As I’m writing this, Rock Me has been holding at #1 at MBaM since Wednesday night, and I’ve noticed Unleashed has peeked back in on the Contemporary bestseller list there. Rock Me is currently #5 in Romance at Mobipocket and Unleashed is #27.
I just want to thank each and every reader who has bought my books. I am so grateful to all of you and I thoroughly hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
And to all the moms out there, have a very happy Mother’s Day!
At long last, it’s here. Rock Me is available today from Samhain Publishing!
This book was a blast to write, and trust me, not all of them are. It’s fun, it’s sexy, it can be funny, sweet, crude… I hope you’ll have as great a time reading it as I did writing it. Brian is probably one of my favorite heroes I’ve ever written, because, well…he’s my kinda guy. (Am I supposed to admit that? lol) Don’t get me wrong, I love all the guys in my pantheon of heroes, but he’s the only one so far I think I could really hang out with and totally be myself.
Look for shout outs to many bands, songs and movies that I love–and to one rock star in particular. ;) I’ve posted the soundtrack to this book before, but here it is again.
“Deep” by Nine Inch Nails — The video is playing when Candace goes to Brian for her first tattoo. The lyrics, along with the toxic dyes in the video… hotness. See below. “My Curse” by Killswitch Engage — One particular line in this song inspired a whole scene. “This Love” by Pantera — Dark, ominous, angry, kind of scary. If you’re a metal fan in Texas, you have to love Pantera. It’s required. “Freak on a Leash” by Korn — Song is about how Jonathan Davis feels in the music industry, but it’s also how Brian feels when he’s dealing with family issues. There’s also a scene at a Korn concert. Since they’re my favorite band, and inspire me on a whole other level, I had to give them a huge shout-out. “Dead Memories” by Slipknot — I meant to include this in a scene in which Brian is reminiscing about a past girlfriend (Candace’s cousin), because it sums up his feelings about it quite well. I never put it in, but it still makes the cut here. “Two Weeks” by All That Remains — Mainly because I really, really like it. And because the story happens over a course of roughly two weeks, and it’s a rollercoaster. This is the song that’s actually playing in the reminiscing scene mentioned above. “Bliss” by Syntax — Because Candace likes it. She thinks it’s sexy. ;) “Cuts You Up” by Static-X — He’s pretty cut up and pissed off about it when this is playing… “Oblivion” by Mastodon — Because sometimes I would hear a song and simply think, “He would love this.” “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring — Mainly for a fun, blowing-off steam scene I eventually deleted. It’s still a guilty pleasure! “You’re Going Down” by Sick Puppies — Another I never mentioned in the book, but makes me think of a certain face-off that occurs…
And just for fun, the video for “Deep”, which is onscreen in Dermamania when Candace first goes in:
And for “Freak on a Leash”, probably my favorite video of all time, which is on when Brian is contemplating a weekend of debauchery:
…I’m going to participate in Excerpt Monday again, and all that fun stuff. :) I really miss it, but the truth is I’m pretty much “excerpted out” at the moment. You can find plenty of Rock Me clips both on its Book page and under my EM category (hint: August and September). Once we get past its release date (May 4! Yay!), I’ll be turning my focus to my October release and the new demon story I’m working on, and hopefully I’ll have more to show you.
Look for me at Samhain’s Spring Showers Promo at Coffee Time Romance beginning next month, where I’ll be giving away an Amazon gift card and an iTunes card–and who couldn’t use that? Also, I do have a treat in the works, in the form of a free read featuring Brian and Candace from Rock Me. But don’t look for it to go up on the site until well after the book’s release, so as not to spoil anyone. Plus…well, I have to finish it. ;)
Hope you’re having a wonderful spring! I’m battling brutal allergies and some cold-type-thing, but as long as it’s warm outside and the birds are singing, I can deal with that.
Rock Me has a hot new cover. If you didn’t catch it, check it out on the Books page! We’re getting closer and closer to May 4 and I’m sooo excited. And nervous. I really can’t wait.
