Christmas Delights 3 (63 page)

Unable to hold back, Trace opened his mouth. “Now. I’m gonna
cum!”

“Go, I have you, go,” Cam said. “I’m with you.”

Screaming with pleasure, Trace came and spurted deep inside
Cam and felt those muscles squeezing his shaft as Cam tipped over the edge and
came over Trace’s belly in long white ropes. After Trace’s limp cock slid out
of Cam’s ass, Cam dropped across Trace, pressing his cum between their bellies.

“Can’t. Move. Limp,” Cam said in between deep, uneven
breaths.

“Not the only one. Holy crap… Was it always that good?”

“Yeah, but this is better. Way better.”

“We’re gonna stick together in a bad way.”

Cam groaned but pushed himself up. Their skin made the ugly
peeling, sticky noise and both grimaced. “Eww.”

“Always the bad part of sex,” Trace said.

“Wanna take a shower with me?”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll get it ready,” Cam said as he peeled himself away and
got on his wobbly feet. “Dayum, you wanna kill me with loving.” Shaking his
head, he strode off to the bathroom, his hips and cock swinging.

Trace snorted as he moved to the side. His one foot hit the
floor as he looked for the single crutch. “Cam…”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s my crutch? It was in the back of the truck.”

“Don’t know. I didn’t see it in the room with the rest of
your things. I’ll ask when we go downstairs. Why?”

“I can’t move without it. My cane doesn’t work when I’m not
working the prosthesis.”

“Oh. Well… Damn.”

“Yeah,” Trace with a chuckle.

“Your rescuer has arrived.” Cam walked out of the bathroom.
He sat on Trace’s left side, wrapped an arm around his waist, shoulder under
Trace’s arm. “On three…”

“On three.” Trace let his lover count until they got to
their feet.

“How does this work?”

“Support my hop like a crutch,” Trace said as he hopped and
moved with Cam to the bathroom.

“Thank goodness for a walk-in shower and bench. “They
entered the shower and he closed the door. “There’s a bar…”

“Got it.” Trace hopped to the support bars, held on, and
lifted his head to the large rainhead showerhead.

“Wanna hang on while I wash you?”

“Sounds good. I’ll do my best to help you.”

“I know you will.” Cam grabbed a bottle and poured liquid in
his hand.

They fell in an easy silence as they cleansed and enjoyed
each other’s company within the shower. Taking longer than necessary because
they gave each other hand jobs, more cleaning, and playing, they got out.

Drying each other off, Cam helped Trace back to the bedroom,
carried over the prosthesis, liner, and socks, and found clothes. “Got
everything?”

“Yes, you didn’t have to do all this,” Trace said as he
glanced over everything Cam lay out.

“Of course I do. Merry Christmas Eve, love,” Cam said as he
kissed Trace and went to his walk-in closet.

“Crap. There’s gonna be a crowd at the Hall, isn’t there?”
Trace muttered, resting his hands between his thighs.

Cam leaned out of the closet to meet his gaze. “Yes.”

“You need to be there for the contests and mayor stuff.”

“Yes.”

“Crap…” Trace rubbed a hand over the shorter hair at the
back of his head.

Leaving the closet, Cam crouched between Trace’s leg and
stump. He placed his hands on Trace’s thighs. “I can ask someone else to cover
the contest. We don’t need to make an appearance. Everyone will understand
since you returned home and I want to spend time with you.”

Trace shook his head. “No. No, I couldn’t let you do it.
I’ll do what I can and stand by your side. I want to be there for you, as your
partner.” He lifted his gaze to meet Cam’s steady one.

“Not if it means hurting your recovery.”

“I’ll handle it. Perhaps I’ll need a quiet room to get away,
but I want to be there for you.”

“Okay, we don’t need to be there the entire night. We’ll
stay for the tree contest and presentation. Maybe three hours, max, and we’ll
come home to a quiet dinner.”

“I have nothing to give you.”

“What?”

“A present. I have nothing.”

“My gift is you. All I ever wanted under the tree on
Christmas morning was you.”

Sliding fingers into Cam’s damp hair, Trace pulled him up
into a long kiss. He embraced Cam with his other arm and twisted until they
stretched across the bed. There was another round of lovemaking, soul-deep
loving, cleaning, and getting dressed before leaving the room.

