This excerpt is from The Last Resort, my WIP. Just a snippet, cut down for proper size.
*******************************************
A yellow jeep sat in the bodega parking lot. My stomach dropped. Rye strolled across the pavement, whistling, his arms heavy with shopping bags. Zoe dragged me across the alley towards him.
“Hey hot stuff, we need your help,” she said.
“Nice to see you Zoe . . . Evie . . .” His eyes seemed to brighten as he said my name. I swallowed down the butterflies rising through my chest. “I’m always willing to come to the aid of a damsel, or sea nymph, in distress. How can I be of service today?”
Zoe nudged me forward. My voice seemed to be snagged somewhere in my throat. I stood taut as wild horse about to bolt.
“I need twenty-five dollars cash to open my dead husband’s post office box.” The words just burst out, harsh and forthright. My fists clenched at my sides.
Rye’s face hardened. He crossed his arms and leaned with a deliberate grace against his jeep. He studied my face, taking in each freckle dotting my flaring nostrils, each eyelash quivering as I seethed.
“What can you give me for collateral?” His voice was firm and smooth, his eyes slits, measuring my worth.
“Collateral?” It was twenty-five dollars, not a high-risk mortgage. Was he making fun of me because he knew I defaulted, my credit was gone? Why was every man out make my life impossible?As hysteria threatened to send me over the edge, I noticed a tic jumping from the side of his lips. His chest jerked against his forearms,and soft snorts escaped though his slightly asymmetric nose. Then the dam burst and laughter spilled from him in choppy waves.
“Relax, Evie. Didn’t you ever watch or read Gone With the Wind?”
I blinked at him blankly.
“Famous book? Oscar winning film? Rhett was in the horse jail. Scarlett asked him for money to save her plantation. She blurted it out just like you did.” He shrugged and flashed his suggestive half smile. “I just couldn’t resist a little tease.” ****
I nearly melted into the asphalt sizzling below me. Fate was fucking with me. As a teen I’d cuddled up with my worn copy, dreaming of luring the shameless Rhett Butler away from his lusty ladies of the night, of becoming a woman so irresistible he couldn’t live without me. Layla said my infatuation with the cad had left me destined for a life full of scoundrels and bad boys. Like my former husband. Like Rye.
The man standing before me looked far too blonde and scruffy to be mistaken for a swarthy Clark Gable, but he was just as sexy, just as dangerous, and much more attainable. I didn’t want to give a damn.
“Of course I’ve read it. It’s just been a rough day. You caught me off guard.”
“That seems to happen often.”
“And if I recall correctly, Rhett was asking for quite a bit more in collateral than I’m willing to provide.”
“Hmm. . .” Rye pulled out his wallet. He removed three bills and fanned them between his erect fingers. “So, you’re not willing to become my mistress for twenty-five bucks?”
“Not a chance. But I will gladly borrow your money, thank you very much, and return it to you as soon as I find a working ATM in this ass-backward country.” I snatched the bills from his fingers, startled by the charge created by the brief brush against his skin. “I’ve already spent too much of my life being a kept woman. It’s high time I struck out on my own.” Flashing my most flirtatious smile, I pivoted away from him, and strutted away on my terms. “Besides, you couldn’t afford me.”
His hand cupped my shoulder, halting me mid-step. “Forgive me for being so forward,
but. . .” His hand slid down to my hip. My gasp sounded more like a drunken hiccup as he firmly and slowly brushed against the seat of my jeans. Shock waves coursed through my body.
but. . .” His hand slid down to my hip. My gasp sounded more like a drunken hiccup as he firmly and slowly brushed against the seat of my jeans. Shock waves coursed through my body.
“You had dirt on your pants. We wouldn’t want you going around town with everyone staring at your derriere for the wrong reason, now would we?”
Damn it. I just could not be around this man without turning my own shade of scarlet.
******************************************
And if you were wondering about the waterfall from the last excerpt/prompts (Into the Wild), this was my inspiration for the ethereal setting.
Linking this up with the Yeah Write Challenge. Check it out.
