Here we go again. It’s five weeks and three days until Desiring Lady Caro, book #4 in The Marriage Game releases. So today, post an excerpt from the third page of chapter five of what ever book or WIP you wish. Feel free to post buy links as well.
Here is mine from, you guessed it, Desiring Lady Caro.
Caro swallowed. “Yes, I understand. I’m not afraid.”
He shifted slightly so his back was to the door and she was shielded from sight. Bending toward her, he tilted her chin up, forcing her to once more meet his gaze. Di Venier’s angry voice echoed down the corridor.
Huntley whispered, “The marchese will be here in a moment. I’m going to place my lips very close to yours, but I won’t kiss you. Ready?”
“Yes,” she said, so quietly he may not have actually heard it.
The door swung open, crashing against the wall before bouncing back. Di Venier’s voice was full of rage. “Where is Lady Caroline?”
Huntley turned. Before he could open his mouth to reply, his cousin drew himself up and, with all the authority of a bishop of the English church, said, “I suppose you are referring to the Countess of Huntley.”
Caro’s knees buckled. Huntley grabbed her waist. Everard sidled close to them and pressed a ring against Huntley’s hand.
Huntley took Caro’s left hand, sliding the ring on her finger. “I’m sorry.”
“Contessa?” di Venier roared. “What do you mean? When?”
Everard’s usually jovial countenance maintained the haughty dignity of his ecclesiastic rank. “I completed the ceremony not long before you came so rudely through the door.” He flicked a hand in dismissal. “Now, sir, you may leave us.”
Di Venier’s face blackened. “You? Who are you to tell me what to do?”
Everard was giving the Marchese di Venier his full title and honors when a well-bred English female voice intruded and said sweetly, “Oh, there you are, Bishop. I’ve been looking for you.”
Everard smiled and bowed. “Lady Bentley, how are you to-day?”
“Quite well, thank you.” She craned her short neck for a better look into the room. “If you don’t mind my asking, what is going on? Your voices can be heard all over the building.”
Di Venier turned and stared at Lady Bentley. “This man is truly a bishop?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my, yes. Of course he is.
Buy Links: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon German ~ Amazon France ~ Amazon Canada ~ Barnes and Nobel ~ Kensington ~ iBooks
Good morning Ms. Ella, thanks for the opportunity…this is from The Seer – Book 1 of The Shadowcons, due out March 4…
“I could eat,” I finally said to his comment. “What about you? You hungry?”
Luken gently kissed my temple and stopped us at the top of the stairs. “Do you want to stay? Or head back?”
I thought about it only briefly. I wanted to stay. “What did Finn say?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “We have a couple of days. Said he’d text if they found anything before then.”
“Let’s stay,” I said softly. “I should be…”
The rest was interrupted by an argument brewing at the front door.
“Get out of my way you son of a bitch, he’s my father!” My own father’s drunken, slurring voice drifted up to us.
“Who doesn’t want you here you bastard. Now leave, before I make you,” Dante replied in a menacing growl.
I ran a hand down my face. “Great, just great. Wonder how he found out,” I muttered. I slipped from under Luken’s arm and took the stairs two at a time. I had no doubt Dante would follow through with the threat and while the thought of burying my own flesh and blood somewhere deep in the nearby desert warmed my heart, I wouldn’t put that burden on one of Gramps people.
Before fists or bullets could fly, I pushed my father back out into the yard, Luken close on my heels. “Dad,” I nodded when we were outside. The front door slammed in our wake and I was thankful for it. One more barrier for him to get through if it came down to it.
Bourbon, my father’s favored drink, leaked from his pours and wafted up my nose as he stabbed a finger in my face. “Out of my way girlie,” he slurred. “I wanna see that sumbitch and tell him off before he kicks it.”
I grabbed the finger and twisted, hard, nearly yanking the man who’d beaten on me for more years than I cared to remember, off his feet. He screeched and grabbed clumsily at his wrist, falling to one knee, staring up at me with a surprised look.
“No. Not this time.”
