Santa' Wayward Elf by Paige Tyler

impression she was
okay with it, he didn’t think she was fine with it at all. He wondered if Sosie
had concocted the whole story to make herself feel better about her mother
running off and leaving her.
    “What about your dad?” he asked.
    “My father died before I was born. I never knew him.”
    Damn. “I’m sorry.”
    Her father’s death must have made her mom’s departure even
rougher. Derek was amazed a woman who had been through as much grief as Sosie
obviously had could be so upbeat all the time. Wanting to see her smile again,
he steered the conversation away from her parents to something else.
    “Where did you learn to fix toys?”
    “I’ve always been good with anything mechanical or
electrical.” Her lips curved. “Toys are my specialty, though.”
    He grinned. “I got that impression. Have you ever given any
thought to making them?”
    Her eyes danced. “Actually, I have.”
    Derek was sure there was a story behind that, but before he
could say anything, the waitress came by to take their empty plates. “Can I get
you some coffee and dessert?”
    He gave Sosie a questioning look.
    “I think I’ll pass on the coffee, but I wouldn’t mind some
dessert.”
    “I’ll bring you a menu,” the waitress said.
    He thought Sosie would go for the chocolate mousse or
tiramisu, but she surprised him by choosing chocolate ice cream instead.
    “I’ve never had it before, but anything with the words
chocolate and cream in the title has to be delicious,” she said.
    Derek was astonished she’d never eaten ice cream, especially
since she lived in the great white north, but as she spooned some into her
mouth and let out a low, sexy moan of appreciation, he couldn’t focus on
anything but those luscious lips of hers and what they’d feel like wrapped
around his cock. He stifled a groan as his jeans tightened in the groin.
Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for Sosie to finish dessert so they could go back to
his place.
    Sosie, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to his plight and
what she was doing to him. She took her time, slowly savoring every bite of ice
cream until he thought he was going to explode. When she was finally finished,
it was all he could do not to toss some money down on the table and whisk her
out of the restaurant. Somehow, he managed to control himself.
    Once outside, he didn’t lead Sosie to the subway, but hailed
a cab instead. With the hard-on he was sporting, he wasn’t sure he could have
walked that far anyway. Sosie didn’t mind. In fact, she loved the idea of
taking a cab. Like so many other things, it was a first for her. Derek was sure
she probably would have “oohed” and “aahed” over everything inside it, but he
didn’t give her a chance to look around. Instead, he pulled her into her arms
for a searing kiss.
    Sosie kissed him back, parting her lips as her fingers
threaded in his hair to hold him in close. She tasted like the chocolate ice
cream they’d had for dessert and it was even sweeter on her tongue. God, what
was it about her that had him losing control?
    He didn’t remember the ride back to his apartment, much less
paying the cabbie. One minute he and Sosie were running up the stairs, the next
they were inside his apartment.
    Shoving the door closed, Derek urged Sosie back against the
wall. He slid both hands in her hair and tilted her head back to cover her
mouth with his. She moaned and dropped the shopping bag on the floor, sliding
both hands up the front of his shirt to grasp his shoulders. Her breasts were
soft against his chest, her body hot as a furnace underneath her clothes. Oh,
man. There was no way they were going to make it to the bedroom. He was going
to take her right here against the wall.
    He slid his hand inside her coat and up the front of her
T-shirt to find her nipple and give it a gentle squeeze. Sosie gasped.
    “Do you like that?” he asked softly, dragging his mouth away
from hers to trail a path of hot, wet kisses along the curve of her