Working Out the Details

Just over a week until birthday party time! I've been putting together a tote bag of goodies for a party giveaway, but I think I'll wait to talk more about that. That's part of my weekend to-do list, which is mostly done as I write this Sunday afternoon. I have half of dinner prepped already and just need to deal with the rest, then do some dishes and the weekend list will be completed. Woohoo! That means writing time, and some reading time later. I do still need to figure out what kind of cake we're having next weekend and what the birthday dinner will be. There are too many good cake options. Haha!

It was a good week again, aside from spending most of it inside away from wildfire smoke and heat, and I'm thinking the next week will be even better. I have no doctor things on my agenda for a while, excluding my regular acupuncture sessions, and I love those. So now it's all about the ongoing to-do lists of regular chores and continuing home projects like scanning family photos and the regular closet/dresser purge. And writing, hopefully lots of writing, of this new story.

Before I get back to all that fun stuff, I have a snippet for you this week from Protecting Medusa.

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            When he woke in the morning, he stretched, then put one hand out to find her.

            Gone. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked around the room. Mena was gone. Of course.

            He sat up, and the blankets fell to his lap. Listening hard, he heard faint sounds from the kitchen, and he relaxed.

            He threw back the mound of blankets and grabbed his jeans, stepping into them before he gathered the rest of his clothing and padded down the steps, the wood cold beneath his bare feet.

            In the kitchen, Mena bent at the waist, peering into the refrigerator. She’d obviously showered, her inky hair still wet against her sweater, her wool skirt and boots hiding her long legs. She shot him a wary glance as she straightened and closed the fridge.

            “Good morning.” He dragged one hand over his head, aware he was rumpled from sleep.

            Her gaze slid from his hair to his bare chest to the unbuttoned waist of his jeans, and pink tinted her cheeks before she dragged her gaze back to his face. “I was going to make breakfast. Would you like something?”

            Yeah, you, back in bed, naked. “What were you going to have?” he asked instead. He had plenty of time, and Aggie would be here soon with Jason.

            “Eggs and toast. I think Mom has some bacon or sausage in the freezer, if you’d like.” She bit her lower lip, her green eyes wide and dark. His attention went to the tiny round mole at the right corner of her mouth. He wanted to lick it.

            He set his things down at the bottom of the stairs and took a step toward her.

            She flinched as if she’d retreat, then held her ground, eyes filled with caution and only the barest shadow of desire.

            He smiled, more to himself than at her. “Good morning, Mena.” One more step brought him within arm’s reach, but he waited.

            The pink in her cheeks deepened. “Good morning,” she whispered.

            He touched her chin. “Are you all right?”

            She blinked as her entire face reddened. “Yes.” She looked away.

            “Good.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her, hard.

            For a second, she stood there, frozen, and he thought she might pull away, but then her lips parted, and he relaxed, sliding his tongue along her lower lip, dipping into the warmth of her mouth. She’d brushed her teeth, tasted of mint. He changed the angle of the kiss, one of his hands catching her nape to slide his fingers into her damp hair.

            She set her hands on his shoulders, and a soft sigh met his tongue.

            He gentled the kiss, then lifted his head just slightly.

            Her eyes were shut and her mouth swollen. She was gorgeous.

            He kissed her again, lightly. And again.

            When he straightened this time, her fingers dug into his shoulders, and she swayed just a little. He steadied her, watching her eyes flutter open. Desire and wariness mingled there in opposite proportions now.

            “Eggs and toast are fine.”

            She blinked up at him, a tiny frown marring her forehead for a few seconds.

            “I’ll just grab a shower, and then we have work to do.” He didn’t want to, but he released her.

             “What kind of work?” She dropped her hands to her sides.

            “My buddy is on his way to boost the alarm system. I want him to do your place, too. Then you and I need to go away.”

            “What?” Annoyance chased the desire right out of her eyes. “I can’t go away. I have work to do. And I was just gone for three days.”

            “At your place. Not quite the same, and not far enough to get this Harvester away from our family.”

            She clearly wanted to argue with him, sparks snapping in her eyes, but she pressed her lips together instead.

            “We can talk about it over breakfast.” He picked up his things and went into the guest room. He shut the door, then grinned when something soft hit the door almost at the height of his head. Good thing she’d waited till the door shut and used something light. Her aim was pretty good.

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Has your weekend been productive, too? I'm aiming to knock out a few more things on the never-ending list this week during the week, because Saturday will be birthday dinner with the family instead of all the usual Saturday chores, plus we have a movie date next weekend (has everyone seen The Odyssey already but me?) and maybe a baseball game, too. I'm leaning toward a birthday dinner that involves minimal prep on my part. Haha! But first, what kind of cake?

What is your favorite kind of birthday cake? And are you getting in some reading time this weekend? I'd love to hear about it!

Until next week, happy reading!