Rhian Cahill's Blog, page 32

Release Day – Shut Up And Kiss Me

Yay! It’s release day!

 

Blurb:

The city of Sydney isn’t the only thing heating up this summer.

 

Jacqueline Mowbray has spent months fantasizing about her friend Kyle and never once did she consider he may be suffering the same unrelenting attraction. But Jac is about to find out that what Kyle wants Kyle gets.

Kyle Barnes has kept a lid on his simmering desire for Jac for years but what’s a man to do when faced with a hot, wet woman wearing only a towel? Take what he wants of course.

As the city around them melts under a summer heat wave these two friends will discover the sizzling temperatures aren’t the only thing boiling over.

Warning: This story contains more than rising temperatures and the author advises the reader to have a cold drink or suitable partner to help combat the heat.

 

Excerpt:

 

Jacqueline Mowbray let herself into the oven that was masquerading as her apartment. Three days of the worst heatwave Sydney had ever endured had taken their toll on more than her hair. The city had hit crisis point this afternoon and now half the population was without power. Jac listened for the hum of her ancient refrigerator but heard only silence. With a sigh, she tossed her keys on the dining table on her way to the bathroom and a cold shower. Good thing she wasn’t after a hot shower or the lack of electricity would really top off her shitty day.

She stripped off her clothes as she went, leaving a trail of damp cotton in her wake. Work had sucked. Power had gone out around two but the boss, being her usual bitchy self, wouldn’t let them shut down until the dot of five. Fucking cow. Jac really needed to look for another job. She’d been Vanessa’s dogsbody for over a year and knew the reason the other woman was doing so well had nothing to do with Vanessa and everything to do with Jac.

If Jac had the cash, she would start up her own shop and give the bitch a run for her money. She smiled. The thought of snooty Vanessa helping women try on clothes was the funniest damn idea. She’d scare off buyers before they ever made it to a fitting room. It was a wonder the store hadn’t gone bust in the year prior to Jac’s employ.

Her feet connected with cool tiles, bringing blessed relief to her hot soles and she took a moment to curl and uncurl her toes to soothe them—and her mind. No more work. Well not for two days, anyway. Jac had never been more thankful for a weekend. She planned to spend it lazing around the house in her underwear, in part due to the unrelenting temperature and in part just because she could. Not even bothering with the hot water tap, Jac twisted the cold one all the way on. A draft of cool air caressed her naked body as the shower blasted against the tiled enclosure. Jac sighed as she stepped beneath the spray.

The water streamed over her short hair and down her back. Closing her eyes, Jac turned under the flow more fully and let the stress of the day wash away. In spite of the high heat and much-needed cooling-off, goosebumps broke out across her skin and a shiver skittered down her spine. She edged out of the flow and reached for the soap. After a quick lather, Jac rinsed, and once more let the cold water rush over her face before switching it off and getting out.

Tempted to air-dry, she thought about the carpet she didn’t own and grabbed a towel. The last thing she needed was to have to replace mouldy carpet. Her savings had already taken a hit from major car repairs she hadn’t counted on. She really should think about getting a new vehicle, but the hunk of metal in her parking spot out front held sentimental value. Jac had been so proud of herself when she’d bought the car. It was the first purchase her parents hadn’t made for her.

Of course Daddy had been a little upset and angry that she hadn’t accepted the brand-new BMW he’d wanted to give her but Jac had stood her ground and he’d finally—grudgingly—acknowledged her need for independence. Her car might not be the best model or the safest, flashiest ride in town, but it was all hers. He hadn’t stopped taking care of her over the years but she’d learned to pick her battles wisely and, other than a few small things, hadn’t allowed him to smother her with his well-intentioned love.

Jac wrapped the towel around her and tucked the end between her breasts. She scooped up her dirty clothes as she followed the trail down the hall to the living room. With the bundle in her arms she made her way through the kitchen to the tiny laundry. No electricity meant no washing, so she dropped the bundle on the floor and headed back to the kitchen and the fridge, where she debated whether or not to open the door. Her fingers curled around the handle just as someone knocked on her front door.

