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fandomn00blr · 5 years

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Dread Moon, Chapter 3 Excerpt

[Context: Evelyn Trevelyan and an entourage of Inquisition companions set out to find Dorian after a visit from his concerned, albeit unpleasant mother alerts them that he’s gone missing along with one of his guards whom he’d taken a special interest in.]

[This is a collab with @figgypudz ...she gets credit for any plot that happens, and for most of the rest, but I get to write Hawke banter and insert DA2 companions where they are certainly unwelcome, so it’s a pretty sweet arrangement!]

...

As their laughter subsided, Hawke came stomping grumpily out of her tent wrapped in no less than three heavy woollen blankets and slumped down beside them at the fire. “It’s fucking cold and Varric won’t cuddle with me!”

“I’m already on Broody’s shit list for letting you tag along with me to Skyhold!” Varric called out from the tent they’d been sharing. “And now this…rescue mission, I guess? Of a noble ‘Vint mage who might have just run off with his bodyguard, while Fenris is off ripping slavers’ hearts out with Isabela! I’ll be next if he ever finds out!”

“So then it shouldn’t matter, right?!” Hawke shouted back at him. “Might as well act on all those years of pent-up desire between us...”

Varric muttered something inaudible, but deservedly unpleasant, and Hawke just scowled into the fire.

“I thought you were a hearty Fereldan dog-bitch?” Bull smiled. “This cold isn’t supposed to faze you. I’d offer to cuddle, but I don’t think I’m your type.”

“I’ve been living in the Free Marches for too long, I guess,” Hawke shivered, taking absolutely zero offense, and ignoring the other implications altogether. All Fereldans seemed to take being compared to dogs as a compliment, a fact Bull had taken note of early on in his interactions with them. “Can’t I just throw myself in the fire?”

“No,” Evelyn muttered. She knew Hawke well enough at this point not to assume she was joking about something like this.

“Please?!” She whined. “Don’t we have any mages with us who can cast some kind of anti-burn barrier or something on me while I just, kinda, lay there in the coals for a bit?” She was staring longingly at the almost white-hot center of the fire.

“No, and I’m not sure it works like that…” Evelyn trailed off, still thinking about Dorian, who probably would have come up with some ridiculous, ingenious way to indulge her.

“I could just freeze you solid, darling…” Vivienne purred. Evelyn nodded to her as she settled gracefully down across from them. It must’ve been cold if even she had come seeking the warmth of the fire. She normally retired early and left them to their ridiculous late night shenanigans.

Hawke seemed to actually be considering Vivienne’s offer for a few moments. “Do you suppose I will at least be numb enough not to feel the cold?”

“I very much doubt you’d feel anything...ever again,” Vivienne smirked.

“Oh.”

Evelyn actually smiled a little at this, too, and Vivienne acknowledged her gratitude for Hawke’s sudden uncharacteristic silence with a small, but knowing nod.

...

#my writing #writing collab #dread moon #hawke #trevelyan #varric #iron bull #vivienne #dragon age #post-inquisition #f!trevelyan #evelyn trevelyan #marian hawke #f!hawke

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missandrogyny · 7 years

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Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2016

so!! @alivingfire tagged me in this thing!! originally i wasn’t planning to do it but i figured that eh i should so i at least have something to refer back to next year yay

1. List of works published this year:

if i had the chance, the things i would do to you

that lace shirt

somethin’ bout you

blind from this sweet, sweet craving

to kill the mess we’ve made

day 3: tossed salad

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

i think i’m most proud of somethin’ bout you?? like, when i got the prompt for the spring exchange i was so excited, but also kind of nervous because it was such a huge idea and i’d never written an idea that huge before. i tend to stick to plots that are fluffier, simpler, and less…plotty, so to speak, so having the spring exchange prompt and spinning it the way i wanted to (with the kidnapping and the d/s, etc.) was daunting. there are definitely still parts that i would want to change in it, parts i would rewrite if i had the chance, parts where you can tell that i just got so sick of my own work, and i still want to give it a sequel, but yeah. to me that feels like a child i sent in to a spelling bee and although he didn’t really win any awards, he was still good enough to be in the spelling bee.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

probably my work for the 30 days of smut. i just…didn’t really know what i was working with. like, i didn’t know what the authors before me were doing, and i was way too shy to actually message them and ask and discuss plot, so i just sat on it until a week before it was supposed to be submitted and thought ‘fuck it, i’m just gonna do whatever’. also it was written in past tense, which i completely forgot how to do rip so i spent a lot of time just…reading it and trying to make sense of the tenses and crying over words

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

i’m always, always going to be proud of this paragraph. i don’t really know what came over me at the time of writing, but when i finished i just had this and i just…loved it so much.

