The growing crowd of little, adorable people began firing off questions.
“Have you met Santa?”
“Do you have a reindeer?”
“Can I sit on your lap?”
“How come you’re here and not helping Santa?”
Elvis remained mostly silent but let himself be poked and prodded by tiny hands wanting to touch his coat. Max and Tin answered the kids’ questions and painted a vivid picture of life in the North Pole. The kids were enamored, and I couldn’t stop grinning. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
A group dressed as elves—much less convincing than the guys—skipped out onto the stage and started to sing “Jingle Bells.”
I got an idea and whispered it into Tin’s ear.
He gave me a wide grin and a kiss on the cheek before leaning forward to get all the kids’ attention. “Hey, who likes this song?”
“Me, me, me!” all the kids yelled over one another.
“Who wants to see something cool?”
Another chorus of “me, me, me.”
Tin looked around exaggeratedly, then rubbed his hands together and held them out palms up.
Sparkly white magic swirled over his hands, just like the red magic had when Max conjured my hot chocolate. The kids all gasped and stared, transfixed. The magic twisted and molded into the shape of a little sleigh pulled by reindeer. It shot out of Tin’s hands to go sailing past all the delighted little faces, then faded.
They all clapped and demanded more, launching into questions about reindeer.
I leaned back on my hands, and El’s pocket immediately drew my attention. The snow globe glowed and then faded. He glanced down at it too, then his eyes met mine behind Max’s back. He gave me a genuine smile and nodded.
There is no joy in the world purer than that of a child. Those kids were loving every second of the Christmas magic the elves’ stories and showing off were bringing them, and the power core was juicing up.
Max made a show of rubbing his hands together, declaring he wouldn’t be outdone by Tin’s sleigh display, as I wrapped my arms around my knees. The temperature was continuing to drop.
Tin sprang to his feet and held a hand out to me. “Come on. A walk will warm you up.”
I let him pull me up, and we wandered away from the crowd and down the path, the music and laughter fading behind us.
“I’m not sure we should’ve left those two on their own.” I laughed.
“Yeah, El has no idea how to handle kids.” Tin chuckled. “But Max has it covered. They’ll be fine.”
“So . . . did you grow up at the North Pole or . . . ?” I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. They were so different from my idea of elves, and they seemed to know how the regular world worked. I couldn’t figure them out.
He laughed again. I loved his laugh—it was musical and carefree but still deep and masculine, and it came freely and easily, as if he found joy just about everywhere.
“No, I was born in Saint Louis.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “OK, I’m confused. How did you end up driving a sleigh?”
“I don’t drive. El drives and maintains it. Max keeps everything organized—checks the list twice and all that. I’m the delivery man. Also, I’m in charge of snacks.”
“You know what I mean.” I smacked him lightly on the chest. He captured my hand and threaded his fingers through mine.
“OK, fine. I’ll tell you. So, you know that Santa’s setup had to expand as the population grew, but at the start it was just him and the Elves—capital E. They’re incredible magical creatures and pretty much immortal—much closer to the short-statured, pointy-eared types you imagined. We’re like . . . extended, adopted family. Something like a cross between family and valued employees. The Elves have immense power, and now they mostly help the Clauses run the Pole and manage the operation. We only have limited magic, and we only have access to it at Christmastime to do our jobs.”
“But you’re all elves? How does that work?”
“Kind of.” He tilted his head from side to side. “The title has more meaning in the Pole. Like, Shinny Upatree is one of Santa’s original helpers. She’s an Elf with a capital E. Elvis, Max, and I were recruited. We’re elves with a lowercase e. Pole politics can get a little complicated, but it’s really wonderful most of the time.”
“Wait. Recruited?” I paused to look at him, but he tugged me along. The path had gotten narrow, and the trees were denser in this part of the park. Most were pines, rising high into the inky sky. If it had snowed, it would’ve been the perfect Christmas scene.
