Heading out of Town!

I am leaving tonight or tomorrow morning to go to Utah to get all of the painting and renovations done on our house before we have piddly little things in the way like, yanno, furniture. So I will be out and with no (or extremely limited) internet access for the next nine days. Miss me!!:) I will spend about an hour each night working on Cymbals and will hopefully make some good strides on it. It is currently 92,000 words long and I will not even feel comfortable with it until it is over 100,000 words and I am shooting for 105,000 which is how long Chain is. I am having so much fun with it and cannot wait to share it with you! So I think I will leave you with one more little teaser. Have a great week, I know I will!!

**

She’em stopped. Norine walked a few more paces before turning around to look for him. “Do you remember me?” he asked.

Norine shook her head. “Should I?”

She’em grinned. “You tried to kill me at Fala ab Candidus.”

Norine’s eyes widened. He’s a spy! He’s one of Gambrin’s men. She spun and tried to run but he grabbed her wrist. She tried to twist her arm away but the man’s grip was like a steel vice!

She’em chuckled. “Not like that, Miss deMontrel. I was one of the rescue party.”

Norine stopped struggling and tried to calm her breathing. She smoothed her skirts and tried to salvage a speck of her shattered dignity. Of course he wasn’t a spy; Ferren wouldn’t leave her alone with a spy. But she still felt anxious and awkward—as if she were stepping too heavily and breathing too loudly.

She’em looked at her. “May I call you Norine?”

“Certainly,” she answered automatically, then blushed again wondering what exactly he was asking. She looked pointedly at her wrist and She’em released it. She turned and continued walking down the hall. She’em fell into step beside her.

“I came running after you when you were leaving The Ruins. You threw a piece of the wall at my head.” He laughed, his deep baritone voice filling the hall. “Not that I blame you. I probably looked rather savage."

Norine ducked her head in apology. “I don’t remember. Everything is still a blur.” She paused. “I hope I didn’t hit you.”

She’em looked at her playfully. “I’m too fast for that.”

He was staring at her. She couldn’t help staring back. When had she stopped walking? Abruptly, she cleared her throat and turned, mounting the stairs with hurried steps. When she reached the opulent suites Ferren had stayed in the last time he was here, She’em opened the door for her.

“Should I light your lamps?”

“I’m quite capable,” Norine replied tersely.

“Of that I am sure,” She’em said with a grin and a quick bow. Then the door closed and he was gone. **

Ciao!!