Chapter 26
Author’s Note: This chapter was originally written during
the holidays and sent to a few lists as a Christmas present. A few changes and
it fits in our story.
Ciara pulled into her garage and groaned as
she opened the trunk of her car seeing the huge assortment of bags and packages
taunting her. “Last time I take a cruise a week before Christmas!” It pained
her to think how much money she’d just cranked out and pained her even more
that all of this had to be wrapped in no less than 2 days. Maybe she should
have spoken more seriously to the Jehovah’s Witness who visited before the
cruise. This was insanity.
The
only motivation ahead of her was a quiet night with Nick. A private one. No
fans. No food poisoning. No managers. No bodyguards. No sea-sickness. No
nothing. Just Nick and Ciara. But, she had a few
things to get done first…like putting a dent in the wrapping. Might be
difficult though as he was already here. Such a distraction.
She
closed the garage door, sliding her last bag into the foyer. Grumbling one last
time, she looped as many bags on her arms as she could and took them to the
back room to start wrapping. Nice of Nick to be there and not available to
help. Twit. Where was he anyway?
As
she approached the guest room, she stopped in her tracks, hearing Christmas
music and then the sounds of his voice joining in with the CD. What was he
doing in there? She put the bags down and went back to retrieve a few more,
chuckling at the image she had of him trying to wrap gifts.
With
the last bunch on her arms, she plopped them on the hallway floor again and
just listened. He was singing lightly, letting his voice blend in perfectly
with the recording. He pulled a few harmonies from the instrumentation and made
a duet with the soloist. Oh, she could get real used to this.
“Hark,
the herald angels sing; Glory to th-…JESUS CHRIST!”
Ciara smacked her hand over her mouth to
stifle the laughter threatening to give her away. He WAS wrapping. Oh God.
“Joyful
all ye nations rise; join the triumph of the skies. With the angelic host
proclaim, What the HELL!? Damn!”
More
rattling of paper. Oops. That sounded like a tape dispenser on the floor. Why,
oh why hadn’t she set up a hidden camera in there before she left?
“Hark!
The herald angels sing! Glory to the newborn GOD! I canNOT
do this!”
Well,
at least he kept trying. Maybe she should go save him. Still stifling a giggle,
she hesitantly tapped on the door. “Nick?”
“CI!?
Shit…do NOT come in here!”
She
pulled back, again covering her mouth in laughter, picturing him completely
wrapped up in a roll of Santa paper. Or worse yet, Power Puff Girls. Found it
on sale for the nephews. That ought to be rich. “I’m not comin’ in. Do you need
some help?”
“NO!”
There went the knife. More paper rattling. Maybe she forgot something at the
store and should come back later. “YES! Damn. Just…just don’t come in here.”
“Okay….how
do you propose I help you from out here?”
She
could hear him sigh…imagining him running one hand through that hair, the other
hand on his hip, putting his weight on one leg and a big ole pout all over his
face. “I don’t know. I just…I wanted…I feel like an idiot.”
“You’re
not an idiot. Don’t you normally just pay someone to do this?” Why am I yelling
at him through a door in MY house?
“Yes,
but I wanted to…AAARRRGGH!” MAJOR paper rattling. It probably was airborne by
now. The herald angels had surely taken off to hark somewhere else…or sing…or
whatever it was they did in that song.
Hard
as she tried, she couldn’t wipe the smile out of her voice. “Nick, do you have
something for your mom or someone that we can wrap together?”
“Uh,
yeah…right here.”
“Okay,
put whatever you’re working on away and let me come help you. Then you can do
mine later.”
Silence.
More paper rattling, only not as frantic sounding. She didn’t know he could be
so entertaining at the holidays. This was good. “Okay, you can come in now.”
“No,
you can come out now. Help me carry this shit in there.”
The
door slowly creaked open and he peeked out, face flush with either embarrassment
or frustration. Or both. Either way, it was irresistible. “Hi.”
She
smiled at him and shook her head carting a few bags past him into the room.
“Hello. Help.” Stopping dead in her tracks, she released the bags on her arms
to fall precariously all over the floor. “Oh my God, Nick. What the hell have
you been…?”
