Page 53 of Stick to the Deal

With a muttered curse, Johnson returns to sieging, or whatever he’s doing.

Asher leans across me towards his friend. “What a waste having that face on a complete nerd. Don’t you even want to get laid? You got enough numbers tonight.” In answer, Johnson flips him off without looking up. Asher only shakes his head at his friend and turns back to me. “So you’re a reader? What genres?”

I settle into my chair. This is a topic I’m always comfortable with. “Started with the classics in the family library—Shakespeare, Austen, Shelley, Keats, Byron. Then I moved on to the American legends—Hawthorne, Twain, Fitzgerald. Now with my e-reader I’ll pick up anything. Suspense, fantasy, space opera, horror, even romance.”

“Wow, that’s eclectic taste. So is that why you got into publishing? Nic mentioned something about it.”

“Sort of, though Elysium is strictly a human interest magazine. We don’t do books.”

“Well, why not?”

“It’s a completely different market. Hard to break in with the big houses dominating the industry and ad space.”

Asher shakes his head and leans in further, forearms resting on his knees. “I’m not talking about the trad houses. Self-publishing is an underserved market. If you already have the printing and distribution infrastructure from your magazine, offer services to indie authors. Editing services, copywriting, graphics, special edition runs, hell, even subscription boxes. You have it all there in amagazine. Just expand to partnering with indie authors who pay upfront, so no risk to you if it doesn’t sell.”

His words bounce around my skull, sparking ideas and thoughts. Books have always been a cornerstone in my life. The one comfort in a life of stricture. Could I actually be part of that?

Pale arms wrap around my shoulders, and I smell Nic’s familiar perfume. “Come on, you haven’t danced with me and it’s almost midnight.”

I nod at the guys and follow my wife into the crush on the dance floor. It’s too crowded to really dance, so we merely sway to the music. It’s too loud to talk, but our eyes are having a conversation all their own.

Ten…

As the countdown begins, I pull her fully against my body.

Nine…

She arches her back slightly, pressing her hips more firmly into mine

Eight…

My hand strokes up her bare spine to bury in her hair, keeping her face close.

Seven…

Her lips part and her fingers grip my shirt.

Six…

My nose glides along hers in a slow, intimate caress.

Five…

A gasp, more felt than heard, leaves her parted lips.

Four…

My fingers trail along her neck to cup her jaw.

Three…

The green flecks in her eye sparkle in the lights, holding both secrets and promises.

Two…

The room fades away. My heart picks up speed as her eyes drop to my lips.

One…