Deb vs Cooking, Craig vs Liotta and Updates

The doppler says we're having gropple. No, I'm not speaking in code. That's what the weather folk are saying this weekend. It's really cold for Southern California (temps in the 30s within the city limits). There has been snow and hail and the gropple (soft hail pellets). We were shocked that there wasn't a 1000 car pile up on the 405 on the rumors of snow. LA drivers don't do well with precipitation. On Friday, the rain was cold and steady. For some reason that messed up the bus schedule. In Philly, buses run in the snow. But because Jon and I were tramping about on foot in the rain, we chanced to see an old gent practicing with a lasso. I was thus inspired to create a Haiku. Ahem.

Codger with lasso
Practicing in pouring rain
LA in winter

Alas, I've been paying for all that running around in the cold rain. I think every one of my joints still hurts. Fortunately, we didn't need to do any running around Saturday. And the forecast for Sunday is clear of rain or snow. All that remains is the cold or relative cold. I'll likely stay in until tomorrow.

Deb vs Madeleines Part Two – The Reckoning

I was thinking of calling the sequel The Bakening, but aside from bakening not being a real word, it sounded too close to bacon. Goodness knows, I really enjoy most things involving bacon, but it really doesn't have anything to do with Madeleines. I figured out what I did wrong in the first recipe. The fault was in the instructions. The eggs and sugar have to be beaten until the mixture is as fluffy as a mousse before the dry ingredients are added. I did not get that from the first recipe I looked at. I could tell the difference in the batter as soon as I spooned it into the pan. It was all way more exciting than it should have been, but I felt quite victorious! Now, I feel that I can move on to more difficult baking recipes. The croissants await!

Recipe Math

So, I was watching my cooking shows last week and got inspired to do some serious meat cooking to refill the freezer. Now, most of the recipes from the shows are geared for the home cook in that their proportions aren't geared toward feeding a battalion of soldiers. So, when I see this really tasty looking meatloaf recipe on the Barefoot Contessa , I decide to give it a try. Jon had mentioned that he'd like to try a meatloaf that wasn't so dependent on ketchup or a tomato sauce. This one had a lot of herbs and aromatics and seemed to keep moist without the ketchup. It was Ina Garten's favorite dish from a local restaurant in the Hamptons , and I noticed that the chef/owner of said restaurant was actually making the dish. Still, I didn't put it together until I had formed the meatloaf on the pan that the recipe was enough for a dinner service at an eatery. Boy, are we good for meatloaf for a while. It was very fortunate that it was, indeed, a very good recipe. Next time though, I'll carefully check the math.

Craig vs Ray Liotta

I got a call from Craig last week with some strange instructions. He said that if anything happened to him, it was Ray Liotta who was behind it and that we should avenge him. My last image of Ray Liotta in person was at our local movie theater. He was with a little

girl wearing a tutu trying to convince the concessions clerk that he wanted nachos without the cheese. It seemed that was how the little girl preferred them. Since he wasn't menacing during what seemed to be a stressful situation (the film was to start very soon), I found it hard to imagine him stalking Craig with ominous intent. So when I stopped laughing, I asked Craig why he thought this was happening. He said he was seeing far too much of the Liotta for it to me an innocent coincidence. Mind, the man does live in the same neighborhood as Craig. But that was cutting no ice with my intensely whacky friend. The final straw came during a contemplative walk through a nearby college campus. Craig was pondering on the fact that he was seeing far too much of the Liotta (his terminology) as he reached the edge of the campus and entered the shopping district. Just then, the Liotta came out of a sun glass store. And this time he chin waived at Craig – a New Jersey acknowledgment that you have indeed seen a lot of each other (both hail from New Jersey). I tried to calm him by explaining that they live in a small enclave that's sort of cut off from the rest of LA. And since both men are between engagements, it's just likely that their paths coincide while running errands. Still, we have our instructions. Thus, Jon and I must be ready to spring into vengeance mode should the need arise. Jon blames me for answering the phone. I found I couldn't watch Goodfellas this week because I was laughing too hard.

Updates

Book wise, I've been making steady progress with both novels. I've been doing two to three pages on each on alternating days. I can't complain about that. However, I'm not going to jinx myself by predicting when they'll be finished especially now that I'm adding pain in my fingers to the other joint pain I've been having.

