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