Two
complete rolls of paper were unrolled all over her work table. Scraps of said
rolls were strewn all over the floor accompanying the bag of bows that had escaped
the confines of their packaging. Unused rolls of paper were laying in a pile,
obviously having taken a plunge from the neat stack she had originally leaned
against the wall. Her trash bag had even been upended. Thankfully the cylinders
of ribbon were still intact, although on their sides. That would have been
disastrous to clean up.
“I
just wanted to wrap your present. How in the HELL do you do this?”
“Aw,
Nick. You measure, cut, fold and tape. That’s about….” She looked at him a bit
more closely, squinting at the light shining in the window. “Come here….look at
me.”
He
put the last of the bags against the wall and leaned into her face, stealing a
kiss. “What?”
She
gingerly peeled a piece of scotch tape from his cheek. “Were you missing this?”
He
blushed and stood up looking around at the mess he’d made. “Yeah, I think I’m
missing my head to even try this. Why is this so complicated?”
“Cuz
your mommy paid the nice ladies to wrap your gifts and never taught you like
mine did? I dunno, Nick.” She looked down at his backside and finally let out
the laugh she’d been keeping tucked away.
“What?
You are NOT laughing at me!”
“Oh
yeah I am. Gimme your butt, you dork.” She pulled off a piece of tape stuck to
a ripped piece of wrapping paper. Too bad it wasn’t Power Puff…that would have
been priceless. “YOU are a nuisance in here.” She stuck the tape on the end of
his nose turning her attention to the mess in front of her. “Okay, what do we
have to wrap?”
He
left the tape where she put it. What the hell…he was already humiliated. “I’ve
got these necklaces I bought for Mom and the girls in
“Yep.
These are easy. I like little ones.”
“I
thought you liked ‘em big.” He wagged his eyes and bent down for another kiss.
Damn
him. She wasn’t going to get anything done tonight was she? “Packages. I like
small packages.” She giggled and took the tape from his nose and tossed it to
the trash, picking up a few stray scraps while she was down there.
“Like
I said….”
Standing
back up and glaring through her smile, she smacked his butt and found a
suitable style of paper for his mother’s gift. “You ARE a nuisance, Mr.
Innuendo
“But
how do you know how big to make it?”
She
turned and looked at him blankly. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What?
Seriously, Ci…I’ve never done this before.”
“Fame
is a bitch. Okay, spread out this piece of paper, right side down.”
He
did as asked thinking she was right. What the hell good was it to sell out a
50,000 seat arena if you didn’t even know how to wrap a present for your
girlfriend or mother. Something was wrong with the reality in that.
“Now,
this is obviously big enough, so you need to cut it. Wrap the sides around and
mark where it just overlaps.”
“Mark
how?”
“Good
Lord…make a crease in the paper.”
“Ah…that
makes sense. Okay.” Again, he did as told, marking the paper and pulling it out
from under the box.
“Now
fold at the crease and I get anal about now…make sure it’s lined up square and
all.”
“You?
Anal? Never.” He giggled and folded the paper up on the crease, checking the
sides for alignment.
“You
want help? I could just wrap you up in here, lock the door and throw away the
key.”
“Sounds
like the perfect Christmas present to me. Just feed me now and again and I
think I could deal with that.”
“No
sex if you’re wrapped up.”
“Ew…no…that
won’t do. Okay, now what?”
“Crease
it real tight with your fingers…you’re gonna slice it with the knife so it
needs to be crisp.”
“Is
THAT what the knife is here for? I think Mom used scissors.”
“Most
people do. Hate ‘em. I use a knife.” She checked his progress and pulled him
down for a kiss. “Doin’ good…now get the knife and slide it into the crease
there. Just stroke it against the fold…real smooth and easy.”
“Stroke
it, huh?”
“Nick…just
do it. God, sometimes I’d think you’re still 12.”
“Sorry.
Okay, stroking…” He slid the knife and ripped the paper. “Dammit.”
“Don’t
slide…stroke.” Ciara couldn’t stop giggling. This was
downright comical. “Can I show you?”
“Please.”
He heaved a sigh and handed her the knife stepping aside.
“Okay,
you just want to graze the fold, so it doesn’t rip…stroke it in rhythmmmmmmmm…..” He was not paying a bit of attention. He
was kissing her neck.
