Vixen Claws (The Twelve Mates Of Christmas Book 4) Page 5

  “Guess there are some perks to being a reindeer,” said Cain aloud.

  “Some perks to what?” asked a familiar voice.

  Cain looked up. Candy had just walked out the door to the back patio. Had she seen him shift?

  “It’s not important,” said Cain. “What’s up?”

  “Well, I heard a commotion out here, so I finished up inside and came out to see what was going on,” said Candy. “I guess Brie burned a batch of chocolate chip cookies and left the window open and some guy tried to steal one of our pies.”

  “I know,” said Cain. “I was the one that caught him.”

  “You?” asked Candy. “That guy was going on about reindeer shifters.”

  “Guess he was seeing things,” said Cain.

  “Huh, well, if he’d just gone in and asked Avery for a free pie, I’m sure she would’ve found an errand for him to do, like cleaning out the gutters,” said Candy. “I’ve seen her give away more pastries for a lot less. It’s a miracle we’re still in business, isn’t it?”

  “I guess it is,” said Cain.

  “How did you have time to get changed?” asked Candy.

  “Time to what?” asked Cain.

  “Shifters have to get naked, or else their clothes get ruined when they shift,” said Candy.

  “Oh, uh, Krampus distracted him,” lied Cain, causing his mark to burn.

  I can’t believe white lies cause the mark to burn, whined Cain.

  Every year, the rules on how the marks work are different, said Vixen.

  Why? How? Cain asked Vixen.

  Call it ‘Christmas magic,’ call it…the fact that the reindeer spirits control when the marks hurt, admitted Vixen. I may be down with teasing a girl and stringing her along, but lying, I cannot condone.

  Cain felt his mark burn again.

  What was that for? asked Cain.

  Because I could tell you wanted to lie again, teased Vixen.

  “Why, uh…” started Candy.

  “What?” asked Cain.

  “Why did you fight him?” asked Candy. “It was just a pie.”

  “What would you do if you saw somebody stealing the Christmas tree in the store?” asked Cain.

  “Sock’m in the jaw” admitted Candy. “But that’s different. I work at the bakery. You don’t.”

  “You care about the bakery and about Avery, right?” asked Cain. “I care about you, so I also care about those things.”

  “You what?” asked Candy.

  “I said that because I care about you, I —” started Cain.

  “I got that part,” said Candy. “But, why did you say it?”

  “Because it’s true…?” said Cain.

  “You’re a weird guy, Cain,” said Candy, crossing her arms. “I expected a guy who was all big and buff and burly, who took no shizz from anyone, who was cold and aloof, and maybe a bit of a diva, but…”

  “…But you got me instead?” joked Cain. “I’ll make sure the agency sends you a refund and sends out a better escort next time.”

  “Cain!” hissed Candy, pushing Cain. “That’s so wrong! Anyway, I mean…you’re a lot different than I expected, is all.”

  “Then I’m glad,” said Cain. “I didn’t come out here to keep making the same mistakes I made out there, Candy.” Cain reached out and pointed in a random direction.

  “You’re pointing to Canada,” said Candy.

  “You know what I mean,” said Cain. “I spent all my life acting like the man you described, and what did I have to show for it?”

  “A bunch of modeling deals,” said Candy. “Your face, on half the books in the romance section in the grocery checkout lanes. Fame. Fortune.”

  “And that was all,” said Cain. “Nowhere in that list of things is a fated mate, a family, or happiness. That’s what I’m looking for, Candy. So…you find any women looking for that, you let me know.”

  Krampus came out of the bakery and shouted, “Cain! These pastries aren’t going to carry themselves!”

  “Duty calls,” said Cain, giving Candy a nod before walking to the back of the bakery.

  Candy followed Cain into the bakery and went back to the front counter, working the register. What had Cain meant when he had asked Candy to send ‘any women’ his way? Did that mean he was into her, or that he only saw her as someone he ‘cared’ about, as a friend? Every single time they interacted, two things were guaranteed. First of all, he’d make her stomach fill with butterflies. Secondly, he’d manage to confuse her heart and make it even more knotted up than it already was.

