Excerpts
These are excerpts from my published works or works in progress.
Tuesday Teaser 12/9/14 Daughter of the Wolf Clan
In spite of my evil computer chewing up nearly all of chapter 14 in Wolf’s Princess, I’m making good progress. I’m shooting for the rough draft to be done by December 31. With all the holiday get togethers I might not make it, but I’m going to give it my best shot. Rose is easing away from her sarcasm and Sky is beginning to open up to her. At this very moment, Rose is just waking up from a nightmare and Sky is about to comfort her. Please excuse me so Sky can get on with the comforting… meanwhile, enjoy this next tidbit from Olivia’s story. 😉
Yermade roared and fastened a hand around her throat, and by either luck or care on his part, his claws didn’t touch her skin. “No dokdim! You mine! Mah madte.”
“Okay.” Olivia hated the tremble in her voice. “Just don’t hurt me. Okay? Don’t hurt me.”
The hand on her throat became caressing and he made that purring noise again. “Naherchu, Yermadte naherchu.”
Your mate not hurt you. Yermade wasn’t his name. Olivia forced herself to look into his eyes. “What’s your name?”
“Kih.” It seemed he struggled to make the right sound. “Kihdt.”
“Kit?” she guessed. Wasn’t that what the other man had called him? Those monstrous fangs must make it hard for him to pronounce Ts. “Kit, my family will be looking for me. I need to go home.”
The lion man roared and this time his claws pricked her neck when his hand tightened. The other man spoke soothingly, and Olivia was able to follow most of what he said.
“Kit, you’re scaring her. You don’t want to hurt your mate. Let me talk to her so she’ll understand. I won’t try to take her away from you. Kit, I smell blood. You’re hurting her.”
Kit growled something completed unintelligible to Olivia but the other man seemed to get it right away. Kit was tense as he moved a few inches, enough for her to see the other man, but although he retracted his claws, his hand remained circling her throat. “Dok nahluk,” he growled.
“Lady, we can talk, but don’t look at me,” the other man said quietly, in perfectly enunciated English, his eyes cast to a point past her left shoulder. “And don’t stare at him either. Don’t do anything to make him think you’re challenging him. He’s pretty emotional now. He doesn’t mean to hurt you, but he doesn’t have good control right now.”
Kit turned to cover her with his body. He pressed closer to her and Olivia found her nose buried against his chest. He had an earthy scent, but not unpleasant, and she could feel the vibrations of his quiet snarls against her cheek.
“His name is Kit?”
“Yeah, Christopher. I’m Devlin.”
“What is he?”
Kit’s growls rose in volume and his hand tightened.
“Sorry,” she whispered hastily. “I’ve just never seen anyone like you.”
Devlin’s voice was cold. “He’s a person, same as you are, and he can hear and understand everything you say. After he calms down he’ll go back to his human form.”
Olivia wondered what he looked like in his human form. “Sorry,” she said again.
“Kit’s chosen you to be his mate. It might be a little rough at first, but you’ll adjust.”
Were Devlin and Kit lions like her brothers and cousins were wolves? Those men in the Wolf Clan who had wolves didn’t marry. They waited for the wolves within them to choose a mate for them. If that was how Kit’s lion worked, then he should be courting her in an effort to get her to accept their mating. If this was courting she’d hate to see how he treated someone he didn’t like. Her back ached and her throat hurt from being crushed and the multiple small claw marks. Those injuries, plus his feral roaring and snarling, didn’t make her see him in a lover-like light. But if his lion had chosen her for a mate, she should be polite. She had seen her cousins’ pain when their mates rejected them. Olivia aimed a smile up at Kit’s lion face.
“If Kit and I are mates, then Kit needs to come and meet my parents,” she said brightly. Once home her father and brothers would protect her while Kit courted her. They could also teach him the correct way to court a prospective mate.
Kit roared.
“Stop that,” she told him, annoyed. On the other hand, the roars were loud enough that if her brothers were anywhere near they’d hear them and come investigate. “It’s only polite for you to meet my family. If I accept you, they’ll be your family, too.”
“You come wih me,” Kit returned, speaking very carefully, with more than a hint of a growl.
