Short Excerpt

This is from my latest work in progress, a futuristic, SF/F, erotic-themed romance set on an earth-like planet. It's all draft at this point, and the excerpt below is actually from the THIRD book.

Rahda is waiting to kill Lord Jaucey, but her love interest isn't in on the plan and below is some of their conversation.

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“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice whispers immediately into my ear.

I jump about ten feet. Then I punch the person in the chest as hard as I can, but intensely regret it. The stitches in my shoulder rip open.

“Ouch!” the voice says good naturedly.

Roland!

What the—? I swallow hard, the gulp burns my throat as my heart wants to pound its way out of my body through my esophagus.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I hiss at him. Then I get stupid mad. “You followed me! How dare you!”

This explains the feeling I had of being watched.

He sits down beside me, rubbing his chest through the shirt. That’s when I notice he isn’t wearing a fabriskin robe or anything to cover his face. Just plain old clothing. As if he’s nothing special.

“And here I thought you’d be happy to see me, but I can see you have other plans,” he says and I can tell he’s smiling for some idiotic reason. “Um, so, what are your plans, exactly? Because this is an odd place to just hang out.”

I smirk knowing he can’t really see my expression. Or maybe he can. He lives in a dark, dark palace.

“I wanted to get as far away from you as possible and thought that your uncle’s house an ideal spot.”

“By watching him have sex with one of his servants?”

My eyes round.

“That’s a servant? He seemed so…” affectionate. I halt. I won’t let him change the subject. “Why are you here?”

His shoulders shrug.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Nothing’s obvious with you, Roland.”

“When it comes to you, I should be. However, I’m trying very hard to not be jealous right now. You’re in Jaucey’s bedroom, for christsakes, Rahda! What do you hope to accomplish?”

“Shhh! I think the water just shut off.”

“Are you wearing lipstick?”

“Are you deaf? I have a job to do. I said, Shhh!”

“I asked you once if you worked for my uncle and you played dumb,” his clipped voice cuts deep. “You better not be lying to me.”

“Or what?” I ask sarcastically. “Truth has no relevance in doing the right thing. If you think for one second that I’m actually working for Jaucey, then leave right now, this minute. You’ll just be in my way. But if that brain of yours is working and if you listened to what he told me earlier today, which I know you did, then think it through and know that I plan to remedy the situation before it gets out of hand.” It may already be out of hand, I think. “Otherwise, shut the hell up. As it is, you’re not exactly high on my favorites list at the moment.”

“You have a favorites list? Who’s on it?”

But I don’t answer. Jaucey and his lover step out of the bathroom, each draped in towels. The servant picks up a pile of clothes I didn’t see earlier and leaves the master suite without so much a salutation. I expected a longing look, but it never happened.

Jaucey saunters back to the bed, tosses the towel on the floor carelessly, and gets into bed. I take off my purse and hand it to Roland. I can hear his silent questions. Well, one question, What the hell do you think you’re doing? Carefully I disrobe, also depositing the clothing with Roland, who fumes even more with each layer of clothing that I give to him.

I know that this kills him. It’d kill me if in reverse. I have a notion that if he could get away with it, he’d haul me up on his shoulders and carry me away. He couldn’t get away with it. I know it. He knows it. Somewhere, deep inside of him, he trusts me. Even when everything in his heart screams Deceit! Betrayal! Bitch! he won’t stop me. And because of this I know he’ll never stop me from doing anything.

Even if it means freedom from him. Not being near him.

Even if it means that, as I walk away from him and slip into Jaucey’s bed, I destroy his heart a million times over, he knows that he never has and never will own me.