Page 9 of The Thief That Stole Christmas (Indulgence)

Zanya

We spend a few hours talking about training logistics. Johannes will work on my physical training, while Cameron will focus on the security. After we’re done discussing that, Amanda and I start on the plans for the Christmas dinner.

And by dinner, I mean extravaganza bonanza. Once Amanda sinks her teeth into something, she doesn’t let go. What was going to be a dinner with a present for each of the kids soon turns into a whole afternoon filled with games, rows and rows of trees covered in decorations, and towers of presents. Somewhere during our discussion, both Andre and Johannes get up to go ‘deal with business’. Amanda barely blinks when Andre tells her this, merely lifting her head for a kiss.

Much later Amanda leaves for an appointment after giving me strict instructions to come up with a list of gifts for the kids. I send a text to the director of Rainbow Haven to get started on it. Minnie might be small, cute and leaves you thinking of the cartoon mouse when you see her, but she’s insanely fierce. She’s the only one I know that fights harder for the kids than I do.

The only response I get from her is a promise to grill me for more details when I show up for work tomorrow.

I have never dreaded a Monday so much in my life.

Putting my phone away, I switch my thoughts to hunting down more delicious croissants from the cook. I’m about to make my way to the kitchen when a throat clears by the door. Cameron is leaning against the doorjamb with a hand shoved into the pocket of his slacks.

“What has you frowning at your phone, Kitty Cat?”

“What’s with all the cutesy nicknames?”

He lifts a solitary eyebrow and straightens up. Slow steps bring him closer to me and I swallow down the sudden onset of nerves.

“How about instead of trying to snap at the hand that’s saving your arse, you respond to my question instead?”

“Ugh. Infuriating man!”

I say as I stomp a foot down on the floor. I’m not even sure why the heck I’m so annoyed at him right now, but I don’t feel like being reasonable and sensible, so I’m going with it.

“Why should I answer your question, Cameron? What’s it got to do with you?”

“Okay then, Kitty Cat, if that’s the way you wanna play it…”

He pauses and moves even closer to me. He’s just a couple of steps away from me now, and if he reached out he could probably grab hold of me. My heartbeat increases and I have to focus on controlling my breathing.

Another step, followed by one more, and he’s in my personal space. He leans down and whispers in my ear.

“Anything that has to do with you is now my business.”

He stops and places a soft kiss on my neck and I know I should pull away, punch him, or stamp on his bloody toes, but I can’t move. I can’t think or even focus long enough to come up with a response.

“The second you fell asleep in my arms this morning, it became my business. You can fight it all you want, Kitty Cat, but that only makes me enjoy it more.”

This time when he pauses, he softly nibbles on my earlobe, eliciting a shiver.

I take a deep breath, hoping to get a handle on my raging hormones and the sudden need to be filled by him. All it does is overwhelm my senses with his strong, masculine scent, intoxicating me even more.

Up to this point, other than his lips and teeth touching my neck and earlobe, he’s kept his hands to himself. His body is hovering mere whispers away from mine, and all I need to do to be in his embrace is relax.

“Are you gonna tell me what had you frowning, Kitty?”

His husky voice sends more shivers down my spine.

I decide to just give in to the temptation and lean into his solid frame. The second I do, his arms wrap around my body, lending me strength. The relief of having someone else holding me up for a change is so immense that the words bubble out of me.

“My boss. She doesn’t know what I’ve been doing to help keep the lights on. Now I need to try and explain to her where all this extra money is coming from, and I don’t have the foggiest idea of how to start that conversation.”

He pulls away slightly and lifts my chin. The pads of his fingers trace down my jawline, then my lips before he bends down to give me a soft, solitary kiss.

“Why don’t you let me handle that?”

Lost in the feel of his lips on mine, I can’t do anything but nod. His answering smile is blinding in its brilliance.

“Such a good girl.”

Well heck. Now I’m a wet girl too.

Cameron walks me to the gatehouse, giving me another chaste kiss before slipping away into the early evening dusk. And the moment I step into the cute Christmas-covered cottage, it feels like an ice-bucket has been dropped all over me.

What on earth is wrong with me? I feel like a yo-yo that’s being tossed around. One minute I’m being fed and cradled by a gentle giant, and the next I’m being rocked to sleep by a charming knight. And not only am I letting them in, allowing them to break down the walls that have been sheltering my heart since Momma and Dad passed away, but I’m very obviously playing with both of them, as well. Leading them on. Without a bloody care.

The warmth from the fire reaches me, even here at the front door, but my heart feels very cold. How on earth am I going to work with both of these men, not fall in love with them, and manage to not hurt them in the process?

I do know one thing, however: I don’t have the brain power to deal with it at the moment. That means there’s only one thing left to do. I head straight for my bedroom without a thought to see if Johannes is even at home. When I reach for my hidden stash, I’m already starting to sink lower into my Little space.

When I’m dressed in my onesie with my paci firmly in place, I set about making a nest. All the pillows and blankets are piled on the floor and in no time, I’ve made a comfy little hidey-hole. Last, but certainly not least, I grab a couple of the books from the shelf and settle in on my tummy, happily sucking away at my paci, slowly paging through the colorful books.

I’m pulled from my fantasy world of singing mermaids and a princess with locks of golden hair when there’s a soft knock at my door.

“Little Mouse? You in here?”

At the sound of the giant’s voice, joy bubbles up inside me, my Little headspace only focusing on the happiness of seeing one of the men that has made all the butterflies fly free in my tummy.

My head pops up from behind the bed and the bemused look on his face only serves to increase my excitement.

“What are you doing back there?”

“Reading!”

is my excited response.

“And what are you reading, little one?”

He takes a slow step into the bedroom, and when I don’t ask him to stop, he moves in further, walking around the bed to inspect my blanket fort. Before I can answer his question about my reading material, though, he asks another one.

“Oh my, who taught you how to make a great fort like this?”

“You like it?” I ask.

“It’s brilliant!”

His response is exactly what I need to give me that last boost of confidence.

“Will you come read me a story?”

He hesitates slightly before nodding and kicking off his shoes. Gently, he climbs into the nest I’d created and settles next to me. I hand him the book I was busy with and show him where I’d gotten to. When his gentle rumble fills the room, I can’t stop myself from crawling closer to him. I lay my head on his lap and look up at the cutest giant in the whole world as he tells me fairy tales.

Tomorrow I might let the worries back in, but right now all I want to do is listen to my giant and pretend that he’s my Daddy.