This week I'm celebrating the holiday season with a #midweekteaser from
Candle Magic
http://www.bookstrand.com/candle-magic
https://www.amazon.com/Candle-Magic-Siren-Publishing-Classic-ebook/dp/B00SGCDRN6
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Candle-Magic-Siren-Publishing-Classic-ebook/dp/B00SGCDRN6
http://mybook.to/CandleMagic
The
biting wind penetrated Simi’s coat as she teetered along on her black spike
heels. Their sharp click on the sidewalk was the only human-associated sound
other than her occasional sigh in the dark night. She pulled her hands from her
pockets and crossed her arms over her body to shield herself a little. Not far to go. There was rain in the
wind now and it felt like ice as the splatter hit her face. The weather
forecast had been for snow. The sky was leaden with something unshed, and Simi
quickened her pace as not snow or rain, but sleet started to fall.
Her
shoulder bag bumped against her hip as she walked and Simi wondered if she
should have left the bulky item behind at work until after the holidays, but
the gift it contained from Kris Kringle was the only one she’d get to open on
Christmas morning. She could have left the candlestick, but then again, she’d
so liked it. Her last red candle would fit and make her solitary Christmas
lunch more festive.
Another
sigh escaped her. Not for the first time that day, she wished she had a
boyfriend, someone who loved her. He
would have helped me clear up, poor Carl would have gone home earlier, and we
would have made it to the last subway train that came out this far on Christmas
Eve. I wish I had a gorgeous, kind, gentle, sexy man. I wish…the huge clock
on the deserted town hall startled her with the first resonant chime of twelve.
Midnight. So it’s Christmas day and I’m
going to spend it alone, again.
Simi
hurried on past the huge fir tree decorated with bright white fairy lights. The
seventh chime of twelve echoed out. A car suddenly sped by, sending a spray of
icy water up onto the sidewalk and drenching her calves. The shock made her
falter. One of her spike heels caught between pavers that had cracked in the
summer. Simi fell as the heel broke off from the shoe and the last stroke of
midnight faded away.
She
didn’t reach the cold, hard pavers.
Two
strong male hands grasped her waist, lifted her, and set her on her feet. A
deep, attractive voice asked, “Are you okay?—You’re not. You’re freezing and
your shoe is broken. Let me help you. I’m here for you.” He held her shoulders,
taking some of her weight as Simi limped to face her rescuer.
She
looked up and into the eyes of a gorgeous man. Strands of his thick dark hair
glistened in the light, thrown off by the strings of fairy lights threaded
through the branches of the trees lining this part of the sidewalk. The sleet
lent a sheen to these strands and lit him up as if he, too, was a Christmas
decoration. Simi gazed at him. She drank in the perfect features of his face. Her
eyes dipped to take in his obviously muscled body under his clothes. His
overcoat hung open over a black suit. He wore a gleaming white shirt and a
black bow tie. He’s perfect.
“I’m
fine, thank you,” her voice scratched out.
He
gave her a look just short of amused, but definitely disbelieving.
“I
know otherwise. Please, it’s Christmas. Let me be here for you.”
The
sincerity in his voice soothed her. Trepidation left her, replaced by hope. Bizarre, considering he could be a murderer.
She hopped a step.
The
gorgeous man stooped and pulled the heel from the paver crack. He grinned at
her mischievously and put it in his pocket.
Simi
let her shoulder bag dangle from her arm and tried to walk with one foot five-and-a-half
inches higher than the other.
The
delicious man held her arm gently. He took her bag and slung it over his
shoulder.
“I’ll
carry that. Put your arm around my waist and lean on me.” He slipped his arm
around her shoulders.
She
did as he asked. His hard body under her arm comforted her. Simi tried another
step. It was still a limp, but suddenly amused, she laughed. She looked up into
his handsome face.
“If
I’m going to be hanging onto you, I should know your name.”
“Jason.
My name’s Jason, and you’re…?”
Simi
was lost in the sound of his voice and the flow of delicious tingles down her
body as his arm tightened around her. She whispered, “Simi.”
He
smiled, his eyes alight with emotion. “That’s a beautiful name. A lovely, soft
name for a beautiful girl.”
A
little alarm bell went off for Simi. Isn’t
that a little too charming? Maybe he is a murderer trying to lull me into
trusting him. “Look buddy, don’t bother trying flattery on me.”
His
smile widened. Crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. He laughed and
then shook his head. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you, quite the
opposite, and you are beautiful.”
The
wind whipped strands of her hair across her face and she limped along. “I don’t
have far to go now. I can manage. You must have somewhere to be.”
Jason
sighed deeply.
The
sound traveled over Simi in a wave. It brought a wash of regret that she’d
suggested this gorgeous man stop helping her and leave. She looked up into his
eyes and saw sadness.
“I
have nowhere to be. It’s Christmas. I’m free to be with you if you want me. I’m
no threat. I’d love to help you…at least to your door, Simi.”
Her longing to have a man like him with her for comfort, help, and maybe
more seeded acceptance and trust in her heart. She gripped his overcoat as she
leaned into him again, trying to excuse her outburst about flattery. “I’m not
used to knights in shining armor.” Copyright Elodie Parkes, Siren Publishing
HOP to the next #MIDWEEKTEASER
What an interesting meeting and proposal... Great tease.
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