So I have this lovely cover ready for the February issue of ARDOR. 

That's all that's ready. A multitude of craziness has overtaken me, and while I had dim hopes of cranking everything out at the last minute, I just couldn't do it.

Among the other victims? My serial fiction, which shall have to wait until next week for posting (sorry guys) unless I manage to crank THAT out tomorrow before I leave for the Dreamspinner Author Workshop.

I'm going to send an issue of ARDOR briefs instead, and the February issue will just come out a bit late. Here's the positive... are you listening? If you are, you're going to luck out. If you've signed up for ARDOR by the end of the day today, February 28, you'll get info about receiving my new short, American Pride, as a special thank you for keeping up with my craziness.

It's a great story, and my subscribers have been waiting for it for a while. I can't wait for them to get to meet Dusty!

I'll be back after the Dreamspinner Workshop to talk more about my news and the events there, and hopefully by the end of next week February's issue will finally be up on the website.

I've been buried by politics. Yuck. Trying to unbury myself and proud to present Chapter 17 of The One That Feels. If you've been reading, you've probably waited anxiously for this chapter. Nem and Thommas have just made good on the promise spoken at the bridge to enter Garuth... which means there are steamy times in their future. Like immediately in their future. Like if you want to read the hot sexy steamy stuff, it's in this chapter. This one, right here.

If you haven't been reading, as tempting as it may be to skip to the steamy stuff, I'd suggest starting with Chapter 1. For real. Sure you may not need the early chapters to make sense of them having sex. But when you get to Chapter 18, you're going to be really confused if you don't start at the beginning.

February's ARDOR (my newsletter) will be coming out soon. Be sure not to miss it! To make sure, I suggest signing up for the newsletter, which gets you access to ARDOR Briefs, which show up in the alternate months and aren't available at all to non-subscribers. As always, the full newsletter is posted in beautiful pdf format on the ARDOR page.

And now... the steamy stuff:

​Chapter 17
The glow of the circle faded and I had to fight to recognize anything beyond the slim body that I held so carefully against my own. Nem’s head rested gently against my chest, his arms around me, his hands on my back. He was trembling.
 
“Nem?”
 
“I’m ready,” he choked out softly.
 
“Nem, it’s not like that.”
 
“You said… it wouldn’t be soft or gentle, that you would…”
 
“That’s had you afraid?”
 
Nem nodded against my chest.
 
“Shh,” I said, kissing his forehead, mindful of the great antlers rising from them. “It’s not what I meant, not the way you mean it.”
 
“It’s not?” he asked, the words coming out in a nervous sputter.
 
“No.” I pulled back just enough to look down at him, even as he nervously glanced away. “Look at me.”
 
He looked up, that silver fire subdued as his eyes swirled with dusky grays.
 
“I love you.”
 
He trembled and there was a flash of that gorgeous light behind the gray.
 
“Let me show you?” I asked, stroking the hairline at his forehead, past the elegant rising crown of his antlers, and lifting loose strands of liquid silver hair to tuck them back behind the curved point of his ear. He whimpered softly, and I carefully squatted and then lifted him into my arms, carrying him through the threshold to the bedroom. I set him down and stripped off my tailed jacket, letting it fall to the floor.