Kelly Apple's Blog, page 31

Monstrous Short – Date Night, Sprites, and the Truth of Hidden Things

Date Night, Sprites, and the Truth of Hidden Things

Monstrous

Liam

 

Setting the last of the pillows against the weathered stone bench, Liam stood back and looked over the cave with a critical eye. His old pallet had been replaced by a thin camping mattress—still far more comfortable than his old straw stuffed blanket had been—and pillows were strategically placed throughout.

As much as Liam sometimes longed for the old days when he lived alone in his cave and wasn’t tripping over a new supernatural Ari had dragged into the house to help, he found he liked the comfort that came with pillows and mattresses.

They helped keep him from scraping his knees to hell and back on his dates with his mate, after all.

With the things he had planned for tonight’s date, little considerations like that mattered.

Unable to stop his smile at the thought of having his nymph all to himself for the evening, Liam checked that the water he’d collected from the grotto was securely capped and put away. He’d made some of the chewy cakes he liked and brought nuts and berries down from the house.

Both he and Ari were going to need to stay fortified in order to work through the list of things he intended to do to her.

Hydration and food were a must.

He ran through his mental list one last time and nodded. He’d told all their supernatural friends what he had planned and warned them away from the cave. He’d stashed away enough food and water to last the night. He’d added blankets and pillows to the normally Spartan cave to make it comfortably homey.

Now he only had to collect his mate and date night could begin.

An unexpected flash in the corner of the cave caught his eye. Curious, Liam went toward it and found the tiniest sprite he’d ever seen cowering against the wall.

Her size indicated she was little more than a child, but Liam approached her with caution. Sprites could be vicious when provoked and this one’s sparkles were fizzing erratically enough he thought she was holding onto her control by a thread.

“Hello, little one,” he said, keeping his voice low and soft.

The sprite flinched and pressed against the wall, nearly crushing her delicate wings.

Trying not to loom, Liam went to his knees. When that wasn’t enough, he got down on his belly and regarded the small creature with his chin nearly on the ground.

She would fit comfortably in his palm, he thought, and as he waited for her to settle enough to speak, he marveled at how she looked like a perfectly miniature doll.

A potentially vicious doll, but still.

When her sparks stopped fizzing and popping, Liam dipped his head in an abbreviated bow. She mimicked him, her eyes wide and startled.

Keeping his volume low, he tried to draw the wee creature out. “I am the Guardian in these woods, little sprite. What brings you to my home?”

When he received no answer, Liam settled into his sprawl, resigned to putting off gathering Ari until he’d coaxed a response from the sprite.

Surprising him, the sprite pealed herself off the wall and edged closer. She looked at him with a wary expression, but her sparkles weren’t flashing like they had been and she appeared to have calmed.

“I come to ask for sanctuary for my tribe.” Her voice was high like that of a child’s, but her words made her seem far older. “Our territory has been destroyed and we seek a new place to settle.”

It was a story he’d heard all too often. Whether it was a rival tribe laying claim to their land or human construction, the smaller supernaturals often found themselves homeless and without a safe place to raise their families.

“Where is the rest of your tribe now?”

The sprite flicked a hand toward the entrance. “Hiding. They were uncertain what type of creature you were and whether you’d find us prey.”

So they’d sent in this little one to scope the place out. Sacrificing one of their own was a sad fact of life for the smaller supernaturals.

Smiling gently, Liam got carefully to his feet. Holding out his hand, he waited as the sprite debated whether to trust him or not.

Trust won out and she climbed into his palm, her sparkles flashing again.

“Call your tribe,” he told her. “Tonight you may stay in the garden by the house. If it doesn’t suit you, we’ll find a new place tomorrow.”

The sprite dipped her head and clung to his thumb as he began to walk. He heard her call out in her high, thin voice when they exited the cave and watched as a small swarm of sprites drifted from the trees and bushes surrounding the entrance.

Keeping his pace steady, Liam made the long walk back to the house. The little sprite stayed in his palm the entire time, her expression grateful.

Liam knew Ari would make room for the sprite tribe in their garden just as surely as she’d found a place for the gargoyle to spend his daylight hours.

And after they got the sprites settled, he still planned on spiriting Ari away to the cave for date night.

