I'm participating in the Is It Getting Hot In Here? blog hop. If you're looking for my Origins Blogfest post, click here.
This is an excerpt from the YA suspense novel I’m currently querying. Maddie and Daniel were cross-country skiing. Daniel truck battery died (Ha! I know that feeling), and they’re stranded, waiting for a friend to rescue them. In an attempt to keep warm, they’re in a sleeping bag together, and she’s on his lap. Daniel is the ex-boyfriend of Maddie’s best friend.
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A moving shadow on the ground outside the truck startles me and I let out a strangled yelp.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asks.
The “shadow” moves again. I can’t see what it is exactly, but it could be a rabbit or something. The tension in my muscles fizzles. “Your story spooked the hell out of me, and I thought I saw a werewolf. But it was probably just a killer bunny. And I doubt he can break into the truck. So we’re safe.”
“Sorry.” He removes his hand from around my waist and brushes it against my cheek. I twist my body so I can see him better. “Somehow I never thought of you as the type of girl who scares easily.” His words are velvety soft and send another shiver through me. Only this one feels very different to the last one.
“You’d be surprised,” I whisper. My gaze drops to his lips. “I’m scared of all kinds of things. Werewolves. Vampires. Monsters.” My growing feelings for him. Being hurt by someone I trust. Never being in control of my life. It all scares me.
He leans closer, his mouth only inches from mine. He traces my lower lip with his thumb. I inhale sharply but the sound is soft. Then he’s kissing me, the touch of his lips ever so light. My insides do a double somersault and I slide a hand to his shoulder.
A voice in the back of my head tells me I shouldn’t be doing this, but my mind’s too fuzzy to figure out what that means.
A bright light trails across us. Startled, we pull apart.
With my jacket sleeve, I wipe the steamed-up passenger window so we can see who it is.
“That’s Chad,” Daniel says, tone bordering on disappointment.