True Love is…

Yesterday’s panini: a couple slices of deli roast beef, slice of Monterey jack, and a red onion/balsamic vinegar reduction on vegan buttered garlic and herb bread. YUM.

But anyway…

My oldest gave me a valentine with a temporary tattoo–Jack Sparrow’s face. Guess where Jack is now, *weg*

Today being the day of love (as defined by Hallmark for all you cynics), I thought I would post a love-laden excerpt. This is an exchange between Liam and Sheila, the characters in my Coming Together story My Right Breast. I happen to have a copy of the ebook to give away that I never did, so I figure I will make it a special surprise contest for blog surfers. Leave me a comment here or on my Livejournal and I’ll enter you to win a copy for a very happy Valentine’s day! Bonus points if you catch the obscure homage line.

Now on to the excerpt (adult material, and please don’t steal it):

“All right, Liam, I get it.” She stamped a foot in a fit
of temper, red curls bouncing off her shoulders. “I
realize what you’re doing here, but my question was
legit. Don’t ignore me.”

Liam frowned. “You’re the one ignoring me. I can’t
believe you would suggest for a moment that I want
anything, anyone but you. You’ve been mine from the
day we met, and I promised you, first when I married
you, and again when I collared you, that you were
mine forever. I don’t go back on promises, and I don’t
give up because of a bump in the road.” He narrowed
his expression, lines creasing his forehead. He said
nothing, but the look he gave her was at once fiercely
loyal and extremely pissed off. It was his Dominant
look, the look she needed to put her back into focus.

Sheila’s stomach tightened, and she began to
shake slightly with the effort of meeting his eyes. All
she wanted to do was fall on her knees in front of him,
bow her head and await his instruction. She wanted to
feel the heavy thud of their flogger on her back,
wanted the sting of the paddle to help bring her back
to her place as his. But she couldn’t, wouldn’t give in
to her needs until she knew for sure he could love her
as she was now; sick and flawed and broken.

“This is no bump in the road.” Cringing at the
expression, she swallowed a lump in her throat and
continued. “Liam, I’m sick. We don’t even know for
sure the treatment will work, or if he got it all when he
butchered me. You’re young; you could have a life,
kids, all the things we wanted. I don’t want you tied
down to me because I’m…”

He balled his hands into fists, taking deep breaths.
He looked angrier than she had ever seen him before.
He seemed to put immense effort in to his next phrase,
carefully enunciating each word as though she was
hard of hearing. “I. Love. You. No other woman. Look,
you know I was no angel before we met. I was a love
‘em and leave ‘em guy. We’ve talked for hours about
the day we met, the magic that crossed between our
fingers when I pulled you out of that car. No couple in
a century has been so lucky—right down to our tastes
in the bedroom.

“We were meant to be together, and I can’t believe
you are suggesting otherwise now! Now when my wife
is sick, and it is my duty to care for her and get her
what she needs so she can mend and be back on her
knees in front of me.”

Aw, sniffles. I don’t care if it is a Hallmark holiday, I still enjoy me some lovin’. Happy Valentines Day to you all!

One last thing. Today is also V-day, dedicated to ending violence against women everywhere. Do your part. This shit has got to end, for good.