by Taryn Quinn
“Santa!” The screech and clap of a child halted me mid-stride. Not just any child. One belonging to the manager of the flagship store here in New York City.
“Melody,” I said softly.
The child lit up. “Santa knows my name,” she said in a whisper. Her huge blue eyes and inky dark hair mirrored her mother’s looks.
Tracey Templeton bounced the toddler. “Of course Santa knows your name, sweetie. It’s his job. Just like he knows my name.”
Melody giggled.
I cleared my throat. “Of course. Your mommy is on the nice list this year.”
“Yay!”
Tracey gave me a soft smile. “We should go see Daddy. Santa needs to give out presents.”
“Presents,” Melody sang out.
Tracey touched her forehead to her daughter’s. “That’s all you care about lately.” She turned to me. “Nice to see you, Santa.”
I swallowed down the need to ask questions. We’d been good friends once.
“Are you ready, Santa?”
Her voice made my heart pound and my brain fuzz. Hot Elf—Miss Kane.
I groaned internally. Kandy Kane. She had to be the one to kick start my dick. And she’d dragged me into this crazy evening because I’d impulsively listened to said dick.
Stupid.
The word associated with me for years now.
“Hi.” Hot Elf smiled big, then reached out for Melody’s little hand and shook it. “Do you mind if I steal Santa away? It’s time to hand out the gifts.”
Melody burrowed into her mother, suddenly shy. “M’kay.”
“Excellent. Oh, wait. I’m sure we have your gift in here. Do you want to wait until Santa finds it? Or do you want it now?”
“Now.” Her voice was bright and pealed through the room with excitement.
Soon other children followed the sound and we had an audience. I thanked the huge pants and extra padding as my elf crouched beside me and dug into the bag.
“Let’s see. Michael? Is that your name?” She peered up at Melody.
Giggles erupted as she tried to lean out of Tracey’s hold. “No. Melody.”
“Oh, right. Melody. Let me see…” She did that with three other names, and each time Melody laughed before Hot Elf finally held up a long package. “Got it!” She handed it to me. “You do the honors, Santa.”
“No.”
Hot Elf gave me a hard stare.
I accepted the pink and gold present before checking the tag. “Have to be sure this is for Miss Melody.”
Tracey glanced between me and my elf. Her eyebrows lowered before her face cleared. She juggled Melody onto her other hip. “Say thank you, Santa.”
“Thank you, Santa,” Melody parroted.
Hot Elf stood beside me, her smile as wide as the little girl’s as she glanced up at me. The freckles across her cheeks reminded me of cinnamon dust. High color flushed her cheeks from me, or the room, or just pure happiness. I couldn’t tell which. It made me itchy and I wanted to growl at her to stop being so fucking happy.
But Santa wouldn’t do that.
“Santa?”
I glanced away from her to find Tracey looking between the two of us, curiosity growing. I picked up the bag. “Time to deliver the toys,” I said in a booming voice. I didn’t need Tracey asking questions. I liked our situation.
We didn’t talk.
Even if I did miss her snarky intelligence and her husband, Tony. Both of them had been cut out of my life three years ago too. No matter how hard I tried to put it behind me, I couldn’t see them without thinking of her.
It was bad enough I had this suit back on, but letting thoughts of her into my head were definitely not allowed. Not right now. Not if I wanted to get through this without growling at a child and that was simply not acceptable.
Even I wasn’t that much of a bastard.
Cheers of “Santa!” rang out among the younger children as the older ones stood toward the back of the pack. Every child would get a present. The one thing we always provided at the Christmas parties was a present for each child belonging to an employee. Some years it meant as many as sixty presents. This year the number was lower.
More and more employees were waiting to have children, or moving on once they did. But there were still a healthy number of them surrounding me and Kandy.
Kandy. The name really didn’t suit her, even if her lips looked and tasted as sweet as her namesake.
She tried to get me to move over to the Santa throne, but I didn’t want to be above the children today. I wanted to get the gifts handed out and get moving. The laughter and the tearing of paper was already too much.
By the time the last present was given out and my stash of candy canes was depleted, my head was pounding. My elf must have figured out that I was at the end of my rope. She herded the kids to the tables for dinner with the help of her assistant.
When we did our last waves of goodbye and escaped into the hallway again, I ripped at the suit coat. I was overheated from the warm room and extra padding to start with. Add in a layer of pissed off that I’d had to cover with smiles and charm and I was ready to kill.
“Mr. Murdock, I just wanted to thank you—”
I lifted her off her feet and fastened my mouth to hers to cut her off. I couldn’t think with all the crazy running around in my head. The one thing I did understand was the need crawling under my skin and inside my chest.
I opened a door down the hallway and pushed her into the darkness. There was little else for me to focus on but her warm breasts in my hands, and her sweet skin on my tongue. I scraped my teeth down her neck to her shoulder, but her sweater had far too much material to it. It looked good draped over her generous breasts, but right now it was in my way. I wanted skin.
I ripped at the slim belt at her waist and shoved my hands under her sweater. Warm flesh filled my hands as the lacy cups of her bra flipped up at my rough touch. I wanted to slow down. She deserved for me to slow down, but I was a man possessed.
