A/N: Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. I love hearing from you. WarningSmut alert at the end of the chapter. Mature audiences only!!

Chapter 43

HOUSE

It was Monday afternoon and I had just settled in to watch General Hospital when my phone rang. I considered ignoring it until I read the caller ID. When I saw that number, I picked it up right away.

"House."

"Bill Arnello. I have some news for Elle. I assume you want to be there for it."

"Is it bad news?"

"I don't think so, but I'm not sure how she is going to take it, so I figured I would run it by you first. That way you can be there if you feel you need to."

"I'll be there. Are you going to give me the heads-up now, or do I get the news when she does?"

He paused and then said: "Well, it really is public knowledge so I guess I could tell you now. The man who raped her is dead. He was stabbed to death by another inmate."

"Really? And who arranged that?"

Harshly, he said: "No one arranged it. He got into a fight with another inmate and the guy stabbed him with a homemade shiv. That's the whole story."

"Somehow I think there is more to the story than just a prison yard fight."

"Well, you can think whatever you want. I just want to notify Elle about this so she knows the guy will never be able to bother her again. Now, do you want me to just set up a time with her or do you need to check your calendar too?"

"Let's get this over with. Suggest to her that you will come to my place tonight at 8:00. If she doesn't agree to that, go with whatever time she wants and I'll be there."

Elle seemed nervous when I got home. As she made dinner, she told me that Bill had called and was coming over later to tell her something.

"Bill wouldn't tell me anything over the phone. He said it would be better if he told me in person. It must be something bad, like there's going to be a retrial or something."

I pulled her into my arms, wondering if I should just tell her and relieve her anxiety or not. I debated for a minute and then decided not to tell her. I thought it would be better coming from Bill than from a pasted up letter that Wilson had found under her door.

Bill arrived promptly at 8:00. Wilson had come over for dinner and moral support. The three of us sat on the couch with Elle in the middle and Bill sat his ass down in the armchair.

"Elle, I'll get right to the point. The bastard's dead. He was killed in a fight in the prison exercise yard. Another inmate stabbed him to death with a homemade shiv."

Elle covered her mouth with her hand and didn't say a word. Her body started trembling and I wrapped my arm around her.

Bill leaned closer: "Elle, I know this is a shock, but it's not like it's bad news. The SOB is dead. You don't have to ever worry about him again."

Wilson spoke up: "Elle, are you OK? Say something."

It was a minute before she could speak. "I don't know what to say. Part of me feels a huge relief that he's gone. But I can't help but wonder how convenient this is. Tony had something to do with this, didn't he?"

Bill shook his head: "Elle, come on. Tony wouldn't do that after you told him not to. Plus how's he gonna get to a guy in prison? How's he gonna set it up for another inmate to stab him?"

Elle gave him a frosty look. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know what Tony can do and this is completely within his capacity to pull off."

She sat there for a minute, taking deep breaths as if she were trying to calm down and then asked: "When did this happen?"

Bill answered vaguely: "A couple of days ago."

Elle was talking through clenched teeth now. "Again, Bill, I'm not stupid. You're evading my questions and I'm getting pissed off. When did this happen? On what exact date?"

Bill glanced at me. Idiot! Elle noticed it, of course, and gave me a curious look. Then she looked back at Bill and repeated: "The date?"

He sighed heavily: "It was Friday, December 15."

Elle slumped back against the couch and then she snorted: "Well, someone remembered my anniversary after all."

She turned her attention to me: "You aren't saying much? You don't seem surprised by this at all. Did you know about this before Bill came over?"

I hesitated and then said: "We had talked about it over the phone. We were concerned how you were going to take the news."

She stared at me for a full minute and then turned her attention to Wilson. "You don't seem surprised by the news either."

Wilson stammered, clearly got off guard. "Uh, no. House told me."

"When did he tell you?"

"This afternoon, at the hospital, after he spoke to Bill."

Her eyes narrowed: "Exactly when, this afternoon? I seem to recall that after you finished your clinic duty, you came right to my office where we discussed today's pain patients. When we left my office and went back to yours, Greg had already left for the day."

Wilson blinked several times and tried to answer: "Um."

This is why Wilson always loses at poker. His face gives him away every time.

Elle hissed: "You're lying to me."

She swung back around and jabbed her finger at me: "YOU are lying to me. When did you find out about this?"

The cat was out of the bag and it had really sharp claws. This was going to hurt. I looked at Bill to gauge his reaction to my answer: "Yesterday."

