Holly and Snowflakes Pt. 02

Authors note: This is the second part of my winter story in my Hot Tails in Oak Hills series. Please go back and read part one since the story is divided up into days, if you have already read the previous day, enjoy Christmas. GEV

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Holly, Snowflakes and a Christmas Angel

December 25th

Gabe woke sometime after eight in the morning and reached up, rubbing his eyes, his gaze slowly focusing on the vaulted ceiling in his bedroom. The heavy curtains drawn over the glass door held back the cold but not the small ray of morning light that shined across the floor, and the fire still burning in the fireplace had kept the room comfortably warm throughout the night. His flaccid cock was stuck to the top of his thigh from dried semen so last night had happened, he didn't just fantasize about everything, and she was still in his bed. He looked down at the redhead that was sleeping peacefully next to him, her hair spilled across his chest. The length of her back was tucked along his side, the soles of her feet resting against his calf, and she had her head pillowed on his arm, her small hand nestled in his much larger one.

What was usually the worst two days of his life was starting to look a whole lot better. He wanted to wake her, wanted to roll over and start everything all over again but he knew that she had to be sore, his bottled-up fervor towards her hadn't exactly been on the gentle side, even though she never once told him to stop or slow down. Instead, he carefully slid his arm out from under her head and eased off the bed, pulling the blankets up over her bare shoulder, walking as quietly as he could to the bathroom. He gathered up everything he needed and slipped quietly from the bedroom to shower in the other bathroom, only coming back in the room long enough to leave her phone on the nightstand, closing the door behind him till it almost latched.

Freshly showered, dressed and shaved, he walked back out into the kitchen and poured himself an oversized mug of steaming coffee from the decanter, bringing the mug to his lips as he gazed out the window over the sink, looking out at the heavy blanket of snow that covered the ground. It was a foot deep, the three-foot-high retaining wall around his patio was only partially buried. It must have quit snowing sometime in the wee hours of the morning, giving the town a white Christmas. He hadn't had snow on Christmas since that day... He didn't want to think about the past now, not when his future very well could be sleeping in his bed.

He leaned his hips against the edge of the counter, gazing across the room at his bedroom door. He had missed that physical connection for too long and he couldn't even remember if his-- All he knew was that Holly made him feel more alive than anyone else ever had. He sat the mug down on the counter and went over to the refrigerator, pulling open the door and peering inside, contemplating breakfast. He was hungry and he knew she must be famished from the workout the two of them had last night and a simple breakfast just wasn't going to suffice.

He hadn't heard any movement out of her, she was still sleeping, so he quickly finished eating his breakfast at the kitchen counter and plated up hers, setting everything down on a wooden bed tray. The only beverage he had without caffeine was cranberry juice, so he poured her a glass as he refilled his mug of coffee, and sat them both down on the tray, picking it up and walking across the great room to his bedroom, pushing open the door with his bare foot.

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Holly slowly stretched, wincing slightly at the aching pain of her overworked muscles and opened one eye, finding herself in a semi-lit room and alone in the middle of a king-sized bed. She pulled the blankets up over her head as she snuggled down deeper into the warmth of the bedding, her head sinking down into the softness of the pillow. She'd never had a more wonderful night's sleep in a long time, and she knew it have everything to do with the welcome soreness and dried semen she felt between her legs and the unsociable man that she was only slightly hesitant to keep company with last night. She had never done something so impulsive, so reckless in her life, but there was just something about him and she found herself throwing caution to the wind and she didn't regret it for one second. Her only regret was that she hadn't awakened in his arms, but she knew she had fallen asleep against his chest with his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

She heard her phone buzz, and she threw off the blankets, rolling over and reaching for her phone where he had left it for her on the nightstand, picking it up and looking at the notification. She grumbled. It was a message from her mother, and she knew that if she didn't answer it, her phone would be ringing in ten minutes. She rolled over onto her back and opened the message, reading it. Nothing like a mother's concern to dampen your blissful mood. The power was out all over the county from the snow, and she wanted to know if she was okay, if she had even made it home safely last night. She texted her mother back, letting her know she was perfectly safe and, telling her a little white lie, was staying with a friend and there was no way she was going to make it home for dinner. Not that she expected her parents to track her down, no one was going to be out driving any time soon.

