I admit to having read Maggie Casper before, but that was Maverick’s Black Cat which was in collaboration with Lena Austin. Having enjoyed that tale, I have been keeping a watch for more from those authors. Alas, since reading that story a few months ago, I have not managed to further delve into their works. Time, eh? Where in the world does it go?

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I have finally found the time and the book. Christmas Cash by Ms Casper is a White Hot Holidays quickie that will most definitely warm your cold winter nights. It’s fairly short length in no way detracts from how well it is written, or the characters who are truly likeable, the type of people you could envision as your friends.

Noelle, at the ripe old age of twenty-six, has decided to return home to Chaos, her hometown. She is already tired of the rat race and yearns for her friends, family, home and hearth. The problem is, she has little money and no job lined up. Whilst she dislikes having to, for all intents and purposes, move back home with her parents, living in the apartment over the garage is currently the only option that is financially viable to her.

As to the job – well, surely her best friend’s brother, Cash McCain, will give her a job at his bar, Raising Cain. Only, when she goes to ask him, he flat out refuses her – and gives her a little something besides. That he will not give her a job is bad enough, but he is despicable to have used her sexuality and attraction to him against her to teach her a lesson. This is war! Noelle will only be satisfied when she has claimed the ultimate prize: Cash McCain. Does she have anything in her arsenal to help her succeed?

At thirty-six, Cash is ten years older than Noelle. It is this age gap that has stopped him from approaching Noelle since she came back to town. That and the fact that the way he likes his sex, down and dirty with some spanking on the side, would probably send her running in the opposite direction. He refuses her the job, not wanting to have her as a distraction under his feet. But Noelle’s new job, which involves ringing a bell and collecting money for charity in the early morning across the street from where he is trying to sleep, is grating on his nerves. Surely she doesn’t have to ring the bell so hard? Or have the boom box set so high? She must be trying to rattle him. That’s it. She’s getting her revenge. But Cash is a man who likes his sleep. Does he have any more ‘lessons’ up his sleeve? Can he resist Noelle for long? Is it possible that he will come to a profound realization about his attraction towards Noelle that will completely alter the course of his life – if he can sway Noelle to his way of thinking?

With erotic inclusions of a spanking, plus anal and oral sex, this tale definitely lives up to the series name. Cash is a man who needs to be in control, most especially in the bedroom. Noelle is a woman who has had certain – fantasies, but never thought to carry them out. As Cash struggles against his hunger for Noelle, she is plotting away with an eye on a completely different ending. The sex is scorching, the words exchanged hurtful. Will Cain realize the extent and depth of his feelings before he does something to destroy their relationship before it’s even properly begun?

Feeling cold from these chilly winter nights? Have no fear! With Christmas Cash, a White Hot Holiday quickie, you need no heating, no woollies, no long johns or any of the other traditional methods of keeping warm. Just the heat this tale will make you feel from the inside out as you progress through its pages. Oh, and your significant other – to share body heat, of course. And whatever else you would need your partner for just having read a raunchy scene. I’m sure I just don’t know (I’m completely innocent, y’know).

Reviewed By Elizabeth
© December 2005