Stockings and Suspenders (17 page)

“What the fuck?” I gaped at him while
I shivered and tried to cover myself.

The old guy came prepared at least and
dropped a heavy red coat over my shoulders. “I wanted an update.”

“So you just ripped me out of bed?
What is he going to think when he wakes up and I’m not there?”
How the fuck
am I going to get back to Florida? And how will I explain taking off in the
middle of the night?

“Pfft. You’re still there. You’re just
here too.”

My mind managed to stop tripping over
itself long enough to hear what he said. “What?”

“Your body is safely in the hotel
room. At worst, he’ll think you’re a very deep sleeper. I can make you snore if
it will make you feel better.” He raised a finger to his nose.

“No!” At least I didn’t have to worry
about being AWOL after sex, but… “Why am I here exactly?”

He stared out at the herd of reindeer,
a sad expression on his face. I’d seen it before when he watched them. The elf
that used to care for them retired or something a few years back and he never
found a decent replacement. The deer had been wasting away ever since. Santa
let out a slow sigh, and it seemed to be more for the deer than me. “I told
you, I wanted an update.”

“There are phones for that!”

Santa shrugged, striding across the
snow-covered ground, apparently without a thought to my
not-there-but-still-bare feet. “This is less intrusive.” I begged to differ but
kept my mouth shut. “So?”

I really wanted to punch him in his
little cherry nose. “If Gage is naughty because of his sexual prowess, I
suggest you just let him be bad.”

Santa laughed and popped a candy cane
in his mouth, handing one to me like I was a good little girl. I took it, but I
still wanted to punch him. “No. I guess you’re not done.”

My teeth crunched down on the
peppermint. I mean, I wanted to go back, but a plan would’ve been nice. “This
would be a lot easier if—”

“You’re doing great, Daisy. A real
asset to the team. Check in again soon.”

“But—” Then that jolly old fucking
king elf laid a finger on
my
damn nose, and I jerked awake. In bed with
Gage. Worse places to be for sure, but I didn’t know anything more than I had
before. Laying my head on Gage’s chest and snuggling closer, I had to wonder if
Santa knew what he was doing or if the centuries had finally caught up to him
and he’d lost it.

In the morning, Gage woke me with a
kiss that sent shivers all the way to my toes. “Hey, did you cheat and get up
already?”

Bleary-eyed, I shook my head. “Huh?”

“You taste all minty fresh.”

Stupid candy cane.
“Oh, uh… I sometimes brush my teeth when I sleep walk.”

He arched an eyebrow and burst out
laughing. “Why do I think being with you is going to be an adventure?”

Because I was sent here as a spy to
make you mend your evil ways?
“I promise there
aren’t all that many surprises.”

“Mmm… I hope that’s not true.” His
lips brushed mine as he dragged himself from the bed with a groan. “As much as
I want to spend the entire day with you, I have to work.”

My libido had been rearing its
gloriously beautiful head again, but that quieted it right down. Damn.
“Tonight?”
Okay, way to sound desperate, Lame-ass
.

“I actually have to go out of town for
a couple days. You’ll be here when I get back, right?” His fingers caressed the
skin from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers.

Even if I have to steal a sleigh.
“I might be able to arrange that.”

He glanced at the clock then lightly
gripped my fingers. “If we save time and share a shower, I might be able to
swing sticking around for breakfast.”

The shower was gloriously steamy, and
breakfast… never happened.

* * * *

Florida
in
winter is fun and all… if you get to go out and enjoy it. Seeing as I spent my
time hunting for info on a certain Mr. Gage Thomas, I didn’t have the chance.
Okay, maybe not
all
my time was spent hunting. I also dwelled far too
long on the fact that I couldn’t find anything on him from further back than
five years ago. Now, I’ve never been an internet whiz, but that seemed wrong,
even to me, and it sent me right back to worrying about how deep the naughty
actually went.

Everything in the five years lined up
right with what he’d told me… right down to his bizarre career in animal
husbandry. Which was what made the least sense. If he had bodies to hide, why
half a decade worth of the straight and narrow? And if he was a really horrible
guy, wouldn’t he have the means to lay a better false trail? Then again, maybe
I watched too many cop shows.

When Santa contacted me—by phone this
time—he seemed less concerned with my lack of progress than by Gage taking off.
Not much I could’ve done to stop it though. Santa apparently thought I had
magical pussy and should have tried. Uh… no.

After the phone call, I googled Gage…
again, pulling up pictures in case there was a clue there. Most of the photos
seemed pretty recent, but there was one where he looked younger. His hair kind
of shaggy and messy but he still had a smile that could light up the world. I
hovered over the picture. Something about that one was different, familiar
almost. His hair was longer, a little like Brady’s, but it went beyond that.

Then a knock sounded on my door and I
slapped the laptop shut. I didn’t need to stare at a photo when the real thing
was here. Of course, the picture didn’t make lose my focus by making my panties
wet when I looked at it. Then again, it didn’t pick me up and swing me around
in a circle while kissing me dizzy either.

Gage set me on my feet, his hands
around my waist. “Hey, you. If you can’t tell, I kind of missed you.” Then he
reached outside the door and picked up a bouquet of flowers. “I know it’s
early, but Merry Christmas.”

Swoon. What picture?

My lips twitched at the Christmas
roses in his hands. Not roses at all, but he was a guy, he probably didn’t
know. I knew because I tended them in Santa’s greenhouse sometimes. The
blossoms are a favorite treat of the reindeer. “They’re beautiful.”

“Hellebore Niger. Christmas roses.” He
wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Flowers of legend.”

I stiffened in his arms. He couldn’t
have surprised me any more if he’d pulled a fucking reindeer out of his pocket
to eat them. What was
with
this guy?

