Sunday Snippet: Merry and Bright

Greetings!

Whew! I'm relieved to say my favorite characters are still intact on Strike Back and Sons of Anarchy. And I got to see more of Stonebridge than I have in a while. :D

Arrow returns Wednesday and I'm dying to have it back on my TV. The behind the scene teases and brief clips are only serving to whet my appetite. Come on, Wednesday!!

Enough about television. It's time to share some good news!! I submitted a novella, Merry and Bright, for Silver Publishing's special call for Holiday Wishes and received the contract tonight! Tonight's post features another snippet from the now upcoming release!

Here's the tagline:

After losing her parents, Presley wishes new holiday traditions were easier to establish. Instead of being alone, she ends up in bed with Gunnar and Frazier. The cop and the firefighter heat things up and cool them down. Presley can't think of a better way to be merry and bright.

And another snippety peek…

Presley Griffith exited the treatment area and made her way to the staff lounge. Her shift had ended over an hour ago, but when the paramedics brought in an abuse victim fifteen minutes before her scheduled leave time, she stayed to help out.

She loved a good trauma, but she often wondered what drove people to commit violent acts against each other—especially close to the holidays when good cheer and glad tidings were supposed to be abundant.

"Right. Not so much." At least she'd left the patient in the very capable presence of Detective Gunnar Stewart.

She pushed the door to the lounge open, grabbed a large mug of coffee, and plopped down beside Frazier Boyle, the lead medic from two house. His good looks fooled some of the nurses, but he had a keen mind and cared about his work. He also flirted shamelessly and had loads of charm, just a few reasons why Presley enjoyed his company so much.

He glanced up from his report. "Tough one. That kid is barely legal and her pimp kicked the shit out of her for calling home."

Presley grimaced. "I hate seeing the stupidity of the human race sometimes. At least I left her in good hands." She paused. "I didn't think Gunnar had duty tonight."

Frazier winced. "He didn't. I called him. He pulled a similar case last week."

Presley nodded. "Ah. Gotcha." She tilted her head from side to side. "Man, it's been a long day."

Frazier scooted his chair back and patted his lap. "Come on, gimme your feet."

Too tired to argue, she slid her clogs off and propped her legs against Frazier's thighs. It felt so good to stretch out a little.

Frazier grabbed both of her feet in his hands and squeezed. Presley bit back a moan—the man had great hands, and her twelve hours plus had taken a toll.

Shit. Twelve hours.

She straightened. "Look, I've been here since seven am, my feet probably—"

His thumbs dug into the balls of her feet.

Her head lolled back. "Oh, my God, that feels sooooo good."

Frazier grinned. "I have magic in my fingers, Pres. You should experience everything they can do."

Presley chuckled. "So you keep saying." She sort of had no doubt he could make her sing with satisfaction… if she'd let him.

Frazier focused on her right sole, kneading and massaging between her toes. Even through her socks, the warm touch of his hands soothed her aching muscles.

Frazier snorted. "And you keep turning me down."

Presley didn't answer, lost in the exquisite play of his ministrations. She didn't exactly turn him down, but she chose not to take the bait. Frazier, with the full, sensual curve to his lips, hit her hot spots. But his best friend, Gunnar—cool, aloof, but intensely sexy—also got her blood thrumming and her heart pounding. She truly liked both and didn't want to choose… not yet. But it didn't stop their friendly rivalry.

Frazier switched to her other foot and pressed his fingers along her arch. A relaxed languidness settled in her limbs. She could almost die happy.

She groaned. "God, yes. That's perfect. Right there." She flexed her toes and shuddered.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear there's hot sex going on in here."

Presley jerked her feet from Frazier's grasp and angled around. "Gunnar, how's my patient?"

Gunnar sat in the empty chair at the table and gave a quick rundown. "She's scared and hurting." He picked up Presley's forgotten mug of coffee and took a large gulp. "And she's not talking much yet. But she will. I've got good vibes about this one." He glanced toward Frazier. "Thanks for calling me."

Frazier nodded. "No problem. Not exactly SOP, but I figured you'd be interested. What are best friends for?"

Gunnar drained the mug and got up for more. "She liked you a lot, Pres. Commented how you made her feel safe."

Presley smiled. "I'm glad I put her at ease. She fought the doctors when they tried to restrain her to get x-rays because she wouldn't settle down."

Gunnar eased back down in the seat. "That's because her pimp set up for a bondage session. She's still pretty green"—he added a tub of creamer to the java—"she balked and ran, called home, and barely hung up before the bastard caught up to her."

Presley sighed. "She could've potentially been home for the holidays. Now she'll be here—safe, but alone."

Gunnar nodded, a hard edge to his gaze. Presley had no doubt when he got a hold of the pimp the guy would remember Gunnar for a long time. Frazier finished writing his report and closed the file. Presley tried really hard not to get caught staring at either man. She had a case of the holiday blues and didn't want to drag either guy into it.

And that's where I'll leave it for now. Needless to say, Presley's holiday starts looking up in a very big way. :D

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin