17. Run

Run

Nova

I jumped out of the car as soon as Ben parked. It was still snowing, and as I took in the cute little buildings and people milling about, I felt Christmas magic wrap around me like a comforting blanket. I took a deep breath and exhaled happily, the smells of the trees, nature, and hot chocolate warming my heart. Ben exited the car and linked his fingers with mine as we joined the crowd. It took a little while to get set up for our adventure. While Grant and Lincoln got in line to rent the side-by-side vehicle and chainsaw we would need to cut our tree down, Ben pulled me to the hot chocolate line.

“What’s your stance on marshmallows in hot chocolate,” Ben asked. “Yes or no?”

I looked at him in mock horror. “What do you mean, no? The only option is extra.”

“Agreed,” he grinned. “Whipped cream?”

“Of course,” I replied. “Only aliens don’t like whipped cream on their hot chocolate.”

Ben snickered, but I didn’t know what he found so funny until we brought four hot chocolates with extra marshmallows and whipped cream to where Grant and Linc were waiting.

“Did you get mine without whipped cream?” Grant asked as he accepted a cup from Ben. I was just lifting my cup to my lips to take a sip when I started laughing and blew whipped cream everywhere. Ben started laughing with me, and Grant looked at us in confusion. “What’s so funny?” he demanded, making us laugh harder.

“Have you always known you weren’t from this planet?” I sputtered.

“What?” Grant asked, his annoyance growing.

“Nova and I were discussing the perfect cup of hot chocolate,” Ben explained, “and agreed that anyone who didn’t like whipped cream in their hot chocolate was an alien.”

“It’s the only explanation,” I giggled.

“You think I’m an alien, huh?” Grant growled. “I am a fan of probing. Come here.” He lunged for me, making me shriek as I ran from him. Ben and Linc groaned in dismay.

“Bad pun, bro,” Ben said.

“Uncool,” Linc agreed.

Grant caught me around my waist, and I clung to my hot chocolate with both hands so that it didn’t spill as he lifted me into the air. “Say I’m not an alien,” he ordered.

“Say you like whipped cream in your hot chocolate,” I countered through my laughter.

Grant set me down but didn’t release me as he nuzzled his face into my neck. “Do you like whipped cream in your hot chocolate?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. I was feeling all warm and gooey on the insides, and I had a feeling it had less to do with the hot chocolate and more to do with being wrapped up in this stud’s arms.

“Then I think I can learn to like it, too,” Grant whispered.

Yep. It was definitely Grant. “Then I guess you aren’t an alien after all,” I replied.

“I’m still gonna probe you,” Grant growled. He released me but took my hand as we returned to where Ben and Linc were waiting.

“We ready to get this show on the road?” Linc asked.

“Let’s do this,” I said.

Soon, Lincoln was tearing through the snowy forest. When we hadn’t seen another person for a while, he stopped the little buggy, and we started the hunt for the perfect tree.

“I can’t believe you guys did this,” I said honestly as I sipped my hot chocolate.

“We want to make you happy,” Ben replied, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “I know we fucked up, but everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully, you can forgive us for ours. Plus, this was on your list, right?”

“It is, but I figured we would just go down to the tree lot and pick one out. I didn’t expect you to be willing to get all rugged and cut one down.”

“There’s more to us than meets the eye,” Linc winked as he slung the chainsaw over his shoulder. “Now, Nova Lane, which tree do you want?”

I stepped out of Ben’s arms and began to weave through the trees, eyeing them critically. Picking out the perfect tree wasn’t a simple task. You had to consider the height, fullness, health, and branch strength. The last thing you wanted to do was get the tree home and find out it couldn’t support any of your ornaments, and I had a lot.

“What about this one?” Grant asked, standing next to a gorgeous fir.

“While it’s beautiful, it’s about a foot too tall,” I told him.

“This one is shorter,” Ben said from several rows away. We followed the sound of his voice and stood around the tree he suggested.

“The height is perfect, but it’s too fat around,” I replied. “It will take up my entire living room.”

We continued wandering through the forest until I stopped before a promising tree. It was slightly shorter than the tree Ben had found and had the perfect cone shape that I was looking for. It was a deep green color without browning to the branches, which meant it was at peak health. I tested some branches as I circled the tree to ensure it had no holes or noticeable imperfections. The branches seemed strong. I stepped back and grinned at the guys.

“This is the one!”

“Are you sure?” Grant asked.

“Positive! Cut that baby down and wrap her up.”

