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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The View from Santa's Sleigh

  Copyright ã 2004 Lynn Crain

  ISBN: 1-55410-028-3

  Cover art and design by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books, a division of Zumaya Publications, 2004

  Look for us online at:

  www.zumayapublications.com

  www.Extasybooks.com

  Dedication:

  For all the elves out there that never get a thank you.

  And to my boys, DH— Gordon, Sons—Tom & Kyle and Dad—Alfred, you all make me feel special everyday.

  Glossary of Terms

  Loinnir — literal translation is shining glade; the area where elven magic exerts the most influence. To the outside world while in this area, elves are undetectable.

  Nor’ahkeem — process of bonding together lovemates for all eternity. Once the process is completed, the lovers will have eyes only for each other with a love that transcends beyond forever.

  Prologue

  Plop…plop…sniff…sniff. The icing fell in big drabs of color upon each Christmas cookie as she tried to decorate the latest in her culinary failures. Tessa couldn’t believe the cold-hearted nature of the man she thought she would be with forever.

  When Jason said he had something to ask her earlier in the evening, she just knew her moment had come. She dressed in a special party dress for the occasion—a slinky little number in red sequins. She beamed at him anxiously all throughout the night, only to be surprised when he asked her what ring she would pick if she had a choice. This is it, Tessa thought and tried her best not to be nervous, although she felt confused about his strange question regarding the ring. Mrs. Jason Howell…that’s who she expected to become sometime next year…and he’d shattered her dream beyond repair in an instant.

  The nervousness turned into outright disbelief when he then announced he would be picking up his future wife at the airport and bringing her back to the office party. Once they arrived, he would ask that woman to marry him in front of all his friends.

  Tessa allowed her roommate, Angie, to lead her to the bathroom, where she cried her eyes out. She scrubbed all the tears and streaked makeup from her face, then turned to her best friend and roommate, demanding Angie stay and enjoy herself while she went home to cry herself to sleep.

  “God, how gullible could I be?” she grumbled out loud. Nermal, her cat, looked at her with disinterest and flitted his tail in her direction. “Don’t give me that look,” Tessa said, her voice slurred from the two shots of tequila that she had upon arriving home. “Thank God, I never went to bed with him!”

  After the shots, she started with the margaritas and the baking, both of which had seemed a good idea at the time. But as she squinted at the ugly cookies, she realized maybe it hadn’t been one of her more brilliant ideas to mix booze and baking. Her beautiful red dress had white streaks all over from rubbing her flour-covered hands down the front of it. A thump came from the living room. She scowled at the cat.

  “If you’re in here…then who’s in there?” Cautiously, she peered around the kitchen door. “Who’s there?”

  It was Christmas Eve and almost midnight. She always set out a plate of cookies for Santa. Hopefully, he wasn’t looking for perfection this year. What if she left him a margarita on the rocks, too…or a maybe a strawberry one…it would probably put a zing in the cold ride. After all, who’d know or care if the jolly old guy was a little inebriated while doing his rounds for the night?

  Grabbing the special Christmas plate she’d used since she was six, Tessa stacked it high with cookies that had too much icing and filled the Christmas mug with a strawberry-flavored margarita. That should hit the spot. She placed them on the end table closest to the tree, retreating to sit on the couch next to the fireplace. For a moment, she allowed the little girl in her to believe that the red-suited man really existed.

  She sighed and covered her face with her hands. How could she have been so blind? When she thought about it, Jason had never indicated anything except friendship to her. She’d misinterpreted their relationship, making it something it never was. Tears rushed down her face in a torrent of remorse.

  “There, there, dear…it can’t be that bad, can it?” said a man’s gentle voice. A warm, gloved hand patted her arm.

  Tessa squeaked and pressed herself into the corner of the couch. Looking through her splayed fingers, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Shaking her head, she blinked hard. Quickly, she moved her hands and gaped at the man with the red suit sitting next to her on the couch.

  “You can’t be real.” She shook her head trying to force the image before her into oblivion. “God, I didn’t drink that much tequila! I know I didn’t!’

  “That’s where you’re very wrong, young lady, I am quite real. As for tequila, I can’t tell you anything about it at all.” He squinted at her sad face, a calculating look in his eyes. “What’s the matter?”

  Tessa sniffed, relaxing her guard once she realized that he was really concerned and wanted to know what caused her grief. “You know, Santa, I thought I’d really been a good girl this year and would get my wish for Christmas.”

  “Well…sometimes…the things you wish for aren’t the best thing for you.”

  “Santa, wasn’t I good enough? Didn’t I deserve to have a little love? A little good sex?”

  “Of course, you were! You were a very good girl this year. Sex is nice in anyone’s life, and everyone deserves to be loved, young lady.” He rubbed her shoulder gently. “Maybe Jason wasn’t the one meant for you.”

  Tessa looked at him, wondering what he meant. And why was he looking at her that way? Jason had been exactly what she wanted. “Why not, Santa?”

