This excerpt is from my novel Cost of Living, about everyone's favorite playboy billionaire CEO, Thairon Casid. It's been shelved, and honestly it is not up to par with my current stuff-- but I am absolutely in love with Mr. Casid. This scene isn't, strictly speaking, love at first sight, I guess.But it takes place following Thairon and Setta's first kiss, which was very publicly done on the red carpet, to keep her from having a panic attack. Maybe it's more like the realization of the complications of love at first sight?
It's important to note that Setta is the reincarnation of Thairon's college girlfriend, Gwen, who died in a car crash the night he had intended to propose. Now he's stumbled across Setta twenty years later-- there's a big age gap between them, and Setta has been resisting their involvement. Needless to say, their first kiss was not her idea.
“Do you think they broadcast our kiss?” Setta asked.
Thairon chuckled, tucking her head beneath his chin. “I would be surprised if they didn’t. I’m sorry, Setta. I didn’t mean to make it so public. I suppose, at least it will be unforgettable.” It would probably haunt them both until their dying day. He would have to ask Marcus if he could secure a copy of the footage, whoever had it. Someone must.
“It would’ve been unforgettable, anyway.” She pulled back and looked up at him. “You were serious about staying away from the internet and the news tomorrow, weren’t you?”
“Dead serious.” He could kiss her again, he thought, staring at her lips. Right now. Help her out of her dress. He would love to help her out of that dress. Her skin was so soft. He marveled at it.
She raised a hand to his face and he turned his head to kiss her palm. Somehow, he didn’t think that seducing her was the appropriate response at the moment. That wasn’t the kind of comfort she needed.
“You did it to me before, too.”
He stared down at her, with no idea of what she was talking about.
“What?”
“Kissed me in front of an audience. In the dorm, when I was Gwen. You walked me to my room after our first date, and then in front of a dozen other girls, you kissed me.”
He smiled at the memory. She had been so soft and warm and beautiful, then too. Standing in front of her door, with one hand on the knob, and about to slip right through his fingers and disappear. And he hadn’t been able to stop himself from pulling her back when she tried to turn away. Thinking about it wasn’t helping him control himself now, either.
He forced himself to look into her eyes, instead of staring at her mouth. “I couldn’t let you go.”
“I guess nothing’s really changed, then.” But she didn’t smile, and she dropped her hand.
He let go of her and stepped back. To prove a point. To show her that he could. But her hand caught his as it trailed down her arm and she brought it to her face, pressing it to her cheek. Her other hand gripped the front of his dress shirt, pulling him back. He was all too willing to let her, and when she stood on her toes to press her lips against his, he met with the sudden realization that this last week had been just as agonizing for her as it had been for him.
He kissed her until she went limp and he was holding her up more than she was standing on her own, stopping only to let them both breathe.
She clung to him, her face hidden in the curve of his shoulder, and he stroked her hair, and her back, watching their reflection in the mirror. He had to get her out of that dress before they kissed again, or else he was going to rip it from her body in pieces. “Marry me, Setta.”
She made a noise that was almost a laugh and looked up at him again. “I can’t, Thairon. Do any of this. Not yet.”
How had he forgotten? What the hell was he thinking? “No, of course.” Not yet wasn’t no. And maybe it was just the physical intimacy that frightened her, not the idea of marrying him. He hadn’t even considered what the implications were. All that emotion. All that emotion funneled right into her, on top of her own. He let her go and stepped back. “Take as long as you need.”
She dropped her eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“You should get out of that dress. I’ll have Marcus send it to be dry-cleaned.” He didn’t know what else to say. But if he didn’t say something, he was going to start kissing her again, and he wasn’t sure that either one of them would have the presence of mind to stop. He knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t want her to stop him, either. To salve his pride. And then what? She’d suffered enough already tonight, and things were only going to get more complicated tomorrow. “Get some sleep, Setta.”
He left the room before he lost his self control. A swim would help. He'd work off some of the energy he would much rather expend on her person, until he was too tired to imagine what he wanted to do with her.
This scene makes me very curious to learn more of the backstory. Nice!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the male POV. Love the push-pull tension between them!
ReplyDeleteI love the premise. The scene is powerful -- I can't help but wonder why this one got shelved!
ReplyDeleteVery fun tension! Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteFrankie: I'm glad!
ReplyDeleteLaurel: Thanks! I love writing male POV-- it is so much easier for me than writing from the female perspective. I don't know why.