His world was always going to be complicated, it was up to him to find a way to make the things that mattered work. His loving, generous mate needed the downtime as much as he did. His friends, both old and new, would do their part.

His job would never end. It was part of who he was as a Guardian, but that didn’t mean he would ever neglect his mate or her needs.

As he left the sprites to explore the garden and went to find Ari to meet their newest tenants, Liam realized he was happier now than he’d ever been when he’d been living alone in his cave. His life might get crazy and his mate would never stop trying to help those she met, but her generosity of spirit was what had called to him when they first met.

Giving up his solitude was a small price to pay for the bounty she brought with her.

And he could always plan another date night for just the two of them when the chaos around them grew too overwhelming.

Feeling lighter, Liam cornered his nymph and brought her out to meet their newest supernatural friends.

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 – Date Night, Sprites, and the Truth of Hidden Things appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Anderson High Wolves Short – Intersecting Lines

Intersecting Lines

Anderson High Wolves

Jenny and Evan

 

Nineteen more shopping days until Christmas. A week of finals. Three weekends. Baking with the Carmichael family.

Jenny swallowed hard when she looked down at the list of tasks she still had to accomplish between now and Day Zero. It was a lot.

Too much, maybe.

The finals were going to be…well, not too hard, actually.

Now that things had settled down in her family life, school came a lot easier than it had. She had time to study. She liked the classes she was taking.

She understood what the professors were talking about.

Lane had given her this journal the first week of classes to help her stay organized. Somehow, she was.

Okay. Deep breath. Think this through.

She had a lot on her plate. That was very, very true. But they were all things she could plan for.

She’d pencil in some time for studying. She’d see when Natalie and Lane were planning on going out to get their shopping done. She’d spend time with Taylor. She’d bake and cuddle with Evan and everything would fall into place.

Life was a grid of intersecting lines and she was determined to make sure hers touched the people who mattered most as often as possible.

Evan and Taylor. Lane and Natalie. Matty and Mason and the rest of the pack. Evan’s parents. Her grandma.

They were important to her. They mattered.

School mattered.

Spending hours agonizing over the perfect gift…not so much.

She had nineteen shopping days until Christmas and a list of things she needed to do between now and then that was a mile long.

And it was okay. It was fine. She could do it.

She would do it.

She’d prioritize and use those days wisely.

She’d find a way to make it all work.

Warm arms wrapped around her from behind and Jenny’s smile blossomed. Evan didn’t speak, he only held her, his presence like a beloved blanket that chased the chill away.

They were intersecting lines and she was going to intersect with him in every way possible.

Tilting her chin up, she pursed her lips and waited for the kiss he was happy to give.

Intersection achieved.

Nineteen days. Warmth and laughter and kisses from her favorite werewolf.

She could absolutely do this.

The End

Interested in seeing how their epic, body-hiding romance began? Grab Anderson High Wolves: The Complete Novella Collection and watch Evan and his packmates find their special someones.

The post Anderson High Wolves Short – Intersecting Lines appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Wicked Pride Short – A Very Beastly Holiday

A little holiday planning fun with those unruly shapeshifters…

A Very Beastly Holiday

Wicked Pride

Wrangling a pride of cats (notorious for turning up their nose at gently couched suggestions and doing what they wanted), a pack of wolves (loud, rowdy, and with even more nudity than the cats), and a clan of bears (big surly bastards, even the women) into one place for a holiday gathering was enough to drive any man (or woman) gray.

Kane and Bran faced off across the wide counter and stared at one another as they both waited for the other to give in.

At the huge industrial stove, Callie McLaughlin hummed as she stirred something that smelled sinfully sweet. Her enormous mate (Kane honestly wondered how those two fit together) kept grabbing at her and she kept swatting his huge mitts away with a laugh.

It takes all kinds in the world, Kane reminded himself. Cats and wolves and bears.

All kinds.

They’d gathered in the massive kitchen of the space that would soon be the first (and possibly only) bear-run restaurant in Oak Haven. Kane had suggested meeting at the pride house, but Ivan Hearne (a surlier man Kane had never met) had grumbled that he couldn’t leave his Callie alone at the restaurant and they needed to meet there.

So here they were.

Cats and wolves and bears.

