4. Dan

FOUR

DAN

I busied myself making the sandwiches. I grabbed sourdough bread and then cheddar from the fridge. Next I took out mozzarella I'd put in the freezer ten minutes earlier.

I didn't want to admit I'd never met an elf before, though weirdly my company had "elf" in the name. And I certainly didn't expect to meet one dressed as elves did in traditional stories. But I suspected that was part of the stripper package. I rummaged through my memories to think of which friend group had paid for a stripper gone wrong but came up blank.

I needed to research elves because I had no idea they had the ability to transform themselves into a figurine.

Sparkle—I assumed that was his work name—peered at me grating the two cheeses.

"You put your cheese in the freezer?" He glanced out the window. "You could place it outside in this weather."

I tilted my head, not understanding if he was serious or making a joke.

"It's so it will grate easily. Mozzarella is very soft and will turn to mush if I grate it."

"And what's that?" He pointed at the block of cheese I was now grating. "It's kinda strong." He waved a hand in front of his face.

"Mature cheddar. Does the smell bother you?"

"Not really."

While my sinus infection had removed my ability to smell, I could still taste everything, but the flavors were blunted and not as vibrant.

"You don't use a sandwich press either," he noted as I pulled out a pan and grabbed the butter.

Was he criticizing or just commenting?

"A sandwich press squishes the bread." I buttered both sides. Sparkle raised a brow, and I jumped in before he made another comment. "Butter on the outside makes it extra crispy."

"Yum." He licked around his lips and something stirred inside me. My wolf pricked his ears, trying to scent the guy, but his smell was as affected by the infection as mine was.

He's cute . But talking of food makes me hungry .

He settled down to sleep, bored by the cooking process when he'd prefer to tear apart a kill with his sharp teeth and gnaw on the bones.

My poor beast had to use his speed and hearing to detect prey lately, as he couldn't scent. Deer had been escaping because he'd discovered them too late. They scented him but not the other way around.

"I'm a good listener if you want to share anything." Something had gone horribly wrong with this prank, and Sparkle seemed ill at ease, nibbling his nails and touching the bell on his cap.

He pursed his lips. "I can't divulge secrets."

"About being a… dancer?" I didn't know what to call his job. My mind wandered to his clothing, wondering if with one yank, they'd fall off, revealing Sparkle in a skimpy pair of briefs. I'd be up for that. Really, really up!

His wide eyes and mouth in the shape of an O appeared genuine.

"I'm not, but I can't reveal what I do for work."

Here we go. He was going to tell me he was a spy and everything was super-secret and hush-hush. For now, I'd go along with it. The guy was in my house with nothing but his elf costume and a hat with a bell on it.

"Of course not." I chewed the inside of my mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to get you into trouble."

"That's okay." His eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled. I almost gave him a hug, but we'd just met, and he was made of porcelain when I first sighted him. That was a lot to process.

"I mean, sometimes if you talk about your problems, you can unburden yourself. Or the other person can offer advice." That was as far as I'd push him. If he didn't want to talk, I couldn't force him. I was curious, though.

"Oh. I'm sorry too." He gulped, his forlorn expression tugging at my heart.

I reached out and squeezed his hand, and he smiled, the tears twinkling in his green eyes that matched his outfit. Was that magic or my imagination?

"I lost my job." He sniffed. "Actually, I got fired."

"That's too bad." My memory of elves in tales was that they were often mischief-makers, but maybe that was a tired old trope.

"And I got kicked out of my home with no notice."

Yikes, that was way worse. Not surprising he was upset. Didn't explain the figurine though, unless that was what elves did when they were unhappy. Instead of bottling up their emotions, they made it so nothing could hurt them. Made sense sorta.

Unless someone picked them up and smashed them , my wolf offered.

I didn't want to contemplate that. What if Riley had broken him?

"And I can't go back."

That was a little extreme, unless he was talking about the company's premises.

The question, "Do you have any plans?" was on the tip of my tongue, but perhaps that was a little insensitive. It was too early to be figuring out what he was going to do.

