Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 25

"Besides, can you imagine the wrath that will befall me if your grandmother discovers I'm the reason for your absence during Christmas?" he asked. "Tarring and feathering may have gone out of style, but if anyone can bring it back, it's Emily Gilmore."

The visual made Rory laugh. "She is a willful one."

He extricated his hands from her grasp and held her face. "So what do you say?"

Rory gazed at the man before her—he who was willing to put her needs above his own—as her chest swelled with emotion. Sometimes she wondered if he was even real. "I want you to have a good Christmas, too."

"I will," he said with a resolute nod.

She let out a slow breath. "Christmas in Nantucket it is."

He grinned, his hands sliding down the sides of her neck and down her shoulders.

She grabbed hold of his wrists again. "Do you think you can behave?"

His eyes sparkled with mischief as leaned closer, stopping when their mouths were a hair's breadth apart. Then he tilted his head and skimmed his lips along the edge of her jaw, coming to a stop at her ear. "Never," he whispered.

An unexpected shiver racked her body even as liquid heat flowed through her veins.

"You cold?" he asked, his hands smoothing across her back and down her sides.

She shook her head and moved closer until their bodies were flush, her bare skin meeting with his. And then there were no more words, no more plans and jokes, and all that remained were Rory and Jess and the steam.

After, they lay tangled in bed until late into the night, talking about anything and everything. They discussed movies and books and music, speculated on who would die next on Game of Thrones, argued over the merits (if any) of Nickelback. By the time the sun began its rise, they were both exhausted but still fighting sleep.

"Tell me something else," Jess said even as his eyelids began to drift shut.

Rory mumbled something unintelligible beside him as she snuggled into his chest.

"Mmm?" he asked, gathering her closer. When she didn't reply, he forced his eyes open and saw that she had fallen asleep. He watched her for a few moments, a smile touching his lips at her peaceful, unguarded state. And for the first time in a long time—at the very least since discovering he'd lost all of his material possessions—he felt a calm settle over him like a warm blanket.

Because despite having lost everything, here in his arms, he still had more than any one man deserved.

"So this is Truncheon," Rory said as they walked through the main workspace, passing by desks that sat lonely and deserted for the weekend. She followed Jess through dark hallways, all the way to the back where dozens of large machines reside. She'd toured a printing press before but Truncheon was a cut above, more organized and grander in scale. "This place is massive."

Jess let out a soft laugh as he walked beside her. "It's okay for what it is."

She flashed him a dubious look. "You're kidding. I've been walking so long, I'm starting to get blisters. Pretty sure Stephen King based his first book on this tour."

Jess stopped, let out a breath, then turned his back. "Hop on," he said, crouching down.

Rory snorted. "I was kidding."

He looked over his shoulder, motioning with his head. "Get on, Gilmore."

"But I'm too heavy."

He snickered. "Trust me, you're not."