“I can’t. My brothers would worry and if I’m not home soon they and my dad’ll start looking for me.”
“Nah find you.”
“Yes they will! My father’s the greatest tracker alive. And if he doesn’t find me, he’ll send for the Clan to come help. That would be three hundred men! You can’t hide me from that many people who love me.”
His shrill scream sent shudders down her spine. “Kit –“
“Quieh!” he snarled, squeezing her throat so tightly she choked. “You come me now.”
He hauled her up into his arms and began running.
Tuesday Teaser 12/2/14 Daughter of the Wolf Clan
Wow, is it really December? Yikes! I have to decorate for Christmas (probably should do some cleaning too!) write and send out cards, finish my Christmas shopping, take care of my eleven year old niece for a weekend, go to various parties, and I have another 25,000 words to write in Wolf’s Princess. I’m exhausted already! But I’m hopeful I can finish the story by December 31. If I can write an average of 6,500 words a week, it’ll be cake. Wish me luck!
Here is the next snip in Olivia’s story. Oh, and can you imagine what the lion man looks like? Here you go. Enjoy!
Her lion man backed up until his back was an inch from her front. “Mine!” he roared.
Slowly, the words they had been speaking began to make sense. Lehergo. Let her go. Muzlergo. Must let her go. Nahyorz. Not yours. Olivia exhaled with relief even as she dabbed at the blood on her neck. Somehow, knowing they spoke English helped ease some of her fear. Not all of it, but some. If the lion man would just move and let her breathe she would be even less afraid. She wedged her hands between them and gave his back a shove. He roared and crushed her between his back and the hard rock wall. Her shoulder blade was ground into a sharp jag in the rock hard enough to drag a shriek from between her clenched teeth.
“Get away,” she yelled, trying to shove him away. “You’re hurting me!”
The pressure eased slightly, but she could feel growls and snarls vibrating in the body pressed against her. The other man said, “See? Yuherher. Lehergo.”
You hurt her, Olivia translated. Let her go. “Yes, please let me go. My brothers—”
“No!” screamed the lion man, slamming her into the wall again. “Mine!”
The other man spoke, once again using his Alpha tone, but her lion man half crouched, all his muscles bunching in preparation for a spring. Olivia could just see over his shoulder and the other man looked perfectly human. His hair was black, either very short or pulled back tightly from a suntanned face with regular features. With his long lean body he looked like he would be fast on his feet, but could he defeat the lion man? Olivia didn’t want the sane one hurt; she was counting on him getting her out of this mess.
She tapped the lion man’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Let me introduce myself. I’m Olivia Stensrud. And you are?”
The dark-haired man’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead in disbelief. Her lion man loosened his crouch a little bit, head tilted slightly as if to hear her voice better, but he never looked away from the other man and his snarls didn’t stop either. Maybe she’d spoken too quickly?
“I am O liv ee ah Stens rud,” she enunciated carefully. “Who are you?”
The lion man looked over his shoulder at her, almost calm now that she was talking to him. “Yermade.”
“Yermade? That’s –uh—nice.” She looked past him to the dark haired man. “And you?”
The dark-haired man flinched when the lion man crushed her between his hard back and the harder rock wall, snarling at the other man. Olivia screamed in pain and anger when her already bruised back flamed with new pain.
“Would you stop that? It hurts!”
Yermade half-turned to her, still keeping part of his attention on the other man. He made a strange noise deep in his throat. A purr? “Sorry, Yermade noherdchuh.” He dipped his head briefly for one quick swipe of his rough tongue over her throat. “Yukay?”
But the look of concern on that alien face was wiped away by fury as he wheeled on the other man, who had taken several silent steps toward them. The dark-haired man froze, speaking in a quiet voice too rapidly for Olivia to decipher what he was saying. But Yermade seemed to understand, and consider the man a threat. He spat something back, but the words were so distorted by snarls and growls that Olivia had no idea what he said. Since he had moved a foot or so away from her she took the opportunity to sidle to the left, away from his punishing back. He must have eyes in the back of his head, because he didn’t have to look at her to pin her against the rock wall. She frantically tore at the elbow digging into her windpipe.
