a message, so I am assuming that things were fine.” She had already figured out that some kind of magical interference had happened to either set off Alice’s phone or send the message to begin with.
“Things were great. I hit it off with one of the other authors, and we got along really well.” Alice smiled.
“Did you wake up with him?”
“Of course not, but we have a date later in the week.”
Maven sighed and looked over at her friend. “You had better hope that he doesn’t get onto a good plot, or that date won’t happen.”
It took her three hours to finish fixing the gaping holes in physics and logic, as well as a few large plot errors. The pizza was gone, Alice was napping, and the ice cream had never materialized.
Maven woke her friend up and handed her the laptop. “Done. Thanks for dinner.”
Alice eagerly opened the computer and went looking through it. “Damn. You have done it again. Wait, what did you do to the sex scene?”
Maven wrinkled her nose. “I fixed it. You can’t have sex like that in zero gravity. You have to anchor yourself somewhere, or nothing happens. No one goes anywhere.” She chuckled. “Why did you make this one sci-fi romance?”
“It sells so well for you.”
Maven snorted. “Then you should be the one writing it, not me.”
“But you are such a good book doctor!” Alice whined.
“And you paid me with pizza. Now, shoo. I have my own pathetic ramblings to work on.” Maven smiled.
Alice sighed. “Well, thanks anyway. I will let you know what my editor thinks.”
Maven nodded. “Do that. Are you happy with your publisher?”
Alice got a dreamy expression on her face. “I love going in for face-to-face meetings. There is always a chance that I can see him.”
“Who?”
“The boss. Or hell, even his secretary is hot. There is a lot of male-male fiction that has been written about those two. They work together so seamlessly.”
Maven swallowed, and her knees nearly buckled. “Right. Well, that’s good. A steady hand at the helm.”
“You should try and write a proper book, Maven. Then you could submit it and join me and the rest of the ladies in worshipping him from afar.”
Maven nodded. “Right. Not my style. Now, shoo. You have six more chapters to finish, and I only have one more day before I have to return to my day job.”
Alice left, and Maven returned to her short story. She had one more day to work before she had to go back to work at her accountancy firm. She liked pushing numbers just as much she liked working with words.
She glanced outside to see that night was firmly in control. Across the street, she saw the park, and staring at her were two glowing gold eyes. She grimaced and ignored the throb between her thighs as she pulled the drapes closed. That was enough of that.
Chapter Four
Maven finished her weekend chores and made her bed. Sure, it was after midnight, but there was nothing like falling into a bed with fresh sheets. Her previous bedding was embarrassed to be seen.
She crawled into bed and pulled the pillow against her face and rubbed her cheek against it. She inhaled deeply, and it was a moment before she realized that she wasn’t alone.
She didn’t turn around. “Argo, is there any reason that you are stalking me?”
“We just wanted to make sure that you were all right.”
“I am fine. A hot shower loosened stiff muscles and got rid of all traces of you.”
“Ouch. If you had stayed at the manor, I could have given you a massage this morning.”
She could feel the heat coming off his body but didn’t turn around to look at him. “If I had stayed at the manor, you two would have passed me back and forth between you.”
“Would that have been so bad?”
“I would have been immobile this morning.”
He chuckled. “We would have taken care of you. You aren’t afraid of sex, but you don’t indulge.”
“No. It causes issues. I prefer a calm and controlled life. Sex skews things.”
“But it is so much fun.” He moved until his hot breath was in her ear. “Why not come with me tonight?”
“Because I have plans for the morning.” She paused. “Wait, where is my car?”
“In your garage.”
She exhaled in relief.
“I could move it to the manor if it meant getting you back to us.”
She turned to glare at him and was nose to nose. “No. I have a life, and it is boring, but it