Jace kept the fire going throughout the night, adding wood to keep them warm. Every single time he pulled away, Adele woke up, immediately missing his arms around her…and also his warmth. The second he’d crawl back in next to her, she burrowed against him again and would fall right back to sleep.

But there was no falling back to sleep when he woke her up that morning. Soft, clear sunshine was coming through the windows. The storm had finally passed.

Adele’s thoughts on the weather were short lived though as she realized that what had woken her up was Jace kissing the back of her neck. She’d rolled over at some point, her back to his front, and his very prominent erection now pressing into her bottom.

She’d barely gotten back to consciousness and that quickening was already starting in her belly, getting more and more intense as he opened his mouth over her skin. To counter, she moved her hips, rubbing against his hard cock and making him groan into her neck.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was all sexy and rough from sleep.

She knew what he was asking and it only took her a second to assess things. She was still a little sore from the day before, but a good kind of sore, the kind of sore that made her ache to feel him inside of her again. She turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes meeting his.

“I’m good, Jace.”

“Perfect.” He closed the small gap between their mouths, kissing her as his hand moved up her bare thigh. And then he was pushing up the material of her shirt—well, actually, his shirt—before pulling her panties down her legs. His hand found it’s way to the apex of her thighs, fingers moving over her…and then in and out of her. It took almost no time at all for him to get her good and ready for him.

His mouth left hers as his hands disappeared from her body. He shifted behind her, getting rid of his sweats. Once his legs were free, he settled back into place, and lined his cock up to her entrance.

It was a slow and delicious slide as he filled her up inch by torturous inch. Her back arched and she gasped at the exquisite sensation of him stretching her tight. When he was fully inside of her, he stilled for a few moments, placing opened mouth kisses on her neck while she adjusted around him. His hand was on her belly, moving up until he could palm her breast. When he rasped his thumb across her nipple, her hips rolled, causing both of them to moan in pleasure as she moved along the length of him.

“Do that again,” he whispered between kisses as he moved his thumb over her other nipple.

Adele did do it again, rolling her hips against him as he continued to touch her breasts.

“Just like that, Del.” He started to move, pulling in and out of her at a slow, sleepy pace.

Their bodies rocked together languorously…lazily, but a good lazy. No hurry to get to the finish line, just enjoying the journey of getting there. And all the while Jace didn’t stop touching her, moving from her breasts, to her belly, and then between her thighs. He found her clit, rubbing in soft, little circles that drove her out of her ever-loving mind.

She had absolutely no concept of how long they moved like that before things changed. Their speed picked up, both of them seeking more. His breaths were uneven now, hitting her skin in warm little puffs. Adele put her hand over his, pressing his fingers firmer against her clit.

Her orgasm crested and she fell over the edge, dragging Jace down with her.

It took a minute for them to catch their breaths, and then she felt Jace’s smile against her skin as he kissed her shoulder. “Morning.” The satisfaction in that one word was clear.

If only she could wake up like that every morning.

If only…

Post orgasmic glow or not, Adele still needed caffeine to start her morning. Luckily it was a simple solution. All they had to do was move the coffee maker to a plug in the kitchen that was hooked up to the generator. Once that problem was sorted, the next thing to figure out was food.

Not all that surprisingly, they were both pretty hungry that morning. She’d forgotten how much a night—and morning—like that could take it out of her. But what with the inability to cook, breakfast options were pretty slim.

So cereal it was. Adele had just lined up all of the boxes on the counter when Jace and Katie walked in the front door.

She’d told him she would take Katie out, but he’d insisted, saying he wanted to keep her in as few layers as possible. The chill in the air wasn’t too terrible that morning, not after Jace had built the fire up again to a blazing status. So she was just sporting yoga pants, the oversized T-shirt, a flannel bathrobe, and fuzzy slippers. The coffee was also doing an excellent job of keeping her warm.

“How is it out there?” Adele asked between sips of her hazelnut caffeinated goodness.

“Storms gone, skies are clear, and the suns out.” He kicked off his boots and pulled the jacket from his arms.

“How much snow?”