Film wise, I've been working on a script that I hadn't expected to be writing. It's an entirely new project that I can't really talk about yet. I'm on my own with it for a while as Jon is editing some things that he needs to clear off his slate. I've also been gathering assets (locations, equipment, crew) for the Demon Under Glass Web series. That primarily involves e-mail and phone calls right now. I'm not quite up to running around the county to look at things. Depending on our involvement, which I suspect will be deeply involved, this new film could delay the web series further. We would be working with the actors, but not on what we expected to be shooting. But like finding a codger throwing a lasso in a rainstorm or preparing to exact vengeance on the Liotta, being in Los Angeles means accepting the unexpected.

Stay tuned.

Down Time and Finding Normal

The house smells of onions and garlic and balsamic vinegar roasting away with a lovely piece of beef brisket in the oven. It's delightful. Mind, I am hours behind schedule getting anything in the oven as we had nothing in the fridge or pantry for Sunday dinner until a couple of hours ago. I've been thrown completely off schedule because of the colds we both had last week. In fact, the roast in the oven has been about the only thing I've accomplished over seven days. Something that smells that yummy deserves buttery mashed potatoes and a hardy veggie. It's so good to be consuming something more than soup. Even if it is good soup – and it was – there's nothing like a good, savory solid meal.

Good, Bad and Really Ugly

The good news about the terrible cold I caught from Jon last week is that my blood counts must be normal. I never spiked a fever, and I was over it pretty much by the end of the week. It was the first cold I've had since November of 2009 before the whole ordeal began. Colds are one of the bogeymen to avoid during chemo. They can delay treatment. Or worse, they can cause a fever which leads to a hospital stay. And the last words from all the various Docs that I see was to avoid getting sick. Those who know the Hubs and I realize that to completely avoid getting sick may involve having Jon live in a small box outside of the apartment. You see, Jon is usually a cold magnet. And as our apartment is very tiny, it is very difficult to avoid each other and surfaces that we may have touched. It's quite amazing that he hadn't had one during this time. Perhaps he knew about my plans for him and that small box.

The bad news about the terrible cold I had last week was other than a perfectly delicious pot of chicken soup, I accomplished nothing. My head was full of wet cotton. I couldn't breath through my nose. Most of the time, I couldn't read. Writing dwindled down to a paragraph or two per day. I didn't even want to talk on the phone. Needless to say, not much was happening other than laying about watching TV or, more often, having the TV watch me sleep. On top of feeling generally miserable and paranoid that I would end up back in an ER, I somehow became convinced that the cold would somehow stop the chemo side effects from going away. It's like the cold somehow pushed a pause button on my recovery. Yes, I know that makes no sense. I'm a creative person, and as such, I'm more than a little touched in the head. Being reduced to a lump on the sofa also gives such a mind far too much time to think strange things. Happily, I'm feeling better now. Breathing is more or less back to normal, and my head doesn't feel like it's full of wet cotton. I actually did a bit of walking for exercise on Saturday.

Degrees of Normal

I get asked how I'm doing a lot, and my replies have been vague. I don't like to list in detail what's going on with me, because it sounds like complaining. I'd never complaining about my current lot, because it could be quite have been a good deal worse. However, I'm quite a ways from being free of chemo side effects. I can't say that I'm close to normal. Apparently, what normal will end up being is anyone's guess right now. I may end up feeling the same as I was before I got sick. I may feel better than I did then. Or I may have a whole new definition of what normal is. It will be several weeks before anything is clear. As for right now, both of my feet are numb. How much of the foot is numb varies day to day. It seems that more and more of the foot is not numb during the day. Why it changes from night to day is a mystery to me. This doesn't keep me from walking though I can't do too much running around. It's mainly weird. My hands have pins and needles sometimes, but not the numbness that's in my feet. I've also got pain in my joints that can get quite intense. Strangely, exercise helps that, so I have to walk and lift things each day. These side effects should fade over time. I'm largely free of nausea though there are still times when my appetite is off or my digestive system is in an uproar. However, I'm managing the side effects well enough to get around with errands and my appointments. I can write and I can cook and I can do some planning for the various projects, so I am content to ride these things out. I still feel that I've been extremely fortunate.

Updates

There aren't many, because I didn't do much last week. We had a production meeting today about an upcoming project. And I made some inquiries about locations for the Demon Under Glass web series. More phone calls on that are up for this week. And it looks like Jon and I have a new script to write.

Next week: The crazies in my life, script writing drama and more updates.

Stay tuned.

