McDonald_NoELFngWay_GEN_Dec2015 (7 page)

They heard the room door open and Dash saw Lynda come in. Her gaze bounced between them. After a quiet hello, she disappeared inside the bathroom. Dash sighed and shook his head.

“Former conquest?” Vixen asked, hating herself after she’d uttered the question.

“No. Unlucky hopeful,” Dash answered honestly. “I’ve discovered I’m a one woman elf kind of guy. You can count on it.”

“Can I?” Vixen asked, not believing it at all.

Dash nodded. “Yes. You can… until you say otherwise.”

Vixen shrugged and sighed. She knew that promise was too good to be true, but passion kept a man glued to you for a short while at the beginning.

“I guess we can go to dinner while you make your calls. Dinner will be our backup plan.”

“So technically this is our first date,” Dash said, thinking he sounded like Nicky when he was excited.

Vixen shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Hey,” Dash said, crossing the distance between them. “This is the beginning of our do-over. No bad attitudes allowed. My ego isn’t as bulletproof as it used to be.”

“Right,” Vixen teased. “Should I check that with the woman hiding in the bathroom?”

“Ouch. I hope that cynicism of yours can be cured soon. That hurt.”

“Sorry,” Vixen said, turning away. “I’m feeling a little vulnerable. You’re the first guy I’ve ever chased down for sex.”

“Great. I like the idea of being one of your firsts for something. Come on. There’s a great place to eat next door.”

Dash lifted her purse from the back of the chair and slung it over his own shoulder. When Vixen laughed, he took her hand.

As they walked out he was astounded to realize he had more energy than he’d had in days.

***

The décor of the executive rental was gray and boring. No pops of color or personal touches warmed the space. Dash shook his head. It was barely one step up from a sleazy motel room.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

Vixen sighed. “How many more times are you going to ask me that question?”

“Until I start feeling like this is a good idea. This place couldn’t possibly be more uninviting. I’m going to have to speak to the company we pay for this place. Surely someone could cough up a few brightly colored pillows for the couch.”

Vixen smiled as she walked from the shabby sitting room into an equally shabby bedroom. It at least had a king-sized bed with a fluffy comforter on it. Deciding it would do, she peeled off her sweater in one pull over her head and tossed it over the back of the nearest drab chair.

When she turned back to Dash, he was gaping at her red lace bra. Suddenly her enormous collection of sexy underwear held a lot more potential than it had in the past.

“This is definitely not a good idea,” Vixen admitted. “But it’s not the location.”

Dash walked to where she stood. “You’re right. This is not a good idea… it’s a
great
idea in any location. You look so pretty. Can I touch?”

Vixen dipped her head and laughed. “It’s been a while for me, but I thought permission to touch was implied by me removing my sweater.”

“Are you kidding? Only a foolish man takes sex for granted,” Dash said, reaching out to stroke one breast above the lace cup. “I could spend hours just touching you. I find you incredibly beautiful. I’m flattered you want to be with me… and more flattered you’re taking this chance.”

Vixen reached down and unfastened her jeans until her matching red thong was visible.

“That’s very pretty too,” Dash declared. “Seeing you in red lace was on my Christmas list… along with your red shoes. But I don’t want to be greedy. Besides, those jeans fit
very
nicely.”

“Stop joking and kiss me like you did Sunday,” Vixen ordered. “I promise not to run this time.”

Dash’s mouth covered hers in a blaze of heat, which triggered a frantic flurry of kissing. Clothes were soon slid down and away. She undid the buttons of his dress shirt with more speed than she knew she possessed. It soon fell to the floor. Then his white fitted t-shirt was in her hands and pulled over his head.

Caught up in admiring his shoulders and chest, she laughed a little when his pants and underwear hit the floor like they were a set. Her gaze fell and a blush climbed her face for the first time in years. His desire for her made her more nervous than any man’s ever had.

Then his mouth was on hers again and she forgot to be afraid. Dash’s kisses drugged her and she never felt his talented fingers undoing the clasp of her bra until it joined her sweater on the chair.

She was arching under his hands and thinking “finally” when Dash froze and swore.

