Contribution to Fandoms Fight the Floods - Covetous

I have been very busy lately with writing for a few fundraising efforts, this time for one very close to my heart as it involved flooding in my home state of Queensland, Australia that affected family and friends personally. 



The fundraiser blog is here and contains information on where to donate to be eligible for this compilation of one-shot fics from over 170 fandom writers.

Queensland, Australia suffered terrible floods in the month of January which covered an area roughly the size of Texas.  Since this fundraiser commenced, northern Queensland also suffered through a Category 5 Cyclone which also caused flooding in Victoria , a southern state of Australia.  It is estimated that it will take over 2 years to rebuild after such huge losses so your donations to this cause are much appreciated.

I chose to write an epilogue for Covet, my entry in the 'In the Closet' contest - it was a vamp slash one-shot and many reviewers wondered what happened next....so here it is - well the teaser anyway. To see the whole fic please donate and you will receive as part of the compilation.  The story will post on my fanfiction profile sometime in June. 

If you haven't read the original one-shot, Covet, and would like to, you can read it here.

Banner made by the lovely vbfb19 - to see more of her work click here.

Summary: For fifty years, Jasper had been torn between his secret love for Edward, his mate and his duty to Alice, his wife, for saving his soul.  Now, by a twist of fate, Jasper is free to be with Edward and learns just how covetous his mate can be.

Teaser:

"Alice let me into her mind this morning,” he told me sombrely. “She showed me everything she’s been having visions of since she met the family; and please, believe me when I tell you that she didn't want to deceive you, Jasper. It was truly the only way for us to be together as well as for her and Bella to be together. She showed me some of the outcomes if she had done things differently and it wasn’t pretty. I can barely stand to think what I would have done to that harmless little child if we’d come to Forks any earlier than we did.” Edward shuddered as he relived Alice’s vision.



“I do believe you, Edward. It’s just been so much to take in. After all these years of waiting and hoping, suddenly everything has changed for us overnight and I can’t help but feel that this is all a dream that I will wake up from. I feel a little afraid of happiness being snatched away right in front of me again. I’m still in shock and can’t seem to shake this feeling that something will go wrong.”


Edward’s mood shifted suddenly from almost euphoric to downright melancholy at my words. I felt terrible, bursting his bubble of happiness and wished I’d kept my thoughts to myself.


Edward snorted at that! Yeah, fat lot of good that would have done when I’m in love with a mind-reader!


"And he’s desperately in love with you, too.” Edward spoke fervently, his eyes glittering with something; an intensity and openness that I’d yet to see in them before. Normally, his gaze, although loving when we were alone, looked tortured and resigned to a love unfulfilled.


I am such a dick! We’ve only waited an excruciatingly long fifty odd years to be together in truth and I fuck everything up within the first few minutes. We should be rejoicing at our good fortune, this chance to start a new life together and explore the world as the mated couple we should have been from the start.


Edward was shaking his head at my thoughts, but I needed to say this out loud. I needed to fix what my errant worries had caused. No more shall I bring those dark shadows to Edward’s eyes or the deepest depths of misery to his heart. I shifted in my seat, bringing me closer to Edward and my free hand reached to gently cup his jaw, my lips placed feather light kisses along its chiselled length.


"Fuck, Edward! I’m so sorry. I’m such a fool. Of course I’m happy to be with you, ecstatically happy and I can’t wait to start our lives together. I’ve had to hide my love for you far too long and I can think of nothing better than spending the rest of eternity with you.”


Thankfully, I could feel the uncertainty receding from Edward’s emotions at my words and thoughts. At that moment, I knew what I wanted…no, what I needed to make me believe this was real and not a wonderful dream I would awaken from.


“Edward, I’d really like to stop if we can for a little while. Things have moved too fast this morning and I am a little bit of a mess actually. I need to feel your arms around me, to ground me…to center me. Is that okay?”


Edward nodded thoughtfully and then jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left, steering the Volvo into a secluded turnoff deep within the forest alongside the highway heading into Seattle. As Edward switched off the ignition, he turned to me and took my face into his hands, smiling as he gently took my lips in a soft slow kiss.


