Happily Ever Christmas

~Nineteen~

At this point my kids were well past their nap time and so Nick showed us to a charming little suite complete with wooden a bunkbed, His and Hers bathrooms, and even their own fireplace and entertainment system with a flat screen.

There was also a little fat Christmas tree in the corner by the windows, making it extra homey and festive, as did the giant wreath above the fireplace.

My kid's suitcases were stacked over by the closet and I winced when I saw them. We were already living like nomads, I realized, which was why it had been easy to take us, I supposed.

"You're welcome to sleep in here if you like. Of course." Nick said with an odd stiffness about him now, as if he was uncomfortable, and he gestured feebly at the full size bed on the other side of the room from the bunkbed.

"How magnanimous of you." I said, quietly shutting the door behind me as we stepped back out into the hall.

I eyed Nick warily.

It was time for adult conversation now, but I had to remember that who I was dealing with was not just a man but a freaking mythological being with gotdamn magical powers.

Nick had been nice so far; a gentle captor, one might say, but I wasn't about to discount his ability to be dangerous.

Nick gazed down at me and read me cover-to-cover. "Come on." He said, with a smug smirk I didn't exactly care for. "Let me show you to my office. Things might start to make more sense there."

                                                                 *~*~*~*

"So why did I wake up in your bed, in your bedroom, if I am so welcome to sleep in my children's room? Which I will certainly be doing, thank you very much!" I told Nick as he ushered me into his office ahead of him.

It was a nice office; comfortable, manly, all done in neutral shades with a lot of rich brown wood, and elegant green walls. The room smelled of leather and old books, for there were many that lined the walls. There was a tall skinny Christmas tree over by the fireplace decorated primarily with red and white ornaments, and a bowl of candy on the big mahogany desk.

"Well," Nick answered from behind me. I turned to face him, "I wanted to be able to keep an eye on you myself and I didn't think it appropriate to hover over your children. The elves took care of them; they're amazingly good with kids and your children will never be safer than with the elves, I promise you that."

I folded my arms and studied him with my own sage expression now. "That's all very well and good, but you haven't answered the question."

He cocked an eyebrow and chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Haven't I? I guess, honestly, I wanted to see how you reacted to waking up in my bed. It's been a long time since I've had a woman in my bed, to tell you the truth..."

"Well, let me tell ya, mister, kidnapping her is not a great way to start! I don't know when or where you come from, but American women in this century like to actually choose to enter a man's bed before doing so!"

He sighed, as if I was being tiresome or something. "I get it, I'm sorry. As I said, you're welcome to sleep in the room with your children-"

"I will."

He sighed again as he studied my face. "Would you perhaps like to know a little something more about me?"

"Uhm, yeah, that would be refreshing!" I couldn't help the sarcastic bite to my voice, I was still more than a little angry with him and a little flummoxed to boot.

He continued to give me that patient smile that was beginning to irk me. "Well, most of what I told you is true. My name was Steve Coleman, and I was born in Cincinnati. I never knew my father, my mother raised me and my brother and sister alone. Now they're all long deceased. I attended university in Boston where I studied to become a defense attorney for troubled youth."