Page 9 of Naughty Elf: Merry

That didn’t get me very far.

“You didn’t answer my question. How’d you get into my workshop? The door was locked.”

My belly saved me by rumbling.

“Sorry.” I sensed a blush spreading over my cheeks. “Is it hot in here?” I fanned my face with one hand.

“It was just a lot hotter.”

Gods, maybe he was my mate and he was going to whip off his pants. My gaze fell to his crotch, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. The huge bulge suggested he was enormous. He and I couldn’t be compatible. As an elf, I was on the small side.

“Something bothering you?”

“Oh, no.” There was more fanning of my face as the flush spread over my throat and chest. “I might have a fever.” I coughed, a pretend one. He didn’t cover his nose or step back. Shifters didn’t suffer the same minor ailments humans and elves did.

“Your cheeks are pink.”

Now what? I couldn’t see much out the tiny windows that also needed a good clean, along with his nails and smudged clothes.

“Can I stay here?” My plan didn’t include searching for my mate. He was supposed to appear before me. Not that anyone who’d been turned into a figurine could vouch for that, as none of them returned to Christmas Village. I just assumed that was how it worked.

But the more I scented Hernan in this confined space, his scent peeked out from the dust and muddy aroma. I pictured it waving and beckoning me. Hernan was the one.

I screwed up my face. This was more of a fizzle than a bang, and he wasn’t taking me in his arms. Hmmm, there should be a manual that comes with this process.

“In my workshop?” He raised a brow. He was definitely cute, and I was intrigued with whatever was in his pants. Well, not whatever, I had a pretty good idea of what he had in there, and I was hoping to see it sooner rather than later.

I shrugged. “Where else is there?”

Hernan peered at me, and I studied the furrowed lines between his brows. “A whole world awaits.”

That scared me. I knew little beyond Christmas Village. Memories of my earlier life were scant, and I’d been very young when the Santas adopted me.

“Oh. It sounds big.” I shouldn’t have glanced at his crotch again. That was naughty of me, but when my mind thought enormous, my gaze rested on his large bulge.

“It is.” He smirked and leaned on a bench, his crotch in full view.

Was he laughing at me?

As I was pondering whether to ask him if he scented me as his mate, a door swung open and sunshine filtered into the room along with a lot of dust.

“Hernan, you are clever. How did you keep an elf a secret?”

“I—”

But the woman who’d barged in cut him off. “He’s so cute.”

This person was talking about me as if I wasn’t here. I did agree with her about being cute. I was.

“How’d you do that?”

“I’m a little mystified myself,” Hernan replied, his eyes not leaving me.

“Now the festival will have everything we need for it to be a success. Having an elf is like the cherry on top.”

The woman left, leaving me to puzzle over a festival needing an elf. Was that why I was brought here? To ring my bell and tell jokes, play pranks, and make everyone laugh.

Damn. Perhaps I should venture into the big wide world, and when I’d gone, Hernan would miss me and beg me to come back.