by Dahlia Rose
The reservation clerk looked at her. “Can I help you, miss?”
“Um, yes, you saw me pass last night with one of your guests. He said I could go up to his room and wait for him until he gets back.” Neeva smiled.
I don’t remember you, ma’am,” the clerk said with an apologetic tone.
“It was last night around eleven thirty or so,” Neeva explained. “Tall guy, blond, really nice blue eyes.”
“Sorry, miss,” the clerk said. “Maybe you can give me his name, and I’ll look up his room.”
“His name is Nicholas.” Neeva gave a small laugh. I can’t tell her he told me Kringle was his last name. “I really don’t know his last name, but he was staying in the last suite in the west wing facing the beach.”
“That can’t be possible, ma’am. Those suites have been closed for renovations. There’s no furniture in them,” the clerk explained.
Neeva felt like someone had doused her with ice cold water. “Are you sure?” When the clerk nodded, Neeva gave a small nod. “Thank you. I’ll leave you to your work.”
“Merry Christmas!” the clerk called out as she walked away.
Neeva raised her hand in response. She couldn’t wish anyone a merry anything at that point even if she tried. It seemed that all the while Nicholas had been lying to her, and she had fallen in love with a figment of her imagination. No one was that perfect, and she had made herself believe, and for that she looked like a fool. Nicholas was not coming back. She was waiting in her home for a love that was not real. This second heartbreak shattered what was left of her heart. Neeva’s tears fell as she walked across the sand to her home.
* * * *
The doors of the Santa Inc. boardroom were blown open by an invisible force. It was very rare for Nicholas to use his magic with such force, but he wanted to make a point as he strode down the long hallway. Santa Claus was his job, a form he took to bring happiness to children. But more than that, he was an immortal who was as old as time. He was the son of a Viking god and someone not to be trifled with.
As he walked into the boardroom, he went from cut-off jeans and a T-shirt to a black pin-stripped suit and black loafers. His hair that was tousled by the Caribbean winds was now combed with every blond strand in place. When he sat at the head of the long mahogany table, all eyes were on him. Nicholas said nothing. He let his gaze settle on each of the vice presidents. At his side, his mother stood with her hand on the back of his smooth leather chair. Nicholas couldn’t help but think that soon it would be Neeva standing at his side.
“Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem with our production agreement?” Nicholas asked, his voice cool and calm.
One man stood. To Nicholas, it was obvious that he would be the one who would speak for the entire group. From across the room, Nicholas could smell the greed rolling off him. “As we see it, Claus, you have given us a small piece of the pie, and we think a few slices should be added.”
“How so?” Nicholas laced his fingers together and stared at the man. He never shifted his eyes or blinked. Nicholas saw that the intensity of his stare made the VP so uncomfortable he began to straighten his tie in a nervous gesture.
The vice president cleared his throat. “You and your family are powerful, immortal to be precise. I think you could give us more than one wish a year to compensate us for our manufacturing costs and giving you our toys.”
“Which would sit in your warehouses because of low sales every year?” Nicholas pointed out.
Another man spoke up. “But if we reveal your secret . . .”
Nicholas leveled a cold stare on him and then passed it along to every man who sat around that table. “Go ahead.”
“Wh-What?” the spokesman stuttered.
“Go ahead and tell the world. What do you think will happen?” Nicholas rose and spread his hands wide. “Every child will start writing letters to me again. Every parent will stop going to malls and toy stores, and production will cease for your companies. But the North Pole will be busy, and I might have to hire you to work for me. So go ahead. Reveal it all.”
“All we’re asking is for—”
Nicholas slammed his hands down on the table. His power set a long crack along the smooth shiny surface, and he cut off the man’s words. “Is for what? More money to amass on your already bulging bank accounts? The answer is no, and if you don’t have anything else other than a pathetic excuse to tell the world we’re immortal and Santa exists, then get out of my boardroom and follow the contract you signed with me or else.”
The vice president bristled, and his face grew red. “Or else what.”
“Or else you’ll answer to the one who rules us all, and trust me, he is not one you want to deal with.” At Thunder rolled and shook the room. The men looked around with fear written all over their faces. Nicholas’s smile was cold as the ice that covered the North Pole and blew in the artic winds. “Consider my good nature at this point the least of your worries.”
Another white-haired gentleman spoke up. “Um, I think right now this meeting should be adjourned. It seems we made a mistake.” The others nodded in agreement.
“Good idea!” Nicholas sat back in his chair. “Now you’ll be escorted back to your homes. Enjoy the holidays. Merry Christmas!”
The men filed out, casting somewhat fearful glances over their shoulders at Nicholas. He chuckled with cheer and waved as they left.
