Bought By Santa (Seasonal Obsessions #1)

Chapter 12

The Breeder

H appy tears prick at my eyelids and my heart pounds a fierce staccato against my ribs as I finally close my hands around the sleek device in my hand. My fingers tremble as I swipe to unlock the phone.

It might only have been a week, but the time cut off from Willow is something I feel in my soul. Now, I’m finally about to talk to my sister again.

“Remember, Kitten,” Nick’s voice cuts through my anticipation, a dark melody that sends shivers down my spine. “I’ll be listening to every word.”

I nod, unable to trust my voice, acutely aware of his towering presence behind me. His breath is warm on my neck, a stark contrast to the chill of the room. The thought of him monitoring our conversation taints my excitement with a drop of poison. But I won’t let him steal this moment from me. Not this one.

“But do you have to be right there?” I ask, irritated. “If you’ve cloned my phone, you can listen from anywhere.”

Stupid as it sounds, now that I’m out of the bedroom and in his spacious living room, I feel more vulnerable. It doesn’t make any sense since I’m still locked up. But it feels more daunting to be in a space I’m not familiar with. Especially this one. Everything is so fancy and shiny, making me scared I’ll break something priceless.

Nicklas sits down next to me on the couch. He cups the nape of my neck, squeezing until I whimper and look at him. “Can I trust you?” he asks, his tone ominous.

Ignoring the sliver of fear running down my spine, I huff, “You said that if I fuck up, my sister will pay the price, and you said that for a reason.”

“Which is?” he clips.

“You know I’ll do anything for her,” I admit. “So you know I won’t put her in danger.”

A pregnant silence falls over us like a suffocating blanket, and I know it’s because I haven’t answered his question.

“Yes,” I say softly. “You can trust me.”

The words are barely out of my mouth before he slams his lips to mine, kissing me roughly. The scruff on his face makes my skin burn, and each swipe of his tongue makes my pussy contract.

“Nicklas,” I whimper.

I feel myself relaxing as our lips and tongues continue to move together, and before I know what the hell I’m doing, I’ve twisted on the couch and thrown one of my legs over both of his. With a growl, he lets go of my neck and palms my hips, lifting me onto his lap with ease.

My fingers rake down the front of his shirt, eagerly tugging at the fabric until it’s free of his suit pants. Then I snake my hands underneath the fabric so I can feel his skin. He’s hot and hard. A surge of feminine pride races through me as his abs tense when I slide my hands over them. I love knowing he isn’t indifferent to my touch.

Nicklas tangles his fingers in my hair, tilting my head to the side so he can deepen the kiss. Gyrating my hips, I moan into his mouth when his rigid length hits my clit just right. “God!” I hiss. I’m so lost in our making out that I can’t focus on anything but the need building inside me.

Using his grip on my hair, he forces my head backwards while looking up at me through hooded eyes. “You have to stop,” he groans, sounding like that’s the last thing he wants me to do.

“I don’t want to,” I admit. I barely recognize my own voice. It’s husky and thick with need.

He lets out a deep chuckle. “Are you going to make your sister wait while I fuck you?” My cheeks flush hot with guilt for allowing myself to forget about Willow. “That’s what I thought,” he smirks as his thumb runs across my tender lips.

Needing to compose myself, I place my hands on his shoulders and force myself to breathe deeply. I’m not aware that I’m watching his scar until he takes my hand and presses my fingers against the marred flesh.

“How did you get that?” I ask, running my fingers along the length of it. Up close it looks intimidating as hell. It tells that someone got close enough to injure him, but he lived to tell the tale.

I’m surprised when he answers. “Let’s just say I had a disagreement with someone I considered a friend.” There’s zero emotion in his tone.

Staring into his dark eyes, I notice the gold flecks around his irises. They create a beautifully hypnotizing pattern. If I didn’t know better, I could almost fool myself into believing he’s opening up to me. After all, the eyes are said to be the window to the soul, and if that’s true, then Nicklas is allowing me more than a peep right now.

“I didn’t know you had friends,” I quip, breaking our intense eye contact.

He chuckles. “I don’t anymore. But once, I did, and it almost cost me my life.”

Swallowing thickly, I brazenly cup his cheeks, running my fingers along the roughness of his scruff and up his smooth skin. “I’m glad you’re alive,” I admit.

Nicklas moves so quickly I let out a startled yelp. Before I know what’s happening, he pushes me off his lap and stands up. “Of course you are.” His tone is smooth but his glare is so intense I squirm inwardly. “You stand to make a lot of money from our arrangement, and all you have to do in exchange is spread your legs for me.”

I don’t know why his cold words surprise me, but they do. Hell, they do more than that. They cut me deeper than I like, and I realize I’ve let this monster get under my skin. Squaring my shoulders, I absentmindedly run a hand through my hair, finger-combing the tresses back into submission.

Although I try my best not to watch him tuck his shirt back into his pants, I can’t make myself look away. Every minute in this man’s presence is like playing with fire. He’s the proverbial flame, and despite my best attempts, I’m the moth drawn to its undoing.

“I want a contract,” I snap, surprised by my words.

“What?” Nicklas bites out.

Refusing to back down, I get to my feet, hoping he can’t see how badly my legs are shaking. “You heard me,” I say, glad my voice holds steady. “I want a legally binding contract between us.”