(Later, Louis wakes up to find Harry sound asleep beside him. It’s dusk, and the soft light of the afternoon makes him look unreal, almost ethereal. He looks like a star, or perhaps some shooting thing—a meteor, or a comet, maybe. Louis watches as he breathes, as his chest rises and falls, watches the way the light seems to bend to him, making him look like the most beautiful thing to ever exist.

And Louis wants to save this moment, wants to keep him like this forever, naked and asleep in bed, but he knows better—he knows that Harry is a star, and you cannot keep stars like this to yourself. He knows that stars don’t belong here, don’t belong in dusty bedrooms beside boys with sticky fingers. He knows that stars belong in the sky and boys belong on the ground, and even a boy with the stickiest fingers will never be able to keep a star down.

So he gets dressed—slowly, quietly. Harry doesn’t stir at all, too lost in his dreams, and that’s good, because that makes saying goodbye that much easier. A sleeping Harry won’t draw him in with sea foam green eyes and cherry-red lips. A sleeping Harry won’t entice him to stay.

He takes a mental picture, embeds it into his brain, makes sure he has something to remember this by. Then he presses a feather-light kiss onto Harry’s hair, before he’s making his way out the door, closing it gently.

He doesn’t lock the door behind him anymore.)

5. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

whew. i get so many nice reviews on my fics, because people are too nice to me and too kind and they give me more credit than i deserve, honestly. some of my favorite ones are the long ones, the ones that ramble on about the parts that they liked. i also like the ones when people said they stayed up to read it because they couldn’t put it down–it’s so, so flattering, because there are a bunch of fics i stayed up for, and i know the feeling, and people having that feeling over my fics are just ❤️ 😫 (although y’all should…really sleep skjdhfkjads sleep is important)

oh!!! also, i absolutely love it when i get reviews from other writers!! like for example dolce has left a review on…two of my fics and i have each review screenshotted and saved on my phone and i look at them when i’m sad jskdhkjhads i scream about dolce reviewing my fic to anyone who’ll listen tbh

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

it’s kind of shallow, but writing became really, really, really hard when i changed my laptop last august. i don’t know why, it’s like i can’t produce anything i like on my laptop. it’s a psychological thing i’m still trying to get over, even until now.

oh, it was also really hard after my uncle died.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you

ummm. i’d say the way i characterized niall in “if i had the chance, the things i would do to you” surprised me at the time i wrote it. i still have no idea how he turned out like that. but i like it hahhaha.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i think i became a bit more willing to experiment? last year was my first year writing 1d fic so i just mostly stayed in my comfort zone, writing the things i was sure about. this year saw me publishing fics that pushed my boundaries a little bit. somethin’ bout you is one. another is to kill the mess we’ve made, princess’ birthday fic. princess likes things i don’t normally write, so i tried to like, tailor the fic to her interests, which was why it had a bit of angst. my entry for the 30 days of smut was also just one huge experiment, i wanted to see if i could write harry getting rimmed. apparently i could.

also!!! i started actually, properly outlining my work. it’s a messy outline, but it’s an outline, nonetheless and it makes me feel like a proper writer every time i have to refer back to it jsfjkhads

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

i hope that next year (2017) writing comes much easier? of course that’s kind of…like a farfetched ideal, writing will always be difficult but i can always hope, right? i hope that i’ll also be able to write longer fics, maybe even publish a chaptered fic one day with a long plot. i hope to also get a better grasp of harry & louis, and all the rest of the 1d characters, so i can improve the depth of character/write fics with different ships (lirry, anyone? also i want to write an ot5 smut fic that’s my dream). i also want to have a better grasp of angst to be able to spin longer, more complex plots! i have so many hopes why am i so optimistic

