The Reindeer's Halloween Claim

by E A Price

  “You can’t stay here tonight, and it’s late, pack a bag,” he said in a surprisingly authoritative tone, which was just as hot as the shy tone he usually adopted. Ah, who was she kidding – he could douse himself in barbecue sauce and run around naked shouting ‘I’m a hedgehog,’ and she would still find it hot. Well, the barbecue sauce and nakedness would indeed be hot.

  Heather glanced at her door, and he had a point. “I guess I could call Temp, though it’s rather late, but there’s always a hotel.”

  “You’ll come home with me,” he declared in a bossy tone with barely even a blush. Her sex wept a little more.

  “I will?” she purred.

  “Yes… please,” he added sweetly.

  Hmm, sweet, bossy, shy – she adored it all.

  Heather shrugged. “Okay.”

  He seemed a little surprised by her quick recapitulation, but come on, her door was on the floor and virtually shredded. She wasn’t wholly boneheaded about her own safety.

  “Uh, I’ll try and cover the door. I’ll get a herd mate to fix it tomorrow.”

  “Sure.”

  Heather sauntered away and went to the bathroom to grab her shampoo – always a must wherever she went. She almost couldn’t believe how normal she looked in her reflection. Outside she looked like her usual unflappable self, but inside she was as jumpy as a bunny rabbit.

  In all her thirty years, she had never been kissed quite like that, and it was a little exhilarating and a little scary – in a good way though. For once in her life, Heather wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jax held a finger up to his lips. Heather gave him a quizzical look, but she didn’t shout out, ‘Why do we have to be quiet?’ Which is undoubtedly what any member of his family would have done at that moment.

  She had actually been surprisingly co-operative. He didn’t really expect her to be difficult per se, but she was hardly a dainty daffodil. He half expected her to want to stay in her apartment, daring that idiot cougar to come back – which she would have done with Jax sleeping outside her door because there was no way he was leaving her alone. He was not going to allow the cougar to come barreling in and do something completely unreasonable like convince her actually to mate him.

  Jax was pleased he managed to get her to pack a bag and leave. She hadn’t been annoyed when he managed to pull the handle off her suitcase, or that he broke one of the buttons in the elevator at her building. She hadn’t even insisted on a hotel. He half expected her to demand he take her to one and get a room – which she would have done with Jax sleeping outside her door for the aforementioned reason of keeping out randy cougars.

  Nope, she allowed Derrick to take her wherever he wanted which happened to be his house, and which happened to contain his nosey family. He supposed he could have taken her to Temp’s home, and she would have been happy to see her, though it may take Harlan a while to come to that same conclusion. But Jax had decided on his own home, where he could legitimately stay near her, and make sure no mating-obsessed cougars got near her.

  Gently, oh so gently, he opened the kitchen door, carefully holding it steady, lifting it slightly, so it didn’t squeak – forgetting had been the mistake he made last time he tried his best to sneak in. Of course, stopping the squeak couldn’t do anything to remedy the fact that his mom was awake and sitting at the kitchen table in the dark.

  Heather flinched and moved a little closer to him as his mom flicked the light on. Though, she seemed to un-tense once she realized that the person facing them was a middle-aged woman in a pink bathrobe that had a bunny sewn onto the pocket.

  Interest immediately poured over his mom’s face, but it was Heather who got the first word in.

  “Jeez, you scared me there,” she chuckled. “Do you always sit around in the dark?”

  Jax gaped as his mom hooted with laughter. “Absolutely. Honey, I have five sons – how else will I know what they’re up to unless I sneak around and catch them in the act?”

  “Sound behavior. My mom tried the same thing when I was a teenager, but she always fell asleep before I came home.”

  “I’m Marcy,” introduced his mom.

  “Heather, it’s lovely to meet you.”

  “You too, dear.” His mom turned to Jax who was fast feeling like an overgrown lemon. “Of course I’ve never really had to worry about Jameson.”

  Heather scrunched her pretty nose. “Jameson.”

