Friday Friends: Real people, real places – #FridayFriends #RealRomance @SadiraStone

Welcome to another installment of my Friday Friends feature, where I showcase members of my author community whom I particularly appreciate.

Today my spotlight falls on Sadira Stone (https://sadirastone.com/all-books/), one of my favorite romance authors. In a genre rife with stereotypes and tired tropes, Sadira’s books provide a breath of fresh air. Her distinctive characters don’t fit into neat little boxes. They’re not all young or beautiful, and very few of them are rich. Their ethnic backgrounds vary and contribute to who they are. Most importantly, their lives encompass more than just love and romance. They have jobs and career aspirations, often involving their own businesses. They have families, with all the messiness that can entail.

The other delightful aspect of Sadira’s books is their strong sense of place. She has several series, set in different locations: the Bangers Tavern books, focused around a funky bar and grill in Tacoma, Washington; the Trapper’s Cove novels, set in a picturesque beach town on the Oregon coast; Bookstore Nirvana, in the university town of Eugene, Oregon. Having read many of these books, I feel as though I’ve visited each of these places. Furthermore, place is often an important component of the plot in a Sadira Stone romance. Her characters struggle to retain the distinctive, individual quality of their home towns against the threat of gentrification.

Finally, I deeply admire Sadira’s ability to write steamy scenes that capture the special quality of making love to someone about whom you care deeply. Love and lust merge beautifully and seamlessly in her books, mere attraction yielding to deeper and more enduring feelings.

Oh, one more thing! Sadira likes to cook, so her books feature some delicious-sounding food. Be prepared to have your mouth water, and not just because of some hunky hero!

Of course, if you follow Beyond Romance, you already know about Sadira, since I’ve reviewed many of her books here. Here’s a sampling:

Delicious Heat (Bangers Tavern series)

 

After kicking her cheating husband to the curb, nurse Anna Khoury discovers she’s pregnant. When Bangers Tavern’s hunky chef makes heart eyes at her, she dismisses that delicious thrill as the last thing she needs. Single motherhood will take all her strength and focus. Anna’s battered heart can’t take another blow.

Chef Diego Vargas is aiming higher than burgers and tater tots. His dream—his own food truck, the Empanada Angel, but he’ll need his family’s support to pull it off. Meeting Anna leaves him thunderstruck, even though his attraction to her threatens all his plans. Call it fate, call him crazy, but he’s determined to prove he’s in it for keeps.

With a belligerent ex-husband and two overprotective families set on breaking them up, Anna and Diego will need more than red-hot passion to pull them through. His career and her baby’s future are on the line.

Come back to Bangers Tavern for a spicy tale of forbidden love that will warm your heart…and other parts…and make you hungry for empanadas! 

Review: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-tuesday-moved-to-wednesday.html

Passionate Brew (Trapper’s Cove series)

 

Salty Dog Brewery is Ryan Lee’s pride and joy, but he can’t run it alone. When his head brewer retires on short notice, Ryan needs a replacement ASAP. Enter sultry, sharp-tongued Lilo, the brewer’s daughter and protegee. She’s smart, talented, and oh so tempting, but her weird niche beers are the last thing Salty Dog needs.

For the love of her dad, Lilo Eisinger reluctantly puts her ambitions on hold to help Ryan, the smug, handsome jerk she’s loathed since middle school. This new partnership could spark medal-winning opportunities for both of them, but her success depends on opening his narrow mind—and resisting the temptation to seduce the boss.

Working side by side ignites sizzling desire. But when a high-stakes craft beer competition arouses their fierce rivalry, can new love survive this battle of wills?

Review: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-tuesday-passionate-brew-by.html

Through the Red Door (Book Nirvana series)

Clara

Unless I find a lifeline, my bookstore will close its doors forever. My best shot at saving Book Nirvana is my late husband’s collection of rare, racy books, but I’m not ready to open that red door and face the flood of memories. And I’m not ready to open my heart again, even if the two new men in my life tempt me to try.

Nick

I came to Book Nirvana in search of antique bawdy books and fell hard for lovely, lonely Clara. As a widower, I understand her skittishness, but the spark between us is undeniable. My academic connections could rebuild her clientele, but if she discovers my secret scandal, her fragile trust will shatter.

Dalton

I’m over the moon for beautiful, bookish Clara, but how can a teacher like me compete with a suave professor like Nick? Clara and I have so much in common, and our sweet friendship could bloom into something deeper if it weren’t for my rival’s grip on the vulnerable widow. I don’t trust him, and neither should she.

