To celebrate the cover reveal for the Me + You anthology coming out in June this year (check out the Goodreads page here and don't forget to add it to your TBR list!) Jade Royal and I did a Live Write in the Facebook reader's group on Wednesday April 4th. With kind permission from Jade, here's the final result!
And just a note; this was TERRIFYING. I'd never done a public Live Write before, really had no idea how it was supposed to go, and with Jade going first, massively panicked! Still, I think it turned out alright in the end :D
STRANDED WITH YOU
Based on the following photo prompt...
Jade: She choked for the first time and I removed my mouth from hers. Water finally broke free from her once still lips. Finally!
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She continued to cough as I sat her up.
She nodded but she didn't look well.
"Cara?"
"Yes... I'm fine. I... it happened so fast. The water rushed me and I lost my balance."
She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close.
"Thank you, Daniel."
My heart was racing way too fast. I couldn't lose her ever. She meant too much and the thought of losing her was way too much. I loved her that much. My sweet Cara.
Cait: I turned my head to look out to sea. “Uh, Daniel… the boat?”
“Yeah, about that.” He scrubbed a hand through his soaked, sandy hair. “I think we might be stranded.”
“Stranded?” I shrieked
“Yeah. I dived off the boat after you when you went overboard and the waves carried you so fast, it was quicker to bring you to shore rather than go after the boat.” Daniel pointed out to sea. “And now it’s about two miles out.”
I could just see the distant speck bobbing in the distance. Well. There went our romantic sunset cruise on Daniel’s yacht, then. On the other hand…
Turning to smile up at him, I said coyly “Are you telling me we’re stranded together on a deserted island?”
Jade: I kissed her briefly and wagged my eyebrows at her.
"That's exactly what it means. Except I don't think we're alone."
I motioned to the trees where the deer was chewing on the greens.
Cara giggled and shifted in my arms. "Its so cute!"
"And I bet he'll taste magnificent."
"Daniel!"
"What?! Who doesn't like good deer meat?"
"Me, silly!"
I wrapped my arms around her and nipped her ear, loving the sound of my name on her lips.
Cait: Daniel didn’t seem too concerned about us being stranded, and frankly with his arms around me I was finding it difficult to be worried either. Besides, the island probably wasn’t even deserted. Deer living there meant fresh water, which probably meant humans too…
Daniel bit my ear, making me jump, and my stray thoughts subsided like smoke on the breeze. His hand gliding up my thigh made me shiver, wanton thoughts invading my brain.
“Do you think we could? Here?”
“Well, maybe not on this rock,” he rumbled, his voice amused. “Might be a bit hard on that beautiful ass of yours.”
I had to laugh as he helped me to my feet, though it soon turned to coughing. I’d definitely swallowed more seawater than was good for me when I fell off the boat.
"You okay, angel?" Daniel lifted me up to carry me across the sand to the edge of the trees. The deer fled as we approached.
Jade: "So much for your dinner."
"Exactly."
The trees whispered as the wind rattled its leaves. The sun dimmed underneath the shade chilling my skin against the cold wet clothes. If I was beginning to cool, Cara had to be freezing. I saw her teeth chatter and I pulled her shirt over head after removing mine.
"Let's get you warm."
Cait: “Please don’t say you’re going to make me do jumping jacks or something else from your crazy exercise routine?” Not that I objected to his exercise routine. My eyes skimmed over the results; broad, heavily muscled shoulders, thick pecs, an eight-pack of magnificent abs. God, he was a beautiful man. And mine. All mine.
“I was thinking mutual exercise, actually.” Daniel was grinning, that wicked grin which had first drawn me to him. The grin which said exactly what he was thinking.
“Better get out of the rest of these wet clothes then, hm?” It was easy for me, with only bikini bottoms to pull down, but Daniel’s denim shorts were stuck tightly to him. We were both giggling by the time we’d wrestled them off him, and he nearly poked me in the eye, too.
Jade: "Hey! Watch it."
"Aww... want me kiss it better?"
"Umm..."
I knew she did. She liked my mouth on just any part of her. I looked her over admiring every single curve of her. I kissed her belly first. Id been lucky enough that she'd bared a son for me.
"Daniel..."
I kissed up between her breasts and up her neck to her pouty lips. One day soon...
I picked up her hand and kissed her finger. It needed a brand that told the world just how special she was to me. I hated every moment that it was bare.
"Cara, how much do you love me?"
Cait: “Daniel, that’s a crazy question! I’d do anything for you. You know that.”
He smiled, ducking his head bashfully. It was crazy, how this gorgeous, powerful, wealthy man seemed to lack confidence when it came to me. Yes, we had a Past with a capital P, but that was all behind us now.
“I wanted tonight to be special. Did you know it’s our tenth anniversary?”
I blinked up at him. “It is?”
“Ten years to the day since I first saw you. I knew then I wanted you to be mine, and I’m even more sure of it now.” Reaching for the discarded shorts, he dug in a pocket to produce a velvet bag. “I was gonna ask you over dinner, but as usual when I try to do something romantic for you, everything turns into a total farce.”
He wasn’t wrong… but this was still the most romantic moment of my life, as I watched him pull a glittering diamond ring from the tiny bag.
Jade: "Cara Eileen Pace, I've loved you since the day I saw you. Nothing in my life makes me as happy as you do. You're strong, smart, funny, a great mother, a beautiful woman, and the other half of my heart. Angel, will you make me the proudest man in the world by being my wife? Will you make an honest man of me like I plan to make an honest woman of you? Marry me, babe."
"You had me at the ring. Yes!!!"
I slipped the ring on to her finger and she squealed before she pulled me down on top of her, kissing me with as much emotion as I had. Maybe today wouldn't turn out half bad. She pulled away from me by only a mere inch.
"Daniel, now will you make love to me?"
How could I say no to that?
"Damn right!"
Cait: I held him close, closing my eyes as his mouth kissed slowly down my neck. Daniel liked to take his time, and now we had all the time in the world. The ring on my finger felt perfectly right, and though some people might say we’d done things in the wrong order, I didn’t care. I was going to be Daniel’s wife at long last, our son Riley making a family, maybe with more to come one day. A little girl with Daniel’s green eyes and dark curls would be a gorgeous addition…
“Ahem,” a throat cleared above us and my eyes snapped open with horror.
A middle-aged man was standing there, watching us with an amused expression.
“Do you folks need rescuing, or should I come back later?”
THE END