“You’re place isn’t big enough,” Bran pointed out. “Not if my entire pack comes.” The tip of his tongue rubbed against a sharp canine and he made a face. “Plus, I’ve seen what you’ve done on that couch of yours and I’m not okay with being forced to sit on it.”

Kane should have been offended, but the truth was he and his mate had defiled that couch in so many ways it was on its way to becoming a legend. Memories of last night drifted through his head and he bared his teeth in a smile.

The wolf alpha shook himself in a move reminiscent of a dog. “No. We’re not using the pride house.”

“Yeah, well, my pride isn’t setting a paw into the place where your naked-ass wolves drag their asses all over the floor.” Slapping a wrinkled sheet of paper down on the counter, Kane pointed at it. “Do you know how many calls I’ve had to take from the police chief about your pack’s public nudity?”

Callie giggled at the stove again and they both turned to glare at her. This meeting was all her fault. If she hadn’t put a bug in Ivan’s ear about getting the different shapeshifters together for a holiday gathering, they wouldn’t be here now.

They wouldn’t be fighting over ass-dragging and how many times Kane had banged his mate on the poor couch in his living room.

“We’ll have it here,” Ivan rumbled as he used his long arms to reach around his mate and snag a muffin off the counter.

Both Kane and Bran frowned. “What?” they said in unison.

“The holiday meal. We’ll have it at the restaurant.”

That was…not a terrible idea. Not at all. The space was huge and mostly furnished. They had the kitchen space to pull together a truly impressive meal. Plus, the furniture was bear-sized.

Considering how big most of the bears were, this was important.

“That might be doable,” Kane said as the big bear munched on the muffin he’d stolen.

Bran grunted in agreement. “How many people can this place hold?”

“Enough.”

Bears. They weren’t big talkers, but they did have good ideas sometimes.

“Okay. So, we’re in agreement on the venue?” Kane waited for Bran’s reluctant nod. Yeah, the wolf liked to argue just for the sake of arguing. “Great. So the menu—”

“The bear clan will take care of the food. You guys just figure out what time you want it to start and make sure everybody behaves.”

That was probably the most words Kane had ever heard the big bear string together at one time. “Okay, but—”

“The wolves can bring the beer. The cats can bring before dinner snacks.”

Kane rocked back on his heels and stared at Ivan Hearne. Okay, that was…another good plan.

For all he looked like a big, angry thug, the bear had an actual brain in that meaty head of his. Who knew?

Inwardly, Kane winced. If his mate had heard that thought, she’d be smacking him upside the head right now. Carrie’s campaign to make everyone look at bears in a gentler light was very important to her.

And changing the way the world looked at the bears started at home.

With him.

Dammit.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“’S no problem. Callie came up with the idea.”

The pretty half breed took her eyes off the concoction she was stirring long enough to grin at her mate. Then she went back to creating whatever tasty treat she was working on.

Well, okay. They had the venue. They had the food. They had beer and appetizers.

It looked like this holiday gathering was a go.

Now they’d just have to see if cats and wolves and bears could get together for an extended amount of time without any brawls.

Time to go put the fear into his cats.

The End

While the Wicked Pride shorts have finished, there’s more in store for other characters and series. Stop by next week to find out who the next installment will feature.

The post Wicked Pride Short – A Very Beastly Holiday appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Looking Back on November

Look at this! Another month gone by! I NEVER SAW THAT COMING!

But seriously. November is NaNoWriMo month, so there was writing done. A lot of writing. None of it on the projects I thought I’d be working on, but I got a big chunk written on a new werewolf book and that’s ALWAYS okay. Because werewolves.

November marks the first time in a LONG time when I didn’t have a release in the month. No worries, I’m cooking something up for December, so you’ll see a new book soon. Ish. Soon-ish. Within a month.

If you haven’t been keeping up on the Series Shorts, November saw us heading back into Wicked Pride territory. Well, with a slight holiday detour back into the Anderson High Wolves neck of the woods. I get a kick out of revisiting old favorites, so the series shorts will be continuing as long as my brain keeps giving me new ideas for my crazy characters. (Most of December will put us squarely back into the Monstrous series. ARE YOU READY FOR MORE ARI?!?!)

I have THINGS planned for December. Time to get back to putting them in motion!

