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If you have a moment, hop on over and check out what words of wisdom Marva Dasef has to share.
There's a lot that's happened already this month. Slipping the Past was also reviewed by Got Erotic Romance! Reviews, and I just had to share a snippet and link.
"What a wonderful, inventive, and suspenseful read. From the prologue you know you are reading a book quite different from most anything else out there."
For the full review, go here: http://goteroticromance.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-post.html?zx=2b00d7cec28c76d
And my inspiration for Blown Away, my novel that's being released in November with Passion in Print http://passioninprint.com/future.php, is home from the Marines this week. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have my son here. Looks like a weekend full of barbequing and catching up.
Could it get any better?
Okay, time to stop rambling and post a little story. Ah, what the heck, I'll give you the whole chapter. Enjoy.
All rights are the intellectual property of the author. No part may be copied or reproduced without the permission of the author.
***Warning. The following story contains erotic elements, explicit language and violence. Read at your own risk.***
Tesza awoke with a gasp. Realizing Ursus held her, his arm wrapped over her waist, her body cupped to his. The palm of his hand was splayed over her belly. The heat it projected sent jolts of lust bolting through her pelvis.
“You fell asleep.” He nuzzled the back on her neck, inhaling the scent of her hair. “You smell like wild flowers.”
Tesza smiled at his enjoyment of the scent. She made her own oils and lotions. Among her people she was one of the best. She knew every plant in the jungle, every healing property and even those that catered to vanity.
He nipped the back of her neck. “Do you taste as sweet as you smell?”
Tesza stiffened in his arms. She knew the wonders of that mouth, the pain and pleasure it brought. Her thighs tightened and a shiver slid up her spine. Ursus used his leg to hook hers and roll her onto her back. He lifted his body until he pressed her to the mattress. His knee slid between her thighs forcing them open and onto either side of his hips. He rested on his elbows, touching his forehead against hers in a very intimate sign of Kori affection.
She couldn’t say anything, only stare into his face and feel his erection pressed against her, hot even between the layers of clothes. Tesza licked her lips and watched his eyes track downward. They drifted back up and locked onto her. Darker, hotter.
“You are my mate. I should take you; show you that you belong to me. There’s too much between us.”
“You’d die.” He wasn’t infected. His eyes remained clear. She could prevent it.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’m beginning not to care.”
“I care.”
He lifted his head and pulled away. “Are you hungry?”
Tesza nodded, still unable to speak. The scant distance he’d put between them made her want to weep. What was happening to her? Why did she care for him?
His gaze swept over her face, stopping on the wound. “I’ll make breakfast, and then I’m treating that injury before infection gets worse.”
Tesza nodded. For now, she’d let him tend to it. She could end this. She could save her people and give him what he craved. Her body. But inside her soul screamed at the thought of hurting him.
“Good. Go back to sleep. Rest and I’ll be back when it’s ready. He grabbed the cover and pulled it over her shoulder.
It only seemed like it had been minutes. A hand dropped to her shoulder. Tesza didn’t open her eyes immediately, but savored the energy that shot between her and the man whose touch sent her heart racing.
“Tesza.”
She rolled over and opened her eyes. Ursus sat on the bed next to her. He held a tube of ointment and some bandages.
“Let me dress that first.”
Tesza bit her lip. Why did he care? He hated her kind. Did he only treat her this way to get her secret? “What’s in it?”
“Oils, carsi flower.” He held the tube up. “It’s from my world, but it has strong anti-bacterial properties. Smells like shit, but it will keep you from scarring.”
She wrinkled her nose and yanked the blanket over her head. She could think of ten other plants on this world that would do the same thing and they didn’t smell like shit.
“Come on, let me see that wound.” The cover was pulled back and Ursus had a bead of the goop on the end of his finger.
Tesza sniffed and threw the cover over her head again. She’d thought he meant it smelled bad, not that it really smelled like shit. “No. That’s awful.”
“It works. I put it on all my wounds. You won’t smell it after awhile. Come on, let me see that cut.” He began to pull on the blanket again and Tesza tightened her grip.
“I know of something else that doesn’t smell as bad.”
“I have this for now. Quit being such a baby.” He pried the blanket off her and stared down, moving in with the gob. Tesza made a snapping motion with her teeth, threatening to bite him.
Ursus yanked his hand back. “Are you going to bite me?”
“If you touch me with that.”
“Is that a challenge?” His eyes sparked.
“No. A promise.” She growled at him and did her best to show her teeth.
He plopped his finger down on her nose, leaving the glob sticking to the end. Tesza eyes watered and she pulled the blanket up. In the attempt to wipe it off, she worked it in deeper. “Ursus. It stinks.” She scrubbed harder, only managing to release more of the oils, making it even more pungent. She spluttered and scrambled out of the bed, glancing around the room for water. Spotting a glass next to the bed, she grabbed it and dumped it over her head, rubbing her face vigorously. The water ran down, pouring over the front of shirt she’d slept in, soaking it over her breasts. She spluttered and stared at him through wet tendrils.
His eyes darkened and shifted to the wet shirt. For a second, he ceased to breathe.
Tesza froze. “Ursus?”
He growled and grabbed her wrist, yanking her onto the bed and throwing his body over hers, covering her. A hand slid under the shirt, pushing it up. His hard erection strained against the front of his pants, grinding into her. Both hands grabbed her wrists and yanked them over her head and pressed his forehead to hers, staring her in her eyes.
“Are you trying to kill me, woman?”
“You’re the one that put that nasty stuff on me.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” He pushed his hard cock against her again.