Come to Book Nirvana for chosen family, laughter and tears, sizzling passion, and a love triangle for the ages.

Review: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2025/05/review-tuesday-through-red-door-by.html

 

Sadira Stone

I hear that Sadira’s working on a brand new series, focused around the “tiny houses” movement. I’m looking forward to it!

You never ordered me to lie – #BDSMRomance #MFRWHooks #BoxedSet

Nothing is as romantic as surrender.

I’m sure many readers won’t agree with me – or won’t have a clue what I’m talking about. That’s the reason I love writing BDSM stories, though. It’s not about the trappings of dominance and submission – whips, paddles, bondage. It’s not about sex. The central thrill, for me, is the trust that is required when you submit to a master or mistress. The intensity of that connection – the gift of oneself – is what keeps pulling me back to my original genre.

Today I’ve got a brand new excerpt from Power and Persuasion. The book’s available wide, as a single title, but it’s also part of my BDSM romance boxed set Whips & Kisses, which is free on Kindle Unlimited.

This bit simply melts me. Maybe it will have the same effect on you.

Blurb

She’s his natural enemy – and the only woman who can satisfy him

Billionaire industrialist Andrew MacIntyre commands a vast empire of railroads, mines and mills. Labor activist Olivia Alcott is dedicated to helping the factory workers responsible for Andrew’s wealth. They are natural foes, but with complementary needs: his need to command and hers to surrender.

The Hook

Catherine MacIntyre watched him from halfway up the grand oval staircase, her hand on the gold-plated banister. She shook her head, her expression somber.

“Where in the name of heaven did you find her, Andrew? And what possessed you to invite her to this house?”

“It’s my house. I’ll invite whomever I please.”

“But a labor activist! How completely inappropriate! I’m sure the news is all over Newport by now. Boston and New York will know by tomorrow morning.”

“So what?” Andrew patted the pockets of his dinner jacket, seeking his cigarettes. “Why should I care?”

His mother sighed. “I expect we’ll have at least a few cancellations for the ball. People are afraid their reputations will be tarnished if they’re seen in the same room with someone like her.”

“What do you mean ‘someone like her’? She’s a perfectly delightful creature, beautiful, intelligent, well-spoken and polite despite where she comes from.”

“But Andrew—”

“I can buy and sell them all, Mother, and they know it. They’ll come to your gala because they go where the money goes. They want your favor, and mine. Mark my words, no one will cancel. They wouldn’t dare.”

Finally locating the embossed silver cigarette case, he removed one of the slim cylinders and stuck it between his lips. He was almost ready to light it right there in the massive, two-storey atrium as a gesture of defiance, but the genuine sorrow in his mother’s face stopped him.

“Everything will be fine, Mother. Don’t worry about Olivia—or about me. I know what I’m doing.” He headed for the darkened terrace, brandishing his box of matches. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

As he leaned on the granite balustrade, though, holding the fragrant smoke in his lungs and listening to the ocean sighing against the cliff, he wondered. What was he doing with Olivia? That afternoon, she’d pleased him beyond measure. He’d come down to dinner as excited as a kid at Christmas. The sight of her, resplendent in her finery, had only improved his mood. But the memory of her behavior at dinner reminded him how alien she was to his world. He couldn’t realistically imagine a future that included such a foreign creature, delicious as she was. After the weekend, she’d be gone, and he’d be faced once more with the odious requirement that he choose a spouse from among his peers.

“You seem pensive.” Olivia glided up to stand beside him, gazing into the night. Her scent had him half hard in seconds. “Are you feeling guilty? Contemplating the immorality of your life?”

“Miss Alcott, it is you who should feel guilty. You managed to completely disrupt my poor mother’s dinner. She’s quite distressed.” He bent to bury his nose in her soft curls. He couldn’t help himself.

“I regret having caused her pain, but someone needs to tell the truth about this life of yours. It’s a bit obscene. You have everything you could desire. You can do whatever you want.”

“Do you think so? I’ve far fewer choices than you’d imagine—as you saw this evening. I’m shackled by wealth and privilege, imprisoned in a kind of gilded cage. Before I do anything, I must consider the expectations of family and society.”

“Can you not consider sharing with the poor unfortunates upon whom your wealth is founded?” Her face was shadowed, but her voice was like music.

