Tag: xmas contest

_____ was the first man she’d seen whose scars were a fact of life. On him, they were a testament to his strength and will to survive. At least two of his scars would have been life threatening. He’d received them fighting for his life. As a scientist, _____ should have been impassive, looking at them. As a woman, she wanted to know how he’d gotten each one. She wanted to ask if it had hurt.

There was another scar on his forearm. It looked like it had come too close to severing part of his limb. _____ watched her hand reach for that arm, as if she weren’t in control of it.

_____ caught it in a flash, squeezing her wrist just enough to let her know he could crush it if he chose to. It startled her into looking up into his eyes again. Don’t, they warned.

Possible points: 7

Complete contest rules here.

The fantasy made the region around her heart ache. Why couldn’t she have met a guy like this before? Maybe if she had, her life would have turned out differently. Maybe he could have kept her thoughts and dreams occupied with more pleasant things than what those around her were thinking. Maybe she could have woken up with him, and spent her days smiling about how lucky she was, and come back home to sleep in his arms at night.

Maybe he would have kept her so busy in his bed that she wouldn’t have had time to think about anything else. Ah, sex. _____ remembered having had it. So very long ago. Remembered not being impressed with it. She should have known better, though. Nothing was ever as good as the books made it seem. _____ had built her hopes up with a steady diet of romance novels in which the hero was … well, like this guy, and everything turned out perfect when he found his heroine.

If she let herself, _____ could pretend that this was the beginning of some steamy romance novel. Wouldn’t be difficult, really. The plot had already begun with a complicated situation, and now here she was, trapped with the hero of the tale, with nowhere to turn except into his arms.

Possible points: 7

Complete contest rules here.

The doc cleared her throat. “In light of the unusual circumstances,”—her tone said just how much of an understatement that was—“I am willing to put aside what happened earlier, for now. I believe it is … not impossible … for us to have a rational conversation. After which, of course, I will expect you to leave.”

It would have sounded almost professional if he didn’t keep picturing her naked. “Fair enough,” he managed. “Please, sit.”

She hesitated, but finally sat, leaving plenty of room for herself, in case she had to bolt. He really hoped she wouldn’t. If he had to chase her down again, he might be tempted to do something stupid. “Who are you?” she asked, for the third time.

He answered only because she looked like she might actually hear him this time.

Possible points: 9

Complete contest rules here.