And now for something completely different...

So to lighten the mood, I figured I'd post a short excerpt from my romance novel, The Spanish Acquisition. The paperback version should be available at Amazon.com any day now...

The Spanish Acquisition
Lily gave up trying to figure out what was going on. When they reached her room, they would look at her leg, see that it
was fine, and then maybe discuss plans for dinner. At least she’d shaved her legs this morning.  When they arrived, she took the key card from around her neck and pressed it to the lock. Carlos opened the door and carried her in.

“Okay, now you can put me down.” She smiled at him. He set her down very carefully, all the time gauging the expression on her
face.

“I want to see that leg to be sure you are all right,” he told her sternly. 

Lily grabbed some shorts from the dresser and walked slowly into the bathroom, her lips pressed firmly together as she fought the urge to limp. She took off her jeans and was shocked to see a clear
impression of a horse’s hoof imprinted on her calf. Well that explains the pain. She felt carefully for any tears or breaks around the mark.

“Lily? Are you all right?” Carlos called from outside the bathroom sounding impatient.

“Yup. It’s just a bruise.” She came out in her shorts and showed him. “I checked and there’s no ligament or bone damage.”

 His lips tightened into a thin line. “That looks painful. I will get a
doctor.”
           
“No, thank you. It’ll be fine,” she reassured him.
        
“I will get you some ice.”            

“No.”She hugged him impulsively. “But thank you for everything.”

His arms tightened around her and he rested his chin on her head. He didn’t seem to want to let her go. And, she realized suddenly, she didn’t want him to either.


Then smut happens, but this is a family friendly blog, so you'll have to either imagine it or buy the book.  ;)