Loved it, Margaret!!!
Thanks, Ella, for letting us post. This excerpt is from the Scottish inspired paranormal novel, ‘Sea Panther’ releasing on March 20.
As she stepped toward the companionway, Colin blocked her path. “I’ll speak to Robert about Marion.”
“Please don’t. It was nothing.”
“Are you sure? Her claws can leave vicious wounds.”
Kimberly glanced at her hand hardly believing the marks had disappeared. “I’m fine.”
“Then enjoy dinner.”
She ducked below and grabbed her purse. On the way through the salon, an animalistic growl stopped her. The same disturbing yowl as from the dream. The noise came from the fore cabin. The captain’s cabin. She stepped in that direction.
“Lads are waiting for you.” Colin stood behind her. He must have followed her below.
Kimberly faced him. “Yes, I should be going.” She couldn’t help glancing again toward the passageway that led to the captain’s cabin. What made that sound?
Very nice, Dawn. Congratulations on your upcoming release!
Thanks!
That was a fun excerpt, Ella! Since my daffodils are in bloom, I’m in a spring-like mood, so here’s an excerpt from The Magic of His Touch, one of my May Day novellas:
Peony backed up a few stairs. At the sound of male voices, she backed up even more.
“Whatever are you doing?” said Aunt Edna from the landing above. “Sir Alexis and Lord Elderwood are here. Their coach just drew up outside.”
Peony whirled. “I need to…change my hair ribbon,” she said desperately.
“Nonsense. Your hair is a tediously insipid color and unmanageable to boot, and a different ribbon will do nothing to alter that.” Aunt Edna gripped Peony by the arm and marched her down the stairs. If only she’d said there was something in her shoe, poking into her foot. Her aunt couldn’t very well have forced her to limp to the door. Peony never, ever thought of clever rejoinders until it was too late.
“Come along now and strive to make a tolerable impression,” Aunt Edna said.
Papa bustled out of his study and joined them. With him on one side and Aunt Edna on the other, Peony plodded like a prisoner being conducted to her execution. She was doomed to make a bad impression and be blamed for it. Very well, but she would at least summon the courage to meet the earl with composure.
The butler had the door wide open; footmen were carrying trunks and valises. Papa hurried ahead, rubbing his hands. “Welcome, welcome!”
Two men turned at the sound of his voice. One was Lord Elderwood, as cool and unnerving as ever. The other…
Had seen her stark naked at dawn.
***
Buy link: http://tinyurl.com/TMOHT
I loved this book!! Thanks for posting, Barbara!
Nice. Like Lady Caro. Thank you for the opportunity. This is from Love & Vengeance, to be released week of April 20.
Marcus’ smile remained, pleased at her flush when she saw him naked. He partly expected her quick denial of her reaction but why he wasn’t sure. Just as he didn’t remember how he’d gotten into his bed nor when he removed his subligaculum. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he studied her as he reached for the cloth and wrapped it around his waist, binding the ends through his legs over the front.
She looked at him. Her fingers made a movement at her forehead and lowered as she closed her eyes and bent her head. Praying like those pathetic creatures… gods, she was a Christian. The idea irritated him. Last thing he wanted to do was to put up with her ramblings like those others he heard spouting in the market as they got closer to the Colosseum.
With a disgusted breath, he grabbed the batting and wound it around his calf. “What are you doing?”
He saw her gulp. Damn, the arch in her slender neck, the movement of her throat, sent desire coiling down his spine. Violently, he pulled the ties to the leather casing over the batting. Last thing he needed was to sleep with a Christian. Jupiter laughed at his arrogance.
She turned her head, and her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Blue. Crystal and sharp. Damn, he wondered how they’d look satiated by his cock.
“I pray to the gods, seeking their guidance.”
He scoffed. “Do they answer you?”
Her gaze narrowed. “Perhaps, if I wasn’t interrupted.”
He chuckled as he tied the second legging on. Outside, the loud snap of a whip filled the air.
“Gladiators!”
