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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

Lena Austin 

All rights reserved. 
Copyright ©2008 Lena Austin 

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is 
illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary 

gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison 
and a fine of $250,000. 

ISBN: 978-1-60521-098-8 
Formats Available: 
HTML, Adobe PDF, 
MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader 

Publisher: 

Changeling Press LLC 
PO Box 1046 
Martinsburg, WV 25402-1046 

www.ChangelingPress.com 

Editor: Katriena Knights 
Cover Artist: Reneé George 

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This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some 
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Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in 
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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

Lena Austin 

’Twas the night before Christmas…” 

JR Thornton seeks redemption for his many unwitting evil deeds by dressing up in a 
Santa suit to deliver gifts to an orphanage, but the angry wood fairy guarding the 
house is more interested in blowing his head off. 

Phaedra hates JR for destroying her home forest and the lives of her family. Now a 

caregiver putting herself through college, she’s determined to give the most evil and 
handsome man she knows a piece of her mind. 

So why does she want so badly to sit in Santa’s lap? 

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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

JR Thornton pulled his Mercedes to the side of the road long enough for him to 

check his newest delivery at the construction site just down the road from his 

destination. Yes, the huge truck was there, waiting for his crews to return after the 

holiday. One repayment on the long road to his redemption. He smiled to himself. 

Despite what his sister-in-law had advised, JR just couldn’t seem to let go of his lists 

and plans. 

“Learn to be impulsive, you big furry idiot!” she’d told him. Charm wasn’t 

known for her tact. 

He was trying, damn it. That was why he’d sent his chauffeur home, donned a 

Santa suit -- God help him if any of his colleagues saw him like this -- and was now on 

his way to an orphan’s group home on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to a bunch of 

kids who weren’t even there. He pushed the accelerator and eased the car back on the 

road. 

The Lucky Charms Group Home stood isolated in the middle of his project. He’d 

cleaned out the rest of the rundown subdivision surrounding the group home. In its 

place would be a planned community with modern homes, a shopping complex, 

community center, and even a library and post office. The fifty-year-old one-story 

ranch, owned by Charm and his brother, was the only remnant of the old 

neighborhood. 

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, 

not even a mouse. At least he hoped the children were all nestled in their beds. This shit 

was still new to him, but damn, he felt strangely good. 

JR parked and nervously jingled the keys, feeling very awkward in the padded 

costume. According to Charm, who was on her honeymoon with Lucky, the kids were 

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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

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at an all-night sleepover party in town. All JR had to do was lug in the presents, meet 

the caterer bringing the feast for the kids, and leave to spend another lonely holiday. 

Funny how you could be lonely in the middle of a werewolf pack, even if you were the 

heir presumptive to the pack leader. He wished he could linger to see the kids open 

their presents. Children had a joy for life he’d lost somewhere along the way. 

He first grabbed the big red sack from the back seat, which contained the smaller 

presents. He’d worn the suit, despite assurances that no one would be there, just in case 

one of the kids caught him. No spoiling their little illusions. If he hurried, he could get 

back home in time to watch the old Rankin/Bass classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

He was a sucker for that movie show, though no one would believe it of him. Next year, 

he’d bring the disc with him and watch it with the kids here. Yeah, that was the 

solution. Holiday specials and cookies until they nodded off and were put to bed. 

Damn, why did Christmas only come once a year? He’d make a note in his planner to 

return next year with a holiday movie marathon and all the trimmings. 

The key turned easily in the lock, and JR stepped quietly inside. The tree 

twinkled from its position on the wall opposite from where he stood. He hefted the bag 

and made one step toward his goal. 

The clear ka-chink of ammunition loading into the chamber of a rifle stopped him 

cold. 

Phaedra held the big rifle steady on the back of the sofa and hoped the intruder 

couldn’t see her trembling with fear. Her laptop hummed quietly in the silence, and she 

prayed it wouldn’t chime an announcement of new mail or something. She’d freak and 

pull the trigger. “There’s nothing here to steal. Leave. Now. Or we’ll see if a silver bullet 

loaded with holy water can stop just about anything.” 

The large, indistinct figure remained frozen in his tracks. “I’m not here to steal. 

I’m here to deliver presents. Charm told me there would be no kids here tonight.” The 

low, masculine voice was at least properly respectful and educated. 

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Phaedra narrowed her eyes, but didn’t lower the gun yet. He’d invoked the 

owner’s name. He might be legit. “There’s a light switch on the wall to your left.” 