Hoping it wasn’t Mrs Jenkins from the ground floor with another complaint about noise, Jac went to answer the summons. When whoever it was knocked again, she smiled: it wasn’t her elderly neighbour. There was no way the woman had enough strength to bang that hard. Forgetting about her lack of attire, Jac threw the door open, the smile still tilting her mouth, and came face to face with her best friend—the star of her most recent fantasies and every woman’s wet dream.

Kyle Barnes.

* * *

Kyle’s temperature shot up ten degrees. The woman in front of him set him on simmer every day, but wrapped in a towel, damp from a recent shower, she set him to boil in an instant. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to remember why he was knocking on Jac’s door. Something about cooling off … He lowered his eyes, taking in every exposed inch of her, from her curly blonde hair to her red-painted toenails. Her legs were smooth and tanned, long and sleek, and an image of them wrapped around his hips flashed across his mind. A drum beat in his ears, a matching one took up in his balls, and his cock hardened, tenting the front of his shorts.

“Hey, Kyle. What’s up?” Did she sound breathless?

He brought his gaze up to meet hers. The bright blue of her eyes sparkled and he found himself thinking of swimming pools, which made him think of skinny-dipping. His cock throbbed harder, but he refused to answer the urge to readjust and find relief. The lust he’d spent years trying to ignore surged through his veins. Damn. This couldn’t end well.

“Kyle?” One of Jac’s finely sculpted brows rose.

“Fuck, woman, are you trying to fry my brain?”

“Huh?” Her smile disappeared.

“You can’t answer the door dressed like that and not find yourself slammed against the wall with my cock buried in your hot pussy.” He took a step towards her. She gasped and took a step back. “You’ve had me grinding my teeth and taking cold showers for years, Jac. No more.”

Kyle’s control snapped, taking every ounce of civility he possessed. He barged in, grabbed Jac’s shoulders and, kicking the door closed, spun around so he could shove her against it. His mouth landed on hers with raw hunger. No finesse, just pure unadulterated desire. She whimpered and for a split second he thought about pulling away. But then she softened—melted like the city had in the merciless heatwave. Her lips parted and he thrust his tongue inside.

She remained passive, let him touch and taste what he wanted. Kyle took advantage, brushed his tongue against hers, licked at her teeth and eased off to nip at her plump bottom lip. He ate at the fleshy curve, sucked and bit from one corner to the other. Jac moaned and he drove his tongue back into the dark recess of her mouth. Blood pumped through his veins, pounded in his ears, his groin. With each stroke his arousal soared higher, until it wasn’t enough just to have her mouth.

He tore his lips from hers, gasped for air and said, “Tell me no.”

“What?” Her chest heaved with each ragged breath she took and her towel had come untucked; the only thing holding it in place was his body pressed to hers. “I don’t want to say no.”

Kyle’s gaze darted up to meet hers. “You want me to fuck you?” Could the burning attraction he’d fought for years go both ways?

“God yes.” Her eyelids lowered, the fan of lashes hiding her eyes from him. “I’ve dreamed about it for months.”

He cupped her neck, pressed his thumb beneath her chin and pushed her head back until it rested on the door. “Don’t hide from me. You want me, you say it to my face. Eyes open.”

Jac gasped, her eyes rounding and meeting his. Her pink tongue darted out, sliding across her lips to leave a glistening trail behind. “I want you.”

Her words were a whisper but he could see the truth in her gaze, feel it in the way her body melted against his. Kyle grinned. She might be saying yes now but once he’d laid down a few rules she might change her mind. Shame he wasn’t about to let her back out.

“Say you’re mine.”

Jac’s eyes widened further, if that were possible, and her slender throat worked as she swallowed.

“If you’re saying yes, Jac, it means you’re mine. All of you. To do what I want when I want. No holds barred.”

She opened her mouth to speak and Kyle placed his thumb over her lips to stop her.

“Make very sure this is what you want, Jac. I’m not easy. I’ll demand and expect you to give.” He saw fear flash across her face and he stroked her mouth with the pad of his thumb to soothe her. “I won’t hurt you, ever, but I’ll push every boundary you have and then some. You need to know what you’re getting going in.”

“Are we talking a one-time deal?”

“Hell no! When we cross that line, honey, we ain’t coming back. I’m not after a one-night stand. I can get that at the local club. Besides, what I want from you can’t be satisfied in one night.”

“Oh.”

Kyle smiled. She was starting to get it. Question was, once he’d given her a taste of what he liked would she like it too? “So are you in or am I out?”

