Last Christmas, my buddies and I went skiing in Tahoe.

The year before that, we snorkeled in the Bahamas. 

The only one of us who had any family worth seeing was LeVan. He rarely went home for more than two days at a stretch. If he did, he’d run the risk of seeing Thea. Back then, the two of them had agreed for her devious, conniving mother’s sake—late mother now—that they’d hold off on getting together until the cruel old lady was gone. Now that the old bitch was dead, LeVan and Thea were free to be together and were practically inseparable.

This was the first Christmas I’d done something other than travel with my two best friends. I still wasn’t sure what to think about being in Canada. I’d step outside and think I was inside one of those holiday snow globes. I also kept buying people gifts. I’d never done shit like that before.

First, I picked up a couple of things for her folks. I’d seen her dad on the back porch smoking a pipe, so when I was feeling adventurous, I used one of their cars to make a solo trip to the nearby mall. A small cigar shop inside had an antique pipe on display, so I went in and bought the thing. The owner rambled on and on about the sterling silver tamper and spigot, but none of that had meant shit to me. It looked nice. Her dad smoked pipes. It seemed like a decent gift.

At a housewares shop a few stores away from there, I saw a tea set painted with little blue flowers the same color as Angel’s eyes. I had no idea if her mother liked tea sets, or tea for that matter. But because I’d seen a number of antiques around their castle-styled home, I took a chance and bought that for her.

The gift for Angel was a little harder to pick, but I went for simplicity.

My gut instinct was to stay away from jewelry stores. Up to that point, I had, but I ended up passing by one with an eye-catching necklace in the window. It reminded me of her as soon as I saw it. Her eyes, again. Such a rich, vivid blue. As soon as the owner inside saw me staring, he must have figured he spotted an easy mark. The man waved me in and went on about how exquisite the thing was. It emulated Victorian era jewelry, with two framed sapphires with diamonds set around it, and accented with of little golden stars dangling from the chain itself.

I was sold when I saw it. He didn’t need a pitch at all, but the man was giddy as fuck when I passed him my credit card and told him to wrap it up.

Three down. One to go.

Later that day, Angel went to do more shopping with her mom. I still hadn’t bought a gift for the most important person yet—Bump. 

Maybe it was stupid to buy a gift for a baby that wouldn’t be here for months. I didn’t care.

I ended up walking through the entire mall, and found a tanned leather rocker recliner chair with extra-pillowy armrests to support a sleepy baby. It was a practical purchase but not too smart for logistics. The thing needed physical delivery since it couldn’t fit into most standard size vehicles. And that was fun, with the holiday only being two days away. But I paid extra and they got a same-day service to rush it to Angel’s parents’ house. 

With my shopping done, I went back to the house and waited for everyone to get back. The same-day delivery arrived long before Angel and her parents got back. Except now, with no idea where to hide it, I left it in the middle of our bedroom for her to find it.

Angel saw it and fell in love with the thing. In a way, it was for both her and Bump. When I pointed that out, she started to sniffle and got all teary eyed. A fait accompli in my book.

Her parents passed by the open door of our room as Angel was relaxing in it.

“Good call,” her father said to me.

I jerked my head, but he’d gone back to smiling at his daughter. She was stroking a hand along the soft armrests with a smile on her face as she started to rock. 

“Pass me a blanket and I’ll be out like a light,” she announced. 

“That’s because you woke up at seven in the morning,” her mother chided, shaking her head. “You’re almost as bad as you were when you were a child!”

* * *

Later on, we sat in the family room, decorated to the hilt with garland and holly. The Christmas tree was also set up, surrounded with gifts.

Jesus Christ, these people were jolly.

Listening to them sometimes made me skeptical, to the point of mild annoyance with a bit of nausea and anger mixed in. They were so nice it was almost unreal.

Like being on the set of a Leave it to Beaver episode.

Except sweeter and tamer, with no sibling rivalry.

