Welcome to the Spring 2014 Fool for Love Blog Hop! If you haven’t participated before, click the banner at the top of this post and check out all the amazing authors we have for you this weekend. The grand prize is an ereader and there are a host of other prizes, including a copy of Noon and Wilder’s latest release, TIGER TIGER.
Since our theme this hop is “Fool for Love,” I thought I’d share something totally new – a scene from our upcoming release from LooseId (which is, coincidentally, the theme of Friday’s A-Z Challenge, with “D for Domovoi“). Read on, MacDuff!
“I’ve wanted to ask you.” Vanya turned to Ari. “Could you show us your snake form?”
Ari frowned and gazed at him, his clear green eyes quizzical. “Are you serious? Why?”
“I’m curious how your transformation differs from what I’ve read about shifters.”
Vanya kept to himself King’s rant on how dangerous lamiae were when he caught Vanya reading the battered book about them.
Ari shrugged. “Sure.”
He leaned over and set his beer in the holder on the table nearby and stood watching them for a moment. A shimmer appeared in the air and a giant Burmese python sat coiled on the seat and the side of the boat where Ari had been. His tongue tasted the air and he undulated forward to drape himself around Vanya’s shoulders.
Vanya froze, eyes wide. “Um…”
Crap, he’d been curious, but not that curious to see Ari again up close in snake form.
“Don’t move quickly, or you’ll spook him.” Mike smirked as he walked up and sat down. “Don’t scare the kid, Ari.”
Ari’s tail looped around the edge of the boat behind Vanya’s perch and he slithered onto the boat from Vanya’s body, moving with a soft hissing of scales. His head, even with Vanya, wove back and forth with the gentle movement of the boat.
Only one problem. His tail slipped backward off the slanted edge of the boat, dropping toward the water whizzing by below. He didn’t appear to notice it, either, intent on mesmerizing Vanya by weaving his head back and forth in front of Vanya’s face.
“Um, Ari?”
“Hush, now. Don’t interrupt.” Mike’s voice held the flavor of a laugh and he regarded Vanya with twinkling eyes. “He wants to show off for you, let him.”
Nash took a sip from his bottle, hiding his smirk behind it.
“But…” Vanya trailed off, helpless to do anything as more of Ari’s body slithered backward off the edge of the boat. “Do snakes get drunk?”
“All the time.” Mike sounded smug.
“Ari, your tail!” Vanya blurted.
Ari’s eyes widened and he turned to regard his body, but his bulky mass slid with increasing speed off the side of the boat. They hit a swell and bounced and, with a loud splash, Ari disappeared over the side.
Be sure to visit the other authors of the Fool for Love hop and share your love; comments will enter you in the drawing for the grand prize and other prizes. Enjoy!
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– E.E. Cummings
Check out EMERALD FIRE, available from Torquere Books.
Check out “Seeking Hearts“, available from Torquere Books.
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Noon and Wilder links: Blog | Taurus and Taurus (NSFW) | Website | Facebook
Publishers: LooseId | Samhain Publishing | Torquere Press