Update and Teaser Scene

Exciting news- I now have all of the rights back for every one of my novels! So all five of them are now available on KU, or if you would like to avoid the Zon, you can purchase them directly through Ingram. Just click the link(s) below.

My sixth novel, Burn the World, was alpha read by the wonderful and amazing Cat Benson- and based on her feedback, it’s worth continuing! This is a different style of book for me- I mean it’s still a sapphic psychological thriller- but this is a three character POV. I somewhat dabbled with dual POV with Into the Blue Again, but I typically stay with single POV stories. This one gave me no choice. I couldn’t do it any other way. But I must say, it’s been a lot of fun to write.

What’s been not so great is that I’m back to work and have been creatively zapped as I adjust back into my schedule.

But Here’s a teaser excerpt from the first draft of the first chapter of Burn the World…

1 The Stand

Macy

Macy sat on the witness stand confident in herself and her testimony. The case being heard marked her first truly high-profile case and her last arrest as a beat cop. The arrest took place in a crowded shopping center where she chased the perp down, cuffed him, and hauled him in. The defendant, a known drug kingpin, eluded arrest for years for the distribution of Oxycodone and other pharmaceuticals. This arrest earned her a promotion to detective and a coveted spot on the Organized Crime Task Force.

The defense team mostly sat with their heads down, scribbling notes while she testified. Now she sat waiting to be cross-examined. The female attorney, in a bespoke black three-piece suit and tie, with black hair in a short pompadour and bright green eyes, looked up at her. The suspect's defense team owned a proud reputation for being the best in the business. The prosecutor prepped her for this trial for days leading up to now. Not to mention, she sat in the witness stand countless times and went through trial prep a million other times. The prosecutor issued her a sharp warning that this would be a tough cross-examination. Harrington and Harrington, the defendant's defense team, was a very well-known firm known to fight slightly dirty, while still playing within the rules, and they did their homework. He told her to pray that the father questions her, not the daughter. The father, who for the most part, partially retired, and the daughter, Parker, now only took on the most high-profile cases. And when Parker Harrington’s green eyes met hers for the first time, and a cocky smile played on Parker’s lips as she took Macy in, Macy's heart stopped, and a ball of need grew within her.

This trial seemed to take forever to come. Harrington and Harrington filed motion after motion, causing this trial to be endlessly delayed. She waited eagerly to prove to everyone that her work on this case should be considered flawless. Nothing less than clean and perfect. This defendant should be going to jail for a long ass time. With her prep solid, her notes clear, and the evidence she meticulously collected, this dirtbag would rot in prison.

And now she sat looking in the eyes of the attorney who wanted to invalidate it all. And she fell in love—or at least lust.

Macy closed her blue eyes and exhaled. She tried to center herself. She didn’t want to prove anyone right about Parker Harrington. But no one told her Parker Harrington appeared to be the sexiest butch in a bespoke suit she would ever lay eyes on.

Parker Harrington rarely ever lost in a trial. But neither did Macy. Her arrests always held up. Earning that reputation of clean police work in combination with this case won her that coveted detective shield. The lead prosecutor, Jared Cline, who prepped her, warned her that being a defense attorney ran in Parker’s blood. Literally, her father and his father before him, and probably the father before that, worked as defense attorneys. Their firm, Harrington and Harrington, now existed as the most sought-after firm if you found yourself charged with any crime. However, a brilliant attorney in her own right, nepo-baby could not be used to describe Parker. Macy wished that the prosecutor also told her that Parker could be best described as hot as fuck, too.

Macy pushed her red hair back off her shoulders and opened her eyes. She attempted to steady herself with a deep inhale, but found herself shaken to the core of her razor-sharp brain.

She would swear all the way to her last day that Parker winked at her. Did Parker Harrington take the time to research hard enough to uncover the fact that she ticked every box for Macy’s type? She absolutely appeared to be flirting with Macy. No. No. That’s not possible. How would she even obtain that information?

“Detective Quinn, is it?” Parker’s smooth and velvety voice resonated in Macy's chest.

