The Naughty List came out over two years ago.
Two years!
I know, how crazy is that? Honestly, it breaks my brain a little bit to think about it, in fact I triple-checked to make sure that I was right.
Wow.
Anyway, ’tis the season so over the next few days I’m going to share some excerpts from the stories in The Naughty List with you. I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Stealing Time
Wendy Sparrow
As Father Time’s son, Zeit must sacrifice a mortal’s lifetime each New Year’s Eve to the Fates. Last year, inexplicably really, he made an 11:59 substitution. The Fates are pissed and they’ve been after his mortal Hannah. With the year ending, he ought to figure out why he’d saved her—and kept doing it.
Following an unlucky year, Hannah needs a week’s holiday in a lodge to unwind. What she gets is near-death experiences and a sexy immortal who can’t avoid kissing her, but might have to kill her. After all, even Zeit can’t hold back time indefinitely.
Excerpt:
She blew her plans immediately when she entered the lodge’s dining room a half an hour later. He was sitting by himself and, hell, she was going to get to the bottom of this.
She strode through the dining hall just as he was taking a sip from a glass. As she slid into the seat across from him, he smiled over the rim.
“Please, have a seat.” He set his glass down, licking his lips.
Jeanie was right—his being hot did matter. She was going to have a hard time concentrating on anything other than his mouth.
“Why are you following me?” She jabbed a finger in his direction.
He raised his eyebrows and looked around—the picture of innocence. “I was here first.”
“No, not right now. You know I’m not referring to that. You know something about what keeps happening to me. I know you do.”
The waiter delivered his food and a glass of water for her. Zeit smiled, nodded his thanks and sat back, without touching it.
When the waiter turned to her, looking expectant, she glanced around and reached for the menu before shaking her head. “Uhh, can I just have what he’s having?”
After the waiter left, Hannah stared at his plate. It smelled good. “What did I just order?”
“Quail gizzards filled with snake bile on top of maggots.”
Her stomach turned even though she knew he was lying. Idiot.
Zeit sat there—doing his intense and carnal thing. “Be careful what you ask for, Hannah, because you might not appreciate the answers you receive.”
When he said her name, a chill inched across her skin, ending with a fluttering in her already anxious stomach. Being attracted to him would be so inconvenient.
“What are you doing to me?”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
She glared at him. Saying it out loud would sound utterly stupid. “I keep having these lapses of time. One minute, I’m in one place and, the next, I’m in another. And four times now, I’ve seen you walking away from me when it’s happened.”
“So, you’re accusing me of doing something to your memory? Or of stalking you?” He took another sip of his drink as if he was only mildly interested in her response.
Wendy’s childhood as a military brat instilled in her a wanderlust to travel, but with the possibility of bugs, lost luggage, germs, a lack of parking, she just prefers the cleaner and safer visits to exciting places in her stories. It has very little to do with her obsessive compulsive disorder—maybe. She is a passionate advocate both online and in her community for the welfare of autistic children. In addition to writing, she enjoys painting and sketching, spending time with her two quirky kids, and running with her dog. Her wonderful husband makes sure she has the geeky, tech aspects of her stories just right. She can often be found on Twitter where she will strike up a conversation with anyone she happens across.
