Jess Michaels Shares A Christmas Kiss As Holiday e-Gift!

Herstmonceux Castle

The carriage rumbled through the gate of Hillbury Castle and Amelia barely contained the shudder that threatened to work its way through her body. At least the drive was so long that it would take another quarter hour before they would reach the door… before she would be forced to face her nightmare. 
“You are very pale, Lady Blackgrove,” her longtime lady’s maid, Helen, said. “Are you well?” 
Amelia shifted. With any other servant, she would be reticent to speak the truth, but Helen wasn’t the average maid. The two had all but grown up together. She considered Helen to be a friend, even if the servant held herself slightly apart, as was proper. “I will admit,” Amelia said slowly. “I’m not looking forward to this exercise in humiliation.” Helen reached out to briefly take Amelia’s hand. 
“I hope it will not be as bad as all that.” Amelia drew a pained breath.
“How can it not be? I’ve been summoned to the country home of my husband of six months— a husband I am estranged from— in order to prepare for a farce of a Christmas celebration with our two families. It is bound to be dreadful.” 
She turned her face and stared out as the drive wound through dense, beautiful woods for a few moments. She couldn’t help but think of the last time she’d seen Stephen. It had been the day after her wedding… and her wedding night. She had still been basking in the glow of having the man she loved introduce her body to such pleasures and then… Then she had found out the terrible truth about him. 

~~~

A Christmas Kiss

By Jess Michaels

As an author of over 50 novels, Jess Michaels has presented her fans and potential new readers with a free, wonderful story, A Christmas Kiss. Although her chosen genre is not my favorite genre, I did enjoy this short that tells the story of how marriage came about in historical times--by marrying someone rich!

This time it was Lord Blackgrove who had married for money. His wife, Amelia, however, had fallen in love and had no inkling that she was being married...for one reason. But she had found out and quickly left...

Now just before Christmas, Stephen wanted her to come celebrate the holidays with family, pretending that there was nothing wrong...How cruel could he be?!

Amelia had thought that she and Helen were coming early to help get the castle ready for Christmas. Instead, Stephen was there at the door waiting...

Helen got out and sent a glare to him and Amelia was not getting out! So Stephen came over, calmly lifted Helen away from the carriage door, got into the coach and closed the door...

Amelia was… beautiful. Her dark brown hair was bound up beneath an exceedingly proper bonnet, but little tendrils framed her lovely face to perfection. Even in the dimness of the carriage, her bright blue eyes stood out, watching his every move, filled with anxiety and sadness and anger, all of which he so richly deserved. 
“Amelia,” he said softly. 
She sucked in a harsh breath before she folded her hands on her lap. “Why are you here?” 
“It’s my home,” he replied, pretending not to understand the core of her question. Her full lips pursed with displeasure.
“But why are you here now, my lord? You made your directions to me very clear. I was to come here to oversee the holiday preparations and you wouldn’t join me until the others did in a week’s time.” 
He smiled slightly. “Had I told you the truth, that we would be alone together, would you have come?” 
For a moment, she was silent, and her lack of a verbal response was an answer in itself. She looked at her lap instead of at him. “You have no need to be here. I am perfectly capable of preparing the house without your supervision, Stephen.” 
He tensed at the sound of his given name coming from her lips. The last time she’d called him by it had been at the height of her pleasure on their wedding night.

~~~

Stephen explained that he wanted Amelia to be his wife to which she quietly responded that she already was... Of course, Stephen clarified...

What does a man do to win his wife...again...

This is a sweet little story where a man who was forced to consider marriage because of money and then finds that he wants his wife...for herself...

It's a perfect tale of love at Christmas time and, as the title reveals, A Christmas Kiss did indeed occur... but not easily... Amelia had been attracted to Stephen long before he had decided to court her. Could she stand to be around him, wanting him, when he could hurt her even more, given what he was saying now.

I enjoyed the writer's story line--her tale of estranged lovers. It was just long enough to catch readers' interest, but short enough that the plot could be centered on just the two main husband and wife characters.

When Amelia entered the room half an hour later, she was shocked to find her husband at the pianoforte, playing a beautiful piece with great passion. The music wrapped around her as she shut the door behind herself. It drew her closer, as did he. She watched his face as his fingers moved across the keys. He was intensely focused on the music, his dark eyes darting to follow his swiftly moving hands. She thought he hadn’t noticed her, but when the last notes of the music faded, he turned to smile at her.
 “Amelia.” She swallowed hard. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath until she drew air into her lungs. “That was… lovely,” she said, her voice barely carrying. "Thank you...” he said as he pushed away from the pianoforte and moved toward her. “My God, that dress is amazing on you.”

~~~

This is a delightful light erotic romance...take a few minutes through your hectic holiday schedule to sink into a fun fantasy for a short time! Have a happy...

GABixlerReviews

USA Today Bestseller Jess Michaels began writing full-time in 1999 after being encouraged by her husband to follow her dream. In 2003, she sold her first novella to Red Sage Press, an erotic historical romance about an Egyptian tomb and a very sexy curse. Since then she has published over 50 novels, novellas and short stories under three different pen names with several major publishers, small presses and via self-publishing. Her erotic historical romances have been national bestsellers and won awards from booksellers and readers.
She and her husband live in Tucson, AZ. There she enjoys spending time with her awesome husband and cats. 
She raffles a FREE Kindle or Amazon gift certificate EVERY month to members
of her newsletter, so sign up on her website: http://www.authorjessmichaels.com/join-the-jess-michaels-newsletter/

Website/Blog: http://www.authorjessmichaels.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jessmichaelsbks
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jessmichaelsbks