Wednesday, December 24, 2014

A Christmas Sleigh Ride

***SPOILERS***

This scene takes place after the ending of Everybody Hates Fruitcake

My heart pounded in my chest as I waited in the barn. Absently, I patted the reindeer I’d selected to pull my sleigh. She huffed, stomping her hoof and antsy to go. I was a bit anxious myself. An hour ago, I’d left Jimmy in the great Hall, still unable to believe he actually liked fruitcake.
Could this be happening? Had I found a man to accept the very thing I had been hiding from everyone?
Movement at the barn door caught my attention and my grin almost made my cheeks hurt when I saw Jimmy.
Cheeks flushed and pink from the cold air, he was all bundled up in a grey fur coat. He gave me a happy wave. “Hey, Ivan.”
“You came,” I said with a rush of relief.
Jimmy quirked one eyebrow. “Did you think I wasn’t going to show up?”
I looked sheepishly at the ground, shuffling my feet. “Well, it would only be fair considering I didn’t show up yesterday.”
“True,” he said with a shrug. “But you said there were some things to work out, so I guess I get that.” He gave me a hopeful smile. “As long as you plan on letting me in on them eventually.”
“I will, I promise,” I said and it was true. Now that I knew he liked the taste of fruitcake, I couldn’t wait to tell him everything!
Jimmy gave the rail of my sleigh a pat, rattling it a bit as if testing it for stability. “So this is your sleigh?”
Embarrassed heat scorched my face. I was such a moron! Jimmy came from a royal family and my sleigh was big, bulky and rough around the edges, kinda like me. Why hadn’t I thought to borrow someone else’s? “I can get another one if you don’t like it. I can—”
Jimmy put his hand on my arm and I stopped talking immediately. “It’s perfect, Ivan. Relax. Why are you always so nervous?”
I chuckled, unsure how to answer that without sounding like a lovesick fool. Knowing that he loved fruitcake should have made this easier but I had never had a boyfriend before. Surreptitiously, I crossed my fingers, hoping that was where this was headed.
Clearing my throat, I gestured to the seat. “After you.”
I took his hand and helped him up. Once we were both seated and I had the reigns, Jimmy reached over and took my hand in his.
Though we both wore gloves, warmth from his touch went through me faster that the hottest cocoa on the coldest day. Overcome with affection, happiness, and gratitude, I gave into the one thing I’ve been dying to do for over year.
I kissed him.
Not a passionate kiss, full of hot promise, just a gentle brush of lips. When I pulled back, those green eyes met mine and we came together once more, our tongues connecting briefly, like the delicate kiss of a snowflake on a chilly cheek.
Cheeks reddening, Jimmy turned away and looked down at our clasped hands. His thumb ran along the length of mine and the air frosted around his mouth as he let out a sigh. “So where we going, Ivan?”
Holding onto the reigns with one hand—there was no way I was letting go of this elf ever again—I gave the reindeer a giddy-up. “Wherever you want, baby. Wherever you want.”


Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.


Ivan has the bad luck to be the only elf at the naughty North Pole with fruitcake-flavored cum—and he’s not telling anyone. When fellow elf Jimmy hits on him, Ivan fears revealing his secret and losing a chance to have a real relationship with the sexy elf.
After all, everybody hates fruitcake!
Danni's wife Sheila is the Head Chef at the North Pole. Unfortunately, while Sheila hunts for the perfect recipe for fruitcake, she neglects her wifely duties. So when Ivan tells Danni about his dilemma, she devises a plan to solve both of their problems.
Can these two girls help Ivan realize he is perfect just the way he is? Will Danni's wife perfect her fruitcake recipe with Ivan's special ingredient? But most importantly, will Ivan have the courage to take Jimmy up on his offer?


EXCERPT:
   A soft hand caressed mine. “Why don’t you like Jimmy?”
   Naturally, Danni wouldn’t let it drop. “It’s not that,” I answered. “I like him a lot, actually. That’s the problem.”
   She shook her head, her long black ponytail swaying. “That makes absolutely no sense.”
   “Of course you don’t get it.” I brushed a lock of silky black hair off her brow. Her bangs were always falling in her eyes, and she didn’t flinch from my familiarity. “You’re perfect.”
Grinning, she said, “Well, that’s obvious. But it still doesn’t explain why you say you like Jimmy, yet you ignore all his advances.”
   “Because I don’t know if I should do anything about it. He’ll just end up being disappointed.”
   “I’m still going to go with, that makes absolutely no sense.” She gave me a head to toe once over. I managed a smile when she tipped back to take in my ass and give me a whistle—she was such a flirt. “You’re gorgeous, Ivan. And you’re funny. You forget I’ve seen you take care of those pathetic earthbound reindeer.”
   “They’re not pathetic.”
   “See what I mean? All the other Dökkálfar in the stables prefer to work with the flyers. But not you. You’re kind and patient. A real caregiver. So I ask you, what would Jimmy have to be disappointed about?”
   I squirmed in my seat, unsure if I should tell her, but desperately wanting to. I had not breathed a word of it since I’d arrived, preferring to have my choice of lovers, rather than be laughed at like I had been in my hometown. But something about the sincerity, the kindness in Danni’s brown eyes made me feel like I should trust her. Like it was finally time to tell someone the truth.
   “Because I taste like fruitcake.”

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