Have you tried to dance on your ceiling? I wanted to Sunday when I learned PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS had gone live on Amazon on Saturday. With my excitement came panic. Would anyone want to read this book I slaved over off and on since 1991.
What would you do if someone delivered flowers and a fancy meal on the anniversary of the date you met your husband, your best friend, the man who had died 3 years earlier? Brit, my heroine, thinks someone knew about it and upgraded the simple takeout meal and simple flowers she ordered for herself. Then, after she has gone to sleep wearing her husbands terrycloth bathrobe, her phone wakes her from a deep sleep.
Excerpt:
Half
asleep, Brit reached for the ringing phone. She was disoriented from a dream
that had left her breathless. She’d seen Tommy’s body fly over the hood of the
truck that hit him. She’d heard herself scream. Then she’d seen a masked man
staring at her, his look menacing. When he’d started toward her she’d turned
and run ‘til she couldn’t catch her breath.
The
pleasant fragrance of the garden sized arrangement in her dining room now
permeated her bedroom, cloying, oppressive. She glanced bleary-eyed at the
luminous clock. Two o’clock? Who’d call at this hour but family with an emergency?
She snatched up the handset.
She
cleared her throat and gathered her wits about her. "Hello."
“Havin’
a real nice nite, Sugar?” The voice, raspy, deep, and very southern made her skin
crawl.
“Who
are you calling?” She tried to sound reasonable. “Wrong number? Please check
your numbers before you call again. You keep getting me instead of whoever ...”
“Did
you enjoy the little romantic surprises, Darlin’?” His voice was a cross between
a caress and an insult.
“Surprises?”
she asked. “What surprises?” At that moment she realized. Her chest
constricted. She bolted upright in bed so quickly her head swam.
“Aren’t
the flowers gorgeous? Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady. Intoxicatin’
fragrances, huh?”
“Who
are you? Am I supposed to I know you?”
“Not
as well as I know you, lovely lady.”
“Why
- How did you change my order? Who are you!”
“You
deserve beautiful things,” he purred.
“But
you shouldn’t send me gifts. I mean it.” She didn’t recognize his voice or the
lazy southern drawl. “The flowers were extravagant. The food was way past too
much.” She hit her pillow.
He
seemed to ignore her. “You need a new robe, silky, sheer, and black, Sugar.
That’s some sexy body under all that terry cloth, smooth, sweet, warm from
sleep. Are your beautiful, white breasts aching to be touched?”
Brit
gasped, yanked bed covers to her chin. Someone had been in her house, had
invaded her space. Her expensive dinner, the one he’d had sent, threatened to
come back up. “Look, whoever you are ...”
“Is
the sweet place between your thighs wet, Darlin’? Bet you’re wanting it as much
as I do.” A long pause was followed by, “Oh-h-h, Sugar, love the old claw foot
tub. I can wash your ..”
Reviews by Deborah Smith and Scarlet touched Mary's
heart! Check them out.
What would you do if someone delivered the wrong food or flower order to you and insisted the order had been paid for and you should just enjoy them?
Still dancing on the ceiling in my dreams!
