Christmas with Nicholas: - an Untwisted seasonal story (Untwisted series) by Alice Raine Page A

and his blue eyes twinkling mischievously in his handsome face.
    ‘I want to give you your Christmas present early,’ he stated as soon as I had both feet inside the hallway. Smiling at just how excited he looked I peeled my scarf from around my neck, hung it up, and stepped into his open arms for a hug. Given how padded my winter coat was, our embrace was a bit difficult, but in his arms was still my favourite place to be, regardless of how many layers of fleece might separate us, and I sighed contentedly.
    ‘But it’s only the twenty-second,’ I mumbled into his strong chest, his warmth bringing some life back into the cold tip of my nose.
    Chuckling, Nicholas held my shoulders and moved me backwards so he could gaze down at me. ‘I know, but this present has a time expiry.’ Checking his watch he frowned. ‘Shit, talking of time, we need to get a move on. Don’t worry about taking off your coat, we’re heading straight out.’
    ‘Where are we going?’ I asked, eyeing Nicholas’ almost childlike enthusiasm curiously. He’d noticeably changed during our time together; relaxing with me, smiling frequently, and even changing some of his old domineering habits, but he could still be quite closed off emotionally at times so his obvious excitement grabbed my attention.
    ‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ he replied mysteriously, and then grabbing his own coat from the rack, Nicholas took hold of my hand and dragged me back out into the cold evening without even letting me get my scarf again.
    ‘My scarf!’ I protested, but by this point Nicholas was bundling me into the back of his car, which already had the engine running. Mr Burrett, his personal assistant, sat behind the wheel watching us both with amusement.
    ‘Don’t worry, I have several ways I can keep you warm,’ Nicholas murmured as he leaned in close to my ear so only I could hear. The tone of his voice was suddenly low and silky and made me blush instantly. Turning to him I found him plugging in his seatbelt whilst smirking across at me with a wicked glint in his eye.
    Swivelling in his seat Mr Burrett smiled at us both jovially. ‘Good evening, Miss Langley. Are you warm enough back there?’ What with Nicholas’ salacious comments and Mr Burrett’s impeccably timed question I was now boiling hot with embarrassment. ‘Hi, Mr Burrett. I’m good, thank you,’ I mumbled, pretending to struggle with my seatbelt as a distraction.
    ‘Are we heading straight off, sir?’ Mr Burrett enquired mildly, annoyingly giving no hint of our intended destination, but his use of the title ‘sir’ made me smile; even now it made me laugh to think that my boyfriend had personal staff. Mind you, being a world-famous pianist I suppose he could probably afford the luxury, and Mr Burrett certainly seemed to love his job.
    ‘Yes, please, James, and be swift about it, I didn’t realise how late it was.’ Taking hold of my hand Nicholas pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked something on the screen, so I took the chance to question Mr Burrett.
    ‘Where are we going Mr B?’ Even though I knew his name was James, I had for months now, I still couldn’t bring myself to call him by his first name – with his smart suits, crisp white shirts and black ties, he was so formal it just seemed wrong. Besides, in the past year where I’d basically lived with Nicholas Mr Burrett had insisted on calling me ‘Miss Langley’ the whole time too. We were at an impasse, not that it really mattered; we were comfortable with each other, which I suppose was all that mattered.
    ‘I’m afraid I’m sworn to secrecy,’ he replied, flashing me a grin in the rear view mirror, which made Nicholas give my hand a squeeze.
    ‘Don’t be so impatient, you’ll find out soon.’ Nicholas assured me as he pocketed his phone again and gave me his full attention.
    Leaning across the car Nicholas pulled me as close to him as our seatbelts would allow and tipped his head down to