A Polar Bear Christmas

by Emilia Hartley

  Claus moved left, so she lunged right, using her martial arts training. Snow clung to her hair after she rolled, but the sound of defeat that Claus made was worth it. Another snowball soared past her.

  “It’s like you’re not even trying!” She spun around and tossed her snowball.

  It hit him in the chest. He looked down at the snow stuck to his coat. It hadn’t even moved him, as if he were a wall. Holly shouldn’t have been surprised. She was, however, determined to shake him.

  She grabbed another fistful of snow right before Claus’s fourth snowball hit her in the ass. She shrieked and straightened, tossing a glare over her shoulder at him.

  “Do you need me to wipe the snow off for you?”

  She didn’t respond. They weren’t a couple. They shouldn’t have been flirting like this with no one watching. It was no longer a show, but a dance they did around one another. There was attraction, pure chemistry, between them. Of course, it made Holly ache for more.

  She wondered if sleeping with him would make the chemistry evaporate. Perhaps that was all they had, a bit of lust tangled with their individual desires. Once they no longer fulfilled what the other wanted, they would go on their separate ways.

  Holly had a feeling that she was wrong. She didn’t think she’d ever tire of that hungry grin or his warming presence.

  He was prowling closer to her. She should have run, but his movements triggered something in her brain that must have been leftover from her parents’ instincts. She was trapped like a deer in the headlights. Claus closed the distance between them, slowly, the moment drawing out while she held her breath.

  Her senses returned before he could reach her. She shifted her stance and raised her prepared snowball. Claus caught on. She thought he would dodge. Instead, he launched himself toward her. She let out a yelp and tried to backpedal.

  He crashed into her and they tumbled to the ground together. Their laughter filled the air and shook snow from the naked branches. Claus wiped the snow and her own loose hair from her face. When their eyes met, she became aware of how their bodies aligned. She could feel his thick thighs between her legs.

  Her breath caught in her throat. She waited, almost expectantly, for his lips to descend upon hers and steal her breath away. The kiss they had shared in the diner hadn’t been enough. She wanted more.

  She wanted what she didn’t think Claus could give.

  A real relationship.

  Being trapped beneath him was unbearable. Knowing he was there, but she couldn’t keep him, tormented her. So, she did the only thing she could think of.

  She slammed her forgotten snowball into the side of his face. Snow burst in every direction. Claus grimaced, and she scrambled out from underneath him. He dug snow out of his ear, cursing her while she walked away.

  “What possessed you to do a thing like that?” he snarled.

  “Does that mean I win?”

  “Who taught you to play so damn viciously?” Claus stood up, brushing the snow from his knees. “Scratch that. Pretend I never asked such a dumb question.”

  Holly straightened, proud of herself. “Fuck this tree. Can we go get food now?”

  He snorted. “If you think I’m buying you dinner after that stunt…” Their eyes met, and Holly caught a glimpse of his dimple. “Well, you’d be right.”

  Chapter Eight

  He’s only after the Carter money.

  What do you think he’s trying to steal from the Carter Manor?

  Do you think Holly is helping him?

  The whispers that filled the air as they were guided to their table said the same thing over and over, just in slightly different ways. The waitresses and bartenders gathered, heads ducked as they talked among themselves. Every one of them implied that Claus was only with Holly because he wanted something from the Carters.

  Claus met each of their eyes and challenged them to say more. When he looked at them, they didn’t dare. The moment he looked away, the whispers started back up again.

  Holly touched his arm and shook her head. It wasn’t worth it, her gesture seemed to say. He tried to smile for her sake, reaching to pluck a snowflake from her hair.

  The thing that bothered Claus the most was that the gossip was true. He was only in her life to get one thing. The story they’d woven to feed her parents wasn’t true. Claus was nothing more than an imposter trying to sneak into a nest.

  Guilt swam in his stomach. He wondered if he would ever stop being such an awful person. It seemed, even when he tried to do something good, that he couldn’t stop ruining everything he touched.