Jace followed Katie into the kitchen where she made a beeline for her now kibble-filled dog bowl. “Maybe three feet? A little bit more. She wasn’t really having it today though,” he nodded to the dog. “She didn’t venture out from the overhang. I think she was more focused on food than playing.”

“That sounds about right.”

“It’s supposed to get into the fifties today. So a few days with that temp, and most of it will be gone.” Stopping next to her, he grabbed the cup of coffee she’d fixed for him. “Thank you.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before taking a sip. “Mmmmm.”

His low, steady hum vibrated through her body, settling between her thighs. Good Lord, he’d just been inside of her not twenty minutes ago and she already wanted him again.

That sounded about right.

“So, this is our cereal smorgasbord,” she waved a hand at the boxes like she was Vanna White. “There was an unopened box of Frosted Flakes in the pantry, you brought the ever classic Life, and I am contributing Lucky Charms.”

Yup. Lucky Charms. She’d gone stress shopping before getting there. She’d had every intention of eating her feelings the whole time she’d been hiding out at the cabin, something that very much wasn’t the case now. Now it was about eating enough to keep up her energy levels.

“That is quite the selection,” Jace said taking another sip of his coffee. “And as I can’t remember the last time I had Lucky Charms, I’m going to start there, then finish with a bowl of Life.”

Adele poured the cereal while Jace added the milk, and then they sat down at the bar to eat.

It was the weirdest thing. There’d been years, and years of sharing meals with Jace. Complicated and intricate dishes like paella, or chicken enchiladas made from scratch, Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, more barbecues than she could count, brunches and birthdays…and this right here, was her favorite meal.

Cereal and coffee on a cold December morning without power.

The knowledge of this fact took her aback more than just a little bit. As she lifted her bowl to drink the Lucky Charms flavored milk, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. But before she had time to really think about it, the house buzzed back to life with power, lights shining and electronics beeping.

“Yessssss!” She almost shouted as she set the empty bowl down.

Jace looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “I’m sorry, were you not entertained enough during the power outage?”

Adele narrowed her eyes at him, a smirk taking over her mouth. “I was plenty entertained. Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m excited about a hot shower.”

And now Jace was the one smirking. “A hot shower with you. Now that sounds like an excellent idea.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were invited.”

“I’ll make it worth your while.” He waggled his eyebrows at her as he finished his second bowl of cereal.

Oh, there was no doubt in her mind about that. Steamy air, slick bodies, soapy hands…annnnnnd sold.

Not for the first time, Adele was beyond thankful that her brother had pulled out all of the stops with building this cabin. There was a tankless water heater, so there would be no waiting for the water to warm up.

Adele slid off the bar stool, wasting absolutely no time in grabbing Jace’s hand and leading him to the bathroom.

Jace had every intention in the world of taking it slow and easy with Adele in the shower. He figured they could get all soaped up and then get each other off with their hands. Give her body some time to rest and recoup after the sex they’d already had. What he hadn’t expected was for her to sit on the shower bench in front of him and take his cock into her mouth.

Everything was an assault to his senses, overwhelming him with pleasure. First the sight of her moving up and down the length of him, the smell of her almond-scented body wash floating in the air around them, the sound of his uneven breaths mixed with her moans, and the feel of her warm, wet mouth sucking him. He’d been able to keep his control in check right up until she started playing with his balls.

A rush of incoherent nonsense escaped his mouth and he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t blacked out yet. Maybe it was a self-preservation thing. Cracking his head on the tile would’ve been a bit counterproductive for how he wanted to spend his day.

His fingers were tangled in her hair, his palms cradling her head, and he gently pulled himself free of her mouth.

The second he was able to regain some semblance of thought, he reached for her arms, pulling her to her feet, and pushing her back against the tiled wall. Covering her mouth with his, he tried to intimate with a kiss just how much he’d enjoyed what she’d been doing, tried to show her how desperate he was for her, tried to convey he’d never get enough of her.

Moving one of his hands to her head, he wove his fingers in her hair again as he deepened the kiss. Meanwhile, his other hand slid down her body, moving between her thighs so he could slip two fingers inside of her.

Yup, she was wet everywhere. Hot and slick and needy. Her hips moved, seeking more pressure, seeking more of him. She wasn’t the only one who wanted more either. Fuck, he needed to be inside of her.