 

You can purchase Shut Up And Kiss Me from – AMAZON

 

Construction ahead!

 

Please excuse the mess while we rebuild the site. To keep informed while we’re busy please download my FREE author app.

 

  

Six Sentence Sunday – Christmas Wishes Pt3 – #sixsunday

 

She bumped his arm with hers. “You’re a big boy. You can take it.”

“Wish I could take you,” Dean mumbled under his breath as he let Talli get a few steps ahead of him.

“What?” She glanced back.

 

You can find more information on Christmas Wishes HERE! And you can purchase the novella at -

AMAZON  ~  iBOOKS  ~  KOBO

Don’t forget to check out the other sentences up this week HERE!

Snippet Saturday – Holidays

This weeks theme is holidays. Now I know it’s Thanksgiving in the US but here in Oz we’re getting into what I like to call the ‘silly season’. It’s where everyone starts going insane about Christmas shopping and decorating and planning New Year’s Eve events. As I already shared my Christmas novella, Christmas Wishes last week I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at the follow up holiday novella New Year’s Kisses. It’ll be available December 1. That’s right, only a week to wait.

Wade hadn’t missed the myriad of emotions flashing through Emily’s eyes when he’d mentioned the lower levels of the yard. He should have known better than to talk about anything that pointed to his obvious wealth after her earlier comment, but he didn’t want to censor himself around her, didn’t want to be anyone other than himself. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way to leave out his money. He’d just have to show her he wasn’t the sum total of his bank accounts.

He glanced at his watch as the waiter headed back with their dessert. Brent would see the man out once he’d served this last course, so Wade could sit back and enjoy the rest of the night with Emily. If she ever returned from the bathroom. At this rate she’d miss the fireworks and he’d miss his first opportunity to kiss her. Movement caught his eye and he turned to see her walking towards him at a clipped pace.

“Sorry.” She retook her seat and slipped her napkin back in her lap. “How close are we?”

“Under a minute.”

“I cut that fine.” She grinned and Wade’s stomach clenched.

“Yes, but you made it back in time for the best part.” He scooted his chair closer to hers. “As you can see, dessert is served and…” He held up his arm, checking the time. “In…ten, nine, eight, seven, six–”

“It’s not time for the countdown yet.”

“Two, one. Happy New year.” Wade leaned over and planted his mouth on hers as the sky lit up with a kaleidoscope of colour, light, and sound.

He kept it simple, a little pressure, a little tongue. Her mouth gave under his and a warm puff of air mingled with his breath as she sighed. Wade held on to his sanity by a thread so thin he felt the weakness of it. There’d be no turning back if he didn’t pull away now. With a monumental effort, he tore his lips from hers. Their panted breaths merged as they struggled to find solid ground once more. Damn. The woman would fry his brain before the night was done. Neither of them took notice of the loud booms or flashes of colour that made up the nine o’clock family fireworks display. They were too consumed with the explosions detonating between them.

“It’s not New Year yet.” Emily’s laboured breathing broke up her words.

Wade smiled, thrilled to know she was as affected by their kiss as him. “It is on Christmas Island.”

 

Blurb -

She didn’t plan to fall in love, but he’s not accepting anything less.

Emily has a five year plan, and romance isn’t on it. Unfortunately no one told Wade Johnson that.

Wade never thought he’d need to resort to blackmail to get a date. But if that’s what it’ll take to convince Emily Warner to join him, that’s what he’ll do – and make it a date neither of them will ever forget.

New Year’s is all about new beginnings and Emily and Wade are about to discover the best beginnings start at year’s end.

 

Wade certainly has an unusual evening planned for Emily.

If you missed the first novella, Christmas Wishes, you can find the details HERE!

 

Check out the other snippets up this week -

 

Leah Braemel

Mari Carr

Shiloh Walker

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

HelenKay Dimon

Lauren Dane

TJ Michaels

Jody Wallace

Homemade woodfire pizza in the Cahill backyard.

I’m sick so I’m re-posting a blog I did over on the International Heat blog a few weeks ago.

 

Yes I’m butchering the line from the movie Field of Dreams but hey, it works. A few months ago Mr.C started a DIY project that the rest of the tribe were very interested in. In fact the extended family were quite keen to see the outcome. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you’ll have heard all about the pizza oven. I thought I’d share some pix of before, during and after construction.

