You Lied to Me, so Right Your Wrong (Raivh & Loveme)

Sipping her hot chocolate as he some what explained herself, she laughed gently. "You were worse then an ass." Her voice was calm, quite and relaxed. He wasnt off the hook yet. He still had a while before he would redeem his self. Shaking her head, she moved her gaze to the cocca in her mug. Swishing it around to keep it stirred.

"It should of..." Her voice trailed off as she watched the mug slide across the table. Bella had noticed the same tension that he had. No longer angry tension, more so of a sex tension. Finishing her cocca, she set the mug down on the table and coughed into her hand. When she turned to see where he had gone, she had noticed that he was no longer in the kitchen. Shaking her head, she pushed her own chair back and set the mug in the sink. Slipping her snow jacket off, she moved into the hallway where the coat closet was. Before hanging it up, she grabbed her camera out of the pocket. Wrapping the length of cord around her neck, she hung the coat up and shut the door.

Making her way back into the livingroom, she had discovered where Kayden had went. Stopping, she twisted her face up in concentration. Sighing, she finally spoke. "Kayden... Do you want to come see what three years of photography school left me with?" She didnt wait for answer, because she was headed down the other hallway. Turning to the left, she entered the room across from her parents room. It was the office and computer room. Bella preceeded to take her memory card out and stick it into the computer. Bella could feel her nose starting to run as she spun around in her das office chair. When she finally heard the computer beep: letting her know that the pictures were now uploaded.

She scrolled through them, deleting the bad ones. Bella had actually hoped he would come and see them, sit with her. Mabe if they became use to spending time together again, it would make things easier.

Engrossed in thought when she entered the room and spoke to him, it took a minute for her question to register. He hadn’t forgotten she’d gone to school for photography. Curious about her work, he rose to his feet, took a trip to the bathroom, and then joined her in the computer room. Pulling up a wooden chair beside her, he smiled at her. Even as the smile faded he continued to study the side of her face, noting particular features he liked best: the slender arch of her brows, her nose, the tint of her cheeks, and her lips. He couldn’t see her eyes very well from his angle, so he focused on the screen instead so that she could share her work with him.

Listening quietly, every now and then he’d glance from the screen to her face. At one point, he reached out to pull a few stray hairs behind her ear. The feel of her cheek against his fingertips was as it always had been; smooth and warm, familiar. His jaw tightened and he swallowed, glad for the interruption when Brenda came in to ask him if he’d eaten after waking up that afternoon.

“Well, there are plenty of leftovers,” she said, smiling. Her eyes followed Kayden’s as his drifted to Bella. Rising from his chair, his arm brushed against hers. “Bella, why don’t you help your young man, now that you two seem to be getting along again?”

Kayden laughed airily, and shook his head, glancing back at Bella. “I’ll just make a sandwich, it’s fine.” That said, he wandered out of the room, past her mother, and disappeared from sight. Brenda remained where she stood in the doorway, watching her daughter with a smile on her face.

“Do you know what happened to my mistletoe?” she asked. There was a cheerful, teasing glint in her eyes as she turned to walk back out into the living room. A clatter came from the kitchen, followed by a few muttered words from Kayden, and Brenda called back over her shoulder. “Bella! He’s making a mess.”

In the kitchen, Kayden was busy holding up and trying to set back a shelf in the fridge, not entirely sure how he’d knocked it down in the first place. “Damn it,” he growled, red in the face.

Hearing him enter the room, she smiled to herself. It was progress between the two of them. As he pulled the chair up next to her, she hit the slideshow button on the screen and set back. Feeling his gaze on her, she couldn’t help but grin. The strays of hair had been bugging her up until he pulled them back behind her ear.

The tension followed them no matter where they went. It only seemed to be growing more and more every time he touched her or she touched him. When she heard her mother standing in the door frame, she was glad. Her body was starting to feel the heat, the sexual tension that the two possessed. “He isn’t my man mom…” She spoke through gritted teeth, finding that it was hard to say that. Shaking her head, she watched Kayden. “Oh, he isn’t off the hook yet. He has a LONG way to go.” Bella put a lot more emphasis on the long. Grinning, she laughed softly.

“Hmm… what mistletoe? That on the front porch? Ask dad, I saw him doing something with it.” Shrugging innocently, she smiled. Watching as she left, Bella turned to face the screen again. Starting to shut it down, she heard the beating and banging coming from the kitchen; followed by her mom’s screaming. Bella shook her head as she stood. Coughing a few times as she leaned against the door frame that led into the kitchen.
Laughing to herself, she crossed her arms and watching Kayden trying to put the shelf back in the fridge. Shaking her head, she quietly moved to his side, taking the shelf and placing it back in the spot it had fallen from. “You make a mess, and mom comes hollering for me. Funny how that is isn’t it?” turning around, she brushed her arm against his chest, feeling her throat become tight as she did. Glancing back towards him, she couldn’t help but laugh even more.

