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Demonkind Chronicles Short – Small Victories

Small Victories

Demonkind Chronicles

Bas and Evie

 

Bas knew the storm heading toward them would be strong, but he hadn’t expected it to hit as quickly as it did. Arix had gone to town for a few more supplies and Evie was up in her cozy room under the eaves when the wind began.

Within an hour, he knew Arix wouldn’t be making it back and he and Evie would be on their own with the supplies they had on hand.

Bas wasn’t worried. Their root cellar was well stocked and the house was sturdy. Holing up with his little kitten to wait out the storm wasn’t a hardship.

But Evie wasn’t used to this kind of weather and he needed to make sure she was doing okay.

So Bas made the trek up the narrow stairs to the little room she’d claimed as her own to find her huddled under a blanket in front of the window, her expression distressed.

Settling on the small couch beside her, Bas tugged his sweet werewolf onto his lap and tucked her head into the hollow of his shoulder she always cuddled into. “It’ll be fine, love,” he told her, keeping his voice low.

“I’ve never seen the weather like this.”

He hated the fear he heard in her voice. It was a knife that ran straight through his heart. Not for the first time he cursed her father for the scars he’d left on his Evie.

“It’ll blow over before you know it,” he said instead of growling out a few choice curses on the man who’d terrorized this lovely woman.

“Will Arix be okay?”

Running a hand down her back, Bas smiled. Even after a few weeks of having Arix in the house, Evie was still wary of him, but her heart was so tender she asked if he’d be fine.

“I’m sure he is. He’ll have found a place in town to stay until it’s safe to travel again.”

Wriggling until she could sit up, Evie looked at him. “It’s just us here.”

There was a touch of wonder and excitement in those few words and they made Bas’s smile grow.

“We are.”

A flush climbed up her throat and stained her cheeks red. Bas waited. When her teeth dug into her lower lip and she dropped her chin so she was staring at the top of his shirt instead of his face, Bas refused to feel disappointed.

His little wolf had come a long way from the broken girl she’d been. She might be hesitant and shy about some things, but she was far stronger than she was in both mind and body.

For now, he’d take the small victories as they came. Evie wanted to spend time with him. Her fear over the storm outside had morphed into a sweet, quiet excitement over them being alone in the house.

She might not be able to ask for what she wanted yet, but she was getting there.

Every day the chains her father had wrapped her in loosened a little more. Someday, she’d trust him—and herself—enough to be bold and daring.

“Now what,” he asked, his voice a gravely rasp, “could two people alone in a storm possibly do to keep themselves entertained?”

It gladdened his heart when her mouth quirked up in a shy smile. She wasn’t looking out the big window at the falling snow anymore. Worry about what was to come didn’t dull her eyes. She was focused on him, the lovely pale blue of her eyes vanishing as her pupils dilated with arousal.

She looked sweet and cuddly and turned on all at the same time and Bas had the sudden, undeniable urge to muss his little wolf up. He wanted her writhing and gasping his name.

And after, he’d brush the tangles from her hair and wrap her in the softest blanket he could find so he didn’t abrade her delicate skin.

They’d sit by the big window in the parlor and watch the snow fall. They’d eat and sleep and wake to do it all again.

It was, in a word, perfect.

Not wanting to waste a second of their precious alone time, Bas eased the blanket from Evie’s shoulder even as he settled her more firmly against him.

Small victories, he reminded himself. Every step forward was one that helped shape his sweet wolf into the woman he knew she could be.

Bending his head, Bas kissed her and let the world around them fall away.

 

The End

Want to see how Evie and Bas first met? Grab Demon Restrained for the beginning of their story.

The post Demonkind Chronicles Short – Small Victories appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Demonkind Chronicles Short – Someday

Someday

Demonkind Chronicles

Evie and Bas

 

Evie had never known she was a tactile creature until she came to live on the demon plane. She hadn’t known how much she enjoyed the feel of plush velvet (or whatever passed for velvet in Bas’s world) beneath her fingertips or how the mere touch of her demon’s hand against her skin could settle her disquiet with gentle pressure.