He pulled his hand from her hair at the same time that his fingers moved from between her thighs. “Hold on,” he whispered against her lips as he grabbed both of her thighs and pulled her up.

Her legs wound around his waist as her hands grasped his shoulders, and then he was lining his cock to her entrance and slowly sliding inside of her. His lips covered hers, their tongues tangling, mouths sucking, teeth biting. Adele writhed against him, hips taking up a frantic rhythm, as her nails dug into his skin. He let her set the pace, let her show him exactly how much she wanted, and he gave it to her.

Adele’s release was free and wild. She pulled her mouth from his and her cries of pleasure echoed all around them, bouncing off the tile and filling the bathroom. Filling his head. He brought her down from her orgasm with slow, steady thrusts, her body still pulsing. And then he kissed her again as he let himself go over to his own release.

It was a good couple of moments before he pulled his mouth away and looked at her face. Her skin was slicked with water, hair wet and hanging down around her shoulders, golden brown eyes dazed as she looked at him.

She was so damn sexy, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life.

He pulled out of her as she unwound her legs from around his waist. He slowly lowered her, letting every part of her slid down every part of him. Once her feet were flat on the tiled floor, her hands loosened from their grip on his shoulders before sliding up his neck and to the back of his head. She tugged his mouth down to hers, kissing him long and hard as the hot water rained down around them.

Showers were never going to be the same after this…but really, nothing was ever going to be the same after Adele.

After their shower, Jace sat a robed Adele on the bathroom counter, settling himself between her thighs as he continued to kiss her. He only had a towel wrapped around his hips, which meant her hands got full range to move over his naked chest and back.

Who was she to waste such a perfect opportunity?

“We should get dressed,” he said against her mouth, his hands sliding under the robe and up her bare thighs.

“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed. “We should.”

It was another couple of minutes before he pulled away from her, shaking his head as he took a step back. “You’re dangerous, you know that?”

“Hey, you started it.”

“I can’t help it. I kiss you and I forget everything.” He shook his head as his eyes moved over her in that heated way of his. “This time we really do need to get dressed.”

“Fine.” Adele hopped down from the counter, but as she took a few steps towards Jace he took a few more steps back. “You scared of me now?” Her mouth curved up in a grin.

“No, I’m not scared of you. I just can’t resist you. I’m leaving now.” He hesitated for just a moment, letting his eyes slowly move over her before he turned around and headed out of the bathroom.

Adele bit her bottom lip, tilting her head to the side as she watched him walk away. Good Lord. He was the dangerous one.

Jace had shut the bedroom door behind him when he walked out, probably more for his benefit than hers. If he caught her in her underwear again they’d most likely spend all day in bed.

Still grinning like a mad woman, Adele sat down on the bed and pulled the towel from her hair. Her smile faltered as she tossed the towel on the bed and reached for her phone on the nightstand. As much as she didn’t want to deal with what was on there, she powered it on anyways. She knew she needed to give her mom a call sooner rather than later.

While her phone loaded up, Adele found come clean clothes, got dressed, brushed her hair, straightened up, and did pretty much everything else she could do to delay picking up that phone again.

Her anxiety got worse and worse as she moved around her room, and for good reason. The second she hit the home button, her screen filled with notifications. After she talked to her family when she got to the cabin, she’d turned it off and hadn’t turned it back on. She knew if there was an emergency, they’d just call Jace.

Jace…it was in that moment, confronted with the outside world she’d so desperately been avoiding, that she realized she hadn’t really thought about Troy or picturegate at all since Jace had kissed her the night before.

Apparently, he had the power to make her forget, too.

The thing was, she still hadn’t actually talked to Troy. And apparently her text of No need to explain. We’re over, hadn’t been clear enough for him as there were seven new voicemails and nineteen texts from him. Seeing his name on her screen made her feel unsettled. Not in a way where she felt like she’d done anything wrong being with Jace, or like she’d cheated. Not by any means. It was more like she had unfinished business with Troy, unfinished business that she was now in somewhat of a frame of mind where she could deal with it.

She needed to be done with him once and for all. Put that chapter behind her and move on to the next. There was only one way to do that. Pulling up his number she hit the call button, the anxiety in her stomach now rising up to her chest.