The base was our old wood BBQ.

The white is a layer of insulation bricks to help keep the oven hot once it’s fired.

Then the ‘cooking’ tiles (orange section). These are what you put the pizza on to cook.

The building of the tunnel required some tricky form work but it turned out great.

Now for the dome.

Once the sand dome is built the cement ‘roof’ goes on. When this layer dries the sand dome is removed via the tunnel.

Then there are more layers on the outside of the dome starting with insulation.

Then the final cement layer.

We’ll skip forward a bit to the finished oven. As you can see Mr.C also did some rendering, tiling and installed the chimney to finish off and now he gets to light the fire.

The oven had to be ‘fired’ for 10 hours to cure the cement work and remove all moisture.

And of course I can’t leave out the pizza!

First out of the oven was a garlic pizza. Mr.C makes his own dough from scratch and everyone agreed it was the best pizza they’d eaten. The oven has been fired-up all but one weekend since it was ready back at the beginning of September and even though it’s currently pouring with rain here it’ll be fired again tonight. I have to admit, in the months it took Mr.C to build it I was skeptical he’d end up with a working oven but I’m so glad he proved me wrong.

 

Six Sentence Sunday – Christmas Wishes Pt2 – #sixsunday

 

 

Christmas Wishes is the first in a series of novellas I’ve written about the holidays. The second, New Year’s Kisses, will be out December 1st and the final one, tentatively titled Valentine’s Dates, will be out January 1st. I’m excited about all three as there not my ‘usual’ erotic romance. They are in fact quite a bit tamer. My editor calls them sweet but don’t be fooled, there is definitely heat in there just not as scorching as you’re used to seeing from me. Anyway, back to this weeks sentences.

 This was the closest she’d come to seeing Dean naked since the eighth grade when they’d gone skinny dipping in the local lake. He hadn’t been as well developed then. Or as big. She swallowed, her throat dry as a desert and just as rough. A strangled moan caught in her chest. All the air seemed to have been sucked from the tiny room. 

 

You can find more details on Christmas Wishes HERE! And you can purchase the novella from -

 

AMAZON  ~  iBOOKS  ~  KOBO

 

Don’t forget to check out the other six sentences up this week HERE!

 

Snippet Saturday – Author’s Choice

It’s my choice and you know I just have to pick my latest release.

Dean had never been more grateful for a pair of snug jeans and a long T-shirt. He’d spent the last four hours trying to hide the hard-on he sported from a room full of pre-schoolers and their parents. It was all Talli’s fault. She’d pranced around in those skin-tight green elf pants with her lopsided hat, fake pointy ears and an impish smile all afternoon. He shouldn’t be turned on. If anything, being surrounded by all these people and her ridiculous outfit should have dampened his arousal. The scary part was he thought it might have – which meant he’d reached the point of no return.

Being Tallitha Jarmen’s best friend was no longer enough.

The children and parents had left only minutes ago and the silence that had settled over the room gave him too much time to think. He didn’t want to blow this. Their friendship wasn’t the only thing on the line. Dean wasn’t a fool. Becoming Talli’s lover wouldn’t guarantee him her heart. He saw the losers she dated. Not one of them worthy of her, but more importantly, she kept them at arm’s length. He hoped their years of friendship would make it impossible for her to put him in the same basket.

Dean snatched the hat off his head and welcomed the cool air on his scalp. The stupid elf hat was not only hot, it itched like crazy. Giving his head a good scratch, he dumped the hat in the bag with the rest of his unused costume. A shudder rattled his bones. Talli owed him big for this one. She’d slipped off to get changed, but not before leaving him with instructions on packing up her equipment. Images of Talli stripping out of her elf suit to reveal naked skin filled his mind. He knew she wouldn’t be nude beneath her costume but Dean’s imagination tortured him with the idea anyway.

Talli always kept her equipment well organised and by the time she returned, he’d packed up the remaining cameras and the special light she’d made him hold during the Santa photos. She stood before him in baggy denim shorts and a loose T-shirt; neither showed off an inch of her lush body and yet he was still rocked by a jolt of lust. Her impact on his senses increased with every second that passed. He needed to dial it back a notch or she might work out what he was thinking before he was ready to make a move.

