Page 13 of Naughty Elf: Wink

I sputtered a laugh. “I’m a trash panda?! Of course I am.” Flopping back on the pillow, I stared up at the ceiling, absorbing everything he’d said. I should’ve been more skeptical, demanding proof at the very least, but it all rang with the echo of truth inside me.

And then a dawning realization had me gasping. “Raccoons are nocturnal.” I turned to look at Wink, and he nodded, letting me finish my thought. “Is that why I’m always so tired? Is my raccoon coming out at night?” He nodded again. “Huh. I used to sleepwalk as a kid. Used to scare my mom half to death wandering around the house at night. I guess I never grew out of it like we thought.”

Wink was being oddly silent—or maybe not so odd, considering he was usually an inanimate object, but I could still sense that he had more to say. Setting my mouth into a hard line, I faced him once more. “That’s not all, is it.”

He shook his head. “You’re my mate.”

And even though I had zero clue what that meant, had never heard that expression before today, I blew out a relieved breath, a deep-seated certainty settling into my heart. “I know.”

9

Wink

It seemed so strange to be sitting on a stool in Derek’s kitchen in the light of day, mug of coffee in hand (so much better than cocoa). I’d been “living” here, for lack of a better word, for over a month, and this was the first time I’d been able to do this. As foreign as it was, it felt so right. This was where I belonged, at Derek’s side.

And I was wearing his clothes too, which I loved. He’d insisted, saying I couldn’t very well walk around town in my elf costume outside the month of December. I’d explained it wasn’t a “costume” but my everyday clothes, but he’d said, “You know what I mean.” And I supposed I did. Which was why I was currently wearing a pair of red-plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt. I was a couple inches taller than he was, so I would have to make a trip into town to do some shopping soon, though I wasn’t a fan of spending Derek’s money.

What I needed was a job…

Chewy hopped up on the counter and headbutted me, begging for attention. He seemed to prefer me in my human shape. “Me too, buddy,” I muttered to him, scratching behind his ears.

Derek was currently on the phone with his parents, walking back and forth around the house, offering me snippets of conversation as he passed by. “What else can you tell me about my birth parents? What about… their health records?” He met my eyes and shrugged, pulling a face. There was no easy way to ask if they’d secretly turned into animals. He paused in his stride. “No, Mom, I’m not dying. I promise. Just curious, that’s all. It's the kind of information I should know before having kids.” He sighed again, shaking his head. “No, Mom, I’m still not pregnant.”

He stopped at my side and leaned in to drop a quiet too-brief kiss on my lips, and I heard his mom through the phone, “Where are all these questions coming from? Would you tell me if something was wrong?”

“Yes, of course I would tell you.” He continued his pacing, his touch lingering on me as long as he could before he moved down the hall toward the back of the house.

He’d been doing that ever since we’d had our discussion this morning. Little kisses, innocent touches. I thought I’d have to explain about what being mates meant, but in this case, his shifter instinct seemed to be serving him well. He’d simply said, “I know,” and then leaned in and kissed me like it was the most natural thing in the world. That was all we’d done so far, kiss a few times, and I was hoping I would have the chance to woo him a little before we took things further.

He’d been takingeverythingwell, in fact—elves and shifters and magic—and I found myself holding my breath, waiting for him to freak the hell out. It couldn’t be this easy. I hated that I’d wasted so much time as an ornament, when I could’ve just revealed myself to him on Christmas. If only I’d known…

Derek came back into the kitchen, sighing as he set his phone down on the counter. “Well, that was a waste of time. They weren’t given any information at all, not even my birth parents’ names or the reason I was put up for adoption. She said she would reach out to the adoption agency to see if they have anything, but I doubt we’ll get any answers.”

Then Derek saw the look on my face, and he rushed to my side. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He slid in front of me, notching himself between my knees like we’d been together for years, not mere hours.

It felt natural to set my hands on his hips, drawing him closer and breathing him in, all cinnamon and honey. “It’s nothing… just wishing I’d accidentally fallen asleep in your bed sooner.”

His lips tipped up into a sexy smirk. “While I won’t argue about having you in my bed, I think our timeline was exactly right.”

I pulled back to look at him, to see if he was pulling my leg, and he laughed. “No, seriously. If I’d seen you that first night, I would’ve lost my shit. But you snuck your way into my dreams, night after night, until I’d already convinced myself that you were real. It was perfect timing.”

As if to punctuate his point, he leaned in and kissed me, slow and with more heat than the small pecks we’d shared up till now. He placed his hands flat on my thighs, sliding them up, his thumbs teasing at the crease of my crotch as they moved north, and my body reacted instantly. “So… tell me more about the whole mates thing,” he said, nipping at my bottom lip.

I closed my eyes and breathed deep, heat flaring in my core. “I’ve already told you everything.”

“Mm,” he murmured with a throaty hum, before he walked his fingers up my chest. “So, fate has selected you for me, and me for you, because we are exactly what each other needs. Is that right?”

I gulped, my throat tight and my pants even tighter. It was a good thing the flannel material was fairly loose, or else I would’ve had a serious problem. “Uh, yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

“You know, I feel like I should be mad that I don’t get a choice in the matter, but… I’m not.” His fingers had reached the collar of my shirt and were dancing up my bare throat, setting my skin on fire, to thread into my hair.

“No?” I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if he’d rejected me, but the mere thought had my hands tightening on his hips in panic, dragging him as close as I could get. Our bodies were flush, and I could feel how hard he was, our erections building friction as he ground against me.

“No, I think the only thing I might be upset about now is if we don’t christen this relationship ASAP, with… what was it again?”

“Marking?” I asked.

“Mm, yes, that was it.” He moved his mouth to my throat so he could drag his teeth across the sensitive skin, raising goosebumps as I tipped my head back, my breathing ragged.

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