“Yeah. I had no idea any of this was real until an Elf with a capital E showed up and asked if I wanted a job, an adventure, and a family wrapped into one.”
“Did you think you were losing your mind? I thought I was when you all started doing magic and Max knew personal details about me.”
“Yeah . . . for about five seconds. Then I was all in.” He shrugged.
“Just like that? They must’ve made you one hell of an offer,” I joked, but Tin only stared at the ground, suddenly serious. Silence settled between us, and our misted breath mingled.
“Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry.” I squeezed his warm hand, and he gave mine a squeeze back.
“No, not at all. I just . . . you’d be with your family right now, yeah? If your car hadn’t broken down, you’d be spending the holidays with them? Enjoying their company, eating food, sharing traditions?”
“Yeah . . .” I frowned, confused at the sudden change of topic.
“See, there’s something the guys and I have in common—all recruited elves do. We’ve got no one to miss us at Christmas.”
My heart cracked—a hairline fracture invisible to the eye but just as painful as if it had shattered into pieces for all to see. I didn’t know what to say.
“I don’t know who my birth parents are. I was left at the front doors of a firehouse at six weeks old. Medical tests revealed I had a heart condition—hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS. Say that three times quickly! Haha! Anyway, it made adoption pretty much impossible. No one wanted to take on a baby with so many complicated health problems. It all worked out in the end—with a couple of operations and medication I was fine, but by then it was too late. No one wants to adopt a ten-year-old.”
I pulled him to a stop and held his hand in both of mine. He kept his gaze on the trees as he spoke, his thumb trailing rhythmic circles on the back of my hand.
“All my life, since I was old enough to understand the concept of Santa, I wished for the same thing every year . . .”
“Family,” we both whispered, and the fracture in my heart cracked a little wider.
“Even after I stopped believing in Santa, I still wished for family. But I was always a happy kid. I loved Christmas, and I was always the first one to volunteer to help decorate whichever home or state-run institution I was living in. I did activities with the younger kids, I sang carols, I helped the staff wrap presents. I was all over it.
“So, when an honest-to-God Elf appeared in my room in the share house I was living in with a bunch of other twenty-somethings trying to finish college, you bet your ass I dropped it all and said yes before I even knew what the full offer was.”
He looked back down the dark, winding path. The lights of the performance glowed over the tops of the pine trees. “They’re my family now. Elvis and Maxwell are my brothers, and we take care of each other no matter what.”
“That’s a heartbreaking story, Tin.” I coughed to beat back the lump in my throat as I leaned up to hug him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.
He hugged me back but chuckled. “What are you talking about? It has a happy ending. Santa granted my wish. I may have had a rough start in life, but I have a family now, and I get to spend every Christmas bringing joy to people all over the world. I’m happy, Sadie. I was just trying to explain how people from the real world end up crashing out of the sky in a sleigh.”
/> I leaned back but kept my hands on his shoulders. He rested his on my hips.
“So, all elves are like that? They don’t have anyone who’ll miss them on Christmas Eve?”
“We’re not all orphans, but yeah, in a nutshell.”
So, they all had stories to tell. I wanted to know Max’s and El’s too. I wanted to know more about them all and how they’d ended up crashing at my feet.
I pushed Tin’s hood back to see his face properly, running my fingers through the soft white fur. His blond hair was falling in a wavy mess over his forehead, and I brushed it away. It was softer than the fur trim.
His arms circled my back and drew me closer, that glint of white sparkling in his green eyes. His full lips were parted, his breath misting in the cold. I closed my eyes and leaned in. My lips brushed his in a soft, barely there kiss.
A twig snapped in the trees to my right. My eyes widened as I startled in Tin’s arms, breaking the kiss before it had really started.
We both turned to scan the trees as best we could in the dark.
Another twig snapped, followed by rustling. I frowned. Whatever it was sounded big. My heart started to beat a little faster as my mind offered picture after picture of feral wild animals.