Is everyone enjoying Spring? I know I am. We’ve had great weather and it’s nice to not have to bundle up the kids every morning. Sundresses and sandals beat sweaters and jackets and socks any day. :-) Hubby recently bought a boat, and while I’m definitely NOT the outdoorsy type, maybe he can talk me into taking a few hours away from the laptop and going for a ride soon. I’m sure I could use the sun. Too bad we can’t tan from the light of our monitors; I’d be rockin’ it.
Tomorrow, if all goes as planned (with kids, especially our kids, plans are always made with a certain measure of apprehension, lol) we’re going to see Clash of the Titans. I *loved* the original as a kid, and while I don’t expect them to top it with the remake, I can’t wait to see it. We love huge CGI-laden popcorn flicks, anyway, so I’m sure we’ll have a great time. And, hey, Liam Neeson releasing the Kraken. How can I not be there for that?
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and, if you celebrate, a very Happy Easter.
Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner.
This month, I’m posting one final excerpt from Rock Me, my May ’10 release from Samhain. It occurred to me the other two were both in Candace’s POV, so I thought I’d pick one from Brian’s. Unleashed fans will rejoice that we hear from Evan in this one. :)
Also, just a note: it hasn’t been through edits yet.
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Physical pain he could take. It came, did its damage, and was gone. He didn’t know what to do about the ache that gnawed at his gut after everything crashed down around him. There had only been a handful of times he’d experienced it, and today was definitely one of them.
After one night with the girl? No way.
It couldn’t be just about Candace. The way she’d treated him was shitty, that was all, and he’d be pissed at any girl who screwed him over. God knew he didn’t mind using someone, and he didn’t mind being used. But that shit was supposed to be understood from the start. There were ethics involved. Two people getting each other off was one thing. But she couldn’t ask him to be her first, she couldn’t look at him as if she wanted to crawl inside him, she couldn’t cry on his shoulder for ten minutes in the shower only to turn around and treat him like crap afterward.
But she wouldn’t know a damn thing about how any of this works, dumbass. Remember?
That was the exact reason he was better off without the hassle.
It was too bad the memories from last night and this morning were tainted from her subsequent freak out. He could’ve still been drifting on the euphoria of it all. Even now, he could still smell the scent of her skin, still taste her on the back of his tongue. Still feel her wrapped tight and wet around his fingers. He’d been walking around all day at half mast, from that memory alone, and it was beginning to wear him down.
When he went back up front, someone had turned up the tunes, but the sounds of Static-X were doing nothing to soothe his savage beast. He got the next person in line—who wanted a tat, thank God, because it was his favorite thing to do to mellow him out—and got her prepped and under the needle in no time. She wanted a fairy on her shoulder blade, and it would probably take a good hour or so. Plenty of time to clear his head.
Until Starla stuck the phone under his face, totally destroying his already feeble concentration. “Here. It’s your brother.”
He frowned and leaned away from the offending instrument. “He can get me on my cell later.”
Starla rolled her eyes and brought the phone back to her ear. “Evan, he’s tied up, can you call him later?” She listened for a second and then held it back to him, laughing. “He says you need to learn how to multitask.” Even the girl he was working on giggled.
“Dammit.” He grabbed the phone, crammed it between his ear and shoulder, and picked up the line he’d left off on her skin. “We’re swamped, brother. I don’t call for you and tell them to drag your ass out of court, do I?”
Evan cut right to the chase. He and their mom were alike in that regard, at least when it came to Brian. “Why is Sylvia Andrews calling me out of court asking me to help her keep you away from her daughter?”
“The hell. Are you shitting me?”
“What have you done now?”
“Man, I ain’t done nothing. I can’t even begin to tell you how much nothing I did.” Well, okay, he’d done a little, but that was no one’s business but his and Candace’s.
“Ordinarily I wouldn’t believe that for a second, but because it’s Candace we’re talking about, you might be telling the truth.”
Did everyone know this girl was a virgin except for him? Did other guys have some kind of built-in hymen alert mechanism he was lacking? He never would have taken Candace for someone who took frequent trips around the block, but hell, at least once or twice. She was in college and she was gorgeous, for fuck’s sake. But somehow she’d managed to keep that hot little body under wraps all this time. Were the guys over there blind?
