His Secret Santa

by Stella Ferris

  “Where are you going?” She called to him from the street.

  He turned to look at her. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his expression was unreadable.

  “I’m going inside.”

  “What makes you think I’m inviting you in?”

  “I’m going to make you let loose whether you like it or not,” he said turning back toward the door. “We are going in your house and you are going to forget about work. So shut the hell up and stop fighting me. Now, come on,” he threw the words over his shoulder, loud enough for every neighbor she had to hear.

  “You aren’t the boss of me.”

  “Keep saying that, Boss Lady.” He turned back to her, “You coming or am I packing you?”

  SHE LED CHAD INTO HER house. The entryway sparkled in the dimly lit room. Devyn was waiting for the smart remark about the way her house was glowing. She tugged her jacket off and threw it onto the coat rack in the corner of the room. She watched Chad do the same thing from the corner of her eye. She wouldn’t dare let him see her watching him. The white button up shirt fit snugly against his thick arms.

  Her lips parted, itching to make a comment. He turned toward her, stretching around her to place the black jacket on the same coat hanger she used.

  Devyn snapped her head around, focusing on the ground under her. She kicked the shoes off her feet trying to compose herself.

  “I don’t normally have company.” She looked up at him. “So I hope you’re ready for a boring night.”

  A smirk formed on his lips and he fought off a laugh. His lips parted, but he didn’t make a sound. His eyes burrowed into her. Devyn watched him and noted the way his eyes studied her face and trailed down the rest of her. Devyn had never been looked at the way Chad looked at her. A few days ago she would have laughed at the attraction she felt for him.

  “That’s fine. I’m not socially awkward, so I actually do have company.” His eyes met hers again. “You can start by offering me your cheapest, strongest drink. Since we’re stuck, together we should at least tolerate each other.”

  “Bold of you to assume I could tolerate you even when drinking.”

  “I think you do more than tolerate me now, but I’m going to need a drink to put up with that fucking mouth of yours.”

  Devyn wrinkled her nose at him before walking into the kitchen. She heard his soft footsteps from behind her. She opened the fridge, pulling a half full bottle of Jack Daniels out of the door. The heavy bottle hadn’t been touched since her birthday a few months earlier. Her sister didn’t drink much, and neither did she. She hated the taste of alcohol unless it was wine. Devyn pulled two glasses out of the cabinet. She wrapped her fingers around the glass and steadied herself to pour the liquid.

  She turned to him, handing him a glass. He raised an eyebrow before taking it.

  “Jack Daniels is your cheapest drink?”

  His tone wavered. It was strange coming from his lips. It seemed more like respect than judgement.

  “Only drink,” she corrected before twisting the cap back onto the open container.

  “Aren’t you going to have any?”

  Devyn looked at the bottle and the single glass left sitting on her counter.

  “No,” she said quickly, unsure of why she had pulled an extra glass from the cabinet. “It doesn’t sit well on my stomach.”

  He nodded. Devyn prepared herself for the insult about being a lightweight, but it never came.

  “So what’s with the Christmas decorations?”

  Chad lifted the glass to his lips taking a long swig. She couldn’t stomach a sip of it but he just poured a quarter of the cup down his throat. A small moan escaped his lips. His head fell backward soaking in the taste.

  “They aren’t mine,” Devyn said pushing past him, making a beeline for the couch in the other room. Chad followed behind her, taking large gulps of the whiskey.

  Devyn fell onto the couch with a plop and Chad repeated her motion. He twisted, turning to face her on the small loveseat. Devyn was pretty sure if she wanted and he wasn’t such an asshole half the time, she could get lost in his brown eyes. He cocked his head to the side.

  “This is your house, so how are these not your decorations?”

  “Because my sister lives here too.” Devyn fiddled with the remote beside her.

  “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

  “You never asked.” Devyn rolled her eyes.

  “How was I supposed to know to ask if you had a sister?”

  Devyn rolled her eyes and turned on the TV. She turned toward him. “If you want to date me so bad then you should be trying to get to know me.”

  “I’m sorry, every time we’ve been together I’ve been focused on other things.”

  His bluntness made her blush and sent her body into a frenzy she didn’t think she could handle again. She had already taken as much as she could with him earlier. She wasn’t sure she could stop herself if things got heated between them again. She wanted to press him and get under his skin, but she didn’t think she was ready for the consequences if she did.

  “Focused on what exactly?” Her words were barely audible.

  Chad threw the remainder of his drink down his throat and sat the glass on the coffee table in front of them.

  “I’d rather show you,” his rugged voice growled in her ear.

  His hand tangled in her hair pulling her rosy lips to his. Chad pulled her onto him, forcing her to straddle his lap.

  Devyn’s breath hitched in her throat. She didn’t have a moment to register what was happening before Chad pulled her face to his. His lips parted hers with ease, letting him slip his tongue into her mouth. Devyn melted into his body, kissing him fully, gripping fistful of his shirt. Her hands trailed over the material that hid away the ripped body beneath her. She twisted the buttons on his shirt, exposing a small patch of hair on his chest. Her fingers brushed over the skin.

