He spends ten minutes getting the car hitched and pulled out of the snow bank, and he seems to do it all so effortlessly. When he jumps in the cab to put his truck in drive, he gives me a big hearty smile. “Damn, I like having an audience.”

  “Oh yeah?” I tease. “You like doing this for attention?”

  “Your attention, maybe.”

  His words cause a heat to rise to my cheeks, and before I can muster up witty banter, he’s back out of the truck making sure my SUV is all ready to make the trip back to town.

  While he’s doing that, I text Julia.

  Me: How pissed will you be if I’m a day late?”

  Julia: Should I be worried?

  Me: I think I met someone.

  Julia: That was fast.

  Me: Is that bad?

  Julia: Depends on how hot he is.

  Me: Very.

  Julie: Then I guess I’ll be seeing you on Christmas day. #useacondom

  I snort, just as Lewis is getting back in the car.

  “What’s so funny?” he asks.

  I shove my phone back in my purse. “Just my sister. I was telling her I’m going to be late.”

  Lewis puts the tow truck in drive and begins to move onto the road. “How late did you tell her you’d be?”

  I look over at him, wondering if I’m reading all the signs correctly. “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On your plans tonight.”

  Lewis looks over at me, a broad grin on his face. “I knew there was a good reason to work on Christmas Eve.”

  “I’m the good reason?”

  He nods. “Do you have to get your car fixed tonight?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.”

  “What do you want to do, Noelle?”

  “You.”

  He laughs. “Damn, I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

  I smirk. “I like a man who knows what he wants, too.”

  “Is that so?” Lewis asks as he pulls up to a mechanic shop. “Well then you’re in luck.”

  “You really don’t have family to go to?” I ask. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

  He shakes his head as he kills the engine. “No. I was raised by my grandparents, but Gramps passed a few years back. I inherited his shop. And my grandma moved away. It’s a quiet life, but it’s a good one.”

  “My mom died this year; it’s changed how the holiday feels. But I still have my sister.”

  “We can’t have it all, right?”

  “I guess not.” The mood fell somber and for some strange reason I don’t have the need to change it. Lewis doesn’t seem to need to change things either. “Sorry if that got too heavy.”

  “Not at all. I like a woman who speaks her mind.”

  I smile. “So you like women who know what they want and who speak their mind. I can already tell we’re going to get along.”

  Lewis leans over, cupping my face with his palm. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he tells me and I let him.

  I lean in, letting this stranger’s mouth press against mine. I lean in, wondering how I got from a snowstorm to this man’s lips in a matter of minutes. I kiss him, knowing I’m right where I belong.

  His lips are soft and his kisses send a warmth straight to my belly. It feels so good to be kissed by a man like Lewis. A man who knows exactly who he is, and where he is going. He’s grounded. I know that, yet I hardly know him. He came and rescued me from a snow storm tonight. I figure that tells me plenty.

  “Can I take you inside?” he asks once the kiss ends. I press a finger to my swollen lips, searching for an answer that doesn’t sound too eager.

  But I am. And my voice reveals my feelings. “As long as you keep me warm all night.”

  Lewis

  “I won’t have a problem doing that,” I tell her. I jump from the car, her SUV still hitched to the tow truck. We leave it be. It’s Christmas Eve and the night is young. The day is ours.

  I lead her to my apartment above the mechanic shop, I’m not sure what she’s gonna think of my humble place, but upon entering, a bright smile fills her face.

  “Did you do this?” she asks, taking in the fresh pine tree with a popcorn and cranberry garland. I didn’t turn off the Christmas music before I left to get her and it still plays — Bing Crosby crooning away.

  “Decorate?” I nod. “Yeah. I know, not exactly masculine. But I’m a sucker for Christmas.”

  “I think it’s just perfect. I like the homemade touches. It’s very nostalgic.”

  “My grandma raised me, ya know, and she loved getting ready for Christmas. She’d pop the corn, and hand me a needle and thread, and we’d listen to Christmas albums all night as we strung garlands.”

