Chapter Seven
After a plate of ham, some sugar cookies, and a nice cup of hot chocolate, Ribbon headed down the hall to her room. She stretched as she walked, trying to shake the drowsy feeling settling in her body. She opened the door. Her room was huge. White curtains hung against the far wall with a big square window. A four-poster oak bed rested in the middle of the room with sheer netting all the way around, like a bed made for a princess. Ribbon couldn’t keep her grin at bay. It was a gorgeous room and the bed looked so soft with all the overstuffed pillows and feather down comforter. She ached to curl up in it and sleep, sleep the day away.
“May I come in?”
Ribbon turned to find Draven standing in the doorway. He’d changed into a tank top and pajama bottoms. He looked good no matter what he wore. Though she’d have liked his clothes a lot better rumpled on her floor. “Please.” Sheesh. Her mind fell into the gutter quickly. She quietly reprimanded herself. She shouldn’t be making this easy on him—he had a smile to answer for, all the kidnapping aside.
Draven sauntered into the room, closing the distance between them. Her breath hitched and her heart jumped. She took a few steps back, and he advanced, his eyes half-lidded with a sparkle that promised mischief. Perhaps her mind wasn’t the only one falling into gutters.
“Are you afraid of me, Donella?” His voice had lowered to a sexy masculine ripple cascading over her.
“Not even a little. On the contrary. I’d really like you to push me up against the wall and kiss me like you mean it.” She steeled her sight on him, ready for him to take her up on her offer. Okay, actually hoping he’d take her up on it. Her body had curled into a tight coil, her muscles straining to keep control of herself. Why did she want to devour him like some hormone-crazed teenager?
Draven put a warm hand in the middle of her chest and walked her slowly back until she abruptly found the cool wall. His hands rested on either side of her, effectively trapping her between them. Her panties moistened and a hot need coiled inside. He was an exquisite specimen of a man and Ribbon couldn’t wait to have him. His lips came within inches of hers. He pushed his body hard against her, crushing her breath inside. A gasp escaped as she felt his cock harden against her legs. She ached at the thought of his shaft deep inside her.
“You are wearing far too many clothes. Let’s remove them.” He slid both of her hands up above her head and pinned them to the wall with one hand. The coolness was welcome to her inflamed body. She bit her lower lip as her body responded with a sudden ache between her legs. Ribbon wanted to feel him drive himself inside her, her legs wrapped around him. She swallowed her moan but followed her sexual needs instinctively.
“And how will they leave my body if I’m pinned?” she challenged. Not ready to give in completely.
He raised his eyebrow, grinned, and leaned in toward the first button of her blouse. As he put one side in his mouth, he grabbed the other side with his free hand, ripping the material all the way down. Buttons flew off bouncing onto the floor. He continued next with her bra, ripping it apart right between her breasts. Once the chilled air reached her nipples, they perked to attention and he lavished his mouth on first one, then the other, rolling her sensitive peak between his teeth and the other in between his fingers. A whimper escaped her lips.
“And...” she cleared her throat. “My jeans?” she taunted, steeling her need to have him keep going.
Draven drew back, snapped his fingers, and both her jeans and panties fell to the floor. Cool air rushed between her legs, followed by his fingers. “Kiss you like I mean it, huh?”
Ribbon nodded. Draven slid two fingers through the folds of her wet pussy, brushing lightly against her clit; he thrust his fingers inside as he claimed her mouth. He filled her, cupped her, stroked her within, creating an intense need to ravage him. He tasted like peppermint. His tongue plunged inside her with the same tempo as his fingers. He slipped a third finger in, then pulled them all slowly out. Her muscles clenched, clutching to draw them back in. He pushed through her walls all the way to the ends of his fingers, causing her body to arch against him as he wound a circular motion inside her. Their lips parted and she moaned.
“You’re so wet. Is that for me?”
She shook her head yes, begging him to keep going with her body.