I shuffled my feet, ready to run, but Tin’s strong arms kept me in place.
The branches rustled again, followed by a grunting sound mixed with a loud exhale.
Whatever was stalking us was huge.
The Reindeer
For the second time that night, I wondered how long it would be before they discovered my body. Would it even be recognizable? What the hell was I thinking wandering into the dark woods at night with a guy I’d only just met?
I chanced looking away from the ominous, rustling darkness to glance back at Tin’s face, just in time to see it break into a massive grin. I hadn’t even realized how tense his shoulders were until they relaxed, his arms around me loosening.
He looked down at me and took a step back, the smile never wavering.
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of the beast.
I planted my feet and tried to yank him back. “What, are you crazy? We need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Oh, no, it’s OK. He’s not gonna hurt you. Come on.” He gave me a reassuring smile and another tug but didn’t try to drag me unwilling into the scary situation. He just patiently waited.
I eyed the darkness, and the rustling and grunting started up again. I looked back into Tin’s eyes. There wasn’t even a hint of fear. If anything, he looked kind of excited.
“Is this the part where you feed me to some kind of evil beast as a sacrifice to get your sleigh moving again?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “No one’s seen a Krampus in years. I promise no one is going to hurt you. I’ve got you, Sadie.”
“What’s back there?” I chewed on my lip, unsure. His complete lack of fear was putting me at ease somewhat, but I was still wary.
“Just let me show you. Trust me?”
After another few glances between the darkness and my new elf friend, I finally nodded. Immediately, he led the way through the pines, carefully stepping over the frozen ground and ducking under low-hanging limbs. We emerged into a small clearing, the moon peeking through the thick branches to illuminate the area.
In the middle stood a reindeer.
My eyes widened, this time in awe more than fear, and I froze, clutching Tin’s hand again. The reindeer was huge; its antlers looked deadly, but at least it wasn’t charging. It was just standing there, eyeing us. I didn’t think this park had any wildlife bigger than racoons.
“Those antlers look like they could take out a pro wrestler. Maybe we should just leave?” I eyed Tin out of the corner of my eye, keeping my focus on the magnificent beast. It shuffled in place and made that grunting noise I’d heard in the dark. It almost sounded offended that I’d insinuated it would try to hurt us.
Tin just shrugged and moved forward, dragging me along with him. “Any other time of the year, I’d agree with you. But at Christmastime, we have a certain understanding with the reindeer. It’s rare, but when elves have to spend a bit of time in the real world during Christmas, creatures like reindeer tend to be drawn to us. Our sleighs are powered by a more modern kind of magic these days, but there is a reason the cliché of Santa’s sleigh being pulled by flying reindeer is a cliché. Once upon a time, this guy’s ancestor probably helped Santa get his work done.”
The reindeer let us walk right up to it, close enough that I could see my reflection in its dark eye. He made another kind of grunting sound and snorted out a breath, but he kept pretty still, even when Tin patted him on the nose.
Bit by bit, the fear left me, the magic of the situation bringing out giddy excitement to replace the adrenaline. I reached out a tentative hand and patted the reindeer’s neck. He was soft and warm under my palm, and it almost felt like he leaned into my touch.
I shared a wide smile with Tin as we petted the magnificent animal in the moonlight.
After a few moments, the reindeer shook his head from side to side, making us duck out of the way of his powerful antlers. We stepped back, and it lowered its head in something resembling a bow. Tin gave it a slow nod back, and the reindeer turned and walked off into the trees, disappearing into the darkness.
I turned to Tin, a huge grin on my face. “That . . .” I whispered and punctuated every word with a nod. “Was. Freaking. Awesome.”
“I told you to trust me.” He smiled and came to stand directly before me. “Now, where were we before we were rudely interrupted by Prancer?”
“That was Prancer?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist. “You’re missing the point,” he whispered against my lips as he started to walk me backward.
“What’s the point?” I threaded my fingers through the hair at the back of his head as my back connected with a pine tree.
