Page 33 of Bonded By Christmas

“Good.” He rubs up my sides, and my eyes clench shut.

It feels amazing, and physically, I’m exhausted.

My mind is another story. “Are Grim and Cal okay?”

The bond is intact, but outside of that, I can’t pick up much at all. I know Grim is in one piece, but I think he might be blocking me from peeking around at his thoughts. That, or he’s too far away at this moment to feel him as clearly as I did when we were right next to one another.

“I haven’t been updated, which means everything is fine. Don’t worry about anything,” Wilder says. “You’re now permanently tied to Grim, and he’s one of my best friends. I’m not going to let anything happen to him. I can assure you of that.”

“Thank you, Wilder.”

“Always. Now, tell me what you want for Christmas.”

“That was random.” I snort.

“I want to get to know you. Keeping your mind busy doesn’t hurt either.” His palm smooths up my spine and under Grim’sshirt. He cradles the back of my neck, rubbing his fingers into the tops of my shoulders. “What’s on your wish list?”

I groan as he works back down, running over a knot. “I’ll be happy as long as Grim is okay. I’m not sure how I’ll keep my apartment with no job?—”

“Oh no, darling. We’re not talking about any of that,” Wilder says, gently digging what feels like his thumb into the nodule between my shoulder blades. “This is all whimsy. What would you like if you knew Santa would deliver everything on your list?”

I laugh.

There’s never been a time in my life when I haven’tgreatlytruncated my list for birthdays and Christmas. I knew my mom would do her best to deliver everything I asked for, but I also didn’t want her to have to work more hours to make thosewantshappen. I got to spend so little time with her as it was that even the few days off that she took for Christmas felt like a gift in and of themselves.

“Get to talking before I scoot down enough that I can get to spanking,” Wilder says with humor lining his tone.

My eyes pop open, and I glare at him over my shoulder. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.” Even the way he says it sends an unnatural thrill through my body.

So cocky.

So confident.

SoWilder.

“Thinking about these things takes time.”

“You’ve got thirty seconds.” His lips tip up, and my silly heart races.

Dammit.

“Come on, little sister. Time is ticking.”

“Comfy pajamas,” I blurt out. “Slippers and a robe. I’ve always wanted to start building a Christmas village. You know, the little pieces you can collect, like the school, post office, the town square. Whatever those things are.”

“That’s a good start. What else?”

There’s not much that I need.

“I thought about getting a kitten.” I stop myself from mentioning that I doubt I will now with everything still so up in the air.

“I knew there was more.” He chuckles. “Honestly, that’s still a pretty light list. Put some more thought into it, or you’ll drive Grim crazy when he asks you what you want. Then again, I suppose he has the bond on his side.”

“Yeah,” I whisper, still blown away by everything that changed today.

“Relax and mull over what else you want to ask for,” Wilder says softly. “And that’s not even counting courting gifts.”