A Naughty Santa Gram

by Alyssa D Mynx

  Another warm and familiar body comes close and helps Johnny to rise with me, sitting us both on the bed since I’m still clinging to his front like a vine. Drake settles on one side of Johnny, Xav on the other, and Landon and Ethan stand near, all touching me, all holding me together as I process what just happened.

  Xav's the one that finally speaks. "Firecracker, can I see your face?"

  I shake my head, tears still staining Johnny's shirt.

  "Come on, let me see those beautiful brown eyes," Xav begs.

  I turn my head towards him on Johnny's shoulder, and Xav smiles, though it’s strained.

  "There we go. Now, I know you guys have a security system. Jenna told us you did. Where do the videos uplink to? Do they go to your phone?

  I nod, too overwhelmed to speak.

  "Is it ok if I bring you your phone and you open it for the police?

  Again, I nod.

  "I'll be right back. I love you, Firecracker, and I'm glad you're safe."

  "How are you doing now, Poppet?" Ethan asks.

  "Like I said thirty seconds ago, I'm ok for now. That was just hard," I respond.

  "I know, Firecracker, but the police need all the information they can get for these sorts of things," Xav adds.

  "I know." I sigh, cuddled up on the bed after a nice shower and some clean clothes. I'd had the guys bag up what I was wearing and toss it, wanting no memory or triggers for later.

  We are all squished into my tiny room, as I want nothing to do with the couch right now. I'm on the bed in Ethan's lap, Johnny has his head in my lap, Landon is poking around the closet, and both Drake and Xav occupy doorways. It's cramped, to say the least.

  Drake and Xav look at each other, and Xav nods. "Blake...we were all talking."

  "That's never a good sign," I tease, giving a small smile through my exhaustion.

  The guys chuckle, and Drake continues, "And though we were going to wait until tomorrow night to ask you, we think now would be as good a time as any. Will you move in with us?"

  I jerk up and hit Ethan's chin with my head. "Are you guys all serious?" I blurt out.

  "Yeah."

  "Yup."

  "Duh."

  "Completely."

  I’m completely shellshocked, and a grin is building on my face as I take in the smiling faces of my men around the room. "Well, shit. I don't know what to say."

  "Say yes," Johnny says from my lap.

  Everyone laughs, and I even give out a chuckle. "Fuck, then I say yes!" I yell.

  All the guys, even stoic Drake and Xav, come and give me a big hug.

  "Must. Have. Air," I gasp, holding the guys.

  Finally, I'm released. "Can I come tonight? I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't have much, so it'll be an easy pack up."

  "What does Jenna think?"

  "I don't know, but she's not answering her phone right now. Besides, she wanted me out eventually, anyways, so why not now?"

  "Why not, indeed," Ethan adds.

  Drake strokes his chin."Then let's get packing."

  I dance a little then rush out to get my suitcase from the laundry room. The duffle bags I have are inside of them.

  I hurry back with them and start throwing clothes in.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Poppet, you need to fold this stuff, organize it," Ethan informs me.

  "Or we do that when I get home." I blink. "That sounds so weird. Home."

  "Good weird, right?" Landon asks, coming to give me a gentle hug and kiss on the head.

  "Definitely good weird." I smile.

  Still, I let Ethan and Drake fold my stuff. They're the ones that seem like sticklers on how to pack a bag. I just throw stuff on the bed, and they take it from there.

  When all of my things are packed from the bedroom, (including the fuzzy rug because that thing and I have grown really close as a couple), we head to the kitchen.

  "Alrighty, boys, I have one cabinet of stuff. You eat or drink any of it, you die. You look at it wrong, you die. This stuff is worth its weight in gold to me, so treat it like you'd treat your Nana," I warn, opening the cupboard.

  Every single one of the jackasses laughs.

  “Seriously, guys? That’s not even funny.”

  Drake is the first to recover.

  “Brat, that’s a cupboard with two things in it. Two. Oreos and Dr. Pepper. Why do you have so many Oreos and Dr. Pepper?

  “Because they’re the nectar and fruit of the gods. Without them, there would be no universe, so we must worship the Dr. Oreo goddess,” I whisper with a straight face.

  Male chuckles echo again.

