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“I was thinking . . . there's a Mrs. Claus class for naughty boys and maybe, just maybe, if we pass the class, we can show her how good we could be.” His smooth, lazy tone skittered down my back as I pictured slapping a wooden ruler in my hands, telling them all to turn around and drop their pants. He chuckled, “See, I knew she would be into it.”
My hand sped up to grab his chin and slowly tilt his face down to mine. My lips just a hair away from his as I said in a sultry voice, running the white fuzzy along his neck, “Mrs. Claus can definitely reform some naughty boys. In fact, that's her specialty.”
An insatiable appetite filled his eyes, ready to take this to the next level, when I gave him a peck. “Thank you for my gift, my fairy prince.” I looked around and pointed to Cosmo. “Your turn.”
Avery sat back in a huff as I kept smiling at Cosmo. I knew if I looked at Avery, I would fall into the sexy trap of his eyes and ruin everything.
Cosmo plucked a small red box from his lap, looked at the tag, and thanked Falcon before he opened it. His eyes widened as he showed everyone a very tiny lens, and Falcon spoke.
“It's one of the world's smallest camera and mic set. Inside is a piece of paper with an incantation. As soon as you say the words, your watch will pop up with a screen, and you will be able to see and hear wherever you placed the camera. I thought it would be helpful in your line of work.”
Cosmo’s mouth fell open once he processed what Falcon said. He quickly recovered when he asked, “And the range?”
Falcon scoffed, giving him a look that said,really?“It’s made from magic. The range is not an issue. Just make sure not to forget or lose the incantation as that is the only way to access it.”
“That is super cool.” I looked at Cosmo, who nodded, still a little shocked at the nice and thoughtful gift.
Lex piped up, “I can'twaitto open my gift from Falcon. I want something super deadly but stealthy.”
“Thank you, Falcon. This will be very useful. I won't waste it.” Cosmo’s tone was impressed as Falcon nodded, taking another sip of his drink like it was nothing, but I could tell he was pleased. I knew how to read my stoic mage.
Cosmo looked at me, shrugged, and said, “Ray. Your turn.”
I huffed as I snagged a gift that was haphazardly wrapped with a lot of tape around it. I wasn't careful when I shredded the paper and pulled out a set of rose gold throwing knives with the name Desmond on the handle.
“The handles were custom, and I got the blades made from that knife guy you told me about.” I looked up at Ax, his hand behind his neck, rubbing up and down as he kept his eyes on the gift and not on me. I don't get the pleasure of seeing him look anxious or nervous often, so when I did, I appreciated it.
I got up, bringing the knives with me, and stabbed the knives on either side of his head, boxing him in as I positioned myself on top of him. “I love them. I can’t wait to darken them with my first victim.”
His eyes searched mine until he found what he wanted and smiled. “I’m glad you like them, Siren.” I leaned down and kissed him, holding the knives like an anchor to pull me away from thedepths of his kiss. I gave him a peck on the nose before going back to my seat and glared out.
“All right, Falcon, your turn.”
He took his time, looking at all the gifts before choosing one that was wrapped in black wrapping, no bow, no frills. Just as his finger lifted the corner, Lex piped up, “That ones from me.” Lex smiled brightly, nodding his encouragement to open it as the others slowly looked at Falcon’s gift like it was a bomb.
Falcon eyed the present for a second before continuing to unwrap it. He opened the box, and I knew it was something he didn't expect as his eyes flew wide open, something that Falcon never did. He pulled out a small glowing orb that swirled with purple and gold smoke. It was hypnotic the way the gold swirled and mixed with the purple.
“Do you know what this is?” Falcon asked in awe.
“Naw.” Lex shrugged. “I was on a job, and this was in the house of the mage I killed . . . plus, I liked the way the smoke swirled. I thought it would be a nice paperweight on your desk.”
“A paperweight . . . ” Falcon scoffed, looking at Lex like he didn't know whether to thank him or strangle him.
“No. It's far more valuable than that. The mage you killed must’ve been a spirit mage, one that had been slowly, over several years, siphoned their power into it.” He looked back down at it, holding it like it was precious. “It feels like he was one charge away from his goal.”
I was now curious about it, so I asked, “And what was the goal?”
Falcon gazed up at us. “He was making a future orb.” When all of us didn't react, he exhaled before continuing. “He took not only years off his life, but years of his magic to make this orb, one that most mages don't even attempt to make because of the effort. This item will give the user a fairly accurate look into the future. While most spirit mages can only see seconds into the future, this will show you hours.”
All of us turned toward Lex slowly, his eyes bouncing around to all of us as he screeched, “What? I thought it looked nice. I didn't know it was super valuable.”
I puffed out a laugh. “So, is everyone's gift something you stole from a hit?”
He bent his head back, landing on my lap as he cooed, “Not yours, my rose. Yours was specially made.”
Falcon’s gaze didn't leave the orb when he softly thanked Lex and told me it was my turn again without looking up. I snickered behind my hand, finding it so cute that this habitually unimpressed mage of mine was so transfixed by Lex’s stolen gift. It made my heart warm.
Lex tapped my leg as he loudly whispered, “Make sure to do mine for last, I'm obviously the best gift giver. You should always save the best for last.”