“Are you lobbying for that extra dollar in wages, Miss Alcott?” Slipping his arm around her back, he stroked the side of her breast through the velvet.

“That was, if you recall, a part of our bargain.”

He ran his finger down her neck, along her collarbone and into the hollow between her breasts, all bared by the evening gown. She shivered and pressed against him.

“I’ll think about it, Olivia. Meanwhile, what about your part of the bargain? Your agreement to follow my orders in every particular? You weren’t very obedient this evening.”

“You never ordered me to lie—sir.” She gazed up at him. Now, finally, he could see the sparkle in her eyes. “However, if you feel I deserve it, well then, you must punish me.”

Andrew took her arm and led her back into the echoing halls of Wavecrest. “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Whips-Kisses-BDSM-Erotic-Romance-ebook/dp/B0F9495QN7

Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Book Hooks!

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A window into the past – #HistoricalFiction #Romance #Giveaway

Blurb

On the heels of Sammi's grandmother’s whispered deathbed wish, a package of letters from Italy arrives at her post box. Reading them makes Sammi recall whispers she heard in childhood of her grandmother’s wartime involvement, a past that Sammi's father and aunt would rather see remain closed. As if things couldn't get any worse, her long-time boyfriend, Hunter, dumps her. However, an opportunity arises that sends her to Italy to defend her grandmother, even if the truth might shatter all she believes. In a helpful twist, Joseph, her best friend’s Italian cousin, offers to help her. Despite the obvious growing attraction between Joseph and her, she tries to suppress it as she embarks on her mission to vindicate the grandmother she loves.

Excerpt

Droplets of rain dripped down the coat sleeve, which protected my simple black skirt and white blouse. The oversized London Fog trench coat gave me strength. Too bad the weather didn’t get the memo. I should have worn a bigger hat, not the small black bowler.

As I stood by my grandmother’s gravesite with family and friends, I sniffed back tears that mingled with rain drops. I just wanted to get through the burial and grave site service without drowning in tears.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” I whispered, glancing over at Hunter. A skinny red tie broke the black monotone of his suit. Even in the rain, he looked good. I still couldn’t believe my luck; he wanted to be with me.

He held a large black umbrella over our heads. Oddly, he’d been quiet.

Clearing my throat, I waited for the usual trite words of condolence.

“Sorry for your loss,” Hunter finally said. Then he looked off into the distance.

I sighed.

Though we were standing close together, an invisible barrier divided us. His usual woodsy scent competed with the musty, damp smell of the burial site. I longed to nestle closer to him, but something felt off. He hadn’t brought up the reason behind the urgency of meeting at Crystal Cove. When I texted him the reason I couldn’t meet up? He’d expressed his sympathies, but nothing more. No reschedule. Nothing.

Color me confused.

About the Author

Award-winning author Kim Baccellia is the author of five fantasy/paranormal young adult novels, Crossed Out, Crossed Fire, No More Goddesses, Goddesses Can Wait, and Earrings of Ixtumea.

Kim has had many jobs. She was a bilingual teacher; homeschooled her son; served on her local RWA charter board; a Cybil’s panelist; and even read the slush pile for an agency.

In her free time, Kim loves long walks, yoga, watching psychological horror movies, and reading lots of books that she loves to review for YA Books Central.

A member of Women’s Fiction Writer’s organization, Kim is currently putting the finishing touches on a historical set in 1943 Italy. She also is working on a historical with a Utah suffragette loosely based on her own ancestor Lucy Clark. Kim lives in Southern California with her husband, son, and cockatiel Damon.

Website: http://kim-baccellia.com/

Blog: https://kimbacceliasweblogfantasy.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kbaccellia

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ixtumea.bsky.social

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/baccellia

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ixtumea

Kim Baccellia will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

This babe’s got to be mine … #ParanormalRomance #EroticRomance #NewRelease

Blurb

A witch who’s ditched sorcery…a down-on-his-luck vampire…
and one fateful encounter between them that could be pure magic.

Bored with getting whatever she wants whenever she wants it, Wren’s now earning things the mortal way — through hard work… specifically erotic dancing.

As a newly turned vampire, Roman dreads eternity until he chances upon Wren at a Las Vegas strip club during her nightly show.

Desire sparks. Lips meet.

Trouble brews from the vamp who turned Roman, and also from the vile warlock who’s determined to make Wren his…forcing her and Roman to battle dark magic and blood lust to turn a disturbing future into their shared paradise.

As they embark on their Vampire Quest.

