All by My Elf (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #3)

by Olivia Dade

“I think I’m warm enough without this. Sorry.”

She's got him feeling hot

“As you’ve said before, you’re afraid if you go too fast, our phyllo penis will fly off and impale another car.” His tone was as dry as her winter elbows. “Without permission.”

“They don’t deserve that kind of joy,”

“How can you not know, Nina? Claudia says I’ve been making heart-eyes at you since the day you walked into the cubicle farm at the library. I grew this”—he tugged at the neatly trimmed hair on his chin—“because I once overheard you telling her you found beards hot. I gave up my favorite desk to Sukeerth in exchange for the cubicle next to yours.”

AWEEEE

“Even as a committed introvert, I took a monthlong job that requires daily crowd control and extensive socializing, all whilst riding aboard an enormous traveling penis, just to be near you.

That’s love

“Of course I’m not afraid of you.” She planted a kiss right over his big, big heart. “You’re the sweetest, sexiest, most thoughtful man on this freaking planet, William, and I’ve wanted you from the moment Claudia and I first walked into that cubicle farm and saw you behind your desk, pushing your glasses up to the bridge of your nose while you read a journal article. You stood to greet us. Shook my hand and smiled at me. And your eyes . . .”

“Your eyes are so dark and so expressive. So incredibly warm and kind, and that’s completely fitting. Because no matter how sad or frustrated you might feel on any given day, you’re unfailingly respectful—not just to me and other professors, but also the administrative staff, maintenance workers, and students.”

“You listen. You pay attention. Your brain is sharp, your heart is soft, and your body is mouthwatering, William.”

“Of course I find you sexy. You’re literally everything I’ve ever wanted in a man, and I thought you were with my best friend.”

You had on that pale-blue dress that matches your eyes and kind of wraps around you, and I’d never seen anything so lovely before. Not in my entire life.”

“Go ahead and play, Nina.” His voice was rough but resolute. “I’m all yours.”

“If heaven exists, I hope it feels this fucking good,”

Then Dr. William Dern—frustrated academic; her colleague and longtime crush; the sexiest damn elf on this planet or any other—gripped her hips, braced his feet, and earned his freaking halo.

“According to Claudia, even if I’d followed you around all day with a sign reading ‘Please accept my deep and abiding nerd-love, Nina,’ I couldn’t have been any more obvious about my feelings.”