“Say it.” His fingers stopped moving and pulled out, leaving her feeling empty inside and crazy with the need to release. Her head flipped side to side as she tried to rein in her desires.
“I’m wet for you, Draven.” Her words came out low and uneven. She hadn’t meant for them to.
“I like it.” He let go of her wrists and she slid them around his shoulders. He pushed himself harder against her and she noticed he’d lost his clothes as well. She could get used to elf magic. He bent over slightly and took a nipple into his mouth, suckling the tender tip. Her breath caught in her chest and her body ached to feel him inside, filling her up. Draven spread her legs with his knee and slipped his hands around her back, gripping her shoulders.
Ribbon could feel the tip of his cock hovering before her wet opening. Her clit throbbed and she resisted the urge to impale herself on him. Draven moved to the other nipple and just as he pinched it between his teeth, he drove himself all the way inside her, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. He filled her over and over. Pushing her down on top of him from her shoulders, sucking first one nipple, then moving to the other as he kept a steady pace.
“Sweet silver bells,” Ribbon whispered and arched against him. She wanted him deeper, and he obliged as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He withdrew, all the way out, until he barely stayed at the opening, and then slammed himself back inside. Ribbon’s walls clenched around his bulging cock filling her so full and riding her into wave after wave of buildup.
She felt the first crest of her orgasm. He slammed her into the wall and wrapped both arms around her hips, rocking her at his pace, back and forth, then in a circle. That’s what tipped her. He circled one way, then back the other, slipping himself in and out and back again. She pushed herself harder against the wall, still needing that deeper feeling. Again, he obliged with longer, harder strides. His thumb found its way to her swollen clit and flicked. Her body spasmed, clenching around him hard as the orgasm washed over her. She could feel every little movement as he swelled inside her and kept his hard pounding in her pussy until he groaned and came with her.
He dropped them both, tangled in each other, down to the floor. “You know”—he took a deep breath—”Claus elves mate for life. I’ve claimed you, and you me.”
“How’s that, just because we had a little sex?”
“A little sex, in Santa’s castle at the North Pole, where magic floats in the air. Our coupling has been witnessed by Christmas magic, which makes you mine forever.” His gaze roamed over her body.
“And if I don’t recognize this as ‘mating for life,’ then what?” But her stomach twisted even as the words left her lips.
His jaw clenched. “You won’t be able to find another even if you tried. I will even bet my best candy cane on your previous men not meaning that much to you.”
“And what if they did?” Ribbon couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t a cavewoman to be pulled around and taken when wanted. She was a grown woman and refused to give him the upper hand so easily.
“Make no mistake, Ribbon, you are mine.” His arms crushed her to him and his lips claimed hers, desperate and wanting. Her body responded instantly to his touch, heating at his attentions. She groaned inwardly, realizing that’s exactly what she wanted, to be taken by Draven, repeatedly. The thought of another soul laying a single soft hand on him made jealousy rage beneath her skin and she sprang free of his mouth. “Good. If you ever see Maple again, I’ll rip her hair out and cut off anything that dared to touch you.”
Draven laughed. “Ready for round two?”
Chapter Eight
Ribbon awoke deliciously sore. The sun cascaded through the wi
ndow of her room. She reached over to find the bed empty. She sat up. On the bottom of the bed was a light blue silk dress with white fur around the neck and cuffs. Before she had time to contemplate where it had come from, she heard her mother.
“Where is she!” her mother’s voice yelled down the hall.
Ribbon groaned and quickly slipped out of bed. She threw the silky material over her head and had just barely pulled the hem over her bare ass when her mother walked in.
“Oh for Christmas’ sake, I thought I’d lost you.” She rushed to Ribbon’s side, gave her a hard hug, and clutched onto her as if she’d died and come back to life.
“Mother, please. I’m fine. Did Daddy come?” Ribbon pulled herself back.
“Of course, sweetheart. We blinked straight here. We knew the minute you hollered the spy had taken you.”
