Excerpts
These are excerpts from my published works or works in progress.
Tuesday Teaser: Wolf’s Prize, Part 2
Here is the next part of the scene from Chapter 1 of Wolf’s Prize. Enjoy!
“Shee-it,” muttered Tim. “We’re in trouble, boss.”
Rye grunted inquiringly. “You know him?”
Tim rubbed his hand over the bristles on his chin. “I know of him. Had a couple dealings with some of his kin.” He swallowed loud enough for Ellie to hear it. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she thought he looked pale. “She’s right, Rye. Nobody wants to mess with those wolves. Last time someone fooled with one of their women, there was hell to pay. Twenty-five men went against Taye Wolfe and his kin. and twenty-five men died.”
“Damn.” Rye ran a hand over his wavy hair. The waves ended in neat half curls. Ellie remembered one of Taye’s men had wavy hair. It was golden brown, rather than Rye’s mahogany, and several inches longer, but the memory of the man popped into her mind now for no reason. She didn’t remember his name, and they had never spoken, but he had stared at her every time they’d seen each other. The curly hair was the only connection between Rye and Taye’s friend. Rye was a hard man. Taye’s friend had been shy.
“This Taye Wolfe cares about you?”
“My cousin loves me,” Ellie replied simply. “I am his only blood female cousin. His entire Clan will come for me, dozens of men.”
“Hm. The Wolfes must be a big family. That doesn’t sound good for us. But like I said, we have a contract with Ellsworth.” Rye slapped his hand on his knee. “Tell you what. I’ll send one of the boys up to Kearney to let your cousin know where you are. He can meet you in Ellsworth and speak to the men there himself. Tim, you know the guy. In the morning, ride north to Kearney as fast as you can. We’ll take our time travelling to give Wolfe a chance to get to Ellsworth before the Bride Fight.”
“Better send someone else, Rye,” Tim said. “I don’t think any of the wolves like me.”
Rye’s brow arched again. “Fine. Jer? Want to take a ride to Kearney?”
Tuesday Teaser: Wolf’s Prize
Yikes! My apologies. This is getting out late today. This is an excerpt from Book Five in the After the Crash series. Taye’s cousin Ellie and her husband moved south into Kansas. The husband died and after Ellie had repeatedly declined to marry his employer, the man sold her to traders, who were taking her and a couple other women to Ellsworth to sell to be prizes in a Bride Fight.
“It’s too dangerous,” Ellie protested.
Sara snorted. “You act like an old granny. You’re not that old.”
“I’m twenty-four,” Ellie murmured. At this time, one short year ago, she had been a happy twenty-three year old wife and mother. Now, she was a widow who felt twice that, at least. Maybe three times that, with her little boy kept behind in the house of the man who had sold her like a cow. “I’m old enough to know what could happen to two women alone.”
“We have to do something! I don’t want to be married to some guy I don’t even know.”
Neither did Ellie. “But even if we did manage to get away, where could we go that would be safe?”
“We can do it. We’ll go to my uncle and my cousins in Omaha. They’ll take care of us.”
“I have a cousin, too.”
Ellie felt a wave of longing for Taye, her big, strong and over-protective older cousin. Taye had tried to talk her husband out of taking her so far away to live. When Neal had died, she had written to Taye, asking him to come and collect her and little Connor. She had written several times in the five months since Neal had died, but no answer ever came. She hadn’t understood why until this morning when Mr. Moore had traded her for gold. All the letters she had given him to post had gone into the fire instead of the mail pouch. Taye probably didn’t even know Neal was dead. If he did, he would have come for her right away. An idea struck her.
“Sara, wait here. I’m going to talk to Mr. Thomas.”
Sara perked up. “What about?”
“I think I have a way for us for us to not become prizes in a Bride Fight.” Ellie climbed over the back of the wagon. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. But if it doesn’t work, we’re running away.”
“Hm,” said Ellie, noncommittal.
