Secret Santa Surprise: Book 29 in the Kindred Tales Series Read online

  Secret Santa Surprise

  A Kindred Tales Novel

  Evangeline Anderson

  www.evangelineanderson.com

  Secret Santa Surprise, 1st Edition,

  A Kindred Tales Novel

  Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Anderson

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Art Design © 2020 by Reese Dante

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to a retailer of your choice or evangelineanderson.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only.

  Any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  Contents

  Secret Santa Surprise

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  The End?

  Companion 3000

  Chapter 1

  The Priestess and the Thief

  Prologue

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  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  About the Author

  Secret Santa Surprise

  A Kindred Tales Novel

  One lonely older woman...

  Two younger warriors who think she's beautiful...

  Add some spiked punch and a mix-up with the Secret Santa Gifts,

  And who knows what might happen?

  Melanie Jameson is afraid it’s going to be a lonely Christmas. After a bitter divorce with an abusive husband, she moves to the Kindred Mother Ship to take a job in their PR department. Though she makes friends easily, especially with Sees Clearly, a handsome Kindred warrior who is much too young for her, she doesn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with but her crusty old Aunt Marge.

  Clear is smitten with Melanie the moment he sees her. It doesn’t matter to him that she’s older than him—he wants her at once. After a mishap with her Kindred wave oven leaves her with a burned hand, he brings her to meet his other half, Feels Strongly, who is a doctor in the Med Center. Strong agrees at once that the lovely older female is the one for them—but how to convince Melanie of that?

  It seems hopeless since Clear and Strong don’t think Melanie is interested. But the Goddess works in mysterious ways. When a mix-up with the Secret Santa presents means Melanie gets a naughty negligee from Clear instead of the oven mitt he intended to give her, she begins to wonder if Christmas might be exciting after all...

  Will she end up with a Secret Santa Surprise? You’ll have to read to find out!

  1

  “So whose name did you draw for Secret Santa?” Sonja plopped into her rolling chair and scooted over to where Melanie was tapping on the holo keyboard projected by her compu-cube. The small cube, about the size of a man’s fist, also projected the screen she was looking at. It hovered above the cube in 3-D color in the air in front of her.

  “You know we’re not supposed to say.” Melanie smiled at her coworker, who was grinning eagerly at her. She had only been aboard the Kindred Mother Ship for a month, but she had already found it easy to make friends here.

  Of course, working in PR and being a Public Relations Specialist with a Masters degree in Corporate Marketing meant that she was an outgoing person anyway. But it just seemed that the people aboard the Mother Ship were more friendly and kind than the people she was used to down on Earth. Maybe because they were all so happy and fulfilled, with jobs they loved that paid a good wage and relationships that were loving and loyal.

  Of course one of those “less than friendly” people down on Earth was Steve, whispered a little voice in her head. Anybody would be an improvement over him!

  Melanie pushed the thought of her ex from her mind. Their divorce had been painful and bitter and left her feeling bruised and uncertain of herself. She was glad the Mother Ship was such a kind and welcoming environment.

  But kind and welcoming or not, if Sonja thought she was going to spill the beans about who Melanie had drawn for Secret Santa, she had another think coming!

  “I’m not telling,” she told her coworker with a grin. “That ruins the surprise.”

  “Well that’s okay. I mainly just wanted to say that I’m pretty sure Sahran got me.” Sonja giggled and put a hand to her mouth. “He’s been dropping hints all over the place so I can just imagine what he’s going to get me!”

  Sahran was a Blood Kindred warrior who worked in the PR and Marketing department with them. He and Sonja were newly engaged, though they were holding off on getting bonded until after their wedding. When Melanie had asked the reason for this, Sonja’s eyes had gotten wide.

  “Girl, my daddy is a Baptist minister! And he’s not one of these ‘meek and mild’ preachers either—he’s all fire and brimstone! So Sahran and I are waiting.” She’d shrugged. “Besides, it’s not long—we’re getting married on New Year’s Day—we can stand the sexual tension until then. But, oooh, can that man talk dirty! You oughta hear him say what he’s going to do to me once he gets a ring on my finger!” And she’d fanned herself with one hand, her eyes eager with anticipation.

  From what she was saying now, it sounded to Melanie like Sonja and Sahran were getting a little impatient with all that waiting.

  “What do you think he got you?” she asked, grinning at the younger woman who was clearly bursting with excitement.

  “Who knows? Maybe something to wear on our bonding night.” Sonja giggled, which made Melanie laugh along with her. Her coworker had an infectious laugh that made her smile even when she was feeling blue.

