by Lily Rede
“They must be wrapping up. I’d better go and see if I can find Henry.”
“That’s a good idea.”
She raised trembling fingers to her lips and David’s cock twitched hard. He swallowed, trying to find his center.
“Holly – ”
“Let’s talk after the holiday, okay?” There was distance in her voice, and lead settled into David’s stomach like a stone, but he nodded.
She was right. It was too much to deal with right now. Scooting around the costume-clad child, who was now fidgeting, waiting for Holly’s undivided attention, David slipped out of the room.
HOLLY WAS TRYING TO hold it together, grateful that one of the parents hadn’t walked in on them. One of the students was bad enough. She went through her mental list of all the reasons that getting involved with David was a bad idea. Even though it felt like a really, really, good idea. And her neglected pussy definitely agreed.
She plastered on a smile and turned to face the child.
“You should be out taking a bow with the rest of the class. Tommy? April?”
With the head on, it was impossible to tell which child was which.
Little fingers reached up to yank the headpiece off, revealing shining blond curls and pointed ears.
“Glitzy!” Holly gasped, “What the hell are you doing here?”
The little elf frowned.
“Bad words make Santa cry.”
“They do not. That’s just an old wives’ tale. But you know what does make Santa cry? Naughty elves that leave the North Pole while Santa’s out delivering toys. “
She glanced at her watch.
“I know he left already. You should be with Mom and the others, waiting for him to get back!”
“But Miss Holly, this is my mission!”
The sound of childish laughter and voices in the hallway made Holly freeze.
“Is everything okay? Mom?”
The elf nodded vigorously.
“Mrs. Claus is wise and wonderful. And kind, and gentle, and generous, and sweet, and…”
“Glitzy, you can’t be seen here. Unless there’s an emergency, you have to go.”
“But – ”
“Can it wait until later, please?”
Glitzy frowned, then pulled two candy canes out of thin air, handing her one. She sucked thoughtfully for a moment, and then nodded, a brilliant smile filling her face.
“Later is okay.”
In a cloud of sparkling elf dust, she disappeared, only to POP back almost immediately.
“Now what?” Holly was mildly panicked. The kids were just outside the door.
“Your boyfriend is cute.” Glitzy winked and popped out again.
Holly groaned internally. Elves were horrible gossips. In an hour, every elf in the North Pole would be falling over themselves to dig up every little shred of David’s life to pepper her with questions and trivia over dinner tomorrow night. Elves were like caffeinated squirrels most of the year, in hyper toy-making mode. They loved making toys almost as much as they loved sugar, which was saying something. It was only on Christmas that the elves took a break – from the moment Santa took off on his sleigh to the final toast on Christmas Day, the elves were on vacation. And a bored elf was trouble.
And now they think I’m with David Brewster. Great. All of the nagging, none of the potentially mind-blowing sex.
Holly took a bite of her candy cane and prepared for the worst.
THE NIGHT WAS SUSPICIOUSLY quiet.
Holly couldn’t sleep. After the disastrous interruption by Glitzy, she’d expected to be bombarded by elves and Kringles demanding juicy details about her and the hot doctor. Instead, not a creature was stirring. Which meant one of two things. Either they weren’t interested. Fat chance. Or they had known that Holly was falling for the doctor, and were already scheming.
Staring into the fireplace, where flames flickered brightly, Holly cradled a mug of hot chocolate, hoping it would relax her, about to reach for the rum to speed the process along. She wasn’t ready to admit to herself that her restlessness had less to do with the elves and more to do with David. One thing was certain, she was eternally grateful that she and her sisters had made their nearly omniscient parents promise to leave them off the Naughty and Nice List. Living up to the Kringle legacy was hard enough without a magical list keeping track of your every move.
Besides, the things she wanted to do to David would ink her name on the Naughty List in permanent marker for all time. Holly suddenly wished she’d given in and bought that vibrator last week when Louisa had recommended it. She’d never owned one, but was starting to think it might be the way to go. That brought with it the image of a hot, naked David watching her as she used the toy, his eyes filled with hunger as she fucked herself for his pleasure, pretending the thick toy was him.
Definitely time for rum.
POP!
Glitzy appeared in a sparkly cloud just as Holly was about to head to the kitchen.
“Miss Holly, it’s later, like you said!”
“Glitzy, I’m not in the mood tonight. Can it wait until dinner tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow will be too late!”
Glitzy’s eyes filled with tears, and Holly bit back a curse. Elves were really good at turning on the guilt trip with some well-timed waterworks. She sighed and handed Glitzy her hot chocolate. Nothing comforted elves like sugar. Glitzy took a grateful gulp.
“What’s so important?”
Glitzy’s squeaky voice dropped to a whisper.
“Santa forgot a present!”
“What do you mean?”
“He left on his grand journey, bringing presents to all the children in all the – ”
“I know that part. Go on.”
“But there was one present left behind! It didn’t make it into the sleigh!”
Holly sat down on the couch, hard. This was new.
“That’s never happened before.”
Glitzy nodded vigorously, her curls bouncing.
“It’s a terrible tragedy. All the elves are crying. Your sister Merry is going over all the paperwork. Santa is halfway around the world and can’t come back in time.”