Some how, he had managed to get some left over mashed potatoes on his face. Sighing as she walked over to him, she stopped in front of him. Bella had to look upwards to see him, but she stood on her tip-toes and wiped the mashed potatoes from his cheek. She could feel his familiar cheek against her palm, the roughness of the result of not shaving that morning. It was always how she liked him though. Blushing as she pulled away, she stood there for a few more moments. “Your worse then a two year old Kayden….”

Stepping back from him, she moved to the fridge. Pulling out the leftovers from lunch. Setting them on the cabinet, she glanced over towards him "here, there is no use for a sandwhich when there is plenty of homemade left overs. I know you missed homemade meals while you were gone..." She had turned away from him at th moment.

Arching his brows, Kayden’s attention switched from the shelf he was fighting against to Bella as she stood, laughing in the doorway. A sheepish, lopsided grin shot across his face at her remark, and he chuckled, allowing her to get in and fix the fallen shelf. When her arm brushed against his chest and she looked up at him once more, he smiled. It wasn’t until she reached up to wipe something off his face that he clammed up. His body went rigid as she rose on her toes and her hand came in gentle contact with his cheek, brushing a bit of food from his jaw. He furrowed his brow, not sure how the potatoes had jumped from the bowl to his face.

She spoke, poking fun at him for the near disaster, and the crease between his eyes smoothed out. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade than they naturally were, and the impulse to snatch her back as she pulled away and kiss her until her face deepened another shade was strong. Swallowing, his eyes followed her as she reached into the fridge and pulled out a few leftovers from the lunch he’d missed. He shut the refrigerator door before crossing over to where she stood, the food she’d pulled out setting on the counter. She was the something more he’d missed over homemade meals. Stifling a cough against his shoulder, he stood behind her and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve become a great photographer.” His voice rumbled in his chest, keeping conversation between himself and her. “Have you started taking any jobs?” When the hand on her shoulder began to grow heavy, it drifted down. His fingertips grazed over the side of her ribs, before settling on her hip. Relaxed, finding touching her as natural as breathing, he let his eyes wander the side of her body and then back up.

He leaned forward, brushing the tip of his nose against the top of her head, drinking in her scent. “You smell good,” he murmured as his hands fell away and he stepped from her. Searching the cabinets, he found a glass and filled it with water from the tap. His green eyes were fixated on her as he moved around the edge of the counter, and took a seat at the table. The glass landed on the wooden surface with a light clink after he took a swallow of its contents.

Jim entered the room and the man’s eyes fell on Kayden, and then lifted to his daughter. “Mistletoe is back up,” he said. “Your mother made me do it. You might try crab-walking.” Glancing up at the wide entryway from the living room to the dining area, he wandered to the back door and disappeared outside.

The hand on her shoulder caused her to nearly drop the plate that she bad pulled down from the cabinet. Fumbling with it in her hands, she managed to save it and safely place it on the cabinet. "Thank you, and yes. I've had several. The last I did was a Christmas shoot." it turned out amazing."

His fingertips were slowly grazing over her ribs as she drew a breath in. Holding it for a few moment before slowly letting it out. She had felt the same way, touching him was easy. Just like it always had been. Except now, hesitation came before. Bella closed her eyes as she felt his nose brushing against her. The air from his breath moved down her neck, sensing chills down her spine. Taking a few moments, she opened her eyes and realized he was no longer there by her. "Hm, you smell like you always have. Wonderful."

As she finished putting the lunch left overs on the plate, she stuck it in the microwave and turned. Her arms crossed loosely against her chest, her lower back leaning against the cabinet. As the bell went off, she grabbed the plate and moved to set it in front of him. Just then, she looked up to see her father standing in the doorway. "That mistletoe, will be the death of me." Shaking her head, she glanced up towards it.

Maybe if she were to walk under it, he would kiss her. Bella wanted very badly for him to, there had been several times she had almost kissed him her ownself. One being just a few moments ago. Moving her way back to the counter, she leaned up against it. Her palms faced flat down, arms behind her. "Christmas, is in a few days...." Pausing, she shook her head. Afraid to know the answer to her next question. "Will you stay, for Christmas...?"

Staring at the back door, Kayden’s eyes shifted from it to Bella as she claimed that the decoration would be the end of her. He laughed to himself, amused with her remark, and watched as she looked up at the green-leafed object. Shifting in his chair, he leaned forward, only to find he was missing silverware. At least his mind wasn’t the only one floating about somewhere outside of his head. He rose to his feet just as she started to comment about Christmas.

Nodding his head, as if to confirm that she was correct; Christmas was in a few days, he slipped into the kitchen after her. His gaze drifted her way when she shook her head, and he pulled out a drawer, searching for a fork, when she asked him to stay for Christmas. He glanced from her to the contents in the drawer. It wasn’t silverware, so he closed it.