Glamour and Green Thumbs

Craig called and asked what my favorite color is. Now, I'm afraid. I keep thinking that he's going to show up in some big purple bird costume and do a dance to cheer me up. He's been on a bird bender lately. It seems that his lady set up several hummingbird feeders in their postage stamp of a yard. He speaks a great deal of being strafed on his way to the dumpster. Yet, I don't put it past him to show up as a big purple hummingbird. I can't say that that wouldn't make me laugh. I don't know if the neighbors would speak to us again, but I certainly would laugh.

The Glamorous Life?

There are many who believe that the Hubs and I live a typical LA lifestyle – lots of excitement, fun and sun by the pool or on the beach, exciting friends, exciting places like clubs or restaurants. So, when people come to visit, we feel compelled – rightly or wrongly – to show visitors an exciting time. That is a bit difficult for us as we actually don't go out much normally. And when we do, it's to very unglamorous places like a diner (the most excellent 50's Cafe in Venice) or a hot dog stand (the most excellent Costco hot dog stand). Sometimes, we really cut loose and talk shop with crew guys we know over coffee or -- sometimes -- a beer! And that was before I began the ordeal with my illness. We're really homebodies lately. I basically go to appointments and to some sort of market. Luckily, there is a pleasant neighborhood to walk about. I'm content with my current lot in life. But when visitors come calling, there is always the question of how to keep them entertained. Because along with being homebodies, Jon and I are complete geeks. What we may be interested in – like a trip out to Vasquez Rocks or all the places Starsky and Hutch filmed in Venice – doesn't appeal to many people.

Thus, when my brother came to town last week, Jon and I puzzled mightily over how to entertain him for four days. The Star tours of celebrity homes aren't very exciting. The maps are largely inaccurate and most of those homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Aire are surrounded by tall walls or hedges. I was fairly certain that he wouldn't be interested in the murder tour. And then there is the Gang tour that takes folks into gang territories for photo ops. That struck me as pushing one's luck. And being the children of a cop, we found that kind of tour more than a little foolish. Luckily, aside from the espionage mission he was completing for my father (making sure I'm actually on the mend as I claim), my brother was far more interested in enjoying the warm weather than visiting all the tourist spots. Specifically, he was enjoying calling people back East from the Santa Monica pier and telling them what temperature it was. Ah, simple pleasures. So, when he said he was up for anywhere I wanted to go, I dragged him to my favorite kitchen supply store, Surfas. I've been wanting to take a look at their professional pots and pans – which I did. Meanwhile, my brother became obsessed with quail eggs. I had a great time there, because I discovered that they had vastly increased the cooking products sections. Many things I might have ordered online like duck fat or duck confit are in stock there. They also carry a great selection of spices and other things. So, I had a blast. I think he did, too. I do know that the espionage mission was a success.

Pale Green Thumb

My herb garden is going through some growing pains. The Italian oregano bit the dust this week. It had been thriving, but then it all just dried up and died. I wrote the vendor who sold me them in the hopes of saving the Italian parsley and found that the plants may not be getting enough sun in the living room window. It's not making a valiant effort at rebounding in the bedroom window which gets a lot of direct sunlight. The blue basil and the Thyme are thriving, so far. Alas, the chive and dill plants I got for Christmas are looking limp; I'm hoping that it's just a matter of changing the pots, but I don't know. Any suggestions out there?

The Super Bowl menu went over very nicely. I even had some leftovers to enjoy into the week. I haven't done much interesting cooking because of running around with my brother. I have plans to take on the elusive madeleine. I'm not sure why my first attempt failed in such a spectacular fashion, but I'm going to find out. How can I conquer puff pastry if I can't conquer a cookie?

Updates

No writing or filmmaking updates this week due to my visitor. Then, after he left Jon caught a very bad cold. I now have it. Depending on where my blood counts are, a cold could become quite problematic. So, I'm taking it very easy for the next few days.

Stay tuned.

Super Spread, Wiley Relatives and Updates

I hadn't planned on making a big spread for the Super Bowl. It's just Jon and me this year, and he's not all that big on nachos or Buffalo wings. Besides, I went a bit batty cooking for the Chinese New Year – more on that later. But then suddenly, it wasn't just Jon and me. My brother is coming to town and I suspect there is a plot afoot. I believe my brother and father are in cahoots in this trip. Since my last hospitalization, there have been a lot more calls from back east. My suspicion is that they want to see for themselves that I am as I've claimed to be. I am. Believe me, if I'm having more problems than usual, I am not quiet about it. Ask poor Jon. I've been half expecting to find my father on my door step. He's a wiley gentleman with a whole lot of frequent flyer miles. He's been known to turn up in cities other than Philly without any notice at all. This time though, my brother is making the trip. I think he wanted to get away from the snow more. At any rate, we're having company for the game. Keith offered to take us out to dinner, but I figure most places we'd like will be crowded and noisy because of the game.