Then he kissed my neck and murmured
something about licking syrup off me for breakfast in the morning, and I was
lost again. He insisted on taking me to dinner. Something about looking like
I’d lost weight. Like that was supposed to matter to a guy, especially when
there was sex on the line.

Apparently it did though. He loaded my
ass up on carbs, which he explained away as me needing the energy.

Back at the hotel, he showed me
exactly why I should’ve been glad we’d taken the time out for dinner. On the
sofa. And the bed. And the minibar.

Then he made me extremely happy the
windows in the hotel were both very strong and mirrored on the outside when he
backed my ass up against one. My legs wrapped around his hips as he thrust into
me, his face buried against the crook of my neck where he whispered something I
couldn’t hear.

“What?” I asked in a breathy voice that
didn’t sound like me at all.
Or if it does, damn I sound sexy.

He raised his head, slowing his
movements until I thought I’d scream, and not in the good way. Then he thrust
into me one last time, hard, the motion pushing us both that last little bit we
needed to soar over the edge, resulting in a much more satisfying kind of
scream.

“I said I’ve dreamed of meeting you
for five years. I didn’t know when or where, but I knew you had to be out there
somewhere. I knew I’d find you.”

When you’re a girl who missed the
whole being raised on princesses and happily-ever-after, you sure as shit don’t
ever expect a guy to say something like that. A tear leaked out the corner of
my eye, trailing down my cheek. It turned into a snowflake as it hit the air,
but melted the instant it touched his skin.

And right then, whatever momentary
dream of love and romance and happiness I’d let take hold in my brain
dissolved. He didn’t find me. I was sent. And forever didn’t factor into this.
I didn’t get to keep him.

I flung my arms around his neck, tears
streaming freely and floating away on the air—each drop a unique and beautiful
ice crystal until the warmth of this reality melted it. “I never thought in a
million years that I’d find someone like you.”

He didn’t set me down, just adjusted
my legs so he cradled my body while he carried me back into the bedroom,
obviously unaware of the snow falling in our wake. Or the storm raging inside
me.

Chapter Three

Living on the street, I made
potentially life-altering decisions in seconds all the time. Two paths? You
fucking just pick one because stopping to ponder your options would likely end
with someone removing both choices.

Ten years at the North Pole… and I was
really out of practice. I’d forced myself to stop crying so Gage wouldn’t ask
what was wrong, but I didn’t stop clinging to him until he fell asleep. Then I
slipped into the other room and poured a drink from the minibar. And another.
And another.

Thing about minibars? They’re too
fucking small.

I stared long and hard at my
reflection in the windows, trying to find the girl I once was. I didn’t look
much older than when Brady’d pulled me off the streets at fifteen. Same long,
dark hair. Same stupid, too-wide blue eyes. I still looked like a fucking
child, so why couldn’t I act like her. She’d have made a choice before Gage
even fell asleep.

I scrubbed at my face. Then I started
talking to myself.

What would Brady do?

Who gives a rat’s ass? You aren’t
Brady.

Maybe not, but he’s
happy
.

And Alana’s not on the damn naughty
list.…

Turned out it’s entirely possible to
have a screaming match in your head and still not figure anything out.

The big question—the one that haunted
me all night—was if what he’d done mattered. I’d found
nothing
to even
hint at why he was on the list. Did I care how bad it was?

The sun breached the horizon, the
first rays of light shattered, blinding in their brilliance. I stood with my
hand on the drapes, ready to close them against the glare, but trying
desperately to soak up some heat before I did. I hadn’t realized how cold I’d
gotten sitting out here naked.

It’s warm in bed with Gage,
dumbass.

And that’s when I had my answer. I
think it was the
dumbass
that drove it home. How stupid did I have to be
to walk away from the only thing in my life that had ever driven the cold away?

Much easier to abandon Santa and that
retirement plan. So, I’d have to start over with nothing. I’d done it before,
and this time I wouldn’t be alone.

Sheets whispered over my skin as I
crawled back in bed. The moment I touched him, Gage stirred, his eyes drifting
open sleepily as he smiled at me.
Oh yes, I’d tell Santa to take a long walk
off a short pier to wake up to this every morning.

“Morning.”

“Mmm, you’re all awake.” He snuggled
closer, tugging me to him. “And cold!”

Warmth from his skin seeped into mine,
and I pressed the length of my body against his. “I couldn’t sleep and didn’t
want to wake you.”

“Silly woman, I would’ve kept you
company.” His fingers drew patterns on my back—shapes, words—I didn’t care
what.

“Thanks, but I needed to be by
myself.” I rolled him onto his back and propped my arms on either side of him.
The position made me lose some warmth, but I needed to see his eyes and know I
was doing the right thing. “I think I’m staying in Florida.”

The grin that lit up my world appeared
on his face. “Are you sure?”

“No.” I laughed, part of my heart
breaking at the idea of leaving behind Brady, the stupid reindeer, and yes,
even Santa. “Thing is I have to choose between my job or being here with you,
and at the end of the day, it’s just a job.”

For a long minute, maybe two or three,
neither of us moved. Then he nodded. “That’s a huge change in your life for a
guy you’ve only known a few days.”

Oh God, all that deliberating and
he’s going to shoot me down?
“It is, but I don’t
feel like we just met, more like I’ve known you for years.”

He pushed up from the bed to brush a
gentle kiss across my lips. “Me too.”

Not shooting me down
. I felt like flying, but since I’m sorely lacking in super powers,
I settled for pressing my mouth against his, my tongue tracing his lips. Skin
on skin and on fire. My hands slid from his shoulders to rake through his hair
as the kiss deepened, all tongues and lips and teeth and heaven.