Doctore’s yell, calling all Aulus gladiators for training. He’d be late. He slid his feet into his sandals.
Confusion at Doctore’s command made Gustina’s brows crease. He waited, slipping the leather belt over his waist.
“Doctore calls.” He pulled the batting over his right arm. “Time to train.”
“Train to kill?” Amusement rang on her tongue. She snorted.
He frowned. Women paid to be with him. His popularity was high enough that women fawned all over him. But she looked as if she’d start laughing. He shook the anger off.
Love it, Gina!!
Here’s an extract from the opening of my WIP – the sequel to Turn of the Tide
He had become a man unnoticed, and a stranger; the thoughts he expressed as unexpected as if he had struck her. Had she anticipated it, or had time to consider, she might have been able to temper her reaction, to plan how best to play it. As it was, the need to respond immediate, she was unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
‘You want to fight, much like all men.’
He had the grace to flush, but it was clear that to be called ‘man’ released something in him, so that the words tumbled out, a waterfall cascading over rocks, dividing, coming together again, increasing in power.
‘I am old enough now not to need to skulk here in fear of William Cunninghame…or anyone else…It is William, isn’t it?’ His head was up, his chin tilted, his voice gaining in resolution, as if he built up to the kernel of his complaint. ‘I am tired of being a ‘Grant’…I want my own name back.’
She turned her head, saw the Douglas factor, silhouetted in sharp relief by the tower gateway, and though she knew him to be well out of earshot, nevertheless kept her own voice low. ‘And with it danger. Don’t you know it was to avoid that your father left?’
‘I know it fine.’ His jaw was set. ‘I’m just not convinced he choose aright.’
Anger rose in her, made stronger by her own reservations. ‘Don’t presume to judge, Robbie. You were only a child. Your father did what he thought was necessary, and none of it easy. We owe him our lives and mustn’t forget it.’
Lovely, Margaret!
An almost kissing scene! I love it. And when I went to page three of chapter 5 in my book, guess what I found? A kissing scene. This is from HER BODYGUARD (part of the series Steam! Romance and Rails). Available now. Thanks for the opportunity to share.
Amy’s pulse raced as her bodyguard loomed over her. Lord, he was tall, though that didn’t begin to describe him. There was something about him that made him seem larger than life, like one of those heroes in Beadle’s dime novels. His presence filled a room when he entered it. He commanded attention, and he certainly had hers now.
She’d hoped a cozy dinner would loosen his tongue and she could get more information about his background, thus satisfying Fletcher’s concerns and some of her own misgivings. Instead, her wily bodyguard had deflected the conversation away from himself and back to her. He was a puzzle, and she’d always loved puzzles. Perhaps that’s why he fascinated her.
Recovering her voice, she asked, “What more do you need?”
A predatory gleam lit his eyes, along with a smoldering sensuality that stole what little air remained in her lungs. “Seeing as I’m your bodyguard, I’ll need to stick close.”
Her heart rapped a distress signal. What had possessed her to invite this hunter into her lair? She squared her shoulders and met his eyes in an attempt to remain in charge. “You may go with me tomorrow, so long as you remain in the background. After breakfast I have a meeting, and then I’ll need to stop by a dress shop….” Her words trailed off as he leaned over.
She caught his scent and nearly swooned. Did leather and lye soap contain some sort of aphrodisiac?
He paused, just a heartbeat, before his hand cupped the back of her head and he brushed his lips against hers in a titillating invitation.
A debate ricocheted through her head. This wasn’t right. But it felt good. She was nearly engaged. Not yet. Buck was the wrong man. But Fletcher couldn’t hold a candle to the bonfire stoked by this rough Missourian.
His soft mustache tickled and teased, sending shivers dancing across her skin. A moan slipped out of some needy place deep inside. He slanted his mouth and molded his lips to hers.
At the lush pressure, her head grew light. Had he not been holding her, she would have sworn she’d stepped off a cliff.
His large hands, which had warmed her when she was frozen, now caught her up, lifting her until her toes barely touched the floor.
