The Spice Merchant's Pleasure

A spice merchant is separated from her husband during times of illness. Missing him, she blends a scented balm to welcome him home for the winter solstice. When she's drawn to the call of the open road, she sets off to deliver it to him in person. Miles away, a glass blower misses his wife. Worried she'll succumb to her traveling spirit, he creates a seductive gift sure to keep her by his side. If he can get home in time. The Gift of the Magi meets Chocolat in this spicy solstice tale.This short story is part of the Dragon's Peak series. It can be enjoyed as a stand alone, but the characters in this story appear throughout the series. Content warnings: The Spice Merchant's Pleasure includes themes involving death of a loved one, death of an animal, and scenes depicting explicit sex. Megan Landon is an award winning, Austin-based writer of erotic fantasy and sci-fi romance. Her intricately woven stories are inspired by nature, science, language, her Colombian and Dutch roots, her linguistic training, and magic. Megan especially loves to play with the shades of nuance that exist between light and dark, magic and reality, and truth and fiction. She has a PhD in linguistics.Megan's stories have appeared in Bust Magazine, and she is a regular collaborator with the Erotica Consortium. Her short stories and novellas have been recognized by SEAF 2025 Foundation, All the Filthy Details podcast 2024, the Passionate Plume 2024 and 2025, the Prism Contest, and the Golden Pigtails.