Free Christmas Congratulations by Cat Summerfield Page A

hysteria leaking into my
voice as I realised I was trying to seduce Santa.
    He
smiled. "I travel by magic. I can spare twenty minutes."
    "And
what are you going to do with twenty minutes?"
    He
grinned then. "Well, that's up to you, of course. But I'd like
to make you feel better than you've ever felt in your life."
    "...Okay
then," I said, because what else can you say to a proposal like
that? He scooped me up in his arms like a princess, carrying me up to
my bedroom-
    A
crash drags me out of my memories and I go over to the window, poking
my head out.
    Down
in the yard, Yolena, the reindeer handler, is grabbing at Rudolph's
reins, pulling him back into the stable. Out of all the reindeer,
he's the one who's a real asshole. Don't believe the song. No-one was
picking on him, if anything he picks on the others. Poor Dancer and
Blitzen especially. He thinks that red nose makes him special; he's
made a scene every year since I got here.
    I
go back inside, pick up the ribbons that have fallen to the floor and
then go into our personal rooms. I smile at the picture on the
mantlepiece. Our wedding. We look almost like a normal couple, Nick
in a sharp black suit, me in a sleek white dress. The wedding was
eighteen months after that first incredible night. It would have been
sooner, but Nick wanted to make sure that I'd lived with him for one
Christmas so I knew what to expect. I expected chaos, and I
definitely got it, but not enough to put me off.
    And
that's how I became Mrs. Claus. Oh, there was more to it, of course.
Marrying a legendary immortal like Santa Claus is a lot trickier than
marrying Billy Bob the auto mechanic. It was worth it, through. Not
least because I've looked no older than twenty-five for the past
fifty years. That's definitely a plus.
    Right
now, on Christmas Eve Eve - the 23rd December - it's the height of
the chaos. Nick will be frantically checking his list - checking it
twice - and making sure that everything's just so, ready for the big
day tomorrow.
    It's
long past midnight when I go down to the workshop to drag him to bed.
    "You
do this every year," I tell him. "And every year it's
fine."
    "But
what if it isn't this year?" He asks, looking up from his
inspection of the train sets. The fairylights make his green eyes
sparkle. "What if-"
    "I
think the biggest danger now is you not getting enough rest," I
say, and put my hand on the curve of his bicep. "Come to bed,
Nick. I'll make it worth your while." I give him the flintiest
wink I can manage, just to make it clear I'm not talking about a mug
of cocoa.
    It
works.
    He
straightens, and smiles at me. "Mrs. Claus, are you trying to
seduce me?”
    "I
most certainly am," I say, looking up at him. He towers over me,
and it's always made me shiver. It makes me feel safe and protected,
but it makes me feel - like I want him to control me. Like I want him
in charge of me.
    Luckily
Santa always knows what you really want for Christmas.
    "So,
my love," he says as he steps closer to me. "Have you been
naughty or nice this year?"
    "A
bit of both," I say as he wraps his arm around my waist, and
he's so strong .
It makes my heart race. "Life's more fun that way."
    "Indeed
it is." He kisses me swiftly and then throws me over his
shoulder without a word of warning. I yelp as he carries me through
to our bedroom like a caveman carrying off the girl he's stolen from
the next village. It makes my heart thump dramatically in my chest,
wondering what he's got planned. Nick is always very imaginative, in
the bedroom as much as everywhere else.
    He
throws open the door to our bedroom and in a few long strides reaches
the bed, and throws me onto it. As I bounce on the mattress I look up
at him. So tall, so strong. Sometimes I still think of the jolly fat
man from the Christmas cards and the movies when I think of Santa;
when I look at my gorgeous husband, the two just refuse to gel
together in my mind. Even though our bedroom has a huge decorated
tree in the corner, even though