  He blew a breath out his nose and thought of Risa. His boss’s daughter had always seemed distant and aloof. He’d thought that was some teenage brooding phase that she would grow out of. He never once stopped to wonder if Risa was actually happy. His boss had set rules she needed to live by. It wasn’t easy being the daughter of a crime boss.

  Her safety had been of the upmost importance. Safety, they’d been told, was all that mattered. But, Claus began to wonder if it hadn’t been about safety at all. His boss had lost Risa’s mother to another man. Perhaps safety had been a way to cage Risa so that he would not lose her, too.

  Unfortunately, it backfired.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Holly interrupted his thoughts.

  “How can you tell I’m thinking of anything?” To be honest, he was surprised she could read him that easily already.

  “There’s smoke coming out of your ears. Clearly, your brain was never meant to process such deep thought.”

  He laughed and put an arm around her lower back to pull her close. He would miss her, but he didn’t dare trap her in the life he led. It would be as much a cage as the one Risa lived in. Risa was a shifter. Despite all Holly’s talk of being durable, she was still human. He knew how easily humans died.

  Their lives were so easily snuffed out.

  She touched his cheek, her palm warm against his skin. She turned his face toward her. “Whatever you’re thinking now, set it aside. Let’s enjoy our dinner.”

  He touched the back of her hand and offered a wan smile. She didn’t seem convinced but let go of him to take her seat.

  Claus wondered if this was what holiday cheer should have felt like. It was as if the universe had given him a gift this year. Holly wasn’t wrapped in paper. She didn’t have a bow on her head. Yet, she was so much more than he deserved. He didn’t think he’d laughed this much in…years. Who would have thought he’d set fire to a Christmas tree to make someone laugh? That he would have a snowball fight in the woods?

  The second was something out of a straight-to-tv holiday movie. Claus’s life wasn’t fit for TV. Not unless it was a crime drama, and he was the villain. No, not the villain. He was merely a henchman to be caught and used against his boss. He didn’t even rate high enough to be the center of a show.

  He snapped himself out of it, shaking away his sour thoughts. Holly held her menu in one hand but lifted a brow in his direction as if to ask if he was alright. He glanced around the restaurant for the first time. It was gilded, decorated in an art décor flair. Crystal chandeliers suspended prisms over their heads and reflected multi-colored lights across the marble floors.

  “This is a fancy place for a man like me.” He lifted the menu and gave it a once-over. “And these prices are too steep. I, ah…”

  He didn’t know how to tell Holly he couldn’t afford what she wanted. It had been his intention to treat her to a nice dinner date, but he couldn’t even do that. The prices on the menu in his hand were astronomical. He was nothing more than a lowly criminal. It didn’t even pay that well.

  Without looking up, Holly responded. “If you’re worried about price, I have a solution.”

  Between her fingers was a sleek, black plastic card. Claus frowned. A credit card wasn’t the answer to these prices. She would spend the rest of her life paying off just this one dinner.

  “Clearly, you haven’t noticed the name on the card
.”

  He plucked it from her hands to get a better look and found himself barking. Everyone in the restaurant turned to glare at them, but Claus didn’t care. His date was a sneaky one, he thought. Somewhere between coffee and leaving the house, she’d snatched Elise’s premium credit card from her purse.

  “As I see it, my cousin owes me for damages. This is just the first payment.”

  Claus shook his head. He shouldn’t have approved of such thievery. He didn’t want to rub off on her and soil her life. If he spent much more time with her, she’d become a criminal just like him. It was the last thing he wanted for Holly.

  Holly put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “When I was my brother’s age, I used to take Dad’s card. Technically, Dad paid for my first tattoo.”

  “What you’re saying is that you did dumb stuff like this long before I came along?”

  Her grin gave away everything. “I’ve only ever stolen from my family though. As I see it, I’m forcing them to give me the inheritance they owe me. Or, at least paying for past damages.”

