by Mykles Jet
He was way too pale, and why would he be sweating so much in a dark, enclosed space?
Her worry meter shot off. Without warning, she jumped at the door, slamming all her weight against it. She wasn’t all that heavy, but she had muscle and the element of surprise on him. He yelped and fell back. With Bok’s resistance gone, Tanty stumbled past the doorway and into the house.
It stank. Truly. Lots and lots of sweat, old and new, and not enough ventilation. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and another moment for her to figure out what she was seeing.
Treadmill, weight bench, stationary bike. A bunch of cans of protein drinks on the dining table, a pile of empties against the wall behind it. The brightest light in the room came from the three monitors on the big desk shoved off to the side. Some recorded human program played out, the sound down low.
“What the…?”
She glanced down at her side. Bok had lost his balance when she’d shoved her way in, and ended up on his butt a few yards into the main room. He stared at the room too, seeing it with her, but with a dejected scowl on his face. She recognized the sweat marks at the armpits of his loose shirt and down the front of his chest. His legs were splayed apart, and he sat forward with his hands gathered in front of him. He looked every inch the abandoned puppy dog.
“Bok?”
“I wanted…” He raised a hand to gesture at the exercise equipment, then let the hand drop with a sigh. “I just…” His head went down, twisting from side to side in sad negation.
Glad of the open door that provided a little bit of a breeze, Tanty knelt before him. She reached out to squeeze his calf. “Bok?”
She could see his profile at this angle. Worse, she could see the fat tear that dribbled from the corner of one eye. “Oh, Bok.”
When she moved toward him, he sprang to life and scuttled back. Those beautiful emerald eyes wouldn’t point her way. “I wanted it to be a surprise, y’know? I wanted to just do it, to just lose the weight, then come and find you. Show you.”
Tanty sat her butt on her heels, hard, staring at him. “You…what?”
“I’m fat. I know.” He swiped at his nose as he got to his knees. “You deserve better. And I didn’t want to… If I wanted to be with you again… Ah, Christmas.” Tanty had to make sure she understood. “You were working out…for me?”
“Pathetic, huh?” He climbed to his feet. It wasn’t easy for him. Didn’t seem like his legs were steady. He had to use the wall for support. “I know you don’t need me.” She watched him stumble away toward the dining table. He grabbed a protein drink and opened it. She glanced at the pile of empties. Oh, no, he hadn’t…? Was that all he’d been eating?
After a few sips, he scowled at the can in his hand. “Worthless. I only lost two pounds.” The catch in his voice at the end of his sentence poked her heart.
Oh, holy night. Tanty stared at the floor, aghast. He’d done this for her?
She rose to her feet and crossed the room to him. He put down the can and stared at the floor. She watched him for a quiet moment, and he waited.
Then she punched his arm. Hard.
Shocked, he stumbled against the chair at his side and fell into the seat.
She glared down at him, hands on her hips. “How dare you!” All he could give her was wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
So she punched his arm again. Hey, it was better than punching his jaw or his gut. She didn’t think he could take that.
“Ow.”
“Who told you you needed to torture yourself to be with me? Did I ask you do to this?” He rubbed his arm and cringed. “No.”
“No. I didn’t. Did I say I wanted something like that? Did I even hint that I wanted you to be anything other than what you were?”
“No.”
“No.” She raised her fist again but stopped when he winced. She took a slow, audible breath and released it. “You. Look. Like. Shit. Do you realize that?” He dropped his gaze.
She snatched up the half-empty can at his elbow. “Is this all you’ve eaten since you’ve been holed up here?”
“Yes.”
“Yes? Gah!” She stormed away, circling the room to vent before she came back to stand at his knees. “Are you tryingto make yourself sick?”
“They’re healthy—”
“They’re healthy when you’ve got a normal diet. They’re healthy for a while. But not to the exclusion of all else!” She stabbed a finger toward the treadmill. “How much time are you spending on that?” The mutinous tightening of his lips told her what she needed to know.
“You’ve been doing too much. You’re overdoing it. It doesn’t even work that way! Are you an idiot?”
“I read up—”
“You read wrong. Deck the flocking halls and sleigh bells ring!” Rather than hit him again, she took another fuming circle around the room. “If you were going to do this, why didn’t you ask for my help?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not? Physical work is my job; it’s what I do. I live for this. I could have helped you.
Or, snow, if you don’t want me, Wod could have—”
“I couldn’t ask you, because I was doing it for you!” he spat. “If you knew, it wouldn’t have the same effect.”
“Well, you’re right there. I think this is imbecilic, but I think the drive to lose weight—if that’s really what you want to do—is admirable. I would have been happy to help you.” His gaze dropped again, a pout pushing his lip out from his face. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
She wiggled her fingers in his face. “Surprise.”
Miffed, he jerked away from her and managed to get to his feet. She eyed him for any change. Unfortunately for Bok, an elf’s metabolism differed greatly from the humans he’d likely read about. He clearly didn’t realize it would take him exponentially more exercise to lose weight. If he even could. It was entirely possible the magic that was Bok had decided on his shape, and nothing he could do could change it. She’d seen it happen. She hadn’t realized it wasn’t common knowledge among the rest of the village.