Thus, I'm putting on a little bit of a Super Bowl spread. I don't mind actually. It will be nice to see my brother. And I've had a craving for baby back ribs lately. I didn't want to look like a glutton by consuming a whole rack of ribs. And there are the wings to consider. That would mean that there should be a little potato salad. You see, I need company or I'd gain 40 pounds in a weekend. And for those who may be concerned, my daily diet is very healthy and almost completely made from scratch. I'm still on those dreadful low white count restrictions, but otherwise my food intake is fiber, iron and potassium rich. So, this is a once in a while treat. By the way, I'm not rooting for a particular team. I'm just hoping for a really good game and really fun commercials.

The menu will be oven roasted baby back ribs, chicken wings (some Buffalo some not), corn and some sort of dessert. I've made the potato salad already. The wings are marinating in white wine, soy sauce, garlic and fresh thyme. I won't have very much to do before the game. This spread will be far easier than the one for the Chinese New Year. The dumplings took me two days. And there was a whole lot of slicing and chopping to do in advance of stir frying the chicken fired rice and cooking the pork lo mein. I only have one photo of the lo mein, and I'm not happy with that. The dumplings looked great before I cooked them, but they got mangled in the cooking process. The fried rice stuck to the bottom of the first pan I used. Sigh. Strangely enough, everything tasted really good. It was all just a little too sad to be photographed. And my fortune cookie said 'you will be happy with your spouse.' Uncanny! Jon is a rabbit in Chinese astrology. I'm hoping that this will be a great year for him and all the wascally rabbits I know.

Spice of Life

I finally made it to my local Penzey's Spice store. I needed dried herbs and such for making soups. We took the long way home after my latest trip to the Doctor's office. I finally bought some saffron. I've been wanting to for the longest time as I make a lot of rice dishes and always wondered about the depth of flavor that saffron could bring. I now have to figure out exactly what I want to make with the stuff. There may be a version of Paella that I can get past Jon. Or I may just be jazzing up the regular rice side dish. I'll let you know. In other spice news, I have come to a conclusion about specialty salts. As you may or may not recall, I was gifted a set of them (gray salt, pink salt and Fleur de Sel flakes) for Christmas. I had wondered if I could really tell the difference using them versus my usual salts in cooking. Well, I did notice a difference. What's even more interesting is that Jon noticed as well. He especially appreciated the Fleur de Sel for the taste and texture it brought to food. He noticed so much that he made sure that I noticed that Penzey's carried them. Thus, I can easily replace them when I run out. This is big as my Hubs doesn't have the gourmet palate.

Updates

I finally posted an excerpt from A Soldier's Destiny on the blog. I even figured out why it's taken me so long. The pages are coming along at a better pace. This makes me happy. On the film front, this week has been a journey through big and small ventures mostly via phone and internet conferences. On the big side, we were contacted by a major distributor about our films. We're following up on that with great enthusiasm. On the small side, we were working on ways of bringing some of our content to the small screen through web series. We made a lot of progress there.

Stay tuned.

Book Excerpt -- A Soldier's Destiny

I admit that I have been more than tardy in posting a new excerpt. Some of that has been my lack of energy from chemo. But that's been only part of the reason. I've been having trouble writing love scenes for this book. I've got lots of mayhem going on. There are two major fight scenes in the first fifty pages. I'm not having any problems spinning an intricate, suspenseful yarn. But the love scenes were not coming (no pun intended) as easily as the fighting. And then my hubs weighed in on the topic. He pointed out that my love scenes, like my fighting scenes or any other scene have to have something to do with character exposition. I know that two healthy, young men don't have to have much of a reason to have sex, but despite opinions from some quarters, I'm not writing porn. I want the love scenes to be both hot and meaningful.

