The house was quiet now. I'd heard the last bedroom door close while I'd been tossing and turning. When I’d headed over to see Ray tonight, I hadn't intended to accidentally crash a holiday party—and I certainly hadn't planned to spend the night.

Restless, I turned onto my side where I could look out the window through the wide opening in the drapes. Thanks to the colorful, flashing lights strung around the eaves, I could see the flurries of snow falling against the black sky.

Christmas. As much as I'd avoided it, the date had crept up on me, and I'd somehow managed to land smack-dab into the middle of one of those cheesy movies my mother had liked to watch every year on that damned Hallmark Channel.

Seriously. Talk about your movie-perfect meet cute. Dean wasn't what I'd call pretty—no, he was way too much of a man to call him that. Unique. Intriguing. Fascinating. He was all of those things, and more. And what was with those eyes? A violet blue so delicate that it bordered on lavender. Who knew eyes could even be that color? And set against his milky flesh and coal-black hair, those eyes weren't about to be missed.

Yeah, I was definitely living the plot of a movie. The crusty bachelor snowed in with a bunch of holiday revelers, cute kids, and a sexy love interest. Check, check, and check. And yes, the love interest was definitely sexy. It had been all I could do to keep from staring at his ass when we'd been standing in front of the picture window watching the snow fall. I knew if I had, he would've seen it reflected in the glass.

Without realizing it, my hand had slipped down and started stroking my cock while I'd been lying there thinking about Dean. Closing my eyes, I gave in to the moment and let myself boldly caress his body with my eyes in fantasy like I hadn't been able to do in person.

I ran my thumb across the slick precum seeping out of the slit in the tip. Rolling the pad of my thumb around the head, I hissed in a breath at the sensation before tightening my fist and giving my cock a few pumps.

Yessss. Mhmm. I was starting to relax in the moment, the tension easing out of my muscles as my body went limp. The only thing still firm around here was the rock-hard cock I held so tightly in my grip. My breath hitched as I gave a little twist at the head on my next tug. Tug, twist. Tug, twist. I was getting my rhythm down now. I gasped out Dean's name, my toes curling as I got close to coming—when someone knocked on my door.

I jerked to the side so fast that I flipped right over and fell off the bed with a crash. Before I could move, the door flung open and that magical scent of chocolate and peppermint wafted in as Dean rushed into the room. I winced, needlessly covering my cock with a hand when he came into sight. Given my length and girth—and current state of arousal—the one hand did little to cover me from view.

Dean's mouth opened and closed a few times with an adorable guppy expression before he spoke. His words were slightly slurred, punctuated with giggles.

"Sorry." Giggle. "I heard a crash and rushed in without thinking." Giggle. "Do you… umm… need a hand?" As soon as he said the last part, he broke down completely, holding his stomach with both hands as he bent over double and laughed his ass off. I wasn't sure whether I was embarrassed, amused, or intrigued. But I knew one thing—that door needed to get shut.

I pushed up onto my feet, one hand still clasped over my cock as I dashed across the room to close the door. After a moment's hesitation, I looked over my shoulder when I heard fabric rustling and saw that Dean was pulling his shirt off. Okay then. Looked like my Hallmark movie was about to get an upgrade to Cinemax. Locking the door, I turned and smiled at Dean. Lazily stroking my cock as I walked across the room, I took advantage of the moonlit room to finally check him out completely.

Dean might well be petite, but I'd never call him tiny. His body was tight and lean, as if he were a runner. As I took in his muscular thighs, I couldn't wait to feel them wrapped around me. I didn't say anything as I passed him and stretched out on the bed. I just lay there, silently enjoying the strip show while I continued jerking myself off. When he was finally naked, Dean startled a laugh out of me when he put his arms out to the side. He spun around in a circle and said "Ta-da" as if he'd just unveiled a masterpiece—which to be fair, he kinda had.

I patted the bed beside me. "While I'm not complaining, why don't you come over here and join me and tell me what brings you to my room. And maybe even why you’ve decided to give me a private strip show."

He jumped onto the bed, landing on his knees beside me. Bracing his hands on his upper legs, he licked his lips and zeroed in on my stroking hand. "I was lonely, and you smell so good." He reluctantly pried his eyes away from my cock to turn and look at my face. "Are you aware that you smell like apple pie? Just a bunch of cinnamon and apple deliciousness all mixed together and begging for me to take a bite out of it. So," he paused and shrugged, "I was lying in bed across the hall and I couldn't quit smelling you. And I figured that maybe if you were still awake, you might be lonely too." He looked sad for a moment, his voice flat as he spoke frankly. "The holidays always make me lonely. Isn't that silly? It's just another day on the calendar, but it gets in my head every damn time and reminds me how alone I am. And how desperately single."

I lifted a brow. "So you thought that we could, what? Maybe fuck our loneliness away?"

Dean giggled again. "That wasn't my original plan, no. Then I walked in and you were naked and ready for action. And damn, are you ready. I mean… look at that thing. You could put someone's eye out with that beast."

"Rawr," I growled with a deadpan face. "In order to put your eye out, you'd have to get a little bit closer than you are, cutie."

He surprised me then. Bending over, Dean buried his nose in the crease at the top of my leg, at the juncture where hip met thigh. He snuffled a few times like a hog rooting for truffles before he sat up slowly, sucking air through his nose as if smelling a delicacy. "Apple pie. Yep, that’s it. You definitely smell like apple pie." Those violet eyes looked almost unworldly in the dim lighting as they glinted while he licked his lips appreciatively. "And I have to say, I really like pie."