Rye was still reclining by the coals of the fire, and Tim, Jeremy, and Paul were there, too, drinking coffee and talking in quiet voices. They broke off when she came to Rye.
He looked up at her, his face mildly surprised. “It’ll be a long drive tomorrow. You might want to get some sleep.”
“I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” She wiped her wet palms on her pants. “It’s business related.”
“Always glad to talk business.” Rye waved his hand at Tim, and the blond man moved a couple feet to the side so she could sit. He waited in silence for her to speak. It took her a second to find the right words.
“I have a cousin who loves me. He’s pretty well off. He would pay you twice what the men of Ellsworth would if you brought me to him.”
Rye’s brows rose until they almost disappeared under his limp curls. “Twice? That would be 200 gold.”
Ellie’s heart stuttered at the sheer amount of money. Did Taye have that much? “I don’t think that will be a problem for Taye” she lied. “He dotes on me.”
“And what about Miss Nelson?”
“He will pay for her, too.”
“Four hundred gold?” Rye whistled. “Your cousin must be loaded.”
Loaded with gold, no. Loaded with sharp teeth and a wolf’s aggression, yes. Not to mention an entire pack of men who all felt like he did. Ellie forced her hands to relax in her lap.
“Taye feels strongly about the safety of the women in his family. Actually, all women. He would be grateful to you if you bring me to him.”
Should she mention that Taye would want her son Connor brought to him, too? No, better not. Once she was safe with Taye, they would retrieve Connor from Mr. Moore. With a stab of vindictiveness, Ellie wanted to see the look on his face when Taye showed up at the Moore place to collect Connor. She doubted Mr. Moore would live through the retrieval process.
“That’s a lot of money,” Rye said thoughtfully. “But we have a contract with the men of Ellsworth. If we start breaking contracts, who will trust us to deliver our goods? Besides, we got one more girl to pick up tomorrow. Sorry, Mrs. Overdahl. When you get settled in Ellsworth you can write your cousin a letter.”
Ellie steeled herself to deliver a gentle threat. “Taye Wolfe is not a man you want to make an enemy of, Mr. Thomas.”
Next to her, Tim jerked in an audible breath. “Taye Wolfe? Where’s he from?”
“My cousin lives near Kearney, Nebraska.”
“Shee-it,” muttered Tim. “We’re in trouble, boss.”
Love’s A Beach Blog Hop!
Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop on the Just Romance Me’s Love’s A Beach Blog Hop. If you want to go on the hop or you’ve fallen off the tour bus, you can get on by clicking here.
My current series takes place in Nebraska, in a dystopia-like future where women are scarce and wives are often taken by the winner of a Bride Fight. Not a lot of beaches in Nebraska 🙂 But the idea behind beaches is relaxation, right? Maybe some hot lovemaking? Here is a scene from Eddie’s Prize, the 4th book in the After the Crash series, which I am hoping to have submitted by September 30. Eddie is a blond hunk who won Lisa in a Bride Fight. With so few women, there is no one to fool around with, so on his wedding night Eddie was a virgin. Lisa was a famous model before her plane jumped fifty years into the future. She is definitely NOT a virgin. This scene is the morning after.
Eddie leaned up with his head propped on one hand and his fingers of his free hand tracing invisible patterns over her collar bones. “It gets better every time, doesn’t it?”
Lisa stretched lazily. “I’m not sure it can get better than that. But if you want to try, I won’t complain.”
“It can be better. This time I didn’t kiss you, or suck your nipples, or barely taste your clit.”
“That’s true,” his wife agreed with a naughty smile. “And I didn’t get to suck you either.”
Eddie shuddered slightly when she ran a finger over his cock lying limp against his thigh. He caught her hand to bring it to his lips to kiss. “We have plenty of time to play. This is our honeymoon, remember?”
Her beautiful smile curved her lips. “Right. I need a bathroom, and then breakfast.”
Eddie returned the smile. “I think it’s closer to lunch now. You get dressed and go use the facilities, and I’ll see what we have in the cold box for breakfast.”
