Just like before, here's an excerpt from one of my newest favorite books. Since it's Valentine week, I've picked a section that is a little hot and heavy, and most def. swoon worthy. At least, in my opinion. So I don't give away which book this is from, I've gotten rid of all names and replaced them with pronouns. It won't detract from the scene. Promise. ; )
The kiss started slowly, a sweet, tentative searching. The soft touch of his mouth mesmerized me. I parted my lips for his, letting desire draw me down.
[His] kiss deepened; his hand ran along my back, tracing the length of my braid, sliding beneath my shirt to stroke my skin. I felt like I was drinking sunlight. My fingers moved from his chest to his neck and stroked the line of his jaw. I pressed into him, wanting to know more of the mysteries he pulled so easily from my body. More of this freedom, this wildness.
[He] grabbed my hips and in a swift motion turned us, pinning me to the floor. His hands moved beneath my shirt, his body pressing hard against mine. I could smell his rising desire mixing with my own, our feverish need infusing the air like lightning about to strike. Instead of being pulled down into him, I was rising up, legs wrapping around him. His fingers moved carefully, tracing my curves, lingering in places tht stole my breath, binding me to him and yet setting me free. My own gasp of pleasure against his mouth brought the world hurtling back.
The room spun as I pulled out of his embrace, stumbling toward the table. My heart rammed against my ribs, insistent and painful.
I can't do this, I can't. But I wanted to. More than anything.
So...what did you think? :D Also, can you guess what book this is from? Stay tuned tomorrow for the answer. Along with a review of the book.
Well, since agent Jennifer Laughran's wonderful post last week, I've taken off all my teasers and snippets from my blog regarding my current story.
So, instead, I've decided to post a teaser of the book I'm going to review on Wednesday. Nothing long and nothing with spoilers. I think I'm even going to hold a contest or two for people who can guess what the teaser is from before I post the review. Just not today. LOL. But I'd still love to hear your guesses and what you think about that teaser. It's also a good excersice for writers. Because you can tell me why it did or didn't make you want to read more.
So, without further adieu, today's teaser:
I could feel everyone looking at me, but I was used to it. One thing my dad taught me early and often was to act like nothing moved me. When you're special, like we were, people were bound to notice.
So...can you guess what book this comes from? And, even if you can't, would you have kept reading? Why? Or why not?
Here's another scene from my current WIP. It's rough, as it's my NaNoWriMo novel, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it.
Mai felt a jolt, then another. And another. And she opened her eyes and looked down her body. There stood Analise, slowly chipping away at Mai's body with a hammer and chisel. The bisque--brown, hardened clay--that had surrounded her metal innards, flying in every which direction.
Mai wanted to close her eyes tight against the view, but she was as fascinated as she was horrified. It did not hurt, what they were doing, but neither did it feel good. It was, to put it gently, uncomfortable.
The boy that had placed her on the table was working on her arm. Though his hands and muscles were larger than the woman's, he was more gentle. Delicately carving off the bisque, one layer at a time until Mai's shiny metal bone structure showed.
The sound of her skin cracking was worse than she could possibly imagine. There was no possible way to describe how much it hurt her. Not physically. There was only pressure physically. But mentally, she was broken by the sound.
They were taking away who she was with their chisels, picks, and hammers. She'd been special. Different. Beautiful. Now? She had no clue what she'd look like. She only knew, if she could weep, she would.
She wanted to yank away, but the straps holding her to the table allowed no movement. Besides, what was the point of fighting now. They'd already done their damage. And she'd been forbidden by the goddess to reveal herself to those not of the
Mai stared up at the ceiling, doing everything she could to block the sound of the cracking from her ears. Apparently the goddess had been wrong. It was not more dangerous to reveal herself to people not of the Adair family. Who knew what other horrors would await her if she did.
After what felt like an eternity later the cracking finally stopped. Analise stepped back into Mai's view and she smiled down at her, placing her hand along Mai's cheek.