  Chapter Five

  December 16th, 2010

  Candy opened her laptop and checked her email. She had another rejection email. It was the twelfth in a row. She sighed and frowned at her email as if that would make the contents of the email change.

  “Why so sad?” asked a woman’s voice.

  Candy looked up. One of her regular customers, Pandora, was standing in front of Candy’s table, with her friend, Jack. They were both sipping lattes from their thermoses. They were one of the few sets of customers that brought their own thermoses to the cafe. Pandora’s was red and green while Jack’s was icy white and blue.

  “Hey, Pandora. Hey, Jack,” said Candy. “Do you two need this table?”

  “No,” said Jack. “We saw you sitting here, giving your computer a death glare, and wanted to see what was up. Is something wrong?”

  “It’s just bakery stuff,” said Candy. “You don’t want to hear about it.”

  “This is my dad’s bakery, so I do,” said Pandora, taking a seat.

  “Your dad?” asked Candy.

  “My father, Santana, is both Avery and Krampus’ boss. You must’ve met Krampus by now, right?” asked Pandora. “Tell me: is his new lumberjack a hottie?”

  “He’s so hot, every time he walks into the bakery, I’m afraid that the Christmas tree in the corner will go up in flames,” said Candy.

  Jack cleared his throat.

  “What’s the bakery issue?” asked Jack.

  “Avery wants to drum up business by running an ad campaign targeting women. I came up with the idea for some ‘sexy Santa’ themed ads,” said Candy. “What do you think of that theme, Pandora?”

  “Yeah, Pandora, what do you think?” teased Jack, elbowing his friend lightly in the arm.

  “I, uh, am really not into ‘sexy Santa’ stuff, but that’s just because of my dad,” said Pandora.

  “Oh, did your dad dress up as Santa when you were a kid?” asked Candy.

  “You could say that,” said Pandora. “However. I know it’s a popular theme for ads. What’s the problem?”

  “We want to play this straight and have a smokin’ hot model come and do a photoshoot with us so we can run an ad campaign, and then, we also want to host a sort of ‘meet and greet’ party where moms can come, let loose, and ‘sit on Santa’s lap,’” said Candy.

  “If you have a plan, what’s the problem?” asked Pandora.

  “All the models I’ve contacted have rejected the bakery’s offer,” said Candy. “They either want to spend the holidays with their family or they aren’t comfortable doing what they think is a ‘goofy’ campaign or they don’t want to hang out at a party with ‘normal people.’”

  “Have you tried calling and asking about male strippers?” asked Pandora.

  “Believe it or not, yes,” said Candy. “They all have ‘prior engagements’ for those evenings. I guess there’s a lot of lonely people looking for companionship during the Christmas season…which is exactly why our event would be a smashing success if we could just find a frikkin’ model.”

  “Wait, didn’t you say that Krampus’ lumberjack is a hunk?” asked Jack. “Why don’t you ask him to work the campaign?”

  “I can’t ask him to do that,” said Candy. “First of all, before he came out here, he was a celebrity. He was a romance novel cover model. He doesn’t look recognizable, what, with his longer hair and the rough stubble, but I bet he’d clean
up real nice. There’s no way he’d take some small podunk gig like the Bear Claw Bakery ad campaign. Second of all, he’s busy working for Krampus. He won’t be able to get time off to help me out.”

  “I’m sure Krampus would allow it, in exchange for the privilege of watching the show,” said Jack. “One year, he had one of his lumberjacks strip to work off stress.”

  “He what?” asked Candy. “That doesn’t sound like Krampus.”

  “He’s a tricky man,” said Pandora. “You’d be surprised at what shenanigans he’d encourage his lumberjacks to get into.”

  “I thought the entire point of his weird Christmas tree camp was that he was teaching bad boys discipline,” said Candy.

  “You know the idiom, about donkeys, sticks, and carrots?” asked Pandora. “Well, the work done on the island is the stick, and free time on The Wreath is the carrot.”

  “Fine, I guess I could ask Cain to help me,” said Candy.