  I roll my eyes. “Seriously, something to know before living with me. I need a Dr. Pepper to wake up to, and if I don’t get my Oreo and glass of warm milk before bed, you’d better bet your ass I’ll be tossing all night and wake up angry. Got it?”

  I get a round of yes and some salutes, then they box up my gold.

  After a trip to the car by each guy, Xav sweeps his gaze around the room then looks at me.

  “Anything else, Firecracker?”

  “Not a thing. Take me home, boys.”

  I do end up staying home the next day, Drake taking care of calling and canceling my clients. Xav, Drake, and Landon all have to work, but they promise to be home by four, so we can enjoy Christmas Eve together.

  Once Jenna finally checks her phone, she calls me, freaking out. I mean, I may have called like twenty times, and then I may have sent her a text that said, "Just barely escaped getting raped by the step. Call me."

  I couldn't handle her crazy, so Ethan talked to her, told her what happened, and Jenna rushed over. She brought me the laundry I'd left in the dryer (oops), and we sat and cried. I'm not sure why she cried, but my tears were that of relief. Hopefully, Craig will never touch me again.

  Jenna finally stops crying enough to help with supper, and she and Johnny cook once the others get home. I, of course, spend some time snuggling with each of my guys, still a little shaken by all that has happened. After supper and a movie, Jenna leaves to go be with her family, and it is just the guys and me.

  One of the logs in the fireplace cracks out of the blue as we are all on the couches, and I flinch, tucking into myself.

  "Shh, Firecracker, it's ok," Xav consoles, slowly moving towards me with hands outstretched. "You want to come cuddle on my lap?"

  Looking up to see him, my body is in his arms before I can even think. "Yes, please."

  That's how I find myself snuggled into Xav's arms, wanting that absolutely protected feeling I get from him after the fire startles me. He radiates authority and power, and I know that he'll do whatever it takes right now to keep me safe. Not that it's anyone’s fault, but I need the strength and surety that comes from Xav.

  “Blake… there’s something you should know,” Xav says in a slow and measured tone. My anxiety rises at that because that look on a cop means some shit’s going down, and the recipient isn’t going to like it too much.

  I swallow. “What is it?”

  “I found out earlier, but I wanted to tell you when it was just us. I had some of the local authorities in Kansas go check your, umm, Craig out. They found large amounts of criminal activity on his part.”

  He pauses, and I just sit there.

  “Blake… They also found your mom tied up at a local motel. Seems she’d been trying to get away from him for years. There were chains at your old house in the bedroom and kitchen. She’s going into protective custody for some deep psychological help. So, Craig? Firecracker, he’s going away for a long time. You’ll never have to see him or hear from him again.

  I sit there, completely shell-shocked. Never have to see him? Hear from him? Worry about him coming into my life again?

  “Well fuck, I, just, wow. You mean he’s really gone?”

  “He’s really gone from your life, Firecracker.”

  I’m stunned, and slowly, I start to cry, then laugh with relief, then cry some more.

  “Oh, you guys, thi
s is like the best Christmas present ever!” I keep sobbing and laughing, the guys all sighing and chuckling with me.

  When I’m finally settled down and left with hiccups, I ask a question to get my mind off of things. "So, what do you guys usually do for Christmas Eve? It's, like, 11:30, do you go to bed...or?"

  "Well..." Drake says, getting a little red in the face.

  "We usually stay up ‘til midnight and open presents," Johnny finishes.

  "Seriously? Oh my gosh, you're just a bunch of grown up children!" I squeal, laughing my ass off, the hiccups increasing.

  "Ha ha, so funny," Drake says, blushing like I've never seen.

  I yawn and shake my head out. "While that is the cutest fucking thing I've heard in a long time, I don't know that I'll make it to midnight. Can we open them now? Then all of us go cuddle in my big bed together?"

  "I vote yes!" Johnny shouts.

  "Shut up, Johnny, you just want to open your presents early," Landon states, rolling his eyes.

  "And you don't?" Johnny comes back with.

  “Never said that, did I?” Landon grumbles.

  I sit up in Xav’s lap. “I didn’t get you guys anything. Shit.”