With the first brush of his lips against mine, his long fingers stroking my jaw, everything else simply fell away; it was just the two of us in this moment and would be every moment thereafter.


"Jasper, I've waited so long for this. I’ve dreamed of what it would be like to be with you fully and openly; to be able to proclaim you as my mate and lover to the entire world. It's all so surreal! This is the best day of my life next to the day you walked into it. I love you with all my heart and soul and to be able to kiss you and touch you and make love to you when you're mine and mine alone is everything to me.”


“Everything,” he whispered into my ear reverently.

Suz xxxxx

Fandom against Domestic Violence (FaDV) compilation - Heart of Glass

Hi Followers,

I have just contributed a one-shot to the Fandom against Domestic Violence compilation.  To see the other authors and more information about the fundraiser, visit the blog here. The compilation of over 100 stories is available for anyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence during the month of February 2011  here and then sends a copy of the donation receipt to  fandomagainstdomesticviolence@gmail.com

The National Coalition page also has a lot of information for women, men & children in a domestic violence situation as well as ways others can help.

This is a cause close to my heart.  I left an abusive relationship with two small children and $20 to my name only through the support of close family and friends. Not everybody has that support and tragedies can and do occur every day.

A Teaser and Banner for my contribution - Heart of Glass

Banner made by the sexy Robrator. To see more of her banner work go here.

Summary:

Two shattered hearts. Bella is lonely and scared after escaping a violent marriage with two children and a mountain of debt. Edward is jaded and lonely after a stinging betrayal. Can caring for a sick little boy be the glue that puts them back together?

Tease:

Today was not going to be a good day. To start with, my employers at the stationery wholesale outlet were not very happy that I was taking another half day to take Riley to see the Paediatrician for more tests. It’s not like I didn’t have the time up my sleeve, and I was taking the time as part of my vacation time, which I was fully entitled to.


On top of that, Dr. Volturi had called me to say that he was taking a six months sabbatical to Europe with his wife, and that he had organised a locum to take over his patients for the duration of his absence. He assured me that the locum was highly qualified and that he had gone over Riley’s case file very meticulously with the new doctor. I knew I shouldn’t be worried but I couldn’t help it. Finally I had found a doctor I could put faith into and now he was gone.


I worked the morning at the office, run off my feet, trying to fit a full day’s work into four hours and then after picking up Riley from school, barely made it to the hospital in time for our appointment to see the new doctor. Dr Cullen I think his name is.


The Doctor’s receptionist and her assistant seemed all aflutter, and the mood, although usually upbeat anyway, was positively electric today. From thinking I was going to run late, to cooling my heels in the waiting room for what seemed like forever, I started to notice the odd behaviour of some of the moms exiting the doctor’s office. Was I the only woman not wearing a low cut or partially unbuttoned shirt and an itty bitty skirt today?


Finally it was Riley’s turn, and I could see what all the fuss was about as soon as the receptionist showed us into to the Doctor’s office and introduced us. Edward Cullen was the most singularly attractive man I had ever seen, and he had eyes for no one but my son. Even though this was the same office where we had met Dr Volturi, it felt different with the presence of a different doctor. Nothing was out of place or changed from when I was here, but I felt different. Now, instead of worry for my son, I felt uncomfortably aware of the attractiveness of the good Doctor with his distinctive shock of bronze-colored hair and the most unusual green eyes.


As soon as we were settled in the comfortable chairs next to the Doctor’s desk, Dr. Cullen turned to Riley and said. “Now, Riley, what seems to be the problem?”


I started to list all the symptoms but Dr Cullen raised his finger to his lips and shushed me. Yes…he damn well shushed me.


I opened my mouth to express my displeasure when he leaned closer to Riley and faux whispered, “Oh dear, your mom thinks her name’s Riley. I think she has a case of mistaken identity, what do you think?” and wiggled his eyebrows.

If you are unable to contribute to the cause, don't worry - the one-shot will be posted to my profile in the middle of March sometime after the fundraiser is over.

