Chapter Three of The Velveteen Tortoise is now available.
“Pyxis.” My name, spoken from her lips, greets me like the heat from a hearth. Her warm tone blasts me at first, then cocoons me in welcoming comfort. “Time to go.”
“Go?”
“Yeah. To someplace where there’s an actual roof over your head and a real bed under your back.” She holds out her hand. “I’m going home, Pyx, and I’m taking you with me.”
I gape at her.
…taking you with me…
By Aku, the way she renders me speechless is astonishing.
I slowly raise my hand and surrender it to her.
She huffs—a tiny sound that’s not fuming with aggravation, but with steadying resolve—and curls her tiny, bare hand around my gauntlet.
Well, that’s not accurate. She’s only grasping one of my fingers—which restricts a mere one-sixtieth of the lethal capacity of that hand—but that’s all she can grip. Her hold’s not secure at all and—Oh! We’re walking.
Fascinating.
What’s even more fascinating? The delicate-looking skin on the underside of her wrist.
My heart kicks in my chest. During the course of my life, I’ve been ensnared, captured, and stranded. But…
“I’ve never been taken by a human before.” I stroke my unrestrained thumb over her wrist, but my armor blunts the sensation.
“Invited.” She squeezes my finger as she clears the breathiness from her voice. “You’re being invited.”
Taken. Invited. I’m not gonna split hairs with her.
Instead, I brush my thumb over her wrist again. “Outstanding.”
Writing All Realms of Romance: SFR - PNR - Fantasy 