Chapter 2
HART
Never in a million Christmases would I have thought I had a chance with the sexy co-owner of Silver and Gold's.
The bakery outside Christmas Village was my favorite place at the North Pole.
I wished I had more reasons to go there beyond my trips for Santa.
It smelled delicious, like sugar, cinnamon, hot coffee, and tea spices.
The walls sparkled with hints of silver and gold flecks in the opalescent paint, and the marble countertop between the glass bakery displays was my favorite place to lean and watch Silver as he mixed espresso drinks and closed his tongs around the soft cookies with such care not to pinch them or it would, "change the taste. "
I knew nothing about cookies, but his were the best I'd ever tasted. The scones and cinnamon rolls, too. Every baked good held a hint of dragon's breath from their ovens, and I couldn't get enough.
Unfortunately, as a Comet, I was expected to mate with a smaller omega, not the hulking six-feet-four dragon hottie who handed me the to-go carafe and box of pastries with a smile that popped dimples on both sides of his wide mouth.
He was even hotter up close. I stood on the opposite side of the descending elevator and took him in. His hair was a little rumpled without his hat, his coat a bedraggled line of strings where his buttons used to be, and his black pants wrinkled from being around his knees for so long.
His body was an art form, all hard planes and smooth skin. I'd heard dragons didn't have much body hair, but touching him was beyond my wildest dreams. Kringles, he was gorgeous, and so responsive. I couldn't wait to get him below me to taste his slick and make him mine.
Wait, no. That was my reindeer talking. He'd been asserting Silver was my mate since the first time I walked into the bakery, but he had to be wrong.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the cool metal wall as my beast railed against me. We'd been on the same page when I approached Silver at the refreshment table. He'd looked so adorable in his costume, and I became someone else in mine. Someone fast and bold, willing to make a move.
Now, I was second-guessing. I heard my cousins' voices in my head, telling me to take what I wanted tonight.
They would tell me to get Silver out of my system before Sunday dinner.
My cousin Skiff had lined up an omega reindeer date for me.
We were all named after celestial comets, though my name was better suited for a reindeer shifter than most. Most people thought my name meant deer, and I didn't correct them.
I didn't correct anyone's misconceptions of me. If I had, Skiff wouldn't have bothered introducing me to eligible omegas. The only one I wanted stood a few feet from me, in the opposite corner of the elevator. He was the predator, but he looked absolutely terrified.
I thought Silver was into me. It hadn't taken long for him to come in my mouth.
Maybe I wasn't the only one overthinking in the elevator. A few horrible jokes about going down popped into my head, but I kept them to myself.
Finally, we arrived on Silver's floor. As long as I didn't think about it, I didn't mind being this far underground. Okay, maybe I did. I rubbed my sweaty palms against the satin fabric of my costume shorts.
Silver's hand slipped into mine as the elevator doors opened. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I've never been down this far before, and never in this building."
Silver brushed his thumb over my fingers. "I love it down here. It reminds me of our ancestral cave back home."
"You're not from the North Pole?" He must have been older than I thought.
"Gold and I came here to seek our fortunes when we reached the age of 100.
" I tried to hide my surprised gasp, but the pleased grin he flashed me at the sound was worth it.
"That is the way of dragons. Once we've matured, we leave the nest and venture into the wide world.
Gold had always loved the stories about Santa's Village, so we came here. "
"I wouldn't have thought you could be a day over 99," I teased.
"You'll be very disappointed to learn I am now well over 200."
I couldn't believe it. I thought he was my age, maybe a little older. He was so sweet, innocent, and charming. Comets lost their innocence well before they hit puberty, thanks to all the crude jokes, cruel pranks, and hazing rituals.
"I shouldn't have said anything," he said. "You probably don't want to have sex with a fossil."
"Which of my family members called you a fossil?" I already knew it was Bopp, or possibly Swift. "I'll kick their ass so far across town, they'll be outside Santa's protective shields."
He ambled down the hallway, and I followed. "Bopp." The word was almost swallowed up in his footsteps.
