Snippet from Book 3 of 7 of Jackie's Journey. (855 Words)
I suppose I need to get cracking on my third installment of Jackie's Journey as the September 23rd deadline looms over my head. In the meantime, I couldn't resist sharing this little teaser of an introduction that I weaved this morning. It highlights some of the humour shared between my MC and her lover. A testament to their growing bond. This story will be the darkest installment of the series so I felt a little light-hearted humour would create a bit of balance. I do hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠.
“𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍.” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠.
𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜. 𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍.
“𝙼𝚖𝚖𝚖𝚖” 𝙷𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗. “𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢.”
𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑. 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚡-𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍, 𝚌𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚜. 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍’𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜.
“𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.” 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚔.
𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚞𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚞𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚗𝚘𝚠-𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝.
“𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎?” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚎.
“𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏.” 𝙷𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛.
“𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝?” 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗.
𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝟷𝟻 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚡-𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜.
“𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎 𝙼𝚛. 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚝𝚝?” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢.
𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎 𝙸𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛. 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎’𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚞𝚐, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚘𝚌𝚔-𝚒𝚗𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙴𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚐𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚒-𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚕𝚞𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔-𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢. 𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚢.
“𝙱𝙴𝙷𝙾𝙻𝙳!” 𝙷𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢. “𝙴𝚡𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚇𝚇𝚇.” 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙-𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍.
𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚝. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚍. 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚐𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚡-𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙. 𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚎-𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎.
“𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚎?” 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘.
“𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕-𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚢.” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚐𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎.
“𝙵𝚊𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐.” 𝙷𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢. “𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛?” 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙-𝚘𝚗.
“𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚐𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚛. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.
“𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚖?” 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚘 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝.
𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚎. “𝙷𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.”
𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗. “𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗?”
𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖.
“𝙰𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜...” 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚗. “...𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔.”
𝚁𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚙-𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢.
Well... I do hope you enjoyed this little excerpt. It's not steamy by any means, but I think it alludes to so much potential. As I have written above, Betrayal of Boundaries will be available on September 23rd, 2021 on Amazon and FREE on Kindle Unlimited. I am sincerely looking forward to reading any questions or comments you have below.
Keep it spicy...
Steph XO