Winter Wonderland

"Bah humbug!" Mused Anna's gentle voice, with as much emotion in it as the snow blanketing her car as it sat in idle. The sedan's purring engine sat in wait for the depression of her foot on the gas pedal for longer than an hour, the gear in reverse about to pull out of her driveway. Here she hemmed and she hawed over the prospect of shutting off her car and trudging back inside the warmth waiting for her behind that door. Grumbling softly, she leaned back in her seat, envisioning their faces when Scrooge came in the place of Anna McTaggert this year. "Yeah ... that's what I'd tell 'em! All 'o them!"

How she hated her company Christmas party, but as the vice CEO's grand vizier of party planning, she had little choice otherwise. Chuck had made it obvious that her promotion was riding on her appearance at this party. Anna knew that Candi Davenport would be there, trussed up like Christmas ham and just as delectable. People called her Candelicious, and with good reason ... or so she heard. It wasn't by her smarts that she got the head administration position. Everyone would buzz about her like bees to honey, with her far on the outs ... quiet mousy Anna.

The plush lower twin was caught between her teeth, worried almost as viciously as was her conscience. Chuck was depending on her to make sure everything went smoothly. He'd even touched her shoulder and flashed that winning smile that made her knees melt into puddles of jelly and want to sink to the floor.

Chuck had eyes like warm, melted chocolate, as wide and expressive as they were infinitely alluring. His chiseled features could be granite hard, cold and as devilishly handsome while he delivered a deadline and a complete dream on two legs with a deep, baritone laugh that was horribly infectious. He stood a full head taller than her, and often looked down with a twinkle in those rich brown eyes.

Then there was her own dowdiness, easily overshadowed by him. Her hair was often flyaway strands of burnished copper, held unsteadily back with a simple clip. Horn-rimmed glasses were perched on her too-thin nose, ever having to be pushed back up so that she might see through the thick lenses. Slender limbs were frail boned, scrawny in her opinion, and tipped in spidery fingers that were nimble if nothing else. Petite figure was often hidden by shapeless dresses and oversized sweaters. Cinnamon sprinkles dappled her shoulders and small breasts, flowing in freckled shading down her back, a feature she found most unseemly.

Chuck never paid her much attention. That is, unless he wanted something, but it was better than nothing, right? Sighing softly, she pulled off the break and let the car slide into the lane before she shifted gears and started off towards the party. Better than nothing.

The route to the office was blown in by ice, the streets muddled by the fine whiteness that filtered from the heavens. She drove the treacherous path carefully, as she always did, with chains on her tires to keep from skidding. But sometimes even the most cautious of drivers fall prey to nature's icy wrath. Into the fray of the blizzard she felt the wheels slip underneath, tires spinning on the ice in an attempt to find a grip. Jerking the steering wheel to the opposite side of the skid, Anna tried to regain control, and did for a long while until the road disappeared from underneath her from an unseen curve. The sedan vaulted into the air, poised above the steep slope for a few seconds before coming crashing down, tumbling end over end. Through the sounds of crashing metal and glass, she couldn't hear herself scream.

Her thick lashes fluttered open, stormy gray pair blankly flickering about before focusing on a face above her. The expression on the smooth features was one of concern, almond shaped eyes the color of deep forest focusing on her own as she looked at him. He was deeply tanned, toned by years in the sun and lots of hard work making him hard as steel, at least that's how he looked.

Satisfied she was alert and seriously unharmed, the man flashed a wide smile and she took notice of the tendrils of hair floating over his pointed ears was as green as his eyes... pointed ears? Green hair? Yeah ... I'm dead, she thought. But the pain was real, as was the fact that the snow still floated down in silent descent and she couldn't feel the cold.

Again came that smile, a lopsided rakish smile that was all devil-may-care and inviting at the same time. It made her insides quiver. Even in this cold, he wore no shirt. Only a pair of leather breeches clung tightly to his wiry figure, slender hands reaching behind her head to adjust the pillow she'd been laying on. So that's where his shirt went.

"Are you all right?" His voice sounded reedy, like willows blown by a warm spring breeze. A haunting melody in so many few words. Shivering again, she couldn't help her own smile in forming.

"I .. I think so." There was a small bump on her forehead that stung when she touched it. Frowning at her pain, he bent closer, pressing his lips against the little wound gently. His kiss sent waves of warmth flowing over her, bleeding into every pore and sending goosebumps prickling her skin. He was so close Anna could smell him ... wood and leather, male musk. She caught her breath, a shiver racing the length of her spine and found her own hands falling to his shoulders, hoping he'd linger there so close.

