Page 120 of Sinning for Santa

“Got it.” He nods, looking at Jaxcen again before shooting me a wink and leaving.

Every Christmas we open the town to the public of Timber Valley. It’s only been a tradition for the few years I’ve been king of this town, but it’s become popular, and brings in good money, since we aren’t really about tourism and visitors any other day of the year.

People come to see the Christmas lights, and probably to have a stickybeak at the town no one is permitted to enter any other time of the year, and the local women and children love it. They spend months making Christmas themed handcrafts to sell.

It’s always a risk though, especially now that Mr V is out for blood, but I’m kind of counting on him visiting since we know what he looks like now. We’ll grab him off the street and deal with him swiftly, while the other visitors are none the wiser.

Stirring in my bed, Jaxcen groans, her lids fluttering a little like she’s trying to open them. Like she’s trying to wake herself up. It doesn’t work. The drugs still have their claws in her, and it fucking pisses me off that her father would even consider having her treated that way.

Must be a father thing.

Mine’s a prick, too.

I sit and watch her sleep for another hour like a creeper before finally giving in and slipping under the covers with her. Settling on my side, I slide my hand over her stomach and tug her closer, needing to feel her in my arms.

Even in sleep, she knows she’s safe, curling towards me, a mutter passing her lips that sounds a helluva lot like, devil.

“Shhh, little mouse. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

They are the same words I breathed in her ear after killing her doctor. Just like then, I don’t know if she can hear me or not, but she doesn’t pull away, she stays settled against me,her head pressed to my chest under my chin, and I stroke her hair, hoping she feels it. Hoping she knows she’s safe.

At some point, I must fall asleep, because when I blink my eyes open again, it’s to those big blue eyes staring at me.

I grin, not able to hold back the way the sight of her beautiful ocean eyes finally makes me relax.

“There you are,” I rasp, my voice husky from sleep.

“Thereyouare,” she whispers.

“You’re back?” I ask, as if perhaps I’m dreaming and I need the confirmation.

“I’m back.”

“Fuck, little mouse,” I choke out, dragging my hand from under the sheet to cup her face, pressing my forehead to hers. “Why did you leave?”

“I rang my sister,” she whispers before clearing her throat like she’s feeling just as choked up as me. “She was acting weird trying to find out where I was but almost like she didn’t want to. Then Dr Xavier took the phone. He said he’d take Presley. He was going to do his treatments on her.”

Her big blue eyes glass over, and I can tell she’s fighting back tears.

I don’t want to upset her. I just want to understand.

“So you stole a Corvette and broke out to keep your sister safe?” I ask and she nods, momentarily biting her lip as her gaze dances between mine.

“I’m sorry, Dev. You would have tried to stop me if I told you I needed to leave.”

“You’re right. I would have,” I admit, releasing her face so she can move. “Was your sister there?”

“No. My mum had taken her before I got there. It was only Eddie, Dr Xavier and my dad.”

A low growl reverberates in my chest at that whole fucking scenario.

“Eddie wasn’t there when I got there,” I admit.

“You went there?” she asks surprised, her brows shooting high, just like the tone in her voice.

“Yeah, I did. I wasn’t lying when I said you can’t run from me, little mouse.” I grin and her plump lips kick up. “Serious question… on a scale of one to ten, how much would you hate me if I possibly beat your father up?”

Her brows disappear into her hairline. “Did you?”

---