Stockings and Suspenders (14 page)

“Everything appears to be in order so
far, Captain.” I share a tense smile of my own.

“Where are you stationed,” he asks.

“Um… Hawaii.” I hope that works. I
don’t know where their supplies normally originate.

“Is that so? I’d have thought Guam or Tahiti.” He nods slowly.

Ramsey clears his throat and coughs.

Crap. Did I say Tahiti earlier?
“Most of my unit is, of course, but a few of us shuttle back and
forth.” That sort of makes sense; hopefully Torino buys it.

“I see.”

“So, you two are stuck out here for
how much longer?” I ask.

“Two more months,” both men say in
unison.

We chatter about other innocuous
topics before Lt. Ramsey waltzes to the table and settles a plate in front of
me.

“Ladies first,” he says. He also
deposits three glasses for each of us, but they’re all empty.

He makes a second trip with plates for
the captain and himself and a bottle tucked under his arm. “We have a special
Christmas treat from Uncle Sam—cheap champagne.”

Capt. Torino’s eyes light up and he
applauds. I smile and glance back and forth between the two men who seem
simpatico.

“You’re in a good mood, Lieutenant,” Torino says to Ramsey as he extends his glass for some champagne.

Ramsey shoots me a sly look. “It’s
Christmas and we have a lovely visitor to talk to instead of each other for a
change.”

“Amen to that.” Torino raises his
glass for a toast. “Merry Christmas Lt. Ferris and Lt. Ramsey. Fa la la la la
la and glad tidings to you both.”

We clink glasses and enjoy our food.
Capt. Torino barely finishes his meal before he shows signs of intoxication.
His eyes droop and he stares into space when not speaking.

“I think I need to go lay down for a
few minutes,” he says, slurring his words.

“Not in the bedroom, though, Captain.
I haven’t uh… changed the sheets yet.” Lt. Ramsey says. “Go lie on the sofa…
sir.”

He nods and staggers his way to the
sofa where he falls into a seated position. “Just wanna take off…” He unbuttons
and removes his shirt, and unbuckles his belt. After kicking off his shoes and
stretching out, he’s asleep and snoring within less than a minute.

Lt. Ramsey rises from the table and
takes my hand. “There. That was easy.”

I wrinkle my brow and regard him.
“What was easy?”

“I’ll tell you later.” He tugs me into
the bedroom and shuts the door, a lascivious grin painted generously over his
face.

* * * *

For the remainder of the day, Lt.
Ramsey attempts to wear me out but only succeeds in wearing himself out. Still,
this is one of the best Christmases I’ve had in decades. I must remember to
send Santa a fruit basket when I get home. My way of saying “nice doing
business with you.”

At nineteen hundred hours, Lt. Ramsey
conks out. Four hours remain until I’m supposed to catch my mythical transport.
I could leave, but I’ll stay in case Ramsey wakes up.

I sneak out of the bedroom. Capt.
Torino is still snoring on the sofa, his right arm and leg dangling off the
side. I scurry over to check to see if he needs a nudge. His dog tags are
twisted around his neck. “Naughty or not, I can’t let you strangle yourself
because you’re too drunk to know better.”

I slip my hand under his shoulders and
yank the tags free. I’m about to tuck them inside his t-shirt when the name on
the tag catches my eye. I pull it closer and read the first line:

Ramsey, David T

My jaw drops, eyes fly open. I rise
and dash into the bedroom. The naked man on the bed I thought was Lt. Ramsey is
still asleep. I search the room for his clothes and find his shirt, t-shirt and
pants but not his dog tags. They aren’t under the bed nor the mattress, aren’t
in either of his shoes. I snap my fingers and check his pants pocket. In the
buttoned up back pocket I find them.

Torino, Marcus J

“Sonovabitch! You stole his Christmas
present!” I also find a small pillbox there. Inside are three and a half pills
that look suspiciously like roofies. “You drugged him too?”

I stand and spin on my heel. “I’ve got
a Christmas gift to deliver and dammit, I’m going to deliver it.” I started my
succubus career giving wet dreams on the sly and by God, that’s at least what
Lt. Ramsey, the real Lt. Ramsey, is going to get.

* * * *

Some men smile in their sleep. Lt.
Ramsey is one. When he wakes up, he’ll remember having a rather vivid and
naughty dream about Lt. Ferris. I don’t like to deliver presents this way, and
if Santa finds out, he won’t be happy with me. He might understand if I tell
him I was duped, but I’m too proud to admit a mortal male bested me.

I’ve just finished zipping up the good
lieutenant when I hear the soft scrape of feet on the wooden floor.

“Chrissy?” The man I spent hours
having mind-blowing sex with shuffles out wearing only his boxer shorts. “What
are you doing to Capt. Torino?”

My temper explodes. I stomp over to
him and give him a shove. “You’re Capt. Torino, you lying bastard!”

He wrinkles his brow and shakes his
head. “No, I’m not. I’m Lt. Ramsey.”

“I found your dog tags.” I point to
the sleeping figure on the couch. “I found his dog tags. The two of you
switched uniforms and identities to mess with me.”

“Oh.” Not-Lt. Ramsey scratches his
head and moves toward me. He reaches down and reads the dog tags around the
real Lt. Ramsey’s neck. “Oops.”

“You drugged him too, didn’t you? I
also found these in your pocket! They look like roofies to me and one is
missing.”

He turns and gives me a sidelong
glance. “How could you tell a pill was missing?”

I bob my head. “Well, a half of one is
missing.”

“The pills aren’t mine. They’re his. I
took them away from him but he found them again so I stole them back while the
two of you talked before dinner. I guess he’d already taken a half a tablet.”
He points to the sleeping man and runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, you’re
right. I won’t lie anymore. We did switch identities. I didn’t have any clean
uniforms so I was wearing one of David’s. I didn’t drug him though. He did that
to himself.”