Admonitions echoed, a distant thunder. She ignored them, circling his neck with her arms, threading her fingers through the thickness of his hair, combing through it as she’d imagined doing in a wicked fantasy.
Rumbles rolled up from his chest and he lifted her higher. One arm wrapped like a steel band around her middle, while his other hand gripped her hair. The overpowering hold would’ve frightened her if his kiss hadn’t gentled.
He nibbled at her lips, tasting them, probing the seam. With a delicious shiver, she gave him entry. The sensuous slide of his tongue against hers made every nerve spring to life. She gripped his hair as her body hummed with restless energy. He seemed to sense her need and began to meet it with bold, confident strokes.
Other men, other kisses, all faded into a bland memory. Nothing had prepared her for this…this taking. It should have terrified her. Instead a thrill shot through her at his domination, as she sensed it was her power that fed it.
“So sweet,” he murmured as he trailed kisses across her cheek. With the tip of his tongue, he traced the curve of her ear. Then he nipped the soft lobe, making her gasp with pleasure. He burned a path down the column of her throat. With both hands, he lifted her higher, nuzzling the cleft between her breasts. Her nipples tightened into rigid knots that ached for his touch.
She trembled, waiting…wanting. “Please.”
He raised his head. In his eyes, passion burned like blue flames. “Please what?”
No, she couldn’t say it, couldn’t admit to wanting him because it would mean she was no better than her mother.
When she didn’t answer, he went back to kissing her quivering flesh.
The passionate storm grew stronger, becoming frightening in its intensity. Savage winds tore at her moorings, threatening to rip away the last of her resistance. Desire gripped her. Her body ached, and her need became the only thing that mattered.
From a dark corner of her mind, a memory taunted: her father’s grief-stricken cries, her mother’s face, twisted in agony, pale as a wraith, both of them victims of the indiscriminate ravages of unfettered passion.
Amy stiffened with alarm. What was she doing in this man’s arms? She put her hands against his shoulders but it was like pushing at a boulder. Panic bubbled up, bursting out in senseless noises. She struggled, unable to break free. Oh God, she had to escape.
“No! Let go. You…you beast.”
Buy links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/15nfO3m
iBookstore: http://bit.ly/16RKhcP
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1aC593p
LOL, I think she’s fighting a losing battle. Thanks for posting, Elizabeth!
How fun to read these, Ella! Love this idea! Met you at Pittypat’s Porch last summer — Gina too! — as my ‘unaltered ego’, Karen Auriti. My offering is truly a WIP; no publication date, not even a complete first draft. No title, either…
A big roan clattered to a stop beside them. Anna shuddered. She knew that horse. For weeks, she had looked eagerly for it in Hyde Park, on the city streets, from the bow window in their parlor. Now, there could be no sight less welcome – except for the tall man in the saddle, so handsome, so cruel. She felt his brother stiffen as he lowered his coat over her shoulders.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t little Lewis.”
Anna wished Lewis would put the whip to his horses, race away to some far-off land where she need never see that face again. Or maybe hit the stallion with it, make him rear up and dump Gideon in the street – except that Gideon was a superb horseman whom no horse would dare dump anywhere. And he would just laugh.
“I’m glad you brought a groom along as chaperon. Though I’m not sure you need one, little brother, such a chivalrous knight as you are.” The tone of his voice made clear his opinion of chivalry.
Gideon’s insulting drawl became a caress. “And Miss Anna Crowley, I believe.” Gideon bowed to her and tipped his tall hat.
Anna sat rigid, her hands clenched into fists in her lap. She did not need to look in his eyes to know that they sparkled with glee – and with guile. She thought about what Cassie had said in the park. She heard Lewis take in a breath beside her. And she forced a smile to her lips.
“How nice to see you, Mr. Aubrey.” She was pleased that her voice did not shake. “But as you can imagine, we are in rather a rush to get out of the wet. Good day.”
The other Mr. Aubrey took the cue she’d given him, slapping the reins on the horses’ backs. Gideon turned with them as they started moving. “Ah well. Perhaps I’ll see you both at Almack’s. Three long days… How shall I survive?”
