Santa' Wayward Elf

by Paige Tyler

  If that wasn’t a reminder Sosie wasn’t from around here, her fascination with everything around them was. She’d never seen a Fed-Ex box or a jewelry store and wanted to know what they were, along with the guy standing on the corner with a cup in his hand. She couldn’t understand why he was called a panhandler when he clearly wasn’t holding a pan, and said it must be one of those things that was lost in translation.

  Derek had a ball teaching her about all of it, astounded at how much fun it was to see the wonder and joy on her face. It made him look at the city with fresh eyes and reminded him of how great it really was, something he often forgot thanks to the sleazy side of it he saw on the job.

  After getting a slice of pizza—something else Sosie had never eaten before, but thought was delicious—they took the subway to Midtown so he could show her around Central Park. Sosie especially loved the horses that hauled the carriages around, though she kept calling them reindeer. Derek couldn’t help but smile at that.

  “Do you want to take a ride?” he asked.

  She shook her head as she gently ran her hand down the gelding’s nose. “I’d rather stay and talk to the horses.”

  Derek thought she’d meant it figuratively, but then Sosie attempted to tell the driver the horse said he was bored with walking the same route over and over, and would rather run straight across the middle of the park instead. The driver had a good laugh at that, and so did Derek. Until Sosie referred to the horse by name without the driver telling her what it was. That freaked the man out so much that Derek slipped his arm around Sosie and suggested they leave and do some more sightseeing.

  “How did you know the horse’s name?” he asked when they were out of earshot.

  “The horse told me,” she said simply.

  He chuckled, figuring she was messing with him, but she said it with such a straight face that he wasn’t sure.

  They went to the ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza next. The minute they got there, Sosie ran out on the ice like a kid, giggling and calling out for him to join her. Derek stared at her incredulously. She didn’t have skates on and yet she moved around better than most of the people who did.

  Spinning around, she put her hands on her hips and gave him an impatient look. “Aren’t you coming?”

  He laughed. “Hang on. At least let me get some skates first.”

  Though Sosie insisted she didn’t need any, Derek rented a pair for her, too. Once she had them on her feet, she was even more amazing on the ice. She skated like an Olympic gold medalist, and her twirls had everyone oohing and aahing, including him. Then she pulled him out onto the ice with her and helped him skate. He was terrible at it, but her joy was so infectious he couldn’t help but have fun.

  After falling on his butt for the tenth time, he finally managed to talk her into taking a break so they could get some hot chocolate. She’d had it before, but never with marshmallows, and she giggled at the fluffy, white confections floating in her cup. The moment they’d finished their drinks, however, she dragged him back onto the ice again. Even though he was better at staying upright this time, he spent most of it standing off to the side watching Sosie twirl around. She was such a joy that the rental guy didn’t make a fuss when they returned the skates thirty minutes late.

  “Where’d you learn to skate like that?” Derek asked as he laced up his boots.

  “Home. Everyone learns to skate there.” She jumped to her feet. “Where to now?”

  He grinned up at her, knowing exactly where to take her next. “It’s a surprise.”

  Derek hadn’t been to FAO Schwartz since he was a kid, but he got the feeling Sosie would love the place. He was right. Sosie squealed the moment they walked in the door and immediately ran over to sit down on the floor in the center of the store to play with the toys. Within minutes, she had a dozen kids down there playing with her. There were even a few adults who joined her. Though it completely destroyed his cool cop exterior, Derek found himself loading wood blocks in a Tonka truck right along with everyone else. That was when he realized how amazing Sosie was. He wouldn’t get down on the floor of a toy store and relive his childhood for any woman, that was for sure. But something told him Sosie wasn’t simply any woman. She was special.

  Which was why he couldn’t resist buying her the huge stuffed reindeer he spotted sitting on one of the shelves.

  “But you’ve already done so much for me already,” she protested.

  He grinned. “Think of it at as belated Christmas present.”

  She nibbled on her lower lip as if not sure whether to accept the gift, then smiled. “I love it. He looks exactly like Prancer.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Don’t tell anyone, but he’s always secretly been my favorite.”

  Derek only chuckled. When they finally left the store a little while later, he was stunned to see it was already dark outside.

  “What do you say we stop and have dinner on the way home?” he asked, pulling her into his arms to give her a kiss.

  “At the same place we had lunch, I hope. That pizza was delicious.”

  He chuckled. “I was thinking of something more substantial than pizza. Italian does sound good, and I know this great place a few streets over from here. What do you say?”

  She pulled him down for another kiss. “I say it sounds wonderful.”

  Derek was afraid they’d have to wait a while for a table when they got to the restaurant, but the hostess seated them almost as soon as they walked in. As he and Sosie sat at a quiet table in the corner sipping wine and eating antipasto, he had to admit that while he’d had fun running all over the city with her, it was nice to finally spend some time simply talking with her. Especially since she knew almost everything about him and he knew practically nothing about her.

  Maybe it was because he was a cop, but Derek couldn’t help noticing Sosie hesitated before answering any of his questions. In his experience, that usually meant a person was trying to be careful about what they said. He didn’t press her about it. Lots of people had secrets, and coming from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, he figured she probably had more than her fair share of them. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was a suspect he was interrogating.