I could see the flash of surprise on Bill's face, but I was quickly distracted by Elle's outburst.

"Yesterday? Yesterday? And you didn't think that you should tell me? Were you keeping it as a surprise for Christmas or something?"

Then her voice dropped: "You mean, you knew, when we were, under the tree?"

I closed my eyes; I could hear the disappointment in her voice, I didn't want to see it in her eyes.

She sounded like she was on the verge of tears when she asked: "Jimmy, did you know this yesterday, too?"

Quietly, he said: "Yes. House, are you going to tell her or shall I?"

I shook my head and stood up. "I'll get it."

I retrieved the letter from its hiding place and brought it back to the living room. I handed it to Elle and simply said: "This was slipped under your door sometime yesterday morning. Wilson found it when he left to get the bagels at noon. He showed it to me. I didn't want to tell you about it. I wasn't sure how you would react and I didn't want to spoil the holidays. I planned on showing it to you after Christmas."

She took the envelope from me and opened it. Slowly she read the 3 pages, her hands trembling slightly.

There was a barely contained rage in her words when she finally spoke: "Look at this, Bill. And don't tell me that Tony wasn't involved. Don't ever insult my intelligence like that again."

She handed the pages to the lawyer and he looked them over.

Elle sneered: "Cut out letters? The date circled in red? He's been watching 'Law and Order' again, hasn't he? Who else would shove this under my door? He thinks he's given me a nice Hanukkah present by killing the man who raped me."

Bill shook his head: "Elle, I didn't know. He didn't say anything to me."

She held up her hand to stop him. "You wouldn't say anything even if you did. I am smart enough to know that. You can tell Tony that he needs to stay outta my face for a while. I am so angry with him. I told him not to do this. Remind him that if I need a favor that I will ask for it. I know he has my back if I need him, but damn it, he can wait until I ask for help, not just march in and take over."

She snapped her fingers and pointed at the papers. Bill handed them over to her and Elle folded and stuffed them back in the envelope.

Her voice was cold as she asked him if there was anything else he needed to tell her. He shook his head.

Elle stood up and coolly thanked him for coming and escorted him to the door. She shut the door behind him and leaned her head against it, lightly pounding her fist on the door. I knew she was mad.

When she turned around, I could hear the disappointment in her voice: "You lied to me."

I wanted to explain, but she cut me off. "I know you were trying to protect me. I'm sure you were concerned how I would react, whether I would start having nightmares again or start drinking or something. But you should have told me. Especially tonight when I kept telling you how worried I was about what Bill had to tell me."

She paused and then went on. "I am so angry at Tony right now; I can hardly think straight. I can't believe he did this. But Greg, I'm so disappointed that you lied to me and that you didn't think I was strong enough to handle this."

She finally let me get a word in edgewise. "No, I do think you're strong. Elle, you're the strongest person I know. You were just so happy about the holidays and I wanted that to last. I didn't want the holidays to get spoiled because of Tony's perverted idea of justice and need for revenge."

Wilson piped in: "It's true, Elle. We were going to tell you right after Christmas. We just wanted you to enjoy the holidays."

She pressed her hands against the sides of her head, as if she had a tremendous headache, and stared down at the floor for a few minutes. She seemed to considering everything that had been said here tonight.

Her face was strained when she finally looked at me, like she was going to burst into tears at any second. I took a step towards her, but she stopped me with an out-stretched hand.

"I need to be alone for a while. I'm going to my place. Please don't disturb me."

She turned and walked out the door without another word.

I sank onto the couch and buried my face in my hands. I had fucked this up, just as I knew I would. My actions had resulted in her becoming angry and disappointed in me. This wave of feelings came over me; it was not unfamiliar but it was damned unpleasant. I had been in this place many times before with someone that I wanted to love me and be proud of me being only angry and disappointed with me. As time went on, I figured out that he would never be proud of me and I stopped trying to secure his approval. I would always be a disappointment to him.

I really thought that waiting to tell her about the letter was the right thing to do at the time. I hoped that, when she replayed everything in her mind, she would understand that I was looking out for her best interests. But then again, so was Tony in his own overblown fashion. I'd made the wrong call on this one. I had to wait for Elle to return to see if this was a major or a minor fuck-up.

I did my best to squash my insecure feelings back into their little box while I pondered on what to do now. I needed to do something. I went into the kitchen and starting washing the dishes for a lack of anything else to do. It also kept me from hitting the sauce. I wanted to be sober when Elle returned.

