23. Ivy

23

ivy

2 days until christmas

H ow could one person be so perfect? It should have gone against all of the laws of the universe. But Teddy Claus—he was that perfect. The way he saw through me, understood me.

Last night, I’d broken down over a stocking. A stocking.

The most perfect, handmade, embroidered stocking with my name on it. Ivy, stitched in red letters, with a little holly berry and ivy leaves next to it. It was the most precious gift I’d ever gotten, because it was made with love. I knew it was.

And when I’d lost it, he hadn’t said anything else, just scooped me up into his arms and let me cry into his shirt. Because I could feel it. He was the first person to ever really notice how alone I was. How lost I felt, navigating this world by myself. The first person to really see me.

I hadn’t given him an answer yet. He’d asked me to stay, given me all these little signs, and yet, every time I tried to tell him yes, my throat grew tight .

And tonight, tonight… The town’s annual Christmas Ball was happening. The entire town was decorated head to toe in Christmas lights, and I wondered if you could see this place from space. That was how bright it was.

It was magical. They’d laid a dance floor out to keep us from sinking into the snow. The snow was gently falling, but it somehow didn’t touch us, the air warm despite the chill outside. I’d learned a while ago not to question the magic of this place. Because it was magic.

And so was he.

Theodore Nicholas Claus was, without a doubt, the most wonderful man I’d ever met.

We danced under the stars, dressed in our finest—me in a long-sleeved, green velvet dress and Teddy in a three piece suit, his tie matching my dress. He held me tight, swaying us to the slow music under a blanket of twinkle lights.

The entire town might have surrounded us, but I didn’t even notice.

All I could see was him.

My Teddy.

“Thank you,” I murmured against his chest. “For this. For all of this. These last two weeks have been some of the best of my entire life. I never knew…” My throat grew tight. I never knew it could be like this. Life full of so much laughter, and so much happiness.

So much love.

His finger hooked under my chin, tilting my face until our eyes met.

“Teddy,” I whispered as his fingers brushed over my jaw, my eyes meeting his dark green ones. I couldn’t look away. There wasn’t a chance. Not when all of these emotions were flowing through me.

I loved him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

And maybe it was soon, maybe this was crazy, but I didn’t think so. Not knowing everything I did about this place. About Teddy. He was so good , like everything that was right in the world, and he was it for me.

Ever since I’d first run into him in the park, I’d known he would change everything. One flash of those pine tree green eyes and I was gone. Completely under his spell.

And all I wanted was to stay in this moment forever.

If what Scarlett said was true, I might not have to leave. Maybe I could say yes. How could this—us—not be meant to be?

He dipped his head down, and I stood on my tiptoes, brushing my lips against his in the softest kiss.

“Take me home,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. Did he notice that I called it my home too? Because it didn’t just feel like his anymore. I hoped he felt the same way.

“Gladly,” he responded, scooping me up into his arms.

A beautiful red sleigh, hooked up to a team of reindeer, awaited us. I wrapped my white fur cloak around my body, the fabric thankfully keeping out the North Poll chill.

Part of me felt like I’d grown used to it, but then again, maybe that was just thanks to Teddy. He always made sure I was warm. That I felt cared for. But still, this was…

“This is too much,” I said with a gasp as he set me down. My shoes sank into the snow, but I couldn’t focus on that right now. Not with what was sitting in front of us. “Is that your dad’s sleigh?”

He smirked. “Yeah. Borrowed it for the night. He doesn’t need it till tomorrow.”

“Teddy.” I gasped. “You didn’t. ”

“Of course I did. Anything for my girl.” Bending over, he brushed the hair off my neck to place a kiss to the sensitive skin there. “My sweet little Poison Ivy.”

“You’re wonderful. Do you know that?”

His lips trailed kisses up my neck. “You deserve it. I hope you know that.”

I blushed.

