Night Before Read online

Page 3


  He’s beyond attractive. Something about even his eyebrows is sexy. His lips are full and he licks them every once in a while as though he’s anticipating tasting something yummy. I find myself doing the same thing, thinking of what his lips would taste like. If someday I will ever be kissed by a man like Malcolm... or kissed at all...

  I’m the last Elf Virgin I’m afraid, and before today I don’t know that I’ve ever even really fantasized about sex. Like not in detail. And now, in between every clean thought I have, there are ten dirty ones. And they are all starring this man sitting across from me.

  “Maybe you weren’t meant to have an audience. Did you ever think of that? Do you want to play in front of people?”

  I shake my head. “No. Honestly, I don’t. I love playing, don’t get me wrong. I get lost in the music, the perfection of it all. But, no, it’s really my mom who’s pushing me to play to an audience. So, that’s how I ended up here, believe it or not.”

  He looks puzzled as he shifts in his chair, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he moves his legs so that one of his knees touches mine. That simple contact sends shivers up and down my own legs as heat explodes on the tops of my ears.

  “You became an elf because your mother wants you to play piano in front of an audience.” He feigns understanding with a sagely nod and a forced frown, but his eyes are sparkling. “Chaos theory at its finest.”

  “Okay, you are going to think I’m a terrible person.”

  “I could never think that,” he interjects with a conviction that surprises me.

  “Well, wait until you hear what I did.” I clear my throat, look over to see Randall riding the candy cane merry-go-round with a few other kids, then look back and take a deep breath before I continue. “My mom set up this expert. Like a stage fright whisperer or something. She sent me here to work with him for the entire month of December. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now. Not here, being an elf.”

  “Oh? And just how did you pull this off? I mean, ditching the whisperer and landing here?”

  “I lied. I mean, like big time lied. I logged into my mother’s email the day I arrived in New York. She and my father are in Switzerland for the whole month. So I sent an email to the guy, saying something had happened and I wouldn’t be able to work with him this month. Postponed until next month. Of course, then I had to change my mom’s password in case he replied. When he did, I gave him some story about changing all the contact information to an email I set up in her name. Gave him my phone number, so he wouldn’t call her. He didn’t care all that much, since I also told him he would still get paid.”

  Shame floods through me as I talk. Saying it all out loud puts into focus just how deceptive I’ve been.

  “So, you see. I’m pretty horrible. But, when I realized I would be here in New York, at Christmas, and I knew all about the Knight & Knight Christmas Village, how amazing it is and everything...and all I wanted to do was be an elf. To spend my time in the wonder and joy of Christmas. Doesn’t change the fact that I lied and did some pretty awful things to make it happen, though.”

  Malcolm leans in and my heart rate skyrockets. I shove my hands back under my legs and gnaw on the inside of my bottom lip like a two-year-old.

  “I think it’s awful,” he says, and my stomach turns over. He’s right, it is awful. “I think it’s awful that you haven’t been able to live your dream until now. I think it’s awful that you can’t be truthful with your mother about what you want from your life. I think you deserve someone that wants the best for you, and that’s whatever makes you happy, not them.” He raises his eyebrows slightly as he stares at me.

  He reminds me for a moment of my father. I know full well that if I told him the truth, he would want me to be happy as well. But all my life I’ve looked up to him, wanted him to be proud of me, and I know how much my piano playing makes him happy.

  “Well, I’m happy right now.” The words spill out and I’m shocked by how truthful they are.

  Malcolm’s face seems to light up at those words. He leans in even closer, his knees now caging mine and the tension between my legs turns to deep pulses of desire.

  His face is inches from mine and the room begins to spin.

  “Well, Elf Penny, I have to say, knowing you are happy right now makes me happy.”

  Right on cue, as I’m about to ruin my panties, my stomach decides to announce its hunger. Grocery shopping in New York isn’t easy and by the time I get off my shift here, clean up and make sure the dressing room is in order for the next day, I’ll be too exhausted to pick something up on the way home.

