Chris

I barely got Jason into our room and closed the door before he started ripping his clothes off.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he pulled his jeans down, revealing his throbbing hard-on. I didn’t want to be rude to our host by running up to our room and having sex, but I was having a hard time convincing myself to stop Jason. I’d never seen him like this. “It’s the middle of the day,” I said without much conviction. “It would be really rude to fuck up here while that guy’s down there waiting for us. Wouldn’t it?”

Jason was moving toward me with an intense look in his eyes. Like he was overcome with lust. “He’s not waiting for us. Didn’t you hear what he said. He gets it. He knows about the power of the mistletoe,” Jason said as he undid my jeans and gripped my cock.

“You have no idea what you’re saying right now, do you? The power of the mistletoe? I’m gonna remind you that you said that one day, and you’re not gonna believe me.”

Jason dropped to his knees in front of me, swallowing my cock down his throat as he kept his eyes right on mine. I couldn’t look away. His eyes and the way my cock disappeared into his mouth had me hypnotized.

I wasn’t sure what was going on exactly, but I knew whatever was happening wasn’t just affecting Jason. I felt a little different too. I didn’t believe in that mistletoe crap, but something was making everything feel more intense. Maybe it was this town. It was so relaxing and perfect, and maybe it made everything else seem perfect too.

“I need you to fuck me,” Jason said, then ran his tongue along one side of my shaft before he wrapped his lips around the head. He looked back up. “I need to feel you inside me.”

“Okay,” I said, pulling Jason up and walking him backward to the bed. “But we need to be really quiet. I really don’t want that guy to hear us.”

“Why not?” Chris said with a silly grin, lying on his back and pulling his legs into his chest. “If he hears us, maybe he’ll join us.”

“Do you really want that to happen?” I asked, hovering over Jason and looking into his eyes.

“Only if you do.” Chris stared back, waiting for my response. “Do you?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I doubt anything’s going to happen. He seems so proper. So in control.”

“I know,” Jason practically whined as he threw his head back and pushed his ass toward me. “God it’s so fucking hot,” he moaned, wrapping his hand around his own cock and stroking himself. “Jesus, I don’t know what is going on. I am so fucking horny, I feel like I’m about to explode.”

“I think I know what’s going on,” I said, my cock straining my pants as Jason spread his legs wider and fingered his glistening asshole.

“I know what’s going on too,” Jason said, his eyes burning into mine. “You’re going to stick your cock inside me.” He thrust another finger inside himself as he continued to play with his cock. “Right here.”

“No,” I said, laughing to myself at how cute Jason was. Even when he was a raging ball of horniness, he was still unbelievably adorable. But judging by his response, I didn’t think he had any idea what was going on with his body. Probably because I’d never brought anything like this on in him before. “You’re in heat, Jason.”

“Oh yeah,” he moaned. “That must be it. I was wondering if it was the mistletoe, or if it was the way that hot alpha down there smelled. Maybe it was both.”

“Yeah,” I said with a mystical tone as I wedged my thighs under Jason’s ass. “Or maybe it’s the Christmas heat miracle brought on by the magic fairies of Vale Valley.”

“Don’t make fun,” Jason said, looking me right in the eye. “I think this place is kind of magical, even if you think that’s stupid. Now shut up and fill my asshole with your cock before I go down there and proposition that alpha.”

“Honestly, I’d kind of like to see that,” I said with a smile. But then the reality of the situation popped into my mind and I felt the smile fade. “You know I won’t be able to knot you, right? I won’t be able to stop your heat.”

“That’s okay,” Jason said. “I just want to feel you inside me … and on top of me.” Jason reached up and pulled my head down so that our lips met. “I love you so much, Chris.”

“I love you too,” I said as I nudged the head of my cock into Jason’s opening.

It was at least a few hours later when I finally jumped in the shower and got dressed. Jason was still asleep, buried under a pile of fluffy bedding, when I silently slipped out of the room. I figured it was best to let him sleep, especially since he was most likely still in heat. I made my way down to the main floor, wondering where to find Rafe, but as soon as I walked through the main parlor to the dining room, I realized the table was now overflowing with all kinds of food.

At least ten candelabras had been placed throughout the room. There were three on the table, and the rest were scattered, lighting up every corner with a beautiful glow. The strings of lights were all lit up now, and a fire was crackling in the dining room fireplace. The room had an incredibly cozy, and, I had to admit, romantic atmosphere.

I walked around the table and looked at all the artfully arranged food. A huge platter in the center was piled with fruit, and around that lay plates of cheeses and meats and pickles and olives. There were also more of the mince pies from earlier, and other small cakes and cookies, as well as a bunch of covered dishes. I stared at the table, unsure of what to do. This couldn’t all be for us. There had to be some kind of party going on.

A swinging door opened, and a young woman with dark hair up in a soft bun walked into the room with another platter, this one carrying a roasted turkey. “Oh, hello,” she said. “I’m Genevieve. You must be Chris.”

“Yes, I’m Chris.” I said, unable to stop myself from gawking at the table of food. “Is this all for us? I mean, is Mr. Montgomery having a party tonight?”

“No, no party. This is dinner for Mr. Montgomery and his two guests.”