“Yuherder, Kit,” the dark haired man said urgently. “Moofyarm.”
The elbow eased a centimeter away. Able to breathe again, Olivia tried to translate what they had been saying. Yuherder? You heard her? You hurt her? Moofyarm. Move your arm. “Look, Yermade, I just want to go home.”
“Mahmade no go!” Yermade growled, still facing the other man as if he were a threat.
“Mahmade?” Olivia said doubtfully.
“You mahmade.” Yermade looked over his shoulder at her, and his eyes glowed fiercely at her. “You. Mahmade.”
“No, I’m Olivia.”
Yermade turned on her, ignoring the other man long enough to stab a wickedly sharp claw at her face. “You. Mah. Madte,” he yowled.
Mah ma … Olivia felt the blood run out of her face. “My mate?” she gasped. “You think I’m your mate?” She looked past Yermade to the other man. “He thinks I’m his mate?”
Tuesday Teaser 11/25/14 Daughter of the Wolf Clan
Yikes!! I meant to get this out last night, but I was really on a roll with Sky and Rose. She has just put two girls who like to flirt with Sky firmly in their place, all with lots of possessive snarling. Now Sky is wearing an expression of insufferable smugness and Paint and Stone are calling her Lupa. It was a fun scene to write!
Anyway, here is the next snip in Olivia’s story. Things are starting to get interesting now. 😉
All her caution didn’t keep Olivia from being surprised by the thing that dropped from the rock wall twenty feet above her.
At first she didn’t know what it was. A large sack? A man? A mountain lion? Instead of thudding to the ground in front of her, it landed lightly, perfectly balanced. Olivia was so startled that she stepped down incautiously on a rock and nearly lost her balance. She had just found what had spooked her horse into flight.
The thing was a man. Sort of. He wore brown pants and a tan shirt, but no boots and his feet were … paws. He crouched on his haunches in front of her, leaning his weight on one hand –paw, snarling, head down, his hair a wild mane of tawny gold spilling over his shoulders to hang almost to the ground. His face was strangely feline, with a flat nose, and a pointed chin, and eyes of icy green. They almost glowed. If he was a lion in the same way her brothers were wolves, he looked as if he had gotten stuck in mid-shift. But unlike her wolf brothers and cousins, he didn’t seem to hold women in high regard. No man from the Wolf Clan would ever show a woman disrespect. This … person lifted his lip in a snarl that showed frighteningly sharp teeth in a deadly threat.
Olivia tired to breathe normally, trying to decide if she were terrified or fascinated. The lion-man shifted a few inches closer to her, still snarling, and she settled on terrified. Her fingers shook as she slid them to the hilt of the knife sheathed at her waist. The lion-man roared with bone rattling rage. Olivia froze for a sickening moment before forcing herself to slowly back up. He roared again, and snarled until she stopped moving. Then he stared intensely at her, sniffing the air and making almost sub-vocal noises in his throat. Olivia reached behind her to feel how close the rock wall was to her back. The lion man slowly straightened out of his crouch and took a step toward her. One step was all it took for him to be only a few inches from her. He was tall. Taller than she was. Taller, maybe, than her brother Taylor, who was taller than their father. One of his hands lifted toward her face. Olivia didn’t want to take her eyes off his, but she flicked a lightning fast glance at the hand. It was hairy, with long, deadly claws instead of fingernails. She flinched away and he snarled some more, gripping her jaw in his big, claw-tipped hand. A soft voice spoke from above her head.
“Lergokit,” the voice said quietly, but it held a hint of the same sort of command she’d heard Uncle Muddy Wolf use. “Na owrs. Lehergo.”
The cat man roared. “Mahmayd.”
Who were these men? What language were they speaking? Olivia resisted the urge to tear his hand away. Those claws could lay her face open to the bone with no effort.
The man on the top of the rock wall spoke again, sounding almost shocked. “Sheezeeyoomahn. Lehergo.”
The hand clenched painfully on her jaw, squeezing a whimper out of her. She felt tears well and spill, but wasn’t sure if it was because of pain or horror or simple shock. No one had ever caused her pain. Her father and brothers protected her. Everyone knew that she was one of the precious daughters of the Wolf Clan, which could call up almost three hundred wolf warriors to defend her if needed. No one dared trouble her. Except this creature.