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

i, of course, have to mention the person who got me to continue writing 1d fic after the first two i posted in 2015, the person who still consistently makes me write things and every time i give her an idea, she always says “why don’t you write it???” like wow that belief in me. the person who always reads my fics beforehand and screams about the parts she liked/parts she didn’t like (you have no idea how nerve-wracking it was to publish a fic she didn’t read beforehand. because it was a surprise. for her.) princess @britishhusbands always the best and always, always grateful for you.

other writers inspire me too, like rachel @alivingfire honestly rachel you are a huge, huge inspiration and i always tell people you’re the true mvp in the larrie fandom. @crazyupsetter is a huge inspiration as well, whoknows fics are always amazing. um. this year i also read another hazy may for the first time and @/delilah, i just. i think about it a lot. J @latitta are an immensely talented writer, and your words and your works always push me to be the best. @tornorrows i love you and your works, thank you for your words. @haydolce incredibly, incredibly talented, and your fics always make me so happy. @gloriaandrews and @100percentsassy i love your works, whether you write it together or separately, and they’re always a joy and a pleasure to read.

oh!! j @harrysramonesshirt shares the same love for pretty words and quotes and poetry as i do, and she always sends me stuff to inspire me. it’s actually because of her i started a sideblog where i just reblog all the pretty words/quotes/poems i like, and refer back to it when i need inspiration (if you’re curious, you can find it over at @/stylestiques haha) j, thank you for the poems, the words, the another hazy may playlist you made, which has been the only thing i’ve been listening to for the past few months–you’ve been such an amazing source of inspiration.

other people hm. @louisdarling i love you, you know that, you don’t have to do anything to be an inspiration, you already are. @loveliestlarry all the best, amanda, i’m still a shit replier (will i ever not be haha), but thank you nonetheless.

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

uhhh. usually the only thing that shows up from my real life in my works is whenever the character works out/boxes/goes to the gym hahaha. mostly, i draw from other people’s experiences–the small things that other people do, stories they recount back to me, or little throw away comments that they make, usually that’s where i get the inspiration.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

i think just. don’t be afraid to try out new things. like if you like an idea/prompt but are afraid you aren’t good enough for it, try your hand at it anyway. you might just surprise yourself.

also. “fake it till you make it”. a lot of people have an idea but are afraid to write, because they might not be good. i’ll be honest–most of the time i just bullshit my way through fics. so just. bullshit it. don’t be afraid to write shit.

(wow i’m the worst at this)

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

i’m excited to finish my cuddling fic, which has already taken WAY TOO LONG. 😠. i also hope i’ll be able to finish this other fic which has also TAKEN WAY TOO LONG. i’m also looking forward to starting princess’ bday fic this year. AND RACHEL @alivingfire AND I HAVE SOMETHING PLANNED AND I’M SUPER PSYCHED FOR THAT. WE HAVEN’T HAMMERED OUT THE DETAILS YET BUT. IT’S GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY FUN.

14. Tag three writers whose answers you’d like to read. ;)

@turtlekz and @backonefish and @tornorrows hiiiii if you haven’t done this yet!!!!

*All answers should be about works published in 2016. Also, you can skip any questions you hate or don’t want to answer, but please leave them on the list so that others can do them if they want. :)

#wow this was long #sorry #i'm so annoying i said so much shit #tbd

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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Material things don’t define happiness, so why are we obsessed with money?

Book excerpt: In Melissa Leong’s latest book, Happy Go Money, the former Financial Post reporter challenges everyone to revamp their relationship with money. Here’s where to start.

“If I only had a little more money, I’d be happier.”

When was the last time that you had this thought? Every day, we make choices based on the idea that joy can be bought and that more money makes everything better. We take the new job with the extra hour in trafﬁc because it pays more. We put a coat on credit because it’s designer. We buy the big house because it has a yard for our future kids and a kitchen island that’s “an entertainer’s dream.”

To be fair, scientiﬁcally speaking, when we see something we want, a new pair of shoes or a gadget, we do feel joy; it triggers a patch of tissue in the brain, the nucleus accumbens, the so-called sex and money area. It gets activated when humans receive a reward, whether drugs, money or food. Then when we buy something, we get a delicious burst of dopamine in the brain.

That sounds sexy and yummy and all, but the euphoria doesn’t last. Then we just need more stuff. All that crap we buy loses its lustre. When the novelty wears off and the shopping high from the endorphin and dopamine dump dissipates, we’re left with a void and possibly regret.

