Guest Post and #Giveaway with AR Norris

Core Values, True Love

I'll be the first to admit it, my Hubby and I have nearly nothing in common. He's a straight-laced outdoorsman who hunts and fishes and loves being around people. I'm the geek with a strong goofy side who can happily spend days not seeing anyone.

I don't know how many times people have asked how we could last almost two decades. Sometimes I wonder it myself. The truth, for me, is many times people rely on surface interests to build on that initial attraction, and forget about the necessary core attributes that transcend hobbies and interests.

Let's continue with Hubby and I as an example. Yeah, on the surface we are total opposites, but we are both loyal and commitment to our friends and family. We both have aligned values and moral beliefs, and we both love kung fu, military action, and B movies.

Okay, that last part probably has little to do with a successful marriage, but I'm not knocking it. (You just never know sometimes and it's better safe than sorry.)

In my latest release, the last installment in The Telomere Trilogy, END OF ETERNITY, Dokkaebi Luna and Damani Wassack seem like complete opposites. And on the surface, they are nothing alike. Luna is a warrior from an all-female planet. Damani is a recluse man with an oath to guard a cursed race.

Yet, when you peel away the surface layers, the two are more alike than they probably wish. Both have dedicated themselves to their people and their oaths. They both are loyal to their friends and family. Both are struggling to understand the cultural changes in their respective worlds. And they are both yearning for more than their calling, though they don't know it yet.

Excerpt

Luna was sunk, she knew later as they lay in the cot. He'd passed out against her as soon as she finished with the healing. Exhausted herself, she'd called for lowlights and let herself drop against the wall, cradling him so his head lay on her lower stomach. The braided Mohawk was a mess. She hesitated long enough to feel nervous before reaching out and working the binding off.

"Oh, it's like silk," she murmured on a purr, running her fingers through the mane of dark auburn hair to unravel the braiding. It draped forward in thick locks, partially concealing his face.

The low lights from the vessel reflected off the silver tattoo etched, right up by the shoulder blade. In an absent way, she traced it with her finger and sighed.

She knew the mechanics of being with a man. It'd been taught in preparation for her Procreation Journey. What she hadn't expected was that need, as the Essence called it. So new and uncommon. Similar, yet different from the affection she had for her Dokkaebi, and more than what the elders describe of attraction. She slid her fingers from his tattoo to his face, brushed the hair off it to trace his brow and nose, ending at the red tattoos on his hairline.

The wonder of man, the Essence echoed inside her. What wonders they bring to women. This is different from the first of those who landed. Very interesting.

Luna frowned and wondered if it was the Essence intrigued by this man, or her. Could she separate those feelings? Were they manipulating her?

I am intrigued by all and yet none in particular, Child. Unlike you.

Was this what Namid felt for the Scott McCree? Frustrated, she tried to figure out how to approach the situation. Obviously, she could do little to resist him much longer. But she would not give her life and soul to him. Not even for a child in her belly. Not even cast out in this world would she change. Yet if she loved him, she feared she might end up spilling all and more at his feet. At his mercy. At his will.

He stirred in his sleep, reached out and snuggled into her, resting his head in between her pelvic bones. His warm hand kneaded her thigh before settling again into deep sleep.

Everything changes, daughter.

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Well, I hope you like the excerpt. Let me know what you think is important in a lasting relationship. Of course, one commenter will win the first book in the trilogy, REVELATIONS OF TOMORROW. And if anyone wants to like my Facebook Fan Page (link below), they can enter an opportunity to win the whole trilogy.

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