Page 13 of Santa's Candy

“Yes,” Pax answered, his arm tightening. “Where Candace goes, I go.”

“Haven’t you always?” she said cheerfully. “We’re all so happy for you two. Merry Christmas!”

Happy for us forwhat?How many of those spiked drinks had she had?

Pax kissed the top of my head as she walked away. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

I snuggled closer to him. “A few times.”

“Well, look at you two getting all cozy.”

I tensed, looking over at the guy who’d spoken—Adrian, one of the guys Pax had played football with in high school. He wasn’t a jerk, but his knowing tone made me uncomfortable. Beside me, Pax tensed.

“Adrian,” he said.

“I see you finally sacked up and went for it,” his schoolmate continued, unaware of the undercurrent his words had ignited.

“Yeah,” Pax bit out.

Suddenly, I had to get out of there. Not because of Adrian, but because he had to be at least the thirty-seventh person to say something about us.

“It’s good to see you, Adrian,” I said with a forced smile. “Merry Christmas. Pax, I’m going inside for a few minutes while you visit.”

Without waiting for his response, I ducked out of his hold while Adrian started talking to him about the coaching he was doing at their old high school. Dodging everyone, I headed into my parents’ house.

I couldn’t hide in my old room since that was now their gym, and there was a chance of my parents or extended family popping in and out of the main floor. I detoured downstairs, past the family room and laundry room and into the storage room, the only place for privacy today. I sank onto the old, lumpy fainting couch stashed there, waiting for my mom to refurbish it, one of her many hobbies.

Crossing my forearms, I leaned forward and rested them on my knees, taking a deep breath.

Everyone around Pax and I had known. They’d either seen how I felt about Pax, or they’d realized his desire for me. Everyone thought we were meant to be together—everyone but me. Not a single person today had been surprised to see us touching, his arm around me, me leaning into him… Except, maybe, my dad who still thought of me as three years old and definitely didn’t see me as old enough for a grown up relationship. But he liked Pax, so that would make things easier, because from here out that’s how it would be—me and Pax.

Slipping off my shoes, I curled my feet under me and leaned against the curved end of the seat while I thought about everything people had said to us today. More importantly, a Technicolor B-roll of every moment between Pax and me played through my thoughts.

And it hit me. I loved him.

I loved him, and I needed to take a leap. It had always been Pax—always him for me and always him who’d been sure of us, never giving up on me. It was my turn to show him howIfelt.

“Candace!”

I jerked upright at Pax’s worried call. He burst into the room before I could respond. The door snapped shut behind him, and he crossed his arms, intense fury rolling off him, and I knew mySantahad emerged to deal with his little elf.

His anger was reminiscent of the rage that had birthed my fear way back when I was seven, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I’d never been afraid Pax would hurt me. I’d only ever worried that allowing his control would break my promise and make me weak.

He closed the space between us and dropped to his knees before me, but as his arms caged me in on either side, there was nothing submissive about his position.

His eyes bored into me, his feral determination clear. “You are not running away again.”

Ten

Pax

“I’m not,” Candy insisted, but the words weren’t a balm to the desperation that rose inside me when she’d taken off an hour ago. Sure, she’d only gone in the house, but I’d felt her panic. My first instinct was to race after her, but I’d been cornered by Adrian. Then our dads had converged, wanting to know my intentions with Candace. I hadn’t wanted to tell them, since she had the right to know exactly what I planned with her before anyone else knew.

Once I got away from them, I couldn’t find her. All I knew was she’d pulled away again. We weren’t going through that cycle again.

“Do I need to remind you who you belong to again?”

“No,” she said. “I mean…I wouldn’tmind. I never mind. I…” She paused and licked her lips that I wanted to devour. Hell, I always wanted to be kissing her or touching her. Once we got back to work, school hours would be an interminable purgatory.

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