Draven walked in and stood calmly behind her mother. “Mom, we should talk about that.”
“What’s there to discuss? He’s a primitive monster. Elf-napping you from our own shop. Right under our noses.” Her voice cracked.
“I’m terribly sorry, Mrs. Winters, for the fear I caused, but I assure you my intentions were good.”
Ribbon’s mother turned on him. She stalked her five-foot-nothing form right up into his face. “Get out, you...you sorry excuse for an elf! Mr. Claus should put you on the naughty list, twice.” Her mother’s finger jabbed into Draven’s chest. Draven stood there taking her wrath as if he actually deserved it.
“Mother, please. He did nothing wrong in truth. You and Daddy have a mess to clean up here. Draven had been trying to help us come back to repair the damage our leaving caused. Did you see the blackness eating away at the Pole?” Just the thought made her shiver and a hollowness pooled in her stomach. That darkness threatened to take away all of Ribbon’s happiness. It wanted to eat the good feelings. A bottomless pit of hunger searching for fulfillment.
Her mother turned. Her mouth fell open. “I did, but I thought it was just something impure. How could it be our fault?”
“You and Daddy did that when you left. You’ve put everyone at risk here. We must help them fix it.”
Her mother reached out for the bedpost and lowered herself to a sitting position on the mattress. Her eyes cast down at the floor. “I didn’t know. I...”
“It’s okay. We can make it better.” Ribbon rushed to her mother’s side. She slinked an arm over her shoulders for comfort.
“Ribbon! Ribbon!” her father’s voice bellowed.
“In here!”
Draven stepped out of the way as her father ran into the room. “Thank heavens you’re all right.” He shot a glare at Draven and opened his mouth, ready to give him a piece of his mind, but Ribbon would not have it.
“Daddy, leave it alone. Draven made mistakes, but he was doing what he thought was right.”
Her father raised a hand and said, “I know, I know. I saw the void and I’ve already spoken with Mr. Claus. Doesn’t mean I have to like him. We need to head out front with the rest of the kin and put our magic together in order to expel the dark. If that doesn’t work, then I have no idea what will.”
Ribbon’s mother hugged her father. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice came out weak and muffled.
“Let’s head outside.” Draven waved them toward the door.
Ribbon let them all slip out with a nod to Draven. “I need to change.” When the door shut Ribbon slid up her jeans and threw on her shirt, rushing out with the others.
Her bare feet slid along the smooth stone floor. When she’d first arrived the cold had bothered her, yet her feet were not cold. She snuck a glance at Draven. Could it be the bond helping? Or was it because she’d finally come home, to her kin?
Ribbon’s mother and father held hands as they walked out of the castle. Ribbon and Draven followed. There was a pressure in the air, as if the air itself were being squeezed together and shoved into a small space. She looked over to the void. It had grown since she’d shown up last night. It seemed the larger it grew, the faster the blackness ate at the castle. Draven tugged her just enough to capture her attention as he led them down to a whole slew of elves. If she had thought there were a lot of elves when she first showed up, she’d been mistaken—by the hundreds. They were all gathered outside, forming a circle. So many it looked like a sold-out concert.
Once they had joined the circle with all the other elves, they grabbed each other’s hands. Ribbon placed one in her mother’s and the other in Draven’s. Santa Claus watched from the front step as the elves turned in one giant circle. Mrs. Winters began to sing in the elven tongue and the rest followed her words. Her voice echoed and carried, it seemed, up into the heavens. It was a beautiful song with words Ribbon didn’t even understand. But they left a feeling of peace and warmth in her chest.
A red haze lifted from the group, followed by green, purple, orange, and all the other colors of the elves’ magic mixing together. They pushed it up, expanding the circle out, and threw everything they had into the black abyss. It was as if her mother’s song had joined them all as one and every elf instinctively knew what to do by the words alone.
