Snippet Saturday is the brainchild of author Lauren Dane, wherein a group of authors selects thematic excerpts from their work and shares them on Saturday mornings. This Saturday's snippet is the villain - his or her shining moment, which might mean there are spoilers, so be wary!
My villainous bit of villainy is from Megan's Choice from Red Sage Publishing, which is a choose your own path style novella. The heroine, Megan, has just decided to take a diplomatic assignment, even though a guy she knows from her past, a guy who's really really bad news, is going to be in charge of it:
***
When Megan accessed the egress platform closest to Stellar Transport to hail a robotaxi, the first thing she noticed was a silver vehicle with dark-tinted windows where her taxi should have been.
The back door opened with the hiss that accompanied environmental air filters. How upmarket. But then, so was the man who rose out of the vehicle and beckoned to her with an imperial wave.
He was also the last man Megan had wanted or expected to see—at least until tomorrow at seven hundred clicks when the inevitable could no longer be delayed
“We need to talk.” Yusef Gunnen, as dark and demonic as the day she left him, pointed at the black interior of the vehicle. “Get in.”
It had been ten years since Megan and Yusef Gunnen had shared the air. Not that she expected a fond welcome, but his abruptness surprised even her.
“Isn’t that a nice how do you do? No, ‘Hello, Megan? Long time, no see’?” She took two involuntary steps forward and stopped herself. “I’m busy, Gunnen. I agreed to pilot your mission. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Yusef removed midnight shades from his tanned face, so chiseled and stark he hardly looked Terran. His nose jutted strongly from a face that would never be handsome but would always be compelling. “I’m aware of your compliance. However, there are things you need to understand before tomorrow.”
Funny, Sheeshan had been insistent Megan talk to her before tomorrow, too. What was this, dueling secret agendas? The governmental branches had their differences, but in the end the Quad pulled together for the cause of—well, for the expansion of Quad government interests into any and all sectors that had not yet been subsumed.
“I have everything I need to know in my data pad.” She patted her hip, determined to ignore the pull Yusef had on her even now. “Why don’t you send me a packet?”
“Don’t be needlessly stubborn, Megan. Not everything can be conveyed electronically.”
True. Electronic communications weren’t generally private unless one made special arrangements. It was tempting to go along with him. He’d roused her curiosity, and balking him now would only make things worse later.
But that was the old Megan talking. The new Megan said, “I don’t think so.”
“I should mention dinner is included.” He extended a hand. “I’m sure you remember my chef Luxian.”
“I do.” Megan’s stomach grumbled, remembering many delicacies, many meals, and many treats she’d earned when she’d complied with Yusef’s wishes. All he wanted was to talk about tomorrow’s mission. Was that so dangerous?
She inched forward until she was close to the edge of the platform, close enough to distinguish his black pupils from the dark blue of his irises, the tiny scar beside his upper lip, the glint of diamond in his earlobes. He wore his hair differently now, longer, queued behind his head instead of gelled in place. That meant it would be softer. Touchable.
Her throat swelled shut and her mouth dried. She did—she wanted to touch him. She also wanted to punch him in the nose.
“You look well, Megan.” His voice rolled over her name like an aural caress. “I look forward to spending time with you, even in these unhappy circumstances.”
It seemed churlish to blurt out how much she didn’t reciprocate when he’d so far been civil, so instead she lied, “I have an appointment.”
His brows drew together at her continued resistance. “You can break your appointment for this meeting. In fact, I insist.”
Yusef reached for her arm to hand her into the car, and the near-contact broke her trance.
“You have no authority over me. She evaded his grasp and rolled lightly on the balls of her feet, ready to knee his crotch if need be. “As pilot, I have full authority to effect all decisions regarding the safety of myself, my crew and my ship. You’re my passenger, not my superior.”
“Of course,” Gunnen agreed smoothly, but anger glinted in the depths of his blue eyes. “That’s a standard aspect of our contracts with civilian businesses.”
“When someone reminds you that clause is supposed to be there.” Her voice was sharp, she knew—sharper than it had been ten years ago.
But so was she. And she’d do well to remember that fact.
“You’re being ridiculous. I’m the chief negotiator on the urgent mission you agreed to pilot, Malone, and I need to discuss it with you. This is business.”
Aside from the hair, Yusef didn’t seem to have changed. He was still one domineering son of a bitch. When he’d first swept her off her feet during her piloting internship with ST, she hadn’t realized how far his need to dominate extended. It had taken her over a Terran year to escape him. If push came to shove, and apparently it would, she had official documentation on her side to smack him down.
A handy plastene paddle wouldn’t hurt, either. Or it wouldn’t hurt her. Not this time.
“There’s nothing you can say to me that can’t be conveyed in an official packet. Nothing I want to hear, that is.” Megan stepped smartly away from Gunnen and thumbed a meter paypad to summon a robotaxi. “I’ll see you in the morning, Gunnen.”