The post Looking Back on November appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Wicked Pride Short – The Reckoning

This week’s series short features Ivan and Callie. My grumbly bear and the cat who adores him.

The Reckoning

Wicked Pride

Ivan and Callie

Baking was Callie’s way of dealing with stress.

Actually, it was her way of dealing with everything.

Rough day at the office? Bake some muffins.

Feeling inexplicably turned on when she thought of her honey? Scones could help.

Apocalypse coming and the world as she knew it was about to be destroyed? Her cinnamon twists were the answer.

Her latest baking binge had been brought on by the news that Ivan’s mother, the terrifying leader of the Fallen Oak Grizzly clan, would be stopping by in the next day or so to take a look at the building Ivan had found for the restaurant the clan hoped to open in town.

Angelina Hearne was coming to her house.

Her house.

Where she and Ivan were living.

Because, of course, Angelina would know Ivan spent more time here than at the clan house a street over. That’s what terrifying almost-seven-feet tall grizzly sows did.

They knew things.

She was probably busy toughening up her fists on some redwood trees right now. So, you know, she could challenge Callie to a bare knuckle brawl to make sure her favorite son was in good hands.

Part of Callie knew she was overreacting.

Angelina Hearne had been terrifying, yes, when they’d first met, but she hadn’t engaged in a sneak attack or tried to poison Callie or anything.

She was just scary. And big.

Really big.

Ivan had his mother’s height, but Callie didn’t feel comforted around the big sow like she was around Ivan. Her mate made her feel safe and protected. His mother made her want to run and hide in a closet.

Which, unfortunately, reminded Callie of the other reason Angelina might be a little peeved with her.

She had, after all, seduced Ivan in an empty office the first time he’d taken her to his clan house. That seduction had, naturally, come after Angelina had specifically told them not to screw around until after the cubs went to bed.

Honestly, Callie had meant to follow the rules. Really. But Ivan had been so big and burly and Callie hadn’t been able to resist when he’d gotten a little growly with her and the next thing she knew they were rattling the office door hard enough Angelina had to come and shout at them to keep it down.

Oops.

So, yeah. Callie wasn’t looking forward to seeing Ivan’s mother again.

She’d successfully avoided it for almost a month.

But now…well, now her time was up.

So she baked.

She baked the salmon biscuits Ivan loved. She baked a double batch of cinnamon twists for the coffee shop. She baked a batch of her favorite mocha coffee cupcakes with espresso frosting for herself.

If she survived the meeting with Angelina, she’d have Ivan taste those and see if the bears liked them. And if they did, she’d start making up a batch every morning to stock the display at the coffee shop.

As it turned out, she had a knack for making treats the bears just loved.

In the back of her head, she had the idea that she could turn this weird knack into a business. After all, if the bears were here to stay in town, somebody needed to look after them.

Why shouldn’t that someone be her?

She’d already hooked one bear with her irresistible treats, might as well go for broke and feed the entire clan.

But only if she managed to make it through this meeting with her mate’s mom.

The door swung open and Ivan strode in. “Hey, Cal. I’m getting…” His voice trailed off as he took in the mess she’d made of the kitchen.

Yeah, oops. She’d not only gone overboard on the baking, she’d used just about every bowl in the house and hadn’t followed her cardinal rule of cleaning as she went. So it was a hot mess in here.

Hot. Mess. Just like her.

“Everything okay?” her big bear asked cautiously.

“Oh, yeah. Fine. No problems. I’m just trying out a few recipes I think you’ll like.”

“Callie—”

“Try this one.” Callie shoved one of the mocha cupcakes into Ivan’s mouth before he could tell her everything would be fine and she needed to stop worrying about his mom’s visit.

Everything wouldn’t be fine.

It wouldn’t.

Angelina would know just how she’d been debauching her favorite son and she’d rain holy hell down on Callie’s small house. And once Callie picked up the pieces from that, her parents would be home from the first leg of their RV trip around the country.

Oh gawwwwwwd.

A chocolate espresso flavored mouth landed on hers right as she was getting to the part of her freak out where she wanted to change shapes and go find a small cupboard to hide in.

That chocolate espresso flavored kiss fixed everything.

Absolutely everything.

Her big bear was right: Everything would be fine.

