Secret Santa Surprise: Book 29 in the Kindred Tales Series

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Delicious,” Clear agreed, drinking some himself.

  Melanie didn’t know what fireflower juice was, but it certainly loosened her up. She began to feel warm and tingly as she smiled up at the two big, handsome warriors.

  “You know, I think this is the best Christmas punch I’ve ever had,” she remarked, grinning as she took another drink. “And the Christmas cookies look good, too.”

  “They do look good, but they don’t taste very nice,” Clear said, frowning. “I tried some earlier, before my brother got here.”

  “Oh, those are probably store-bought,” Melanie told him. The really good ones are homemade.”

  “Really? Do you know how to make them?” Clear asked hopefully. “I would love to try some homemade ones if we could.”

  “Actually, I have some great Christmas cookie recipes.” Melanie nodded. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid to try anything else in my wave. I’m supposed to be getting it repaired, but there’s a backup in the work orders right now.”

  “Oh, that reminds me—here.” The Light Twin handed her a present. “I got your name in the Secret Satan—I mean Secret Santa—exchange,” he told Melanie.

  “Oh, thank you, Clear!” Reaching up, she gave him a hug which felt really good—mainly because the tips of her nipples were rubbing against his broad chest.

  Clear seemed to enjoy it too, because he pressed her against him and took his time before letting her go.

  You shouldn’t be enjoying that, commented a judgmental little voice in her brain, but Melanie pushed it aside with surprising ease.

  “And thank you again for healing my hand,” she added, turning and putting her arms out to Strong. “It doesn’t seem right to hug one of you and not the other,” she said. “Since you’re a matched pair.”

  The Dark Twin leaned down and took her in his arms, pressing her body carefully but firmly to his own muscular form.

  “Mmm, you’re very welcome, little one,” he murmured, at last letting her go. “But you already thanked me before.”

  “I know, but I’m really grateful,” Melanie told him. “Besides, you’re so sweet, I had to give you both a Christmas hug.”

  “A ‘Christmas hug?’ Why is it that humans can put the word ‘Christmas’ in front of any object and instantly change it into something new?” Strong asked, arching an eyebrow. “I mean, Christmas punch…Christmas cookies…Christmas hug… Today one of my human colleagues gave me a folded piece of paper which is called a Christmas card, which apparently I’m supposed to return in kind. But I don’t even know where to get them!” He looked at Melanie pleadingly. “Can I just fold up a random piece of paper and write a sentiment on it and call it a Christmas card?”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Melanie objected, smothering a smile. “You can’t just make something Christmassy by putting the word Christmas in front of it!” She took another sip of her own punch. “Though I guess I can see what you mean. You could almost make a drinking game out of it and take a drink every time somebody says ‘Christmas’ something or other.”

  “A drinking game?” Clear asked, frowning. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, you know—like Never Have I Ever,” Melanie told him.

  “You’ve never what?” Strong asked blankly, shaking his head.

  “No—that’s the name of the drinking game. Never Have I Ever,” Melanie repeated. “See, everybody has a drink in their hand and one person starts by saying ‘Never have I ever…’ And then they either tell something they have done in the past or name something they haven’t done. The other players have to guess. If they guess wrong, they take a drink but if they guess right, the person who made the statement takes a drink.”

  Strong frowned.

  “It seems like a lot of work just to get drunk.”

  Melanie shrugged.

  “It’s a party game, that’s all.”

  “I thought you said it was a drinking game?” Clear said, looking confused.

  “Same thing,” Melanie shook her head. “But for example—I might say, ‘Never have I ever gone skinny dipping.’ And then the two of you have to guess if it’s true or not.”

  “Skinny dipping?” Strong frowned. “What’s that?”

  “Going swimming without your clothes on,” Melanie told him. The little voice in her head remarked that she shouldn’t be talking about such things—it might sound like she was coming on to the two big warriors. But again, she easily pushed it aside and gave the twins a flirtatious smile.