Just get this over with.

Just get this over with.

Just get this over with.

“Adele?!” Troy’s voice filled her ear and rattled around in her head. She already wanted to hang up the phone. “Finally.”

The agitation in that one word was clear and it immediately had her hackles rising.

“Are you actually angry with me?”

“Yeah, I am. My girlfriend has been back in the States for over seventy-two hours and this is the first I’ve heard from her. I’ve been calling and texting for days, pouring my heart out, and in turn I’ve been entirely ignored.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know as I haven’t read or listened to anything you’ve said.”

“How is that any way to get through this?”

“Get through this?” She repeated slowly, absolutely baffled. “You cheated on me, Troy. There is no getting through this.” Why did she feel like she was suddenly explaining something to a toddler?

“Come on. We can fix this! We can work on this!” He shouted into the phone.

Oh, it was because he was having a temper tantrum like a toddler. That was why. “We? You were the one who broke this.”

“It didn’t mean anything, Adele.”

“It didn’t mean anything?” She asked incredulously, her voice rising with the anger that had been simmering inside of her. Had he really just said that?

“No. It didn’t. I just…I missed you and I gave in to a moment of weakness.” His voice had taken on that soft tone that she associated with being wrapped in his arms. “I love you, Adele.”

It was the first time he’d said those words to her, and all they did was make her feel sad. She knew in that moment that her entire relationship with him had never been what she’d thought. She just hadn’t been able to see it until she was on this side of things…until she was on the other side of a night with Jace.

She now knew what it was like to be consumed with a passion so intense it was like fire. To be with someone she trusted. After that, everything else was just empty. She didn’t want that and she didn’t want Troy.

All of that anxiety from moments before was gone and it left her chest hallow in its wake.

“Maybe you cheating didn’t mean anything to you, but it meant something to me. Troy, I don’t know what your version of love is, but it’s not the same as mine, and I don’t want it. Whatever this was between us, it’s over now. I don’t trust you, and I never will. Not after this.”

“Are you seriously breaking up with me right now? You’ve got to be kidding.” And back was the anger in his voice, the inflection in his words clear that no one dumped him.

“You ended things the moment you cheated.”

A low cruel, laugh filled the speaker. “God, the last few months were such a waste of time. You were a waste of time. Have fun being alone, Adele.”

There was so much bitterness and resentment coming from him that she felt it crawling across her skin like bugs. She wanted to shower again.

“Wow. You know what, Troy? You can go fuck yourself.” She pulled the phone from her ear and hit the end button.

Adele had no idea how long she stared dazedly down at the phone, his words replaying inside her head. But it wasn’t until she blinked and a few tears landed on the now black screen that she realized she was crying.

That whole conversation had been a maze of lies. She had no idea what way was up…or what had been the truth. But she was sure of one thing. Troy had been right when he’d said the last few months had been a waste of time.

After getting dressed, Jace walked down the hallway, passing Adele’s closed door and heading through the living room and up to the loft. The upstairs was divided into two parts, about sixty percent was the gym, and forty was the attic…which was where all of the Christmas decorations were stored.

He knew there was an eight-foot artificial tree, a collection of ornaments, stockings, lights, and everything else Christmas related up there. And he was about to pull all of it down. This was step one in Operation Make Adele Want to Celebrate Christmas Again. It was the decision he’d made the previous night while holding her in his arms, the fire lulling them both to sleep.

They were going to decorate and celebrate Christmas. He was going to break her Grinchiness if it was the last thing he did. As he’d stated before, Adele without Christmas just didn’t make sense.

Besides, this benefited him too. Maybe there was mistletoe in some of those boxes. Only one way to find out.

As Jace headed up the stairs his mind was on Adele and this constant need that had possessed him for the last twenty-four hours or so. It had been a long time since he’d craved a woman this much. On second thought, he’d never craved a woman this much.

Sure, he wanted women, enjoyed their company, and strived for mutual satisfaction for the time they were together. But he’d never been invested like this. Had never actively worked for their happiness. He cared about Adele in a way he hadn’t ever cared for anyone before. It was something that hadn’t manifested because of the sex either. He’d always cared for her, but he’d be lying if he said the sex hadn’t intensified the feeling.

