_________________________________________________

*December 17, 2002*

Amy smiled softly as she and Adam walked from their rental car to the hotel. They made their way hand-in-hand, and she felt a pleasant chill race up her spine. They'd been together almost two months by now, and while that wasn't a very long time, she still sometimes had difficulty believing she was really with him.

"What do you want to do tonight, babe?" he asked softly, his green eyes fixed to her face. A small smile touched his lips as he absorbed her obvious happiness. She sure was happier than she'd been a couple of months previously, and it made him feel so very good. It had just about broken his heart to see her so miserable after Matt's betrayal.

"Um... I think I'd like to just stay in tonight," she admitted, her fingertips brushing softly over his much larger hand. Her smile widened as they reached their room, and the tall blond man nodded as he swiped the keycard through the door.

"That's just about perfect to me."

The moment they were inside, Adam dropped their bags, pulling her flush against him, kissing her long and hard, his tongue passionately tangling with hers. She felt so damn good in his arms, and he couldn't imagine her anywhere else. He let out a growl as she tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him more closely to her as she prodded his mouth with her own tongue.

Amy let out a soft whimper, her hands tangling in his long blond hair. She kissed him even more fervently, the sudden realization that he was growing hard against her nearly taking her breath away. All she could think of was... Wow... It had never been like this with anyone else. Not ever.

After awhile, she pulled back, reluctantly, much to his chagrin. The tall blond man tightened his arms around her waist, a soft murmur of protest leaving him as he gazed down at her.

"Aww, baby," she crooned. "Don't take it personally. We can get back to that stuff later. But right now, don't you think we should...?"

He smirked as he watched her cross the short distance across the room to the bed and sit down.

"Can you honestly look at me right now and ask me what we should do? 'Cause I think my answer would be pretty obvious," he quipped, and her gaze traveled back to him, lowering to linger on the bulge in his jeans.

The redhead let out a soft laugh, then shook her head. Then, leaning down over the side of the bed, she reached just under it to grab something she'd hidden.

"There's plenty of time for that stuff later, baby." She patted the side of the bed next to her, urging him to come and sit beside her.

The blond man did exactly as she gestured, his green eyes amused as he noticed the box she came up with. A small smile crossed his handsome features as he got back up to retrieve his bag. As she watched, he rummaged through it quickly and came up with a box of his own, wrapped in a pretty red foil paper, a silver ribbon on it.

"This is for you," he said softly. "And I hope you like it."

"Aww, Adam..." She took the package from him, handing him the one she held. Hers for him was wrapped with very Christmasy paper, candy canes, Santa faces and reindeers adorning it. They traded gifts, and she eyed him expectantly, as he hadn't moved a muscle to open his.

"Ladies first," the Canadian insisted.

She shifted positions to cross her legs Indian style as she smiled and began to tear the paper carefully, cautiously. The Canadian let out a booming laugh at her tentativeness with the giftwrap, and she met his gaze with a bright smile.

Finally done with the paper, the diva opened the box, her breath catching in her throat as she pulled the contents out for closer inspection. In her hands, she held delicate lingerie, a gorgeous baby doll set in black and red, complete with a matching string thong. Her jaw dropped, a small gasp escaping her as she examined it. And then she turned to face her boyfriend.

Adam gave her a very slightly sheepish look.

"I... err... I hope you're not sitting there thinking about what a big pervert I am," he said.

The redhead let out a soft laugh. God, she loved him. She shook her head frantically as she reached over to hug him.

"No, not at all," she exclaimed. "I love it - it's beautiful." She pulled back to glance over the lingerie for another beat. "And we'll have plenty of fun with me in it." She bit her lip shyly, a brilliant smile spreading on her face.

"You mean with you *out* of it," the blond man said slyly, a huge grin coming to his face.

"Yes," she agreed, laughing. Then, eyeing him and the box he still held, she gestured. "Okay, now it's *your* turn."