More people are going broke in Canada as interest rates rise

Tax tips to kickstart 2019 for every age group, from teens to seniors

All the frugality in the world won't let this millennial retire at 45

“Why did I spend money on this?!?” we ask. Because I need it. Because I deserve it. Because I had a rough day. Because I have no willpower. Because it was on sale. Because it’s a habit. Because it was a whim, a knee-jerk reaction. But when you get down to it? Because I want to be happy.

So, what do we actually need to be happy? Let’s break down our thoughts on the subject and rebuild. This is me swinging on a wrecking ball (fully clothed) to help.

The magic number

We all need a certain amount of money to be happy. But how much?

For those of us who are on the verge of losing our homes, who fret about feeding our children, who cringe when the phone rings because debt collectors may be calling, without question, more money will make us happier. But for the rest of us, before connecting cash with joy, we need to talk about what we mean by “happy.”

Scientists in neuroeconomics (the study of how we make economic decisions) break happiness into two types:

1. Life satisfaction: an evaluation of your well-being as a whole (the kind of happy where you’re pleased with life in general). 2. Day-to-day mood: the highs and lows; the joy, stress, sadness, anger and affection that you experience from one moment to the next — how you feel today, how you felt yesterday. (The kind of happy that most of us relate to — the right now happiness.)

With life satisfaction, the richer people got, the more satisﬁed they were with their lives. In worldwide studies, people in richer countries reported higher life satisfaction than those in poorer countries. (We should also consider that wealthier countries are more politically stable, more peaceful and less oppressive — which affects well-being.) But according to a 2018 Purdue University study, there was a limit: $95,000 U.S. (pre-tax, per single-family household). Above that, more money didn’t mean that you were more satisﬁed. With day-to-day happiness, the threshold is $60,000 to $75,000 per household, according to various studies. The 2018 study showed that after these salaries are met, life satisfaction and day-to-day happiness actually slightly decrease with more money.

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What the what?

Well, apparently, when all of our basic needs are met, we become driven by other desires such as chasing after more material stuff and comparing ourselves to others, which make us unhappy. Also, high incomes can come with high demands (more working hours, more stress and less time with family and for leisure).

This doesn’t mean that we should all go out and try to make exactly $75,000 a year — our so-called feel-good ﬁnancial sweet spot. The studies are averages, and we all need different things to be happy. But all of us ﬁnd joy in some simple things — kisses, laughter, getting ID’d over the age of 25.

Marketing professor Hal Hershﬁeld once told me, “Even if I have an amazing car in my driveway, a huge house and a big fat income, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll be happier on a day-by-day basis, because the types of things that inﬂuence happiness are who I interact with, how I spend my time and the things that I do.”

Think of some of your happiest times in the past week. Were you spending it with people? Were you taking time to enjoy an activity, going for a run or catching up with a good friend? Would a wad of cash have made those moments that much better?

Probably not. If you answered “yes” to the latter question, how much more do you need to be happy? Read on.

Your magic number is probably wrong

Let’s do an exercise together.

How happy are you on a scale of one to ten?

Now think about how much money you have in the bank, your salary. How much more money would you need to be a perfect 10?

Michael Norton, who teaches at Harvard Business School and co-authored Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, surveyed average-income earners and high-net-worth Britons (with a net worth of more than $1 million), and he asked them those questions. “Everybody said two to three times as much money,” Norton told me.

“Why is that a problem?” I asked, estimating the same for myself.

“That’s a problem because people at $1 million said, ‘If I had $3 million, I’d be a perfect 10. Except that people who had $3 million said, ‘If I had $9 million, I’d be a perfect 10.’”

Basically, happiness is on a sliding scale. Think about how much this sucks. No matter what you have, you’ll always want more. Even if you have millions. When you ﬁnd the gold at the end of the rainbow, the pot is just too damn small, and then you’re off again, chasing more rainbows.

It’s like a curse really. It also takes the fun out of my childhood dream of winning a million-dollar lottery. That was the very ﬁrst fantasy I ever had: winning a jackpot and marrying one of the New Kids on the Block (anyone but Danny). I’d have fancy clothes and we’d eat at Red Lobster every weekend. (Still my idea of a hot date today.)