  Not to mention, although I’m living in an Upper East Side apartment, my funds are limited. I have a Visa, but Mom monitors everything on there. I can’t charge food and restaurant stuff on this side of town where the department store is, not when my apartment and the training where I’m supposed to be is across town. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I don’t want anything to give her a clue I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing here in New York.

  So, my budget for food and anything else I buy around here is what I earn as an elf, and let me tell you, elves need to organize, because the pay is pitiful.

  “God, I’m sorry.” I lean back and wrap my hands over my belly, trying to quiet the obnoxious growling that’s interrupted our talk.

  “When is the last time you ate?”

  I don’t even hesitate before answering. “Last night. I had a pack of tuna.” God, why am I so comfortable with this man?

  His face is tense, a question in his eyes. “What about lunch?”

  “Well,” I look around before continuing. “I work twelve-hour shifts. I get two fifteen-minute breaks and a half hour for lunch. But, I don’t cook and I’m so tired by the time I get home I can’t go to the store or pack a lunch. And it takes a half hour practically just to get out the front door of the store, so there’s not really time to go out for food.”

  His eyes narrow in thought and he nods slightly, sniffing a sharp breath before he sits up straight as Randall comes bouncing back over, out of breath.

  “I’m hungry,” he states and we both chuckle.

  “Seems there’s a theme.” I add, pushing my chair back.

  “Let’s go eat.” Malcolm reaches out to touch the top of my knee and my vision starts to blur from the soft contact.

  “No.” I laugh. “I can’t. I need to get back to work. Thank you though. It was lovely doing your tour. Have a very Merry Christmas.” I stand, smooth my skirt down and feel the wetness that’s gathered between my legs.

  Malcolm looks pained as Randall pulls on his arm and I turn to make my way back to the front of the Village, still feeling the heat on my knee from where he touched.

  “But wait,” his voice booms in my ears as I turn to see grave concern on his face. “Are you saying you aren’t going to eat until you get out of here? What time is that?”

  I blink, unsure why he’s so worried about my food intake. Clearly, I could stand to miss a few meals.

  “The Village usually closes at nine. I don’t leave until about ten after the last tour is done, and I make sure everything is in order for the next day. So, there’s a store on my way home, I’ll grab something there.”

  “Something?” He rests his hand on Randall’s shoulder as he eyes me intently.

  “Well, I alternate between Pringles and an egg salad sandwich or a bag of powdered sugar donuts or—”

  He cuts me off with a wave of his hand just as Margaret, the real Head Elf comes around the corner waving at me impatiently. She’s mouths the words ‘Come on’ and I know in the time I’ve been with Malcolm, I usually would have done two tours. I need to get back into the rotation.

  “This food situation isn’t tenable.” His voice deepens and his eyes darken.

  “I’m fine. And, it’s been great, but I have to go.”

  I glance back over my shoulder as I turn and walk away, heading to where Margaret stands, eyeing me impatiently, and see hi
m start to speak. But I can’t let myself be drawn in by him. I speed my steps, knowing as much as I’d like to stay and talk, the Village needs me and my duty calls.

  Leaving him standing there leaves me feeling a bit lost and wondering how someone I barely know could make me feel so much in such a short amount of time.

  As I reach the front of the Village to take my next tour, I convince myself it’s just a bit of the holiday loneliness I’m feeling. All this joy and wonder all around, that’s all. It’s playing with my senses.

  But in truth, I’m so alone.

  C H A P T E R F I V E

  Malcolm

  “YOU’RE NOT LISTENING to me, I don’t care about the cost. I want breakfast, lunch, and dinner catered in the break room every day until Christmas,” I bark into my cell in the back of the limo. “Starting today. Right now.”