“All right.” His back was to her, his hands balled into fists at his waist. “I was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“You made your point. Get out.”
Perversely, this show of spine put a grin on her face. Luckily, he couldn’t see it. “What?”
“Get out. You don’t need to yell at me.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.” He turned, and she was glad she’d schooled the grin from her face, because he looked pissed now. “You think I’m stupid. I ruined my chances. At least leave me with some dignity.”
She drew herself up and cocked her head to the side. “Who said you ruined your chances?” He scowled. “Don’t tease me.”
“Who’s teasing? Look, I came here because I was worried about you. No, okay, I really came because I was pissed that you were avoiding me.”
“What?”
“Holy night, what is it with men? I missed you, you chubby idiot.” He shook his head, but she cut off his denial by stalking up to him and poking him in the chest.
“Don’t you dare tell me that I didn’t. You don’t know how I feel. You’ve proved that with this silly exercise stunt.” She poked him again, sending him back a step. “I couldn’t give a silver bell if you’re overweight. I knew that, and I accepted it. The only reason you made it into my bed was because I wanted you there. You there, nitwit.” He caught her hand to keep her from poking him again. This time, she couldn’t smother her grin. The sight of it baffled him, draining his anger. “What?” She sighed and pinched at the bridge of her nose with her free hand. “Must I spell it all out?”
“I think so, yes.”
She raised her gaze to meet his. “I want you.”
“Why?” The words spilled seemingly of their own accord.
“I’m not so sure right now.” She smiled to take some of the sting out. “I like you. I like talk
ing to you. I like that you like toys as much as I do. Do you even realize you’re the first guy I’ve let sleep over in ages?” When he gaped, she went on. “I don’t like to spend the night with anyone. To be honest, I didn’t much like sex beyond the first orgasm.” She cocked her head to the side, grinning. “But you made it fun.”
“The toys.”
“Yes. You and the toys. They’re one and the same, aren’t they?” He frowned, and she thought back on what she’d said. “Okay, maybe not.” She twisted her wrist from his loose grasp and stepped into him, placing her hands on his shoulders. “But we just started. Give me a chance to get used to you before we try it without the toys, huh?” She winked.
That got a smile out of him. Then a grudging laugh. “You’re weird.”
“I’m glad you noticed.”
His laugh filled out. Her heart thrilled when he leaned toward her until their foreheads touched.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
She slid her arms around his neck. “Neither do I. Let’s work on it together, huh?”
“Okay.”
She tilted her head into a kiss and found his lips warm and inviting. She kissed him as long as she could but finally had to pull back. “Okay, Bok, I think I might love you, but you have got to take a shower.”
Chapter Ten
“What is it?”
Bok tucked the small box closer to his body, nearly hiding it in the crook of his arm.
“Never mind.”
Lon pouted. “You won’t even tell me?”
“No.” Lon had seen Bok avoid all the other people in the barn. Too many of them now knew him now as the Toy Man, which made any boxes he carried of interest. Especially boxes he carried when he came to wait for Tanty to finish reindeer practice. He tried to ignore those people, but there were still a few who were keeping an eye on him.
“Why not?”
Bok searched the skies, looking for the team. They weren’t in sight, so they must be over the forest. “It’s Tanty’s toy. She can tell you about it if she wants.” Lon giggled softly. “So I’ll find out soon enough.”
Bok smiled and shrugged. “Something like that.”
Lon stroked Bok’s shoulder. “I think it’s sweet that you look out for her like that.” Bok shifted, trying to stop the flush from taking over his face. He was still getting used to this relationship stuff. It had been nearly two months he’d been seeing Tanty on a regular basis now. Two months of lots of physical exertion—mostly sex but also an exercise regimen she’d put him on—during which he hadn’t lost even a single pound. But Tanty didn’t seem to mind and proved that to him time and time again.
The reindeer team appeared in the sky, racing at top speed. They weren’t in formation this time, more of a jumble as they sped through midair toward the meadow. Tanty had explained that Rom was switching up their workouts lately. There were only two more weeks before the start of the season, so he was letting them have some fun before the daily grind began. As they got closer, it was easier to make out details of individual reindeer. They were almost to the ground, though, before Bok could make out which one was his Vixen. He was still amazed he even could distinguish her from the others. They were all roughly the same build, all with antlers, all vaguely the same shades of brown. But he could tell it was Tanty in the middle of the pack, not one of the leaders but not losing either. Not that she would mind losing. Tanty was competitive only so much in that competition brought people together to have fun.
The team hit the ground, and it wasn’t surprising to see Rom and Wod toward the front.
But they weren’t the winners. The reindeer to hit the ground first was one Bok didn’t immediately recognize, but he thought it might be Cupid. Boisterous and just a little smaller than all the rest, Tik’s reindeer form was apparently made for speed. Bok had seen them race in pairs before, and Tik never lost. Shortly after he was on the ground and had slowed to a stop, the reindeer shifted to prove Bok had pegged him right. He came out of his transformation laughing, and the sound filled the meadow. The others shifted and gathered around to congratulate him.