That itch in the back of his throat rose again, but rather than forcing him to cough, it caused him to speak. “Yes.” Opening another drawer, he looked her way, and then back down to find what he’d been seeking. He pulled out a fork, slid the drawer shut, and headed toward the table. “On the condition that I can take you out when the snow clears.”

Taking a bite of food from the plate before him, he chewed and glanced over at the mistletoe hanging in the doorway. Brenda walked through, and Kayden rose to his feet. “Ah, ah,” he said.

She arched her brows at him and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, and when she wandered off to retrieve a load in the dryer, he remained. There was a slight smile on his face as he leaned against the white wall of the entryway. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, and he gazed over at Bella.

Noticing him get up to get silverware, she blushed more so to herself. She had been thinking about something other than silverware at that time. Watching as he searched for the fork, she laughed gently. She was having fun watching him try and find the fork. Moving over to the seat across from his, she set down and looked up at his next answer.

Bella couldn’t help but smile extremely huge as he answered yes. Her eyes lit up, more so then they had over the past six years. The bright blue coming out in them almost instantly. When he turned around, she could see the fork in his hand. ‘On the condition that I take you out…’ Bella rehearsed the words for several moments before she nodded in agreement.

“If the snow ever clears up and if it doesn’t, we still have a deal.” Grinning, she noticed him stand up and move to the door. Turning to see her mother there, she shook her head. “You walked under it, you have to kiss. Isn’t that what you told me?” Bella laughed, watching Kayden kiss her mother on the cheek. Afterwards, he was leaning against the wall. Should she? Standing, she crossed her arms and moved to the door frame, standing by it for a few moments… She finally stood under the mistletoe. “Do I get a kiss or was that just for my mom?”

Bella could feel her body become excited, the way she looked up at him. His hands in his pockets, the gruff around his face, she blushed at the thoughts that moved through her head. “After all, we did walk under the mistletoe.”

There was no telling whether she would follow along and allow him to kiss her, if nothing more than her cheek, forehead, or nose. He would kiss all three if she would let him, and it seemed she would. The closed-mouth grin on his face broadened, one side of his mouth lower than the other as he watched her fold her arms under her chest and cross over toward him. She wasn’t yet under the mistletoe when she came to a halt, seeming hesitant. He remained quiet, head turned, his eyes still locked on her, studying her slender face. His smile receded some, but widened again when she stepped beneath the mistletoe. She inquired about a kiss, indicating to him that it was what she wanted.

Inhaling a deep breath, his chest expanded as he stood up straighter, shoulders back, hands still hidden in his pockets. “Hey,” he murmured, taking a step closer to her. “You walked under the mistletoe. I just happen to be standing here because I caught your mother trying to cheat her own game.” There was a large, toothy grin on his face as he brought a hand up and slid his fingers through her hair. That same hand glided down her spine, and rested at the small of her back.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he breathed, lowering his head. With a deep breath, he leaned down, eyes on her lips, but pressed a kiss to her brow. He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands, stroking his thumbs over her cheekbones. “Thanks for making me something to eat, Bells.” A happy glint danced in his green eyes as he stared into the depths of her gaze. He lowered his head a second time, and bypassing her lips, went for her cheek.

“I owed you two,” he stated in a whisper against her ear. Reaching up, he removed the mistletoe from its place in the entryway. “I’m going to hang onto this so it doesn’t cause any trouble.” When he stepped back, there was deviousness about him. Grinning from ear to ear, he walked back over to the table and took a seat to finish his meal.

Later that night, after dinner, Kayden sat down on the couch with a handful of cookies and a glass of milk, already feeling full. Jim and Brenda hadn’t gone off to bed yet, but sat in the kitchen talking. It was quiet in the house. Lounging on the couch, head against the back of it, glass of milk between his legs, cookies on his right thigh, he turned on the television. A Christmas Story was playing, and looked to have started not long ago.

They were inches away from each other; she could feel his breath against her. “Mom always cheats, you should know that by now….” Her voice had trailed off slowly as he brought his hand up and into her hair. Bella couldn’t help but to close her eyes, her breathing already beginning to quicken. When his had glided down her spine, she shivered lightly. His hand now resting at the small of her back. “You would be stupid to complain…”

The feeling of love, the care she had towards the man ran through her mind as he kissed her brow. Looking up towards him as he cupped her face in his rough hands, she had been waiting for that moment for six years. “Your welcome-“ before she finished, he was lowering his head. But besides kissing her lips, he ignored them and went for her cheek.

His breath was still against her ear as he reached up to grab the mistletoe. Moving away, she tried to steady her breathing and not show the disappointment that she had felt the moment he bypassed her lips. “My mom will find out, and you’ll be in trouble.” Her parents had always seen Kayden as their son. Even now, they did. He had taken his seat back at the table and was starting to eat as Bella moved from the kitchen.