"No, wait," Adam said, his gaze traveling back down to the gift he'd given her. "There's more... Feel around in there." He pointed to the box.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked, her hazel eyes lighting up as she shifted them from his face and then down to her present. She reached in, her small hand feeling around through the satiny fabric and delicate tissue paper.

The blond man shook his head as he mentally cursed himself. He knew he shouldn't have put it in there. He should've put it in a box of its own. What if it had gotten lost?

"Ahh, I think I've got something," she said, raising her hand and displaying the gentle gold chain he'd hidden in with the lingerie. "Oh, Adam..." she breathed. She turned her gaze back to him, her eyes shining as she fixed them on his green orbs. "... Oh, you shouldn't have."

"And just why not?" he asked softly, a small smile touching his lips. "You're my girlfriend, and you deserve to have something beautiful and exquisite."

The redhead smiled softly and tilted her head as she regarded him. Her heart was swelling with so much love for this man.

"You're so sweet," she said softly, getting choked up as she moved forward to embrace him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied seriously, his emerald eyes fixed intensely on her face. "How about we get that on you?"

"The chain, or the baby doll?" she quipped with a smirk.

Adam chuckled.

"I meant the necklace, baby, but I like your idea a lot better." He raised his brows in a suggestive manner, causing her to laugh loudly.

"Later, big boy - I promise you, I'll give you an early Christmas present you'll *never* forget." She smiled as she handed him the gold jewelry and turned her back to him so he could put it on her.

He groaned at her words as he fastened the chain around her neck. She was killing him here. He pressed a kiss to the nape of her surgically-repaired neck before turning back to the gift she'd given him.

"Okay, so what have we here?"

The redhead grinned as she watched him tear at the box, laughing at his lack of concern for the wrapping paper - a direct contrast to how she'd opened her own present. She bit her lip as he opened the box and reached in. She sincerely hoped he liked what she'd gotten him.

Adam pulled out what he realized to be a T-shirt, his eyes widening as he saw that he was holding a vintage KISS tour shirt - one from their very *first* tour.

"Wow, this is awesome, Ames! You remembered how much I love them!" His grin returned as he looked over the shirt. "And what's this?" He reached back into the box, where, ironically enough, she too had placed an extra gift. He came up with a videotape that seemed to be a bootleg, as it wasn't wrapped and was a standard VHS.

"It's a recording of one of KISS' very first live shows," she revealed.

"Is it?" the blond man asked. His eyes positively lit up, and she laughed. He was like a kid in a candy store.

"Yeah," she said, laughing softly. "I found it at this place in the St. Mark's Place area in New York City last time we were there. And I knew you would love it."

"I do," Adam said, his gaze meeting hers. "And I love *you*, too." He placed the videotape back into the box and pulled her to him, rolling onto the mattress with her as they kissed.

In no time, they were removing one another's clothing, the blond man finally getting his wish as they soon after made love. And the redhead never *did* get a chance to put the lingerie on.

Later, they laid in one another's arms, and Adam nuzzled her face gently with his own, smiling as he felt the gentle but quick beating of her heart against him.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered, one of his hands coming up to caress her long hair. He smoothed away some strands and pressed a kiss to her brow.

"About Christmas, actually," she revealed. "And how much I wish we could spend it together." She turned her head slightly to stare up into his handsome face. It saddened her, but she was expected home in Florida with her family for the holidays while Adam would be going to Toronto to spend them with his mother and extended family.

"Aww... I know. I just wanna kidnap you away to my mom's," he said. "I want to spend the holidays with the woman I love." He moved just slightly, enough to capture her lips with his own in a soft, breathtaking kiss. Then, breaking it, he smiled down at her. "Let's just celebrate together for the next couple of days before our flights. We've got that houseshow tomorrow, but then we're off after that."

The redhead smiled.

"That sounds nice," she breathed. "So, how are we gonna do that?"

The grin spread across the Canadian's handsome face again.

"I think we can come up with a way..." He lowered his head to hers, kissing her ardently once again.