  “Brat, you’re fine. You coming to be with us is gift enough. So sit back and shut up while we hand out gifts.”

  Not going to lie, I squeal like a kid, excited about Christmas. I’m just a really big child myself, no matter that I tease the guys about it. Xav settles me next to him, then the guys all go sprinting off to various places in the house. They stagger in with haphazardly wrapped boxes in their arms.

  I snort. “You all suck at wrapping stuff.”

  “Fine, next year you get to do the wrapping. At least we tried. Some years we just throw them in big red bags and call it done,” Landon huffs.

  “Gasp! How could you not wrap presents? I’m like the holiday wrapping professional, and your boxes literally make me want to cry.”

  “Well, I guess you don’t want yours then, do you, Poppet?” Ethan throws in, coming from the kitchen area.

  “Hey now, I never said anything of the sort. Gimme gimme!” I demand, hands outstretched and reaching.

  The guys all chuckle, and soon everyone has a small pile in front of them.

  “So how does this work? Free for all, one at a time, tag?”

  “Love, please. We’re not that civilized,” Landon laughs. “On the count of three. One, two, THREE!” We all start ripping into our presents.

  Legit one minute later, there’s a pile of paper and a lot of oohs and ahhs. We all go around sharing what we got from whom.

  In front of me are some of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. Drake got me a certificate for a tattoo session with one of the most-booked guys in the city for NEXT WEEK. I’m not freaking out, you’re freaking out. Xav got me some sexy boots I’d been eyeballing online forever. Johnny got me a Nintendo Switch and a few games to get me started, while Ethan got me a $300 Amazon gift card that just said, “Buy something pretty for yourself.”

  When I have to show what Landon got me, I blush and just hold up the box.

  “No way, Sweetheart! Show us all what you got!” he hoots.

  I blush as I open the box and pull out ten different sexy outfits. Wolf whistles surround me, and the guys all look pretty pleased with themselves.

  “You all went in on this, didn’t you? OH MY GOD, some of this shit is real silk! What were you thinking? I love it!” I whoop.

  “We were thinking about our lovely woman, and the fact that, well…” Landon trails off.

  “We love you,” they say in unison.

  “And we want you to know that we think you’re sexy. Keep digging and you’ll find some sweatpants and more sassy tops and bottoms. Because we love you dressed in nothing, sexy little outfits, hobo clothes, or whatever you choose,” Ethan adds.

  “And we want to love on you however much we can,” Johnny ends.

  The clock chimes midnight, and I grin like a lunatic.

  “I’d say Christmas is really here now, so I want to say... I fucking love you all. Well, Merry Christmas, guys, and a Happy New Year.”

  The End

  Love Blake and her men? Be watching for them to show up in SHG’s next book,

  An Accidental Cupid

  Coming February 2020

  Acknowledgments

  Mr. Mynx:

  Your complete support through all of this has kept me going, and I’m so grateful to have a husband like you.

  I’d also like to thank everyone who made this book possible. HQ Artwork for making an amazing cover for my first book baby and for sparking the idea for this book. To my Alphas and BBFs, Jessica and Nikki, for the encouragement and love you both showed me as you handled my baby. To my PAs, Yashira and Page, who kept me sane through this all. To the Beta team: Jenna, Daisy, Kristara, Copper, Cassie, Chris, Robin, Kelly, Sarah, Christina, Katy, and Melissa. You guys helped make this book what it is. To Loxley, who pushed me to write in the first place. To the other authors who’ve given their support through this. Thank you to Michelle for editing my manuscript and making it the best it could be, and to Inked Imagination Author Services for getting the interior look just right. Finally, I’d like to thank you, the reader, for supporting me and encouraging me. I hope you love Blake and her guys as much as I enjoyed writing them.

  About the Author

  Born and raised in the Midwest, Alyssa now lives in small town Iowa. She is happily married with a fat fur baby named Dickens, and she and her husband hope to have human babies soon. When she’s not writing, she loves to take care of people as a cosmetologist, though writing is her first love. She lives off of Oreos and Dr. Pepper, just like Blake, and eats way too many donuts.

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  Don’t forget to check out Alyssa’s group Alyssa’s Mynxes here for the updates, teasers, and other fun interactions