Seduced by Santa by Mina Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

for a smaller man, the jacket was too tight in the shoulders and too short, so if Jared twisted just a little wrong, the padding across his flat stomach was visible.
    It didn’t matter though. All that mattered to the kids packed into the hall behind them, belting out Christmas songs with more enthusiasm than musical ability, was that Santa was here delivering presents.
    She breathed a sigh of relief, taking a moment to relax as they waited for the end of the song. They’d done it. Eloise, Jared and Rhod had been fantastic, chipping in to help with the repairs and get everything set up for the party. Without them, particularly Jared playing Santa, she wouldn’t have stood a chance.
    “Speaking of street cred, where’s that no good partner of mine? Not like him to miss an opportunity to take the piss,” Jared commented, pulling the too-short jacket down again.
    She shook her head. “Probably caught in traffic or something. He’ll be here.”
    The song drew to a close and she lifted the bells in her hand, ready to ring them and announce ‘Santa’s’ arrival. But before she could strike them, silence descended like a blanket, cutting off all sound. Anticipation filled the air, and then, faintly at first but growing louder and louder, sleigh bells.
    “What the…it’s not me,” she whispered to Jared, just as the door at the end of the corridor blew open. A few scattered snowflakes tumbled through onto the polished wooden floor.
    “ Ho ho ho! ”
    The booming laugh drifted on the air as a large man filled the doorframe. Amazement surged through Candy as the familiar figure tramped down the corridor, stamping snow off his black boots. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up. Red suit, huge belly encircled by a black belt, the white beard… It couldn’t be. Not the real…
    “Santa?”
    He stopped in front of them, each movement leaving a small trail of fairy dust and magic hanging in the air for a moment.
    “Fuck. Me.” Jared muttered softly as Santa turned to Candy and reached out a hand to touch one of the curls tumbling over her shoulder.
    “Hello Candy. Have you been a good little girl this year? Or should I put you on my…very naughty list?”
    She blinked, something about that voice…those eyes. Astonishment arced through her. “Rhod?”
    He smiled and suddenly she could see past the lines and the beard to the sexy as hell man she’d left in her apartment earlier.
    “Oh my, you’re…you’re Santa? The real Santa?”
    “I am. The real deal. One of anyway. You think one man could deliver all the presents in one night? Even for an elf, that would be pushing it. There’s a whole clan of us, but keep that under your hat, okay?” He tapped the side of his nose and hefted the sack over his back as he looked at Jared. “I got it, bud. You’re off the hook.”
    Then his voice grew in volume, the hint of the ho ho ho back. “Now, I hear there are some children here that I have presents for. Would you like to lead the way, little elf?”
     

Epilogue
     
    Three years later…
    Each year, Candy put up the Christmas tree and, each year, it was more amazing than the last. Finished with his rounds, Rhod stood in the middle of the room and admired it for a moment. Christmas and Candy, the two things he needed to make his life complete. The two things he couldn’t live without. Sure he missed the North Pole, but Candy liked life down here, and for her he’d do anything.
    Besides, they visited often enough, even if the presence of a pretty woman drove most of his brothers insane. They pulled all sorts of tricks to try and get her attention. He smiled; it just gave him an excuse to hand their asses to them on a plate. He might be Santa one night of the year, and he was a damn good one, but for the other three hundred and sixty four days he was a bodyguard, and he was a fucking good one.
    But tonight was that one day. The one day he wore the red suit and delivered presents. Like the one in his hand. Carefully he