She loved Bas’s touch the most. He had calluses on his palms and fingertips from the work he did around their house. Those rough edges anchored her when they rasped over her skin.

They eased the hunger to be touched she’d felt since her mother died.

They made everything real again.

Today, she toyed with a piece of decorative fringe on one of the pillows in the sitting room. The cool strands slipped through her fingers hypnotically and Evie smiled to herself at both the feel and the sound it made.

Bas was going over some plans with Arix in the next room and the rumbling thrum of his voice made her blush. Last night, he’d growled filthy words in her ear as he coaxed her body to the heights of pleasure.

His voice, she thought, would forever be wrapped in memories of skin and silken touches. Hearing it took her back to what they’d done and the phantom echo of their play washed over her skin.

Conjuring up a picture of her demon, Evie wondered if he had his hands braced on the table. That position was one she loved since it threw his impressively large biceps into relief. His hands would be splayed against the wood, the size of them simply breathtaking.

And his horns—those beautiful, majestic horns—would curl back from his proud forehead, the cracked tip a stark reminder of the life he’d lived before she came into it.

It was strange to think of him having a life before her. Hers had started when he’d pierced her throat with his teeth.

No. It had started when she’d caught sight of him trapped in the magic circle her father—

Panic clawed at her insides at the mere thought of the man who had used her as a punching bag for the pack for so many years. Closing her eyes, Evie concentrated on the things she could hear and touch before the memories swamped her.

The twisted strands of the fringe on the pillow. Bas’s voice in the other room. Arix’s snort of amusement over something her demon had said. The firmness of the couch against her back.

They were real.

They were each important in their own way.

Still, she needed more to keep her anchored.

Her free hand swept out and felt the nap of the material of the couch beneath her fingertips. It rasped against her skin the way Bas’s palm did when he stroked over her hip.

He’d rubbed his thumb against her lower lip last night once their breathing had returned to normal. She’d been bold in that moment—her body boneless and pliant from all the pleasure he’d given her, the screaming voice of her father silenced by Bas’s scent and feel—and she’d caught the tip of his thumb between her teeth.

A nip. Nothing more.

But it had caused Bas to growl and fire to rekindle in his eyes.

A warm hand cupped her cheek and Evie opened her eyes to find the very demon she’d been thinking about staring at her.

“Are you with me, kitten?”

A slow blink and Evie managed to nod. By the worried growl in his voice, that wasn’t the first time he’d asked.

Letting out a slow breath, Evie cuddled into the hand curled around her cheek. Touching inanimate things was good enough to pull her back from the edge, but Bas’s touch scattered her fear like the pillow and couch couldn’t.

Bas was real.

As amazing as it seemed, he was hers, too.

Hers.

Her demon. Her lover.

With a soft sigh, Evie raised her arms and let them find their favorite place around his neck. As always, Bas read her unspoken cues and gathered her close, his voice rumbling in her ear as she settled against him.

The soft pad of footsteps and Evie knew Arix had left. It was just them.

Her and her demon.

He was touch and sound. He was everything.

“Talk to me, kitten.”

There was nothing to say. Her father’s hold on her loosened a little more each day. Soon, the thought of him wouldn’t send her into spiraling panic.

Pressing her forehead to Bas’s neck and tightening her arms around him, Evie tried to tell herself she wasn’t lying. Someday, her father wouldn’t be able to hurt her when he wasn’t here.

Someday.

As Bas’s hand swept down her back—comforting and strong, pushing memories of pain and fear away with every stroke—Evie let herself feel.

Bas’s skin. His warmth. The rough rasp of his calluses when they caught on the nap of her shirt.

She was safe. She was cared for.

Bas had taught her there was more to life than endless fear and hunger.

Day by day, she was learning.

