“What the fuck am I going to wear?” My voice rising to an almost hysterical whisper with my panic.
He stands straight, cigarette poised between his lips as he glances around the space. He strides towards a rack in the corner. He pulls some deep red material from the shelf before walking it over to the bench. Pulling a pocket knife out from the draw, he slices two cuts in the material, turning to proudly present it to me.
I take it from his outstretched hand, handing him the half of my ensemble I could find. Holding the edge, I let the material drop to the floor.
“You have got to be joking.” I look back at him, disbelief clear on my face.
“It was the best I could do with short notice.” Another shrug, but a small smirk tickles the edge of his lips, the fucker taking pleasure from my panic.
I look back down at the vintage present bag. At one stage it was probably filled with toys for children riding on the back of my grandfather’s sleigh. It’s redundant now because of our present receptacle upgrades. Regardless, it definitely wasn’t meant to be worn.
The clattering of the doorknob has me sprinting into action. “Fuck it,” I mumble quickly threading one leg in after the other and hauling the bag up over my body, repressing a shudder at the fact I look like I’m wearing an over-sized diaper.
Kris hands back what we could find of my clothing, before leaning forward and gripping my chin, pulling me in for one last dominating kiss before he lets me go, nodding towards the side door.
“If you don’t want to say hi to Mom and Dad on the way out, that way is probably safer.” He steps towards the main doors, opening it to greet our parents as I make my escape along the side of the house.
The snow is freezing against my feet, but I sneak to the front of the building just to double check they haven’t worked out Kris wasn’t alone.
“Oh Kris,” Carol’s cheerful voice rings across the thankfully still empty village center. Glenda must have been heading home after being at the bakery through the night. “I didn’t realize we were interrupting you.” She coughs, uncomfortable.
“It’s fine, my guest just left.” Kris’ gruff voice, laced with a hint of annoyance at our interruption.
“Who is the lucky elf?” My father croons but Kris refuses to respond, simply glaring at him before taking another drag of his cigarette and tossing it into the snow at his feet.
“We were just wanting to check how you were going and invite you to breakfast.” She nudges my father, and he coughs before agreeing with her invitation.
“Yeah, I just have a few more tweaks of the reindeer hazard alert units and they should be ready for their test flight in a few hours.”
Kris asks if they want to see the new helmets, my father hums his agreement and Kris holds the door open for them. I slip around the side as they disappear inside.
I steal one last glance as Kris standing there looking just fucked, his hair disheveled and a rosy glow brightens his cheeks as he leans against the open door.
He gives me a quick wink, and my eyes drop to the tent in his coveralls. A blush creeping up my cheeks causes him to smirk and I shake my head.
As the garage door shuts behind him, I double check the coast is clear before running for my house, clothing bundled in my hands attempting to hold up my giant diaper pants.
Sharp pain shoots up my feet, my toes already bright red from the cold. Any longer and I’ll be in big trouble.
I take the stairs two at a time, trying not to trip on the sagging material. I shiver as I open the front door and the warmth hits my skin.
I make it up to the bathroom, turning on the shower to a lukewarm, slowly warming my feet up. When I can feel the circulation returning to my toes, I turn the water up warmer and step under the spray.
I sigh as the warmth seeps into my aching muscles. After a night of sleeping on a hard sleigh bed, and the best sex I’ve ever had, my body is sorer than I realized.
Of all the thoughts that should run through my head this close to Christmas, the only thing I can think of is that I can’t wait to fuck my stepbrother again.
Chapter sevenKris
December 22nd
“Fuck!” I spit out, slamming my soldering iron onto the workbench. The candles burn down to stubs at my station as it gets later into the evening.
I can’t get this relay to work properly. Without this connection, the signal won’t transmit properly to the sleigh, leaving the reindeer unable to relay any incoming hazards.
After spending the last six months on this project, now was crunch time. Klaus had trusted me to oversee this upgrade, and with just two days left it needs to be up and running with zero glitches, and I still can’t get a basic connection to work seamlessly.
Maybe Klaus was right, and I didn’t belong here. The idea of leaving used to bring me comfort. That if worst came to worst, I could say fuck it and walk away.
Leaving my mother would be hard, but through all of his faults, Klaus was a good husband. Shitty stepfather, but he loved my mother with everything he was.
Now the idea of leaving the village and trying to set up a home somewhere new brought memories of twinkling blue eyes and the way salt and pepper stubble felt against my skin.
Pushing the metal shield off my face, leaving it to rest on top of my head, I grab my half empty water bottle and drain it in a single mouthful before throwing it in the trash can next to me.
The multi-colored lights flash over my head and I press the heels of my hands into my eyes. I need to get this to work.
A warm hand rests on my shoulder, causing me to tense, my hand curling into a fist. “Sometimes when I’m stuck, it helps to walk away and come back to it later.” Arthur’s husky voice sweeps over me, and I relax.
His pipe sits lopsided in his mouth as he grins at me. The wafting smell of cloves and tobacco surrounds me and the familiarity comforts me.
Arthur has been smoking the same tobacco mix out of the same Briarwood pipe since I arrived at the village. I once joked that he would smoke a hole through the pipe one day, but he insists it only gets better with age.
He straddles the gas lift stool next to me, resting his foot on the lever and gently pressing down, raising himself to sit eye level with me.
“You seem different, distracted even?” His mouth puffs around the mouthpiece and a plume of smoke winds up towards the vaulted ceilings.
I shrug, not really knowing how to tell the man that has been there for me every day for the last twelve years that I’ve spent the last two days fucking the brains out of my stepbrother. The man that in two days will take over the reins, literally, of this entire operation.
How can I tell him that over those past two days, it went from exploring an interest in Nick that I’ve harbored for the last sixteen years to something that makes my heart grow. That maybe my mind believes I may still want a future in this festive frenzy of a village?
“Does this have anything to do with your late nights at the shop?” His eyes assess me.
“I’ve been trying to get this damn sleigh to not crash at the first hazard Nick comes across.” I bite out, turning back to my soldering, not wanting him to see the truth.
“Then why haven’t you asked me to stay back with you?” His eyes glimmer with mischief and he knows he has got me when my cheeks flush and he hums his victory. “That’s what I thought.”
I huff a response before smacking down my mask so I don’t need to look at his satisfied grin. I pick up my soldering iron.
“This one means something?” His question lacks any hint of judgment. From the moment I walked through those doors at seventeen, his knack for deciphering my thoughts without me saying a word has been a curse.
Through the visor of the metal shield, I can almost see concern cross his features and my brows draw together at his worry.
Is it for me, or for what I might do? Does he think I’m not capable of developing feelings for someone?
I tighten my fists and he glances at my hands, his eyes narrowing slightly before he places his hand on my shoulder once more.
“Son.” I pause at the sentiment, my face softening at the gentleness of his expression, before lifting my mask back off my face.