  “Good, because I just saw Krampus walked into the bakery,” said Pandora, peering toward the back door. “Whew! Is that Cain? He’s hot!”

  Jack frowned and clenched his fists. Candy could tell Jack was jealous. He had on a leather jacket as if he was a bad boy, but apparently, he had a soft side. Did Jack have a crush on Pandora?

  Cain spotted Candy and walked over to the table.

  “Am I interrupting something?” asked Cain. “My ears were burning. I could’ve sworn I heard someone say my name.”

  “Cocky,” said Pandora, shaking her head. “Typical bad boy.”

  “Was I wrong?” retorted Cain.

  “No,” said Pandora. “In fact, Candy and I were just talking about you, Cain. We have…a proposition.”

  “The last time two beautiful women propositioned me, I woke up in another time zone without my wallet,” said Cain. “Exactly what mischief do you two have in mind?”

  “I’m looking for a model to work our Bear Claw Bakery campaign,” admitted Candy. “I know you’re probably busy and —”

  “I’m in,” said Cain.

  “Y-you are?” asked Candy. “Well, I also need the model to show up to our ‘sexy Santa’ themed party and interact with the public. We’re doing a ‘mom’s night out’ type of event.”

  “I already said I’m in,” said Cain. “I’m ready to help give some moms a very Merry Christmas. I have a suggestion, though.”

  “Yes?” asked Candy.

  “Invite a lot of single moms, widow moms, moms with husbands serving abroad, those kinds of women,” said Cain.

  “Why? So you can hit on them?” sassed Pandora.

  “No. Those women really need a night off,” said Cain. “I should know. My dad was never around. My mom was always exhausted, wrangling my siblings and me during the holiday season. Find a babysitting service to handle the kids while the moms take a load off.”

  “That…is actually a good idea,” admitted Candy.

  “And, you should get some male strippers to give lap dances,” said Cain. “I know this club, Bear Buns —”

  “Alright, alright,” said Pandora. “Quit while you’re ahead, buddy. Go grab your junk and head back to the island. Candy has work to do.”

  “But —” started Cain.

  “She’s a very busy woman,” said Pandora. “Shoo, bear! Get!”

  “Candy,” said Cain, giving Candy a one finger salute…before grabbing his ‘junk’ as he walked away before winking at Candy. Candy couldn’t help but watch as Cain’s hands moved to his crotch. Her eyes widened. Cain was one flirty bad boy.

  As soon as Cain had left the building, Candy looked at Pandora with wide eyes.

  “What?” asked Pandora, munching at her cranberry maple muffin. “You look like you’ve seen a Christmas ghost.”

  “How were you able to do that?” asked Candy. “Do you have frikkin’ superpowers?”

  “Able to do what?” asked Pandora.

  “Able to talk to Cain!” hissed Candy. “He’s been coming in here every day since December first, and I have barely been able to have a conversation with him. He always makes my heart feel, I don’t know, weird. Every time I look at his chiseled jawline, or his firm abs, I just…lose the ability to say what I want.”

  “Well, two things. One, I don’t have an issue talking to hunks, because I’ve got a little thing called ‘confidence,’ and it’s stored in my thick curves,” said Pandora, motioning over her BBW body. “Two, I’m not hopelessly in love with that model-turned-lumberjack. You are, which is why you can’t talk to him.”

  “In love?” asked Candy. “We haven’t even gone on a date, or, y’know…”

  “I know how shifters work,” said Pandora. “You can spare me the details.”

  “How do I get to the point where I can talk to Cain?” asked Candy.

  “Get confident and admit you like him,” said Pandora. “Honesty is always the best policy. After all, if you lie during the Christmas season, you might just get put on The Naughty List.”

  “Pandora, we’ve got to get going,” said Jack, looking at his watch. “Candy, good luck with your ad campaign.”

  “And good luck with your bad boy,” said Pandora, getting up from her seat. “There’s nothing I love more than a bad boy.”

  Cain and Krampus were halfway across the lake when Krampus’ phone started to ring. Krampus took the call, and after a few minutes, the call was over.

