Today we welcome author Mathilde Watson to Love Bytes she stops by our blog as our final GRL Featured Bloggers posts

She offers us an excerpt and an Awesome! giveaway

make sure to enter!

Welcome Mathilde!

 

GRL is just around the corner and I, like many others—possibly even you—have a bag packed and a belly full of butterflies! The anticipation has been building for months, and even though this will be my first time in attendance, I know the event won’t disappoint. Old friends will be met and new one will be made as we celebrate the stories and the authors we all love.

 

Today I thought I’d share an excerpt from THE USUAL CONVENTIONS, the story of a romance that blossoms during a SciFi convention — Because, hey, who doesn’t love a convention?

Title : The Usual Conventions

Series: Unconventional Romances #1

Author : Mathilde Watson

Blurb:

When Chris meets the alien—man—of his dreams, “Ensign Brodeich Geinn” aka actor Brody Gates, it’s as one of the coordinators for the first annual OBX Science Fiction Convention in North Carolina. To his delight, Brody seems to return his interest, albeit in typical alien “Brodeich” fashion. Awkward alien or not, Chris is more than willing to play out any sexual fantasy for his SciFi crush, especially when Brody fumbles over the simplest of human conventions

 

 

“Hey, boss. You wanted to see me?”

Chris Myers stepped out of the elevator and jogged over to where his boss, Michael Glenn, was checking in guests and handing out identification badges. The man nodded to the others working the table and excused himself, stepping away from the chaos and joining Chris next to the back wall.

“Big day. You ready for this?”

Chris met Michael’s gaze and nodded. After two years working for his friend, he finally convinced Michael to let him shoulder a little more responsibility. The first hopefully annual OBX Science Fiction Convention was the biggest account the Glenn Event Planning Company had ever landed, and Chris suspected he only caved out of sheer desperation. Still, Chris had control over an entire floor of the event, and he was determined nothing would go wrong on his watch.

“Great. Because your main attraction just arrived.”

Michael jerked his head in the direction of the front door, and Chris looked up just as the ragtag group of survivors from the Harec Y’shol walked into the hotel lobby. His jaw dropped and he knew his eyes had to be as wide as saucers. He could only hope he wasn’t drooling as he watched Ensign Brodeich Geinn lead his companions toward the check-in table.

“Oh my god, Michael! I thought you said they wouldn’t be here,” Chris hissed.

Michael laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “No. What I said was they hadn’t responded. I didn’t get the call until late Wednesday night.”

“It’s Friday morning. You could have told me yesterday!”

“I’m telling you now. You want ’em or not?”

“You put them on my floor?”

Having Brodeich and his companions on his floor shouldn’t have been a surprise, really. His floor consisted of the small exhibits featuring lesser-known characters from the more obscure shows. Competing against the latest Joss Whedon creation and the overblown Star Trek franchise two years ago, Brodeich’s Landing had barely made a blip on the radar. The network didn’t even air all of the first season before canceling the show, leaving a small but loyal fan base outraged.

“They’re all yours, buddy.”

Michael gave his arm a quick squeeze, then hurried back to his post at the check-in table. Chris resisted the urge to pinch himself. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up. Ever. Alien or no, Brodeich Geinn was the man of Chris’s wet dreams.

Chris did his best to mask his nerves before he approached the daring deserter and the innocent prisoners he’d rescued from the ill-fated Harec Y’shol. He wiped his sweating palms on the outsides of his thighs just before he stopped in front of his fantasy hero.

“Hello. Welcome. We’re so glad you could make it.”

Chris stared up at the alien’s alluring face and held out his hand, praying the man wouldn’t notice how badly it shook.

Brodeich stood six foot four inches tall and weighed two hundred and eighty pounds, every bit of it muscle. He had navy blue skin so dark it was almost black, and his catlike eyes were a rich coffee brown. His large, hooked nose only had one nostril, and his ears were small holes behind his temples. He had no hair on his head or on his arms or anywhere visible, and Chris couldn’t help speculating whether the trait extended to parts covered by his tight gray uniform.

Of course, Chris knew that Brody Gates, the actor hidden underneath the elaborate costume, had black hair he kept cropped close to the scalp, and his skin was as brown as his eyes. Chris needed to be professional, to remember that these men and women were real people, actors, and not the characters they portrayed. With most of the talent at the convention it wasn’t be a problem, but with Brodeich Geinn, the star in his wildest erotic fantasies, standing there in front of him, he knew it would be difficult.

Brodeich’s long fingers wrapped around Chris’s hand, his firm grip cool, smooth, and soft, like snakeskin. The press of their palms made Chris’s heart race, and his mind conjured up images of them together as a couple, like in his fantasies. Brodeich would hold his hand as they walked through the park, and those same hands would caress his naked body when they went to bed at night.

“I love you.”

Chris could feel the heat building in his face, and he felt sure he’d turned the color of a cooked lobster. He hoped to god he hadn’t said that out loud, but judging by the snickers around them, the startled expression on Brodeich’s face, and the sudden hard squeeze of his fingers, he had.

Chris cleared his throat and pulled his hand out of Brodeich’s grasp, giving him and his four companions an awkward smile. “I mean, I’m a huge fan of the show. It broke my heart when the title disappeared from the station’s listings.”

“That is so kind of you to say. It…broke our hearts, too, losing the spot. Our story had only just begun.”

* * * *

And there you have it!

 

THE USUAL CONVENTIONS is a part of the Mischief Corner Books NOT IN THE STARS anthology. You can check it out HERE!

 

And now I want to thank you all for taking the time to visit with me, and I want to extend a very special thank you to my awesome hosts!

 

THANK YOU!

Mathilde Watson is a work in progress.
I don’t much resemble the girl I was ten years ago.
And ten years from now I guarantee I’ll be someone else again.
And I’m okay with that. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

For more information on Mathilde’s work, please visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathilde.watson.author
Website: http://authormathildewatson.weebly.com 

 

 

Before you leave, be sure and post a reply that includes your email address. On Tuesday, October 13^th, I will draw names from the respondents. Three people will receive an e-book of their choice from my backlist, and I’ll be giving away two $10 gift cards to the ARe bookstore.