Christmas in July!
Get Daddy Takes Over Christmas for just 99 cents!
Where I live in southern New Zealand, it’s the middle of winter and freezing cold, and every day this week I’ve woken up to a heavy frost with white everywhere. No snow yet, though. But it’s kinda suitable to celebrate mid-winter Christmas, right? So, to celebrate, Daddy Takes Over Christmas is on sale for US readers for just 99 cents for a limited time (3 days)!! I’m sorry to all my non-US readers - this is a Kindle Countdown deal and it will only let me drop the price for one marketplace at a time. Once this deal is done, I’m going to try to drop the price on other marketplaces, if Amazon will let me. But as this is the first time I have done this, I’m not yet sure how it works. I’m going to do my best, and I’ll definitely be in touch if I can do a sale for other regions, too! It’s also in KU.
If you’ve been subscribed to my newsletter for a while now, you may already have this book - it used to be titled “A Naughty Little Christmas” - so if you’ve already got that, don’t get this, because they’re exactly the same story.
If you don’t already know, this is a bonus novella to my New Zealand Daddies series - this book features the characters from Daddy Takes the Reins and Daddies Take Control. Bianca - the main character in Daddy Takes the Reins and in this one, has Tourette’s - just like me! You can read it as a standalone, but it’s even better if you read the other books too, because you’ll be able to relate better to the characters :)
I’ve put the first chapter in this newsletter, as a taster. I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve also got another Christmas book - Her Fake Fiance that’s available everywhere!
July is also the month my youngest was born - he’s 12 next week! OMG I can’t believe how fast time flies! It feels like just yesterday that he was a tiny little baby and here he is a nearly-teen! If you also have a birthday this month, happy birthday to you!
Tess Summers has this book on pre-order right now - look at this eyes and oh those tattoos! Full disclosure: I’ve got this on pre-order myself because, not only do I love Tess’s books, but Sloane is my Mum’s maiden name, so I couldn’t resist :)
Daddy Takes Over Christmas - Chapter One
“Please Daddy?”
Clay Lewis shook his head again. No way was he dressing up as Santa. It was a blazing hot New Zealand December, making it unlikely that hell would freeze over any time soon. But that’s what it would take before he donned the Santa suit, no matter how much Bianca begged and pleaded.
“Please? You’ll be so good at it!”
“No.” Clay’s voice was firm. He looked down at his baby girl sternly, silently hoping that would be the end of it. She pouted cutely, but he steeled himself against her cuteness. She was so sweet when she pouted, and she knew it, too! She knew exactly the devastating affect her pouty lips had on him, and how hard he found her to resist when she widened her big, blue eyes like that and looked at him so sadly. He forced back a smile as he felt himself weakening to her wiles.
Pushing her bottom lip out further, Bianca stomped her foot. “No fair!” she grumbled, frowning. “You’re mean.”
She was so cute when she did that. Naughty, but cute. She was so tiny, she barely came up to his chest, and her childish protest made him want to wrap her up in his arms and give her whatever her heart desired. The smile he was fighting back crept onto his face just a little bit, but he held it in check and forced himself to growl at her. He cupped her chin in his hand and stared down into her cheeky face. “Naughty little girls who stomp their feet and throw tantrums get their bare bottoms spanked, don’t they princess?” he scolded sternly. “Is that what you want? A spanking?”
“No, I want you to be Santa in the stables, so we can give everyone Christmas presents!’ she said slowly, speaking as though she thought he was a bit thick.
“We already give the staff Christmas presents,” he pointed out. “You know that.”
“Yes, but this will be fun!”
“I said no.”
Instantly, her pout faded and she started to smile. She was clearly changing tack. Once Bianca had made up her mind to get something, there were very few times he was able to resist her. He mentally steeled himself, but he knew that before too long, he would be agreeing to his wife’s request.
Bianca reached out to touch him. “But you’ll be so good at it!” she insisted, leaning into him. She pressed her pelvis against his. Reaching around behind him, she cupped his backside in her hand and squeezed through his jeans, sending a bolt of heat straight to his crotch.
“And you’ll look so sexy in a Santa suit. Imagine, tight red velvety pants stretched across this gorgeous ass …” her fingers stroked, rubbed and squeezed his butt, and she pushed her hips up against him, grinding her body into his, teasing him, and he felt himself growing hard at her touch. He looked down at her – she was smiling slyly. She could obviously see his hard-on through his pants. The little minx, she really did need a spanking!
