I’ve been sharing excerpts from my holiday paranormal romance Spirits of Christmas. This excerpt picks up where last week’s left off.
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Excerpt:
Again he looked amused and swept his gaze over her. “Nothing else is required. Certainly.”
The urge to slap him almost overcame her, but she refrained.
The last person she expected to meet, let alone work for, was Joel Connor, action movie star.
* * *
Back at his car, Joel paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and willed his heartbeat to slow. It pounded like he’d gone five rounds with a gorilla.
The drive to the house had been bad enough. By the time he arrived, he’d been shaking. The last thing he’d expected was to open the door and find the house occupied.
That was 10, but here’s a bit more to finish the scene:
Hearing an unexpected voice, even a female one, had triggered memories that he wasn’t sure he could handle — at least not in front of an audience.
He’d spent enough years performing — first as a martial arts competitor and later as an actor — to put on a believable show for her. She hadn’t noticed that he’d nearly been sick to his stomach. Had she?
No. He’d frightened her. That had been his intention, in case she was an intruder. Turned out that she worked for him, so he hadn’t wanted to terrify a member of his staff. At first he’d been annoyed that she hadn’t gone with everyone else. It had taken him twenty-five years to gather the nerve to return to this house. If he fell apart, he didn’t want anyone to see it.
Spirits of Christmas
by Kate Hill
On Christmas Eve twenty-five years ago, a brutal murder was committed at the house where Christa Wild works as a live-in maid. When the other servants leave for the holiday this year she stays behind, hoping that any spirits dwelling there will help her regain the psychic power she lost. She’s surprised when the intriguing but disturbed owner of the house appears several days before Christmas.
Action star Joel Connor has kept a terrible secret for most of his life. Despite his success as an athlete and actor, he is plagued by flashbacks of a gruesome attack that destroyed his family. This Christmas, Joel returns to the house where it happened to face the ghosts of the past, but finds he is not alone.
Joel and Christa are instantly attracted, but will his psychological state prevent them from finding peace and love?
From Changeling Press.
Read snippets from other authors in the Weekend Writing Warriors Blog hop here.
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I’m sure she was a very unwelcome surprise. But if he’s her employer, why doesn’t he just tell her to leave as the rest of the staff did if he wants to be alone? But this is a great set-up for a spooky kind of Christmas story. Great snippet! Tweeted.
Ooooo! My kind of Christmas story – more Scrooge in it tone with hints of mystery. I may have found my holiday read!
Oh, so much possibility to come! Curious to know what happens in this house over the holidays!
So many conflicted emotions for him, hitting all at once. Really enjoyed the snippet!
Lots of conflicting emotions here, but the urge to slap him didn’t feel especially fair, given that she was the one who opened up the line of thinking in the first place 🙂
What a great snippet! Wanting more!