Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac (Murder and Mistletoe #2)

Chapter 26

Nico

This has got to be the saddest Christmas Eve I’ve ever experienced. Even worse than the first one after my grandpa’s death. I have to fake my smiles for the customers rushing around the Winter Emporium, but at least work keeps me busy and not mulling over what I could have done differently to gain Blake’s love.

The disappointing reality is that there’s probably nothing that would have saved our relationship. It was doomed from the moment I took off my mask and revealed myself to him for what I am. Blake could have found me exciting to fuck, sure, emotionally enticing, maybe . But not someone he’d want to spend his life with. I should have known my dreams of becoming someone special for him were always just a delusion.

I didn’t even feel like treating myself to a Christmas kill this year and instead punished myself with endless hours of work at the shop. It’s something I usually enjoy, but given the circumstances, I know I’m doing it to avoid spending every waking hour worrying about Blake and how he’s coping with the massive change in his life. I wish I could be there to hold his hand through it all, but he doesn’t want me to, so I have to suck it up and move on.

In the last few days, I’ve even been toying with shutting down the whole Christmas Killer operation and locking away that part of me forever. How else will I ever find love? So those are my options, either live a lie with my partner, or stay alone and misunderstood.

The problem is that deep down, I know the itch will come back. I’m already more snappy, and I sulk in my apartment watching Christmas romcoms while entertaining myself by imagining ways in which the main characters could die. How long will I be able to stay away from my secret basement, my weapons, and the need to find a victim?

A hand closes on my shoulder, and Owen looks into my eyes, the pile of orders he brought from the stockroom resting behind the counter.

“Are you okay?” he asks, as if either of us has the time for coddling my feelings when the shop is bursting with Christmas Eve activity. As predicted, all the forgetful husbands who didn’t get their wives presents are either at the jewelry store or here. And that's on top of the usual clientele and those picking up baked goods and other food last minute. All our temps are rushing around, and even Adam, Owen’s boyfriend, is here, helping out so they can both drive off to visit his family as soon as the doors close.

I take a deep breath. “I guess I’m not, but don’t worry about it. It’s gonna pass. I just wish things would have worked out with Blake.” I can’t afford to be falling apart in the middle of the shop. I have to pull myself together, because no matter how much I love Christmas, right now the cheerful songs and bright colors remind me of everything I can’t have.

Owen hesitates. "Are you sure you don’t want to visit Adam’s family with us? I kinda talked to them ab—”

I shake my head and force myself to smile. “I appreciate that, really, but I’d rather get some rest at home. It’s been a… challenging month.”

My dark side, the one excited about cutting someone’s head off, spills in my heart like a drop of the blackest ink, making me ponder the option of abducting Blake. He will most likely be alone tomorrow, I know where he lives, and I could talk my way into his proximity. Just imagining his unconscious weight in my arms gives me a shiver of pleasure, but none of that would satisfy my true cravings. Even if I kept him in my basement for the rest of our days, I can’t make him love me. If anything, his presence would be torturous for me , and he’d grow to resent me, causing both of us pain.

At the end of the day, I don’t want him in a cage. I’d rather he was free and happy, even if his future doesn’t include—

The sharp clang of a bell makes me snap my head up, and as the customer on the other side of the counter turns back to also see what this is about, I spot a familiar face in the middle of the shop.

Everything stills, and as Blake lowers a bell he must have borrowed from the Santa charity collector working outside, my heart thumps, accelerating. Last time I saw him, he was wearing formal clothes that showcased his body shape, but with his curls in a mess and a flush on his pale face, he’s somehow even more handsome than I remember .

More confusingly though, I recognize the sweater he’s wearing, and my heart stops pumping altogether.

It’s the one I made. Red, oversized, adorned with crocheted Christmas treats like gift boxes and Santa faces, as well as plastic candy canes. The big white words in the middle spell out Oh what fun!

And Blake is wearing it. In public, not just discreetly bringing it to me in a bag so no one sees what he called the most hideous thing he’s ever seen. I’m not sure what to make of this, but my feet slowly guide me to him like he’s a snowflake I have to catch with my mittens.

