Excerpt from
A Tree of Twisted Thorns
When she joined him, he opened the door and led her inside. Morgan was shocked to see the stack of books by the front door and a pile of old newspapers next to them. She walked past them and down a short hallway that led to the living room. The room was painted a beige color, and the carpeting matched the walls. All very bland, very boring, she told herself. A bookcase was on one wall, and more books were scattered on a round table near a window looking out on the side yard.
Morgan turned, and her hands flew to her mouth when she saw the painting stacked up against the wall. In it, she was nude and stretched out on a chaise lounge. She turned, meeting her companion's eyes. “What is that? Why…” She stopped speaking as the bile rose in her throat.
“I paid someone to paint you.”
“You paid someone to…” How did the person know what she looked like? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, and she felt herself gasping for air. When she’d been drugged, he’d had ample time to do what he wanted. Not only had he raped her, but he’d also taken pictures of her.
Excerpt from
Christmas with Henry
Henry was speaking to one of the bartenders. When he was done, he walked over to me. “You okay?”
​
“So far, so good. Although I’m having a hard time not thinking about Joe and…”
“I know.” Henry’s hand reached over the bar and patted mine. “I told you we’ll figure it out. In the meantime, why don’t you take a seat and have a drink? It’ll calm you down.”
“I don’t want to get drunk.”
“You’re not going to get drunk, Sis.” Henry’s eyes lit up a moment later. “I just had an idea. Since we don’t have a band tonight, you can sing a few Christmas songs. We’ve got to get into the whole holiday spirit. Don’t you agree?”
“That might be fun, but who would accompany me?”
“Hmm.” He looked at the ceiling for a moment. Then, turning back to me with a big grin on his face, he said, “I’ll do it. I still play the guitar, and you know I have a few Christmas songs in my repertoire.”
“Is your guitar here?”
“I have one lying around in my office.”
“Oh, yeah, I saw that.” Before I could say anything else, he said, “I’m going to get it. Then we can get this Christmas party started.”
“If you say so.” I couldn’t help laughing. Henry always knew how to get me out of my dark moods. I followed him to his office, and when he had shut the door, he did something totally unexpected.
He pulled me into his arms and began kissing me. As our lips pillowed each other’s, his hands strayed under my shirt, making me feel as if my skin was scalded with thousands of jolts of electricity. When his fingers slid under my bra, I felt my insides heating up, and when they began playing with my nipples, I let out a low moan.
“Ah, you feel so good,” my brother whispered. His lips slithered down my face, tasting my neck, and his fingers continued to play with my nipples. I closed my eyes, allowing the pleasure to overtake me. I was so close to coming, but a moment later, I heard Henry whisper, “I’ll be right back. Let me just check on a few things. Then you’re all mine.”
He walked out of the office, leaving me gasping for air.
