Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
They had to kiss several more times to open the other cabinets and each kiss lasted longer than the one before. By the time they finally found the plates and silverware the pie had cooled down and Klaus had heated up.
He wished he could get Kelli naked in the shower all over again, but he knew he didn’t have a good excuse to do so. He had to be content with the slice of pie she gave him and then the two of them went back into the living area.
Klaus found a silver remote for the screen and the two of them settled on the couch with their pie as he clicked it on.
At first, nothing happened, but then the screen resolved into a kind of channel index.
“Channel one,” he read aloud. “Christmas movie. Channel two, Christmas movie. Channel three…”
“Christmas movie,” Kelli finished for him with a frown. “But they don’t tell what the movie is about! How can we pick which one to watch?”
“I don’t know.” Klaus shrugged. “Maybe just choose one at random?”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “Try channel three.”
Klaus did and they settled down to watch as they ate their pie. The fire to their left was warm and cozy and it gave off the scent of cinnamon and spice. The white and red blanket that he’d been wearing earlier had magically reappeared on the back of the couch and Kelli got it and spread it over both of them. Then she settled against his side with a happy sigh that Klaus felt all the way down to his bones.
Because that was how he felt too—happy and contented, he realized. In the past year, he had found Kelli irritating sometimes because she was too happy. But now he thought maybe he had been too quick to judge. Maybe if he would just open himself to her joy, he could feel what she felt. Maybe…
Maybe you’re thinking about breaking your vow, whispered an accusing little voice in his head. Be careful, Klaus—you’re getting in deep here.
He pushed the guilt away as much as he could and decided to concentrate on the movie, which was starting to get interesting. It was about a human family—a mother and father and two young children. The kids were kind of loud and irritating and they misbehaved a lot, but Klaus supposed that was to be expected. After all, Christmas was the next day and they were excited to get up early and open their presents.
And then, after everyone in the house had gone to bed, Santa started coming down the chimney. Klaus was interested to see this part. He knew what Santa was supposed to look like but there were sometimes slight variations in the human mythology.
But then, instead of a black boot, he saw a cloven hoof coming down out of the chimney. It stamped on the fireplace and was soon followed by another hoof. The hooves were followed by shaggy legs and a monstrous creature with an evil, sneering face and curling goat horns. The only resemblance it bore to the traditional Santa was the red coat it wore, trimmed in dirty white fur.
Before Klaus could ask what was going on, the evil Santa-goat went into the children’s bedroom and popped them both into the enormous sack he had over one shoulder as they shrieked and squirmed.
“Oh my God, turn it off!” Kelli exclaimed.
Looking down at her, Klaus saw that she had gone pale.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “What is this movie about? That’s not Santa—is it?”
“No! It’s Krampus—he’s the evil version of Santa.” She shook her head. “Please, I don’t want to see it. Could you put on something else? I hate horror movies!”
“Okay, sure.” Klaus began switching channels to find another Christmas movie and Kelli took their empty pie plates back to the kitchen. When she returned, he had settled on another movie. This one was about a group of young human women living all together in a place called a “sorority house.” They were preparing to celebrate Christmas together, which seemed nice enough to Klaus.
But then a masked figure snuck up behind one of the young women and chopped her head off!
“Ugh!” Kelli buried her face in his side, trying to block out the movie. “Please, no!” she begged. “I don’t like gory movies!”
“Hey, it’s okay, baby—I’ll turn it off.” Klaus put an arm around her and drew her close. He had to admit, he liked the feeling of her soft little body cuddled against his own. But even before tonight, he had liked it when Kelli came to him for comfort and protection. It made him feel good to soothe her and keep her safe. It was one reason he enjoyed being her Protector—even when she got a little hyper.
“There must be something else on,” she said, her voice muffled because her face was still pressed against his side.