Kiss of Christmas Magic: 20 Paranormal Holiday Tales of Werewolves, Shifters, Vampires, Elves, Witches, Dragons, Fey, Ghosts, and More

by Eve Langlais

  She didn’t beat around the bush. She caught his gaze and then looked pointedly at the bodyguards standing near the entrance. “Isn’t there somewhere a little more private we can go?” she asked.

  The master bedroom was three times the size of her apartment back in Manhattan and that wasn’t counting the bath with its sunken Jacuzzi or the full–size walk–in closet. A set of French doors lined the bedroom wall opposite the bed and she could see a balcony just beyond that overlooked the back of the property.

  While she was looking out the doors, Galvan came up behind her. Bending down, he kissed the side of her neck. Her desire was so great at that point that his lips were like a single point of searing heat as they traced a line from just beneath her earlobe down toward the nape of her neck.

  She gasped at his touch and leaned back into him, discovering as she did so that she wasn’t the only one aroused. His arms went around her, circling her waist, as his hard cock pressed against her through the thin silk of her dress. She had to fight the urge to moan as she began to move her ass, teasing him with her body just as he was teasing her with his tongue.

  Alex knew in another thirty seconds she’d be pulling up her dress and ordering him to take her right then and there from behind so she pulled away, not wanting him to have control. She took hold of his forearms instead and maneuvered him around so that they were facing each other but with him facing the bed instead of the doors. Pushing him backward she leaned in for a kiss, her tongue darting in past his parted lips, then going deeper as she pressed herself against him.

  She felt him groan deep in his throat and answered that by putting one hand behind his head, pulling him tighter into the kiss while reaching down between them with the other and stroking him through his pants. His hands slipped beneath her dress and cupped her ass, caressing her buttocks, and she could feel the wetness growing between her legs as his fingers reached closer to her center with every stroke.

  Even the soft silk of her dress suddenly felt too confining for her. She broke their kiss and stepped away, reaching behind her and undoing the clasp of her dress so that it slipped down her frame to lie in a puddle at her feet, exposing her body to his gaze. She let him drink her in for a moment, enjoying the raw desire that filled his eyes, knowing she was having the same effect on him as he was having on her. She stepped closer but when he reached out to touch her, she slapped his hands playfully away, not letting him do so.

  When he opened his mouth to protest she placed her finger against it, shushing him.

  “Don’t move,” she said, “or I’ll stop what I’m doing.”

  That was enough to get him to keep his hands at his side, which was exactly what she wanted. She unbuttoned his shirt, trailing her fingers down his well–defined chest and across his hard cut abs, then bent and caught one of his nipples between her lips and sucked.

  When he reached for her, perhaps to do that very same thing, she shook his hands off and sank to her knees in front of him. She was normally a much more passive lover but he’d ignited something deep inside her, bringing her aggressiveness to the surface and for the first time she wasn’t interested in relinquishing control. She unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and then yanked his trousers down to his ankles, letting his long, thick cock free.

  Her mouth watered.

  She reached out and wrapped her fingers around the base of it, pumping it in her hand several times, loving the hot thickness of him in her hand.

  “Alessandra,” he started to say but she wasn’t listening anymore, moving her face forward to engulf the head of his cock between her lips instead.

  He moaned then, long and deep, and she liked the sound of that so much that she began to swirl her tongue around against the underside of his shaft as she began to move her head slowly up and down, sucking and licking simultaneously in an effort to get him to moan again. He tasted as good as he smelled and the sounds he was making were driving her crazy with desire.

  Alex pumped her hand in time to the movement of her head, then reached up with the other hand to cup his testicles. She felt them tighten and knew he was getting close. She backed off a little at that, letting go of his testicles and reached down between her own legs instead, finding herself slick and more than ready for him. She began to rub her clit with her fingers, sending hot fire racing through her and making her belly clench, and all at once she wanted to keep going, wanted to come all over her own fingers as his hot wetness splashed down the back of her throat.

  Galvan had other plans, however.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled his cock out of her mouth, both of them gasping as it popped free. This time he didn’t give her a chance to order him about, pulling her to her feet and scooping her up in his arms instead. He carried her over and put her on the bed, her legs hanging over the side. For a second he stood over her, his cock thrust upward between them, and all she wanted was for him to sink it into her depths all the way to the hilt.

  Instead, he grabbed the back of each thigh and pushed her legs up and outward, opening herself to him as he lowered his face to lap at her core.

  One, two, three long lashes of his tongue, teasing her clit at the end of each stroke, and that was all it took to send her over the edge. Her orgasm exploded through her, engulfing her with its intensity, her body shaking uncontrollably as she rode it out. He waited for her to finish shaking and then moved her further up on the bed, giving him room to kneel between her legs.

  Her need and desire was so thick that one orgasm wasn’t going to be enough to satisfy her and all she wanted him to do was drive his cock into her. He moved forward, pressing against her wet entrance, but then held off, using his hand to move his cock in a circular motion similar to what she’d done with her hips, teasing her.

