Chapter 29

 

Christmas Eve found Rye hanging out at home with an all-too-bubbly Brie. She spent all morning baking, humming Christmas carols, and teasing him with a wiggle in her bouncy walk.

If only he could corral her long enough to make naughty but excellent use of her energy.

His cell rang. Checking the caller ID, he immediately answered. "Hi, Mom."

"Rye. How are you feeling?"

"Good. Why do you ask?" His detective senses prickled with her unusual question right off the bat.

"No reason." A momentary silence covered the air space before she spoke again. "I wanted to thank you for the presents, although I thought we agreed not to do presents this year."

"Presents? What presents?" He glanced over at Brie, who sat at the other end of the couch, pretending to be totally engrossed in her book and not eavesdropping.

"Brie brought them over for you, dear. Yesterday. One for each of the immediate family. Very generous of you, I will say."

"Okay…"

"Well, you know your father. He's so impatient. Nothing doing than he had to rip open the wrapping and see what he received." She sucked in a breath. "Honey, we're a bit confused. To quote your father, 'What in the hell is wrong with that boy?'"

"Brie…" Her name rumbled from his chest like a volcano announcing pending eruption. His gaze locked on her as he ground his teeth. Holy shit. Brie didn't…

"That's one reason we're concerned. Brie. Such a pretty young lady and so sweet. When you have her, why are you looking at pictures of naked, mature women? And the card. You hope we enjoy the pictures as much as you do? Sure, we've always known you were a bit kinky, but this seems odd even for you."

Brie snorted and coughed, a weak attempt to contain the giggles she suppressed as indicated by her quaking chest and pink cheeks.

"What? I…" His mouth opened and shut twice before more words came out. "I didn't… I don't…"

"Your brother opened his already. I swear the poor boy about had heart failure on the spot. He said he would be talking to you soon. Something about crappy taste in women, although that wasn't the exact word he used."

"Brie!" His ire rose as rare heat flooded his cheeks. Leave it to his girlfriend to give every one of his family members a copy of the old ladies nude calendar. He would never live this humiliation down, especially as she worded the card to indicate he'd developed a wrinkle and saggy boob fetish in the past week.

"Would you like to come over and talk about this with your father? I'm sure he can help you."

Rye snorted. "Umm. No thanks. I'm a bit busy right now."

"Oh?"

"Yep. My girlfriend needs a spanking."

"Oh my. How many fetishes do you have, dear?"

"Later, Mom." He clicked off the phone and tossed it on the couch in front of him. Standing, he glared down at Brie.

She glanced up at his face and fell into a fit of laughter, great guffaws sending tears pouring down her cheeks. Holding her belly, she panted for breath and finally simmered down to giggles. Wiping her eyes, she blinked at him innocently.

Like I'm buying that. Not.

He waited a beat longer, allowing the steam to build up at her prank. Thanks to her, his family was on the verge of calling in a therapist.

"The money went to charity. It was for a good cause." She stood up, placing the end of the couch between them. "Besides, the pictures weren't racy. They were tasteful, in fact."

"Uh-huh." Stepping forward, he closed in on her.

"Ummm. I just remembered. I need to…run an errand." Brie dashed around the couch, sprinting across the room.

He caught her as she surged by. "Oh no you don't." Sweeping her over his shoulder, he juggled his hold until her belly rested on his shoulder, her head pointed to the floor, and her ass stuck up in the air, in easy reach. Slapping her rear, he held tight as she wiggled.

"Put me down."

"No way, squirrel. Not until we've had a long talk."

"About?"

Her caution-laced tone put a grin on his face. "Paybacks."

Brie groaned dramatically. Rye chuckled and whapped her backside lightly.

She might be feisty and a troublemaker, but she was his little squirrel. A keeper if he ever saw one.

 

* * * *

 

Late that same evening, Brie snuggled up on the corner of the couch, wired and wide awake despite a hearty round of mind-blowing sex earlier in the day. Rye might boast and possess an elephant-sized ego, but he backed up all his claims with gusto.

She sighed as she watched him rub her feet, a touching gesture and big-time point scorer in her game book. "That feels wonderful."

He glanced up, shooting her a crooked grin. "You can do mine next."

"Sure. Fair is fair." His attention returned to the task at hand, allowing her a golden opportunity to study him. Dark hair, mussed from an active session of sensual delights, complemented his deep blue eyes, the combination striking. His scruffy two-day shadow added an element of badness, giving him an edgy appearance. Strong arms connected to a wide chest, leading down to a flat stomach and powerful thighs. Handsome didn't quite describe Rye. Gorgeous. Drool-worthy. One hot tamale of a detective.

"Afterward, I think there's a video we need to watch." He smiled wickedly and waggled his eyebrows.

And insufferable.

"Uh-huh. I vote we open presents instead." Distract him from that ridiculous porn flick he'd tormented her with for the past few months.

"You don't want to wait until the morning?" His head tilted as he released her feet.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. But since it's close to midnight and we're still awake, why not?"

"Suits me." Standing, he walked over to the small artificial Christmas tree, bent over, and picked up a bright blue box. Sitting down, he watched her as she moved across the room.

Brie followed suit, plopping down on the floor within easy reach of the handful of brightly-colored packages resting under the tree with the big living room window to her left.

Grabbing a red present with a bright bow, she handed it to him. "I hope you like it."

He shot her a wary look. "Open yours first."

"No. You."

"No. I want to see your face when you see what's inside." He took the red box and dropped the blue one in her lap.

She shook her head. "Fine. Let's open them at the same time."

He nodded. "That works."

With anticipation and leeriness, she peeled the paper off and popped the lid. Peeking in, she found what resembled clothing. Pulling the item out, she held it up in the illumination of several strands of Christmas tree lights.

"Lingerie?" Holding the silk nightie to the side, she watched a slow smile appear on his face.

"I can't wait to see you wearing it."

As much as she wanted to roll her eyes at his rampant sex needs and revved up engine, she didn't have the heart. He took her for amazing journeys each time, fulfilling her every desire with his skills and unselfish giving. Besides, he'd just given her a foot rub.

"Thank you. It's so soft." She ran her hand over the glistening crimson material.

"You're welcome." He removed the top on his box and dug in, pulling out his three pairs of pink boxers.

Brie grinned impishly. "Check out the front."

His eyebrows lifted before the corners of his mouth turned up. "If I wear these, are you gonna leave lipstick marks on me?"

Her face heated even as she waded into the teasing. "Maybe…"

"Hot damn."

She giggled at his sudden exuberance. Snagging the smaller green package, she gave it to him. "This is yours, too."

"Should I be afraid?"

"Open it and find out."

With ease, he tore the paper aside, yanked the tape holding the flaps together before holding up a piece of paper.

Confusion flashed across his face. "What's this?"

"A big screen TV."

He blinked at her.

"I didn't know what to get you and thought it might be something you'd like, especially for game days. My car is too small to transport it home, so your father graciously offered to pick it up from the store and take it to their house until Christmas day. Since we're going over there for lunch, we can take your truck, and bring your present home." She nervously fiddled with the baby doll garment still in her lap. What if he didn't like it? What if he expected more? Uncertainty set her heart aflutter.

Leaning over, Rye nuzzled her check and kissed her lips. "It's perfect. You're perfect."

"Really?" She met his gaze and tried to read his face.

"Yep."

She sighed in relief.

A flash of green through the window caught her attention. Scrambling to her knees, she half crawled to the sill, looking out. With all the "gifted" yard decorations, the entire street lit up like an airport runway in the moonless night.

"What is it?" Rye hurried over, his head turning this way and that as he stared through the glass.

Brie stood up beside him. "An elf just zipped by."

Rye shot her a look that clearly said he believed she had lost her mind or needed an emergency appointment with the eye doctor.

She frowned. "It did. I swear." Frantically, she blinked against the bright colors in search of the mysterious person. Another movement caught her attention. "There. Right there." She pointed through the glass. The guy took the moment to turn around, grin, and wave. Brie gasped as the man eerily resembled Jingle, the elf she'd met at the Christmas social.

Rye stared for a long moment before shaking his head.

"Admit it. You saw an elf!" She poked him in the side.

He sidestepped and rolled his eyes. "I saw someone dressed like an elf."

"Noooo. Admit it. You saw an elf. A true Christmas elf."

He sighed in resignation. "Okay. I give. I saw a true Christmas elf."

"Aha! I'm not so blind after all." She planted her hands on her hips.

He turned, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into his embrace. "Never blind. Silly, yes. Sexy, definitely. Squirrelly, absolutely." Each word he accentuated with a light brushing of his lips over her forehead, nose, and finally her lips.

Just as she began to lose herself in his deliciousness, he stepped back. With a quick grin, he reached into the small tree, pulling out a small velvet box from deep inside. Holding her gaze, he lowered to one knee before her and flipped the lid open.

"Brie, will you marry me?"

Surprised, elated, and completely stunned, she reached for the shiny ring with trembling fingers. "Oh my."

He plucked the ring from its holder and slid it on her finger, setting the box aside.

Sheer joy exploded inside her as she stared at the precious gift and realized what it meant.

Wiping a tear from her face, she threw herself into his arms with a resounding, "Yes. Oh my god, yes!"

Rye caught her with a chuckle, lowered her to seal his lips over hers as he wrapped her tight in his arms. She held him just as snug, too excited to let him go for a single moment.

Brie poured all the love and passion she felt for him into the kiss. The man of her dreams. He might drive her to distraction, but he was her knight in shining armor when times were tough. She couldn't have asked for a better man to share the rest of her life with. The hint of uncertainty disappeared with his offer. She'd come home in Rye's arms. Her fiancé. Future husband.

"I love you, Rye."

He rubbed his nose against hers. "I love you too, squirrel." After a tight hug, he leaned back to look down at her. "At least this will give the family something else to talk about than those blinding calendars you dropped off."

"Don't worry. Thelma dropped over three dozen of her special cookies for our contribution to Christmas lunch. They'll forget all about the calendars then." Brie's lips twitched.

He groaned dramatically. "What am I going to do with you?"

She smiled and rubbed against him. "Love me?"

"Forever and always." With those words, he meshed his lips with hers.

In the background, she distantly heard sleigh bells and a deep male voice exclaim, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night." Junior must have buzzed his parents after all.

All was right in her world, held by the man she loved.

 

The End