Christmas Wishes (novella) (2 page)

“Dean?”

Scuffling came from behind the barrier before it opened an inch.

“Are you ready?” Talli glanced at the big clock on the wall behind her. “We’ve got ten minutes before they start bringing in the parents.”

“I can’t wear this getup in public,” Dean growled.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Yes it is.”

“Oh, c’mon.”

“See for yourself.” Dean cracked the door wider and his big hand shot out to wrap around her wrist. With a hard yank, he pulled her inside and slammed the door.

Talli stumbled forward and grabbed a shelf to keep from face-planting on the linoleum floor. “Jesus, Dean, take it easy.” She gained her balance and spun around.

She tried not to laugh, and only managed by sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. He looked like a red and green candy cane. The tunic-style top molded to his chest like paint. Every ridge, every slope, every gorgeous centimeter of his buff torso was outlined for the entire world to see. Laughing was suddenly the furthest thing from her mind. He tugged at the hem. “It’s too small. The damn thing is made for a midget.”

Dean certainly wasn’t a midget. At six foot five inches he fell more in the giant category. Talli surveyed the top. It should have reached his thighs but the shirt barely brushed his belly. Overall it wasn’t that bad, definitely too small, but it should be okay as long as he didn’t move around too much and split a seam. Her gaze was drawn to the section of flesh just below the shirt and above the green pants. He’d be flashing his washboard abs for anyone caring to look and the tights were a little…

Oh god.

Talli tried not to stare. Tried to take a breath, but couldn’t. Tight didn’t begin to describe the pants. She’d thought his chest was well displayed. His top half had nothing on the bottom. He was packing to the right. And oh dear lord was he packing. Sweat broke out on her skin, warmth pooled in her lower belly, and all her girly bits stood at attention. Like every other part of him, Dean’s cock was on the large size. Extra large. Her mouth watered, her sex clenched, and her breasts grew heavy, her nipples hardening.

This was the closest she’d come to seeing Dean naked since the eighth grade when they’d gone skinny dipping in the local lake. He hadn’t been as well developed then. Or as big. She swallowed, her throat dry as a desert and just as rough. A strangled moan caught in her chest. All the air seemed to have been sucked from the tiny room. Talli licked her lips and tried to speak. The noise that emerged sounded like a frog – one suffering from strep throat.

Dean moved closer. He leaned down and put his face next to hers, his mouth brushed her cheek, his warm breath flowing over her skin, tickling her ear. “You keep looking at me like that and there’s absolutely no way I’m going to be leaving this room without getting arrested.”

Her gaze met his as a shiver traveled down her spine. Heat blazed in his dark brown eyes, the amber flecks sparking. “I…I…” Talli had no idea what she meant to say.

He stepped away and swept his hand through the air from his chest to his thighs. “I’m not going out there in these.”

Talli shook her head. “No, no, you can’t go out there dressed like that.”
Not if I and every other female in the room are going to remain sane.

Her gaze searched the room and landed on the jeans crumpled on the floor. They were rucked up as though he’d pushed them down and stepped straight out. Only something wasn’t right. She moved her gaze across the floor to Dean’s bare feet. Slowly she raised her eyes up his legs. The green material stretched over his calves, drew thinner over his knees and clung to his thick thighs and narrow hips. And that’s when it hit her.

No panty line.

As a woman she was intimately acquainted with panty lines. Talli glanced at his jeans and back again. She sucked in a breath as a shudder racked her, quickly followed by a wave of heat.

“Are you commando?” she whispered.

“Shit.” His hands covered his groin, but not before she saw the large bulge twitch and move up a size. “I forgot to pick up my laundry.”

It was typical Dean. What wasn’t typical was Talli’s desire to place her hands over his, to push his aside and cup that extra large – and growing larger – appendage in her palm. Her skin tingled and more heat flushed her from head to toe. Moisture soaked her panties as her inner walls filled with blood and want. She was lusting after her best friend. Not a new thing, but it had never blindsided her like this before. The man was drop dead gorgeous and always had been. She’d be a liar if she said she’d never thought about him in a sexual way. But her desire had never been this blatant – this sharp.