Hugs

Suz xxxxx

Teaser - Chapter 14 - Scent of a Woman - Repercussions

Unbelievable as it may seem - yes the next chapter of Scent is off with my beta to pretty it up. While we're waiting, here is a little tease:

From Chapter 13-


The next few minutes were a blur. I remember Edward suddenly jerking his head around towards Alice on the other side of the car and glaring at her. They both just as quickly jerked back towards me and Edward yelled something out to me but a noisy engine and a squeal of tires drowned out his words.


Edward’s arm shot out pointing at something behind me and as if in slow motion, I wheeled around and saw a large blue van careening across the ice straight towards me. Unlike my truck, my feet were not well equipped to deal with an icy surface and as I moved to get out of the way, they failed me. I started sliding and then scrabbling in fear for my life, making me desperate. Out of nowhere, something slammed into my left side and I hit the ground hard, my skull bouncing on the icy cold surface and then there was just nothing but blissful blackness.


I think I must have been dreaming but I could swear there was a faint scent of pine trees, strong arms gently holding me, cold lips caressing my forehead and a whispered litany of words over and over “Not again…please God…not again.”

Tease for Chapter 14: (unbeta'd)

Emmett snapped me out of my morose thoughts by slapping me on the back and giving me a bear hug just before I got into the Volvo. “You will be fine today, little bro! We’ve got your back!”


Why had I never noticed before how much Emmett looks out for me and for the rest of the family? His eternal optimism is actually quite uplifting and I resolve to start the day as I mean it to continue – confident in my ability to pull this off. I hug Emmett back and note his surprise at the feel of my arms around him, squeezing him a little more than was comfortable.

I grin and slip into my seat, Alice and Jasper already buckled in and ready to go. Alice knows something but is taking my request to heart. At the moment instead of giving me a sneak peak of my day she is naming every variation of the color blue. I chuckle at her choice, remembering Bella’s silky blue panties, hidden inside my own underwear drawer, the analogy not lost on me at all.

Once Emmett and Rosalie are ready to go in the Jeep parked alongside, I turn the key in the ignition and jump at the music blaring out of my car speakers. Alice! Muse’s Feeling Good assaults my eardrums and I outright laugh. Both Alice and Jasper do a double take at the happy sound and smile almost as wide as I am. As I drive towards school, all of us hum along until the chorus and then all burst into song at the sheer joy we are feeling…it’s addictive!

It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life

For me

And I’m feeling good

Alice and I are tapping the drum beats out on the dash and Jasper on the back of my seat as we pull into the school parking lot moments after Bella in her truck. I sit there for a moment to collect myself, taking a deep breath I don’t need before I step out of the Volvo and turn to towards Bella.

She is standing there at the door of her truck, her backpack slung over her shoulders and her hands full with gloves and her iPod. She acknowledges me with a smile and I am transfixed at the sight of her standing there watching at me. I can feel my lips curve upwards of their own volition in response to her avid perusal, it isn’t a conscious action.

Despite the fact that I was by her side only hours ago, I’m instantly drawn to her, instinctively needing to be by her side, to keep her safe and free from harm. I know it’s irrational – I mean really what harm could befall her in a school parking lot surrounded by a ton of students on a day like every other day. I couldn’t help feeling this way though; it’s not as if fate has been kind to me in the matter of love and my soul mate. Time and again the love of my life has been ripped from my life and I am paranoid that it will happen again.

dun dun dun ......

Suz xoxoxoxo

Fandom for Preemies - Mistress of My Heart - to be continued...

I have just posted my contribution to the Fandom for Preemies compilation - Mistress of my Heart.  This one-shot is now being extended into a full length fic after Christmas....

Summary: No one would accuse Edward of having a submissive personality but when he believes that Bella is leaving him for his own good he’s determined to do anything to keep Bella in his life…even if it means relinquishing complete control to the love of his life.

I have 3 banners for the story and can't choose between them so all 3 are below:

Christine from Christag_Banners (bannermaker extraordinaire and all round cool chick) made the first two and I was mucking around one night with a free program and made the final one after I had written the story. 