Sinking into the decadence that was Ivan’s mouth, Callie let go of her fears about Angelina Hearne. She forgot to be worried about her parents’ arrival.

She just felt. And sighed. And wondered if Ivan wanted to take this upstairs.

As it turned out, that’s exactly what they did.

The End

That’s Callie and Ivan for you. Read how they ended up shacking up in Laid Bear.

I know we’ve gone through all the couples in the series, but there’s ONE more Wicked Pride short I have in store. How do a wildly mixed group of shapeshifters put aside their differences to celebrate the holidays? Stop by next week and find out!

The post Wicked Pride Short – The Reckoning appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Black Friday Flash Freebies! Stuff Your EReader before Cyber Monday

Howdy, readers! I’m celebrating Black Friday (or helping you celebrate Black Friday, I guess) by taking part in a HUGE multi-author event to help YOU  stuff your Kindle (or the reading device of your choosing!). Today through Monday, you can grab a TON of books in a variety of genres.

BLACK FRIDAY FLASH FREEBIES! STUFF YOUR EREADER FREEBIE EVENT!

Click the above link, choose your reading platform, GRAB BOOKS. It’s that’s simple.

The post Black Friday Flash Freebies! Stuff Your EReader before Cyber Monday appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Anderson High Wolves Short – A Very Werewolf Thanksgiving

Surprise! We’re popping back over to Jenny and Evan for a little Thanksgiving fun!

A Very Werewolf Thanksgiving

Anderson High Wolves

Jenny and Evan

“So you guys do this every year?”

Evan looked at Jenny and gave her the type of slow nod that meant he understood her question, but he didn’t understand why she was asking. Jenny knew where his confusion was coming from. She’d been with him last year when his family had done this exact same thing, so she should know they do this.

But she hadn’t realized it was a tradition. She’d thought the big dinner and houseful of wolves was something they’d done special. For her.

To help her acclimate to her sudden introduction into the pack.

Or something.

Her life had been so…so fraught with upheaval for so long that she hadn’t realized people still did stuff like that. Between her mom’s illness and her stepdad’s general douchery, Jenny had forgotten what normal families looked like.

Not that the Carmichael’s were “normal” by any stretch of the imagination.

They were wolves, for goodness sake. Beautiful, wild werewolves.

And they were loads better than any of the people Jenny had been forced to associate with before her stepfather met with his unfortunate accident.

So, yeah. Werewolves, apparently, liked to go all out at the holidays.

Which made sense, if Jenny thought about it.

Wolves liked to eat and getting everyone together for a Thanksgiving meal was an excellent excuse to do just that. The guys did the football in the backyard thing. The adults drank bear and were just…nice. Everyone came together and they ate and drank and there was no yelling or muttered comments about how useless she was.

Jenny had honestly thought everyone was on their best behavior because Evan’s mom had demanded it. It never crossed her mind that they were on their best behavior because it was what they did.

Every year.

Huh.

“Does she need help?” At Evan’s questioning look, Jenny hurried on. “Your mom. Does she need help with the cooking and stuff?”

“Not normally, but I’m sure she’d love to have you offer. If you want to help that is.”

Her man sounded so adorably cute when he was trying to make sure she was okay with the things that were happening around her.

“I don’t know how to make much more than sandwiches and pasta, but I can help her chop if she needs it.”

Taking her at her word, Evan hopped up off the bed they’d been lounging on and held out his hand. “We’ll see what she wants us to do.”

Us.

That word always made her light up inside. Them. Together. Evan and Jenny.

Sliding her hand into his, Jenny floated down the stairs, basking in the them that they were the whole way.

“Ma, Jenny and I wanted to know if you need any help.”

Addy Carmichael looked up from the counter and raised a brow. “You, Evan? You want to know if I need help cooking?”

“Ahh, well, Jenny was wondering if she could help and I figured…”

When he trailed off, a flush moving down his cheeks, Jenny had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. The way Evan’s mom called him on his bullshit was just one of the things she loved about the woman.

“You figured that you were going to be hanging around anyway and you should make yourself useful.”

His flush deepened. “Something like that.”

“In that case, son of mine,” Addy said, standing and gesturing him over, “you can finish mixing the filling for the pie.”