  “But we go in the bathing pool all the time with no clothes on,” Clear pointed out.

  “I think she means in public, Brother,” Strong growled softly. His blue eyes were sliding over Melanie’s breasts again, lingering on the tight points of her nipples as he spoke.

  “You’re exactly right,” Melanie told him and giggled. “So guess—am I telling the truth or not?”

  “I say not,” Clear said, frowning. “You don’t seem to be the kind of female who would take off her clothing in public, Melanie.”

  “Ah, but you didn’t know me in college—back when I was younger,” she pointed out. “I was much less inhibited then.”

  “I guess that you did,” Strong murmured. “Though maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part. The idea of seeing you without your clothing is certainly extremely appealing.”

  “Brother…” Clear frowned at his twin. “It’s not polite to speak that way to a human female.”

  “That’s all right—I’m not offended.” Melanie winked at them. “And now I’ll tell you the truth—I did go skinny dipping back in college with some girlfriends on a dare one night. We got caught and had to run back to our dorms naked.” She giggled.

  “So that means I have to take a drink?” Clear said and took another sip of punch.

  “And I have to, too—because Strong guessed right.” Melanie took another big swig of her punch and made a face. “Wow! It seems to get stronger with every drink you take.”

  “Let me try,” Strong said. He looked Melanie in the eyes. “Never have I ever seen a female half as lovely as you are, Melanie.”

  “Oh…” Melanie found her cheeks getting hot. But this time the Dark Twin’s intense look didn’t make her feel uncomfortable as it had before. Instead, it made her feel hot and bothered all over. She could feel her nipples getting tight under the thin red dress and she had to press her thighs together tightly to stop the ache that was growing there.

  “Strong is telling the truth,” Clear said, smiling at her. “Never have either of us ever seen such a lovely female.”

  “You two are bad!” Melanie exclaimed. “I’m sure you’ve seen lots of women who are younger and prettier than me.”

  “Younger, maybe,” Strong said. “But prettier? Never.” He gestured at her cup of punch. “Take a drink, Melanie—you lose this round.”

  Melanie took another sip and the strong liquid burned down her throat again. She laughed breathlessly.

  “Wow—I’d better stop now. This punch is making me tipsy!” She set her half-full cup down on the table and pointed to the middle of the room. “Oh, look—the dancing is starting!”

  Sure enough, the Christmas tunes had given way to soft, jazzy music and already a few couples were swaying together, Sonja and Sahran included.

  “Would you like to dance, Melanie?” Clear asked her.

  She smiled up at the Light Twin.

  “Thank you—I would love to.” She turned to Strong. “Would you hold this?” She handed the silver-wrapped present to the Dark Twin, who nodded.

  “As long as I can claim the next dance, little one,” he rumbled.

  Melanie gave him a smile.

  “I think that can be arranged.”

  Then Clear was taking her in his arms and they were swaying to the music.

  “You seem to be in an excellent mood tonight,” he remarked, leaning down to speak in her ear.

  “I think it’s something in the punch,” she admitted. “I certainly wasn’t in a good m
ood earlier. I almost didn’t come tonight.”

  “What? Why not?” Clear pulled back to give her a concerned look.

  “Oh, I got a call from home from my Aunt Marge.” Melanie sighed. “She told me that my ex, Steve, had been coming around bothering her again.”

  “Is she in danger?” Clear asked, frowning. “Because Strong and I can certainly help if she needs defending.”

  “No, no—nothing like that,” Melanie told him. “Thank you, but it’s really me that he wants to see.”

  His frown grew darker.

  “Why does he want to see you? Has he realized how foolish he was, giving you up?”

  “Hardly,” Melanie said dryly and giggled. Wow—that punch had really gone to her head! “What he wants is to show off the fact that he got his new girlfriend pregnant,” she said, and stopped laughing abruptly. Some things just weren’t funny—even when you were tipsy.