But despite what we may think, winning the lottery doesn’t buy you a one-way ticket to Euphoria Town. Take this famous study from 1978 where researchers asked two very different groups about their happiness: recent Illinois State Lottery winners who scored $50,000 to $1 million and recent victims of catastrophic accidents who were now paraplegic or quadriplegic. They asked the lottery winners and the accident victims to rate how happy they were at that stage of their lives, how happy they were before the life-altering event and how happy they expected to be in a few years. They asked them to rate how pleasant they found simple activities (talking with a friend, watching TV, eating breakfast, buying clothes, getting a compliment, etc.).

Seriously? Who’s happier, the person cruising in the wheelchair or in the Lamborghini?

Yes, the lottery winners were happier in the moment. The winners reported feeling more present happiness. But the people with disabilities rated their future happiness higher. They also enjoyed the simple things in life more: they had more appreciation for the mundane pleasures of things such as hearing a joke or reading a magazine. Actually, research shows a link between high income and a reduced ability to savour small pleasures. Experts blame it on hedonic adaptation — our tendency to just get used to whatever we have. Even a dramatic life improvement eventually becomes the new normal. You don’t smell the roses because they’re everywhere, any time of the day. And research has shown that our inner thermostats are set some-where between happiness and sadness: they can rise and fall depending on circumstance, but they generally return to that baseline. So, if you were a miserable moaner before hitting the jackpot, you’ll likely just be a rich miserable moaner.

In another real-life example, Markus Persson, who created Minecraft and sold it to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014, reportedly bought a $70-million mansion, complete with a candy wall, vodka and tequila bars, designer ﬁre extinguishers (because safety ﬁrst, fashion second) and 15 bathrooms equipped with $5,000 remote-control operated toilets with air deodorizers and heated seats. But in 2015, he tweeted, “Hanging out in Ibiza with a bunch of friends and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I’ve never felt more isolated.” In another tweet, he said, “The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes impossible due to imbalance.”

Now this could be super depressing to you. For me, it’s reassuring. It tells me that no single event or any material thing or external factor ultimately deﬁnes my happiness. Human beings are adaptable. A million dollars or a misfortune, over time, can become the new normal. Sure, with money, you’ll enjoy stylishly ﬁghting ﬁre with your Louis Vuitton extinguisher, but the riches may also make old pleasures seem less enjoyable.

So remember, there’s a better use of your money than playing the lottery. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot prize are 1 in 292 million — and odds are that more money won’t guarantee that your days will be happier anyway.

Your happy money to-do list

If you ﬁnd yourself thinking, “If I only had [insert anything], I’d be happy,” challenge it. Ask your partner or co-worker or friend to poke you (lovingly) if they ever hear you say that phrase. It’ll be like that awful baby shower game where you can’t say “baby” — but for your life.

If you’re relying on something (or someone) to make you happy, you’re wasting your time and energy. If afﬁrmations are your jam, write this down and stick it somewhere: “I control my own happiness.”

Name three big things that make you happy regardless of money (good health or a loving partner). Now name three very speciﬁc things (sleeping in on the weekend, your jam on repeat). Repeat the exercise every time you feel crappy about your ﬁnancial situation — or any situation.

Stop playing the lottery. Now. Next time you want to play the lottery, buy someone a coffee or put the money into a donation box instead for a guaranteed happiness payoff.

Money talks

If you think more money would make you happier, how much more?

How would your life be better with more money?

Think of a time when you made less money. Were you unhappier then? How much?

Think of some of your happiest moments from the last week. Would more money have made those moments better?

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2ADhzza via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

#IFTTT #Financial Post

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cathygeha · 6 years

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MAKE ME CRAVE, an all-new enemies to lovers story from Katee Robert is LIVE!

In MAKE ME CRAVE by NYT Bestselling Author, Katee Robert, Roman Bassani will do anything to close a deal. Even chase down Allie Landers on her Caribbean vacation to make an offer on her company.

Add MAKE ME CRAVE to your TBR pile on Goodreads then keep reading to get a sneak peek excerpt and enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card or one of three (3) ebooks from Katee Robert’s backlist!