Wilson followed me into the kitchen. "Is she always this quiet and controlled when she's angry?"

I shook my head: "Usually there's yelling. I think she's so pissed this time that she is beyond the yelling stage."

I washed and rinsed while Wilson dried and put the dishes away. After wiping down the countertops, he grabbed a couple of beers and we sat on the couch. I let him have the remote and he flipped channels endlessly while we sat in morose silence, sipping our beers.

An hour or so later, Wilson broke the silence: "House, it's almost 10:00. Do you think she's coming back or will I need to sleep on your couch tonight?"

"She'll be back. We never go to bed mad at each other."

He gave me a skeptical eye. "Really?"

"So far."

He nodded and turned back to the TV.

I hoped that was still true when Elle finally returned.

ELLE

I threw myself down on the futon and clutched the pillow to my face. My head was pounding and I wanted to block out the light. I let myself cry for a little bit. My mind was cluttered with too many emotions: relief, anger, sadness and disappointment.

I couldn't believe that the bastard was dead. I would never have to worry about him hurting me or one of my loved ones again. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. Sadly, that was overshadowed by my anger at Tony. He shouldn't have done this. The guy was in jail. He couldn't hurt me from there. I could have understood if the guy had been out on the streets and a potential threat to me that Tony would take him out. Having him killed in prison was above and beyond any sense of duty that Tony should have felt towards me. It actually worried me how far Tony would carry something. I had needed him to take care of Charlie for me. After all, Charlie had physically hurt me and was still threatening me. Then after David dumped me, Tony had wanted to 'teach him a lesson' for me, which I felt was unnecessary. What if Greg and I broke up? Would Tony do something to Greg if he hurt me emotionally? I would have to set Tony straight on this matter and soon.

I went to the liquor cabinet and poured myself a small shot of Jack. I wasn't going to get drunk tonight, but I did want a little something to take the edge off. I sat back down on the futon and sipped it slowly.

I thought of Greg and sighed. He had lied to me, but he had done it to spare me some pain. He said he didn't want to tell me until after Christmas so it wouldn't spoil the holidays. The look in his eyes told me that he was telling the truth. As much as he was trying to contain it, I knew he was looking forward to Christmas. The few remarks he had made about the holiday had actually spoken volumes. I was touched by the fact that he was willing to get a tree for the first time since Stacy had left him. I really wanted to make this a nice holiday for him. I was sure that he would like the gifts that I bought for him when I was in New York, but I thought I would do a bit more shopping. It would be fun for him to have several presents to open.

There were times when he seems so insecure, like he's just waiting for me to give up on him and leave. He had that look in his eyes last night when we were under the tree. It only lasted for a brief moment, but I saw it as he was trying to hide his scar. Does he really believe that the scar is so ugly that he's unworthy of being loved? No, that wasn't it. The real scar was much deeper than just skin and muscle and had been forged over a much longer time. And he was really good at hiding that one.

I glanced at the clock; it was almost 10:00. We needed to make up before bed and there was something else that in my anxiety about Bill's visit, that I had forgotten to do. I needed to do it before bed.

The boys were sitting in their usual spots on the couch when I entered. Jimmy was flipping channels and Greg was just staring at the tube. He looked over his shoulder at me as I approached. I thought I could see a touch of fear in his eyes, mixed with a bit of hope and a smidge of sorrow. I knew he felt bad; he didn't have to say anything more.

I moved until I stood right behind him and placed my hand on his cheek. He covered my hand with his own and gave it a little squeeze.

"Greg?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"In all my anxiety tonight about Bill's visit, I forgot to light the candles."

"So you did. But you can light them now."

In a small voice, I asked: "Will you light them with me?"

His look was tender as he nodded. "Of course."

I stroked his cheek with my thumb and squeezed his shoulder with my other hand.

I turned to Jimmy. He had been listening in on our little interchange the whole time while pretending to be concentrating on the TV.

"You too, Jimmy."

He looked a bit surprised and then he nodded: "Sure, Elle."

I went over to the kitchen island and prepared the menorah. The guys came over and stood next to me. When everything was ready, I lit the shammus and said the blessing; Jimmy recited it along with me.

I lit the first candle and then handed the shammus to Greg. He lit the second candle and glanced at me, unsure of his next move. I tilted my head towards Jimmy who extended his hand and Greg passed the shammus to him. After Jimmy lit the third candle, he handed the shammus back to me and I lit the last candle.