As the night started to draw closer, she could feel her body becoming tired. Her parents were in the kitchen talking and she had just come from getting a shower. Noticing Kayden on the couch with a plate full of cookies and milk, she sneezed as the came down the stairs. Finding a spot on the other couch, she groaned. Coughing into her hand, she closed her eyes for a moment before re-opening them to see A Christmas Story playing. After a few minutes had passed, she laid down on the couch. Her body perfect for the couch. There was a low noise level to her that night, as she drifted off to sleep on the couch. Her long black hair hiding her face from view. She wore a pair of winter themed fuzzy pants and a tank top that matched. Something she wouldn’t of dared to wear if it wasn’t warm and cozy inside.

A few hours later, Bella stirred as she woke up coughing. Opening her eyes to see what time it was, she noticed her parents weren’t in the kitchen talking anymore. Both had retired to bed. It was dark in the living room, squinting to see if Kayden was there or not.

Kayden caught Bella in his peripheral as she came down the stairs, her hair wet from a shower, and he turned his head to watch as she stretched out on the neighboring couch. She was coughing—they both were—but he’d begun to notice the intervals between each of her coughs becoming shorter. As he’d said out in the barn, she was getting sick. His eyes returned to the screen after a moment and he lifted a cookie to his mouth. One bite and it was gone. Taking a deep breath, he settled further into the couch, finding the air between Bella and him not as tense when they were at a distance. It was good to have her in the same room again.

Sometime during one of the commercials, Kayden glanced over to discover Bella asleep on the other couch. His eyes lingered on her dozing form, even as the show came back on. It had been over six years since he’d just sat and watched her sleep. Letting his gaze drift down her arm nearest the ceiling, he paused at the crook of her elbow, and then looked away. The tank top she was wearing revealed just enough of her breasts to bring the tension he’d thought had drifted away, back. When the movie ended, he took his glass into the kitchen and rinsed it out. Returning to the living room, he stood, once more observing Bella as she dozed.

Jim and Brenda bid him goodnight, and he turned to tell them goodnight as well. Before Brenda left the room, she said, “She’s going to wake up wishing she hadn’t fallen asleep like that.” Shaking her head, she glanced at Kayden, and then up at the entryway, void of the mistletoe that had been hanging there hours earlier. She frowned but said nothing as she disappeared down the hall to hers and her husband’s bedroom and closed the door. Alone in the living room with Bella, Kayden padded quietly over to tug on the string, turning off the light.

Even in the darkness that engulfed the room once the overhead light was out, he could make out her form on the couch. Pulling his shirt over his head, he left his jeans on as he had the night before, and tossed it over the back of the couch. He sat down in the far corner of the other couch, and when she stirred, he was still awake.

“I told you that you’d wind up sick,” he murmured in a hushed voice, one brow arched in the darkness. Shifting on the couch, he reached for his shirt and tossed it her way. “Put that on, it’s better than just that tank top you’re wearing. Why don’t you head upstairs and go to sleep?”

Bella jumped at his voice, still be half asleep. She couldn't see much, just the outline of his figure against the couches back. When he spoke of her being sick, she grumbled and shook her head; though he couldn't see it past the darkness. "I'm fine..." In mid sentence, she coughed several times before she felt his shirt landing on her head. "I was sleeping fine here..." She was fumbling with his shirt, trying to pull it over her head.

"Damn it!" It wasn't loud, but audible enough that he could hear her. "Where is the hole for my head..." Bella was trying to squint to see anything, but finally gave up and relied on her
sense of feel. After several failed attempts of trying to push her head through the arm sleeves, she finally pulled the shirt over her head. She could smell him on the jacket, which made her sniff it a few times before laying back down on the couch.

"It's warmer down here..." She muttered as she closed her eyes. After a few moments, she groaned to herself as she pulled her legs off the couch. "Bed..." It was muttered out at a soft tone as she rose from the couch and tried making her way to the stairs. "Night..." she grumbled. Bella had always been clumsy, not matter what it came too and the next few moments proved that. She had stomped her toe against the table, then the bottom of the stairs. Resulting in her loosing her balance, but thankfully she stretched her arms out and grabbed ahold of the railing before falling. Finally making her way up the stairs, she turned to the right and fell atop her bed. Pulling the covers over her body.

Almost instantly, she was asleep once again. As morning came, she was still asleep after her parents had already been up and taking care of the morning routines. Rolling over onto her side, she coughed in her sleep. This went on for a few more hours, until 10:00. Something had stirred her awake and she had wished it hadn't. She felt worse then she had the previous night. Groaning softly she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She knew someone would come looking for her if se wasn't up soon, but she didnt care. All she wanted was to sleep.