  “That is the cutest story ever. And my sister would approve of me spending time with a man who likes arts and crafts.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I make bath products for a living.”

  I lift my eyebrows as I tug off my winter coat. My cock twitches thinking of her in a bath. Damn, I swear everything she says is trouble.

  “I sell bath bombs on my online shop,” she explains.

  I smile, taking her coat, her mittens. “That’s pretty damn cool, Noelle. I love a woman who can be her own boss.”

  I kick off my boots and she does the same thing. I’d like to keep on stripping, but I’ll let her decide where she wants this night to go.

  “These lines of yours, Lewis,” she says, licking her pretty pink lips. “They’re working.”

  “Oh yeah?” I step toward her and the need in my bones intensifies. “How well?”

  “You’re single, right?”

  “I am. But I hope not for long.”

  Her eyelids lift in surprise, taking in my meaning. She shakes her head. “This escalated quickly,” she says with a smile. “I’m leaving in the morning.”

  “I just had a few cups of coffee. If I have just one night I can stay up till dawn.”

  She bites the side of her lip, stepping closer. “And what would you do till dawn, Lewis?”

  I chuckle, running a hand over her arm, taking a hold of her waist and drawing her closer. “You want to know what I’d really like?”

  She nods. “Tell me,” she whispers. “Tell me what you’d really, really like.”

  “I’d like to unwrap you like a Christmas present, Noelle.” My words are low and hushed, my desire growing, the electric current between us is fucking relentless.

  “And what kind of present do you think I’ll be? Any particular kind of toy?” she asks coyly. She places her hands on my chest, daring to lift her chin and look me in the eyes.

  “It won’t require a battery, I can tell you that much.”

  She laughs. Her laugh is light, bright, filled with as much hope as Christmas morning, and it makes me want to treat her like the precious gift she is.

  “If you were a present, Noelle, I think you’d be something fragile. But not because you’re soft — because what you hold inside is precious.”

  “And what sort of toy is that?” she asks.

  I reach to the table beside me and pick up a snow globe. I shake it, the snow swirling around. When it falls, it lands on a couple embracing, kissing under the mistletoe.

  “I’d be a snow globe?” she asks, eyes lifted.

  I nod. “Cheesy?”

  She shakes her head. “No. It’s the sweetest thing a stranger has ever said to me.”

  “I don’t want you to call me a stranger again,” I tell her.

  “What should I call you then?” she asks breathlessly.

  “Tonight, call me your lover.”

  Chapter Four

  Noelle

  I wasn't expecting this when I left the city earlier today. When I started driving I was thinking I'd get to my sister's and spend a cozy night with my nieces while they unwrapped presents around the Christmas tree.

  I certainly didn't expect this. And what is this, exactly? It's more than a snow storm of emotions. This is a blizzard of bewilderment. I am utterly shocked and absolutely intrigued. Lewis isn't like any man I've ever met; certainly not the ones in the city with their three piece suits and smug haircuts, waxing poetic about high end gadgets and hundred dollar bottles of wine.

  No, Lewis is a different sort of man altogether. He has mechanic magazines on his coffee table, dog-eared and well-read. He has a wool blanket over his couch that actually looks used, not just something purchased from a fancy catalog because it was trending.

  Lewis is the real deal. He smells like a real man, and when he touches me, he makes me feel like a real woman.

  “You're sure smiling,” he says.

  “Well, you just told me to call you lover. I'm realizing a man has never asked me to do that before.”

  “So I'm your first?” he asks with a smile.

  My belly is flip-flopping with the excitement of what the night will hold. “I'm a little parched,” I admit.

  “Water or something stronger?” he asks.

  I bite my bottom lip. “Stronger, please.”

  “Whisky will warm you up. You were half frozen sitting on the side of the road. I'm sorry I left you waiting. You were out there for, what? A half an hour before I got to you?”

  “Just about,” I say, “but I wasn't bored.”

