I'm Afraid ... A new short story to be featured in an upcoming Clever Fiction Anthology

“I love you.”

That’s what I want to say as I look up at you, but I don’t.

I am struck by your beauty, your face softened by the yellow glow of the new spring moon. That same light enhances the fullness of your black hair, casts shadows over eyes already as dark as the night sky above us. Yes, I see beauty in a man! My heart thumps. Butterflies soar within me as they would among the flowers in the day; a gentle, fluttering-tingle in the silence. No, not completely silent – lying beneath you, cloaked by the night, I hear our hearts beating.

Wait! I turn my head, straining to hear more; whispering, among the trees, the hum of a peaceful breeze. I love you. How I long to say those words to you. I sigh instead and gaze, unseeing, into the darkness. My arms drop to my sides as concern gives way to fear. I’m afraid of offering you my heart and you refusing to take it.

Your hand, soft against my face, urges me to look back. I am lost again in your dark eyes glowing with the light of new desire. Your hair against your forehead, dampened by earlier exertion, bids my fingers to push it out of the way, to simply touch you. I reach up and you grab my hand, kiss my wrist, a soft press of love-swollen lips to the tender flesh there.

Now, I can’t remember why I raised my hand. Your mouth curls upward at the corners – you know what you have done...


Read the rest of this romantic short story over at Clever Fiction: Short Stories for the Real World  and look for the tiny twist...

This story, along with several others from the amazing authors over at Clever Fiction, will be included in a Romantic/Relationship themed anthology of short stories using the prompt New/Whisper/Spring. The name of the book is Whispered Beginnings. I'm Afraid is loosely tied to my upcoming novel To Dance With The Enemy. If you'd like to read the short that started that ball rolling, you'll find it on the Clever Fiction site as well: http://www.cleverfiction.com/7/post/2011/10/to-dance-with-the-enemy.html and the original cover for that book may be found here on my blog: http://writersshelflife.blogspot.com/2011/10/marked-to-dance-with-enemy.html. That cover is being replaced by one using the couple above as Elenya and Tahruk have evolved. Hard to believe she started with jet black hair and he was a blond! Thanks to cover model Jimmy Thomas and his vast array of lovely female companions over at Romance Novel Covers for providing the visual that became my characters.

I'd like to say THANK YOU to my friend, Psychological Thriller Writer, Andrew E. Kaufman for offering editorial services on I'm Afraid. I know it wasn't an easy task, but when I asked him to read it and he wanted to know if I wanted a simple "it's okay" or for him to be brutally honest and I accepted the later, he really helped me clean it up and pull the story together. Greatly appreciated, my friend. And, if you want an amazing story that is well written, even though it isn't a romance, I'd highly recommend Drew's latest release: The Lion, The Lamb, The Hunted, available on Amazon.

Happy reading! Keep a lookout for Whispered Beginnings. I'll be posting more about it here in the near future.