  “You’re going to be the death of me Mr. Weeks,” she muttered into his mouth.

  Chad smiled against her mouth, wrapping his hands in her hair.

  He pulled her head back to expose the sweet skin of her neck, leaving a trail of kisses on his way down.

  Shivers went Devyn’s spine as she began to undo the buttons on his shirt, exposing his toned, muscular chest. Pulling away, Devyn allowed her eyes to take in the sight of his sculpted chest. She felt the pressure of his erection beneath her, pressing between her thighs. She ached to feel him in every way possible. She tightened her legs around him, pressing her center harder against him.

  Chad pulled her back to his lips. His kiss crushed hers and their teeth clashed together. The warmth in her belly returned and she ached to feel him pressed against her. He untangled his hand from her hair, wrapping both of his arms around the small of her back. Chad picked her up, throwing her onto the small leather couch they had been sitting on. His body crashed onto her, crushing her with his warmth. A small moan escaped Devyn’s lips and Chad grabbed her hips, his body suffocating her beneath him. She mimicked his actions, tangling her hands in his hair before pushing her tongue into his mouth to part his soft lips.

  Chad trailed his hands down her hips, stopping to rest his fingertips at the hem of her dress. She wrapped her legs around his waist, but he shifted, pulling away from her. He moved above her looking down at her small frame. Devyn tried to read his expression, but the look in his eyes was twisted, confused. He pulled back away from the opening in her dress, his fingers reconnecting the buttons on his shirt.

  Devyn sat up, wrapping her arms around her body.

  “I—,”

  Chad held up a hand shaking his head. He couldn’t look at her. Devyn fought the tears pushing to the surface of her eyes. She didn’t understand what had happened to make him pull away from her and refuse to look in her direction.

  “I thought you wanted this.”

  Chad turned to look at her. He only briefly made eye contact before staring at the couch beneath them.


  “Oh I do,” Chad’s voice was ragged. His breaths came out hard between each word, “But not like this. I want whatever this is between us to be real.”

  11

  Chad was totally screwed and he knew it.

  “What the fuck is wrong with me?” he muttered to himself, staring at his reflection in Devyn’s half bath. Feeling Devyn’s body curl around him was the sexiest thing he had ever experienced. He wanted her. He needed her body wrapped around his, but he needed her more than he needed a quick fuck she would regret later. The hairs on his arms stood on end. The bathroom was colder than it had been outside. His socks weren’t thick enough to shield him from the cold tiles on the floor.

  He couldn’t get Devyn out of his mind, even for a second. She was more than just a quick fuck but that was all he had wanted before he finally let himself break character kiss her for the first time. All he had thought about since he watched her walk into the office was how much he wanted to sink his teeth into her.

  Six months ago he would have killed for the opportunity she just gave him, but now... everything was different. She wasn’t just the girl in the cubicle next door that made him want to scream with every breath. He craved her touch and the way she filled the void next to him on quite drives home.

  Chad was falling for her. Did he really have to win this silly bet to get a date with her? Devyn was throwing herself at him at every chance. His hands gripped the cool white top of the vanity and he studied the way his eyes had already turned glassy from the whiskey. He had never felt so affected by a single class of alcohol. Chad wasn’t a lightweight.

  He twisted the handle, water falling from the faucet. The cold water touched his skin and he fought the urge to pull it away. He let it cover both hands before he touched the cold water to his face. Chad sucked in a breath past his gritted teeth. The coolness of the water stung, bringing him to life in the dim room. He had a job to do. He had to be focused. The task at hand was not getting drunk and fucking Devyn on her couch regardless of how badly he wanted to do both of those things. Getting drunk and fucking could come after he won the fucking bet.

  Devyn wasn’t just the prize at the end of this game. She was the game. She was the challenge and the reward. They made a bet, and the last thing he could do was lose. She had already beaten him once.

  He opened the door, stepping back into the dim townhouse and making his way back to the couch of temptation. Devyn was sprawled out on the couch cheeks flushed and her hair a mess.

  He was going to have to count back from 10.

  Chad sat beside her taking the remote from her lap before pressing the power button. He scrolled through the channel before stopping on a cheesy Christmas movie. He turned to look at Devyn, though she had barely looked at him since he had stepped back into the room. Her dark eyes contrasted well against her flushed cheeks.

  “We’re going to watch a Christmas movie and then you’re going to kiss me goodnight, and I will pick you up in the morning. Are you okay with that?” Chad pushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind the curve of her ear.

  “I don’t want to watch that.” She stuck her lower lip out. Chad fought the urge to snatch it between his teeth.

  “What is your suggestion then?” Chad leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. He should have known it wouldn’t be easy to get Devyn to agree with him.

  “A Christmas movie, but not that. It’s so cheesy and boring. It’s something my sister forces me to watch every year and it makes me hate this stupid holiday even more.”

  “Speaking of.” Chad sat straighter on the couch. “Where is your sister?”

  “She’s on a business trip,” she said, letting her eyes drift back up to his. “She’s out of town often.”

  Chad swallowed.

  “How about we watch something scary instead?”

