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.” She limped
off again and he walked with her, his arm around her, almost lifting her from
her feet. His pace slowed to give her time to accommodate the lack of a heel on
one shoe.
“I’ve not been that for a long time.”
His murmured words brought a smile to her lips and she took a deep breath,
deciding to talk with him as they made their way to her apartment. “Have you
been to a party or something?”
“I’ve been—” He told her, but dipped his
head as the sleet became heavier.
Simi didn’t hear the end of his
sentence. It was whirled away by the weather’s onslaught. The wind made the icy
rain slant into her overcoat collar. She cuddled against him.
Jason stopped walking. He gave her a
gentle smile. “We’ll be frozen and saturated by the time we get to your place.”
Then he picked her up in his strong arms and cradled her to his body. “I’ll
carry you.”
As he enveloped her in his arms, her
face rested on his chest. A vague fragrance of pine needles and trees drifted
around her. His arm under her thighs warmed her. His arm crushing her to his
muscled chest reminded her of the dream she’d had. He was every bit as gorgeous
and sexy as the man in her dream. Simi’s heart filled up with hope. Whatever he
was offering this night she would take. This was the most comforted and cared
for she’d felt in a very long time. As Jason walked with her, she snuggled into
his aura. He exuded masculinity, strength, protection, sex. It felt good.
“Thank you. My place is at the end of this street.”
Copyright Elodie Parkes , Siren Publishing
From Elodie,
My hero, Jason Chandler, doesn’t know what he is. Maybe an
angel, or a spirit, he only knows he’s given assignments to fulfill by the
enigmatic higher powers of the universe. This assignment is different, and when
he finds himself materialize beside Simi, my heroine, he’s instantly hopeful
that his lonely existence is about to change. With an HEA , this story is full of
love and magic.
Jason followed as she went to the dining
room.
She put the candlestick in the middle
with a happy sigh.
He smiled at her. “How can I help?”
Simi opened the door on a low cabinet.
She took out rolled, fine wooden-slat, place mats and unfurled each on the
table. “Talk to me. Tell me about yourself. Where do you work? Where do you
live? I want to know all about you, or at least something.” She laughed then.
The sound took away the fear that spiked
up Jason’s spine when she asked the specific questions about him. I’ll tell her what I can without frightening
her away. He opted for that.
“I have assignments from a—a group that
are designed to help people...solve problems. I live around here.” The ether
wasn’t so far above the terrestrial sphere, scientifically, and mystical enough
to be almost everywhere, so that was okay to say. I can’t say I only work at Christmas, though. I can’t say I’m some sort
of spirit doing penance for dabbling in magic, can I?
Simi placed cut crystal, long-stemmed
glasses on each mat. She grinned at him. “Are you a social worker?”
Jason shook his head.
Simi considered for a few moments.
“You’re a company troubleshooter. No wonder you’re a little cagey about that.
Ours is a shark. He can put a positive light on the trickiest complaint.”
“Oh, no, that’s not how I operate. I really help,
even if it’s just for a short time.” That much was true. He’d brought comfort,
strokes of good luck, better outlooks, the coincidence of friends meeting lost
friends or family, the avoidance of an accident not meant to happen, although
never what he’d brought Simi, never sex and … and love.
Copyright Elodie Parkes, Siren Publishing
Candle Magic is currently on sale @sirenbookstrand
ReadersFavorite 5 stars
Reviewed by Janelle Fila for Readers' Favorite
Candle Magic by Elodie Parkes is a contemporary romance set around Christmas Eve that weaves magic, romance, and sexiness into one juicy story...
...if you like steamy romances with hot men who appear out of thin air like magic and grant your sexiest wishes, this book is for you! Jason was an amazing character! Gorgeous, sexy, in the right place at the right time. But he was also mysterious and kept me guessing.
When Simi finds a pretty old
candlestick among the discarded props in the PR company storeroom, she never
imagines it can grant her dearest wish. There’s something mysterious about the
carved candlestick that’s almost scary, but Simi is drawn to it. She intends to
use the candlestick to hold her last antique candle and make her solitary
Christmas lunch more festive.
Simi works late managing the staff
Christmas Eve party and misses the subway train that will take her to her usual
stop forcing her to walk the last part of the journey home on the deserted
street.
A nearby clock strikes midnight.
It's Christmas.
Simi slips, but Jason catches her.
Who is Jason? Where has he suddenly appeared from in the night?
Simi looks into the eyes of this
gorgeous man, and sparks fly…
https://www.bookstrand.com/book/candle-magic
