Excerpt from Breath and Bones by Susann Cokal, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

He came toward her, repeating, "Beautiful . . . "

When he was undressed and in the narrow bed himself, he hoisted Famke up and—her arms braced against the sloped ceiling for balance—slid her down onto him. She wobbled, unsure just what to do now; and he kept his hands on her hips. He held her still while he began to move.

Famke looked down into Albert’s face; and then he looked up into hers, the planes of it in twilight shadows. Famke removed one hand from the ceiling and pulled her wild hair to the side so that, behind her, he might look on the face and form of his Nimue, his masterwork, his violated virgin.

"Ah . . . . "Very quickly, he gasped and began to shudder.

As she rode that wave, Famke knew that he was seeing her as his heroic nymph, and she did not mind one bit. She had a lovely warm, shimmering feeling, a feeling that—like the new fever, but different—made her want something . . . As Albert quieted beneath her, she felt the shimmering rise and then fall away, leaving in its wake a vague sense of longing and that familiar tickle in her lungs.

Famke coughed. The contractions pushed Albert out of her, and he slid back, to where the bed met the wall.

"Really, darling," he said as she got up and, for want of a handkerchief, coughed further into the paint-stained camisole, "you should take something for that dreadful hack. "He swabbed at himself with the bedsheet. "I’ll get you an elixir the next time I’m out. "

Famke shook her head, yes, no, feeling herself cold and wet and somehow bereft, but still with that shimmering sensation of wanting inside. She lowered the camisole and smiled at Albert, and he said again, "Beautiful. "

Excerpted from Breath and Bones© Susann Cokal. Published by Unbridled Books. All rights reserved