He pulled away, but not out of her arms. Just enough for her smile to swim in front of her vision. "Am I dreaming?" Came her soft voice, sounding so alien to her at that moment. "Who are you?"

His smile seemed to brighten, widening with some hidden amusement he found in her words as the lashes lowered slightly over those rich green eyes. He was looking at her lips, an odd kind of hunger entering his eyes as if he hadn't tasted a kiss in eons. That look sent a new volley of shivers coursing through her and her hands involuntarily clenched on his shoulders, her body responding to the need she saw in his eyes.

"My name is Arowyn... I pulled you from the wreckage." That fluid voice was somehow both soothing and exciting at the same time. Anna could feel her nipples tighten into hard nubs underneath the oversized Santa sweater. With his close proximity, she was certain he'd noticed as well.

"How can I thank you ..." Anna hoped he'd know just how she'd like to thank him as she watched his gaze fall to her lips once more. A flash of pink was shown as she moistened the suddenly dry pair. There was a sound low in his throat that sounded something like a cat's growl, soft and rolling in his chest that sent the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

His head dipped slightly, putting those lips within reach and grazing them slightly when he spoke. "Let me have you ... " Snow filtered around him, sparkling like slow falling stars, and tangling in the mass of dark green strands that veiled their conversation from the outside world. Her spidery digits curled lightly, chewed fingernails biting into skin ever so slightly and garnering a soft hiss of pleasure between clenched teeth. His lips were so close, she could taste his breath, so warm and alive, as it tumbled over her own and making them tingle.

"I'm yours." A simple reply, condemning her to a fate unknown but still wantonly desired.

Lower still his head dipped, pressing his hungry mouth to hers with that purring growl rumbling deep in his chest. She arched her slim body towards his, finding his weight pinning her to the soft earth underneath. Slow hands found started at her hips, sliding down over her thighs and drew the woolen skirt higher for her palms to meet her thighs as they shook. His own long fingers kneaded her flesh reverently, adoring the creamy skin for long moments before he moved higher. Her knees lifted, framing his hips as he gave a grind, to which her body responded with hips tilting towards him eagerly. Anna broke the kiss to inhale a shaky sigh, another arch in her spine offering her body up to his hands.

He sat back, kneeling between her spread thighs and slid his hands over the sensitive inner skin there, mapping the feel of her with calloused palms. The rough skin made her tingle, thighs tightening slightly and hips tilting again to offer the barely veiled flower to him, already moist and waiting. His chest heaved with anticipation, dark greens focused on the blue silk that was the only barrier to his treasure. Thumbs hooked under the straps and his nails grazed her skin as they were pulled away, leaving a tingling wake that invoked a new wave of delightful little shivers. His name tumbled off her lips in a heated whisper, that rakish smile curling his lips once more and his fingers delving into her warm wetness.

Anna gasped sharply, unprepared for the delicious wave of pleasure that broke over her then, his fingers slowly plunging deep into her then retracting. If that was startling, his mouth on her hot lower lips gave her something new to compare it to. Burnished strands spilt over the snow when she tossed her head back, a ragged sigh escaping her lips. Burying his nose in the soft whorls of burgundy, he dragged his tongue over her most sensitive flesh, swiveling it in tight circles about the nub that soon made her bathe his tongue in her honeyed delight. Twisting and writhing underneath his skilled ministrations, she could only moan and lift her hips to him in a silent plea for more. Arowyn greedily drank her nectar, lapping at her lips until she was cleaned of all traces.

The skirt was soon shed, sweater following suit to be strewn over the landscape. Her hungry hands returned the favor, laving over his shoulders and chest to map the feel of him to her hands. Slowly, she trailed the little hills and valleys the toned flesh made until they found the tie in his breeches and deftly untied the knot there.

Arowyn closed his eyes, immersing himself in the feel of her touch on his flesh. The bulge at his lap was growing painfully taut, and was soon relieved by her nimble little fingers to the tune of his pleased sigh. His ready stiffness sprang alert at her touch, glistening tip seeking the sheath it craved and finding only the caress of her fingers. He pushed his hips a little closer and her fingers folded around him, stroking slowly at first then gaining a little speed as she grew more bold. Her hands adored him, exploring his throbbing length in her hands until he could bear no more and he pulled away, crushing his mouth to hers in a torrid kiss and setting his hips between the frame of her parted thighs.