  He watched her run her finger along a tattoo. It was then he noticed the raised lines beneath the colored skin. The line curled in a little, a dotted crescent. His stomach sank when he realized the scar was teeth marks.

  “You were bitten?” He reached for her arm. His fingers brushed more than one scar.

  “Robbie and Elise thought they could change me. Mom and Dad didn’t stop them because…what if they could? I have worse scars. Hooves hurt like hell.

  “I left when I turned seventeen. Didn’t ask for permission. Didn’t look back. I just got in my car and started to drive. Anywhere was better than Christmas Central. I found a job at a bookstore in Raleigh. They became my family. We would have release parties for new books and host authors. Everyone always asked me to bring my signature sugar cookies.”

  Claus smiled. No matter what she’d gone through, the life she’d found was better. It made her happy. “They sound nice.”

  “Sometimes,” Holly began, her eyes tracking the waiters bearing trays of food, “it’s the families we find that give us a reason to go on. Blood can only go so far. It takes love and intention to make a family work.” She looked at him and his heart fluttered. “My co-workers would love you. Aside from the fact that you could probably lift a pallet of books by yourself, they would like your humor. You’d fit right in.”

  He knew it wasn’t an offer, but her words still hit him with a longing he couldn’t describe. It shouldn’t have taken his breath away or tightened his stomach the way it did. He had his own found family waiting for him. His boss had taken him in when he was low and alone. That should have been enough for Claus.

  Still, he found himself longing for the laughter that would come with Holly’s family. Something about sugar cookies and her presence made him all too eager to abandon his job.

  The waiter arrived with food. Plates filled the table, a hundred delicious smells reaching his nose in an instant. Holly’s stomach grumbled loudly for all to hear. He felt a pang of guilt that he was not the one feeding her. He should have taken care of her, but she was the one who’d secured this dinner.

  Claus swallowed down the guilt and longing that was churning inside of him. This wasn’t his life. Holly wasn’t his mate. No matter how much he wanted her. No matter how he felt.

  She wasn’t…his mate.

  He didn’t think so.

  “Did I order wrong? I thought you’d like braised beef…” Holly leaned back in her seat, her eyes wide with worry. He caught the way her hands curled into fists on the table.

  “No. No, that’s not it. I just…got a bit distracted again. There’s, ah, a lot of work to be done.”

  Her face fell. “Oh. Alright then.”

  He didn’t know how to bring her smile back. His head spun, trying to put things back into a recognizable order. It seemed like he couldn’t get anything right. He was certain Holly couldn’t be his mate. A man like him didn’t deserve one. He’d always thought that if he met his mate, it would be one of those disastrous relationships. Toxic and filled with a lot of hate-fucking.

  When he was with Holly, he was happy. If she was his mate, he didn’t know how he would ever convince her. This wasn’t a real relationship. It was an arrangement meant to annoy her parents. She wouldn’t want a man like him. Not when she realized all he’d done. He’d hurt people. Hell, he’d killed people.

  Where would her smiles be after he told her? It wasn’t like he could live in secrecy for the rest of his life. The best thing for him to do would be to end it. Once this arrangement had been fulfilled, he would grab Robbie and head back home. He wouldn’t think of Holly. He wouldn’t contact her.

  He would let her get on with her life in Raleigh.

  “Are you sure this is okay? Because I don’t mind charging something else to Elise’s card. It’s just that you look so miserable. You can tell me if I screwed up.”

  “Calm down, woman. You did nothing wrong. Hell, you’ve been great in more ways than I can count…” He paused. “Is that a plate of fried pickles? In a restaurant like this?”

  Holly’s grin was sublime. “The chef likes me, so he lets me put in special orders.”

  Claus couldn’t fight his growl. The thought of another man near her drove his beast wild. It had been easy to forget around her family, but the moment the mention of another man left her lips, his beast thrashed. It clawed at Claus’s mind, desperate to attack the other man.