Most of the customers haven’t yet gotten the memo that something’s going on, but when the music dies, I can sense all eyes on me and the scared boy with the bell in one hand and a gift-wrapped box in the other.

I can’t believe he’s here. Shouldn’t he be in New York, skating by the Rockefeller Center? Or back at his home, far away from the Christmas cheer he claimed to detest? Instead, he’s at the very center of it, and when I come closer, about to ask him to follow me to the backrooms, he opens his mouth and… sings.

Disbelief makes my stomach drop, but I stay still, meeting his eyes as his voice trembles. He’s an average singer, and the tune he chose is Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, which always kinda makes me tear up, even though it’s so cheerful. Hearing the words from his mouth, in the odd silence of the store filled with people melts the ice that’s grown around my heart since our parting.

I don’t know what’s changed his mind, or what he’s trying to achieve, but I don’t even wait until he’s done, and approach him in quick strides. He’s still singing the last chorus when I take him in my arms .

The customers don’t know about my plight, but a few still clap and whistle.

The crushing realization of what this might be about, settles on my heart, then squeezes as if it’s barbed wire.

I have to take a deep breath so my voice doesn’t tremble, but I manage to whisper into Blake’s ear. “There’s no need for this, sweetie. You have nothing to fear from me.” Because a normal person like him must have had sleepless nights worrying about the monster who killed his brother. I imagine him terrified that if he doesn’t appease me, I would come after him one day.

I expect him to pull away, happy, if uncomfortable with the situation he’s put himself in, but as the cheers around us die down, he puts the bell away and presents me with a meticulously wrapped gift.

When he confirms that he wants me to open it, I rip into it like I'm a greedy kid. The smell of fruit and cinnamon makes my mouth water.

“I made it myself,” Blake adds quickly. “Because I know how much you love fruitcake… Can we... talk? Please?”

I swallow, looking into those soulful green eyes. “Sure, I—Owen, will you be okay—”

Owen is right by my side with a wide grin and nods. “Of course. I can handle this, easy. Take all the time you need.”

“Let’s go somewhere private, hm?” My face is on fire as I lead him to the stairs so we can get to my apartment. I’m sizzling just thinking about him being at my place again, and I try to ignore all the joyous comments flying my way. It’s too much to handle, and I’m relieved the moment we are out of everyone’s sight. Blake grabs my fingers and lets me lead him to my door, and then inside .

I have so many questions. Why did he choose to come back? Why now? Was the song a way to express his honest feelings, or is this just me reading into things again?

“Fuck. It’s a mess. Sorry,” I grumble and nervously start clearing up the empty pizza boxes, and the stack of used tissues from yesterday's cry-fest. I’m glad I’m presentable because of my work in the shop, or he could have walked in on me in a fleece onesie with stains on it.

But as I move to put away the trash, he stands in my way and takes the boxes from me before dropping them to the floor.

“I don’t care. Just…. listen.”

I force myself to not avoid his gaze anymore. “Yes? Is everything okay… in Aspen?” I ask because my mind is doing the craziest twists now about the possibility of him wearing a wire. But would he sell me out? After everything we’ve been through? Just looking into his pretty eyes is enough to mess with my head.

“Nico… I flew back last night, and I knew I needed to see you. Have you…” He swallows and stares at our feet as his sweaty palms tighten on my hands. “Do you want me to go?”

“No!” I say in an instant and squeeze him back. “Tell me what you need.”

Blake nods, massaging my hands as he twitches in front of me, opening and closing his mouth several times. “I just… I wanted to say sorry. I was confused, and scared, but I didn’t want you to go.”

A storm erupts in my chest. Is it possible that there’s still a future for us? I don’t dare blink in case he is only a figment of my imagination and will disappear as soon as I close my eyes.

“I had to leave. You don’t have to worry about me. I get your reasoning even if I don’t like it.” But he’s holding my hands, wearing my sweater, he baked me a fruitcake, and even sang me a romantic Christmas song. It has to mean what I hope it does, or he would have chosen a more non-committal tune, like ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’.