Holly heard Gabe's heavy footsteps and then the squeak of the door hinges as he pushed the door open with his foot, and she sat her phone down on the nightstand, looking up as he came into the bedroom carrying a wooden bed tray. He had on a pair of soft, faded jeans that sat dangerously low on his hips, the waist button undone and an unbuttoned blue plaid flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his feet bare. She sat up in bed, scooting back against the headboard as the blankets fell to her waist, exposing her bare breasts to the warmth of the room and the heat of his gaze. She didn't bother pulling up the blankets, she was more interested in what he was carrying, her eyes focused on the food as he got closer. "What's this," she said, totally taken aback by his thoughtfulness as he set the legs of the bed tray down across her lap. Breakfast in bed was the last thing she ever expected from him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Gabe said, pressing a kiss to the top of her tousled curls as he sat the tray down across her legs, gazing down at her. Her hair was a wild mess around her shoulders and her pale skin clearly displayed the marks left behind on her neck and her breasts from his fervid kisses. He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers, tipped her head back with a crooked finger under her chin and bent his head, giving her a long, slow, deep kiss that had her moaning against his mouth and her fingers sliding into his hair.

He broke the kiss only to give her another one, his tongue sliding hotly along hers, savoring the taste of her as he brought his hand up, softly caressing the side of her bare breast, his thumb sliding back and forth over her nipple until it hardened into a tight nub of flesh, tugging it with this thumb and forefinger. He didn't think he would ever tire of kissing her. He finally lifted his lips from hers and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Happy birthday, baby," he whispered.

She kissed him back, moaning, tasting coffee on his tongue, her nails lightly grazing the side of his neck when he broke the kiss, lifting his mouth from hers. She slowly licked her lips, savoring his kiss. "How'd you-- Never mind," she said, stopping mid-sentence, briefly forgetting that his job gave him the ability to run a thorough background check on her. She could care less about that at the moment, she was hungry. She looked down at the tray he had placed across her lap, loaded down with a huge array of food he had prepared for her that she couldn't possibly eat.

Three pieces of French toast cooked to perfection and dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, several strips of bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. A bowl of yogurt with a mix of fresh berries and a healthy sprinkle of granola, a glass of cranberry juice and his morning coffee. He had even remembered syrup on the side. Everything was perfect. He was perfect. She poured the warm syrup all over her toast, eggs and bacon and picked up the knife and fork, cutting into her toast and taking a bite, a satisfied moan escaping her pursed lips as she slowly chewed. "Thank you. It's delicious."

"The same way I know you don't have any wants or warrants," he said, climbing onto the bed beside her. He leaned closer to her and picked up his mug of coffee, stole a slice of syrup covered bacon and another kiss. "You're welcome." He sat back against the headboard, crossing his legs at the ankle and chewing on the bacon, watching as she thoroughly enjoyed her breakfast bite after bite. He probably shouldn't have run her tags a second time when he was at the station, but curiosity got the best of him and that was how he found out about her birthday, amongst other things. She was going to be a handful, but he was up for the challenge. He tsked his tongue at her, shaking his head as he raised his mug of coffee to his lips. "But a speeding citation, Holly? What were you doing driving one-oh-five on the interstate?"

Holly picked up a slice of bacon and bit into it, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She never expected to get the ticket, she was just trying to get to the exit on the interstate as fast as she could after her not-so-minor confrontation with another driver, not even paying attention to the speedometer or the state trooper that had been sitting between the north and south lanes. And now it was on her driving record. "Qualifying," she said, matter-of-factly.

Gabe choked on his coffee. "Shit," he swore, as he held onto the mug with one hand and used the tail of his shirt to wipe the spray of hot coffee from his chest with the other. In all of his years as a police officer, he had never heard that excuse during a traffic stop and he had heard a lot of excuses to justify high rates of speed. But she hadn't just been speeding, she was racing on the interstate, which made it much, much worse. She was lucky she only got a moving violation.

