Dasher Claws: The Twelve Mates Of Christmas, Book 1

by Sylvan, Sable

  As Joy watched Sean deliver the presents, she realized that maybe, Sean wasn’t so Naughty after all. She knew a weretiger couldn’t change its stripes, but could a werebear bad boy stop being so, well, bad? It would take a Christmas miracle…but during her time on The Wreath, Joy had started to believe in Christmas miracles. She wasn’t there yet. She still didn’t have faith in the magic of Christmas, but, she was beginning to feel something.

  After delivering all the packages in their car, it was time for them to go back to the Bear Claw Bakery and grab another set of addresses and packages.

  “Are we the first ones back?” asked Joy.

  “Of course not,” said Avery. “You know Pandora and Jack. She drives like a maniac, and he’s like a figure skater on the ice. They left for their second round of deliveries about twenty minutes ago. It’s not a competition. Grab yourselves coffees and whatever desserts you want from the day-old’s section.”

  Sean and Joy munched on some old apple fritters and guzzled down peppermint mocha lattes before getting back in the car to do their next set of deliveries.

  It was a good thing that everyone had started doing the deliveries early. The snow came down harder through the day. While it was nice for the kids, who got to play in the snow and build snowmen while waiting for their cookie deliveries, it made driving to the neighborhoods and delivering the cookies harder.

  “I got an idea,” said Sean, when they were at the Bear Claw Bakery getting their fourth set of addresses. “You’re not gonna like it.”

  “Doesn’t sound like I can stop you,” said Joy.

  Joy drove to the fourth neighborhood. Sean got out of the car and pulled out a megaphone.

  “Come and get your cookies!” said Sean. “Santa’s making a special delivery!”

  Sean shouted in the megaphone and bunches of children came out of the neighborhood’s houses. Sean took their names and addresses, checked them against the list, and gave baskets of cookies out to each child that came to collect the goods for their family.

  “Sean, you lazy bastard,” said Joy, when they got back into the car. “Avery’s gonna flip out when she learns that’s why you borrowed her megaphone.”

  “Look how fast we made those deliveries, though,” said Sean. “It’s the magic of child labor.”

  “Still a bad boy to the core, eh?” asked Joy. “Don’t you think it’ll confuse the kids if we’re Santa’s helpers…delivering the food that Santa is supposed to eat tonight?”

  “I don’t think they’ll think about it too hard,” said Sean. “The important thing is, we’re making their holidays a little more special.”

  “A lot more special,” said Joy. “You see the looks on some of those kids faces? It was really something else.”

  Joy and Sean did five more rounds of deliveries. At the end of their last distribution, they got a call from Avery.

  “Hey, what’s up? This is Sean. Joy’s driving,” said Sean, answering Joy’s cell phone for her and putting the call on speakerphone mode.

  “Pandora and Jack came and got the last set of deliveries,” said Avery. “When y’all come back to the bakery, get ready to chow down on some freshly baked snacks. I ordered in Chinese food too. We’re going to have the after party as soon as you guys come back. We made good time too. Starting right on time.”

  “Got it,” said Sean, hanging up. “So, Joy…were you serious about going to that after party with me? As my date?”

  “Yes. You finally wore me down,” joked Joy. “You earned that date, Sean. You showed you cared about something other than, well, what bear shifters usually care about. You helped me out with something that meant a lot to me. You did good. I just need to head back to my place and change before the party.”

  “You look fine,” said Sean.

  “Well, while you were jumping in and out of the car, sweating up a storm, I was sitting in my hot car, boiling like an egg,” said Joy. “I need to take a quick shower at my place and get changed.”

  Joy and Sean finished the last set of deliveries. Then, Joy drove them to her rental unit. Sean got out of the car and followed Joy inside, sitting on her couch while Joy showered and changed.

  “Sean?” called Joy.

  “Yeah?” called Sean.

  “Can you, uh…help me with something?” asked Joy.

  Sean walked to Joy’s bedroom and knocked.

  “Hey, what’s up?” asked Sean.

  Joy opened the door.

  “Come in,” said Joy.

  Sean noticed she was holding her arms weirdly.

  “I need your help zipping my dress up,” said Joy, turning.

