VAUGHN’S FINGERS STROKED my hair where I lay on his chest, basking in the quiet of the moment. Too often lately we were rushing out the door to our respective jobs, passing each other like ships in the night. To be able to lie there with his hard body beneath me was a luxury I wanted to fully take advantage of for as long as possible.

“It’s too bad we can’t wake up this way every day,” I said, intertwining our fingers and pressing a kiss against his knuckles.

“Your students would miss their favorite teacher.”

“One look at you and they’d understand why something…came up.” I pressed my hips against him to let him feel exactly what was coming up under the sheets, and Vaughn laughed.

“You’re insatiable today. Whatever will I do with you?”

I waggled my brows. “I have several ideas.”

“As do I. But unfortunately, none of them involve staying in bed all day.”

“Then I think we should stick to my ideas.”

“Tempting, babe.” Vaughn sat up, and I groaned as he kissed my head and got to his feet. He walked over to the tallboy and pulled out a couple of pairs of pajama pants and t-shirts, and then he tossed a set on the bed for me.

I pouted. “Do we have to?”

Vaughn was about to respond when my stomach let out a loud growl of hunger and he laughed. “Yes, we do. Come on. I promise it’ll be painless.”

“Will there be coffee?”

“As many pots as your heart desires.”

“Okaaay.” I threw on the faded university shirt of Vaughn’s that was my favorite—and that I’d stolen the first month we started dating—and then stepped into a pair of cozy plaid pajama pants. Vaughn was wearing something similar, but somehow, he managed to look as put together as he always did. The shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and muscled arms, and with his pants riding low on his hips… I licked my lips.

“Uh-uh. None of that,” Vaughn said as he caught where my eyes were transfixed, and when I started toward him, he put a hand on the doorjamb, blocking my path. Then his other hand reached for mine, and as he interlaced our fingers, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for always being so understanding when it comes to my job. I know it’s not easy with my schedule, and sometimes you’ve had to miss out on things you love, like your favorite holiday—”

“Babe, it’s fine. It’s hard to begrudge you when you’re doing charity work.” I squeezed his hand. “It’s one of the reasons I love you.”

“Enough to miss out on all the Christmas festivities while I was gone? I know how much you missed decorating the tree this year.”

“I kind of went crazy with the one in my classroom, but next year don’t think we’re not going all out. You better schedule your next Doctors without Borders trip around Halloween instead.”

“Deal.”

“Good. So, where’s that coffee you promised me?”

Vaughn dropped his hand from the door and winked. “Let’s get this Valentine’s Day started, shall we?”

I followed Vaughn down the hall to the living room. As we neared the wide-open space, the sound of the fire crackling made me smile. Such a cozy home we’ve made with each other, I thought. But when Vaughn stepped aside and I rounded the end of the hall to see a seven-foot Douglas fir in the far corner of the room, my mouth fell open and my hands flew up to cover it. The scent of pine filled the room that was aglow with sparkling Christmas lights reflecting from the baubles and decorations hanging from the full, thick branches of the tree.

“Oh my God,” I said as I walked into the center of the room, my eyes not knowing where to look first. It was like a page out of a Christmas picture book. A gorgeous tree, a flickering fire, lights hanging everywhere, and all I could think was, How did Vaughn do all this? And when?

I whirled around to where Vaughn was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and a wide smile on his handsome face. “I… Did Santa’s elves show up six weeks late last night when I passed out?”

Vaughn laughed as he shoved off the wall and passed by the coffee table to pick up a remote, before coming to a stop in front of me. “No elves. I did this all by myself.”

The grin on his face was downright infectious, and as I sidled closer to him, I placed a hand on his chest and smiled. “You’re giving me Christmas on Valentine’s Day?”

Vaughn inclined his head. “I am, actually. I can’t have my guy missing his favorite time of year.”

“Oh yeah?” I said, and bit down on my lower lip.

Vaughn brought a hand up to take my chin between his thumb and forefinger and nodded. “Yeah. And I might have to keep surprising you. The flush on your cheeks is… Hmm. Delicious.”

I moved up to my toes, about to kiss him, when Vaughn released me and pressed a button on the remote.

As the sound of trumpets filled the room and the ridiculous hippopotamus Christmas song came through the speakers, Vaughn’s eyes filled with humor and I busted out laughing.

“Are you serious right now? You hate this song.”

“But you don’t,” he said even as I reached for the remote. “In fact, I remember you doing a very bad rendition of this our first Christmas together.”

“Hey,” I said, and eyed him as he walked over to the tree. “I’ll have you know that not everyone can pull off her high falsetto.”

Vaughn laughed as he walked into the kitchen, and I could hear the oven door opening and then slapping closed. “Including you.”

I shook my head at him as he made his way back out to where I was standing, and that was when I noticed the presents wrapped and placed around the base of the tree. “Vaughn, what is all of this?”

Vaughn held his hand out to me, and when I placed mine in his and he pulled me closer, I automatically went.

“I wanted to…spoil you.”

My lips quirked at that, because while I knew Vaughn loved me more than I could’ve ever imagined, he wasn’t always the best at remembering important dates and special occasions. That was more my kind of thing. So to think he’d gone out of his way to do all of this for me? It meant the world to me. “Well, you aren’t going to hear me complain about that. Spoil away. Where do you want me?”

When the side of his mouth kicked up, Vaughn pointed to the plush rug by the fire where he’d thrown several pillows and said, “Sit.”

“You’re awfully bossy today.”

“That’s right. And if you’re a good boy you might get—”

“Yes?”

“I hardly think interrupting equals good, Mr. Pierce. What would you tell your students?”

I crossed my legs and lowered myself to the ground. “Nothing I’d say to you, that’s for damn sure.”

Vaughn crouched down and picked up a box, and then swiveled around to see my eyes on his ass.

“Behave yourself,” he said, and as I reached for the present, he snatched it back a little and I chuckled at the tease.

“But where’s the fun in that?” As I took the gift from him, he leaned over to brush a kiss against my lips and said, “You’re right, there’s no fun in that. Now, open it…flirt.