“This,” he breathed before pressing his lips against mine. His weight pinned me to the tree as his tongue teased my lips. I opened for him, deepening the kiss.
I dragged my hands around from his neck to the top of his chest and pushed gently. He pulled his mouth away from mine and watched me, breathing hard.
“Shouldn’t we be . . . you know . . . collecting x-mas juice or whatever, to power the sleigh?” My brain wasn’t working properly, and my breathy voice was just short of a moan.
Tin flashed me his perfect teeth. “There’s more than one way to feel . . . cheerful.”
He pressed his hips forward, and his arousal dug into my belly. My breath hitched, heat pooling between my thighs.
“Next you’re gonna tell me to jingle your bells,” I teased.
“If that’s what you’re into.” He pushed a knee between my legs and rocked his hips. I rolled mine, desperately seeking friction.
“You’re sure we have time for this?” I really hoped he wouldn’t say no, but I couldn’t be responsible for kids not getting their presents just because I was horny. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.
He nodded. “Positive.”
“In that case . . .”
I pushed against his chest, more forcefully now, until he backed up and I was able to switch places with him. With a grin on his face, he let me maneuver him so he was leaning back against the tree.
I plastered my front against his and kissed him again. He trailed his hands down to grip my ass through my bulky coat.
I was no longer cold. It was clearly still freezing, our uneven breaths misting in the air, but I couldn’t feel it. With my heart hammering and my arousal sending heat down my spine to the spot between my legs, I was positively hot. And there was way too much clothing between us.
I broke the kiss and started kissing and licking Tin’s jaw. His minty, smoky smell was both exciting and comforting at once. He smelled so good I wanted to lick him—so I did. I licked and nipped his neck as I popped the ornate buttons on his coat one after another. H
is skin was pale in the moonlight and hot and smooth under my mouth.
With the last button undone, I opened his coat and ran my hand down his front. He wore black pants and a plain white T-shirt—just like the one that had peeked out of El’s open coat earlier. And just like El’s, it clung to his body. His chest and stomach were hard under my touch. I lifted the hem of the T-shirt just enough to snake my fingers underneath, to feel the soft hair disappearing under his belt, the smooth muscle as it clenched under my cold fingers.
In a fraction of the time it had taken me to unbutton his coat, Tin pulled my zipper down and wrapped his arms around my waist under the puffy fabric. Without even glancing down at what I looked like under there, he pulled me up against him and kissed me hard. His hand roamed my body as his mouth explored mine.
I moaned and started to writhe against him, spreading my legs, seeking friction. His rock-hard erection pressed against my front, but I needed it just a little lower.
With a strong arm around my back and his tongue still down my throat, Tin reached down with his free hand and pulled my leg up until it was hitched over his hip. He bent his knees slightly, and suddenly his hardness was exactly where I wanted it. I gasped and rolled my hips against his. He kissed my neck and dragged his hand up the outside of my thigh. As we ground against each other, he grabbed my ass under my dress and kneaded the flesh, his strong grip pushing me harder against his gyrating hips.
I threw my head back to give him better access to my throat, and he sucked at that sensitive spot in the curve, making me moan into the darkness. With only one foot planted on the ground, I was glad he was holding me so tightly.
I’d never had sex outside, certainly never considered it when the smell of snow was in the air, but I figured there was a first time for everything.
The thrill of getting caught only made me more aroused; moisture pooled at my core as I smiled and dropped my head to kiss him again.
He grunted, and the hand at my back moved down to join his other hand on my ass.
Resting my knee on the rough bark of the tree for balance, I pulled back a fraction. He whimpered at the sudden lack of friction and opened his eyes. That glint of white magic sparked in them again, rendering me momentarily mesmerized, but I shook it off and wedged my arms between us. I held his gaze, both of us breathing heavily, as I undid his pants and pulled back the elastic of his underwear until I could put my hand down there.
It Started With a Sleigh Page 3
