Santa's Secret (19 page)

She shivered again, and he thought about
how her nipples were probably hardening beneath her jumper. The irreverent
thought brought a smile to his lips, and it made up his mind.

He wrapped his arms around her and lowered
his lips to hers.

Her lips were cool, her tongue warm as he
brushed his against it. She slid her arms around his waist and pulled him to
her tightly, and when he finally lifted his head, there were tears on her
cheeks.

“Your beard tickles,” she whispered as he
brushed the wetness away before it could freeze.

He kissed her nose again. “You obviously
know how I feel about you, Eva. I am guessing Isabel let something slip.”

She nodded, a bit sheepishly.

He touched her cheek. “I am in love with
you. I did not think it possible in such a short time, and I am worried I am
just caught up in the magic of the place, and because it has been so long since
I loved anyone, except my daughter.”

“I know. I feel the same.”

Glad she understood, he kissed her again. “But
I am crazy about you. I cannot stop thinking about you. All evening, I just
kept wishing you were by my side. Eva, I want to get to know you better. I know
we live in different countries at the moment, and I don’t know yet how to make
it work, but…would you be interested in taking this further?”

Eva’s caught her breath. Her blue eyes
shone, honest and hopeful. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I would like that.”

He nodded, took a big breath and let it out
slowly. “Good.” The rest were just details.

She gave a big shiver, so he finally turned
her towards the cabin and propelled her back inside. “Come on. We need to get
you warmed up again.”

He shut the door behind them and led her in
front of the fire, and kissed her until she was breathless, her cheeks pink
with passion and warmth.

Satisfied she’d warmed up, he left her side
to cross to the adjoining door and check on the kids. Oscar lay sprawled like a
starfish on his back, eyes closed, Isabel facing him, only her chest moving as
she breathed with the slow regularity of sleep.

He came back to Eva, took the bottom of her
jumper in her hands and pulled it over her head. Next he removed her T-shirt,
and her lips curved as that joined the jumper. Then he undid the top button of
her jeans, keeping his eyes on hers as the denim slipped down her legs and she
kicked them off, leaving her standing there in just her underwear.

He moved his hands around her back and
unclipped her bra, drew the straps down her arms and dropped that on her jeans.

Then he took her hand and walked backwards
to the bed, sat and lay back, and she laughed and climbed on top of him.

“What if one of the kids comes in?” she
scolded him, leaning over him, her dark hair shining in the lamplight.

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled
out the spare hat he’d bought in the shop to give Oscar in the morning. He placed
it onto her head and grinned at her wry look.

“I wouldn’t think it’s the first time this
has happened,” he said. “I believe there is even a song about seeing Mummy kissing
Santa Claus.” He trailed his hands up her ribs and watched her nipples tighten.
“Oh, are you cold,
armas
?”

She bent to kiss him. “If I said yes, will
you promise to warm me up?”

He sighed contentedly as she stretched out
along him. “Anything you want. My Christmas Eva.”

Eva lay on her side, facing the clock, and
thus saw immediately that when Oscar ran in, it was just before six o’clock in
the morning.

She groaned. “Oscar!”

“He’s been!” Oscar declared. “Come on Mum,
wake up.” He climbed onto the bed and jumped, making them bounce around on the
mattress.

Rudi turned over with a groan. “Oscar…It’s
the middle of the night.”

“I’m going to the toilet and then I’m
opening my presents,” he announced. “And I’ll open yours if you don’t get up!”
He bounced off the bed and ran out of the door.

Rudi groaned again and sat up. Eva turned
onto her side to look at him. His blond hair stuck up on top, and his cheek
held the imprint of the creased pillow.

“Morning, handsome,” she said with a smile.

He looked down at her, eyes at half mast,
rubbed his face and then smiled back. “Hello, gorgeous.” He leaned over and
gave her a kiss. “How did you sleep?”

“Better, thank you.” Even though they’d
gone to bed late, she’d slept right through for once, unlike the previous few
nights which had been very restless.

“She settled down then eventually?” he
asked.

“Yes, after half an hour of dancing on my
bladder,” Eva complained. “I swear she’s desperate to be a Christmas baby.”

Rudi laughed and pushed down the duvet, exposing
Eva’s swollen belly. He leaned forwards and kissed it, and she smiled and
rested a hand on her bump. They hadn’t planned it this way, but today was her
due date, and with their history of eventful Christmases, it wouldn’t surprise
her if the baby insisting on arriving before the day was out.

It was two years since they’d met at Santa’s
Secret Village, outside the very cabin they were sleeping in now, where they
had since stayed every Christmas. Rudi hadn’t sold the place, had said he
couldn’t possibly bear to part with it, and Eva had been happy to return there
each year, finding only the best memories in the snow-filled streets and
tinsel-laden shops.

That first Christmas Eve, they’d completely
intended to swap rooms before the children woke up, but had fallen asleep in
Rudi’s bed, worn out after a busy day and a bout of passionate lovemaking. They
were awoken by the sound of rustling paper and squeals of delight from the
other room. They’d quickly dressed and gone through to find both kids halfway
through opening presents, the room covered with torn wrapping paper and opened
boxes.

“Look, Mummy!” Oscar had jumped up and down
on the bed with his box of Lego. “Look what Santa brought!”

Eva came over and kissed him, while Rudi
did the same to Isabel.

“You started without us,” he said to her,
giving Eva a quick glance.