“No wonder you’re on the naughty list.
No wonder Santa told me to steer clear of you, no wonder—“

“Lt. Ramsey is a drug and alcohol
abuser. Did you catch the way his eyes lit up when I opened the champagne?”

I cast back into my memory. We were
all thrilled to have alcohol with dinner but Lt. Ramsey was the only one who
applauded. I shrug. “I guess.”

“Let’s take a walk.”

Outside the warm Pacific breeze
ruffles my hair. The real Capt. Torino still wears only his boxer shorts but we
stroll through the coconut trees until we stop at a picnic table. Torino sets his flashlight on the table at an angle between us to illuminate our faces.

For the last hours of my visit, we
talk, about his past, his assignment, about Lt. Ramsey. I listen but offer
nothing of my own past despite his asking. Other than switching identities and
knowingly taking a junior officer’s special Christmas gift, he doesn’t seem
like a bad guy. A lonely and desperate one, yes, but he’s not all bad.

“Maybe I ride Ramsey’s ass because I
have to. He’s never been fit for this job. Maybe… sometimes, I guess, I do lose
my temper with him. Six months is a long time to live with someone you don’t
respect.” He smirks. “You probably don’t believe me. Can’t say I blame you.”

“Why did you lie?”

“I thought the Navy sent you to spy on
us. I made Ramsey back me up so I could stick close to you. I thought you’d be
more likely to share intel with another lieutenant than with a superior officer
you’d been sent to audit.”

“Yeah, but you stole his Christmas
present. I mean that’s really low.”

“Our first time, in the jungle, I
thought you were a beautiful woman who hadn’t had a decent fuck in a while and
was as horny as I was. I didn’t know you were sent specifically for Ramsey.” He
runs a hand along his jaw and neck.

“But I told you afterwards, and you
still—”

“I still wanted you. Yes. Of desiring
you and wanting to withhold you from someone not worthy…. Yes. I’m guilty of
that.”

I sigh. He’s got me all confused. I
can’t tell if I’m still angry or sad or disgusted or giddy. I lob another rock
into the figurative pond. “I had sex with Lt. Ramsey… while he slept.”

“I know you did.” I hear no anger or
disgust in his voice. “You were sent to do a job and you did it, not once but
twice. I can’t help but respect that.”

“It wasn’t all a job.” I mumble my
words and pick at a splinter on the table.

“What?” He straightens.

“I could have left after that first
time with you.”

“You said twenty three hundred hours.
You said your transport would be waiting to pick you up then. You said the gift
was for the entire day.”

I blow out a hiss of air between my
lips. “I couldn’t say I’d only be here until I fucked Lt. Ramsey, could I?”

“I guess not. But yet you stayed after
you thought you’d delivered the gift. We made love all day. So that wasn’t—”

“Part of my assignment? No.”

My communicator chimes with an
arriving message. It’s too late for Santa to send me on another Christmas
mission, also unlikely because he knows I’m way out here in the boonies. When
Santa doesn’t send me to remote locations, I typically get six or seven
Christmas day assignments.

“Is that from Santa?” He leans over to
peek at my screen.

I click open the message and read:

“Chrissy, You’ve been such a good
succubus, I gave you a very special Christmas gift this year. Tell Capt. Torino
hello for me. I know how you gals love your bad boys (Mrs. Claus being no
exception, wink, wink). Hope your “naughty” boy toy was to your liking.
There’ll be an extra Christmas bonus in your stocking when you return. No rush.
Stay a couple of months if you like, on me.”

I smile and hand the communicator to
Capt. Torino… Marcus.

He reads and bursts out laughing. I join
in and send a silent thank you to Santa for the best Christmas present ever!

The End

www.lilashaw.com

Other Books by Lila Shaw:

Midnight Seduction

MAKING THE NAUGHTY LIST

Seleste deLaney

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

“Woot! See you Monday!” Brady called
to everyone else as he swooped me into a hug and practically danced us across
the workshop on his way to the door.

I shoved him away, disgusted. “It’s
two weeks before Christmas. How can you take off again? We have
work
to
do. You know? That stuff you committed to when you signed on to be part of
Santa’s team? Toys? Making kids happy? Any of that ring a jingle bell?”

Ignoring his open mouth and gasp of
mock-surprise, I stalked back to my workbench. It didn’t make any sense. Elves
were supposed to be devoted to Santa and Christmas. In exchange we got to stay
young longer and reap the benefits of the joy felt through most of the world
during the holidays. Plus, the retirement package was insane. In exchange, for
a twenty-year stint, the job was our life. That was the deal.

“Not for Brady. Oh no, he goes off and
gets one wayward soul to believe in Santa again. Now he’s never here,” I
muttered at the doll in my hands. Her wide, blue eyes blinked at me when I
tipped her, one staying shut when I lifted her again. Something else that
needed fixing.

“I’m still here, Daisy.” The doll’s
eyes caught the reflection of Brady’s smile when he stepped up behind me.

There was a time my best friend’s grin
could chase away the loneliness that plagued me here at the North Pole, but not
since last year when he found Alana. Now I didn’t want to even see it. Her eye
fixed, I laid the doll down on the conveyor. It would whisk her away in the
morning, and in two weeks someone would find her under the tree and love her
immediately.

“But you’re not. Even during the week,
you’re talking about her, about what you do and when you get to see her next
and… I can’t breathe around you without tasting Alana in the air. Hell, your
ears aren’t even properly pointy anymore. Every day you spend there, you look
less and less like you belong here.”

He hugged me from behind, his chin
resting on my head. “You’re exaggerating, you know.”