The darkness gobbled it up and the void grew, inches away from devouring the front door. Ribbon’s stomach plummeted and the void beckoned to her. She could feel it pulling her away from the circle. Her feet slid. She squeezed Draven’s hand tighter, silently begging him to hold on. Their eyes met as she lost the grip in her other hand. The void wanted to eat her. She could feel its hunger, the insane need to fill a hole. It dug through all the warmth in her mother’s voice and invaded her heart. Draven’s mouth formed a thin line as he held fast. He was the only thing between her and utter darkness. She dug her bare feet into the snow, attempting to keep her footing. She didn’t want to be eaten alive. She didn’t want to die.
The rest of the elves didn’t miss a beat. Her mother continued the song and threw her magic up again. The other elves followed, all the colors joining, brighter. They threw it again at the void, but this time they kept the steady flow of colors coming, like water from a hose expelling a fire. The black bubbled into itself, slowly turning into a mist and dissolving until what should have been there in the first place reappeared. The pulling sensation stopped and she let loose Draven’s hand to clutch at the fluttering in her stomach. He moved behind her and slid his arms around her shaking form.
The elves let out a cheer so loud it hurt Ribbon’s ears, and she couldn’t help but cheer with them. Satisfied, the elves gathered around Mr. Claus and the Winters family. What would Mr. Claus do with her family now that they had come home and the crisis was over?
“Mr. and Mrs. Winters, thank you for saving Christmas. I have high expectations that you’ll stay with us,” Santa Claus said.
“We have conditions, sir.” Ribbon’s father straightened.
“Name them.”
“We don’t want to live in the castle with the other elves.”
“Done.”
“We also want to be free to come and go in the human realm, within reason of course.”
“If this is your wish, so shall it be. I’d never intended to keep my elves under lock and key. Please forgive my assumptions that all my elves would like what the others had.”
“Santa, you know we forgive you.” Ribbon’s mother hugged Santa. He beamed.
“There’s only one other thing to address.” Mr. Claus’s face grew serious. “Penance for the harm you’ve caused.”
Everyone grew silent. Ribbon’s father looked down at her mother, squeezed her shoulders, and said, “I would expect nothing less for our part in the damage.”
“What would you have us do, sir?” Ribbon’s mother wrung her hands.
“I think stable duty will work. You know the reindeer are finicky about their stalls. What say you, Claus elves?” Santa asked.
The crowd cheered. Her mother and father nodded their heads in agreement.
“Are we ready for some eggnog?” her father asked, addressing his word
s to the crowd of elves, effectively changing the subject.
“Let’s get on with the nog,” a male voice hollered from the group. They followed Mr. Claus inside the castle.
Ribbon hung back with her mother. There were just a few more things to do. “Mom?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I’ve been mated to Draven.” She looked over at her mother, unsure of what to expect. But her mother just smiled and continued forward at a slow pace.
She finally said, “I guess I couldn’t expect anything less from a Winters.”
“Um...and one more thing. What’s with the stuff you and Daddy put in the eggnog? Is it some bizarro human ritual or something you picked up here at the Pole?”
Her mother laughed. “Oh sweetheart. That powder we slip into the nog, it’s an aphrodisiac made from elven magic.” She gave her daughter a wink.
Ewww, entirely too much information, and suddenly Ribbon was no longer curious. A warmth came over her as Draven slid up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
“We won’t need an aphrodisiac.” The words were hot in her ear.
“And why’s that, elf?” She pushed herself into him.
“’Cause I’m better than any nog, love.”
Ribbon giggled and turned to face him. He had a smile that reached up to the creases of his eyes. “Perhaps, but I might have to test you several times to be sure.” As her heart filled with a ravenous passion for her spy, sparks littered the air between them. She looked around. “What’s happening?” Everything grew brighter, more alive. She could actually see the magic in the air, slipping all around her and Draven. Circling, enticing, whispering to her, calling for their coupling.
Ribbon of Darkness (The Trouble with Elves Book 1) Page 4