8. Cole

Chapter eight

Cole

After dinner, I light the fire in the hearth and we all get cozy with hot chocolate and floating marshmallows. This time, Natalie takes the wide armchair and curls up by herself under the blanket she has now commandeered as her own.

I revel in the quiet moment, soaking up the presence of two other people in my home at the same time, the crackle of the logs and soft rustle of clothing being the only sounds in the room. There’s something so right, so special about this moment, about them—I just can’t name it yet.

With dimmed lights throughout the house, I’m entranced by the way the light and shadows from the fire dance across Natalie’s features, highlighting her high cheekbones and full lips as she stares hypnotized at the flames.

Behind her, magical pink flakes land delicately on the tall trees surrounding my property, dampening any other sounds that might come from the town. I’ve always loved snow and I long to play with it the way Nick can, but the Santa magic to control the weather has never manifested in me.

“Natalie, have you ever had sugar plums before?” Jasper asks with a smirk in his voice, punctuating the comfortable silence. I almost do a spit take, but disguise my surprise with a cough.

Eyes flitting between Jasper and myself, Natalie looks skeptical. “That’s random. What am I missing?”

My “nothing” is drowned out by Jasper’s “sugar plums are delicious.”

I shake my head and playfully flick him with a finger against his shoulder. “Not cool, Jas. This was a peaceful moment and you’re trying to sex it up.”

“I was not,” Jasper says with a faux sulk that I don’t buy for one minute. “I was merely asking her about Christmas-themed food.”

“Sure, you were.” Natalie’s skepticism is ripe in her tone.

I place my hand on Jasper’s knee. “Jas, the fake eyelash-batting thing you’re trying isn’t working on either of us. I know Natalie has only known you for a few days, but she can already read you like a book too.” My half smile gives away how endearing I find his act, despite my attempt at calling him out.

Natalie nods. “Sorry to say that’s true. It’s cute, though. Bat away, but they’re not distracting me from what you said. Explain, please.”

Jasper leans back and spreads his legs. Mischief colors the air around him and I brace myself for what he’s going to reveal about me.

“Cole’s cum tastes like sugar plums and I hope you like the flavor, because you’ll never taste anything better.”

Calmly, Natalie places her empty cup on the coffee table before sitting back again, crossing her arms across her chest. “Forgive me if I misheard that, but did you just say that Cole’s cum tastes like sugar plums?”

Jasper draws his lower lip between his teeth and nods slowly. Sitting forward, he wiggles his eyebrows. “It’s so good. I want to drink him down all day. Same as you. I can get addicted to your cunt.”

There’s a faint stain of red across Natalie’s cheeks and the tiny smile she’s trying to contain gives away just how much she likes what Jasper’s saying. Hearing him talk about me so openly, so proudly feels like tiny snowballs are being pelted around in my stomach. And Natalie’s interest in him, in me, in us three together , it sparks a whole new emotion I have yet to name. But it feels like… potential.

“Interesting,” Natalie nearly purrs. “And tell me, Jasper, what does your cum taste like?”

Before he can tell her, I silence him with an arched brow. He slumps into the couch and pushes his bottom lip out. If we want Natalie to like us, we can’t info dump on her when she just got here. Despite what we’ve already done together, I want to take it as slow as our bodies will allow.

Wanting to avoid any misunderstandings about why I stopped the conversation there, I explain, “We don’t want to overwhelm you with a ton of things on the first day. If you only found out monsters were real days ago, I’m sure your mind is spinning. Let’s maybe get some rest and reconvene in the morning. And if you’re still curious in the light of day, you decide for yourself what it tastes like.”

Combing her hair back with her fingers, Natalie looks between the two of us, then nods. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that might be a good idea. Don’t go thinking I forgot that you said you had monster cocks too. I want to see them so bad. But knowing that you come with flavors, I might just have my mouth stuck to you day and night.”

Smirking, I drawl, “If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.”

Jasper sits up again, eyes shining brightly. “Maybe before bed we can—”

I shake my head. “Not happening. You’re exhausted. You didn’t sleep much yesterday with all the research. Let’s chat in the morning.”

Jasper pouts and I squeeze his cheeks between my fingers to push his lips out even more. Mumbling through his squished mouth, he asks, “What time are you leaving for work?”

My brows rise high and my hand drops to my lap when I realize I haven’t even thought about work since Jasper and Natalie crossed my threshold. I haven’t missed a day of work in my life, but I can think of nothing worse than being stuck in front of my computer or in virtual meetings while Jasper and Natalie are at home—without me.

Not believing the words until they’re out of my mouth, I say, “I’m calling in sick tomorrow.”

***

Knock. Knock.

Who the fuck could be knocking on my door? I never get visitors, Jasper basically being the only one, and he’s currently singing in the shower.

“Can someone get the door, please?” I call, not wanting to leave my spot at the stove and risk burning our breakfast.

“I’ve got it,” Natalie answers. It’s strange how seamlessly Natalie has fit into my house. There’s an easiness between us, besides the explosive chemistry, that makes it feel like she’s been here for months.

Last night, I gave her the spare bedroom, feeling like she might need the space to acclimate to this new world she’s found herself in. I spooned Jasper through the night, letting my hand graze his cock while whispering sweet fantasies into his ear about the three of us, but not allowing him—or myself—to come.

Today, I’m spun so tight my cock has been in a constant state of arousal, and I’m sure Jasper is in the same delicious state. But we both decided to save our cum for Natalie. When she told us she wanted to see, to taste , I knew I wanted to give it all to her. I want to watch her suck me dry as Jasper paints her face with his cum.