And he would be making one.

 

You can find more details on Christmas Wishes HERE! And you can purchase the novella from -

 

AMAZON  ~  iBOOKS  ~  KOBO

 

 

The list of authors with snippets up this week:-

 

Leah Braemel

Mari Carr

Shiloh Walker

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

HelenKay Dimon

Lauren Dane

Shelli Stevens

Jody Wallace

Five For Friday – Christmas Wishes

I gave the first chapter of Christmas Wishes  HERE! so I’m giving you a random five paragraphs for Five For Friday.

 

Her gaze searched the room and landed on the jeans crumpled on the floor. They were rucked up as though he’d pushed them down and stepped straight out. Only something wasn’t right. She moved her gaze across the floor to Dean’s bare feet. Slowly she raised her eyes up his legs. The green material stretched over his calves, drew thinner over his knees and clung to his thick thighs and narrow hips. And that’s when it hit her.

No panty line.

As a woman she was intimately acquainted with panty lines. Talli glanced at his jeans and back again. She sucked in a breath as a shudder racked her, quickly followed by a wave of heat.

“Are you commando?” she whispered.

“Shit.” 

 

You can find out more about Christmas Wishes HERE! And you can purchase the ebook from:-

 

AMAZON  ~  iBOOKS  ~  KOBO

 

Want more Five For Friday?

 

Jambrea Jo Jones
Bianca D’Arc
Lila Dubois
Lexxie Couper
Mari Carr

Escape Publishing Launch – Christmas Wishes – #goescape

 

Escape Publishing is open for business and I’m thrilled to announce that my holiday novella Christmas Wishes is a launch title. And While you’re busy reading this I’m busy enjoying the launch party. But before we get to that let me give you a little about Harlequin Australia’s newest arm.

 

Escape Publishing.

Our mission: To connect readers all around the world with the stories they want to read.

 

We love romance, all romance, so when we imagined Escape Publishing, we imagined an imprint without restrictions, where romance readers can find the romance they want, in the style they want, at the length they want, whenever they want. In short, you want it – we’ve got it.

 

If it’s science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, historical, erotic, gay romance, inspirational romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, or YA romance – or any mixture of the above, Escape Publishing’s got it. We offer all levels of sensuality from the sweetest kisses to the hottest encounters. We offer different lengths, from short stories through novellas to full length novels. Our novels are standalone, loosely connected, or part of an ongoing series.

 

Escape Publishing is dedicated to bringing talented local voices to a global audience. All stories are DRM free, and available world-wide.

 

The Escape Publishing website is now live and I have to say I LOVE IT!

 

 http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/

 

Now let me share a little about Christmas Wishes -

 

 

This Christmas, Santa is granting wishes these two friends never knew they had.

Helping his best friend photograph a bunch of hyperactive kids is suddenly the least of Dean Hall’s problems when he sees the costume Talli wants him to wear. No guy in his right mind wants to be seen in a pair of tights.

Talli Jarmen isn’t above a little subterfuge when she’s desperate for help. But getting Dean’s assistance proves to be more than she bargained for when she sees him decked out in the naughtiest Christmas costume she’s ever laid eyes on. She’s never thought about Dean that way, but seeing him practically naked has her questioning their ‘friends only’ status. But wanting more is dangerous. Are they willing to risk all they have for what could be?

Excerpt:-

Chapter One

 

 

 The squeak of brakes and the blare of a horn told Dean he was out of time.

“Shit.”

Dean opened the top drawer of his dresser where empty space greeted him. The second drawer proved no better. Frowning, he spun around in search of his laundry bag.

“Shit.”

He’d forgotten to pick it up at the Laundromat yesterday.

The horn blasted again.

Dean tugged a clean pair of jeans from their hanger and stepped into them. In spite of the summer heat, shorts weren’t a good idea seeing how he’d be swinging in the breeze and the last thing he wanted was a wayward little kid’s hand finding its way up his pant leg. Hopefully the bulk of his time would be spent inside the daycare center where the air conditioning would be pumping out cool air. A longer horn blast sounded as his watch beeped.

“Shit!”

