“Peppermint balls?” He smiled. Damn, she was so cute.
She blushed all the way up to her ears. “It's just how I curse. Don't make fun of me. You didn't answer my question. Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”
Justin laughed, feeling better already. “Look at you worrying about the mean old lady trying to hurt me. I can take care of myself; it just pissed me off. She didn't hurt me, don't worry.”
“Well, if you want, I can go and take care of that for you.” She smiled devilishly, and he laughed.
“I would pay to see that.”
“Okay, now I think you're making fun of me.”
“Never.”
“Uh-huh. Why don't we just leave that subject now, and you can tell me about that thing you did that
was
your fault. If you're saving it for last, it must be something big.”
He closed his eyes so that he wouldn't see the disappointment when he told her. He didn't think he could face that. “I was having a good day until I went to the lunchroom and had all those kids around me. I did something stupid.”
“What?”
“I let my magic out, trying to cheer them up, and I let out too much and didn't control it. They got so rambunctious they had a food fight. They could've gotten hurt because of something I did. I shouldn't have done that. I should've waited for you. What the hell was I thinking?”
He kept his eyes closed, but she still held onto his hands. Her touch was the only thing keeping him together.
“Justin, stop beating yourself up. Yes, you should've waited for me. No one got hurt, so think of the good things. With more practice, we can teach you control. You're just going to have to learn and to not use your magic when it's not needed. You don't have to unleash it when we’re not working.”
“What does that mean?” He finally opened his eyes and relaxed, and he didn't see any disappointment in her gaze, only calm understanding.
“I told you before that each region carries an executive. That executive doesn't meet every child, doesn't have to help every child. Just the fact that they are there lets their magic work. The only reason that you would need to unleash your magic is if you're in a place or position, where it would be helpful. Just the fact that you were in that room would have helped the mood or just kept the magic alive. If you ever find yourself needing to get rid of an excess, find me. That's what I'm here for.”
For some reason the thought of releasing his tension with her made him think dirty things and not what he should have been thinking of. Their gazes locked, and she blushed. Yep, she was thinking the exact same things.
“Tell me more about yourself.”
She blinked and frowned. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know about you and your family. I just want to know more. You said you’d tell me since you know so much about my life and I know next to nothing about yours.”
“Oh, well, what do you want to know exactly?”
He rubbed small circles on her wrist and smiled. “Any brothers and sisters?”
“No, I'm an only child. Most elves are since we don't really have a lot of space to move around. Only assistants really get to move from the North Pole.”
“Really? That doesn't seem fair.”
“Oh, no, we like it. Well, I mean most always do. Elves love their workshop at the North Pole, and they don't want to move, but it isn't like we're trapped up there.”
He tilted his head, sensing an undercurrent in her words. “What about you? Did you feel trapped? Is that why you came here without being told to?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “I never really liked my job, and I know that makes me a bad elf. But I like working with you, so maybe I did find something for me.”
He traced her jaw and loved the way she shivered. “I'm glad I'm helping you too.” He moved his finger up her jaw again and traced her ear, and she froze. “What? What did I do?”
“You didn't do anything. It's just my ears are a little sensitive.” She blushed, and he held back a groan as his cock hardened.
“Oh, really, why is that?”
“You can't really see because I have my glamour on, but elf ears are pointed, and it's sort of an erogenous zone for us.”
“Really?” He smiled and leaned down closer to her so that way their noses touched.
“Show me,” he whispered.
She pulled back ever so slightly, her breath quickening. “Okay.”
He watched as her glamour fell, and her pointed ears appeared. He never would've thought he would've found them sexy, but hot damn. Since she’d said they were an erogenous zone, he couldn't wait to trace them with his tongue.
His gaze locked with hers as he traced the tip of her ear with his finger. She shuddered, and he smiled.
Fuck yeah.
With their eyes still on each other, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. They were so soft, plump. She moaned against him and closed her eyes. He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, and she opened for him.
Yes.
He framed her face with his hands and deepened the kiss, his tongue touching hers, their mouths moving with each other. It was the sweetest of kisses. She moaned again, and he nipped at her lip. He kissed her harder, and she pulled back.
“Damn, I loved that.” There was that love word again.
“That can't happen again,” she whispered.
He blinked, not understanding exactly what she’d just said. “Why?”
“Because you're just getting to know me, and it might just be the magic that's making you do that. I don't want it to interfere with anything.” She looked down at her hands, and he just wanted to pick her up and hold her close. She looked so unsure of herself, and he felt like he was the cause.
“We’re going to do that again, Rina. The only magic that happened was the magic between us, not anything having to do with what we are.”
“You should go.”
He traced her ear again, and she shivered. “We will talk about this.”
“I don't know, Justin.”
He didn't say anything else, just walked out the door. He didn’t want her for just one night, but for a whole lot more. He was attracted to her and could see them being together for more than just a one night stand. He wanted to see her smile and laugh and be in his arms. He even pictured her round with his child.
He froze and almost fell down the stairs.
What the hell? Where'd that come from? Why the hell was he thinking about babies?
Not any babies. Rina’s babies.
For some reason that didn't scare him at all. Now he just had to get Rina on the same page as him. He smiled and walked out of the inn toward his car. Yes, he'd enjoy getting her to see his side. He already liked her more than he'd known just that morning. He couldn't wait to see when she realized she was his.
Chapter 6
It had been almost five days since Justin had kissed her, and Rina still couldn't get it out of her head. His lips had been so soft, softer then she had expected. She loved how tentative it had been at first, and then the kisses had grown into something more passionate. She almost could have surrendered to him right then, but she couldn't. Though she had imagined it every delicious way, the real thing had blown her dreams out of the water. She didn't pull back at the first touch of his lips, but didn’t sink into him not wanting to melt against him or, worse, throw her arms around him and ride him like a pony. Because that would've been bad.
