Things We Love

Some weeks you just need something to make you feel better. My week was going really well, actually, until I discovered that one of my books was included in the massive theft of books, papers, and other materials that a certain HUGE social media company took from a pirating site without permission. Logically, I know my one book is a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the amount of work some of my writer friends and acquaintances had stolen, but it still makes you angry to discover someone's stolen from you. To distract me a bit and make me feel better, I usually turn on music. Some days, it's loud, angry, sweary music, other days, it's just happy tunes. This week has been a mix of the two. I'm still pissed off, but working on that. It helps knowing there is at least one class-action lawsuit already, and there'll be more, I imagine.

To make things a little better, I already have tickets for this afternoon to head to the movie theater to see a concert. Weird, right? But it's as close as I can get right now to seeing this show live, and I'm okay with this option. Do you ever pay attention to the soundtrack when you watch a movie? I'm a bit of a music geek, I did chorus all through school and into college, piano lessons for years during school, and later met my hubby when I went with friends to see the band he was playing in. When I see a movie, sometimes, the music is just background, but sometimes, it's as much a reason for me to enjoy the film as the story and actors. Usually, I know if it's one of my fave composers, Hans Zimmer, though I'm sometimes surprised. I have a ton of his soundtracks in my music collection, though I didn't set out to do that. It just happened that I enjoyed the music. Haha. Anyway, that is this afternoon's show, and I know for two and a half hours, I'll be happy and forget about the book theft for a while.

Before I get ready to go, I have a snippet for you this week from Freeing Medusa.

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            Katharine had had enough. Her skin tingled with need again, and her heart beat too fast. But she hadn’t seen any likely candidates–even a desperate Medusa had standards.

            Which meant it was time to go home and break out a couple more vibrators to appease her overactive hormones. Dammit. 

            She took another sip from her glass, smiling at Ramona from her post on the deck. Her friend danced with someone she’d greeted enthusiastically half an hour ago. She hated to interrupt, but it was time to go home.

            Katharine sighed and shifted her shoulders, trying to loosen the tight muscles there. She turned her gaze over the crowd one last time, and her breath caught in her chest. Him.

            He was gorgeous, in a rugged sort of way. His nose had been broken at least once, a dimple dented his chin, and he had the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen, black hair dipping over one of them. His green shirt stretched taut over strong shoulders and a wide chest, then tucked into a pair of jeans that fit nicely on narrow hips.

            Her heartbeat quickened in anticipation.

            Then he glanced away from his conversation with a shorter man and caught her eye. A slow smile curved his mouth as his gaze slid down the front of her, making her skin heat, then back up, lingering on her mouth.

            Her lips tingled hopefully.

            She took a drink from the cup she held. Whatever frozen thing Ramona had given her was melting and slushy, but she still tasted the bite of alcohol as it hit her tongue.

            He moved away from the couple he was with, toward her, and her temperature rose a few more degrees. His long-legged stride was confident and unhurried.

            No, damn him, he made her wait, pausing once to greet someone along the way.

            She tightened her grip on the stem of the plastic cup and took a quick breath.

            He finally stopped about two feet away, and she got a whiff of cologne, something musky that made her mouth water.

            Her nipples tightened inside her vest.

            “Hi.” His low tone raised goosebumps on her arms despite the warm evening.

            “Hi.” She put out her right hand. “I’m Katharine Vardos.”

            He smiled again, a slow curve of his lips that made heat spread in her belly, from the inside out, until her panties were damp when she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

            He finally wrapped his long, strong fingers around hers. “Hunter Phelps. Nice to meet you.”

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Besides being a romance reader, are you a music buff, too? I'd love to hear about your favorites!

Until next week, happy reading!