The hand loosened and the rough thumb rubbed gently over the edge of her jaw. “Sahrie. Naherchu.”
Olivia saw that the eyes, looking almost tenderly at her, were unexpectedly beautiful, gold and green like the eyes of a mountain lion, but not even remotely sane. The lion man inched closer to her until she could feel his warm breath on her throat at the opening of her wool flannel shirt. His tongue, rough like a cat’s, touched her throat, lapping up a delicate taste of her skin there. A tiny heat flared between her legs, embarrassingly like what she’d felt with Rob in the stall. Fainting would be bad, she was sure. She braced her hands against his chest, trying to hold him off. He snarled at her, tightening his grip on her jaw until a thin sound of pain came from her throat.
The voice above said something forceful in their language, and then a slight thud marked the arrival of another body. Olivia couldn’t see anything past the bulk of the lion man, but she guessed it was the man who had spoken from up above. Was he another lion man like the one who had trapped her? The lion man holding her screamed in rage as he whirled to face the newcomer. Olivia felt one of his claws slice her neck and thin trickle of blood roll hot over her throat. The same voice she’d heard from the top of the rock wall spoke quietly, this time from a couple feet away.
“Lehergo. Muzlergo,” he said quietly. “Kit, nahyorz. Cumear, kit.”
Her lion man backed up until his back was an inch from her front. “Mine!” he roared.
What do you think? Fun?
Tuesday Teaser 11/18/14- Daughter of the Wolf Clan
First, a quick writing update: I am mostly done with edits on Wolf’s Lady, which will be a free read released on December 5. And I’m plugging along with Wolf’s Princess. I estimate Sky and Rose’s book will be around 85,000 words long, and I’m at 58,000 words now, so I’m 2/3 done. I’m working hard, I promise, but there is a lot of story left to write. I suspect it will be over 85,000. We’ll see.
The next Tuesday Teaser will be Daughter of the Wolf Clan, which is a story about Tami and Tracker’s daughter and the odd stranger who steals her to be his bride. Hint: he is distantly related to Eddie Madison. Here we go. As always, this hasn’t been edited, so there will be typos and weirdness.
Daughter of the Wolf Clan (working title)
By Maddy Barone
Rocking C Ranch, Colorado
October, 2088
Chapter One
Olivia Stensrud rubbed her sore rear end while she watched her spooked horse flee, taking her rifle and canteen with him. Stupid animal, leaving her stranded here alone, miles from the ranch. What had scared him? Olivia looked around the mountain trail but saw nothing. It was silent, no noise that might have scared him, only the sound of the wind in the aspens and the burbling water in the ice cold stream cutting through the meadow below. She sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of an animal that might have spooked her horse, but she didn’t have her father’s sense of smell.
Her brothers would never let her hear the end of this. She hadn’t been bucked off her horse in years. They loved nothing more than teasing their baby sister, except, possibly, scaring off any boy brave enough to smile at her. They were still teasing her about being sweet on Rob Russell down in Kearney. If they knew just how far she and Rob had gone in the stall in his father’s smithy her brothers wouldn’t have teased her about it; they would have beaten Rob to a pulp.
But that was months ago and what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Right? She was almost twenty years old, practically an old maid, and Rob was one of the few men brave enough to court her. He was tall, and strong, and handsome. And he was a really nice guy, with a good job in his father’s blacksmithing business. Rob said he loved her, and he would speak to her father about marriage, but dad had packed them up and got back to the ranch for the winter earlier than usual this year, so Rob never got the chance to ask. When she got back home she would write Rob a letter.
Olivia shrugged her shoulders to loosen the tight muscles and looked down the trail, hoping her horse would stop so she could catch him. She whistled for him, but he didn’t come. He was probably a mile away by now, heading for his stall back at the ranch. She was going to have to hoof it home. Unless her brothers saw her riderless horse? They might tease her to death about it, but they would come find her. Overprotective idiots. If she were very lucky, they wouldn’t mention it to dad. She knew the rules about riding too far from the house alone, and she was well past his one mile limit. Her father was a reasonable man, but he was also a wolf, and wolves tended to go overboard in protecting their families.
