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He settles into the sofa, his large frame making the rickety piece of furniture groan in protest, and lifts an arm in invitation.
I only hesitate for a second before I slip in next to him, allowing my still-sore body to press into his armpit where I fit so perfectly.
Adam wraps his arm around me with a soft sound and kisses the top of my head before he grabs the remote and hits play. Then he picks up his plate and, before taking a bite for himself, offers a forkful of meat dipped in sauce to me.
I accept it more out of reflex than any real hunger, but he makes a pleased sound at the back of his throat that warms me to my core. He truly does find purpose in the simple act of caring for me, however unfathomable that is.
Is this what love is supposed to be like?
I glance up at him and feel the first stirrings of something other than biological impulses as I watch him absorbed in the cozy Christmas movie.
Fate, he calls it. Inescapable. Unyielding.
Perhaps that doesn’t have to be as terrifying as it sounds.
By the timethe movie is over, I’m so full it’d be easier to roll than walk from the leftovers I’ve been handfed, including a large slice of pecan pie. Every inch of my body is warm and relaxed, and my head is comfortably resting against Adam’s chest as he gently strokes my hair.
“How’s your pussy?” he asks, his voice low and intimate.
I blink, some of my lethargy withering at his blunt question. “Er… still pretty sore. Please don’t… I really don’t want to…”
He chuckles, as if me pleading for mercy for my poor vagina is just too adorable. “Don’t worry. We can watch another movie instead. Would you like that, baby girl?”
“Yes. Please,” I quickly agree. I’d probably have agreed to watch a gory horror film to save myself, but I don’t tell him that.
“All right, let’s see what we’ve got here… Which one do you prefer,The Christmas ChroniclesorHow the Grinch Stole Christmas?”
“Either. I love them both.”
He gives me a soft smile and nudges my chin with the crook of his finger. “My mate loves her Christmas movies. I will remember that.”
“I love everything about the holidays,” I say as he puts onThe Christmas Chronicles. “The food, the decorations, the music, the festivities… There’s just something magical about this time of year.”
“I admit, I’ve never really considered this time particularly magical… but I think I may now. It will always be the season I met my mate."
“What do you mean you never found Christmas magical? You run a business that sells children’s toys!” I protest, mildly outraged.
Adam chuckles and gives me a tight squeeze with the arm he’s got around my shoulders. “You have a point. Perhaps once we have little ones of our own to buy toys for, I’ll care about more than the profits that company pulls in…”
I give his arm a smack for good measure—a move that just makes another chuckle rumble through his chest. “That’s horrible. Your PR team would die if they heard you talk like that. And absolutelynobaby talk. We barely know each other.”
“Mm,” he agrees mildly, petting my hair before returning his focus to the movie.
I relax in his embrace, my thoughts flickering back to Noelle the caterer’s friend.
My alpha may have forced his way into my home, but I know I’m lucky. He could have forced a bond and put a baby in my belly against my will, but that’s not the kind of man he is. Despite his baby-making dirty talk when he had me, the fact that he gave me a morning-after pill means he values my autonomy—as much as an alpha can, anyway. He wants my trust. And, ultimately, my love.
As I cuddle in closer to him, warm and safe and content, I know in the depths of my heart that he’s going to get what he wants in the end.
SEVENTEEN
GILDED ORNAMENTS
Being Adam McCain’s mate-to-be isn’t as low-key and relaxing as our Christmas night together would have suggested.
He spends the night, climbing uninvited into my bed as if he has every right, and I don’t protest until his fingers slip down between my legs to stroke at my clit.
“You said I didn’t have to,” I plead, the deep ache from my core as my muscles respond to the thrill of pleasure making me clamp my thighs together.
