A Very Grumpy Lumberjack Christmas

Epilogue

NOEL

ONE YEAR LATER

T he light flurries fluttering down from the night sky float over and through the massive crowd gathered in the town square.

Locals.

Visitors.

Families.

Every single person laughing and enjoying themselves on the ice rinks, at the various food stands, and exploring vendors selling ornaments and other holiday knickknacks.

The annual Christmas Eve ceremony has gone off without a hitch, and I fight back tears as I mark off the last thing on my checklist, watching the mayor thank everyone for coming.

A round of applause goes up as he works his way off the stage, and I scan the crowd, looking for Luke.

Just like always, my breath catches when my eyes collide with his evergreen ones. And I find him exactly where I somehow knew they would be, directly under the enormous tree we picked, laughing at something someone said to him.

Luke grins at me, then winks before he leans down and kisses my mom on the cheek. He then does the same to his mother, whispering something to his dad before he backs away and disappears into the crowd.

Where the hell is he going?

I try to follow him, pushing up on my tiptoes, but there are way too many people—five times the normal crowd we get on Christmas Eve.

Living, breathing proof that what I’ve been doing over the last year in Mistletoe is working, and hopefully, it will only continue to increase as more tourists are drawn to our cozy, Christmas-obsessed small town.

That will become a year-round destination—if I do my job right.

But tonight, as soon as the crowd disperses, I am officially “off duty” for the next week.

A very, very, very needed break after the rush of the last two months.

And I only want to spend my vacation one way…

Wrapped up in Luke.

If I can find him.

I make my way down the spot near the tree where I last spotted them and find Mom still chatting with the Crisps, each holding a steaming bright-red cup of hot cocoa.

Mom opens her arms as she sees me coming. “Hello, dear, everything looks perfect.” She embraces me, careful to keep her hot drink held out. “Dad would be so proud of you. I sure am.”

Unlike last year, when standing here brought so much pain and longing with joy, now, my tears are only happy ones.

I know Dad helped me so much .

I felt his presence in every decision I made, drawing me in the right direction.

Like I’m confident he played a role in bringing me back to Mistletoe and Luke—permanently.

“Where’s Luke?” I check over their shoulders, looking each way. “I saw him earlier, but…”

His mom and dad exchange a look.

Mrs. Crisp pats me on the shoulder. “He had to go back to the cabin to take care of something.”

“Oh.” Unease crawls across my skin. “Is he all right?”

She leans in and kisses my cheek. “He’s fine, sweetheart. He just said he’ll meet you back up there whenever you’re done.”

“Oh, okay…”

We took separate cars, since I had to be here all day and he had things to do back home. I guess it makes sense if he had something else to finish up.

But still, something niggles at the back of my mind, a feeling I can’t shake.

It follows me the rest of the evening as I bustle around, ensuring everyone is where they’re supposed to be, things like maps stay stocked, and our first real major event since I took over goes off without a hitch.

A permanent smile curls my lips until the final person wanders away from the town square, but by the time I finally pull into the Crisp farm, it’s been replaced by a grimace of pain and exhaustion.

I release a groan as I stare at the now-paved, narrow path that will take me up to the cabin. It’s far better than what used to be here, just earth and snow packed down by Luke’s heavy footsteps and constant use, but if we’re going to live here permanently, I really need to talk him into an escalator or something.

They can do those outdoors, right?

Wracking my brain, trying to remember if I’ve ever seen one outside a mall or the airport, I sigh and start to make my way up slowly.

At least Luke has plowed and salted it, ensuring I won’t slip off into a tree well when he isn’t right by my side to rescue me—or laugh at me and then rescue me.

By the time I reach the top, I’m ready for nothing more than to collapse into bed with the man who has given me everything I’ve ever wanted.

Except an easy way to get to the cabin.

Light starts to filter through the trees, only it looks slightly different.

What the hell is going on?

I reach the edge of the small clearing and find path lights sticking out of the snow, leading around the side of the cabin along the narrow path to our little rear deck.

Convenient in the summer, when we sit out almost every night and enjoy the mountain and how it comes alive once the sun goes down, we haven’t been back there in months.

But it’s cleared of the snow that fell yesterday, and the lights definitely weren’t there when I left.

Nor were the rose petals scattered across the path.

My mouth goes dry as I take my first step onto the red, my legs trembling in anticipation. “Luke?”

He doesn’t respond, but another noise hits my ears—bubbling water.

No!

He didn’t!

I race around the corner, and my breath catches when I find Luke sitting in the hot tub that has never worked since we put it in several months ago due to some electrical issue.