Olivia brushed herself off one more time, touched a hand to the hilt of the knife in her belt for reassurance, and headed down the trail after her horse. It was a pretty day for a walk, a perfect October day in Colorado, with the aspens gold against the deep blue of the sky, contrasting with the green of the scrubby pines. Yes, a lovely day for a walk, and she would stress that to her brothers when— if they found her before she got back to the ranch.
The path was rocky, so she walked carefully in her high-heeled cowboy boots. There was a sheer rock wall soaring toward the sky a yard to her left, and a grassy slope started about ten yards away on her right, spreading out into a grassy mountain meadow cut in half by a stream. In the meadow, tumbled rock lined the edges of the stream. This is one of her favorite places to come to be alone and think. Her mom had shown it to her when she was little.
As she had been taught, Olivia kept her eyes moving to and fro to find any trouble before it found her. She hadn’t forgotten that something had scared her horse. Everything might look serene and calm, but a horse didn’t shy and buck for no reason at all.
All her caution didn’t keep her from being surprised by the thing that dropped from the rock wall twenty feet above.
Tuesday Teaser November 4, 2014: Wolf’s Princess
Happy Tuesday! If you are a US citizen, don’t forget to vote!
This may be the last teaser from Sky and Rose’s story. I can’t give too much away! I believe I will beginning posting snippets from a short story I have a third of the way written called Daughter of the Wolf Clan. It’s about Olivia Stensrud, the daughter of Tami and Tracker, and the man who decides she’s the woman for him. He also believes he has the right to steal her. He waves away Olivia’s warning that her father will track them down and rescue her. He’s lived in the wild all his life, and he doesn’t believe anyone could follow his trail.
I think he’s in for a surprise, don’t you?
But now, here’s a snip from Wolf’s Princess. The men who came with Rose and Sky from the den have gotten off the train and walked to Sky’s house while Sky and Rose are dining with the mayor. Enjoy!
Deep inside Paint felt his wolf whine when Sky’s house came into sight. The sign on the fence read:
The Sky’s The Limit
A Gentlemen’s Club
Visiting Hours: 6:00pm to 1:00am Tuesday through Thursday
6:00pm to 2:00am Fridays and Saturdays
Private Entertainment by appointment only
He didn’t blame the wolf; he didn’t like living here either. Two years ago he’d spent a few months as one of the bouncers in Sky’s House, and when he went home to the Clan he swore he’d never come back. But Rose needed him. When Taye asked if he’d be part of her escort he couldn’t refuse. So here he was, leading five other men of the Pack, all laden with Rose’s luggage, down the street to the gate in the stone fence around Sky’s house.
As they stood around the gate awaiting entrance, the cat let out another howl. The stupid thing had cried the whole way across town and Paint had an urge to lift the lid on the basket and let the cat run away.
“I love Rose,” Stone remarked. “But I wish she’d left the cat at home.”
The gate opened and Beck Carr, one of the burly men Sky hired as guards, smiled a welcome. “Paint!” he said in a quiet bellow. “Good to see you. Snow, you too. Where’s Sky?”
Paint walked through the gate. “He’s eating supper with the mayor. We’re all staying on for a month or so. This is Standing Bear, White Horse, Stone, and Mike.”
Beck Carr’s narrow eyes, almost hidden under his thick eyebrows, were staring, horrified, at the basket. His flattened nose wrinkled. “What is that stink?”
Paint lifted the basket. “This is Mitzi. She’s been in this basket for hours. The little pile of sand in the corner doesn’t do much to absorb the smell.”
The guard locked the gate with a scowl. “We got all the mousers we need.”
“Mitzi isn’t a mouser. She’s Rose’s pet.”
“Who’s Rose?”
“Sky’s wife.” Paint led the others toward the house. “We’ll see you later, Carr.”
Carr’s mouth fell open, showing gaps between brown teeth. “Sky’s what?” he bellowed at their backs.
