Covenant Series Extras

Aiden and Alex Christmas Special

I rolled my eyes.

“Come on.” He dropped a heavy hand on my back, between my shoulder blades, and my breath stalled.

I was effectively silenced by his touch. Perhaps that was why he did it. Not many people would blame him and probably wished they wielded that kind of power over me.

Aiden stopped in front of door that had no windows, and my imagination jumped out of PG-13 territory into NC-17. He dug a ring of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

Stepping aside, he motioned me into the dark room. I inched in, looking over my shoulder. “Uh, you aren’t going to lock me in a dark room or something? Right?”

Aiden chuckled as he stepped in, closing the door and plunging the room into utter darkness. My eyes bugged and I stood perfectly still. I knew this room held one of the sensory deprivation chambers.

Warm air brushed over my cheek, stirring the hair around my temple. A shiver danced over my skin and I closed my eyes. There was a sound of a switch being thrown.

“Open your eyes, Alex.” Aiden’s voice was tantalizing close to my ear.

I did and my mouth dropped open.

It looked like… like Christmas threw up in the room.

And I loved it.

“Oh…” Words failed me.

Christmas lights were strung across the walls, blanketing the sensory chamber to the right. A six foot Christmas tree was in the center of the room, draped in silvery tinsel that matched Aiden’s eyes. Shiny bulbs covered the tree.

I went to it slowly, as if in a daze.

Garland was everywhere—red and green. There were huge red stockings hanging from a cabinet. On top was a lamppost with a face.

“See the red button?” Aiden said from behind me. “Push it.”

I did with one shaky finger. Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer played. I started to laugh, but it got stuck in my throat.

“It plays a bunch of songs.” Aiden’s lashes hid his eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you had a favorite.”

“It’s perfect.” I turned around. A dozen candle canes were piled under the tree, along with what looked like milk and cookies. My breath caught. “Aiden…”

There was even a Charlie Brown tree in the corner. The branches were skinny and bare, drooping under the weight of the glassy red and green bulbs. I managed to laugh past the lump in my throat. I had no idea how he managed to get all of this in here without a million questions being asked. It was amazing—he was amazing.

“Oh, my gods, Aiden…” I went to the little tree, blinking back tears. Gods, I was about to break down like a girlie girl watching The Notebook or something.

“Seth and Deacon helped too,” Aiden said, hands in his pockets.

My gaze shot to the sexy elf in a red bikini lined in white fur photo. I grinned. “I bet they did.”

Aiden swooped down and as he stood, he handed me a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. I grinned as I took them. “Did… did you make these?”

Aiden tipped his head back and laughed. “No. Deacon did. He broke out the red and green sprinkles just for you.”

I blinked again as I bit down into the sugary goodness. Happy tears burned my eyes. “Thank you so much, Aiden. Honestly, you… you have no idea.”
He shrugged. “Don’t need to thank me for this.”

It seemed I was never supposed to thank him, but what he’d done for me—what the other guys had helped with—had my chest swelling. Any moment I would float right up to the ceiling. I finished off the cookies and milk, trying to keep it together.

“Anyway,” he said. “You can spend as much time in here as you want—are you crying?” Aiden moved to my side. His hand curved over my shoulder.

“No—not at all.” I forced a laugh and sat the plate and cup aside. “I just can’t believe you guys did this.” I took in the room again and then looked up, meeting his eyes. “I love Christmas. I love this…”

His smile turned tender. “I know. That’s why we did this. You deserve a little holiday cheer.”

I wasn’t so sure I deserved all of this. “It was your idea, wasn’t it?”

Aiden gaze drifted over my face. No answer. Of course, he had. This was Aiden—the kind of guy who listened to my senseless babble about a holiday he never celebrated and caught on to how much it meant to me. And then not take any real credit for it. Part of me melted.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He glanced up. “Huh, look here.”

My gaze followed his and my heart flipped flopped. A leafy green plant hung from the ceiling. Two red berries glistened in the twinkling light.

Yep, now my heart stopped.

“I do believe there is some kind of custom associated with this plant,” Aiden said, turning his gaze back to my own wide-eyed stare. “What do they call it?”

“Mistletoe.”

His lips spread into a slow, bone-melting smile. “Hmm…”

I had nothing to say. Nada.

Aiden lowered his head. Thick lashes swept down, shielding his eyes, but I saw them flash silver before they were hidden from me. My own eyes fluttered shut as my heart raced, my legs weakened. I felt his warm breath first, over my lips and then the soft as a breath kiss.

He took my hand, brought it to his mouth and placed a kiss against the center of my palm. “Merry Christmas, Alex.”

I sighed, happier than I could remember. “Merry Christmas, Aiden.”