Amber: You are too kind! It's shelved basically because it isn't my strongest book, and I'll have to go back and rewrite large tracks of it to get it back in the running, which I haven't had time for. I'm sure I will pull it back off the shelf someday, because Thairon likes to pester me, and I can't seem to leave him alone. :)
Stephanie: Thanks! Happy Valentine's Day to you, too!
ReplyDeleteGreat tension and sensual detail. I can see why you love these characters.
ReplyDeleteTricia: Thanks! This scene always breaks my heart a little bit.
ReplyDeleteGreat premise and scene! Lot's going on there.
ReplyDeleteI like this alot. Like Frankie, I am curious to know what led them to this point. Nice tension.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done, Amalia! I hope you plan to pull this one off the shelf at some point, it's too good to sacrifice. Great tension and an excellent male POV without "female think". He cares for her but he's also trying to get her out of her dress, which absolutely works. I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys writing from the male POV.
ReplyDeleteElle and Trisha: Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteVR: Thanks! Male POV is my absolute FAVORITE. I love reading it and I love writing it. I'm excited not to be alone, also! :) Do you find it a lot easier to write? I've been trying to figure out why it seems to be that way, for me. It seems backwards.
I DO find the male POV easier to write. In fact in my current WIP, I use two male POVs, no female. It may be the type of POV though. I usually write my females 1st person and my males 3rd. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteI took a quick break to read--I like it! But I'm going to dive right back into the last bit of your MS.
ReplyDeleteI obviously haven't been on here much, lately, as I missed your countdown. I'm a bit disappointed at that! :(
Oh my...love the undercurrents in this...desire, love, and bittersweet memories. Loving the premise, as well. If this is not on par with your current work, I can only imagine how brilliant your work must be now. Well done
ReplyDeleteI love the male pov and the tension was great between them- they want to, but can't right now...I want to know the backstory. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteTerrific scene, makes me want to know why they can't be together. And I love the premise of a reincarnation. :)
ReplyDeleteFabulous tension, a little melancholy and a little sexy. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I loved the part where he says, "Help her out of the dress." The whole scene is full of such tension. You wrote that really well. I'd love to see more...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and romantic! I love it. Will you be posting more?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting premise. I'm very curious what's going through Setta's mind! Your characters are very real, too!
ReplyDeleteWell, what are you waiting for? Bring it up to par! I need more.
ReplyDeleteSeriously:
Great tension. Great scene.
VR: that's really interesting! I don't usually write at all in first person for noveling-- I will sometimes slip it on for short stories (which are always female), but I'm mostly a third person limited kind of girl.
ReplyDeleteSarah: No worries! you are a busy woman! Glad you enjoyed this glimpse of Thairon :)
Carolina: Thank you so much! That's so kind! I'm sure that Thairon will get his day for polishing.
Kelly: Thanks! I originally wrote this book from Setta's POV, but switched it to Thairon, and it was MUCH stronger that way. It's amazing how much difference something like that can make.
Roni: Thanks! The premise is one of the things that I kind of worried about.
ThePreyers: Thanks! Blogfests are one of my favorite things!
Tiffany: I'm sure this won't be the last of Thairon on this blog. :)
Courtney: Thanks! I may, if suitable blogfests come around! This is one of my most favorite scenes in the book, and I had to doctor it a bit before I felt comfortable posting it.
Nisa: Thanks! Setta is definitely going through a lot, that's for sure.
Tara: Hahaha! Now that I'm done revising GENERATIONS, I may take a look at COST OF LIVING and see what can be done for it. I think it's likely to be more of a side project for a while though. I have about three chapters of extra content for it, floating around, and Thairon likes to pester me.
I loved reading this. It def. makes me want to know more. :) As almost everyone else has said, great tension that totally works with this excerpt!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bethany! I'm glad you liked it! Thairon is definitely one of my favorites. But... I love all my leading men.
ReplyDeleteHot!
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing his thoughts. Good chemistry between the characters. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, that was steamy! Thanks for clearing up that this wasn't "first sight" or that would have been some STRONG hit from cupid's arrow!!
ReplyDeleteNicely done, great descriptions btw :)
Diana: I think the only thing that stopped Thairon from proposing to her long before now was the fact that she was refusing to admit that she was, actually, Gwen. But reincarnation makes Cupids arrow a BIIIIT more potent.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it!
Very nice job writing from the male point of view. Regardless of their feelings, men are very physical beings, and you kept him with the pysical desires at the forefront of his emotions. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for stopping by mine to read--I appreciate the comments. :-)
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