But he was jobless, homeless, and he didn't even have a suitcase or a backpack. His accommodation was tied to his job, but if he'd been locked out without being able to pack his things, that was illegal. There were a few positions around here that offered accommodation, my company being one of them. Surely, he didn't work for us, did he?

I held back on saying anything. For now we'd eat grilled cheese, and then what? Presumably he had nowhere to stay. Oh, maybe that was the purpose of the figurine. In elf form, he'd be cold and hungry, but as a statue, he wouldn't freeze to death or need to eat.

"That looks so good."

I slid a grilled cheese sandwich onto his plate and one on mine. After retrieving homemade tomato soup I'd heated up, I set the bowls on the table and told him to help himself.

Sparkle picked up his sandwich and broke it in half, pulling the pieces so the melted cheese stretched.

He squeed, pulling it further, until finally the strands snapped. Sparkle held the sandwich aloft and tugged at the dangling threads of melted cheese. Gods, that was hot, and my cock agreed, swelling and pushing against the zipper in my jeans. Sweat trickled down my spine, and I was glad I was sitting and had a napkin over my lap.

"Yummy. Best grilled cheese ever."

Sushi must have forgiven Sparkle for teasing her because she brought over her favorite toy and dumped it at his feet. He smiled at her with a mouthful of grilled cheese and an image flashed into my head of my mouth on his or other parts of him.

I wasn't his fated, and I refused to take advantage of a guy who was down on his luck. But I really wanted to see him naked.

No. We said fated only , my wolf reminded me.

Yeah, yeah .

Sparkle picked up Sushi's toy, but as he examined it, his mouth grew wide, and he studied the manufacturer's tag. He pressed the toy to his chest and brushed it over his cheek.

Ewww. Tell him not to do that. My wolf was grossed out.

"That's covered in Sushi's slobber."

"I don't care. I love it."

Poor Sparkle. If he'd been denied toys as a kid, I'd bring him some seconds from work. "If Sushi agrees, you can have it."

"Really?" He leaped off the stool and, toy in hand, hugged me.

How I wished I could scent him. He probably smelled more yummy than the food.

"I've been around toys all my adult life."

His adult life? Adult toys as in… those kinds of toys? There was an awkward silence I didn't know how to fill, so I tore off a bit of the sandwich and shoved it in my mouth. My mind reeled back to earlier when I'd thought he was a stripper.

Strands of cheese trailed over my lips and chin, and I giggled. I used to do this as a kid, and my folks would hand me a napkin. But living by myself, I didn't give a damn and neither did my wolf or Sushi.

Sparkle joined in. His laughing was more tinkling, like the bell on his hat that he still wore.

"You're a mess." He dabbed my mouth with a napkin.

That was saying something coming from a guy with nowhere to live, no job, and no possessions.

"But this is delicious. Once I find work and a home, you'll have to show me exactly how you did this."

It was grilled cheese, not a ten-course dinner, but Sparkle was a little like his name. He sparkled, despite his bad luck.

"What do you do?" he asked as he took a mouthful of tomato soup.

I pointed to Sushi's toy. "I work for Merry Elf Toys."

"You do?" he screeched. "You make the toys?" Sparkle clapped his hands. "I can't believe I landed in the garden of a man who makes people happy."

While I didn't want to disappoint him, sitting at a computer staring at numbers wasn't a jolly activity.

"There has to be a reason for that."

"Many people in town work for the company. It's the largest employer around here."

His eyes lit up. Yep, they sparkled. I could see how he got his name.

"I know toys front, center, and behind."

If Sparkle worked a job that used adult toys, I didn't see that his skillset fit with toys intended as Christmas gifts. But I sensed he was angling for a job where I worked.

"What sort of toys?" I almost dreaded the answer because then I'd have to disappoint him.

"These ones. We deal with this company almost exclusively, and there are only so many elves." He wriggled his hands. "We can't do everything." He slapped a hand over his mouth. "Forget I said that."

He made toys. What was so super-secret squirrel about that?

"Do you think what you did in your past job would mesh with our company's values?"

"It was my whole life."