Jingle Spells

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  Dash braced. But while he waited for her to utter the words sure to slice straight through him, the anger slowly drained from her face. Placing a soft hand against his face, she went up on tiptoe and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

  That was not what he’d expected at all. His heartbeat stuttered in his chest, hope blooming even as he tried to tamp it down.

  Pulling back, Noelle stared up at him, attempting to fill her expression with a harsh sternness, but failing miserably. “If you ever lie to me again, Dash Evergreen, I’ll hurt you. And we both know I can back up that threat.”

  Dash simply nodded, biting back a grin he knew would earn him some form of punishment.

  Apparently satisfied, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body tight against his.

  “I love you, Dash, and have ever since you found me curled up on the sleigh. Do you remember?”

  How could he ever forget?

  He’d gone into the barn, already in the process of learning the job he’d one day take over. The place had been quiet and, he’d thought, deserted. Until he’d looked inside Santa’s sleigh and found Noelle curled up asleep on the seat. Her skin had glowed perfect and pale in the faint light. Her dark hair fanned out across the dark red velvet.

  He’d had to touch. He’d only meant to wake her. At least that was what he told himself. But the moment her warmth trickled into his body he hadn’t been able to stop himself. The curve of her shoulder, the slope of her collarbone, her cheeks and eyelids and lips. He’d wanted to touch all of her, even back then. The need had been an interminable ache.

  And when she’d opened her eyes, so vivid and blue...he’d been a goner. Especially when she smiled at him, all drowsy and flushed and tempting.

  He’d started falling for her in that single moment.

  “I love you, too, Elle,” he whispered, his voice gruff with choked emotion.

  “You don’t have to lie to me to get me to stay, Dash. All you have to do is ask.”

  “Please, Elle. Don’t leave me. Not again. I don’t think I can survive without you.”

  Brushing her lips against his ear, she whispered, “You don’t have to,” and then punctuated the words with a sharp nip of his lobe.

  He groaned and tightened his arms to crush her harder against his body. Damn all the people.

  Somewhere behind him someone giggled. Someone sighed, a kind of perfectly happy sound. Cole and Ethan clapped him on the back. Gabriel’s voice boomed, “You better damn well marry the girl again, Evergreen.”

  Dash pulled back and grinned down into Noelle’s perfectly blue eyes. “I don’t have to. We’re still married.”

  The shocked expression on Elle’s face was priceless.

  “Elle didn’t rescind her vows before she left. And I sure as hell didn’t. I knew there’d never be another woman for me. The year and a day is long gone, so she’s stuck with me whether she likes it or not.”

  Her fingers tangled in the hair at his nape and tugged. “Oh, I like,” she said, right before her lips found his. The kiss left them both breathless. A cheer went up around them, followed by a loud cough when it went a little too long for public consumption.

  “We’ll discuss you keeping that piece of information to yourself, Mr. Evergreen, as soon as we get home.”

  “Whatever you want, Mrs. Evergreen. I rather like it when you lose your temper.”

  Elle made a rude noise in the back of her throat, passion and the promise of retribution glittering in her gaze. Her mouth thinned, and he knew she was about to start the argument early, but he didn’t give her the chance.

  Sweeping her into his arms, Dash stalked to a dark corner and apparated them both home.

  He took his time undressing his wife, cherishing the way she looked at him, lust and love, comfort and hope all twining together in her gorgeous blue eyes. Dash felt the echo of those emotions pumping erratically through his own bloodstream.

  She reached for him, slipping her soft hands beneath his clothes, searching for skin. The feel of her sizzled through his system.

  Slowly, deliberately, she popped each button free, her gaze devouring every inch of his skin she revealed. No one but his Elle had ever been able to make him feel this way, desperate and deliriously happy at the same time.

  Bending down, Dash used his mouth to worship her, memorizing and discovering every inch of her body until they were both panting, need held barely in check.

  They’d been hot and desperate for each other for days. But tonight, now, was different. Better. Deeper.

  Entwining their fingers together, Dash pressed their joined hands into the bed beside Noelle’s head. She arched up to him, opening herself and offering him everything.

  With the easy, deliberate glide of hard flesh into soft, Dash reclaimed his wife. Noelle met the moment with a soul-deep sigh of acceptance and wonder that did everything to make him feel invincible.

  This amazing woman was his.

  They came together slowly, milking each stroke, caress and kiss until they were both drowning in sensation, their bodies quivering with release.

  “I’ll never get enough of you,” Dash reverently murmured against her skin.

  Hours later, weak sunlight was seeping around the dark curtains when they finally fell asleep, blissfully tangled together.

  * * *

  A loud pounding startled them both awake long before their exhausted bodies were ready. Dash groaned and rubbed at his scratchy eyes. Noelle vaulted out of bed. Her bare feet landed silently on the floor even as her hand groped uselessly at her side.

  Recovering first, she threw on a robe and padded over.

  The elf waiting on the other side shifted nervously from foot to foot as he wrung his hands. Horror and dread filled his eyes as he blurted out, “Kris and Merry are gone!”