He leans back in one of the corners, watching. A grin spreads across his lips, and he holds up the bottle of champagne. “I’ve been waiting for you. ”

And now I understand why he left early.

It’s Christmas Eve, and he couldn’t have done this alone.

“Apparently, you have…and I see you got the hot tub working.”

He smirks. “I had Barry come up and connect the hard line to the solar panels earlier today. While you were gone, I came back from the ceremony early to make sure everything was working properly.”

I approach him and stare down at the water. The bright-blue lights inside make it sparkle as much as Luke’s smile does.

A dark brown rises slowly. “Are you going to join me, Snowflake, or just stand there and ogle me? Since you know I’m naked…”

Tossing a smirk his way, I adjust my focus in the water, right at his crotch—that is definitely not concealing everything waiting for me. My body heats, my pussy clenching as I pull my lip between my teeth. “So…we’re doing this naked, then?”

He pops the top off the champagne, the sound making me jump. “We sure are. Toss your clothes onto the porch and get in here, Snowflake.”

I practically giggle as I strip, not caring that another one of Mom’s ugly sweaters is getting tossed onto the snow-covered porch with the rest of my clothes. “Naked hot tubbing on Christmas Eve…what would sweet, innocent baby Jesus think?”

Luke barks out a laugh that carries through the still night air, his laser-focused gaze on my every move as I climb up and sink down into the hot, bubbling water.

“Oh, God, this feels good.”

Better than good.

Fucking incredible.

Especially against the sharp bite of the cold air this Christmas Eve.

It’s exactly what I needed.

Luke watches me move toward him. “I figured you were going to be sore. You spent the last two months going non-stop and were on your feet all day today.”

I float over to him and wrap my legs around his waist, looping my arms around his neck and running my hands through his wet hair that’s already starting to freeze slightly. “You’d be right. My back is killing me.”

His hands slide down to that area, and he starts rubbing it in long, hard strokes that make my pussy throb. I release a groan, my eyes closing as I drop my head against his neck. “God, that feels good.”

His hard cock presses up against the apex of my thighs. “I can do something else that will make you feel even better.”

I twitch in his lap, and he chuckles, nipping at my ear.

“Do you like the sound of that, Snowflake?”

This man does not need to ask that.

“You know I do.”

He keeps rubbing my back, and I shift in his lap, gliding my pussy along his length slowly, well aware of what it does to him when he feels how slick I am before he takes me.

By the time I lift my head again, his eyes have gone almost black save for the fiery heat of lust burning across the surface. He captures my mouth before I can say another word, delving his tongue inside, tasting, exploring, and seeking as if he doesn’t have all of it memorized already so completely. As if he doesn’t own me in every way.

Fuck…

I moan and tighten my grip on his neck, shifting my hips to allow the head of his cock to slip inside me.

His chest rumbles against mine, and his hands slide from my lower back to my hips, pushing me down and fully impaling me on him .

“Fucking hell, Snowflake.” He wraps one hand around my wet hair and tugs my head back slightly. “This water is 103 degrees, but your cunt is still the hottest thing here.”

I squeeze around him just to watch that muscle in his jaw tic, just to see his control weaken that slightest bit.

The only thing hotter than seeing Luke Crisp lose his tightly held control is watching him decimate a tree and bring it to the ground.

Every swing of his axe might as well be his thick cock driving into me.

Lumberjack porn fantasies in the flesh.

He releases his grip on my hip and grabs the bottles of champagne, bringing it to his lips to take a long swig. But he doesn’t swallow it, just leans forward and kisses me, opening his mouth and letting the cool, bubbly, sweet liquid glide across our tongues.

I moan, shifting in his lap, taking him that half inch deeper until my clit rubs against his pelvis in the most delicious way.

Luke moans, and I swallow the champagne greedily and pull my head back.

A gasp tumbles from my lips as he returns his hands to my hips and helps lift me, only for me to slam down on him again. “Is this what we’re going to do every night?”

That grin that utterly destroys my ability to speak makes an appearance, along with his dimple. “If you want, but I’m kind of partial to the bearskin rug.”

He thrusts up into me again, stealing my breath.

“Fuck…me-me, too.”

I lean back and glance up at the stars above us, partially hidden by the wispy clouds that also try to conceal the moon and offer the flurries floating through the air.

Each one that hits my skin melts instantly.

A minuscule bite of icy coolness as a fire rages through me.

Luke lifts my hips, making my whole body shudder before he drives up into me again, pushing me down at the same time to fully impale himself. I gasp, my eyes rolling up and my vision short-circuiting to a blinding white.