Hearing her mumbled words, from ‘I’m fine’ to her final ‘Night,’ Kayden’s gaze followed her as she rose from the couch and shuffled across the floor. “Goodnight, Bells,” he said, and winced when he heard her toe slam into the coffee table, then the stairs. When she took a tumble toward the stairs, he nearly jumped off the sofa, but she caught herself, so he relaxed. Listening carefully, he heard the creek of her bed as she flopped onto it, and with a shake of his head settled down on the couch to sleep as well. His body was still exhausted from the night before, staying up late. Still, he couldn’t say that reading her letters hadn’t been for the better.

The next morning he woke with a yawn, stretching his arms above his head. Other than the sound of coffee burbling in the pot and Bella’s parents moving around downstairs, the house was quiet. He got up and lazed around, not bothering to change. When 9:30 rolled around and Bella still hadn’t descended from upstairs, Kayden cast a glance from the living room to her bedroom. Sometime just before 10:00, he heard her coughing up in her room, and got up to go investigate. Standing outside her door, he listened as she tossed and turned, groaning in misery. With a sigh, he quietly opened the door. Her room was dim, the curtains drawn, and he walked over to where she lay in bed.

“Hey,” he whispered, looking her over as he placed his hands at the foot of her bed. Giving the mattress a shake, he crawled on top of it, knowing that she wouldn’t do much more than grumble at him as she had the night before. She didn’t look good. From what he could tell, her face was pale, the blood drained out of it. Flopping on his side beside her, he rested his head on her pillow and looked into her face. His green eyes were calm as they moved over her features, flitting about slowly.

Running his fingertips along her cheek, he pushed her hair out of her face. Her skin was hot to the touch. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like shit,” he murmured, an airy laugh shaking both his chest and the bed. Lifting his head, he glanced down her body and grabbed the comforter, pulling it up over her shoulder. When his eyes returned to her, he smiled, an arm resting over her side. Besides the blanket, there was a minimal amount of space between them. His bare chest was within view, his heartbeat strong as he lay beside her.

“Are you sick to your stomach?” he asked, foot stretching out until his toes grazed hers that were under the blankets. Swallowing, he cleared his throat, finding it sore from being out in the cold. The mistletoe in his pocket was jabbing him in the hip, and sitting up, he pulled it out and set it between them. “You should have gone inside instead of following me to the barn.”

Bella hadn't heard him say hey, but felt him shaking the bed. "Stop it Kayden...." she grumbled deeply. Feeling the weight change on her bed, she opened her eyes to see him laying next to her. His head resting on her pillow. She felt horrible and merely shook her head. His hand was cold against her skin, it felt good as he rubbed it along her cheek.

"Known taken, because I feel like shit." There was no trying to add the fact that she was sick. Her face was clammy, which meant it would be pale. Her body temperature higher then it normally was. As he pulled the cover closer to her face, she pulled it even closer. Laying the edge under her chin. When he rested his arm over her side, she moved her head to where the top was rested against his.

"Yes, anything you can think of being sick or hurting on me, is." Bringing her hand up to hide a cough, she groaned as her eyes began to close once more. The space between them was still there, but she didn't want to move any closer. If he got sick, they would both be in trouble. "and you should of read that letter before going off on me, but both of us never listen." Feeling him move around, she opened her eyes to see the mistletoe laying between them. "Don't you leave that in here... Mom will think I stole it." Bells coughed, feeling her throat start to itch. It may not be the nicest of settings, but it was closer then the two had been in the few days that he had been there.

For a long moment after she brought up that he hadn’t read her letter before going off on her, he stayed quiet. His hand was resting on her hip. He heard her tell him not to leave the mistletoe in her room because her mother would think she’d stolen it. Brenda already knew that it was Kayden who had taken it down this time. Earlier that morning he’d let her know. Listening to her cough, he slid his hand from her hip to the small of her back, and then back to her hip, as if the motion would soothe her. His eyes were on hers, his brow knitted into a slight crease.

The bed shifted once again as he maneuvered around on the bed, pulling her blankets back as he crawled underneath, momentarily leaving her exposed while he moved behind her. There wasn’t a single thought in his mind to leave her up in her room by herself all day. Chest pressed to her back, he tucked the covers back around her, his upper arm resting outside of the blankets and curling around her middle, drawing her back against him. The mistletoe between his large fingers, and he brought it up, tickling her ear with it.

His lips replaced it, hovering and whispering into her ear. “She already knows who took it, but I’ll take it when I leave.” Pressing a kiss to her ear, he grazed the corner of her jaw, her cheek, and the nape of her neck with the mistletoe. Each area the mistletoe passed over he kissed.

“Do you think you’ll come downstairs at all today?” he asked, mistletoe still in hand as he shifted closer, chin resting on her shoulder as he peered down into her face. Lifting the little green decoration, he swept it from the corner of her eye, brushing a piece of hair away, and pressed his lips to her temple. “Sick as a dog and still a beautiful woman.” His heartbeat was swift as he slid the mistletoe over the seam of her lips.