I do remember you Karry! Nice excerpt!! Thanks for posting.
From freshly released To Yank a Tiger by the Tail (Only available via Shara Azod.com, but Coming Soon to Amazon, ARe, B&N and many others.
““They’ll love you. Don’t be so nervous.” Truth was, he worried some might like her too much. He’d done all right holding his tiger in check back in the city, a place where males had no clue what actually being one meant They didn’t cherish or protect their mates. Hell, they didn’t value how rich finding one’s mate made them.
Right now, here with these other men who did understand the power behind his precious find, Dax grew antsy and fought the wildness within which begged for release. He caught site of her toying with the hem of her skirt. Zhara wasn’t a girly-girl who, on a typical day, wore frilly skirts and blouses. She’d chosen such a get-up today. To meet his family. Worst time for her to do so, as the last thing he wanted was a throwdown with any of his brothers or cousins if they stared past the pastel yellow skirt or near-sheer top for too long. His getting so uptight wasn’t going to help calm her nerves.
“They just appear fierce. I swear, the whole lot is nothing but a bunch of old, hen-pecked sissies.” Dax spoke the words as he opened Zhara’s door knowing full well his brothers and cousins overheard his statement.
“Sissy, huh?” And just like that, at his craziest brother Fin’s comment, Dax’s hopes of a calm reunion of sorts shot out the window.
Before he managed to yell no, Fin stripped off his clothes, to the hoots and howls of the others, and went streaking across the meadow before shifting and disappearing into the woods.
“Wow, your family—-or at least a few—seems, uh…colorful,” Zhara commented as Fin roared in the distance.
A stand-alone, but featuring Dax and Zhara from It Came Upon a Midnight Dream. (Available, Amazon, ARe, B&N etc)
http://www.sharaazod.com/ebook/yank-tiger-tail.html
Thanks Ella!
LOL, Bobbi. That was great!!
First…I adore your cover!!!
Second…I love, how you selected the excerpt for authors to share! Clever idea, Ella.
This excerpt is from my current, WIP, book 2 in my Scandalous Seasons series…title to be determined. The book features Miss Sophie Winters and Christopher Quenby, Earl of Waxham!
The Viscount cleared his throat. He gestured to his sister who stood off to the corner of the room. “My lord, you remember my sister, Sophie.”
As if anyone could forget the little hellion.
The young woman dipped a curtsy for his father. “Always a pleasure, my lord.”
His father peered down his hawk-like nose at Sophie. His lip pulled back in a sneer in clear indication that he’d found the young woman somehow wanting.
“What a…lovely young woman you’ve grown into.”
An overwhelming urge to place himself between Sophie and his father gripped him. She may have tortured him during his youth, but she didn’t deserve to be victim to the marquess’ vileness. Over the years, Christopher had grown accustomed to Father’s censure. This young, unguarded woman would be no match for the marquess.
“Really?” Sophie said under her breath. “That’s hardly convincing, my lord.”
Christopher laughed. It appeared Sophie had developed a stiff spine over the years.
His father’s brows dipped. “What was that, girl?”
Lovely, Christina!!
Awww, thank you, Ella! : )
Great excerpts.
Tweeted.
Thanks so much, Daryl!!
Here’s a tidbit from The Earl’s Enticement releasing in May. Warning…my humor is working overtime!
~~
Angling her head, with a great deal more composure than she felt, Adaira met Roark’s penetrating gaze and waited for him to answer her question.
He flicked a silk flower on her hat. “You look lovely today.”
“Thank you.” She said no more, just waited. He was stalling.
He gestured in the dog’s direction. “Guinevere. She’s blind in one eye.”
“Indeed.”
Adaira would wait him out. Curling her toes in her shoes kept her from tapping them in impatience. Or kicking him.
“I also have a blind mule and a deaf sheep,” his lordship proudly announced.