“Wow, this is amazing. There’s so much food.”

“Mr. Montgomery wants to make sure his guests have everything they desire. Please let me know if there’s anything in particular you would prefer.”

“No, this all looks incredible. I doubt, between Jason and me, we will even be able to put a dent in it.”

“Well, whatever is left over will be used for lunches or made into soup. Nothing goes to waste here.”

“Genevieve is quite skilled at turning leftovers into delicacies.” Rafe entered the dining room, wearing a dark suit that made him look even sexier than before.

“You’re too kind, sir,” she said, blushing, then turning back to me. “And, once a week, I take food to the soup kitchen in the next town over. Mr. Montgomery is very generous with a variety of organizations.”

“The next town over?” I asked. “Isn’t there a soup kitchen in Vale Valley?”

“There’s no need for one here.” Rafe gestured for me to take a seat at the table. “One of my fundraising organizations is dedicated to making sure everyone here in Vale Valley has a home and a job and food on their table.”

“Wow,” I said in astonishment. “You’ll have to let the guys in Washington in on your secrets.”

“There are no secrets,” Rafe said with a completely serious face. “Other than compassion and kindness … and believing.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by that last word, but I didn’t ask. I had a feeling it would be similar to the whole mistletoe myth. But even with that strange story, the more I got to know Rafe, the more interesting he became. And the more I was drawn to him.

“Is Jason still feeling under the weather?” Rafe asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said, avoiding his eyes. I didn’t want to lie. Jason wasn’t exactly sick, but he wasn’t really in any condition to be down here chatting with an alpha. “He was asleep when I left the room, and I thought it was best not to wake him.”

“That’s too bad,” Rafe said, his piercing gaze burning into me almost as if he knew I wasn’t telling him the entire truth. “Maybe he’ll feel better later this evening, and we can all have a brandy around the fireplace.”

“That sounds nice,” I said, looking down at my plate. It felt like I practically had to tear my eyes away from his. I wasn’t sure if it was the intensity of his stare, or this place, but something was starting to get to me too. I was feeling a little lightheaded and starry eyed whenever I was around Rafe, and I wasn’t even an omega. Stuff like this wasn’t supposed to happen to betas.

As I sat there and let Genevieve spoon some of the food from the covered dishes onto my plate, I kept hoping Rafe wouldn’t ask me any complicated questions. My brain felt foggy, and every time I glanced up at his face I was incredibly distracted by how good-looking he was. I figured the best thing to do was to get him to talk about himself, so I asked about his projects.

Rafe told me more about his family estate and the money that was left to him and how he had decided to use it to help those in need. He’d started in Vale Valley but already had plans to expand his programs to other towns. He told me about how he grew up here, never really having an understanding of how special the town was, until he came back and met his mate.

His voice and mannerisms were still very controlled when he spoke about the death of his mate, but when I glanced into his eyes I could see a sadness there. Especially when he talked about how his daughter had never really known what it was like to have two daddies.

“Where is Grace?” I asked, in between mouthfuls of delicious food.

“She’s at a friend’s house tonight. She'll be back sometime tomorrow morning. I would love for her to get to spend some time with the two of you as well.” Rafe looked thoughtful for a long moment. “Have the two of you thought about having children?” When I didn’t answer right away, he apologized. “I completely understand if you don’t want to talk about it. I didn’t mean to get too personal.”

“You’re not,” I said quickly. “We have thought about it. It’s just … between the cost of artificial insemination, and raising a child, it’s just not possible right now.” Something about Rafe made me feel so comfortable I just kept talking. “I know Jason really wants to have a baby, but … it’s not something I can give him on my own.”

“I see,” Rafe said. When I looked up at him, his eyes were kind and thoughtful, but then, as his eyes shifted and looked over my shoulder, his entire face changed. Suddenly, his demeanor took on an intensity both scary and alluring. When he took a long inhalation of breath, his presence seemed to expand, taking up the entire room.

I turned to see what had affected him so suddenly, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Jason was there, his post-sex hair standing up in every direction. He hadn’t even taken a shower. He’d just thrown his jeans and T-shirt on and come downstairs barefoot. I could smell sex on him from where I was sitting.

“Jason,” I said, trying not to sound too stern. “You really should go back upstairs.”

“No,” Rafe said. I turned around to look at him, and he was standing at the end of the table, towering over everything. He was suddenly so intimidating and a hundred times more dominating than he had been a few seconds ago. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. “Please,” he said, his eyes on Jason, “Join us.”

Jason shuffled over to the table and sat down next to me. I glanced over at him and his eyes were also on Rafe’s, almost as if he were hypnotized by them too.

Rafe took another deep breath and closed his eyes, like he was savoring Jason’s scent. The scent of both of us, really, because I knew he had to be able to smell we’d had sex.

I could feel the energy in the room like tingles and pinpricks of my skin. But I also felt it inside me, waves of excitement pulsating through my body. Like something was about to happen.

Rafe opened his eyes and looked at the two of us. He was breathing evenly, but I could tell he was straining to keep himself on the other side of the table. He looked like he was about to pounce on Jason at any second. “Now, tell me, what is it exactly that brought the two of you here?”