***
If you want to see what other trouble Megan gets herself into -- and it changes with every choice you make! -- check out the sale page at the Red Sage site. For more villain excerpts, be sure to visit:
Cynthia Eden
Shelli Stevens
Shelley Munro
Moira Rogers
TJ Michaels
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher
Taige Crenshaw
Mandy Roth
McKenna Jeffries
SJ Day
My villainous bit of villainy is from Megan's Choice from Red Sage Publishing, which is a choose your own path style novella. The heroine, Megan, has just decided to take a diplomatic assignment, even though a guy she knows from her past, a guy who's really really bad news, is going to be in charge of it:
***
When Megan accessed the egress platform closest to Stellar Transport to hail a robotaxi, the first thing she noticed was a silver vehicle with dark-tinted windows where her taxi should have been.
The back door opened with the hiss that accompanied environmental air filters. How upmarket. But then, so was the man who rose out of the vehicle and beckoned to her with an imperial wave.
He was also the last man Megan had wanted or expected to see—at least until tomorrow at seven hundred clicks when the inevitable could no longer be delayed
“We need to talk.” Yusef Gunnen, as dark and demonic as the day she left him, pointed at the black interior of the vehicle. “Get in.”
It had been ten years since Megan and Yusef Gunnen had shared the air. Not that she expected a fond welcome, but his abruptness surprised even her.
“Isn’t that a nice how do you do? No, ‘Hello, Megan? Long time, no see’?” She took two involuntary steps forward and stopped herself. “I’m busy, Gunnen. I agreed to pilot your mission. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Yusef removed midnight shades from his tanned face, so chiseled and stark he hardly looked Terran. His nose jutted strongly from a face that would never be handsome but would always be compelling. “I’m aware of your compliance. However, there are things you need to understand before tomorrow.”
Funny, Sheeshan had been insistent Megan talk to her before tomorrow, too. What was this, dueling secret agendas? The governmental branches had their differences, but in the end the Quad pulled together for the cause of—well, for the expansion of Quad government interests into any and all sectors that had not yet been subsumed.
“I have everything I need to know in my data pad.” She patted her hip, determined to ignore the pull Yusef had on her even now. “Why don’t you send me a packet?”
“Don’t be needlessly stubborn, Megan. Not everything can be conveyed electronically.”
True. Electronic communications weren’t generally private unless one made special arrangements. It was tempting to go along with him. He’d roused her curiosity, and balking him now would only make things worse later.
But that was the old Megan talking. The new Megan said, “I don’t think so.”
“I should mention dinner is included.” He extended a hand. “I’m sure you remember my chef Luxian.”
“I do.” Megan’s stomach grumbled, remembering many delicacies, many meals, and many treats she’d earned when she’d complied with Yusef’s wishes. All he wanted was to talk about tomorrow’s mission. Was that so dangerous?
She inched forward until she was close to the edge of the platform, close enough to distinguish his black pupils from the dark blue of his irises, the tiny scar beside his upper lip, the glint of diamond in his earlobes. He wore his hair differently now, longer, queued behind his head instead of gelled in place. That meant it would be softer. Touchable.
Her throat swelled shut and her mouth dried. She did—she wanted to touch him. She also wanted to punch him in the nose.
“You look well, Megan.” His voice rolled over her name like an aural caress. “I look forward to spending time with you, even in these unhappy circumstances.”
It seemed churlish to blurt out how much she didn’t reciprocate when he’d so far been civil, so instead she lied, “I have an appointment.”
His brows drew together at her continued resistance. “You can break your appointment for this meeting. In fact, I insist.”
Yusef reached for her arm to hand her into the car, and the near-contact broke her trance.
“You have no authority over me. She evaded his grasp and rolled lightly on the balls of her feet, ready to knee his crotch if need be. “As pilot, I have full authority to effect all decisions regarding the safety of myself, my crew and my ship. You’re my passenger, not my superior.”
“Of course,” Gunnen agreed smoothly, but anger glinted in the depths of his blue eyes. “That’s a standard aspect of our contracts with civilian businesses.”
“When someone reminds you that clause is supposed to be there.” Her voice was sharp, she knew—sharper than it had been ten years ago.
But so was she. And she’d do well to remember that fact.
“You’re being ridiculous. I’m the chief negotiator on the urgent mission you agreed to pilot, Malone, and I need to discuss it with you. This is business.”
Aside from the hair, Yusef didn’t seem to have changed. He was still one domineering son of a bitch. When he’d first swept her off her feet during her piloting internship with ST, she hadn’t realized how far his need to dominate extended. It had taken her over a Terran year to escape him. If push came to shove, and apparently it would, she had official documentation on her side to smack him down.
A handy plastene paddle wouldn’t hurt, either. Or it wouldn’t hurt her. Not this time.
“There’s nothing you can say to me that can’t be conveyed in an official packet. Nothing I want to hear, that is.” Megan stepped smartly away from Gunnen and thumbed a meter paypad to summon a robotaxi. “I’ll see you in the morning, Gunnen.”
***
If you want to see what other trouble Megan gets herself into -- and it changes with every choice you make! -- check out the sale page at the Red Sage site. For more villain excerpts, be sure to visit:
Cynthia Eden
Shelli Stevens
Shelley Munro
Moira Rogers
TJ Michaels
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher
Taige Crenshaw
Mandy Roth
McKenna Jeffries
SJ Day
***
Have an evil (in a good way) Saturday!
Jody W.
1 comments:
That was very cool. Jody. Thanx for sharing. I'll have to check out a few of the other snippets.
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