How could it not? He’d been inside of her, no barriers, absolutely nothing between them. And she trusted him. He couldn’t get that moment out of his head. It kept replaying over and over again. The plain truth right there in her words and in her eyes. It was something he’d never experienced before, and something he wasn’t done experiencing with her.

This feeling was unlike anything Jace had ever known. He was pretty sure he’d never know this feeling again. Not with somebody else. Not with anybody except Adele.

What did it matter though? They were going by Vegas rules. What happened at the cabin, stayed at the cabin.

Pushing the unsettling thought to the back of his mind, he opened the door that led into the attic.

When Jace walked into the space, he immediately spotted the box with the tree sitting off to the side. Deciding that was the best place to start, he carried it to the stairs before carefully maneuvering his way down to the living room.

Katie was lying on the dog bed by the fire and Adele was still in her room with the door shut. Deciding to go ahead and start, Jace pulled all of the tree pieces from the box and laid them out on the floor. It didn’t take him very long to figure out what was what and what order they went in. Once the feet were all snapped into place on the base, he started to put the rest of it together. It was right as he got the last piece on and stepped down from the ladder when Adele came out of her bedroom.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw what he’d done, taking in a shallow breath before she looked from the tree to him.

“Now don’t get mad. I know you banned Christmas, but I veto. We’re celebrating.”

He had this whole speech prepared, but that was all he got out before she burst into tears.

So much for Adele getting her shit together and staying in control.

She’d just gotten a handle on her emotions when she’d walked out into the living room to find that Jace had put up the Christmas tree. Annnnnnd all of that hard-fought control had gone straight out the window.

That phone call with Troy had put her totally through the ringer. Then she’d come out to find that Jace had done this. It was all too much for her to keep it together.

There was barely enough time for her to comprehend the look of horror that overtook his face before he was crossing the room and pulling her against him. When he wrapped her in his arms she started to cry even harder.

“I’m sorry, Del.” He whispered in her ear as she sobbed into his chest, and they were those full body-wracking sobs too. “I should’ve listened to you. I shouldn’t have pulled out the Christmas stuff. I’ll put it back. Please stop crying.”

“No, it’s not that,” she said when she was finally able to speak again.

Jace pulled back far enough to where he could look into her face but still keep her in his arms. “Then what is it?”

“I called Troy.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the main reason she’d lost it. She’d lost it because of that tree, because he’d known exactly what she needed.

Jace’s arms tightened around her, his face going hard for a second. “Why?”

“I turned my phone on to call my family, and I had a number of missed calls and texts from him.”

“New ones? From when after you shut it off two days ago?”

“Yeah,” she nodded slowly, biting down on her lip. “I wanted everything to be done with. And I knew calling him was the only real way to do that.”

Jace reached up, running his fingers beneath her eyes and wiping away the tears. “What did that prick say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head as she looked away.

He brought his hand down the side of her face, his fingers gently gripping her chin, before he pushed her head back and looked into her eyes. “You’re upset, Del. It does matter. What did he say to you?”

“He thought we could fix things.”

“So he apologized?” His hand at her waist tightened almost possessively.

A laugh bubbled up and out of Adele’s mouth before she could stop it. “Apologize?” She shook her head. “He didn’t say he was sorry for what he did.” Her eyes went unfocused for a second, thinking back on their time together before she focused on Jace’s face again. “Troy has never said he was sorry. About anything. Ever. He seemed shocked that I was breaking up with him. And when he finally realized I was done, he got mean, and turned everything on me.”

“Are you kidding me?” There was barely controlled rage in his voice.

“No, I’m not,” she shook her head, feeling those tears burning at the corners of her eyes again.

“Del, I’m sorry.” The anger on his face receded, those aquamarine eyes of his going all soft with care and concern for her.

Adele couldn’t keep looking into his face without losing it again, but she also didn’t want to move from his embrace, so she rested her head against his chest. “I was such an idiot for taking a chance on him. I should’ve known better.”

Jace’s mouth moved over her temple, kissing her gently. “He didn’t deserve you,” he whispered against her skin. “You aren’t the idiot, Adele.”