“God… I’m a freaking idiot,” Dash declared when he could speak. “I had pretty much given up on this ever happening so I have no protection with me.”

Vixen sighed over his thoughtfulness in the middle of her mindless bliss. Not all men cared. She knew that for a fact.

“It’s okay. I’m glad at least one of us thought of it. There’s a condom in my purse. It should still be good.”

She eased her swollen breasts away from Dash’s chest to walk across the room. She realized then she still wore the red thong. Fishing out the protection from its hiding place, she strolled back to the man who waited patiently, even though he was obviously enjoying the show.

“Merry Christmas, Dasher Sleigh. It’s not expired,” Vixen declared, handing it over. “Make it count, would you? I only have one.”

Dash smiled at his wicked intentions of doing just that. “How thoughtful of you to pick the perfect gift for me, Vixen Dunder. Normally everything I get myself for Christmas needs batteries.”

“How strange. Me too. I guess that’s another thing we have in common,” she teased.

“You better not be talking about what I think you are.” Dash tugged the laughing woman he wanted down to the bed and fell on her before he lost his mind.

“When were you going to tell me?” Dash demanded.

Cupid sighed. “Never… if I could have gotten away with it. My plan was to buy out the stock of those robot toys that turn into cars and hope he didn’t remember.”

Dash rubbed his forehead. The other volunteers had passed along five copies of Nicky’s original letter to Santa. He could only assume Vixen had done something with the original.

Had she looked at the letter before she tossed it in the trash somewhere?

Did she know what his son wanted?

Damn it. And if she did know, why in hell hadn’t Vixen said anything to him? Was she campaigning for the position and just playing some kind of head game about it? Not that he would have minded… she was everything he had needed and wondered if he’d ever find again.

His sigh of frustration bounced off the kitchen walls. “Do you think Nicky thinks Vixen is his answer from Santa?”

Cupid shook her head and chuckled. “No. Nicky thinks Vixen is a helpful elf with a crazy daughter. Dancer kept asking him if she could call him Nicky Santa instead of Nicky. It made him laugh each time she asked, but I could tell he was forcing himself not to tell her what he truly thought. I praised him that night for his restraint.”

“I can’t tell him I’m dating Vixen now… at least not until after Christmas. He knows what dating means. He knows it can lead to marriage. He asked me if you and Blix got married, would Blix be his grandfather?”

“Oh, dear,” Cupid said, leaning away from the table. Had she ever thought of Blix in those terms. Cupid’s face heated as she put down the tea she wasn’t drinking to study her son’s tired face. “Wait… you’re
dating
Vixen? Since when, Dash? The woman practically ran out of the house Sunday night when she left. It’s only Thursday. Was that where you were Tuesday night when you asked me to stay?”

“Yes. She’s doesn’t want anyone to know we’re seeing each other. We went to dinner,” Dash said, glad it wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t ready to confess to his mother that he’d spent thirty minutes eating dinner with her and several hours making love to her.

“Does Vixen know what was in Nicky’s letter to Santa?”

“I have no idea,” Cupid said, reaching out to pat her son’s arm. “Kids do this all the time, Dash. They ask for things parents can’t deliver. All parents survive. You will too. I bet this is more disturbing because you’ve been anticipating Nicky’s grief over Melody’s death to come up.”

“Asking for a new mother is not the same thing as asking for a pony,” Dash argued. He ran a hand through his hair. “I care about Vixen. I like her a lot. I want to date her and see where this goes because she seems perfect in about a zillion ways. Now I don’t know if dating her is such a good idea. If we don’t work out, I could be held accountable for running off the mother Santa sent him.”

“Dash…” Cupid stopped and tried to put herself in his shoes. “Maybe this could be as bad as you fear on the extreme end—I won’t say it couldn’t. Why don’t you sit down and talk to Nicky about his letter? I don’t think his request is the end of the world thing you’re making it out to be. You could even see it as a good sign that he’s ready to move on.”

“This is bad timing, I agree, but my dating life needs to be put on hold for a month or so until this passes. Right now that feels like the end of the world since I just finally got Vixen to semi-forgive me. Now I have to figure out how to tell her that we can’t openly date until Nicky gives up on the idea of Santa delivering a mother to him. That solution sucks, but I think that’s the only way. She’s a parent herself. I’m sure she’ll understand me putting my son first.”

