WINTER NIGHTS Could Erin Scott fall in love with the man with the man who stranded her at the senior prom -- again? it's more than a road trip.

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Winter Nights

Christmas wishes, Kwanzaa kisses, and New Year's near-misses. Holiday romance has a magic all its own--and can heat up even the coldest winter night. Now three of Arabesque's most popular authors let you discover its power in seasonal tales of passion and love. So sit back and embrace the joy of this very special time of year; when dreams of desire really do come true...

Kwanzaa Angel, Shirley Hailstock's contribution to this collection of holiday magic, pits a charismatic department store owner against the man who stranded her at the senior prom sixteen years earlier. Their fight over a prime piece of real estate threatens to ruin the spirit of the season--until they are thrown together at a Kwanzaa celebration. Will history repeat itself? Or will their undeniable attraction create a love that lasts a lifetime?

KWANZAA ANGEL - AN EXCERPT

Suddenly the light went on and Erin jumped. A tiny scream erupted and she whirled around looking for the source of the light. Panic grabbed her heart and squeezed. Raimi stood on the last rung of the stairs. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans and nothing else. Erin’s mouth went dry. She hadn’t expected to be found as if she were a thief. Her mind still had him in the overcoat he’d worn in the park or one of the sweaters she’d seen him wear, even the suit he’d had on during First Night. The last thing she expected was to find him bare-chested, wearing jeans, zipped but unbuttoned, riding so low on his hips that she knew there was nothing between him and the denim but her riotous imagination. God! she thought, he could make a statue blush.

And she was no statue. She was flesh and blood woman and at the moment that blood was boiling. She’d forgotten all about the open garage and her belief that something sinister might have happened. All she could think of was the denim and what it would feel like raking across her naked skin, especially at that point where the teeth of the zipper separated. Heat washed over her body. She wet her lips and swallowed the dryness that was as scratchy as sandpaper.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought...that is...the door..." She glanced over her shoulder. "It...was...open," she stammered. "I thought something might have happened to you."

"You came to rescue me." A sardonic twist pulled at his lips.

Erin scanned the area around him. She couldn’t keep her eyes anywhere safe. His bare-chest spoke of hours of workout. Muscles defined as cleanly as if they’d been chiseled ran up his arms, across his chest and into his neck.

"At this hour." He checked the time on his watch. "What do you really want?" he asked. His voice was gruff and she stepped away from it. Pulling herself together she tried to speak. Words didn’t come. Even the tightness of his voice didn’t stop her wayward mind from running the course of them being together. She could almost feel him, know the heat of his touch and how together they created a world unto themselves. She wanted that world again.

"I want -." She stopped. "I want you to make love to me."

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