Are You Dreaming of a Hot Christmas?
Good for the Goose, an erotic romance for Christmas by Anne Holly from Rebel Ink!
Successful scholar Dr. Natasha Mintz believes her divorce signaled the end of her romantic life. But when she gets snowed in one Christmas with a young Spanish grad student, she may want to rethink things. For Natasha, winter has never been so hot!
Excerpt...
From the outside, Natasha appeared to be stable, independent, intelligent, formidable even. She was a respected, tenured historian at a large university. Her class was well attended and generally highly rated on campus and her students seemed to like her firm but fair presence. To an observer, Natasha Mintz was a woman who did everything right.
But inside, she was a sad, lonely woman.
“Care for a coffee?” a soft, thickly accented, rich voice drifted over her shoulder, followed by a paper cup of steaming brew held in a masculine, yet graceful hand.
Natasha turned to see her assistant looking disgustingly youthful and fresh despite the ungodly early hour.
“Ah, Raphael,” she whispered. “You’re a godsend!” Gratefully popping off the plastic lid, she took a long, deep draft and prayed it would revive her enough to see her through the next several hours. Now how did he know exactly how she liked her coffee? With two shots of cream and one sugar?
Raphael Salazar was a godsend. He was one of the finest grad students who'd ever worked for her. He was bright, eager and stoic, and hadn’t once whined under the heavy work load she placed on him. In fact, he always seemed able to anticipate the needs of the class. Even when Patricia, her other assistant, was called away to her grandmother’s funeral unexpectedly, Raphael immediately stepped up. There was no doubt he'd do what was needed. Raphael had an aura of competency about him, which was so rare in young graduate students.
Natasha was almost certain he came from a wealthy family as he bore all the marks of breeding and advantage but he clearly wasn’t adverse to hard work, a trait common among the wealthy American-born students she knew. Hailing from Spain, Raphael may have been brought up rich, but he certainly wasn't spoiled.
She took a surreptitious look at him from the safety of her podium, from beneath the lowered fan of her eyelashes. It was little wonder why office rumor had it that every single female, and more than one male, grad student in the history department lived and breathed for Raphael. At five-eleven, his lithe form was exceptional and his face was that of a fallen angel. Black brows like dark wings spread above intense, long-lashes and eyes of an oddly sea-like hue, and topped a long, aristocratic nose which sat above a distractingly sensual Cupid’s bow mouth. An artistic scruff of facial hair gave him a cosmopolitan air. When he spoke, his face was charming and mobile, and that lovely mouth moved to reveal a perfect row of impeccably white teeth. His ready smile brought out such a warm glow and engaging dimples that it was difficult not to swoon. Even his smell, a rich, masculine mixture of coffee and spice, caused rational thought to fly out of one’s head whenever Raphael was near. Yes, Natasha nearly chuckled at the thought. He was likely causing a great deal of fluttering in the student offices. And more than his fair share in the professors’ rooms as well, she reminded herself with a grimace of discomfort.
Perhaps Raphael considered her in ways she should probably discourage. She noticed something in his attentions that differed from that of her other students. Once she spotted him appreciating the slide of her legs against one another as she changed position in her chair during a meeting and the intimate gleam in his dark eyes gave her a sensation of prickly heat. Seeing the look he was giving her, Natasha stopped talking in mid-sentence. He hadn’t looked away in guilt like your average grad student. Instead, he’d slowly pried his gaze from her legs and traveled up to her face, with a calm yet wolfish look on his handsome face. She had tried to dismiss it as continental masculinity, but somehow that didn’t quite cover it.
In any case, this scene was totally inappropriate. Inappropriate, but so extremely arousing.
It was a good thing she was a mature, steady person who'd never consider hitting on a student, unlike her rat of an ex.
A very good thing.
Anne Holly is a Canadian writer of romance and erotic-romance, as well as a mother and teacher. She is the author of the novel
Strings Attached, which was described by
The Romance Reviews as “a classic contemporary romance.” She has been published by Wild Horse Press, Decadent Publishing and Rebel Ink Press, and in 2012 by Pink Petal Books. Anne’s work is characterized by its unusual heroes, sweet/spicy balance, witty dialogue, responsible citizenship, and its positive, optimistic nature. She has found a particular niche in
holiday romance.
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