He'd kissed her tender lips raw, ravenous for the taste of her honeyed mouth and their tongues dancing together in primordial rhythm. Arowyn was the one to break this time as he sunk himself deep inside of her. He brought his mouth to her exposed throat, keeping still inside of her as her tight walls got used to his prescience there, though the waiting was killing him. She'd never felt such electricity in her whole life. Even when Chuck smiled. It was consuming her, starting from the apex of her thighs and blazing outwards to every extremity. Her soft moan vibrated under the caress of his kisses that blazed a trail over her throat to her ear, his warm breath and soft voice tumbling over the labyrinthine curves. "Are you ready, beloved?"

Gulping a breath, she nodded, her arms winding about his shoulders to send those chewed nails into his skin, raking down slowly. He arched against her nails and retracted his length. She whimpered, feeling so vacant without him, then was filled once more. Slowly he kept the pace, working himself deep until her lips kissed his base then nearly pulling out fully, only to repeat the process. His pace would increase, grinding hips sinking himself at a more heated pace with her ragged sighs punctuating every sweet plunge.

Bringing a hand up, he clenched one of the small breasts in his hand, the tightened tip rolled between thumb and forefinger. She gave a pitched little moan to which he smiled against her skin and repeated the little pinch, coupled with a timed grind of his hips. He forced delicious waves of pleasure to break over her with every push, lips blazing a trail lower over her sweet throat to drag his tongue over the freckles, tasting them like he would lick the cinnamon from the cream. Her hips bucked against his in response, her soft moans pleading for his brand of release.

Anna twined her fingers in the dark green hair, nails grating against his scalp, her own hips rotating about his axis as the tightening began low in her belly. His free hand slipped to the unattended breast, cupping the perfect handful for the taut tip to peek through his fingers. Bending low over her, his mouth claimed the roseate peak and suckled, tongue swirling in slow wet circles. She gasped, her inner muscles clenching around his invading flesh in the most intimate of embraces that sent him spiraling out of control. So near to her ultimate delight, he drove harder, wicked piston filling her repeatedly until the dam broke and the flood of her liquid pleasure washed over him hotly. Hands fall to her hips, clenching on the slim handles and driving harder still until his own release boiled up and flowed inside of her, spreading a warmth to blanket the both of them in it's loving glow.

Anna woke in a pristine white room, stiffly starched sheets pulled to her chin and a bandage wound too tightly about her head. With a soft moan, she pushed herself upwards, searching the room in a bleary eyed panic, searching for her elven lover. His name died on her lips as she was about to call out for him when the door opened, bearing Chuck, Candi and the rest of her office party compatriots. In Chucks hand was a bouquet of poinsettias held by a get well bear that looked like he bought it in the hospital lobby. Candi, still trussed up like a Christmas ham in the short, shimmering red gown that looked like wrapping paper, complete with it's bow at her navel, curled her red lacquered lips into a bright smile. "Merry Christmas, Anna" Came her gaudy voice, thick with liquor and too many cigarettes. Anna fixed the jaded blonde with a confused look, turning her stormy gray eyes to Chuck for an explanation.

"We called your house looking for you, and when we got no answer, called the cops. They found you lying beside your car with only the bump on your head." Anna lifted a hand to that little injury, wincing when the pain shocked through her head. Groaning softly, she wished Arowyn were there to kiss away the pain, but it was a dream ... a lovely wonderland dream.

"We're all so glad you're o.k., Anna." It was Candi again, trying to get herself back into the limelight by playing the concerned friend. "We were all so worried." This was affirmed by a number of nods and murmurs of agreement.

Blinking back sudden tears, she paid no notice to the entering nurse as he started to usher out the crowd. That is, until she head a familiar reedy voice, stern but gentle. "Come now, Miss McTaggert needs her rest." Anna's eyes shot back open, catching the nurse in the blue-gray scrubs pushing the visitors out. A sight she'd relish for years to come.

Once gone, he turned to her, that rakehell smile curling the lips she'd kissed with burning need over and over again. She could feel her body reacting to his presence all over again, flushing in a wild anticipation. "My name's Aaron, and I'll be your nurse ... just call on me whenever you need me." His smile widened, as did hers, and he closed the distance between the door and the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leaned over her and pressed a gentle kiss to that throbbing ache in her head. At once, the pain receded, warmth flooding her every pore and sending gooseflesh prickling her skin. Merry Christmas indeed!