  “What about family?” he asked as he added freshly grated parmesan to the fettuccini alfredo he’d ordered. “Any brothers or sisters?”

  Sosie shook her head. “No. It’s always just been my mom and me.”

  “She lives in Snow City, then?”

  “Not anymore. She retired and moved away after I graduated from school and went out on my own.”

  “Do you still see her often?”

  “Not in a long time.”

  “That must be tough on you.”

  Sosie looked down at her plate. “It was at first. But it’s been years since I’ve seen her.”

  Derek frowned. Considering Sosie was twenty-five, it couldn’t have been that many years ago. He found it difficult to believe her mother had been old enough to retire. While Sosie gave the impression she was okay with it, he didn’t think she was fine with it at all. He wondered if Sosie had concocted the whole story to make herself feel better about her mother running off and leaving her.

  “What about your dad?” he asked.

  “My father died before I was born. I never knew him.”

  Damn. “I’m sorry.”

  Her father’s death must have made her mom’s departure even rougher. Derek was amazed a woman who had been through as much grief as Sosie obviously had could be so upbeat all the time. Wanting to see her smile again, he steered the conversation away from her parents to something else.

  “Where did you learn to fix toys?”

  “I’ve always been good with anything mechanical or electrical.” Her lips curved. “Toys are my specialty, though.”

  He grinned. “I got that impression. Have you ever given any thought to making them?”

  Her eyes danced. “Actually, I have.”

  Derek was sure there was a story behind that,
but before he could say anything, the waitress came by to take their empty plates. “Can I get you some coffee and dessert?”

  He gave Sosie a questioning look.

  “I think I’ll pass on the coffee, but I wouldn’t mind some dessert.”

  “I’ll bring you a menu,” the waitress said.

  He thought Sosie would go for the chocolate mousse or tiramisu, but she surprised him by choosing chocolate ice cream instead.

  “I’ve never had it before, but anything with the words chocolate and cream in the title has to be delicious,” she said.

  Derek was astonished she’d never eaten ice cream, especially since she lived in the great white north, but as she spooned some into her mouth and let out a low, sexy moan of appreciation, he couldn’t focus on anything but those luscious lips of hers and what they’d feel like wrapped around his cock. He stifled a groan as his jeans tightened in the groin. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for Sosie to finish dessert so they could go back to his place.

  Sosie, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to his plight and what she was doing to him. She took her time, slowly savoring every bite of ice cream until he thought he was going to explode. When she was finally finished, it was all he could do not to toss some money down on the table and whisk her out of the restaurant. Somehow, he managed to control himself.

  Once outside, he didn’t lead Sosie to the subway, but hailed a cab instead. With the hard-on he was sporting, he wasn’t sure he could have walked that far anyway. Sosie didn’t mind. In fact, she loved the idea of taking a cab. Like so many other things, it was a first for her. Derek was sure she probably would have “oohed” and “aahed” over everything inside it, but he didn’t give her a chance to look around. Instead, he pulled her into her arms for a searing kiss.

  Sosie kissed him back, parting her lips as her fingers threaded in his hair to hold him in close. She tasted like the chocolate ice cream they’d had for dessert and it was even sweeter on her tongue. God, what was it about her that had him losing control?

  He didn’t remember the ride back to his apartment, much less paying the cabbie. One minute he and Sosie were running up the stairs, the next they were inside his apartment.

  Shoving the door closed, Derek urged Sosie back against the wall. He slid both hands in her hair and tilted her head back to cover her mouth with his. She moaned and dropped the shopping bag on the floor, sliding both hands up the front of his shirt to grasp his shoulders. Her breasts were soft against his chest, her body hot as a furnace underneath her clothes. Oh, man. There was no way they were going to make it to the bedroom. He was going to take her right here against the wall.

  He slid his hand inside her coat and up the front of her T-shirt to find her nipple and give it a gentle squeeze. Sosie gasped.

  “Do you like that?” he asked softly, dragging his mouth away from hers to trail a path of hot, wet kisses along the curve of her jaw.

  She only moaned in reply. Taking that to mean she did, Derek continued to tease the stiff peak with the pad of his thumb. She arched into his hand, gasping again as he gave her nipple another squeeze.

  He chuckled softly and ran his hand down the front of her body to cup her hot sex through her jeans. She writhed against him, and beneath his palm he felt her pussy throb with need. He pressed his lips to the curve of her neck and made lazy circular motions on her clit with his finger. Sosie moaned again, louder this time.

  As much fun as it would have been to see if he could make her come through her clothes, he wanted to see that beautiful body of hers naked.

  He pushed her coat off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, then slid his hands underneath her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. He was torn between her bra and her jeans, not sure which he wanted to take off first. Eager to see her beautiful rose-tipped breasts in all their glory, he removed her bra first. Then he went for her jeans, unbuttoning them with urgent fingers and pushing them down over her curvy hips, leaving her naked, except for her panties.

  Even though he’d seen her without clothes before, her body was too perfect not to stop and take in her bare breasts, slender waist and curvy hips before caressing her long legs. She had to be the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen.

