I froze. The creak of a floorboard easily recognizable, but whatever that other noise was, I couldn’t identify.
I scrunched my nose, a strange odor wafting toward me. Cool citrus and peppermint.
What the—
Just beyond the light, something rushed me.
“AHH!” I screamed and swung my bat, the hairy giant in front of me getting a solid thump.
It grunted, rubbing its arm and blocking my next swing. My heart beat in my throat, choking me, and I swallowed hard.
The low light played across its face and I immediately knew it was a he.
I backtracked, half frozen but unable to turn my back to the intruder.
“W-who are you?!” I tugged on my bat to no avail. His grip was so tight I feared he’d crush the thing, but I couldn’t let it go. It was the only weapon I had. “I’ll call the police. Leave! Now!”
His glare was piercing as he took a step forward.
I took another step back, swearing under my breath that I’d given this intruder more room.
I didn’t know what he was. Not human, I knew that much. He stepped farther into the light, his bone-colored horns illuminated and larger than I imagined.
He was larger than I imagined. So much of him had been hidden in the shadows. Not anymore.
No sir.
Gray and white fur covered just about every inch of his massive frame, but I could still see dips and valleys along his thick arms, legs, and torso that spoke of muscle.
This guy could easily knock someone’s head off.
Knock my head off.
And I’d just threatened to call the police.
But why was he naked?
My stomach knotted.
“I won’t go down easy if you’re thinking of using—” my eyes inadvertently dipped down to his cock, hanging there in all its monstrous glory among the shorter fur. “I’ll kick you so hard, you’ll be coughing up your balls.”
He let go of the bat and I stumbled back into the wall. Hadn’t realized I’d been pulling on it so hard.
“I won’t hurt you, witch.”
He spoke. He understood everything I said.
...Did he just call me witch?
Excuse me?
“Witch?” Triggered, I held the bat aloft, ready to swing again, uncaring if he caught it or not. “You break into my home, scare my Skully, and then insult me?”
I swung the bat again, getting in a wallop on his leg. “I’ll take out your knees, motherfucker!”
He growled—growled!—at me, barely flinching.
This wasn’t the day. I’d been doing good. I’d hung a snowflake up for elves-sake! I decorated for Christmas!
An insulting intruder wasn’t on my advent calendar, dammit!
“Help!” I shrieked, attempting to hit him again, hoping semi-deaf aunt Helen across the hall would hear. “Someone he—”
I went flying.
Flying to the floor.
And I wasn’t alone.
The intruder landed on top of me, hand over my mouth, and the air flattened out of my body under his weight.
I couldn’t scream for help if I tried. It was a struggle to just breathe.
“Yer smuff-catim mmm!”
“Shh!” he hushed me, and I scowled so fucking hard I wasn’t sure my forehead would ever be the same.
His grip over my mouth tightened, but his weight eased up enough that I could finally take a much-needed breath. His pointed, suede-like ears twitched as if listening.
Nothing but pure silence.
Aunt Helen hadn’t heard me. Nor anyone else for that matter.
Whoever this guy was, he burned like a furnace. His incredibly soft, thick fur brushed against my skin like buttery down. I imagined he’d feel so good to smoosh up against on the coldest winter nights.
I noticed it a little too much right now. My deep breaths pushed my chest against his, and I’d removed my bra long ago. Only my flimsy cami separated my nipples from this alien.
My nipples that were suddenly rock hard and scraping against his chest with every pull of air I took.
Fuck my life.
He even smelled fantastic. Like oranges and candy canes and warm fur.
I groaned, hating myself, and he peered down at me.
Shit.
“Geeet uff mmm.”
“What?”
I exaggeratedly darted my eyeballs down toward his hand on my mouth then back up at him.
He grunted and, if I wasn’t mistaken, a hint of apology flashed in his red flecked turquoise eyes.
Thing was, he only removed his hand. He was still on top of me.
The uncomfortable seconds ticked as he stared at me and I stared back, my newly shallow breaths the only sound flooding my ears aside from my whooshing blood.
“Do you mind?”
“Right,” he uttered, finally rising off me. When he held out his hand, I stared at it before slapping it away.
“I’d appreciate it if you left now. I think,” I straightened my cami after standing, “you’ve overstayed your unwelcome intrusion.”
He cocked his head, appearing confused.
“What? Should I scream—”
“No,” he grumbled. “My ears are still ringing.”
I snorted, my acrid tone bubbling up. “Oh, are they? Well, how terrible for you. Should I call the doctor? Would you like a ride to the hospital? Please, let me know what I can do for you.”
“No but thank you.”
If steam could physically roll out of my nostrils right now, it would have.
“If you don’t leave, I’m really calling the police. And—” I flipped on more lights, “how the hell did you even get in here?”
The alarm was still set and none of my windows were open.
What fuckery was afoot here...?
“You want me back in the prison?”
I stopped short on my way across the room to double check the door. A cold chill skirted through me as the word prison registered in my brain. “What did you just say?”
“Isn’t this part of my punishment?” He stroked his hairy neck with his long black claws, face skewed in deep confusion. Just as much confusion as I felt. “You don’t want me to spend Christmas with you like your predecessors?”
So much of what he just said—everything really—made no sense. “My predecessors?”
“The other witches.”
“Are you high? Ah stars,” I moaned, burying my face into my hands. “Of course a drunk alien would break into my home.”
“I wish I were drunk,” he muttered, yet his voice still had that velvety rumble which no intruder should have... “But some water would be nice.”
I dropped my hands to my sides, dumbfounded. “Are you hinting that I should offer you a drink after you broke in?”
One of his eyes grew wider and I thought if his horns didn’t take up most of his forehead, he’d be lifting a brow as if he wouldn’t be opposed.
The nerve. I couldn’t help but laugh incredulously. “No.”
He sighed, scrubbing his neck again and slowly moving through my living room, touching things and inspecting pictures. The clip-clop of his hooves loud against the wood floor, but muted whenever he tread across a rug.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch that.” I yanked a small crystal figurine of an earth marine mammal from his big hands. It didn’t deter him. Instead, he moved along, buck naked and rudely putting his hands on more of my things.