  He chuckles as he pulls out a bottle of whiskey and two tumblers. “I bet you weren’t,” he says. “You were occupied with that audio book of yours, weren't you?” He gives me a grin.

  My face heats up and I'm sure my cheeks are bright red.

  “Don’t be embarrassed,” he says, handing me a glass. We smile before taking a sip. It’s warm and I’m glad I asked for it. I can already feel my shoulders relaxing.

  “I’m not embarrassed. I like smutty romance. There's nothing to be ashamed of about that,” I say. “It's just, you know, a stranger knowing that I get hot and bothered when I listen to sex scenes.”

  “I gotta admit, it's pretty fucking hot.”

  “You think?” I ask. “I’ve always thought guys wouldn't like it. That they’d feel threatened.”

  He runs his hand over his jaw and my eyes run down his chest to his groin. From what I can see, there's the thick outline of a cock in his jeans. “Yeah,” he says with confidence. “I don't have anything to be threatened about.”

  I swallow hard. “Oh yeah? Why don't you show me to prove it?

  He chuckles. “I thought you wanted a drink?”

  “Maybe I was thinking about swallowing something else.”

  He laughs heartily and I like that I can be myself with him; that I'm not having to put on a front. “Well, that escalated quickly,” he says with a smile and sets down his whiskey. It's nearly gone. He steps toward me and runs both his hands over my cheeks, cupping my face in his hands. “I like you,” he says. “A lot.”

  “I like you too,” I say, my heart pounding in my chest.

  “Good. Because I don't do things lightly. I know I brought you up to my room after we just met, but I want you to know, Noelle, it’s not my regular mode of operation.”

  I nod. “I wouldn't judge you if it was.”

  “It's not. I'm a one-woman man and I don't sleep around.”

  “Well, I'm a one-man woman and I don't sleep around either.” I lick my lips, letting my guard down. “You make me feel so comfortable. It’s refreshing.”

  “You live in the big city?” he asks

  I nod. “Yeah, though rent’s insane. It's hard. I run my business out of my house and so my studio apartment is pretty crowded. It’s not ideal.”

  “Why do you stay in the city then? You said your sister lives over the pass.”

  I nod. “I thought I would move to the big city and have my big life and now I'm 25 and wondering what the point is. My life's kind of small. “

  “You want it to be bigger?” he asks.

  “No, not in the sense of like accomplishing something massive or like making a name for myself. None of that matters to me. I just want to be happy. I want to be self-sufficient and I want to be proud of the things I make.”

  “I reckon you could live anywhere and accomplish that.”

  “Sure,” I say, “but when you're alone it's kind of hard to start over.”

  “Do you feel alone Noelle?”

  “Usually? Yeah.” I wrap my hands around Lewis’ neck and we stand there, inches apart. I'm telling the deepest, most intimate parts of me to a man I just met. I should feel scared, but right now, I simply feel safe.

  He doesn't push back or walk away. He doesn't reach for his drink, any chance to look away. No, he's standing here listening like it matters.

  “When I'm with you though,” I admit. “Like right now, I don't feel lonely. I feel like, and don’t laugh if this sounds stupid—“

  “Stop saying that. It's not stupid if it's coming from you.”

  “I’ll try.” I lick my lips. “It's just, this right here is what I want. A man who listens to me, who is his own person, who has his own thoughts and ideas that aren't attached to a bank account, a corporate ladder, a climb. You have your own business and this amazing apartment. You're solid.” I squeeze his shoulders and my body warms. “Really, really solid.” My heart starts fluttering. My core tightens. “Like really solid. Do you work out?” I ask, running my hands over his abs.

  I lift his shirt up and yep, he has an eight pack. Literally an eight pack. We've gone past the fours and the sixes and gone straight to eight. He doesn’t protest as I undress him.

  “Holy banana town,” I murmur. “You’re like really hot.”

  He chuckles. “Well thank you, Noelle,” he says reaching under the hem of my sweater. His hands run around my waist. “You're pretty fucking hot yourself.”

