Page 1 of Reindeer Flames
CHAPTER 1
SILVER
After two centuriesof social anxiety, I should have known something was off when I wanted to go to a Halloween party. I didn't really have a libido, so this strange desire to hook up with someone for the night wasn't like me at all.
I could have guessed the cause of these strange feelings, but my sister, Gold, liked to call me the dullest candle in the woodshed, mixing as many metaphors as possible.
Despite her less than kind mixed metaphor, I loved her so much. I wouldn't have settled at the North Pole if not for her. Together, we worked the best job ever, owning a bakery and baking cookies, cakes, and pastries for the magical folks at the North Pole, including some of the Santas.
She also talked me into going to the Spooky Soiree in my apartment building's community center. The top floor was the main floor, since the rest of the building was below ground. I loved my little cave-sweet-home and all the amenities that came with it. The Honeycomb's community center was one of my favorite places to relax and be near people without having to talk to them after a long day of serving customers at the bakery.
I could already feel the beat of the music as the elevator car neared the main floor. I wanted to sway with it, but I was a bigman-shaped dragon in a little elevator, and the two otter shifters beside me looked uncomfortable enough to share the space with me.
The doors opened, and I motioned for them to go first. They fled toward the exit while I moseyed to the community center's open double doors.
"Hey, Silver." Mize greeted me at the door with a smile. They were the events coordinator for our complex, The Honeycomb. "Let me guess … you're supposed to be a dragon baker."
I blinked at them, and then it came to me. I cocked my tall white hat back on my head so he could see the little rat clipped inside.
He gasped. "You're the guy fromRatatouille!"
"I wanted to come to the party as myself, but Gold said I needed a costume."
"Oh!" Mize clapped. "That's so clever! I should have tried harder to guess."
"That's okay." Everyone knew Gold was the smart one.
"Drinks are at the deejay table. Help yourself!"
My whole body felt like it was on fire after talking to Mize, and I talked to them almost every day. The entire refreshment table wouldn't be enough to calm my nerves.
I shuffled around the outer wall to the table, trying not to bump into people with my broad shoulders. I leaned forward to avoid a string of orange lights hanging from the ceiling and bumped into someone anyway.
"Silver!" Jax Donner was one of Santa 30's reindeer. His husband, Beau, ran the daycare in our building. "Nice to see you!" He pointed to my crooked hat and laughed. "That rat is just perfect! I love it."
My shoulders loosened at the praise. "Thank you."
"What can I get you to drink?" He stepped behind the table and picked up the punch ladle.
"Water would be great." With the way my body was burning up, alcohol was a bad idea.
He dropped the ladle back into the punch and handed me a glass bottle filled from the building's filtration system. When empty, we could deposit them in the bins by the elevators to be washed and refilled.
"There's the man of the hour!" Jax walked out from behind the table to pull a much taller reindeer shifter into a hug. "This guy won our time trials today."
I recognized the tall alpha reindeer shifter in an instant. Hartley Comet was the hottest reindeer on Santa 30's team. His hair was the color of acorns, and his eyes were a deep, soulful brown. Whenever he placed Santa's weekly cookie order with me, I got lost in his gaze for a few seconds and missed half of what he said. The first time it had happened, I'd flinched, thinking he would insult me like everyone else. Instead, he lowered his voice and began again, making sure I jotted the order correctly on my notepad.
Still, he was a Comet. He probably went back to the team and made fun of me. His cousins flew for the other Santas. They sneered at me and hurled insults in my face whenever Gold wasn't around to stop them.
"Hey, Silver!" Hart grinned up at me. He was dressed as a superhero, but my mind blanked on which one. "I love your costume. How've you been?"
I looked over my shoulder, though I was taking up too much space for him to be looking at anyone else. I was the tallest one in the room, and one of a handful of Silvers at the North Pole. "Me?"
"Yes, you." A light blush spread across his cheeks, meeting at the bridge of his nose. "How are things at the bakery? Are you ready for the Christmas rush?"
I gulped half the bottle of water, hoping the liquid would pour ideas into my brain. "We're busy," I said, settling on the truth. "I almost burned the last batch of Halloween pumpkin cookies this morning. Tomorrow, we switch to a mixture of pumpkin and gingerbread cookies."
"Mmm." The sound he made in his throat went straight to my cock. "Gingerbread is my favorite. I'll have to stop by more often."