  “Please,” she said, wanting it, needing it, but all that did was get him to tease her a little bit more.

  If he’s not going to do it, I will, she thought.

  She planted her feet flat against the mattress and pushed her hips toward him, literally impaling herself on his shaft. She kept pushing until he had sunk all the way inside her.

  “Wait,” he gasped out.

  Like hell, she thought.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, using her calves to pull him in close, grinding herself against him to stimulate her clit as he gave in and began to move inside her, pumping slowly and then increasing his pace, sliding in and out of her. Every nerve was on fire, every movement sending jolts of pleasure coursing through her, and she knew he was feeling the same.

  His hands were on her breasts, teasing her nipples between thumb and forefinger as his cock pounded into her. She felt the swell of heat building deep inside her for a second time, another orgasm rolling relentlessly forward, and not wanting to get there alone she reached down between their bodies and grabbed his balls in one hand.

  That was all it took.

  A loud moan escaped his lips as she felt his cock start to pulse inside her, emptying himself into her, and she followed close behind, letting the pleasure wash through her body until they collapsed beside each other, spent.

  They lay there unmoving for several minutes, letting their breathing and heart rates get back to normal. Galvan pulled her against him, her back to his chest, then reached down to bring the sheet up over them both.

  “Sleep now,” he said gently to her and then began to drift off himself.

  Chapter Eight

  With the strange desire that had come over her now sated, Alex refocused on what she had come here to do. She waited until Galvan was fully asleep and then slid quietly out from under his arm and out of bed. She stood there in the semi–dark for a moment, waiting to see if he would wake and when he didn’t, she gave a self–satisfied nod and got to work.

  Her dress was lying nearby, but she left it where it was and grabbed his dress shirt instead, pulling in on and buttoning it just enough to keep it from hanging open. If Galvan woke and found her wandering about, she wanted him thi
nking about her half–covered body and not what she was doing prowling around the room. The dress would look like she was leaving; the shirt, on the other hand, like she wanted to be closer to him.

  There was enough moonlight coming in through the French doors to the balcony that she had no trouble spotting his cell phone on the nightstand next to the bed. Figuring that was as good a place as any to start, she walked over, picked it up, and carried it toward the door, intending to examine it in another room where she wouldn’t be so worried about making noise and waking Galvan up. She was reaching for the door handle when she heard a man quietly cough in the hallway outside.

  She’d forgotten completely about Galvan’s bodyguards!

  Alex jerked her hand away from the door and glanced back at the bed, making sure Galvan was still asleep. Seeing that he was, she cast about for somewhere else to go.

  She couldn’t poke around the house with the guards on duty. If she was caught, they’d let Galvan know what she was up to, if they didn’t immediately drag her back to face him then and there.

  So much for plan A.

  She cast about for another solution and her gaze fell on the wide balcony on the other side of the French doors.

  Why not? she thought. There were a couple chaise lounges out there; if she sat in one Galvan wouldn’t be able to see what she was doing, should he wake up. And if he came out to investigate, she would hear the door and be able to ditch the phone before he could catch her with it.

  A few seconds later and she was slipping through the double doors and out onto the balcony. Unable to resist taking a peek, she glanced over the side at the elegantly landscaped grounds and swimming pool directly below. The moonlight shimmered on the water and Alex found herself wondering how warm it was. Did Galvan keep it heated? Could they go for a swim together later, the water around and between their naked forms as they came together again for a repeat of their earlier activity?

  Alex shook her head, clearing the image that had been trying to form. Now was not the time to be distracted.

  Focus, girl, focus!

  She picked a chair that was situated with the back facing the French doors behind her and slipped onto it. The cushion was cool but not damp, the night’s dew not yet having collected on it.

  Alex pressed the power button on Galvan’s phone and the screen came immediately to life, causing her to breathe a sigh of relief. No security code BS to deal with, thankfully.

  Rather than hunting through Galvan’s contacts, text messages, and email – a task that would surely take hours – Alex decided to use the phone’s internal transfer protocols to back up all of the materials to her own phone. They were the same general brand and both models were equipped with the same Bluetooth feature. It was simply a matter of activating the app on both phones, putting them back to back, and then waiting for the data to pass from one to the other.

  There was a light breeze blowing across the exposed skin of her legs while she waited and the gentle caress reminded her of Galvan’s hands from earlier, stroking the inside of her thighs as he gently moved within her, and she let her mind drift while she waited, remembering.

  She heard a thud, as if Galvan had dropped something in the bedroom behind her and you couldn’t have brought her out of the moment faster if you’d dumped a bucket of ice water atop her head.

  Heart pounding, she grabbed the phones, disconnected them, and dropped Galvan’s into the potted fern next to her chair. Then and only then did she turn to look around the back of the lounge, expecting to see Galvan standing by the French doors looking for her.

  What she found was something else entirely.