She cleared her throat. Opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t think of what to say. He was naked under those tights. He’d been naked under his jeans. Talli closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Dean’s scent filled her nose. The familiar smell of wood and soap calmed her nerves. This was Dean. Her best friend. Their friendship spanned a lifetime and she didn’t want to muddy it by adding sex into the equation. Sex and friend never went together in the same sentence, not without complicated and disaster.

With her mind a little clearer Talli was able to stamp out the arousal buzzing in her veins. Not completely out but enough to focus on the most important thing – their friendship meant the world to her and she couldn’t jeopardize it even for what she was one hundred percent certain would be mind-blowing sex. She opened her eyes and avoided looking directly at him. Her control was too thin to risk seeing the heat in his gaze again.

“Okay, put your clothes back on, but wear the hat.” Talli stepped around him, making sure not to brush against him. Hard in the close confines of the storeroom, but she managed. “I’ll wait outside.”

Before he could say a word she’d slipped out the door, closed it behind her, and collided with Santa.

Santa’s big belly bumped hers. “Sorry. You popped up out of nowhere.” Wade’s voice sounded muffled beneath his fake beard.

“No, my fault.” Talli put a hand on the wall to steady herself. “I should have looked before I came charging out.”

“There you are.” Em came rushing over. “Are you ready?”

“Yep. Just a small problem with Dean’s costume, but it’s sorted now,” Talli said.

“Good, good.” Em grabbed Santa’s arm. “Santa, you need to get in place now. I’m bringing the parents in as soon as you’re seated.”

The door behind Talli opened and she could feel the heat radiating off Dean’s body as he stepped up behind her.

“All right, we’re all here now. Let’s get this show on the road.” Em hustled off, tugging Santa with her.

“Is she always this bossy?” Dean asked.

“Yes.” Talli smiled. “It comes with the job. If the kids for one second thought she wasn’t the boss they’d run amuck.”

“I guess, but does she have to do it with a scowl on her face?”

Talli laughed. “No, that’s reserved just for Santa.”

“There’s a story there.”

“Yep, but we don’t have time. C’mon, I’ll show you what I need you to do.” Talli headed over to the video camera.

Dean followed close behind and she couldn’t remember ever being this aware of him. Either she needed to find a boyfriend – and not the battery operated kind – and get laid soon or she’d do something monumentally stupid and jump her best friend. Giving herself a mental shake she got down to work.

“I set it up already. You just have to hit this button here once everyone is seated and stand guard so no one bumps into the tripod.”

“Got it.” His warm breath fanned over the back of her neck.

He stood too close, his heat and scent playing havoc with her nerves. She took a step to the side. “Once the concert is over hit the same button to stop the recording and then flick this lever here to fold the legs in. I’ll dismantle the rest later. Just bring the whole thing up the front because I’ll need your help with the Santa photos and any special requests from the parents once the formal activities are over.”

“I’ve got it, Talli.” Dean laid his hand on her shoulder. “I remember how this works from last time.”

“Oh. Right.” How could she forget this wasn’t the first time she’d roped him into helping her? “Okay. I’ll go grab my cameras and get ready.”

“Relax.” His fingers dug into the tight muscles leading up to her neck. “What’s got you all frazzled? You’ve done this a hundred times and I’ve helped enough to not screw up.”

“I know.” She stepped back, the move breaking Dean’s hold. “It’s that time of year. Silly season.”

He smiled. “That explains the costume.”

“There’s nothing silly about getting into the spirit of things.”

“Not if the costume fits.”

Heat flushed her cheeks. “Sorry about that. I asked for the largest one they had.”

“In the kiddies department maybe.”

She should have checked when she’d pick the costume up, but as usual she’d been in a rush and forgotten all about it until now. The heat in her cheeks headed south when she thought about him wrapped in the skin-tight outfit. “Sorry. I owe you for that.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“I’ll shout you dinner.” She glanced over her shoulder as people started moving into the room.

“It’ll take more than one meal to pay back that debt.”

Talli’s head swung back around to Dean. “What?”

“It’ll cost you more than dinner this time.”

“What? You want me to come clean your house again?”

“No. I’ve got something else in mind.”

“What?”