"Be still..." She mumbled as the bed shifted once more. Feeling the blankets pull away from her, she was about to say something as she felt him climb in behind her. The covers being pulled over both of them now. His arm rested around her middle, pulling her closer to him. Then the mistletoe was starting to tickle her ear. "Kayden...." she whined gently, shaking her head as to get it away from her face.

Feeling his lips against her ear, she grinned softly. "Good..." Adjusting herself against him, she could feel the mistletoe graze against her jaw, then her cheek and finally the nap of her neck. After he had removed it away, she could feel his lips pressing each spot softly. "You know, you don't have to use the mistletoe to kiss me." As Bella finished, she could feel a sneeze starting to come and a few minutes later she was sneezing. "Achoo, Achoo, Achoo." "I hate sneezing..."

Lifting her head slightly, she pushed her left hand under her cheek and laid her head back down. Shaking her head to his next question, "maybe if I can just lay on the couch and sleep all day.... But then again you wouldn't be able to do what your doing now..." The couch wouldn't be big enough for both of them to lay side by side on. It never was. Her thoughts trailed off to the weeks before he had left. Both of them sitting on the couch, making out. Before he pulled her down and laid upon her.

"Sick as a dog and still beautiful?" Bella scoughed and shook her head. "Yeah right, you must be blind. I am sure by now I look like a ghost who drowned." A few mintues earlier, she could feel the sweat starting to show on her body. From the fever trying to sweat its self out.

There was a grin on his face. Whether he had to use the mistletoe or not, it was entertaining, and he was sure she would fall asleep if he didn’t. She probably needed the rest; however, he couldn’t bring himself to let her drift off. “Bless you,” he murmured, chin still resting on her shoulder, though he lifted it as she slid her hand beneath her cheek, getting comfortable. Setting the mistletoe down on her pillow, his hand slipped back around her middle, cradling her against him.

“No, but there are other ways I could hold you if you want to be downstairs,” he mumbled, green eyes flitting about her face. Shifting, his groin pressed against her rear, and he listened to her as she scoffed, disagreeing with his comment. He shook his head and kissed the side of her neck, stroking her hip and the side of her thigh with his hand.

“No, my vision is clear as crystal. Twenty-twenty.” Taking a deep breath, he shifted in the bed again. His hand slid under her cheek, brushing against the hand she’d tucked under for support and propping himself up, leaned over to press a tender kiss to her lips. He hadn’t even heard the knob turn on her door, and when Brenda opened it, Kayden broke the soft kiss. Her mother’s eyes were on him, then her daughter, before she smiled and shut the door, saying that lunch was almost ready.

Waiting a moment or two after she’d gone, Kayden lowered his lips to Bella’s once more. The zipper of his pants strained against his growing erection pressed to the curve of her ass. His hand was palm flat beside her head. Gradually, he eased up, his other hand coming up to urge her to turn her torso. His chest brushed against hers.

“Do you want me to help you downstairs, see if you can eat?” he asked huskily, pulling his mouth away from hers. “It smelled like she was cooking stew earlier.” Content to stay right where they were, even as his stomach growled, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her again. He could feel that same tension winding tight within him, shoving him toward kissing her deeper. His tongue slid out and traced the part in her lips, teasing them, testing, as the bulge in his jeans continued to engorge itself. If they were to go downstairs, he would have to take a minute to calm himself.

"Hmm... I will think about it." She murmured softly. She could feel his groin against her, but didn't say anything. She was to sick to even worry about it at that moment. "Mmmm..." She whispered gently as he ran his fingers along her hip and her thigh. "I dot know about you and twenty-twenty vision... But, it doesn't matter. Helps me feel better somewhat."

When he finally kissed her, she could feel her face blush almost instantly. It had been a while since she had felt him against her, kissing her. Bella was kissing him back softly, her hand wrapping around his wrist as she heard the door knob twist and open. If it would have be 6 years earlier, her mother would of had a complete hissy fit that he was in the bed with her. But now, they were both grown adults. When he broke the kiss, she turned to face her mother. Seeing the flash of happiness that accompanied her eyes wen she saw the pair.

Bella turned back, only to be kissed once more. Letting out a soft moan against his lips, she could feel his erection growing. Smiling softly, she shook her head. Turning to lye on her back, he was hovering above her. His chest on hers. She was still wearing his t-shirt from the previous night. Nodding slowly as he pulled away, she spoke. Some what out of breath. "Yeah... I want stew." Biting her bottom lip, she tried to calm her breath and the feelings that were stirring in her body.

"I would wait though, if I were you. Until your excitement twindles down." Bella laughed gently, leaning up to place a kiss against his nose. "You better stop kissing me too, are you will end up sick right along with me."

He nodded, pulling away as he listened to her breathless reply. His own breathing had quickened in his arousal. As she leaned up to press a kiss to the tip of his nose, hearing her gentle laughter, he couldn’t help but smile at her tease. The grin etched on his strong features was a lazy one. It had been a long time since the last time he’d kissed her at all, let alone properly. He didn’t care if he got sick—or sicker. He already had a cough. Rising to his hands and knees, the blanket became something of a tent as he gazed down at her. The muscles in his arms were taut, flexed in support of his weight. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips over hers once more.