Her nails bit into my shoulders as I lifted one nipple to my lips, then the other. I needed more. I dropped one hand to her waist and down the outside of her thigh. I dragged her knee up onto my hip and hauled her up against me. She locked her legs around my waist.
I had to believe she was with me since she was hanging on. Of course, it was either that or we were both going to hit the floor. I wasn’t sure what I was pinning her to. It was a shelving unit of some sort. My hand bumped into a pail as I shifted her higher.
I groaned as her skirt bunched between us. I grinded my cock against her, but there were so many layers between us I couldn’t feel her heat.
I ripped my mouth off hers. “Hold onto me,” I growled.
“This really isn’t the place.” Her breathing was ragged.
“I don’t fucking care. I’m demanding first payment, Miss Kane.”
“Here?” Surprise tinged her voice.
“Yes.” I shrugged out of my jacket and shirt then ripped at the Velcro fastening of my foam belly. Jesus. Way too many layers. I needed skin. I wanted her sprawled out on my bed in my cabin, but right here would do. For now.
It would hold me for at least a few minutes.
The door opened and the shaft of light blinded me enough to miss the streak of white flesh showing before I blocked her with my body.
“Holy shit. I’m sorry. God.” The door slammed closed and we were in a tomb of blackness again.
Kandy yelped and struggled to her feet. She pushed me back. “We cannot do this.”
I tried to catch her, but she must’ve had fucking cat eyes because she avoided my reach each time I turned to find her. Finally, my eyes adjusted to the limited light from under the door just in time to see her pull her sweater down over her hips and hop across the room as she put her boot on. I hadn’t heard it fall off.
Then I noticed her mile-long leg and groaned.
She’d taken off the striped stockings. She was a damn ninja. I hadn’t even seen
her do that—okay, so it was more like heard. And there was no doubt that my focus had been elsewhere.
Like on getting under her skirt.
I fumbled my phone out of my pocket and used the torch function. “Dammit, Miss Kane, could you just wait a minute?”
The light shined up under her chin, throwing her face into stark lines. “I think since you’ve gotten me half naked a few times now you could maybe call me Kay.”
I braced my arm above her head and turned the beam of light to hit the floor instead. “I can deal with Kay, though I have been calling you Hot Elf in my head all day.”
She squirmed. “Great. Just what I wanted your mental snapshot to retain.”
I tugged on her braid. “You have no idea what I pictured myself doing with your braids.”
She slapped my hands away. “Pig.” Her tone might have said disgust, but her eyes were tracking down my bare chest.
I laughed for what felt like the first time in a damn long time. I hissed as her cool hands flattened near my heart. She wasn’t pushing me back though. Instead she coasted her fingertips over the planes of my chest down to my abs. I immediately flexed, partly because of the chill of her fingers. The other part was pure vanity.
I wanted her to touch me. To want to touch me more, so much she couldn’t stop. The tight ball of anger had faded from my gut just because she was in my space. I wasn’t ready to assess that, any more than I was ready to be thankful that someone could finally yank me out of that headspace.
Even if it was just for a moment, I was selfish enough to take it and fucking run with it.
All the way up north.
I lowered my mouth to hers. The kiss was unhurried for once. Desperation had been dispelled for the time being as she slid her fingertips up to my neck and along the nape of my neck.
A light tap came from the other side of the door. A woman’s hesitant voice broke us apart. “Um, I’m really sorry, but I still need to get in there.”
Kay groaned. “This is not the place for this. I kept telling you that and somehow I still ended up with my clothing all twisted.”
I didn’t even notice that I’d tugged at her skirt again until my fingers skimmed the soft flesh of her thigh. Endless legs. Christ, she was one long voyage of perfection. I couldn’t wait to taste every silken inch of her either.
She pushed me back and hopped on one foot. Both of her striped stockings were gone.
I arched a brow at her. “Aren’t you going to be cold without those?”
“I don’t care.” She unrolled a little green tie from the end of her braid. “I’m de-elfing. And you’re going to de-Santa and we’re going to get this show on the road, because if you tease me one more time, I’m going to do something stupid. And well, I don’t want to do stupid. Well, beyond sleeping with a man I barely know because I sold my soul for three days for you to wear said Santa suit.”
“Your soul? A bit dramatic.”
She yanked out the other band on her remaining braid. “It feels like it. Possibly because it was completely crazy to do this, and I still said yes. And do you know why I said yes?”
The knock came again. “As scintillating as this conversation is, I have three bags of rolls in that freezer that I need,” the woman called.
“Just a minute,” we both bellowed.
Kay scrubbed at her hair until it was a mass of golden waves down her back, then bent down and picked up my shirt and threw it at me before opening the door and stalking down the hallway.
I pulled on the shirt and grabbed my foam vest and jacket. The woman in the hall gasped, her eyes going wide. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Murdock.” She tipped her head. “At least I think that’s you under the beard.”
There was no point in asking her to be discreet. I was out of luck on masking this situation. Especially with the half dozen servers in the hallway.
“Merry Christmas,” I muttered and chased after Kay.
