A Winter's Tale - Book I

“I am eager to cherish my time with you.”

I wanted to let him. Against every lesson taught to me about being cautious with my heart, I wanted to allow him into my soul as if there was no cause for concern. As he leaned down, his mouth connecting with mine, I wanted to believe in fate and love at first sight and anything that would allow him to stay with me.

Closing my eyes I rested my hands against his chest, living in the fiery moment as he moved his hand from my chest down to my waist. Wrapping his arm around me his fingers grabbed a handful of my rear end. The moan that left my lips could not be my own. It was so...smutty.

When we separated, he lifted me off the ground like I was a feather, my eyes going wide as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. My chest pressed against him, the opening of the robe slipping ever so slightly.

"Oh no. No, no. You're going to hurt yourself!"

Looking into his bright blue eyes I watched him look confused, then grin. What was he thinking? I was not a petite little woman in a small frame. He was going to hurt his back if he wasn't careful.

"You weigh as much as one of our babes."

Babes? Like, a child? That could not be true. He had to be kidding. A baby my size would surely kill its mother at birth.

"You're joking."

His grin was breathtaking, but his laugh? I lost all the air in my lungs when I heard the joyful sound that came from his soft lips. Music, it was truly a melody my heart wanted to memorize.

"Maybe a bit, but our babies are quite huge. I was at least."

I frowned, thinking of this behemoth of a man as a newborn. It was impossible. He was a giant.

"Your poor mother."

I couldn't stop the words, my thoughts falling out of my clumsy mouth as I furrowed my brow. That made him laugh again, setting me down on my feet as he almost doubled over in bellowing chuckles. I made him laugh, and for some reason, I needed to have that laugh in my ear for the rest of eternity.

"And I thought I was bad."

The way he spoke through the laughs made me smile. I suppose I should've censored myself a bit more, but it was hard to think straight with such a wonderous creature before me. Besides, it's not like we were acting as innocent strangers at this point.

"You're a Yeti."

Well, I guess my tongue wanted nothing but the blunt truth. That seemed to sober him up a bit, his eyes back to their chocolate brown coloring as he looked at me. The gaze was still heated, and needy, but also full of happiness now. I was grateful for that. He deserved a bit of joy in his grief.

"How did you know?"

I smiled, walking over to a bookshelf to grab a silver and glittering blue book with a Yeti on the cover. Holding it out to him I wanted nothing more than to erase the space between us, but talking to him felt just as good as kissing him. A different kind of passion grew between us in this way.

"I've read a lot of books, as you can see, and most of them are research. I want to be able to help anyone that comes to us, just as you have."

He raised an eyebrow, making me blush as I thought of the makeout session we had just shared. Clearing my throat I closed my robe tighter after he grabbed the book softly out of my hands. That only seemed to make the air around us heat up, but I tried to stay on track.

"Help them by building them a home, or talking through their problems. We have many beings here that also work with my family and that seems to bring them some peace and a sense of belonging."

He nodded, his eyes trailing down my body so slowly I thought I might melt.

"Reynard...I do hope I can help you."

I wanted him to know that, though there was an obvious connection between us, I really did want to genuinely help him. No one deserves to mourn their family alone. Perhaps, in due time, he could open up and let the hurt he was feeling out.

He looked over the book and I noticed his hands trembling a bit. What was he thinking about? Why was he feeling so much pain? Was it for his father? What of his mother?

"I'm half Yeti. My father was a human, but I inherited my mother's immortal genes. I watched him die, and then she exiled me."

I felt my stomach drop, the bomb of emotions I suddenly felt making me almost nauseous. He's immortal. His father is dead. His mother, a full-blood Yeti, disowned him? Was that what he just said? How could any mother throw her child away?

Sure he was a grown man, but his father had just died and suddenly she no longer wanted him? Had they gone his whole life with her around? There were a lot of holes I needed to fill. No, ok no that's not what I meant.

"I don't understand. Why would she exile you after such a tragic event?"

He sighed and I felt the weight of his past as he looked deep into my eyes.

"I'd like to know the same thing."