Softly I started singing Maoz Tzur and after a couple of bars, Jimmy joined in. I wrapped my arm around Greg's waist and gave him a squeeze. I looked up at him as I continued to sing. His eyes looked more relaxed and he had a slight smile on his face. He kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side. I threw my other arm over Jimmy's shoulders. He looked quite surprised and even faltered in his singing as he glanced at Greg with concern. Whatever passed between them was quite literally over my head, but after a minute, Jimmy relaxed and even draped his arm over my shoulder.

Greg muttered: "Just keep your hands where I can see them."

I giggled, interrupting the song, but I felt the tension in my body begin to dissipate.

Jimmy rolled his eyes: "Like I would do anything inappropriate to Elle."

"Says the man who is currently screwing his boss."

Jimmy shot Greg a smirk: "Under the tree? How romantic."

"Oh, shut up, you moron."

"Sentimental sap. You don't fool anyone with that poker face of yours."

"George I-cannot-tell-a-lie Washington. If you had a poker face, you might not lose your shirt every week at the game."

I smiled as I listened to the two of them sniping at each other. Things were back to normal on Baker Street. Now I just needed to figure out how to deal with Tony.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

After the drama of Monday night, the rest of the week was fairly peaceful. I went shopping after work on Wednesday with Gen while Greg was playing poker. The game was still on when I got home so I hid the gifts in my apartment. On Thursday afternoon, he texted me to say he needed to stay late for a patient, so I took that opportunity to wrap all the gifts and hide them under our bed. I had bought two Christmas stockings when I was shopping with Gen. I got those out, wrote our names on them with a felt-tipped marker and hung them on the mantle. With the Christmas tree lights on and the stockings on the mantle, the living room looked really festive.

Greg got home around nine. I heard his distinctive footsteps enter the foyer and then I heard him knock on my door. I wondered what he was up to, so I went over to the door and looked through the peephole. I saw him hand Wilson a shopping bag and they spoke for a moment. Then he turned to come into our place and I quickly scurried over to the couch and flopped down. He was leaving a shopping bag with Wilson. He must have gotten me a present. I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself. I managed to compose myself and click on the TV while he was putting his key in the lock. He put his coat and backpack in the closet and I walked over and gave him a big hug and kiss. He settled in on the couch and I warmed up some supper for him just like any other night. At one point, he gave me a quizzical look and I wondered if he picked up on my barely concealed excitement. I distracted him by pointing out the stockings that I had hung on the mantle. He chuckled slightly and teased me about them.

"Right, Santa is coming to fill stockings for a Jew and an atheist. I admire your optimism, sweetheart."

"Santa doesn't care what religion you are. You just have to believe in HIM and his elves and his reindeer."

"And you believe?"

"Of course."

He chuckled and picked up the remote. As he flipped through the channels, I suddenly grabbed his arm. 'Scrooged' with Bill Murray was on.

"Ooooo, let's watch this. I love this movie."

"Aw, why do you want to watch this? It's just a modern remake of 'The Christmas Carol'."

"But I love that story. It is totally my favorite Christmas story and this version is so funny. Can we watch it?"

He tossed the remote onto the coffee table. "Fine. You're as bad as Wilson with the sentimental crap."

I snuggled into his side and said: "Yeah, but I'm a girl. I can get away with it."

He chuckled, wrapped his arm around me, kissed the top of my head and settled back to watch the movie with me. Within 5 minutes, he was laughing at the antics of Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

At last, Friday night was here and we had a lovely 3-day weekend ahead of us. Greg was on-call, of course, but the hospital would call Chase or Cameron first and then, if needed, one of them would call Greg in. Greg actually let Foreman take the Christmas holidays off, so he could go home and visit his parents, but he had to be back before New Year's.

Jimmy and Lisa were going out to dinner tonight. They had invited us along, but we had declined. We were going to see them a lot this weekend, so we decided to spend the evening at home, just the two of us.

We hadn't had any snow yet, but the weather had gotten really cold. I decided a nice pot of chili was in order, so I threw all the ingredients in the crockpot this morning before work. That way, dinner was mostly ready and we could really relax this evening.

Greg actually beat me home tonight. I could smell the chili as I came in the door. I found him in the kitchen with the lid off of the crockpot and a spoon in hand, having a taste.

