Today was incredibly busy and I forgot to blog. :”>
The good news is, I finished my edits for The Treasure. I’m giving y’all a sneak peek below. ;)
Enjoy!
Excerpt from The Treasure:
Lily was hot. After the incident with Ray in the hallway, her entire body was flushed and she felt a bit feverish. Odd, really, that reaction to a man. She had never had it before, and hadn’t expected it.
After washing up, she went into her room and opened the window a bit to try to cool herself off. The moon was bright in the dark sky. She opened the window a bit more and leaned out to get a better look.
Then her natural grace took over, and she fell out the window into the snow.
She landed on her nose, which immediately made a popping noise, and a warm gush of blood bathed her face. The snow was absolutely freezing and her entire body was lying on that frozen mass, from tip to toes. She pushed up on her elbows and ended up shoving her hands deeper into the snow.
Yes, indeed, her fine graceful self just had to make itself known. Hopefully she could climb back into her window without anyone seeing her.
The sound of boots rapidly running through the snow toward her dashed that hope to the rocks.
“Lily! My God, are you all right?”
She turned her head and peered at him in the darkness. Might as well be honest. “No, I think I may have broken my nose. And I can’t seem to get out of this snow. I’m afraid frostbite will be a possibility if I don’t figure how.”
Strong arms lifted her effortlessly and she found herself being carried by Ray before she could blink. It was dark enough that she couldn’t see his expression under the shadow of his hat, but she had no doubt it was not a happy face.
“Thank you.”
Lily tilted her head back and pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the bleeding. Her nose was really the least of her concerns. Ray Malloy was the biggest.
He opened the door and carried her inside, kicking the door closed behind him. She had the insane notion of a groom carrying his bride over the threshold and she started laughing. The more she tried to stop, the harder she laughed.
“I’m not sure what’s so damn funny, but if you don’t hush up, I’m gonna throw you back into the snow.”
Ray carried her over to the sofa in the living room and set her down. He glanced at her white nightgown and immediately his eyes changed. The pupils dilated and a hazy glow surrounded the green. His nostrils flared and his lips tightened.
Lily thought it was blood that he saw, but when she looked at her nightgown, she realized the snow had turned the white garment transparent. He could clearly see her breasts, and her nipples, which were puckered tighter than a stone, as well as a hint of the dark hair between her legs.
Lily was never so embarrassed in her life. She didn’t know whether to stop her nosebleed or cover herself, so she tried both. One arm landed over her breasts, while the other continued to pinch her nose.
“Do you think you could get me a towel, and perhaps some of that snow for my nose?”
His gaze snapped to hers and what she saw in his eyes made her breath stop. Raw, blatant desire. For her. A plump, on the shelf spinster with a shady childhood and a penchant for tripping over her own two feet. Lily felt an answering yearning in herself, a need to find out if what she saw, what she felt from him, was more than lust.
“I…”
“Let me get that towel.” He said and then he was gone before she could finish her sentence.
Lily started shivering. She didn’t know if it was from the snow bath or from the look in Ray’s eyes when he stared at her nearly naked body.
She was afraid it was from the latter. And she had no idea what to do about it.
* * * *
Ray stumbled into the kitchen and stared at the sink for a full minute before he realized he was standing there like a fence post holding up nothing but air. He grabbed a towel from the side of the sink and opened the back door to scoop up some snow.
Goddamn!
He had just calmed himself down and was able to not think about Lily, and then to see her just about naked. The raging erection in his jeans was about to bust a button or two. Maybe he should stuff the snow down his pants instead.
After wrapping the towel around the snow, he rubbed his cold hand on his face, trying to regain at least a portion of his self control. Life wasn’t exactly orderly before Lily got here, but it wasn’t this gut-wrenching, off-balance shit either.
He didn’t like it. He apparently had no self-control when it came to Lily. He knew he should have listened to his instincts at the train station and popped her beautiful ass on an eastbound train immediately.
Too late, too late. Chimed in his demons. She’s in your blood.
He grabbed a washrag from the sink and stalked back into the living room. Lily was pinching her nose with one bloody hand and trying to cover herself with the other. Made him feel like a horse’s ass.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He sat on the edge of the sofa. “Hold the towel and let me wash the blood off.”
She pulled her hand away from her nose and took the towel from him. Her whiskey-colored eyes watched him warily as he leaned closer. As gently as he could, he washed the blood away from her nose. Some of it had dried already so he had to rub a bit. She didn’t make a sound, but he saw her wince when he was too rough. He was a hell of a bad nurse.
When Ray touched the hand covering her chest, she squeaked a protest.
“Look, Lily, I’m not going to attack you. I just want to clean the blood off your hand.”
She nodded and tentatively held out her hand. He didn’t blame her for being wary since he barked and growled a lot. There wasn’t much that was soft about him. He wiped the blood off her hand, trying not to notice that her fingers were long and slender. However, he couldn’t help but notice that she had calluses on her hands. The mark of a woman used to working, to making her own way.
His opinion of Lily Wickham just went up a notch or two. Nothing Ray despised more than a princess who wanted to be waited on.
“Now switch hands and put the towel up on your nose. The snow should help with the swelling.”
She did as he bade and he wiped her other hand off. When he finished, he pulled the towel away gently to look at her nose.
“I don’t think it’s broken.”
He replaced the towel and met her gaze sternly.
“If you were Melody, I’d tan your hide for having the window open in the dead of winter. I could also say that you got exactly what you asked for, leaning out the window so far.”
She scowled and looked put out. “I was hot… I mean, it was too warm in my room. The fireplace was putting out a lot of heat. It was only for a moment or two. I never meant… well, truth is, I tend to be a bit clumsy.”
She looked as if he was going to spank her and put her in her room. The thought of her round ass beneath his hands had his imagination running away straight into his trousers. An area that didn’t need more attention.
“I noticed.”
She sighed and looked resigned. “I’m afraid it’s hard to hide. Do you… that is… you won’t fire me because of my clumsiness, will you?”
Ray was taken aback. She thought he would fire her because she popped her nose in the snow? Or made a mess in the kitchen? Was she kidding?
“No. That’s kind of a stupid question.”
“It’s most certainly not a stupid question. I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear your answer. I’ve had some… difficulties with employers in the past with my graceless mistakes. I want you to know that I will replace anything I break.”
“Nothing here is worth more than the wood it sits on, Lily. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
She smiled around the towel and her eyes sparkled with something like gratitude. She reached for his hands, and a thread of panic stung him on the neck.
“Thank you, Ray. I promise I will try to be more careful.”
He stood abruptly. “I’ll just go wash this out.”
Leaving her with her mouth slightly open in surprise, Ray fled the room with the washrag clutched in his hand.