Tuesday Truth & Teaser: 10/28/14
Tomorrow (Wednesday October 29) is the day of my Facebook Party to celebrate my After The Crash series! Have you ever wondered about some little point in the stories? Or if someone will ever have a mate? Tomorrow is your chance to ask me any question and I’ll do my best to answer. That’s the Tuesday Truth part of this post. The Teaser part is below. 🙂 Hope to “see” you tomorrow night!
Shopping in Omaha was so different than in Kearney. For one thing, Tasha went out the door while Rose remained in the foyer, waiting for their escort. Tasha popped her head back in. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Well, yeah, but where’s our escort?”
“Escort?” Tasha frowned in confusion, then nodded in comprehension. “Oh, yeah, your whistle. Go get it. I’ll wait here.”
“No, I mean…” Rose stared, her mouth half open, realization seeping through her. “You mean we can go by ourselves?”
The other woman looked as confused as Rose felt. “Unless you want to wait for Cayla or Michelle to go with us. But they won’t be up for another hour probably. They both had late appointments last night.”
Rose shook her head. “Be right back.”
It took only a few minutes to hurry to the back of the house, up the narrow stairs to her room on the top floor, pick up her whistle from the dresser, and hurry back. She and Tasha walked down the street, chatting about clothes. Rose found herself glancing around as they walked. It was a beautiful neighborhood full of beautiful homes, but she noticed that with only part of her brain. The rest was busy trying to identify why she felt exposed. She had all her clothes on, didn’t she? Every few steps she patted her whistle or brushed a hand over the hilt of her knife hidden beneath her blouse.
After a block, Tasha stopped. “What on earth is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” Rose patted her whistle again. “I feel naked. This is the first time in eight years that I’ve gone anywhere without a male escort. I keep looking around to see where they are.”
“Good lord! Women really are kept on a leash out west? I heard that, but it’s ridiculous.” Tasha tugged her arm. “Come on, I don’t want to miss the express. It’s not like that here. Women are safe.”
Rose felt a smile grow on her lips. Having to be escorted everywhere had irked her. Now she was free. Some things about Omaha were horrifying. Being able to go shopping with a friend instead of six growling wolves was not one of them.
Tuesday Teaser 10/21/14: Wolf’s Princess
I have to confess my writing has slowed down lately. My day job has a telecommuting program and I applied for it and was accepted. I don’t like to think of myself as a hoarder, but the last few weeks I’ve been cleaning, organizing, throwing stuff away, and yesterday I invited friends over to take whatever they could use. As a result, I’ve done very little writing for the past 4 or 5 weeks. But starting tomorrow, I begin to work the day job from home. I still need to make some trips to goodwill to donate left overs, and I need to do some cleaning, but hopefully by Thursday I will be able to devote a solid chunk of time to Sky and Rose.
I already posted this one about a year ago, but it’s good so I thought you wouldn’t mind seeing it again. 🙂
At the sound of the door opening, Rose snatched her discarded blouse off the bed and held it protectively over her chest. “Sky! What are you doing here? I thought the mayor’s card party was supposed to go on until after midnight.”
He stood in the door, crisp white shirt unbuttoned to hang open, suit coat slung carelessly over his shoulder, the glare of electric light gleaming on the hard ripple of his abs. His stare was almost tangible. Rose shivered under the weight of it. “I’m back,” he said. “I couldn’t concentrate on my cards because all I could think about was that kiss this afternoon.”
A flush of pleasure warmed her. Not sexual pleasure –well, maybe a little of it was sexual—but happiness that the kiss had affected him as much as it had her. “Well, step out for a minute so I can put on my nightgown and robe.”
The door closed with a quiet snick. “You won’t need them tonight.” Sky moved to her with the easy saunter of a predator who’d found his prey, the same glide she’d seen so often in his cousins, and then his hands fisted in her hair and his mouth fastened over hers with hot greed.
With her hands exploring the feel of his arms and shoulders, only the press of his chest against hers kept her blouse from falling and leaving her exposed. He was hard muscle covered by smooth satiny skin under the cotton of his shirt, and his mouth pushed all other thoughts out of her head. His hand, large and warm, smoothed down her bare back, and then slid up between their bodies to stroke her breast.
Her bare breast.
She managed to force an inch of space between them, panting. “Wait! What are you doing?”