* * * * *

The afternoon was spent in Cam’s office, curled on the
comfortable sofas in front of the crackling fire, reading, playing games, or
even watching Christmas movies on the television. Trace enjoyed those hours
watching television with Cam stretched along the cushions, head on Trace’s good
thigh, and Trace’s fingers playing in the soft, golden hair.

Other times he bugged Cam by rearranging ornaments on the
tree that held decorations they gathered over the years together. He even asked
for the box to see which ones Cam didn’t add since he wasn’t sure of Trace’s
arrival. In the box, he even found his old stocking Cam created for him with
the USMC logo and his name. He added it to the mantel next to Cam’s more
festive one.

Dressing for the evening event a little early, they drove
into town and parked next to the Hall. Instead of entering the building, Trace
headed into the center, visiting the stores still open for last-minute buyers.

“I said you don’t have to buy me anything,” Cam said as he
tagged along.

“Indulge me, please. It’s stupid to have nothing in our
stockings or under the trees. Plus, we’re going to see your family, right?”

Cam nodded.

“What about my sisters and their families? Are they
invited?”

Cam grumbled and let out a sigh. “Yeah, they show up for
dessert and gifts.”

“I’ve been gone for over four years, a lot of Christmases. I
can’t show up empty handed. Not to our families. Help me to shop for them. I
have the money. Let me spend it here, in our town, for our shopkeepers.”

“We’ll visit The Toy Chest,” Cam said and pointed the way.
“You’ll find what you’re looking for there. The kids will love it.”

“Do you know their ages and wishes?”

Cam pulled out his iPhone and wiggled it. “Got all the lists
saved.”

“Damn, you’re good.”

“Organized my life.” Cam escorted him down the busy
sidewalks.

Folks packed the shops and sidewalks, their arms filled with
packages, bags, and countless other things. Laughter and carols were in the
cold air, snowflakes falling. It was as perfect as a Christmas card.

“This place seems almost Norman Rockwell-ish,” Trace said as
they moved down the sidewalk to the toy shop.

“The mayor before me and I worked on recreating and updating
the town center. We pushed money into giving the buildings the desperate uplift
and alterations they needed. We added money to the decorating budget and
committee to enhance the town with every season or holiday. Everyone voted for
it and agreed.” Cam waved his free hand. “This is the result of a decade’s
worth of work.”

“You did damn good work,” Trace said.

“The town did most of it. I helped push things. Here we
are,” Cam said and opened the door for several customers coming out with full
hands. He smiled and waved to everyone. He escorted Trace inside and gathered
one of the oversized canvas tote bags with the logo on the side. Pulling his
phone out, he skimmed through the lists to give Trace options.

* * * * *

Spending the rest of the afternoon going from store to
store, they made Trace’s account cry from all the purchases, including
additional boxes, paper, ribbons, tape, and tags. They made multiple trips back
to Cam’s Jeep to drop off the bags and return to another store for more gifts.

Once Trace was satisfied he’d taken care of everyone coming
to the house tomorrow, even slipping in a few secret gifts for Cam under the
piles, he leaned against the Jeep. He chuckled as he stared at the pile of
receipts in his hand and the enormous stack of bags.

“Damn, I thought I was one helluva shopper,” Cam said with a
laugh as he leaned against Trace’s good side.

“Last-minute shopper since I almost never knew when I had
time. I bet you’re all planned and organized.”

“Well…” Cam flipped the phone between his fingers.

“I knew it.” Trace looked over his shoulder at the Hall
behind them. “Guess we need to head there.”

“You did well with the shopping crowds.”

“We were in and out and had certain goals and missions to
finish within each one. If I’m focused on something, I can filter out other
things.”

“Our mission tonight is to study all the trees, inspect the
various decorations and arrangements, and choose a winning class.”

Trace laughed at Cam’s way of looking at the upcoming
crowded night. “What does the winning class get?”

“They’ll receive new laptops and iPads for the next semester
or something equivalent.”

“Really? Nice prize.”

“These kids do a lot of work. Most will make all the
decorations throughout the month in preparation for the decorating.”

“We can’t expect kindergarten classes to compete with fourth
grade classes though. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“No, we have different tiers and prizes in each.”