“Very good. my son, firm without having to rain boulders on their greedy heads.” Joko ruffled his hair, an affectionate gesture.
“Ma, stop that!” he grumbled but stood anyway and pulled his mother into a bear hug. “I guess it’s time for me to get ready and start my trip.”
“The sleigh is waiting. It has been charmed with the extra magic you will need to carry all those packages,” Joko replied. “Now change and do what you were born to do, bring people happiness.”
Nicholas nodded and disappeared from the boardroom to the bedroom in his home. Outside he could hear the busy feet of his elves as they prepared for the holiday festivals. Neeva will be amazed when she sees all this, he thought with a joyous grin. He pulled his red suit from the closet and put it on in haste. Christmas Eve night began at different hours across the different time zones, so he would have to begin his trip as soon as he could to make sure every child had at least one gift under the tree. Those who didn’t believe in Christmas or who had a different culture would receive his blessing even if it was in the form of food or clothing donated to missions and homes. He left no country out, no child or family.
He stood before his full-length mirror and began his transformation, from young handsome immortal who would never age to the snow-white beard and rosy cheeks that were his trademark. His waist thickened, and soon he was the fat jolly man everyone knew and loved. Looking at himself, Nicholas could not help but laugh. It came out as his merry “Ho, ho, ho.” It was time to work, and then it would be back to his Neeva. He left his home and walked through the snow to his sleigh. Around him, elves and other magical folks cheered because this was the official start of their season of festivities.
Nicholas settled into his seat. Around his hands he wrapped the black leather reins that held the harnesses adorned with golden bells which hung on the necks of his reindeer. The animals pranced with excitement.. He called out in his booming voice, “Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!”
His people of the North Pole cheered as his sleigh rose to begin its worldwide journey. Nicolas’s mind was on his work, but Neeva’s smiling face was in the forefront this time. He wanted this night to fly by so he could return to her.
Chapter Seven
How could I be so stupid? Sucked into some tourist’s bed like some naïve island girl. Neeva sat in her bedroom watching the evening news on Christmas night. Even after finding out that Nicholas was not listed at the hotel and her doub
ts returned, she had expected and hoped he would be there on Christmas day like he said. She found herself wishing more than once that he would come and dispel some of her fears. But hours had flowed from one to the next until the sun set across the sand and night fell. She had come inside and shut her windows from the sound of holiday parties on the beach in hopes to close out the sound of happiness when her heart was breaking all over again.
As she watched the television, her heart ached. For the child she had lost two years ago and now for Nicholas. A knock on her back door brought her up off her pillows, and she swiped the tears that had formed in her eyes. She jumped out of bed and walked though her home. Sadness had given away to fury, and she swore that if it was another drunken tourist on her doorstep, she would bean whoever it was on the head. Instead, she opened the door to Nicholas’s smiling face and slammed it closed again.
“Neeva, my love, open the door!”
“Why, for you to lie to me just a little more?” she called through the barrier that kept him out and her inside.
“I didn’t lie. I told you I’d be back!” Nicholas called out to her.
Neeva opened the door. “One, you said Christmas morning, not Christmas night! And two, I went to the hotel. They had no record of you, and your hotel room was being renovated. How in the hell did you get all that furniture in there anyway! Ugh, I don’t care. Just go away, liar!” She closed the door in his face again.
“I went home, Neeva, did my job, and then my father cornered me at the feast, and I had to stay a few hours.”
“Uh-huh, your Santa Claus job, right? And who is your father, the Easter bunny?” Neeva called out to him.
“Actually my father is Odin, and my mother is Joko.” Nicholas’s voice came from behind her. “We can’t have a decent conversation through a closed door.”
Neeva whirled around to face him in shock. “How in the hell did you get in here?”
“Magic.” He smiled and cupped her cheek.
“Did I leave the front door unlocked? All the while I was talking to you, you came through my front door?” She rushed to check only to find her lock secure.
He was behind her in an instant. “Honey, I told you magic.”
Neeva stared up at him in shock. “You want me to believe that you are Santa Claus and that you went home to the North Pole and you were late because of a family dinner?”
“Basically, yes.”
“Holy hell, I think I do believe you,” she whispered. How could she not, the way he had no trace at the hotel, how he found the child’s mother with such ease, and now how he got into her home with all the doors locked. How could he do it if it wasn’t magic?
Without a word, Nicholas held out one of his hands for her to see. In the center formed a perfect snowflake made of ice. When she slowly reached out to touch it, the cold made her pull her hand back in shock.
“H-how did you do that?” Neeva reached out and ran her finger along the ice as it turned centimeters above his palm.
“I told you the truth from the very beginning. I would never lie to you.” Nicholas’s eyes burned into hers. “I have always told you who I am. The hotel was just another piece of magic. They saw me come in when I was there, and when I left the island the magic left with me.”
