Reindeer Games (8 page)

eyes. “Please. Promise me you won’t tell him.”

Wod glanced down at Lon’s hand, then back up at his face.

“Please.”

“All right.”

Relieved, Lon pulled his hand back. Instead of sucking on his fingers, he

picked up a cloth napkin that lay neatly folded next to his plate and used it.

“Okay. How about if I arrange a time for you to be alone with him? Or we could

go over there now. I’m sure his playmate’s gone by now.”

Lon spread his palms on the table and stood. “I’ve got to go.”

“What?”

“No.” Lon backed away from the chair. “Thank you for offering to help…”

Wod stood. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know but I… Just no.”

He spun and fled. A part of him knew he wouldn’t make it to the front door.

Or, at least,
out
the front door. He managed to grasp the handle before Wod’s larger

body closed in behind him, pressing him up against the solid pine of the door.

“Stay and finish your breakfast, Lon.”

Heat. Lon closed his eyes, trying not to wish that he wasn’t wearing his jacket

and shirt so he could experience just how good Wod’s bare skin would feel against

his. That was just frustration talking. “No, thank you.”

“Did I do something to upset you?”

Yes
! “No. I… I just need to…to think.”

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47

Wod’s heat eased back, and Lon pried his eyes open to see the other man

stepping away. Wod appeared in plain view in front of him, to lean against the wall

beside the door.

He grinned kindly. “Don’t think too hard, Lon.”

Swallowing, Lon opened the front door. “I…won’t.”

He didn’t want to know why Wod started laughing at that. He just left.

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Chapter Seven

Lon couldn’t avoid seeing anyone as he walked home, but he did manage to

skirt Santa Claus Lane for most of his way down the hill by walking behind the

bushes. Most of the reindeer’s yards were more or less connected closer to the Lane,

so there were only a few times when he had to shimmy through some narrow spots

in the foliage. When he reached the bottom of the hill, he emerged on Peppermint

Avenue, and the few people who saw him didn’t even look twice.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he put his head down and did

some serious thinking during the short walk to his cabin. He’d spent the night in

Wod’s cabin. Wod, Dancer, the second-in-command of Santa’s reindeer. True, Lon

had set his sights on Dasher, but as he’d yet to truly spend time with Rom, Wod was

the highest-ranked elf he’d ever spent time with. Although, if he was to believe

Wod’s overtures, he could have
been
with him. Imagine, all that caramel skin

available to touch, the man’s delicious weight settling on him as he drowned in

exquisite kisses. Just the thought of those kisses made Lon lick his lips, as though

to capture the taste of Wod again. Some of his favorite fantasies of Rom danced into

his head with Wod now in the lead, and Wod fit them perfectly. A new fantasy even

appeared, an echo of what Lon had seen between Rom and Tym but with himself

spread over the deck and Wod buried deep within him.

Startled, he shook himself. But that was wrong. He couldn’t just switch his

feelings like that. He wasn’t that capricious. He’d been pining for Rom for so long

now. He couldn’t just give that up.

Could he?

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49

Answers were not forthcoming, and he’d reached his cabin. He walked in with

a sigh of relief and pulled off his jacket on his way into the bedroom.

“
There
you are.”

Lon yelped and jumped, spinning in the air and landing just as Bok rose to sit

from where he was lying on the couch. “What are you doing here?”

He gave Lon the eye as he squirmed around to bend his legs over the side.

Lon’s couch was not nearly as wide and luxurious as Wod’s. “Where were you last

night?”

Lon frowned. “That’s none of your business.”

Rather than his taking offense, Bok’s face lit up. “Oh, Holy Christmas, did the

dildo work? Were you with
him
last night?”

“Was I with—” Lon’s protest broke off as Bok’s words hit him. His hand flew

up to cover his gaping mouth. “Oh no!” Frantically he patted his waistline, then

checked the pockets of his jacket. All empty. “Oh no.”