“Do you need another judge?”

“Are you sure?”

“It’ll give me something to concentrate on for the evening.
What about those doors?”

“A different set of judges will handle those. We have two
dozen trees to get through tonight.”

“Point me at the trees,” Trace said.

Chuckling, Cam encircled Trace’s waist with his arm and led
him to the madness.

* * * * *

Hours after walking through twenty-four gaily dressed trees
from a whimsical Santa village, to an under-the-sea theme, to a jungle theme,
and so many others, Trace, Cam, and three other judges made their decisions and
awarded prizes to the kids and teachers. Santa was there to help hand off the
prize vouchers, take pictures, and listen to kids’ last-minute requests from
his workshop. Helping themselves to various finger foods, Trace and Cam managed
to slip away while the next contest was happening.

After driving back home, the others helped to carry all the
bags to Cam's office. They sat between the tree and fire to wrap the massive
pile of gifts. They were given a pot of hot chocolate, fresh whipped cream,
marshmallows, and a plate of sandwiches and cookies to snack on while they
wrapped, tied with ribbon, and Trace scrawled the recipient’s name on the tags.
He shoved package after package under the tree, knowing the kids would go
through and grab everything. He hid several others behind him, not wanting to
reveal the surprise gifts to Cam.

Cam ended up getting to his feet and heading to the closet,
where he pulled out several more bags he hid there over the last few weeks. He
pulled and piled those gifts under the tree. “There we go.”

“When did you wrap all those?”

“The last few weeks.”

“Planner.”

“Plotser.”

“Hey.”

“Is this what parents do every Christmas Eve whenever they
need to put together some of those crazy kits or toys? Holy crap, I need to
give my parents a big-ass hug for doing all this shit,” Cam said as he dropped
back to the carpet with a flop.

Chuckling, Trace finished the last three packages, adding
them to the pile. Keeping things hidden, he wrapped the few precious gifts for
Cam, but waited to slide them in the stocking.

“Did you ever think about it?”

“About what?” Trace looked at Cam, who turned his head to
meet his gaze.

“Kids. You. Me.”

“Thought it could be a possibility, but I wanted to be with
you for longer than a few weeks.”

“Now you’re home with me. For good, I hope.”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

Cam smiled and Trace felt his stomach flop at the visible
look of relief across his face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think to tell you sooner, but…”

“I didn’t push for an answer or even ask. I know you’re
going through a lot still.”

“If there is anything I need to go through, I want to do it
here, with you by my side.”

“Makes the holiday even better knowing you’re home,” Cam
said as he rolled toward Trace, got to his knees, and captured Trace’s face
between his hands. Kissing him with everything inside him, Trace responded.
Pulling back, Cam sat back, but kept his hands on Trace’s face. “You’re
everything I’ve ever wanted. You, Trace LaPointe, are the man I love with my
whole heart, body, and soul.”

“I love you, Camden Ross.”

Satisfied with Trace’s answer, Cam released him, gathered
the leftover food and dirty dishes on the tray, and rose to his feet. “I’m
gonna carry this back to the kitchen.”

“I’ll clean all this and meet you at the elevator.”

“In ten minutes?”

“Sounds good.”

“Perhaps we can have some yuletide cheer of our own tonight?”

“Didn’t get enough this morning?”

“That was ages ago. I’m catching up on missing time with
you,” Cam said with a playful wink as he left.

“Crazy man,” Trace said as he cleaned all the debris,
tossing things into the trash can. He pushed and prodded himself to his feet.
Glancing at the open doorway, he slid the smaller gifts in Cam’s stocking. He
dampened the fire to let it go out during the night, blew out some candles, and
turned to stare at the twinkling tree. It shone and sparkled against the window
and falling snow.

This night was the perfect Christmas Eve, and he would be
spending it in Cam’s arms. He made the right decision to keep his Christmas
Promise.

THE END

Nicole Dennis

Nicole has been writing since she
was a child to explore more about the stories she's read. It took the shove of
NaNoWriMo in 2009 to kickstart her dream of writing and publishing. Luckily, a
few publishers enjoyed her work and now she's doing what she love outside of
the EDJ. No matter what, she remains a devoted slave to a demonic-angelic
tortie calico called Fat Cat.