His lips find my collarbone and then my neck, and he kisses and licks and sucks his way up that spot behind my ear. I tip my head to the side, giving him better access. He rumbles his approval, pulsing his hips up as I roll down, and we find a languid rhythm.

Our bodies move as fluidly as the water around us.

My back arches, hips thrust and grind, nails score down his neck.

And he’s right.

The bubbles around us might be hot, but it’s nothing compared to the scald of his calloused hands against my skin or his hot breath against all the parts of me above the water, or the way his cock filling me ignites a fire deep in my soul.

“I have another surprise for you, Snowflake.”

I groan at his low, gravelly tone, trying to concentrate on his words around the spinning in my head and the pulsing between my legs. “What’s that?”

He nips at my ear, and I jerk upright, my eyes flying open as I continue to ride him, and he keeps pumping up into me.

“Not only can we do this every night if you want—or I can fuck you in front of the fire, or on the bed, or the kitchen counter, or in the shower, or against a tree in the woods, or out at the lake—”

I gasp as he rolls his hips, catching the head of his cock in exactly the right spot. “You don’t have to tell me all the places you’ve fucked me, Luke. Believe me, I remember every single one of them.”

He issues a low growl and tugs on my hair again. “You have no idea how much I love that, Snowflake. Or you.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

And his cock throbs inside me, letting me know how much and close he is coming.

Just like I am.

“Well, not only can I fuck you in all those places, but I can also fuck you in the new addition.”

I freeze, my rhythm faltering. “What?”

“I’m putting an addition on the cabin, Noel, and I already talked to my parents about putting a fully paved road up here so we can drive up instead of having to park at the barn and walk.”

“You did?”

He nods, taking my lips again in a long, slow, sweet kiss. “I know this place is small, and especially in the winter, isn’t exactly fun to try to get to, but this is our place, your place. I don’t ever want to be anywhere else with you. So, we’re going to make it our home however we can.”

My heart stutters in my chest. “Fuck, Luke, that’s romantic.”

His brows wing up. “Are you saying I’m not normally romantic?”

I laugh and squeeze around his cock in a way that makes him grumble.

“You keep doing that and we’re going to have to drain and clean this thing tomorrow…”

He has a point.

“What do you suggest, then?”

A devious grin spreads across his lips. “Oh, I have ideas, Snowflake.”

“I bet you do…”

He lifts me from his cock so fast I barely know what’s happening, then spins me around. “Grab the edge of the tub behind you.”

I reach back and do it, my shoulders pressed against the ledge, arms spread out wide, and he lifts my hips above the waterline, tossing my thighs over his shoulders.

He buries his face between my legs as he slides his fingers where his cock just was and settles his mouth over my clit.

The flash of ecstasy that sears through me elicits a sharp, gasping cry.

Without even looking, he reaches out with his other hand and grabs the bottle of champagne, pouring it across my stomach. The already icy-cold liquid hits my cool skin, sharp enough to make me twitch in his hold, but then he licks it clean, tilting my hips so that it pours down my cunt and into his mouth.

Just like he did Christmas Eve with the bourbon, he laps up every drop.

A sensual assault designed to drive me mindless until I finally come hard against his mouth.

My legs tighten around his neck, body twisting and contorting at the pleasure drowning me before I gasp again and sag back.

His hand slides along my hips to hold me steady as he lowers me back into the water, then rises up out of it like Triton, his rock-hard abs directly in front of my face, his cock bobbing just above the waterline.

Oh, God, yes!

The icy air doesn’t seem to bother him at all as I take his cock into my mouth all the way back.

I hum around him and swallow, and his hands move into my wet hair, tightening painfully in his attempt to control his own release longer.

I pull back until only the head is in my mouth, flicking my tongue across the most sensitive spot, then take him deep again.

Over and over .

Until his hips are moving.

Until he’s fucking my mouth.

Cold air bites at my exposed skin, but all I can feel is his hot, hard body in front of mine. I slide my hand down under the water, fingering my throbbing clit, and when he comes, his roar envelops me completely, dragging me with him for another orgasm.

When his body stops twitching, he pulls his cock free and sags back into the water, tugging me up and into his lap again as we both drop our heads to the edge and turn them toward each other.

This grin is slow and lazy. The one he reserves for only these moments. “I hope this Christmas Eve is the best you’ve ever had, Snowflake.”

I giggle. “I don’t know, Luke. Last year was pretty damn good.”

Something sparks in his eyes that always makes my heart skip a beat. “But this year, we know it’s forever.”

A single tear trickles out of my eye, and I nod. “Forever and always. All I want for Christmas is you.”

I hope you enjoyed Luke and Noel’s holiday romance story!