  “Me,” muttered Jax.

  “I like the name Jameson,” twinkled Heather approvingly.

  “Jameson is my baby and has always been my good boy,” beamed his mom, pinching his cheek in a way that made him both proud and embarrassed.

  “I can well believe it,” purred Heather, lowering her eyelashes in what he might have suspected was a flirtatious manner.

  “So are you and my son…”

  “No!” blurted Jax so vehemently he made both women jump. It was all well and good for the two of them to chat and tease him, but there was no way he was allowing his mother to question Heather about his supposed sex life. There was only so much he could take before he really did melt in shame. Or before his mom winkled the truth out of him about that kiss they had shared only an hour ago. A kiss he was trying not to think about.

  Both women stared at him, and both seemed a tad disappointed. Jax cleared his throat, trying to cover up the awkwardness of the moment.

  “Heather is a friend of Temp’s, and she needs to stay the night.”

  “Of course, she’s very welcome,” his mom said immediately, and Jax smiled at her. His mom was a lot of things – pushy, nosey, obsessive, to name a few – but she had a huge heart. “Are you hungry, honey? Can I make you something to eat? What about you, sweetie?” she asked Jax. “You’re looking way too thin,” she added in disapproval and against all evidence to the contrary.

  Heather raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down – thoroughly. “Couldn’t hurt to gain a few more pounds.”

  “I’m still kind of full from dinner.” Which had contained four courses - of which he had seconds and thirds – his mom had outdone herself that evening. Her cooking did tend to be more adventurous during rutting season though – something to do with her being in a constant good mood.

  “I’m not that hungry either. To be honest, I’m kind of tired,” admitted Heather. “I usually need a solid eight hours.”

  His mom nodded approvingly.

  “Also, I should warn you I do tend to snore just a teeny-weeny bit.” Heather held up a finger and a thumb, just a whisper apart. “So much so that Temp invested in earplugs and noise-canceling headphones when we shared a room in college. Actually, I think everyone who lived on the same floor did that.”

  His mom waved a hand. “Honey, there are eight reindeer shifters and one deer shifter in this house – you are in good company as far as snorers go.”

  Heather yawned and rubbed her eyes, and his mom took the opportunity to mouth the words, ‘I love her’ at him. Yeah, he could see why she would, though it didn’t stop the steady flush rising over his neck.

  “Now, it is rather late, otherwise I’d say she could share your room,” said his mom.

  The flush reached his nose after that statement.

  “Oh, I don’t mind sharing,” said Heather airily.

  “I share with two brothers.” The flush was now at his hairline.

  “If they weren’t already asleep I’d kick them out to sleep in the garage,” said their mom with a certain amount of glee, “but they are reindeer with sore heads if they wake up before their alarm. Will the couch be okay?”

  “The couch will be perfect,” replied Heather, “since nothing else is on offer,” she added, playfully nudging Jax with an elbow.

  His mom hooted in amusement, and Jax quickly went in search of sheets.

  *

  Jax hovered over the couch while Heather tried to beat the pillows he brought her into submission. She liked them nice and squishy, so they
were conducive to a deep and long sleep.

  “I’m sorry about my mom.”

  Heather looked up at him, frowning at the awkward expression on his face.

  “Why? I love her!” she told him honestly.

  Marcy was fun and teasing, rather than censorial and passive-aggressive like her own mom. If the roles had been reversed, she dreaded to think what her mom had said if Heather had dragged Jax into her house in the middle of the night. She wouldn’t have welcomed him with offers of food and a place to stay, that was for darn sure!

  Jax rubbed the back of his neck and frankly looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. “She assumed we were… ah…”

  “Rocking each others’ worlds?” she joked though she was pleased to note that he wasn’t horrified by the idea. “I suppose it was inevitable she thought that given that you brought me home in the middle of the night.”

  Jax straightened a little, puffing out an already magnificent chest. “I told her you’re not that type of woman.”

