A Sweet Christmas Treat
Today’s Teaser: a sweet Christmas treat
My story A SWEET MONTANA CHRISTMAS is about a couple with more than their share of burdens. They’ve lost their way in life, and with each other and although their love remains, they don’t know how to find their way back. They find themselves starting over on a derelict honey farm in Montana. I loved writing this book so much!
One of my favorite scenes in this story is when Austin, the husband, attempts to wash his wife’s hair. The hot-water tank is out of commission and the facilities are, shall we say, rustic. But he wants so badly to make Melinda less miserable and so he does this clumsy, thoughtful thing that ends up being a bit of a mess. Those are, I think, the most romantic gestures; not the ones that work perfectly, but the ones that involve risk, the chance of failure, of being laughed at.
**
Austin set the aluminum tub on the butcher-block table in the kitchen.
“Come here,” he said.
Melinda looked at him with caution, but he could feel excitement, thrumming like a field, around her like a field.
Fear and temptation.
She stepped up to him and he handed her a towel.
He wanted to unzip that thick hoodie and pull it off. To lift up the shirt beneath, little by little, revealing her creamy torso by inches, until he could see the lower swelling of her breasts.
“Eyes up, big guy.”
He jumped. “Sorry.” He laughed shakily. “Habit.”
He gestured to the chair. “Sit. Put this around your neck. I’d ask you to take off your top, but…”
To his surprise, she slipped out of her hoodie. Underneath, she wore a tank top and it was fantastically obvious that she was braless.
Her breasts looked larger, the nipples pink and straining through the thin fabric.
He adjusted his pants. This was going to be harder than he thought, pun intended.
“Are you going to wash my hair, Austin?”
She asked it in a smoky voice that might have come straight out of an old western saloon. Low and slow and smooth as honey.
“I am.” He helped her lean back and draped her hair into the small tub. “Comfortable?”
“I’m okay.”
He scooped a bowlful of water and poured it over her head, being careful not to get any in her eyes.
She groaned, deep in her throat, a sound that sent more blood rushing southward, a sound he’d only heard when she was in his arms, sweaty, sated and limp with pleasure.
He stroked her hair, lifting it and continuing to pour, getting every bit saturated.
Then he squirted a handful of shampoo and began massaging it into her head. He’d never done this before and water splashed onto the table.
A bit of foam dripped onto her throat, then slid slowly toward the neckline of her tank top. She lifted her hand and caught it, without looking. The sight of her fingers, caressing her skin, so close to those rosy nipples…
“Ow!”
The towel beneath her neck slipped, allowing the sharp edge of the tub to bite into her skin.
“Damn, sorry, baby,” he said. He tried to tug it up but his soapy hands slipped. He bumped the tub with his elbow and suds splashed onto the table.
Way harder than he expected. In every way.
Suddenly he was aware of Mel, giggling. She put her hand to her mouth, trying to hide it, to let him carry on.
Then she grasped the back of her head and sat up, dragging the towel with it, laughing freely.
He felt like an idiot. Washing a woman’s hair was supposed to be a sensual thing, not a comedy show.
She leaned forward, laughing with her whole body now, and he felt the humor tickle him, too.
“That,” she said, between gasps, “was the single best shampoo… I’ve ever had.”
“Liar,” he said. But her joy unlocked something inside him and before he knew it, the two of them were bracing themselves against each other, bent over at the waist, howling, while water dripped onto the floor and Mel’s still-soapy hair sagged onto her shoulders.
“We’re going to have to heat more water,” said Mel, when she got her voice back. “I need a rinse.”
Her face was flushed and her now mostly-transparent tank top had slipped off one shoulder. Dark hair, red lips, those pink nipples. She looked like a strawberry sundae, with chocolate drizzle and whipped cream on top and yeah, he wanted to eat her up.
“There’s enough hot water,” he said, taking her hand, “to do this properly.”
Start the year off right with The Chocolate Cure
My latest book launches this week! This is for anyone who understands what it’s like to want to start over, to just… re-do… parts of your life.
No more chocolate! No more meddling! No more men!
New Year’s resolutions are great. Announcing them in a crowded bar, with a chocolate martini in her hand? Not Maddie Cash’s finest moment. It’s time this new realtor got serious about her life and this time, she means it.
But when hospital volunteering lands her at the bedside of bruised and battered Mick Meyer, who has no knowledge of Maddie’s reputation – and no memory of the kiss he begged from her during that long, pain-filled night, her best-laid plans are put in jeopardy. It’s not just his sweet tooth that’s tempting her.
The hunky bush pilot with the concussion has an old family property to unload. Making this sale could be Maddie’s professional salvation. But when Mick turns on the charm, she’s in danger of forgetting all her best intentions… on chocolate… on meddling… and especially on men.
Available at:
Early reviewers love The Chocolate Cure:
I loved, loved, LOVED Maddie and Mick…A truly great read!”- LadyWithAQuill Reviews
If I could rate this novel six-stars, I would.” –Danielle Urban, Goodreads
… a wonderfully fun read…” -Bette Hansen, Goodreads
THE CHOCOLATE CURE is book #4 in the Love at the Chocolate Shop series, a multi-author series set in and around Marietta, Montana’s Copper Mountain Chocolate Shop. Join us for fun, prizes, recipes and more here!
Need Last Minute Gift Ideas?
I am proud and relieved to say that I finished my Christmas shopping last week! I know, no land speed record; some folks are done in November. My mother-in-law was done in September one year. We’re friends anyway.
So I’m not in a mad panic. But I know some of you probably are. Life gets in the way. For us, this year, the weather has gotten in the way! I’m not scared of snow – hello, I took my drivers test in a snowy November in Saskatchewan – but BC snow truly is different. Plus, we live on a mountain and I drive a little, fair-weather car that gets spinny at the first sign of snow. Good thing I work from home!
Anyway, for those of you still needing to check off some lists, I found some great deals for you. Order online, get them delivered! Sounds perfect to me! For instance: Save up to 30% on Chocolate, Gift Baskets and Party Treats! The one that caught my eye? Lindt chocolates, my favorites for half price! There may be some of these under our tree too. Wait. No. We have dogs. (FYI: Activated charcoal and projectile vomiting is not a fun way to spend Christmas.)
Speaking of chocolate, have you read the latest in our Love at the Chocolate Shop series? Montana Secret Santa (Love at the Chocolate Shop Book 3) by Debra Salonen, is the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit!
One final suggestion: KeySmart – Compact Key Holder (2-10 Keys, Black) I *may* have ordered a few of these myself. They *may* arrive in time.
Wherever you’re at with your shopping and whatever the weather looks like in your world, don’t forget to enjoy the season!
Cheers and best wishes for a wonderful Christmas!
PS: right now, all new subscribers to my newsletter list will get a copy of my USA Today bestselling holiday novella, A Sweet Montana Christmas.