  “Well…I don’t exactly know…but sometimes things just don’t work out,” Santa said, squinting his eyes to get a good look at her.

  * * * *

  Santa really looked at the girl this time, and what he saw made his heart flutter with envy for the man who finally captured her heart. The young lady appeared long of limb with large green eyes and the most winsome face he’d seen in ages. The last one he’d seen that interesting had been his own Mrs. Claus. Her honey-colored hair was a wild mass about her face and shoulders and blended into the pale amber skin of her shoulders.

  She apparently hadn’t changed out of her party clothes, and the dress was a little off-the-shoulder number in sequined red dotted in white spots that could only be flour. A plan, which had first started taking shape the moment she uttered her first word, began to take solid form in his mind.

  “How come you knew it wasn’t going to work out?” Tessa’s mouth quivered with unshed sorrow.

  “I guessed as much by the look on your face,” Santa answered. “It didn’t, did it? Well, he’s not the only fish in the sea, you know.”

  “I don’t think I could try again.” Tessa leaned her head back on the sofa. “He has
to be someone very special. I don’t want to fall for just anyone. And the sex should be out of this world.”

  “You really should try to find love first, the sex will come with it. You might even find something unexpected where you aren’t looking.” Santa reached over and sprinkled dust into her face.

  Tessa smiled and closed her eyes. “Thank you, Santa. I knew you’d cheer me up. I knew you’d get me that big sex toy I dreamed about.” A few moments later her soft snore buzzed throughout the small, quaint house. As if on cue, her orange tabby cat jumped up and snuggled between them.

  Santa sat there for a moment listening to her soft snores, wondering if he was going to do the right thing. He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see his small helper tap his equally small foot on the floor.

  “Santa, I can’t believe you just did that. And you were talking about sex again.” The small man continued to tap his foot. “Well…I’m waiting.”

  “Eggther, sometimes an opportunity to do a wonderful thing comes up. Sometimes you can give a present to two people. It isn’t always about sex.”

  “Santa…” he scrunched up his face into a warning scowl and shook his finger at him.

  “Now, don’t start…you know as much as I do that Jedrick deserves something very special this year. And this young woman does, too.”

  “Santa, bringing him home a woman isn’t going to solve anything. You just said it wasn’t about sex.”

  Santa sat up straight. “That’s where I think I’m wrong, Eggie, a woman is just the thing. Jedrick doesn’t feel like he belongs anymore. He doesn’t have the same drive, and the toys he’s been creating…well…they just aren’t up to our usual standards. In the long run, both you and I know it isn’t only about the sex, but maybe for him and her, it is all about sex, just this once.”

  “Santa…he’ll find a girl…someone will love him,” Eggther began.

  “How in the world is a six-foot-four elf going to find a woman when there aren’t any around for him at the North Pole? He isn’t like his brothers and sisters…they don’t seems to care about the size difference! I don’t even think they are interested in sex except Aingeal!” Santa stared at Eggther. “No elf-sized woman would ever really look at him, you know. Sex…now that’s just out of the question! He needs a woman his size.”

  “Well, if his mother hadn’t been a human...” Eggther cried indignantly.

  “Eggie, you can’t stop love.”

  “No, but you could’ve put the brakes on it!”

  “I don’t work that way and you know it. This girl is going to make Jedrick happy, just like he will make her happy.” Santa smiled down at his personal assistant. “Besides, his parents have been very good together, considering the inherent problems of a small person with a non-elf sized person.”

  The small elf sighed heavily, knowing he’d lost the argument. “I’m not carrying her.”

  Santa smiled at his small helper with an amused glance.

  “Well, I’m not. Besides, she’s been drinking!” He stood there with his hands on his hips. “She’s gonna puke all over the sleigh!”

  Santa chuckled, picked up the mug and took a deep swallow. “Whoa! That’s potent…no more of that stuff for me! And you…you, young man, will have to make sure that her head is over the side. Unless you brought the anti-hangover, anti-vomit pills. I know how it is when you elves dip a little too much in the Missus’ eggnog. ”

  The elf threw up his hands in disgust. “Why do I always get the crap jobs?”

  “Because you’re the assistant. Now just give her the pill if you have it.” Santa smiled. “Do you think we need to get any of her stuff?”

  “No…I’m not going to pack a bag for that woman!”

  Santa just stood there and smiled. Eggther hung his head in defeat. But he was an elf and in less than a minute, he had a medium-sized tapestry bag filled with clothes and toiletries. “Thank God I could tell by her scent which room was her bedroom. Let’s just go,” he sighed and hefted the bag over his shoulder.

  “I guess that leaves me to take the girl.” Santa watched her cat stretch as he got up. “And you, young man, the new mistress of the house will have to take care of you.” Bending over the couch, he gently picked her up in his arms. He braced her against his shoulder with one hand as he placed his finger against his nose and up the chimney they went.

  * * * *

  Eggther stood there and scanned the room of the girl’s little house.

