Reindeer Games (9 page)

thing to have it confirmed once by a best friend and a second time by someone who’d

shared a night with Rom. The reindeer just weren’t known for their monogamy, at

least not when they were on the team.

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55

Jannie’s arrival broke up the reindeer huddle. Dressed in her coal black boots

and fur-trimmed pants and carrying her jacket and stocking cap, she entered the

barn from behind the reindeer and joined them for a moment before leading them

toward the sleigh. She stopped in the middle of the barn to don the cap that was far

too large for her head. Then she pushed her arms into the sleeves of the jacket. She

had to bunch up the sleeves and get some help from a handler to button it up. Once

she was sealed in, the handler stood back, and a twinkling cloud of magical

snowflakes surrounded her. In that bit of an instant, Jannie was gone and there

was a five-five portly man with chubby cheeks, a round belly, and a long snowy

white beard.

The reindeer passed around her as she changed. They spread out in the middle

of the barn, each shedding their robes and passing them to waiting handlers. There

was a moment to admire their nude bodies. Lon, who was usually riveted by the

way Rom’s blue hair brushed the top curves of his trim ass or the way Rom’s elegant

cock nestled in a tuft of blue hair, found himself watching Wod instead. His ass was

rounder than Rom’s, inviting a squeeze or a bite, and he, unlike most other men

among them, actually had a trail of hair guiding the eye down from the narrow slice

of his navel to the patch of near black that sprouted a cock that was thick and

inviting even when soft. Lon couldn’t help but remember seeing it half erect the

night before and shivered at the memory of feeling it pressed against him while

Wod’s soft but demanding lips devoured his mouth. It was a relief for Lon when that

shield of sparkles obscured Wod. Although the reindeer that emerged was beautiful,

this shape was not dangerously tempting like the other.

The reindeer were harnessed in two sets of four by four handlers, and then

Rudolph was buckled in as the harnesses were checked. Lon stood by as Comet,

Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen backed into place. First he strapped on Comet’s

personal harness while she waited patiently. Then he securely buckled the sturdy

collar around her neck. The harnesses weren’t traditional and would look woefully

inept to any human who knew about such things, but magic enabled the elves to

streamline the design so the reindeer didn’t have to be too uncomfortable. Once the

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Jet Mykles

first four were secure, Lon and his fellow handlers moved forward as the next four

backed into place. Lon was normally fixated on Dasher, as this was usually the

closest he could be to the lead reindeer, but this time he tried to catch glimpses of

Dancer. Trouble was, Dasher was so big that Lon couldn’t see much of the reindeer

on his other side. Concerned by his wandering imagination, Lon tried to concentrate

on his work. His fingers ran though Dasher’s soft fur, but it didn’t give him the

same pleasure as usual. He finished his task and left Dasher’s side without

lingering. He was done in time to be one of the pair of handlers who strapped in

Rudolph.

Once the handlers finished their tasks, everyone stepped back. The sleigh was

packed high with the magical bags that held far more than they looked like they

could. Santa sat in his—one must always think and speak of Santa as “he” when in

that form—seat, looking over the special computer mounted before him that

dictated the schedule for the night and told him which toys went to which house. He

tested the headset that allowed him to communicate with Rudolph, and the guiding

reindeer nodded in response. The reindeer pranced in place and tossed their heads.

Rudolph lifted her head—unlike Santa, the reindeer didn’t change sex when they

shifted—and a neon red washed the inside of the barn as she tested her nose.

“All in place?” Santa called.

“Yes, Santa,” chanted the handlers. The reindeer all nodded broadly.

If Lon didn’t miss his guess, Dancer’s big brown eyes found him and the

reindeer winked.

“Ho ho ho!” Santa picked up the reins and shook them lightly. “Let’s get this

show on the road.”

At the end of the barn, two handlers swung open the main doors. A sharp

almost-bark came from Dasher, and the reindeer all moved in a synchronized wave.

Slow at first, they quickly picked up speed to trot the sleigh into the gently drifting

snow outside. Lon and his coworkers followed, watching as a thin shimmer of magic

built around the sleigh. The trot increased into a canter, taking them across the

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57

wide-open meadow and through a gradual turn that aimed them toward the beacon

of the North Star. Even if the star couldn’t be seen, the reindeer could feel it, that

part of their magic better than any of the humans’ GPS systems. Rudolph’s hooves

were the first to set in the air, but the reindeer behind her were soon to follow. Up

they went at a gradual angle, then at greater speed as they gained altitude.

Rudolph’s nose blared to life as the sleigh and its galloping chargers became mere

silhouettes in the gentle snowfall. The snow didn’t allow a good view, but a distant

pop
and the abrupt disappearance of the red beacon were signs that the realm and

time jump was complete.

Lon stared long after they were gone, long after he was all alone in the snow.

Something had changed tonight. Something in him.

He was beginning to come to terms with what that was.

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Jet Mykles

Chapter Nine

It had never really occurred to Lon before how hectic Fifth Nights were.

Because Sixth Day was a day to be lazy and sleep in, Fifth Nights were usually a

time of late-night parties. More people came to the barn on Fifth Night to meet the

sleigh when it returned and see what the reindeer decided to do that night. Only

two of the reindeer were in anything that could resemble a relationship, so many

extra people came to the barn in hopes of catching the eye of someone important.