Evan bussed a kiss against Jenny’s cheek before taking his mother’s place. For all Addy’s teasing, Evan seemed to know what he was doing since he didn’t ask any questions before settling in to mix the gooey mess in the bowl.

“What do you want me to do?” Jenny asked quietly.

“Have you ever made pie crusts before?”

She shook her head.

“Hmm. Okay. Why don’t you get started on the potatoes, then, while I work on the next batch of crusts? We need those two bags peeled and cut.”

Next batch of crusts? Jenny glanced into the attached dining room and boggled over the pies already cooling on the table. She’d known this was a large event last year, but she hadn’t realized how much Addy had made.

Smiling at her, Addy pulled out a clean mixing bowl and began measuring. “How are things going at school, dear? Evan doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”

“Ma.”

“Keep mixing, Ev. I need to get those pies in before I can start on the next.”

Ducking her head so Evan wouldn’t see her laughter, Jenny began peeling the mass of potatoes. “Everything’s good. Not as hard as I was expecting, really.”

“Good. Have you decided on a major yet?”

She hadn’t. Psychology interested her, namely child psychology, but so did several other things. “Not yet.”

“Well, there’s no rush at this point. You just keep working on your general ed requirements and the rest will figure itself out.”

Yes. Yes, it would.

Things would work out. Whether it was planning a meal for a house full of hungry werewolves or figuring out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

With the support of Evan and his family, she could do anything.

The End

This was an off-the-cuff short I wrote earlier in the year and sort of forgot about until I was digging through some of my docs. LOOK! Jenny and Evan. Those two are so cute together.

Interested in seeing how their epic, body-hiding romance began? Grab Anderson High Wolves: The Complete Novella Collection and watch Evan and his packmates find their special someones.

The post Anderson High Wolves Short – A Very Werewolf Thanksgiving appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Wicked Pride Short – The Great Cookie Caper

CARRIE AND KANE! I like Carrie’s spunk. She’s sassy and loud and FUN to write.

The Great Cookie Caper

Wicked Pride

Carrie and Kane

Big cats were such freaking exhibitionists.

Such. Freaking. Exhibitionists.

Carrie had seen more parts since she shacked up with Kane than she ever expected to see in her lifetime. And it had only been a freaking month.

As bad as the cats were, the wolves were even worse.

She’d walked in on Kane fielding a call from the local police department regarding “indecent exposure on so many levels they didn’t even have a code for it.” Kane had that look on his face that said someone was going to pay for him having to sit through that call. It would probably be the wolves, but Carrie wriggled a bit internally at the thought it might be her.

Because Kane might bluster and roar at the shifters, but his payment took a decidedly carnal turn where she was involved.

Martyr that she was, Carrie always made the sacrifice and followed Kane down whatever path of depraved delights he needed to dole out.

That’s right. She was a goddamn saint.

Today, though, her thoughts were decidedly unsaintly.

One of those damn naked cats had found her chocolate chip cookie stash and eaten every last one. She had crumbs.

CRUMBS.

And she needed chocolate. Like, now.

“KANE,” she bellowed at the top of her lungs.

Something clattered to the floor in the living room and her mate’s cautious voice called out, “Yes, beloved?”

“WHICH OF YOUR CRETINOUS CATS ATE MY COOKIES?”

Four sets of footsteps beat a hasty retreat. It might have been one of them. Or they were possibly running away in fear of her shrieking.

Whatever.

She wanted some damn cookies.

“I don’t know, but I’ll get you more.”

“I don’t want more.” Yeah, she was being irrational and ridiculous. But her cookies. HER COOKIES. “I wanted those and they’ve been eaten.”

Her big, broody lion stuck his head around the door and looked at her from across the room. “Really, Carrie?”

“Yes.” Her lower lip stuck out and she stared intently at the scuffed linoleum under her shoes. She really needed to talk to Kane about updating the kitchen. It didn’t do the pride any favors to have their house looking so worn around the edges.

A pair of oversized boots moved into her line of sight. Kane squatted down so he could see her face. “What if I told you I have an extra bag stashed in our closet?”

In their…what?

“Why would you have cookies in our closet?” she asked, her irritation draining away as the absurdity of it all finally struck her.

“Because I know these damn moochers and I figured at least one of them wouldn’t be able to control themselves.”

