By Kate Richards
Four years ago, I sat down to write my
first holiday story. It was to be sweet, because heaven knows all stories
surrounding this magical time of year must be suitable for everyone in the
family to read.
Unfortunately, the silly, sexy
characters in my stories do not cooperate and my first Christmas story was also
my second BDSM story.
The next summer, I asked to participate
in a Decadent Publishing holiday anthology. The invitation came down from on
high. I had three weeks to write a ménage...my first ménage story ever, and
with a holiday theme. Once my breathing slowed, I began to consider everything
it takes for three people to come together in a meaningful way. They each need
to meet needs in one another that nobody else can. They need to help one
another grow, become the best of themselves and, since this was to be an erotic
romance, they have to float one another’s boats. Float…boats…Catalina Island!
Where I spent any number of New Year’s Eves with a group of my best
girlfriends, engaging in scandalous behavior. Well, scandalous for me, anyway!
Let’s just say there were many cocktails involved and lots of laughter. So, Avalon for Christmas set me on the path
of the holiday ménage.
Then last year, Two Men and a Virgin continued the tradition. Andie and her two
best friends, Rex, the forest ranger, and Paul, the fire fighter discovered
that in Castle, Alaska, at Christmas, just about anything is possible with
love. And of course, a little help from the magical Madame Eve and 1Night
Stand.
This year, we meet some new friends who
also fall under the spell of Castle at Christmastime.
So, to answer the question, why do I
write ménage stories at the holidays? Because sometimes there’s just too much
love for only two people. Sometimes it takes at least three to express it all.
I hope you’ll enjoy my story and let me know what you think.
Whatever holidays you celebrate at this
wondrous time of year, may they be joyous, may your families be happy and
healthy, and may all your wishes and dreams come true.
Two Dads for Christmas
Lauren is in trouble. Only the adoption agency lady
knows the heartbreaking decision she’s making. But every baby deserves a father
and Lauren’s ex isn’t stepping up to the plate. Without a dad for her child,
Lauren knows she can’t give the baby what it deserves. When her mother sends
her to the Castillo Lodge in Castle, Alaska to help with a holiday celebration,
Lauren jumps at the chance to forget her worries.
Jorell’s career prospects are soaring. In charge of
development for the Castillo Resorts Caribbean region, the only thing on his
mind is pursuing a vice presidency. Not romance. But a forced transfer to the
frozen north throws him off-kilter. Is his career in the tank?
Zachary lives near Castle, Alaska, but the fishing
guide has had little success finding a social life and fears his interest in
both men and women may be too wild for the wilderness.
Two men and one pregnant woman…in charge of the
holiday activities at the Christmas Extravaganza in Castle, Alaska. Friendship
and intense attraction blooms between them. But Madame Eve has her work cut out
for her…will Jorell and Zach provide enough reasons for Lauren to change her
mind?
****
Lauren,
Your
aunt and uncle love you very much and, as a special Christmas gift, they’ve
allowed me to arrange a unique evening for you. Your date will meet you at the
large cabin behind the lodge, for a night you will never forget.
Madame
Eve
Perfect. Might as well get it
over with—although it would have been simpler to give the guy the slip in the
coffee shop or another public area. Kathryn and Nick met through Madame Eve and
shared a world-class romance, even now that they were married and parents.
Sweet looks, private jokes, stolen kisses…everything any girl could want. She
stuffed the paper into her bodice with a sigh.
But she’d already set her
course and, if it weren’t for her previous poor judgment and the fact that
she’d already fallen hard for two men who had eyes only for each other, it
could indeed be a night to remember. Instead, she cut through the gleaming
kitchen, smiling at the late night staffers, and out the back door. A light
beamed from the front window of the cabin where, according to Andie, she’d
spent her first night with her true loves. For just a second an image flashed
through her mind—of Jorell and Zach, their nude white and mocha bodies in a
four-poster bed, arms outstretched to her in invitation.
But the single tear froze on
her cheek along with her dreams as she plodded up the path to the cabin and
lifted her hand to the door.
It jerked open, and she gasped.
Christmas music poured out on a gust of warm, pine-scented air. A tall spruce
decked for the holidays glittered in a corner. Low laughter from somewhere near
the flickering flames of the fireplace did not come from the auburn-bearded man
who greeted her in the open doorway. It came from Jorell.
And Zach’s hand was the one
that tugged her inside, when her feet became one with the doorstep. Lauren’s
heart thudded so loud in her ears, it drowned out the Carol of the Bells. Her hopes rose to the high rafters then crashed
down when she realized….
“I’m
so sorry to interrupt your evening. I must be at the wrong cabin.” And she’d be
going back to her room after that, date be darned.
Author Bio:
Kate Richards divides her time between
Los Angeles and the High Sierras. She would gladly spend all her days in the
mountains, but she’d miss the beach…and her very supportive husband’s commute
would be three hundred miles. Wherever she is, she loves to explore all
different kinds of relationships in her stories. She doesn’t believe
one-size-fits-all, and whether her characters live BDSM, ménage, GLBT or any other
kind of lifestyle, it’s the love, the joy I one another, that counts.