Lisa’s smooth brow folded in a frown. “The only clothes I have are what I was wearing on the plane. They’re pretty beat up.”
Eddie remembered that their clothes were currently scattered from the bedroom to the kitchen. “My mom and sister put a robe and nightgown in the closet for you.” He couldn’t keep his smile back. “I guess you didn’t get a chance to wear the nightgown. Tomorrow we’ll go downtown and order some new clothes for you.”
“Thank you!” Lisa gave him a big, smacking kiss. “I love new clothes!”
She jumped out of bed and flashed him a smile when he leered at her naked body in an exaggerated way. She took her time opening the closet and putting on the robe. She fumbled for the boots he had pried off her last night. She stamped her feet into them and shook her head to free her hair from the robe.
“A chenille robe and high-heeled Ferragamo boots. How sexy.”
He leered again. “I think so.”
She added an extra sway to her hips as she left the bedroom to go out to the outhouse. Eddie whistled at the show, enjoying teasing her. After he heard the door close behind her, his face lost the smile. Sitting up, he put his feet on the floor and his head in his hands. How long could he keep his secret from her?
Eddie got up and didn’t bother dressing before picking up their scattered clothes. Lisa was right. Her sweater was ruined, and her jeans weren’t much better. He folded the clothes and laid them on top of the dresser in the bedroom. He paused to smile at the rumpled sheets and blankets. No sense making the bed. He planned to be back in it not long after breakfast, with his wife beside him. Or under him, or on top of him. His smile grew, resembling a cat contemplating a bowl of foamy cream.
I am offering a download of Book 3: Wolf Tracker, which will be drawn by the Blog Hop organizers on Sunday. I am also offering a download of any of my books to a commenter on my blog. If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment. Also, those who receive my newsletter are automatically added twice to the drawing. I will draw a name by 10pm Central Time, Sunday night, and notify the winner then.
Have fun on the hop, and good luck in the Prize Winning Department!
Tuesday Teaser: A Tidbit From Sky & Rose’s Story
Right now, this is in Eddie’s Prize, but my editor may have me delete it since it really isn’t about Lisa or Eddie. So I thought you might like to read it. This takes place during the first night that Rose spends at the den after Sky has rescued her from Two Bears. I hope you enjoy it!
Lisa slept quite well in one of the double beds in the room Carla had ordered cleared out for Rose to live in. She was disoriented when she woken by soft sobs from the other bed. She lay in the dark, comfortably warm under the stack of quilts and blankets that Carla had heaped on the beds for she and Rose, debating whether Rose would welcome comfort or be embarrassed by it. The choice was taken out of her hands when the door opened quietly and someone came in on silent feet. Lisa strained to see who it was, wondering if whichever of the men who’d had this room before had forgotten something when he’d moved out. It was too dark to see, but a rustle came from Rose’s bed.
“Rose,” whispered Sky. “Are you alright? Don’t cry, please.”
Lisa froze, wondering if she should say something or pretend to be a sleep.
“Sky, you’re not supposed to be in here,” came Rose’s hiss.
“I heard you crying.”
“How could you hear me crying? I’m not being that loud!”
“Sh, Rose, don’t wake anybody up. I just wanted to be sure you were alright.”
Lisa quickly closed her eyes and tried to breathe slowly as if she were still asleep.
“I’m fine.”
That disagreeable tone didn’t put Sky off. “Could I hold you for a little while?” he pleaded. “Just two minutes and I’ll leave you alone, I promise.”
Rose muttered something that Lisa couldn’t catch, but she didn’t hear Sky leave. There was a faint creak from the bed and then silence. Lisa knew she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but what else could she do? Of course, she probably didn’t need to strain so hard to try to hear what might be going on.
“I think it’s been more than two minutes,” Rose hissed.
“Okay.” There was soft sound of a kiss, and the meaty thud of a fist punching skin and muscle. “Ow, you didn’t need to do that.”
“Get out, Sky!”