AMAZON: https://tinyurl.com/mw84kawx

Excerpt

She raises her face.

I still. The surroundings grow quiet. Colors dim. Only she exists.

Her delicate features seem too ethereal for a witch, better suited for a fae. Her plush lips contradict the notion. They’re made for pleasure.

Something stirs within me. If I were still alive, I’d wager my heart is quickening.

Her gaze remains down.

That won’t do. Look at me.

See me.

Or not.

Giving into my basest vampire urges isn’t wise. And won’t do her any good, either. However, I can’t stop trembling at her presence, scent, and blood.

With one sniff, I can tell anyone’s blood type. How, I don’t know. I’m new at this vampire stuff.

The stripper’s AB positive, the same as me. Nice, except it’s the only blood capable of satisfying my oppressive hunger. Again, I haven’t a clue why I know that, but not even O, the universal donor, can do the trick. A and B have no effect on me either, similar to booze. They’re wasted plasma.

“Hey, babe!” A tiger shifter rushes the stage.

She glances up.

I stare.

Sooty lashes ring her dark-green eyes. The vibrant color complements her creamy complexion. A small mole decorates her right cheek.

Babes like her populated my teenage wet dreams. Being a man now has only stoked my enthusiasm for…

She scans the crowd, her gaze nearing me.

I tense, hoping she won’t look past.

She does.

I droop.

She pauses then glances back and meet my eyes.

Holy… A current similar to an electric shock tears through me. An exceedingly pleasant feeling that warms my insides and curls my toes. I’m not sure if she did something magic to produce what I’m experiencing, or if my feelings are from her natural allure. Either way, it doesn’t matter. I’m so ready for more.

This babe’s gotta be mine—heart, body, and…blood—no matter what it takes.

My vampire side refuses to settle for anything less.

Trailer: https://youtube.com/shorts/mWyD9PgGwtA?feature=share

About the Author

Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes.

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/tinadonahue

Bluesky: @tinadonauthor.bsky.social

Website/Blog: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/p/newsletter.html

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/146988.Tina_Donahue

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/tinadonahue

Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/1ChWFkO

Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas: https://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AuthorTinaDonahue 

Valentine’s Day Polyamory – only 99 cents! – #MFRWHooks #EroticRomance #ValentinesDay

I’m sure that every romance reader knows that Valentine’s Day is this weekend, but it kind of snuck up on me. Now I’m hustling to celebrate. Knowing how everyone likes to save money, I decided to put my sexy Valentine’s themed short on sale for a couple of weeks. Just for fun...

Vegas Babes Book 4 will be available for only 99 cents from today until the 21^st of February at all outlets. Don’t wait to grab yourself a copy.

Blurb

Jake and Fran and Ted and Annie celebrate Valentine’s Day—Vegas style!

When Jake and Fran are invited to Las Vegas spend Valentine’s weekend with Jake’s old friend Ted and his curvaceous ginger-haired wife, they’re not sure what to expect. The last time they saw Ted and Annie, at the Vegas couple’s pre-wedding stag party, the four of them had ended up in bed together. But maybe that was just a fluke. There’s only one way to find out.

The Hook

“Fran told me you’ve got a new job,” Jake said, strolling over to the glass doors and gazed out at the glittering Strip. “This apartment’s pretty fancy, too. Great view!”

“Life’s been good to us lately,” Annie said. “Anyway, we’re really delighted you could join us. Sit down and make yourselves comfortable.” She glanced around. “Don’t you have any luggage?”

“The airline lost it,” Francesca replied with a pout. “How they managed that, on a non-stop flight, I have no idea. They think it’ll show up tomorrow.”

“Well, never mind. We’re about the same size. You can borrow my clothes,” said Annie. And if things go the way I hope this weekend, you won’t need much in the way of clothing. Across the room, she caught Ted’s eye. He still looked nervous. Relax, love, she broadcast, blowing him a kiss. Relax and enjoy.

She turned her attention back to her guests. “Let’s sit on the balcony. Then you can really appreciate the view.”

Fran and Jake followed her through the sliding door. Ted brought up the rear. The condo faced east, away from the noise of Interstate 15. Now that the sun had set, the dry air was pleasantly cool. A light breeze off the desert stirred Annie’s curls.

The lights seemed much brighter and closer when they were outside. Franny hung on the rail, surveying the sparkling panorama. “Wow! There’s Caesar’s Palace! And Bellagio… And Jake, look, there’s the Desert Breeze!”