“What does this have to do with me? It’s sad that some child isn’t going to get a present, but – ”
“Mrs. Claus asks you to deliver the present.”
Holly laughed.
“What am I supposed to do? Pop in to somebody’s house, leave a present under the tree, and pop out? If you’re not Santa, that’s called breaking and entering.”
But Glitzy was nodding again.
“You’re the only one who can do it.”
“I doubt that. I have three sisters in the family business. They’re all just as capable of popping as I am.” A seed of suspicion began to form in Holly’s brain, but she was still stunned by the idea that a present had been left behind.
Glitzy frowned.
“Ivy is busy with the research firm Santa hired to help with External Relations. Merry is throwing the Sleigh Launch Party.”
“What about Noelle?”
Glitzy’s frown grew deeper and she polished off the rest of Holly’s hot chocolate.
“Noelle squabbled with Santa and he revoked her popping privileges for a month.”
Holly rolled her eyes. Her sister Noelle was definitely the troublemaker of the family. Idly, she wondered what Noelle had done this time, but tried to focus on the more immediate problem.
“It’s not just popping in, Glitzy. You know I’d have to wipe the parents’ memory and make them believe they bought the kid the present. I don’t have that kind of magic.”
In a flash, Glitzy blew a handful of glittery dust into Holly’s face, setting off a storm of sneezing.
“You do now!”
Holly glared at the grinning elf through watery eyes.
“That was unnecessary.”
“Very necessary, Miss Kringle. The little boy needs his present. And he only has a dad, so that’s only one
memory to wipe.”
The seed of suspicion sprouted into a curling vine, and then burst into riotous bloom as Glitzy held up a small, wrapped gift, the size of a video game. Frowning, Holly took the package and read the tag with a sinking stomach.
“To Henry, from Santa. Now, wait a minute…”
“Thank you, Miss Holly! See you tomorrow night!”
With a cheeky grin, Glitzy popped out, leaving a stunned Holly sitting on the couch, clutching Henry’s present.
Dammit.
THEY COULDN’T HAVE BEEN less subtle if they’d used a sledgehammer, thought Holly, crunching from her car across the snowy lawn in front of David’s house. The bored elves and probably her mother were playing matchmaker, no question about it.
She could have said “no.” She would have, too, if David hadn’t mentioned that Henry was dying for this video game, and the thought of disappointing him, even a little, sent a shard of pain through Holly’s heart. She shivered. She’d decided not to wear a coat, to avoid accidentally leaving something behind, but the jersey dress, though comfortable, was thin. Holly knew she was being ridiculous, donning a dress and stockings and makeup, but she had needed the extra hour to fortify herself for the task ahead.
“In and out, Kringle,” she muttered, her breath puffing in the cold.
Holly tried not to focus on the part where she would have to open David’s bedroom door to plant the memory of buying the gift. Did he sleep naked? Did he hold on to a pillow the way he’d hold onto her if she slept with him? Was his tall body as muscled and delicious as it had felt against her? She shook her head.
Not helpful.
The house was dark save for the front window, where tree lights blinked cheerily and behind, the soft glow of a fireplace lit the comfortable space. Knowing that the sooner she got it over with, the better, Holly took a deep breath, and –
POP!
The sudden switch from cold to warm sent a flood of shivers down Holly’s body as she got her bearings in the middle of the living room. Presents were piled high under the tree and the fire crackled merrily, the flames illuminating the pieces of a bike, half-assembled, scattered around the floor and the coffee table. Anywhere she stepped would be a disaster. However, Holly had no desire to move a muscle, because not two feet away, David was lying fast asleep on the couch.
Beautiful was the only thing Holly could think as she drank in the sight of him in nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms and an unbuttoned shirt, one arm flung over his head. The firelight painted his skin in oranges, highlighting all that warm muscle and glinting off the dusting of golden hair that swirled down into his waistband. Holly licked her lips.
This is SO fucking unfair.
Desperate to get the hell out of there before she did something she might regret, Holly started to turn, but forgot about the bike pieces on the floor. With a muffled squeak, she tumbled down toward the couch, catching herself with one hand on the back and one on the cushion by David’s waist, hovering over him, barely holding on to Henry’s present. She held her breath as he stirred, opening sleepy green eyes. To her shock, he smiled.
“Nice little Christmas present,” he mumbled, half-asleep, and tugged her to settle on top of him, tracing a hand up the back of her thigh, a pleased rumble vibrating his chest as he explored her stockings. “Mmm…garters. I must have been a very good boy this year for Santa to bring me something so naughty.”
He slid his hands under her dress to cup her ass, tugged her until his cock was pressed against her pussy.
“Perfect,” he groaned, as the ridge of his cock rubbed her clit.
Holly cried out. She couldn’t help it, and the present tumbled from her nerveless fingers to bounce amid the bike pieces, which jangled. The sound seemed to wake David, and his eyes widened as realization dawned.
“Holly? What the hell?”
Yeah, he was awake.
