All I want for Christmas...

December 22, 2014

...is a red hot wolf shifter with carpentry skills.

It's not entirely what I immediately thought of the day I was asked to join six other authors in an anthology.

Paranormal they said. I'd never written paranormal before.

But I have read it. Loads of it. I love the idea of shape-shifters, from Dr Jekyll & Mr Hide to Harry Potter. Add in a sprinkle of romance and a dusting of sex and you have authors such as Sherrilyn Kenyon or Lindsay Buroker, who can provide some of the best fantasy novels. The choice of course is whether it should be shape-shifter, demi-god or vampire.

For me, I thought a wolf.

...and I like a man who is good with his hands. So the carpenter was born, or rather evolved into my story.

For Heaven's Cakes

She flung open the door, and almost bounced it off its hinges.

“Whoa!” With a lightning-quick move, Beau reached up from his kneeling position on the doorstep, and grabbed her hips with both hands to stop her head-long tumble over him. The momentum flung her upper half forward. She dropped the can of soda, and slapped her hands hard on his muscled back to save herself, as he ducked his head.

For one brief moment, his face was pressed against her groin. His hot whoosh of breath washed through her skirt, to stroke the juncture of her thighs and weaken her legs. As his fingers sunk into her flesh, she panicked. The poor man was about to suffocate, his nose pressed hard into her crotch. Embarrassed beyond reason, and aware that the squishy layer of her belly encompassed his head, she gave a firm shove against his back and came upright. The tight grip he had on her hips stopped her from moving away.

She staggered a little, placed one hand on the top of his head to steady herself, and was tempted to run her fingers through his thick, lush hair. “I…”

He tilted his head back, and her hand stroked over his forehead before she was quick enough to move it. It seemed he’d managed to dry up her speech again. “I…”

He smiled, showing even white teeth and those sexy laughter lines. Her knees wobbled, and the temptation to slide down and join him on the ground was strong. Aware of the heat of his hands still on her hips, she pushed back. “I…” It wasn’t so much a stutter, just an inability to form a sentence.
Dammit, she needed to get something more comprehensive out of her mouth. “Thank you.”

He still kept a loose hold on her, as she stared down at him. His warm brown eyes twinkled with laughter. Surprised she hadn’t crippled him for life with her hefty weight slapping into him, she cringed at the insult she felt was about to come.

“The pleasure’s all mine.”

Mellow huskiness warmed her heart. She was sure it beat loud enough for the entire street to hear.
Self-conscious, she jerked her head from one side to the other to make sure no one had witnessed her humiliation.

She flapped her hand to indicate the soda can as it rolled down the street. “I brought you soda.”

He glanced sideways to watch its onward journey. “It’s a good job I prefer coffee these days.”

The soft stroke of his thumbs into her flesh reminded her she should step away, but somehow, without any pressure at all, he held her there, unable to move.

“Oh, I didn’t think.” she said.

“Probably just as well. I would be wearing it.” He smoothed his thumbs in a circular motion, making her pulse kick up a beat.

She didn’t think it was capable of going any faster, but it was keen to try. “I’m sorry.”

“No harm done. It was worth it.”

“I could have hurt you.”

One fluid movement brought him to his feet. He towered above her, and filled her vision with his broad chest. He brought his head down until he was almost nose to nose with her. “I seriously doubt it.”

Available as part of Paranormally Yours