A moment later Lisa heard the door open and close. Out of the dark, Rose’s voice was a hissed whisper. “Ms. Anton, are you awake?”
Lisa sighed and shifted on the feather mattress. “Mrs. Madison,” she corrected. “Oh, just call me Lisa. And yes, I did hear. Sorry for listening in.”
“That’s okay.” Humor touched the teenager’s voice. “I don’t think you had much choice. You don’t need to mention this to Mrs. Wolfe, do you? Sky did save me this morning. I don‘t want to get him in trouble.”
“I won’t say a word,” Lisa promised.
As she settled herself back down to sleep, she wondered what would come of Sky and Rose.
Tuesday Teaser: Eddie’s Prize again
A teeny snippet from the work in progress. Lisa and Eddie in bed, near the end of their honeymoon.
Through teeth clenched with effort, Eddie said, “We’re done talking about this. Your past is in the past. Right now, from this point, we’re starting fresh. Okay? You don’t talk to men any more than you have to, and I’ll control the beast. The jealousy, I mean.”
“Yes, but—“
To shut her up before the beast tore away from his control, Eddie kissed her almost violently. At last, the beast stopped fighting him and Eddie let himself sink into the warmth of Lisa’s mouth. He’d thought he was too tired to make love again tonight, but he was wrong.
Tuesday Teaser-Eddie’s Prize
It’s time a for a teaser from my Work in Progress, Eddie’s Prize. Lisa, an international fashion model back home, is frightened, and wants Eddie to win her. Here are a couple paragraphs from just before the Bride Fights starts.
Lisa looked quickly at the sea of men on the theater floor and found Eddie by his dark gold hair and pale skin. He was almost directly below her, standing a yard away from the stage. For a one moment she forgot everything else while she ran slow, thorough eyes over him. Eddie was a god. A perfect idol fashioned of gold and ivory. He was shirtless and his lean chest and narrow waist were pale amid all the dark-skinned men. Lisa frowned. His pecs and abs were well-defined, but he looked so slender, almost skinny, compared to the other men he stood with. If those other men, so burly and thick, were who he would be fighting, he wouldn’t have a chance.
Ray seemed to read her concern. He patted her on the head like a child, although she was an inch taller than he was. “He might look a bit small, but he’s fast and a helluva lot stronger than he looks. He’ll mop the floor with the rest of them fighters. Just wait. I’ll be calling you daughter before night.”
Ugh, that was the bad part of Eddie winning. But still, Eddie was the best choice. Some of these other men eying her and puffing out their chests were handsome enough to be models – or they would be if they did something with their hair and teeth—but Eddie was the only one she wanted.
Tuesday Teaser – Sleeping With the Wolf
Here is a short teaser from Sleeping With the Wolf, the first book in my After the Crash series. Taye is trying to explain to Carla that it was his wolf who chose her as their mate:
“Your wolf was the one who picked me to be your mate?” Carla tucked a heavy lock of her walnut brown hair behind her ear and studied Taye as if he were a Where’s Waldo poster. When he was in human form she saw no sign of his wolf.
“He did. To be his special companion. He wants you to be the person who belongs to him, kind of like … a horse belongs to a human.”
Carla stared at him blankly. “A horse?”
Taye frown and shook his head. “That’s not a good description. It’s like…”
As Taye trailed off, obviously frustrated to not be able to explain better, another man stepped up to the table. He had light brown hair in a tangled mess hanging in his face and past his shoulders and vivid green eyes peering through it. “I heard my father explain it once to my mother. He said that to his wolf, she was like the only warm house in the middle of a deadly blizzard. She gave him a safe place to shelter in, one that was just for him, and he would take care of that safe place and defend it from intruders.”
Carla’s mouth formed an “Oh,” without sound. Then, “Is that why the wolf doesn’t want me to shake hands with other men? He thinks that might let them into his safe shelter?”
“Exactly,” said Taye with relief. He rested a hand on the other man’s arm. “Thanks, Quill.”
