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A smile tipped her lips at the thought of Noble's reaction to that. If he was even here.
She straightened one of the bags and frowned at that thought. Breeds weren't known for their Christmas spirit; she wondered if Noble would at least be patient with the friends and family who piled into her house that holiday week.
"What are you thinking of so hard?" His arms came around her as he pulled her against his bare chest. He'd donned jeans, but he was barefoot and sexy and tough and hard.
"Christmas." Her fingers curled around his wrists. "I bought you a present, you know?"
She looked back at him in time to see his surprise.
"Why would you do that?" he asked her, as though he truly didn't know the reason why.
"Because it brings me joy and always reminds me what Christmas is all about."
"It's all about giving presents?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"No, it's not about giving presents. Giving presents reminds me of what the season is all about."
"And what's it all about for you?" he asked her, still staring at the tree, his eyes narrowed, his expression thoughtful.
"It's about life. About celebrating my beliefs and my family. About the connections we don't always consider through the rest of the year. And it's about love. Our love for those who fill our lives."
"So you buy presents?"
"Or make them." She grinned. "Or bake them or cook them. Or simply stopping by to wish them a happy holiday and showing you care. For me, it's the joy in the giving, Noble. In remembering all the joys that have been given to me throughout the year."
He was strangely quiet then. He stared at the tree, then back at her. His gaze flickered. "What did you get me?"
She almost laughed. For the slightest moment, just the briefest breath of time, she might have glimpsed an almost boyish eagerness in his face.
"It's a surprise," she whispered teasingly.
He glanced down at her. "It's about tormenting those who receive, isn't it, Haley?" He growled. "Do you have any idea how curious a cat can get?"
"If you peek, then all you'll get is coal in your stocking."
Noble's head swung around, a completely involuntary act to stare at the mantel. And there was another stocking. One that hadn't been there the day before.
Something in his chest constricted as he turned back to her.
"Why did you do that?" he asked her then. "I've not bought you anything."
"You gave me yourself." She stared back as though there were a question in her statement.
Noble nodded slowly. "Every part of me." And every part of him reached out to her.
"Then I don't need anything else."
"But you gave me yourself as well," he stated confidently. He knew she belonged to him. The mating had been strong, already she carried the scent of him mixed with her own, just as he carried her scent within him. They were bonding, perhaps now, only physically, but she would bond with him emotionally he knew, if she hadn't already.
He saw things in her. In her eyes, in her expressions, in her touch. Perhaps his little librarian just hadn't wanted to admit to what she felt for him. But he knew she did indeed feel for him.
"And I love giving presents." Her smile was soft and filled with happiness. "That's part of the fun, Noble. Knowing there's a present and wondering what it is."
He stared back down at her, faintly confused by that.
"Breeds never celebrate Christmas."
"I celebrate Christmas every year," she whispered. "And on Christmas Eve, my entire family descends. My brothers and their families, my parents, and on holiday nights friends and neighbors are always dropping in. Every Christmas Eve we go caroling in the park, and we laugh and drink hot chocolate and freeze our butts off walking back."