“Famous as the venue for the fashionable Torelli-Williams wedding,” commented Jake, slipping his arm around his wife’s waist.

“Can’t see the Holiday House, though,” countered Fran, leaning towards him for a quick kiss. “Site of the notorious O’Reilly-Thomas nuptials.”

Buy Links

Only 99 cents for the next two weeks!

Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/4089-valentines-visit-fourway-friend-swap--vegas-babes-book-4/

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NLBXZK5

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NLBXZK5

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/922797

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130554745?ean=2940155973508

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/th/en/ebook/valentine-s-visit-four-way-friend-swap-vegas-babes-book-4

Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43969420-valentine-s-visit

Please do visit the other authors participating in today’s Book Hooks hop!

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She didn’t believe in lunar prisons (The Induction of Satine by JL Peridot) – #SciFi #Erotica #FreeBook

Blurb

Satine didn’t believe in lunar prisons. That is, until she got shipped out to the one on her planet’s outermost moon. There, she’s assigned to Warden Jet, a fine specimen on the facility payroll—highborn, broad shouldered, fit as hell, and intent on ‘rehabilitating’ his new charge.

Excerpt

“Do you know where you are, Inmate Luna?” he asked.

 

“Inmate …”

 

“You’re on Bellerophon,” he continued. “Do you know where that is?”

 

A black hole opened up in my chest. I knew Bellerophon, our planet’s outermost moon. Hidden behind a larger, closer satellite, it was so rarely observed that people were starting to doubt it existed. But I remembered what I learned in school. Bellerophon was over four hundred thousand miles from home.

 

And here I was, all alone, shackled to a metal desk. No one knew I’d even left the city. Not my parents. Not my friends. Not even the mistress of the Night Foxes. Not that I could call on her anyway. She made that clear on many occasions.

 

I untangled my knotted fingers. “When it’s just the two of us, maybe you could call me Satine?”

 

“Not to worry,” he chuckled. “The titles are just a formality. Between the two of us, we can call you whatever we like. We’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

 

“We … we will?”

 

“Why, yes, didn’t Warden Genevieve explain it to you on the way up?”

 

“Explain … what?”

 

“We’ll start you off on a twelve week disciplinary sentence—”

 

“Twelve weeks?!”

 

He smiled and kept explaining. Something about direct engagement, regular reviews, processes, journeys. But it all blurred and faded as I plunged into the warmth of his voice. The drugs dulled my fear but heightened my senses. While he spoke, I followed the line of his jaw, watched his perfectly shaped lips move, wondered what they would feel like on my neck, in the fold of my elbows, in the creases of my thighs.

 

“Satine?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I need you to confirm your acknowledgement with a thumbprint. Just here, please.”

 

It was time to find me new clothes. Warden Jet ushered me into an empty change room and shut the door behind us. It beeped as it locked, then displayed a scan of my body with measurements and sizing details. I was still fully dressed in the clothes I came up with, yet this place could tell so much about me.

 

In dismay, I watched a dispenser at the end of a small locker spit out a black uniform. It was made of sheer fabric and folded in a perfect square.

 

“What about the clothes I’m wearing now?”

 

“For safety and hygiene reasons, they’ll be sent to a deprinter, the organic materials used for biofuel and the synthetic fibres recycled. I’m sorry, you cannot keep anything you brought with you.”

 

I clutched the square in my arms, waiting for him to go. But he made no move to leave.

 

“It’s policy that I watch you disrobe,” he informed me, adding, “with your consent, of course.”

 

For a limited time, The Induction of Satine is available with JL’s newsletter.
 

Get it here.

 

About JL Peridot

 

JL Peridot writes love letters to the future on devices from the past. She's a qualified computer scientist, former website maker, amateur horticulturist, and sometimes illustrator. But most of the time, she's an author of romantic science fiction. She lives with her partner and fur-family in Boorloo (Perth, Australia) on Whadjuk Noongar country.

Visit her website at jlperidot.com for the full catalogue of her work.

 

Celebrating (?) Snow – #Blizzard #EroticRomance #MFRWHooks

Welcome to this week’s MFRW Book Hooks blog hop!

I live in the tropics – it’s in the 80’s (Farenheit) here – but for the last week I’ve been reading all the news about record snow falls and icy temperatures plaguing much of the U.S. So I thought I’d post a snow-themed excerpt for my Hook, from my bisexual holiday romance Once Upon a Blizzard.

Can you tell that I grew up in snowy New England?