Bok was on his feet and at Lon’s side by now. “What?”

“Oh
no
! I left it at his… I mean, I left… I lost…”

“Oh no—I heard that. You left
what
at
his
what?”

Lon gulped. Frustrated, he slapped Bok’s arm. “You! You and that darn
toy
.”

Bok grabbed Lon’s arms to quiet him. Small though he might be, Bok had a

good grip, and he outweighed Lon. “Yes, yes, fine. But
where
is the darn toy?”

Lon closed his eyes and shook his head. “It wasn’t Rom. It’s at Wod’s.”

“W…?” Bok’s mouth fell open in a brief moment of shock. “Wod? You slept with

Wod?”

“No! I didn’t. I… Well, I did sleep there, but I didn’t sleep
with
him. I-I-I

passed out after drinking some really strong wine, and he was nice enough to let me

sleep it off.”

“Mmmm. And just how did you get to Wod’s cottage to drink this strong wine?”

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Jet Mykles

“I…uh…” At a loss, he tried to think of a way not to tell Bok what had

happened. But it was useless. He was used to telling Bok everything. He sighed and

slumped in Bok’s grip. “I went to Rom’s to tell him how I feel about him.”

“Hold on.” Bok pushed Lon into the bedroom and guided him to the bed, where

they both sat. “All right.” Bok tucked one knee up on the mattress so he could face

Lon. “Go on.”

In stutters and starts, Lon told Bok everything. He started with what he’d

seen at Rom’s—having to pause for a few moments to describe in detail what he’d

seen between Rom and Tym because, although he was more interested in women,

Bok was a fan of voyeurism of
all
pairings—then described how he’d gotten to

Wod’s. Bok slowed him to excruciating detail about kissing Wod, then surprised Lon

by allowing him to go on with the story without chiding him for not sleeping with

Wod. By the time Lon reached the part about leaving Wod’s cottage, unknowingly

without the dildo, Bok was unnaturally quiet.

Lon frowned at him. “What?”

Bok’s green brows crowded the bridge of his nose, indicating thought. “Do you

think Wod likes you?”

A squirmy feeling tickled around Lon’s heart. “No. He was just taking

advantage of the situation.”

“Actually, he didn’t take advantage.”

“I-I meant getting me alone.”

“Exactly.”

Uncomfortable, Lon stood. He crossed to his closet and held up his jacket to

decide if it went in the wash or got hung back up. “It wasn’t
me
specifically. He saw

someone lurking around Rom’s.”

“Uh-huh. And you weren’t the least bit tempted to just sleep with him?”

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51

The jacket was hopelessly wrinkled. He stuffed it in the laundry bag that he

was going to have to take to housekeeping soon. “I was tempted,” Lon admitted as

he sat at his desk chair. “But…I couldn’t.”

“You’re going to say you couldn’t because of Rom.”

Lon paid inordinate attention to pulling off his pointed shoes. “I can’t just

change my feelings like that.”

“Even after what you saw at Rom’s? He’s obviously not waiting for you.”

Lon gripped his second shoe, bending the rubber sole in half. “He doesn’t know

how I feel.”

“But Wod does. Why not accept his help?”

Lon pulled off his socks. “I can’t… I mean, it doesn’t seem right.”

“But it’s probably the only way you’re going to get close enough to Rom. You

haven’t managed it even though you worked with Rom every night for the last five

months straight.”

“I’m choosing my time.”

Bok snorted but chose not to berate Lon on his slow timing as usual. In fact, he

stayed quiet for long enough that Lon sat up to look at him.

“What?”

Bok chewed the inside of his lip for a moment, then nodded. “I think you

should let Wod help you.”

“I—”

“No, really. If you’re serious about Rom, you need to get things going, and

Wod’s the perfect person to do it. He can get you close, and he can keep everyone

else away.”

Lon’s eyes widened. He’d expected Bok to champion his sleeping with Wod, not

using Wod’s help to get close to Rom. “B-but he shouldn’t have to do that.”