  “I don’t know of any scary Christmas movies.”

  “I do.” Devyn smiled taking the remote from his hand. She changed the TV off cable and over to Netflix. “There was this horror movie that came out a few years ago about an evil Santa. We can watch that. No one would ever watch it with me, so I don’t know if it’s any good or not.”

  Chad rolled his eyes, unable to believe he was about to watch a Christmas horror movie with a smoking hot Grinch. She was one of a kind.

  “I’m only watching that if I get popcorn.” Chad held his hands up.

  Devyn chewed on her lower lip, considering his words carefully. The edges of her lips tugged upward, a smile spreading largely across her sweet face.

  “Deal.” She jumped up from the couch, almost tripping over her own feet as she walked toward the kitchen. Chad could feel the smile spreading across his cheeks. It was getting harder to not smile when she was around. He found his way to the spare closet in the living room and pulled a large throw blanket from the top of the neatly piled stack. He started to close the door, but something caught his eye. Inside the closet was a cream colored record player. He almost missed it, but the small metal cart made it hard to miss. Chad pulled on the cart, wheeling it into the living room. It was covered in multicolored Christmas lights which was too much, even for him.

  Chad sat the blanket down on the couch and studied the small cart. It held a few records, all of them were holiday themed, and a small framed photo. Chad’s fingers curled around the frame.

  “I see you’ve found Maria’s favorite holiday tradition,” Devyn’s voice had shifted. It was a little heavier than when she had left the room earlier. Whatever cheer he had managed to give her was leaving in a hurry.

  “Who’s in the photo?”

  Devyn pressed her lips together, staring at the blanket he had pulled out of the closet. Instead of answering she walked over to the cart and plucked the photo from his fingers. She placed it upside down on the cart.

  “No one important,” she whispered, smiling slightly up at him. She placed her hand on his side. Her body wrapped around his, squeezing him in a tight embrace. “Are we going to watch that movie or not?”

  Devyn walked back over to the small loveseat, picking up the variety of sugar treats and popcorn she had brought from her kitchen. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders pulling her into him. She started to resist, but decided against it. She curled her feet under her and settled closely into his shoulder. She looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes.

  “I didn’t know what else you liked,” she said digging around in the bin of treats she had brought with her. She pulled a small red can out of the stack. “I just brought you a Coke. I hope that’s okay.”

  CHAD’S EYES WERE HEAVY and the lack of sleep he had been running on for the last few days was finally catching up with him. Devyn’s body snuggled into his side wasn’t helping the matter either. The movie had already grown stale and it wasn’t helping his overly exhausted mind. Devyn had started fidgeting too, and if she wasn’t ready for the movie to end, she was getting there.

  Chad had barely found out anything about her since she started working at Maxi’s. She had laid low and, outside of her experience and the hard work she put in everyday at the office, he was clueless about her. Honestly, he was lucky she had even told him about her sister.

  “Are you ready to tell me about yourself?” The words rolled off his tongue.

  “What’s there to tell?” Devyn stiffened, shrugging her shoulders. Her face was hidden in the dim room.

  “Don’t do that to me,” he said pulling back so he could see her face.

  The timid expression used that morning was back, reminding him of how desperate she had been to play nice with him.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Chad,” she said, turning back toward the movie on the screen. “I’m trying to watch the movie.”

  Chad scoffed, muffling the laugh that almost came out. Her eyes darted toward his. Her cheeks burned bright red and he could see the gears turning in her head. She was thinking of some way to piss him off.

  “Devyn you’ve been on the verge o
f snoring for about 30 minutes.” He smiled at her, squeezing her shoulders. “Come on. I want to know about you.”

  “Why should I tell you about me when I don't know anything about you?”

  Dammit, the girl was good. She pressed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest. She had backed him into a corner here.

  “I have a sister,” Chad said, clearing his throat before taking another long drink from his Coke. “She is kind of a bitch.”

  Devyn let out a laugh that sounded like she was choking on her tongue before she clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes grew three times the size they were before. Chad couldn’t tell if she was waiting for him to yell or if she was hoping he wouldn’t say anything. Chad let the corner of his lips tug upward, giving her a small smile to let her know it was fine. She hadn’t crossed a line she couldn’t come back from. Slowly, her lips loosened and she parted them, and furrowing her brow trying to come up with the right words to respond.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh like that, but the way you said it just kind of triggered something. You were just so blunt about it.” Devyn crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I’m blunt about everything,” Chad said matter of factly.

  Devyn forced herself to sit still and fought an eye roll. She looked at the blanket between them and swallowed, “What makes her such a bitch?”

  “I think it would be easier to tell you what wouldn’t make her a bitch.” Chad sighed, letting his hand fall between them. He fought the urge to curl his fingers around hers. “When we were kids, our dad left us. My sister blamed me because I always took up for our mom. Our mom was always a lot to handle, and sometimes I wonder how our dad made it as long as he did. Our mom had these panic attacks that would send her to the hospital. Mom refused to go on medicine. She said she didn’t want drugs inside her body when she could handle it herself. Which she couldn’t, by the way.”