“Stroke
in rhythm. I think I can do that.”
His
hot breath on her neck caused her to jolt and she, too ripped the paper. “Dammit.”
“You
must not be stroking right…you ripped it too.” Quick nip to her ear lobe. Brat.
“Well,
you’re not making this any easier.” Damn him. Don’t EVEN…yes, he did. Licked
her neck just behind and beneath her ear. Foul play.
He
stopped kissing and licking and reached around her taking the knife in his
hand. “Show me.”
He
put his hands on top of hers, one holding the paper and one over the knife. She
slid it back into the crease and started cutting one more time. She was also
quite willing to play along with his little game. “Ready?”
“Always.”
His voice was husky and deep and definitely not focused on wrapping presents.
“K,
here we go…stroke, stroke, stroke…see? It cuts it perfectly.”
“Mmm-hmmm…just
perfect. Uh, Ci…”
“Yeah?”
She had stopped cutting and was just standing still enjoying his arms around
her, his hands on hers and his breath on her neck.
“We’re
at the end. Now what?”
“OH.”
She opened her eyes and looked down. Yes, indeed. At the end. “Well…” She set
the knife down and grabbed the box, making him pull back from her and giving
her a clearer mind again. “Now we measure the other direction. You can cut this
one.”
“This
is where I always screwed it up. How do you know how long to make it to go up
the sides.”
“You
flunked geometry didn’t you?”
“No,
but I hated math…why?”
“Common
sense, sweetie. It’s gotta be more than half way up each side so it’ll fold
over and cover it all.”
“Oh.
Yeah. Heheh. Let me do it then.” He moved beside her
and measured, creased and folded the paper like a pro.
“You’ve
got it. Now cut it.”
“Ooooh…more stroking.”
“This
is for your mother Nick…no more stroking.”
“Aw,
man…” He flashed her a cheesy grin and went to work strok-,
er…cutting the paper.
She
watched his progress and decided to play a little dirty pool of her own.
Staying beside him, she slowly ran her finger up his arm, swirling across his
armband and then around his sun tattoos. She teased under the shoulder of his
shirt and continued on up to his neck. With a feather light touch, she flipped
her fingers over his neck, behind his ear and then up through his hair as far
as she could reach.
“I’m
gonna rip it again, Ci….”
“Eh,
it’s just paper. We’ve got more.”
Suddenly
not feeling her fingers toying with his senses, he let out a yelp. “Woohoo! I did it! No ripping! Okay, now what?”
Damn,
she didn’t think he could resist that. She Kissed his arm and bent down to
retrieve the tape that had landed on the floor after one his earlier tirades.
“Fold and tape.”
“You
mean crinkle and stick? This is not gonna be good.”
“Aw,
have a little faith in your teacher, my dear. Alrighty, center your box on the
paper and wrap it around. I turn it right side down so the front is always on
top.”
“Do
people actually notice that kind of thing?”
“Probably
not. It’s how Daddy taught me. Now hush up and do it.”
“Yeah,
yeah…okay.” He stuck the box in the center, front side down and started
wrapping up the sides.
“Make
sure it’s tight.”
“Mmmm…okay,
I like it tight.” He held the paper with one hand while trying to retrieve the
tape with the other. Sadly, his face had to cross in front of her to reach.
Pity. Kiss. Lick that bottom lip.
“Nickolas…”
“Yes?”
“This
is for your MOTHER. You’re givin’ me the creeps.”
“Party
pooper.” He stood upright and looked helplessly at his lack of hands to
accomplish this next task. “Okay, how do I hold this and get the tape too? I’ll
never be able to do this alone.”
She
just shook her head at him again. So pitiful. “Use the side of your hand to
hold the paper, grab the tape with that hand and pull with this one. How did
you learn to feed yourself?”
“With
a lot of mess to hear Mom tell it. Okay…” He somehow managed to get the tape
out of the dispenser but the hold on the package let up in the process. “Ciara…tell me why I wanted to do this again?”
“Because
you’re a glutton for punishment? Come on…put the tape on your finger and get
the paper back…you can do this, goofball.”