Teddy grabbed my hand, squeezing it before guiding me through the snow to the sleigh. Grabbing my hips, he lifted me inside, following me up before grabbing a blanket to spread over our laps.

We’d ridden in a sleigh before, but somehow this felt different. More romantic . And yet I couldn’t help but remember it was one of the final things on our list to check off. Saving this for the end felt… right.

Though, I supposed that had something to do with the night instead of the sleigh. With who my company was.

“What do you think, Ivy?”

“The perfect Christmas,” I said with a dreamy sigh.

“It’s not over yet.” Teddy winked.

I didn’t need anything else. Truly. This trip had been perfect. The North Pole was amazing, but I just needed him.

The sleigh started moving, and Teddy interlaced our fingers, kissing my knuckles. I couldn’t look away from him. His beautiful, vivid green eyes focused on mine, and I was lost in them.

“Look,” he murmured, moving his thumb over my cheekbone. “It’s snowing.”

“Oh.” My breath caught in my throat, and I forced myself to look away.

Immediately surrounding the sleigh, outside of our little bubble, tiny white flakes fall down around us. The world was blanketed in white, and it was magical. There was nowhere else I’d rather be right now, no one else I’d rather be here with than Teddy.

Of course, it was Teddy.

Who else would it have been other than him? The man who’d brought me here showed me what it was like to have a family, to have a home. To love and to be loved. Because I knew that what I felt for him was bigger than anything I’d ever felt before.

I loved him. I loved Teddy Claus, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. To proclaim it to the entire North Pole. But first, I needed to tell him.

“Teddy, I?—”

“Shhh,” he whispered, his finger moving over my lips. He brushed the hair off my neck, placing a kiss on my exposed skin. “Not yet.”

Like he knew what I was going to say was going to change us, this, forever.

He dragged his thumb over my cheekbone, caressing my skin. “Sweetheart, you’re so damn beautiful.”

“You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were the most handsome man I’d ever met.”

He chuckled. “Good. Because I’d have to chase off anyone else. You know why?”

I straddled his lap, breaths coming out in puffs from the cold air. But I wasn’t cold. I was burning up. For him—only him.

My green dress pooled around my hips as I settled over his groin.

“Why?” I breathed out the word.

“Because you’re mine , Ivy Winters.”

I made a humming sound, running my fingers through his soft hair, messing up the strands. I was, wasn’t I? I was his. Ever since he’d claimed me for the first time. The first time I’d slept in his clothes, wanting to be surrounded by his delicious scent. Or maybe I had been ever since that first date.

“This reminds me of something,” he said, a little grin as he slid his hands up my thighs. Slowly. Everywhere he touched me, where his fingertips brushed my skin, it felt like sparks were exploding.

“Oh?” But I knew exactly what he was talking about. The first time we’d had sex on his couch. When I’d ridden him on his lap because neither one of us had been able to make it to the bedroom.

We wouldn’t be able to make it back to his house now, either. Not when we were this desperate for each other. Not when I needed him this badly.

He hummed in response, ripping a hole and dipping his fingers underneath the waistband of my panties. “So impatient, sweetheart.”

“Teddy,” I whimpered as he rubbed circles over the thin fabric. My hips rocked against him, desperately seeking friction.

“Do you need me to take care of you, baby?” Teddy asked, his mouth finding my neck.

“Here?” I asked, looking out of the sleigh.

We were surrounded by white and trees on all sides, though thanks to Teddy’s magic, I was perfectly warm. A bubble ensconced us, keeping us safe from the snow and the outside weather.

He grinned. “No one’s going to find us.”

“But—” Silencing me with another kiss, Teddy pulled the top of my dress down, revealing my red lacy bra. My nipples pebbled, quickly hardening from the exposure to the outside air.

“You make me insane. You know that?”

I moaned as he sucked my nipple into his mouth, lace and all. “ Teddy,” I moaned .

“Yes, sweetheart?” He grinned as he left a wet circle on my bra before moving to the other side.