Dean grabbed a t-shirt and shoved his feet into runners as he rushed from the room. He picked up his wallet and keys as he passed the kitchen counter, but lost his grip on both when he flung open the front door. On the fly, he exited the house while his wallet and keys flew back inside a second before the door slammed shut.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” He spun around to stare at the locked door.

Behind him, Talli tooted her horn again. Dean looked skyward. This day was going from bad to worse. And for the first time in history, Tallitha Jarmen wasn’t running late.

 

Dean unlocked his fingers and let go of the oh-shit handle in Talli’s car. She wasn’t a good driver at the best of times, add in some heavy traffic due to the Christmas rush and a deadline that meant kids would be disappointed if she didn’t show up, and Talli was downright dangerous.

“Jesus. We’ll be lucky if we get there in one piece,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I heard that.” She swung the wheel to the left and he grabbed the handle again. “As much as you dig at my driving, I’ve never had an accident that was my fault you know.”

Dean snorted. “Might not have been by the law, but woman, you’re like an oil spill. Get just a little too close and the shit hits the fan.”

“Just for that you can walk home,” she huffed.

He laughed. “Now where have I heard that one before…?”

Talli looked away from the road long enough to poke her tongue out and give him heart failure.

“Watch the damn road, woman!”

“I’m watching, I’m watching.” He cringed as she zipped around a slow car without indicating. “Anybody would think I’d barely passed my driver’s test.”

“You did barely pass and if you hadn’t worn a low cut blouse and mini-skirt you wouldn’t have.”

Their birthdays were a week apart so they’d gone for their licenses together, just one of many milestones they’d shared over the years. When Talli turned up at his house in a black leather mini and white tie-front shirt he’d known right then regardless of her driving skills she’d be the one coming home with a license. He’d been right too. Dean had failed and had to re-sit the test the following week. The memory put a smile on his face and distracted him long enough for them to reach their destination without any more heart palpitations.

“We’re here.” Talli braked hard, sending them both jolting forward. “Now once we get inside, I’ll show you where to get changed.”

“Changed?”

“And then we’ll get down to taking the pictures.”

She was out of the car and heading for the trunk before he could get another word out. Changed? What did she mean by changed? Dean tried to recall the original conversation as he climbed out of the car, but for the life of him he didn’t remember anything about changing. He didn’t have any more time to dwell on it though; as soon as he reached the back of the car, Talli began shoving small boxes of equipment at him. Left with the choice of dropping them or holding on, he did the only thing he could and held on tight. With arms full, he followed Talli into the building.

And walked into utter chaos.

The noise level was deafening and there were kids running everywhere. Dean tensed, waiting for impact. He clamped his arms tighter around the boxes, the cardboard squashing a little under the pressure, but nothing happened. It was only after peering around his armload that he noticed the conveniently place pool fencing just inside the front door. Someone had obviously thought the kids needed a corral and, while that might not be politically correct, it certainly seemed true.

Glancing around, Dean could see only four adults in the room. They were outnumbered by at least twenty children ranging from crawlers to those racing full speed on tiny legs. He shuddered at the thought of going in, but knew he had no hope of escape now he was here. His knowledge of kids came from television and the occasional encounter at the supermarket. The next few hours would certainly prove to be an education. A harried looking woman rushed over, dodging kids as she made her way towards them.

“Oh, good. You’re here.” The woman leaned over the fence and took one of the boxes from Dean.

“Sorry we’re late.”

“No worries, Talli. This way. I’ll show you where to set up and where you can get changed.”

With enviable skill, the woman juggled the box, then took a couple of bags from Talli, and popped the child-proof lock on the gate. Talli nudged him through ahead of her. Smart woman. He was more than ready to bolt back to the car and lock himself inside. At that moment one of the kids lying on the floor let out a blood curdling scream, but as none of the adults rushed to his side Dean figured there wasn’t an imminent medical emergency. He’d taken another couple of steps when two boys raced past him, the first cutting in behind him to run full circle around him.

Dean dodged, stumbled, and the boxes in his arms teetered. It took no more than a second, but seemed like a lifetime. The top box slipped. He lunged forward with a grunt just as the woman in front turned around. Demonstrating an athletic ability to rival any Olympian, she scooped the top box from the pile and steadied the remaining ones with her shoulder.

“Sorry about that.” She turned to the boys playing tag around his legs. “Joshua Bowmen and Nathan Bicknell, take yourselves outside if you’re going to play tag.”