  “And when were you telling me that you had volunteered to help Avery and Candy with their little bakery problem?” asked Krampus, pocketing his phone.

  “I was going to tell you I’d committed to it tonight, so you couldn’t tell me that I can’t do it,” said Cain. “Did the strategy pay off?”

  “You can do the campaign and the party, but only because it’s a favor for Avery,” said Krampus. “Don’t think I won’t be making you do another two thousand push-ups for this.”

  “Ah, so the fact I’m helping Avery is what you care about,” said Cain. “Can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve seen you two together. You’d make a cute couple.”

  Krampus said, “And you must really love push-ups, boy.”

  Chapter Six

  December 17th, 2010

  “And…done,” said Cain, getting up from the ground and brushing himself up. “That’s all the push-ups.”

  “For now,” said Krampus. “You know, you’re going to need to be in good shape if you’re going to do that ad campaign for the bakery. You think Santana has high standards for The Ride? The women of The Wreath have higher standards.”

  Krampus walked down to the clearing below the cabin and brushed some straw off of his shirt.

  “It’s time,” said Krampus.

  “Time for what?” asked Cain.

  “Time for you to do a test run up at The North Pole,” said Krampus.

  Krampus took his chain off his neck and tossed it in the air. The chain floated down and hung in the air. The circle filled with emerald flames. The flames disappeared, leaving behind a portal to a large glass and concrete building. Cain went through the portal. Krampus followed after, closing the portal behind him.

  “What is this place?” asked Cain.

  “Santana’s Workshop,” said Krampus. “This is Santana Claus’ base of operations. I have something to show you before we get to your practice run. Come with me.”

  Krampus led Cain to a bay of elevators. They went down into the basement, entering a plain lobby with a sleek silver desk. The secretary looked at Krampus, then at Cain, then at Krampus before, and nodded.

  “Where are we?” asked Cain.

  “The North Pole,” replied Krampus. “Haven’t you been paying attention?”

  “I mean, what is this place?” asked Cain.

  “Santana’s Workshop,” answered Krampus.

  “You know what I mean. What department is this?” asked Cain.

  “You’ll see soon enough.

  Krampus led Cain past a turnstile and into a long hallway. They walked to the sole door at the end of the hall
. Krampus opened the door.

  Inside, there were giant racks of servers. Cain couldn’t see the end of the room.

  “This is what, a server room?” asked Cain.

  “Yes,” said Krampus, who kept walking. “What’s important is the data held on those servers, but of course…we have paper backups too.”

  Krampus led Cain past the server room, which was ice cold, and into a chilly room filled with enormous shelves that went up to the ceiling. The shelves held scrolls.

  “What’s in those?” asked Cain.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t guessed by now,” said Krampus.

  Krampus led Cain to another room. In that room, there were scanners set up, scanning scrolls like the ones that Cain had seen in the library room. As the scrolls were digitized, they were rolled one way and another, so that the scanners were constantly scanning in new information, literally ‘scrolling’ the scrolls as they took in the data. Various workers watched the machines. Cain saw a few workers change out scrolls and carry the scrolls to the library room.

  Krampus led Cain past that room and into a final room. The first thing that hit Cain was the smell. He smelled oranges and cloves. He breathed in the aroma of hot tea and peppermint shortbread. He scented roasted goose, freshly torn wrapping paper, and freshly falling snow. The smell was pure Christmas.

  Then, Cain saw the scrolls.

  The scrolls were hanging from the walls like tapestries. Quills were writing on the scrolls, scribbling out clear lines of text very quickly. The feathers dipped into pots of ink floating in the air. Cain walked up to one of the scrolls, one that was nearly full, and looked at what the quill was writing. It was writing out names in red ink. Cain turned. On the other side of the room, the text was green.

  “Are these…The Naughty and Nice Lists?” asked Cain.

  “Bingo,” said Krampus. “Every soul on Earth is accounted for, all year, every year, in a constantly updating ledger. If somebody who was Naughty yesterday cleans up their act by the end of Christmas Day, they might just end up on The Nice List after all…just in time for Christmas.”