The lights blazed up, and a tall man wearing a Santa suit spread his arms wide 

and low in the classic “I’m harmless” gesture. “Um… Ho-ho-ho?” 

The snicker rose from her core and bubbled out. His big brown eyes twinkled 

with humor, and a doll one of the kids had particularly begged for peeked from the top 

of the red sack at his feet like one of Santa’s elves. There was something charming about 

a guy who’d put on a Santa suit and deliver presents to orphans. She lowered the rifle, 

but didn’t put it back in the special locked case yet. How she’d gotten the safety lock off 

in the dark was still a mystery to her. Dumb luck, she guessed. “Okay, you pass.” 

The big guy breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the sack. He looked around 

furtively. “Are you here because one of the kids got sick? I was told the place would be 

empty.” 

Phaedra shook her head. On cue, her laptop chimed for new email. “No, I just 

took the night off to get my college thesis cleaned up.” 

“Santa” blew out a breath. “Good. This beard thing itches.” He took it off, 

revealing his chiseled chin and smoothly shaven face. A face she knew very well. 

Phaedra’s lip curled and her fists clenched. Now she was sorry she hadn’t shot 

first and asked questions later. She’d have happily danced on his grave. She put as 

much hatred and anger in her voice as she could manage without her magic giving him 

a donkey’s ears and tail. “JR Thornton.” 

“Guilty as charged.” JR picked up the sack and started distributing the toys 

beneath the tree, adding to the meager stack already waiting. He sighed again. “What 

did I do to you?” 

Phaedra changed form to her true self and flittered over to perch on one branch 

of the Christmas tree, deliberately eclipsing the twinkling LED light with her own. “I 

used to live in the forest here, that’s what, you asshole.” 

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JR’s eyes widened, and he sat down on his rump right on the hardwood floor, 

the latest hot commodity cartoon character action figure in his hands. “Holy shit. A 

wood fairy. There were fairies in that forest?” 

“My whole fam-damn-ily! Shithead.” Phaedra shook her fist at the most 

handsome and evil man she’d ever known. Here she was face to face with him, and she 

was going to give him a piece of her mind. “We were taking care of the termite and 

Dutch elm disease problem, thank you very much! But nooo! Mr. Powerful Werewolf 

had to come in with his bulldozers and destroy the good part with the diseased!” She 

stamped her tiny foot so hard the branch bounced. “And our homes, I might add!” 

JR opened his mouth to say something, but a firm knock at the door interrupted. 

Phaedra snarled in frustration and zipped off to answer. She changed back to a 

human-sized form and opened the front door. 

Three men, each carrying a huge pile of boxes with one of the local catering 

company logos in bright red on the side, nearly bowled her over in their haste to get out 

of the cold and deliver their burdens. 

“Merry Christmas!” 

“Here’s your order, Mr. Thornton.” 

“Where would you like us to put this stuff?” 

Phaedra looked at their burdens and managed a weak “Kitchen, please.” She 

shut the door hurriedly and ran to keep up with their questions as to where to put the 

perishable items, did she want the cakes and pies on the table, and “Oh, yeah, here’s 

your instructions for warming the ham and fixin’s for tomorrow, ma’am.” 

Efficiently, they did as she told them, buried her under a pile of the instruction 

papers, and set the most beautiful floral display -- no poisonous poinsettias, thanks! -- 

on the table where the children ate. Then they accepted their generous tips from Evil 

Santa and left, cheerfully arguing over which guy had the most toys to put together 

when they got home to their families. 

Phaedra took her time arranging the food in the fridge and tried to figure this 

whole thing out. Why was JR Thornton delivering presents and feasts to orphans on 

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Christmas Eve? “Don’t you have glamorous parties to attend so you can plot whose 

lives you can destroy next, Mr. Thornton?” 

“Please call me JR. And your name is?” Mr. Fanged and Toothsome -- cripes, 

could she stop looking at him like he was a giant pile of chocolate? -- finished stuffing 

the last pitifully handmade stocking above the mantle. And filled all the stockings and 

turned, the Jerk. Her traitorous mind changed the words to the old poem. 

“Phaedra.” She folded her arms and remained in human form. No tiny fairy was 

intimidating. “Okay, you’ve done your little good deed for the year. Now get out.” 

