Six on Sunday - BEAST OF THE BAYOU

Six paragraphs from BEAST OF THE BAYOU, Subwoofers Book 1, a sensuous paranormal romance.

1. A movement off to the side caught his attention, and he turned to give Thierry a smile. He was over his initial shock from when she'd arrived this morning. There he was, expecting to see a typical female's idea of going tracking and hunting by finding her wearing blue jeans and a lightweight short sleeve or sleeveless blouse. Instead, Thierry wore a long-sleeve denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a hunting vest, olive drab cargo pants, and a pair of scuffed snakeskin boots. A Houston Texans baseball cap sat on her head. And when she'd removed the cap and placed it on the dining table before eating, he noticed she'd put her hair up into a sensible ponytail. And no makeup. The woman was stunning without a speck of cosmetics.

2. She hefted her rifle, but kept the barrel pointed down. He expected her to say something about his decision, but instead she simply nodded. Pulling a key attached to a short keychain from one of her pants pockets, she tossed it to him. Yo caught the slight hesitation in her actions. It was almost as if she didn't want to handle the keychain at all. He paused to stare at the little enamel black bear dangling from the ring, then grinned at her. "Cute."

3. He sniffed, and instantly his skin constricted. His groin tightened in response, forcing him to turn his back to her. There it was again. Her perfume, or whatever it was that caused his head to swim. Shut inside the little cabin, and being in close proximity to her, was giving his olfactory senses the chance to fill his sinus cavities with that rich, almost mesmerizing scent. Trying to cover the obvious bulge in his pants, he stepped outside to breathe in the sweet air. Thierry followed.

4. Rearing up on his hind legs, Yo slowly turned 360 degrees, testing and tasting the air for any sign, any hint of another intruder. Satisfied there was no one else around, he dropped down onto all fours and concentrated on the leaves and bushes. It didn't take him long to find the faint trace of the sharpshooter, left there when the man pushed through the undergrowth as he made his way toward the cabin. The shooter may have used every stealth method he knew, but the one variant he never thought about was the one that would ultimately help Yo track him down. Huffing, Yo proceeded to follow the trail.

5. Total disbelief swept through her, and she lifted her face to stare at the enormous black bear as it launched itself at the man, attacking the shooter from the rear while the guy was concentrated on the cabin. The animal knocked the man face-first into the ground, then took out the guy's gun, along with the hand and part of the arm, with one heavy swipe of its huge claws. The bear roared again, showing her its wide mouth filled with wicked teeth, and Thierry recognized the sound as the one she'd heard earlier.

6. Crouching, Yo prepared to leap from the dock onto the trail, when he heard a familiar whistling sound. His blood froze. Without a second thought, he threw himself into the water as the shell hit the broadside of the boat, and the craft exploded, taking out most of the dock with it.