  Sean felt his cock stiffen in his pants. Joy was wearing a cute dark green dress with gold sparkles and cap sleeves, perfect for Christmas, with a pair of ruby red flats. Her dress zipped up in the back, but right now, the zipper was down, leaving her curves exposed. He knew Joy was thick, but he’d never realized how thick she was before that moment. The back strap of a black bra crossed her torso. Her black panties peaked above the bottom of the zipper.

  Sean reached out and tried to pull the teeny zipper up, but it slipped out of his hands

  “You have to get closer,” said Joy. “Like that awkward time I bumped into you at the bakery.”

  Joy moved back, feeling Sean’s arms stop her waist before she bumped all the way into him, but she felt something else graze her thigh.

  Joy turned back to look at Sean.

  “I guess…this is a lot like the time I bumped into you at the bakery,” said Joy, looking up at Sean.

  Sean turned Joy around, so she was facing him. Joy knew that if Sean did or said what she thought he’d do or say, heck, what she hoped he’d do or say, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from giving in to her desires, Sean’s own desires be damned. She wanted Sean. She’d wanted him for a long time, and now, her duties at the bakery were done. What would be the harm in having a quick fling with Sean, and what would be the harm if it turned into something more?

  “Do you really want to go to that after party, Joy?” asked Sean. “Or do you want to have a party here, with me, in your bedroom?”

  “The second,” said Joy, reaching up to wrap her arms around Sean’s shoulders.

  Sean hiked Joy’s leg up around his waist and moved his hand from her thigh to her butt. He ran his other hand to her thigh and then pulled her ass up to waist level using both his hands. Sean massaged Joy’s juicy thick hips while walking over to her bed. Sean sat on the edge of the bed, leaving Joy on his lap.

  “What do you want for Christmas?” whispered Sean.

  “That dick,” said Joy.

  “Have you been Naughty, or have you been Nice?” asked Sean in a husky tone.

  “I’ve been really nice, so I think I’ve earned some naughty time,” said Joy.

  Sean turned Joy around and pushed the zipper all the way down. He slipped Joy out of the dress and gently carried her precious outfit to a chair in the room. Then, he turned back to Joy and slowly unbuttoned his plaid shirt, exposing his broad, firm chest, glossy with hot desire.

  “Then let’s get Naughty,” said Sean.

  Sean undid his pants while walking toward Joy. He’d already kicked off his boots and socks at the entrance to her house. He walked in front of her, wearing only his boxers.

  “How festive,” said Joy, running her hand over the boxers.

  Sean was wearing a pair of solid black boxers with what Joy thought was a pattern of green zig-zags and brown squares. The design formed Christmas trees. Joy’s hand brushed against Sean’s cock. She felt him harden beneath her touch.

  “Matches your dress,” said Sean, reaching behind Joy to undo her bra and toss it aside. “And this.”

  “And this,” said Joy, lowering her panties and tossing them aside before wrapping her arms around Sean’s shoulder with a giggle.

  “That move just got you on The Naughty List,” Sean whispered huskily into Joy’s ear.

  Sean pushed Joy back and ripped off
his boxers. He threw a scrap of fabric to the side and got on the bed, using his knee to open Joy’s legs and grant him egress to her most special place.

  Joy pulled a pillow behind her head. She knew Sean was about to take her on one heck of a ride.

  Sean pressed his tip against Joy’s entrance. Once he’d aimed, he wasted no time in lubing his cock up with her natural juices. These were his stretches. The marathon was yet to come.

  Sean pressed his cock into Joy’s entrance and pulled it out before pushing it back in again. Sean was still getting warmed up.

  Suddenly, Sean shot into Joy, sprinting down her canal, up and down, shaking her body. Joy held on tight to the pillow, but it still managed to slip from her grasp. She reached up and put her arms around Sean’s shoulders.

  “Fuck,” said Sean. “I thought this’d be a marathon, but this might just be a sprint, babe. I don’t have the endurance to stay in you for much longer. I’ve wanted you, Joy. For so long. Every single day I came in to see you at the bakery, I wanted to claim you.”

  “Every day?” asked Joy.