It took a lot of puzzling with a puzzler that isn't working at full tilt, but I finally figured out what the characters as a couple are working against in this book. Rik and Vincent have to fight to have time together. Their jobs and the needs of their extended family threaten to sap every second out of every day. Thus, every love scene in the book is precious to the characters. Sometimes, things don't go smoothly. Once I figured that out, the scenes came (get your mind out of the gutter) more easily. In this excerpt, the pair has been through a hellacious evening only to have an unexpected visitor.

Warning! Minor spoilers for A Soldier's Destiny; explicit homoerotic content.

EXCERPT

Dinner was my favorite pot roast and potatoes. Then, my plan was to have Vincent for dessert. The adrenaline from the fight still coursed through our veins. The energy crackled between us, demanding release. That night, I planned to show my Love who was in charge. I pinned him easily on the sofa, because he wasn't quite expecting it. As I slanted my mouth across his, my hands were in his hair, freeing it from its ties. We were making out on the sofa when the alarm sounded once again. I groaned against Vincent's mouth. I had kissed him to the point where I felt him yielding. I really didn't want to stop.

“Tell me this is a false alarm,” I said into the intercom. It didn't matter how I sounded. Vincent was still clinging to me.

“I wish the hell it was,” Heisler muttered. “Go to Camera 2.”

Vincent punched up the feed to our TV. There, sitting in the waiting area reading a newspaper was Simon Molinar. My lover huffed impatiently as I rolled off him.

“He said that he believes he has an appointment with you two,” Heisler continued. “What do we do? The guards were moved to safety without incident.”

“We'll bring him to Auerbach,” I said. “I don't think he'll be a problem. But send Maximilian down as well.”

“Will do.”

“At least he waited until after dinner,” I sighed.

“Let's put the fucker in a box, so I can fuck you,” Vincent muttered.

“Yes, dear,” I smirked.

Molinar was still reading the paper when we ambled up to him. It was incredible to realize how old he must be. For all appearances, he looked younger than me. Only his eyes belied his nearly angelic face. There was so much going on in those deeply calm, gray-green eyes, I could never begin to read them.

“Simon Molinar?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied smoothly. “Thank you for seeing me. Are you remodeling?”

I looked at the bullet damage and other wreckage wryly.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“No reason, I suppose,” He replied. He was amused. “How do we proceed?”

“Follow us,” I said as Maximilian fell in alongside us.

“I remember you from news reports on that terrible incident at the border,” Molinar said to Maximilian. “You are an impressive specimen. Are you unique in your family?”

Maximilian looked at me quizzically.

“You can answer him, “ I said.

“I come from a long line of magnificently built Altereds,” he said with his usual pride.

“Fascinating,” Molinar murmured. I sensed pride in the Vampire. That hadn't occurred to me. “Where are we off to? Will I meet everyone now?”

“Not tonight,” I said. “The Benefactors aren't here and the medical team has its hands full just now. We are going to show you to your quarters. Tomorrow, you'll meet everyone.”

“What sort of quarters?”

“Quite comfortable, I promise,” I replied.

“I don't suppose there is a choice now,” Molinar murmured. “I'm seeing some very nasty Delphi night suns deployed about.”

“For the protection of the staff and installed under duress,” I admitted with surprising ease. “We knew that you are not a threat to us. We can't wait to find out what you want us to know.”

That admission placated and relaxed the Vampire. We walked in a comfortable silence to the Medical Wing for a brief moment.

“There is an energy about that nearly crackles along my skin,” Molinar remarked. “Is that something you keep going in the building for your powers?”

“We have ways of boosting our energy for defense that is part of the building,” I replied. “But they are not active right now.”

“That's just us,” Vincent said. “After releasing a lot of energy, we sometimes have residual output. No one else has ever felt it from us.”

“Not even I have,” Maximilian said with wonder.

“It's strong enough that I feel as though I've topped off,” the Vampire said thoughtfully.

Thankfully, we had arrived. I had been through too much to think about the implications of Molinar's observations. I knew that Vincent couldn't handle it just then. Besides, there were ways we had to dissipate that energy that I knew my lover was very anxious to resume. We showed Molinar to an Altered suite. There was a living area with a kitchenette and a huge entertainment center. The bedroom had a large bed, a lounge chair and another TV. Auerbach arrived on our heels. He seemed stunned to be meeting the Vampire in this manner.

“Remind me never to bet against you,” he said to me before extending a hand to Molinar. “Hello, Mr. Molinar. My name is Dr. Felix Auerbach. Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for the welcome. And call me Simon.”

