Winter Wonderland is a set of four contemporary small-town romances taking place during the most magical time of the year. Some of our characters do their best to escape the hustle and bustle of Christmas, others long for someone to share it with. Guaranteed is that things don’t go as planned. They never do when the snow is coming down hard and the presents are piling up under the tree.
Contains the stories:
Turning Wood: Otho Newcomer moved to the small village of Snowmelt to mend his broken heart in solitude. Mason Dager’s ex cleared out his bank account, sold his car and got him thrown out of his apartment. And he has no one to blame but himself. When Mason makes yet another stupid decision, Otho comes to the rescue, throwing the two men together during the most magical time of the year.
24 Dates: When Victor Hill bought a house with his boyfriend, Jian Kouri it was a dream come true. Now, two years later, instead of living their happily ever after, they hardly see the other awake, and Victor fears he and Jian have already drifted too far apart. The holiday season is a time for hope, but when Victor comes home to find Jian with a plan to woo him for Christmas, is it too little, too late?
The Setup: Dax doesn’t want to see anyone and isn’t pleased when a stranger turns in on his driveway, claiming he's there for a date. Ellis risked his neck driving in the snow to meet his friend for a double date, but when Dax says he's never agreed to a date, they realize they’ve been played. Since there’s a snowstorm, Dax invites Ellis to stay the night, but how to get their revenge for the setup?
Once in a Snowstorm: Daring a snowstorm might not be the smartest thing Aiden Evans has done, but with only a few days to Christmas, he doesn’t want to be alone. Tristan Gardner is looking forward to a quiet night, but instead, he has to save an idiot from freezing to death in his forest. Aiden is going crazy from Tristan’s attitude, but will a steamy night with the surly lumberjack change his mind about leaving?
EXCERPT FROM "Turning Wood"
Mason was shaking so hard the bed was groaning in protest. Where was he? He looked around. This wasn’t his bedroom. His entire body burned, his throat ached, and his eyes stung. Lifting the cover, he looked down at himself and groaned -- naked. The bed smelled nice, though.
Bolting upright, he remembered. He’d been out walking and ... Santa had been there. He rubbed his forehead. It couldn’t have been Santa, but some guy dressed like Santa.
A kidnapper.
He’d been kidnapped by a guy disguised a Santa who had stripped him and put him in a bed. What was he planning on doing with him in bed, naked?
Mason flung off the cover and put his feet on the floor, a nice old hardwood floor but cold enough to make him want to climb back into the bed. So typical of him to get drunk and kidnapped by a Santa lookalike. He couldn’t go anywhere without getting in trouble.
Meet a nice guy and he’ll clear out your bank account, sell your car, and have you evicted from your apartment. Go up north on a holiday and a sex offender looking like Santa will kidnap you and bind you to a bed.
Though, in Santa’s defense, he wasn’t bound, and ... Mason rubbed his neck. An image of frantic blue eyes behind ... He tried to pinch the bridge of his nose, but his fingers weren’t working as they should. Had that been protective glasses?
Maybe the guy hadn’t looked like Santa at all. Now when he was thinking of it, his hair had been dark, and had he been wearing a white sweater?
A door opened somewhere in the building and Mason’s heart leaped to his throat. Shit, he’s back.
Pushing off the bed, he stumbled a few steps only to once again realize he was naked. Gripping the cover, he wrapped it around his shoulders and turned toward the window. His fingers shook as he tried to open it. He had to push with all his strength to get it to yield, the ice working in his kidnapper’s favor.
He got it open and one leg out, the snow on the windowsill chilling against the inside of his bare thigh.
“Hey! Stop.” A tall, dark-haired man with icicles in his beard took a step into the bedroom.
Mason yelped and shoved away from the building. The cover tangled around him; the snow burned against his bare feet as he tried to gain his balance.
“Mason!”
The kidnapper knew his name?
Mason ran. It didn’t go nearly as fast as it normally did, it was as if his muscles had melted. Had he been drugged? He only needed to get back to the resort then he could call the police. It couldn’t be far away.
A wall of pine trees appeared in front of him, it grew into a forest, but Mason didn’t care. He ducked and shielded himself from the prickly limbs the best he could.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Mason! Come back here!”
Mason glanced over his shoulder, the guy gained on him, easily. He ordered his useless legs to move, but they continued their slow-motion thing.
Strong arms grabbed him from behind and Mason might have yelped again. He wasn’t a yelper, not normally.
“Are you out of your mind? You could have died.” The man’s gruff voice did nothing to calm him down. “Come on, let's get you back in bed.”
The man steered him around, Mason would like to say he fought for his freedom, but his resistance only lasted for thirty seconds or maybe it was closer to five. He was too exhausted to stand, and the man carefully wrapped an arm around his waist to help him back towards the building -- a cute little log cabin.
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