Lincoln fired up the chainsaw while Grant helped move higher branches out of the way, making it easier for Linc to cut off the lower branches and reach the trunk.

“Want to play a game?” Ben whispered in my ear.

“What kind of game?”

“You run and hide. If I can’t catch you in ten minutes, you win. If I can, I win,” Ben replied, continuing to whisper so that he didn’t attract the attention of the others.

“What are we playing for?” I asked, my excitement growing.

“Winner’s choice. Are you in?”

“Yes!”

He squeezed my hips and hummed approvingly. “Good.” He held his watch up so that we could both see the time. “Run!”

I dropped my hot chocolate and took off, mentally reminding myself to collect it later. I heard Linc and Grant’s surprised questions as I ran, but I didn’t have time to answer them. I was glad the snow hadn’t left enough dusting to show my tracks as I weaved through the trees. When I felt I had gotten far enough, I began to circle back toward where I started, hoping he wouldn’t expect me to double back.

I was breathing heavily as I picked a large tree and squeezed into the branches at its base. Ben would find me in no time if I didn’t slow my breathing down. My breath had just evened out when I heard a twig break nearby.

“Nooovaaaa,” Ben called, sending a thrill down my spine.

I glanced at my watch and saw I still had five minutes until I won. Ben was several rows away and continued to move further into the forest and away from me. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. So far, so good. My ears tracked his movements as he moved around the woods like a Yeti in a snow globe shop. He passed by my tree several times, muttering to himself. At one point, he had stopped nearby, and if he had just turned his head, he would have seen me.

I contemplated moving after his fourth pass but decided to stay put. This tree was working for me, and there was no sense in fixing it if it wasn’t broken. I watched the time tick down on my watch and felt triumphant at the thirty-second mark. Then suddenly, Ben was in front of me, and I screamed in surprise as he grabbed my ankle and dragged me from the tree.

“Gotcha!” He cheered. I struggled to escape him as he pinned me to the ground and tickled me. We were both laughing when his laugh flowed into a throaty growl. “Now for my prize.” His lips slammed over mine hungrily with enough force to make them throb as we kissed. He grabbed my hips and pulled my core against his hard dick.

I whimpered into his mouth, and he backed up enough to look at me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Nova. Tell me you want this too,” he pleaded.

“I want this too.”

He groaned as he started undressing me hastily, peppering kisses onto my skin as he uncovered it. “I haven’t been able to think of much else after watching you come for me on that video.”

My body was on fire as he stripped my clothes off and then his own. When he finally sheathed himself inside of me, I moaned in relief. Ben’s haste didn’t slow as he took me there on the forest floor. Skin slapping against skin echoed through the trees as he fucked me into the ground.

“Don’t stop,” I gasped.

“Never,” Ben grunted above me. “You feel so fucking good wrapped around me, Nova. You’re taking my cock like such a good girl.”

I moaned again in agreement. I love how full I felt and the way the large head of his cock dragged against my walls.

The sound of a high-pitched horn echoed around us, making Ben chuckle. “It seems they’ve got the tree cut down. We’d better finish so we don’t keep them waiting too long.” Even though he said we needed to hurry, his pace didn’t quicken, and his dark brown eyes twinkled as he steadily worked us closer to our orgasms. If anything, he might have even slowed down a fraction as he kissed me lazily. He swallowed my moans greedily, keeping my pleasure and this moment between us and the trees.

A few minutes later, the horn sounded again, and with a devilish grin, he began to pound into me rapidly. I guess he decided they had waited long enough.

“Touch yourself, Nova,” he ordered. “Let me see the show first hand.”

I complied and rubbed my sensitive clit. My pussy walls fluttered around Ben as my orgasm started, making him groan as he slammed into me one last time and came with me. He collapsed on top of me, and I relished the feel of him on me and in me, his dick still twitching. Panting, he rolled off me, and I fought the urge to pull him back. I wanted more, but we were in the middle of a Christmas tree forest, and anyone could stumble upon us at any time. Not to mention, Lincoln and Grant were impatiently waiting for us.

We stumbled and giggled as we quickly redressed, almost falling several times in our attempt. Ben tried picking all the twigs from my hair when we were finally clothed.

“You better get all of it. Lincoln is not going to be happy that you got dirt and twigs in my hair,” I teased.

“In that case, I should probably leave a couple,” Ben replied, immediately stopping. Hand in hand, we walked back to where they were waiting for us. “Who knew shopping for a Christmas tree could be so much fun?”