Page 24 of Holding Out For A Holiday Hero

I want you to fuck me, Jake.

“And I will. When we are alone again, you will be mine.” She felt his tongue lick the edge of her ear. “Ready to get on the naughty list, True?”

Her whole body shuddered. Yes, please.

Chapter Six

“The naughty list is more fun. Prove me wrong.”

– Jake Hale

* * *

“I know you’re not Santa.”

Jake raised an eyebrow at that statement. The cute kid currently sitting on his left knee couldn’t see the small movement—not with the giant, white beard, fake bushy brows, and the huge red hat that dipped over his forehead.

“It’s too close to Christmas.” She nodded, and her serious eyes—a warm shade of gold—held his. “The real Santa is busy at the North Pole.” Her voice lowered, “You’re one of his spies.”

How was he supposed to respond to those words? And since when did Santa have spies? Clueless, Jake remained silent.

“I know all about them.” Another sage nod from her. She wore a bright red dress, and her black hair was twisted in a delicate bun on top of her head. “Santa sends out spies to find out what gifts the kids want. They report back to him. I mean, not like the man can really be here and at the mall on Fifth Street at the same time, am I right?”

He could not fault her logic.

“And the Santas you see everywhere—they all look different. Because they are different.” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice even more before she whispered, “Spies.”

Should he nod? Jake did, just in case.

“That’s what I thought,” she replied with satisfaction.

“Taneisha!” A stylish woman in a green turtleneck frowned at the girl. “Did you tell Santa what you’d like this year?” Her hair was cut short, and hoop earrings dangled from her small earlobes.

“Telling him!” Taneisha quickly called back. She licked her lips. “Here’s the deal. You tell the real Santa. Tell him I got what I wanted. Mom’s not sick any longer, and we’re gonna be just fine.”

Fuck. Jake’s whole body tensed. His gaze cut back to the mom. The short hair…that was new hair growth. And the mom was a little too thin, as if she’d just lost a lot of weight. Or been very, very sick.

But the mom was smiling and taking photos of her daughter with her phone. Looking as happy as could possibly be. As if she didn’t have a problem in the world. That was the thing about people. You never knew what weight others were carrying. He’d read once that some people made heavy loads look easy, but that was just a trick. People were always weighed down. You just might not know it.

Growing up, Tommy and I made sure no one ever knew how bad things got after my dad left. And his mom? She’d worked so hard to keep their home going.

“Thanks for being a spy,” the girl told him. Taneisha threw her arms around his neck. “And I hope you have a good Christmas, too.” Then she was gone in a flash, running toward her mom. They walked away, holding hands.

He just stared after them. His breath came in and out, slowly. And his chest ached.

That is one hell of a kid.

Taneisha looked back and winked at him. Then she mouthed, “Spy.”

“Uh…” Aliyah cleared her throat as she crept from behind Santa’s throne. Yeah, he had an actual throne for the last-minute gig. “Did my niece just call you a spy?” Aliyah asked.

She had. “That’s your niece?”

“Yeah. And my sister, Maya, is the woman holding her hand.”

He looked up at Aliyah and caught her blinking a few times as she stared after her family.

“She’s doing better now.” Low. “We all are.” An exhale. “My sister saw the same doc that treated True’s mom years ago. But Maya’s cancer was caught sooner. We had a different result.”

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