Tesza swallowed. “Don’t do it.”
“I believe I’d die a very happy man.” His lips brushed hers. “Say no.”
Tesza opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She wanted him as bad as he wanted her. She knew she should be screaming it out, stopping him. “I…”
“You feel it. Need it. It doesn’t have to be this way, Tesza. You could give me the cure; we could have all we desire. Touch each other deeper than we ever thought possible. I could give you pleasure.”
“No,” she whispered. He heart slammed in pain at the simple word. The fire began to die in his eyes. He lifted his forehead, nodded and moved away. He grabbed the tube and smeared a glob on the wound before she could react, pressing a bandage over it and taping it in place.
“Your breakfast is getting cold.” He got up and walked to the door, glancing over his shoulder and stopping in the threshold. “I have to meet my commander, I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.” He disappeared through the door. It slammed shut with a loud bang.
Tesza bit her lip and jumped off the bed. She had to leave. She had to put as much distance between them as she could before she made the mistake and killed him. The virus mutated too fast. If the rains came before she got to the antidote, he’d be lost. Only the viral parasite could stop it.
She opened a trunk by the bed and searched through the garments. She glanced out the window. Daylight was only now starting to filter down on the planet. If she moved, she could be out of the city before most of it was awake. Hopefully safe and unnoticed.
She grabbed a pair of his pants, a little big but a torn strip of fabric would work fine for a belt. She jumped into them, rolling them up to her ankles and yanked the shirt over her head. She grabbed another of his and dropped it over her head. She twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her neck and dug to the bottom of the chest for a pair of shoes and spotted the boots she’d worn when she first met Ursus. The garments were gone, but he’d kept the boots. Had he anticipated her staying?
She shoved her feet into the boots, grabbed a piece of flatbread and stepped through the door as it opened. He shouldn’t have trusted her to stay. She couldn’t. She was sorry if she got him in trouble, but anything would be better than killing him.
The air outside felt cold and the scent of approaching showers permeated the streets. The rainy season was here. She needed to leave, get out before she couldn’t. Carefully she slid into the shadows of an alley and headed for the jungle.
She’d miss him. Gods, she’d miss him.
#####
Ursus watched her go and followed from a safe distance. He knew the minute he’d stepped out the door, she’d leave. He’d follow to keep her safe. He adjusted his pack, sliding his weapon into his holster. If she got into trouble, he’d be there.
She kept to the back streets, climbing in and out of the ruins. At one point she slipped down into a hidden cistern, and waded through underground canals, an area he hadn’t realized existed.
The massive subterranean structure paid tribute to the ingenuity of the people who built the city. Once the tunnels opened up, Ursus found himself facing the jungle and a part of the city partially submerged underwater. The tips of buildings, stone domes and debris islands stood before him.
She slipped onto a roof line, running along its edge until she reached a large dome. Looking both ways, she slipped through an opening in a stained glass pattern, and re-emerged moments later in a small boat with a pole, pushing her way along through the sunken city. Ursus peeked into the structure to see several similar boats tethered inside. Obviously a hidden port for those who used the canals and travelled the city underground.
Like mud gats.
He stepped into a boat, slipped the knot free and pushed off, following Tesza as she slid into a mangroves. Birds and reptiles sat in the trees, mosses and vegetation hung everywhere. Riots of blooms in pinks, blues, and whites floated on the waters or wrapped around the trees, stretching for the canopy. Every breeze brought petals raining down. Showers of deceptive beauty.
Occasionally there would be a splash and wakes through the water as larger beasts moved under the surface. Flesh-eaters. Ursus slipped the guard off his holster so he could slide his weapon free on a seconds notice.
Gods, he hated the water, avoided it if he could. The mangrove was a dangerous place to be in a boat, let alone attempting to travel through on foot. It appeared the clans had been using this area to get in and out of the High city, slipping under Kori noses.
It was assumed no one in their right minds would try to navigate these swamps. Tesza did it like it was second nature. As other members of the Kalos must do. A situation that would need to be remedied if the city was to be rebuilt and settled as planned.
#####
Several times Tesza felt eyes on her, and glanced over her shoulder. Nobody followed. Her imaginations seemed to be weaving tales in her head. She was alone. Ursus would be safe.
Shelter needed to be found before star fall. The next outpost stretched at least two days ahead of her. The mangroves were too hostile to navigate at night and the outpost would be unreachable even with mechanical transportation.
Creatures hunted the swamps in the dark hours, creatures that could easily make a light snack of her. She knew the swamp forked ahead, taking her to an island, where some of the clan stayed during hunting and salvaging trips. With the rainy season approaching, the island would be unoccupied. The clans would be well on their way south by now, avoiding the floods.
She’d be cutting it close, staying on the island for the night. The monsoons could start at any time and she’d be trapped in a place with hungry beasts and savage waters.
Tesza decided to harvest the viral parasite. If ever the plague broke out, she wouldn’t want the innocents to suffer. She’d move it, plant it and hide it from the clans. Nobody deserved the hemorrhaging fever. Hallow-fever as it was called. Its victims liquefied on the inside within days of contracting the illness. Ursus had protected her, loved her. He above all didn’t deserve it.
She navigated the boat to the left channel, heading for the island where the remedy grew on the cliffs. She’d stay the night, take some of the fruit and be off before star rise. Hopefully, the rains didn’t start first.
2 comments:
Sounds really good. Congrats on the great review.
Sue B
Thanks for stopping by. I'm very excited about the new release, my Marine son home for the week and a sweet review for Slipping the Past.
D L
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