Page 145 of Foreplay on Words

I nodded, got into place off to the side, and waited for my cue.

“Now, one of the authors of this amazing book will be reading an excerpt to you. We’ll open it up to questions at the end.” Diana finished and held her hand out in my direction. It was showtime.

I wiped my hands off on my pants and took the marked copy of the book from Kristine as I walked to the podium.

“You got this,” she whispered as I passed.

“Thank you for joining me here today and for your support of this collaboration with another amazing author who could not join us today,” I started, my voice shaky. “I know that Stone and I appreciate every reader who has supported our separate works and now this joint endeavor.”

As I looked out at the crowd, I felt a sense of calm wash over me, and I knew that while I desperately missed Evan, I could do this.

“Let me take you on a journey with our female lead. For those of you who have read the book, this scene is pivotal. It shows our main character, Frances, learning to step up and become completely self-reliant.”

“Her partner had become such an integral part of her life that when he wasn’t there, she had to find her inner strength to push through a difficult situation.”

“‘Frances realized that while Dominic’s role in her life was that of a submissive, she wasn’t in control. His influence had seeped into every part of her being, and having him abruptly taken away was leaving her questioning her sense of self...’”

My brain read through the passage we’d picked to share on autopilot. Loud applause jolted me back to reality after I finished reading the last sentence aloud.

“Let’s open the floor to some questions,” Diana announced from my side.

“I’ve got a question.” Kristine raised her hand from the side of the room, and I braced myself for it, hoping it’d be an easy starter to settle me down.

“Go ahead,” I nodded.

“When developing a book like this, a certain amount of research goes into making sure things seem believable.” She paused, her eyes glancing toward the other side of the room, then quickly returning to me.

“Go on...” I prompted, curious as to where she was going with her question.

“How into character did you and your writing partner get while researching?” Of course, Kristine would delve into a semi-difficult—and potentially inappropriate—question first.

“As with my previous book, I used a consultant who practices the lifestyle. He helped us develop and simulate scenes within the book,” I explained as I looked out to the crowd.

Kristine’s eyes drifted to the other side of the room, which was blocked from my view by a set of bookcases.

My curiosity about what she looked at almost outweighed my irritation that she asked a question and wasn’t paying attention to the answer.

“As with people who practice BDSM, we both got a chance to learn how to use the tools of the trade in a controlled environment from both sides. It helped put us into our character’s heads and feel the sensations they may have felt in certain scenes.”

“Thanks,” Kristine said as she glanced pointedly at the other side of the room. After smiling at Sam, she handed the microphone back to Diana.

A hand shot up from the other side of the room, but their face was partially obscured by the person in front of them.

“I’ve got a question for you.” My eyes widened as I recognized the familiar voice.

Evan

Boston

My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and the top of my mouth felt fuzzy. As I woke up, the smell of food turned my empty stomach, and I heard low voices, but I was too disoriented to distinguish anything around me.

“Is he doing alright?” a feminine voice asked quietly, sounding like Talia.

“He’s fine. Probably had an adverse reaction to the anti-anxiety meds they gave him. Maybe the dosage was off, or he took too much,” Nathan told her in a barely audible whisper.

“Should we wake him up?” Emory’s voice was louder, and I cringed as my head ached.

“Did you text Chase to tell her he’s alive but sick?” Talia asked.

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