By
Tim Smith (Guest Blogger)
If
it’s the Holiday Season, it must be time for Stocking Stuffers from
Extasy Books. My contribution to this annual series of short books,
Cupid Says Happy New Year, was recently released. This
is a sequel to last year’s holiday release, Santa Slept Here.
As with all of my series titles, they don’t need to be read in
order.
In
last year’s tale, we met Scott Burke and Lisa Berger who were high
school sweetheart wannabes once upon a time. That was fifteen years
ago. Sparks were rekindled when Lisa found herself stranded in
Scott’s home base on Christmas Eve, and they realized that they
never should have parted. Now it’s a week later, and they’ve made
plans to spend New Year’s Eve together. Will the two lovers keep
the flames burning, or will Lisa decide to return to her lucrative
job in another state once the glow of the New Year begins to fade?
Can Scott bring himself to make the ultimate commitment, or will he
stand aside and lose her a second time?
When
I conceived Santa Slept Here last year, the premise I
started with was the lonely guy, not looking forward to his first
post-divorce Christmas. His family had other plans, so he was on his
own. On his way home from work on Christmas Eve, he stops at his
favorite bistro and runs into his former high school sweetheart,
whose car had broken down on her way to their old hometown. One thing
leads to another and she agrees to stay at his home until her car can
be repaired. Your imagination can fill in the rest.
When
I finished it, I knew it cried out for a sequel. I had made it a
happy-for-now ending, and I asked myself “What happens next?”
Hence, here we are, a week later on New Year’s Eve. Both stories
are lightweight romances with some erotic scenes and a few laughs.
The stories bring to mind the holiday movies that saturate Lifetime
and the Hallmark Channel this time of year, but with a lot more
spice. Here’s an excerpt from Cupid Says Happy New Year:
* * *
Scott
slid out of bed and refilled their glasses. He handed Lisa her glass,
then joined her under the covers. They rested against the headboard
and toasted each other. Lisa snuggled closer and rested her head on
his shoulder.
“This
is nice,” she said. “It’s fun cuddling with you. I think I
could get used to this, Scotty.”
“Do
you know that you’re one of the only people I let get away with
calling me that?”
“Who
else?”
“My
grandmother, but I let it go because she thinks I’m perpetually
eight years old.”
Lisa
laughed with him. “I say that as a term of affection.”
“In
that case, I don’t mind.”
They
cuddled in silence for a few minutes. Scott enjoyed Lisa’s warm,
soft body next to his. She placed her hand on his chest and lightly
traced a pattern with her French-manicured nails, causing a slight
tickling sensation. He ran his palm along her upper arm and inhaled
her scent.
“I
love that perfume you’re wearing,” he commented. “What is it?”
“Allure.”
“It
fits.”
“Thank
you.” She hesitated. “Can I tell you something?”
“Go
for it.”
“Last
week, when we lay together like this in your bed, I felt something I
hadn’t experienced in a long time.”
Scott
took a sip from his glass. “What was that?”
“It
was the way you held me, and talked to me, like you’re doing now.
You made me feel really close to you, like you didn’t want to let
me go.”
“You
didn’t like it?”
“No,
I liked it a lot. I just hadn’t felt it recently.”
Scott
thought for a few moments, dredging up memories of his failed
marriage while wondering how much he wanted to share.
“Since
we’re being honest, it had been a while since I felt a deep
connection with anyone like I did with you. The last year or so of my
marriage wasn’t the best of times, and sex was more biological
necessity than I-want-to-hold-you-forever. Make sense?”
Lisa
took a drink of wine. “Actually, it does, now that you put it that
way.”
“Similar
experience in your failed relationship with the guy you were telling
me about?”
“Pretty
much, but I never thought of it that way. He was such a control freak
that I felt like I was just spreading my legs so he could get off
while fantasizing about the cute ass of the new secretary he’d just
hired.” She paused. “The last few months we were together, I felt
like he was making love to someone else.”
Scott
gave her a soft kiss, letting his lips linger against hers for a few
moments. He placed his palm on her cheek and peered into her eyes.
“I
think that’s the difference. When we reconnected and talked about
how we’d always had feelings for each other but never did anything
about them, that made me realize how much I’ve always loved you. I
guess that’s what you were feeling last week.”
Lisa
ran her fingers along his cheek. “You mean it wasn’t just because
we finally made it into bed and lived out a few dormant high school
fantasies?”
Scott
chuckled. “Trust me, it was a lot more than just that. What we did
last week wouldn’t have meant nearly as much then as it did now.”
“It
sounds like we’ve both grown up.”
* * *
Cupid
Says Happy New Year and the prequel, Santa Slept Here, are
both available at Extasy Books and Kindle. They make the perfect
stocking stuffers!
Tim
Smith is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic
mystery/thrillers and contemporary erotic romance. His website is
www.timsmithauthor.com.
