Answer The Question: Inklet, #10

By Amy Laurens

Ellie looks forward to her regular spa visits. Running into that jerk Brandr again? Not so much. 

Too pretty for anyone's good, Brandr arouses lust in everyone he meets--and Ellie hates the way he inspires her body to burn. She knows what she wants out of love, and she'll do whatever it takes to maintain her control.

If you love enemies-to-lovers with a touch of magic, you'll love Answer The Question. Grab your copy now!

3800 words. 

Welcome to Inklets, a series of short (and sometimes short-short) stories ranging from sci-fi to fantasy to lingering just on the edge of normal. One thing's for sure: you won't look at the world the same way again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inkprint Press
• Release date: May 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386327837

Amy Laurens

AMY LAURENS is an Australian author of fantasy fiction for all ages. Her story Bones Of The Sea, about creepy carnivorous mist and bone curses, won the 2021 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella. Amy has also written the award-winning portal-fantasy Sanctuary series about Edge, a 13-year-old girl forced to move to a small country town because of witness protection (the first book is Where Shadows Rise), the humorous fantasy Kaditeos series, following newly graduated Evil Overlord Mercury as she attempts to acquire a castle, the young adult series Storm Foxes, about love and magic and family in small town Australia, and a whole host of non-fiction, both for writers AND for people who don’t live with constant voices in their heads. Other interesting details? Let’s see. Amy lives with her husband and two kids in suburban Canberra. She used to be a high-school English teacher, and she was once chewed on by a lion. (The two are unrelated. It was her right thumb.) Amy loves chocolate but her body despises it; she has a vegetable garden that mostly thrives on neglect; and owns enough books to be considered a library. Of course. Oh, and she also makes rather fancy cakes in her spare time. She’s on all the usual social media channels as @ByAmyLaurens, but you’ve got the best chance of actually getting a response on Instagram or the contact form on her website. <3

Book preview

Answer The Question

INKLET #10

––––––––

AMY LAURENS

www.InkprintPress.com

Answer The Question

I tilted my head back against the pastel green wall of the day spa, relaxing just enough that I could feel every ache and pain in my body. Man, I was looking forward to this massage.

The door handle on one of the client rooms twisted, and a fraction of a second before the door opened, I stiffened. Heat sang through my body and, furious, I stuffed it away. Not Brandr. For a brief moment I panicked, wondering if Bianca had mixed things up and booked my massage with him again—but I forced myself to breathe and relax, keeping my eyes closed. Bianca ran her day spa with a golden heart and an iron fist; she wouldn’t do that to me.

Still, as Brandr exited the client room and crossed the waiting area, footsteps soft on the rugged floor, I felt more than heard him pause in front of me, every sense in my body standing to rigid attention.

Steady breath in, steady breath out. Steady breath in, steady breath out. I’d managed to successfully ignore him through all of our infrequent encounters since that first massage, and today would be no different.

In front of me, he sniffed. I clearly need to have a word with Bianca, he muttered, and I couldn’t tell if he was including me in his audience or not. That lounge needs replacing, and some things around here are getting downright old and worn.

I managed to avoid choking on my disbelief until he left the room, though I could still see the back of his head disappearing down the stairs, so doubtless he heard me. Whatever. I didn’t even care. Stupid, arrogant, jerk-faced twat. Just because he was so pretty that girls fell over themselves to be near him. Well, I wasn’t falling for it, even if it had been the best bloody massage of my life. I was not some stupid, vapid piece of arm-candy for him to play with. Urgh.

I slammed my