Passions
Page 33
Chloe admired his childlike wonder and did not scold him for it. To see his gorgeous face, tanned and bathed in the glow of sunlight was enough for her. He was happy, and that’s all that mattered.
“Yes, it is.”
She leaned against his shoulder, holding their turkey sandwiches in her hands and offered one to him. Gavin tore his eyes away long enough to eagerly take the sandwich and chomp down into the bread.
Chloe had seen Gavin eat so much lately, but she would never shake the mental image of him feeding on a squirrel or bird instead of a sandwich or salad.
“Better than blood?” she teased him.
He rolled his eyes, having heard this question far too many times. It was becoming quite an old joke for him, but not for her. “Yes, Chloe. Much better than blood.”
She giggled and bumped her shoulder playfully into his ribs.
A few moments passed in quiet reflection, both of them admiring the lovely late autumn afternoon when Chloe’s phone vibrated in her pocket.
“I thought you left your phone at the cabin?” Gavin asked as she wrestled it out of her jeans.
“I wanted to keep it close in case mom called to say they were getting close to Carter Lake. They’re coming to visit again.”
When Chloe’s parents came to celebrate Thanksgiving, she wasn’t sure what to expect of their reaction to Gavin, especially since it would be his first interaction with other humans besides herself and Aunt Mary Anne. They absolutely loved him and planned to come for a longer stay around Christmas time.
But when she checked the caller ID, she saw it was not her mother who was calling. It was a number she didn’t recognize. Normally, she would reject the call, but this was not the usual time. She was expecting an unknown caller ever since the day she’d snuck a copy of Gavin’s manuscript in the mail to a publisher in Atlanta.
After the detox and the time it had taken Gavin to adjust to being human again, Chloe admitted to him about copying down his whole manuscript. At first, he was rather perturbed by her deceit. But after she told him how much she loved his story, he changed his tune a bit, and they came to a mutual agreement to make the best effort to get it published. Chloe knew these things would take time, but no one had sent back a rejection letter yet, so there was a good chance this was the call they were waiting for.
She pressed the green button and answered.
“Hello, I’m trying to reach Gavin Caras.” a man’s voice said on the other end of the line.
Chloe threw a sideways glance at Gavin and nodded. “Yes, he’s right here. One second.” She pulled back the phone and pressed the speaker button so she could hear what the man had to say.
“Hello?” Gavin said after Chloe’s mute promptings. He had never talked on a phone before.
“Yes, is this Gavin Caras?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi. My name is Alex Henderson, and I’m with Sunshine Publishers. I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that we read your manuscript and thought it was absolutely amazing.”
Chloe wiggled happily in her seat and opened her mouth in a soundless squeal while Gavin smiled widely, the widest she had ever seen drawn across his face.
“The style was refreshingly classic and so mature. My boss hasn’t seen that kind of writing in years, and he loved it immediately. We’re working up the details now, but we will be in touch in a few days to go over them with you if that’s okay.”
It took a moment for Gavin to get over his speechlessness before he replied, “Yes, that will be perfectly fine. I’ll be awaiting your call.”
After a few parting words, Chloe ended the call and embraced Gavin.
“You did it, Gavin!” she exclaimed.
Gavin still couldn’t speak but pulled back and kissed her sensuously on the lips, his hands caressing her body. Since his return to life, Gavin often surprised her with such spontaneous expressions of love.
When she asked why, he only told her that he didn’t know what else to do when he was so abundantly joyful. It only seemed natural to let his happiness spill out to her. As a result, she shared in his gladness and rejoiced with him.
In the heat of their love, Chloe couldn’t help but remember their first kiss that night in the cabin while they worked on her novel. And she realized something so important that she wondered how she could have possibly it missed before.
If she had never come to the cabin to become an author, and if she had never sat down and written those first few pages of her novel, Gavin would have never made himself known, and he would have never become an author himself. They would have never met if not for their mutual love of writing and literature. They would have never known what true love was if they had never come together for the sake of their passions.
Afterword
Dear Readers,
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Chloe and Gavin's struggle to be together and find their true passions.
Passions has been a stretch for me because I don’t particularly care for vampires, and this will be the only novel I ever write where the main conflict includes a vampire. I have vampires featured in other books, but they aren’t in the lime light like Gavin is.
The inspiration for such a story came from some deep-rooted desire to be a full-time, stay at home writer. That and I’d love to own a cabin out in the middle of the woods where I could spend the weekends while I could write distraction free. Not only that, but I had this creepy scene in my head of a girl sleeping and a man watching over her late at night. But, this wasn’t in a perverted way. He was protecting her as he had always done ever since she was a child. I expanded that idea and wondered “What if this guy was immortal in some way, like a vampire, and he knew her because he lived in the attic or basement or something?” And there were the planted seeds that grew into this challenging novel. I hope I have done the two characters justice and not stepped on any toes of vampire lovers out there.
Check out some of my other titles on Amazon Kindle!
Until next time, happy reading!
- Sheritta Bitikofer
About the Author
Sheritta Bitikofer is an author of eclectic tastes. Her mornings are spent dancing to Frank Sinatra and singing to hard rock bands while sipping on a good Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks. At work, she’s often found without shoes on or running to get her coworkers’ drinks from Sonic during happy hour. And when the day has been hard, she unwinds with a good book and chili cheese fries before snuggling on the couch with her husband. And on some weekends, she can be found at non-profit medieval historical society events either painting or shooting a bow. Her idea of a great time is dining out, chillin’ at the library (or a bookstore) and bouncing novel ideas back and forth with her loving and supportive husband.
Follow her for upcoming novel releases
@moonstruckwrite
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www.moonstruckwriting.wordpress.com
Also by Sheritta Bitikofer
The Princess and Her Rogue
Escape
The Neustrian Chronicles
Clouds
The Loup-Garou Series
The Enigma
Becoming the Enigma
Beast Within (Coming 2017!)
The Decimus Trilogy
The Beast of Verona
Amber Ashes
Saving the Beast