Were they for real? Could people really be this happy?

At the same time, getting to know them was a relief. My baby would have a good, loving extended family on Angel’s side. Real people, real love, all that normal crap I never knew. A weird, hollow ache settled in the center of my chest and I shoved it aside, reaching for the coffee I’d been nursing.

“Here.”

At the soft, feminine voice, so similar to Angel’s, I looked up. Angel’s mother, Evangeline, stood there, holding out a holiday gift bag. “This is for you,” she said, smiling at me. “I hope you like it. Phillip and I agreed you should have this.”

I took the bag, awkwardly holding the coffee and the bright, festive gift as I tried to figure out what to do. What was the etiquette here? Didn’t they wait for Christmas day to kick off the Santa-fest? Maybe this was a Canadian deal. Like one of those twelve days of Christmas, advent calendar things, with gift-giving for days on end, right up to the partridge in the pear tree. 

It had been years since I left my nightmare of a family life behind. Lessons no child should ever learn were drilled in deep. Those memories dominated over the ones about how we handled the holidays. Hence my inability to know definitively what to do with this flamboyant thing in my hand. 

“Do I open it now?”

“Yes. Please.” Evangeline’s lips bowed up into a smile that reminded me a little of Angel’s. “I love shopping and finding unique presents. Seeing people open them is almost as satisfying as the thrill of buying them.”

“If you put it that way…” 

I managed to smile now that she put me on the spot. I had to juggle for a second because I was still holding the coffee. But really, what she’d said made me nervous. On top of that, I was overwhelmed by all this civility and good-natured kindness. The man with the magic had suddenly turned clumsy and couldn’t multitask. Why was it so hard to figure out how to open a damn bag that was already open at the top? I got a grip eventually, setting down the coffee on an end table. 

Angel was watching now, probably to see my reaction to the gift. Shit, so was her father.

“Don’t you all want to…” I waved a hand at them, feeling like I’d been shoved under a microscope with all this attention. It was nerve-wracking. I’d been on stage in front of thousands, and felt less self-conscious there than right now.

“Mom, Dad.” Angel ducked in between us and picked up a random gift box sitting under the tree. Now that she had their attention, I tore the gift paper out of the bag, crunching it into a messy wad as I eyed the gift inside—a hardcover book. 

I was off my game as I lifted out the book. The thing almost fell out of my hands. Like I said, self-conscious and way off my fucking game. 

“Is this…” I stopped as I saw the book title, my jaw clenched tight to keep whatever I was about to ask to myself. If I’d known these people better, I’d have asked if this was one of those gag gifts. Hell, I just didn’t know, but on closer examination of the book, older than dirt and fragile with well-worn pages, I was speechless.

“Where did you get a copy of this?” I asked.

“From the man himself…four times removed.” Phillip smiled a little. “My great great grandfather had him sign it. It’s been passed down through the family ever since.”

It was an original copy of Harry Houdini’s Miracle Mongers and their Methods. Carefully, I put the rare collectors’ item down on the table, handling it like it was made of glass. “I can’t accept this, sir. It’s not something that should ever leave your family.”

“Eventually, I expect you’ll pass it on to…well.” He smiled and glanced at Angel. “But Angel isn’t interested, other than just, how did you put it, darling?”

“It’s got some seriously high wow factor.” Angel shrugged as she sat down with the box in her lap. “But beyond that…no, I think Mac here would appreciate it more. Take it, Mac. Dad wants you to have it.”

I took the book in my hands once more. Then, as if she realized how much I hated having them all watch me, she opened the present she’d been holding onto, chattering on brightly—almost too brightly. But I barely noticed as I gingerly opened the cover.

I might’ve sat there studying it for hours, if I hadn’t heard Angel’s watery sniffle. “Oh, Mac…”

Looking up, I realized somebody had passed her my gift. The necklace. As she held it up, the afternoon sun shone in at just the right angle, catching the necklace in the light and making it sparkle.

