Project: Wildfire
Today’s word count: 266
Total word count: 19,741
Excerpt of the Day:
"Almost there," he said as he reached into the storage box of the centre console and then, with a swift move, pressed the loaded hypo against the boy's neck and triggered it before Hunter could even react. An unintelligible word escaped his pale lips as he realised what had happened, but by then it was far too late. The drug Cade had injected was strong and powerful, and fast-acting, and there was enough of it to knock out a horse. Even so, with the boy's high tolerance, it took him much longer than usual to fall unconscious, lips still moving silently as his head lolled to one side.
"Of course," Cade noted to the unconscious boy as he put the hypo away and settled his hands back on the wheel, guiding the car down toward the warehouse district, a satisfied smile on his lips. "I can't let you see exactly where we're going."
Notes:
It’s still slow going at the moment, but we’re about to get to the meat of the story and the part that I wrote out in the short story that turned out to be a novella and now is becoming a novel. So very hopefully, it will go a little smoother from here on out, at least with Hunter and Cade’s chapters.
Project: Wildfire
Today’s word count: 366
Total word count: 19,471
Excerpt of the Day:
"You know my name," Hunter said, a suggestive smile crossing his lips as Cade looked over at him, the boy's eyes flicking up and down his body, clearly liking what he was seeing, forgetting that he'd just gotten into a car with a complete stranger. Probably assuming that Cade had gotten his name back at the club. "What do I call you?"
"Cade," he answered, truthfully enough. It was the name he went by these days, after all, and there was no reason to tell the boy an equally false one. "You can call me Cade. Tell me, why did you get in the car with me?"
Notes:
Heyyyyy, I got some words in on Wildfire! It’s not that I haven’t written at all this month; in fact, I’ve been super productive. It’s just that all my writing has been for my roleplaying characters.
Anyway, decided to get back to Wildfire, and hopefully, I’ll make this a thing now and not focus all my energy on my roleplaying.
After all, we’re getting to the exciting part now. Mwhahahah!
Project: Wildfire
Today’s word count: 857
Total word count: 18,526
Excerpt of the Day:
"Yeah, I know him," Hunter answered with a shrug of his bare shoulder after the cop - name of Duchamp - had shown him a picture on her phone. One she'd had trouble even accessing, which might have amused him if he hadn't been dragged out of the cage and back here in the storeroom for a chat. "So? What'd he do?"
"Doesn't matter what he did. What I'd like to know if what he did when he was here?"
"What do you think he did, Detective? Most people don't come here just for the drinks, you know."
Notes:
Oh no! Coppus Interruptus! Not to worry, folks. Although Duchamp came in and messed up the chance for Hunter and Cade to meet, there’s still hope that it will happen and soon!
Project: Wildfire
Today’s word count: 122
Total word count: 18,648
Excerpt of the Day:
Back on the floor of the club, it only took a quick glance around to see that the Dark and Handsome had disappeared and Hunter muttered a curse under his breath as he headed back toward the cage above the bar. He still owed Rook another hour of dancing before he could take his place down among the patrons, trying to pick up someone to take back to his room. He'd hoped that could have been the man in the corner, but with him gone, he'd have to settle for second best. If he was lucky, the guy had just gone to the bathroom, and would be back any minute now, but Hunter knew deep down that he'd have no such luck.
Notes:
Not a lot of words today, but it’s something, at least. And soon, very very soon, the first meeting between Hunter and Cade will happen! Whooop!
Project: Wildfire
Today’s word count: 622
Total word count: 17,669
Excerpt of the Day:
Turning his back, his looked over his shoulder, shooting a look across the club to the man in the corner and gave him a wink along with an inviting nod of the head. Even if the promise had been two hours of dancing in the cage, that didn't mean Rook would deny a direct request for his company. He'd just have to make up for it later on. And coming back to the cage after spending an hour or two with Dark and Handsome definitely seemed worth it to Hunter, so he kept on trying to lure the man with gestures that became more and more obvious until the bartender made a noise loud enough to carry over the music.
Notes:
Yes! Yes! Yes! Getting closer to Hunter and Cade meeting now! At least now, they’ve both seen each other. Question remains, will they actually meet in this scene...?
(@kbcypher: Count this as the last sentence tag, mkay?)
Tagged by @kbcypher, who forgot to assign words, so I’m using bright and storm. Found bright twice, but no storm.
For long moments Rook just stood there, fists still on his hips as he regarded Hunter with his too-bright blue eyes; a colour that most definitely didn't belong in a face that was almost as black as night.
