The Naughty List (20 page)

He kept his finger on her face and slid it down her nose. Maybe she wasn’t so ordinary—even to other mortals. Her nose tipped up at the end—he liked that, too. Then there was her mouth—all soft and pink with a plump lower lip. No, she definitely wasn’t ordinary.

He glanced up and around. The lodge would have mistletoe. Sure enough, there in a doorway was a sprig. The doorway led to a dimmed bar area where a few mortals were holding drinks while watching Santa. No. Too public.

“What are you looking for?” Hannah whispered.

“Mistletoe.”

“Mistletoe?” She’d forgotten to whisper, too, but no one glared at her… they were back to smiling.

“Merry Christmas,” he said.

And they all looked away… though not as quickly. It figured that it would eventually lose its effectiveness. It didn’t say much of mortal intelligence that it took this long.

“Why do you keep saying that and why are you looking for mistletoe?”

It was no surprise the greeting had no effect on Hannah. She seemed smarter than other mortals. Though it was entirely possible he just didn’t care about other mortals enough to notice. “Wait, you do know why I’m looking for mistletoe, don’t you?” She
had
seemed more intelligent, but he was struggling to remain objective when it came to her.

Hannah rolled her eyes.

He knew she was smarter.

“It’s not really
appropriate
for right now.”

He shook his head. She clearly didn’t understand some Christmas customs. “Mistletoe is the exception. It’s always appropriate.” And there was some right above the stairway leading to the upper floor.

Grabbing her hand, Zeit tugged her toward the mistletoe as Santa read, “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

Once you took mistletoe into account, Christmas was a halfway-decent holiday. Mrs. Cowper announced that everyone who wished to speak with Santa needed to form a line. It was the ideal distraction.

“Zeit, people are watching.”

He’d never liked hearing his name on a woman’s lips as much as he did hers—and he was very interested in her lips.

They reached the stairs, and he grabbed her around the waist and set her on the first stair right under the mistletoe. She was still shorter than him, but not by quite as much.

“Zeit.” She covered his mouth with her hand and gave him the sort of scolding look the others had given him earlier. It didn’t bother him in the least when she did it.

“Mistletoe is a time-honored tradition—are you really attempting to break with tradition?” he said against her hand.

Her gaze dropped to her hand, and her lips parted. There was a quick inhale—a skip in her breathing.

He kissed her hand to see what that would do.

Another breathy gasp, and she blinked as if she was disoriented. It made the pressure in his chest come back. Hannah was like a heart attack.

“Did you know your skin tastes sweet?” he said against her palm before licking his lips. His tongue touched her skin and carried back more sugary decadence. Hannah
was
dessert. He wanted to taste every inch of her.

With a groan, she dropped her hand and dragged his mouth to hers.

And what he’d intended to be an experiment, and a taste of what getting her out of his system would entail—dragged him completely under. He felt the weight of it—of the ache in his chest and lungs. He could never let anything happen to Hannah.

“Damn,” he whispered against her lips before he nudged them open with his own. Zeit wrapped his arms around her so she couldn’t get free. If she was going to trap him, he wasn’t letting her off any easier.

* * *

He might be playing the role of guardian angel, but he was right—definitely no angel. His tongue stroked hers in a caress so sinful she moaned into his mouth. He pulled at her lower lip with his, sucking and tasting. This wasn’t like any kissing she’d done before. Every touch of his tongue was a taste.

“Mmm,” he hummed the word against her mouth.

She dug her fingers into his hair so she could keep him close and taste him back.

One of his hands dropped to her lower back, pressing her against him. It wasn’t enough. None of it was enough. She tipped onto her toes to deepen their kissing. If he stopped, she’d die—she was sure of it.

She forgot everything—where they were, who they were, and even why it might not be a good idea. All she knew was the caress of tongue against tongue, the friction of lips, and the heat of his breath against her wet lips.

And then there was giggling behind Zeit, and she pulled back enough to see one of the little kids, who’d been fascinated with her hot bodyguard, staring at them with a wide grin.

“Blond hair? Little male mortal?” Zeit asked, staring at her mouth.

“I would have called him a boy, but yes…”

“During the caroling, I told him I’d help him get a candy cane off the tree. Apparently the higher ones taste better.”