A little teaser:

I had never thought of myself as a weak man or possessing any kind of a submissive nature. Quite the opposite, in fact. My job was in senior management at a large corporation – Financial Controller of Cullen Enterprises, and I directly managed a team of fifty accountants, planners and clerical staff. I was used to making decisions and giving orders all day, every day and, on most occasions, I also chaired the Board Meetings as the current Chairman since Carlisle Cullen himself, had recently moved into semi-retirement in order to spend time with his wife, Esme.


However, I loved it whenever Bella took the initiative in the bedroom, her every action showing me how much she loved and desired me. These times had been so freeing for me, giving the power to someone else, not having to be the one always responsible for making decisions, to be able to simply feel and respond.

My future happiness was dependent on this night and right at this moment my gut was churning and I could feel myself starting to even sweat a little at the thought that this last ditch attempt with Bella might fail.

Not to be too melodramatic, but the rest of my life would be determined by what would take place in this room over the next few hours. I was nervous about what I hoped would happen. But I was equally determined to move forward with my plan for the evening. I had never done anything like this, but then again, I had never faced anything like the last six months before and I was prepared to do anything it took.

To be quite honest, I think Bella is planning on leaving me. She has been more distant with me than ever before and keeps telling me that I deserve someone who is not as broken as she is. She is trying to do the right thing by me, even though I constantly tell her that the right thing for me is to be with her, in whatever capacity she wants. She hasn’t agreed with me for months.

My plan to relinquish complete control to Bella in the bedroom is my last ditch effort to save our relationship.

To read more, click here.

Enjoy

Suz

Teaser - Chapter 13 of Scent of a Woman

Yes, it's true.  You're not seeing things...Chapter 13 has finally been stitched up and sent off to my beta in the early hours of this morning.  I have no idea why I had so much trouble finalising this chapter...maybe it was my preoccupation worrying about the number 13 lol! I have been busy with some contests and a contribution to the Preemie Compilation and 2 chapters of Menage and I hurt my arm and couldn't type...but never fear I have already got a fair bit (okay a little bit) of Chapter 14 written.

Oh and before I forget, the lovely @callsignC30 reviewed Scent of a Woman on TwiFicPromotions  a few weeks ago and said lots of lovely things about it....if you haven't seen the review and would like to, here is the link :-)

A little unbeta'd teaser while beans827 performs her magic on the chapter:

From Chapter 12-



“Edward, can I ask you a question?”


He glanced up from his notebook and nodded slowly when he met my eyes. I was lost for long moments, floating in the warm golden sea of his eyes. Beautiful.


I shook my head to rid myself of its sudden stupor and plucked up my courage, “This may seem like a really strange question, but have we met before? You seem very familiar to me, but I just can’t seem to place where I know you from.”


Right in front of my eyes, Edward’s face broke out into the most brilliant smile I had ever seen. Then he lifted my fingers to his lips, just like I had seen him do before in my dreams, and gently kissed my knuckles before whispering, “Yes Bella, we have met before, but I’m not sure you’ll believe me as to where.”


My fingers were tingling from the contact with his cold hand and cold lips and it was a minute before his words caught up with me. What the hell did he mean?


Forks 2005

-Edward-

She remembered me!

Or, at the very least, it seemed that her subconscious knew me, knew that I was familiar and was trying to bring me to the surface of Bella’s brain through her vivid dreams. Could it be this easy? Could I simply tell Bella that we’d met each other before in her previous lives and the prompt would trigger her mind to remember everything?

Bella’s question threw me for a loop; never once had my soul mate recognized me to this extent. Our souls had always been drawn together naturally and I had used that, and the fact that I could read my love’s mind, to my advantage in pursuing a relationship.

She remembered me!

That’s all I could think about as I watched her, watching me, nervously biting her lip after she had asked her question. I was leaving her hanging as I stared at her, her nervousness increasing as I worked through the feelings her recognition caused, my inner turmoil as I sorted through a half dozen scenarios about what to tell her.

She remembered me!

Without realizing it, my hand had snaked across the table and taken hers within its firm grip. The feel of her warm skin, her blood flowing so close to the surface, each heartbeat pulsing against the pads of my fingers woke me from the daze her words invoked.

The desire to touch her, to feel her warm skin against mine had always been strong, overpowering, and that had not waned over time. I had never been able to get close enough to her to be satisfied, not even in the throes of passion that we had shared over the years.