“Then let’s go get something in your stomach,” he murmured against her mouth. Straightening his spine, he came up on his knees and the blanket slid from his shoulders, falling just below her waist. When he climbed off the bed, loosening himself from the comforter, he turned back around to face her. Snatching the mistletoe from her bed, he grinned, and then walked over to her doorway. “I’ll meet you in the living room with your bowl.” Before exiting the room, he attached the mistletoe decoration to the top of her doorframe.

Downstairs, he wandered into the kitchen and retrieved two bowls and two spoons. Brenda was in the kitchen, mixing something in a bowl, and when Kayden entered the room, she glanced over at him. “How was she feeling?” she asked him.

“Miserable,” he mumbled, scooping the chunky stew into the bowls. “She’s burning up, too.”

“I think you both were,” Brenda commented, her eyes glinting in jest, trying to withhold a smile. “Just don’t let things get too hot up there. While I’m understanding that you both are adults, Jim still sees her as his little girl.” Kayden could feel his face heating as he spooned stew into the second bowl, which he seemed intent to focus on.

“He wasn’t happy when I came back downstairs and said that you two were in bed together,” she paused, looking his way once more. This time she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “In bed together, resting, because Bella is sick.”

Kayden cleared his throat, finding himself thoroughly at a loss for how to speak to Bella’s mother at the moment. When Jim walked into the kitchen, conversation about what had happened upstairs was a moot point. The subject was dropped, and Kayden took the bowls of stew and spoons out into the living room while Jim questioned Brenda about where he’d left something.

Setting the bowls of stew on the coffee table, Kayden reached for his now folded shirt—he assumed Brenda had washed and dried it—and pulled it on over his head. The television was off, the lights on the tree on, and Christmas music, much like the first night he’d been there, played softly in the background. Picking up his bowl, he glanced toward the stairs and took a bite. It was hot, so he spit it back out almost immediately.

"Easier said then done," she spoke softly as she watched the covers rising with him. Laughing as he fumbled with the comforter, she coughed. Watching as he hung the mistletoe above the door frame, she closed her eyes for a few moments. "I'll be there, soon."
she grumbled as she shifted in the bed. Finally standing up, it
took her awhile to regain her balance.

Her bead spinning, she grabbed the wall for support. Her head rushed, feeling the headache pounding against her. Grabbing her blanket, she wrapped it around her shoulders. Leaning against the walls, she finally started to make her way down the stairs.

As she come up at the bottom, she had noticed Kayden spitting the stew out. Laughing some what, she groaned as it turned into a cough, then to a sneeze. "I should of listened...." Bella was burning up, but she was still freezing. Moving to the couch, she plopped down next to him.

Noticing the Christmas tree on, the music playing, she shook her head. "It smells good," motioning toward the stew on the coffee table. Just then, she heard her parents coming into the room. "Bella honey, you look paler then a ghost." Her father spoke as she pressed his hand against her forehead. "Your burning up too. You need medicine." Bella shook her head "no, I hate
Medicine..."

Kayden’s eyes landed on Bella when she entered the room and laughed gently, causing a smile to spread across his features. The smile disappeared when she coughed, sneezed, and he nodded, supporting her comment. Bowl in hand, he leaned forward and set it down on the coffee table as she sat beside him.

“It’s good, but it’s hot,” he replied. When her parents entered the room, Kayden sat back. She was acting like a small child, rejecting even the idea of medicine. After Jim moved away, Kayden stretched his arm out to pick up the bowl of stew he’d spooned out for her. Passing the bowl to her, spoon buried in the steaming contents, he then got to his feet. He retrieved one of the blankets Brenda had given him the first night he’d stayed over, and set it down beside Bella.

Turning to Brenda, he asked where the medicine was, and then went to seek it out. He returned with a box of capsules to suppress her cough and clear up anything in her head, and with any luck, knock out her fever. Pushing the pills out into his hands, he handed them to her with a glass of water he’d filled in the kitchen.

His voice was stern as he spoke. “Take them.”

Taking the bowl he had handed her, she shook her head. A grin upon her face, "I know. I saw you spitting yours back in the bowl." The warm bowl felt great. Being careful, she pulled her legs up behind her. Setting the stew on a pillow, she slowly spooned some up and started to blow it off.

After a few moments she took a few bites of it. "Hmm... It's good mom." when she noticed him asking for medicine, Bella shook her head. A few moments later, he was coming bak in with a glass of water and a box. Handing her the pills, he ordered her gently to take them.

Knowing if she didn't, he wouldn't leave her alone about it. "Happy?" She murmured as she spooned several more mouthfuls. "Now that your done worrying about me, sit and eat the stew." Shaking her head, she leaned it against the couch for a few moments. Her energy had begun to twindle, with the walking down the stairs and spooning the soup. "I don't feel well...."

