Romancing the Middle East with Avril Tremayne - Day 2

Talking about...talking

One of the things I enjoy most about writing is dialogue. I speak it aloud as I write it, and add in the anger/breathlessness/laughter/awkwardness/whatever as I go. Needless to say, I prefer to write dialogue when I'm alone in the house!

I classify dialogue in various ways. There are the scenes where dialogue establishes what's going on - who is who, where are they and what are they doing? There are the scenes that show how the characters relate to each other - strangers, colleagues, friends, family, enemies. The scenes that set up what the characters are like - whether they're happy, uptight, quirky, calm, icy, erratic, proud, whatever. And then there are the scenes where the plot is dialed up a notch and everything changes, for better or worse.

And because these last kind of scenes are my favourites, I'm going to share one from Now You're Mine.

Jenna has gotten lost in the desert and found herself at the palatial home of an enigmatic billionaire. When she's called back to see him the next day, she has a strange feeling that he's sexually interested in her, but it's incredibly hard for her to believe this could be so. She describes it as the difference between Turkish delight and apple pie and she is the pie - not appealing to the exotic palate of such a man. In this scene, Jenna finally is made to accept that her imagination is not playing tricks on her: the beautiful, fascinating, poetic Kalan Al Talyani really does want her...

‘You know that I want you.’

‘Yes, but it’s hard to understand, when you didn’t want me last night.’

‘Didn’t I?’

‘Well . . . what? Are you saying you did?’

‘I did.’

‘Okay, now I really don’t understand.’

‘Last night you knew nothing about me. And now you do.’

‘The . . . the interview? Is that what you mean? I know you because of that?’

Kalan smiled. ‘I think you knew me without it, but I also think you needed something more orthodox as a backup.’

‘You’re not insane, are you, by any chance?’

The smile became a grin. ‘No. Just a little bit crazy, since last night.’

‘Because of . . . of me? No! No, no, no.’

‘Why not because of you?’

‘Because I’m just me. I don’t even believe . . . I mean, why do you even want me?’

‘Because you make me smile. Because I like the stars in your eyes. I like the way you look. The way you smell, beneath the rose and oud. I like the way you speak to me – not only with your voice and your seeking words, but with the soul I feel reaching for mine. I want to touch you with my hands and my mouth. I want to show you that you are more than you think. That you can be as curious and as confident and as adventurous as you want, with no limits – not even yourself. That you can have control, and cede it, without losing anything, but gaining much.’ He took my other hand, kissed the knuckles, keeping his eyes on mine. ‘So, Jenna, the risk ‒ will you take it?’

 

‘I think . . . Oh God, I need a glass of wine. I mean if I’m going to break one law, why not break two, right?’ 

He laughed softly. ‘Another time, Jenna, but not for this. Tonight, you take me with your eyes open and your mind clear. All right?’

‘All right,’ I said, and could hardly believe I’d agreed. But the way he put it was so tempting, so . . . everything.

He released both my hands and yet I was held there, as though chained to him. ‘Your mission, Jenna, should you choose to accept it, is to cede control to me. Will you do that?’

My breathing was going haywire, and the fact that his wasn’t all that controlled either was making me impossibly, achingly aroused.

He leaned down and kissed my right cheek. A fraction of a second, no more. ‘Will you, Jenna? Your choice.’

‘Yes, I will.’ My eyes closed. I could smell him. An exquisitely complicated fragrance that was hauntingly Arabian.

‘Ahh,’ I breathed out – just because I couldn’t hold it in.

He said nothing. Simply kissed my other cheek.

‘Ohhhh.’ It whispered out of me.

I opened my eyes to find him watching me. His eyes had darkened, the pupils dilated.

‘And now, Jenna, we begin. Remember, you have ceded control to me. So you do only as I say.’

*** 

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I'll be back tomorrow to share a few behind-the-scenes moments about Now You're Mine. But meanwhile. please connect with me via my website, where you can sign up for my newsletter to get all my news first, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and don't forget to enter the giveaway and leave a comment about a time that you were scared about something new coming into your life.

 

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