Carol went inside and took off her boots and jacket, leaving the boots outside and putting her jacket over the couch.

Carol still couldn’t believe that some anonymous benefactor had gifted her a brand-new wardrobe. She hadn’t gotten cold, playing in the snow with Ethan. When they’d walked to her house, there hadn’t been snow slushing around inside her boots. Her feet were dry, and she didn’t feel as if she’d lose a toe to frostbite.

All that seemed believable compared to the fact she’d kissed Ethan underneath the mistletoe. That moment replayed in her head like a Christmas movie stuck in a VCR.

She went into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. She put two mugs down on the kitchen counter and grabbed a bag of marshmallows. As she put marshmallows in the cups, she looked up and saw Ethan, shirtless, standing in her living room, in his human form.

And Ethan wasn’t wearing any pants.

Ethan was wearing boxers, but that was it. His taut, firm body was moist. Was it with sweat or with melted snow from their outdoor romp? His thick muscles gleamed under her living room lights.

“Whoa,” said Carol under her breath, dropping the bag of marshmallows on the counter.

“You look like you want to skip the cocoa and take this straight to the bedroom,” said Ethan.

“You’re right,” said Carol, watching as Ethan walked toward her. “I think the cocoa can wait.”

Ethan walked up to Carol, wearing only his boxers, and picked Carol up in his arms. Carol had never been carried by a man before. She was thick, curvy, and had some heft. Ethan had picked her up like she weighed nothing, as easily as Carol had lifted the bag of marshmallows.

“You’re wet,” muttered Ethan.

Carol blushed. How could Ethan tell she wanted him that badly?

“Your clothes,” continued Ethan. “We need to get you out of these wet things before you catch a death of cold. I can warm you up. Where’s your bedroom?”

“At the end of the hall,” said Carol.

Ethan carried Carol to the bedroom. He held her up with one arm while opening the door to her room. The room had basic amenities, but it was obviously furniture suited for a rental, not furniture fit for a comfortable home. Ethan put Carol down on the bed and undid her blouse, button by button.

“Let’s get these wet things off of you,” said Ethan.

“The nightgowns are in the bottom dresser drawer,” said Carol.

“Do you really think you’re going to need a nightgown?” growled Ethan. “Lean back. I need to get these pants off you. They’re practically painted onto your body. Don’t know how you can move in them.”

“They’re looser when they’re not wet,” said Carol shyly, crossing her arms over her chest. Carol wondered why she’d turned so shy all of a sudden. She’d been so confident around Ethan, confident enough to put him in his place at the bakery, even though he was a big, lumbering bear shifter who could’ve crushed her in to dust with two fingers. He hadn’t crushed her, though. No. She’d developed a crush on him. Now, his firm but gentle touch was turning her legs to jelly.

“That’s better,” said Ethan, running a hand back up Carol’s body. He had part of her throw blanket in one hand and used it to mop up any droplets of moisture left on her steaming body.

“I think there’s one more piece of wet clothing you forgot to remove,” said Carol, unhooking her bra and slipping out of it.

“I saved the best for last,” said Ethan.

Ethan got down on his knees and ripped Carol’s panties down with his teeth. The panties tore, and he snarled at his lacy prey, gobbling it up into his mouth before spitting the shreds of thin cloth aside. Ethan took Carol’s thighs in his arms, propped them up around his shoulders, and pulled Carol’s ass down to the end of the bed.

Ethan pressed his face into the font of Carol’s wetness. He wasted no time in taking her slick juices into his mouth, coating his tongue with Carol’s wetness, and pressing his eager, greedy mouth against both her honeypot and her pleasure button. He pulled her thighs apart and kept them in the air so he could reach the hidden depths of Carol’s ample folds, exploring her like a diver looking for pirate gold.

Carol gripped the sheets, and her body writhed around Ethan’s mouth, pulling itself away from his tongue. The sensation of being worked by Ethan’s tongue was too much for Carol’s clit. Ethan kept a firm hold on Carol and pulled her ass back down the bed and pushed himself back against her slit.

Slowly but surely, Carol’s body got used to the feeling of Ethan’s broad tongue against her pussy and her clit and every last fold of the space between her legs. Her body not only got used to the feeling — it wanted more. A tongue just wouldn’t do. Carol needed the real deal, the whole enchilada, the special present Ethan hadn’t let her unwrap yet.

“I want you,” said Carol. “Ethan. I need you.”

“I can’t, not yet,” said Ethan.

“Why not?” asked Carol.

“I have…something to tell you,” said Ethan. “There’s something you don’t know about me, Carol.”

“What is it, Ethan?” asked Carol.

“I can’t keep secrets from you, Carol. I’m…a billionaire,” said Ethan. “A corporate fat cat. One of those East Coast elites you hear about in the news. I understand if an honest, hardworking woman like you wants nothing to do with me.”

Carol burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” asked Ethan.

“I’m sorry,” said Carol. “Did you just say you’re a billionaire? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all night!”

“I’m serious,” said Ethan. “Look me up. Ethan McLean.”

Carol pulled out her phone and looked up Ethan. What showed up were a bunch of long business articles about corporate mergers and takeovers and a lot of other economics mumbo jumbo.

“This has to be somebody else,” said Carol. “It has to be a coincidence.”

“Go to the company page and look at a picture of this billionaire who you think just happens to share my name,” said Ethan.

Carol went to the page and went to the CEO section. There was Ethan, but he was cleanshaven, not as muscular, and had a professional looking haircut

“Are you frikkin’ kidding me?” asked Carol. “Wait. Ethan. Were you the one that delivered all that chocolate to the bakery? And all those new winter clothes? The jackets, the snow boots, heck, even the socks?”

“Uh, I plead the fifth,” said Ethan.