I’d still want to wait for you.
Shit.
“Why do you say that?”
“Her parents guard her like she’s Fort Knox. If they had snipers stationed around her place to take out anyone who dares approach her door, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Then they must have surveillance cameras mounted somewhere across the street. Or spies. “I kinda get that now,” he muttered. “I’d already heard, but Jesus, I thought Michelle was always exaggerating at least a little whenever she talked about it.” Damn, it must have been hard for Candace growing up. Guys probably ran screaming from her at the very thought of facing down her parents.
Well, he wouldn’t have. He’d have proven it to her this morning, if she’d given him a shot.
“She wasn’t, trust me. I didn’t even know you were hanging out with Candace.”
“I’m really not. And I doubt I ever will be. So ease your mind.”
Evan paused for a second, losing the sharp prosecutorial edge to his voice when he spoke next. “You don’t sound too happy about that.”
“Look, does it matter?”
“I was already itching to tell the woman to take a flying leap. I would’ve done it, but I didn’t have the details. She didn’t like what I did tell her.”
“And that was?”
“I said I wasn’t aware of the situation with you and her daughter, but if she had a problem with it, she needed to take it up with you and Candace. Not me.”
Brian blew out the breath he’d been holding. Just when he thought he had his brother pegged, Evan surprised him. He could’ve shown the same outrage as Mrs. Andrews and trashed Brian on the phone to her for half an hour and promised her he wouldn’t let his evil thug of a brother near the poor defenseless maiden again. He could have, but he hadn’t. “Bless you.”
“They have to start letting her live her life sometime. But I have to say, if you’re trying to add a notch to your belt, then she really is better off without you.”
There was the Evan he knew. No matter what, he was always hiding in there somewhere. “Hey, just drop it now. All right? I appreciate what you said to her, but I can handle it from here without your input on who I should or shouldn’t hang out with. What the fuck am I, fourteen again?”
Evan sighed. “Sometimes you act like it.”
He bit down on a crude, juvenile comment that would only have proven his brother’s point, something like I got your fourteen right here, but suddenly, he was utterly exhausted. Spent. He didn’t want to deal with it anymore, just wanted to get through tonight and post up at home. For days.
“I gotta go. I do work, believe it or not.”
“I know you do, Brian. And believe it or not, I’m proud of you.”
He nearly choked. It was the first time he could ever remember hearing those words out of anyone’s mouth in his family. Focus, dude, he told himself, struggling to stay in the purple line on his client’s skin. Any second now it was going to start to blur, and how uncool would that be? Christ Almighty, he was a sap lately.
“Damn, for once I’ve stunned you into silence,” Evan laughed. “Hey, don’t be a stranger, okay? I dread to see you walk in the door, but Kelsey likes for you to come around, for some reason.”
“How’s the baby?”
His brother seemed taken aback that he would ask. “He’s great. He’s amazing. Come see him anytime you want, all right?”
“I will soon. See you.”
He clicked off the phone and tossed it back to Starla behind the front desk before things could become any gooier. He had a girl fully lodged under his skin and his brother trying to make him cry.
What the ever-loving hell.
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Links to other Excerpt Monday writers
Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.
In case you haven’t noticed my updated Books page or the sidebar or my Tweet or my post on RD–can you tell I’m excited?–Brian’s story sold to Samhain! Right now we’re calling it Rock Me (though these things tend to change) and it’s scheduled for release on May 4, 2010. I’m thrilled to be working with my awesome editor, Linda Ingmanson, again.
Everything is still in the early stages, of course, but I’ll update with a blurb and other good stuff as soon as I have finalized versions. I think I’m just as ecstatic over this one as I was over the first, but then I wonder, does it ever get old? How could it?
For a couple of unedited excerpts, check out my Excerpt Monday posts for June and August. Same story, only it had a different title back then.