Yeah, except she spent four months with someone who said she was a waste of time…and now she was sleeping with someone else who she didn’t have a prayer of a future with…someone who knew her better than most…someone who’d gone and set up a Christmas tree for them to decorate…someone who wanted to make her happy, even if just for a moment.

“Thank you for putting up the tree. I do want to celebrate.”

“You sure?” His hands moved up and down her back in that soothing way that made her body want to melt into his.

“Yes.” She tilted her head up so that she could see his face. “I’m not going to let Troy, or anyone, take Christmas away from me.”

A smile turned up Jace’s mouth. “That’s my girl.”

Adele’s heart kicked up hard in her chest, because there was a small part of her that wanted those words to be true. Okay, fine, it was a big part of her, a really big part of her that she was just going to have to ignore.

Yup. She was an idiot all right. But Jace made her stupid happy, so what else was she supposed to do?

“You ready to start decorating?” His mouth split into a grin.

“Yes, but there are a couple of things we need to do first.” She grabbed onto the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her while she stretched up for a kiss.

It was a couple of minutes before they pulled apart, Jace going up to the attic for more decorations, and Adele heading for the kitchen. If they were going to do this whole celebrating Christmas thing, they were going to do it right, which meant that she needed to make some Nutella hot chocolate. She also needed to get her head on straight before she called her mom.

The last half hour had been filled with a lot of stuff for Adele to wrap her head around. Too much stuff. And the majority of that stuff wasn’t even that phone call with Troy. Nope, it was what had happened with Jace.

One little act of him putting up that Christmas tree and she’d fallen to pieces. That was probably because it wasn’t a small act at all. It was a huge freaking act. How did he know her this well? How was it possible? It wasn’t fair.

Her mind wandered as she went through the motions of getting all of the ingredients down. Wandered to him. To the man upstairs. To the man who wasn’t hers.

That’s my girl.

Those three words repeated on a loop in her head, a loop she couldn’t stop while she made the hot chocolate. The rich, brown liquid steamed from the pot as she continued to whisk it together, inhaling the sweet smell that warmed her from the inside out. It was already giving her a sugar rush…or was that Jace?

This was just her crush rearing its ugly emotions in full force. It made sense given the circumstances. She just needed to keep things under control. It was just too bad for her that control hadn’t really been a part of her morning…or the last twenty-four hours really.

Adele waited for that first sign of a roiling boil, and the second she saw it, she turned the burner off and moved the pot from the heat. Opening the cupboard with the coffee mugs, her eyes drifted up and to the top shelf where the Christmas stash was kept.

Stretching up on her tiptoes, she wrapped her fingers around the handle of the red Rudolph mug before grabbing the scarf-wearing penguin. She rinsed both out, setting them upside down on the dish drainer by the sink before heading to the pantry in search of marshmallows. There was an unopened bag of mini ones sitting on top of cans of pumpkin puree…

For Adele, pumpkin pie went beyond being a Thanksgiving Day dessert. It was appropriate for the whole holiday season. And again, if they were going to celebrate Christmas, they were going to celebrate right. Plus, Jace had requested a pie the night before.

To be completely and totally honest with herself, she was excited about celebrating. It was clear that her attitude had done a complete one-eighty since she’d gotten to the cabin. Well, besides that minor blip a little bit ago. Her bah humbug demeanor was now replaced with genuine holiday cheer. Or was that the post-orgasmic glow? She didn’t know, nor did she really care. She was just going to enjoy things as they came, staying in the moment and doing her best to not think about when this all ended.

It wasn’t that hard to do, mainly because when Jace was in the same room as her—strong, firm hands on any part of her body—it was difficult to focus on anything besides him. He was the best sort of distraction. And really, it didn’t even matter if he was in the same room as her or not. Case in point, her mind had been so focused on the man in the attic that she’d completely gone through the motions of putting the hot chocolate in the mugs and adding the marshmallows without even realizing it.

Grabbing both mugs, she headed for the living room where Jace had already stacked a number of boxes. She set the mugs down before grabbing her cell phone from where she’d set it on the coffee table. Katie was stretched out on one of the sofas and she rolled over as Adele sat down next to her, clearly wanting a belly rub.

She always wanted a belly rub.