Straight ahead was a wall of glass, the windows polarised to a point where it was difficult to see outside. Probably done by the first detectives on scene to avoid the prying eyes of the press from looking in from outside. Scanning that wall of glass, and recording it with her phone, her eyes quickly found the small hole of bright light, nodding to herself as if that little hole in itself confirmed her theory.
Tagging @christinawritesfiction, @lisa-writing, and @prideandpen. Your words are song and help. As always, feel free to ignore if you don’t want to do this.
Here it is. That flashback scene between Rafael and Hunter I’ve talked about a few times. I’m not entirely sure about the timeline of my story (really need to do something about that!), but this is at the beginning of their relationship, maybe a few weeks or so after they’ve first met.
Winter Light
"Where do you want me?" Hunter asked, stepping out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of cut-off jeans and the long brown leather shoelace wound around his neck as a piece of cheap jewelry. The smoky-eye makeup he'd done was deliberately smudged and his pupils were tiny in a clear sign of being under the influence of Bliss, making his pale blue eyes look enormous.
Rafael's heart skipped a beat at the sight, his breath catching in his chest. On the one hand, he loved Hunter's sleek feline movements and the way he seemed so comfortable in his own skin. On the other hand, he absolutely hated the drugs, the reasons why Hunter used them, and what they did to him.
"Earth to Rafi," Hunter called, coming up to him with a playful smile on his face, reaching with a hand to stroke a pair of fingertips across his cheek before leaning in for a kiss. Pulling away, he looked Rafael in the eye, while he kept his hand on his cheek, raising a brow in a questioning expression. "Where did you want me?"
He blinked, still savouring the gentle touch on his cheek and the taste of Hunter's lips on his. He made it so hard to focus sometimes, and Rafael wasn't even sure if Hunter realised how much of a distraction he could be just by doing those little things. A touch. A smile. A sideways glance in his direction. "Yeah, sorry," he said, waving over to the large window with the built in seat. The late afternoon sun was streaming in by now, and it would make the most perfect backdrop with Hunter sitting there. Bathed in winter light. Not unlike a saint, and yet so very unlike a saint. "By the window. Leaning on the brick, one leg up, the other stretched."
Walking over to the window, Hunter's hips swayed in the most sensual and alluring way, and Rafael had to draw in a deep breath, thinking of cold showers and ice baths, to keep himself from grabbing Hunter and dragging him over to the bed in the other corner of the loft. Instead, he just watched as Hunter arranged his beautiful body in the way he'd been told, taking the initiative to put his arm on the raised knee in a relaxed pose, which he made look so easy and effortless. Head back against the brick, he turned to look out the window with a look of yearning, and once again Rafael felt his breath taken away. "Like this?" Hunter asked, looking sideways at Rafael without moving a single muscle.
"Perfect."
For long seconds, he just stood there, enjoying the view, then had to shake himself mentally to remember what it was he was supposed to be doing here. After turning on the music - an hours-long mix of centuries worth of instrumental tracks - Rafael went to the easel, stood there for a moment, then moved it, so he could better capture that amazing expression on Hunter's face, still turned away but now more in profile. Picking up a piece of charcoal, he started sketching out the foundation in quick strokes, getting the lines of Hunter's body and face onto canvas, filling the empty white space with dark lines.
With the rough sketch done, Rafael wiped his fingers in his jeans, leaving streaks of black on top of denim that already had several layers of paint splatter, dusty chalk, and charcoal worked into it.
Meanwhile, Hunter seemed completely oblivious to anything going on, sitting still as a statue. If it hadn't been for the occasional slow blink of his eyes, and the slow shallow rise and fall of his chest, Rafael could easily have been fooled into thinking that what he had in front of him was a very realistic mannequin or one of those new androids they said were almost indistinguishable from humans. "Hey," he called, despite not really wanting to disturb that image of perfection sitting in the window. "You doing okay over there, Hunt?"
"Hmm?" came the reply, after a long pause as if Hunter had to struggle to return to reality from wherever he'd gone in the past fifteen or twenty minutes. Still, he didn't move, his gaze still on something out there that Rafael couldn't see, and maybe something that was only in Hunter's mind. "Yeah. I'm good." Shifting his head just a fraction, his eyes narrowed a bit as his brow furrowed, a look of confusion that marred his features, voice slow and slurred as he spoke. "Did you finish? Guess I spaced out there, Rafi... sorry."