Adaira clenched her hands, bit the inside of her cheek, and made a strangled choking in the back of her throat trying to suppress her laugh. It gushed forth in loud peals. She slapped her hand over her mouth, but couldn’t control her hysterical giggling.
“A deaf sheep? Are all of your animals needy in some way?” She sat up straighter and gripped his forearm. “You have an owl in the library?”
The earl drew himself up, and pretended to look down his nose at her. “And what, pray tell, is wrong with having an owl in one’s library? Are they not wise?”
Adaira shook her head, and between bouts of giggles said, “You are hopelessly absurd.”
She sat back, folding her arms across her chest, while trying to balance her parasol. “My, my. It seems you’re a fraud, my lord. Why no self-respecting member of the peerage keeps an owl in his library.”
“He does if he raised it from a fledgling. I found her beneath a tree. She must have fallen out. You see, she has deformed feet. Sophie would never have survived in the wild. I couldn’t let her die,” he said softly, his voice low.
Love it, Collette!!
I’m posting from Betrothal, the first book in my medieval serial novel, Time Enough to Love:
At their approach, Geoffrey’s fellow courtiers scrambled to make a place for them in the middle of the table.
“Good evening, Lady Alyse.” Sir Robert bowed and indicated the bench beside him. “Will you sit here by me, my lady?”
“No, Sir Robert, I will have her here by me.” Patrick winked at her and grabbed her hand. She rolled her eyes at his audacity.
“Gentles, I insist the lady sit nowhere but between me and her betrothed.” Lord Braeton’s commanding voice carried an undertone of menace.
The other men sent up a discordant rumble, garnering curious looks from courtiers at nearby tables. Alyse glanced at the royal dais, and her stomach dropped to see the king’s attention drawn by their commotion. To become a spectacle in the raucous atmosphere of the Great Hall took some doing and was not the preferred way to obtain His Majesty’s notice. She returned her attention to her betrothed and bit her lip. Geoffrey had fixed the group with an ominous look from beneath lowered brows.
God help us all!
And here’s the buy link:http://www.amazon.com/Betrothal-Time-Enough-To-Love-ebook/dp/B00CF6UZFW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393269860&sr=8-3&keywords=Jenna+Jaxon
I love this book!
How wonderful! Such intrigue and tension! Five weeks and three days?! No, that’s far too long of a wait! We’re so excited for Desiring Lady Caro, Ella. We’ll simply have to read the Marriage Games 1-3 to bide our time. 😉
LOL, I thought you’d already read them!
Before we ever started our platform and even became Inion N. Mathair, we had heard of you. Our closest family friend is a huge fan of yours and because of time constraints we haven’t been able to sink our teeth into them just yet. We’ve read excerpts per her suggestion and browsed while at her house plus what we’ve read on your blog, but we really want to be able to sit down and delve into your novels. Luckily, we have some downtime and will be able to. Mathair and I have made it our mission to catch up before Desiring Lady Caro’s released. 😉
Thank you for telling me. I know what’s it like not to have down time. I hope you like the books as much as you have the excerpts!
Here’s an excerpt from my new release A Feather To Fly With, currently Pending at Amazon (buy links to follow!):
Walking in the park with Justin, Arthur thought he was becoming accustomed to this pace. At least he didn’t have to pay attention to his stride so constantly.
“Ah, here comes Miss Harwell,” Justin said. “Remember, this is the park, not the Royal Society. Lightly, dear fellow.”
Arthur looked ahead and saw Miss Harwell approaching. “She’s walking with Miss Cooper,” he said.
“Who?”
“The young lady I told you about, with the bird seed.”
“Ah, yes,” Justin said dismissively. “Hans Town.”
The young ladies approached and the gentlemen tipped their hats. “Miss Harwell, Miss Cooper,” said the Duke.
Felicity, prepared to perform introductions, said, “Oh, you’ve met?” just as Cleo said with a smile, “How do you do, Mister Ramsey?”
Self-consciously, the Duke corrected her. “I’m afraid I made a mull of my earlier introduction,” he said apologetically. “I am Arthur Ramsey, Duke of Winton.”