Content for the moment, Evie sank into her demon and let him wash away her memories with his kindness.

The End

Want to see how Evie and Bas first met? Grab Demon Restrained for the beginning of their story.

The post Demonkind Chronicles Short – Someday appeared first on Kelly Apple.

There’s a read-a-thon coming!

As some of you may know, I co-host the Bout of Books read-a-thon (with my FABULOUS partner in crime, Amanda!) and GUESS WHAT? The first Bout of Books of the year is ALMOST HERE!

The deets:

When: January 8-14
Where: Wherever you want it to be (on twitter, your blog, Instagram, Tumblr, WHATEVER)
Who: Anybody who likes to read and gets a kick out of talking BOOKS with a TON of like-minded people

 

How do you sign-up? You can find the details on the Bout of Books sign-up post. If you need additional help, check out our start here page (and please ignore the REALLY AWFUL video of me. Please.) or use the hashtag #boutofbooks on Twitter to lob questions at our fantastic #boutofbooks-ers.

Bout of Books is a labor of love for me. I’ve been participating in it since the very first one and I’ve been co-hosting it for…I don’t know. A long time. It’s a great way to kick off your reading year or to motivate yourself to finish a book or two that you might have been putting off.

Let’s face it, books are life, amirite?!?!

Anyway. I’m all signed up and ready to go! Why don’t you join me?!?!

The post There’s a read-a-thon coming! appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Demonkind Chronicles Short – Baby Steps

Baby Steps

Demonkind Chronicles

Evie

 

The demon world wasn’t all that different from the world Evie came from. Not physically, at least.

The difference that meant the most to the damaged werewolf was something she had a hard time putting into words. Mostly because she hadn’t realized what it was until several weeks after she and Bas had settled into his big house in the country.

Here, she felt safe.

She didn’t have to steal around corners or hide cans of food away in closets. She didn’t have to dodge the men in her pack or protect her head and face from casual blows.

As safe as she felt, old habits were hard to break.

She still sometimes found herself flinching away when a door closed too hard or Bas and Arix started growling insults at one another. The first time it had happened, she’d glanced up to see Bas’s face go blank.

Evie didn’t pretend to be the smartest person in the house, but even she could see that her involuntary reaction had hurt the demon who had saved her. And she didn’t know how to fix it except by fixing herself.

So she began with baby steps. The next time Bas and Arix had started throwing insults, she’d held her ground. She hadn’t been able to make eye contact with Bas, but she hadn’t fled the room. Somehow, Bas had known how much courage that had taken because he’d swept her into his arms and praised her with lips and tongue.

Evie didn’t have much experience with kissing, but she thought Bas’s kisses had to be the best on all the worlds.

He made her forget. He erased who she was and let her fly free in the moment.

For a damaged wolf like her, there was no greater gift. In his arms, she was just Evie. Not Evie the Null or Evie, Conn’s daughter. She was just her. And she felt whole.

For a handful of glorious moments, she felt like someone who deserved to have a demon like Bas look at her with adoration in his eyes.

One baby step turned into two when she screwed up her courage again and asked if she could plant some vegetables in the garden. Bas hadn’t hesitated to say yes. Then he’d sent Arix out to the nearest village to pick her up some tools that fit her smaller hands.

Now she had a small kitchen garden that had sprouted herbs and a few rows of a funky looking purple carrot and she felt good that she was contributing something to their household. Arix would sit out with her sometimes when Bas was busy and she was learning to tolerate his presence.

It wasn’t that Arix was a bad guy or anything, but he was an unknown. And the unknown scared Evie.

Admittedly, she’d only known Bas a few weeks longer than Arix, but Bas was hers. Arix was just a guy she was expected to rely on if things ever turned sour.

Shivering, Evie hunched down and ordered the memories trying to worm their way out away. They were sticky, insidious things and they had a tendency to tear through her carefully constructed walls to reveal how weak and pathetic she really was.