“You were both asleep,” Isabel said. “Look,
Daddy, look what Mummy got me.” She showed him an art kit that consisted of a
plastic fashion wheel that could be turned to give a model different outfits. A
crayon rubbed over a piece of paper would then transfer the design so it could
be coloured in.

“That’s lovely,” Eva said, sitting beside
her. “Happy Christmas, Isabel.”

“Happy Christmas, Eva.” The girl put her
arms around her and gave her a quick hug before returning to a present from her
grandmother. “Ooh, sparkly bracelets!”

Relieved that neither child seemed to be
bothered by the fact that they’d spent the night together, Eva and Rudi had sat
with them while they all opened their presents. Eva had given Isabel a necklace
she’d seen the girl look at in the shops, and Rudi gave a delighted Oscar his
flashing slippers. They all got dressed and then, after a play with some of the
toys, they headed off to the main restaurant for a noisy but enjoyable
Christmas dinner.

Much later, after a fun-filled day, when
the kids were both asleep and in bed, Rudi and Eva had talked about what they
should do next. Rudi had announced that his business had a branch in London,
and he suggested that in January he and Isabel visit England and they all spend
a few weeks together to see if this was just a holiday romance or if there was
something more.

It was a sensible plan, and they both
agreed it made sense to take it slowly, that the kids had to come first, and
they shouldn’t rush into anything.

At Rovaniemi airport, Eva sent Rudi a text
to say thank you for making her Christmas holiday extra special, and she was
looking forward to seeing him soon.

Rudi texted back to say he’d had a great
time, and he couldn’t wait to see her again.

By the time she got home to England, she
missed him terribly, and thus his phone call two hours after she landed was
most welcome.

Within a week, they were talking several
times a day, emailing and texting the rest of the time they weren’t together.

When he visited with Isabel, they spent
nearly the whole two weeks together, and by then it was clear to both of them
that this was not just a holiday romance.

Six weeks later, they were married.

Eva leaned back on the pillows and rested
her hand on her bump, and watched Rudi get up and pull on his trackpants and a
T-shirt, scolding Oscar as he came running in with a half-opened present,
clearly unable to wait for them. They’d melded together wonderfully as a
family, and although she still felt awkward sometimes with Isabel, worried she
would think Eva was trying to be better than her mother, the eleven-year-old
girl seemed perfectly comfortable with the two relationships, going to stay
with Vanessa on a regular basis, but happy to return home to Helsinki, where
they all lived together.

Frieda lived just a few blocks away, and
although Bridget hadn’t been overly pleased when Eva had announced they were
moving, she flew over with Paul frequently to visit, and was obviously pleased
that they both looked so happy.

“Penny for them,” Rudi said, trying out one
of the new sayings she’d been teaching him. He came over and held out a hand.

She took it and let him pull her out of bed
to her feet. “I was thinking about our first Christmas here. I was so sure I’d
never see you again.” Her voice caught, and she had to swallow back a surge of
emotion.

Rudi cupped her face, concerned. “
Armas…
You
cannot be sad on Christmas Day!”

“I’m not sad really. I’m very happy. It’s
just that sometimes I can’t believe my dream came true.”

He bent forwards and kissed her. “It was
the magic of Christmas.”

“So you do believe in it, then,” she
teased, giving him as much of a hug as she could considering there was a huge
bump between them.

“Oh yes,” he said, and stroked the bump.
“How else can we explain this little miracle?”

He kissed her, slow and lingering, until
her sadness had vanished and all she could think about was how much she loved
him.

Then he moved back and took her hand. “Come
on. If we leave Oscar any longer I think he will have unwrapped every present
in the house.”

Laughing, she followed her husband into the
other cabin, where they joined Isabel and Oscar to celebrate Christmas morning.

The End

Serenity Woods
lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband
and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, emotional, and sexy romances in a
variety of romantic sub-genres. She’s won several writing competitions and is a
member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse
herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is
why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. You can check
out all her books at
http://www.serenitywoodsromance.com
.

If you enjoyed
Santa’s
Secret
, you might also enjoy
His Christmas Present
by
Serenity Woods.

Megan Green fell in love with Dion Wallace
when she was nine years old, but she hasn’t seen him since she was fifteen when
he moved from New Zealand to the UK to be with his father. Meeting up with him
in Prague eight years later is both a surprise and a relief when he rescues her
during one of her panic attacks. On the rebound after a breakup, she turns to
Dion for comfort and some hot sex, and he’s happy to oblige. But when the night
ends, they’re both certain it’s the last time they’ll ever see each other.

A year later, however, Dion’s life is
falling apart. After a decade of hard work, he thought he was next in line to
be CEO of the family company, but his father surprises everyone by giving the
job to one of his half-brothers. Angry and hurt by his dad’s betrayal, Dion
books the first available flight to New Zealand, hoping a few weeks away might
give him some perspective. And if he manages to hook up with Megan again while
he’s there, he figures that might be the medicine he needs.

Megan’s brother—and Dion’s best mate when
they were young—hasn’t told her Dion’s coming. It’s not clear who’s the most
shocked when they finally meet. Megan isn’t expecting to see the father of her
new baby quite so soon, and Dion certainly wasn’t expecting such a big
Christmas present. Angry that his life seems out of his control and that she
didn’t tell him she was pregnant, Dion refuses to acknowledge the baby. It’s
only when he finds out that his father wanted him to put love above business,
and after he reconnects with Megan on Christmas night, that he finally comes to
term with having a son and realises that it’s Megan he’s wanted all along.