"Such a shame about this pretty face, though." She narrowed her eyes at Mai. "I wonder if there's a way to pull this back off without cracking it."
Mai watched as the woman, grabbed the edge of her face, right under the chin, and tugged lightly. A smile formed on the woman's face, then she turned and went to a little work table off to the side and came back with a little machine that had a serrated circle on one end. On the other was something Mai didn't know what it was. But when Analise pressed a lever on the side of the device, it hissed and a cloud of steam billowed from the back of it.
The circle started spinning and Mai whimpered when Analise brought it close to Mai's neck. Since the woman didn't stop, Mai assumed the sound was lost in the whine from the machine.
Analise place the rotating circle right underneath Mai's jaw, and Mai felt a vibration as the whine from the machine grew louder and a blanket of dust erupted from it.
The vibrating moved up the side of her face, past her eye, at the hairline above her forehead and back down the other side, exactly as she'd come up.
Mai fought to keep her eyes open and unstaring, but she couldn't help but follow the path Analise took. However, the woman was so focused on her task, she didn't seem to notice.
When the woman put the machine down, Mai, closed her eyes briefly. She knew what was coming and she wasn't happy about it.
Analise put her hands on either side of Mai's head and slowly lifted the painted porcelain, that was Mai's face. Analise turned it to face her and Mai stared at it. This would be the last time she saw it. Something that had been a part of her for a hundred years. That made her, her was gone.
The woman clicked her tongue, then sighed. "Don't worry, sweet thing." She patted Mai's metal structure. "Analise is going to put this in a safe spot for you." She smiled down at Mai, then set the porcelain on the desk. "Now let's peel back this hair, so we can put that aside as well. It's so beautiful. I think they used real hair. We'll have to make sure to do the same with your new ones. Only the best for you."
Analise moved behind Mai's head, and Mai couldn't see her anymore. However she did feel the tug and hear the ripping of the cloth that held her elaborate hair style in place as it tore from her metal skull.
The sound echoed through her and she finally just wanted to close her eyes and keep them that way. However, without her face, there were no lids to keep her from seeing.
But that didn't matter for long, because Analise reached her suprisingly nimble fingers for those brown colored orbs and pulled them out of the sockets.
Mai didn't know if it was a curse or a blessing that she couldn't see the rest of what was happening to her.
Hi, guys, today is special. Well, special for me, anyway. :D I'm releasing the first part of ch.1 of my nano book. It's EXTREMELY rough as I just wrote it yesterday and it's in 3rd person, which I'm not the best at yet, but I like to challenge myself.
ARITIFACT SPIRIT is a steampunk story about a clockwork doll who has come alive after 100 years of being loved and cared for by the Adair family--the royal family in my fictional European Victorian Age kingdom. It is based on the Japanese myth of the Tsukumogami and Cinderella--with a few changes of my own.
Without further adieu, Scene 1 of Chapter 1 of ARTIFACT SPIRIT.
Delaney wanted to cover his ears with his hands and shout, "Will you three please stop your incessant, senseless chattering!" but he knew the resultant outcome would not be beneficial. Then their incessant ramblings would only turn to shouts, which would bring his father.
Since he didn't feel like explaining why he shouted at the trio of women, something a gentleman did not do under any circumstance, it was far easier to just endure.
And endure he was.
Ever since his father had come home with Lady Mallory Novelle and her two pampered wretches--daughters--he'd quietly done as was bid of him. Including relocating to the other side of his home. As far away from the twin terrors as possible without vacating the residence.
However, it hadn't been for his father's new wife as much as it had been for his own sanity. He could tell, even then, that his life was about to change completely. He just didn't realize how much.
Now, just a few weeks later, he strode through the home that had belonged in his mother's family for centuries, giving his new sisters and mother an official tour. His father had insisted he do everything to make the three feel welcome and apparently that included being open to their beck and call.
