Page 33 of Mistletoe Misconduct

It doesn’t take long before we’re sitting beside a pile of opened letters.

Kai sags into the couch cushions, his breaths coming out in short bursts as he stares up at the ceiling.

I don’t dare make a sound as he processes whatever this is.

Several strained, long moments slip by before his glassy eyes finally meet mine.

“It was all a lie,” he whispers. “He never wanted to leave.”

My hand lands on his forearm, squeezing reassuringly.

“She kicked him out, and he’s been trying to contact me for years. She told him I didn’t want anything to do with him and toleave me alone,” he explains. “But he never did,” Kai finishes, the words barely a whisper.

He leans forward, covering his face with his hands. “I have to contact him,” he finally says, slapping his hands to his thighs before standing abruptly. He reaches down for my hands, pulling me off the couch before gathering all the letters back into the box. I follow him out of the trailer, grabbing a couple of the bags we had filled with trash before chucking them in the dumpster at the corner of the lot while Kai locks up.

The ride back to our apartment is quiet and tense as he processes all of this new information.

Chapter twenty-two

Lea

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

“Kai, are yousureyou’re still up for this?” I ask, calling across the apartment to him.

“Yes, Lea! For the hundredth time, I’m good,” he says with a chuckle.

The last few days have been strange.

Kai got in contact with Jamal after he’d had a day to cool off from everything. It was awkward as hell, even from where I sat beside him, listening to the strained conversation.

They’re having dinner on the twenty-sixth, and I know Kai’s been creating a list of things he wants to ask him before he even considers a relationship with the man.

I take a deep, steadying breath as I sit on the edge of my bed, securing the red buckle over my ankle.

When I’m finally ready, I stand, taking a look in the mirror.

My tall, slim frame is covered in thigh-high stockings and a red velvet dress that falls perfectly over my minimal curves. The white faux fur trim hangs from my shoulders and at the hem of the short dress, falling at my mid-thigh.

I make my way into the living room, where Kai is seated on the countertop, wearing a Santa suit and black boots that should be illegal to wear around children.

Or anyone besides me, for that matter.

His muscles ripple against the red velvet of his suit as he dunks a chocolate chip cookie in a glass of milk, bringing it to his lips.

A moan slips out, and his head falls back against the cabinet. “Damn, this chubby fucker was really onto something. Milk and cookies should be a year-round staple,” he groans.

“Now, Santa,” I chide, wagging my finger at him. His eyes flit across the room, landing on me for the first time since I walked out here. “It’s not very nice to call someone a chubby fucker, anddefinitelynot very jolly to sit on the counter when you’ve literally spanked me for doing the same!”

He snorts, and a wry grin spreads across his full lips. “And I look forward to doing it again,” he tells me, wiggling his brows before he jumps off the counter, prowling toward me.

He snatches the hats from the kitchen island, shoving his on before he pulls mine over my head, covering my eyes. He gripsmy hips, dragging me against his firm body as my hands fly to my face, trying to fix the hat.

“How come you look so fucking hot dressed like an old woman whose best friends are literal fucking reindeer?” he asks, chuckling as he leans in to kiss the tip of my nose.

The white fur trim of his suit jacket and hat contrast with his deep-topaz complexion.

I twirl a lock of my platinum hair around my finger, batting my lashes at him playfully. “I don’t know, but maybe if you’re a good boy”—I bring my lips to the shell of his ear—“I’ll let you unwrap me later.”

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