“You’re Santa Claus,” Neeva said. She still couldn’t believe it, but here it was right before her eyes.
“Just my job, Neeva. I’m Nicholas Kringle and the man who will love you for all eternity. I’m immortal, and soon you will be too, if you’ll have me. We will share this love forever.”
“How? I mean do I have to drink a potion or get bitten or something?” Neeva whispered. She couldn’t help but wonder how one became immortal.
Nicholas laughed. “No, my love, from the time you travel to my home, you will never grow old, and we can come to the island anytime you like.” He lifted her and strode to her bedroom. “You can think on it while we kiss, make up, and do other things.”
Neeva felt joy fill her heart, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t believe I’ll be doing much thinking, but okay.”
“I love you, Neeva,” Nicholas said, his voice husky with emotion. “Say you love me too and that you see I won’t ever leave you alone.”
`“Yes,” Neva echoed her thoughts. It could be nothing else but yes for her as she took his lips in a kiss and he led the way to her bedroom. The soft light of her television cast a blue glow around them. Or was it is his magic? Neeva didn’t know nor did she care. She was loved and gave love in return. His eyes were on her again. She watched the heat smolder in them as her dress slipped to the floor and she stood in only a pair of yellow cotton panties. Nicholas slipped his hand around her neck, and Neeva closed her eyes in pleasure from the sensation of his touch. She twined her hands around his waist under his shirt. In an instant motion, he pulled it over his head and let it fall to the floor. She pressed her face against his chest and felt the warmth of his skin on her cheek and his heartbeat speed up when she touched him.
“I want you, Neeva” he whispered.
“You have me.” She lifted her lips up to his for him to claim.
He kissed her as he swept her off her feet and laid her down on her bed. His gaze never left her as he slipped her panties off her smooth legs and then took off the rest of his clothes. Neeva looked at his hard cock as he stood proud and naked in front of her. On her knees, she pulled him closer until his legs bumped the mattress. She kissed the tip of his cock and took his length in her mouth inch by slow inch. Nicholas groaned deep in his throat, which reminded Neeva of a sleek jungle cat. His breath hissed out between his teeth while she teased him with her lips and tongue. He combed his fingers through hair and buried them there. With every movement, she took his cock deeper into her mouth. With every sound that he made in pleasure, it fueled Neeva’s own need.
He pulled her away from him in a sudden motion and kissed her with the hungry passion of a man starved for his woman. He pressed her back into the bed and covered her with his own. His lips traveled down to her breasts, and he took the hard nipple in his mouth. He moved from one to the other, tasting and sucking her nipples. Neeva cried out as ecstasy shot to her core. She bucked against him, wanting to feel him inside her, but Nicholas took his time pleasing her. His hand traveled down her smooth stomach to the apex of her thighs. When she felt his fingers slip between the moist fold of flesh and rub against her clit, Neeva pressed her hand against her mouth to smother her cries of passion.
“No.” Nicholas pulled her hand away. “I want to hear you come for me. Don’t hide it from me ever.”
His fingers slipped inside her. With his thumb against her bud, he stroked it in a slow circular motion. He watched her as he sent her over the edge with his fingers alone. Neeva felt her release flow over his fingers. He did not let her catch her breath before filling her with this thick cock.
“Nicholas,” she said on a whisper. She wished she could explain to him how good it felt to have him buried inside of her. She could see no words were needed as she looked at him. His eyes had gone dark with desire as he moved inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips to take more of him. She felt his hands under her bottom to pull her into his every thrust. Nicholas’s breath was harsh against her ear. He whispered his need in her ears, his words heightening her pleasure.
“I’m going to come. . . . Please don’ t stop,” she pleaded.
“No, baby, I’m not going to. God, you feel so good, Neeva my love. I can’t hold back,” Nicholas moaned.
She felt him tense and shuddered as he pumped inside her. The sound of her slippery wet body meeting his filled the room.
Neeva opened her eyes as she spiraled into her orgasm. She watched Nicholas’s face. Pleasure passed over it, and he tensed. His neck arched, and a groan escaped his lips as he spilled himself inside her. All the while as their bodies cooled from their passion, she caressed him and luxuriated in the feel of him. She enjoyed it as he did the same
to her.
A sigh left his lips. “I can’t believe I am going to be doing this with you forever.”
“Having sex?” She gave him a light punch in the arm. “You don’t do bad work in that department.”
“I mean loving you and holding you like this every night.” He grinned before giving her a smacking kiss on the lips.
“Me too.” Neeva never knew she could find happiness again, and now she had it in the arms of her own personal Santa Claus. “I love you, Nicholas Kringle.”