Chapter 100

Chapter 100
Kaelen's POV

I wake up smiling. For the first time in years, Christmas morning doesn't feel like a burden. In the place of forced smiles and cold mansion halls is soft grey light filtering through the curtains, snow drifting past the window in quiet flakes, and the steady warmth of Jordan's body next to mine under the thick blanket.

I get to spend it with the boy I love most. This is the best present I could have asked for.

I turn onto my side and watch him sleep for a while. His face is relaxed, lips slightly parted, one arm flung over the pillow. I lean in and press a slow kiss to the corner of his mouth, unable to resist.

Jordan makes a quiet sound and shifts toward me without opening his eyes. I kiss him again, softer this time, then along his jaw, then the side of his neck. His hand finds my waist, his fingers curling sleepily against my skin.

"Morning," I whisper against his throat.

He hums, eyes still closed. "Mmm... morning."

I keep kissing him unhurriedly until he tilts his head and meets my mouth properly, engaging in a long, she sensual kiss. We pull apart just long enough to rest my forehead against his for a moment, just breathing him in. "I can't remember the last time I actually woke up happy on Christmas."

His hand slides up my back under my shirt, caressing steadily. It's so peaceful. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I brush my nose against his. "It used to just be... expectations and everyone watching. This is the first time it feels like mine. Like I get to actually enjoy it."

He looks at me for a long second, then leans in and kisses me again, slower this time. "I'm glad you are here," he murmurs against my lips. "In this house. In this bed with me."

"Me too." My voice comes out quieter than I wanted it too. "I keep waiting for someone to tell me I have to leave or put on a suit or smile for a camera but there is no one. It's just us."

Jordan smiles against my mouth. "No. Just us and our chosen family."

His fingers trace lazy patterns along my spine. Mine slide into his hair. Eventually our lips meet again and the kisses grow deeper. I push his shirt higher and lean down to kiss across his chest, taking my time with each nipple until his back arches and his fingers tighten in my hair. When I finally pull the shirt off him completely, he does the same to me.

I work my way lower, kissing down his stomach, lingering at the waistband of his sleep pants. Jordan lifts his hips to help me tug them down. I take him into my mouth slowly, savoring the way his breath catches and his hand settles gently at the back of my head. I stay there for a long time, using my tongue and hand until he is trembling and whispering my name.

When I finally pull back, he is looking at me with dark, heated eyes. "What was that?"

"Just... an early Christmas morning present."

"Come here," he says, his voice tough.

I climb back up his body. I take my time opening him up, two fingers, then three, curling until he gasps and grips my wrist. Only when he is ready and asking for me do I slick myself and push in slowly.

I start with deep, rolling thrusts. Soft moans follow along the quiet creak of the bed. Snow falling outside the window. Jordan's hands on my back, my hips, pulling me closer with every stroke. We keep kissing between breaths, sharing the same air, the same rhythm.

"I love you," I whisper against his mouth.

"I love you too," he answers, his voice breaking on the words.

We move together until the pleasure builds too high to hold back. Jordan comes first with a soft, broken sound, clenching around me. The feeling pulls me over right after him. I bury my face in his neck and come hard, holding him tight as the waves roll through both of us.

Afterward we stay tangled together, sweaty and sated. I press soft kisses to his temple, his cheek, the corner of his mouth. His fingers drift lazily along my side as he looks at me.

"Every morning should be Christmas morning," he says. "That was nice."

I grin against his mouth. "That can be arranged." We kiss one more time, lingering close before I pull back. "Wait. I've got something else for you."

I swing off the bed, the cold air hitting my bare skin for a second, and dig through my bag for the small wrapped box I hid there last night. When I turn back, Jordan is sitting up against the headboard, the blanket pooled around his waist, hair a mess and eyes soft. I hold the box out to him.

He takes it carefully, his eyebrows lifting. "Shouldn't presents be downstairs under the Christmas tree?"

I blink. "What? Why?"

Jordan laughs under his breath. "That's what happens when families gather around to open presents together." I stare at him for a second, genuinely confused. He tilts his head, studying my face. "You never did that, did you?"

I shake my head. "Christmas for us looked different, I guess. We would take family photos, then everyone would be free to do whatever they wanted. I mostly just went over to Elise's and we would—" I stop myself mid-sentence, remembering he doesn't need the reminder of what Elise and I used to do. I clear my throat. "Anyway, getting each other gifts didn’t follow a certain tradition."

The quiet that follows feels too heavy. Jordan is looking at me with that soft, understanding expression that always makes my chest ache a little. For the first time I realize how empty those Christmases actually were.

Jordan reaches out and takes both my hands, his thumbs brushing over my knuckles. "We can start our own tradition," he says gently. "It doesn't have to be putting presents under the tree." He squeezes my fingers. "This right here— just you and me feels great."

Before I can answer, he swings his legs off the bed and pulls open the top drawer of the nightstand. He takes out a small wrapped box of his own and holds it up with a sheepish smile.

"I forgot to put yours under the tree too. Thought I'd manage to wake up before you did and place it, but that doesn't matter now. We can do it right here."

I look at the two little boxes sitting between us on the bed. For a moment I consider it. It would be something nice and easy and just ours. Then I frown. "When the others open theirs... what will we be doing?"

Jordan shrugs, still smiling. "We will just be onlookers."

I shake my head almost immediately. "No. Let's do it your family way. I want to be a part of something beautiful... which this already sounds like it is."

Jordan's expression softens even more. He leans in and kisses me once, quick and warm. "Okay. Family way it is."

As if on cue, music suddenly blasts through the house— loud, cheerful Christmas music, followed by Mr Summers' voice belting along at the top of his lungs, something about jingling bells and open sleighs. The whole house seems to vibrate with it.

I turn to Jordan, startled. He just laughs, his eyes bright. "That is yet another family tradition," he says. "He does that every year. It means we need to get up or he will come knocking aggressively to drag us out."

I stare at him for a second, then start laughing too. The sound of it— loud music, and the promise of a real family Christmas fills a part of me I didn't even know was still empty.

"I want to be here for all Christmases for as long as I'm alive,” I say, and I mean every word. "This is fun."

"That could be a really long time, you know?"

"I know," I shrug. "And I'm good with that."

Jordan laughs, "You are something else."