“Dash… Vixen could misinterpret your reticence to deal with Nicky and her as something other than fatherly concern. Are you willing to take the risk with a relationship so new and fragile?”

Dash sighed again. “What other choice do I have, Mom?”

“Tell your son what he asked for wasn’t reasonable. Deal with the meltdown and then date the woman you want to date. In the end, your son will be happier because you’ll be happier.”

Dash shook his head, thinking of how much hurt Nicky felt every time he remembered Melody was never coming back. He couldn’t put his son through that kind of pain again.

***

Vixen was humming as she stacked more boxes of light-up Rudolph noses on the shelves.

The cardboard cutout displaying the demo version worked well at generating interest, even if it was primarily for every child that walked through the door and giggled at the red flashing light. She had moved three-fourths of her stock of them in two weeks and hoped the remainder lasted the eight days left until Christmas.

When the shop’s door monitor sounded, she turned to greet the customer coming inside. Instead, she met the gaze of the man she’d lost sleep over nearly every night lately. Despite his serious expression, she instantly thought of the fun and laughter. And the sex.

Making love with Dash had been outstanding. Since Tuesday, she’d been having trouble remembering why she’d been so afraid to find out what Dash was like in bed.

“Hey, Handsome. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have slipped into my elf costume. If you can wait a minute, the red heels are back in the storage area tucked away in my gym bag.”

Dash released a slow breath, his mind imagining her in the outfit. Could this be put off another week? He did a mental head smack… no—no it couldn’t. Not even to indulge his fantasy of making love to his sexy elf.

Maybe they could reenact it sometime in late January. Maybe Vixen had a sexier costume for Valentine’s Day. The thought paralyzed his tongue for a moment. He cleared his throat finally and made himself speak the dreaded words.

“Are you free to talk for a minute?”

Vixen felt her smile of welcome melt away at the tenseness in Dash’s voice. Dread crept along her nerve endings. Dash sounded unsure and nervous, and his tone had her survival instincts kicking in. The last time she’d felt this way had been the day Dancer’s father came to suggest to her that she get an abortion.

“I don’t have an actual office, but there’s no one here but me and Ann at the moment. She’s working in the back room unloading our Valentine’s Day stock. It goes up immediately after our Christmas clearance sale.”

Dash nodded as he followed her back to the sales counter. Vixen stepped behind the cash register, which he knew was her way of putting some distance between them. His frustrated sigh echoed throughout the store.

“Seeing you again has scrambled my brain. Now that I’m here, I don’t know where to start.”

“At the beginning is usually a good place,” Vixen suggested, crossing her arms to hug herself.

“The other Santas gave me the letters Nicky’s been making sure every Santa gets. Did you happen to read what he asked for in the one he gave you?”

Vixen wanted to say no. It would have been easy to lie, and she might have gotten by with it. But the withdrawal she sensed from Dash wouldn’t have vanished with her denial. She could see now she was going to have to pay a price for her silence.

Before speaking, she steeled herself to hear what Dash would say about the truth.

“Yes, I saw what he asked for. I read it and I cried… as much for you as I did for your son. He’s obviously still hurting over the loss of his mother.”

“Yes, he is. Why didn’t you tell me what was in the letter?” Dash asked.

She drew in a breath and released it. “You and I weren’t on any sort of good terms when Nicky gave it to me. After that I talked myself into believing you would handle it when it came time to do so.”

Vixen tucked her wayward hair behind her ears.

“Elves and Santas see a lot of those kinds of letters, Dash. Kids often have wishes no parent can reasonably grant. I do what I can while I’m talking to the child, but in most cases, I can’t affect much after the fact. In your case, I didn’t think I had any right to do so.”

Dash nodded and looked at a spot over her head. “I have an idea about how to deal with this. Can we not see each other again until after Christmas? I rather Nicky not see me dating until after the storm has passed.”

Vixen hugged herself tighter, trying to keep the hurt she felt inside. How many times had she been in these situations with men? How many more times was she going to be in them with this particular one? The answer had to be zero. It just had to be. Twice now was more than enough.