so excited to see her growing and meeting all these milestones, while not wanting her to grow up at all.” Shaking my head, I tried to make sense. “Like, I want to see her in every phase; I’m excited for the future. But I also don’t want her to ever change from this exact moment right here.”

Elsie’s pudgy little arms gave out and she face-planted which effectively ended my little pity party as she screamed her head off.

Then it was dinner, bath time, and books. Elsie ate like a champ, squealed as if her bath was the best thing ever, and babbled while patting every page of each book we read to her.

Then it was time for a bottle and bed. She sucked down the bottle, but as if recognizing a major shift—her own big day of milestones along with Kai and me—and not wanting to miss out on the fun, Elsie fought bedtime like a boss.

Once she finally gave in, Kai and I collapsed on the couch.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, manhandling him until we were cuddled together on the far end.

The living room was dark except for the glow from the tree. Kai’s eyes sparkled. “A million and one things. Is it okay to have sex with a baby in our room? How quickly can I get a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms? Can our parents watch Elsie for a night so we can fuck each other’s brains out?” He caught my hand as it trailed up and down his arm. “And when am I going to wake up and realize this is all a dream?”

“All valid,” I teased. “Pretty sure siblings wouldn’t exist in such high numbers if sex with a baby in the same room wasn’t something that happens. But let’s order a bed tomorrow.”

We both chuckled.

“I’m down with asking our parents to babysit,” I said. “And I get the feeling of thinking we’re going to wake up and find out it’s not real.”

Kai turned in my arms and pressed a kiss to my lips. “What else? I can see shit in your eyes, Cole. What’s up? Too much too fast?”

I scoffed. “Too fast? It’s taken us over a decade.”

He smirked and ran a hand over my chest. After so many years of keeping things platonic, we were both unable and unwilling to keep our hands to ourselves. Our earlier confessions were like permission to touch, and we soaked in every single chance we got.

“Okay, so what’s got that worry line digging so deep?” Kai traced a finger between my brows. “Being bi? Coming out? We can take things slowly if you need to.”

I shoved him gently, catching him with a laugh before he tumbled off the couch. “Fuck that, you know that shit doesn’t bother me. Maybe if I was trying to start something with another guy, but not with you.”

“Okay, okay.” Kai’s hand glided down my arm and laced our fingers together. “Talk to me. We can make this work, but we have to be honest.”

Ignoring his words for a moment, I pulled him close and captured his mouth. God, did anything in the world taste better than Kai’s kiss? The press of his lips against mine, the slick heat of our tongues. Our bodies melted together as the kiss heated up.

“Nope.” Kai broke the kiss, gasping. “As badly as I want to forget the world and just spend days making out, we can’t. For one, we have a baby and jobs. Two, we can’t cover shit up. Now, talk to me.”

“I want this more than anything, but I’d give it all up if that was the only way to keep you as a friend.” The words rushed out of me.

Kai’s face softened and he cupped my cheek. “It’s not an either-or situation. We can have this and keep our friendship.”

“What if we can’t? What if trying to add sex and romance fucks things up and we can’t survive?”

He shook his head. “No way. We’ve survived a lot of shit over the years. This friendship isn’t flimsy.”

I rolled my eyes. “We haven’t survived the fallout of me sticking my dick in you and hoping everything can just stay normal.”

Kai laughed so loud I worried Elsie would wake up.

I slapped a hand over his mouth. The nip of his teeth against my palm sent fire through my blood.

Kai rocked his hips against me. “We’re going to revisit the whole dick-sticking conversation,” he whispered, feathering his lips over mine. “But let’s focus. As I was saying …” Kai nuzzled his nose to mine. “We’ve survived a lot. True, maybe most of it didn’t involve our dicks, but we have a strong friendship. Remember when you flushed my carnival goldfish?”

I snorted. “Oh god, it was floating. I thought it was dead.”

“Little fucker perked right up in the toilet, but it was too late.” Kai squeezed my hand. “And when you lost my most valuable Pokémon card? That was a true test of friendship.”

“Damn, I never did figure out where that thing went. I think that little shit Marvin stole it when I took it to school.” I lost myself in Kai’s hazel eyes. Was this real? I’d wanted him for so long, and now we were cuddled on the couch as if we’d been a couple forever. Well, in reality, we kinda had. Just without the sex and romance. And now we had it all. “What about the five thousand times you wrecked my bike?”

“And when you made the soccer team, but I didn’t?” Kai smiled at the memory.

“I quit the team for you.”

“You said you quit the team because the coach was an asshole.”

I shrugged. “Same difference.”

“Ohhhh, do you remember when you flooded the bathroom, but you let me take the blame? That was a close call. I was grounded over that.”

Wincing, I rested my hand on Kai’s hip. “Yeah, that one was shitty.” I kissed his cheek. “Sorry.”

“And when Carmen Delgado was blowing both of us behind our backs, but when she got caught, she said she liked you best? That was rough.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh god, we were such shits back then.”

“What about when you let me drive your car, even though you’d been told not to, and I wrecked it into the bushes? You told your dad you had jumped the curb.”

A tight warmth spread through my chest. “I guess we’ve made it through a lot of shit, huh?”

Kai kissed me. “We survived all that plus you moving away, getting married and divorced, and having a baby. Twenty-five years is solid, man. It doesn’t dissolve in an instant.”

“I want this,” I said against his lips, “but I’m also terrified we’ll give it a shot and make things weird. What if we can’t come back from it and everything is ruined?

Kai shook his head. “We’ve showered together—not like either of us is going to be surprised by anything. Even before today, I’ve seen your dick. We’re just going to get a little more up close and personal.” He locked eyes with me and fought the smile teasing his lips. “Plus, I already know how bad you can blow up a bathroom— that is grounds for terminating a friendship if ever there was one. And I haven’t killed you for the god-awful snoring. Yet. We’ve got this.”

My heart nearly thudded out of my chest. “CoJack forever?”

“Forever.”