“Um, Santa’s here,” Natalie says, her tone weary but cheerful as she steps into the kitchen.

“Morning, Cole.” I turn when I hear Nick’s rumbly voice. My spatula clatters to the floor when I see him standing there with a big pot in his mittened hands. Next to him Natalie’ eyes are nearly bugging out of her head as she surreptitiously points to Nick and mouths excitedly, “Santa.”

My brain short-circuits for a moment as the two of them look like opposite sides of a coin. Natalie is so sexy in her new tight black shirt and leggings, and Nick is wearing the funniest red sweater with literal blinking Christmas lights adorning a tree—probably sent as a gift from a human who doesn’t even know that Santa is real.

Quickly picking the spatula up again, I can’t hide the surprise from my voice as I greet my half brother. “Hey. What you doing here?”

The bear of a male’s eyebrows furrow as he explains hesitantly, “You called in sick. You’re never sick. So I brought you some chicken soup.”

“Fuck.” The word is a little more than an exhale. I didn’t see his concern coming.

Nick looks around the kitchen, pausing on the stack of pancakes already cooked before back at me. “But, perhaps you’re not sick?”

My heart nearly sinks to the soles of my feet. “Um… No.”

“Morning,” Jasper singsongs as he practically bounces into the kitchen. “Oh.” He pauses and his eyes flick between me and Nick, then Natalie, before going back to Nick again. “Morning, Nick. Wasn’t expecting you,” he says brightly, ignoring the awkwardness in the room.

“Yeah. I’ll just go. Sorry for interrupting you guys. Here’s the soup. You can warm it on the stove and—”

“Nick. Sorry, I can explain. Please stay. Join us for breakfast.”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude.”

“No, really. There’s more than enough. Plus soup. Have a seat,” I insist, feeling guilty for having lied to him about being sick, and owing him an explanation at least.

“Come on, Santa. I’m guessing you don’t have breakfast with a krampus, a human, and your half brother every day,” Natalie cajoles, sweeping a hand through the air to take us all in.

“And what do you know, there are enough seats. Take this one.” Jasper pulls out the chair closest to Nick and gives him a look that instantly has him putting down the pot before carefully lowering his large frame onto the wooden chair.

“Oh, thank you,” Nick says nervously but with genuine appreciation shining in his eyes. I’ve been so caught up in my own life that I haven’t really considered if Nick might be lonely for company too.

Jasper’s grin is the only warning we get that he’s about to say something he shouldn’t. “Don’t worry about the chair taking your weight. I’ve sat right there on Cole’s lap plenty of times, rocked back and forth on it too, and it’s not given out yet.”

Twin patches of color stain the visible part of Nick’s cheeks as he looks down at the chair, then back at me with an uncomfortable grimace. “Thank you for that… information. Glad to know the chairs are sturdy.”

Natalie puts her hands on her hips. “For fuck’s sake, you guys are making this awkward. It doesn’t have to be. Look, I don’t know the whole complex history between you guys, but here’s what I do know. Cole has never taken a day off and Nick was concerned, so he brought soup. Am I right?”

Nick and I look at each other and nod.

“And from what I’ve gathered, you guys don’t really know each other that well on a personal level, so this is weird. But weird we can work with. So we’re going to hang out over breakfast and talk. As you like to say Cole, ‘use your words.’ Now, thank Nick for the kind gesture and ask him how he likes his pancakes.”

Silence follows for a couple of seconds before I mumble my genuine gratitude. “Thanks, Nick.”

Jasper’s shoulders bounce so roughly with his silent laughter that a snort escapes from me. Nick’s deep chuckles join mine and soon the whole kitchen is filled with laughter.

We fall into easy conversation as we personalize our pancakes. We work our way through the spread of toppings ranging from jams, chocolate sauce, toffee sauce, maple syrup, bacon, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, and whipped cream. All of us seem to have a sweet tooth, and we recommend different combinations, trying them all until we’re stuffed and Nick is patting his stomach.

Nick doesn’t have the typical Santa belly that’s to be expected from children’s books, but he’s a bear of a male who likes to stay active, swinging axes and crafting toys with his rough hands rather than being stuck with administrative tasks.

“Can I make anyone some coffee?” Natalie asks as she gathers our empty plates. I smile at how natural it feels for her to offer, how at home she is in my house, and I sit back to take in the view.

“I’ll take a caffè mocha again, please,” I answer, shoulders feeling somewhat less stiff than before.

“Me, too.” Jasper takes the dishes from Natalie and stacks them by the sink.

Heading over to the coffee maker, Natalie asks, “Where do you keep that gingerbread whipped cream? I want some of that again.”

“We ran out,” I say flatly, not offering any explanation in front of Nick. Natalie will understand soon enough.

Her brows climb up her forehead, but something on my face must give away that I don’t want to talk about it right now. “Okay. No whipped cream,” she says neutrally, then turns to Nick. “How about you, Santa?”

Ears turning a bright red, Nick says, “A glass of milk, please.”

“Seriously?” Natalie asks, genuinely curious and with the cutest grin adorning her face.

Nick’s shoulders curl forward and he winces. “Unfortunately, some of those Santa rumors are true. No escaping the milk-appreciating genes.”

Natalie’s understanding nod is kind and she doesn’t poke any further. Instead, she redirects the conversation. “Cole, you and Nick go get comfortable in the living room while Jasper and I make the drinks. Won’t we, Jasper?”

Jasper nods excitedly and I get up, gesturing for Nick to precede me to the living room.