“Yes, but now I’m back and…” Blake inhales and shakes his head before resting his forehead against my chest. “It’s all I wanted. To come back and see you.”

I take him into my arms, and for the first time in two weeks, my heart steadies. He fits in my embrace the way he fits in my soul. “That’s a lovely sweater you have on,” I tease, melting into him.

The breath he lets out is soft and sweet as cotton candy, and so full of relief my blood thrums with joy. “It’s not actually ugly. It’s soft, and warm, and I love it,” he mutters, and something in his voice tells me he isn’t speaking only about the garment. But as I pull back to kiss him, he reaches into his pocket and presents me with a little square box wrapped with a velvet ribbon. “Merry Christmas.”

I rub my eyes because they suddenly itch. “For me?” Stupid fucking question, since he’s giving it to me, but I’m a mess. “Thank you. Should I… put it under the tree? For tomorrow?” Am I getting ahead of myself with my hopes that he’ll stay the night?

“No, I want you to see them now,” he tells me and shoves the gift at my chest.

I’m not sure what to make of it, but I unfasten the ribbon and open the box. I’m now glad he didn’t give it to me downstairs because it’s filled with… teeth. And I’ve seen enough of them to know they’re human.

Blake swallows and pushes back his locks, fidgeting under the weight of my gaze. “They’re Carl’s. I got him cremated but saved the teeth… for you. You didn’t get the head and you deserved to. I know it matters to you, and this way, if you want to, you could make a new snow globe. With miniatures inspired by this kill. And maybe… the two of us could feature in there?”

His eyes glisten, and I put away the box on the counter, because the need to hug him is overwhelming. “This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten me.” I squeeze him tightly, but then lift him and spin him around, feeling as though we’re already in the most romantic of snow globes.

He yelps and clutches at me, but as I stop and lower him back to the floor, he grabs me by the collar and tugs me down until our lips clash. Gravity goes haywire, and I stumble against the wall, clawing my fingers into his buttocks as he raises one knee and tries to wrap his leg around my hips.

I love him. I love him. I love him.

I’ve been trying to wean myself off this feeling in the last two weeks, but now it’s back with full force, and I can hardly breathe, too overwhelmed by the need to never let him go.

I lift his legs for ease and carry this baby koala into my bedroom. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I’ll be happy even if he only wants to cuddle. All I need is to be close.

“I missed this,” Blake rasps, and as my knee hits the unmade bed, we both topple onto the mattress with a soft sigh of relief. His thighs tighten around me, and he arches his back, kissing me even harder, pushing his fingers into my hair, holding me close. Like I’d be going anywhere when I’m on top of him. “Missed you. I just… I only want you,” he whispers, stroking my face.

He’s pouring hot chocolate all over my marshmallow heart. “You did? You do ? Blake, sweetness, I’m going mad without you.” And while my feelings for him might be soft and gooey, my dick is most definitely responding to my presence between his legs. It would hurt, but if he says he wants to be friends-with-benefits, I’ll probably agree to it anyway, because he could stab me a hundred times and I’ll still slide myself onto his blade if it only gets me closer to his lips.

Blake exhales, stroking my skin in desperate swipes. He’s still nervous. I can see it in the way he keeps swallowing, but in the end, he covers his eyes with his forearm and whines. “You’ll think it’s silly, because it’s been such a short time, but I’m thinking about you all the time. I think… I love you.”

With those three words, he lit up all the Christmas lights inside me. I pull away his arm to look into his eyes and smile. “It’s not silly. Sometimes you meet your person, and you know . Just like when I first saw you, so scared but so determined to live. So beautiful with your green eyes, dark curls, and sweet lips. You’re the only item on my letter to Santa,” I say and kiss him again, still not believing that he’s here.

Blake chuckles and throws his arms around my neck, nuzzling my face with his cute little nose. “You’re such a cheese sometimes.”

“And you love it.” I grin and slide my fingers under his sweater. His body is made to be worshiped. One of my hands goes up his spine, while the other delves into his jeans to squeeze his perfect ass.