“Ye…” She cleared her throat. “Yes.” Heat crept up from her center and flushed her cheeks. In Macy's opinion, the worst thing about being a natural red-head is how obvious it can be for anyone and everyone to see when she blushed, which didn't happen often until this moment.

“You note the time of day of the arrest as 8:30 PM in your police report, correct?” Parker didn't even look at her notes. Her emerald green eyes bored into Macy with utter intensity.

“Yes. That’s what is in the report.” Macy tried so hard but failed to stay confident and match the cocky assuredness of Parker.

“This alleged transaction took place outdoors, correct?”

“Um. Yes.”

“That time of year, it’s dark outside during that time, correct?”

“Yes.”

“So, it's possible that you may not have clearly seen what transpired between my client and the other gentleman?” If by gentleman, she must have meant junkie, but okay.

“No. I clearly saw it.”

“So, they stood under a street lamp?”

“No. They-”

Before she could even utter another word, “According to your report, you spotted them in an alley, correct?”

“Yes. But-” Her pulse ramped up, and she couldn’t finish a sentence before Parker cut her off with more of her aggressive, rapid-fire questioning.

“You also noted that you observed this while sitting in your patrol car, and at least twenty yards away, correct?”

“I'm not sure the exact distance-” Macy eyed Jared as he closed his eyes and shook his head subtly.

“Can you take a look at this photo?” Parker pointed to a large photo displayed on an easel within her line of sight and the jury's.

Macy looked at it. The scene in the photo appeared dark, and the images blurry due to the low lighting.

“What do you see in this photo?”

“Um, it looks like two people in a dark alley.” Macy’s voice came weak and soft.

“Do you recognize the location in the photo?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what that location is?”

“The alleyway where the arrest took place. Behind the Santa Rosa strip mall just outside of the Bradly Housing Project.”

“Are you certain?” Parker raised an eyebrow at Macy, smirking.

“No. Yes. I mean, yes.”

“Yes or no will do. So would you say that is definitive yes?”

Macy nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“What if I told you that it is not?”

“I- It is.”

“Actually, no, it isn’t. That’s a different alley in another city. The photo is, however, shot from the same distance as your patrol car would have been.”

“Objection-” Jared called as he stood. “Counsel is testifying, not cross-examining.” He tried to do his best to salvage Macy's testimony. But it proved to be a useless cause. She remained unraveled and unnerved.

Parker looked at the judge before looking at the jury. “Withdrawn, your honor.” She wore a Cheshire cat-like grin on her face.

She removed the photo from the easel and held up another one. “Do you recognize this location?”

With tears in her eyes that she fought hard not to release, Macy struggled to maintain her composure. “No.” Her voice came out weak, and she shook her head, because now reasonable doubt and uncertainty overtook her, just as it probably did within the jury. This case died in the water.

“Can you make out what the two people in the photograph are doing?”

“No.”

“Is it possible that this is the alleyway you witnessed my client and his friend in?”

“It could be?” Macy heard her answer come as a question and cringed.

“Would this be the distance from which you would have witnessed them?”

“Yes.”

“So you couldn’t with one hundred percent certainty say that you witnessed a drug deal, correct?”

“I had all-”

“A simple yes or no will do, Detective Quinn.”

She hesitated. “No?” Macy clearly spotted Jared mouthing the word fuck and she wanted to die on the spot.

“They may have just been exchanging a ‘dap’ handshake as they parted ways for the night, as the defendant claims?”

“But we-”

“Yes or no.”

“We seize-”

“Objection, your honor.” Both Parker and Jared called at the same time. Macy just wanted to melt into the chair and disappear.

The judge gave an exasperated sigh. “Let’s hear from you, Miss Harrington, first.”

“This witness is unresponsive,” Parker said matter-of-factly.

“Mr. Cline?” The judge asked.

“She’s badgering my witness.” Cline offered.

“I’m merely asking her to answer a simple yes or no question. She’s refusing to answer.” Parker looked at the judge, cool, calm, and smooth.

