Bells and Chains (Operation Reindeer Retrieval Book 7) (4 page)

She stalked to the stables and opened the tack room. “I have gotten eight belled harnesses for those who like pony play. Reindeer antler gear is also available for those who feel whimsical.”

He nodded and grabbed Titan’s saddle from the named bench, ignoring the myriad attachments that were available for the leather and wood. “Come on then and let’s see the rest of the magic that you have wrought.”

She followed him to Titan’s stall, and the huge beast frisked like a pony at the sight of her again.

“He hadn’t seen a reindeer before you arrived. Just a moment while I saddle him.”

Doni calmed him while Bern got him ready, and the moment his saddle and bridle were on, they headed for the door.

She cleared her throat. “How did you know?”

“I have been watching for your name in a myriad of combinations. The magic you have wrought is obvious. The horses just reinforced my opinion.”

Bern boosted her onto Titan’s back, and she settled in the saddle. He landed behind her once again, and they took off into the snow, toward the soft glow in the trees.

As they entered the shelter of the forest, he finally spoke. “We never discussed the horses calling me an elf.”

“Elves exist in the world, as do many other things. It was not my concern.”

“What if I want it to be your concern?”

“Then, you had better stop giving orders. I don’t take well to folks who give me orders.” She said it. She was riding with a dom, and she had no intention of hanging around after this contract was done. He hadn’t given her a reason to.

“You don’t like being told what to do?”

She twisted in his embrace. “Don’t be silly. Of course not. If I accept that you aren’t human, you can accept that I am not human and I have to act as an obedient part of a process once a year. That is not something I particularly enjoy, but I do it.”

“You want to be in charge?”

“No, I want to be an equal. It is shocking, but there it is. Not less than, not more than, but equal.” She shrugged.

She turned to face forward, and they entered the beginning of the grotto.

Bern gasped.

Soft lights hung from the trees, powered by the solar panels and battery packs she had hidden deeper in the forest. White leather was everywhere in the trees, as were more of the glittering dildos. It had seemed a little silly, but this was a pervy paradise for those who enjoyed the outdoors. The padded benches were assembled and tucked into the hollows between and under the trees. It was an ideal setting for a snowy orgy or just a cathedral of winter magic for two.

“This is amazing. It is all functional?”

“Of course. I mean, steps will have to be taken not to give someone hypothermia with the dildos. If they are frozen, things could get a little uncomfortable, but there is an insulated chamber with everything that you see on the trees and a discard box underneath for the subs to check on at the end of the evening. They know how it works.”

“How does a reindeer know so much about this?”

She shrugged. “I did my research. Some of my sisters wanted sex and nothing else. Others wanted to try to blend in with the humans. I wanted to experience the trappings of Christmas in all their variety. I ended up here.”

His hand around her waist tightened. “You are not interested in sex?”

“It was not my sole reason for coming out here. Yes, going into heat is annoying with eight of your closest friends doing it at the same time. But it was the feeling of missing out on something that the humans took for granted. That is what left a hole in my soul.” She sighed.

Titan sighed with her.

“Will you return to the workshop?” His voice was low and in her ear.

“Of course. I am not going to punish the world or my team simply because the current rules are not fair. I will go back on the twenty-third, and we will run through the skies on Christmas Eve.” She shrugged. “Just like we always do.”

The hand on her waist moved lower, pressing between her thighs with a slow rhythm. “Would you stay with me?”

She shook her head. “No. I have to go back. It is a calling as much as a duty.”

He kissed her neck. “I can make it worth your while.”

“You have other play things. Human ones. I am sure you would tire of just plain old me in no time. I don’t want to be tied up, spanked or tortured for your entertainment.”

She shivered as his mouth moved across her skin and he stroked the bob of her hair out of the way before he continued his exploration.

“What about what you want? What do you want from a lover?”

The rhythm of his hand over her sex and the pulsing heat that the touch was waking was distracting, but she managed to whisper, “I just want to touch and be touched and wake with them in my arms. Nothing exotic, just plain vanilla as the vernacular has it.”

