18. Santa

Chapter 18

Santa

I was excited beyond belief. After what felt like an eternity, I was finally going to pick up my mate and bring him back here. Dario was going to get to see what life would be like with me for the first time. I wasn’t going to push him to stay or anything like that, but I wanted him to have all the information before we talked about what came next.

Ryfon had been right. I was making decisions for him, instead of letting him choose. That wasn’t fair to Dario. Not that fate giving him Santa as his true mate had been. But in any case, tonight was going to be about letting him see my world for the first time.

I’d wanted to have him here earlier, but things got hectic with work. As much as I’d like to push that aside and focus on everything Dario, that wasn’t possible—not when I had so much on the line. Too many people counted on me to get the job done, and letting down children around the world because I felt pain being separated from Dario wasn’t an option. Those kids deserved better than my selfishness.

I was thrilled he agreed to come here. This was hardly the tourist destination of choice. It was winter all year long. I’d half expected him to be mad at me, goodness knew I was mad at myself. Truth was, I’d been having a bit of a freakout between work duties.

I wasn’t altogether sure he even knew that I had, though my radio silence probably tipped him off. My communication hadn’t been what it needed to be, and I was going to put a stop to that now. I’d let the emotions of the mating pull overtake me, and I knew better. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Probably. At least I was going to try not to.

After triple-checking my place was company ready and that my clothing didn’t look like I puled it out of the hamper, I grabbed some cookies from the kitchen for my place and called it good enough. There was nothing like having morning cocoa.

I was still sad that our morning-after cuddles, breakfast, and possible encore had never materialized. My fault for not listening to the message, but still, I planned to more than make up for it. I even set up a dog bed and other essentials for Max. If things went well and Dario decided to stay, I planned to nose twitch back to grab the cutie.

The second half of my day had been all about getting ready for my mate. I wanted him to have the full North Pole experience. I even thought about sending him clothes, but I didn’t know if that would be too weird. Instead, I’d get him a jacket when he got here—one that would keep him from getting too cold if he came less prepared than he realized.

As tempered as the air was, thanks to the magical energy around the village, it was still cold here and snowy all year long. I loved it, but it was a lot to jump into if you weren’t used to it.

I watched my clock, making sure I arrived to pick him up exactly on time. When the clock struck, with a touch of my nose and a blink, I was standing in front of my mate.

And he—he was a feast for sore eyes.

It wasn’t just because he was gorgeous, or because he was mine and I missed him, but because he’d made an effort beyond all expectations. He was dressed exactly as he thought he needed to be for the North Pole. And it mattered—it told me that to him, this was important.

“Hi.” I closed the distance between us and hugged him close. “I missed you.”

“Not as much as I missed you.” He scented me. Candy canes, I loved that.

The magic was still settling in the air—the kind that made it so people wouldn’t notice me, and now wouldn’t notice my mate. It was the perfect time to leave.

I held both his hands. “Are you ready to go?”

“What? No sleigh?”

“No sleigh. I have something better.” I leaned in, and as I brushed my lips against his, I blinked and twitched my nose. When our kiss broke, we were standing in the North Pole.

“Welcome to my home.” I stood to his side, still holding his one hand. “This is it. The North Pole.”

Ryfon came running over before my mate even had a chance to respond. “Dario, sir. It’s nice to meet you.”

Ryfon curtsied, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him he had the wrong human move for this kind of situation. Dario wasn’t royalty, nor did he come from a place where bowing and curtsying was a typical greeting. A handshake? Maybe, but a simple hello would’ve sufficed.

“Nice to meet you, Ryfon.” And because my mate was amazing, he bowed. “I think you’re the per… elf I spoke with on the phone.”

“I am, and I’m glad to say you found the card I left.” He looked between the two of us as if daring us to ask about it.

Sprinkles called my name from a distance, and when I turned in the direction of his voice, he was running toward me. “Santa! Santa! I meant—my—oh.”

He stopped short. “It’s you.” He bounced on the balls of his feet.

“It is.” Dario smiled wide. They’d met at the event, and it was nice to see they both liked each other.

“Are you here , Santa?”

“No, Sprinkles. Not here and not working now. I’m sure you have it under control.” We used “not here” when I was needing quiet time, usually before the big toy run.

“Yes, Santa, sir!” And off he went, a little skip in his step. He was happy to have Dario here.

“Is there anything I need to know about that?” I asked Ryfon.

“Santa, work can wait. Toys can wait. Everything can wait. This is your time to spend with your—your Dario.”

I loved the sound of that.

“Why don’t you enjoy a romantic sleigh ride? You can take in the atmosphere, snuggle together under the blankets, and see where the night goes.”

“Would you like to do that?” I wasn’t going to push a sleigh ride. For all I knew, he was freezing. His clothing looked sexy and hot, but that didn’t mean they were North Pole ready.

“As long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters.” He leaned into my side. “Let’s get in the sleigh together with Santa,” he said, pacing the words to the Sleigh Ride song everyone and their brother had made a cover of over the years. They didn’t quite flow, but I loved them anyway.

Ryfon, humming along, continued singing it with the actual words as he showed us the way to our sleigh for the night.