  * * * * *

  Silver Belle

  Andrea Laurence

  ANDREA LAURENCE is an award-winning contemporary romance author who has been a lover of books and writing stories since she learned to read. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she’s working on her own happily-ever-after with her boyfriend and five fur babies. You can contact Andrea at her website, www.andrealaurence.com.

  To Vicki, Rhonda and Kira, the ladies I shared this awesome experience with—Working on Jingle Spells with you guys was great. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had plotting and writing a story.

  Thank you.

  Seven Days until Christmas Eve

  Belle hated cocoa. Even when it had fluffy homemade marshmallows or fresh whipped cream on top.

  It was a dark secret she would take to her grave or else risk being ostracized by her family and friends. At Evergreen Industries, the witches, wizards and elves that made Christmas magick all drank cocoa. That’s just how it had always been. There were no coffeepots in the building, at least none that anyone knew about. There was an emergency Keurig and a stash of pods hidden away in Belle’s bottom file drawer. But that was it.

  As far as Belle was concerned, their casual dismissal of coffee was a crime, and one that forced her out of the building every day to visit the local coffee shop, A Cup of Cheer. Her emergency brew couldn’t hold up to the deep, rich flavors of the coffee she could get at the shop. It was only a few blocks away from the Evergreen corporate offices and worth it for her much-needed jolt of daily caffeine. This close to Christmas it was the only thing that helped her maintain her holiday cheer. Not even Ethan’s sparkly, enchanted ornaments worked on her anymore.

  Rolling over in bed, she spied the broad, bare shoulders of Nick lying beside her. But it wasn’t all bad. She supposed she should really thank her cocoa-imbibing brethren for driving her out of the office each day. It was during those daily visits to the coffee shop that she met local contrac
tor Nick St. John. The successful businessman was tall, dark and undeniably sexy. What had started as a casual flirtation each day turned into more, and before Belle knew it, they were getting their coffee to go and heading to Nick’s place.

  It wasn’t easy being the youngest Evergreen and the only girl, to boot. Her older brothers were nosy, overprotective and could make her life miserable if they wanted to. Dating was impossible. She had her own apartment at the lodge, but it was on the same floor as her parents and her brothers. There would be no comings or goings from her place that someone in her family didn’t observe and report.

  Belle wasn’t supposed to date a human, but they’d made it all but impossible to date a wizard. Besides, two of her three brothers were dating outside the Winter Clan, so she didn’t want to hear a word about it.

  It wasn’t like she and Nick were dating, anyway. It was more of a mutually beneficial arrangement with no strings. Judging by the sore heat between her thighs, the dull throb of her belly and the raw scratchiness in her throat, today was one of their more adventurous mornings.

  She watched Nick’s shoulders move gently with his soft breathing. The poor guy had worn himself out working so hard to please her, and she appreciated his effort. He was by far the best lover she’d had, and that was saying a lot considering many wizards used magickal trickery in the bedroom. Nick didn’t have a crutch like that to lean on, so he had to work hard for every gasp of pleasure that came from her lips.

  Belle wanted to reach out and run her palm across his bare back. She wanted to weave her fingers through the dark curls of hair at his neck. With each passing day she was tempted to stay longer. To learn more about the man that ruled her mornings. But she couldn’t do any of those things.

  Instead, she flung back the sheets and swung her legs out of bed. She moved around his bedroom collecting her clothes from where they had been hastily discarded. Belle had only managed to slip on her red lace panties when Nick rolled over and frowned at her.

  “Leaving already?”

  “You know I have to go.” She tugged her tweed slacks up over her hips and reached for the matching lace bra she’d worn today for Nick’s sole benefit. He was very appreciative of her fine lingerie. “I’m already infamous around the office for taking the longest coffee breaks in history.”

  Nick sighed and sat up, letting the sheets pool low around his waist. Good gumdrops, he had a beautiful body. Every inch of Nick’s physique was hard, wrought by building homes. Lifting wooden beams and sanding drywall did a body good.

  Belle was so distracted by the sight, she buttoned her blouse crooked. She didn’t notice until Nick arched a dark, amused eyebrow at her, and she looked down to see what he was looking at. “Oh, snickerdoodle!” she cursed, unbuttoning and re-buttoning her top.

  “You’re so sexy when you talk dirty.” Nick slid out from under the covers and walked nude across the room to where she was standing. Judging by his proud, aroused state, he wasn’t kidding when he told her that her second-grade swearing vocabulary turned him on.

  Nick wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. The press of his firm heat against her belly stirred new pangs of arousal in her. She wanted to strip off all her clothes and waste away the afternoon in his bed, but she couldn’t. She had to get back to work. It was a week before Christmas, and things were about to get crazy at the office. Maybe in January she would have enough free time to take off a whole day and indulge in the pleasures Nick had to offer.

  Belle lifted the loose strands of her hair between her fingertips and pulled them back into a ponytail. Nick took advantage of her movement, and his lips met with the sensitive skin of her exposed neck. The tingle traveled down her arm and along her spine, tightening her skin into goose bumps and making her tremble slightly in his arms. “Stay,” he whispered into her ear.