He leaned back, put his hands on her waist and lifted her high, turning her before setting her down with her thighs over his. “What makes you think that I can’t give that to you?”

She chuckled and gripped his shoulders. His intense gaze was a little hard to meet. “I think you could, but I think you won’t. Elves bore easily from what I understand. I don’t want to be a centuries-long regret for you.”

His dark-brown gaze bored into hers. “You believe what you are saying.”

“I definitely do.”

“Then, what if I told you that after catering to the whims of those who were neither naughty nor nice, I wanted something nice in my life, what would you do?”

She blinked. “Um, I have no idea. I wasn’t thinking beyond what you obviously represent. I can’t turn my preferences off and on. This is me, and I have never been after anything fancy.”

He chuckled. “I have never been called fancy before.”

Doni had a dozen other things to call him, but he leaned in to kiss her before she could say them.

As he kissed her, a light snow began to fall. Huge, wide flakes came down and landed on their skin and lashes.

Bern lifted his head. “What is this?”

She blushed. “Weather magic. It is my thing. Donder is the reindeer who controls the weather.”

“I thought the name was Donner?” He frowned.

“The old name is Donder. Thunder. All of us have our own speciality, and mine is weather. I pull back the storms so that we can fly quickly.” She blushed.

“So, you are definitely needed for the team.” He looked a little disappointed.

“We all are. That is why we would not skip out on our one day. Santa must have panicked when he called in the elves to send us home.”

“Probably. We weren’t sent out to send you home; we were sent out to bring you home. The magic that took you from the workshop put you near our long-term assignments. I don’t think that was an accident.”

Titan was slowly turning under pressure from Bern’s thighs.

“I don’t think it was an accident either, but I am not sure of the purpose.”

He pulled her against him, and Titan surged forward. Her hips slammed against his, and each thundering step of the horse under her drove her against him. Her orgasm didn’t creep up on her. Halfway to the stables, she shuddered and clutched at Bern, her body twitching and shivering in the grips of a release she had not anticipated.

Bern kissed her as the aftershocks gripped her and Titan pranced proudly. She wanted to smack the horse for what he had done; the rhythm to his steps had had a definite purpose.

When they reached the barn, one of the subs took Titan, and Bern swept Doni into his arms.

“I can walk perfectly well.” Her bag smacked against her side. She had forgotten she had it on.

“I know, and yet, I am enjoying this. You may want to be an equal, but that means you will also have to give in to the desires of your partner.”

She scowled. To her surprise, he didn’t head for the common areas of the house; instead, he moved into a wing that had been untouched by the decorations and the club in general. It was what the manor house actually seemed to be on the exterior.

Antiques, portraits, couches, even porcelain flower arrangements were all around. He walked her past all of those and into his bedroom.

She smiled. There were no chains, no leather—other than what he was wearing—and no weird assortment of toys. It was a simple bedroom, and she enjoyed the look of it.

He set her on her feet and removed her bag, putting it to one side. Her sweater went next and then the long-sleeved shirt she had been wearing under it.

She was methodically stripped until she was shivering in nothing but her skin and the silvery snowflake tattoo.

He stroked the tattoo, and he obviously felt the magic under the marking. The leather he wore creaked as he admired her.

Reindeer didn’t get cold, so the shivering her body was doing had to do with him staring at her. It was a new sensation, to be admired for what she looked like. Normally when folks saw her, she was nine feet tall and pulling a sleigh. The man who had written about eight tiny reindeer had been guessing. He saw what he wanted to see.

Bern worked the leather off, undoing clasps and fasteners that defied description. His skin was a pale gold, all even, and she had to smirk at that. Elves didn’t tan. They were the colour they were born to.

His erection was straight, thick and long. The hair that crowned it was the same dark scarlet as the long mane that cascaded down his back.

She pressed a hand to his chest. “Show me what you really look like. Your glamour is good, but I can see bits of you peeking out now and then.”

