Mike smiled as Kate finished fluffing a pretty silver bow on top of their daughter’s big present. Her first, very pink and sparkly, big-girl bike. He couldn’t believe it was possible Abby was old enough to ride it even with training wheels.

He crouched down, stacking the gifts his wife had wrapped neatly under the twinkling tree they’d set up in the living room of the house next door to the one he’d been renovating when they first met.

Mike plucked the Santa hat he’d worn for the Powertools photo shoot from the mantle, did his fatherly duty by chomping down the cookies Abby had left out for Santa, and then he turned mischievously to his wife. If his stocking brimmed with coal for being naughty this year, he was fine with that. “Ho, ho, ho….”

“Who are you calling a ho?” She propped one hand on her hip and pretended to be offended.

Irresistible.

Though it was late enough to be considered morning, Mike grabbed her around the waist and bent her over the back of the sofa. He lifted the back hem of the maroon robe she’d belted around herself following her shower earlier and draped the silk across her lower back.

Standing on her tiptoes, she could barely reach the floor.

Mike used his foot to tap on the inside arches of hers until she spread her legs. Keeping his hands on her waist for support, he knelt down and—without wasting any time—buried his face in her pussy.

He licked her all over, trying his best to get her wet enough to fuck.

Mike should have known that even his functional contact would turn her on. Kate sighed and trembled in his grasp. He bit her ass, dragging his teeth over one cheek then the other, before rising once more.

“Fuck me, Mike. Please.” She rocked back toward him as he shoved his pajama pants down enough to free his steely cock.

Although he couldn’t wait to be inside her, it wasn’t something rough he was craving. No, it was something more than that. Something possessive.

He wrapped his hand around Kate’s neck with careful but unmistakable pressure.

She went limp in his hold, allowing him total control to do as he liked. To satisfy them both with his claiming. Mike blanketed her back, lying on her so she could feel the full weight of his chest pressed to her back. He sucked on her neck beside his fingers, hard enough to leave a mark, as he fit his cock to her opening and pushed.

She took him inside, welcoming him into her body with a soft moan and the flex of her pussy around him.

Mike didn’t pound into her frantically. No, he rode her with powerful yet measured flexes of his ass that ground his dick inside her. In this position, he knew the tip of his cock would rub her in all the right places. As extra insurance, he lowered one hand to her hip, then slid it inward so it was trapped between the couch and Kate.

He used his thumb to strum her clit as he rocked against her, hard enough to make the couch scoot forward a few inches with one particular thrust.

As she clamped down tighter and tighter around him, his balls drew closer to his body. He could feel himself reaching the point of no return, but he wanted this time above all others, to come with her. Not before or after, but together.

“Mike,” Kate gasped.

“Yeah,” he growled in her ear.

“I’m going to—”

“Me too.” He picked up his pace just a little, giving them both the final little bit of friction they needed.

Kate buried her face in the couch cushion and bit down on it to keep from screaming. He knew how she felt. So he latched his mouth onto her shoulder and did the same. His wife came around him, massaging him with the pulses of her contractions.

It felt divine as he emptied himself inside of her, every last drop drawn forth by the reaction of her body to his. He stayed like that, linked with her until his cock softened and slipped from her.

Wrecked, Kate sagged over the couch, unable to move. So he lifted her over the back and placed her on the cushions before climbing over it himself. He stretched out next to her, pillowing his head on her soft breasts while she stroked his hair.

Content with their little kingdom, he never wanted to move.

“We should go to bed,” Kate murmured.

“In a minute.” The fire leeched all the strength from his bones.

---

Next thing he knew, Mike was being shaken awake by Kate. Soft coral-colored light accompanied the rising sun, which sparkled off a freshly fallen coat of snow.

“Mike, we have to get up. It’s present time. I can’t believe Abby slept this long considering how excited she was.” Kate stretched and sat up. “Then we need to get over to Kayla and Dave’s place before noon.”

“Mommy! Daddy! Santa came! Santa came!”

Mike winked at Kate. “Yes, he definitely did.”

His wife laughed as she swiped the hat from his head and jammed it beneath the couch cushion before Abby could bust him wearing it. Instead of flying to the bike as he’d imagined her doing for weeks, Abby ran to them instead. They picked her up and smothered her with hugs and kisses.

“Merry Christmas, Abby.” Kate straightened her nightgown.

“Merry Christmas!” She turned to Mike. “Is it time to go yet, Daddy?”

“Go where?” he wondered.

“To Aunt Kay and Uncle Dave’s house.” She squirmed as if she’d run there if they set her down.

“Aren’t you excited to open your presents?” Kate glanced at Mike, her brows raised.

Abby nodded vigorously. “After.”

“After what?” Kate asked. Had they forgotten something? Maybe Abby was hungry? They did have all their best meals over at the resort.

Instead of answering, Abby lifted her tiny fist. Glitter rained down around her. Maybe that explained where she’d been this morning. Busy making something in her room.

“What’s this?” Mike ruffled her hair and bent down to take a closer look at what their little girl clutched in her hands.

“A present. For Nathan. I made it myself and I want to give it to him.” She proudly showed off her hard work, which looked like a glob of glue, some marker scribbles and a whole lot of sparkles.

Mike’s heart couldn’t have fit a single drop more of love in it right then without bursting. “Even before you see what Santa brought you?”

Kate ignored her husband’s smirk over their daughter’s head.

Abby nodded. “Please. Can you help me wrap it?”

“Of course.” Kate reached beside them to the pile of wrapping supplies they’d never gotten around to putting away the night before. Hopefully Abby wouldn’t notice Santa had the same pattern paper they did.

“No, no. A bigger bow.” Abby directed Kate, making Mike smile even wider. She was so much like her mother. Maybe it was hearing Morgan and Joe’s news last night, but he thought maybe he’d have to talk to Kate later about trying again. It was time to give Abby a brother or sister, he thought.

“Daddy, get dressed.” Abby stomped into her boots and stood on her tiptoes, trying to open the door herself. “Come on, let’s go!”

Kate sagged against Mike’s side as he squeezed her shoulder. The weight and heat of her pressed against him steadied him as he got emotional, thinking about their lives and how entwined they were with all the rest of their crewmates and even the Hot Rods.

“Let me call Aunt Morgan first and make sure it’s okay if we crash their morning,” Kate said to Abby.

“It’s fine,” Abby insisted.

“How do you know?” The inner workings of her mind fascinated Mike.

“Because we’re family. And family is always welcome.” His daughter looked at him like he was dense.

“Well, technically that’s true…”

And then she dropped a bomb.“I mean, right now we’re just friends, but someday me and Nathan are gonna get married.”

Mike whipped his stare to Kate.

Thinking of their daughter having any boyfriend, never mind a life partner—and especially Joe’s adorable little kid—blew his mind. But what if she was right? What if Abby and Nathan were always as inseparable as they had been since birth?

Huh.

They could be the beginning of a whole new generation of Powertools, like Quinn and the expanding gang he figured the kid was about to kick off over at Hot Rides. Wouldn’t that be something?

“I can’t wait to see that,” Kate chuckled, shaking her head.

It was a moment they’d recount many times after that day, most notably in a speech at their daughter’s wedding.