Page 4 of Wrapped and Tapped

A s I backed up in the darkness, I tripped over a pair of jeans I’d left on the floor, going down like a sack of bricks for the second time, but thankfully avoiding another near-concussion.

Instead, I collided with a stack of boxes I’d dragged out of my closet earlier while looking for wrapping paper, sending everything to the floor with a loud crash.

A timid, rapid knock on the door followed seconds later, Tinsel’s anxious voice floating through the cheap pressboard. “Neve? Neve, are you alright? Everything got dark and we heard a crash.”

Patting the edge of the bed to guide me, I carefully made my way to what had been James’ side and slid open the nightstand drawer.

I knew he’d stashed a pocket knife in here at some point, and I’d take what I could get.

A louder knock sounded, Buzz’s authoritative voice piping up as the doorknob rattled.

“Neve, we’re coming in. We’re worried you’re hurt. ”

At the inexplicable sound of the unlocked door knob turning in the latch, my fingers reflexively tightened around the debris in the drawer.

A serrated piece of soft plastic and something fabric ended up clutched in my fist as I spun with a gasp to face the opening door.

A confused Buzz held up some kind of softly-glowing old-timey skeleton key as they spilled into my room.

The light was enough to illuminate the pair of garish red lace crotchless underwear— used crotchless underwear, I realized with disgust—balled in my fist, along with the edge of a novelty condom wrapper I’d never seen before.

I threw both items at the trio of men, as if the handful of sudden proof James had fucked that woman in my bed was somehow going to hurt them as much as it had hurt me.

North wrinkled his nose and peeled the flying panties off his chest, holding them up like a dead rodent. “These reek of betrayal and selfishness. Why are they here? These are not yours.”

“No shit, sherlock.” I spit the words out peevishly, angry at my past self for decorating with such tiny, non-bludgeon-worthy bedroom lamps.

Tinsel stepped forward, hands out in a pacifying gesture. “Please, Neve. I know you’re scared, but we’re meant to be here. We’re meant to help. I promise you, we will not take anything or touch a single hair on your head if you don’t want us to.”

I blinked against the darkness, my eyes adjusting to what little light was coming from the strange key in Buzz’s hand, already dimming and becoming translucent.

My gaze bounced to a pair of red, fabric-covered points of light glowing through North’s linen shirt, a dimmer, colorful glow emanating from his groin, of all places.

I shook my head, biting back a baffled question, concentrating on Tinsel again.

“And if I tell you I want you three to get the fuck out of my house ?”

Buzz looked ready to reply, but North laid the back of his hand lightly on the other man’s chest, speaking up himself. “Of course, Neve. I believe it’ll be a futile effort, but if you’d like us to leave, we’ll try.”

My shoulders dropped with relief as I stabbed a finger at the open bedroom door. “Good. GO. Now.”

Tinsel looked crushed, but North shook his own head gently, nodding at Tinsel to leave the room first. I had to stubbornly remind myself they’d broken into my home; even though my entirely reasonable demand made him look like a kicked puppy, it was the right thing to do.

Buzz gave me a long, sad look but eventually filed out after North.

Jaw clenched, I peeled myself away from the side of the bed, creeping after them to peek around the doorframe and down the hall, ensuring they were actually leaving.

North tugged the front door open with a little effort, snowflakes aggressively gusting in as the frigid wind sliced through his blue locks and tidy beard.

He ushered Tinsel and Buzz out into the snow before locking eyes with me down the dark hallway, turning, and heading out without a word.

As the front door clicked closed, relief and guilt swarmed through me as I rushed over to flip the deadbolt in place.

Okay, I was safe, but…they’d die out in that storm if they didn’t have a vehicle or shelter.

Yes, they’d broken in, but it didn’t look like they’d taken anything, and they didn’t try to hurt me—the opposite, really.

Come to think of it, how the hell had they gotten in to begin with?

Frowning at the deadbolt like it could give me answers, I double-checked it was actually locked for my own sanity.

Following up with a quick, thorough circuit of the house, I checked all the windows and potential means of entry, but found everything still securely locked, sills covered in undisturbed dust bunnies.

I crouched down to look at my bedroom door, trying to figure out where the hell Buzz had stuck that glowing key.

The knob was a thoroughly modern landlord special, with only a small hole for an allen key in the center—definitely no keyhole for a weird glowing skeleton key.

The wind picked up outside, howling like an animal through the eaves and bare trees, and my guilt percolated at the sound.

If emergency services wouldn’t come out when I’d actually called for help, would they help a couple of guys stuck in a freezing, snow-bound car on Christmas Eve?

What if they had walked here? I growled, irritated at myself that I cared what the hell happened to a bunch of criminals. Damn it .

I ran back to the front door, turning the deadbolt and flinging it open again as I took a deep breath, ready to call them back inside.

Stupid, yes, but compassion trumped logic, and the solitude of a dark, cold house mid-snowstorm was a different sort of apprehension.

The strangers hadn’t tried to hurt me, so…

maybe they weren’t those kind of criminals?