But I couldn’t think. Not with his mouth on me, his cock pressed against my entrance, and his hands keeping me firmly in place. Squirming, I wiggled against him, but that only succeeded in making it worse.

Were we really going to do it here? In the middle of the woods, on the bench of his father’s sleigh?

Teddy swapped our positions, spreading a blanket over the bench before laying me down. His suit coat hit the floor, followed by his vest and tie, and I admired his figure as he loomed over me. His hands, so strong and big, the perfect size to cup my breasts. Like they were made to fill his hands. Everything about us so perfectly matched. We just fit .

I reached my hand up, combing through his hair. “I want to remember this moment forever,” I told him, everything feeling so meaningful. So reverent. It didn’t matter where we were. It just mattered that we were together.

Teddy unzipped his pants, pulling out his cock, fisting it a few times before positioning it at my entrance. But he didn’t plunge in right away, instead rubbing himself back and forth across my clit, making my hips jolt off the bench each time from the sensation.

“Don’t tease me,” I whined.

He ran the tip through my wetness, coating his length in it, before finally pushing inside me. I wasn’t sure what it was about this position—flat on my back, with him perched above me, the stars above us as the world was enveloped in a blanket of snow—but everything felt different. Like the world was more vivid and crisp. And when he slid his cock inside of me, I cried out, feeling too much. He was so big, and every part of my body felt the stretch of him inside me every time.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, watching the spot where his length disappeared into my body. “Take every inch like the good fucking girl you are. Fuck. You’re always so wet for me. So tight. That pretty pussy so ready to be filled up.”

“Yes,” I agreed, though I might have been chanting the word, I wasn’t sure. “Teddy, Yes.” My fingers scrambled for something to hold onto as he thrust roughly inside of me, burying himself to the hilt. Every time he bottomed out, it felt like the stars erupted in front of me, little fireworks exploding.

I clenched around his length, causing him to groan. “So fucking good. So right. Like you were made for me.”

“I was,” I agreed. Teddy grabbed my leg, bending it and changing the angle, forcing himself in deeper. The stretch of my leg only added to the bite of pain, but I liked it. “Only for you.”

“Because you’re mine.”

I nodded, crying out as he dipped his head down, sucking my nipple into his mouth as he ravished me. The stimulation was too much, and I didn’t even have the time to warn him before I was coming, my muscles contracting around his length.

Teddy popped off my nipple, circling it with his tongue before kissing me roughly, fucking my mouth like he thrust inside of me, not giving me a moment to breathe. No, he just kept fucking me through it.

Determination showed on his face, his brow dotted with sweat that made his brown hair fall onto his forehead. I liked it when it did that—because it gave me an excuse to touch him, thrusting my hands into his hair. Running my fingers through the soft strands and tugging at them roughly.

He stilled, and I could feel him getting close, grunting as he hardened even more inside of me. It was a good thing I was on birth control, or the sheer amount of times I’d let him fill me up would have definitely gotten me pregnant. Maybe one day. A shudder ran down my spine .

We hadn’t even talked about kids yet. But we would. We would have time for all of those things.

Because there was no way I was leaving him.

“Tell me you’re mine,” he said, breaking the kiss. “I need to hear it, Ivy.”

“I’m yours,” I promised.

“Tell me you’re not going anywhere,” he begged. “Tell me you’ll stay with me.”

I nodded, tracing his jaw with my fingers before cupping his face. “I’m not going anywhere, Teddy. I’m here, with you.”

“Thank fuck,” he groaned. He nuzzled his head into my shoulder, burying his teeth in mine like I had with him, and it only took a few more thrusts before he was spilling inside of me, messy and wet and perfect.

Not yet. I didn’t want to tell him I loved him during sex.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

That was when I’d confess.

Teddy straightened my dress, pulling me into his arms and cradling me like we hadn’t just christened his father’s sled. Like he didn’t have a care in the world.

And for the moment, I didn’t either.