  His rough hands glided across her skin as he started to convince her to stay a little while longer. And then her phone rang.

  “Damn it,” Nick cursed and stepped away.

  “I’m sorry.” Belle picked up her phone from the nightstand and frowned. It was her brother, Dash. “Yeah,” she said, bypassing any pleasantries.

  “I don’t know where you are or what kind of slow roast Sumatra coffee you’re waiting on, but you need to get your jingle bells back to the office right now.”

  She planted her hand on her hip in irritation. “Since when did you become my boss, Dasher Evergreen?”

  “Would you rather Cole be the one to call? He’s in a foul mood, but I can ask him to relay the same message if you’re going to be stubborn.”

  “No, thanks.” Her oldest brother Cole was the CEO of Evergreen Industries, so in fact, her brother was the boss of her. But given a choice of being chewed out, she’d take Dash any day. “What’s the big emergency?”

  “I don’t think we should talk about it on the phone.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because we’ve got a Code Red here, and this line may not be secure.”

  Dash’s words were like a splash of icy water on her libido. A Code Red was the highest alert at the office, reserved only for Santa-related emergencies. Given everything that had happened the last few weeks with Kris and his midlife crisis, she wasn’t surprised. But she was concerned. Christmas was only a week away.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “No. You need to apparate, now.”

  Belle glanced over her shoulder at Nick. He was tugging on his jeans and trying not to listen in on her discussion. “Now is not the best time for that.”

  “Then find an alley or go into the ladies’ room or something because Santa is gone!”

  The line went dead, leaving Belle to wonder if she’d heard him right. Santa was gone. That couldn’t be right. She’d seen Kris just this morning. Or was that yesterday morning?

  “Trouble at work?” Nick asked.

  “Yes,” she said with a weary smile. “There’s a big emergency I need to get back for. Working with family is always special. And this time of year is so busy for us that everything is a crisis of one sort or another.”

  “I understand. We’d both better get back to work. I’ve got to install all the cabinets at my latest house today. Same time tomorrow?”

  “That’s my plan. I’ll text you if it changes.”

  Nick leaned in to kiss her goodbye. The moment his lips met hers, she could feel her head start to swim. He had potent powers over her body. Every nerve lit up at his touch.

  Belle pulled away reluctantly and picked her coffee cup up off the nightstand. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

  Nick waved at her from the front door wearing nothing but his blue jeans. She had to take a deep breath to force her feet down the street toward her office building. Once he shut the door, she looked around for any humans. The street was pretty quiet, but she couldn’t take any chances. She ducked between two houses and with one last look around, she flicked her wrist and disappeared.

  Nick’s truck rumbled over the icy gravel of his latest construction site. He pulled up alongside the van and car of two of his employees. Ben should be inside priming and painting the drywall, and Tom was working on plumbing fixtures. His task today, as he told Belle, was cabinets. He had to get those in so Tom could put in the sinks and faucets.

  His heavy boots crunched through the yard until he stepped up over the threshold into the house. There was a large stack of cabinets on the floor, each wrapped with a protective outer layer. Nick had picked them up from the supplier early that morning and dropped them off before going to meet Belle. He pulled a pocket knife out of his belt and set to work unwrapping them all.

  He had the base cabinets screwed into place when Ben came into the room behind him. “Hey, Nick. How are the cabinets going?”

  “Good so far. Where are we with priming?”

&nbs
p; “The downstairs is all done. I’ve got one bedroom left upstairs. Then I can start the base coat. I painted two coats on the kitchen and bathroom walls yesterday so you could get the cabinets in. I’m expecting to have everything painted with trim and crown molding by Christmas Eve. I thought that was a good stopping point before the holiday.”

  Nick frowned. Was Christmas really that close? He tried not to pay that much attention, despite the fact that Gingerbread was destination Christmastown, USA. Being surrounded by Christmas all year actually seemed to dull the impact of the real holiday. At least in Denver, he knew when the lights and decorations went up that it was getting to be that time. “How long until Christmas?” he asked.

  “A week,” Ben said. “Time just flies, man. I’ve still got to go get a gift for my wife at Baubles. She wants some fancy charm bracelet she saw on television. And of course my kid wants an impossible to get toy from Santa, so I’ve got to start haunting the internet for that. You got any fun plans this year?”

  The answer to that was a resounding no, but Nick didn’t tell people that. If folks thought he would spend Christmas alone eating a frozen dinner, they would feel bad and want to invite him to their family dinners and parties. He wasn’t interested. He didn’t dislike Christmas. Nick just didn’t care for the commercial hype that went with it.

  This, of course, as he custom-built Christmas-themed bungalows for wealthy snow bunnies. The irony was not lost on him. But that didn’t mean he wanted to get all wrapped up in it, either. “Yeah,” Nick said. “I’m going to drive up to see my folks in Denver.”

  “That’s great.” Ben smiled. “I’m going to haul in the last of my primer and get that bedroom knocked out.”

  Nick watched his employee disappear into the yard and focused his attention back on the cabinets. He snorted quietly to himself as he thought about the idea of actually spending Christmas with his parents. He couldn’t imagine a more stressful, awkward holiday experience.