Collaboration Update

So my sister and I have started working on our project. We've both done a bit of research and have each started writing. She's handling the prologue, which sets up the heroine's disfigurement and introduces the villian. I've written the first chapter from our hero's POV.

Here's a small snippet from what I've completed so far. Before you read, please keep in mind that this is subject to change, un-edited, and likely full of typos. Also, if you're the delicate kind that blushes, you may find some of the language a tad bit strong.


It didn’t take him long to find them. A small, spring-fed pond lay nestled amid a cluster of trees. Through the tree line beyond the pond, he could see that the last of the sun’s glorious rays had faded into bruised purples and blues. Overhead the moon shone in a sliver of silver and reflected off the rippling water of the pond where the Healer and her pet played. He caught a silhouette of the woman as she pushed herself up off the bottom of the pond, tossing a stick overhead for the dog to retrieve. The animal, already submerged to its neck, paddled faithfully after the missle.

The image of her slender frame, the jut of her breasts, and the graceful length of her spine curving down toward hips and an ass that never quite cleared the water had been branded on Sebastian’s mind. However inappropriate, lust filled him. As she sank back into the water her hair fanned out behind her, carried by the eddy of the currents her movements had created.
He wondered what color her hair was and if her face would be as perfect as the rest of her. As if in reaction to his unspoken thoughts, she shifted and her profile came into view. He found himself stirred by the curve of her cheek, the shape of her lips and nose. A water-nymph could not have been more alluring.

A deep, blood-curdling growl reverberated on the air mere seconds before a clear warning bark shattered the idyllic scene. The dog, its massive body sluicing through the water, had noticed Sebastian and had began swimming towards the shallow bank where Sebastian stood.

The woman gasped and submerged herself until her chin touched the water. Her hair spread out even further across the flowing surface, long tendrils snaking away from her body. Keeping herself hidden by the opaque water, she drew a swath of hair over most of her face, neatly obscuring his view.

The dog scrambled up the slope, its short fur bristling and its teeth bared in warning. Water slid off the fur, pooling around the dog’s feet as it came to a halt at the crest of the small hill. Its muscles bunched as it prepared to launch itself at Sebastian in defense of its mistress.

Sebastian knew better than to make any sudden moves. He had grown up with dogs. His father’s greyhounds had been high-strung and snappy. Startling them had resulted in more than one unfortunate scrape.

Maintaining eye contact with the dog, Sebastian directed his words to the woman moving steadily, if slowly, away from them. “I’m sorry, Mistress. I didn’t mean to intrude, but I need your help.”