Putting the book down, I got up and went to her, taking the necklace. It had a more complicated clasp than modern necklaces. All this syrupy sweetness in the room made my hands feel clumsy. I wasn’t used to any of it. But finally, I had the piece in place around her neck. I moved back to my seat, meeting her eyes. I’d been right—the gems of the necklace made her eyes look brighter, bigger, more mysterious.

She touched the sapphire on the bottom, stroking it with her index finger. “I love it. It’s...perfect. You don’t do anything on a small scale, do you?”

“It’s not in my nature.”

* * *

Angel came to bed that night wearing the necklace and a robe that matched the blue.

It wasn’t quite the cocktail gown I’d been picturing her in, but I decided I liked this better.

Pulling the robe tie open, I took her to bed wearing nothing but that necklace, the open robe, and a smile that quickly faded as I put her under me and all but tore the robe away.

“I knew it’d look good on you.” I stroked the pads of my fingers down the chain, half my mind still picturing her in a ball gown, maybe something vintage to go with the glamour of the jewels. Then I could take it off, piece by piece.

There was something to be said for anticipation.

Already almost bare from the open robe, I shoved most of it to her sides to frame her body. Angel held my shoulders and pulled me close. 

“No more talking,” she demanded in a soft plea. “Kiss me.”

“So bossy.” But I did as she ordered. I couldn’t miss a single chance to touch her. A beautiful woman wanted my hands on her, my mouth on her. I doubt I’d ever argue with that.

Her hands pushed into my hair. She gripped it, using it to pull me closer while she bit my lower lip and hummed against my mouth. 

“I love the way you taste,” she murmured. “Love it.”

I could’ve told her the same thing—if I weren’t already busy enjoying her.

Her nipples invited me lower. So taut. So dark. So perky and welcoming. And sensitive. I took one in my mouth and she shivered, her whole body tensing like I’d hit her with a few thousand volts of electricity. I started to think I’d just been too rough and hurt her, but the temperature of her body skyrocketed. She tightened the hold she had in my hair, sighing through shallow breaths that sounded hoarse, harsh, hungry.

I’d meet her every need if I got the chance.

Rolling her onto her belly, I kissed my way down her spine, then pulled her up onto her knees.

She swayed backward, meeting me when I pressed a kiss to her hips then flicked my tongue across the valley between her ass cheeks. Angel cried out, flinching slightly. I eased away, but used my fingers to trace over the sensitive zone. She remained tense for some time, relaxing only after I rolled her onto her back and covered her mouth with my own.

Maybe she thought she was in control now. The idea almost made me smile. Instead, I ran my lips down her neck...and pressed the pad of my index finger against her tight rosebud.

She froze, breath held and her eyes flying open as she looked at me, startled and aroused at the same time.

I met her gaze head on, watching intently. She was already drenched between her legs. Keeping my index finger in the same spot, I pushed my thumb past her folds, burying deep into her tight pussy. Angel arched into it with a weak, ragged moan. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as I drove my index finger slightly deeper into her ass.

“You haven’t done this before.”

“No,” she hummed, pleasure in her voice. “But it feels…good.”

“I won’t go further than this. Not sure if it’s a good idea for your first time to be while you’re pregnant.”

I withdrew slightly, then deepened the caress, watching her eyes widen, seeing her remaining tension give way to more pleasure, fully aware when she lost herself to it. She rode my hand as sure as she would’ve ridden my cock, and it took more self-control than I liked to admit to keep my dick out of the equation. Right up until she was reduced to a quivering mass of limbs and whimpers when she came.

Once she did, I flipped her onto her hand and knees. Pushing her legs apart, I drove into her hard and fast.

Angel rocked back toward me, taking me in deep, already on the verge of another climax when she wasn’t down from the first one.

I was losing myself in this woman.

Maybe I was already lost.