Nick (The Kringle Boys Book 1) by Lily Rede Read Free Book Online Page A

lungs.
    Phoebe was dressed up in a strawberry red satin dress that cupped her stunning breasts before molding lovingly to the curve of her waist and spilling out in a wave of shimmering crimson over a froth of red netting. Her feet were encased in heels that made her legs look fantastically long despite her height. She looked good enough to eat.
    “Oh good,” she said, relieved, stepping aside to let him in, “I was worried you’d be late.”
    Feeling like he was missing something, Nick stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
    Phoebe opened a nearby closet and pulled out a tuxedo wrapped in plastic.
    “You can use my shower. Here, this should fit.”
    Nick took the tuxedo, staring at it with a horrible sense of foreboding.
    “Nick?” said Phoebe, her blue eyes steady on his, “The Confectionary Ball? Tonight?”
    Shit, he’d forgotten all about it. The thought of all that schmoozing made his skin crawl. He struggled to say something that would come out better than, Hell, no.
    “No fucking way.”
    Not better, Kringle.
    Phoebe frowned, her spine stiffening, and gone was the voluptuous goddess in red, replaced by no-nonsense, don’t-mess-with-me Phoebe Winters, his boss and the bane of his existence.
    “You promised to go to these things.”
    “I did not. I agreed. I’m un-agreeing.”
    “You have a responsibility to—”
    “I have a responsibility to keep the factory running, to get the orders out on time, and to keep the elves at North Pole Village full of candy. That’s it.”
    Phoebe huffed, and then visibly pulled herself together. Her fury was tangible.
    Hot little elf.
    The thought whispered through his head, and Nick tried to squelch it, but he was standing in an apartment that smelled like her – ginger and Phoebe, with the memory of her splayed half-naked on the bed in the next room, of her hand sliding down his pants with a proprietary air, of her begging him to take her. It was beyond distracting.
    “Just go without me,” urged Nick, his voice harsh, “You don’t need me there. I’m terrible with humans. I’m terrible with everybody. I’d do more harm than good and you know it.”
    “Don’t give me that. You can be perfectly charming when you want to be and we both know it.”
    Phoebe raked a blue gaze over him from head to foot, clearly frustrated, and his intuition prickled as her fingers clenched in the skirts of her dress.
    She looked irritated.
    She looked turned on.
    And he’d be willing to bet vital body parts that Phoebe hadn’t had any sugar all day.
     
    DID THE MAN HAVE to look so edible? Phoebe could feel annoyance bubbling over as she took in Nick’s sweats, damp and clinging to hard male muscle, his tight long-sleeved runner’s tee outlining a chiseled form that made her clench her thighs together under her dress. She should be appalled by the smell of sweat and Nick, but she wasn’t, and she licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry.
    What is wrong with me?
    She’d avoided sugar all day, and was finally feeling like herself again…until he showed up at her doorstep, rumpled and sweaty and oh God.
    It wasn’t fair.
    “Let’s be reasonable about this, Nick,” she said, in an attempt at a soothing tone, “I need you to go to this event. It’s my job. It’s just a couple of hours out of your life.”
    Nick rolled his eyes.
    “A couple of hours that could be better spent doing something useful. Like cleaning out the waste pipes at the factory.”
    “I don’t want to go either, but I have to. I’ll be lucky if anyone stops to talk to me. You know how humans get around elves.”
    “You’re only part elf, and I’m not even human.”
    Phoebe waved her hand dismissively.
    “One smile and the women will be begging for your time, plying you with drinks and slipping their underwear into your pockets.”
    Nick grinned.
    “That’s a nice thought. Yours, too?”
    Phoebe scowled.
    “Despite my little…slip…last night, I can assure you that I know how to conduct