Could it be different…more…all encompassing, if she knew all there was to know? Would our union transcend the highest plane if she knew and remembered how deep our bond truly was?

........... and later

Emmett couldn’t stop smiling as he rounded the corner. He was getting the chance to talk to Bella in person, the object of his brother’s affection. Emmett sorely missed his human brother, Ethan, long dead these many years, and was jumping at the bit to take me under his wing and impart his knowledge of the fairer sex.

As soon as I saw them at the end of the hall, I stopped breathing and slumped against the wall as if weak with illness and whispered to him, so fast and so softly that Bella had no idea we were even conversing, to stand between Bella and I until we were safely away from the school.

“Thank you, Bella. I think I might have come back to school a little early, I’m not quite feeling myself just yet.”

She nodded and started to walk back to the classroom as I moved away from the wall and walked towards the front door with Emmett pretending to support me. Bella called out to me just before we reached the outside world.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you haven’t yet answered my question, Edward Cullen.”

Emmett’s eyebrows rose and he couldn’t help himself, “Dude,” he whispered, “has Bella asked you out?” then grunted as I elbowed him hard in the side.

------------ and a little cliffy based on the story summary:



Story Summary: When Edward vaulted over the Volvo to save Bella from being crushed by the van, Alice had heard him whisper, "Not her!". What she didn't hear were the next two, "Not again!".

Teaser - Chapter 6 of Menage a Trois - Camaraderie

Finally Chapter 6 of Menage a Trois is with my beta so thought I would send out a little teaser while your waiting.

First some pic teasers:

And now for the unbeta'd tease:

Once Jasper was settled into West Point, he had a lot more free weekends and spent all of them with us in New York. I hadn’t had a really close male friend for years, probably not since college, and Jasper surprisingly filled that role with little effort, despite his past with Bella. I’d known the boys from the work band for longer, and although they were all good mates, we usually only hung out on a group basis, never really one on one.

Jasper and I bonded over our love of music initially. Whenever he was in town, we spent hours together mucking around on my guitars and some of my other instruments. Hours disappeared as if they were mere minutes in his company. Jasper was a whizz at finger style blues guitar which I had only ever dabbled in before and we spent many an afternoon with Jasper teaching me some of his favorite old blues songs. He was a great teacher…very patient and focused. In return I taught him some classical songs including a version of Clare de Lune written for two guitars. It was one of my favorite pieces and sounded amazing with our two guitars harmonizing.


Bella was usually quite content to sit and listen or read a book while we jammed together. She refused to let me teach her, although I would’ve dearly loved to and I’d tried to convince her to let me a number of times over the last few months. She kept insisting that an old boyfriend had tried, but that she was all thumbs and she just wasn’t coordinated enough. The boyfriend, James, had ended up frustrated with her and all they’d done was fight. She didn’t want that to happen with us and she kept reminding me that she was more than happy to simply be my groupie.


Tonight, as usual I gave in, probably because I loved it when Bella wanted to role play…and holy hell my favorite was when she pretended to be my groupie. So sue me…who wouldn’t like their woman going all fangirl over them?


Suzanne

3rd Place Winner - anon Beautiful Edward Challenge - Beauty Crowds Me

Hi All,

I'm so excited and needed to share - my little one shot 'Beauty Crowds Me' won 3rd place in the Beautiful Edward Challenge yesterday. It was an anonymous contest so this is the first time its been posted on my profile.  I received a 3rd place banner for "Delectable Edward" as the prize :-)

Yay - my fave Edward doing the STRUT from New Moon. Sigh!

Here is a little banner I made for the story on Paint...it's basic but I think it conveys what the story is about:

Summary: Edward is beautiful, of that there is no doubt. His looks have opened so many doors for him, but it has closed just as many others. Has the door slammed shut on what he truly wants? Beautiful Edward Challenge Entry.


Link to Beauty Crowds Me on my fanfiction profile here

Link to Beautiful Edward Challenge entries here if you would like to read the other entries to the contest

Congratulation to the other winners - albymangroves, mpg82 and ILoveTweedward :-)

Suzanne