Holly laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. It wasn't her proudest moment, but she did what she did. "My dad never did let me borrow the Camaro again after that," she said, stabbing at the last of her eggs with her fork. She looked over at him, trying not to laugh even more as he cleaned his chest with his shirt. She had never told her parents the truth about the ticket, but she found herself confessing to him. "What was I supposed to do? The guy in the Mustang winked at me. He practically called me a girl. A girl who kicked his ass." She finished the last of her toast and bacon and picked up the bowl of yogurt, mixing everything together with a spoon. She scooped up some and slipped it into her mouth, savoring the flavors as she slowly ate it. "Actually, he hit the gravel on the side of the road and spun out. I was out of there and the state trooper got me." She looked over at him as she slowly and very deliberately, slid the spoon out of her mouth, her tongue sliding along the dip as she licked up the last of the fruity mixture. "What?" she asked when she saw the look on his face. "I like yogurt."

Gabe didn't say a thing. He felt that all too familiar stirring in his loins at the mere thought of her tongue sliding along his cock. He had never seen someone eat yogurt so erotically before, either that or he was still sex-deprived, and she had yet to satiate that hunger inside him. He sat his empty mug down on the tray, plucked the spoon from her grasp and lifted the tray from her lap, twisting to set it down on the nightstand. He turned back over to her and reached out, cupping the side of her face in his hand, his thumb caressing her cheekbone. He looked down into those green eyes that had him questioning his sanity and morals. "If I would have caught you, you would've been in cuffs in the back of my patrol vehicle," he said, his voice dangerously low and gravelly.

He slowly drew the pad of his thumb over the fullness of her bottom lip, feeling rather than hearing the sudden hitch in her breathing. He gave her a long, slow kiss that had her moaning and arching against him, plumping her bare breasts against his chest. He lifted his mouth from hers, a smirk turning up the corner of his. "And fucking your way out of a citation," he whispered, hoarsely against her ear. He pressed his lips against her temple and squeezed his eyes shut, reminding himself that she was too tender to take his cock a second time. He swore under his breath as he moved away from her and stretched out on the bed, pulling his phone out of his back pocket and crossing his legs at the ankles. "No more speeding ever again."

She let out a disappointing moan when he broke the kiss and moved away from her. "Okay," she whispered. As much as she wanted to feel him inside her again, giving her more of those mind-numbing, toe-curling orgasms, it would have been more painful then enjoyable and she knew that was why he brought a sudden halt to his morning affections. Instead of being angry at his concerns for her, she stretched out on her stomach, laying across the bed, and rested her cheek on her folded arm atop his chest, her finger idly tracing the indentations along his muscles. She smiled at the feel of his left hand gently caressing the length of her back and the curve of her buttock as he held his phone up in his right hand, scanning through the daily news, but not completely ignoring her.

She could finally see the finer details of his tattoo, see the Roman numerals that were integrated along one of the feathers on his arm. If she read the numbers right, it was the day his daughter was born, and she assumed he had a second set of numbers on his other arm marking the day she died. He carried around so much pain and now, here with her, he was finally letting some of that go. She shifted around and stretched out along his side, sliding one bare thigh over his denim clad one, feeling his strong hand cup her ass and pull her closer. She rested her head on his bare chest, her hand caressing his smooth flesh. She tipped her head up, looking up at him. "Let's go play in the snow."

He held back a groan when she shifted and pressed the length of her naked body all along the side of his fully clothed one, feeling the heat of her thigh as she slid it over the top of his, her breasts as she pressed them against his ribs. He cupped the fullness of one ass cheek in his hand and pulled her snug against his side, his fingers sliding up and down the curve of that firm globe, halting his caress when she suggested they go outside. He reached over and sat his phone down on the nightstand, looking down at her, seeing the excitement in her eyes at the mere thought of having a snow day. He gently combed a wayward ginger curl back from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. He didn't hate the snow, he'd just rather spend the day with her here just like this, but she had other ideas. And he had a feeling that there was no changing her mind, no matter how hard he tried. "We have a solar powered generator, a gas fireplace and a soft bed. It's twenty-six degrees with a foot of snow on the ground and you want to go outside?"