When they reached the ballroom on the first floor, Del paused by the carved mahogany doors. A lance of pain and grief stabbed into him. This had been his mother's domain. Her most prized area. Not just because of the lavish parties she would host, but because of the menagerie of dolls that adorned the stage.
It felt wrong to be bringing the woman that had replaced her to it, but he had no choice but to continue. Lady Novelle was already pushing open the door. A sure sign that she was not the lady her name suggested she was. A really lady would not open a door with a man present. A look of disgust appeared on her face when a cloud of dust erupted from the space.
She inhaled and then started a fit of coughing. Del couldn't help but be pleased her lack of manners had come back to bite her, though he offered his handkerchief. She yanked it from his hand and brought it up to her nose, before gesturing for Del to light the lamps.
Once he did she continued over the once glossy wood floors that were now covered in inches of dust.
"What is this? It's disgusting," Cassandra the blond of the two twins, said. Her nasily voice echoed through out the large room as did the click of their booted feet as the trio walked further in.
Del stiffened, fighting back the urge to tell her the shut her mouth. That real ladies were seen but not heard, but it would be lost on them. "It is the ballroom. It was my Mother's favorite place." He frowned, not exactly sure why he felt the need to them the last part.
Lady Novelle ran a white gloved hand along the dark wainscoting on the silk-papered walls. She wrinkled her nose at the layer of grime now coating the tip of her finger.
"It looks quite neglected," she said, with a superior look on her face that had Del been any less of a gentleman he would have had the urge to knock it right of her face.
"Yes," he said, keeping his face blank, but his fingers clenched into his trousers. "She didn't like anyone but herself to wind the dolls. When she took ill, she tried her best to keep doing it, but...it quickly became too much for her."
"What an idiot," said Narcissa, the dark haired twin. Her voice was just as nasally as her sisters, but it also had a high-pitched whine to it at all times. Del had to fight a wince when she spoke, it was like listening to nails on a slate board. "Why didn't she just use the servants? That's their job."
Del's hands tightened as did his jaw. A little tick fluttered in his cheek. "The dolls are old and precious to her. She trusted no one with them."
The girl rolled her eyes, then they widened. "Did you say dolls? What kinds of dolls?"
He regretted instantly that he'd told them about them, but there was nothing to be done. He gestured toward the raised stage on the far end of the room. "Be my guest," he said.
The two girls raced across the room, clamoring to get to the dolls first. They tripped and fought with each other each pushing the other straight off the stairway, before finally making it to the top.
Lady Novelle and Del followed more sedately. The former giving them looks of indulgence and the latter scowling at their completely unladylike behavior. Had he any sisters, his mother would not have tolerated that sort of behavior.
These...girls were to be the newest to the Adair line? Didn't exactly give one confidence in the future.
Del walked to the side of the stage and turned the knobs for the stage lamps. Gaslight glowed from the many lamps aimed at the stage, revealing the dozen or so clockwork dolls.
Beautiful, life-sized clockwork dolls made for the express purpose of entertaining guests as they danced across the stage.
"Those aren't dolls," Narcissa said. "They're too big. And...they're ugly. Why are their faces all white. And what are they wearing? Pajamas." She scrunched up her face and lifted her nose in the air.
"They are clockwork dolls. They dance," Del said, calmly despite the storm raging in him. He touched the oldest, and most favored of his mother's dolls, letting his hand rest on the cool somehow very flesh-like skin of the dolls wrist.
"This was her favorite," he told them, staring into the doll's brown eyes. It's a hundred years old. A gift from my great-grandfather to his wife for their wedding anniversary.
He brought it back from his travels to the East. It is dressed as a Japanese Geisha in her traditional garb." He turned his attention to Cassandra. "They are not pajamas."
"They dance?" asked Cassandra. "How?"
Del reached behind the doll to the large key in the middle of her back. He gave it a few quick turns and stepped back.
With clinks and a few grinding gears, the doll straightened, seemingly staring at Del for a few seconds before moving toward the girls, who squealed and ran to clutch at their mother's skirt.
