21. Cole

Chapter twenty-one

Cole

“You ready to go?” I call to Natalie while threading Jasper’s horns through his beanie and tucking it snug over his ears. As if my hand has a mind of its own, I reach up and flick one of the bells attached to his horns, reminding myself of how much fun it was last night to make them jingle in other ways.

Natalie saunters into the room looking especially beautiful. She’s wearing a tiny black skirt over thick tights I’m intent on not destroying today—the woman needs her warm clothes if she’s going to survive in this climate. Her lips match her maroon sweater, and a tiny sliver of skin is visible on her waist. I imagine Jasper and I will make it our personal goal to keep that inch of skin warm all day.

“All done,” Natalie says and places a light kiss on my cheek like it’s the most natural thing in the world to do. Just as predicted, Jasper’s hands find her waist, fingers splaying over the exposed skin as he pulls her back to his front.

I shrug on my black jacket and hand Jasper his coat. “First stop is Tinker’s workshop. I’m hoping we find some kind of inspiration for a gift for the Naughty List kids. If you can think of anything, please speak up and we can ask Tinker to help us brainstorm—I think he might enjoy that.”

“Paddles won’t work, will they?” Natalie jokes as she straightens my jacket, smoothing her hands over my chest.

I reach down and pinch her ass. “Maybe on you, but let’s not try that with them.”

“Oh, that’s giving me ideas,” Jasper says and bounces on his feet.

I back them into the door with my hips, sandwiching Natalie just the way she likes. “Let’s try to behave today. I don’t want to scar any of the elves with our… shenanigans.”

Jasper pulls me closer by the collar of my shirt and kisses me like he’s got a point to prove. His tongue dominates mine until I’m reaching for him around Natalie, my cock hard against her stomach.

Natalie lets out a contented sigh between us. “I can watch you two all day. Unfortunately—and I can’t believe I’m the one to say this—I think it’s better if we leave now before we end up naked within the next minute.”

Jasper and I pull back, both utterly breathless. He runs his tongue along his teeth and looks me up and down, banding one arm across Natalie’s chest. “If we behave today, can we misbehave tonight?”

Natalie tilts her head and flutters her lashes at us. “I’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower before. Maybe tonight you two can show me?”

I help her into her coat then pull her toward the door, mumbling, “Let’s go before we take you right now.”

***

Our breaths mist the air and our boots crunch against the snow as we walk through the quiet streets toward the center of the village, following Tinker’s directions.

Window displays from bakeries and quaint tea shops compete for our attention. The smells of freshly baked bread, pastries, and other confections entice us to step off the path and satisfy the sweet tooth we all share.

One shop has wooden snowflakes dangling over a miniature Christmas town, fake snow sprinkled across the roofs. Another has a variety of baked goods stacked on ribboned boxes, all framed by garlands of stars and twinkling lights. The grocer’s window displays an army of nutcrackers holding samples of vegetables and other products they sell. My stomach grumbles despite our hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and sausages that Coco—Tinker’s wife—sent over.

It’s only through our sheer willpower that we’re able to turn the corner and make our way to the wood workshop. The sight before us trumps everything else we’ve yet seen.

Wordlessly, we come to a halt as we take in the only painted building in town. The exterior walls are pine green, mimicking the large trees flanking the workshop. Giant white snowflakes adorn its facade—each uniquely carved with built-in twinkling lights. Through the paned windows, we can just make out the shape of elves bathed in warm golden light, hard at work to create toys for the children on the Good List.

The rustic-red double doors creak open, and we’re greeted by the soft humming of a faintly familiar tune coming from the elves within.

Tinker steps out—a small, patient smile in place as he waits for us to walk closer. “Welcome, dear friends. I hope you had no trouble finding us?”

I’m still scouring my brain for words when Natalie speaks. “I think this might be the most magical place I’ve seen in my life. Can we please come in?” Her tone is one of awe, her words holding no snark. There’s a beautiful honesty in them, almost an innocent wonder as she strains her neck to see more over Tinker’s shoulder.

“Of course.” Tinker’s eyes crinkle in delight. “Follow me.” The old male holds out his elbow for Natalie and she easily slips her hand into the crook of his gentlemanly arm. It somehow works despite their height difference, the sight making me wish I can imprint it on my mind.

Jasper quirks a brow at me and sticks his arms out too. I gladly hook my arm through his and we follow them inside.

The entire room is warm, both in temperature and in the reception we get from everyone. Raising their heads from their workbenches, the elves smile, nodding greetings at us before returning to their work, but I sense half of their attention remains trained on us. Their collective humming picks back up and I smile when I realize the song they’ve unwittingly chosen reflects the Christmas tattoos across my body.

We follow Tinker to the far end of the room, my eyes flitting from one corner to the next, trying to take in every detail I can see.

Exposed wooden beams run along the length of the room. Clusters of red, green, and gold ornaments are strung from the rafters with tiny twinkling lights artfully draped between them.

In one corner is a fireplace keeping the large workshop cozy, nutcrackers standing guard on either side.

Each station has four elves working together on a specific toy. Every team seems to be responsible for a different design. Saws, hammers, chisels, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, spanners, and a host of tools I can’t name are neatly arranged against the backboard of each workbench.