  I’ve just dropped Randall off and I’m heading back to the office, but I can’t stop worrying that Penny isn’t eating. That is unacceptable and as much as I tried to fight it, the urge to take care of her wouldn’t stop, so here I am, the Scrooge himself paying personally for a buffet to be in place every day until the Christmas Village closes.

  I silently go over my schedule in my head. Tomorrow night, I fly to San Francisco for a week. Then back on Christmas Eve.

  Nadia, my assistant, is talking in my ear but I barely pay attention. My focus is elsewhere.

  “Clear my schedule tomorrow,” I interrupt.

  There’s a pause, but she knows better than to argue. “Yes, sir, of course.” Another pause and she clears her throat, obviously hesitant. “But you have the board meeting at one—”

  “Push it back until five. Tell them it’s that or we wait until after the new year.”

  I know that won’t fly, as several members of the board are flying in just for the meeting. They’ll accommodate me. They know if I make a change to a meeting it’s for good reason.

  Not that they would probably consider my reasons this time even close to good, but that’s none of their business. And to me, the importance of spending my time tomorrow in Santa’s Village trumps inconveniencing a few board members.

  “Yes, sir. Anything else?”

  “No. I’ll be back shortly.” I pause then before hanging up add, “And fire the elf named David Lippencott.”

  With that, we end our call and my mind is back in the Christmas wonderland. My mouth starts watering as my dick hardens over thoughts of all the ways I’d love to celebrate the season with Penny. My fingers twitch at the thought of grabbing her hair, arching her head back and exposing her neck. My teeth, my tongue, my lips, tasting and biting into the ivory flesh as she quivers beneath me.

  My balls throb and the tension crests as I throw my head back into the seat and bring my hand to rub my full hard-on through my jeans, trying to gain a modicum of relief but knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that nothing will ever bring me relief again. Nothing except her.

  As the limo pulls into the parking garage below the offices of Knight & Knight, I begin to question why Penny has this effect on me. It’s not that I couldn’t find female companionship if I cared to. But, even through the years, the dating relationships I’ve managed to hang onto for more than a week have never filled any spot inside of me. They checked a box that I felt needed a checkmark from time to time, that’s it.

  But this is different. I can’t stop thinking about her. That’s never happened to me before. As my hand worked my erection over and over last night, thoughts of where she was and if she was safe pounded in my head. When I lay trying to sleep, I worried if she was sleeping herself. If she was warm and happy. What her apartment was like and if it was in a good neighborhood.

  If she was alone.

  That last thought sent me into a near rage. Wondering if she was with someone else. If she’d fucking ever been with anyone. It took me an hour just for the red to clear from my vision. Then another hour for me to figure out what the fuck was happening to me.

  I shake my head as my driver, Aaron, opens my door and I climb out, barely acknowledging him as I begin to walk to the elevator. Jesus, he’s as close to a friend as I have and I just blanked him like he’s nobody. What is happening to me? Maybe it’s because it’s the first Christmas after Mom passed. Maybe it’s turning thirty-five this past October. That’s it, milestones that have my head turned around, it must be.

  I fight to rein in the feelings that nearly overwhelm me as thoughts of her come flooding into my mind. I think of the disastrous relationships I’ve had in the past. The women who, in the end, wanted the image of Malcolm Knight, the bank account and prestige of who I am and the life I lead, but not the man himself. My gut tightens at that thought. The company is my family. I work twenty-hour days. A day off isn’t a reality for me.

  As the elevator dings and I step on, I battle the opposing forces inside of me. The ones that know the reality of my life and these new unrealistic fantasies that tug at parts of me I didn’t know existed before yesterday.

  I scroll through emails on my phone as the elevator whisks me to the top floor of the building and my true home—my office.

  I click on an email from Leonard Drake, one of the board members, and read through his confirmation that they are all set to approve the changes to the holiday budget, effective immediately. Next year, the Knight & Knight Christmas Village will be no more. The expenditure is just not worth the return, the board has unanimously agreed. Sure, we’ll carve out a small area where we will still have a Santa for the season, but the elaborate village and the floor it occupies will be turned into retail space once again.