  “Every day,” confirmed Sean. “You know what I thought about on my rides to and from the bakery? Taking you. Mating you. Making you mine. You’re the one I’ve wanted, Joy. There’s been something here. I know you’ve felt it.”

  “Oh, you think?” asked Joy. “The guy who’s dick deep in me thinks that maybe I had a little crush on him too? Hmm. Let’s do the math. Obviously, I did. Why else do you think I didn’t have Avery or Crystal handle your order?”

  “Could’ve had me fooled,” said Sean.

  “How was I supposed to admit it to you when I couldn’t admit it to myself?” asked Joy. “Now, are you gonna talk, or are you gonna show me what you fantasized about doing to me, bad bear?”

  Sean pistoned into Joy, hard. He was close to the finish line, and there was no turning around. He had to make it. He pressed hard, aiming at Joy’s G spot, and gripped around her body.

  Joy raked her nails across Sean’s back as she came. Something inside her had broken like the ice on the surface of The Wreath, and what lay below the ice was a font of passion, a force of nature.

  Sean couldn’t hold back. He’d helped Joy across the finish line. His relay partner had come. Now, she was passing the baton onto, well, his baton, and as Joy came around Sean’s cock, he let loose a gush of semen.

  Joy watched the mark on Sean’s chest. Joy was sure she’d come. She was still coming. Sean had softened and pulled out of her, leaving her filled with his stickiness, so she knew he’d cum as well. Why hadn’t Sean’s mark changed? Why hadn’t it glowed, like the marks that had burned for her friends, when they had sex with their shifters, who ended up being their fated mates? There was only one thing that could explain it. She wasn’t Sean’s mate. She never was. It just wasn’t Fated.

  “Oh,” said Joy, as Sean pulled out.

  “What?” asked Sean.

  “Your mark,” said Joy, running her hand over the word ‘Naughty’ written across Sean’s chest. “It didn’t glow. That means I’m not your fated mate.”

  “What? This?” asked Sean, motioning to his chest. “That’s not exactly my mate mark.”

  “So what did glow?” asked Joy, crossing her arms. “Some secret mark on your butt? If a mark doesn’t glow, it means we’re not mates. I know how this works. I know all too well. I knew this was a mistake.”

  “Joy, that’s not what happened,” said Sean. “Let me explain.”

  “I’ve heard so many explanations from guys about why it doesn’t glow, about why I’m not the right girl for them,” said Joy. “I don’t need excuses, Sean. It’s Fate. I know. And Fate doesn’t want me with a bear shifter. I knew that, and I still tried to play Goldilocks and see if the third bear would be just right. Well. I was wrong. Again.”

  “Joy, just let me explain,” said Sean.

  “You want to make me happy?” asked Joy.

  “Yes,” said Sean. “I’ll do anything.”

  “Drop it,” said Joy. “Just pretend this never happened. I want to go get cleaned up and go to this party. We can still have a fun Christmas Eve.”

  “But —” started Sean.

  “You said you’d do anything I asked,” said Joy.

  “Fine,” said Sean. “Okay. Look. You mind me going through your drawers?”

  “Why would you do that?” asked Joy.

  “I’ll put out new underwear and stuff for you, to help you get ready,” said Sean. “Let’s have an amazing Christmas Eve, together. I have to leave for work stuff in the middle, but I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

  “That does sound nice,” said Joy with a smile. “Maybe we can save my Christmas after all.”

  Chapter Nine

  Christmas Eve Night, 2007

  Joy parked the SUV in her usual parking spot on the side of the bakery.

  “You coming in?” asked Joy.

  “Yeah, let me just find that megaphone for Avery,” said Sean.

  “Alright, meet you inside,” said Joy.

  Joy went inside the bakery. Sean rifled through the car and finally found the megaphone.

  “It’s time,” said a voice.

  Sean turned. Krampus was there, by the SUV. He was wearing his familiar black tailored suit, and his chain was around his neck, on top of his suit jacket.

  “What?” asked Sean. “No. It’s only six. You said I didn’t need to be at The North Pole before eight.”

  “Plans changed,” said Krampus. “Old Man Winter refuses to stop the blizzard. It’s centered around The North Pole, so take off, and landing is going to be a bitch. You need to come with me, now.”

