Santa's Little Helper Read online

  Santa’s Little Helper

  L.R Black

  Contents

  Untitled

  1. Joy

  2. Kris

  3. Joy

  4. Kris

  5. Kris

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by L.R. Black

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America

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

  Warning

  This book may have triggers and is intended for ages 18 and up.

  Author: L.R. Black

  Edited by: J.C. Wolf & Sonja Mullings

  Cover Art by: Sansa Khoush

  Photo Credit: Pixabay Images

  Disclaimer:

  Author is not responsible for any nightmares about the Elf on the Shelf from reading this book.

  Christmas C’mon

  by

  Lindsey Stirling

  1

  Joy

  Who doesn’t love Christmas? The soft, twinkling lights, the crisp smell of snow in the air... Christmas gives me warm feelings all over.

  Ever since I was little, my parents always made a big deal over the holiday season. Mom loved family traditions and we had so many of them around Christmas Eve; from baking cookies for Santa with all my cousins to decorating our tree and watching Christmas movies with hot cocoa, so many happy, happy memories. Who wouldn’t love being a part of that?

  I can’t think of one person that doesn’t love the holiday season. . . oh, wait. . ., yes, I can.

  My extremely sexy, extremely irritating, pain in the ass neighbor - Kris Crankton.

  Kris and I have been neighbors for a little over two years now. We live in a quiet town outside of Helen, Georgia. I’ve lived here for five years and I love the neighborhood I live in; the neighbors are very friendly, and everyone knows everyone else. The only Scrooge in our neighborhood is Kris.

  He bought his house two years ago after the elderly lady who lived there moved in with her son. When Kris moved in all the neighbors were abuzz about him and yeah, I must admit I was a little curious myself; we’re a fairly settled, quiet little community, so any changes bring out the curious nature in us all.

  Being the good neighbor that I am, I went over to introduce myself and welcome the new arrival. The one thing I didn’t expect is that I would have such an attraction to him. You can't really blame me though, if you'd seen him, you would feel the same way. I still remember everything add if it just happened yesterday.

  The door opens and not an inch of space is between this giant of a man and the door frame. His muscular build and height dwarfed my entire five feet three inches. With my mouth in the shape of a O, I stood in front of him dumbfounded.

  “Can I help you?” He asks, his voice deep and deliciously warm. I was mesmerized to the point of being in a speechless stupor.

  He glanced past me and his lips flattened into a line. “Is that your dog?” I hear a hint of annoyance in his voice as his glittering dark eyes look over my shoulder. The subtle change in tone snaps me out of my hypnotized state and I whirl around to see my little Terrier, Jolly, doing his business right on my new neighbor’s front lawn.

  My heart sinks and my cheeks flush with shame. This is not what I had in mind about making a meaningful first impression.

  “Oh my God!” I shout as I ran down the front steps to shoo Jolly back to my house. I turn back towards my gorgeous neighbor and apologize sheepishly. “I’m so sorry….” I wait for him to offer his name.

  “Kris.” He tells me in that deep gruff voice. I could feel my panties dampen, my heart skips a beat. . . shit . . . everything about this man is throwing me off.

  “I’m Joy, I just wanted to introduce myself since we are next-door neighbors now.” I explain as I wave my hand towards my house where Jolly is sitting on my steps watching us.

  “I really am sorry about Jolly,” I rush on before he can interrupt me. “The lady that lived here before you had a bit of a soft spot for him.”

  He looks down on me from his position at the top of his steps. “Well, Joy, I would appreciate it if from now on you could keep your dog off my property. I’m rather busy and have little time to be cleaning up after your little friend.”

  I freeze, shocked at how rude his tone has become. “Okay,” I respond carefully, not wanting to make things worse.

  “Well, it was nice to meet you.” He turns around and walks back into his house, closing the door behind him, leaving me standing on the steps. I stare at his closed door, shock giving way to outrage and fury.

  “Asshole,” I swear, spitting the word out with as much venom as I can muster.

  I can’t believe how rude he was! I mean, sure, Jolly using his yard for his own personal restroom wasn’t the way to make a good first impression, but my GOD! Did he have to be that rude?! He could have just said he didn’t like him doing it... but no, he had to be a huge jerk about it. And he practically slammed the door in my face! That’ll so get the neighbors talking, I grumble to myself as I stomp back over to my house, opening my front door and ushering Jolly into the house.

  I shudder and shake off the horrible memory of first meeting. The only time Kris and I have spoken since that day is when he comes to my house to complain about Jolly being in his yard, an issue he finally brought to a halt two months ago when he had a fence installed around his property; not a huge one, but a clear signal that he didn’t like people invading his space.

  I feel a wet nose against my hand and look down to see Jolly sitting at my feet whining, wanting me to pick him up. I grab him and cuddle him close to me.

