I have a special place in my heart for Sky Woman. Not only was it my first full-length novel, but it was quite a departure from just about anything else out there in the paranormal/fantasy romance genre. The plot device was every woman’s fantasy come true, and I spent many a squirmy afternoon commute home from the day job fantasizing up scenes and dialogue.

In this scene, our girl Miri and the eldest son of Falenua house, Lunan, find themselves trapped in a mountain cabin during a rainstorm. Night is falling, and so are Miri’s inhibitions…

She became aware that it had gotten much darker, and their faces and bodies were bathed in firelight. A flickering reflection against one wall had her looking at it a bit more closely, and that’s when she realized that the entire wall was intricately carved with figures of animals, trees, the ocean, and flowers of all varieties.

“These are amazing!” she exclaimed, running her fingers over them. “Did you do these, Lunan?”

He walked over to where she stood, staring up at the wall. He said a few unfamiliar words, and then resorted to pantomime. Miri tried to keep up.

“A man….a woman…a baby….and the baby grows…oh, I see. The baby becomes a man, and he has a baby…and that baby grows and has a baby….”

She was lost for a moment, as he seemed to pantomime a string or a chain between the youngest baby and the first man.

“Oh! A grandfather! These were carved by your grandfather.” She pantomimed back as she spoke, and he shook his head, affirming.

“They’re amazing. And so detailed. This must have taken years.” She turned again to run her fingers across some kind of jungle scene. She felt like she’d had a static shock when Lunan’s hand closed over hers and he led her hand up to what looked like some kind of lizard, jutting out a bit higher on the wall. He gently pushed her fingers into the lizard’s mouth where she found she could feel each individual tooth inside – it was such a skillful detail, to be able to carve like that in such a small area.

She turned to express how impressed she was and found herself staring at Lunan’s chest, as he’d moved closely behind her. Her eyes flew up to meet his and her breathing got choppy when she saw how he was looking at her. He leaned in, his chest pressing her into the wall and she felt another jolt go through her when she realized she liked it. She liked it a lot.

He lowered his head very slowly and deliberately, as if he were giving her time to say no, and when she raised up on tiptoe to meet him, he kissed her with such a searing intensity, she forgot how to breathe. Her hands moved up to clench his upper arms, her body leaned in as his lips moved on hers and his tongue explored her mouth. A small moan escaped her and then suddenly, he was gone.

She staggered back against the wall, unsure of what had just happened. Lunan was getting another armload of wood, and laying it on the fire.

He smiled triumphantly to himself as his face was turned away, working hard to keep his breathing in a regular rhythm. Finally, he turned from the fire, standing up and taking her in for a moment. Miri was still pressed against the wall as if afraid to move, her breasts rising and falling in a rapid rhythm as her startled eyes remained locked with his.

Keeping his eyes on hers, he crossed to the bed, sitting down and facing her. He gestured across to the chair as if to say You can sit there, and then he very deliberately patted the bed beside him. Or you can sit here.

Miri swallowed hard.

She hesitated a moment more, while his eyes never left hers. There was no anger or frustration in his gaze, just patience and a very definite message. She remembered how he had looked that morning after their fight, his eyes locked with hers as he said the word:

“Enan.”

Soon.

It had been a promise.

And his eyes carried that promise still. She just needed to decide to walk over there.

Sky Woman is the first book of The Seeder Saga trilogy – now available as a complete set with a bonus novella! Find out what makes this book a little different than your usual romance….