Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (68 page)
Read Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six Online
Authors: Rachelle Ayala
“Not at all.” I scooted next to him, slightly breathless, my body humming with an unsettling frisson. “What are you doing with your harp?”
“Changing strings. Wouldn’t want them to break while I play for your father.”
My father’s temper had raged and thundered with the recent storm. I took David’s hand and touched the blisters on the tips of his fingers. “Is my father feeling better?”
“Thankfully, he’s settled down. I’m free for the rest of the day.” His breath was a little too hot. I giggled and dropped his hand.
“What do you have there?” He pointed to my scroll.
“My favorite story. Ruth and Boaz.”
He regarded me with a clandestine smile, shook his head, and pulled a new string onto his harp.
“What?” I shoved the scroll aside. “You know, David. You’re on my bench.” I removed my scarf and unbraided my hair. “I came here for some sun and quiet.”
“Oh, excuse me for intruding.” He gathered the loose strings and prepared to leave.
I pressed him down, one finger on his shoulder. “Since you’re on my bench, you might as well show me a few things.”
“Only a few?” He twirled a string between his thumb and forefinger.
I pointed to his harp, perched on his lap. “May I touch?”
“Um… sure, it’s a shepherd’s harp. My grandfather made it for me.” He handed it to me.
I trailed my fingers over the smooth curves. The wood where his hands rested was well-worn and polished. “It’s splendid. Lighter than I thought.”
The scent was reminiscent of crushed bay leaves, clean and fresh. Swirls of tan, red, yellow and brown grain rippled along the contour of its body.
“It’s made of myrtle wood,” he said.
“And the strings?”
“Sheep gut.” He laughed. “Go ahead, pluck them.”
I picked the fibrous strings. The tones jarred. “Ooph. It sounds much better in your hands.”
David took the harp back. “Forgive me, the strings are not tuned. I’ll finish and show you how to play.”
His nimble fingers made quick work of the restringing. With closed eyes, he plucked two strings at a time and adjusted the pegs until they rang true. His face took on an angelic aura, and his hair shimmered in the sunlight.
The harp tuned, he placed it on my lap, arranging my hands to hold it, and plucked a few strings to demonstrate. “The pitch of the longer string is deeper. Those from the shorter strings are higher. Some intervals sound nice when plucked together. If we skip a string or two… this string, this one, and this…”
My head swam with possibilities, and I could not catch his words. His hands touched my hands, his thigh pressed against mine, and his breath tickled my hair. My bracelets jangled as I strummed a cacophony of disharmony as wild and frothy as my feelings.
He was so close, I could hardly breathe. My shoulders wobbled, and my fingers fluttered over the strings. Tempted to melt into his arms, I pushed the harp back and warned myself to behave as a princess should.
“Giving up already?” His lips curved with barely concealed amusement.
“No… I’m just hot. You know, the weather. Can you sing for me?”
I caught my breath as he sang and picked the strings to the cadence of a rippling brook. The earthy timbre of his voice wrapped around the clean tones of his instrument. Wooing, seducing, trapping—he held me with the promise of his song.
When he finished, he handed the harp to me, the frame still vibrating. His fingers toyed with my hair, and his warm breath caressed my face. His mouth drew near, eyes intent, seeking permission.
Hesitant, my lips parted. Curious, my eyes closed. And his lips brushed the corners of my mouth, an invitation to taste, to touch, to hold. I accepted and held my breath as his tongue slipped over mine. A flurry of tingles danced around my waist and trailed down to my toes.
I clutched the harp, unable to move. Everything was possible, and the world was mine, and life was glorious.
And at the center of it all was David.
Buy
Michal’s Window
Click
here
if you are reading this on a Kindle.
Click
here
if you are reading this via a Kindle app on another device.
Don’t go away! Watch for my next sports romance Spring 2016 with
Playing Catch: A Baseball Romance
On the field and off the field, bartender Jeanine Jewell plays, collecting one-night stands like baseball cards. She doesn’t need a man, except to curl her toes and make her scream. She’s learned the hard way that the one who cares more is the one who gets hurt—and the last thing she can handle is getting hurt, or having anyone discover her shameful secret.
Scoring women is easy for catcher Kirk Kennedy—they don’t call him “Catch and Release” for nothing. He never goes back for a repeat performance. Being traded to a new city is an opportunity for new adventures. Everything changes when he runs into Jeanine and she refuses to go home with him.
Intrigued, Kirk is determined to catch the elusive blonde and keep her to himself. When he proposes a wingman to wingwoman friends without benefits relationship, he’s surprised she accepts.
The no benefits clause soon falls by the wayside when neither Jeanine or Kirk can resist their explosive chemistry together. But despite the sparks between the sheets, they both refuse to acknowledge they’re anything more than friends.
A phone call changes everything when Kirk discovers his past is the one Jeanine's hiding from …
Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous, sexy contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes hot. She writes emotionally challenging stories but believes in the power of love and hope.
Rachelle is the founder of an online writing group, Romance in a Month, an active member of the California Writer's Club, Fremont Chapter, and a volunteer for the World Literary Cafe. She has won awards in multicultural and historical romance.
Check out her website at
http://rachelleayala.me
and visit her Reader’s Guide.
Intercepted by Love
was designed from the start to be a serial novel delivered in parts. I had a lot of fun preparing the cliffhanger and structuring the story this way. Of course, my beta readers and fellow writers in my Romance In A Month writer’s group helped me with early feedback and comments to hone this story for the hopefully surprising cliffhangers.
Many thanks to: Lillian Maddocks Cummings, Terri Merkel, Racquel Reck, Amber McCallister, Shecki Bernard, Jeanie Jackson, Elisabete C.F. Martins, Jessica Cassidy, Keli Morgan, Rebecca Austin, Reggaewoman, Tope Awefoso, Corissa Palfrey, Sharon Coady, Debbie Rosa, Linda Scarchuk, Sherelle Ellis, Patricia Shepard, Brenda Pratt, Sifa Edwards, Dana Anderson, and Rachel Marie Williams for their awesome feedback as well as guidance while I was writing Cade and Andie’s stories. Their comments and remarks helped me know whether I was hitting the right note or not.
My love of history was instilled in me by my high school AP history teacher, Rayilyn Brown. Thanks so much for making history come to life. Of course, I took it to the next level and imagined the personal lives of historical figures, but I’ll never forget that you taught us to always look behind the scenes at primary evidence and to question everything.
Thanks also Coach Ferragamo and my high school football team who instilled in me a great love and respect for athletes. We were the Banning Pilots, All City Champions, and I’m proud to have been one of the team managers and friends with the wonderful guys on our team.
I will especially miss my friends, Joe Montijo (#10), Leroy Irvin (#23), and Ronnie Settles (#37), who have passed on way too early. This story is dedicated to them, although all characters and events inside are purely fictional. Thanks guys for being the heroes we looked up to, and being humble and down to earth. Go Pilots!
Sánchez Sisters
Jewells in Love
Sports Romances
Christmas Romances
Christmas Lovebirds
Non-Fiction