In other news, Unleashed will be out in print in February. I’m now turning my attention to my contemporary paranormal demon/angel story, as yet untitled. I had a few thousand words written, but had to scrap them when there was a change in plot. So I’ve been allowing myself a couple weeks’ downtime while I bask in the glow of my second sale and psych myself up for the new project. I plan to throw myself into it full force September 1; wish me luck.
Oh, and slightly less thrilling but pertinent because I need music to write (and to breathe and to live, for that matter)…I’ve become strangely obsessed with “New World In My View,” by King Britt/Sister Gertrude Morgan, the song that played at the end of True Blood last Sunday. So, so cool.
Music is a huge inspiration to me. I couldn’t work without it. Not only do certain songs help me dig down deep when I need to write a particularly emotional scene, but my favorite way to unwind is to turn up my iPod and drown out the world. This is usually when my ideas come to me, sometimes a new storyline, sometimes a breakthrough for a current one.
I had a lot of fun writing Brian’s story because he likes my kind of music. So I thought I’d run down a list of tunes that either appear in his book, or inspired his character.
“Deep” by Nine Inch Nails — The video is playing when Candace goes to Brian for her first tattoo. The lyrics, along with the toxic dyes in the video… hotness.
“My Curse” by Killswitch Engage — One particular line in this song inspired a whole scene.
“This Love” by Pantera — Dark, ominous, angry, kind of scary. If you’re a metal fan in Texas, you have to love Pantera. It’s required.
“Freak on a Leash” by Korn — Song is about how Jonathan Davis feels in the music industry, but it’s also how Brian feels when he’s dealing with family issues. There’s also a scene at a Korn concert. Since they’re my favorite band, and inspire me on a whole other level, I had to give them a shout-out.
“Dead Memories” by Slipknot — I meant to include this in a scene in which Brian is reminiscing about a past girlfriend (Candace’s cousin), because it sums up his feelings about it quite well. I never put it in, but it still makes the cut here. Maybe I’ll edit it in later.
“Two Weeks” by All That Remains — Mainly because I really, really like it. And because the story happens over a course of roughly two weeks, and it’s a rollercoaster. This is the song that’s actually playing in the reminiscing scene mentioned above.
“Bliss” by Syntax — Because Candace likes it. She thinks it’s sexy. ;)
“Cuts You Up” by Static-X — He’s pretty cut up and pissed off about it when this is playing… “Oblivion” by Mastodon — Because sometimes I would hear a song and simply think, “He would love this.” “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring — Mainly for a fun, blowing-off steam scene I eventually deleted. It’s still a guilty pleasure! “You’re Going Down” by Sick Puppies — Another I never mentioned in the book, but makes me think of a certain face-off that occurs…
So, there’s a general idea of what my soundtrack was like for this book. I must say, I’m really having withdrawals after finishing it! I miss seeing it open on my desktop. I have no plans to write Brian and Evan’s sister’s story at the moment, but I might have to someday, just to revisit these characters.
Welcome once again to Excerpt Monday! Click the banner to learn all about it.
In celebration of my finishing Sweet Rebellion (working title only), this month we’re returning to Brian and Candace–go back to June for an introduction to them–and a hot little exchange they have after falling asleep watching a scary movie together. I hope you enjoy. :)
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The clock on Candace’s bookshelf revealed in glowing green numbers that it was after three a.m. “It’s so late.”
Brian stood and stretched his tall, lean physique in a way that reminded her of a sleek black panther. “I shouldn’t have crashed on you. You should go on to bed.”
She scrambled up next to him. “No, I mean, it’s late, and you’re sleepy, so, um…you don’t have to go.” She became lost in the flickering light from the TV reflected in his dark eyes. “I hate to think of you out driving right now. I would worry about you.”
“Trust me, I’ve been out later than this.”
He must think she was still a naïve little kid. Maybe in some ways she was. She was operating on auto-pilot here. “I’m sure you have, but I’d like for you to stay.”
“I really shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
He just looked at her, a puzzled line appearing between his eyebrows.