Cleo was so astonished that she blurted without thinking, “A duke! I thought you were someone useful!”
A profound silence fell. Her hasty exclamation had carried beyond her small group, bringing the sociable park traffic to a halt. Seeing Felicity’s mortification, Cleo blushed, knowing that she’d stepped out of line.
Justin was too astonished to speak. Arthur, though, was deep in thought. At last he responded, “But surely, ma’am, one’s usefulness should be measured by what one does, rather than by who one is.”
Gratefully, Cleo smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you must be right,” she said weakly.
Felicity slipped in with her fine social instincts. “And the Duke must certainly be considered useful with his scientific pursuits. Tell Miss Cooper about your new planet, Your Grace.”
Arthur nodded to her. “Neither mine nor new, but discovered fairly recently,” he corrected. Glad of a topic he excelled at, he was off, describing Sir William Herschel’s telescope in Bath, and the faint light in the sky whose very name was in dispute.
Society, realizing that what had looked like a promising scandal had devolved into a scholarly lecture, moved on.
Thanks so much for posing, Joyce!
Great Excerpt Ella and thanks once again for doing this.
Here is the 3rd page of the 5th chapter of my short story “A Love Remembered” which is part of the Once Upon a Hero Anthology (only 99c at Amazon)
My Darling Cassy,
By the time you receive my next missive you should have made your curtsey to Her Majesty. You will be “out” in London Society and will have had your come out ball. And sadly I shall have missed it all.
Is it wrong of me to say that I hope you do not find a husband this season? I fear it is and it is terribly ungentlemanly of me. I plan to leave His Majesty’s navy soon and wish with all my heart to see you again and dance a waltz with you. You will never know how much your correspondence has meant to me over these past years…
“Where is the rest?”
“It is too badly damaged,” said Cassy quietly, getting to her feet and walking away from him. She swiped at her eyes. “You were dead, or so I thought. No one knows how hard I grieved your loss. It seemed silly to grieve someone whom I had only really known for a week. But I did grieve you and some of your letters have not survived. One day not long after the news of your disappearance I got myself into a terrible state and I ripped some of your letters. A few have become too tearstained. I tried to deal with your loss with dignity but sometimes…”
He stood and walked over to her, enveloping her in his arms. Her body shook as her arms snaked around his torso. She placed her head on his chest and sobbed. He tightened his grip, wishing fervently he could take away some of the pain and some of the memories. These letters told him of their deep affection for each other. He had wanted to marry her. Why else would he wish that she not find a marriage partner in her first season? It may have been a very selfish wish, but it had been an honest one.
Her sobbing eventually stopped and she drew away slightly, her head down as if she was embarrassed.
“Beautiful Cassy, do not be embarrassed. I have wanted to cry like that since my father discovered I am alive. The young man in these letters seems to have loved you very much…for there is much to love about you.”
He leaned his head down and took her lips with his own. She responded immediately, pressing her wet tongue past his teeth and moving her lips hungrily across his. Damn, she was a tigress.
Here is the buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Hero-Throughout-History-ebook/dp/B00IA8ZDFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393280547&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+hero
Ella, Thank you. Such great excerpts from everyone. Here’s mine from Son of Dragons – Book 2 in the Legends of Oblivion Series – unedited, but forthcoming:
Calming her mind, she whispered the spell. Make my arrow true and silent, more potent than a thousand poisoned arrows. She drew the bowstring taut and rose.
Then her fingers snapped open and the arrow twanged into the air. She watched him spin as if he heard the sound. Before he countered, the arrow pierced his shoulder.
Poisons enhanced by her spell worked quickly, for he fell to his knees.
The golden haired woman spun around. Instantly, a dagger appeared in her hand. Instead of sending her creature to fight, she raised the blade into the air.
Lightning splayed forth. And Mirhana plunged to the ground as streaks of magic coursed through to where she had stood.
Nice, Andrea! Thanks for posting.
Reblogged this on Phoebe Kent and commented:
Thank you so much for reblogging, Phoebe!