He nudged her with his hand on her hip. “Better get up front. The show’s about to begin.”

“But–”

“Na-huh, we don’t have time now.” Dean gave her another little push. “Later.”

Talli stared open-mouthed as Dean moved in behind the camera and got ready to work. Damn him. He knew she hated waiting to find out things. Now she’d spend the rest of the day worrying about what he had in mind.

Dean had never been more grateful for a pair of snug jeans and a long T-shirt. He’d spent the last four hours trying to hide the hard-on he sported from a room full of pre-schoolers and their parents. It was all Talli’s fault. She’d pranced around in those skin-tight green elf pants with her lopsided hat, fake pointy ears and an impish smile all afternoon. He shouldn’t be turned on. If anything, being surrounded by all these people and her ridiculous outfit should have dampened his arousal. The scary part was he thought it might have – which meant he’d reached the point of no return.

Being Tallitha Jarmen’s best friend was no longer enough.

The children and parents had left only minutes ago and the silence that had settled over the room gave him too much time to think. He didn’t want to blow this. Their friendship wasn’t the only thing on the line. Dean wasn’t a fool. Becoming Talli’s lover wouldn’t guarantee him her heart. He saw the losers she dated. Not one of them worthy of her, but more importantly, she kept them at arm’s length. He hoped their years of friendship would make it impossible for her to put him in the same basket.

Dean snatched the hat off his head and welcomed the cool air on his scalp. The stupid elf hat was not only hot, it itched like crazy. Giving his head a good scratch, he dumped the hat in the bag with the rest of his unused costume. A shudder rattled his bones. Talli owed him big for this one. She’d slipped off to get changed, but not before leaving him with instructions on packing up her equipment. Images of Talli stripping out of her elf suit to reveal naked skin filled his mind. He knew she wouldn’t be nude beneath her costume but Dean’s imagination tortured him with the idea anyway.

Talli always kept her equipment well organised and by the time she returned, he’d packed up the remaining cameras and the special light she’d made him hold during the Santa photos. She stood before him in baggy denim shorts and a loose T-shirt; neither showed off an inch of her lush body and yet he was still rocked by a jolt of lust. Her impact on his senses increased with every second that passed. He needed to dial it back a notch or she might work out what he was thinking before he was ready to make a move.

And he would be making one.

Dean stacked the boxes and lifted the pile.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Everything’s packed?”

He nodded. “All set.”

“Okay, let me find Em and tell her we’re heading out.”

“Last I saw her she was in a heated discussion with Santa and heading outside.”

“Thanks, give me a minute.” Talli walked over to the sliding doors leading to the outdoor play area and peered out. “I can’t see them anywhere.”

Dean shrugged. “That’s the way they went.”

Talli stepped through the doorway a few feet and turned in a full circle. Dean took the opportunity to study her. She was tall for a woman, her body long and lean, but with all the right curves. Her hair, a deep brown with hints of auburn, fell straight down her back from the red and green ribbon holding the long tail together at the base of her neck. Smooth tan skin disappeared beneath the collar of her T-shirt and Dean wondered if the sleek slope would feel as silky as it looked.

She turned and he quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t want to get busted ogling her. Not yet anyway. An idea began to form. Talli owed him dinner and he had to go via her place to pick up his spare keys, so he’d suggest they order pizza while he helped her put her gear away. He’d have her all to himself in the loft above her studio, the perfect place to put his plan into action. It wasn’t all that well thought out, but then with Talli you always needed to be ready to roll with whatever happened next. The woman had a knack for changing direction mid-stride.

Even after a lifetime of keeping up with Talli, Dean couldn’t ignore the niggle of fear currently tugging at his gut. Should he launch an all-out assault or take it slow, dropping subtle hints here and there until she made a move on him? Then again, Talli didn’t do subtle very well. Dean knew the guy who owned the coffee shop next door to her studio had been hinting about taking her out for months and, to his knowledge, she still hadn’t caught on.

“C’mon. What are you waiting for?”

He turned to find Talli had gathered up the rest of her gear and made it all the way to the door while he’d been contemplating his dilemma. “Sorry. I was thinking about that pepperoni pizza you’re going to order me for dinner.”