Santa's Assistant

Chapter Three

I was giddy like a girl that was ready for her first date. Every single inch of my body seemed to be on edge and since leaving Nicolas's office I hadn't got one ounce of work done. Luckily, the day was over and I could go home for a few hours, and maybe have a glass of wine before I had to go back out into the cold with little to no clothing on. I didn't look at the elf costume because I was way too taken aback by the fact that he wanted me, like really wanted me. It was more than just asking for help, he wanted me to be his, and when his lips pressed against mine I could feel it.

I grabbed my purse off my desk, and headed towards the elevators. It had been snowing all afternoon, which would make for an excellent drive home, if I could even get my damn car started.

I took the elevator down to the parking garage just like all the other employees, and made my way to my car, crossing my fingers and toes that my car would start. With Christmas right around the corner I couldn't afford any new repairs on my car.

"Please start, please start..." I whispered to myself, as I unlocked the older than dirt Jeep. Yeah I could get a new car, something fancier, something nicer but my grandfather had given me this car when I was sixteen and since his passing it became nearly impossible to let go of things he had given me.

Opening the car door, I hopped inside, shoving the key into the ignition. This right here should be yet another reminder of how different Nicolas and I were from each other. He could afford a brand new BMW and I could barely handle the repairs on my Jeep.

As soon as I shoved the key into the ignition and turned it, and heard nothing but a clicking resonating through the car, I knew I was screwed. I would have no other option but to call my parents, who would lecture me about taking care of myself and remind me of what an inconvenience I was to them.

Tears pricked at my eyes, the frustration of the entire day settling onto my shoulders. This was the cherry on top.

A tapping on my window caught my attention. "Is everything okay, Lucy?" Nicolas's deep smoky voice met my ears, and his eyes pierced mine just as I wiped away the tears that had started to form in my eyes. The last thing I needed was him realizing just how much of a hot mess I really was.

"Oh, hi!" Somehow I found my voice, and laced my words in cheer, hoping that would convince him that I was okay.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, little puffs of air forming with each word he spoke. It made me realize even more how fucked I was. It was going to be getting colder, and here I was sitting in my jeep that wouldn't start, in the parking lot of my office, speaking to my boss who I had a crush on.

Was I okay?

"Honestly, no. My Jeep is a piece of shit. I can't afford a new alternator which is what I need, and it's going to be colder than hell in just a few hours." I wanted to throw my hands up in the air in frustration, but didn't.

It was then that Nicolas did something that I never expected. He opened my car door and took my cold hand in his warm one. The heat from his skin warming my body almost immediately.

"When I told you I've been watching you every day for months, I wasn't lying. I don't leave this parking garage until you do, because I want to make sure you're okay." His admission should've terrified me but instead I found it rather endearing.

"Well, thank you... For making sure I make it home every evening. It's almost like you're a guardian angel." I smiled, my cheeks growing warm. Why the hell did I say that last part?

"That's because I am." He leaned into my face. his lips mere inches away from mine. Would he kiss me back if I pressed my lips against his?

"I...." The words I wanted to say caught in my throat. Every time he came around I forgot how to speak.

"What, Lucy?" His voice was a whisper against my lips as he leaned in closer, his fingers brushing back a strand of hair that had landed against my lips.

"I should be going..." Here I was, once again, caught in this man's web. His lips, and words, and body did crazy things to my heart. Was it possible to feel like you needed someone in order to breathe?

"Come home with me..." I almost missed the words he had spoken, my eyes focused on his lips, imagining our next kiss in my mind.

"Home? With you? I... I couldn't." I really couldn't. It didn't seem right, even if I really wanted to. Everything between us seemed to be moving at an impossible pace, and I was afraid if I didn't reach out and grab onto something soon that all of this would spiral out of control.

Nicolas smiled, and my eyes caught a glimpse of his white teeth, "Just because you come home with me, doesn't mean we have to do anything, Lucy. I've wanted you for a long ass time, so if I have to wait a little longer for you, then I will. I just can't leave you alone out here without a car that works properly. It would be wrong, and I would worry about you.."

Goose bumps formed against my skin. This man really did care about me. It wasn't just an I want to sleep with you and move on kind of thing, he had studied me and noticing the things that had been taking place in my life, and he was clearly worried about my safety. Did I really need any more convincing when it came to getting in his warm car and going back to his place?

"No sex." My voice sounded weak and I noticed a grin pulling at Nicolas's lips.

"Kissing?" He asked. I bit my lip, wondered what the harm in that was.

"Yes." I said meekly.

"Good." He leaned into my body, his hand reaching up and cupping my cheek as his lips pressed firmly against mine. My body lit up like a Christmas tree, the star on top shimmering brightly. The kiss deepened and nothing else mattered in that moment; not the fact we were in a parking garage, or that we had just admitted the feelings we had for each other. Nothing else mattered as long as Nicolas's lips were against mine.

My hands moved of their own accord, my fingers running through his hair like my life depended on it. The softness of his touch, with the roughness of his lips against mine had me thinking crazy things. Things that I shouldn't be thinking.

I sighed into his touch, his lips devouring mine as I opened up to him. The second our tongues touched, a fire filled my belly. The need to remove all of our clothing and connect in a way like I never had before consumed me. The feeling was raw, and completely like nothing I had ever felt.

"Your lips are pure sin, Lucy, and the little sounds that emit from your throat as I kiss you make me want to do very bad things to your body." A blush would've crept up my throat and onto my cheeks had I not been feeling the same way he was.

I grabbed my purse and the bag he had given me earlier with the costume he wanted me to wear tonight. I pressed against his chest as I stepped out of my jeep, our eyes colliding, as a wild storm brewed in those sea blue eyes of his.

"I never expected to feel the way I do about you. I never expected your kiss to make me weak in the knees, and your touch to shatter my soul. I don't know how you do it, or how you've hidden your feelings this whole time, but I hope from this moment on that you don't hide it anymore, because as scary as all this is it's the most intense thing I've ever experienced and I want to continue to experience it with you." If I said one true thing today, it would be this.

Nicolas's eyes darkened and I questioned what I had said for a second, wondering if I had said something that would turn him off.

It was when he gripped both my cheeks in his hands and claimed my lips again that I knew I hadn't said anything wrong, but that I had said everything right. If I wanted one thing for Christmas this year it would be Nicolas.