Aww. Was there anything more endearing than a man who thought ahead like that?

Giving into the compulsion she felt whenever her lion was around, Carrie dipped her head and kissed him. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. Yet another thing she adored about this man.

When he straightened to his full height, he caught her around the waist and dragged her up with him.

Laughing against his mouth, Carrie put up no resistance when he walked them to the stairs and took them two at a time.

Not only did she have the sexiest cat in the pride wrapped around her, the promised bag of cookies was upstairs.

Which was, if Carrie reflected on it, well worth the annoyance of constantly being surrounded by cat peen and tits.

Oh, the sacrifices she made to be in her big cat’s life.

The End

Want more Carrie and Kane? Their romance unfurls in White Collared.

Check back next week to catch up with the stoic Ivan and his baking cat.

The post Wicked Pride Short – The Great Cookie Caper appeared first on Kelly Apple.

What I’m Watching … The Art of the Story

A couple weeks ago, I started watching Teen Wolf (the TV show, not the movie. Just so we’re clear.) and…I AM SMITTEN. Not just with the hunky werewolves…

This show is easy on the eyes, isn’t it?

…but also with the story telling.

GUYS, THE FORESHADOWING IN THIS SHOW IS INSANE. I LOVE IT SO HARD.

Things mentioned in SEASON ONE don’t play out until SEASON FIVE. Characters’ abilities are hinted at and then allowed to unfurl over the course of SEASONS. Not episodes…SEASONS.

My capslocking might have given it away, but the story arcs in this thrill the hell out of me. Not just the absurd complexity, but how much time is devoted to letting characters develop and grow into themselves. Yeah, yeah. The semi-dork who becomes an Alpha werewolf after being bit is one thing (as an aside, Scott is WHINY in season one, man. SO FREAKING WHINY once you see how much he’s matured in later seasons.), but I’m talking about his fast-talking best friend. Stiles Stilinski.

Stiles FOREVAH!

I adore Stiles. He’s smart and funny and so completely self-depreciating that I just can’t help myself. I love characters who think they’re total fuck-ups, but are really heroes with a heart of gold. STILES MAKES THINGS HAPPEN. He searches out patterns. He gets shit done. All while trying to figure out how to be more to the supernaturals who have become part of Scott’s pack.

And then there’s Lydia. I could devote an entire post to how her character has evolved from season 1. I honestly didn’t think I’d like her much after her introduction in the first episode. And yet, she’s become one of my favorites. Next to Stiles, of course.

In fact…I ship Stiles and Lydia so hard it almost hurts.

Stydia FIVE-evah!

OH, MY HEART!

One more…

Stydia can do no wrong!

THE HUGGING KILLS ME EVERY TIME.

Sometimes I rewatch episodes just to see Stiles do whatever he has to do to physically protect Lydia from harm. And, let’s face it, these guys are ALWAYS in some sort of danger, so there’s a lot of harm going around.

I could go on and on about this show. SERIOUSLY. On and on and on and on. Because, beyond writing, this post pretty much sums up what I’ve been doing this month. I’ve been watching the Teen Wolf and his spunky pack kick ass and take names. And kiss. There’s a lot of kissing.

SO MUCH GLORIOUS KISSING.

I’ve watched through season 5, which means I have one season left. I’m holding off on starting it though, because I don’t want it to end.

Instead, I’ll initiate a rewatch from the beginning. Because going back is FUN. I get to relive all the crazy again.

All.The.Crazy.

Yessssss.

The post What I’m Watching … The Art of the Story appeared first on Kelly Apple.

Wicked Pride Short – Growing Pains

The next series short from Wicked Pride is HERE! Sam and Luna are running into a few growing pains…

Growing Pains

Wicked Pride

Sam and Luna

Samuel Delaney might have the soul of a lion, but he was a typical man when it came to some things.

For one, he wasn’t terribly communicative, which drove Luna crazy at times. On the other hand, when he listened, he really listened.

Like two days ago when she’d been complaining about how she hadn’t had time to get a pedicure in months and she absolutely hated how ugly her feet were right now.

What had the big guy gone and done? He’d booked her an appointment for after work and now he was driving her and her best friend to get their toes done.

Uggh. Why did the big jerk have to be so perfect?