I fucking knew it. "How did he know your age?"
"Gold lost her temper with him and mentioned her centuries of experience. Then she banned him from the bakery for a week. He didn't take it well, and further name-calling ensued."
"I'm sorry." My cousins refused to apologize for anything, ever, but from Silver's grimace, they had hurt his feelings. The frown that followed looked entirely foreign on his beautiful face. I made a silent pact with myself never to be the reason for Silver's unhappiness again.
"My apartment is right here."
After fumbling his keys out of his pocket and messing with the lock, he opened the door into paradise.
A dim blue glow warmed from his presence, and soon, a deep purple sunset filled the inner walls.
Everywhere I looked, it seemed like we were outside on a giant hilltop, gazing down at nature's beauty.
All my trepidation about being underground disappeared. I truly felt like we were outside. The room's air currents matched the direction and strength of the breeze blowing through the grass on the walls. It was impossible, what I saw and felt, but it seemed real.
"Santa magic," Silver said. "I can't explain it, but I love it here."
"I get it." I couldn't explain it either, but this place was magical, and that was impressive for the North Pole, where everyone under the shield wall either had magical ability or was made of magic.
"Do you want the tour?"
I almost said no, but Silver looked so excited. I nodded, and he walked me through his space.
"This is the living room, and that's the kitchen right through there.
" He pointed at the pass-through counter behind his couch.
Through the opening, stainless steel appliances and white cupboards gleamed when the light came on.
"Oops. Room names turn the lights on and off.
Kitchen," he said again, and the light dimmed to a low blue glow.
"This is the bathroom." He touched the living room wall, and part of the image vanished, revealing a plain white sliding door. He opened it, revealing the source of the blue glow, a row of blue lights built into the baseboards. "I'll be coming back here in a minute to get ready for you."
I blinked. "What? Why? You're perfect just the way you are!"
"I'm a mess! I didn't plan on getting laid tonight." He looked absolutely adorable when he was flustered.
I stepped into his personal space and cupped his cheek. It twitched once beneath my fingers, and then he leaned into me. "Do whatever you need to do for you," I said, "but I was ready to eat you out in the locker room."
He kissed my palm and took another step along the living room wall. He touched the colorful surface, and the lights dimmed to reveal a plain white door. "This is my bedroom. Make yourself at home while I …"
I grabbed him by the front of his ruined coat and pulled him in for a kiss, trailing my hands up into his soft silver hair.
He responded to every touch by melting against me and moaning into my mouth.
When he pulled back, gasping, hair disheveled from my hands, he looked completely debauched.
I couldn't wait to take him apart even further with my tongue.
Finally, we went our separate ways. The bedroom had the same blue glow around the baseboards as the rest of the apartment.
I didn't see a mirror to check my hair, but it had to be a mess after removing my shirt and putting it back on, and it was about to get worse.
I stripped off the tight spandex shirt. I loved how it made my muscles pop, but being naked was even better.
Then, I slipped off my laceless running shoes and tugged off my shorts and pants.
I thought about removing my thong, but I loved the way my cock was peeking out the top.
Silver would find me like this, on his bed, cock trapped in my waistband while I played with my balls through the thin, stretchy fabric.
Silver's bed had to be custom, or one of the location kings I couldn't keep straight.
California? Texas? Canada? Whatever it was called, it was larger than my king-size bed.
With my head on his pillow, my feet were still inches from the bottom.
I pointed my toes, and only then did they hang over the edge.
Oh, the things I wanted to do to my omega in this bed.
I'd been almost drooling since swallowing Silver's cum, but that thought — my omega — caught me off guard. I swallowed wrong and almost choked.
That was the moment Silver returned from the restroom. Instead of finding me spread out on his bed like a sexy starfish, he hefted me to a sitting position, pulled my arms over my head, and patted my back until I could breathe again.
"Are you all right?" He asked when I could finally swallow without a tickle in my throat sending me into another coughing fit.
"Better now," I assured him. "Can we try that again?" I pointed to the door. "Go back out, wait a second, and then come back in again."