  “I don’t understand.” Clear shook his head, his forehead creasing. “Why would he wish to ‘show off’ something like that?”

  “Because while we were together I always wanted kids but he would never let us have any.” Melanie swallowed back a little sob. Wow, she needed to get hold of her emotions! The spiked punch was really affecting her.

  “You want children?” Clear asked and she nodded.

  “I know that’s probably a big turn-off for you,” she added candidly. “I mean, you and your brother are so young, neither one of you would want to be saddled with a bunch of babies at your age.”

  “Actually, Strong and I are quite good with young ones,” Clear offered. “Our parents had a second set of twins when the two of us were already twelve cycles old. You ought to see Strong change a diaper—he’s lightening quick. And I’m excellent at midnight feedings myself.”

  “Really? That’s interesting,” Melanie said warmly. “Anyway, I probably shouldn’t have told you all that about my ex and his pregnant girlfriend. It just upset me, that’s all.”

  “You need something to take your mind off it,” Clear offered. “Maybe you could come back with Strong and me to our suite after the party. We could make Christmas cookies—if you’ll mix the ingredients I can work the wave.”

  Melanie started to say no and then stopped herself. A big office Christmas party was nice but a small, intimate setting with the two big, handsome warriors would be even nicer. It was possible that she wouldn’t have said yes if she hadn’t drunk quite so much punch, but as it was, what Clear was proposing sounded like a wonderful idea.

  “All right,” she said, smiling at him. “Thank you—I’d love to come make Christmas cookies with you two.”

  “Wonderful.” Clear smiled at her. “And now I think it’s Strong’s turn to dance with you—if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” Melanie said and then the Light Twin was handing her off to his taller brother.

  Just at that moment, the music—which had been jazzy and light—turned suddenly into a slow dance tune she remembered from high school.

  “Well, this is a blast from the past,” she said, looking up at the tall warrior. “I remember we danced to this at the prom.”

  “The what?” He frowned, obviously confused.

  “A big dance party we had when I was younger. Here—this is a slow dance so we’re supposed to be closer.”

  She pressed herself against him, feeling her braless breasts rub wantonly against his broad chest. God, what had gotten into her tonight, acting like this? Whatever it was, it made her feel deliciously naughty. It seemed to release her inhibitions and erase her worries.

  For once she didn’t have to fight the negative self-thoughts that tried to invade her head—they just floated effortlessly away the minute she gave them a slight push. It was like they were bricks that had suddenly turned into balloons…

  Wait, did that make sense? Oh, who cared? Melanie was having a fabulous time and she never wanted it to end!

  “You feel good in my arms,” Strong rumbled, dipping his head to speak in her ear.

  “Thank you. You feel good in mine, too.” Melanie was glad she was wearing high heels, otherwise it would have been awkward dancing with someone who was so much taller than her. But her heels were high enough and the way the Dark Twin was holding her felt just right.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me again, tonight, you know,” he murmured, looking down to search her eyes with his. “My brother thought I frightened you, the last time we were together.”

  “You mean when I woke up half-naked in your bed and you were practically undressing me with your eyes?” Melanie asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Somewhere inside a little voice was telling her that she really shouldn’t talk like this. She ignored it. Brick into balloon—bye-bye, float away…

  “Yes, that.” The Dark Twin looked uncomfortable. “Please forgive me for my behavior. It’s just…you’re a very beautiful female. I think I got what you humans call ‘carried away.’”

  “You did come on a little strong,” Melanie admitted. “But that’s your name after all, right? She giggled. “Anyway, I forgive you.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured and drew her closer. “Mmm, I’m glad I came tonight just so I could see you again, little one.”

  “You’ll be seeing a lot of me,” Melanie told him. “Your brother just invited me to come make Christmas cookies at your place after the party is over.”

  “He did?” Strong raised his eyebrows hopefully. “And you agreed to come?”

  “I did.” She smiled up at him flirtatiously. “Is that all right with you?”