"Uh-huh," Holly said, nodding her head. She could tell he wasn't keen on the idea of having any wintery fun, he was never allowed to take the day off unless it was scheduled, and it had been snowing the day his life went to hell. It was his choice to stay inside, she didn't blame him one bit, but it had never been her choice, she had spent too many winters and too many springs locked inside a house away from everything and everyone. And then when she finally gets a chance to have fun in the falling snow a few years ago, there wasn't enough to even enjoy. Now there was more than enough snow on the ground, and he was killing the mood, dampening her spirits.

She slowly trailed her fingertip down the middle of his torso, stopping at his navel, and lazily slid her arm across him, resting her hand against his side. "It's just that the first time I saw snow, I was too sick to be out in the cold. Then I had to have my last surgery right before it snowed again, and I still couldn't be outside. Being a sick kid sucked the life out of everything."

"Oh, baby," Gabe murmured, combing his fingers through her wild mess of soft curls, his fingers skimming over her scar. He heard the sadness in her voice, felt it tug at his own heartstrings. Her family had kept her isolated when she was sick and for that she had to miss out on so much during her childhood. Even though he wanted to protect her and keep her safe, he also didn't want to be the one to deny her that simple joy, on her birthday no less. He was going to make it up to her and if that meant they were going outside in the freezing weather so she could build a snowman and be a child again, then so be it. A slow smile came to his face as he gave her ass an affectionate squeeze. "My snow gear is buried somewhere in the back of my closet."

"Really?" Holly said, over-filled with joy, and pressed a kiss to his cheek, scrambling off the bed and hurrying across the bedroom and into his bathroom before he could change his mind.

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Holly ran her gloved hand over the head of her four-foot-high snowman, smoothing out the snow and brushing away the loose flakes, admiring her artistry. Even though the base wasn't perfectly round, and it leaned slightly to the right, all in all, it was a good-looking pile of snow. She shoved the sticks in the sides of the middle ball, giving it arms and used the pinecones she had gathered up to make a face. She took a step back and admired her finished work. Not too bad for her first try. She brushed the snow from her gloves and looked over at Gabe as he was putting the finishing touches on his own snowman a few feet away. Of course, his was taller and rounder but then he had more practice than her.

She bent down and scooped up a large handful of snow, shaping it into a ball. And he also had a broader back which made for a larger target. She didn't really know the rules to a snowball fight, if there were even any rules at all. Were you supposed to give a heads-up before you let the first one fly? She smoothed her gloved hands around the frozen projectile, contemplating. Nah. She drew her arm back and let the snowball fly, hitting him right between the shoulder blades with a satisfying plop, quickly bending down to scoop up another handful of snow.

"What the hell," Gabe said, turning around to see her smiling at him as she quickly formed more snow into a ball. He had found his old ski gear that he hadn't worn in years and had her bundle up in the insulated pants and a heavy sweater, tugging a knitted beanie down over her ears before they went outside to his back yard. He showed her how to build a snowman and instead of just sitting back to watch her have all the fun, he joined in, and now she wanted to bring violence into the mix? He reached over his shoulder, brushing away the clumps of snow stuck to his parka. He chuckled, slowly shaking his head as he bent down and scooped up and handful of snow. "I'll give you the first one, Holly. But think about the consequences for a second. I'm twice your size, faster and have better aim. You throw that snowball and it's on."

"Take your best shot," she said with a laugh, drawing her arm back and throwing the snowball just as he ducked behind the five-foot-high snowman he had finished constructing, the frozen ball hitting him smack in the middle of his denim-clad left butt cheek before she took cover behind her own snowman. So, this is what she had missed out on as a child, building snowmen and snowball fights, and she was finally getting to experience it and with someone that was making it ten times better. This was going to be so much fun.