Title: Make Me Crave

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 1, 2018

Publisher: Harlequin Dare

Series: Make Me

Page Count: 144 pages

Format: Digital

ASIN: B0779DL61K

Synopsis:

“I crave you…” Can their hunger be satisfied? Roman Bassani will do anything to close a deal. Even chase down Allie Landers on her Caribbean vacation to make an offer on her company. He expects a challenge—but not their immediate intense attraction. After an accidental one-night stand they agree to put business aside—for now. The island lulls them into a heated sexual journey…but what happens to their opposing interests when they return from paradise? “Dare is Harlequin’s hottest line yet. Every book should come with a free fan. I dare you to try them!” —Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author

Available at:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/MakeMeCraveAmazon

B&N: http://bit.ly/MakeMeCraveBN

iTunes: http://bit.ly/MakeMeCraveiTunes

Kobo: http://bit.ly/MakeMeCraveKobo

Praise for Make Me Crave

“Make me Crave by Katee Robert is such an amazing and captivating read that you will not put it down. Sexy, fiesty, hotness, chemistry, laughter and love Make me Crave is a must read for all book lovers. This is hands down in my opinion the best book that I have ever read by Katee Roberts.”—Goodreads review

“Wow! I can't emphasize enough how much I loved Make Me Crave (Make Me #2). It has sass, steam and great characters with loads of chemistry. Katee Robert is definitely an author on my ‘must read’ list.”—Goodreads review

“Hello Adonis! Roman is just...yeah. I mean, sex on a stick with a good heart (despite his past misdeeds), and a more than capable brain! Allie is his perfect match and their time together sets the pages on fire while making you root for them to get more than just the pleasure they find from each other on the island! A great book!”—Goodreads review

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card or one of three (3) ebooks from Katee Robert’s backlist!

Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29539/?

Make Me Crave Excerpt

Allie was so furious, she could barely put two words together. “You don’t get to just decide that we’re having a conversation and haul me out here to do it.”

“If I was going to haul you anywhere, it’d be over my shoulder.”

Her body clenched at the thought of him doing exactly that, but she fought her reaction back. “You are insufferable. Do you know when the last time I had a vacation was? Ten goddamn years ago when I was still in freaking high school and on spring break. Ten. Years. Becka had to twist my arm to get me here, but I was enjoying myself—”

“I know exactly how thoroughly you were enjoying yourself.”

She ignored that because if she tried to deny it, she’d be a red-faced liar. “That changes nothing. The point is that I’m not enjoying myself now, and the only one to blame for that is you.” She went to push him back a step, but her hands had a will of their own. They stayed on his chest, and she sucked in a breath at how warm his skin was. The man might be a corporate suit, but he looked perfectly at home in his shorts without a shirt on here in the growing darkness near the beach. It was almost enough to forget all the reasons she never wanted to see him again.

Allie stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Nothing you say can make me believe you’re anything but a goddamn shark.”

“Who said I’m trying to convince you of anything?” The words brushed her mouth as he leaned down, just a little. “I am a shark, Allie. I’ve never pretended to be anything else.”

She started to call him a liar, but he was telling the truth. He hadn’t tried to seduce her with sweet words to get her into his bed—he’d offered her exactly what she wanted in as many words. Black-and-white. Simple.

It wasn’t simple at all.

“I despise you.”

“You want me.” His hands rested lightly on her hips. “It tears you up inside that you crave my cock, but you can’t fight it no matter how hard you try.” He backed her up, step by slow step, until she bumped a tree. Roman kept coming, the side of his face brushing hers. “Did you think about how good it’d feel to have my fingers sliding into these yoga pants?”

“No.”

“Who’s the liar now, Allie?” His lips caressed her earlobe. “I’d love a private yoga session. Just us. No friends, no instructors, no clothes. How long do you think we’d last before I was on my back and you were riding my cock?”

She couldn’t breathe. Her skin felt too tight, as if it were several sizes too small, and her core pulsed in time with her racing heart. “I would never—”

“No, Allie. No more lies between us. You’re pissed that I’m here—I get that—and you’re even more pissed that you want me. Trust me, I know the feeling. I was never supposed to fuck you, and if I’d known who you were…”

She leaned back enough to look at his face—or what she could see of it in the darkness. “If you’d known who I was, you wouldn’t have gone there with me.”

Roman cursed. “Even if I’d known your name, that wouldn’t have stopped me from wanting you. Needing you.”

