Sunday Snippet: Various Reasons

Ugh. I've hit the nasty cold wall and did not bounce back. Bleh. I can happily say it's the first really icky cold I've had this winter.

Anyway, on to fun stuff. The third episode of Bitten rocked. I'm looking forward to seeing how different the elements play out from the books. So far, I love the changes. The Flash and Arrow each turned in solid episodes. Have to wait until mid-March for a new episode of The Flash, which is probably a good thing. I'm probably in the minority, but I actually want a lot less Iris. She's not my favorite character.

Tonight's post is from Various Reasons, a novella where my established couple decides whether to take their relationship to the next step.

Here's the tagline:

Paloma and Cedric keep putting off thinking or talking about the future—they've got a fae war on their hands, but after a particularly ugly skirmish, Paloma decides it's time to open the topic for discussion. Cedric is so shocked, he's not quite sure he believes her, but once Paloma gets through the list of various reasons, he's close to getting on board.

And the preview snippet…

Paloma crashed back against the wall and slid downward, crouching behind the dumpster. Cedric stumbled over and sank to his knees beside her. The stench from the hellhounds emanated from each and they wrinkled their noses.

Cedric heaved a sigh. "You okay? Injured?" He angled around, propping his back against the brick wall.

Paloma nodded. "I'm fine, just winded. Never fought a whole pack before." The number of hounds had nothing to do with her earlier distraction, but she wouldn't share her reason.

Not yet. She wanted to get her head around the revelation first.

Cedric shrugged out of his jacket, covered in noxious and foul hell hound saliva.

He tossed it up into the open dumpster, which smelled better than either of them.

He shuddered. "We need a shower." He wiped his hands on his jeans, but they were probably worse than the jacket.

Paloma snorted. "Ugh. We need a decon chamber." She slowly got up and threw her jacket into the trash bin, too. "I'd strip down right here if we didn't have to cross the boulevard to go back under."

Cedric cracked a smile. "Would be fun to watch you streak across the road, though." He chuckled and started for the street."

Paloma grabbed his arm. "Hey, once we're all shiny and clean, let's find a quiet spot." Her hand slid down his arm to grasp his fingers. "I don't feel like the usual celebratory bash at the Crescent Moon tonight." Too loud for the serious conversation she needed to have with Cedric.

His brows knit, but only for a moment. "Sure. Sounds great." He tugged her forward, heading across the road. "Rooftop in about an hour?"

Paloma grinned. Leave it to Cedric to pick the perfect spot.

She darted around him, trotting down the steps to the underground first. "Yeah… if it doesn't take longer than sixty minutes to get the stink of the hounds off." She glanced back over her shoulder. "I swear my pores are oozing the putrid smell."

Cedric laughed. "Look, if it takes longer, it does. I'll be there."

She kicked the loose tile and pushed the door open when the mechanism unlocked it. She dragged the Henley shirt over her head and jammed it into the trash can beside the door.

Clad in her sports bra and jeans, she started for the shower area. "I'm burning the rest of my clothes. Bring a lighter, will you?"

Cedric shook his head, but answered. "Yeah, yeah. I'll bring one."

She gave him a waggle-fingered wave and ducked into the huge bathroom lined with showers. Stripping off the rest of her clothes, she hurried and turned the spray on, relishing the hot water hitting her skin, feeling more steady and certain with each passing moment.

She wanted forever with Cedric, even if their version might get cut short.

So, Paloma knows what she wants, now she has to convince Cedric. J

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye