“Oh quit bein’ such a Scrooge, Logan,” Marie chided, tossing a bit of cookie dough in his direction. “This is Christmas. It’s a magical time o’ year. So get in touch with yer holly jollies.”
Logan craned his head towards the kitchen where Marie was cooking up a storm. “My ‘holly jollies’? Darlin’ are you feeling all right?”
“Ah’m feelin’ amazin’,” Marie told him, popping a chocolate chip into her mouth. “Ah just love this time o’ year. Everythin’ is so wonderful an’ Ah’m gonna do mah best ta get ya in the Christmas spirit. So get off yer ass an’ help me here!”
Heaving a great sigh, Logan lumbered off the couch and into the flour-shrouded area that had once been their kitchen. For the past two days, Marie had been cooking up a storm. Creating every imaginable treat that could be found in a cookbook or on the Internet. Logan couldn’t figure out what had brought about this Christmas-monster that had once been his Marie. It was almost frightening the way the insane creature had taken over his Marie so completely.
“Hon, don’t you think you’ve done enough? We’ll be eating all this till next Christmas,” Logan said as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“But everythin’ needs ta be perfect,” Marie whined, busily mixing up the contents of the bowl in front of her.
“And everything will be. You don’t need to get all insane about it, though.”
Marie continued mixing at a rapid pace, her eyes trained on the opened cookbook next to her. “Ah’m not bein’ insane. This is our first Christmas t’gether so everythin’ needs ta be perfect.”
“And everything will be perfect,” Logan assured her. “But that doesn’t mean you have to go overboard. Just being here with you is perfect enough for me.”
“Yer just sayin’ that so Ah’ll stop bakin’ cookies,” Marie murmured, leaning back against him.
Logan shook his head, nuzzling his face against the curve of her throat. “No,” he breathed against her skin, “I’m saying it because it’s the truth. You are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met and every moment I spend with you is amazing.”
Cookie batter forgotten, Marie and Logan stood there, both enjoying the simplicity of the other’s presence. Logan knew that he would never be able to find another woman who didn’t mind being woken up in the middle of the night by his panicked screams brought on by the nightmares that ravaged his sleep; one who didn’t care about the fact that he had no past and very few prospects for the type of future she deserved; one who fit so perfect in his arms. If ever he had dreamt up a life for himself, Logan knew that it would never come close to the perfection that he had with Marie.
Scooping Marie up in his arms in a fluid motion, Logan carried her from the kitchen and up the stairs to their bedroom. Logan couldn’t prevent the wistful smile that appeared on his face as he was reminded of the fact that it was their room. In the six months he had existed before meeting Marie, the only real possession Logan had had was his bike. Sure he had some clothes and there was the heap on wheels that had been his car before buying the bike, but they hadn’t mattered to him as much as his bike did.
And now he had Marie.
He had a home.
A job.
Friends.
A life.
It was a lot to accomplish in six months considering he’d had no one to rely on after leaving the hospital. By all rights he should have been dead when his car impacted with the tree. But someone he had survived and was now living a wonderful life with the most perfect woman on the face of the planet.
“Where did ya go ta just now?” Marie asked softly, reaching up to stroke his cheek.
Logan was pulled from his thoughts instantly, realizing with some surprise that he and Marie were lying on their bed. At Marie’s concerned look, Logan turned his head and pressed a kiss against her palm.
“I was just thinking about how lucky I was that you went jogging that morning,” he said, smiling softly at Marie “It’s the best damn thing that ever happened to me.”
“Best damn thing that ever happened ta me, too,” Marie whispered, lightly running her hand up and down his throat.
Returning the favour, Logan leaned down and began pressing a series of soft, open-mouthed kisses along the alabaster expanse of Marie’s throat. That got a moan out of her right away as she arched her body against his.
“We can’t do this now, sugah. Ah’ve got cookies in the oven,” Marie sighed, sliding her fingers into his hair and pulling him closer even as she told him to stop.
“Let ‘em burn,” Logan told her, not pausing in his assault of her throat.
Marie continued to moan, sliding one hand down to pull at the hem of his v-neck sweater. “It’ll wreck the pan.”
“Then I’ll buy you a new one.”
Marie was silent for a moment the nodded her head, all but yanking the sweater from his body. Grinning triumphantly, Logan slid down Marie’s body so that his face was even with her stomach. It hadn’t taken Logan long to discover that he was addicted to that little spot between her belly button and the top of her jeans. He could spend hours kissing that small portion of skin were there not other parts of her body that needed attention.
“Yer a very wicked man,” Marie gasped out as Logan began to kiss his way up her body, sliding her sweater up as he went. “Ah was tryin’ ta make sure our Christmas was perfect an’ ya have ta go an’ interrupt me.”
Logan chuckled against her skin then lifted his head and grinned up at her. “Darlin’, we’ve been over this before. Christmas is gonna be perfect whether or not we have a thousand cookies.”
“But it’s yer first Christmas, Logan.... An’ why am Ah arguin’ with ya at a time like this?” Marie wondered aloud as her voice trailed off at the end into a drawn-out groan as Logan slid her sweater completely from her body.
“I was gonna mention that but I was hoping you’d figure it out on your own,” Logan said, lowering his face towards hers.
As with all their kisses, it started out very soft and tender, as though it was their first. After nearly two months together it was hardly their first kiss. By this time they knew each other’s bodies completely. Logan still found it a mystery that it was possible to find someone who fit him so completely in every way imaginable. Truth was, he’d never even considered that such a thing was possible before meeting Marie. Now he was grateful for every moment they shared together.
Their kiss soon rose in intensity and Logan began exploring every inch of Marie’s upper body without any hindrance once he managed to remove her black satiny bra. His attention focused entirely on the perfection that was Marie’s skin, he failed to notice her unbuttoning his jeans and sliding them over his hips until he felt her take him in her delicate hand. Moaning loudly, Logan retaliated by latching onto a nipple. Logan couldn’t help but grin at her echoing moan. It was an unspoken game that they played to see who could get the other to moan more. Neither one kept score, merely enjoying the game as it was played.
“Ah really did want this Christmas ta be perfect,” Marie whimpered as Logan slid her jeans from her body. “Ah had it all planned out an’ this certainly wasn’t in mah plans.”
Logan started to laugh, tossing the jeans over his shoulder. “Darlin’, this is perfect. It couldn’t get more perfect than this.”
“Well it would be more perfect if yer jeans would end up in the same place as mine right about now,” Marie told him, raising herself up onto her elbows. “So get with the strippin’, Logan. Ah’m not the only one that’s gonna be naked.”
“Don’t worry, I plan on getting plenty naked,” Logan assured her, sliding off the bed then out of his jeans. With a feral grin on his face, Logan crawled back up the bed towards Marie. He nestled himself comfortably between her legs, holding himself above her on his elbows. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Marie. I want you to know that,” Logan told her seriously, smoothing his fingers through her thick hair.
“Ah know it, sugah. An’ Ah feel the exact same way,” Marie said back, smiling fondly at him. “There’s no way Ah can imagine mah life without ya in it.”
The game between them was declared an indisputable tie as Logan slid into Marie’s wet sheath and both of them groaned loudly. The pair began a gentle thrusting motion, neither having any desire to rush their climax. If the wavering sighs were any indication, however, Marie wouldn’t last very long. Her breathy gasps were an easy indication of her coming orgasm. As he continued to rock in and out of her body, Logan kept his eyes trained on her face, watching as her features shifted. There was such love on her face, so much so that Logan could almost feel it as though it were a tangible thing. It was all in her eyes and the way her lower lip trembled even as it was pulled up into a slight smile.
Her features stilled completely as she came, her mouth falling open and her eyes sliding shut. Even though he was unable to know it, Logan knew that there was nothing in his forgotten past that could match the beauty of Marie’s expression as her body exploded in ecstasy. That look alone was enough to send Logan soaring over the edge after her.
“Mah cookies will be little charred lumps by now,” Marie mumbled sometime later, her voice muffled against the top of his head.
Logan chuckled, turning his face into her throat and pressing a kiss against the sweaty skin. “Then we’ll just have to make do with all the others you baked.”
As if on cue, the smoke detector in the kitchen went off, alerting them to the fact that Marie’s cookies were more than likely on fire. When Marie tried to slide out from under him, Logan tightened his grip on her waist, holding her in place.
“You’re not going anywhere, darlin’. You’re staying right here with me. T’ hell with the cookies,” Logan informed her. When the noise continued, Logan let out a frustrated growl and rolled off of Marie. “That’s getting annoying. Time to shut it up.”
The kitchen was filled with smoke that was now seeping into the living room when the pair finally made their way down below. While Marie rushed to remove her cookies from the oven, Logan went straight to the smoke detector and removing its battery. As they had suspected, all that was left of Marie’s cookies were little lumps of charcoal.
“They’re ruined,” Marie sniffed as she dumped the remains of her cookies in the trash. “They woulda been so good too. Shortbread has always been mah favourite. What’s even better is that there was no chocolate in them ta hurt ya.”
Logan rolled his eyes, opening a window to let some of the smoke out. “Keep that up and I’ll toss out the rest of your creations. Don’t you think that I won’t.”
“Oh Ah know ya will,” Marie placated him, dropping the tray into the sink and turning on the cold water. The grin on her face assured Logan that she wasn’t being serious. “But then ya wouldn’t be able ta eat them an’ Ah know what a bottomless pit ya are. Now help me clean up the kitchen.”
“And just why should I help you clean up your mess?” Logan asked, arching an eyebrow.
Marie grinned impishly, wrapping her slender body around his. “‘Cause if ya don’t help me, Ah may just decide ta not show ya the little get up Ah bought special fer Christmas.... Not that there’s much to it seein’ as how it barely covers anythin’. Ah’m sure ya won’t miss it.”
Logan moaned loudly, dropping his head against the cupboard.
“Ah win,” Marie giggled from behind him, giving his waist a quick squeeze.