She stroked her hands down his chest to the waistband of his shorts. “Do you need me now?”

“I never stopped.”

This was the worst idea. She needed her head clear, and it was nothing but muddled around Roman. He was too big, too beautiful, too overpowering. Even now, she leaned forward, the few inches between them too much distance. He let her, his hands on her hips branding her—but not trying to guide her. Allie inhaled deeply. “Do you drug your cologne? Because, seriously, how am I supposed to think straight when you smell so good?”

He chuckled. “I’m not wearing any.”

He was gorgeous and a god in the bedroom, and he had to smell good naturally. Because of course. “I don’t like you.”

“You don’t know me.”

She could argue that, but it didn’t feel completely accurate. Allie traced the waistband of his shorts with her fingers. She shouldn’t…but she was going to. She unbuttoned his shorts and slipped her hand in to grip his cock. “I don’t have to know you—I know this.”

“You’re playing with fire.”

“Maybe.” Definitely. If she was smart, she’d release him, walk away and spend the rest of her vacation in as close to bliss as she could get, throwing herself into relaxation before she had to go back to reality. She stroked him again, liking the way his body went tense but his hands stayed still on her hips.

As if he was waiting for permission.

The realization sent a thrill through her. She kept stroking his cock, teasing him. “Did you really think it would be that easy?”

“What would?” He spoke through gritted teeth, and her body gave another thrill of pleasure.

“Getting your way.” She squeezed him around the base and nudged his pants down a little farther so she could cup his balls with her free hand. “You thought you’d show up here, interrupt my vacation and, what? I’d fall all over myself to give you exactly what you wanted?”

Roman released one of her hips and braced his hand on the tree behind her. The move brought him closer to her, but not so close that he impeded her movements. She stroked him harder as he slid his cheek against hers, his breathing hitching with every downstroke. He nipped her earlobe. “Isn’t that exactly what happened last night?”

She glared and gave his balls a squeeze that was just shy of vicious. “You’re awfully cocky for someone who’s got their nether bits in my hands.”

“They’re very capable hands.” He shifted to press butterfly kisses along her jaw and down her neck even as his hand on her hip squeezed her. “Don’t stop.”

“I should.” She didn’t. “I should stop right now and leave you with a wicked case of blue balls.” Why was her breath coming as harshly as his? He’d barely touched her, but having his cock in her hands and him so close… Intoxicating. There was no other word for it.

Roman gave her collarbone an openmouthed kiss and dragged his hand up her side to palm her breast. “I’ll just go back to my villa and jack myself off thinking of your sweet pussy. Not as good as the real thing—nothing is—but you gave me more than enough inspiration to get the job done.” He tugged the strap of her tank top off her shoulder. It was one of those things with a built-in bra, so the motion freed her breast. He repeated the move with the other side, and she shivered as the breeze coming in off the water teased her nipples. “Beautiful,” Roman murmured.

“You go overboard with the compliments.” She kept up her leisurely stroking. It was like the rest of the world ceased to exist outside their little sphere. It was just her and Roman, driving each other crazy.

“I give credit where credit is due.” He bent and sucked one nipple into his mouth. The position meant she had to let go of his cock, which she did with reluctance. He cupped her through her yoga pants, the coolness of the tree against her back only highlighting how warm his body was. “If I slipped my hand in here, would I find you wet and wanting? I think so.” He traced a single finger up the seam of the pants—right over her clit. “I think having my cock in your hands turned you on as much as the fact that we’re ten yards away from the bar and anyone coming up from the beach will get the show of their life.”

She pushed back against him even as her hips rolled into his touch. “That’s not true.”

“Liar.” She felt more than heard the word as his breath caressed her neck. “You get off on this as much as I do.” Another stroke through the fabric. “Would you take my cock right here, right now?”

She started to say yes, but common sense reared its ugly head. “I’m not fucking you without a condom.”

“Mmm.” He kissed her neck. “I know.” Roman pulled her pants down in a swift movement. She started to protest, but he went to his knees in front of her and yanked her foot free. Oh. He looped one leg over his shoulder and she caught the glimpse of white teeth when he grinned. “Have a little faith, Allie. I’m not a complete monster.” And then his mouth was on her pussy and she didn’t have the breath to argue.

About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension." When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

http://www.barclaypublicity.com/

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