I teased: "You couldn't wait until dinner?"

"Hmmmm. This batch came out really well. You outdid yourself."

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

I headed into the bedroom and changed into some jeans and a sweater. The heat was very temperamental in this building. I couldn't get it adjusted just the way I liked it. It was either way too hot, or not quite warm enough. I was learning to live with the 'not quite warm enough'; otherwise we were walking around in shorts and tank tops.

I boiled some water and made egg noodles to go with the chili. Most people like rice with their chili, but I love having it with noodles. I carried the bowls into the living room and Greg brought the beers. While flipping channels, Greg found "A Christmas Story" and we settled in to watch that while we ate. It is not the best movie to eat by, as it is so funny that you are likely to choke while you try to swallow and laugh at the same time.

After the neighbor's dogs ate the Christmas turkey, the family went out for Chinese food. Greg nudged me: "See, they're having Chinese on Christmas like Wilson and I always do. It's not so weird."

"I didn't say it was weird. I know you guys do that every year. That's why I'm serving fried rice with the ham to honor that tradition of yours."

"We're really going to have fried rice?"

"Yeah, but I'm not making it. I'm getting it from Ling's. Don't you think it will go good with the ham?"

He gave me a strange look: "Yeah."

I took the dishes into the kitchen, washed everything up and put away the leftover chili. When I returned to the living room, I was surprised to see that Greg had turned off the TV and put on some soft music. He had turned on the Christmas tree lights and set up the menorah on top of his piano. All the candles were in place and ready to be lit.

"On top of the piano? Are you sure?"

He nodded: "I put down some aluminum foil."

He turned off all the lights except the small lamp by the couch and the tree. I lit the first four candles and said the blessing while he lit the last four. He took my hand and led me over to the couch. Once we were settled, snuggled up next to each other, he turned off the lamp. The candles were burning, the tree was twinkling and Etta James was softly singing. Greg tugged me onto his good leg and I ended up sitting partially on his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed with contentment. He tenderly kissed my forehead and then rested his cheek against the top of my head.

We sat there quietly, listening to the music until the candles burned themselves out, and then we went to bed.

We went to a Saturday afternoon matinee with Jimmy and Lisa. A new comedy with Ben Stiller had just been released called 'Night at the Museum' and it looked really funny. It had a great cast and we really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went to dinner at the Alchemist and Barrister. We went to the pub side, as usual, because Greg prefers the food there. He thinks the food on the restaurant side is too pretentious. This side serves a nice steak without all the frou-frou trimmings. Greg and Jimmy both got the steak, Lisa got a portabello mushroom salad and I got a burger.

Over dinner, Greg teased Jimmy and Lisa about 'coming out' about their relationship at work. I think he was still amazed that his two closest friends were attempting a relationship, especially considering Jimmy's track record. Greg liked to tease them, but we both knew that the main reason they were keeping it quiet was because of Jimmy's impending divorce.

It would take a minimum of a year for his divorce to be finalized and he was not interested in getting Lisa involved in any of that legal crap. I knew it could be a problem at work too since Lisa was technically Jimmy's boss. They would have to tread carefully if they decided to continue seeing each other. For right now, they seemed content to keep things casual and spend time together on the weekends.

I guess this subject had been brought up just a few too many times for Jimmy because he harshly told Greg to back off and surprisingly, Greg did. There was something in Jimmy's tone that I had never heard before. Usually he glossed over the things that Greg said, or teased him back. This time he was quite assertive in telling Greg that what was going on between Lisa and himself was no one's business at the hospital and that Greg had better not open his mouth about it or there would be consequences. The two men locked eyes for a moment and then Greg gave him a slight nod and broke the eye contact.

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence at the table for a few minutes. So I piped in and asked if they had plans for New Year's Eve.

Jimmy took a deep breath and grabbed Lisa's hand before replying. "I'm taking Lisa to New York for the weekend."

"Oh, cool, are you going to watch the ball drop in Times Square?"

"That's the plan, but I've booked a hotel room that overlooks Times Square, so if it's too cold to be outside, we can watch the fun from inside the room."

Greg piped in: "That's even more fun. You can stand there naked at the window, sipping on a nice glass of bubbly while watching all the silly people down below freezing their asses off."

Jimmy chuckled. I was happy to see that things were OK between them.

"Yeah, House, we just might do that. And what are you guys going to do?"