She tilted her head and fought a smile.

He flicked a glance at the mistletoe as he loosened his arms. “We’re not done, though.”

“We are for in public.” She felt indecent already. And she wanted to feel more indecent. That wasn’t good—especially since it felt so good.

He hopped onto the step she was on, reached up, grabbed the mistletoe and pocketed it.

Over the crowd, she saw Mrs. Cowper grinning wide enough to make her face break as she watched them. Great. Their first kiss had spectators, and she was fairly certain she’d attacked him. It was the touch of his lips against her hand—who knew that was such an erogenous zone? Evidently all those nerve endings lit on fire when they came in contact with Zeit’s mouth.

Zeit spun and picked up the boy, tossing him in the air, before carrying him. For how ill-at-ease he was with adults, he seemed fine with kids.

She stood there, watching them, and spun foolish ideas. And any fantasies of a future with him
were
foolish. He was immortal. She wasn’t. How long could it last before either she got killed or he lost interest—and then she got killed? He was a child with a shiny new toy.

Just as he’d helped the boy grab a candy cane from really high up, Santa called Zeit’s name. It startled him so much, Zeit forgot he had the boy in his hands and held him up long enough for the kid to swipe another two candy canes. Zeit set the child down when Santa gestured him forward.

When her giant of a bodyguard stood towering over the round man in the suit, Santa placed a small red box in his hand. “Merry Christmas, Zeit!”

Zeit smiled, nodded, and then turned away. His eyes met hers over the crowd, and he held up the box with a quizzical look. He shook it near his ear as he walked her way. “What is it?” he asked as he reached her.

“Hopefully not something fragile,” she said as he shook it again—harder.

“Why don’t you get one?” he asked, looking from his box to her. She could tell he felt like he
should
share, but he didn’t want to.

Hannah shrugged. “I’ve been naughty this year.” Also, they seemed to be going in alphabetical order and Lyons came after Geist, but she liked the way his eyes lit up when she said the word “naughty.”

He even stopped shaking the crap out of his gift… for a second… then, he went right back to examining it and shaking it. “I’ve never got one of these.”

“You mean from here or at all?”

“A gift. I’ve never gotten one. We don’t do that. It’s a mortal… thing.”

She fought the impulse to hug him. Maybe being immortal wasn’t as great as it might seem—other than you could stop time and save lives and live forever.

Still, no gifts.

“Hannah!” Santa called.

And Zeit grinned and pulled his gift closer to his chest. She could see the “Yay! I don’t have to share!” in his eyes.

She waited until she’d walked past him to roll her eyes. No wonder he liked kids… they might be his peers.

After she’d thanked Santa for the gift, Mrs. Cowper gestured for her attention. “We’re doing stockings this year, too.” Pointing at the fireplace where her husband was hanging stockings on long clotheslines on either side of the fireplace, she asked, “I was wondering if you knew what Mr. Geist might want from Santa?”

She was half-way tempted to say “loafers” but his comment on hell freezing over might be literal. Who knew when you were dealing with an immortal?

“He seems to like mistletoe, but I think he’ll be happy with just about anything.”

“I noticed I’ll need to replace some of my mistletoe,” she said, grinning.

“Whatever is in his box… do you know if it’s fragile?”

He was back to shaking it. If it was fragile, it was in pieces.

“Ohhhh no,” Mrs. Cowper said. “Santa doesn’t trust any of you not to shake it. He learned that many, many years ago with some glass snowflake ornaments. Your Mr. Geist seems like a charming young man. It’ll be nice to have someone else around to spend time with.”

Plus, it was nice that he’d be keeping her alive, but having someone for other things could be good too.

“Will the gift store be open later?” Why hadn’t she brought a random gift or two just in case she recognized someone from last year? She should have. And now she had nothing to give Zeit—and he
needed
to be given gifts.

“No, it’s closed for the night, but Santa is always willing to bring things to your door.”

Even with his sweats on, he wore boots. She wouldn’t dare on loafers, but… “Do you think Santa could find slippers in his size?”

“Absolutely.”

“And a chocolate orange?” Somehow, she knew he’d like sweet things.