  Profit trumps all. That was my grandfather and my father’s motto, and has been mine as well. It’s what’s kept this company thriving, even when others went under. It’s what keeps paychecks in the pockets of the thousands of employees for decades and it’s my sole purpose in life to keep this company moving forward.

  Christmas is for sales. Numbers. I must focus.

  As I close the email and exit the elevator into the hallway of the executive office floor, the muscles in my neck stiffen. I draw a deep breath and try to settle the nagging feeling that for once, maybe the family motto isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

  My next call will be to my sister. I’ll need to borrow Randall again tomorrow; I need the cover. I’m not sure if Penny wouldn’t flee in horror if I showed up alone and requested her specifically for another tour of the Village. Besides, I want to stay incognito; I don’t want the reality of who I am to overshadow anything. I want her to know me. Not the image of me most see.

  The irony is, I’m not even sure who I am outside of running this business anymore. But, one thing I do know – for the first time in my life I’m ready to find out.

  C H A P T E R S I X

  Penny

  I’M GETTING A BIT SLEEPY from the strawberry-covered waffles I scarfed down this morning before coming out on the floor of the Village for my first tour. Yesterday, late afternoon, a catering company showed up in the back rooms of Knight & Knight and set up a humungous buffet, totally free for all the elves working the Village.

  A sign was posted that every day until the Christmas Village closes on Christmas Eve at noon, there would be meals served at no charge to the staff.

  Wow.

  And the snug fit of my elf costume did nothing to deter me from enjoying the decadence.

  By noon, I’m in the ‘elf zone’—in character and charming the winter boots off of every kid and adult I usher through wonderland.

  I find my mind wandering to Malcolm, of course. Every time I close my eyes, it’s like I’ve looked at the sun. His face flashes there. His lips as they spoke. He was tense, but in a controlled way. Like he was holding back something powerful and wonderful. Something I’d very much like to understand.

  It’s becoming harder and harder to hide the way my nipples are poking out through the thin red velvet top of my costume every time I think of him. Glancing around self-consciously, I shrug my shou
lders and cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to calm my overactive areolas before my next tour comes up.

  And, it’s not just how he looked either. Which, by all standards, sexy doesn’t even come close. But he’s also got that rugged, original masculine presence. Somewhere between John Wayne and George Clooney.

  The other thing is he’s way older than me. Maybe ten, fifteen years, I’m not sure, and much to my surprise, that only makes him that much hotter. Maybe it’s a sign, I mean, my birthday is in May and we met in December. I try not to let my little fantasy take flight, I mean, no way would a man like him look at me in the same way.

  By one o’clock, my name is at the top of the list and I’m waiting for my next family when Margaret comes up behind me and taps me on the shoulder.

  I spin on my elf-toes and see her grin.

  “You’ve got another request.”

  If you do a great job, sometimes families come back and request you do their tour again. It doesn’t happen often, but so far this season, I’m the only elf that’s had any requests. This one will be my fifth and I’m tied for the company record as of today.

  I stand a little taller, my cheeks brightening with pride.

  “Wonderful.” I rub my hands together in front of me. “Where are they?”

  “Right here.” She turns a shoulder and my heart jumps into my throat.

  Seeing Malcolm again nearly brings me to my knees. His eyes twinkle incongruously, even as his huge body and raw sex appeal send an immediate rush of dampness into my candy cane tights.

  “We’re back,” Malcolm grits out as though the words are hurting him.

  “I see that.” The smile that crests my lips feels as though it will never leave. I turn to Randall, who gives me a wry grin. “You think of something else you want to ask Santa for, young man?”

  He glances up at Malcolm, who angles his head slightly to the side and narrows an eye at his nephew.

  When Randall looks back at me, there’s an ever-so-slight roll to his eyes as he answers. “I’d like to go play in the play area first. That was the most fun.”