  “What’s so funny, ladies?”

  The deep, friendly voice interrupted their laughter and Melanie looked up to see another coworker—Sees Clearly or Clear for short—looking down at the two of them.

  Clear worked in the accounting department and he was hands down one of the handsomest men Melanie had ever met. He had blondish-brown hair, broad shoulders, and smoky green eyes that made her think of shadows in a forest.

  He’s also more than ten years too young for you and a Twin Kindred, Melanie reminded herself. Which meant that somewhere on the Mother Ship, Clear had a Dark Twin who was probably every bit as handsome as him, but considerably more intense. Dark Twins tended to be more moody and temperamental and, well, dark�
�at least according to Melanie’s research for her latest PR vid spot.

  “Share the joke?” Clear asked, bringing her back to reality. “Are you two talking about the Secret Satan drawing?”

  “That’s Secret Santa,” Melanie corrected him, laughing.

  “Mmm-hmm. Satan is the Lord of Darkness,” Sonja told him. “You don’t want him coming down your chimney Christmas Eve night!”

  “I would think you wouldn’t want anyone coming down your chimney,” Clear objected. “Wouldn’t it be a fire risk? Also, I have seen pictures of this Satan—I mean Santa. He is quite rotund and aren’t most chimneys on Earth narrow? How could he fit?”

  “He just does,” Sonja said, giggling again. “He’s Santa.”

  But Clear wasn’t done critiquing the problems of Christmas yet.

  “Also, how could he get to every house in a single night in order to deliver presents?” he asked, frowning. “By my calculations, he would have to visit one hundred and eight billion individual domiciles in a single twenty-four hour period which gives him only 1/1250th of a second for each visit, in which he has to slide down the narrow chimney (while avoiding the fire), distribute presents, fill the footwear which has been laid out, and consume the bovine squeezings and Christmas pastries that have been left out for him.”

  “Bo-bovine squeezings?” Melanie asked with a little gasp. She and Sonja were laughing so hard they could hardly speak. “You mean milk?”

  “I suppose.” Clear shrugged. “And even if he only gave each child one present, he would still have to bring three hundred and twenty-one thousand tons worth of presents on his sleigh. Which, according to your legends, is pulled by only eight ‘tiny’ reindeer. So—”

  “Stop! I can’t take it!” Sonja was doubled over, giggling through her nose like a crazy woman.

  “Clear, you’re clearly over-thinking this,” Melanie told him, laughing herself.

  “Yeah, we can sure tell you work in accounting!” Sonja exclaimed.

  Clear shrugged his broad shoulders.

  “I’m just trying to make sense out of your Earth legends, that’s all.”

  “You don’t have to make sense out of them,” Melanie told him gently. “You just accept them. That’s part of the Christmas magic.”

  “And it’s also magical to give presents to our coworkers?” Clear said, frowning. “Not that I mind, but how can I tell what to get them?”

  “You get them something you think they’d like,” Melanie said. “Or something they need—something practical.”

  “But what if I don’t know what they need?” Clear gave her a pleading look. “This is my first year aboard the Mother Ship and we don’t celebrate this particular holiday on Twin Moons. I’m very confused.” He brightened. “Which is why I was thinking that if you two tell me who you got for the Secret Satan—”

  “Secret Santa,” Sonja exclaimed and snorted laughter again.

  “Right—the Secret Santa gift giving event, then I could begin to understand what kind of present I should get the coworker whose name I drew in the drawing.”

  “Not telling you!” Sonja giggled behind her cupped hand. “It’s secret, Clear!”

  “That is kind of why they call it ‘Secret Santa,’” Melanie told him apologetically. “I tell you what—just try to get to know the person whose name you drew and you’ll figure out what to get him or her.”

  Clear nodded, though he still looked troubled.

  “Thank you. I’ll try.” He sighed. “Maybe my brother, Feels Strongly, will have some suggestions.”

  “That would be your Dark Twin, right?” Melanie asked.

  He nodded.

  “Strong often has better insight into humans than I do—he’s a doctor at the Med Center so he sees lots of human patients.”

  He started to go, but Melanie called him back impulsively.

  “Clear, wait. I’m actually really glad you’re here,” she said. “I need your help.”

  “Oh?” He raised an eyebrow and turned back towards her. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was hoping I could get your expert opinion on this vid spot about Twin Kindred that I’m working on,” she said.

  “Well, I don’t know about being an ‘expert’ but I’ll be glad to help any way I can.” Clear smiled and pulled up a chair beside her, squeezing into her cubical with her.