  “Oh, boy, here we go!” he said to no one in particular and followed the red-suited man up to the roof. Once there he watched Santa load the woman gently into the sleigh, happy for the insulating bubble against the cold and snow. “Are you sure about this?” he asked again.

  “Yes, Eggther, I am sure. Jedrick is getting his very own woman for Christmas. Let’s get this job done so we can get home and deliver the goods!”

  Eggther shook his head. “Oh, boy.” Grabbing the side of the sleigh, he scooted close to the woman now sleeping soundly under a wool blanket. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

  Chapter One

  Tessa snuggled deeper into the covers. God, it felt so good to be wrapped up and warm. She had a vague recollection of a few moments of being cold before the warmth enveloped her but couldn’t imagine how that happened. An arm tightened around her and she sighed. Exactly where she wanted to be, she thought, smiling. Whoa…wait a minute. She sat up and raised a hand to her head. Her head should have been pounding if her memory served her correctly and for some strange reason, she felt wonderful.

  The last thing she remembered was talking to Santa. Tessa also had the vague memory of looking down from an airplane window. Then it hit her…that wasn’t an airplane window…and this wasn’t her little house in Reno any more. Nah, she’d been dreaming, that had to be it.

  She blinked her eyes and looked around. This wasn’t her room. And if it wasn’t her room, just where the hell was she? Whoever had decorated the room in the ever-popular style known as shabby chic had done a wonderful job.

  The room had the most eclectic pieces of furniture that she’d ever seen. The bedside table and chest of drawers looked to be of a French design, while the armoire was Southwestern, like the bed. All appeared to be whitewashed with a clear white glaze. The bed that she found herself in consisted of large lodge poles, a downy mattress, mismatched sheets and blankets topped with the most beautiful comforter she had ever seen, thus making her very comfortable. But at the moment, she wasn’t sure that comfortable was where she wanted to be. Never in her life had she gotten so drunk she didn’t know where she’d land.

  The arm tightened on her again and she moved the blanket slightly so she could see who shared the bed with her. A muscular arm dotted with a sprinkling of light amber hair was the first thing she saw. Pulling a little more on the cover, she exposed a wide chest with just a smattering of even darker hair. But the blanket still covered the man’s face, and she needed to see that face to understand why she was here. She never went to bed with strange men, but somehow this man didn’t seem like a stranger to her.

  Tugging ever so gently, she removed the cover from the head resting on the pillow next to her. Oh, Lord, she’d died and gone to heaven. Stunned, she sat there and tried to put some perspective on what she saw.

  The last she remembered, Jason Howell had dumped her...well, not really dumped her…she was never his girlfriend anyway. That, added to the fact that she hadn’t even slept with him made her pretty sure he only qualified as a friend. What was up with that? Never in her life had she had a boyfriend who didn’t touch her. That should have been her first clue.

  But the man who lay beside her was nothing like the one in Reno. He was downright gorgeous. His amber hair hanging in lush waves to almost his shoulders made her want to run her fingers through it. His long limbs held just a touch of muscle and bulged in all the right places. A five o’clock shadow gave him that scruffy look she loved so much on a face with deep-set eyes
and smooth lines. She tried to imagine what his eyes looked like when something caught her attention…his ears.

  Oh, my God, Tessa thought, he has pointy ears. Leaning over him, she ever so lightly ran her fingertips over the cartilage protrusions. They felt soft and warm to the touch. She could really get into this. She jerked her hand back immediately when he began to stir. Waiting for a few moments, she reached out again to touch the luscious lobes when a hand caught her wrist.

  “Do you know what that does to a man? A full grown elf-man?” the deep voice said sleepily.

  “Ummm…I can’t say that I do,” Tessa said, pulling her hand back to her chest. She wanted to reach out and touch him…touch the skin that seemed so warm and inviting…and anywhere else her hands might wander. This guy, pointy ears and all, really turned her on.

  He leaned up on his elbows and shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs from his sleep-laden mind. “Should I explain exactly what happens when you touch an elf’s ears like that?”

  All her nerve endings tingled with unrestrained desire when he said those words. She smiled and wondered just how far this would go before he realized she knew he wasn’t a real elf. After all, there weren’t any real elves. “Your eyes are beautiful. They are so blue…azure blue like an island lagoon…yes, by all means, please explain.”

  He arched his eyebrow at her. “All right, remember you asked for it.” Putting his arms behind his head, he stretched out his body and kicked off all the covers. “Why don’t you stroke one of my ears and watch my body’s reaction? Then I’ll explain it if you don’t fully understand.”

  Intrigued, she lifted her hand to stroke the point closest to her. Slowly, she trailed her fingers down the warm lobe and tweaked on the bottom of his ear. She touched the point again and let her gaze roam his wonderful body, stopping to stare at the bulge in his crotch lifting a pair of faded sweat pants. The guy was right…his body responded slowly…and she wanted to get a look at what was growing under the material. She could feel more than see that he was capable of filling her body completely. With every stroke to his ear, his cock continued to grow and soon she had the elf moaning in pleasure.