I groan and press harder against him. The need to connect physically is overwhelming. Like I’m a beast in heat at the end of the season, and if I don’t rut now , I might die. He must be feeling the same thing, because as we kiss, he grabs the front of my jeans and unzips them before pushing his nimble fingers inside. His touch is like fire, and I rock against his hand as he watches me, eyes wide with focus.

“Yes…. and many more things.”

“Yeah? Did you dream about me breaking into your house? Just because I couldn’t stay away?” I murmur and pull away from his lips so I can slide my tongue along his neck. “You’re such a naughty boy deep down.” As I say that, I rock into his hand to show him how much it excites me, and he bends into a deep arch. His body stews under the warm clothes, but I want to sample him before getting to the main course. His skin tastes of salt, soap, and desire, and as I bite his shoulder, making him shudder, I feel like a beast about to sate all its needs.

“Yes… I’m sorry, but I can’t help myself. You’re so tall, and strong, dangerous, and when you look at me like this, I dream of you on top of me, your cock inside me,” Blake whimpers and unzips his own pants too, already pushing them down, as if he can’t wait to feel me on his bare skin.

“Keep the sweater on. I’m gonna fuck you in it. You know I made it, right? Makes me feel like you’re marked as mine when you wear it.” I grin to myself when I imagine him in nothing but that. It’s barely long enough to cover his ass.

But as he wiggles under me to slide his jeans all the way off, I notice he’s wearing colorful underwear, and I’m instantly filled with so much arousal I press harder into my boy’s hand. It’s a jockstrap. And not just any jockstrap but the kind he snickered at when I took him shopping in my store. The bright-green fabric featuring snowflakes and candy canes stretches over his hard cock, but when I squeeze one of Blake’s buttocks, lust shoots through my veins so fast and hard I get lightheaded.

“You like it?” Blake asks with a smug smile.

I press my head under his chin and take three deep breaths to steady myself. “Fuck… Blake… what are you doing to me? I want you to wear these all the time. I want to see the outline when you wear pajamas—No. I want you in only these and a T-shirt in bed so I can just touch you there whenever I feel like it.” I’m losing my mind with lust. I denied myself such thoughts about him for two weeks and now they’re all flooding back.

I pull away just to flip him over like a damn pancake, and I take a good long look at the pert ass framed by white straps. With a happy groan, I squeeze his buttocks then pull them apart.

He’s beautiful everywhere, so it’s not a surprise that his lovely pink hole beckons me closer as I rub it with my thumb, making Blake shiver and arch his ass toward me. “Yes… touch me. I want to be yours. No one else is good enough.”

White-hot rage boils in my brain, and I cover him with my body, settling my weight on top, and my hard dick in his crack. “You haven’t tried to check that, have you?” I slide a hand under his sweater, all the way to his neck and give it a gentle squeeze.

He shakes his head so hard he smacks me with his hair, moving under me like a cat in heat. “No. This one guy tried to ‘get to know me better’, but he didn’t feel right at all. It’s you or no one, Nico.”

I’m gonna have to keep a close eye on my precious boy. No one’s making a move on him on my watch. I kiss his nape much gentler, rocking my hips so my cock glides over his pucker. “You’re so sweet I want to suck you, but I need to be inside you more.”

He nods and presses his back to my chest, legs spread. I can’t imagine a more obvious invitation and squeeze his bare thigh, resting my weight on top. His breathing quickens, and he glances over his shoulder, nipping my lips.

“Yes. Please. Come inside me. I need it so much,” he rasps and rubs his groin against the mattress.

“Can’t think of anything better than creaming your tight little hole,” I murmur and grab the lube from my bedside table. As soon as I’m nice and slick, I press my cockhead to his pucker, turned on by being so openly invited to. He loves a bit of role-play, getting pinned down and taken, but it seems that today he’s eager to show me his love like a good boy.

He thrashes in anticipation the moment my slippery shaft arrives at his entrance, and I blow hot air on his ear, eager to give him all of my affection. We are perfect together, and when I press inside, breaching his body, that fact becomes as obvious as baubles on a Christmas tree. He lifts his head with a breathy rasp, pulls close my pillow, and then rises his ass ever so gently, sucking me in.