  A man was standing in the open bedroom door, backlit from the lights in the hallway so it was hard to see his features. Those same lights, however, made it easy to see the figure of the bodyguard lying unmoving in the hallway behind the newcomer.

  What the hell?

  The light next to the bed flicked on and through the French doors Alex could see Galvan now sitting up in bed, his hand still beneath the shade of the lamp next to him as he turned to see what was going on.

  Several things happened very quickly after that.

  The intruder rushed toward the bed and as he passed into the light Alex had a quick glimpse of his features before the angle of his stance blocked her view and she would have sworn that she was looking at Galvan’s brother, if not his twin, so close were their faces. Her thoughts along that issue were interrupted, however, as Galvan shouted, “No!” and held up his hands to ward off the intruder’s attack.

  He might as well have been trying to stop a runaway train with his bare hands.

  The intruder lashed out with his hand and from Alex’s position it looked like he slapped Galvan across the face. But when the thin red line that suddenly appeared across his throat spread open like a blooming flower and blood splashed across his throat and chest, Alex knew the blow had been much worse than a simple slap.

  Galvan was dead before he even knew what was happening.

  It was too much for Alex.

  An involuntary scream rushed past her lips and broke the silence of the night air.

  Inside the room, the intruder spun about, searching for the source of the sound.

  There was something wrong with the guy’s face. His features seemed to be shifting, melting and reforming into new and different shapes in the space of a split second, like watching a slide show at super high speed, the details flashing past almost too quickly for the eye to see, leaving nothing more than scattered impressions.

  In the midst of all that, he started toward her.

  Oh, shit!

  She scrambled out of the lounge chair and faced the doors, trying to figure out what to do. She was conscious of her near–nakedness and the fact that with the entrance to the room blocked by the intruder, there was nowhere for her to go.

  Get out of here! one side of her screamed while the other frantically glanced about searching for somewhere, anywhere, to go.

  She still came up blank.

  She was trapped!

  As the intruder stepped in front of the French doors and reached for the handle, Alex thought her heart was going to burst from beating so hard. She could hear someone screaming and only realized seconds later when her throat locked up with fear, choking off the sound, that it had been her.

  The French doors were pulled open so violently that one of them tore right off its hinges, littering the carpet with shattered glass and splintered wood.

  Alex felt something pressing forcefully against her back and realized that she’d backed right up against the railing. There was nowhere else for her to go but down.

  Down.

  She tore her gaze away from the killer and glanced over the railing.

  The gleaming water of the swimming pool beckoned from below.

  “Don’t,” the killer said from behind her and that was all the encouragement she needed. Putting her hands on the railing, she boosted herself up and dropped over the other side just as the intruder rushed forward, trying to stop her.

  He was too late.

  Alex dropped toward the water like a stone.

  Chapter Nine

  Alex hit the water feet first, plunging down into the depths. It might have felt like it had taken forever but the drop from the second story really wasn’t all that high; she hit the bottom of the pool with force but the water slowed her entry just enough that she wasn’t hurt when she did so. She bent her knees to absorb some of the impact and then pushed off, heading back up toward the surface.

  She heard gunshots from above her when she broke the surface of the water and assumed that more of Galvan’s security guards were engaging with the intruder.

  I hope they kill the bastard, she thought, as she swam for the side and clambered out of the cold water – not heated after all – and back onto dry land to stand shivering in the night air.

  Another flurry of gunshots drew her attention upward. Over the sound of the guns she heard a furious roa
r, like that of an enraged wild beast, and found herself backing away from the pool on trembling limbs.

  It was well that she did. Seconds later two figures came tumbling over the very railing she’d jumped from moments before and hit the water all tangled together. Blood flowed black in the moonlight, spreading across the surface, and then the two bodies bobbed back to the surface, floating face down and not moving.

  One of them was the killer.

  Alex turned away and began stumbling across the lawn behind her. In the distance she could see a road and she had the vague idea of flagging down a passing car and asking them to call the police.

  Behind her, something splashed in the water.

  Alex turned and found the killer staring straight at her from the edge of the pool.

  “Run while you can, little bird,” he said, through bloodied teeth.

  Alex did as she was told; she turned and fled across the lawn as fast as her feet would carry her.

  She could hear the killer climbing out of the water but she didn’t dare look back. She kept her eyes focused on the low stone wall that marked the edge of the property about a hundred yards away and forced her feet to keep moving forward, one step after another.

  She could feel his gaze upon her, making her skin scrawl. She knew she must be quite a sight, her bare ass flashing from beneath the sopping shirt she wore, but she tried not to think about it, just like she tried not to think about the cuts now covering her bare feet or what she was going to do if she reached the road and there was no one there to help her.

  Don’t think, just run! she scolded herself. The killer chose that moment to call out, “I see you little bird,” spurning her on.

  She hit the wall and half fell, half–clambered over its waist–high height, barely feeling the tangle of brush and thorns that lined the edge of the road on the other side. Alex stumbled out into the street, looking one way and then the other.

  Please! she begged silently. Please! Help me! Anyone!