Page 16 of Santa's Candy

“Hmm, maybe, I should talk to him about that,” he growled. “I’m sure his hand hasn’t encountered this delectable ass quite often enough. A shame that he’d neglect it.”

“Santa,” I warned through my teeth. I didn’t care about getting fired, but I didn’t want to be the talk of this town, even if Pax was trying to persuade me to move closer to our families. I’d been digging in my heels, though. I liked working with him, and it wouldn’t be easy to find positions for two history teachers in the same school.

He chuckled but let me up, his hand trailing over me as he helped me to my feet. “Fine, little elf. You get a reprieve for now.”

I rolled my eyes. I doubted we’d make it to bed before Pax made me come tonight. He tended to be surprisingly insatiable, but all he wanted was me. Who was I to complain?

“Our bags and the packages for the family are already in the truck, so let’s grab dinner at Applebee’s before we go,” he suggested as he stood and we walked toward the employees-only part of the store that hosted the Christmas village.

I shook my head. “That’ll take at least an hour. I heard there’s a storm’s on the way. People have been talking about it all day.”

“Even better. I know this little place off the highway where we can stop.”

“Pax Kane,” I admonished.

He just laughed and slung an arm around my waist, guiding me back to the changing room, so we could get into our street clothes. An hour and a half later, we were on the road, a fast food dinner on the console between our seats since we’d left soon after discarding the Santa and elf outfits. Though he’d mentioned going to a restaurant earlier, Pax didn’t really want to chance getting stuck in the storm, either, prioritizing my safety above all.

He nipped at my fingers as I fed him one of my fries after his were gone.

“Monster,” I teased.

He growled playfully. “A monster who isn’t happy he didn’t lure you into his lair before we left.”

“I was there this morning,” I reminded him, slipping my fingers under the hem of his coat and tickling his ribs. If I was lucky,I’d pay for it later. He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing my palm. My breath caught at the butterflies he caused, even after all these years.

“We’ll be to our hotel in a couple hours,” I pointed out, as much to myself as to him.

“Speaking of… I got a text from Adrian today,” he said as if there were a regular occurrence. As far as I knew, they hadn’t talked sincelastChristmas.

“Yeah? What’s up? Are you guys getting together during vacation?”

“Maybe. You know he’s married to one of the secretaries at Middle North? Guess what he heard.”

“I can’t imagine.” Though they were friends, I didn’t know Adrian well.

“Because of all the people moving to the area, elementary enrollment is record breaking this year.”

I nodded. “My mom mentioned that.”

“Last week, he told me they have several of the middle school teachers retiring this year too. Between those two things, they’re going to hire not one, but two, history teachers for next school year.”

“But what—”

“I already sent our CVs, baby girl. Adrian was telling me he heard they’reveryinterested. But I already knew that. They want hometown people. Qualified teachers who grew up in the community andlovethe place are their top choice. Add thatwe’re a package deal, and it’s looking good. When I talked to the superintendent, he was practically ready to send us contracts.”

I stared at Pax in shock. Excited and annoyed at the same time. The idea of moving back to our hometown thrilled me. Still, I’d learned fast, if I didn’t stand my ground with Pax, he would take over my entire life to ensure I was safe and happy. Which didn’t sound like a bad thing but made me feel boxed in.

I’d discovered early on that boundaries were healthy, and he’d learned I was happiest when he contained his over-the-top dominance to bed. It never really went away, but he’d figure out how to dial it back, and I’d figured out how to call him out when he didn’t.

“Did you wait until now to tell me because you know it’s incredibly overbearing to do this behind my back?” I asked.

His lips twisted to the side while he kept his eyes on the road. I could tell he didn’t want to answer. It also seemed as if the highway conditions had deteriorated over the past few minutes.

“Are we going to fight?” he asked.

“Are you going to admit you were wrong?”

His lips pursed again, and he blew out a breath though his nose. “Fine. Yes.”

---