"What is it doing?" Lady Novelle asked.
Del smiled, watching the dolls intricate movements. "It's performing a kabuki dance. A traditional Japanese dance." He remembered watching her perform the dances over and over again. Enthralled that something made of porcelain and metal, was so beautiful and lithe. She appeared now as she did then, as real as he. He could almost feel like she was watching him as he watched her. Not for the first time, he felt the urge to dance with her, but now was not the time.
"It's awful," Cassandra said. "I don't like it. Make it stop."
Before Delaney could say or do anything the doll stopped in her original position. The clicking of her clockwork innards still echoed throughout the room, but she didn't budge. Not one gear.
"It's broken," Narcissa said. "Good. She's horrible looking." She turned to sneer at Del. "Your mother had dreadful taste."
Del narrowed his eyes. "It appears she wasn't the only one. My father seems to have it as well." Then he spun on his heal and marched from the room, his back ramrod stiff.
As promised here's a sneak peak of my newest short story, tentatively titled, TOOTHLESS. We haven't come to part yet, where the title will make sense, but I hope you enjoy, even though it's technically a vampire story. (And as always, this is EXTREMELY rough.)
The sound of her heart racing is like a tympani to me and urges me forward. She is mine. From the minute our eyes meet across the dance, I knew it. Even when she realized what I was and tried to sneak away, I knew. And now, with her feet slapping the wet concrete of the alley, her heart hammering in her chest, and her breaths gasping, her blood beckons to me. Like a Siren's Call it is impossible to ignore.
The red haired beauty has wound her way around the city, dodging here and there, but I'm never far behind. And while I'm not hurrying, to her mortal's eyes, I am a blur. I could have grabbed her before this started, but the chase is fun. In a life filled with endless night, a little entertainment with my meals is indispensable and the key to preventing boredom--a fate worse than a stake through the heart. At least there's a fight before the stake.
But the chase has come to an abrupt end, the poor dear. And she's run right into a dead end alley. And apt name...considering.
"Please," she begs. "Please don't hurt me."
"Oh, this won't hurt in the least," I say. However, the fangs gleaming from my smile probably don't give her the relief she's looking for.
She pushes herself against the wet, dirty wall as if trying to go through the wall and I have to laugh. Why do mortals always think that cringing away from the monsters is going to make us go away? Seriously. It seems kind of dumb.
"Relax," I say. "This really won't hurt. You'll never feel a thing."
I step closer and the fear radiating from her causes me to quiver in anticipation. Her blood will be delicious. Like the first taste of a fresh, tart not-quite-ripe apple.
Mmm, apples. I must have one when I get home.
Toe to toe with her now, I place my hands on either side of her face. Her eyes are wide and I can barely see the blue because her pupils have taken over and their black depths are all that's visible.
Her lips, painted a bloody red, tremble, but it's not all fear now. It's just as much arousal. Anticipation. My touch and smell overpowering her instincts.
It's such a shame really. She really is a beautiful girl. I trail my finger down her delicate throat and rest in the hollow of her collar bone. Maybe I'll keep her after all. She would make a wonderful companion.
She's making little whimpering sounds that make me want to moan in pleasure. Is there anything more electrifying than a moan?
I smile, then dip my head, brushing her lips with mine, letting her breathe in my scent, which is more potent than any illicit drug. Almost immediately it has an effect and she's putty in my arms. Literally.
If I hadn't been pressing my body firmly against hers, she would have fallen to the ground.
I shake my head. Humans really are strange creatures. I flip her over my shoulder and bound out of the alley
This is from Chapter 2, when Emily first enters high school for the first time. She's determined she's just going to observe only (ie not make friends.) She just wants to get in, find the Soul Stealer, and get back out.
For the blurb and to see what the character's look like, please visit the story's page on my website. I don't have the character bios up yet for these. (Please remember that all teasers are rough drafts. Thank you very much.)