I snorted out a laugh. "Holy shit. One of these days, I'm going to sit you down and make you watch Supernatural. That show I was telling you about with the brothers that are named after us? The guy named Dean is a pie aficionado. And I'm pretty sure that apple pie is his favorite." As I spoke, it finally occurred to me what he'd been saying—and what I'd been smelling on him. "Wait. Dean, are you smelling me as in you’re scenting me?"

Excitedly, I sat up and pulled him into my arms, holding him against my chest as I sniffed his neck. There it was! Peppermint hot chocolate. Pulling back, I held him at arm's length with my hands wrapped around his shoulders, give him a slight shake in my moment of joy. "I can smell you too. Fucking hell, we’re mates, aren't we? I've been smelling peppermint and cocoa all night and just assumed that someone was drinking it. I mean, that's a common holiday drink, right? But that wasn't it. It's you, Dean! You're the delicious chocolatey peppermint I've been smelling."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Duh. That's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm just not quite as articulate as I would normally be tonight. I may or may not have had a few too many eggnogs." Dean wriggled in my grasp, squirming around as he climbed onto my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. "Just so you know, I'm not drunk. I'm a little buzzed, but only enough to make me feel warm and fuzzy and take the edge off a bit. I'm still thinking clearly. The only advantage is that where I'd normally be too self-contained or shy to approach you, slightly sloshed Dean don't care. Either you’ll want me or you won't. I hope you do, but if you don't, I'll be happy to just sit here and have a buddy-bate session with you."

I wasn't sure how to even begin to unpack that one. "Buddy-bate session?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah." Dean shrugged. "It's all over Tumblr, if you know where to look. Buddies that masturbate together. It's called buddy-bating. Look, I'm not a slut or anything. I'm just really horny right now. We're mates, so you're welcome to take me and claim me. I'm just saying that if you don't want that, or you're not ready, we can just do the bating thing. Beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes."

"Oh, honey." I shuddered at the idea of ever turning my mate away. "We aren't going to be bate buddies, and you'll never have to beg for anything from me. If you don't mind hitching your wagon to a crusty old soldier, then I'm yours for the taking. And just to be clear, you’ll have to be the one to make the first bite, given the fact that you're slightly inebriated. That’s a line I won’t cross unless you do it first."

His pupils flared at the bossy tone of my voice. He studied me for a long moment, then gripped my face with both hands and dove in for a kiss. I was barely able to stay sitting upright as the dainty-looking omega took charge and had his way with me. He wrapped those muscular legs around my waist, his hard dick rubbing against my cock with every move. Chest to chest, his hands were everywhere at once while I simply held on to his hips and fought to stay upright under the onslaught of his passion.

It took me a second to realize that his scent had grown stronger and his skin felt like it was aflame. When slick began leaking from his ass and dripping onto my lap, it finally dawned on me that our connection had thrown him into heat—or at least a mini-heat, as was known to happen when fated mates met.

Which meant that I’d be going into rut right about… yep. I felt my teeth elongating and the hair on my chest and arms growing thicker and rougher. When Dean rubbed his smooth chest against the pelt that had appeared on mine, I realized that my wolf was much too close to the surface. After I'd clenched my jaw and pushed my wolf down, some of the hair went away but the urgent need to take… to rut… to mate, was driving me harder.

He was so slick that I was easily able to slip two of my fingers into his hole. I took control of the kiss for a moment, my inner wolf rejoicing as our mate yielded and went limp in our arms. Once I was satisfied that he was relaxed enough to take me, I removed my fingers and gripped his hips, lifting him with one hand while I nudged my cock against his hole with the other.

Dean broke the kiss, throwing his head back with a guttural groan as the head of my cock pushed through that first ring of muscle. I eased him down slowly, not wanting to cause him anything but pleasure. Once he was fully seated, Dean gripped my biceps and gave an experimental wiggle with his hips. His lips fluttered around a soft sigh as his eyes rolled back. "Yessss… so much yes," he moaned.

I ran my hands up his sides and got a good grip on his waist before lifting him slowly, then sliding him back down. After a few of those lifts, his legs tightened around my waist as Dean took control and started bouncing on my cock. “My turn,” he grunted.

"Fuck yeah… I hope you don't think this is going to last much longer, honey. You're so tight. Oh… fuck me," I groaned as I pumped harder and faster up into him, my hands sliding up to his shoulders to push him down each time I thrust upward. My cock tingled and there was a pleasant burn as the flesh stretched around my growing knot. With each thrust, my knot thickened and threatened to lock us together.

"Already on it," Dean gasped. "Fucking you, that is…" His voice trailed off as he began panting for breath. "Sam… I'm almost… just one more… nnghh…" Dean's eyes squeezed shut as his body tensed and he began shooting cum between us, marking my chest like a mate should. As he came, his channel clamped tightly around my knot.

He slammed down on me one final time and I growled with pleasure as my knot fully inflated, tying us together as one. The moment my cock started to shoot cum inside his hot, silky channel, Dean lurched forward and sank his teeth into my neck.

Wrapping my arms around him, I held my little mate close as I gave the answering bite that would make him mine—forever.