Quill had a shy smile of surpassing sweetness, and Carla reduced her estimate of his age from early twenties to late teens.
Tuesday Teaser-Eddie’s Prize
As promised, I’m posting a short teaser from Eddie’s Prize. I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off, getting ready for the Annual Reader & Author Get Together. We’re leaving tomorrow morning at 6am and should arrive at the hotel in West Chester, OH Thursday afternoon. I’ll be sure to post some pix from that event.
The Madison family looked startled as Carla and Lisa explained everything that had happened since yesterday morning when they boarded the plane in Minneapolis. Brianna and Mrs. Madison made sounds of horror and sympathy when they described the way the plane bucked and fell, nearly completely out of the pilot’s control, to the earth. The blood and the screams of the dying … Lisa’s mind stuttered to a stop when she remembered the little boy who had cried so weakly in her arms until his struggling heart finally stopped beating. The mild look of wonder and the half-smile on his face had stayed even after he had died. Lisa would never forget it as long as she lived.
Carla was matter-of-fact. “We need to send an air ambulance. Some people were badly hurt but still alive when we left the plane.”
“An airplane,” said Mayor Madison, shaking his head with wonder. “You think it’s about thirty or forty miles west of here, and a bit north. You can leave that to me. I’ll round up some men and we’ll get things taken care of. Meanwhile, you gals should go on upstairs and get a good rest.”
A weight fell off Lisa’s shoulders. She had actually been worried that they wouldn’t be able to get help for the survivors they had left behind. She paid attention the pie on her plate. Lisa normally didn’t eat pie; it wasn’t in her diet plan, and as a model she had to work hard to keep her figure perfect. But this was really good. And even though a half hour ago she had felt nauseous in the wagon, she found now that she was really hungry. When she got back to L.A. she’d skimp a little bit to make up for it, but right now she scooped up the last bite of pie with pleasure.
Mrs. Madison noticed. “You look like pie isn’t on the menu for you too often.”
“Not too often,” Lisa agreed with a smile. “It was wonderful. Thank you.”
“Now, there,” said the mayor heartily. “You’re a bit on the scrawny side, but you have nice manners. A man should consider more than just looks when he’s shopping for a wife.”
“Uh,” said Lisa blankly.
“Now, Ray,” said his wife severely. “You get going. There’s plenty to get done for these girls. There’s no time to waste.”
“That’s a fact.” Ray nodded and got up. “Eddie, you’re with me. Honey, we’ll likely miss supper. Don’t keep anything for us, we’ll grab a bite when we get back.”
Reading, Reading, Reading, and a little Writing
Does this ever happen to you? The laundry pile has turned into Mount Washmore, the livingroom is in dire need of vaccuuming, last night’s supper dishes are still piled in the sink, there are errands that need to be run, but instead of doing all those chores you sit yourself down with a (virtual) stack of books and read to your little heart’s content. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does that.
In the last few days I’ve read about half a dozen books and novellas. Sometimes I go on a reading spree and ignore everything else that I should be doing. Since I’m single and don’t have children to look after (I don’t count the cats, they take care of themselves pretty well), I can get away with that. But when I finally emerge from my reading orgy I find that the laundry still isn’t done, the dishes are still piled in the sink and the livingroom is still a disaster. Worse, I’ve made no progress on the story I’m writing. I guess that means I better get going on Eddie and Lisa’s story. To wet your appetites, here’s a snip from Chapter One, when Lisa and Carla are brought to Kearney.
The usual things apply. This is unedited, unpolished, and may change a little during editing.
Inside the wall the scenery went from urban disaster to country sprawl. It was pretty. This is what she had expected from the walled fortress she and Carla had found this morning. There was tall meadow grass growing on either side of the road, and a big white Victorian house with pillars guarding its veranda at the end of the gravel drive. Some smaller houses were there too, and a barn and some other buildings that looked well maintained. The wagon rumbled down the drive to the rear of the house. A couple men came out onto the wide covered porch. The wagon stopped about ten yards from the house. One of the men, big-bellied with brown hair and a grizzled graying beard came down to talk to their farmer escort. Mayor Madison? Yes, the farmer called him Mayor. Lisa thought he looked like a beer-bellied, aging hippy with a hangover. Carla stood up and swung herself over the side of the wagon, landing on the dirt driveway with easy grace. Lisa doubted she could do that even if her feet hadn’t been killing her.