“I’m not asking for anything,” she said in a rush. “I—”
Her voice gave out. How in the hell could she think she was ready for this, any of this, when she didn’t even have the guts to tell him out loud what she wanted?
She was a colossal failure at playing the seductress, and the humiliation bit hard and deep. If she struck out now, she would never be able to face him again, the only guy she’d ever felt…this…for.
Maybe it was twisted that she was contemplating exploring territory her cousin had mapped before, but that had become nothing more than an unhappy circumstance in her mind. Michelle had only seen him first. Michelle would probably do the same thing, were their positions reversed. Michelle would certainly know what to do in this situation, with a man she desperately wanted standing in her living room in the middle of a lonely night. She’d take him, make him hers, make him crazy with desire for her.
“You’re not?” he asked darkly, and her heart kicked against her rib cage. The look in his eyes terrified her far more than any movie ever could have, but it was a thrilling, exciting fear. Like the last heart-stopping second before the plunge of a roller coaster.
“Well, y-yes, I am, actually.”
He took a step closer, and another, until he was only inches away. So close she could’ve reached out and slipped her hand under his shirt. Or put her arms around his waist to pull him closer.
She couldn’t look up at him after her confession, focusing instead on the splotchy patterns on his shirt. The effort of keeping her breath steady and even was fast becoming a losing battle.
When his hand came up and his fingers brushed her cheek, she couldn’t help closing her eyes at the exquisitely gentle touch and leaning into its warmth.
“Candace,” he said softly. “You’re incredibly beautiful, and I—” He gave up with a sigh. She opened her eyes to see him lean his head back for a moment. “I would be fool to leave.”
He thinks I’m beautiful. She trembled, searching his face for any emotions that might cross it. His jaw clenched as his gaze locked on his hand lying against her cheek. Was that despair? Indecision? He gave her skin a light stroke with his thumb, sending tingles down her spine. “But this isn’t what I had planned when I came here. I promise you that,” he said.
“That’s okay. I didn’t have it planned, either.”
“But I don’t think you were opposed to the idea, were you?”
“Were you?”
“I’ve told myself it’s not going to happen with you, yes.”
Her heart withered in her chest. “Why not?”
“Because you’re you. I can’t explain it any better than that. I think about you all the time, but whenever I do, I feel like a scumbag.”
“What do you think about?”
His sensual lips twisted. “Are you really going to make me answer that?”
“Oh.” She forced her lungs to expand with air. “It’s okay. I think about you too. A lot. And I always wonder what Michelle would think, which makes me feel guilty, but I can’t stop myself. She’s with someone else now and seems really happy, so I don’t feel so bad anymore.” Another deep breath. “I’ve missed you. I don’t want to go back to missing you so much.”
“Sweetheart,” he murmured. Then he did what she had been fantasizing about from the moment he’d touched her: he slid his hand further along her cheek, into her hair. Past her ear. Until his fingers threaded deep and tight into the strands and he palmed the back of her head, bringing her closer until their lips hovered a breath apart.
She made a whimpering sound she hated herself for, and his other hand came up to smooth her hair away from her face. Trapped against him like this, she was powerless. Consumed by him. His breath on her lips, his scent filling her nostrils. The warmth of his hands and his lean body against her. But it was the hard column of his erection pressing into her abdomen that left her in ashes.
He wanted her. It was all the evidence she needed, all the encouragement. She transferred her weight to her tiptoes, closing the distance between his mouth and hers in one small movement. Her heart leapt for joy with the simple, soft contact, and she reveled in the silky scratch of his goatee. The brush of his warm, dry lips opening against her own. But it felt too tentative, too cautious. It wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to-hell-with-the-world passion. She wanted him to feel everything she was feeling, the delight and the terror. How to break the dam?
She meant to put her arms around his neck, but where they went was under his shirt, to the hot, firm flesh beneath. His muscles tensed beneath her touch and, taking that as a good sign, she didn’t retreat but explored further. Tracing the subtle ridges of a six-pack, then the well-defined pecs above. He stiffened and moaned as her fingers passed delicately over the hard circlets of his nipple rings, and that was all it took.