Bas had taught her differently and she was determined to listen to the man who had saved her and not the screaming voice of her father and his taunts.

Baby steps, she whispered to herself.

Every day she kept her head up was a win. Every day she pushed down his voice and chose to listen to Bas’s was another victory.

Today, she wasn’t in her beloved garden. She’d carefully scrubbed the dirt from under her fingernails and worked on tidying up the guest rooms in the huge house. She couldn’t say why she was doing it since they hadn’t had a single guest since they’d moved in, but today seemed to call for some fluffing and straightening.

Although, the rough weather outside might be part of the reason. The winds here tangled her hair something fierce and it had taken her a while yesterday to work all the knots out after she bathed.

Two rooms done, Evie stepped into the hall and looked at the half dozen doors marching in orderly fashion away from her. She had peeked into each of the rooms when they’d first arrived and been completely awed that she—the lowest of the low in her father’s pack—had free rein of this beautiful place.

She remembered the small, steep stairs she’d stumbled over and decided to head up and explore the room she’d found at the top. Bas and Arix were strategizing in the front room and she had both time and privacy to be as nosy as she wanted to be.

For all Evie doubted they were often used, the stairs were free of dust and cobwebs. The room at the top was oddly shaped, tucked under the eaves with one large window looking out over the grounds at the front of the house.

She liked that she could see so much of the countryside from up here. She liked that no one would be able to sneak up on them from this direction.

Sighing, she left the window and explored the rest of the room. The shape suggested it had never been used as a bedroom, but Evie was at a loss as to why it had been built.

It was a strange, odd little room and she pictured a small desk against the wall. She’d put a cozy couch in front of the window with plenty of blankets to snuggle under for warmth.

It could be a comfortable space for someone like her who didn’t need much.

The door creaked open behind her and, to her credit, Evie didn’t flinch. Bas made the small space feel even smaller and Evie found herself smiling when her big demon looked around.

“You like it here,” he rumbled.

Baby steps, she reminded herself.

Evie nodded.

“Good. Tell me what type of furniture you’d like and anything I can’t make I’ll send Arix to town for.”

He made it so easy to adore him.

Feeling brave, Evie went up on her toes and tugged him down until she could reach his mouth. Her kisses were still shy and hesitant, but she was trying.

“Thank you,” she said, that warm sense of safety being eclipsed by the lust that never quite went away.

In the odd little room at the top of the stairs, Evie told him what she envisioned. Bas listened closely and offered a few suggestions.

Afterward, they christened the small room and filled it with memories of them.

The End

Want to see how Evie and Bas first met? Grab Demon Restrained for the beginning of their story.

The post Demonkind Chronicles Short – Baby Steps appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Looking Back on December (and 2017)

(and 2017)

*ahem* So December flew by and I took the bulk of it off from both writing and other authorly things. Because, you know, sometimes you need to unwind.

Despite having no new releases the last two months of the year, I feel like 2017 was pretty productive overall.

I released two new series in their entirety (Forgotten Monsters and Wicked Pride) plus a couple of compilations (Forgotten Monsters: the Lost and Found Collection and Anderson High Wolves: The Complete Novella Collection) and book 1 in a new series (Possessed). In the early part of the year, the Monstrous Tales series got a complete cover overhaul (YAY!) and I liiiiike the new(-ish) covers so much more than the old ones. October saw the start of the Series Shorts which is a fun opportunity for me to go back and revisit characters from some of my older books (Mason and Natalie from the Anderson High Wolves series REALLY wanted me to tell their story, btw. Really.).

While I do feel like 2017 was fairly productive, I didn’t accomplish one of the things I REALLY wanted to get done. I have the final two books in the Grimwood series ready to go to edits and that didn’t quite happen. So…guess what I’m planning on for 2018! Yep, Cursed Lives and Cursed Heart are at the top of my list for releases.

