I’m not actually complaining with that blog title, just making an observation. We have two more days of insane-busy at the day-job to start the week, and then it will settle for a week or two, until after Thanksgiving. My teammates and I are discussing taking a day or two off once we get through mid-week (mostly because all four of us still have PTO we have to use before the end of the year), and then I have my annual almost-vacation that starts the day before Thanksgiving-mostly because I use the day before to do some pre-cooking/baking for Thanksgiving dinner. A couple of years ago, the day-job started giving us Black Friday as a holiday, which is great for people who love to shop that day. I am not a shopper, I worked too many years in retail to want to go anywhere that day, let alone shopping. But it does make for a really nice long weekend, and I usually take off the Monday after as well, unless we’re ramping back up at work, but we aren’t this year.
That means this year, I have 6 days off. I will actually start baking next weekend, because I bake sage and onion bread for our stuffing every year. Usually on Wednesday, I will get dessert made and probably the cranberry sauce, and maybe assemble the corn pudding so I can fire up the crockpot with it first thing on Thanksgiving morning before I start tearing up bread for stuffing. So I will be spending a lot of time in my kitchen starting next weekend. That is also not a complaint. Our family loves Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving dinner. The last few years have been different since we’ve lost people, but it will still be family dinner, with the boys and us. I am grateful that we are able to do that when so many other people this year will be missing people at their holiday table.
I am still working on the third Medusa–that is one of this month’s goals, to finish stitching together scenes so the first draft is finally done. The other thing on this month’s writing to-do list is work on my writing goals for 2021, and I am thinking about starting to work on that this evening, after I get today’s words on pages. It will take some time to fine tune the goals, so the earlier I start on them, the better. But new words first. So before I go do that, I have a little snippet for you from Hunting Medusa, the first book in the trilogy.
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Andi couldn’t stop shaking. Even minutes later, the trembling in her limbs wouldn’t stop. Aftershocks made her body tighten on his and his hips shifted against hers. He murmured into her hair, and she heard his wild heartbeat beneath her ear.
She wanted to stay right where she was.
It was the stupidest thing she’d ever wanted. Especially since freedom was not too far away. Just as far as her dresser, clean clothes, the door downstairs.
“Easy.” His lips grazed her forehead this time.
Her eyes burned, and she cursed her stupid hormones. She blinked hard and steeled herself. Lifted her hips away from his. Her breath hissed in as he groaned a protest. She felt cold suddenly.
Ignoring that, she clambered off the bed, searching for some piece of clothing to put on. She’d never felt so naked.
“Andrea.”
She ignored him too, moving to her dresser and taking out some clean clothes. She didn’t even notice what. With her stinging eyes, she couldn’t quite see the things she’d grabbed.
“Andrea.” His tone this time was harder, more insistent.
She glanced toward the bed.
“Don’t do this.”
“I have to.”
“It’s not safe.”
She forced a laugh. “Yeah, you’re so concerned for my safety. Does it really matter which one of you kills me? As long as it gets done?” She jerked on panties, then jeans before wrestling with a bra.
Kallan sat up, gripping the headboard with his cuffed hand. “Stavros won’t be as concerned with how he kills you, or how he gets the amulet.”
Andi swallowed as she yanked on her shirt, then froze when he put his free hand over the cuff on his wrist. She heard the unmistakable sound of it releasing before it jangled to the pillow.
Impossible.
He got to his feet, his green eyes dangerous now.
She dashed toward the door. She only made it halfway before he caught her, ripping one of the belt loops on her jeans in the process. She fought, striking whatever she could reach and wishing she’d at least gotten shoes on so she could do some real damage since he was still naked.
But the Harvester was stronger than she was, and he simply held on until she wore herself out.
Andi finally stopped struggling, her head drooping, breath coming hard again, but with far less satisfaction this time.
He carried her back to the bed and snapped her wrist into the handcuff, his mouth set in a hard line. “I have another set, if I need both of your hands out of commission,” he ground out.
She didn’t bother to answer, struggling still to catch her breath. And against more of the unexpected tears. Damned hormones.
He sat down beside her, hands braced on his hair-spattered knees. “I thought we were going to each do a little trusting,” he said finally.
She looked at the wall to her left, rather than at him. “I saw the handcuffs and I had to try.”
“Was it worth it?”
A scalding tear rushed down her cheek, making her glad she’d turned her face away.
“I know you weren’t faking,” he whispered, leaning nearer. “You can’t fake that.”
She bit her lip, swallowing around the giant lump in her throat.
“And neither was I.”
She barely kept herself from turning to look at him, but the shock still made her body jerk.
He rose and drifted a kiss on the top of her head. “Try to get some sleep.”
Behind her, she heard him gathering his clothing before he padded into the bathroom next door. The water ran briefly, and a few minutes later, she heard him slowly go downstairs.
She lifted her free hand at last to swipe at the tears on her face, closing her eyes.
She should have known this would turn out badly. Who knew the Harvester could undo locks without keys?
Her eyes flew open. What other abilities did he have that she didn’t know about yet?
Gods help her.
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If you haven’t stopped over to my Facebook page yet for the daily happy discussion, you should pop in one day. Generally, my happy each day is something I am thankful for, or maybe just something making me smile first thing in the morning. One of the things I am most happy about this year is that I got Light the Way Home out into the world. And my happy right this very moment is that the house smells really good–I have soup in the crockpot that smells amazing on a blustery grey day. I can’t wait to taste it later.
