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became the first I ever sold, but it wasn’t until junior year that I
actually dove into it and wrote it.”
“I read your first book. Jaime was constantly bragging about you,
Tessa’s Highlander
51
so I thought it would be a good idea to know what he was talking
about when he brought it up,” Gavan admitted.
“Really? You did? What’d you think? Wait. That look on your
face, you’re not much of a horror fan, are you?” Tessa asked, finding
herself worried about his opinion more than she wanted to admit to
herself. After all, part of writing such sensitive and sometimes
shocking subject matter depends greatly on one’s ability to not worry
about what kind of conclusions the reader might draw in regard to you
for being able to dream up what they just read.
“Aye, horror’s not my first choice, but your imagination is tae be
commended,” he said and turned to her. “It’s one thing, after all tae
draw on your experience tae write certain aspects, but it must take
some effort tae invent some o’ the monsters you’ve created.”
Tessa’s eyes narrowed, piqued by the inference in that statement.
“Experience? What parts of the book do you think I wrote from
experience?”
Gavan shrugged his massive shoulders and said, “I just mean that
anyone who can write those explicit sex scenes has tae have some
experience under their belt, whereas the supernatural side was…”
Tessa stood and cut him off, hands balled into fists at her sides.
Oh! This obnoxious man! What nerve to assume that just because she
can come up with steamy sex for her novels that she’d actually done
all those things. She took a deep breath and laid into him.
“How dare you, you judgmental jerk! It’s a pretty big assumption
to think that the sex scenes I write are from anything but my
imagination. What? I can invent monsters and fiends, but the sex has
to be from experience? Just because my mind wanders does not mean
that it’s from my real life. I’d have to be some kind of twisted lunatic
to have done most of the things I put down on paper.”
Gavan reached both hands out and held her upper arms firmly so
she had no choice but to face him. “But, really, it’s okay with me if
you’ve lived a life like that.”
Tessa’s mouth fell open and she was sure that fire was going to
52
Cooper Lovell
start shooting from her eyes she was so angry. “Fabulous! That’s all
I’ve been looking for here, your approval on my sex life. Whew!
What a relief. I have Gavan Murdoch’s stamp of approval to continue
on with my deviant, depraved ways.” She pounded on his enormous
chest with her fists, and when he released his grip on her upper arm to
take hold of them, she quickly twisted away and stomped, albeit
lopsidedly, to the stairs, cursing him under her breath the whole way.
She’d hobbled up the first three steps before she turned to him to
say in an eerily calm, quiet voice, “I appreciate your help today, but
please leave. There’s really no need for you to return tomorrow or any
day thereafter. I’ll let Jaime know that I’ll wait for him to do the work
after all. Please see yourself out. And this time, please don’t even
think about coming back. I don’t care who you think hired you.” She
climbed the rest of the stairs to her bedroom.
Tessa’s Highlander
53
Chapter Six
“Well done, Gavan. You really put your foot in your mouth
there,” he said to himself, cringing a bit at the slam of her bedroom
door.
None of what he’d said came out right. He hadn’t meant to sound
condescending and he felt horrible for doing so. Even worse, though,
was his incorrect assumption that she’d written from experience. She
was absolutely right, no one would think she’d had all the
otherwordly experiences to draw upon for her books, so why jump to
the conclusion that the graphic sex wasn’t pure invention?
Unfortunately, even with this revelation, he still feared for his
heart. Guarding himself was as involuntary as breathing, but the
desire to take the chance, to let her in, was increasing with every
minute that passed. At first sight, an image of pulling her into his
arms had flashed through his mind. Now, over a week later, those
images had morphed into glimpses of a life together with her.
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