In other 2018 plans, the Series Shorts will continue. Tuesdays are the day you’ll want to drop by the blog if you’re following along with those. And, yes, the occasional extra Series Short might still make an appearance on days other than Tuesday. What can I say other than I enjoy writing them and sharing snippets of my characters life after their HEA with the world.

Now I’m off to do stuff. Fun stuff. Authorly stuff. Just you wait!

The post Looking Back on December (and 2017) appeared first on Kelly Apple.

In case you missed it…

Between holiday family fun (OMG! SO MUCH FAMILY!) and the gross cold I caught during said family fun time, I managed to create a page for the collected Series Shorts. All things considered, that’s a pretty big accomplishment. I was GROSSLY sick.

Anyway. If you’ve missed an installment, you can find it there. OR on the individual series page. OR on the new Pinterest board.

In the meantime, I’m off to plan out my 2018 releases. You know, since it’s almost the new year and all that.

Toodles!

The post In case you missed it… appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Monstrous Short – Inner Peace

Inner Peace

Monstrous

Ari and Liam

 

Being alone with Liam was unexpectedly weird.

Not because Ari didn’t enjoy it—BOY, did she enjoy it—but because she kept expecting one of her friends to pop in and interrupt. Every last one of the monsters who lived around their property had been given an eyeful of the two of them engaged in some level of coitus at one time or another.

It was simply something Ari had come to accept as the price they paid for giving her friends sanctuary from the outside world.

When she could run giggling through the trees, her green hunk of a honey hot on her heels, without anyone popping in to make sure she was screaming in delight and not real terror…well, Ari wasn’t used to it.

She kept glancing over her shoulder. She kept bringing the volume of her shrieks down a notch so she wouldn’t bother anyone.

Which was silly. The only ones close enough to be bothered by her and Liam right now were Thisseral and his mate and they were way over at the lake. That was ages away.

Deciding she needed to discuss this with her monster immediately, Ari skidded to a halt next to a large tree and spun to meet the green hunk who filled her days with bliss. Liam snatched her up, arms and tentacles winding around her as only a Guardian could.

“Caught you,” he purred.

Grinning, Ari grabbed his handsome face and smashed her lips to his. It was a hard, ungraceful kiss, but Liam didn’t seem to mind. He responded with gratifying quickness and the before long the kiss had gentled and his tight tentacles loosened enough to stroke over her skin.

“I let you catch me,” Ari told him when they came up for air.

Liam huffed out a breath of laughter. “Did you? Or were you sure you were going to get caught and decided to give yourself up?”

Whatever. Sometimes a nymph had to make things happen if she wanted them done right.

Nuzzling the sensitive spot under his jaw, she grazed her teeth over him as a gentle reminder that getting caught was one of her favorite pastimes. She loved the almost imperceptible shudder that went through her big man’s body whenever her teeth found purchase.

For a solitary species, the Liath Mor certainly had more than a few kinks that could only be fulfilled by having a partner to engage in sexy fun times with.

Settling her cheek against his chest, Ari cuddled in and let Liam take the lead. If he wanted to stand in the woods naked for the next hour, they could do that. If he wanted to head down to the lake to say hello to Thisseral or up the mountain to see if the naga and medusa were in residence, they could do that, too.

Her darling monster made her heart sing no matter what they did.

“You’re surprisingly quiet, my love.”

Mmm. Ari loved how Liam’s deep voice rumbled out of him when she was pressed against his chest. It reminded her of other quiet times they’d spent wrapped around one another in bed. Times when they whispered their quiet dreams into the dark and each other.

“I’d forgotten how nice it is to be alone.”

A deep, rumbling laugh. “I too.”

“I know I say this all the time, but we should try to do this more often.” Tilting her chin up, Ari kissed the bottom of Liam’s jaw again. “We should make more time for ourselves.”

“Times are complicated, little nymph.”

