12. NICK
12
NICK
A hh fuck.
There’s messed up and then there is the needs-to-be-imprisoned messed up.
The sleigh touches down on the snow a mile outside of my home, far away from the workshop or where I’m supposed to land, but considering Mila is passed out cold beside me, perhaps showing up within civilization probably isn’t the best idea.
I fucking kidnapped her.
What the fuck is wrong with me? She wished for it, and while I still possessed the ability to make her wish come true, I made it happen, but she told me this is what she wanted, so I’m sure once she wakes and realizes what the fuck just went down, she’ll be fine with it.
I hope.
Knocking her out though, it was a cold move, but I had no choice. Time was running out. Once the sun broke the horizon on Christmas morning, my ability to grant Christmas wishes diminished. She wouldn’t have survived the ride back to the North Pole, so I did what was necessary, even if actually doing it made me fucking sick to my stomach.
I could just see the judgment in the reindeers’ eyes. They’re gentle beasts, and knocking a girl out clearly didn’t sit well with them. They protested the whole way home, making for one hell of a rocky ride, but once they realized I was fucking things up again and not taking them straight back to the main city, they were fucking pissed and they made sure I knew it.
The reindeer are creatures of habit. They like things done a certain way, and when you’re the one responsible for fucking with their schedule, they can be absolute assholes. But considering I’m the one who has cared for them most of their lives, I like to believe they’ll quickly forgive me. At least when they realize that I’m the one who’s going to bring them their dinner, they’ll come racing back. These little fuckers like to eat.
The plan today is to . . . fuck. I don’t really know. For now, I just want to get her back to my place before she wakes up and realizes what I’ve done, and after that, I’ll work it out as I go.
My brain is a fog of what-ifs.
What if this isn’t what she actually wanted?
What if my father figures it out?
What if a life with me isn’t actually fulfilling for her?
The questions plague me, one after another, and it’s enough to drive me insane as the reindeer race through the snow, taking us the last few feet toward my home. They know exactly where they’re going, and as Tucker leads them right to my door, the unease in my chest only gets worse.
The sleigh comes to a stop in the early light of Christmas morning, and as Mila sleeps soundly beside me, I scoop her into my arms, realizing I’m going to have to find my way back to her apartment and pack up her things or have my helpers go out and purchase her a whole new wardrobe. Though to be honest, I’ve never lived with a woman. I don’t really know what she will need. Once she’s awake and on board with her whole kidnapping, perhaps we could work it out together.
With Mila securely in my arms, I jump down from the sleigh and walk up the line of reindeer until I reach Tuck at the front. I make sure to scratch him under the chin while doing everything I can to ignore the judgment in his eyes. “Keep your mouth shut about this, and there’ll be extra dessert for the next week and a half.”
Naturally, the fucker can’t talk, but the way he looks at me is almost as though he can perfectly understand what I’m saying, and the slight nod he gives of approval is exactly what I need.
I laugh to myself as I step around him and make my way down the small path that leads toward my front door. It’s a short walk, but with Mila in my arms, I’d happily walk the whole fucking globe. I reach my door in no time, and I have to juggle her a bit to get the door open, but I don’t have to bother with a key. We don’t need to lock our doors around here. The only person who might be a threat when it comes to breaking into other people’s homes is probably me.
Sue me. I’m not exactly a great guy, and the fact that I’ve just kidnapped Mila is more than proof of that.
Taking her into my home is somewhat surreal. I’ve always dreamed of what it would be like to have her here. Sure, it might not have been under these circumstances, but she made the wish, and I did nothing but grant it. It’s my Santa-ly duties after all. Besides, I’d granted the rest of her wishes through the night. Why would she think for even one second that I wouldn’t grant that one? You know, apart from the fact I told her I couldn’t. I can guarantee that kidnapping really isn’t what she had in mind though.
Oh well, she’s here now, and considering it’s officially sunrise on Christmas morning, there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
Making my way through my home, I use my hip to push open my bedroom door and lay Mila down with her head against my pillow. I pull the snow-white sheets over her shoulders before adding a thick blanket. I have heating here, but the freezing temperature outside always wins, no matter how hard I run the heating.
I want to be here when Mila wakes, but if I don’t circle back and return the sleigh for its usual Christmas Day maintenance, my father is bound to come asking questions, and finding Mila out cold in my bed isn’t the way I want to break the news that their only son kidnapped a woman during the night.
Mila is well and truly out, and considering the long night we’ve both had, I can only assume she’ll be out for a few more hours. So with that resolve, I leave her be, closing the door behind me as I walk out of the bedroom. In a perfect world, I’d lie down beside her and spend all day sleeping with her in my arms, but duty calls, and unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of calling the shots right now.
Making my way out of my home, I pull the front door closed, and just as I’m walking back to the sleigh, I hesitate. Leaving the door unsecured feels like a bad idea this time, so I double back to lock it. I know I just said that we don’t have to worry about that around here, but in this particular case, I’m trying to keep someone from breaking out rather than breaking in.
If Mila wakes up when I’m not here, I don’t want to risk her taking off. My home is surrounded by a reindeer farm, and outside of that is a thick line of woods. I don’t want to risk her freaking out and running, only to get her ass lost in the woods. Don’t get me wrong, I’d spend the rest of my life searching for her out there if I had to, but Mila strikes me as the type to run first and think later, and considering her lack of clothing, that could be an issue.
With that all sorted and Mila tucked safely in my bed, I take off, more than ready to drop these reindeer and the sleigh off, debrief after my run, and check in on my parents before finally making my way back here to face Mila’s wrath.