She tiptoed, leaning in close to him, her lips so close to his he could feel her breath on his mouth. Her eyes sparkled with laughter. Gently, she touched her finger to his lips, trailed it over his cheek, down his jaw. His nerve endings were on fire. It took all his self-control not to lean down and kiss her, to claim her mouth, to remind her who she belonged to. Instead, he sucked in a breath and bit the inside of his lip, forcing away all thoughts of succumbing to her wiles.
She tugged gently at his stubbly goatee. “And this,” she whispered, her voice husky, barely audible. “Imagine how sexy this is going to look framed by a great big white fluffy beard!” She drew back slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes not once leaving his. She licked her lips. “Imagine me kissing your mouth, being tickled by the beard.” She paused, one eyebrow raised, as she determinedly held his gaze. “You’ll be the sexiest Santa ever! Say you’ll do it daddy! Please?”
Still, he shook his head. “How many times have I said no?”
“But it would be fun,” Bianca protested, but the laughter had gone out of her voice now. Now, she just sounded sad. “It would take my mind off An … everything.”
Annie. Of course! His gorgeous wife always thought of her beautiful sister at holidays, and while the fond memories were mostly happy ones, they were always mixed with tears. Bianca and her sister had shared an incredible bond, and always, Christmas and birthdays were tinged with sadness. A pang of guilt shot him in the heart. Hadn’t he promised Annie on her deathbed he would always look after Bianca? That he would do everything he could to make her happy? How could he say no to this stupid Santa thing now, if it clearly meant so much to her?
“Okay baby girl, you win. I’ll do it. But only if you’re my naughty elf. And I get to choose your outfit.” He winked, but she was too excited to notice the mischief in his eyes as he pictured her in a skimpy elf costume, over Santa’s knee, getting spanked.
She let out a squeal and threw her arms around his neck, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist, clinging on tightly. “Thank you thank you thank you!” she squealed, breathlessly, the words gushing out of her quick and fast, all in one breath. “It’s going to be so much fun!”
Silently, Clay doubted that, but he kept his opinion to himself. Instead he just smiled, extricated himself from Bianca’s strangling hold around his neck, kissed her forehead, and placed her gently on the floor.
“You know what happens to naughty little elves, don’t you?” he asked, grinning.
“What?” Bianca asked, feigning innocence.
“They go over Santa’s knee and get their bottoms smacked.” Bending down, he kissed her nose, then reached around behind her and swatted her backside playfully. It wasn’t a hard swat, but it made her yelp, before she laughed.
“Getting a spanking will be worth it if I get to see you in a Santa outfit.”
Clay flexed his hand menacingly. “Don’t count on it, brat,” he growled.
Laughing, Bianca darted backwards, out of his reach, then quickly turned and sashayed away, her hips swinging sexily. But she didn’t turn quite quickly enough. Just before her back was completely to him, he saw the side of her face turn up in violent movement as she wrenched her jaw in a vicious tic. She tried to hide her Tourette’s from him, from everyone, but he knew. He knew she struggled at this time of year, he knew how much she missed Annie, and how that stress impacted on her tics. He wished he could do more to help her. Still, he’d agreed to play the role of Santa at the stables on Christmas morning, so hopefully that would go some small way to taking her mind off more sombre thoughts. Hopefully it would give her something to look forward to, something to organise with Jen.
At the thought of Jen, he shook his head in fond amusement. A champion jockey, the diminutive woman shared her life with his brothers Luke and Cody, and when she got together with Bianca, there were no limits to the amount of mischief they caused. As he walked through the stables to his office upstairs on the mezzanine floor, he wondered what havoc the girls planned to wreak this time.
***
“Christmas bells, those Christmas bells, ringing through the land!” Much to the consternation of the other staff members, Bianca had kept the stable stereo stacked full of Christmas music CDs for the past two weeks, and as she walked up the wide aisle of the barn now with her rake and wheelbarrow, she belted out the lyrics to Snoopy’s Christmas and swayed her hips in time to the music. She was a much better jockey than she was a singer, but she didn’t let that stop her. It was Christmas time! And she was going to enjoy it. She looked around, trying to decide where to put the tree, and build Santa’s throne. Clay had already vetoed the idea of sparkly tinsel or flashing lights inside the stables for fear of spooking the horses, but there was room for a tree. She’d put it up right at the edge, up against the feed room door, with a bale of hay in front of it, for Santa Clay to sit on to hand out the presents. She couldn’t wait to discuss her plans with Jen – it would be so much fun!
Lost in thought, she absently mucked out the stall, on automatic pilot as she sifted the clean sawdust from the soiled. She was so busy picturing how she wanted to decorate Santa’s grotto that she didn’t hear the footsteps clicking on the concrete floor of the barn. Nor did she register when they came to a stop behind her. But the crack! of a riding crop across the fullest part of her jean-clad ass made her straighten up in shock.
“Oi!” She protested, spinning around to glare at the offender.
The sexy wink accompanying Clay’s throaty chuckle nearly made her insides turn somersaults. The man was so damn sexy! He never failed to turn her on, no matter what he was doing. She squirmed uncomfortably at the flush of dampness in the crotch of her underwear as the air around her grew too thick to breathe. Was Clay aware of her arousal?
“Practice,” he drawled, his deep voice rumbling through her. “Not long now until Santa gets to spank his naughty elf.” He winked again, and waggled the end of the crop in her direction, before sauntering off, his muscular legs and tight backside testament to hours spent in the saddle. Watching him walk away, Bianca shivered at the sensation that gripped the base of her spine and poked its heat between her legs. She couldn’t wait!
Big Red was her last ride of the morning. The huge liver chestnut gelding had been the first horse she’d ridden when she’d started this job, as a test of her ability more than anything else, and ever since she’d proven she could control the huge, powerful horse, he’d been one of her favourite rides. With impeccable timing, Clay arrived to boost her into the saddle about two seconds after she’d buckled the girth securely. The other track rider was already mounted and waiting for her.
Some of the track riders liked to talk to each other as they galloped around the track but Bianca didn’t; she talked to her horse. Big Red’s long strides ate up the ground as they flew around the track at top speed and she felt all her tension melt away as her body moved in rhythm with the gelding. Crouched forward over his withers, her fingers tangled in his mane, the wind blew past them with a roar, blowing away all the cobwebs and all her sadness.
“Annie should be here,” she told the big horse. “Christmas isn’t the same without her. I miss her so much.” Big Red’s ears flicked back to listen to her, but he didn’t slow his pace as they sped down the straight stretch of dirt track. “But we’ve got plans, Jen and I. Clay is going to dress up as Santa and we’re going to hand out presents …” She stopped talking then, not wanting Bruce, the other track rider to overhear, and spoil the surprise. “All we need to do now is buy the gifts and decorate the place!”
Bianca got lost in the motion of the horse, letting the rhythmic rocking lull her into a kind of daydreamy state. This would be the first Christmas she would share with Jen. She loved the Lewis family – Clay and his two brothers Luke and Cody had made her feel part of the family long ago, as did their parents. She was truly a Lewis now – by name as well as love. But it would be wonderful to have a nearly-sister again to share the special day with.
“Okay boy, steady up now Red, thatta boy.” Bianca talked softly to the horse as she eased back on the reins, sitting deeper in the saddle, gradually slowing the horse, preparing to bring the workout to an end. She leaned forward and patted the sleek neck, now shiny with sweat. “Good boy,” she crooned. “Easy now boy.” Like always, the big horse fought her at first, but soon responded to her voice and gentle touch on the reins, slowing his gallop to a canter, then a trot, then a walk. He tossed his head lightly. Forgetting his manners he jerked his head forward, nearly unseating her, letting her know that he wanted to run. Bianca laughed, rubbing his neck again. “I know boy, I know, running’s fun. But we gotta go back now you know. It’s Christmas! You need some time off.” She stretched in the saddle, trying to work the kinks out of her neck. “So do I.”
She looked across at the track rider next to her. Bruce had completely ignored Jen when she’d first started working there, but like everyone else, he’d soon come around. Jen’s liveliness was infectious.
“You doing anything special for Christmas, Bruce?” she asked him, as they walked the horses back to the stables.
He shook his head. “Nah. Just the usual. You know, family stuff.”
“But you’ll be here for the staff Christmas party, right?”
“Staff Christmas party?” Bruce sounded confused. “We get given a nice Christmas hamper, but we’ve never had a party. Not that I know of, anyway.”
“It’s happening,” Bianca winked. “Spread the word.”
Bianca smiled. She’d have to talk to Jen. They’d give the staff a Christmas party to remember – a naughty Christmas party!
The big horse stood like a lamb as she took off the saddle and hosed him down. Aside from Bruce, the stables were deserted, the rest of the staff having completed the tasks and gone home. She leaned against the barn wall for a moment and closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the sun, trying to ignore the pang in her heart. How was she going to get through yet another Christmas without Annie?