Dominic has a secret; something he never told his best friend before. His secret, something he'd fought hard for the majority of two centuries, could be the end of the one person he cared about most; Quinn Tabernackle, the girl who'd saved him from self destruction.
“You are such a romantic. I think I’m
going to stop calling you Dom and start calling you Darcy.”
“Darcy?” He cringed minutely. “Why Darcy?
He was a total jerk and a fair amount of other things I refuse to say in your
presence.”
I laughed. “That was before he met
Elizabeth. After he realized how much he cared for her, he reformed himself
into the perfect romancer.”
Dominic shook his head with
determination, his expression one of pure disgust. “No, he didn’t. I should
know; I had to spend a whole afternoon with the prude.”
I looked at him with raised brows. “You
do know that Fitzwilliam Darcy is a fictional character in a Jane Austen novel,
right?”
The half-smile he now wore pleasantly turned
my insides and made my heart stop. “How do you think Austen knew him so well?
That woman saw more action than a horse breeder's prized steed.”
“I don’t believe you.” I tugged on his
hand to get him moving again. If we stayed still much longer I would have to
drag him back home and carry him to my room.
“That’s because you, like millions of
other girls attached to the concept of romance, have a fixed opinion about Ms.
Austen and her novels.” He smiled despite the glare I gave him for comparing me
to other girls. “It’s not a bad thing, Quinnie. Romance is a precious and
universal thing that men also enjoy; but if you live to be as old as I am,
romance becomes the rarest jewel that ever existed. And believe me, love, Ms.
Austen hardly ever got it right.”
I shook my head in amazement, half
delighted and half worried at his imaginings. He was old and Jane Austen definitely lived, but that was two hundred
years ago. The thought of his birthday, his two-hundred-seventeenth
birthday, made the situation even weirder. It was quite possible that
they’d met… Perhaps they’d had tea or something. The mere thought of Dominic in
nineteenth century dress was so funny that I couldn’t keep the laughter from
escaping. The bubbles of sound escaped my lips as they spread into a wide,
happy smile. Dom looked at me oddly but didn’t interrupt my strange outburst. I
could just imagine him emerging from a lake, dripping water and wearing a white
shirt that had nearly become transparent and was pretty much glued to his skin.
The image came so clearly in my mind as I
thought about it but it didn’t bring about more laughter like I’d thought it
would. Instead it brought about more longing, more inappropriate thoughts that
I should be taken to prison for ever daring to think. My heart stuttered as my
laughter turned into chuckles and faded into nothing but a dazed look and
intent interest in the growing scene in my mind. He would walk out from the
water, soaking wet from head to toe, his dark shaggy hair plastered across his
face in a way that would look ridiculous on anyone but him. His tan body was
visible through the wet material, giving me a clear view of his toned abs and
arms. And his pants…if they were any tighter he’d need some scissors to cut
them off. He was so very sexy as my brain conjured up the image, his body
nearing mine as he reached forward and took me in his arms…
“Hel-lo,”
I heard his voice distantly as if he were whispering from several feet away.
“Where are you in there?”
I shook my head and cleared my throat,
all fantasies being tucked away into the deepest depths of my mind until they
could be innocently revisited when I had less company. “Nowhere. Thought, Dom;
it’s a very intriguing thing. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.”
He smirked as if he knew what I was
thinking about, as if he knew that I was very badly covering up the dirty thoughts
I was just having.
What do you think? This was one of those scenes that made me smile while writing. I just...they're adorable, right? The best part is that they took on a life of their own. They literally talked it out in my head while I scrambled to write it all down.
I'll post more excerpts from more of my projects soon, but until then, head over to my Facebook page! I update there more than I do here, so if you want to keep up, feel free to join the family there.
And just as a favor for a fellow author, Stacey Rourke has just released the first novel in the Legends Saga. It's called Crane and it is just...phenomenal. Really. Sleepy Hollow has never sounded better.
Oh! Before I forget...
City of Heavenly fire has been released! You know, the epic conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series by my favorite author, Cassandra Clare? Yeah, that one.
I haven't had the chance to get my hands on it but I can bet my review will be something like...
Yep. Most likely.
Forever the book nerd,
Susan.
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