“I’d like to do more.” His eyes -- how they twinkled! He remained standing by the 

corner of the fireplace and casually put one elbow on the mantle to lean against, like 

Santa had suddenly gotten very suave and sophisticated. And handsome. His dimples, 

how merry! He did have dimples, too. 

Phaedra was so interested in telling her traitorous mind to shut up, she was 

momentarily confused. Her feet were freezing, and she closed the refrigerator door. 

“More? More evil things?” 

The charming dimples disappeared, and the big brown eyes turned as sad as an 

old hound’s. No smile now. “No, more good deeds. I’ve a lot of making up to do.” 

For a few moments, Phaedra felt guilt for being a buzz-kill on Christmas Eve. 

The big guy in a Santa suit looked like she’d busted his bubble, poor -- Evil bastard! 

“Oh, you’re a prime manipulator, aren’t you? I almost felt sorry for you there for a 

moment. Yeah, right. Sure, you want to do nice things, buster. What, like hike your 

furry leg up against another tree to give it a good watering before you cut it down?” 

“Ouch. For a beautiful fairy, you have a razor-sharp tongue.” Now JR stepped 

away from the mantle and walked toward her until he shook his finger under her nose. 

“As a matter of fact, I have a very long list of --” He shut up mid-sentence and looked 

chagrined. “Damn. Charm told me I needed to learn to be impulsive and let go of my 

plans and lists, but I don’t know how.” 

Now if there was one thing a fairy understood, it was giving into impulse, and 

she had a big one. She’d pay for it later. “Yeah? It’s as easy as doing what you want to 

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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

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do without worrying about consequences. Like this.” She put her arms around JR’s neck 

and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips. “See? I may hate you for what you did to my 

home, but that’s a tribute to how handsome you are.” 

His perfect black eyebrows tried hard to mingle with his equally dark hairline. 

How did he make his brown eyes twinkle like that? His hands clamped on both her 

upper arms. “Like this?” 

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head and suddenly Phaedra had plenty to 

dread. She deserved to be yanked off her toes and swooped down on. Her gasp of 

surprise was reflex. Unfortunately, that left her mouth open for the hardest, most 

demanding kiss that had ever fizzled her brain. Which promptly melted. 

Cernunnos, but JR could kiss. Anyone could rub lips, but very few knew how to 

make a simple kiss into an art. Yeah, just the right amount of friction. Nibbles with just 

the perfect force. Oh, baby! To hell with consequences. To hell with her thesis. Even her 

image of JR as the most hated and evil man on the planet broke into a thousand motes. 

Evil people didn’t care about how their partners felt. They just took. She tried to pull 

away and clear her head. No matter how much she wanted JR, she hated him, too. At 

least, she’d thought so a few minutes ago. “This is so wrong. I’m supposed to hate you.” 

JR nibbled on her jawline as if he had all night. Well, okay, he did. Big, mean… 

oh, my! Was that his cock or an anaconda pressed against her body? “Hate me later. No, 

that’s wrong of me, too. You cloud a wolf’s senses.” He let go of her and stepped back a 

pace. “I promise you I’ll do my best to make things right by you and your family. I can 

prove it in the morning, if you wish.” 

While not full thought-sensors, fairies could read truth. Phaedra recognized pure 

conviction in JR. He was sure he had a method already in place to “make things right” 

for the Fair Folk who had once graced the forest here. Whether his restitution would 

satisfy her and her family remained to be seen, but he believed. Belief counted highly 

for her. Her heart and body cried out for a night of pleasure with this werewolf, and she 

saw no reason not to indulge. “I’ll take that promise. You owe me and mine big, fur-

face.” 

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“You’re a handful enough for me.” He took her hand and led her to the small 

sitting area in front of the fireplace. His nearly empty sack crinkled when he moved it, 

and a sly smile lit his face. “It’s said fairies like sweets. Is it true?” He reached in and 

pulled out a long, thick peppermint stick, striped like a candy cane. “I know I do. I 

brought one for each of the employees. This one is yours.” 

Oh, she knew what to do with the candy, and more than he probably expected. 

Fairies only looked sweet and innocent, but they were nature elementals, and nature 

meant sex, among other things. “I love peppermint sticks.” She expertly peeled off the 

wrapping and deliberately took the sweet length in her mouth, knowing what images 

her actions would conjure in Santa Wolf’s mind. 

His eyes hazed and the lids drooped down while JR watched her deliberately 

perform fellatio on the candy. “Evil fairy. You certainly know how to make me howl 

without even touching me.” 