“But he
offered
. For whatever reason, he wants to help you. Heck, he probably

could have seduced you himself last night, but he didn’t.”

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Jet Mykles

Lon frowned. That was true. Though he’d said no, even he could admit that a

few more kisses and Wod probably could have lured him into sex. Maybe, despite

his offers, Wod really wasn’t all that interested, at least in Lon specifically. Lon sat

back in his chair, a little depressed at the thought.

If Bok noticed Lon’s train of thought, he gave no indication. “You need to talk

to Wod again and see if he’s still willing. Maybe going to the Mistletoe tonight is a

good idea.”

“Yeah.” Lon leaned an elbow on his desk, bringing one of his knuckles to his

mouth to chew on it thoughtfully. “Maybe.”

“Right.” Bok stood and rubbed his palms together over a little laugh. “I’ll see

you there.”

“Wait, what?”

Bok giggled. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

To that, Lon could only roll his eyes and groan.

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53

Chapter Eight

Lon arrived late to work that night. Not that anyone noticed. He was still

there in plenty of time to join the other handlers in gathering the harnesses and

helping to load the sleigh, long before any of the reindeer appeared.

He’d taken great care with his appearance, trying to look nice without looking

like he was trying to look nice. His jacket was sleeveless, cinnamon red with a

sparkly gold ruff along the collar and arms. The shirt he wore beneath was more

than a typical undershirt, long-sleeved and white with faint gold shiny pinstripes

shot through. His pants matched his jacket, and he’d chosen stylish ankle boots

rather than his more comfortable pointed slide-ons. He’d brushed his hair until it

shone and even combed through some gold highlighting that Bok had once

purchased for him, then pulled it all back into a tail, bound with a thin yellow

ribbon. His outfit wasn’t out of place and was suited for the work, but it was a bit

more than normal.

None of his fellow handlers noticed. For which he was both grateful and put

out. Then the reindeer arrived.

Wod noticed.

He entered with Rom, the two of them talking casually. Lon knew the instant

they were there, and two heartbeats later his gaze met Wod’s. Wod’s dark eyes

scanned him down, then up, and a wry smile curled his lips. He gave Lon a small

nod, an acknowledgement that warmed Lon’s heart. Embarrassed by his flush, he

turned away to busy himself with his job.

Once the reindeer arrived, the barn erupted into activity. Rom and Wod were

stark opposites tonight, the former in an ice blue robe so light that it was just a

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Jet Mykles

shade away from white, and the latter in a green so deep it would be black in lesser

lighting. The complementary contrast of their hair and skin stood out as they

gathered with the other brightly garbed reindeer near the back of the barn. Rom

spoke to the team every night, even though some of them had been teamed together

for years. As leader, Rom felt it his duty, and it was one of the things in life that he

took seriously. Wod, as second, stood at Rom’s side, but his gaze roamed the barn,

almost as though he were on guard.

Lon tried not to watch them, but it was difficult. Most of what he needed to do

now waited on the reindeer to come out of their huddle. He and the other handlers

stood by the sleigh, and he was not alone in admiring the reindeer.

“You lucky devil,” Lon overheard Gunnie whispering to Tym. She nudged him

with her elbow and murmured near his ear. “You spent the entire night alone with

him.”

Tym chuckled, jingle bells chiming as he adjusted his hold on the harness. “It

was heaven. He’s insatiable. I’m surprised I can stand.”

The two of them laughed softly.

“You think you’ll get a repeat tonight?” Gunnie asked hopefully.

Tym sighed. “I don’t think so. Not soon, anyway. He was pretty clear about

that this morning.”

“You okay?”

“Oh sure. I knew that going in, and he was really nice about it. Anyway, the

one night was
worth
it.”

Lon tuned out as they continued to converse. What Wod had said about Rom

was true. Lon had known it already, of course, through hearsay, but it was another