“Simon, we are terribly busy tonight. An emergency that must be attended to,” Auerbach said. “We would like to have you meet us tomorrow with the rest of the Benefactors when we can give you our full attention.”

“I appreciate your taking me in like this,” he said. “You are quite insightful to my situation.”

“That would be your progeny,” Auerbach said. “They seemed to know that you needed them.”

“Yeah, gramps,” Vincent said. “Make yourself at home. We'll catch you in the morning.”

Molinar was taken aback by my cheeky lover. Still, he smiled appreciatively.

“And don't worry, actual sunlight is only in one place in the facility, so you won't necessarily be restricted here,” I said. “But that will depend on you.”

“I shall be quite fine, gentlemen. Don't let me keep you further,” he said.

“There is an overnight kit with clothing and toiletries,” Auerbach said. “Give a shout if you need anything.”

“Thank you. Goodnight.”

Auerbach was silent for a while as we walked him back to his nerve center, so I spoke up.

“Doc, he'll keep until tomorrow. You have a full plate,” I said emphatically. “In fact, if Wolverine squad is stable, you should be eating then hitting the rack.”

“Yes, Doctor,” he quipped.

“We're serious, Doc,” Vincent said. “We count on you to hold us together. You can't burn out in one night with all this shit happening.”

That was far from eloquent, but it made the point.

“That's why I didn't stay to chat with him,” Auerbach assured us. “I plan to give the staff their marching orders, have a stiff belt and get some sleep. I promise.”

“Okay then. Goodnight, Doc. Goodnight, Maximilian,” I said. “We'll convene over breakfast tomorrow.”

I waited until we got back to the apartment before contacting Heisler again.

“Mark, no one is to go near Molinar tonight. That includes Auerbach unless there is an actual emergency,” I said. “And notify us first in that event.”

“Will do.”

Vincent looked concerned. “Do you think he'll try to talk to Molinar on his own?”

“Unlikely while he's dealing with Wolverine squad. I'm just being cautious,” I replied. “Our Doc is as earnest and curious as that Doctor Bassett. But I don't want to lose ours. This time, we'll look after him....Now, where were we? Oh, yes...”

I snatched Vincent against me and claimed his parted lips once more. My fingers found their way into his hair to free it again. Vincent was more resistant this time. I think his determination to make sure we did the deed before another interruption made him try to move things along. I couldn't have that. Getting off wasn't what we needed just then. We needed to really connect. That required time and care. It didn't seem like we had the luxury, but I was just as determined that we did.

Before the kiss could give way to a frenzy, I slowed it and deepened it while I slowly caressed his the elegant muscles along his back. During that very long, nearly lazy kiss, I moved us into the bedroom though I did not try to undress him. We fell onto the bed still kissing and caressing through our clothes. I was relentless though gentle with the kiss. Vincent relaxed as we settled onto the sheets. He yielded with something between a sigh and a moan. Then, I pulled off his top. With one hand holding him down by on shoulder, I kissed and licked his collarbones. I next kissed, licked, sucked and nipped my way down his torso making sure I paid torturous attention to his nipples and navel. Vincent was writhing and cursing at me by the time I pulled his boots and pants off. It was amazing how he could make the term sadistic bastard sound so sexy. I think it was the need and desperation in the tone.

My response was to take his erection in my mouth to the root. There was much less cursing then. In fact, there were no intelligible words until my name was wailed as my Love came hard in my mouth.

“Why do you take me that way first, when you know I want you in me,” Vincent murmured as he watched me undress.

“Those cute, little hips have a diabolical way of thwarting my plans unless you're sated,”I replied reasonably.

That got me an impish grin. He quieted as soon as I crawled between his legs.

“We need a nice long ride to dissipate the energy between us,” I murmured as I prepped him.

“Whatever, Colonel Bastard, just get on ….uhnhhhh...”

I watched his eyes while I had him. They were dark and almost fathomless and filled with lust and love. It was a long and slow ride. The tension built slowly at first, but when I finally touched Vincent's reawakened erection, he could stand no more. Those hips went to work in earnest bringing us over the edge a short while later. I cried out his name while he wailed mine. The connection between us sizzled. The air seemed to crackle. It was amazing.

“Was that long enough for you, Colonel?” Vincent murmured as we lay entwined with each other under warm blankets.

“It never is, Love,” I replied with as sigh. I squeezed him close for a moment. “But it will do for now.”

The regular blog will be up tomorrow.