Quintspinner
Page 33
Her grandmother bent forward and kissed Tess softly on the forehead, then giving her an impish grin and gathering her up in a loving bear-hug, she chuckled, “But that’s another story altogether ….”
The End
A sneak preview of
Book Two
in the Quintspinner Series
Chapter One
He stared at the woman, momentarily caught off guard.
She sat upon the ground, her torso resting against the moss covered tree trunk, and his eyes roved over her.
Such perfection. Attractive face with small nose and plump lips parted slightly as though poised to speak. Cinnamon skin dappled from the filtered sunlight in an intriguing pattern of tawny, dark, and gold. Thick tendrils of coal black hair curling softly over her bare shoulders, her breasts defiant and full in their youthfulness.
Perfect.
Except for the musket ball hole blasted squarely into her shattered breastbone.
He blinked in surprise. Catching his breath, the hunter dropped into a crouch as he slid back into the protective camouflage of the jungle’s foliage. He reassessed the scene, his heart pounding, his senses on full alert.
Damn it! He cursed this part of his job. Competition. Incompetent fools! He was the best – everybody knew it – and if he had found this pretty little Maroon first, he’d still have her to collect the bounty on. An’ make no mistake about it, the bounty on this one woulda’ been worth plenty, that’s fer sure. His annoyance at such a loss edged him towards a full-fledged temper fit.
I coulda’ kept her fer a little fun myself, fer awhile anyways! Shit! What the bejeezes happened here? She ain’t even armed. She escaped with nothin’ more than the rags on her back. What a total waste!
He peered over at her corpse. Now all that he had to show for his time and effort was the tiny scrap of a baby still cradled in the crook of her lifeless arm.
Mewing brat!
That was what had drawn him in this direction in the first place, only a heartbeat before the sound of the musket blast.
Available Autumn 2011
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