  Heather slowed her beating until she was merely patting the pillows. “I’ve gone home with plenty of guys I don’t know very well,” she told him honestly. “Admittedly only one of them lived at home with his family.” His mother had not been as warm and welcoming as Marcy. No, she chased Heather out of the house with a broom for daring to defile her precious, little guy.

  “I thought that was something you don’t like about me.”

  His brow furrowed so hard it looked like a rain gutter had been carved into his forehead. “That’s not true.”

  Heather smiled bitter-sweetly. “You didn’t seem pleased at the restaurant earlier when we saw... that guy I used to date.” No need to rub it in and say his name.

  “It wasn’t like that,” he blustered, “I like… I like you, just as you are.” His eyes widened after his declaration as if he was surprised he had made it at all.

  “I like you just as you are, too!” she gushed, and truth be told, she was a little surprised by her own declaration. But, not sad that she said it.

  “Ah… oh…” He started to stutter, and she decided to save him before he exploded in bashfulness.

  She considered talking to him about the kiss she had planted on him earlier. Perhaps she ought to apologize for that – she had been using him to piss off Carson, after all. Though, she hadn’t been thinking much of Carson when they were actually kissing. Nope, the cougar was the furthest thing from her mind.

  Heather stood on the couch so that they were finally at an equal height. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a small peck on the cheek. She would have gone for the lips, but she was rather tired, and if something was going to happen, which didn’t seem as unlikely as it had an hour ago, it was going to happen while she was fully awake and enjoying every damn second.

  “Thank you for what you did tonight.”

  “You’re welcome,” he murmured.

  “Good night, Jameson.”

  He let out a gentle snort at the name. “Night.”

  With that, he left, and she settled down into a sleep full of lovely dreams.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jax groaned. “What the hell are you guys doing?” he demanded in a furious whisper.

  None of his brothers or sisters in law looked up. Nope, they were too busy peering over the noisily sleeping Heather. Well, except for Dex, he looked up long enough to waggle his eyebrows and give his twin a thumbs-up.

  “Didn’t believe Mom when she said you brought a girl home, but I am impressed,” said Dex with a distinctly proud look on his face, and with no attempt at keeping his voice down.

  “Hush, you’ll wake her,” whispered Jax, sidling into the room, trying to be quiet, but managing to knock over the coffee table.

  “Doubtful,” snorted Rosa – a sister-in-law. “Haven’t heard a sound like that since my wedding ring got trapped in the waste disposal.”

  “It’s not that bad,” grumbled Jax defensively.

  “You may want to invest in some earplugs,” advised his brother, Frank.

  Jax came to stand next to the couch and folded his arms while glowering at his nosey family. He tried to mouth at them to go away, but they didn’t budge an inch. Apparently, Heather fascinated them, and he had to admit she did look lovely. Okay, so her hair looked distinctively like it would be a welcome home for a bird, and her mouth was gaping open, and there was a little drool escaping, plus every few seconds she kept lashing out almost violently, but yeah, she looked beautiful.

  “She’s quite a looker,” said his other brother, Dash, with a slap to Jax’s back.

  “Yeah, she sure is,” agreed Dash’s mate, Laila with feeling.

  Dash gave her a quizzical look but then shrugged.

  “I don’t think I could live with that sound,” said Dozer, as Heather made a series of grunts that sounded like she was coughing up a hairball.

  “Then consider yourself lucky you don’t have to share a room with you,” hissed Jax peevishly. His family members looked at him in surprise, before sharing a few chuckles.

  Feeling emboldened, he told them to ‘beat it,’ and amazingly, they did. They were wearing matching smug expressions, but they went on into the kitchen for breakfast.

  “Heather,” he murmured, leaning down, trying to wake her gently. He inhaled her soft scent, and his beast let out a throaty rumble. It hadn’t exactly been easy sleeping in the same house as her. Not that he got much sleep. All night he had tossed and turned, knowing that she was just down the hall, knowing that with just a few steps, he could have her in his arms…

  “Oh, Jax,” she moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck tighter than an anaconda.