The hand at the back of her head fisted in her hair and she had the crazy thought that this was a Jekyll and Hyde kiss. Reserved and almost passive one minute. Monstrous the next. His mouth claimed hers in a burning rush and she bent back beneath the onslaught, buffeted by sensation that had her gasping against him every time she could come up for air. His tongue invaded her mouth and coaxed hers into a sinuous dance behind her teeth.
She pulled her hands away to clutch fistfuls of his T-shirt and wrench it upward, desperate to finally bare his flesh to her sight. “Take this off,” she pleaded against his mouth. He broke the kiss to peel off his shirt in one fluid motion, tossing it on the couch as she marveled at the TV-lit expanse of skin he revealed. God. It would take hours to lie down and inspect the detailed markings on his arms. She would love to have that kind of time with him.
Smoothing her hands over his skin, she wondered if he noticed how they trembled. When she dared a glance at his face, his eyes were closed, his head tilted back. The star on his left pectoral was a beacon for her lips, and she leaned forward and brushed it delicately.
His hand clenched again in her hair and the hard line of his jaw rubbed over the top of her head. She flickered her tongue across his skin, savoring his answering groan. The rush of power was heady and intoxicating, and she gasped when he pulled her head back by her hair to brand her lips again with his.
Oh…Jesus. She’d never been kissed like this before. There had been the guy who tried to swab her tonsils and the guy who seemed to be trying to draw blood with his teeth and the guy who did it just right, but didn’t make her feel…this. Brian’s taste invaded her mouth, sensuous and dark and everything she had ever imagined. No, it was more. His tongue touched and teased hers until she melted away and leaned her knees into his in an effort to remain standing. The liquid ache in her sex had drained all strength from the waist down. She needed him to catch her before she fell. She was sliding…
His arms swept down around her waist, strong and solid. “I got you,” he murmured, one hand sweeping down to cup her ass and lift her against him. She took the welcome opportunity to wrap her legs around him, grinding her crotch against his erection. It felt huge. Oh, holy hell.
“Where?” he whispered, still sliding his lips over hers, scrambling her thoughts. Her trembling redoubled.
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Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.
When I was writing Unleashed, I had no idea the hero’s younger brother, Brian, would start speaking to me. (Holy unlikely romance novel hero, Batman!) He’s loud, inked, pierced, foul-mouthed, and basically doesn’t give much of a damn about anything. In Unleashed he’s only really onstage for one scene. He was cleaned up a bit during final edits and another of his scenes was deleted altogether, so my vision of him is probably a lot harsher than the readers of that story know.
After I finished the book, and attempted to work on other things, he kept barging in on my thoughts. I kept trying to shove him out. I tried to tell him he would be too hard to redeem. Then I realized something about Brian: when he sees something he wants, he’s unstoppable. It occurred to me that I mentioned he’d gotten something he really wanted at the end of Unleashed, and it opened up all kinds of possibilities for him to prove himself.
It was easy to see what kind of heroine a guy like him needed: a sheltered virgin princess. That’s what he calls her, anyway. Candace is someone who can bring out the softer side in him, and almost from the first moment she gets her hands on him, he’s a mess. He keeps up appearances, but inside, he’s in turmoil. It fascinated me to watch how differently he interacted with her. With his friends and family, he’s an impossible smartass. With her, he’s gentler. She grounds him. He muses late in the story that she’s the eye to his hurricane. I love that.
I guess it’s true the bad boys fall the hardest. There were scenes in which he made me cry, and he always made me melt. I can only hope I’ve transferred this couple to the page as vividly as they exist in my thoughts, but then that’s true of all the characters I write.
So, as usual, Brian got what he wanted, as last week I typed The End on his story, all 88,000 words of it. I wrote most of it in two frantic pushes: one in late April and another in July. I hadn’t planned on it being so long, but that’s okay. I’m almost done with the polishing process, and I’m really excited about it.
Wish me luck in finding him a home. I hate the phrase “It’s the book of my heart!”, because they should ALL be from the heart, or else what are you doing this for? But this one just might be a little closer than others.