I realized just how ridiculous I looked, but I didn’t care. I was getting the hell out of this building and taking her with me.
8
Kay
The back of my ankle boot rubbed against the upper part of my heel, but I didn’t slow down. These stupid boots were made for cute, not for extended wear. I’d been schlepping around behind Santa for the better part of two hours.
Oh, and the Santa version of him was officially killing me.
I couldn’t line up my brain with the Scrooge I’d met in the office and this man with his sweet, charming side. My damn ovaries had been engaged the moment I’d seen him with the towheaded little girl. I loved kids, even wanted a few someday—emphasis on the someday.
No man could act like that with children and be a complete asshole. There had to be a story there.
My fingers itched to Google him. Surely I could find a few clues as to his extreme hate for the holiday season. Especially when none of it made sense. He had a Santa suit in his closet that even the most professional character actors would envy—and possibly mug him for.
He also turned to mush when a child came up to him.
Oh, and when he touched me, I bypassed my usual frozen, anxiety-ridden self and became a crazy person. Well, a crazy person who kept losing sight of the rules in this game.
“Miss Kane.”
I ducked my head as his voice bore down on me.
Like you want him to do to you. Lots of bearing down.
God, shut up.
Now I was even babbling in my head.
I still could feel him against me in that closet—or food storage unit…whatever. It didn’t matter. It had shelves and bins in it. Not a bed. Not even a remotely soft place to land unless the bag of flour in the corner counted.
I wasn’t sure I could do this. Okay, so all the parts under my skirt said yes, but I was still the ruler of my personal zip code. Even if my body wanted to change it to 00069.
Blindly, I slapped the door open and found myself in the first floor lobby again. Mel was letting herself out of the banquet room and spotted me.
“Oh, there you—what happened to you?”
I looked down at myself. The buckle on my skinny belt was skewed to the left and the lines of my skirt were completely twisted. I quickly looked over my shoulder to make sure my underwear wasn’t showing on top of it.
Nope, all I could see behind me was just a runaway Santa in a tight white V-neck shirt and oversized red pants that did nothing to bring down his sex appeal.
Yeah, I was in so much trouble.
I rushed toward my best friend. “Do you have my bag?”
Mel nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Fine.”
“Where are your stockings?” she whispered as she swung a huge canvas bag to the floor.
I stuck my hand into the hidden pocket of my skirt.
Her eyes flared wide. “Do I want to know?”
“No.”
“Oh, but I do.” She glanced over my shoulder and her eyes got even wider. Her expression turned into the kind that put cartoons to shame. “Our Santas do not look like that.”
“You think?” I whispered fiercely.
“I think that maybe we should try to find a few next year. We could book totally different parties.”
I rolled my eyes, but filed the thought away. She was probably right. Right now, I had only one person to worry about, and he was driving me crazy.
I crouched down to dig into the huge bag. My purse was in there with my opaque green tights. Now that the stupid lust endorphins weren’t flooding my system, I was freezing.
Before Linc could get to me, I scooted into the bathroom with my purse. I caught a look at myself in the mirror and gasped. Even worse than I thought. My hair was wild, my lipstick was barely a stain, and I was pretty sure the rest of it was on Linc’s mouth.
And possibly on the collar of his Santa suit. How cliché. Ugh.
I hadn’t been exactly dainty when I’d kissed him back. Nope, more like a savage.
I wanted to esc
ape out the skinny window, but that was out. My ass would never fit through it. Instead I closed myself into one of the stalls. Once I had my tights back on, I felt a little better, but for once, I wished I had an extra pair of panties.
That was not normally a problem in my life. Ever.
These had gone beyond damp. I was beyond damp. I straightened my sweater and juggled my boobs back into the cups correctly. I covered my tender breasts and tried not to groan thanks to my still erect nipples. This stupid bra was not made for the likes of Lincoln Murdock.
I wasn’t entirely sure I was made for the likes of him either. However, my girl parts were way on board.
I pushed my hair out of my face as I went to the sink. Thanks to my emergency bag, I was able to repair my face and hair to a somewhat acceptable level.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door to find a dark-haired woman with a kid. The same woman who had stopped Linc in his tracks. This time, the child wasn’t in such good spirits.
“Hi. Sorry, excuse me.” The little girl squalled and arched in misery. “All right, Melody. Give me a break here.”
I held my hands out instinctively as the toddler went into a full backbend. Melody’s screech echoed in the bathroom as her little face scrunched up and turned beet red.
The woman clutched her child tight to her chest. “Sorry. She’s way past her nap and she didn’t care for the company dinner.”
I dug into my bag and found a candy cane and held it up to the little girl. “How’s that?”
The waterworks stopped immediately as she plucked the candy out of my hand and shoved it in her mouth, wrapper and all.
The woman rolled her eyes. “What do you say?”
“Tay-too,” Melody said around a line of drool.
I smiled at the little girl and backed toward the door.
“So, you’re Lincoln’s friend?” She didn’t look at me, just set her daughter down on the changing table that lowered off the wall and efficiently stripped the toddler of her white tights enough to change her diaper.
I paused with my back against the door. “No. I wouldn’t call us friends exactly.”