It felt much more like spring the past two days, but we have some of that April rain coming this week that means we will hopefully have more flowers on the way, too. My lilac has a lot of buds on it, and my wild lilies are poking their heads up through the mulch, too.
And I’ve been busy at the day-job again. I got a little bit of writing in today, which makes me happy, though it will probably be the last I get in until next weekend. Unless there is overtime necessary again, which might mean no new words on pages for a few more days after that. But I’m going to hope that isn’t the case.
In the meantime, I have a quick story snippet to share with you from my first tiger shifter story.
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He hadn’t imagined the evening would end in a fight. Harley stared at the door that had nearly taken off his nose ten seconds ago as she slammed it in his face–and then locked it for good measure.
It was probably a good thing the other bedrooms along the hallway were empty tonight, or he’d never hear the end of this.
He tapped lightly on the door. “Tessa?”
Complete silence.
He strained to hear any movement, but the same soundproofing that allowed him to make her scream in pleasure prevented him from hearing her moving around, so she’d evidently moved away from the door already.
“Honey, I’m sorry I acted like an ass.” He leaned against the wall beside the door.
Still nothing.
“You know I’m not going anywhere, right? I could kick the door open, but then everyone else will be able to hear and see everything until I fix it, so I won’t do that. But I’m going to stay right here until you let me apologize to your face. And won’t that be fun when everyone else gets home.”
The silence was making his chest hurt.
He put his back against the door and sank to the floor. “You looked gorgeous in that dress. I shouldn’t have gone all caveman.”
The lock snicked behind his head, and he barely sat up in time to avoid falling backward when Tessa yanked the door open. He twisted to look up at her over his shoulder.
She was pale but dry-eyed. “Go to bed, Harley. I can’t sleep with you out here talking.”
She was still in the pretty dress, though she’d taken off her sandals, so clearly, she hadn’t been attempting to sleep yet. “I don’t want to go to bed.” Not alone. “I want to apologize to you.”
She glared at him. “You want sex.”
Ouch. “With you? Always. But that’s not what I’m talking about.” He shoved to his feet and turned to fully face her.”
She took two steps backward, and he froze. “I shouldn’t have acted like that earlier. You’re not my possession. But I didn’t like Alec flirting with you. It was all I could do not to cut in when you were dancing with Dad, and I know nothing’s going on there.”
Her expression turned wary.
“I want you, Tessa. I won’t lie about that. I’ve never been jealous over a woman before, and I’m not sure of the rules here. This is new territory for me.”
She glanced away, blinking, her eyes glittering.
“Honey, I’m not trying to make you cry.” He hesitated, then lifted one hand to brush her arm.
She stepped into him, sliding her hands around his waist, and hid her face against his throat.
Harley gathered her close, his pulse erratic. “I’m sorry, honey. Don’t cry.”
“I’m not.”
Of course she was. His shirt grew damp under her face. He felt even worse. He’d never realized just how complicated a serious relationship would be, how tricky the steps.
But he wasn’t letting her go.
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Has spring gotten to where you are yet? If it has, are you getting a little free time to enjoy it?