  My eyelids flutter. “You’re trouble, Lewis.”

  He laughs. “Yeah, I am, but I'm also pretty fucking nice.”

  “So you mentioned something about not being threatened by my audio books?” I say, circling back around.

  “Yeah,” he says as he takes my hand and presses it to his groin. I feel the length of his big thick cock. My pussy tightens. I'm wet and I'm ready.

  “Oh God,” I say.

  “Oh God, good, or oh God bad?” he asks with an eyebrow raised.

  “Oh God good.”

  “In that case, what in the world are we waiting for?” He picks me up off the floor and carries me to my room. He said he wanted to be my lover tonight, and apparently we're not beating around the bush.

  Lewis

  I bring her to my bed, keeping the lights low. I pull off her sweater because I need to see her tits. They’ve been tempting me since she walked into my place. God, they're fucking gorgeous. She's wearing a red satin bra, and as she pulls down her jeans, I see she's in a red satin thong as well.

  “Naughty for Christmas,” I say, eyebrows raised. She's all curves and cute as a frosted Christmas cookie. Decorated in all the right places. Her nipples poke out through her bra, and her long brown hair runs over her shoulders. I strip down to nothing but my boxers and she steps toward me, easing them past my hips.

  “You've been talking a big game,” she says. “I need to see if you’re the real deal.”

  “Fair enough.” My cock twitches as she takes hold of me in her hand, stroking me softly. Her eyes are wide. She licks her lips. My girl is hungry. Good, because this cock will feed her the way she needs.

  “You're so big,” she whispers as I reach behind her and unclasp her bra. I need to see her skin, all of her, and I dip my mouth to her tits, sucking her breasts. As she strokes me, her head falls back, her hair swishing against her ass. It's beautiful the way she moves, the way she's choosing to give herself to me — a man she just met.

  But she says she feels something real here. Sees something real in me, and fuck, I see something in her too. She's funny. She's charming. She's fucking effortless and I love it. I pull her to my bed and I push down her panties.

  “I have to see your pussy,” I tell her.

  “Well, I’m supposed to call you my lover tonight. So I suppose those are lover's rights.” She smiles as her head falls against my pillow.

  With her panties off, I spread her knees and take a look at her sweet, creamy cunt. It’s nice and pink. She's ready. “You weren't kidding about that audio book getting you excited,” I tease. Her wet slit is so tempting.

  She shakes her head. “Don't make fun of me,” she says with a giggle.

  “I’m not. It's hot. Lots of guys watch porn.”

  “It’s not the same,” she says.

  “No? I ask.

  “No, this is more, well, like when I listen to an audio book I can just close my eyes and imagine myself in the situation and I can imagine myself with the man I want to be with.”

  “And what would you imagine? What kind of guy would this be?” I’m sitting at the edge of my fucking bed with a hard as steel cock and listening to the sexiest woman I’ve ever met tell me her fantasies. Talk about getting a great fucking Christmas gift.

  “Honestly,” she says as I run my hand over her skin. “I fantasize about a man just like you. A real man.”

  “I like the sound of that,” I say. “So you're telling me I'm your happily ever after?”

  She licks her lips. “Maybe I am.”

  I grunt in pleasure at her words, the air in the room thick and hot. Something's happening here. Something wild, something more than a Christmas gift. It's a once in a lifetime present. I swear it's crazy, but it's true.

  “I’m going to lick your pussy now,” I tell her. “Then I'm going to come in your tight little hole. I'm going to fuck you all night long. You say you have nowhere to be till dawn? Good. Tonight we don't think about tomorrow. Tonight we only think about ourselves.”

  “I see you're a little bossy,” she says with a pink-lipped smile.

  I nod. “When it comes to taking care of you, you're damn right I am.” I press my mouth to her cunt and run my tongue over her sweet, sweet folds. She moans in pleasure as I take her, as I taste her.

  Tonight I’ll be her lover. Tomorrow I'll make her my bride.