They were. Ari knew that. She knew these few precious days would be rare until things out in the world were resolved. When the smaller supernaturals were no longer run out of their homes at the whim of new developers and the more exotic ones no longer had to hide…

Letting out a slow sigh, Ari tucked herself back into Liam’s neck and tightened her arms around him.

It all seemed so…pointless right now. As a community, the supernaturals were waiting to see what happened next. They woke up each morning expecting the worst.

They weren’t going forward and they weren’t going backwards. They were just stuck.

Ari didn’t like it.

She liked movement and action.

She liked feeling Liam’s muscles bunch and flex beneath her as he carried her through the woods.

Back to the cabin, she presumed. Back to where they could forget for a few more days.

She would find a way to hold onto this feeling, she decided. She’d grab on with both hands and keep it in a stranglehold until the outside world caught up.

When times got tough, she’d drag out this inner peace she’d found to remind herself that it wasn’t all bad.

They had time. They had each other.

They had hours and hours of daylight left to strengthen their bond.

Over and over again, if needed.

Happy with her plan, Ari set her mouth to showing Liam exactly what she expected from the next few hours.

Not surprisingly, Liam didn’t put up even a speck of resistance.

He truly was the monster of her dreams.

The End

Want to see how Liam and Ari’s story began? Monstrous Tales: The Complete Series is the beginning of their crazy romance. (Or grab The Wicked Woods if you prefer to read it as a serial.)

The post Monstrous Short – Inner Peace appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Monstrous Short – The Drive

The Drive

Monstrous

Liam and Ari

 

Arabella was Liam’s heart. Truly. He cherished her more than he ever thought he was capable of.

But there were times when the noises she made caused his ears to ring.

Right now, she was lustily singing along to the radio as she navigated the narrow road up to the cabin they’d be staying at for the next few days. He loved his mate. Fiercely. But Liam had to concede that her singing skills needed some work.

Setting his jaw, he waited until she finished the verse before clearing his throat.

Those beautiful blue eyes of hers darted to his in the mirror for half a second before focusing on the road. “You doing okay, babe?”

He disliked being in the van and the swaying motion set his stomach to roiling, but he was enduring it well enough. “Fine,” he bit out.

Another flash of those pretty eyes. “If you need me to pull over—”

Pulling over would only prolong his discomfort when they had to get back into the metal beast. “I’m fine, Arabella,” he said before she could suit actions to words. “I’d prefer to get there as soon as possible.”

He must have sounded worse than he thought, because Ari clicked off the radio and concentrated on driving instead of launching into another song. His ears were grateful.

When the van finally eased to a stop, Liam let out a hard breath and willed himself to stay still. He wanted to lunge for the door and fling it open so he could feel solid ground beneath his feet. But he also didn’t want to worry Ari.

She’d planned this getaway and he was determined to make sure they both enjoyed themselves.

The back door swung open and he sucked in a breath of pine-scented air. The moment his feet hit the ground, he began to feel better.

The torturous ride up here was worth it, he thought. When the end result had Ari plastering herself against his side, her hands stroking his slilthern, he could endure most anything.

Fingers sliding under the thin strap of her dress, Liam concentrated on the tangible things around him. The softness of Ari’s skin. The scent of trees and dirt that hung in the air. The sense of belonging he felt here among growing things.

“You okay, babe?”

Ari might not be able to carry a tune, but the sound of her voice was a balm to his ragged senses.

Yes. He was fine. They were at the cabin. They were safe from prying eyes.

His slilthern coiled around her waist, drawing her flush against his body. His darling’s eyes lit up and the impish sparkle he’d fallen in love with was another reminder that he would endure hell itself as long as Ari was beside him.

“Well some parts of you are definitely okay.”

It was true. He had never been able to conceal his body’s response to her presence. His tentacles reached for her. His cock stiffened.

It was the way of things.

Caging her with flesh and bone, Liam showed his beloved exactly how happy he was to be out of the van and alone with his beautiful mate.