With half of his attention, Lon did his job. The other half, however, was

focused on Wod. He’d done a lot of thinking during the hours the sleigh was gone

and had come to the conclusion that he was being ridiculous. Rom barely even

noticed him, but Wod actually
talked
to him. Wod had taken care of him, regardless

of the fact that they didn’t have sex. That had to mean something. Perhaps Lon’s

feelings toward Wod weren’t quite the same as those he had for Rom, but that might

not be a bad thing. Perhaps his parents and friends had been right all along and he

wasn’t in love but rather harboring an extreme crush. All of his thinking had

brought Lon to the decision to take Wod up on his offer. If it didn’t work out, so be

it, but he had a good feeling about it.

But fate and the crowd were against him. He kept an eye on Wod while he

worked to free the second set of reindeer from the harnesses. The magic that

released Wod from his reindeer shape drifted away to reveal every long line of his

sleek body, and for the first time, Lon looked with interest. In the blazing light of

the barn, Wod’s skin maintained its dusky tone and, together with his abundance of

deep red hair and his greater height, helped him to stand out. Unfortunately,

because of the crowd, Lon couldn’t get a good look at the lower regions of his body. A

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59

handler appeared almost instantly with a robe to cover him up, the same deep green

one that served to bring out the red highlights in his hair. Beside him was a flash of

blue as Rom tossed his head in laughter.

After accepting a goblet of wine from another handler, Wod straightened to his

full height. As he brought the cup to his lips, he scanned the tops of the heads

around him, almost as though he were looking for someone. Lon stepped back to

allow Comet and Donner to step free of the harness. When he looked back to the

crowd, Wod’s dark gaze was on him. Lon’s heart swelled, pushing the corners of his

mouth up. Wod smiled back.

Someone bumped into Lon, forcing him to juggle his harnesses lest he drop

them.

“Hey!” Pol scurried around to his side to help Lon secure his harness. “Are you

going?”

Lon blinked at his coworker and friend. “What?”

“The party.” Pol rolled his eyes, grinning. “Haven’t you been listening?

“I guess not. What’s going on?”

“The reindeer are throwing a bonfire on the hill tonight.” Pol’s brilliant teal

eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“A bonfire?” Lon’s eyes widened. About once a month or so, Santa or the

reindeer would make use of the park that sat beside the workshop at the top of the

hill. Although no property in Santa’s Village was really restricted, it was commonly

held that only Santa or the reindeer could throw a party in that park, because they

were the residents of the hill. Whenever it did happen, it was always a huge party

that drew most of those living in the village.

“Yep. Bill’s gone to set up the bar”—Bill was the proprietor of the Mistletoe—

“and Gus has got a full spread of food. You
have
to come.” Pol’s grin widened as he

threw a look over his shoulder toward the crowd around the reindeer. “Maybe you’ll

get lucky.”

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Jet Mykles

Lon bit his lip and scanned above the crowd for a glimpse of Wod again. As a

friend, Pol knew of Lon’s obsession with Rom. But he couldn’t know that Lon’s

sights were set on a different reindeer tonight. A party on the hill wasn’t a night at

the Mistletoe, but it probably was even better.

But where was Wod? Was he sitting down? He couldn’t have left already.

“Lon?”

“Hmm, what?”

“The hill. The party?”

“Oh! Yes, of course I’ll go.”

“Terrific! Let’s finish up, then.”

Giving up his quest, Lon nodded and bent to his work of helping secure the

sleigh for the night. With six of them working at a task they did every night, it was

quickly done, and Lon even managed not to rumple his clothes. But once he was free

of his nightly duties, the crowd had thinned, and the last of the reindeer were

leaving.

Oddly, Rom was the last. He stood by the door of the equipment room, tall and

proud over the two men who talked with him. “Hey, little Lon!”

Lon stopped, shocked to hear Rom hailing him. Rom stepped away from his

companions and closed the distance to Lon in a few easy paces.

He dropped his arm across Lon’s shoulders. “Are you going to the bonfire?”

Lon blinked up at Rom’s face. So close. So pale and perfect. Long and narrow,

with a squared-off jaw. Bedazzling blue eyes to complement the frame of shining

blue hair. Yesterday he would have killed to have Rom this focused on him. Tonight

it just confused him. “I-I…”

“You must.” Rom’s arm squeezed Lon. He had changed out of his robe, but the

poet’s sleeves of his white shirt were nearly as voluminous of the robe’s, and they

draped Lon’s back. His hip pressed into Lon as he held him close. “At least for a

little while.”

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61

Without giving Lon a chance to protest, Rom walked him toward the exit. Lon

glanced over his shoulder, but the two men Rom had been talking with had started

up a conversation with the other handlers and were paying no attention. Alone with

Rom, Lon walked into the cool night air. They circled to the side of the barn and the

road that led up this side of the hill. Up ahead, at the crest, the sky was lit from the

bonfire, signaling a party already begun.

Rom walked with his arm about Lon’s shoulders, keeping the smaller man

securely at his side. Lon’s mind worked furiously. On one hand, he was finally

pressed against Rom, and it was wonderful. Rom’s body was just as taut and lean as

Lon could have dreamed. But Lon was at a crossroads. As wonderful as it felt, it

wasn’t really what he wanted. It shocked him to admit it to himself, but he had to.

Now that his brain had made the turning point, his body actually followed. Or was

it his body that decided it loved the feel of Wod more than another? Regardless,

despite a year of pining, after one eye-opening night, Rom simply wasn’t what Lon

wanted anymore.
Terribly
unfair of fate to finally deliver Lon to Rom’s side.

“So, little Lon,” Rom began, jostling Lon once they started up the hill. “I

wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

Lon glanced about. Ahead there were a few people passing through the trees,

but otherwise he and Rom were alone with the snow, the fragrant foliage, and the