We hadn't talked about it. I had been so focused on making a nice Christmas for Greg that I hadn't given a thought to New Year's. I could tell by the look on Greg's face that he hadn't thought about it either. He was probably wondering what I would like to do and debating if he should try to top what Jimmy and Lisa were going to do.

I decided to answer for us: "Get drunk and have sex. What else is New Year's for?"

Greg raised his left eyebrow and grinned at me: "That's my girl."

HOUSE

We slept late on Sunday and lolled around in bed for another hour after we awoke. By then it was 1:00 and we were starving. Elle made us a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon and French toast. We spent the rest of the day just hanging around the apartment. There were lots of Christmas movies on TV and we watched a few of those. Elle dragged some presents out of their hiding place and stuck them under the tree. I wondered if they were all for me. She hadn't mentioned getting anything for Wilson or Cuddy, and since she didn't exchange presents with Avi and the gang, I didn't think she would with these guys either.

I looked around at all the holiday stuff; I still had a hard time believing that she had done all of this for me. While she was in the bathroom, I went across the hall and grabbed her presents. I had them gift-wrapped at the store so I just placed them under the tree and tucked the smaller ones into her stocking.

When she walked back into the room, she noticed the additional boxes immediately. "Hey, there're more presents under the tree."

I shrugged: "They multiply like bunnies."

I was sitting on the couch in my usual spot; Elle moved to stand behind me, and wrapped her arms around me. She nibbled on my earlobe and whispered: "You got me a present?"

"Naw, Santa came while you were in the bathroom. He said he brings the Jewish presents early and makes the other kids wait until after they go to bed."

"Funny boy."

She kissed my cheek so tenderly that I felt a tingling sensation all the way down in my groin.

"I thought I might give you one of your presents tonight, if that's OK. It's one you would not want to open in front of anyone else."

"Sure, bring it on. I'll open it tonight. Which one is it?"

I glanced at the boxes under the tree.

"Oh, it's not one of those. I'll go get it. Just give me a minute to finish wrapping it."

I smirked: "I'll be waiting."

Smugly she replied: "It will be worth the wait."

Oh, now my curiosity was aroused. Wilson said that she brought me something cool while she was in New York; I wondered if this was it.

I flipped around the channels while she was gone, searching for something non-Christmassy to watch, but no luck. Every channel had Christmas programs on. I wondered what Jewish people really did on Christmas. There was nothing good on TV for them, and most everything was closed.

My ears suddenly perked up when I heard the click-click of high-heeled shoes on the wood floor. Why would Elle have changed into high heels to bring me my present?

I had my answer in just a minute. A certain part of my anatomy stiffened immediately as she stepped into the living room. Elle had transformed herself into a very sexy Mrs. Santa. She was wearing a red velvet mini dress that had white fur adorning the cuffs, hem and neckline. A wide black belt with a silver buckle cinched her tiny waist. A Santa cap and black fur-trimmed mules with four-inch heels completed her ensemble.

She posed, hands on hips, head tilted to one side: "Have you been a good boy this year, Gregory House?"

"OH, yes, Mrs. Santa, I've been a very good boy."

She placed one finger on her chin as if deep in thought: "Hmmm, I seem to remember your name being on the naughty list."

"Oh, I'm sure that must be a mistake. Let me show you how good I am."

She giggled: "I bet you're really good at being naughty."

"And I think you are just naughty."

She giggled as she strutted over to the stereo and pushed some buttons.

The music started and she turned to face me. Her fingers were playing with the fur on her neckline and she had that sexy little pout on her face. At the appropriate point in the music, Elle started singing. The song was "Santa Baby" and no one, not Eartha Kitt, not Kylie Minogue, has ever sung it as sensually as Elle sang it for me that night.

As she sang, she lightly traced her finger down her neck, across her chest to the first button on the dress. Slowly she undid the first button and teased the neckline open a bit more. I could just see the red lace of her bra. As she sang, she continued to unbutton until she reached the belt. She slowly unbuckled it. Just as she started to sing 'come and trim my Christmas tree with some decorations bought at Tiffany's', she got the belt completely undone and whipped the dress open.

I was so ready to trim her tree and hurry up her chimney. Underneath that red dress Elle was wearing only a red lace shelf bra and a red garter belt. After flashing her goodies, she turned her back to me and looked over her shoulder as she continued to sing and slowly inch the dress down her body. The dress hit the floor at the same time as the song ended. Then she turned to face me, smiled sweetly and said: "Merry Christmas, baby."