She’d been all ready to light into him about how his clothes never seemed to make it to the hamper when he’d pulled up, gruffly told her what he’d done, and gestured both her and Cami into his truck so they wouldn’t be late.

Jerky, perfect, lovely lion.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked quietly as he navigated to a nearby strip mall.

Yes. No. Maybe.

“No,” she finally settled on. “This is great. Thanks.”

Cami leaned over the back seat and stuck her head in between them. “She’s mad,” she told Sam.

“Shut up, Cam.”

“You shut up. You should never go to bed angry. Right, Sammy?”

Sam hunched down in his seat and refused to look at Cami. Yeah, he was still suffering residual guilt over some things he’d said about her a while back.

He really was way more sensitive than she usually gave him credit for.

“I’m not mad, Cam.”

“Yes, you are. Earlier you said—”

“Shut up, Camille,” she said through gritted teeth.

They pulled up to the salon and Cami shook her head. “Talk this out, will you? I’ll let them know we’re here.”

Then she was hopping out of the back of Sam’s extended cab truck and leaving Luna and her burly mate alone.

“What’d I do?”

Uggh. She was such a raging bitch. There was no reason for her to have gotten pissy about the clothes on the floor. If she told Sam to pick it up, he would.

She just…wasn’t used to living with someone.

More to the point, she was used to living with Cami who had her own space in her own room where she could be a slob all she wanted and Luna would never have to deal with it.

Actually sharing space with someone was harder than she expected.

Even when it was the lion who’d claimed her as his mate.

“It’s stupid,” she said, sounding like a bratty child to her own ears.

“Tell me anyway.”

Yeah. Okay. Sam was being the mature one here and she was letting her cat take out her mood on him.

“I’m not used to sharing a room with someone.”

Sam nodded, his attention totally focused on her. “Okay. Do you want me to move to Cami’s old room?”

Did she?

Not really. She might have problems sharing her space, but she really liked cuddling up to his massive form at night.

All right. Pause.

Just, take a breath and think this through.

It wasn’t fair to Sam that she expected him to know all her quirks and issues if she never told him what those quirks and issues were. He was smart and powerful, but he wasn’t a mind reader. Plus, he wasn’t used to living with anyone either. There were probably things she did that irritated him.

The bottom line was she really didn’t want to give up sleeping beside him every night. Her cat was pretty darn needy when it came to her mate.

Closing her eyes, Luna tried to organize her thoughts. “I don’t want you move into Cami’s room,” she said once she’d found her center. “But I do think we need to lay down a few rules.”

“Fair enough.”

“You need to clean up after yourself a little more. Make sure your clothes get in the hamper and your towel is hung up after you shower.”

Sam nodded, his expression shuttered.

“Cami and I used to split the housekeeping chores. I know you’ve been cleaning the kitchen, but maybe we could trade off between the kitchen, bathrooms, and vacuuming. Or, you know, if there’s something you absolutely hate doing, let me know and we can work together to figure something out.”

“Is there anything you hate doing?”

Luna made a face. “Mowing the lawn. I can’t stand how the grass kicks up on my ankles.”

“I like mowing the lawn.” Sam looked out the window and she saw the hint of a smile curve his mouth. “My cat loves rolling in the cut grass, too.”

Okay, that was a stupid cute visual she wanted to see at some point.

One of Sam’s big hands slid over and curled around hers. “You’ll tell me if I start to do things that make you mad?”

He asked it so carefully the last of Luna’s irritation vanished.

She had never been mad at Sam. Not really. She’d been mad at herself for being upset about the things she hadn’t told him about.

Which…Okay. No more.

From now on, she was going to share so much Sam was going to know everything.

Absolutely everything.

Leaning over, Luna pressed a kiss to his cheek.

At least that was her intention. Her tricky cat turned his head at the last second and her lips landed on his.

Entirely accidentally, she was sure.

But, as the saying goes, when the cat’s got your tongue, you might as well just give in and let him have it.

So she did.

The End

Want more Sam and Luna? Grab Dangerous Curves and watch the sparks fly!

Next week’s short features Carrie and Kane. That’s right: Same bat time, same bat channel.

The post Wicked Pride Short – Growing Pains appeared first on Kelly Apple.