“Ethan, I thought you weren’t going to keep secrets from me,” said Carol.

“Fine,” said Ethan. “That was me.”

“Why?” asked Carol.

“Because I saw you were struggling to figure out how to make the Secret Santana party a success and, well, I wanted to help you out,” said Ethan. “I didn’t like seeing you struggle when, with an hour’s phone call, I could make the problem disappear.”

“How much was it?” asked Carol.

“That, I can’t tell you,” said Ethan.

“You said no secrets,” said Carol.

“Fine,” said Ethan. “A little more than a thousand thousand.”

“You mean a million?” asked Carol, arms crossed. “Ethan, you spent a million dollars on chocolate and clothes for me?”

“It was nothing, trust me,” said Ethan. “I can afford it. Look. The chocolate’s already been baked up. The party’s gonna be a success. And now, well, you know the truth.”

“Not the full truth,” said Carol. “Why are you here, Ethan? Why are you at The Wreath?”

“You want honesty?” asked Ethan. “I’m here because I’m nearing the age where I’m in danger for succumbing to something shifters call ‘mate madness.’ If I don’t find my mate, then, well, I might turn into a bear…forever.”

“What does that have to do with coming out here?” asked Carol.

“My Clan, my bear Clan, Clan Marron, wanted me to shape up and stop being a billionaire bad boy,” said Ethan. “I never focused on finding a mate. I was always too busy getting in shenanigans, shenanigans the company and my Clan covered up. I was sent up to The Wreath, to relearn my values, and I found something even more precious instead — true love. I found you, Carol.”

“Then claim me already,” begged Carol. “I don’t care about the fact you’re a billionaire, or a bear, or about why you’re here. I want you, Ethan. Regardless of all the other stuff, I just want you. So take me. Claim me. Show me exactly what a shifter like you wants to do to a BBW like me. Give me one Hell of a Merry Christmas.”

Ethan pressed his cock to Carol’s entrance and took his time lining his shaft up with her canal. Once he got started, he knew that the more primal side of his being would take over. He didn’t know for sure, but he had a suspicion. Even though Ethan hadn’t used his bear as often as he should’ve, he was still a shifter, and although he didn’t know much about how other shifters felt about claiming their mates, he knew they must have the same primal, animalistic energy he knew he was capable of unleashing.

“Get ready for a sleigh ride, baby,” said Ethan, sliding into Carol and pulling her legs up around his waist.

Ethan slammed into Carol, hard, filling her from her base to her end, and pushing her canal so that more and more of his length could fit inside her. Carol’s body took Ethan’s length with gusto. Carol was so enrapt by Ethan’s smooth yet strong motions in and out of her body she almost didn’t realize what he was doing.

Ethan put one hand behind Carol’s waist, the other, behind her hips. He pulled her up so she was off the bed. He got on his knees and propped Carol up so that he was fucking her while holding her around his waist. Then, he moved his legs so he was sitting down and Carol was sitting on top of him, on his cock. He wrapped Carol’s arms around his shoulders once he was in the upright position so that Carol wouldn’t fall back down on the bed.

“Hold on, babe, because I’m giving you just what you asked for, just what you want,” said Ethan.

“Is it what I deserve?” teased Carol.

“You’ve been real Nice this year, so I think you deserve a Naughty treat too,” said Ethan, pressing his lips against Carol’s neck and sucking in gently, careful not to leave her a mark. He kept two hands on her hips as he bounced her up and down, off his waist and back down onto his cock, and then, moved so that only one hand was on her hips.

The other hand moved to the space between Carol’s front most folds. Ethan found the familiar nub and gently grazed it with his fingers, teasing it, feeling Carol clench around him and hearing her gasp into his ear as he rubbed the spot in small circles.

Carol came around Ethan’s cock, hard. As Carol’s poinsettia petals enclosed around Ethan’s Christmas tree, Carol ran her hand over Ethan’s chest. Ethan clasped Carol’s hand to his chest with one his hand.

“No,” said Carol. “I want to see.”

“See what?” asked Ethan.

“See your mark…change,” said Carol slowly. “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

That was when Ethan realized he’d made a terrible mistake. He looked down at his chest. His mate mark wasn’t there. Krampus had only given him his shift back, not his mate mark. All that was written across his chest was the word ‘Naughty.’

Carol’s orgasm ended, and Ethan kept pounding her, holding his orgasm in with all his might. She waited and waited for his mark to change, but nothing happened.

“What happened?” asked Carol. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“No,” said Ethan, pulling out, his thick, throbbing cock aching for release.

“So, it doesn’t mean we’re not fated mates?” asked Carol.

“No, because I didn’t cum,” said Ethan truthfully. “Call it performance anxiety.”

“So, there’s still a chance?” asked Carol.

“Yeah,” said Ethan. “I just realized…I have a lot to tell you before I claim you. I want to do this right, Carol. I can’t claim you until you know the truth about me.”

“The truth?” asked Carol.

“It’s a long story, and I have to leave,” said Ethan. “There’s no time to explain it all to you now. It’s already ten. I’m barely going to make it back to Camp Kringle in time for tonight’s extended curfew.”

“But babe, why?” asked Carol, running a hand down Ethan’s chest. “Stay with me.”

“I have a job I have to do early tomorrow,” said Ethan.

“But I’ll see you at Secret Santana, won’t I?” asked Carol.

“That’s the thing,” said Ethan. “I can make part of it, but I’m going to have to leave early, for work.”

“Oh,” said Carol. “I was actually looking forward to Secret Santana.”

“Hey, hey,” said Ethan, tilting Carol’s head toward his. “Don’t worry. One way or another, we’ll exchange our gifts.”

“You promise?” asked Carol.

“I promise,” said Ethan. “Flying reindeer couldn’t keep me away.”