The second man flowed down the steps with the lithe grace of a cat and when the sun hit him Lisa caught her breath. His hair was golden, flowing in smooth waves to his shoulders. His face was elegant, sun-kissed to a creamy golden tan, perfect in each clear-cut feature. As a model, Lisa had worked with many handsome men, but none of them could top this one. Such beautiful blue-green eyes with dark lush lashes shouldn’t belong to a man. Or that wide, gracefully curving kissable mouth. He could almost be called pretty, except that his jaw was hard, his chin square and his shoulders broad. He came and stood beside the wagon. For once she didn’t notice a single thing that could be enhanced in the appearance of someone she was meeting for the first time. He was a golden god. Lisa stared, besotted, into his beautiful, dark-lashed eyes until she heard Carla snort. Then she blinked and blushed, and saw him do the same.
“Can I help you down?” asked the golden god in a low, quiet voice.
“Oh,” Lisa began, but before she could say anything else he stepped up on the wheel axle, put his hands on her waist and lifted her without effort to the ground. She stifled her gasp of pain when he put her on her feet. “Thank you.”
“Are you hurt?” he asked with quick concern.
The concern warmed her, but Lisa hurried to brush it off. “No, just a little sore.” She could have stared at him all day, but she tried to act her age. She extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Lisa Anton. And this is Carla Zimmerman.”
He nodded politely at Carla and turned his eyes back to Lisa, taking her hand like it was breakable, spun glass. “Eddie Madison. Pleased to meet you.” He seemed to have to force himself to look back at Carla. “Pleased to meet you both.”
Carla nodded back distractedly, apparently more interested in the conversation between the bearded aging hippy and the farmers than this Greek god come to life. There was a line between her brows as she looked from their escort to Mayor Madison. The golden god was listening too, so Lisa tried to focus.
Skinny? The mayor was gesturing at her, saying something about her being skin and bones? And Carla too? Carla was by no means obese, but she was at least twenty pounds too heavy for her height. Lisa tried to follow the conversation, but all she could grasp was that the farmers were talking about her and Carla like they were used cars they were trying to sell to a skeptical buyer. And the buyer kept pointing out flaws like he was trying to get the price dropped down.
“Hey!” said Carla loudly. “We need help. The plane we were in crashed. People are hurt. They need to get to a hospital.”
All the men—and some more had drifted over from the houses—stared at her. The mayor pointed triumphantly at Carla. “And they’re crazy!” he shouted at the farmers, as if that were a clinching argument.
“They’re fertile,” the farmer countered, “and still young enough to have twenty years of child bearing ahead.”
Lisa blinked. The words floated over the top of her mind before sinking in. “What?” she gasped.
“The blonde is too skinny to be fertile,” the mayor argued.
The farmer responded but Lisa didn’t hear it because the golden god had put his hand on her arm and whispered, “I don’t mind that you’re skinny. I’ll see that you have plenty of food so you can fatten up.”
Lisa pulled her arm away, half-offended, and caught up with the conversation. “Eddie,” the mayor said, “why don’t ya take them gals up to the porch where they can set in the shade. Fetch them some water, too. They’re probably thirsty from the drive into town.”
“Sure, dad,” Eddie said, reaching for Lisa’s arm again.
The farmer grabbed Lisa before Eddie could, and jerked her away so violently that she stumbled on her aching feet and almost fell. “They can stay put until we finish our business.”
Eddie’s beautiful face was hard and angry. “You be careful with her. You wouldn’t want to damage the merchandise,” he added sarcastically.
Carla was looking like she couldn’t believe her ears. “Didn’t you hear me?” she yelled. “I said, there’s been a plane crash and people need medical help!”
