Entangled Under the Mistletoe with Rachel Harris

Hi everyone! I’m Rachel Harris, and I’m a homeschool mama who lives and breathes books. Along with reading them constantly, and teaching out of them, I write both Young Adult and Adult romance. Another thing I love? The holidays! In fact, one time I was able to combine two of my passions—books and holidays—when I wrote Seven Day Fiance, which not only detailed a Cajun Thanksgiving, but also several scenes about Christmas. Including a shirtless Santa auction. I couldn’t help myself!

The holidays make me happy, and as I enjoy being happy, I tend to go a little nutso this time of year. Songs, movies, decorations…tacky clothes…it’s all fair game. And let’s not forget about the food! My favorite part about the holidays, though, is the quality time spent with family. Celebrating with family you see everyday and those that it may’ve been awhile since you saw each other last, it makes my heart overflow.

Favorite Holiday Song:

This is so hard! There’s so many good ones out there!! If I had to choose, though, I think I have to go with All I Want for Christmas by Vince Vance and the Valiants. Sorry, Mariah—you are awesome, girl, but there’s something about the 1989 version of this song that hits me every time. Lisa Layne’s voice gives me chills!!

Favorite Holiday Food:

Again a toss up between my Italian Stuffing and Pecan Pie. Oh, and baked ham. You can’t forget the brined, juicy turkey, either. Oh, and the cookies!!!!

I have a problem…

Favorite Holiday Movie:

I have to go with The Holiday. There are classics that I watch every year, and have since I was little, and I’m obsessed with Hallmark Christmas movies, but it’s not the holidays without Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, and Jude Law :)

Are you the type of person who on November 1st…thinks it’s time to break out the Christmas music or thinks It’s not even Thanksgiving yet folks!

As much as I love Christmas, I do like to celebrate one holiday at a time. Thanksgiving is so special—a holiday where no presents are needed, just food, family, and taking time to be thankful—that I don’t like to skip over it or fast forward too much. But two days after Thanksgiving (my husband and I always celebrate our wedding anniversary the day after Thanksgiving since that was when we were married in 2003 and it gives us a weekend night!), that tree is going up and the Christmas music is on!!

Are you one of those shoppers who has gone through your list and are done shopping well ahead of Christmas or are you elbowing people out of your way on Christmas Eve to finish your shopping?

Thanks to online shopping, I’m done around Thanksgiving. If not, I stress out majorly lol

Hero’s Name: Cane Robicheaux

Heroine’s Name: Angelle Prejean

What would the perfect gift your hero would give your heroine and why?

Angelle is a simple girl at heart. She loves family, horses, and Cajun food. The holidays are a special time for her, but as a Southerner, she hasn’t really had a white Christmas. The perfect gift Cane could give Angelle is plane tickets to Aspen—leaving the day after Christmas, once they’ve celebrated with family, of course—where they can snuggle by the fire, play in the snow, and Cane can break out his Santa costume again.

What would the perfect gift your heroine would give your hero and why?

Cane looks big and bad with his tattoos, dark looks, and motorcycle, but he’s a nerd at heart. He loves reading, almost as much as he loves strumming his guitar, so the perfect gift Angelle could give Cane would be a first edition of one of his favorite books—The Call of the Wild or The Hobbit.

Where would your hero or heroine secretly hang some mistletoe to catch an extra special holiday kiss and why?

Knowing Cane, he’d have mistletoe on every inch of his ceiling. But secretly hang…I’d say the cab of his truck, where he and Angelle shared their first explosive kiss!

Share an excerpt of your favorite kissing scene between these two characters.

Angelle was one giant tell. If she ever tried playing poker, she’d lose her ass. Her family bought the fiancé lie up to this point because she hid behind a cell phone and several hundred miles, but the two of them wouldn’t have that luxury this week. People would be watching them like hawks, curious about their relationship, looking for sparks. And luckily, they had that in spades.

Brushing a lock of auburn hair away from Angelle’s face, Cane said, “This charade isn’t going to be easy. I’ll learn everything you want me to know, everything we have time for during the drive. But darlin’, there’s one thing we don’t need to work on. And that’s this.”

He lowered his forehead to hers, feeling the soft pant of her quickened breath hit his opened lips. He skimmed his nose across hers and closed his eyes as he breathed deeply. Sunflowers. A hint of vanilla. Cherry-scented lip gloss. And Angelle. His Angelle, at least for the next week.

Angling his mouth so their lips were barely touching, he said, “Desire, Angie. Attraction. We have it. We don’t have to fake that. And since we’re alone, and that’s my ring on your finger, it seems only fair I get to steal a kiss.”

Anxiety mixed with excitement entered the emotional gumbo of her gaze, and her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. It brushed over the seam of his mouth, and he growled low in his throat. “Our first kiss of many.”

Then, closing his eyes, pretending he didn’t see the sudden flash of affection in hers, he dropped his mouth and kissed her.

He kissed the shit out of her.

That desire he’d said they had, well, it damn near set off an explosion in his truck. Fire, heat, panting breath. Thoughts that had no place in a cramped cab alongside a busy highway, at least not in the light of day. But hell if he wasn’t wishing he’d stopped at a hotel instead.

Angelle was soft—soft hair, soft lips, soft sighs of pleasure. And she tasted sweet. So damn sweet. This was his bit of heaven, right here, and while Cane had no right to keep her long, now that Angel was in his arms, he knew one night would never be enough. To get this woman out of his head, he’d have to extend his plan. It’d take at least a week with her in his own bed, stopping to refuel only when it became an absolute necessity. But he couldn’t rush this. This was Angelle. She required an entirely different game plan than the women he was used to. She needed to be wooed.

So, with his lips and tongue, Cane began showing her exactly what he wanted to do to her body. Everything he hoped to do before the week was out. And when her tiny, tentative hands reached out to grip the fabric of his shirt, he grinned.

Cane tore himself away from her sweet lips to slide his tongue along the column of her neck. A gasp escaped Angelle’s mouth. She was so responsive. She made him feel like everything was new for her, like he was the first man to make her feel like this. Pride and satisfaction coursed through his veins. He bit and then licked the underside of her jaw, and a deep moan broke free from her throat. And that released the hellcat.

Suddenly slapping his hands out of the way, Angelle knotted her fingers in his hair. Cane chuckled as she tugged roughly on the ends, impatiently yanking him closer and herself higher. Placing his hands around her slim waist, he slid across the seat and tugged her onto his lap. She settled a leg on either side of his hips and they shared a hiss.

“Good Lord.” Her voice came out a slur, almost dazed, and only a sliver of green peeked from beneath her thick fringe of eyelashes. But it was enough to see she was as into what was happening as he was. “So this is what it feels like.”

“What what feels like?” he asked, molding her curves with both hands. God, she was perfect. He had to keep reminding himself that their first time could not be at an overgrown rest stop on the side of the interstate in broad daylight.

Now, a motel room right off the interstate…

But as soon as that thought entered his mind, he felt it. A shift in the air. Angelle’s loose limbs tensed. Her spine straightened and her eyes widened. Dropping her gaze to his chest, she answered, “Kissing the mighty Cane Robicheaux, of course.”

What’s your favorite part about the holidays??