And
he did. Finally. Now for those damned sides. They frightened him. Hers always
looked perfect. Symmetrical. Professional. His was going to look like a 4 yr.
old had wrapped it.
“Okay,
now you can fold the sides of the ends first or do it top to bottom…it’s up to
you.”
“Top
to bottom. Sides…I don’t care. What’s easiest?”
“Sides.
Fold the sides in first…there you go. Now I do top down, then bottom up, so all
the seams are facing the same.”
“My
God, I had no idea you were so uptight about this.”
“Do
you want them to look nice?”
“Yeah,
but jeez, woman.” He folded the top down, bottom up and had a problem. “I’m out
of hands again. And I can’t see what the hell I’m doing.”
“God,
you whine. Get on your knees. You can see better. And the hands work the same
way as on top.”
He
happily got on his knees. Last time he was in this position with her was in the
shower on the cruise. Nice memory. Worth repeating. “The hands work the same as
on top, huh?” He tossed the tape on the table, turned from the package and
cupped her breasts in his hands, kissing the soft flesh under her shirt.
That
was it. End of lesson. She ran her hands through his hair and held him close as
he kissed and kneaded at her breasts. He looked up and smiled into her eyes,
loving the warmth he felt there.
“I’m
not done wrapping yet, Ci…” There was that husky
voice again. How did he DO that?
“No,
you’re not…kiss me…it’s the forgotten step.” She bent down and captured his
lips in hers, letting her tongue run along his bottom lip and teeth.
Yep.
Lesson over. He knew what to do from here, thank you very much. Wrapping his
arms around her, he gently pulled her down to the floor and laid beside her
kissing her face, neck and chest, running his hands up under her shirt and over
her stomach. Before she knew it, her shirt was off and he was undoing the clasp
of her bra, running his finger down her scar as the bra parted allowing her
breasts to peek out of the satin.
She
ran her hands down his chest and stomach, and stripped him of his shirt as
well. He laid on top of her, moaning at the skin to skin contact and grinding
his hips into hers. And now, he didn’t want fabric between them. She’d been
driving him crazy since she walked in the room. Flushed from carrying bags
upstairs, stroke, stroke, make it tight. Damn. He got up on his knees and
quickly stripped her of her pants and immediately removed his own.
She
spread her legs to make room for his and he lowered himself on all fours over
her, taking a few moments to lick and suck at her nipples, dipping down to her
belly button and back up again. God, she tasted so good. With one more taste of
her neck, he lifted his head again and bore his eyes into hers as he slowly
entered her.
They
moaned together as their bodies joined and quickly found the rhythm they had
been teasing about earlier. Stroke, stroke. Nick smiled shyly and she offered a
quizzical look. “Stroke, stroke,” he finally croaked out.
She
giggled and he moaned. Her laughter whenever he was inside of her made him
crazy…made her walls tighten around him all the more. “By George, I think
you’ve got it.”
With
a slight smile, he increased his pace. No, this wasn’t going to last long, but
they had all night. Little dinner, little wrapping, little lovemaking…well, a
lot of lovemaking. Mostly, they just wanted to enjoy every moment as they lived
it. And now, they were definitely enjoying it.
As
his pace increased, she wrapped her legs around him more tightly, kissing him
passionately. He pulled away and looked deep into her eyes again, calling out
her name as he came. He buried his head in her neck as she ran her fingers
through his hair, struggling with her own breathing. She was so close.
He
reluctantly slid out of her and laid beside her, running his hand down over her
breasts and stomach and finally burying his fingers in her core. “Oh God, Ci…”
She
threw her head back and just enjoyed the dance of his fingers over her, inside
her. Before long, she too was calling out his name in release, amazed at how
fantastic he could make her feel.
He
pulled her in close as she started to relax from the high of the moment,
kissing her forehead and rubbing her shoulders. He giggled as he pulled a stray
piece of tape from her left breast. “Oops.”
Then,
as though someone had turned on the CD player again, their attention turned to
the music that had truthfully been serenading them all along.
“Joy
to the world! The Lord has come!” They both fell back laughing hysterically.
“Oh
God…that’s just sick!” But they couldn’t help but laugh…what sick timing.
“Repeat
the sounding joy, baby!”
***
