Me: So I’m going on vacation soon.  You want to help me out?

Vax: Can’t.  Busy.

Me: Busy doing what?  Honeymoon’s over.

Vax: (smirking) Honeymoon is never over.

Me: Aw, come on.  I had too much crap going on and I wanted to do some sort of contest or something fun for the readers, but I never got around to it.

Vax: Babe, you whine too much.

Me: (sulking)  So what?  You know, you wouldn’t have that honeymoon if it wasn’t for me.  You could at least help me out.

Vax:  And if you hadn’t given me that honeymoon, I’d still be that annoying voice in your head.  We’re even.

Me: You still ARE an annoying voice in my head.  I’m talking to you right now, right?

Vax: Technically, you’re typing to me.  What’s your point?

Me:  You are such a jerk sometimes.  Are you going to help me out or not?

Vax: (rolling his eyes)  Fine.  Yeah.  Sure.  What do you want?  Want me to turn that idiot you’re mad at into a toad or something?  You oughta know I can’t help you with that.

Me:  Well… duh.  I did make you.  I know what you can do or not.

Vax (laughing) : You might have given me a name and a book, but you didn’t make me.  I was just there.

Me: Does Jess know what a smart ass, pain in the tail… MAN…you are?

Vax: (grinning)  Yeah.  Jess knows I’m a man, all right.  Just last night, we…

Me: I don’t wanna hear it.  Once I give you your honeymoon, I don’t need to know about your sex life.

Vax:  Your loss.  Okay, what do you need?

Me:  I just you to write a guest blog for me. 

Vax (giving me a blank stare): What in the hell is a blog?

Me: (sighing)  I don’t have time for this.  Okay, can you just talk to my readers for a little while?  Write them a note or something?  I’ll handle the rest.

Vax (looking a little bewildered): What am I supposed to talk to them about?  What kind of note?

Me: Just…you know…how things are going with Jess.  How life is.  That sort of thing.

Vax:  but without mentioning my sex life?  What am I supposed to tell them about?  The drought I have going on at my ranch?  Or how the other day, I got to see Jess… oh, wait.  No, I don’t want to share that.  Okay, should I talk about my visit to the hospital?  And hospital food?  Sucks.  What am I supposed to talk about?

Me: (glaring)  You said you’d help me out.

Vax: Yeah, I did.  But I’m not exactly sure what you want me to do. 

Me: oh the hell with it.  I’ll just post a frickin excerpt.

And right before he walks off, I see Vax smirking.  Arrogant jerk.  He knew damn well what I wanted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Excerpt from Hunter’s Salvation…releasing in July.  But you could win a signed arc here….

“Veggie is no way to eat a pizza,” Vax told her.

“Neither is everything. You got any idea how many calories is in one slice of Sal’s Special Supreme?” She padded into the kitchen, making a beeline for the refrigerator. She could feel him staring at her as she opened it and grabbed a bottle of water from inside. Before she could close it, a big, brown hand caught the door and she stood there, trapped between the cool air blasting out of the fridge and the warmth of Vax’s body.

“I burn calories pretty easy so no, I have no clue. And I’m not real worried about it either. I don’t see death by heart attack in my future. You know, the contents of your fridge are seriously lacking. No beer. Nothing to munch on. Hell, I don’t think I saw a single bag of potato chips.” But he wasn’t looking into the refrigerator. He was looking at her.

At her mouth, more specifically. Jess felt her skin started to buzz, her pulse kicking up a little at the heat she saw simmering in those thunderstorm eyes. “Ahh… pizza will be here soon,” she said, trying to inch back a little. He just moved closer. Now she was trapped. She could either could move back and end up falling into the refrigerator or she could stand there and feel the seductive heat of his body. It wasn’t a hard to choice to make, although Jess suspected the wiser choice would have involved the fridge.

Vax reached up and caught a hank of hair in his hand. He held her gaze as he wound the long strands around his wrist. “Yeah, I know. Funny, though, I’m not really that hungry for pizza now.”

Oooo-kay. There was no denying the intent in that statement, or the sleepy, heavy lidded look to his eyes. Even though her hormones were clamoring, her knees were a little weak and she was feeling a whole lot of heat, Jess pressed a hand against his chest. He eased back a little. Regret and misery went pretty well together, she decided. The loss of his heat caused a reaction inside of her that was almost painful. Still, she didn’t lower her hand. “This isn’t a good idea, pal.”

His hand came up, covering hers. She hadn’t noticed it before then, but he wore a simple silver band on the ring finger of his right hand. Then she forgot about the ring as he closed his fingers around her wrist and dragged her hand a little to the left, until it covered his heart. Under her palm, she could feel the quick, steady beat. “Why not? Other than the fact that there’s a pizza boy due here in about forty five minutes. Forty five minutes is plenty of time…for now.” His lids drooped and Jess could feel herself giving in.

Just thinking about the things they could do to each other inside of forty five minutes was enough to make her breathing kick up. He was entirely too sexy, with that thick black hair, that heavy lidded look to his dark gray eyes and that mobile, sensual mouth. Under his stare, she could feel everything inside her going hot and liquid. Her breasts ached, her hands itched to touch him and she was dying to get a taste of him.