It's Book Hooks Wednesday! Yay! And I'm sharing an excerpt from my new spanking novella in the Corbin's Bend series, Past Interference, the sequel to A Simple Misunderstanding. Past Interference was originally part of the Corbin's Bend Valentine's Day collection "Love in the Rockies," but is now being sold separately.
What she needed was the opposite of what she wanted.
In this scene, which occurs near the beginning of Chapter Two, Eleanor Benson (Elly) is six days away from getting married again, and her doubts are eating her alive. After suffering through a bout of stress-related migraines, she's finally gotten up enough courage to tell her husband-to-be that she's not sure she wants to get married. Jerry knows Elly is nervous, but believed he'd managed to convince her he is nothing at all like her first husband, Arthur, who abused her. Unfortunately, he's beginning to realize Elly's past may just ruin their future together, so he insists they sit down and discuss why she's having second thoughts, and why he insists they get married .
“Sweetie, I’m not angry with you. I’m…
I’m trying to understand why you didn’t even hint you had some reservations
before now.”
Lowering her face to her hands, Elly
murmured, “I’m sorry. I thought you would tell me I was being idiotic, and my
fears were ungrounded.”
“Elly, you’re not a fool or an idiot.
Given your experience, I’d say you have good reason to worry you might be making
a similar mistake, even though I thought I’d assured you that you weren’t, but
—”
She jerked her head up to face him. “You
have, Jerry. I’m not afraid of you.”
“But you weren’t afraid of Arthur before
you married him, either. Were you?”
She hesitated for a moment. “No.”
“So how did the relationship change
between the two of you after you wed?”
“He grew stricter with me.”
“When? Right away?”
Recalling how her idealistic, girlish
dreams shattered like a broken mirror on her wedding night, she nodded and whispered,
“The same night, actually.”
Valentine's Day in Corbin's Bend. As Elly Benson readies herself for her second wedding, the doubts and misgivings of any new bride-to-be are exacerbated by the abuse she suffered during her first marriage.
Though she's lived with Jerry Douglas for four months now, and been subject to his discipline more than once, Elly's first husband had been kind and careful with her, too, until the day she vowed to love, honor and obey him. The lessons she's learned from the past make her doubt she can ever find happiness in the future.
Past Interference is available at the following locations.
I also have a page on my web site where I am offering a sample of the first two chapters. If you're interested, visit either the Spanking Romance or Past Interference page in the Over 18 section of my website.
Thanks for visiting. Now go visit the other authors participating in Book Hooks.
Great scene Kathryn, I love that Jerry seems to understand Elly's fears.
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Roz