  Melanie couldn’t help feeling how close he was. Her cubical, which had always seemed so roomy to her, now felt a bit cramped—probably because the Light Twin was so big.

  He must be six foot seven or eight if he’s an inch, Melanie thought to herself. And so muscular…

  God, she wished he wasn’t so handsome! He smelled good too—a warm clean scent that seemed to be his natural smell. She reminded herself to be extra professional. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself—her much younger coworker would never go for someone like her. Someone who was closer to forty than thirty and who had nothing but a failed marriage to show for the last fifteen years of her life.

  That’s not true! she scolded herself. You’ve got a lot going for you, Melanie. You’ve had a very successful career and sooner or later you’ll meet the right guy—a nice older man—and everything will just click. You might even meet him in time to still have kids, if you’re lucky.

  The only problem was, most of the Kindred warriors her age all seemed to be married. And since the Kindred didn’t do divorce, there were no divorcees around. There weren’t even any widowers. Kindred medical technology could cure almost any illness and in the rare case where a wife was killed in an accident, the Kindred soul bond was so strong that her husband often didn’t survive her for long. They literally died of a broken heart.

  Not that Melanie wished for accidental deaths or divorces or awful things like that on anyone. But the fact that there were none, just meant that the only available men up here on the Mother Ship were warriors who were much too young for her.

  Warriors like Clear.

  “So what did you want my opinion on?” he rumbled, leaning towards her holo-screen, his broad shoulder brushing hers.

  “Oh, well…” Melanie cleared her throat and tried to compose her thoughts. “I’ve been working on this marketing vid to try and explain Twin Kindred to the people on Earth who have never met any. And to try and explain why, er…” She cleared her throat. “Why two of them need to share one woman.”

  She could feel her cheeks getting hot as she spoke, but she tried to stay professional.

  “The idea of two males sharing a female—this is a problem for humans?” Clear asked, frowning and raising an eyebrow.

  “Unfortunately, in a lot of cultures, yes,” Melanie told him. “In plenty of places polygamy is condoned if it’s a man having more than one wife. But a woman having more than one husband is really frowned on.”

  “But why?” He looked honestly confused. “Why shouldn’t a female have two mates to serve and protect and pleasure her? I would think that anyone could see the benefits.”

  “Well, I’m sure a lot of women could,” Melanie said, trying to keep from blushing, when she thought about the “pleasuring” part of his argument. “But the Earth is still a pretty misogynistic place where lots of men don’t think women should get the same benefits they do. Also, there are a lot of religions that only condone one man and one woman in a marriage.”

  “We are religious too,” Clear protested. “We worship the Goddess and she is the one who made us like this—who gave Twin Kindred the need to share a female.”

  “Well, that’s part of what I’m trying to explain in this vid,” Melanie said, nodding. “Here—watch,” she told Clear and touched a button on her holo-keyboard.

  The screen at once began projecting the images she’d been putting together. First it showed a human woman around twenty-five walking alone on a beach and a voice said,

  “Loneliness can be awful. Looking for the right person to spend your life with and not finding them can be devastating. But did you know that some pe
ople can be lonely even when they’re with their closest friend?”

  The scene changed to show two Twin Kindred—a Dark Twin and Light Twin, strolling along the same beach.

  “Twin Kindred are more than just brothers. They stay together all their lives and are born with the biological need to share a mate,” the narrator went on. “When they find the right woman, they want to bond with her for life.”

  The two twins and the woman saw each other and ran together, embracing in a big, three-way hug.

  “There’s nothing wrong or unnatural about their relationship,” the narrator said. “It’s just the way things work on their planet of Twin Moons.”

  “Wait—” Clear held up a hand and Melanie saw that his face had gone pale. She paused the video to let him talk.

  “The humans really think we are ‘wrong’ and ‘unnatural?’” he asked, looking so genuinely distressed that she instantly felt bad.

  “I’m afraid some do,” she said honestly. “We’ve done polls and focus groups down on Earth and unfortunately, there’s more resistance to a human woman bonding with Twin Kindred than with other kinds of Kindred.”

  “But that’s awful.” Clear shook his head. “We only want what other males want—to find a female to love and cherish and make a family with.”

  “I know, which is why I’m trying so hard to change that perception,” Melanie told him. She cleared her throat. “I think the problem is, uh, the way Twin Kindred, uh, bond a female to them. I mean, your, uh…you kind of…you merge, don’t you?” she asked, feeling like her face was getting so hot it might catch her long brown hair on fire.