Doped out more like it, Rafael thought, wincing at himself at the bitterness in those words. It wasn't fair to blame Hunter for his addiction. Certainly not when he had addictions of his own, and though they took on a different form, they were possibly even more life threatening than Hunter's drug use. "No," he said, picking up the palette to begin smearing paints out on the already well-used and multicoloured surface. "I finished the sketch, but I still want to get a bit of paint on it before we call it a day."
"Mm, good," was the only thing Hunter said before falling silent again, forehead relaxing and the yearning look out the window resumed. What a fabulous actor he'd have made, Rafael thought as he began mixing paints, starting with the faded sunset light - almost coppery in its colour - that streamed in through the large window. Falling into a trance of his own, Rafael worked colours into the canvas, slowly transforming it from a stark black and white piece into that of a beautiful body bathed in light.
"Rafi?" came the voice, cutting through his concentration and focus. Made him realise that it was dark and the light he'd tried to copy onto the canvas was long since gone. The painting was far from finished, but he'd made a good start, managing to capture the essence of the winter sunset, and the young man posed at the window, watching it. That same young man had disappeared from his spot now, Rafael saw, just as he felt a hand reach for his to gently remove the paintbrush from it and lay it aside before prying the palette from the other hand. Arms closing around his waist, Hunter rested his chin on Rafael's shoulder, looking at the painting in front of them. "It's beautiful."
"It's not done."
"Still beautiful. You can't tell me any different."
"It'll be better when it's finished," Rafael insisted, but anything else he might have said was cut off by a kiss to the crook of his neck, right at the sweet spot, which sent a shiver down his spine and made him close his eyes. Just like Hunter, knowing exactly how to get under his skin and make him stop worrying over an unfinished painting, or composition, or anything, really.
"Come on," Hunter said, his hot breath on Rafael's neck as he turned them both around, then slid his arms away from Rafael's waist to take his hand instead, dragging him over to the bed with him. "Time for a break."
"Yes," was all Rafael said as he was led to the bed, gently pushed down and turned around to lie on his belly. Warm fingers slid under the hem of his t-shirt to remove it and toss it aside. He was exhausted, his muscles hard and tense, all his energy having gone into the painting, but under Hunter's capable and confident massage, he became soft and relaxed, spinning away into an entirely different kind of trance. In that space between being awake and falling asleep, he turned around and dug his fingers into Hunter's hair, pulling him close to capture his lips in a long, slow, and lazy kiss. How he loved the taste of Hunter's lips, the shape of them, and how the lower one seemed to fit just perfectly between his teeth as he bit it lightly.
Content with slow, sensual kisses, and the feel of Hunter's hands all over his skin, Rafael could hardly imagine a better way to put an end to a wonderfully exhausting session. He was like putty in Hunter's hands, and in that regard it was all too easy to imagine his lover as the true artist in this relationship; one who could make the art of lovemaking into a masterpiece that would be utterly unforgettable in times to come. Tonight was no different, and over the next few hours, Rafael forgot all about being tired and allowed himself to become the subject of Hunter's so very artistic hands and body, taking him to a place filled only with deep satisfaction and ecstasy.
When he woke the next morning, he didn't even have to open his eyes to know that Hunter had already gone. The space beside him was cold and empty, the sound of breathing absent. No noise came from the bathroom, or the small kitchenette in another corner of the loft. A sharp jab of pure disappointment made its way into Rafael's heart, and he snapped a breath at the emotion. It was no surprise, no new thing, but it hurt just as much every time. Hunter would take him to heaven, and then just as easily leave him in a cold and desolate hell the next morning in order to go in search of the satisfaction of his other addiction. Rafael hated that part, and yet, he could not deny a deep and all-consuming love for Hunter. One that he feared might be his undoing.
Sighing, he rolled out of bed, stretched and padded to the bathroom to get a start to the day.
Project: Winter Light
Today’s word count: 436
Total word count: 436
Excerpt of the Day:
He blinked, still savouring the gentle touch on his cheek and the taste of Hunter's lips on his. He made it so hard to focus sometimes, and Rafael wasn't even sure if Hunter realised how much of a distraction he could be just by doing those little things. A touch. A smile. A sideways glance in his direction.
Notes:
Yesterday, I mentioned the urge to write a little Hunter/Rafael story. Well, I got a good start to it. Don’t know if it will be in the Wildfire novel or not, but if it is, it will be a flashback to the beginning of their relationship.
I quite like writing from Rafael’s POV. He’s yet to have a chance to be a POV in the main story as of yet.