Also, don't forget to check out the Oasis, where I'm talking about Music through the ages. YOu never know when you'll need some number one hits from the past. :D
***
High school.A fate worse than death?Considering that I'd never attended formal schooling and it meant being surrounded by a bunch of whining sniveling brats five days a week, than yes.But it was probably better than waiting around for hours, possibly days for someone to die.
Though as I stood just outside my first period class, tugging the hem of my skirt down, as my heart beat a tattoo in my chest, I thought maybe, just maybe, that had to be better than walking into a class that had already been going for at least fifteen minutes with kids that had known each other for years.
Something furry brushed up against my legs and I glanced down. A large black cat with silver eyes, rubbed her large face against my calf.She meowed and I sighed."I know, I know.I've faced worse than a bunch of sniveling teenagers.I can do this."I can do this, I repeated to myself, straightening my shoulders and with one more glance down when the cat bumped against my leg, pushed the door open.
The teacher, a portly man with thinning hair named Mr. Evans, stopped talking.He stared at me as if I'd appeared out of thin air instead of walking through the door.The class whispered as I went to him.
"Do you see her shoes?" a blond girl in the front row whispered to a redhead next to her.I ignored her and kept going.
The redhead nodded."Yeah, what's up with the gloves?It's a hundred outside."She rolled her green eyes and they both snickered.But when I turned to face them directly, they both stopped and pretended they hadn't said anything.
Cowards.
"Can I help you?" the teacher asked, drawing my attention back to him.
Instead of responding, I handed him the slip of paper the secretary had given me that morning when I'd registered.
"You're the new student?" he asked after reading the paper, but went on before I could answer."You're just in time.Today we're doing a half-life simulation!"He beamed when he said it and it made me wonder why adults always thought if they said something that was really boring like it was really exciting, it would make it that way.
A boy in the back of the class called out, "The video game?"
"That's quite enough, Mr. Rogers," Mr. Evan said, and then turned back to me.
I only stared at him until the smile slipped away and he pointed to the back of the classroom, where an empty lab table sat.
"Take a seat over there.I'll be passing out your lab papers soon."
When I sat down and shoved my book bag under the table, the two girls in the front started whispering again."What is up with her eyes?They're so weird," the blonde said.
"I know.I can't tell if they're just a really light blue or a silver."
With a roll of those questionably colored orbs, I pulled out a notebook and waited for the teacher to pass around the handouts.
Without warning, the chair next to me scraped across the floor and a backpack thunked onto the table top.I looked over to see a bronzed skinned boy with sun-streaked brown hair and muddy brown eyes smiling at me.The bright white polo shirt was tight against his muscular chest."Hi.I'm Kieran."
Great, I thought.Figures I'd get a playboy for a lab partner. I nodded and turned my attention back to the teacher, who was now passing out little plastic baggies filled with M&Ms.
"What's your name?" Kieran asked.
I stared at him, but unlike the others who usually back off at the look, he only smiled back and waited for my answer.I decided to ignore him, and read the lab instructions.I had no intention of making friends while I was here, because I didn't plan on being here long enough to make friends.And I was definitely not interested in having a boyfriend.Boys were nothing but a pain in the butt.
The lab seemed easy enough, if not plain stupid.Basically, I would need to dump the bag of M&Ms in a pizza box so all had the markings face up.Then shake the box and remove all the ones that had flipped, so only the ones with the markings showing remained.I was supposed to do that four times and record my findings on graph paper.What that had to do with half-life, I had no idea.
"You know," Kieran said, tossing the bag of candy back and forth between his hands, "this assignment would go easier if you talked to me."
I shrugged and went back to marking up the graph paper I'd been given.WIth a shake of his head, he ripped open the bag and poured the candy into the box.We spent several quiet minutes, making sure all the pieces had their M's facing upward.
When we finished, he picked up the box."You want to shake it, or should I?"