Katie’s back paws started to kick against the sofa as Adele lightly scratched with one hand and pulled up her mom’s number with the other.

“Hey, honey!” Edie’s greeting almost sang through the phone, filling Adele with even more warmth. “Everything go okay last night?”

Okay wasn’t exactly the word Adele would use, but all right. “Yeah, it was fine. Jace and I played cards to while away the time without power.” Not a lie even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

Speaking of Jace, he was just coming downstairs with another couple of boxes, and he looked over at her response, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead. Adele bit her lip, trying to stifle the laugh from his incredulous expression.

“Just fine?” he mouthed to her.

How was it that not thirty minutes ago she’d been sobbing uncontrollably, and now she was trying to stop herself from laughing. Jace, that was how. Adele stuck her tongue out at him before refocusing on the conversation with her mom.

“What are you guys up to today?” Edie asked.

“Decorating for Christmas.”

“So you changed your mind about celebrating?”

“Jace changed it for me,” Adele said as she watched Jace disappear back up the stairs for another load.

“Well, good for him.”

Adele chatted with her mom for another couple of minutes before ending the call. Setting her phone down on the coffee table, she grabbed the remote and started to scroll through the movie options.

“How was everyone in Jacksonville?” Jace asked as he set down two more boxes.

“Good. My mom told me to tell you hello from everyone.”

“Well, hello back to them. So what are we watching first?” He nodded to the TV screen.

“Elf.”

“Excellent selection.”

“Thanks,” Adele said as she found the movie and hit play. “Glad you approve.” She set the remote down, giving Katie another good scratch before standing up and grabbing the mugs of hot chocolate that were now cooled enough to drink.

“I do indeed.” Jace took the reindeer mug she handed him.

“Cheers.” She grinned as they clinked their glasses together.

“Cheers,” he repeated before they both took a sip. “Mmmmm, that’s good.” He took another sip before he set his mug down on the side table.

Adele followed suit, setting her penguin next to his reindeer. She made to turn to the boxes, her mission on finding the one with the lights, but Jace grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him and pulling her in close.

“I bet this is better.” And with that he covered her lips with his and proceeded to taste the inside of her mouth.

Adele couldn’t stop the moan that vibrated in her throat…nor could she stop herself from pressing her body against his, arms wrapping around his waist.

Cupping her jaw in his hands, he gently pulled back, lightly nipping at her lips. “Yup…so much better.”

And then he was kissing her again.

Just over an hour and a half later, the tree was fluffed, skirted, strung with lights, and decorated to within an inch of its life. There was just one last thing to do and Jace held the ladder as Adele climbed up to put the star on top. He was more than a little distracted by the view of her ass in yoga pants, and would forever be grateful to whoever had invented them.

Adele probably knew the answer to that, but before he could ask, she was stepping down. One of his hands automatically made its way to her waist, guiding her.

Not all that surprisingly, he’d made every excuse to put his hands on her as they’d decorated. Brushing against her as he helped her wrap the strand of lights around the tree, touching her cheek to wipe the glitter off her skin, kissing the back of her neck as he reached over her shoulder to hang an ornament.

He wasn’t the only one doing the touching either. Adele had pulled tinsel from his hair, grabbed his arm for balance as she stretched up to hang a strand of gingerbread men on the tree, and was now purposely pressing her yoga pant clad ass against his groin as she stepped down from the ladder.

“Thanks for that,” she said as she leaned back against him. They both looked up at the tree, appreciating what they’d done.

“Looks good.” He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“It does.” She nodded, placing her arms over his.

“So what’s next?”

Turning in his arms, she looked up into his face, happiness and excitement clear in her eyes. “The mantle. We can set up the Victorian village and then hang the stockings.”

“Sounds good. We need another movie though.” He tilted his head to the TV where the credits to Elf were currently rolling.

“We do indeed. Your choice.”

“Oh, that’s a lot of responsibility.”

“You can handle it.”

“You think so?” He raised his eyebrows high.

“I know so.” Stretching up, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips before she disentangled herself from his arms.

Jace reluctantly let her go and turned his focus to the TV, scrolling through the iMovies lineup until he found the perfect one.