To my surprise, Nicklas throws his head back and laughs. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” When I nod eagerly, he smirks. “Be careful what you ask for, Hellcat. But I’ll take care of it.”

“You will?” I ask, stunned he’s giving in so easily.

“Absolutely,” he confirms.

I gnaw on my bottom lip and ponder his words. Something about the way he suddenly shut down and his reaction now doesn’t sit right with me. Although it’s beyond tempting to try to dig deeper, I don’t want to risk him taking my phone back.

“Thank you,” I say, even though I’m not sure I should thank him. “Can I call my sister now?”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll leave the room while you talk to her,” he says. “But remember, I’ll be watching. One wrong move, and—”

Waving my hand in the air, I interrupt him. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll make her pay, and I’ll regret ever being born. I get it,” I hiss. It’s probably not a good idea to talk to him like this, but I can’t stomach listening to him threaten Willow. “I said you can trust me, Nicklas. Give me the chance to prove it.”

He doesn’t say anything else, just strides out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and phone. With him gone, I sit back down on the couch before I unlock the phone. When I open the message thread between me and my sister, I’m taken aback.

“What the hell?” I murmur, feeling more violated than I can put into words.

There are messages from me that I’ve never sent, and messages from Willow that I’ve never read. Sure, I knew Nicklas had done something like this to keep my sister from realizing I was… well, not missing… but… unavailable. But seeing it is something different altogether.

I swallow down my desire to hunt his ass down and slap him. Mostly because I know I can’t do that. So before I can let my temper get the better of me, I press the video icon on my sister’s name and wait.

It rings once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then my sister’s beaming face pops onto my screen. “Caro!” she squeals.

“Will,” I half-sob, half-laugh. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great.”

I nod along, loving listening to Willow when she’s talking about something she loves. I don’t think she realizes she’s practically shouting and her arm gestures are almost erratic. That’s my sister for you; exuberant and passionate.

“That sounds great,” I laugh as she finishes telling me about the fifty baubles she’s crammed into her room since I left. “Did you stick to the same colors as we used on the tree?”

“No. I was going to go with the blue and white, but then my friend convinced me to pick red. ‘Tis the season and all that.” She laughs so hard tears form in her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

My sister’s laugh is so infectious I join in even though I don’t get it. Red is a traditional color, sure, but it’s not a funny color by any stretch of the imagination. “What gives?” I laugh. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”

Will turns her head and looks at something—or someone—I can’t see. “Do you wanna say hi?” she asks.

“Sure,” a woman says.

“I want you to meet my new friend,” Will explains. “I think you’ll like her.” She reaches off-screen, and before I can say anything, her friend steps into view.

The woman is poised with an elegance that feels out of place. Her raven-black hair is styled to perfection, not a hair out of place, and her emerald green eyes flash with an unspoken warning. Whoever she is, she’s so beautiful it’s impossible not to feel inferior in her presence—even if said presence is through a camera.

“Ruby, this is my sister, Caro.” Willow’s words are proud, but they barely register.

“Hello, Caro,” Ruby says smoothly, her voice laced with an edge that doesn’t match her cordial smile. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Ruby.”

“Hi-hello,” I stammer, making a complete fool of myself. The woman rubs me wrong, she makes me feel like she’s assessing me for weak spots. For my sister’s sake, I keep my face neutral, my smile plastered on even as my mind screams in silent alarm. “Nice to meet you.” I manage to keep my tone light.

“Likewise,” Ruby replies, her gaze unflinching, almost challenging. “As fun as this is, Willow and I have to go. We’re going ice skating—”

“Ice skating?” I sputter in surprise. My sister is in a fucking wheelchair.

Ruby raises a black eyebrow, her gaze instantly becoming glacial. “Yes, is that so hard to believe? Your sister might have certain physical limitations, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have some fun.”

The words hit me square in the chest, making guilt and anger flare to life. I know damn well what my sister is capable of.

“She didn’t mean it like that, Ruby,” Will says, defending me. “She’s just being overprotective.” Then my sister turns to me. “Ruby has arranged for the rink to be mostly empty so she can push me around. Come on, don’t say I can’t go, Caro.”

I open my mouth to answer but no words come out. I just stare at the two women, unsure of what to say. “Wear a scarf,” I say, knowing full well how lame that sounds. “And, umm… have fun.”

When my gaze lands on Ruby, she begrudgingly nods. “I’ll take good care of your sister. At least for as long as you take care of my brother.” The warning in her tone is so badly masked I wonder how Will isn’t hearing it.

Her brother? Ah, shit… now that she’s said that, I can see the familial resemblance in the eyes, chin, and… aura.

“Wait what?” Will asks. “Caro, do you know Ruby’s brother?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I do,” I admit. “Look, I’ll tell you about it another day. But for now, the two of you should hit the ice.”

We say our goodbyes, and as soon as I’ve ended the call, I fly up from the couch. “Nicklas!” I shout, not giving two shits who might hear me as I stomp toward the door he disappeared out of.

Gah, this place is so big I’ll need a freaking map to navigate it. After opening the third door without finding him, I hear a pained scream. My blood runs cold and I consider turning back, but since I’ve clearly not learned my damn lesson about curiosity even after being in the alley that led me to Nicklas, I go to push open the next door, but before I can even touch the handle, someone grabs my shoulder and spins me around.

“You shouldn’t be here.”