To Dean’s surprise, both boys took off across the room, hollering and hooting as they went out the open doors. He could see more kids outside and again fought the urge to flee. Talli nudged him from behind; there was no getting out of what he’d agreed to do.

“Keep going. It’ll be a rush to be ready before the parents get here as it is. Don’t need you dawdling.” She bumped him again. “C’mon, Dean, move it.”

With only one choice, he followed the woman in front. They crossed the room full of kids and moved into a larger one filled with rows and rows of seats. The area in front of the chairs was set up with a large Christmas tree and a throne that was obviously meant for Santa. A rock settled in Dean’s stomach and he turned his head to look at Talli.

“Tell me I am not dressing up as Santa,” he growled.

Her eyes rounded as her gaze darted to meet his. Talli shook her head. “No. You’re n-not Santa.”

Okay, that was good. So why did the look on her face make the rock sink deeper? They reached the front of the room and there was no more time to press for details.

“I thought you could set up over here behind the tree.” The woman put the bags and boxes down. “That way the little ones won’t get into any of your equipment and you’re close to it for when we do the Santa pictures. You can use my office and the storeroom to get changed.”

“Thanks, Em.” Talli moved passed him. “Speaking of Santa, did he arrive yet?”

“Yeah,” Em grumbled. “I cannot believe that man is going to hold me to my promise.”

Talli laughed. “C’mon, one date with Wade won’t kill you.”

“No, but it might kill him.” Em smiled. “I’m sure I’ll survive. You know where everything is, but yell if you need something.”

“I think I’ve got everything, but thanks. We’ll get set up.”

Dean placed his load of boxes on the floor behind the tree. A closer look at the branches showed the decorations were handmade and he smiled at the misshapen, brightly colored snowmen, reindeer, and Santas. On the very top was an oversized star made of tinfoil. Smiling, he turned to point them out to Talli, only she didn’t give him a chance.

“Here.” She shoved a plastic bag at him. “That’s a storeroom. You can get changed in there and I’ll use Em’s office.”

He took the bag, but before he could look inside Talli moved behind him and placed both hands on his back. She gave him a hard shove and he had to step forward or fall on his face. Pushing until she’d maneuvered him into the small room, Dean found himself shut in before he could spin around and protest. Resigned to the inevitable, he open the bag and pulled out the item on top. Dean sucked in a breath.

“No.” She hadn’t.

Dropping the red and green bundle on the floor, he reached into the bag for the next piece.

“Hell no.” She couldn’t have.

Dean tipped the bag up and stared as a pile of red, green, and white velvet and fur at his feet. What the hell was Talli thinking? There was no way he was putting that thing on. Especially seeing how there didn’t appear to be enough material to cover his extra large body. He used his foot to spread the costume out and almost choked when he got a good look at the pants, or more accurately – tights.

“Talli!”

Christmas Wishes is available from -

 

ESCAPE PUBLISHING   ~   AMAZON   ~   iBOOKS

 

Now let’s get back to the launch party. I’m going to do a detailed post later in the week but I can tell you it involves make-up, hair, interviews, photo shoots, red carpet and a limo ride! OMG! Talk about excitement. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you’ll see snippets of today leading up to the launch party and of course, the cocktail party itself. So if you’ll excuse me there’s a glass of champagne calling my name.

 

Six Sentence Sunday – Christmas Wishes – #sixsunday

 

 

You may remember a few months ago I gave you a sneak peek at my upcoming Christmas novella HERE! Well today in honor of Christmas Wishes being up for pre-order on Amazon HERE! I’m starting a series of six sentences from Christmas Wishes. Enjoy.

 

He took the bag, but before he could look inside Talli moved behind him and placed both hands on his back. She gave him a hard shove and he had to step forward or fall on his face. Pushing until she’d maneuvered him into the small room, Dean found himself shut in before he could spin around and protest. Resigned to the inevitable, he open the bag and pulled out the item on top. Dean sucked in a breath.

“No.” 

 

Christmas Wishes officially releases on November 14 and I’ll be sharing some super exciting news out the release later in the week.

 

You can find out all the details on Christmas Wishes HERE! And you can pre-order it on Amazon HERE!

 

 

Don’t forget to check out the other six sentences up this week HERE!