“Princess, if you have to ask that, I must be doing something wrong.”
He clamped his hands over her rear end and hauled her so close to him she could feel the ridge his arousal dig into her belly. She couldn’t stop herself from rubbing her core against him, needing to ease the hot ache in her body. She was a virgin, but she knew what her body wanted. She just wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
“Tonight,” he said in a harsh whisper into her neck. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Rose. Tonight, in the bed right behind you, you’re going to accept my mate claim.”
“I am?” Her voice lifted in a cracked squeak that turned to a breathy moan when his mouth closed over her breast. She had never felt anything like it. All her curiosity about sex, her private carnal longings, rushed to the place between her thighs. “Oh, God, Sky, maybe I am.”
Tuesday Teaser 10/14/14: Sky & Rose
So sorry this is late. I had my Word Weavers meeting last night and didn’t get home until after my usual bedtime. I forgot all about the Tuesday Teaser and just fell into bed. My apologies. I hope you’ll find this (unedited!) snip was worth the wait.
Sky stood up from his chair, setting the newspaper aside and staring hard at his mate. He didn’t know why she was so damn mad at him, so how could he make things right? Rose stepped into his office until she was only a few feet away from him and seemed to fumble to find the right words to say. “Sky, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. What will happen to Lily?”
Tension, knotted like a rope in his chest, eased slightly at her troubled voice. He resisted the urge to close his eyes in relief and instead looked at her with a steady gaze. “We’ll keep her safe. No matter what it takes, we’ll make sure she’s never hurt by a man again.”
The tears gleaming in her blue eyes made his hands clench. “Sky.” It was all she said before the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. Finally he listened to his wolf and put his arms around her to draw her close to him. The feel of her body against his summoned a tremble that rose from his knees and spread out to his fingertips. He buried his face in her hair, claiming the scent that was uniquely hers. Her arms reaching up to curve around his neck eased the tremble in his fingers. He had never felt anything as welcome as his mate’s arms wrapped around him. She’d slept beside him because he gave her no alternative, but she never touched him voluntarily. As far as any relationship or love was concerned, she might have been back at the Den.
“Rose,” he whispered, aching with unspoken gratitude at her embrace..
She cut him off. “Sky, I didn’t understand what you were doing here in Omaha. No, I knew what you were doing, but I didn’t understand how important it was. How many girls have you rescued? Girls like Lily who might be dead . I feel awful for doubting you. Please, forgive me?”
He clenched her to him, not ashamed of the tears burning his own eyes. “There’s nothing to forgive. I should have told you why I stayed in Omaha instead of coming to court you. Can you forgive me?”
Her answer stunned him. Her arms tightened, and she pulled his head down so she could kiss his lips. Maybe she meant it to be a gentle, friendly kiss, but the warmth of her mouth made him want more. Passion swept through him like fire in dry grass. He demanded more by opening his mouth on hers, and she responded. The kiss multiplied until all he was aware of was the heat of her mouth, the claim of her tongue on his, the feel of her hair against neck, and the shape of her lithe body under his hands.
He wasn’t sure how long their kiss lasted. It seemed to last an hour, yet when he felt her begin to withdraw, it might have been only seconds. It was a heroic effort to allow her to draw back and release her mouth. He kept his arms around her loosely, not willing to let her go completely.
He looked down into her face and saw her normally pale cheeks were flushed and her lips were as red as strawberries. “Love,” he murmured. “I’ve waited so long for you.”
Rose wiggled free from his arms and seemed to have trouble looking him in the eye. “I guess you need to get going. You don’t want to be late for the mayor’s poker game.”
What do you think? Worth the wait?
Tuesday Teaser 10714: Stone and Sara
In the time since Ellie’s Wolf and Wolf’s Vengeance came out, I’ve had several emails asking me about Stone and Sara. Jelly (as Stone was called before he was given an adult name) was always a favorite of mine, and I think a lot of readers appreciated him too. Sara and Stone’s story was left hanging after Mel and Snake found their Happily Ever After, but that will be resolved in Wolf’s Princess. Many readers thought Sara wasn’t good enough for Stone and I can understand that. It’s my job to make you all believe that they can be happy together. By the way, have you ever wondered what I think Stone looks like? Here you go.