It wasn't long and she was setting the bowl down on the table. Her head resting against his shoulder, she pulled the blanket over her body. She had ate half the stew, enough to fill her up for now.

“Yes,” he quipped in return, a lackadaisical smile stretched from ear to ear, and settled down next to her on the couch again. Doing as told with a laugh, he leaned forward and picked up his bowl of stew. It wasn’t until she said that she didn’t feel well that he set his bowl down again, watching her. Her face was incredibly pale and there was a slight sheen on her forehead from the fever.

He held her hand as she leaned against his shoulder, resting after eating. Jim had turned on the television and was watching a program on the History channel. However, Kayden’s eyes were fixed on the top of Bella’s dark hair. His lips brushed over her head once, and allowing her to stay against his side for another twenty minutes or so, he picked her up and carried her upstairs to her bed.

Lying down with her, he pulled her into his arms. Half an hour later, he was dozing and content to hold her against his chest as he slept.

--advance two days—

The snow hadn’t cleared up, and it was nearing Christmas, the holiday just a two days away—Christmas Eve was tomorrow. He’d caught exactly what Bella had and had been sick the day after he’d laid in bed with her, kissing her even though she warned him not to. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and one of her father’s sweaters, and a Carhartt jacket, he was busy shoveling snow, despite the cough he still had. He’d been at it since eight that morning, and nearly had his car completely freed from its imprisonment.

Tossing the shovel aside when he thought he had enough cleared away to be able to get his car started and moved, he dug around in the pocket of his jeans for his keys. The engine sputtered to life, still very cold, and Kayden trekked through the path he’d cleared from the front porch to the drive. When he entered the house, he was met with a warm gush of air. If he thought Brenda had been baking a lot when he’d first arrived, he’d been wrong. The whole house smelled of cinnamon, chocolate, sugar, and various other aromas, reminding him of when his grandmother would sit around and bake all day around the holidays.

“Bella?” he called, wandering into the living room after kicking off his shoes. He’d told her the night before that they would be getting out of the house one way or another, and he was determined to do so. Having planned to go ice skating, the weather was perfect, and as long as it didn’t snow until late that night like it was supposed to, they’d be fine travelling. “Come on, let’s go!”

In the car, he drove with the radio off. “What do you want for Christmas, Bells?” he asked, driving carefully in traffic. The roads were slick, some of the side roads still not cleared off. When they stopped, he glanced from the car in front of him to Bella and smiled.

As the days passed, Bella had felt better. But just like she had told him, he was now sick. From kissing her of course, but she wasn't going to complain. At the moment, she was inside stealing one of her mothers cookies as she heard Kayden calling for her. It was finally stopped snowing all during the day, now just at night. They had planned to go on their date and she was excited. "I'm coming!" she muttered as she grabbed another cookie.

"Whatever you want to get me Kayden, I don't care what." The truth was, she really didn't care. "What do you want?" She asked softly, looking out of the window at the snow banks on the sides of the roads. It had never snowed as bad as it had that year. Shaking her head, she laughed. "I cant believe were going out, finally." Turning back to face him, she grinned. "Thank you, for taking me out some where."

She had placed her hand on his, before pulling it away. "Its cold in here..." She turned the heater up a bit, watching the traffic as people were trying to be careful in the slick roads. "It's sort of nasty out, isnt it? with the icy roads and all?"
(I realize its short, i had to do this in a hurry.)

He hadn’t expected her to answer him outright. She never had before, and he doubted she ever would. Grinning, he shook his head when she returned his question, and laughed. It seemed she was happy enough to be going out, despite the fact that they were stuck in traffic and it was far below freezing. Feeling her hand on his, he nodded, as glad to be taking him out as she was to be taken out. His gaze drifted from the road when she mentioned being cold, and then to the heat as she dialed it up a few notches.

Shrugging, he leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable. They weren’t going anywhere fast. “I don’t think it’s too bad, but if we don’t get to the city by nightfall, we’ll be driving to find a hotel instead of the ice rink,” he replied. Turning his head to face her, he smiled and leaned over the armrest between them to kiss her cheek. “But I think we’ll make it.” When traffic started moving again, he pulled forward, returning both hands to the steering wheel and sitting up.

A couple of hours later, he had parked the car in a garage and was standing in line with her to purchase tickets and rent skates. After paying the cashier, turning in his shoes and receiving his skates, he sat down and laced them up, and then sat waiting for Bella to do the same. When they were both ready, he took her hand and led her out to the ice. The weather didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the number of skaters; the rink was fairly packed.

“How about you?” he asked, holding her hand once out on the ice. His green eyes met hers, a lazy smile etched on his features. There was a mischievous, teasing air about him. “You can sit under the tree with that mistletoe still hanging above your bedroom door, and I’ll be content. Deal?”