All but one, that was. Tanty shifted, started toward her fellows, then glanced up to see Bok waiting. Immediately she changed course and rushed up the hill.
“That must be something good in the box,” Lon murmured.
Bok nodded, even though he didn’t know if Lon was looking his way or not. His full attention was on the naked female trotting over the snow, her orange hair a flaring, fiery cape billowing behind her. She aimed straight for Bok, and her graceful agility allowed her to wind one arm around his neck and press her lithe body against him as she stopped, all without threatening to throw off his balance.
“Is that it?” Her fingers plucked the small box from the bend of his arm.
Unable to resist, Bok wrapped his arm around her waist, then pressed his nose behind her ear and breathed deep. “Yeah.”
She giggled, cuddling close. He felt the bite of the box against his chest, but only because she had it wedged between them. He could live with that.
“Let’s put it on.”
He startled. “Huh? Now?”
Laughing, she pulled away. Her hand slid down his arm until her fingers could twine with his. “Yes. Now. Hi, Lon.”
“Hi, Tanty.”
She kissed Lon’s cheek, then, with Bok’s hand firmly held in hers and the box curled against her chest, led the way to her stall.
“Shouldn’t we try it”—Bok glanced behind him, aware of a few people, Lon included, who were following at a short distance, their faces alight with curiosity—“later?” When they crossed the threshold of her stall, she released his hand and kept walking to the edge of the cot. Both hands were busy opening the box. “Don’t be silly. I want to wear it at the party.”
He groaned, wiping a hand down his face. “I was afraid you were going to say that.” Her chuckle had a wicked twist to it. “You know me too well.” Surprisingly, that was true. They had managed to work out a lot of issues between them in the past few weeks. He knew her far better than he could have ever hoped to know any woman, much less a reindeer.
“Oooo.” Excitement made her wiggle her bare ass, just visible under the fall of her hair.
She dropped the box and spun to face him, ripping at the packaging that remained around her new toy. Once it was free, she shook out the straps to free the small little bit of purple that promised her joy. It fit comfortably in the palm of her hand, basically a vibrating egg with a jelly housing that was shaped like a butterfly. The nylon straps were attached to each wing and designed to go around her thighs and hips to keep it in place, snug against her sex. The remote was attached with a thin cord but long enough that she should be able to tuck it in her pocket, or so she’d claimed when they’d read the details about the toy online. “It’s beautiful.” She held it out toward him, displaying it perfectly so he—and everyone behind him—could see. “Come help me put it on.”
He flushed. “Now?”
The arch look she gave him told him she knew exactly how many people were watching.
“Yes. Now.”
He went to her, lifting the toy from her fingers. She delayed him just long enough to brush a kiss on his lips before she pushed him to sit on the cot. He concentrated on the purple straps, figuring out what went where. He helped her step into them, then slipped the toy up her smooth legs. She parted her thighs to give him full access to cup the toy and fit it against that sweet, moist entrance to paradise she carried. She let him linger and stroked his hair as he pressed his cheek against her belly, briefly overcome by the beauty of this female who allowed him to touch her. Aware of their audience, he kept it brief, then pulled away to adjust the waist strap. She’d managed to free the batteries that had come with it and actually got them into the remote herself.
She didn’t try to start it, though, just handed the little piece of plastic to him once he had the toy in place.
; “Feel okay?” he asked, unable to take his eyes from the purple jelly. She’d been right. The purple did go well with her neatly trimmed orange curls.
“Feels great.” She wiggled to test the fit. “It’s even comfortable.” He found that hard to believe, but he let it go. The remote was simple, sliding to three speeds. Knowing Tanty’s desires, he slid it to the middle speed.
“Oh.” Her hand clutched his shoulder. He looked up to see her head tilted back, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the first sensation. “That’s nice.”
“Faster?”
“Not yet. That’s good.” Without looking, she stepped closer, forcing him to sit up so she could press against him. His face naturally found the space between her breasts, and it was a test of will not to take a sweet pink nipple into his mouth. He did slide his free hand around to cup her bottom. “Mmm, part of me wants to say let’s skip the party.” No longer caring about their audience, he closed his eyes and nuzzled the inside of one breast. “Okay by me.”
Fingers threaded through the hair at his nape just as lips pressed the top of his skull.
“We’re still going.”
He slumped a little, which made her giggle. “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”
“It’ll be torture knowing you’ve got this”—he plucked at the waistband along the lowest part of her back—“buzzing at you.”
“Mmmm.” She rocked her hips into him. “But think of how crazy I’ll be later.” He couldn’t think of anything else. He grunted. “You’ll wear me out later.”
“Exactly.” Her hands slid around to cup his jaw, tilting his face up. Gorgeous eyes in that hazy color between blue, purple, and black gazed down on him with enough warmth to set his blood to simmering in his veins. She smiled before sharing a slow, lazy kiss with him.
“I love you,” he whispered when her lips parted from his.
Their faces were so close, he almost couldn’t see her smile, but he saw the feeling in her eyes. He felt the tightening of her fingers on his jaw as he held the slim body that pressed against him. “I love you too.”