  “Shit,” said Sean, causing his mark to burn. “I promised Joy I’d go with her to this party.”

  “There’s no time,” said Krampus, ripping the chain off his neck and tossing it on the ground.

  Krampus pushed Sean through the hole and hopped through, grabbing the end of the chain as he did so, closing the gap and leaving no trace of its existence. The snow by the car remained unmelted.

  * * *

  Joy came out of the bakery looking for Sean.

  “Sean? I got us some hot apple cider,” said Joy, looking around the SUV for Sean. “Sean?”

  “Joy,” said Avery, coming outside. “Come back in. It’s freezing out here.”

  “Where’s Sean?” asked Joy.

  “Krampus told me he had a job he had to do tonight,” said Avery. “He won’t be coming back tonight.”

  “Really?” asked Joy. “That’s too bad. I thought he was…never mind.”

  “You thought he was what?” asked Avery.

  “I really thought he was serious about me,” said Joy.

  “I’m sure he is, he just —” started Avery.

  “It’s fine, Avery, you don’t have to lie,” said Joy. “I know he must not have been that serious about me. Look. Sean’s not here. Forget him. Let’s go have this party, okay?”

  “That’s the spirit,” said Avery. “Come on.”

  * * *

  Sean fell out of thin air into a pile of snow. Krampus came down next to him and pulled him up.

  “Come on,” said Krampus. “This way to The Workshop.”

  Sean got to his feet and brushed himself off. He followed Krampus through the snow. Sean had expected Santana Claus’s workshop to be one giant log cabin or some other rustic type of building. He wasn’t expecting what looked like a military contractor’s building slapped right in the center of The North Pole. At the front of the building was the pole itself, taller than any flagpole Sean had ever seen before. It was red and white, glowing, colored and shaped like a giant candy cane. On the top of the pole was a glowing red gumdrop.

  “Take a good look at that,” said Krampus. “When you come back from the ride, you’ll be looking for that. There’s low visibility tonight. You might not be able to see it well. You’re in for a Hell of a Ride, Sean.”

  Krampus lead Sean through the revolving doors of the lobb
y. Sean wiped his feet on the welcome mat but noticed there was no snow left on his shoes. He looked down. There was no snow left on any part of his body.

  “Is there some sort of dryer in the door?” asked Sean.

  “Christmas magic,” said Krampus. “Our engineers came up with doors that dried you as soon as you enter them. Never sent them out. Wasn’t able to come up with some science bupkis to cover up the Christmas magic. This is the only place in the world you’ll find them. Come on.”

  Krampus walked through the lobby, which was filled with various workers in green and red and gold hustling and bustling.

  “Hey, Krampus,” said a familiar voice.

  Krampus stopped in his tracks and did a heel turn.

  “Yes, Avery?” asked Krampus.

  “What on Earth were you thinking, stealing Sean away before he could say goodbye to Joy?” asked Avery. “And Sean, why on Earth didn’t you explain to Joy that you’re a reindeer.”

  “Isn’t that against the rules?” asked Sean. “Isn’t this supposed to be a secret?”

  “No,” said Krampus, frowning. “Who told you that?”

  “Nobody, I just assumed — “ started Sean.

  “Uh-huh,” said Avery, arms crossed. “You assumed. Santana has a policy against me letting my bakers in on the secrets, for his own reasons. Says it gives you bad boys a chance to help – well, I’m getting ahead of myself here, and if I reveal that, Santana might just have my hide for Christmas. But, those rules don’t apply to you, shifter. After all, you’re a bad boy. If Santana tried to impose even more rules on you, I think you’d fall into mate madness at once, even without your bear spirit!”

  “Wait, what are you even doing here?” asked Sean.

  “I’m a Christmas elf, duh,” said Avery.

  Avery pulled back her hair and revealed her pointed ears.

  “How have I never noticed those before?” asked Sean.

  “Glamour magic, so I can do my work in the human world undetected. It’s just like how Krampus hides his horns,” said Avery. “I know how humans work. They’re more likely to look over my curves than my face. Well, hello, fellows, my ears are up here.”