Page 37 of Santa Daddy, I'm Not the One

“Me too.” I rubbed against him. “Let’s hope no one comes to the room before your knot goes down.”

A shadow cast through the window as if someone had been biding their time to reveal themselves. I glanced up. My heart lurched. Frostheart was watching us, and from the look in his eyes and the leery smile, he’d seen everything.

Almost instantly, he vanished.

Nils tightened my grip on me.

“Landon?”

“Hmm.”

“Are you oksy?”

“Yes, Daddy. I am fine. More than fine.”

He let out a deep sigh.

13

NILS

Disoriented, I sat up, trying to figure out what had woken me up. Was it Frostheart? I hadn’t been able to rest my mind since he’d shown up at the workshop two days ago. I’d been keeping careful watch over Landon, and so far, he was doing well. Better than well. We’d had sex a few times around the workshop. Eirik had caught us once when I’d fucked Landon in the smithy after hours.

My heart fluttered at the memory, the heat of the moment still burning strongly in my mind. The way Landon had looked at me, eyes full of a passion so pure and intense, had ignited something deep within my soul.

I settled back down and reached for Landon. What the…he was as cold as a block of ice and shivering. Then I heard it. The sound that had woken me up. A pitiful groan came from him.

“Landon.” I touched him, but he stiffened and cried out, clutching his chest. He was struggling to breathe, each shallow gasp a terrifying resonance.

God, no. I gathered him in my arms, rubbing his arms, his chest, trying to warm him, to bring him back from the brink. I pulled the comforter around him, but he only seemed to get colder.

“Landon.” I shook him. “Baby, can you hear me?”

“Hurts.” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “My chest…hurts. Can’t…breathe.”

“Hang in there. You’ll be fine. I promise.”

But he didn’t get fine. His condition deteriorated rapidly, his cries of pain sinking deep into my soul. When he fell unconscious from the pain, I couldn’t stand it anymore. With his life hanging in the balance, I had no choice. I couldn’t sit around and watch him die.

Heart heavy, I wrapped Landon in blankets and carried him out to the sleigh. We sped through the quiet streets of Twinkle Glen, the carriage lanterns cutting through the darkness. I landed the sleigh and, with Landon in my arms, hurried toward the Eternal Tree. It was hardly recognizable, its pines barely glowing.

People rushed out of their homes, filling the plaza and blocking my way. They recognized Landon in my arms and the intent in my eyes. It was as if someone had told them what I was about to do.

“No! What do you think you’re doing?”

More people surged forward, forming a human barrier between me and the tree. Their voices rose in a cacophony of protest and fear, and they refused to let me pass.

I pleaded with them. “Please, you don’t understand. He’ll die if we don’t do something!”

“Then let him die!”

“Yes, let him die! Why should you sacrifice the entire town for him?”

They were right. If the choices were them or Landon, I should choose them. Losing one for the greater good was the right thing to do.

“I love him,” I said softly. “And if he doesn’t touch the tree, he will die. I can’t live with myself if that happens.”

“You won’t be able to live at all if you let him touch that tree.”

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