Not surprisingly, Ari didn’t put a fight at all.

The End

Want to see how Liam and Ari’s story began? Monstrous Tales: The Complete Series is the beginning of their crazy romance. (Or grab The Wicked Woods if you prefer to read it as a serial.)

The post Monstrous Short – The Drive appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Monstrous Short – Making Plans

Making Plans

Monstrous

Liam and Ari

 

“A vacation.”

Liam’s words came out so flatly, Ari had to purse her lips and look up at the ceiling to keep from bursting into laughter. When she had herself marginally under control, she nodded. She would have tried to explain her request, but she didn’t think she’d get very far into her explanation before she started giggling.

“Arabella,” her green love said patiently, “as you are well aware, I cannot pass as human. We can’t simply drive over to the nearest bed and breakfast and get a room.”

Aww, her poor sweetie pie. He never got a chance to cut loose and do fun things.

Heck, she didn’t get much of a chance either anymore. Their last date night had been derailed when a clan of pixies showed up seeking sanctuary after their previous territory had been overrun.

Which was why her idea was so brilliant.

Eyes shining, she leaned over and smacked a kiss against Liam’s mouth. “I wasn’t planning on stopping into a bed and breakfast, sweet pea.”

His brow creased at her cutesy nickname and one eyebrow went up with glacial slowness.

Not the least deterred by his intimidating scowl, Ari plopped herself on his lap and cuddled up to her big, green monster. “I was thinking we could head up to the Cin’s parent’s cabin. We could visit Thisseral and Io. See how their little mer-nugget is doing. Have fun. You know, have a few days away from all the craziness going on here.”

Liam’s arms wrapped around her and he rested his chin on her head. His silence went on so long that Ari had just opened her mouth to try to convince him again when he spoke. “A break might do us good.”

Wriggling, Ari bounced around until she was straddling her honey’s lap, his gorgeous face all she could see. “Really? You mean it? Oh, baby. Thank you!”

The slight quirk of his beautiful lips told Ari he was already working out the logistics in his head. Brilliant, handsome monster.

For once, though, she’d already done her own planning.

“Michael can have the van over here within the hour,” she told him. “Cin dropped off the keys to the cabin last night. I stocked up on food for us yesterday. [harpy and lady] will cover the business stuff.”

Pressing another kiss to his mouth, Ari hugged him tight before bounding off to find her phone. Her favorite werewolf should be waiting for her call. Once he got here with the van, their vacation would begin!

All but squealing with delight, Ari dashed to throw a few pieces of clothing into a bag. While she didn’t think she’d be wearing much (if anything) during their alone time, it always paid to be prepared.

You never knew what sort of craziness life could throw at a person, after all.

The End

Want to see how Liam and Ari’s story began? Monstrous Tales: The Complete Series is the beginning of their crazy romance. (Or grab The Wicked Woods if you prefer to read it as a serial.)

The post Monstrous Short – Making Plans appeared first on Kelly Apple.

When Life Comes Calling

I spent a good chunk of Wednesday driving to my son’s school to pack him up and bring him home for winter break. I’m THRILLED to have him home. He’s loud and he stays up late and I’ve missed him like mad since he’s been away at college.

Having him home has made me have to make a few adjustments to my daily schedule, though. Not necessarily in a bad way, because shaking things up can rattle loose new ideas and keep things fresh. In this case, it means I haven’t been writing nearly as much as I think I should be. THE IDEAS ARE THERE, THE TIME IS SIMPLY LACKING AT THE MOMENT.

So before I start beating myself up, here’s my reminder to myself (and anyone else who’s reading this) that it’s okay to take a break every once in a while. It’s okay to watch (and rewatch) movies with your kid when he’s home on vacation. It’s okay to not be on every day.

I might be planning on taking it easy the rest of this month, but I’ll be hitting 2018 with a VENGEANCE! BRING IT!

The post When Life Comes Calling appeared first on Kelly Apple.