Along the eastern wall is a wider variety of similar tools, organized by size and type. The western wall has shelves for the different designs currently being built and displays each toy’s blueprint next to it. My eyes hop from one toy to the next, not being able to catalog them fast enough.

Tinker comes to a stop in front of the tall wall at the end of the room and my mouth gapes open as I study the samples of toys.

“These are the original toys that Nick made. He designs a prototype and sends it to us for our input. The elves select which toy they’d like to work on, then they try to perfect the design during the first half of the year. Once Nick approves the final design, we place it on the western wall, and focus on multiplying it according to the estimated number of requests Santa will receive for the coming Christmas.”

I stare up at the sheer variety of designs Nick has completed. How does he manage it all? And this is only one of the villages. I’m glad he has the elves to help him because this looks like it takes a staggering amount of time to come up with.

There’s a wooden teddy bear, a rocking horse, toy train, tractor, dinosaur, doll house, stacking rings, a complete stable with animals. Even a little kitchen.

Natalie takes out her leather-bound sketchbook and says, “Is it okay if I draw some of this? It’s so pretty and I don’t want to forget one detail of this sight.”

“Of course,” Tinker replies graciously. “Make yourself at home. Take your time to look around. I’ll be at my bench over there if you have any questions.”

Natalie opens the sketchbook and flips through it for a blank page. I swear I see something that resembles me, and step closer at the same time Jasper does. He puts a finger between two pages to halt her movement.

“Can I see that?” Jasper is nearly breathless with the question. My heart starts to beat rapidly, like a runaway sleigh is dragging it across a frozen lake as I wait for her answer.

Natalie’s eyes dart between us and a shy blush pinkens her face and neck. “Yeah, but don’t judge them too harshly, okay?”

“Never,” Jasper says and places a chaste kiss on her forehead before gently prying the book from her hands.

I step closer and wrap an arm around Natalie’s waist, peering down at the most exquisite drawing. She captured me so accurately, but in a way I’ve never seen myself before. I’m in the sleigh, holding the reins in one hand while looking at something—or someone —not visible in the picture. But the emotion on my face is one of pure adoration, of love and devotion.

She saw and drew my feelings for Jasper before I had even verbalized the words to him.

“You’re so talented,” I breathe against her ear, squeezing her closer to me.

Jasper’s eyes brim with tears as he pages through her sketchbook, revealing a few scenes from her time in the Caribbean, but mostly details of the North Pole.

She drew the snowcapped trees, the reindeer, the sleigh, three hot chocolate mugs in front of the fire, our feet tangled together on the bed, and then there’s the sketch of Jasper.

A shaky breath shudders out of him and he blinks up at the rafters as emotion overwhelms him. A tear rolls down his cheek and I quickly thumb it away before it can fall on the book.

“We need to frame this one,” I say after a moment of silently staring at the image. I can feel Natalie’s love for Jasper in this single image. The way she views him speaks louder than any words she can say.

It’s Jasper with his arms casually crossed over his chest, and a mischievous smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth. She was able to capture the sparkle in his caramel eyes and the majesty of his curved horns. The way she juxtaposed his playfulness with his softness has my heart melting for both of them.

“I know it’s not very professional, but—”

I put my finger over her mouth, halting her speech. “Don’t you dare say a negative thing right now. I’m in love with these drawings and I can’t wait to see more.”

Natalie pulls her lips into her mouth, her chest inflating on a big breath, before she says softly, “It’s my memory book. I’m not good with fancy words and descriptions, so the images replace what I can’t say.”

“Natalie. They’re amazing. You’re amazing,” Jasper says and pulls her into a hug.

“I just… I want…” she mumbles against his chest, eyes also getting teary now.

Jasper draws back and frames her face. “Whatever you want, it’s yours. But I’m telling you, each of your drawings is a story in itself. They’re so inspiring to me that I can imagine a whole story and happy ending for each of them.”

My mouth curves up into a smile when the best idea strikes me. “Didn’t you say you wanted to become a tattoo apprentice? If you’re staying, I can put you in contact with my artist. I would love to have this sketch of Jasper tattooed on me.”

Natalie’s eyes light up. “Really?”

I nod. “Yeah. And if it’s okay with you, I’d like you to draw one of yourself. I want to add you, too.”

Blinking rapidly, Natalie pauses before saying with pure shock. “You want to get me tattooed on you ?”

I incline my head in a nod, and tap a finger to her chest to emphasize my point. “And I’d like you to do the tattooing. If you’re okay with it, of course.”

“I— Yeah.”

I realize the room has gone silent and, simultaneously, we turn to see what’s going on. Wide eyes and grinning open mouths greet us before they all quickly return to work, pretending they weren’t watching us.

Tinker joins us again and places a hand on his heart. “Here, we love love, and celebrate it in all its forms. And you three are giving us enough fuel to last until Christmas.” In a lower voice he adds, “I’m sorry if that moment was meant to be private, but the elves are very curious to have you here. We don’t have these big ears for nothing.” He winks at Natalie and she lets out an adorable giggle.

“Now,” Tinker continues, “let me walk you through the system, from when we receive Santa’s designs until they’re finished and sent back to Joulu for packaging and storage.”