Page 22 of Santa's Wish
For a moment, I felt like I was falling, like he wasn't close enough to me, but once he was a few feet away, I could breathe again.
"You can feel it," he said. "The tether. You're boundto me until my blood is out of your system. It's like a mini sire bond."
He didn't look like he wanted to elaborate, so I let it go. On my time, I'd research sire bonds on vampire lore websites.
"I don't feel it anymore," I said.
"I didn't give you very much." His stare bored into me. "I would never want to take away your autonomy, Boz. If there was another way to heal your bones before you started work next week, I would have done it."
"I'm my own man again." I stalked toward him, catching him by his shirt lapels and dragging him in for a crushing kiss. At the last moment, I pulled back. I wanted a real kiss, not the painful crush of body parts I'd experienced with my hapless Grindr dates.
I brushed my lips against his, and he drew me in, one arm behind my back, his other hand cradling the back of my head to keep me from hitting the couch when he dropped me backward onto it with effortless grace. He was so much stronger than I was, but I loved being manhandled.
More than that, I loved kissing and being kissed. I closed my eyes and lost myself to each lick, nip, and glide of his tongue against mine.
My body acted of its own accord, grinding my hard cock against Santa's hip.
Santa froze above me, and then he gently extractedhimself from my death grip on his shoulders. I opened my eyes, and he gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. Faster than I could see, he moved to sit on the far end of the couch with my feet in his lap.
"I got carried away," he whispered. "I shouldn't have kissed you after your ordeal."
"I told you, it wasn't the bond, or whatever. Since the first time I saw you, I've wanted to kiss you."
One aspect of his superhuman speed gave him the uncanny ability to twist his head faster than was humanly possible. One moment, he was staring at the floor. The next, his head whipped in my direction, and if looks could kill, he would murder me with his glare.
"You wanted to kiss me?"
I nodded.
"I don't …" he laughed. "Even before that silly movie about the prostitute and the billionaire, I didn't kiss on the mouth. It's not something I do with clients."
That admission filled me with happiness, even as he helped me off his couch and walked me back to my apartment. Santa didn't kiss his clients on the mouth, but he'd kissed me.
"I had a good time tonight," I said once I unlocked and opened my door. I knew from his body language he wouldn't come inside, but this still felt like a win. "May I kiss you goodnight?"
He chuckled. "You don't have to ask."
Our second kiss was even better than the first, alltongues, teeth, and carnal desire. My balls drew up tight without a single touch to my cock, and I broke the kiss. I did not want to come in my pants from kissing my landlord in the hallway outside my apartment.
"I'll call you tomorrow to make sure you're feeling all right," he said. "Do you have any plans?"
"I need to get a new suit for work. This one's got a hole in it." One of my leg bones had snapped clean through both my leg and the fabric, unbeknownst to me at the time.
"You have my tailor's information." He patted my coat pocket, and the folded hanger cover rustled. "Until then, you'll get some sleep?"
I nodded. "Good night."
"Good night, sweetness. I hope you don't hate me tomorrow."
I couldn't possibly hate him. Even with the attackers and the broken leg, this had been one of the best nights of my life.
CHAPTER 7
BOZ
We spoke on the phone,but I didn't see Santa again for several days. I didn't even hear him come and go, but each morning, I found a newspaper on the welcome mat outside my apartment door.
On Friday afternoon, I took the train to visit my parents for the weekend. I reassured them I could afford my new apartment, and no, I wasn't living in an abandoned warehouse or on the street somewhere.
