Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Before Sky could react, Nolan rolled over and flicked on his bedside lamp. Through the narrow opening, they could see the creepy tree peeking into the room as if watching them.
“Oh, hell no!” Nolan roared. He pointed at the door. “Downstairs! Go to your pan!”
Loud thumping and scraping echoed through the hall as the tree seemed to realize it had been caught and was scurrying away.
Sky fell against his pillows, cackling.
“Don’t laugh! It’ll think it’s okay to be up here. The last time it wandered upstairs, we lost socks.”
“We got them back.” Sky ran his hand across Nolan’s chest and tweaked one nipple, getting his lover’s expression to soften. “Maybe it wanted to see what skills you had in bed.”
Nolan snorted. “Maybe it was prowling for another tree to destroy.”
“Hey! Low blow!”
Nolan flipped off the light and tackled Sky onto the mattress. “I’ll show you a low blow.”
Sky’s giggle turned into a squeal as Nolan shoved his hands into his briefs, pushing them off his ass while fondling him and nibbling on his chest. Dear God, Nolan was the king of multitasking. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn his boyfriend was part octopus.
His underwear was lost somewhere in the depths of the bed when the creaking and thumping returned. Sky growled as Nolan pulled away from him. The bedroom door was open wider this time, and the tree had edged into the room.
“What the…” Nolan started, seeming to talk to himself. “No! No! Out! Downstairs to your pan!” Nolan rolled out of the bed and stomped across the room in the dark. Sky strained to see the tree, but he could hear the desperate scrambling as it hurried into the hall toward the stairs. Nolan closed the door behind it.
“Did you lock it?” Sky inquired.
“Yes. I can’t believe I had to lock the door to keep a Christmas tree out of our bedroom, but yeah, I did.” Nolan returned to the bed, the mattress bouncing under him as he crawled in.
Only this time, there wasn’t a chance for their mouths to meet or hands to find the fun parts. The doorknob rattled softly as the tree attempted to open the door, just as they expected.
Sky giggled, while Nolan groaned.
Unfortunately, the tree didn’t stop there. It scratched on the other side of the door and made these pathetic chittering noises as if it were neglected, pulling at each one of Sky’s heartstrings. After a minute of the door rattling and roots scraping the floor, Sky finally gave in and turned on his light. They sat up to find that the tree had thrust its smallest and thinnest roots under the door as if it were reaching for them.
“Awww…” Sky cried.
“It’s not going to give up,” Nolan muttered.
“It misses us. Maybe we should let it sleep in here with us.”
“Are you shitting me? Are you going to let it in the bed? Maybe snuggle between us?” Nolan’s voice grew higher and higher in pitch with each question.
“No, you’re being ridiculous. It can sleep in the corner.”
Silence reigned on Nolan’s side of the room. He glanced over to find Nolan staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. So, he stuck out his tongue at his boyfriend before digging around under the sheets for his underwear. He slipped them on as he climbed out of the bed.
As soon as he opened the door, the little tree scuttled across the room. It moved to the far corner, where it was out of the way, and settled in the same way it did in the living room.
“Do you think I should bring up the pan of water?” Sky mused.
“No. If it wants a drink of water, it can go downstairs for it.”
That was probably true. Sky returned to the bed and flipped off the light. Yet, when he rolled toward Nolan, it was to find that his amorous boyfriend was now lying on his side, facing away from him while wrapped up in a blanket burrito.
“Hey, sexy pants,” Sky teased, trying to find a spot in the blankets to get at Nolan.
“Nope.”
“What?”
“Nope.”
Sky gasped and sat up. “You mean, nope to sex? Are you shitting me?”
Nolan twisted slightly so that Sky could make out his face in the darkness. “I’m not into having something watching us while we have sex. I’m happy to try a lot of kinky stuff with you, baby, but exhibitionism isn’t one of my things.”
“But it’s a tree!”
“A sentient tree. I’d be the same way if we had a cat or dog.”
“But it’s a tree!” Sky repeated.
Nolan said nothing as he rolled onto his side again, his blanket tight around him.
Sky glared at where the tree was now happily settled for the night. Did it know what it was doing to his sex life? Was this an evil tree?