  “More than all right,” Strong growled softly. “I can’t wait to make Christmas cookies with you, Melanie.”

  Melanie felt a rush of pleasure but he was looking at her so intensely that she had to put him straight.

  “Now, you know that ‘making Christmas cookies’ isn’t a euphemism for anything else, don’t you?” she murmured and giggled.

  His eyes went half-lidded in the dim room.

  “By euphemism you mean a pretty saying you use as a substitute for something more…raw and provocative?”

  “Exactly,” Melanie said primly. “I’m just letting you know that ‘making cookies’ doesn’t actually mean ‘making love’ or ‘having sex’ or anything like that.”

  “We would never dream of taking advantage of you, little one,” Strong rumbled, sweeping a long strand of hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. “Although I will point out that there are many ways we could pleasure you without actually ‘making cookies.’”

  Melanie giggled again and slapped him lightly on the arm.

  “You’re bad.”

  “Yes, I am,” Strong agreed without a hint of irony. “I’m the Dark Twin—I’m supposed to be.”

  Which seemed to make perfect sense to Melanie.

  She danced the rest of the party, alternating between Clear and Strong, and the warm, tingling buzz she’d gotten from the punch never seemed to fade. In fact, if anything the happy, warm, carefree feeling seemed to grow as the night went on.

  Before she knew it, they were saying goodbye to everyone else and she was leaving the party with one arm hooked through Clear’s right arm and the other hooked through Strong’s left.

  “You know, that was just about the perfect night,” she told them, as they left the music and crowd behind.

  “It’s not over yet,” Clear reminded her. “That is, if you still want to make Christmas cookies with us?”

  Melanie and Strong’s eyes met and the two of them burst out laughing.

  “What? What did I say?” Clear asked, frowning at the two of them. “Surely the three of us making cookies together isn’t that funny?”

  “The three of us together…” Melanie repeated and found that she was blushing even as she giggled. “No—no it’s not funny,” she assured Clear. “And I still want to make some. Um…” She looked down at herself. “But this is my best dress. Let me run to change and I’ll meet you at your suite in a few min
utes—okay?”

  “That sounds fine to me,” Strong murmured. “Don’t be too long, little one.”

  “Oh, and wear the present I got you.” Clear nodded at the silver wrapped box under her arm. “I know we’re not supposed to open them until Christmas, but I think you’ll find this gift will really come in handy tonight,” he added.

  “All right.” Melanie smiled at him and then blew a kiss to them both. “Assemble the ingredients, Clear—we’ll be making Christmas cookies before you know it.”

  Then she turned and walked down the corridor to her apartment, wondering what she had to wear that was good for midnight baking.

  11

  “What an amazing night—and it isn’t over yet!” Melanie did a little twirl in the middle of her living room, watching as her red dress floated out around her. She felt wonderful—so warm and alive and full of possibilities! Dancing and flirting with the twins all night had made her feel young again—or maybe it was the punch that had done it. Either way, she felt absolutely fabulous and instead of fading, the good feeling just seemed to keep growing and growing.

  “Now what should I wear?” she murmured to herself. “I don’t want to get flour all over my best dress…”

  She was about to put down the silver-wrapped package and go rummage around in her storage closet, when she remembered what Clear had said. He had asked her to wear what he’d given her for a gift.

  Eagerly, she sat down on the couch and ripped into the silver wrapping paper. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had given her a present. Steven had decided that gift giving for holidays and birthdays was “silly” around the second year of their marriage and he’d never gotten her anything again. At the time, Melanie had tried to tell herself he was being practical but later she’d learned that he had been buying plenty of presents for the many mistresses he cheated on her with. So clearly…

  “Nope!” Melanie said aloud, cutting the bad thought off abruptly. “No bad or sad or angry thoughts right now. Tonight I intend to be perfectly happy and not—”

  The words died on her lips as she opened the plain white cardboard box and saw what lay inside.