“Miss Harrington, your objection is sustained. Detective Quinn, you will answer the question as directed.” The judge directed her. “Mr. Cline, sit down. Overruled.”

By the time Parker finished cross-examining Macy, she wound up so flustered that she bungled all of her responses and looked like a complete idiot. Cline spent the rest of the time shrinking in his chair. All the effort he put into prepping Macy went for naught.

Parker grinned at her, a dimple in her left cheek as she unbuttoned her suit jacket and sat back behind the defense table. Her client smiled, satisfied with his counsel's performance.

That didn’t stop Macy from fantasizing about Parker that night. And the next one, too.

Needless to say, two days later, the defense rested, and a day after that, the defendent ended up released after being found not guilty. It resulted in a huge blow to her ego. She still caught herself fantasizing about Parker Harrington that night, too.

A little over a week later, when she went to Mo’s, a local bar near the court where all the cops and lawyers like to hang out, she spotted Parker sitting at the bar alone.

Her jacket off, sleeves rolled up, collar unbuttoned, and tie loosened. She sat looking at her phone, a cocktail in front of her.

Macy pulled her shoulders back and approached Parker.

When Parker didn’t look up from her phone, Macy cleared her throat, which got Parker to look at her. Those sharp green eyes focused on her, registering her presence. Grateful she wore her favorite jeans and a tight t-shirt to show off her toned and athletic physique, she felt a boost of confidence. Something Parker wouldn't have been able to see as she sat in the witness box. Her silky red hair swept up and back into a perfect ponytail. She showed a confident side that did not appear when Parker cross-examined her. She looked good. If there ever existed an excellent time to run into Parker, it would be now.

“Hi?” Parker said, more in question than anything else.

“Hi. Macy Quinn. Do you remember me?”

Parker smiled. “I do. The flustered detective.”

Macy found herself glad for the darkness of the bar, aware that her cheeks resumed flushing bright pink as they were when she testified on the stand. “Yeah… I don’t … That’s never been something that happened to me on the stand before.”

Parker’s eyebrow raised. “Hmmm.”

Macy became flustered all over again. “So, um. I just wanted to say hi.”

“Have a seat, Detective.” Parker acknowledged the empty seat next to her.

“You can just call me Macy.”

“Okay, Macy. Have a seat.”

Macy followed Parker’s order with utter obedience. She sat in the seat, and the way Parker turned to face her, their knees wound up touching. Macy inhaled the scent of the cologne Parker wore, and her mouth watered. She wanted to pull Parker in by her necktie and taste her lips. Instead, she just licked her lips and forced herself to try to act normal.

“So you don’t have some big case to be working on right now?” Parker chided.

“Just working some cold cases right now. No new clients to send your way right now, Counselor.” Macy jabbed back, getting her bearings under control.

Parker gave a small laugh. “Touché. You can just call me Parker.”

“It’s a cute name. Where did that come from?” Macy did a mental facepalm. That sounded lame as hell.

“My mom’s maiden name. What are you drinking?”

“Nothing, yet.” Macy indicated her empty hands and the bar in front of her.

Parker gave a slight nod to the bartender, and he hopped to, coming to her.“What’s up, Parker?” He asked.

“She needs a drink. Add it to my tab.”

“No- Parker-”

“I owe you one for what I did to you on the stand.” That slight dimple popped in her left cheek. She came across so fucking cocky. If it anyone else acted this way, Macy would be turned off. But with Parker, it just made her more appealing. And she could see it plainly, Parker flaunted her attitude, wearing it like a badge of honor.

“You’re never going to let that down, are you?”

“Probably not.”

Three drinks later, Macy got her wish and pulled Parker in by the necktie and landed her lips on Parker’s. Her body became electrified as heat pooled in her as Parker’s tongue met hers. The lingering of Parker's breath on her skin as she pinned Macy to the brick wall outside of Mo's, caused Macy to let out a whimper. The cool coarseness of the bricks at her back, in contrast to the soft warmth of Parker in front, made her want the world to stop. She wanted to live in this moment forever.

….

And I’m cutting it off there. Let me know in the comments what you think so far.