“Hi, Joe!” I wave at our one and only truck driver across the warehouse. He’s a nice guy in his fifties who’s donating his timeand fuel to deliver the gifts. “Start loading up everything in the green section. I’ll be over in a second.”
“Green?”
I point to the ribbon on the floor marking separate piles of toys. “The colors correspond to the food drop off centers on the list I gave you last week. South Side Slopes, North Shore, Oakland, The Hill, Mount Washington, Lawrenceville, and the Strip.”
“Looks like yinz been busy elves. Even got yourself a blue Santa. The kids are gonna love that.” Joe shakes his head as he starts hoisting the toys onto his pickup truck.
Nikkov stands and his mouth twists as he strains to smile.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “Not everyone approves of having aliens here. I should have warned you that you might get some comments from the parents. Hopefully the kids won’t care.
“Zyan helped free Earth, but we are not naïve. We know first-hand the destruction and the hatred the Coalition leaves behind.”
“That means you’re in a position to change Earth’s perception of aliens. Whether you like it or not, you represent your people here. You’re an ambassador of good will and cheer. Keep practicing that smile.” I pat him on the chest… a huge mistake as I don’t want to remove my hand.
Finally, as my brains take over and I pull away, he captures my hand and keeps it pressed against his chest.
“Warriors adapt to any world, any situation.” He smiles, showing sharp teeth, but he lifts one corner of his mouth, giving that smile a mischievous look, I know he’ll find a way to connect with the kids…. Like he’s connecting with me.
Why are all the good ones always trouble?
When we finish loading the toys onto the back of the truck, I open the passenger door. “I’ll sit in the middle.”
“Your alien Santa can ride in back.”
“He’s a good guy, Joe,”
“I don’t know him.”
Nikkov’s hand lands on my lower back and he guides me into the front seat. “Your Santa delivers the toys personally on a sleigh driven by reindeer. Although Joe has not brought a sleigh or reindeer, this land vehicle will work. I’ll be fine in back.”
My mouth drops open. Between the sleigh comment and that calm confidence, I’ve utterly forgotten what I was going to say. That’s how this alien distracts me.
Nikkov pushes my lower jaw shut with one finger. “That is quite the invitation, but we will require privacy for what you suggest.”
“I wasn’t inviting you to?—”
Joe outright laughs and starts up the truck. “I thought you didn’t know anything about Santa,” I shout over the noisy engine. “Have you been playing me, Nikkov?” I almost address him as Warrior, though it’s becoming harder to think of him as a warrior with that ill-fitting Santa suit and devilish expression.
“After I finished repairing the toys, I read more about this Santa your people revere.” He holds out his wrist, indicating his comm. “Your Santa has no claws and therefore has not earned the name, but he is responsible for personally delivering the toys. So, in his name, I will deliver them, even if it means I sit in the back of this conveyance, in the cold air while Joe has the fortune of breathing in your delectable scent.”
For a second time, my mouth drops open, but this time I snap it shut before he makes another lewd comment. Suddenly, I’m imagining giving my blue Santa a blow job, with no means to carry through. At least not at the present.
I make the mistake of glancing back at him.
The ass flashes a crooked but charming, over-the-top grin that any woman would fall in love with.
Including me.
I slam the door shut. “Floor it,” I order Joe, damn well knowing the obnoxious alien might miss his chance to hop into the truck bed.
“I’m not some weak-willed woman,” I mumble under my breath. “And no alien’s gonna distract me from getting the job done.”
“Amen,” says Joe, barely hiding his smirk.
CHAPTER FIVE
NIKKOV