I’m joing the fun this month and participating in Excerpt Monday, the brainchild of Bria Quinlan and Mel Berthier from Romance Divas. I hope you all enjoy this excerpt from one of my WIPs, tentatively titled Sweet Rebellion. If you’ve read Unleashed, you’ve briefly met Brian, our tattoo artist hero. And now meet Candace, who, feeling brave (or not) on her birthday, has come to ask Brian to work his magic on her…
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She was so caught up in her appreciative perusal of the surroundings that she almost missed Brian’s emergence from the door behind the counter. At the sight of him, she lost her breath.
She hadn’t seen him in a few months, since his breakup with Michelle. It had been far too long, and that first sight of him was like a soothing relief to her sorely deprived senses even as her conscience grumbled at her. She couldn’t help but think of her cousin at that moment. The details of their demise were fuzzy at best; Michelle wasn’t one to talk about personal heartbreak, but it hadn’t taken any keen insights to see she’d been terribly hurt when the relationship ended.
Given the brilliant smile that lit Brian’s face when he saw Candace sitting in the waiting area, she could sympathize. She would weep oceans to lose a guy with a smile like that. It was infectious, and she was on her feet and crossing the room almost before she realized it.
Brian folded his arms on the countertop as she approached. “Hey, sunshine. What brings you out?”
She didn’t know why he called her that, but it had always made her as giggly as a teenager. “Guess.”
Brian’s gaze flickered to Macy, who had somehow mustered the courage to follow Candace to the counter. His smile intensified. “Bringing your friend in for a tongue ring.”
Candace laughed as Macy blanched and stepped back in horror. She grabbed the other girl’s arm before she could bolt for the door. “God, no. She’s a weenie.” And so am I, truth be known. Why in the hell was she acting so tough? One touch of the needle might cause her to dissolve in hysterics.
“And you?” Brian asked, one dark eyebrow raised.
“I was kind of hoping for a tattoo.”
“There’s no ‘kind of’ to it, girl. You get it or you don’t.”
“I know that.” Her gaze strayed to his arms resting on the counter. He was wearing a form-fitting black shirt with sleeves so long they almost covered his hands, but she knew that underneath, the flesh of both his arms was a riot of color from his shoulders to his wrists.
Pity that it was all hidden from her sight now. She thought his sleeves were beautiful, and always struggled not to stare…actually, on second thought, perhaps it was best he was covered. After going so long without seeing him, she might have very well embarrassed herself. How often had she fantasized about running her fingertips along all those lines and patterns and hues, deciphering all the meandering shapes, exploring the statements he’d found profound enough to mark on his skin for all time…
Plenty of times. She’d felt horribly guilty about every single one. But now Michelle was out of the picture, and in a happy relationship. Besides, it didn’t hurt to simply admire the scenery, did it?
Tonight, from head to toe, Brian looked quite subdued…for him, anyway. She was tempted to ask him what was going on. His hair was its natural lustrous black—she’d seen it every vivid color in the rainbow—worn just a little long so that it fell into his face. Not shaggy or messy like she so hated to see on guys, but silky and gorgeous and touchable… Okay, down, girl, stop right there. She noticed even his eyebrow ring was MIA.
Maybe he had a date later. Some ultra-gorgeous conservative type he desperately wanted to impress. Maybe she wouldn’t appreciate his body art. The very thought, speculative as it was, made Candace seethe. Brian was Brian. If he had to change for someone, anyone, he didn’t need them.
She cleared her throat, trying to chase the images away. “I do want a tattoo. It’s my birthday and I’m feeling rebellious.”
His perfect lips quirked at one corner. “You want me to do it, don’t you?”
She nodded and tried her best not to pout. “But they said you weren’t seeing clients tonight.”
He tugged up one sleeve and checked his watch. She caught a flash of his vibrant skin and felt her heart plummet to her toes. “I have an hour or so.” So he does have some place to be. “I can get it done unless you want something massive.”
Candace laughed and held up her hands. “Oh, no. Nothing like that.” Now, where she wanted it was another matter…