Mrs. Cowper nodded and then mimicked zipping her lips closed.

Hannah grinned and walked back toward where Zeit was sitting on the steps. All around them, everyone had opened their gifts. His was on his lap, wrapped, and he was still shaking it every so often.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” she asked, sitting down.

“But then it’ll be open, and it’ll be over. And I’ll know.”

“So, you’re not going to open it?” Odd. But, then again, if he’d only ever received one gift, in however long he’d been alive, maybe it wasn’t so odd. Maybe after a few more gifts tomorrow, he’d enjoy having the gift, not just the anticipation.

“I don’t know. Maybe someday.”

“Do you want to see what mine is?”

“Yes.”

She tore off the silver wrapping paper and opened the box. “A bath bomb and soap.” She leaned in and inhaled. “Mmm. They smell like gingerbread and vanilla.”

Zeit leaned over and inhaled. “It smells good. What is a bath bomb?”

“It fizzes in the bath and leaves the water scented. Usually, it has stuff in it to make your skin softer.”

“You’ll smell like gingerbread after you use that?” His grin would have put him on the naughty list if it wasn’t already too late.

Her cheeks were probably bright pink. Kissing him this soon was more forward than she’d ever been. She’d need to set some major boundaries. If she wasn’t careful, he’d be gone—with her heart—and then she’d get hit by a snow plow. Clearing her throat, she said, “Yep. They’re fun, and my room has a big jetted tub I can use it in.”

Zeit lifted his box and smelled it. “I don’t think that’s what I have.”

No, she doubted it. It looked like all the men had received pocketknives and a tin of mixed nuts which is what was making all the rattling sounds that so fascinated Zeit.

“Are we staying for milk and cookies?”

“Sure,” he said, shaking his box again.

“Hey, look, Mr. Cowper put your stocking up.” She pointed to where a bright red stocking had “Zeit” written in glitter on the top. Then, hers went up right beside his, and she suspected that was on purpose. Their rooms might even be next to each other on purpose.

Zeit stared at the stocking. “I’ve only ever
worn
socks.”

“Well, after tomorrow, you can have mine, too, so you’ll have a set to wear.”

He laughed, and the sound made her both giddy and sad all at once. Falling for a guy who wasn’t even human—so totally doomed.

Chapter Five

It was nearing midnight and, while he didn’t need sleep, he could if he wanted to—typically. Not tonight. He turned his head to stare at the gift on the side table beside the bed. Time holders walked in and out of mortals’ lives. There for one minute and gone the next. It had always seemed to be a satisfying existence. No ties. They could do whatever pleased them. He’d
thought
he was happy. Now, he wasn’t sure what he’d been, but he felt a gnawing disquiet that he’d never be happy again—not as he had been.

A knock thumped against the wall as Hannah moved something in her room.

She was still up, too.

Pushing out of bed, he briefly considered pulling a t-shirt on, but sweatpants were already more than he usually wore. At the adjoining door, he knocked softly and unlocked the door on his side.

There was an abrupt silence followed by the pad of feet to the door. “What do you want?”

What did he want? Well, obviously, her, but she’d been putting distance between them since they’d kissed. “I can’t sleep.”

The lock snicked open, and she looked through the gap. Her lips were curved in a smile he wanted to taste. “They have a way of describing that. They say, ‘You’re like a kid at Christmas.’”

“Kids can’t sleep at Christmas?”

Her gaze had strayed down his chest, but her eyes jerked back up to meet his. “No, they’re too excited.”

“I’m not excited.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Well, a little.” There was a stocking with his name on it hanging over the lodge’s fireplace. He assumed it would contain something come morning. At the very least, he’d now have a stocking with his name on it—which was more than he’d brought with him. “I’ve never had anything that belonged to me, let alone something with my name on it.”

Pushing her door farther open, she leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed. She was still wearing the flannel pajamas with ladybugs all over them she’d been wearing earlier. “Well, hopefully you’ve behaved, or you’ll get a lump of coal with your name on it, too.”

He grinned. No one had ever made him smile this much. His odds of being able to walk away from her, let alone take her life were dwindling. “Sometimes, things are their own reward, and the coal might be worth it.”