Blurb

No electricity. No water. Plenty of heat.

Suzanne and Gino have a history going back to high school, but for more than a decade the workaholic CEO has been thousands of miles from her New England home town.

A mistletoe kiss at a Christmas party rekindles the old spark and Suzanne finds some things do indeed get better with age. When Gino rescues her from a blizzard, though, she discovers that she's not the only love in his life. Gino shares his bed and his colonial-era farm house with taciturn painter Harris Steele.

Snowed in with two lusty men who truly seem to care, she wonders why she’s so determined to return to her lonely West Coast life. Is there really a chance for a holiday happy ending?

The Hook

The car crawled along. Suzanne swallowed her impatience and pushed her worry away. She could do this. Fifty feet ahead, a streetlight illumined the intersection with Amherst Road, the main route into town. More traffic would likely mean a clearer surface. Once she reached the larger road, she could probably make better progress.

All at once she lost traction. There was a sickening disconnect between the wheels and the road. She struggled for control as the car swerved to the left. Don’t brake, she remembered. Steer into the skid. The technique didn’t seem to help. A wall of white loomed in front of her, an instant before the sedan plunged into the snow bank.

Her head snapped forward with the impact. Black spots danced in front of her eyes. The seat belt bit into her chest, even through her bulky coat. The engine revved as the wheels spun, then died.

Suzanne’s brief vertigo faded. She was still shaky, but other than some bruises she figured that she wasn’t hurt. The car was another matter. Football-sized clods of packed snow lay piled on the hood, blocking the windshield. She turned the key in the ignition. The grating screech of metal on metal raised goose bumps. She didn’t remember hearing a crunch but maybe she had smashed into a tree and damaged the engine.

She’d have to walk back to Helena’s for help. A half mile? A mile? Suzanne didn’t recall seeing any other houses along the rural lane. Maybe it would be better to head for the intersection and try to flag a passing vehicle.

She turned the door handle and pushed. Nothing happened. The side window was frosted with her breath. When she cleared it with her sleeve, she could see out into the snow-starred darkness, so she wasn’t completely buried. Still, the door wouldn’t budge.

Damn, damn, damn. What was she going to do? She shivered inside her down parka. Her feet were already blocks of ice. Someone would come along eventually, but Helena’s parties tended to run late. Would a semi-drunken party-goer even notice her car, smothered in the fast-falling snow?

She flicked the switch on the dome light, hoping it might make her predicament more visible to passers-by. In the weak glow, Suzanne saw that the back window was already obscured. She was trapped, cocooned in metal, wrapped in a chilly blanket of blinding white.

Don’t panic, she told herself. You just have to wait. Slipping off her shoes, she tucked her feet under her butt to keep them warm. She dug her hands into her pockets; her leather gloves were more fashionable then practical.

Her eyelids drooped. Suzanne fought against the grogginess, recalling that it was dangerous to sleep under these circumstances. It felt so good to relax, though, to let go. The chills wracking her body faded away. She drifted back to that sultry kiss under the mistletoe, Gino’s body warm and welcoming as a summer day…

A knocking close to her ear brought her back to consciousness. “Suzanne! Wake up, Suzanne!” The familiar voice was muffled, as though coming from far away. She forced her eyes to open.

Gino’s pale, worried face peered in the driver side window. “Gino!” she cried. “The door’s stuck. I can’t get out.”

“Wait a sec. I’ve got a shovel in the truck.”

Her shivers returned. Her teeth chattered like old bones. It seemed like hours before she heard the scrape of his shovel against the hull of the car.

It didn’t take him long to clear the snow away. He yanked at the door hard enough to make the whole car rock, but it wouldn’t open. “I think the lock’s frozen,” he yelled. “Try it from your side.”

Turning the latch, she pushed with all her strength as Gino pulled. “Harder!” he urged. “I felt it move a bit.” She threw the weight of her body against the stubborn panel. All at once the resistance gave way. Suzanne tumbled out of the car, into the snow at Gino’s feet.

She didn’t have time to feel the cold seeping into her. Her rescuer crouched and swept her into his strong arms. “Are you all right?” he asked, lifting her as though she weighed no more than one of the snowflakes tumbling around them. Without waiting for an answer, he carried her to his truck.

Suzanne snuggled against his jacket. Even through the layers of fabric and insulation, she felt his heat. “I’m fine,” she murmured, exhausted and a bit giddy. “Perfectly fine.”

 

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