Mission accomplished, Phaedra pulled the candy out of her mouth so she could 

talk and laid the stick on a side table. “Yeah, Santa Paws? Well, you won’t get to howl 

more until you peel out of your suit. Be lively and quick, ’cause I want to suck St. Nick.” 

He spoke not a word but went straight to his work. Accurate description of how fast a 

man could get out of costume and padding when he had the right motivation, even if he 

choked on his own laughter at her parody of the old holiday poem. Boots, belt, coat, 

and padding sailed around the room as dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly. Her 

mind would not stop giving her lines of the poem, not even when she had her focus on 

something much more immediate. 

Phaedra knelt and attacked his cock even before JR could do more than get the 

red pants around his ankles. The remains of peppermint still in her mouth would 

stimulate every nerve ending he had on an already sensitive cock, and she intended to 

torture him for as long as the mint lasted. 

JR moaned and swayed, with his head thrown back in a silent bay at the moon. 

His right hand touched her head, as if seeking balance. He was completely at her mercy. 

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Gingersnaps: Santa Paws 

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She could have bitten him, had she not preferred better plans for the delicious 

and long sausage in her mouth, harder and better tasting than any old dried thing she 

got from mail-order catalogs to go with crumbling cheese and cardboard crackers in a 

box. 

JR’s moans would have satisfied any girl’s heart, he was so completely in her 

power. He didn’t care how ridiculous he looked, flung back on the sofa, arms akimbo, 

dressed only in a Santa hat. His trust in her was absolute, and nothing said more about 

him than that to Phaedra. “My God, Phaedra! My whole dick is tingling. Is that the 

peppermint from the candy cane?” 

Phaedra giggled around the big mouthful she had and signaled in American Sign 

Language, “Yes.” 

JR could read ASL as easily as Phaedra could. She’d watched him on a newsvid 

where he’d given a speech and signed simultaneously, citing a deaf cousin when 

questioned how he knew ASL. Werewolves had huge families, and the Thornton Pack 

was the largest in North America. “It’s a little spooky that you know I speak ASL.” He 

moaned once more. “Please stop, Phaedra. It’s been a long time and I need a few 

minutes to cool off, so to speak.” 

Phaedra couldn’t resist the temptation to show off her fairy abilities, and frankly, 

she didn’t try very hard. All it took was a small pull from the wintry weather outside. A 

light snowfall and chill settled over just the couch area. Then she sat back and batted 

her green eyes as innocently as possible. In human form, her brown hair was nothing 

much, but when she chose to permit it, the brown tint became as green as ivy. 

JR looked up and shivered. A particularly large snowflake settled on his long, 

wolfish nose before melting. He grinned and stuck out his tongue to catch another like a 

child. “Never ask a nature elemental for a cool off. I get that.” 

The snicker bubbled out of her like a hot spring, impossible to stifle, and burst 

forth into a geyser of laughter. In between gasps for air, Phaedra tried to explain what 

was so funny. “Hee hee! Do you realize -- ” snort, giggle “those big brown eyes of yours 

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cross --” bwahahaha! “when you try to catch a snowflake with your tongue?” She fell 

over on her side on the rug, laughing hysterically. 

JR dove off the sofa and fell beside her on the rug, catching the remote to the 

fireplace on his way down. Expertly, he flicked on the flames and tossed the remote 

back on the side table. “Naughty, evil little fairies have to be punished with tongue-

lashings, you know. Please keep your hair green. It’s so beautiful that way. So calm and 

peaceful, just like the holiday tree.” 

Phaedra blinked up at him in surprise. Wood fairies were much less beautiful 

than some of their elemental cousins, and she’d always accepted her plainness as fact. 

She hardly noticed when he unbuttoned and peeled off her flannel shirt, and came back 

to herself just in time to lift her butt and let him remove her blue jeans. At least she’d let 

Charm talk her into her new thong and bra when they’d shopped together last month. 

Lust fired up in JR’s suddenly golden lupine eyes. “You’ve been hanging with 

my sister-in-law, haven’t you? What other things did she do to corrupt innocent little 

fairies?” 

Obviously, he didn’t know fairies well at all, but she’d play along. Phaedra bit 

her lower lip to keep from laughing in his face. “My nipples are pierced.” 

