“Do you want to open your gifts now or wait until the morning?” Ryan asked, tossing my car keys onto the kitchen table. The glint of hopefulness was evident in his eyes.

“You can open two presents,” I told him, knowing that he would be completely distracted by the first gift I planned to have him open. “The rest have to wait until the morning.” I picked a specific box off his pile of gifts and handed it to him.

“Okay, then you get to open two.” He crawled around the side of the tree and picked up one of the smaller boxes he had wrapped. “You first.”

Inside the box was an exquisite silver bracelet with a Celtic knot design woven around several brilliant garnets. Ryan had done the majority of his Christmas shopping when he was in Scotland. Everything that he bought on his trip or ordered over the Internet was shipped to Mitchell’s Pub.

“Ryan this is beautiful! Thank you so much!” I put the bracelet on and then leaned to give him a kiss.

He tore the paper off his package. His eyes opened wide when his fingers lifted the silk nylons from the box.

“I hope these are intended for you to wear!” He smirked. “I don’t think this sheer item is my size.” He gingerly picked the rest of the outfit from the tissue paper and held it up. “You are definitely trying to kill me!” He laughed. “Do I dare ask when you plan on, um, wearing this?”

“Now,” I answered nonchalantly. “That’s the second gift you get to rip open tonight.”

I relieved him of the box and softly bit his earlobe. “I’ll meet you under the tree in a few minutes.”

The living room was dark, all except for the soft white lights that sparkled between the branches of our Christmas tree. Ryan was lying on his side on the quilt he laid on the floor, stripped down to his black boxer briefs. I had a bottle of champagne and two glasses in my hands as I made my approach.

He sat up immediately when I came into view. I did a slow turn to show him the full picture.

“Oh wow, thank you Santa,” he breathed out.

By the time he was done unwrapping me, my outfit lay in shreds.

It was in the wee hours of morning when Ryan chuckled lightly in my ear. The sound of his laughter instantly woke me up. I was unsure if he was still sleeping or if he was waiting for me to wake up.

The moisture in his mouth made some popping noises and then it sounded like he moaned. Not a painful moan – this sound was one of pleasure. I wondered what he was dreaming about.

The sky outside was just starting to change with the light of the rising sun. I looked at the alarm clock; it was almost seven – way too early to be up.

His arm jerked suddenly; his hand cupped my bare breast and he moaned again.

Is he sleeping? As if on cue, he started to softly snore. He was dreaming and squeezing my breast in his sleep!

I rolled in his arms to face him. Ryan woke with a start, looking at me through his cracked eyelids. He groaned and rolled over onto his back.

“Sorry Honey,” he mumbled, pulling the sheets up on our bodies.

I nestled my cheek on his chest, receiving a warm, welcoming arm to hold me there. In an instant, he was asleep again. I, however, was wideawake and wondering about his dream.

I kissed his bare chest; my mischievous tongue took the liberty to taste him. I slid my open hand down his side, stopping in the muscular dent on his hip. His eyes were still closed, but his lips turned up into a smile. A soft purr slipped from his throat.

My hand found a new destination and with a few strokes, he and I were on the same page. I was hungry, hungry with desire to pleasure him;

determined to make his dreams come true. With a faint giggle, I disappeared under the bed sheet. My lips found him in the dark; satisfaction washed over me when I heard the air stutter down his throat. His long fingers tangled in my hair.

It didn’t take long for the comforter and sheet to land on the floor after being pushed out of the way. We rolled and twisted together as one; our bodies twined into a myriad of different positions. Our lovemaking under the tree last night was full of passion, although my outfit definitely brought out a different side of him. He was more forceful, aggressive, slightly overexcited.

This encounter in the dim light of dawn was the opposite – it was the total experience of getting to the destination rather than hurrying to the destination itself.

His powerful hands pressed into my skin; his strong arms wrapped around my body as he made love to me. We were free to enjoy each other, silently reading subtle movements, tender kisses, and playful bites.

My body tingled from his expert touch; the pleasure he unleashed on me rippled through my core.

His thrusts became quicker, more powerful, as he heightened my orgasm further. I knew he was climaxing; I could feel his release inside me.

His clenched fingers left impressions in my hips and he groaned from the gratification of his discharge.

He held me in his warm embrace. “I love you – with all of my heart,” Ryan whispered passionately, gazing at me while sweeping my hair back from my face.

I slipped my hand into his hair, pulling him in for another kiss. “I love you too, more than anything in this world,” I said softly, getting lost in the depths of his sparkling blue eyes.

Ryan carried his cup of coffee out to the living room and sat with his legs crossed on the floor by the tree. He was so eager to open Christmas gifts, the anticipation was getting to him.

“I hope you model those later.” He raised his eyebrows devilishly. I tore open the small box that contained a few pairs of red plaid undies.

“Only if you promise to model these.” I tossed a wrapped package in his direction, knowing that I got him several pairs of new boxers.

“I think that can be arranged!” He winked at me.

He opened up the computer software I got for his laptop next. “What’s this?” he asked, reading the front of the box.

“It’s for writing and recording your own music. Open that one.” I pointed to another package.

“You plug the microphone into the USB port and you can play your guitar and record it. I was sort of hoping you’d finish our song that we started up at the cabin.”

He grinned.

“Something for you to mess with while you have a few minutes of down time?” I suggested.

I opened the thin, flimsy package he handed to me next. Inside were brochures and worn pictures cut from magazines. I looked at him, completely puzzled.

“I’ve been saving those pictures for a long time now,” he told me. “Those are all the places in the world that I want to see. I thought maybe you could pick one and we could take a nice vacation.”