“Only if you engage in that equality that you want so badly.”

“You’ll show me yours if I show you mine, as the humans say?” she smirked.

“Exactly.”

Doni took a deep breath and let her horns out, let her skin glow and embraced the change in her ears and eyes.

His skin took on a transparent gleam, his hair rippled and glittered like rubies, and his eyes were deep onyx in a golden translucent ocean. It was as if he were made of gems.

His skin was hot, and she looked up at him as he was staring down at her in wonder. He stroked her cheek, and she fought the urge to close her eyes and lean into him.

It seemed like they spent hours just indulging in small caresses, light touches and kisses that were the whisper of a moment. He turned her in front of a mirror and wrapped her in his arms, their contrasting flesh was a stimulation all its own.

He kissed her shoulder, nibbled at her neck and the entire time he caressed her breasts and belly with one hand while the other searched between her thighs.

Doni watched as she licked her lips, her lids drooped and she tilted her head back. It was like watching someone else as her breath came faster, and she moaned when another orgasm swept through her. In slow motion, she watched her skin flush, her knees buckle, and Bern held her against him while she shook.

He moved swiftly and turned her to face him, lifting her high in his arms before lowering her, kissing his way up her belly until she was able to wrap her legs around him.

His cock nudged at her, and she shifted her hips, rocking and twisting until he was inside her. She kissed him wildly and jerked her hips toward him, impaling herself with slow motions.

His kiss matched hers, and she felt him grip her horns to hold her head. Her thighs and his cock were holding her body weight. He really was as hard as he looked.

Bern shifted and pressed her against the wall so he could free up his hands and pin hers. He rocked his hips into her hard and fast. The first slow seduction had been for her; this one was for him.

She clenched her hands against his as he made feral sounds and slammed into her. She could have broken his fingers, but she reined herself in and fought the rise of pleasure in her own body.

The sharp twinges of sensation shook her control. The cool walls gave a counterpoint to the heat of Bern’s body, but there was no stopping the spiral of enjoyment that swam upward and pulled her under.

Bern froze against her, his muscles quivering. His voice whispered softly. “Open your eyes, Doni.”

She opened her eyes, and he started to move into her in short, hard motions. His eyes glowed and a low, groaning growl broke free of his lips while he held himself inside her.

Doni watched the fire and magic break free of him and swirl around her. The power seared her lungs and settled inside her.

The fire in his gaze slowly faded, and he lowered her to the floor, holding her tight. “That was incredible. I forgot to use protection.”

She chuckled and carefully pressed her forehead against his chest. “Don’t worry. I am impervious to human disease, and I will not go into heat for another ten months.”

He smiled. “Good to know, but I am just shocked that I missed out on what is a rule in this house.”

She chuckled. “Can I take my horns down now?”

Bern nuzzled her cheek. “I like them, but I believe that you would be more comfortable blending in for now.”

Doni gave him a quick kiss and resumed her human appearance. He sighed and did the same.

She stroked his cheek. “I like you in any seeming.”

He grinned. “I agree. You have an elegant charm with or without the horns. However, the horns are a turn on.”

She had the feeling back in her legs and looked over at her clothing. “I suppose it is time for me to be on the road.”

“Stay.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Stay with me. You have executed your contract, and there is no chance for someone else to need you this season. I know Titan would enjoy spending more time with you. Stay.”

Doni stared at him and reiterated. “You don’t need to keep me in your sights. I am going back to the workshop on the twenty-third.”

He seemed surprised. “You are?”

“Of course. We would never jeopardize Christmas. All of us just wanted to go out into the human world and see the people who need us.”

“Need you?”

“Need the magic of Christmas. Even those who don’t celebrate it need a little magic now and then. We just had no idea why they needed it. From our perspective, Santa and Ru recruited us across time, and now, we are a team, but it has been so long since we were in the human world, the emotions and feelings that they have are all worn off. We don’t feel human anymore, so we were suffering from apathy. Oh, and sexual frustration.”