Very, very bad.
Imagining that she was doing just that fluttered across her brain, and she groaned. Even though she hadn't wanted him to leave, she was glad that he had. Yes, he was sexy and funny and seemed to actually like her, but she couldn't give into those feelings. He had a job to do and so did she.
She was an elf who didn't even know what she was going to do with the rest of her life. She didn't even know if she had a job when she went back to the North Pole. She could only stay in Holiday if she remained Justin’s assistant, and that wasn't even close to being a true possibility.
Rina stood up and shook her head. She needed to quit wallowing and get some work done. Because she was a list organizer, she was really good at making her own lists. Even though Justin’s magic was inherent, that didn't mean he didn't have work to do. She already had made a list of the places he could visit, and now she needed to add it to the schedule and include training exercises for when they could connect again and use his magic. Her body warmed at the thought of that connection, but she shook it off. No, she couldn't think like that.
A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her watch and frowned. Who could that be? It couldn't be Justin; he was still at work. She quickly piled everything and hid the important things in case it was someone who didn't know the magical nature of the town. She could never be too careful.
When she opened the door, she froze. Oh, no, it couldn't be.
“Hello, Rina, dear,” Jack Frost sneered as he walked through her open door, uninvited. “I'm surprised you had the gall to sneak out and disobey my direct orders. Who do you think you are, Rina, dear?”
Rina blinked and tried to gather the courage to talk, but she couldn't. She never could stand up for herself against Jack. He scared her more than anything else in the world. The fact that he was her boss made everything that much worse.
She stared up at his gray eyes with their ice fractures. If they hadn’t looked as if they held the devil within them, they would've been beautiful. As it was, they looked as if they could see into her soul and steal it. His white-blond hair was perfectly coiffed, a strand never out of place. The chiseled features looked as if they had been carved from stone. He looked to be the perfect angel, yet she knew what lurked underneath the mask was anything but.
She balled her fists and straightened her shoulders. Santa had given her the okay. She wasn't in trouble anymore, except with Jack. “Santa called and said I should stay on as Justin's assistant, at least for this season. You didn't have any reason to come here, Jack.”
Jack strode to her, his pristine suit looking as though a speck of lint wouldn’t dare to touch him. She held back a shiver of revulsion and as he traced her jaw with his finger.
“I have every right, Rina, and you know that. You snuck away without saying anything to your dear old boss, me. Santa may be the figurehead, but you know I am the one to pull the strings. I'm the one you have to answer to.”
No, that wasn't right. Santa, or Kris Kringle, as he was known to others, was the boss. He was the one who made all the decisions, and Jack was only his second-in-command. Wasn't that right?
Jack traced her ear then he moved his hand back to grip her hair around the bun. He pulled, and she winced.
“You don't get to do anything without me. Don't you understand that? You’re lucky I don’t send you back to the North Pole to live in that pitiful basement where you’ll never see anyone you love again and be all alone without anything. Your parents won't even talk to you if I have anything to do with it. You are just an elf. A nothing. You belong on the bottom of my shoe, not here in Holiday acting as if you know what the hell you're doing.”
She raised her chin, and he pulled her hair harder, breaking the elastic. Her hair fell in ringlets to brush the top of her ass, and he smiled.
“You are a beautiful woman, Rina.”
She bit her tongue so she wouldn't say anything that could land her in a world of trouble. Jack had more magical powers than most and could kill her in an instant if he felt like it. She was only a conduit and would be powerless against him. Fear clawed at her stomach, and she closed her eyes.
She needed to get out of there, now.
“Rina, like I said before, you should not have left. You're lucky that I'm going to be generous and let you stay here. It's so sad that that Justin fellow slipped through the cracks. I wonder how that happened.”
What did Jack have to do with it? The way he said it made her think that Jack had done something that meant Justin would fail. An untrained executive was a dangerous thing. Their magic could get out of control like it had in the cafeteria with the food fight. People could be hurt, and the people who desperately needed some holiday cheer might not get it. What had Jack been trying to accomplish?
“I'm here now, Jack.” She was surprised at how steady her voice was. Go her. “I'm here to help Justin, and everything will be okay.”
Jack released her hair and smiled a cool smile. “Oh, I know everything will be okay. Because I'm going to stay in town and make sure you know how to do your job.”
Alarm spread through her. No, he couldn't stay. “But what about the workshop? Don’t you need to be there to oversee everything?”
“I can do that from here, Rina. You forget I know all and see all. I'm Jack Frost after all.” He turned from her and walked toward her little desk in the corner where her work was sitting. “I see you've been busy, dear. But, remember, you still need to be punished for what you did. You can't just leave without telling me. That old man can easily forgive you because he doesn't know you. But, I know you, Rina. I know that you are merely a lowly elf who deserves to be in the basement. You're nothing, Rina. You better remember that.”
She took a couple steps toward him without thinking, and he snarled.
“You shouldn't have left. You should have left well enough alone. And now you will pay.”
His eyes glowed with a frightening, icy white stare, and the room grew colder. It was so cold, she could see her breath. Icicles frosted along the window.
Jack Frost wasn't just Santa’s second, but the man behind the actual legend of Jack Frost. With the flick of a wrist and the thought of an icy tundra, he could freeze anything in his path and create ice by just the water molecules in the air. He could freeze the water inside the human body and kill a person within seconds. She wrapped her arms around herself as her body shivered, her lips going numb, most likely blue.
He reached down to the desk and grabbed her folder with all the work she’d been working so hard on.
“You don't need this, do you, darling?” He smiled again, and ice ran down his arm and spread to her folder. When a thick sheen covered the entire folder and its contents, he threw it against the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces, and she bit her lip so she wouldn't cry out. All her work, gone.