“Jurassic World.” Adele’s voice was filled with confusion. When Jace turned around to look at her, it was to find her eyebrows raised high. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Jace nodded, selecting the movie and hitting play. “It takes place during Christmas. And really, nothing says ’tis the season like dinosaurs.”

“Nothing.” She shook her head, laughing. God, he could listen to that sound all day.

“Well, nothing besides Bruce Willis blowing things up in Die Hard.”

Adele laughed again, before shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen it.”

“You what?” Jace didn’t keep the shock from his voice. “How is that possible? How did you grow up with two brothers and they never made you watch Die Hard?”

“I think you might be confused with who was actually in charge in my family growing up. Because it most definitely wasn’t Logan or Liam.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” He agreed. “Well, that’s getting added to the list of movies. But not while decorating, that needs to be watched when you aren’t multitasking.”

“Okay, but in that case I’m adding a hardcore, holiday chick flick to balance out your action movie.”

“Deal. Any other trade-offs?”

“Hmmmm, none that I can think of at the moment, but I’ll keep you posted.”

“Good. Now what do you want me to do?” He asked gesturing to the boxes around them.

“Open that one,” she said pointing to the one labeled garland.

“Yes, ma’am. And what are we doing with this?” He asked as he snapped the lid off the plastic bin to reveal yards upon yards of garland. All of it was made of the same hunter green as the tree, but some of it was frosted or had pinecones interspersed.

“We’re going to wrap a strand of lights in it and then lay it on the mantel. It will be the backdrop for the village.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“That’s how we do things around here. Fancy.”

“Clearly,” he agreed as he pulled out a frosted one.

Once they were done with setting up the village, they moved on to stockings. Three were hung up over the fireplace: Jace’s penguin in a tailcoat, Adele’s ballerina with a nutcracker, and Katie’s with a reindeer. After that, almost all of the rest of the garland—which was also twisted with lights—was wrapped around the banister and stretching all the way up the stairs. A door handle hanger loaded with jingle bells was attached to the front door, while a welcome mat with Frosty the Snowman replaced the generic one that always sat in the hallway.

Silver and gold branches stuck out of the vases on the dining room table, and a massive frosted white bowl sat in the middle of the kitchen island counter with a plethora of sparkly red orbs stacked inside of it. Candy cane towels hung from the handle of the stove, wreaths of holly took center stage on the glass French doors that looked out to the lake, and a polar bear family was set up on the stand underneath the mounted TV. A flannel wearing Santa and Mrs. Claus—along with all nine reindeer—had taken up residence on one bookcase, while a rather elaborate nativity complete with camels and wise men was showcased on the other.

Jace had also found an entire shoebox of mistletoe, which he proceeded to hang everywhere. It was in all of the relevant doorways, above the sink in the kitchen, in the living room, and above the headboard of the bed in his room. He had every intention of spending the night with her in that bed…and every night they were both here.

His eyes moved across the room to where she was sitting on the sofa, sorting through a box of snowflakes. Something in his chest did a weird kickback thing, like his heart was beating even harder against his ribs. It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to at all. A feeling that both terrified and thrilled him.

But he didn’t want to run from it…no matter how scary the feeling was.

God, that morning when she’d said she’d talked to Troy, all sorts of thoughts had run through his head. Selfishly, he’d hoped that she hadn’t forgiven him…that she wasn’t going back to him. Once he’d learned what had gone down in the conversation, what the jackass had said to her, he’d wanted to shove his fist through the guys face. But it had been more important to comfort Adele than let his own emotions take over.

She was becoming more important than anything else. Making her happy, seeing her smile, just being with her in whatever capacity he got.

It had only been a few hours since they’d woken up and he’d made love to her on the living room floor, even less time since their interlude in the shower, but he wanted her again. Needed her. He felt like a freaking addict.

Setting down the box of bows on the counter he crossed over to her, pulling the snowflakes from her hands and putting them on the coffee table.

“Jace, what are you—” But her words were cut off as he pulled her to her feet, and covered her mouth with his.

Adele’s arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body flush against his. She was all sweet, soft curves and he needed more of them. The second her tongue touched his, his hands went to her waist and he lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around him before he carried her through the cabin and to his bedroom.