Today’s teaser is the scene when Stone finally goes to Sara’s house to meet her for the first time in two years. I hope you enjoy it!
As Stone stepped over the threshold the fugitive scent of his mate strengthened. In haling it was like breathing in electricity. His wolf lunged frantically inside him, needing to see his mate. It took more of an effort to force him down than Stone had ever exerted in his life.
He realized the struggle with the wolf had taken a minute or so because Mr. Nelson’s brows were raised. “Sorry,” he said, and obeyed the man’s gesture to walk through the small entry way to the living room. The tiny sound of a footstep jerked his gaze to the opposite door. There, framed within the door like a piece of art, stood the mate he hadn’t seen in two years.
Stone’s breath stopped. She was beautiful. Her hair had darkened from honey blonde to honey brown and her face had lost most of its tan. His heart seized at the blaze of happiness that lit his mate’s face. An answering blaze of joy welled up inside him, utterly out of his control. It might have been from the wolf, but he didn’t think so. It felt too visceral for it to be from any heart but his own.
“Sara.” It came out hoarse because his breathing hadn’t started up yet. “Sara,” he said again.
She was visibly trembling. “Stone! Oh God, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so sorry I missed you yesterday. Can I… Would you… Please, I want to hug you.”
He finally dragged air into his lungs and crossed the room in three steps. He opened his arms and she stepped into them. He held her so tightly against him he doubted she could breathe. The weight of her head against his chest was indescribably precious. The warmth of her breath whispering over the base of his throat made him want to cry. She was his. His mate, and his wife by the laws of the Methodist Church and the state of Kansas. He had never smelled anything as entrancing as his mate. The salt of her tears wetting his shirt only added to her scent.
The salty scent reminded him of the tears he had shed after her betrayal. He stiffened and pushed away. He was gentle when he pulled her arms away, but he knew his face was grim. “Sara. We need to talk.”
What do you think?
Tuesday Teaser 9/30/14: Sky & Rose
It’s time for another Tuesday Teaser! After Rose and Sky arrived in Omaha, Mayor McGrath invited them to supper. During the conversation over dinner Rose learns a lot about what Omaha is like, and she despises it. She despises the mayor too, but she feels sorry for his wife. Years ago, they had two children, a son and a daughter. The daughter has died in childbirth, and Rose is told the son is gone too. She examines the pictures of the children on the walls and the boy, who appears to be 16 or 17 in the last picture, reminds her of someone.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” Sky said. “And for your generous welcome to my bride.”
As he escorted Rose past their hostess, Mrs. McGrath reached out to catch her hand. “Please do come and visit, Mrs. Wolfe. It would be so nice to get to know you better.”
Rose held the fragile hand. From this angle she could just barely see the last portrait of the McGrath’s son. The expression on his mother’s face meshed with a memory and something clicked in Rose’s head. “What was your son’s name?”
The gaunt face showed brief surprise. “Ryan. Ryan Thomas McGrath.”
Rye Thomas. Rose’s breath left her in a rush. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed it. “I’m very sorry that I brought back bad memories earlier.”
Mrs. McGrath pressed her fingers. “Not at all. Some memories can hurt, but others bring joy. Do come again soon.”
“Thank you, I will.”
She could hardly stand to wait until she climbed into the backseat of the car next to Sky to tell him her discovery. But as soon as she opened her mouth to ask him if the McGraths’ son was really dead, he closed his over it. Any thought of the Rye Thomas Trading Company flew out of her head. This wasn’t a quick peck. It was a hot, overwhelming onslaught of tongue that froze her in place. She flashed back to the hallway of the den, eight years ago, when he’d pinned her against the wall and kissed her with unschooled savagery. A tiny pang of fear was squashed by trembling, uncertain passion. And just as she began to relax into the kiss, he lifted his lips and replaced them by his fingers.
“Hush, darling.” A flick of his lashes reminded her of the driver in the front seat. “We’ll be home soon. Then we can finish this.”
So, it looks like we’ll be seeing old faces in Wolf’s Princess. Good thing? Bad thing?