It wasn't something I knew the answer to. He was hurting and I couldn't do anything but be a listening ear and give him a safe space to mourn.

"You wanted to find the North Pole, for your father. You can find solace knowing you are here, Reynard. You've found the North Pole and now you can rest."

Resting was the last thing on my mind, but I knew with a full night's sleep I would be able to think more clearly. Maybe. Hopefully?

~~Reynard ~~

Rest? I didn't want to rest. I was spilling over with emotions. Hate, love, pain, guilt, devastation, an endless need to touch her. It was all too much and I knew I was never going to fall asleep. Not on my own. The look in her eyes was mirroring mine.

Again I took the risk, closing the space between us to wrap her in my arms and lean down for a kiss. She was soft, supple, and needed me as much as I needed her. When we came together it was like waves crashing into one another.

Her sweet taste stained me with a desire too strong to ignore. Soft moans slipped from her lips and I knew we weren't going to separate anytime soon. She was mine and I was hers. Within seconds of meeting, I knew the truth of it all.

Winter Claus, daughter of ole Saint Nicholas, would be mine. If the moon had to be sold, the sun drowned, I would go to the end of the universe for her. For this.

"Reynard."

Her voice, a song weaved by sirens and fairies, stunned me into silence as I moved back and looked down into her warm gaze. Her hands shook against my chest and I needed to show her how her legs would mirror them if she just let me love her.

"I want children."

Ok, I was ready for just about anything, but that. Children? Was that code for something? I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my mouth as I lifted her easily off the ground and turned toward the only door we hadn't gone through yet. It had to be the bedroom.

"Good, so do I."

I said that. Fuck, what was going on in my head? Did I want kids with this woman? What if I screwed her and then woke up and regretted it all? Like hell, I would. What if she did? I had a million thoughts and none of them were good, until I opened that door and she leaned in to kiss me.

Her soft arms were wrapped around the back of my neck, her chest pressed against me, and I was rock hard and ready. As I carried her to the bed I didn't see anything around me, my full focus on her. I needed to be above her, behind her, inside her, everything.

Laying her down on sheets of dark green silk she looked up at me and I wanted to cover her in my seed right then and there. Her cheeks were rosy, sweet, and hot like I imagined between her thighs would be.

Kids. She wanted children, but didn't I just say I didn't want any? I did, but I didn't until I knew I could be a good dad. Why was that thought coming back to me over and over again though? Was this woman a good person, a woman I would want to birth my children? A parent I would be proud to raise kids with?

How did she treat kids? Did she have patience, a desire to cuddle a newborn, and love on a toddler during a tantrum? Could I trust her to not be like my own mother? Even knowing how much she hated me my father had stayed with her. Did I want to be like that?

I was hesitating and she saw it. Winter sat up, her hands moving to hold my own.

"It's ok hun. Let me hold you, please?"

Hold me? Like what, a child? Was she insane? I was a foot taller than her and far larger. Surely she didn't think I could do such a thing with no shame. My eyes met hers and there I found honest, pure kindness.

It broke me. She broke into my heart and suddenly I was on the bed, grabbing her up and lying down with her. She waited for me to rest my head on her bountiful chest before she ran her hands into my hair.

"It's okay to feel the pain, honey."

Did she use that nickname on everyone? Honey. It was sweet and endearing, not something people would use on a Yeti. Human looking or not I'm huge and in no way like a child. I couldn't pretend that she was doing that to me though. She wasn't mocking me or treating me as such. She was acting as if I was a person with normal emotions and that is what hurt the most.

My father was the only one who did such things. Did he lead me here, to her, in hopes of healing my pain? Was it wishful thinking if I allowed myself to believe that?

She began to hum a soft tune, my heart achingly aware of the compassionate feel of her embrace. One minute I wanted to fuck her, then I wanted to make love to her, and now what? I wanted to cuddle. What was I, a teddy bear? My mother would laugh if she could see how far I had fallen to find myself here.

Still, my eyes closed against the sound of her calming song. All of the body aches, the cold, the heartbreak of the past few weeks. It was all gone, brushed away by her gentle hand.