  To calm it, he grabbed a pickle spear and jammed it into his mouth. The pickle was greasy and acidic all at once. They were the perfect appetizer, and no one could argue. Food quieted his beast, drowning one instinct with another.

  “I still think there’s something wrong.” Holly stared at her wine glass. When she looked at him, there was a quiver to her lip that she tried to hide behind a smile. “You haven’t offered to fuck me all day. Are you sick?”

  He snorted. “That’s rich. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I’m sick because I offer to fuck you five times an hour?”

  The smile widened into something real.

  He opened his mouth to tell her the truth, what he’d been thinking, when the door burst open. Cold air washed over the dining room. Heads swiveled toward the door. The figure framed in it would have been beautiful had Claus not known her true nature.

  Elise sashayed toward their table. She glared at them with an intensity that could have burnt the restaurant down. Holly cursed under her breath.

  “Look who wants to cause a scene again,” Claus muttered.

  Holly licked her lips. Claus caught the fear that had drawn her face tight. He felt the urge to stand between Holly and Elise, even if he knew the other shifter wouldn’t physically hurt Holly in public. Elise saved that for when they were behind closed doors.

  “Look at where I found a pair of petty thieves!” Elise crooned for the whole restaurant to hear.

  It looked like they weren’t going to escape the rumors any time soon. Elise had just handed the gossipers evidence on a silver platter.

  “This is a beautiful spread. I hope you’re enjoying it on my card.”

  “Elise,” Holly pleaded with a hushed voice. “We can talk about this.”

  “What is there to talk about? You stole from me! I should have known you would always be a lowly excuse of a cousin, always grabbing for whatever you could take from your family that works so hard to provide for you.”

  Claus had no doubt that if Holly had a beast of her own, it would have leapt out and scratched Elise’s face off in that moment. He didn’t want Holly to have to suffer the public shame. It was bad enough that there was tension behind closed doors. He didn’t want her to have to hide her face when she escaped that house, too.

  “I thought we had an agreement,” Claus said, a little too loud. “Elise, darling. You said if I kept our affair quiet, you would pay for anything. I was just doing as you asked. If you wanted to go public, then all you needed to d
o was ask.”

  He jumped out of his chair and gathered Elise in his arms. Even if it was for show, his skin crawled to be near her. She let out a sound that was more animal than human, trying to push him away.

  “You asked for this,” he reminded her with a whisper. Louder he said, “Baby, what we have is too good to give up. Give me a chance to make things right.”

  Elise shoved him off and staggered back. Claus used the moment to whisper one word to Holly.

  Run.

  Holly scrambled out of her chair and disappeared into the darkness of the restaurant. It didn’t matter because all eyes were still on this burly man and Elise, staring daggers at him.

  “If this is how you’re going to treat me in public,” Claus began, “then I think I’ve made a huge mistake. Holly? Oh, dear. Holly? Will you ever…” He spun around and pretended to be surprised when she wasn’t there.

  Truth be told, this was the most fun he’d had in ages. Elise was furious. She finally realized how many people were staring at their very public fight. She looked from person to person. They’d all heard Claus’s declarations, the lies he’d expertly woven to trap her.

  ***

  Holly burst into laughter when Claus finally walked out of the restaurant. She held her stomach, bent over double at how hard she was laughing. The look on Elise’s face when he grabbed her had been priceless. No one would ever get her a better Christmas present.

  “We should get out of here before she returns,” Holly managed to say. “It should take her a while to come after us.”

  Claus gave her a questioning look, and she held herself upright.

  “Be proud of me. I wanted to put a steak knife through her tire, but I didn’t. Instead I used Dad’s roadside kit to take off one of her tires. I highly doubt Elise knows how to put it back on herself.”

  Claus grunted. “Did you abstain from stabbing her tire or did you realize you didn’t have the strength to do it?”