“Oh… oh… that feels… so good.”

He’s speaking for me too, because the way he arches to take more of my cock is heaven. I hug him, kiss the back of his head, but don’t hold back. I’m far too excited about my Blake to think about anything other than the tight muscles of his channel squeezing me so delightfully.

“Feel this? You’re mine now. No going back.” I pump my cock into him at increasing speed. It turns me on that he was so horny he didn’t even care if I got undressed as long as he got my dick in him. He’s just in the naughty jockstrap and my sweater while I ride him almost fully dressed. That’s how much he couldn’t wait to get back under me. My balls feel so tight I might blow any second, and as I tighten my hold on him, following my instinct and sawing into him over and over, he rubs his head against my chin like a cat.

“Never… never felt like this… this is so, so intense,” he mumbles, stumbling over words, greedy for my touch and attention.

I’ll give him all of that and more. “I’ll give it to you hard and often so you always have me in the back of your mind. You’re gonna be my soft little mattress.” I groan when he squeezes his ass on my cock. His scent is delicious as it goes to my head causing a natural high. “Oh, fuck, Blake… My cock needed this so bad. I’m gonna come.”

“Yes, yes, yes, give it all to me,” Blake rasps and changes the angle of his hips to one that somehow makes him feel even tighter. “But that’s the only hole you can fuck from now on. I’m so greedy for you.” His words turn into a moan as I slam into him harder, overcome by fantasies of filling him with my seed.

“All yours…” I moan out as I come so hard my eyes roll back. “Feel it? You’ll be the only one ever getting my cum,” I mutter, rocking into him a few more times as I catch my breath. All the tension mounted up for painful days now slides off my shoulders, and I’m where I belong. His needy little shivers only make it better.

I’m a sweaty mess, still panting, but I remember he’s a horny bunny and can’t be sated with my cum alone.

Helpless little whimpers escape him as he attempts to fuck the bed, and when I pull out, I allow myself a moment of indulgence and watch my cum between his buttocks, around and inside his lovely swollen hole. But he needs more, so I flip him back. Hair sticks to his sweaty features, but he doesn’t seem to care that it makes him look lewd. The moment I pluck his stiff cock out of the jockstrap, he produces a litany of filthy begging, and slides his hand into my hair .

“No need to ask, baby,” I tease him right before taking his dick down my throat in one go. So hot, hard, and delicious. I suck around it with my eyes closed as he clenches his fingers and moans. He is everything I’ve ever wanted, and came back to me even knowing what I am. What else could this be if not true love? He is my own Christmas miracle.

As he explodes in my mouth, closing his thighs around my head, I briefly feel intoxicated as visions of a happy future float through my head. Him, waiting for me with dinner as I return from my latest kill. Drinking chocolate by the Christmas tree. Long walks, and other beautiful things that I always feared might not come true for me. But they will. With Blake, they will.

A soft sob makes me look up just in time to see my love covering his face.

I swallow his load, keeping my eyes up, then turn to licking the insides of his thighs for dessert. “You okay, sweetness?”

“Y-yes,” he whispers and wipes his eyes before sobbing again. “I just… I never thought anything could feel like this. It’s so much…”

I crawl up his body and settle on top of him like a sated lion. “And I can’t believe you came back to me. You’re the only one who knows all of me, and I’m so honored to know all of you as well.”

Another tear escapes Blake’s eye, and he rubs it away with the back of his hand before rolling against my chest. “I was cold for so long, but you unlocked all those feelings in me. And it’s scary but also feels so, so good. I love you so much.”

“I won’t let you down. I promise. I love you. No matter what, you’ll always have me.” I entwine our fingers then kiss his hand. “Merry Christmas? Can you now admit it’s the best time of the year?”

Blake laughs, sweet and carefree in my arms. “Let’s see… Christmas is when I met the most amazing guy in the world, who fights evil and demands nothing in return, who always takes care of me, and who never disappointed me, even when I was being a horrible brat.” He exhales and rubs himself against me as our bodies cool. “I think I have no other choice but to love Christmas.”