  “That mean old Scrooge just likes picking on my little Jolly, doesn’t he?” I ask, pouting and nuzzling my little terror, laughing when he licks my nose in response. I look around my living room at the boxes of ornaments and decorations I need to hang, feeling my mood lighten as the holiday spirit and memories of good times come flooding back.

  I give Jolly one last hug before setting him on the floor. “Well, Jolly, let’s get to it. These decorations aren’t going to hang themselves.”

  He barks in excitement and runs around in a crazy circle, making me chuckle.

  2

  Kris

  Finally. I have a few minutes to go check the mail. As I get up and stretch, I realize just how long I’ve been sitting in one position, pouring over line after line of code, error message after error message... ugh, this problem is seriously giving me a headache. Still, one of the perks of being a computer engineer is that I get to work from home most of the time; a perk which would be even better if it wasn’t for that yappy little monster my neighbor calls a pet.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs – even had a couple growing up. They were big lumbering brutes, which to me is what a dog should be, not some little fluffy. . . yapper.

  It’s bright and cold as I step out, squinting from the light after being indoors for too long. I can already hear the yips and barks from next door. I shake my head as I walk to the mailbox, catching a glimpse of my neighbor through her window as she fusses with her boxes of decorations.

  I pause and sigh, lost in thought for a moment. Joy’s sweet as spun sugar; I mean hell, I’d be lying to myself if I said she wasn’t on my mind constantly. Fuck, even my work is star
ting to suffer because I think of her every spare moment I have.

  She’s everything I could ever want in a woman: long dark hair that is always in a messy bun or flying around her face as she flits around doing one thing or another, sweet pink lips I could consume for the rest of my life and fuck, those curves she packs into those cute and flirty dresses she loves to wear.

  I have kept myself away from her for two long and incredibly frustrating years. As much as I would love to be with her, helping her out of those cute little dresses and making that bun even messier, I can’t shake the memory of that first meeting.

  I mean fucking hell, the first time I saw her on my door step I acted like a moody asshole. Given the time of year, I probably made Scrooge look like Mr. Rogers.

  I moved here for the quiet, suburban life – figured the serenity and the lack of distractions would be good for my work, so I was pretty pissed at fate when I opened my door to the sexiest, jaw-droppingly gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on.

  I knew after that encounter that she was mine, even if I could never act on it. She was far too sweet and light for someone as dark and dominant as me. But I’ll sure as fuck make sure every man for miles knows that she is mine, even if I must brand it on her ass.

  We couldn’t be more different, and nothing shows that more than this time of year. Joy loves Christmas and her house is draped in God only knows how many decorations every year, where I don’t even bother to put up a tree. Since it’s just me in this house I never fool around with decorating; I usually spend most of Christmas working anyway, eating a sandwich meal for one before calling my parents at their new home in England.

  I shake my head as I think of all the uproar it caused in our family when my mom and dad sold their general store to retire and move to England. Mom’s idea of course, she always swore she was born in the wrong era. My dad swears it’s all the historical romances she’s always reading.

  My parent’s owned and ran that store for thirty years, I believe they were due for a break. So, every year, I’ll do like I have since my parents relocated, I’ll call and listen to Dad fuss about Mom wanting to rearrange the furniture again, while Mom attempts to take the phone from him, so she can fuss over me.

  Mom fusses over everyone.

  I’m so busy thinking about my parents as I step through the gate of my fence that I don’t see the mess waiting for me until I feel the squish between my toes. I didn’t bother to slip on my shoes before I came out, even though it’s hardly warm. Now, I fucking wish I had, because I’ve just stepped in a lovely little present courtesy of Joy’s yapping nightmare.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake....” I hiss, frantically trying to scrape the worst of the mess off in the grass. That little spawn of Satan is the reason I had a fence installed on my property but of course, the little demon isn’t deterred by the fence. Oh, no sir, now the little shit has taken to leaving his parcels by my mailbox!

  No! You know what, that is it, enough is enough. Joy and I need to have serious words this time. I’ve put up with that dog for the last two years because he makes Joy happy and bites every guy that comes sniffing around her. But a man can only take so much before he snaps, and I just hit my breaking point.

  Hobbling back to the house, I try my best to not only look dignified but also to ignore the horrendous smell coming from my foot and my need to gag. Good Lord, what does that creature eat? Heading for the shower, I quickly turn on the water and crank it up to its hottest setting before jumping in and scrubbing thoroughly from head to toe, after all, can’t go see the woman of my dreams reeking of her precious little monster’s freshest parcels, now can I? Once I’m finished, I throw on some clothes and shoes this time before storming out of the house and around to hers, the shower having done nothing to deter my irritation with the dog.

  When I get to Joy’s house, I pound loud and hard on the front door. “Come in, it’s open,” comes the muffled reply.