He threw back his head and howled. Literally howled. Then her bra shredded 

beneath werewolf fangs. He tore open the shutters and threw up the sash so fast, she found 

the fastener to her bra on the mantle the next day. Not that she cared. Her tits were 

happily being ravaged by a man getting furrier by the moment. 

Phaedra tugged on one soft, hairy ear to get his attention. “Hey! Mr. Silky Fur! 

I’m not into bestiality, here.” She raised herself on both elbows to stare down his long 

nose at him until he caught on. 

His big, lupine eyes registered chagrin. The fur receded back into his skin, and 

gradually a more human-like shape returned to his face. “Forgive me. I’d forgotten you 

were not one of my own kind.” He ducked his head to look like a small boy caught in a 

minor infraction. “It’s not bestiality if you both can shift.” 

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Her lips twitched with the humor of the situation. “I suppose not, but since you 

haven’t got a phallus the size of a toothpick, and I don’t have fur, let’s stick to the one 

form we both share, please.” To emphasize the point about his size, she stroked his cock 

in one long, sweeping motion. 

“You bring out the beast in me no matter what form we’re in. Growf!” He pushed 

her onto her back, and her thong met the same fate as her bra. “Do fairies really taste 

like flowers?” His tongue remained lupine-long, and every inch of it swiped her from 

ass to clit in one motion. “Okay, herbs.” 

Her breath came in harsh pants after her initial gasp of surprise and pleasure. “I 

wouldn’t know, but we fart the scent of pine, if you’re wondering why the holiday tree 

smells like it does.” 

“Well, now I do.” He reached for the candy on the side table and drew it slowly 

along the same path his tongue had used seconds before. “In fact, you taste of 

peppermint. One of my favorite flavors. The candy is merely for enhancement.” He 

licked again. “Lots of enhancement.” 

She lost all ability to speak and only managed a strangled moan. The peppermint 

intensified every sensation her nerve endings could grab, and apparently she had 

billions of nerves ready and willing to overload themselves. 

Two more swipes of a werewolf tongue, and Phaedra was flying without her 

wings. Who knew a humble herb could be this much fun? To the top of the porch! To the 

top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all! With every “dash” Phaedra 

came again. And again in waves. There should have been a line in the poem about 

whirling winter storms sweeping a helpless fairy away. Too bad her attempts at poetry 

made advertising jingles sound like Byron. 

Some great poet or author -- she never could remember this stuff -- had said that 

females were never more ready for sex than when they’d just had the best screaming 

orgasm, or something like that. He’d probably said it prettier, but the point was, he was 

right. She wanted JR to fuck her blind. Or until she had calluses on her back. Okay, 

both. 

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JR, his eyes still slanted and gold-brown from his furrier side, wiped his chin and 

licked his lips. “Yep, fairies taste wonderful. I’m suddenly very fond of peppermint.” 

Phaedra, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly coherent. She meant to quote another 

line from the poem, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, and tell him how 

wonderful it was to fly without wings. However, the only word understandable was -- 

of course -- mount. Good thing that word fit her need. 

Mount was entirely inadequate. JR was large -- another inadequate word. Huge 

was more like it. He took his time, entering with that perfect combination of caution 

and need very few males mastered. 

It hurt and felt like magic, all at once. Pain was not normally part of the fairy fun, 

but she didn’t give a damn if he ripped her in two while he impaled her. Yeah, now 

there was the right word, impaled. Oh, and getting seriously fucked. Another orgasm 

stopped all thought until all she could do was yell, “Ohhh, ooo-oooh!” 

What she didn’t expect was JR’s reverent statement, “So long. It’s been so long!” 

His eyes were shut, and he had the look of a man who’d found glory instead of the 

goofy expression most males sported when they got laid. 

The heat from the fireplace kept the air deliciously warm and cozy, and the rug 

beneath her butt fortunately didn’t slide all over the living room while they fucked each 

other silly. 

At one point, Phaedra used the element of surprise to flip JR on his back, where 

she rode him for a time like a human cowgirl rode a wild horse. However, she had no 

objections to finding herself back on her back being held by a were-critter much larger 

and stronger than herself in any form. 

He probably could have broken her in half at any time, but he was gentle and yet 

demanding all at once. Several times, he stopped and panted, his eyes golden and more 

fur than allowable by a five-o’clock shadow covering his face. Then, he’d be back, 

commanding she give him all. 

