Stomping through the archway between the kitchen and living room, he throws himself down beside me on the couch. I crawl into his lap, brushing his hair back and planting a kiss lightly on his forehead. “Hey, grumpy. It’s over, okay? I’m safe. You saved me and I’m perfectly healthy. I’m roasting alive in this heat, but I’m good.”
“You promise?”
“I promise. Do you want to open the Christmas presents? We probably should before the year is over.” Neither of us has been feeling particularly festive, so all our gifts are still in the suitcase.
“I thought you gave me my present already?”
Rolling my eyes, I climb off him. “Coming inside of me is not a freaking Christmas present, Nathan.”
“It makes me feel jolly when I do it.”
He narrowly avoids the cushion I pick up and throw in his direction, muttering something about me not making the dodgeball team. With my hands on my hips, I huff. “Will you just get the present suitcase, please? I need to do something upstairs.”
I ignore the strange look he’s giving me and run toward the stairs, sprinting up each step until I’m pushing his bedroom door open and rummaging through his wardrobe for the bag that I hid when we got here.
I do what I need to do, pull on a robe, and rush back downstairs. He unpacked all the presents and put them into piles, now patiently waiting by his pile with his legs crossed.
“You ready?” he says cheerfully, picking up a package I recognize as being Sabrina’s handiwork. Picking up one in matching wrapping paper, I begin to pull it apart and immediately recognize the brand.
I look up at Nathan, who’s reading the back of his own box. “What did she get you?”
“A Polaroid camera, what about you?”
“Lingerie.”
He swallows hard when I open the box, turning so he can clearly see the black lace set. Plucking the tiny thong out with my finger, I hold it up. “I think maybe Brin has been reading too much smut.”
He scratches his jaw and blows out a strained breath. “We’re coming back to thisreallysoon. Next present?”
JJ’s present is next and the second Nate pulls off the paper, he curses under his breath and reaches for his phone on the floor beside him. “What is it?”
Huffing when his phone buzzes, he shakes his head and bites back a laugh. “Lingerie.”
“Sexy…”
“When I was buying your presents, JJ wanted me to buy you lingerie.”
“Sounds about right…”
“And I said no, because there was no way I was letting JJ and Henry pick your underwear. He said,What if I buy her lingerie?and I told him I’d rip off his limbs. So, the little shit found a loophole and bought it for me.” He turns the box around and shows me a beautiful red corset that I will definitely be wearing, regardless of who bought it. “What did he buy you?”
I snort as I show my present, which is a lot more appropriate. “He bought me a masala dabba. It’s a tin with lots of smaller pots of spices and, uh, he bought me self-defense classes, weirdly.”
“Yeah, JJ wants you to be able to defend yourself when we’re not here,” he says casually. “I think I heard him say he bought Sabrina some, too, so you will be able to pair with her.”
Great.I’m going to get my ass kicked by Sabrina.
We work in unison, ripping apart the rest of the presents, drowning in a pile of gifts from our loved ones until all that’s left is the ones we bought for each other.
“I didn’t buy you a lot.” I preface, handing over the bag of gifts. “Start with that one with the blue ribbon, but, uh, yeah. You’re super hard to buy for, has anyone ever told you that?”
He hands me an identical bag and leans over the pile of torn wrapping paper, pressing a kiss to my lips lightly. “You are my greatest gift, Anastasia.”
I tear into the first present and find two pairs of the prettiest pajamas I’ve ever seen. “You said you wanted something to wear around the house and I couldn’t choose…”
“I love them, Nathan. Thank you,” I say, running my fingers across the satin. “Your turn.”He pulls the paper apart until the leggings fall into his lap. He holds up the leopard and zebra print and raises an eyebrow. “I also couldn’t choose…”
We go back and forth, unwrapping and laughing until he puts his hands behind his back. “I forgot about this, so I haven’t had time to wrap it, so close your eyes and hold out both hands.”