Not like I had much worth stealing anyway.

I blinked at the cold, my snow-buried front yard a pristine, undisturbed blanket of white under the light of a full moon.

Well, that’s weird . No matter how intense the storm was, there should be some evidence of the path they’d taken moments ago, even tire tracks where a car might have pulled away.

Instead, all I could see were the faintest divots of my own single-file footsteps from when I’d arrived home.

A bolt of realization struck me as I turned back into the house, suddenly recalling the mysterious packages.

In the moonlight reflected off the snow, the corner where I’d left the fancy wrapped packages was completely bare: the men had taken something after all.

No wonder they were so easily convinced to leave, the bastards.

There was a long, petty moment where I considered just leaving things as they were, but I eventually decided that even asshole burglars didn’t deserve to freeze to death.

Grumbling, I squinted out through the heavy curtain of snow still drifting down, the tip of my nose starting to go numb as I stuck my head back outside.

“Tinsel! Hey! You guys out there? You’re gonna freeze, you idiots, come back here! ”

A huff of amusement sounded behind me, and I followed the source of the sound back to my living room.

The snow-dusted figures of North, Buzz, and Tinsel stood in front of my couch like they’d just been teleported back inside.

Buzz grinned at North, who rolled his eyes in good-natured exasperation before tousling the snowflakes from his blue hair. “Told you she was kind-hearted, North.”

Tinsel gave me a shy finger-wave from North’s other side and shrugged. “Sorry, Neve. Like we said, we’re bound here, to you.”

My heart hammered, eyes darting around the room, confirming that a back door to my home hadn’t suddenly manifested in the last five minutes.

“There is absolutely no way you could have gotten in. I just watched you leave out the front door!” The door in question swung closed as a gust tore the knob out of my hand, making me jump.

Buzz shrugged, smiling, and I watched wide-eyed as he lifted his pinched fingers, the strange glowing key popping into existence between them, illuminating the men beyond that strange illumination under North’s clothes.

“We’re elves, Neve. Winter Court elves, at that.

Even if the magic hadn’t pulled us back here, we’ve never needed doors—it’d make our line of work a bit difficult, as you can imagine. ”

I backed up, colliding heavily with the living room wall as I stammered, shaking my head at the impossibility.

The light-up key, sure, that could be some slight-of-hand Scooby Doo shit.

But I’d lived in my home long enough to know it was physically impossible for the three of them to re-enter unnoticed, particularly in this storm.

North hugged himself for a moment in the faint glow of the key, chafing his arms with a frown. “It’s too cold in here without your electric heat, Neve. We’ll manage, but I don’t want you freezing—humans are more delicate than us. Here, allow me.”

I clapped a hand to my mouth in shock as he absently gestured behind him, the ugly olive-green “accent wall” I’d never liked blooming into a gorgeous, old-fashioned brick hearth.

A roaring fire popped into existence in the center, lighting the room and instantly bringing it to a comfortable temperature.

I stared, my stomach flipping with nerves. What the fuck was going on?

If I hadn’t just seen the wall transform with my own eyes, I could have convinced myself I was dreaming.

Still fast asleep, snoring and drooling on the couch after the long, difficult day I’d had.

But something about the warmth from the magic fireplace melted through the doubt prickling across my skin, licking away the goosebumps and settling into my soul. This was no dream.

The absurdity of it all slapped me in the face, and I was rambling before I could stop myself.

“Okay, one of you better start talking,” I said, my gaze sweeping between the pointy-eared eye candy in front of me and the impossible crackling fireplace behind them .

“Winter Court? Magic? Oh, and another thing! Where the fuck are the presents that were on the counter, huh?”

None of this made any sense, but a tiny voice in the back of my mind told me I already knew the answer.

The way the presents had made noises and seemed to move on their own.

The way there’d been three pristinely-wrapped presents and now there were an equal number of Magic Mike-understudy elves standing in my living room. The math was, unfortunately, mathing.

But these men couldn't really be the unexpected boxes I'd nudged through the door with my boot hours ago… could they?

“We'll explain everything, Neve,” Tinsel said, turning to gesture toward the couch. “Why don't you take a seat? It's a bit of a long story.”

I hesitated, weighing my options, but another high-pitched howl of icy wind outside made the decision for me.

I definitely wasn’t okay with these strangers popping into my home, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

I sighed, waiting a moment longer, but eventually flopped down on the couch, sighing peevishly.

“Okay, fine. I’ll listen. Not like I have much else to do. ”

I tucked my palms between my knees as I sat, hoping to warm my fingers.

The conjured fire was doing a good bit of work to banish the cold, but nights like these tended to seep into your bones regardless, and this place wasn’t insulated for crap.

North watched me like a hawk, frowning before pulling his hands apart like he was folding an invisible sheet.

With a snap and a gust of fresh linen fragrance, a soft, embroidered quilt appeared between his fingers.

He swept it over me, tucking the edges around my sides with a satisfied smile.

It was from-the-dryer warm somehow, equal parts cozy and confusing.