Chapter 6
FELIX
“Then no dance for me,” she declines, but she doesn’t walk away.
My disappointment swirls with the unholy desire that I have for her. While her demeanor is cold and her attitude could use some work, she is stunning.
Her curls? I feel like I’m wound in them already.
Those eyes? I could get lost in the darkness forever, and never wish for light.
She has a complexion so clear, I can tell just by looking at her that her skin is soft. It’s taking everything in me to keep my hands to myself.
If what Joy says is true, her boss is all business and no play—but I am determined to reach that playful side.
One way or another.
I place my hand over my heart. “Am I not your type? We have other strippers, if…”
Without finishing my thought, I trail off, waiting to see her reaction. She’s good though, not giving me anything.
“You’re assuming. Don’t make an ass of yourself.” Her eyes sparkle with something new, and I swear her cheeks have a reddish hue. “But no, I don’t want a different stripper. I don’t want a public dance.”
Okay, well, I’ll take a small win for now. She hasn’t said she isn’t attracted to me.
She hasn’t exactly confirmed that she is though, either.
“People have already gotten dances, if you’re worried about being the first one,” I say, which is true.
Joy was the first, getting a dance from Tulip. I’m surprised she hasn’t been back for another dance yet, honestly.
If she doesn’t take the chance and ask out Tulip, I am so going to taunt her for the next year about it.
Maybe I should also take a chance.
I reach out and trail my fingers down the small amount of exposed skin at this woman’s wrist. She doesn’t move, but her gaze flickers between my hand and my face.
The electricity I feel, she is definitely feeling too.
“You sure I can’t convince you to accept that dance?” I give her my best puppy-dog eyes.
Her eyes narrow slightly, and I swear I see a hint of a smile. “It sounds like you really want to give me a dance.”
Lowering my voice, I let the words trail off. “Maybe I really, really do…”
Interrupting my near-perfect moment, Joy pops up, her eyes wider than ever and her complexion ghostly.
“Boss, I see you’ve met some of the…entertainment.” Joy shoots daggers at me with a quick look, but I don’t move.
The Christmas-hating beauty slowly removes her gaze from me, turning her attention to Joy. “I have indeed.”
“I hope he’s been pleasant,” Joy practically hisses the last word at me, her wings fluttering rapidly. “Can I get you anything, boss?”
Her boss’s curls swish as she shakes her head. “No thanks. Felix here made me a drink that doesn’t entirely taste like a Christmas tree vomited in it.”
Joy nods slowly as her eyes travel between the two of us. She clearly doesn’t know how to act, or what to do.
What I need her to do is leave us alone.
She’s cockblocking me big time.
“So, is your name just boss?” I tease.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Joy instinctively raise her hand to give my arm a swat. She has self-control though and lowers it quickly, her cheeks flushing with color.
We are in her workplace, after all—and in front of her boss.
To my delight, the grumpy beauty finally introduces herself. “It’s Holly.”
Joy looks shocked as her boss tells me her name, and I smile at her with a brief side-glance. Shaking her head, she leaves me and her boss alone again.
“Holly, like the Christmas plant—you were born to be festive.” The compliment doesn’t land with her.
She frowns even more, scoffing, “That’s why I don’t give my name to most people. I don’t want to be associated with this shameful holiday.”
“Shameful?” I gasp dramatically, trying anything to earn a grin. “Well, clearly you just need some more Christmas cheer.”
She shakes her head, her eyes travelling over me. “That’s definitely not what I need.”
Is she flirting with me? I don’t want to be too cocky, but…those eyes. Dark as the night but full of something you just don’t see in women my age.
Something that makes me want to give her more than Christmas cheer. It’s time to lay on the charm.
I drag my tongue over my lip slowly, watching as her eyes dart to it. They widen slightly, the reaction I was hoping for.
Most women don’t expect me to have a split tongue—though I don’t know why they wouldn’t. My snakes have it, so why wouldn’t I?
This is the opportunity, while she’s intrigued.
“Are you a dreidel?” I flirt, already earning an eyeroll. “Because I’d like to give you a spin.”
Frowning, she says, “Christmas puns are not going to get you anywhere, I can assure you.”
Getting a bit closer, I lower my voice. “No, but my feet will.”
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” She matches me, lowering her voice and standing her ground.
She’s taller than most of the women in the office, but I still tower over her. The way she looks up at me, those dark eyes full of what I can only hope is lust—it’s intoxicating.
Now I’m not sure if I’m doing this for her, or for me.
Maybe a little bit of both.
I reach into my back pocket, pulling out the mistletoe I’ve been carrying for this exact moment. Holding it above us, I put on a shocked expression.
“Oh my—well, we seem to have found ourselves under the mistletoe.” I grin, shaking it above us. “We have to kiss.”
While she may still be frowning, I can see the way she considers it as she looks between me and the mistletoe.
She tilts her chin up, and I begin to lower my head, my heart skipping a beat. No way that actually worked. Maybe Joy was wrong, and Holly doesn’t hate Christmas as much as Joy thought.
Just as my lips are about to touch hers, she whispers, “You didn’t really think that I’d kiss you because of some dumbass Christmas cliché, did you?”
Pulling back only slightly, I keep my face inches from hers, mistletoe still held above us. Disappointment floods me, more than I expected.
I don’t even know her, but I really wanted to kiss her. My snakes must agree, as they let out a chorus of disappointed hisses.
“Are you telling me you don’t want to kiss me, Holly?” I say lowly, scanning her face.
The red in her cheeks tells me all I need to know, but I won’t force a kiss—or myself—on her. I’ll be damned if she’s able to resist my charm, though.
Something in her gaze flickers, the lust intensifying. “Oh, I do—but not here.”
“Oh?” The corners of my lips curve up.
She drags her fingers down my chest slowly. “Come back to my place with me when this goddamn snow stops.”
“I can’t wait.”
With that, she pushes my chest slightly, and I move to the side. She saunters past, her hips swiveling in a mesmerizing rhythm.
She glances over her shoulder, giving me the first smile I’ve seen on her face. It makes my dicks throb in my pants.
Oh Holly, I want you to jingle my bells all night long.