The Gift

Theresa Stillwagon

The Gift

Contemporary Novella

3.95

Ben was ten years younger than her.

His sexuality, youth and attitude scared her.

All she wanted was friendship from him.

Yet he wanted so much more.

And he always got want he wanted.

* * * *

Excerpt:

“Idon’t want you to leave yet.”

Swishing sounds signaled the movement of the heavy material as he flipped the towel away from his wet body and wrapped it securely around his waist. Her eyes closed at the sound and her body froze in place. A big part of her wanted to sneak a peek at him. A bigger part told her to keep her focus on the creamy bathroom wall.

His fingers caressed her back and she twisted around toward him. He stepped back at her abrupt move. Frustration crinkled the skin around his eyes now, showing her the man she’d met on the road that day. The strong, capable deputy sheriff had been replaced by the sex-starved man she’d met the day after she settled into her trailer.

“I liked you better the way you were the day we first met.”

His head jerked backward at her comment. “I haven’t changed.”

She ignored his comment. “You were a professional then, stopping to make sure a citizen was all right.”

“Aunt Clara called me.” Bewilderment deepened his voice. “She told me you were in trouble.”

She still ignored him. “The next day you came by with some friends and helped me set up my trailer. You won my friendship then, Ben.”

“I know that.”

“Then you lost it.” She glanced up at him now. “Your whole attitude changed toward me. You scared me.”

His body stiffened. “Scared you? How?”

“No man has ever wanted me like you do,” she whispered. “Not even my husband.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she forced out her words. If she wanted to have a real relationship with this man, she needed to be truthful with him now. “I don’t know how to take you when we’re alone. It’s safer for me when someone else is around us. I’m not hiding from you because I don’t want to have anything to do with you; I’m hiding because I do. And that frightens me.”

There she’d said it.

“Because I scare you?”

“No, it’s because I scare me.”

Troy Seate Micro Blurb:
Moonlight and Magnolias

To the beat of native drums as a lazy summer night drops its veil over sultry New Orleans , a man and a woman discover hidden desire along with a lingering danger. In the process, a bond is formed that is stronger than the contract which brought them together.

Moonlight and Magnolias visits the fabled city full of shady doings and southern belles. Join the quest for sensual pleasure and the birth of a beautiful relationship.