Page 48 of Scary & Bright

I was, too.

We were in sync, like geese flying south in a near-perfect V, or a school of fish flashing through the ocean. We were primal, and we shared one mind. With every move of his length within me, I grew closer to my own orgasmic finale.

“I’m going to…” I started to say, trying very hard to use my words. “I’m going…”

“Come for me,” Krampus demanded. “Make this little pussy come for me.”

That was all it took. His frantic demands and his filthy language were enough to shove me over the edge. I felt my entire core contract, all the muscles in my body tensed with extreme pleasure, and I cried out, not caring for a moment if anyone could hear me.

As my own noises echoed through the conservatory, I felt Krampus pump into me harder, harder, harder. Faster. Faster. Faster.

“Fuck!” he hollered through gritted teeth, and I felt his cock pulse inside of me, pouring warm fluid within my darkest reaches. I felt him tense up as I had for several moments before he collapsed into my chest, his member still inside me.

“Ho-ly shit.” He sighed, trying to catch his breath. My legs dangled over the table as he nuzzled into me, his arms curling around my body and picking me up off the wood. “Thank you.”

“Thank me!?” I asked as I ran my fingers through his long hair and made that chitinous clicking noise I loved along his horns. “You did most of the work.”

“I beg to differ.” He sighed. “Can we go to bed?”

“Absolutely,” I confirmed, wanting nothing more than to stretch out in Krampus’s oversized, incredibly comfortable bed. “But what about my dog? And, um, I’m naked.”

“One, bring him with you?” Krampus suggested, speaking out of the side of his mouth as his head rested on my breasts. “And two, I think every toy in the castle has probably found a place to hide. Neither of us were particularly quiet, and I don’t expect they’ll be taking any chances.”

He had a fair point.

After a few more moments savoring our post-coital foggy brains, Krampus rolled off of me and handed me Spotty the Dog before picking me up in his arms and carrying me all the long way up the spiraling balcony to his—our—bedroom.

* * *

Krampus slept next to me. Not only was he sleeping, he was absolutely, one hundred percent dead to the world. Poor guy was spent.

I wasn’t. At least not in a way that lent itself to a good night’s sleep. My body was exhausted and drained from our evening in the conservatory, though it was definitely well worth it. My mind, however, was like a hyperactive hamster on a wheel, endlessly running but getting absolutely nowhere.

I simply couldn’t make peace with Krampus’s plan. Especially not since we consummated our relationship and said the ever-potent L-word to one another. Things had changed and evolved quicker than either one of us had anticipated, and I was not about to let a love like this slip through my fingers.

There had to be a way.

No part of me was ready to believe that the magic of Christmas relied on so much death and sacrifice. It just didn’t make sense to me. Christmas, as I was taught, was about community, respect, and taking care of your fellow man, not slaughtering someone who may or may not deserve that fate.

I reflected back on the actions that had landed me on the Naughty List. Selfishness, sure. Coldness, definitely. Rudeness, no doubt. But did those things truly doom me to death, according to this magic Krampus had been trying to appease? Although, I was confident that if Krampus had been given tools or options outside of killing all those people, he would have. Right?

So why did I think I was going to be able to solve this mystery? I knew time was short, the opportunity to dissect the nature of the magic flowing through the Poles was disappearing by the moment, and I didn’t even know where to start. This place, the way it functioned, and the magic was so far out of the realm of my expertise. Still, based on Krampus’s insistence that he had made peace with his decision to let me live while he suffered an eternity of pain, I was certain that if I was going to get to the bottom of things, I was going to have to do it entirely alone.

Unless?

I clutched Spotty close to my heart just like I’d done when I was a kid as I considered my options. The only other hint I had was something I remembered Starlight saying about Mister Bear being the most well educated about all things South Pole outside of Krampus himself. Was it in poor taste to ask him if he had any ideas? The bear and I had a very cordial relationship, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be a little upset with me. I had been taking up quite a bit of Krampus’s time, and I worried he might be taking it personally.

My legs began to bounce under the blankets, and I decided then that my evening was better spent not laying in the dark, pondering things I had no real answers to. At the very least, I could make myself a cup of chamomile tea and read a book to try to encourage myself to get tired.

Within a minute, I had sloppily dressed myself in a sports bra and a pair of baggy sweatpants I found on the floor beside the bed, grabbed Spotty, and, being as quiet as I could, left the bedroom to head into the kitchen.

Tea first, I thought, making a vague game plan in my head. The one thing I had yet to get used to in the South Pole was the lack of sunrises and sunsets. I knew it was the middle of the night based purely on the knowledge that not that many hours had passed since Krampus and I had eaten dinner together, but absolutely nothing about the state of the castle made it feel like the wee hours. The cool light from the winter sun still washed over the walls, combining in an ethereal sort of way with the glow of the Christmas lights.

As I got closer and closer to the kitchen, I could hear the faint sound of humming. It wasn’t surprising, though. Often, there would be a toy or two gathered around the kitchen. Even though they didn’t eat, I always thought there was something so universally comfortable about a kitchen that drew folks in. So, I prepared myself to be friendly and figured it might be nice to have some small talk to force my mind away from the spiraling thoughts and worries I couldn’t shake.

However, as I walked into the kitchen, I wasn’t met with a group of toys. Just one. Mister Bear was sitting on the island countertop humming to himself and flipping through an old book.

I cleared my throat to announce my presence and saw the bear jump nearly a foot in the air with surprise.