The efficient way to put up a Christmas tree…
“What are you doing?” V asked, a chuckle belying her attempted serious tone.
“I’m working. What are you doing?” Zane responded sarcastically, although his tone sounded much more serious than hers had if he did say so himself.
“I don’t think squeezing my ass is what you’re supposed to be doing.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Hmmm, but it’s so much fun,” he replied softly, his lips pressed to V’s ear. “The tree isn’t going to put itself up.”
“Maybe it should try,” he retorted, gripping V around the waist and lifting her until she laughed.
“Put me down!” V giggled and managed to wiggle out of his arms, but Zane remedied that by hefting her over his shoulder and carrying her across the room to their bed.
“This is not very productive,” she said when he tossed her down onto the bed.
Zane crawled over her, his knees sliding between her thighs. “You’re right,” he agreed. “It would be if you were naked though.”
To his surprise, V pulled his head down until their lips touched. Rather than fight back like he expected her to, she kissed him. And rocked his world right then and there. Then again, V rocked his world damn near every minute of every single day. She was the light that brightened his day and the love that consumed his heart and soul. She was his everything.
And this was going to be their first Christmas together. Unlike last year when all hell broke loose and turned his world upside down, this year, Zane was grateful for every waking minute of every single day. And with V by his side, why wouldn’t he be?
With his lips pressed to hers, Zane grinned. “It’s pretty easy to win you over, you know that, right?”
V laughed, pushing him away until he fell over. When she straddled his hips, his body hardened instantly.
“I’m not a pushover,” she said, her voice lacking any conviction.
“Never said you were.”
“How about this?” she asked, her fingernails scraping gently down his bare chest. “With every step you complete in the tree decorating process, I’ll remove one article of clothing.”
Now this he could certainly get onboard with.
Glancing across the room to where the Christmas tree sat almost entirely bare, Zane wondered what exactly this “tree decorating process” entailed. He knew what the end result should look like, but he didn’t know how many steps she had in mind. A quick perusal of her body, Zane figured she only had three articles of clothing to remove since she was still in her pajamas – a threadbare tank top, flannel pajama bottoms and possibly panties.
“What are the steps?” he asked, eagerly pulling her hips so that he could grind his erection against the warm spot between her thighs.
“First,” V paused, her eyes closing briefly as he continued to rub against her sweet spot.
“Yes?” he asked, reminding her that she was talking.
Her eyes opened, and she pinned him with a sexy glare. “First, you’ve got to get the lights on it. Then the ornaments. And finally the topper. Think you can handle that?”
Zane could handle anything she had to dish out, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud.
“And you’ll remove an article of clothing when I get each of those done?”
“Mmm hmmm,” she agreed with a moan.
Nearly tossing her off the bed, Zane flung himself upright and raced across the room to grab the light strand that they’d been attempting to wrap around the tree earlier. When V came over to sit on the couch beside where he stood, he smiled at her. She curled her feet up beneath her and grabbed her coffee mug as she sat back to apparently watch.
In no time at all, Zane had the multi-colored lights wound securely around the tree. He’d even plugged them in to make sure they worked. They did. Score!
Thrusting his hands in his pockets so he wasn’t tempted to reach for her, he turned to face her, waiting for her to remove that first article of clothing.
V grinned, but then easily lifted her tank top up and over her head, exposing her beautiful breasts.
“Lord have mercy, woman! I’m not sure I’ve got enough patience to go through with this.”
V giggled, her face turning a pretty pink. “Well, if you expect the rest to come off, you better get to work.”
In a rush, Zane grabbed one box of ornaments and hastily hooked them haphazardly around the tree, not giving a shit where they went or whether or not they stayed. After all, V was topless, and he could hardly stay focused long enough to find the damn tree, much less decorate it.
V’s fit of laughter had Zane turning to look at her over his shoulder. After tossing the last ornament in the direction of the tree, he turned to face her fully. “Next piece of clothing.”
“That is not how you put ornaments on a tree,” she scolded him, a blinding smile on her beautiful face.
“It’s how I do it,” he argued. At least for now it was. “And you didn’t outline any specifics, so as far as I’m concerned, it counts.”
V laughed, but then peeled her pink flannel pajama bottoms down her legs, leaving her in a teeny tiny little pink and white thong that damn near made his knees buckle. Knowing he had to follow through with his end of the deal, Zane grabbed the tree topper, which happened to be one of those fancy LED stars. After plugging it in, he wound the cord loosely around the stem at the top and let it hang over, not bothering to try and make it stand up. That was something for another day.
“Naked, woman,” he growled as he stalked toward her.
V laughed but didn’t move. “I should’ve known you would cheat.”
“I never cheat,” he told her, crawling over her on the couch until she was forced to recline onto her back. “I’m simply efficient.”
When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, V breathed in a strangled cry, her hands twining up and around his neck, pulling him closer. Without hesitation, Zane laved her nipple, teasing with gentle nips of his teeth while cupping her other breast in his hand. He made sure to alternate between the two until she was writhing beneath him in her attempt to get closer. With his jeans in the way, he was hindered from sinking into the tight warmth of her body, which meant he needed to slow down.
When he pulled back to look up at her, Zane was rewarded with a sweet, sexy grin as V played with the hair at his nape.
“Where did you learn to put up a tree?” she asked, breathless.
“The school of efficiency,” he said easily. “And if I had been rewarded with you naked, I might’ve been good at everything I did in school.”
“Well, I’ll give credit to that school. Because you are certainly efficient, baby,” V teased as she linked her fingers into the hair and pulled him closer. “Very efficient.”
“You want to see how just how good I am? Lose the panties.” When she wasn’t moving fast enough to suit him, Zane helped her along, ripping her thong from her body and tossing it across the room. “Now, baby, I’m going to show you what else I’m good at.”