  “Uh… ah…”

  Jax panicked a little and stood bolt upright. But given Heather’s grip on him, she just came right on up too, wrapping her legs around his waist. Instinctively, his hands settled on her waist, lest he dropped her, plus they felt perfect there.

  She snuggled against his chest for a few moments, while he stood there like a dummy, not daring to move a muscle, fearing he may wake her. Fearing this impromptu embrace may end too soon. He couldn’t deny he was rather enjoying it, though it was hardly helpful to the aroused state he seemed to be in whenever he found her near. No, it was only making that situation worse.

  Heather rubbed her cheek against his chest and started slowly blinking into wakefulness. “Jax?” she murmured.

  “Oh… ah…” How could he explain how she found herself in his arms? He hadn’t meant to touch her in her sleep.

  Thankfully, the outrage he was expecting never came. Instead, he was met with a throaty laugh, and the words, “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t sleep-punch you – that’s my go-to move.”

  He smiled slightly, considering whether to blush or laugh when a voice cut through the moment and made the decision for him. A blush rocketed through his body.

  “I’ll say,” said Temp. “I was black and blue for a month in college until I started waking her up with a pole.”

  Jax spun them so they could see the alpha, Harlan, Temp, and Clay watching them with varying degrees of impatience and amusement. He had reported what happened with Carson to Mal, and he in turn told the alpha, and now here he was.

  “Are we interrupting?” asked Harlan, indeed the most amused of the lot and giving them a very distinct leer.

  He was about to deny they were doing anything, about to defend Heather’s honor, when she snorted with laughter and called out, “Morning guys! Give me a minute, and I’ll be with you. I just need to use the bathroom.” She tightened her legs around his waist. “To the bathroom! Giddy up!”

  *

  “Mmmm, coffee,” cooed Heather as she allowed her nose to lead her into the kitchen. She had relieved her morning bladder but hadn’t bothered with dressing. She was in a respectable enough pair of pajamas, and she really needed caffeine if she was expected to have a serious talk to brooding Branch and the reindeer bunch.

  She beamed as she found eve
ryone already seated – there were a bunch of people there she didn’t know, but given the size of the unknown males, she took them to be Jax’s family. She was sure she’d seen at least one of his brothers around Temp’s charity center, but couldn’t for the life of her remember his name at that moment. The male was nice looking and big and all, but he wasn’t quite as instantly memorable as Jax.

  “Sit down, honey,” said Marcy with an alarming amount of cheeriness for the early hour, “I’ll get it.”

  “Thanks.”

  She slipped into a seat next to Jax – she had to oust Temp from it, but she got it. Temp rolled her eyes, and Harlan smirked as he pulled Temp onto his lap. There weren’t quite enough seats and besides, Temp liked sitting on her mate’s laugh.

  “Help yourself to whatever you want,” said Marcy, passing her a massive cup of coffee.

  “Mmmm, lovely,” salivated Heather greedily as she surveyed the spread. It was one of many things she loved about shifters – their enormous appetites. They damn well knew how to eat.

  She gave a cursory wave to everyone before returning to looking at the food.

  “I’m Heather and no offense, but it’s too early for me to remember your names right now, so please introduce yourselves later.”

  “Deal,” chuckled a large, older male who was likely Jax’s father.

  Heather patted her hair. “Sorry if I look frightful right now, I really can’t deal with make-up or hairbrushes until I have at least one cup of coffee.”

  “Oh, you look lovely,” gushed one of Jax’s sisters-in-law.

  The large male next to her nudged her. “Something you not telling me, babe?”

  The two of them started whispering and chuckling.

  “You’re sure we aren’t imposing,” said Branch to Marcy.

  “Of course not, Alpha!” she gushed in an almost obsequious way. “It’s an honor to have you in my home – let the alpha choose food first you animals!” The latter was said to her sons as she slapped a dishrag at them.