Her Night With Santa: Toy Runners, #1

By Adriana Herrera

This year Santa's riding more than just her sleigh…

Being the favorite niece of one of the Kings of the Magi has its perks. For example, borrowing Santa's secret beach villa for a solo getaway, even if it's just for one night. And after the year she's had, Farnaz Castillo is planning to enjoy every second she has in this gorgeous mansion. With a suitcase full of *ahem* all her favorite toys, she's sure to have a very merry time before she has to join the rest of her family for their annual ski trip.

 

Being the first woman to command Santa's sleigh is exhausting work. By the time Christmas Day comes along, Kristina Kringle is usually more than ready for some solitary R&R at her Caribbean beach villa— where peace and quiet are the only thing on her agenda. But when Kristina walks into her bedroom and finds an unexpected and sexy guest making extremely good use of Santa's California King bed, it occurs to Kristina that a night of fun with the fiery brunette is exactly what she needs.

 

Kristina and Farnaz vow to make excellent use of their night together, but when morning comes and it's time to say goodbye, will Santa be ready to let go of the best gift she's ever gotten?

 

This festive novelette is guaranteed to make your holiday reading extra naughty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adriana Herrera Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Dec 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9798223479116

Adriana Herrera

Adriana Herrera was born and raised in the Caribbean, but for the last 15 years has let her job (and her spouse) take her all over the world. She loves writing stories about people who look and sound like her people, getting unapologetic happy endings. 

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Farnaz

Uncle Mel, are you sure I can crash in this house for the night? I ask nervously as I drive up to the massive gate of the beachside mansion.

Yes, sweetheart. My uncle’s voice assures me through my rental’s Bluetooth speakers. It’s fine. You have the codes for the gate and the door, and that’s all you need. No one should be there until tomorrow night, and by then you’ll be on your way to us. Seriously, no big deal. Kris was thrilled to help.

I make a sound of agreement as I look around in case there’s a guard or something, but the place seems deserted. When your uncle is a literal legend it can be hard to assess when things are a regular no big deal or a King-of-the Magi-level no big deal. My uncle Mel, a.k.a. King Melchior, is one of the three kings of the Magi, who for millennia have delivered gifts to brown, Christian children worldwide. Not the OG Melchior, he passed centuries ago, but my uncle is his direct descendant and the acting Melchior for gift delivering purposes. And his friend Kris is none other than Santa freaking Claus. The jolly bearded dude who hooks up kids with gifts in the colder parts of the world. Which means I’m punching a code to enter Santa’s secret beach villa…on Christmas Day.

It’s a bit of a mindfuck, but I roll with it because my Uncle Mel has never steered me wrong. And as promised, the black wrought iron gates begin to open as soon as I press the green button on the keypad. Looks like the code for the gate worked.

Excellent! My uncle exclaims happily. We’re off to the slopes then. Your mother wants you to call her when you get settled in.

Okay, I say weakly, not feeling ready at all for a conversation with my mother.

I love my family, and usually our annual ski trip in the Alps the week after Christmas is one of the highlights of my year. But things have been tense given some of the life changes I’ve made recently. Especially my decision to leave my six-figure paying design job to start my own adult toy company. That career change is the reason I’m in the Dominican Republic and not in a Swiss chalet with my loved ones.

I was invited here to present my designs to potential investors in Santo Domingo. Even though there’s no offer yet, things look promising. So, despite the rushing around of the last forty-eight hours—and the blowout that ensued after I informed my mother, I wouldn’t join the family until late on Christmas Day—the trip was worth it.

I was supposed to fly out first thing this morning from Punta Cana. But when I got to the airport after driving all night from Santo Domingo, I was informed all flights were grounded due to a snowstorm on the flight route. Which was when I made the frantic call to my uncle—he knows people everywhere—and he found me a place to stay. And, if I’m honest, I’m kind of thrilled. Bad weather has done me a solid in the form of some peace and quiet before a week of family time.

Farnaz, are you still there?

Yes. I nod as if he can see me. I’ll text you once I’m in the house.

Enjoy yourself. Kris has exquisite taste, and he loves hosting. Use anything and everything you fancy.

I give him a distracted yes and make my way into the property. I drive in slowly expecting security guards to jump from every direction or at least to find a groundskeeper trying to block me, but nothing happens. I stop in the middle of the circular driveway a little in awe. This place is fucking amazing. Being the niece of a king has its perks, don’t get me wrong. But my uncle’s tastes are a bit more on the baroque side. This place is sleek and modern. A lot of glass and metal, and white. Lots of white.

I’m disappointed I only get one night here. Just from the peek I get as I drive in, the private beach looks spectacular and I know there must be an infinity pool somewhere. I do a little shimmy in the seat of my rental as I think about the fucking baller afternoon I can have in this place. I have this gorgeous mansion by the ocean all to myself until the morning and I’m going to go hard on the hedonism.

Once I park the car in one of the spaces of the six-car covered garage—the toy business in the north must pay really well—I go to the door I assume leads inside the house. The code works on the first try and I quickly grab my two bags and head inside.

Wow, I say to no one as I look around the huge foyer like I’m a heroine in a Nancy Meyers movie. I tuck my suitcase and my carry-on in the corner and do a full circle. This place is a perfect beach getaway. Decorated in a simple and minimalist style—and with sunlight streaming in from every direction—it just beckons me to take a load off and relax.

There’s an upstairs, but I’m too blown away with the room I’m in now to go exploring yet. The floor plan is open concept and from where I’m standing by the main entrance, I can see the living room, which faces an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling glass. The view of the private beach is stunning, and yep—there’s the infinity pool.

Off to one side of the room is a dining table for twelve, and right behind it is a kitchen that would make any professional chef weep with joy. Even though the décor is on the low-key side—I guess it makes sense for Santa to have more of a Scandinavian vibe going on—the furniture looks comfortable. With lots of teak and white everything, with red accents. I grin thinking that Santa clearly does