  Resting one hand on the wall beside her head, Derek slid the other down her taut belly to the tiny triangle of material covering her pussy. But rather than push her panties down right away, he teased her through them with his fingers, going round and round her clit.

  She caught her lower lip between her teeth, looking up at him with pleading blue eyes. “Take off my panties. Please.”

  Derek did as she asked, slowly sliding her panties all the way down her legs before moving back up to touch her again, making the same circular motions as before, only this time directly on her clit.

  Sosie clutched at his shoulders, her breath coming in quick, little pants, and he knew her orgasm was approaching.

  “Don’t stop,” she begged him. “Please don’t stop.”

  “I won’t,” Derek promised, moving his fingers faster. “I’m going to make you come like this.”

  As he watched, her eyes fluttered almost all the way closed and her body started to tremble. She leaned her head back against the wall and cried out in one long, continuous moan as she climaxed.

  “That’s it,” he urged. “Come for me, baby.”

  When she finally opened her eyes again, it was to gaze up at him with a mix of passion and awe. Sliding her hand up to cup his cheek, she pulled him down for a long, hard kiss as she impatiently pushed his leather jacket off his shoulders. She had half the buttons on his shirt undone before the coat fell to the floor. Tossing it in the general direction of their other clothes, she hooked her fingers in his belt and yanked him close. As she ran her hands up his smooth chest, a small sound of appreciation escaped her lips.

  Giving him a seductive look, Sosie knelt down on the floor between his legs. As she tugged at his belt, her fingers brushed his abs and Derek sucked in a breath. Damn, he was about to explode already. And she hadn’t touched him yet.

  From the smile playing at the corners of her mouth, he got the feeling Sosie knew exactly what she did to him. It was as if she enjoyed torturing him. He watched her slowly undo the buttons on his 501 jeans. Though he didn’t know how he did it, he forced himself to wait patiently as she slipped one button after another through the hole. When she got to the bottom, however, his control slipped and he eagerly shoved down his jeans and underwear, pushing them out of the way.

  Laughing at his eagerness, she ran her fingers up his thighs and wrapped a hand around the base of his hard cock. Then, looking at him from beneath lowered lashes, she leaned forward and slowly ran her tongue up the entire length of his shaft before taking the head in her mouth.

  Derek groaned. Her mouth was so warm and soft around him, as she slowly moved up and down on him. He let out another groan as she gently cupped his balls in her other hand. Damn, she is talented at that.

  “Oh yeah, baby,” he breathed. “Don’t stop.”

  Sosie moaned, running her tongue over the tip of his erection before moving her mouth up and down again. She fell into an easy rhythm, taking him deeper each time until he could feel the head of his shaft press against the back of her throat.

  He sucked in a breath. Daaaaaaammnn!

  Afraid he’d come right then, he slid his hand in her long hair to slow her down. Sosie must have sensed how close he was to orgasm because she went back to teasing him with her tongue before taking him in her mouth again. Derek liked to think he was disciplined, but what she was doing felt too incredible for him to be able to hold back much longer. He tightened his grip in her hair, tugging her head up.

  “I’m close,” he said hoarsely. “And I want to be inside you when I come.”

  Sosie didn’t need any more encouragement. Running her tongue over her lips in a move that made him groan all over again, she got to her feet.

  Grabbing his jeans, he reached into the pocket for his wa
llet and the condom he always kept there. Making quick work of the wrapper, he rolled it onto his shaft. Without a word, he grasped her ass in both hands, then lifted her up and buried himself deep inside her in one forceful motion.

  Sosie gasped, her arms and legs going around him. Her pussy was so hot and tight that for a moment he couldn’t breathe. He tightened his hold on her ass and began to pump in and out very slowly. He went deeper and deeper with every thrust, driving her back against the wall.

  She clutched at his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. “Harder,” she demanded huskily. “Take me harder!”

  He obeyed, pumping into her hard and fast. He told himself he should slow down, told himself he was going to come right then if he didn’t. But it was hopeless. He’d been teetering on the edge for hours already and when she screamed out her pleasure, he knew there was no holding back anymore. Gripping her ass, he lifted his own to meet them in one hard thrust that had him emptying himself with a hoarse groan.

  Derek didn’t release her even after both their orgasms had subsided. Instead, he held onto her, his still hard cock nestled deep in Sosie’s pussy while she clung to his shoulders.

  “I think that may have rivaled what we did last night,” she said softly.

  Chuckling, he lifted her head to kiss her, then pulled back to give her a sexy grin. “What do you say we go into the bedroom and see if we can top it?”

  He felt her pussy spasm around his cock at the suggestion. Her lips curved.

  “What are we waiting for?”

  Chapter Five

  Sosie jerked awake the next morning to the loudest, most horrible screeching noise she’d ever heard in her life. She bolted upright in bed, covering her ears with her hands. Santa’s white beard, what the fig was that?

  She looked back at Derek to see if he’d heard it, too, and found him slowly stirring on the pillow beside her. How could he possibly sleep with that awful sound blaring in his ears?