  I shake my head at her not even checking to see who is at the door; see it’s shit like this that makes me want to tan her ass. Quiet neighborhood mentality I guess, or maybe it's just me being overeager to put some color on those cheeks. I open the door, fired up and ready to read her the riot act.

  Joy’s got her back to me, tottering on top of a dining room chair, clearly too short to reach as high as she’s trying to, I watch for just a second as she attempts to hang... oh, for the love of... MISTLETOE! Seriously?!

  She’s so completely focused on her task that she hasn’t even checked to make sure I’m not some crazed axe murderer, so I clear my throat to get her attention. She looks over to me, taking her attention from the mistletoe, the shift of her body causing the chair to rock slightly.

  “Oh hi, Kris, what brings you by?” She calls out cheerily, her smile lighting up her beautiful face. She acts like she doesn’t know I’m here about her little angel, something I find so hard to believe seeing as it’s the only reason I ever come over.

  I sigh in frustration, taking a deep breath before launching into my usual style of rant. “Your damn dog crapped on my property again, Joy, right by my goddamn mailbox! How many times in the past two years have I asked you to keep him off my yard?!”

  Sure enough, as if he knows we are talking about him, the little hellion chooses that moment to run through the room, barking and fussing over my raised tone.

  It takes only seconds for Joy to lose her footing. Before she can blink, I lurch forward, instinct kicking in and she lands in my arms. My cock hardens at the feel of her in my arms as our eyes lock and for a moment I forget what I was yelling about.

  Her eyes are the most astonishing shade of blue; deep and dark like drowning pools, her face is flushed with both shock and arousal and I can’t help but let a little groan slip from me as she darts her little pink tongue out to wet her bottom lip. Before she can protest, I turn my head and swing her up against me, burying my face in her dark locks. Fuck. She smells of gingerbread and coffee; of all the things I’ve craved and denied myself, and all I can think is that I want nothing more than to just eat her up....

  3

  Joy

  The chair I'm standing on to hang up mistletoe while listening to yet another tirade about my dog from Kris, suddenly turns sideways when I look over at a barking Jolly and I let out the strangest squeak of shock I’ve ever known myself make. Everything’s a blur in the next few moments as my mind reels and my heart hammers away as I realize what is happening.

  The mistletoe, the chair toppling, falling backwards, arms reaching out to grab me and... Kris.

  KRIS!

  I inhale sharply as I feel the heat radiating off him, a sudden feeling of relief and security sweeping through my body. Between his unexpected rush to catch me as I fell and Jolly’s frantic barking, my head’s buzzing with confusion, but....

  But I feel safe.

  Normally this kind of thing would have me shaking like a leaf, but being in his arms... his face buried in my hair, the feel of his nose and breath on my neck.... For just a second, I want nothing more than to wrap myself around this man and snuggle him like he is the dearest thing on earth.

  What, did you think I was going to say I wanted sex? With Kris?

  Well, okay, you’d be half right. I’ve always held out for the right man; we really are a small little community and as frequent as the attention has been from the men here, none of them have hit my buttons like Kris does. Right now, all I want to do is now is throw all caution to the wind, tear myself away from him and spread myself out like the finest of Christmas feasts before him... oh, how, now I wonder.

  Kris

  God, I’ve waited so long for this moment, to have her in my arms like this. I never want to let her go, I could stand like this forever.

  “Thank you for catching me.”

  Her words snap me out of my daydream. I suddenly realize I’m still standing here breathing her in, like she’s some wild exotic flower. I slowly set her down, my mind screaming at me, rebelling at releasing her
, telling me to take her straight to her bedroom and do everything I've dreamed of doing to her so often over these past couple of years.

  “You need to be more careful Joy,” I scold her, fighting to keep my voice both calm and stern. “You could get yourself seriously hurt. You need a fucking keeper.”

  Standing in front of me while attempting to put the mistletoe back together, I see a teasing grin flash across those soft, kissable lips. “Are you offering?”

  A growl slips from my throat, deep and thunderous as I move forward, leaving her backed up against the wall, hands pressed on either side of her head. Leaning close, I let my lips brush against her ear as I try my hardest to retain my gruff demeanor and not let my cravings take over. “I promise you this, Joy, if I was your keeper I’d have you bent over my lap right now while I spanked your naked ass for being so reckless.”

  I hear the hitch in her breath, sense the shift in her as something melts and back up before I lose all control and do something stupid like take her down to the floor and fuck her among all her Christmas decorations – somehow, I don’t think she’d appreciate broken ornaments... but I could be wrong.

  Instead of finding out just how much she would or wouldn't mind, I slip away and head out the still open front door, but not before firing a parting shot, “Oh, and lock your goddamn door from now on. You never know who could come walking in.” I smirk slightly as I see the torment of desire and fury swim across her face.