She surrendered and helplessly gave him her body, but she wanted more. Much 

more. She wondered if she’d stand the strain of orgasm after orgasm, riding and being 

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ridden, by a male who could barely control his furry side. Who cared? She wanted to 

be… devoured. “More. More. More!” 

The coffee table fell over with a crash, and they barely paused to acknowledge 

the damage done. 

He kissed her so hard she felt her lower lip bleed. Against her lips, he growled, 

really growled. “Can’t stop. Can’t hold back.” 

Phaedra grabbed his ears and held his golden gaze so he could focus. “Give me! 

Now!” 

JR shuddered, and then howled. Loud and long, his voice sang like he’d fucked 

the Moon Goddess herself. Did the werewolves believe in the Moon Goddess? 

Suddenly, she wanted to know more about them. Later. Oh, yes. Later. Most especially, 

she wanted to know this werewolf more. 

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called 

them by name. Then she came so hard, she saw flashing lights in front of her eyes, like 

the lightning storms of summer. Being alive and in tune with all nature never felt so 

good. Was it love she felt for a male she had hated only an hour before? No, it couldn’t 

be. Even flighty fairies took longer than half an hour of pure sex to fall in love. 

Gradually, they relaxed in each other’s arms. Phaedra’s hands fell from his ears 

as they slowly changed back to the small pink shell of his human form. Unbelievably, 

she missed the feel of his silky fur. She couldn’t even manage enough breath to 

articulate anything wittier or snarkier than “Great tongue action, Wolfman.” 

“Thank you, Phaedra.” Well, at least he had enough breath. Somehow, he also 

found the strength to pull her into his arms so her head rested on his shoulder. “From 

you, that’s a compliment and a half. As soon as both of us have more energy than a 

mouse, I’d like to prove to you my sincerity about reforming.” 

It took them about an hour, but finally she gingerly sat in the passenger seat of 

the luxurious Mercedes. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave the lustre of 

mid-day to objects below. Yep, another great line from the old poem, especially when it so 

fit the actual scene. 

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JR kissed her hand once more before starting the engine and pulling out carefully 

onto the road that led back to his construction site, where he promised the proof of his 

reformation waited for her inspection. 

She felt it just before they pulled into the yard. New life. Hundreds of them, 

warm and content. “Trees!” Phaedra flung open the door as soon as JR stopped the car 

in front of three huge trucks, their heating engines rumbling quietly. “Those trucks are 

full of baby trees!” 

JR grinned proudly. “Trust a wood fairy to recognize them before the doors are 

even open.” He pointed to a huge warehouse structure. “This big building is the new 

horticulture and greenhouse center for the hiking parks in this area.” He thrust his 

hands into his pockets and looked sheepish. “Do you think your family could grow 

their own home? I haven’t found a horticulturist yet.” 

Phaedra folded her arms across the hood of the Mercedes and grinned at JR. 

“Yes, you have, if you’ll let me finish my thesis. In January, I graduate and become Dr. 

Phaedra Sonierre, Ph.D. in horticulture with an arborist specialty. What else is a 

homeless wood fairy to do but grow her own home?” 

JR frowned and looked stern. “What the hell do you think you’re doing tramping 

around in the snow? Don’t you have a paper to finish?” 

“Excuse me, Santa Paws, but even fairies get Christmas Day off. By the way, how 

does coffee and gingerbread sound? Someone left me a fabulous feast, a holiday tree, 

and no children until this afternoon.” Phaedra batted her eyes. “Besides, don’t you 

think you need to discuss with me the perks of my new position?” 

Her werewolf lover licked his lips. “’I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, 

‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.’ Race you to the candy canes.” 

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Lena Austin 

Someone cursed Lena Austin with “may you have a life so full you’ll have many 

tales to tell your grandchildren.” Lena’s a “fallen” society wench with a checkered past. 

She’s been a licensed minister, hairdresser, Realtor, radio DJ, exotic dancer, telephone 

service tech, live-steel medievalist swordswoman, BDSM Mistress, and investment 

property manager. Not necessarily in that order. She never finished that degree in 

marine archaeology, but did learn to scuba -- she’s got a lifetime of “research material!” 

Hey, why waste these stories on kids who won’t listen anyway? Writing them 

down is a nice way to spend her retirement. What? You expected an ex-BDSM Mistress 

to take up crocheting or something? See all her books at http://www.LenaAustin.com. 

You can reach her by e-mail at voiceomt2002@yahoo.com.