GENRE: Gay Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 8,048 words
RATING:

Six months on from meeting in Heat Wave: Newark, Ben Knight and Aaron Jones face a totally different type of weather as they prepare for their first Christmas together in small town Maine.

All Aaron wants for Christmas is Ben home safe and sound from a long haul ride along I-95, as well as to hear the words "I love you" from his man's lips. But when the snow starts to fall and Ben is still one day away from home, Aaron's hopes begin to fade.

Can Ben make it home safely? And what's with the gifts under the tree, each with a different hand-drawn image?

It promises to be a Christmas neither man will soon forget.

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Aaron looked out the windshield of Ben’s pickup at the wipers doing their best to clean off the steadily falling snow. His gaze drifted down to Ben’s big, capable hands on the wheel, controlling the vehicle with seeming ease, despite the worsening state of the roads. The heater was going full blast but Aaron still shivered in his heavy coat. He couldn’t remember it ever being this cold back home in London.

“You okay?” Ben asked, lifting his right hand from the wheel to squeeze Aaron’s knee.

“I’m fine,” Aaron said quietly, trying not to let Ben hear his teeth chatter. It was maybe the look of the snow that made him feel cold rather than the temperature inside the pickup. “Just didn’t want to distract you from driving.”

Ben chuckled and patted his knee. “You’re a cute distraction.”

Aaron wanted to pout. He wasn’t cute, but his concern over not distracting Ben was uppermost in his mind. “Didn’t want you to wreck the truck. These roads are atrocious.”

Ben laughed. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. By the end of the winter there’ll be at least eight feet of snow.”

Aaron couldn’t imagine. He looked out at the now-dark landscape and didn’t know where they were. “Have you missed the turning for our house?” Ever since the beginning when Ben showed Aaron his duplex, his brother, sister-in-law, and three young nephews living next door, Aaron had thought of it as home.

“Not going home.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow, his sense of feeling the cold replaced with curiosity. This was soon replaced with concern. “You’re exhausted. We should be going straight home so you can take a shower then eat then go to sleep.” Okay, Aaron really wanted Ben to bend him over the bed’s footboard, the kitchen counter, the back of the couch, or maybe all three, and fuck the snot out of him, but he didn’t want to come across as selfish or needful.

“Remembered what you said about never having a real Christmas tree growing up, so we’re going to get us a tree.”

“Really?” Aaron squeaked in surprise. A delicious image sprang into his mind. “I finally get to see my bear, in the woods, swinging an axe?” He leaned over in his seat and kissed Ben’s cheek.

“Not exactly. We’re going to a tree farm. It’s illegal to just go into the woods and chop down a tree.”

“Oh.” Aaron lost a bit of his enthusiasm.

“But I still get to swing an axe.”

“Awesome!” That deserved another kiss. Aaron would have gone further but he was still mindful of Ben’s need to concentrate on the road. They were in the boonies now and without the aid of streetlights. But lights soon appeared up ahead, Ben flipped on his turn signal and entered a mostly-deserted parking lot.

“Park over there.” Aaron pointed to a spot in the far right-hand corner.

“Why?” Ben asked, driving to the desired spot.

“Because this is the first chance I’ve had to properly say hello to my sexy-as-sin boyfriend.”

Ben shook his head. “Not sexy.” He turned off the engine along with the heater.

Aaron undid his seatbelt and launched himself onto Ben’s lap. There was a lot less room to maneuver in the pickup than in the cab of Ben’s huge Freightliner, but Aaron would work with what he had. He planted his lips on Ben’s and swiped his tongue across Ben’s mouth. Ben soon opened up and Aaron’s tongue went questing forward, exploring every familiar bump, ridge, and crevice. Ben tasted familiar, right, “Sexy.” Aaron pulled back slightly and licked then kissed Ben’s nose. “Sexy.” He kissed Ben’s right eye then the left. “Sexy.” Next Aaron lifted Ben’s baseball cap and repeatedly kissed the man’s bald head. “Sexy.”

“Okay, okay,” Ben said, rubbing Aaron’s arms through the man’s thick coat.

“Haven’t finished,” Aaron said huskily, unbuttoning Ben’s jacket then his red and black flannel shirt. Kissing Ben’s exposed upper chest, Aaron once again said, “Sexy.”

“I hope you’re not going to go any farther, don’t want to get arrested for lewd behavior or whatever.”