Even though I didn't reach my word count goal for the day, I did manage to pull an excerpt from my novel and post it on my NaNo profile, (although the page is still having issues and there are some wonky things going on there). Here is a little excerpt from my current novel, Captive Princess, for your reading pleasure:
Remy approached Indya. She was sitting in the chair, her hands
clenched into fists, staring blindly at the table in front of her. Without a word to her, he leaned forward and
unlocked the handcuff on her right wrist.
She turned her head and looked up at
him in surprise.
Before she could say a single word,
he snapped a new cuff onto that same wrist, closing it tightly around her
flesh.
She glared at him. “Is there a reason I need to wear two
chains?”
“You’ll only be wearing one,” he
said as he snapped the handcuff at the other end of the chain around his own
wrist. This pair of cuffs had a length
of chain between them that was considerably longer than the one she already
wore. The only way he could ensure that
she would not escape while traveling was if they were handcuffed together. “Give me your other wrist,” he said.
She did as instructed and he
unlocked the other cuff, releasing her left hand. Remy put the old pair of handcuffs on the
kitchen table, the key still protruding from the lock. He wanted to make it abundantly clear to his
captive that the new cuffs could not be unlocked with that same key. He had the key for the new ones hidden on his
person, but she’d never find out where.
“Stand up,” he commanded.
She did as she was told.
“We’re leaving now,” he said,
staring her square in the eyes. “I am
taking you to the Malika and they will decide your fate. If you try to escape again, you will be
punished accordingly. Is that
understood?”
“I would rather suffer a thousand
torments than go back to the Malika.”
“That can be arranged. Do you understand?”
She said nothing. She didn’t even shake her head. Remy grabbed her by the throat, putting just
enough pressure on her windpipe to be intimidating. She finally nodded.
“Good,” he said, releasing
her. “Then it’s time to go.” He began walking toward the entrance, but she
didn’t move. He glared at her. “I thought you said you understood.”
“I cannot pay you with treasure, to
take me back to my people. But I can pay
you with my body.”
Remy inhaled a sharp breath, trying
to keep his frustration in check. “I
told you before, you hold no attraction for me.”
“That isn’t true. You want me.
I know you do. I could feel it
when we were lying on the ground. Take
me back to my people and you can have use of my body.”
“It’s not worth the risk.”
“What risk?”
“You stabbed the Malika
chieftain. No doubt, half the Malika
army is out looking for you right now.
If they find me taking you south, to your people, they’ll kill us both. I’m sorry, Princess, but I’m not willing to
die for you.”
“He didn’t . . . rape me, if that
matters. I am still untouched. You would be the first man to ever lie with
me.”
For half a second, Remy actually believed
her, but then he realized she was just trying to sell him something and she
would do anything to make the offer more enticing. Most men would have been willing to slice off
their own arm for a chance to lie with a beautiful virgin, but it didn’t make a
difference to Remy. Untouched or not,
she wasn’t worth risking his life for.
“I’m sorry, my dear, but I have to
decline.”
“But you do want me.”
“I haven’t been with a woman in
three months. You could be covered in
mud and smell like a rotting cougar and I’d still want you. But I’m man enough to be capable of
controlling my basic urges. No woman is
worth dying for. Not even you,
Princess.”
“You’ll burn in Hell for this. You know that, don’t you? If you bring me back there, they’ll kill me,
and you’ll be just as guilty as if you’d struck the deathblow with your own
hand.”
“Lucky for me, I don’t believe in
Hell, so I should be perfectly safe.
Now,” he said, offering her a condescending smile, “let’s go.”
He tugged the chain between then,
hard, and she stumbled forward, nearly crashing into him. She caught herself just a split second before
making contact with his chest. She stood
up straight, pulled back her shoulders, and glared at him.
“If you behaved yourself, things
like that wouldn’t happen,” he said.
“If you weren’t such a self-serving
bastard they wouldn’t happen either.”
“Yes, that’s probably true. But I have no intention of changing, so
you’ll just have to deal with it.”
He tugged the chain again, but
this time she was ready for it. She held
herself steady and didn’t budge an inch.
Remy raised an eyebrow at
her. “I hope you don’t expect me to
carry you. I will if I have to, but I’ll
have to drug you first, and I know how much you were hoping to avoid that.”
“You can’t drug me if I refuse to
eat.”
“Apparently, you’ve never seen a
syringe, have you?”
“Why do you always talk in riddles?”
“I don’t. It’s not my fault that you don’t understand
anything that exists outside of your sheltered little world. Trust me, Princess,” he said, taking a step
closer, “If I wish to drug you, I will drug you. I don’t need your cooperation. All I have to do is fill a syringe with
tranquilizer and then stick a long, pointy needle into your tender flesh,
anywhere I can find a vein. The
tranquilizer will go straight into your bloodstream and render you unconscious
in seconds.”
“Do it now then,” she said in
challenge. “If you don’t, I will
escape.”
Remy smiled to himself as he took a
step back. “Oh, I would, but I’m just
too lazy to carry you around on my back all day. Besides, you’re a lot more entertaining awake
than asleep. You snore.”
“I do not!”
“Yes, you do. If you ask me, it’s very unbecoming behavior
for a princess, but then, what do I know?”
He pulled the chain again and, this
time, she did falter. “Now, let’s
go. I want to start moving before
noon.” He turned then and started walking. The chain grew taught and he could feel her
resisting behind him, but he was much stronger than she was and he weighed
nearly twice as much. Even when she
tried pulling on the chain, she couldn’t hold him back, and he ended up
dragging her across the floor on the soles of her boots.
When they reached the entrance, Remy
turned around and pulled hard on the chain, causing her to crash into him. Without a word of warning, he scooped her up
in his arms and carried her over the threshold.
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