Excerpt Monday – The Market Part Deux

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

A little about the excerpt I am posting. This is a new novella I’ve been working on, the 2nd in a series. It still needs to be polished and edited. The hero is a textile importer and the heroine is one of the girls from The Market, a Victorian brothel in London. This is where they first meet. He has no idea who she is.

Feel free to comment or critique, I am always open to dialogue about my writing.

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There was color everywhere. It was as if a painter had gone crazy and dumped his paints all over the room, but that was typical of most modiste’s shops. Brennan cringed as a high-pitched squeal grated over his eardrums. He much preferred visiting the tailors. Squealing was not permitted. However, in a modiste’s shop it was to be expected. He sighed, reminding himself that he made a very good living by ignoring the squeals of the rich and entitled, by catering to their every desire when it came to sumptuous textiles and fabrics that decorated their homes and adorned their bodies.

He specialized in exquisite silks from the Far East and fine laces from France. He never allowed himself to imagine what those fabrics might look like against the creamy white skin of the noble women his wares catered to. Ladies like that would never deign to acknowledge a man like himself, a man in business.

Shaking himself from his reverie, he looked at the order that lay on the counter. He reviewed the list of fabrics, knowing he had everything on the list sitting in one of his three warehouses around the city. With a satisfied nod he turned to the shop assistant, “Mrs. Keeling, I should be able to provide the fabrics by Thursday without a problem.”

“Very good, Mr. Whitling. Thank you for stopping by today.” She smiled and then disappeared into the back room.

Brennan knocked the edges of the parchment together and then tucked them into his leather folio. As another peal of delight rang out through the small shop, he placed his hat atop his head and departed. Satisfied with his client visits for the day, he turned to head to his main warehouse and office by the wharf.

It was a rare day in London, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and it was almost warm. Brennan had the biggest set of orders in his folio that he had taken in months. All seemed right with his world except for one thing, he had no one with whom to share it. Most days it did not occur to him to mind his batch life, but every once in a great while he would see a woman smile up into her man’s face on the street. See the confident flow of security and love from one to the other and he would be struck by the desire to have a woman look at him that way.

Shaking off the divergent thought, Brennan headed down the street toward his office. He had too much to be happy about today. That was when he saw her. The mystery girl he’d noticed on Bond Street over the last few months. It was always a random sighting, but none the less impactful for its haphazardness.

Her bright auburn hair glinted in the sunlight like the first rays of sunset caressing the hills. Her gentle curves called out to a man’s hands in a way that a lithe woman’s figure never did. Her corset hugged her curves, exaggerating the nip of her waist and flare of her hips in the most sensual way. Brennan’s cock rose to attention heedless of how grossly inappropriate the time and place.

Strategically placing his folio over his groin, he started thinking about each order he had taken that morning, in itemized detail. Without consciously thinking about it, he kept her in sight until she ducked into a milliners shop. He decided this was going to be the day. Today he would introduce himself to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. There was no reason not to meet her when the worst that could happen was she would dismiss him and the best was he might get a chance to spend some time with her. By the time she reappeared, he had his body back under control and a plan in mind.

She emerged from the shop and stepped into the light. Brennan was just a few feet away, able to see her big brown eyes set under a thick fringe of bangs. Her smile teased the corner of her lips as men stopped to tip their hats to her. He was about to step forward to introduce himself when calamity struck.

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Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

Kaige, Historical Romance (PG13)
Allison Kelsey, Chick Lit (PG-13)
Chelsie LaFountain, Fiction/Supernatural (PG13)

Ella Drake, Space Western Romance (R)
Elise Hepner, Erotica (R)
Titus McGuire, Paranormal Drama (R)
Alexia Reed, Paranormal Romance (R)
Dara Young, Historical Romance (R)

Neil M Campbell, Romance (NC-17)
Lisa Fox, Erotic Romance (NC-17)