While You Were Creeping - Poppy Rhys Page 0,31

one at a time? Maybe even groping me a little afterward?

Fuck. Me.

I’d squeezed my thighs together more times than I could count through the rest of the parade.

Good thing I’d worn a sweater dress and thick tights underneath. It was like my downstairs decided now was a good time for a flood.

My vibrator would get so much abuse later.

The floats had disappeared, back off to the warehouse and just as I checked the time, my parade assistant showed.

“Hey Holly, here ya go.” She passed me the satchel I’d put under Kye’s float throne. The cube had been neatly tucked into it.

“Thanks, Neeka. Great job tonight.”

“Teamwork!” She cheered and left.

Kye and I had tested the radius of the cube earlier in the week, trying to figure out just how far he could be away from the cube before he felt it try to pull him back.

Three hundred feet was the safest, which made things a little complicated since I wouldn’t be around to carry the cube for Kye, and he couldn’t physically move it.

Trust me, he tried. It was like watching the alien version of King Arthur trying to remove Excalibur from its stone—if he’d failed.

So, we had to get crafty.

I slung the satchel across my body and moved off the balcony, finding my way to the ground floor. I shrugged into my coat when the door opened and Kye appeared.

Knew he couldn’t have been far.

“Hi.”

He slow-grinned. “Hi.”

Why did that grin make my toes curl in my boots? My ladybits weren’t faring very well either. If my clitoris could stand and say hi, it would’ve.

Well, it had the standing part down-pat.

Quick! Think about something terrible!

The smell of fresh cut grass...

A stubbed toe...

The sound of cracking knuckles!

I shivered. That helped. Not a lot, but I’d take it.

“Ready for your spanking?” He twirled the bundle of branches.

Goddammit!

“Ha ha, cute.”

Not cute at all.

“Let’s get to the party. You have adoring fans who need those branches more than I do.”

****

KYE

I doubt that.

Like I’d pegged soon after meeting this witchy woman, Holly was tightly wound. Why? I had a couple theories.

She brushed past me, her soft scent floating through the air in her wake. She smelled better than the Christmas cookies I’d been scarfing nonstop.

I followed, my gaze drifting from her low ponytail all the way to her high heeled-boots. I’d seen that knee-length dress earlier, even if it hid under her red coat right now.

It hugged every damn curve Holly had. Curves I wanted to sink my claws and teeth into.

Now, one might think my balls were bluer than the darkest moon that hung in the sky right now—which may be true—but my begrudging attraction to this witch (human? I still hadn’t decided.) was so fucking annoying.

And fucking good.

Real good.

And distracting.

So damn distracting.

“Punish me, Krampus!” someone shouted as Holly and I moved with the crowd into the town square where a band strummed their instruments too hard to a rock rendition of a Christmas song.

Holly’s eyes followed the sound and a frown lodged between her sleek brows before it smoothed away. Her face went blank.

She was an expert at that. Hiding her true thoughts and feelings. Making a person believe she didn’t care about whatever thing they spoke of.

It played into my first theory that she was purposefully keeping herself closed off. Why? Because someone, or some incident in her life, taught her to hold her cards close.

What Holly didn’t know? Her body language said so fucking much even if that blank expression didn’t.

I’d had days to suss out her habits. Watch what made her tick, what irritated her, what soothed her, and what made her grumble under her breath.

Hint to that last one: started with Christmas and ended with decorations.

I smirked.

“Better get to your fans,” she cheerily urged. That tone didn’t match her face. “I’ll meet you by The Bowl after? It’s just across the street and they’re selling chocolate dipped everything.”

I followed her gaze. A group of women waved and urged me over.

I’d had fun on the float. More fun than I imagined I’d have. It felt good to shout nonsense and try something new. But right now?

Right now, leaving Holly’s side was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Nah.” I shook my head and hefted the sack of oranges off my shoulder. “Great thing about Krampus? There’re about ten other ones here.”

It only took me a few seconds to find a human with a Krampus costume and hand him my props.

“What’s this?” he asked, and I pointed at the group of fans