Eddie’s dad looked over at her with a serious expression. “Don’t you worry, little lady, we’ll discuss that as soon as these gentlemen and I finish our talk. I promise, we’ll figure out what’s best to do.”
Lisa stood next to Carla beside the wagon, listening in disbelief as the farmers sold them to Eddie’s dad. The other men who had come out to see what was going on began filing back and forth, carrying bundles and boxes from one of the barns to the wagon. Carla was stiff with anger, her arms folded over her chest, her large handbag hanging from one elbow. “The going price for two fertile women?” she hissed sarcastically to Lisa. “Fifty pounds of coffee, a hundred pounds of sugar and a chunk of salt. Are you insulted? I am. I’m worth at least twice that.”
Lisa nodded numbly. She’d always thought religious people were trustworthy. But these guys really were some sort of weird cult. She and Carla were just lucky the cultists hadn’t done something worse than sell them to the mayor of the neighboring town. She watched the Odessa men turn the wagon and head away from the house.
13 Paragraphs from Sherry’s Wolf
On or around March 25, I’ll be posting the .pdf version of my free read Sherry’s Wolf here on my blog. It will go up on Smashwords at that same time, and from there it will go to other online bookstores. It will be a free read, but Amazon requires a price of at least $0.99 to post a book there. They will price match the lowest price, but that might take a while so I won’t upload to Amazon until later in April. The smart thing would be to get it from Smashwords or here on my blog. I hate the idea of people paying even $0.99 for something that should be free, especially something that I want to be a thank you to my readers.
Here are 13 paragraphs from Sherry’s Wolf. Enjoy!
Stag settled into one of the hard wooden chairs beneath the window. Taye joined him, still holding his book. “My mate,” Stag answered gloomily. “She wants me to wait until summer to kiss her again.”
Taye’s brows rose. “You kissed her?”
“Last night.” Heat poured through his body when he remembered the feel of her tongue playing with his. “I went too far and now she’s running scared.”
Taye ran a thumb over the spine of his battered paperback. “Did she like your kiss?” he asked carefully.
“Yeah.”
Stag was sure of that. She held onto his wrist in a grip so strong she’d used it to lift her mouth closer to him. And she hadn’t stopped him sooner, even though she said she should have. Most telling of all had been her scent. It had been heavy with desire. Yeah, she liked kissing him. It was only the memory of a dead husband that made her stop.
“She liked it. I think she liked it too much. She told me to go back to the Clan until Christmas. She’s scared, Taye. She said I scared her.”
Taye was kind enough to not remark on the shame that flooded Stag. The sharp scent of it was strong in the air. He held up his book. “Same thing happened to Dante when he was courting Lady Amber.”
“Who?”
Taye waved the book. “Dante the pirate fell in love with the Governor’s daughter but he couldn’t have her, see, because she was a lady and he was scum. So he kidnapped her and took her on his ship and set sail. He teased her with kisses every day until she fell so deeply in love that she agreed to marry him. And they lived happily ever after.”
Stag eyed the faded cover of the book. The title scrolled over the top of the page in fancy letters: The Black Dragon’s Woman. A kneeling woman, whose strange dress was falling off her shoulders, clung to the leg of a bare-chested man. The woman had her head tilted back, staring up at the man in doe-eyed adoration. The man had one fist clenched on the rail of a ship, staring out to sea like he didn’t even notice he had a woman kneeling in front of him. They were apparently caught in a strong wind, since their hair and clothes streamed behind them.
“No offense, Taye, but that picture is disgusting. I don’t ever want to see Sherry kneeling in front of me.”
Taye’s smile was dreamy. “There’s things a woman can do on her knees in front of a man …” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, Dante took his woman away from everyone else. In his cabin they were alone and no one interrupted them. They didn’t have any distractions while they fell in love.”
“Taye, that’s just a book. It’s not real. And, um, what does a woman do on her knees …? No, don’t answer that!”