DAVID HAD FALLEN ASLEEP after hours of trying to put together that stupid bike. He figured a little nap would help his concentration, and that the infernal instructions would start to resemble human language at some point. His nap had been interrupted by the scent of cinnamon teasing his nostrils, and he’d opened his eyes to a vision – Holly hovering over him, lips parted, eyes bright. So he did what any sane man did when presented with a fantasy. He’d reached out and cemented their bodies from knee to chest. Of course, most men’s fantasies dissolved when reality intruded.
Not this one.
Holly was really here, and squirming to get away.
Uh-uh. Not until I get some answers.
Deftly, David rolled her under him. The new position crushed those fabulous breasts against his chest and his cock automatically settled more firmly against her pussy as her knees came up to cradle his hips, her dress tumbling up her thighs.
“I’m so sorry, David. You weren’t supposed to wake up while I was here. I just came to deliver that.”
She pointed at the fallen box.
“It’s for Henry. It’s his video game.” Holly swallowed nervously. “It’s from Santa.”
David scowled.
“You broke into my house to deliver a present from Santa? That’s insane.”
“I didn’t break in. I popped in,” Holly sighed, wiggling under him in the most distracting fashion. She seemed anxious to get away, but her fingers were digging into his biceps, as though to pull him closer.
“You’re not making any sense, Holly.”
For a horrible moment, he wondered if she were stalking him, and then dismissed the idea. Her reaction to him in the community center had been nearly shy at first, and fucking incredible, but not the response of a woman with a creepy obsession.
“You know all the jokes about me? Do I play reindeer games? Does my dad let me borrow the sleigh?” Holly trailed off.
David snorted.
“You think you’re Santa’s daughter?”
“One of them.”
“There is no such thing as Santa.”
Holly cringed, but only said lightly, “Mom will be sad to hear it.”
She let go of him and David immediately missed the bite of her nails.
“Henry’s present got left off the sleigh, which never happens, by the way. I was supposed to just pop in, deliver the present, wipe your memory, and pop out.”
“Wait, wipe my memory?” David was having a hard time, in more ways than one. Holly was obviously crazy, but her fidgety little movements under him were going to drive him right there with her. He rocked his hips slightly, unable to help himself, and watched as she caught her breath, heat filling her eyes.
Son of a bitch.
Holly licked her lips and tried to find her voice.
“It helps people who don’t believe in Santa understand how a strange present found its way under the tree. In the morning, you’d think you bought Henry’s video game, and you wouldn’t remember me being here at all.”
“I doubt I’m going forget this anytime soon.”
“Let me up and I’ll show you.”
Reluctantly, he let her sit up, waiting for her to bolt, but she only retrieved the box, picked her way toward the tree, and carefully tucked Henry’s game amid the other parcels before turning back. David stood and folded his arms, waiting for her to concede. Instead, a jingle of bells, a whiff of cold air that made the fire flicker, and suddenly, the bike that had nearly driven him to gift-icide sat gleaming in the middle of the room, fully assembled, not a screw out of place. David’s jaw dropped.
“How…how did you do that?”
“Good genes.” Holly said.
“I don’t believe it. It’s not possible.”
Holly picked up a snow globe off the mantel and brought it over to him. She waved her hand over it and held it up.
“Look.”
David looked into the globe, but where a snowman used to be, instead was the North Pole village, alive with color and light, as real as the breath in his lungs. Little elves scurried from place to place, unaware that they were b
eing watched. David looked up at Holly, stunned.
Santa’s daughter. Holy crap.
“Ready to run in terror?” Holly joked, her voice tight.
“Is that the usual response?” David tried to keep his voice light.
Holly shrugged.
“Most people think it’s kind of cool. And of course, the kids love it. But it’s kind of a buzz kill when I’m on a date.”
They were still hovering over the snow globe, heads close, and her delicate cinnamon smell teased his senses. Her soft brown eyes were so warm, her sweet lips so close, and something about her so incredibly…magical.
“So you’re going to wipe my memory?”
“It’s for the best.” Her voice was soft.
“Don’t. Please. I want to remember.”
David saw her hesitate, but she nodded.
“I should go.”
Holly put the snow globe down on an end table next to the couch.
“Mind if I use the door? Popping in and out makes me dizzy.”
He could only nod, but as she turned to go, with a whispered, “Merry Christmas,” David suddenly realized that he couldn’t let her walk out. Not tonight. It was Christmas, and he was going to give himself Holly Kringle as a present.
He caught her arm.
“Or you could stay.”
HOLLY HAD NEVER SEEN such hunger on a man’s face before. For her. The words hung between them, the only sound the crackle of the fire as she tried to process the implications.
“That’s a bad idea.”
“You’re right. Because if you stay, I’m going to have trouble finding a good reason not to strip you naked and make love to you for the rest of the night.”
“There are a million reasons!”
She knew she was blushing, but David only smiled and pulled her a little closer.
“Like?”
“We hardly know each other.”
“You’re Holly Kringle, you’ve been teaching my son for four months and he adores you. You like old movies, snow globes, and showtunes. I’m a doctor in an understaffed hospital. I can’t cook but I’m learning, I hate mushrooms on my pizza, I like to run, and I haven’t been with anyone since my wife left me eight months ago.”
