Page 4 of I Saw Krampus Kissing Ms Claus

I whirl around on him, poking a finger into his broad bare chest. “I am not! I’m a whole person! I have regrets! I make mistakes! I do bad things.”

“You forget, Nikki, I can see exactly how bad you’ve been.” He blinks down at me without any humor in his tone. This time, it makes my heart twist. “The perfect woman should be a little bad.”

“I’m as bad as I need to be to get things done.” I scowl at him.

“I know.” Krampus surprises me by agreeing, “Let’s get this done together. I can help figure out what happened to your missing Christmas Cheer.” His mouth splits into a wide grin, showing two rows of needle-sharp teeth.

“I don’t need your help.” I say.

“You actually came down here to ask for it.” He says.

I roll my eyes, taking a few steps away from him. “I know what happened to it.” I say. “Cheer doesn’t just get misplaced. Someone took it. Someone wants to ruin Christmas.”

“Who?”

I shrug reluctantly.

“I can help you find them.” He smirks.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you asked me to.” His smile doesn’t falter and something in its sincerity makes me squirm. “I can read people’s auras, remember? I can tell who’s been naughty. I can help you find the person who took the Cheer.”

“What’s in it for you?” I ask.

“When we find the person responsible?” His stance shifts, becoming something more predatory. “I get to punish them how I see fit.”

I want to disagree. I should disagree.

Krampus isn’t trustworthy. He’s deceptive, and a loner. It’s his job is to punish bad people, and he’s good at it.

“What if I don’t want to hand them over?” I ask.

“I’ll need to replace my Cheer somehow. How about I get to punish you instead?” Krampus steps closer to me, close enough that it sends a frustrating little shiver through my body.

“Well, that’s not happening.” I roll my eyes. It’s a hard deal. But I need to get the Christmas Cheer and to get it I need his help.

“Fine.” I finally spout. “Fine. Come help me find the culprit and you can be in charge of their punishment.”

Krampus gives me another wide grin, my stomach revolts at the idea of making a bargain.

“Perfect.” He holds out his hand to shake on the agreement.

I’m smart enough to know I shouldn’t make a deal with a demon. But I do it anyway. My fingers slip easily into his large hand, his palms are rough with calluses, but his grip is gentle. I give him a firm shake. A sharp spark runs between our sealed hands and I gasp.

“Feel that?” Krampus asks, “The deal is made and bound.” His thumb strokes along the back of my hand, before I jerk it away from him.

“Alright then. Let’s go.” He steps toward the cave entrance.

“Now?” I ask. “Can’t I just take the Cheer and we do the rest later? I have about a billion things to do before Christmas.”

“I’m not waiting until Christmas is over. I need to cash in before everyone uses up all their Christmas Cheer on your brother.” He’s already marching ahead of me into the daylight. Hooves slicing through the powdered snow as I race to catch up.

“Krampus. We can’t do this right now. I don’t have time! I—”

“‘O holy night! You brought the sleigh?” He announces loudly, interrupting any other protest I could muster.

“Just the two-seater.”

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