I was so hard that I wasn't sure I could walk. That had been one hot number.

"Sweetheart. That was, without a doubt, the best present I've ever had. And if you climb in my lap right this minute, I'll give you one of your Christmas presents."

Tossing her hair and pouting her lips in a very seductive way, she walked slowly towards me and straddled my lap. I pulled her tightly against my body and buried my face between her lovely breasts. I popped her bra and flung it across the room. Now all she had on was the garter belt, stockings and her heels. I ground my jeans-covered erection against her naked core and she rocked against me.

Elle placed her hands on my face and her lips found mine. Her tongue sought entrance, but I pushed mine into her mouth instead. I felt greedy; I wanted to possess her completely. She acquiesced and my tongue explored her mouth thoroughly.

Next my mouth moved to her neck and I went for her sweet spot. I bit it, a little harder than usual and then soothed it with my tongue. Elle gasped when I bit, but starting purring as I licked it. I spent some time on that spot, alternating between licking and sucking on it. My mark would be on her tomorrow and that's just what I wanted.

I slipped my hand between her legs; she was extremely wet. I looked down to see a damp spot on my jeans where she had been rubbing against me.

"You got wet stripping for me, didn't you, naughty girl?" I plunged my fingers inside of her.

She squealed: "YES!"

Elle rocked against my fingers, moaning whenever I would lightly press my thumb over her clit. She tried to angle her body for more pressure, but I wanted to stretch this out for a bit longer.

I pulled my fingers out of her, stuck one in her mouth and one in mine. We each licked a finger clean, our faces so close together that we were breathing each other's air. When we had finished, I instructed her to take my shirt off. Elle obliged by pulling it over my head and tossing it over the back of the couch. Then she rubbed her breasts against my naked chest and nipped my neck.

I put my hands on her waist and pushed her away. "Get up. I gotta get these pants off."

Elle climbed off of me and I stood up, a bit wobbly-legged. I stepped away from her, unbuckling my belt as I walked towards the leather armchair. I turned to face her, unzipped my jeans and dropped them to my ankles. I sat down in the chair and instructed her to finish removing them.

Elle knelt in front of me and untangled my jeans from my ankles. Then she moved between my thighs and mouthed my cock through my briefs. I watched her through half-closed eyes. Even through the material, it felt really good, but I was ready for more.

"Take those off too."

I lifted my hips slightly to make it easier for her to pull them off. As soon as she had untangled them from my feet, her mouth was back on my cock again. I ran my fingers through her hair as I watched her suck me. The sight was incredibly erotic and I felt myself getting closer to the edge than I wanted to be at the moment.

I stopped her with a finger under her jaw; she looked up at me with my dick still in her mouth. I took a mental snapshot of that image. No matter what, I always wanted to remember this Christmas Eve, her sexy little strip tease, and the way the Santa hat on her head waggled as she blew me.

Her eyes were dark with lust as she continued to flick her tongue against the underside of my cock while awaiting my next instructions. It was absolutely delightful.

But I was ready for Mrs. Santa to ride my sleigh.

"Condom?"

She winked and slowly withdrew me from her mouth. She circled the tip with her tongue, licking up my pre-cum and then she slowly stood up. She fished a condom out of her garter belt and opened it up. She rolled the condom onto my cock; I grabbed her hips and guided her towards me. Elle positioned me at her entrance and slowly slid down my cock. She cried out as I thrust up into her and then we fell into a rhythm.

My hands were all over her, squeezing her ass, cupping her breast, tweaking her nipple, but my eyes never left her face. I loved watching her expression as her body moved closer and closer to the edge, the half-mast lids, the little smiles, the lust-filled eyes.

She was almost there and I was ready to fall. I stuck my thumb in her mouth to lick and then I gently pressed it on her clit. That light touch was all it took for her and she cried out my name as she came. Her walls clamped tightly around my cock; that took me over the edge and I exploded inside of her. We thrust against each other a few more times and then she sagged against my chest. Our bodies were covered with a fine sheen of sweat, our breathing was ragged, but I'd never felt better in my life. There wasn't even a dull throb in my leg at the moment. Elle's Christmas magic had cured my pain, even if it were only for a few moments.

Elle leaned back and lifted her hair off of her sweaty neck. I could see that my mark had already appeared. I leaned forward and took another quick nip to reinforce the color. Elle gasped in surprise.

I licked it soothingly as I muttered: "Mine. All mine."