Page 36 of Chasing Christmas

He swallows my sounds, breathing them into my lungs and exhaling them back into my mouth in grunts and curses. I take each one eagerly, tasting their shape on my lips, marveling that I have this much power over someone so much larger than life. I wreck and ruin him without even trying, shaking him all the way to his foundation.

He's beautiful when he's discomposed and raw.

He's beautiful when he's vulnerable.

He's beautiful, period.

If I'm a star, he's the sun, eclipsing me with his light. It's so damn bright that it's blinding. And I get to spend the rest of my life basking in it. I get to spend the rest of my life just like this.

Epilogue

Laura

ChristmasEve,FiveYearsLater

"You hab to be quiet!" Clara whispers to her three-year-old sister, Noelle. "Otherwise, mommy is going to find us!"

I bite my lip, trying to contain my laughter as I stand outside of the coat closet, listening. I put them to bed two hours ago, but when Kaiden went to check on them, they were missing in action. Neither of us was surprised. Clara has been peppering us with questions about Santa for days now. She's highly suspicious of the jolly old guy. As far as she's concerned, someone coming down the chimney with a sack of toys made by little people has to be seen to be believed.

She's spent far too long in Hollywood to be dazzled by magic. Unless she sees it with her own two little eyes, it's fake news.

I don't think her daddy is going to fit down the chimney, but he refuses to let the magic of the season die for either of our girls. As soon as he realized they were out of bed, he put two and two together. He's on a mission to satisfy her suspicious little heart and save Christmas.

I swear, he gets sweeter every year. There's nothing he won't do for his girls. We're the most pampered princesses in Hollywood, guarded closely by our stuntman. A lot has changed in the last five years…and some things haven't changed at all.

Kaiden no longer relegates himself to the shadows. It took him a while to readjust to life in the spotlight, but the first time I had to attend a premier dressed to the nines, he quickly decided he was going on my arm. He spent the whole night glowering at anyone with a penis who even tried to get too close.

He's spent every premier and party since doing the same thing. It doesn't bother me in the least. I adore seeing him out in the world again, interacting and socializing. I love seeing him commanding the respect he deserves. And I especially love knowing that when the night ends, I get to go home with him.

I don't care who might be looking at me because he's the only man I see. I know he feels the same way about me. His gaze never drifts far. We're two magnets, constantly drawing one another nearer. I love every minute of it. He's everything to me.

His scar made people nervous at first. But with the truth out in the open and the true depth of his sacrifice known, it changed how people see him. He carried a huge secret for such a long time, and he did it in silence, regardless of the whispers and unkindness tossed his way. He didn't do it for recognition. He didn't do it for an award, applause, clout, or anything people in this town chase daily. He did it to protect a man trying to protect his sister.

I think people in this city look at him now andknowthey'll never measure up. They'll never be half as good as him. It's been a humbling experience for a lot of people. You can't compete where you don't compare, and a lot of people simply don't compare to Kaiden. They never will. He's one of a kind.

And he's all mine. Gossip rags and photographers still bug us once in a while. But it's rare now that the new and shiny has worn off. We're old news, boring news. My life revolves around my husband and my babies. It's hard to make a target out of people who just can't be bothered. Celebrity Tea TIme tried once to run a story questioning the status of our relationship right after we found out I was pregnant with Noelle.

Since we weren't out in public much, I guess they thought it was the perfect time to claim our marriage was on the rocks and we were hiding out because of it.

We shut them up two months later when we announced my pregnancy. Kaiden looked like a fierce, possessive warrior with one hand on my belly and the other wrapped around me. He stared into the camera so defiantly he nearly set it on fire. Everyone remembers those pictures. They don't remember the dumb gossip that came before them.

No one has tried questioning the status of our relationship since, either. Those pictures said everything that needed to be said. The way he looks at me says it. The way he touches me says it. And so does the way I can't take my eyes off him. If we're together, it doesn't matter who else is with us; he's the most important person in the room to me, and everyone knows it.

I never knew love like this existed outside of the movies, but I'm so darn thankful it does. Had I known he was waiting for me in the shadows of that old movie lot, I would have gone running to find him a lot sooner. I'll forever be grateful to Heart and Soul Studios for convincing him to take the job working on The Naughty List. Having him on set every day brought us so much closer together.

"I wanna see Santa," Noelle pouts from inside the closet. "You said we would see Santa, Cwara."

"You hab to be quiet, then. If mommy catches us, we'll neber find out if he's really real."

"He is real!" Noelle says indignantly. "Daddy said so. He said Santa bringed mommy to him."

"Santa doesn't bring people."

"He bringed mommy!"

My heart melts. Of course, Kaiden would tell the girls that, the sweet man.

"He bringed us too."