I gestured for him to do it and bit back a laugh when he shook it like a maraca.A few times on either side of his head.I tucked my tongue into my cheek and shook my head.I would not give in and laugh no matter how silly he looked
When he opened the lid, he wrinkled his nose."Okay, you take that half," he pointed to the side closest to me, "and I'll take this half.Then we'll add it up and you can record it."
When I had, he took the box again and we repeated the steps until we'd filled in the graph.Unfortunately, because we hadn't chit-chatted like the rest of the class, we finished ahead of everyone else and had almost a half an hour to do nothing.I decided to use my time to study the class.
I had just finished my quick glance when Kieran tapped me on the shoulder. With a sigh, I glanced over and couldn't quite control the laugh the bubbled out of me when I saw him with the M&Ms over his eyes.
"That's really childish, you know," I said in the most patronizing tone I could think of.
"She speaks!" he said and feigned shock by covering his mouth with his hand.The candy dropped off his face and onto the table with three sharp clicks.
"Funny," I said.
"She speaks again!Wow, I'm honored."
I shook my head, but smiled at him.He grinned back, but before he could say anything else, Mr. Evans spoke up from across the room."Mr. Locke, this is Chemistry, not sociology.Practice your flirting skills somewhere besides my classroom.She doesn't appear to be interested anyway."
I snickered along with the rest of the class.To my amazement, Kieran only grinned, shrugged and then leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed behind his head.
Mr. Evans took that as his cue to start his lecture on our results and I zoned out, trying to clear my head of thoughts of the boy sitting next to me.
This is the scene from the school dance, where Emily thinks that Toby is the Soul Stealer or his slave. She's gone with him to try and get him to prove it, but quickly finds out how wrong she was and ends up with an unexpected surprise. Let's watch.
Toby picked me up in a fancy red sports car. Since cars and I didn't really get along, I had no clue what kind it was, but I could tell this one was expensive.
Since his parents were solidly middle-class I was pretty sure I knew where he'd gotten the money for it. But I had no proof and I didn't want to accuse him of being a demon's slave until I was sure. That was all I needed to be was wrong and then he tell everyone in the school I was insane and thought I was a reaper.
Though I doubted anyone would believe him. No one but the real demon that is.
He took me out for dinner--where he bored me brainless with his incessant chatter about football, and accidentally let it slip the car was a rental he'd gotten to impress me--and then drove straight to the dance.
There he dragged me around the room introducing me to his friends and preening as if I were a prized mare instead of his date. He was always trying to touch me and I had no idea how Addy had put up with him, but it hadn't taken me long to realize I'd made a mistake.
He wasn't a demon slave and he wasn't the demon. Unless he was a very good actor, which I doubted.
Demons were selfish and self centered, but this, this took the cake. Not to mention that he was oblivious of anything but my bust line and cleavage.
No, he wasn't the demon and I'd wasted precious time on him. That meant that someone else had taken Addy's soul and she didn't even know who it was.
How did a demon, or his slave, steal a soul without her knowing the person? Soul Stealing required skin to skin contact. Just like my reaping required soul to soul contact.
Having had enough of Toby for the night, I sent him to go and get me a drink and then hid in the shadows, trying to think of a way to get home without him.
When I saw Toby looking for me, I tried melting into the wall behind me, but bumped into someone and turned to apologize. I bit my tongue when I saw it was Kieran.
He blinked and then smiled. "Emily? Is that you?"
"Duh." I shook my head.
"Wow. You look...great! That's a wonderful color on you."
I couldn't help but grin and preen a bit. "Really? Thanks."
He gave me a once over and then frowned at my silk covered wrist. "You don't have a corsage."
"A what?"
"You know. A flower arrangement the girl wears to fancy dances."
Oh. Oops. Guess Isis didn't know everything. "Oh yeah. I, uh, forgot to get one of those."
"Em, you're not supposed to get it. He is. Speaking of him. Did you mean what you said? About paying him back for what he did to Addy?"
"Ah, there you are, my sweet. I'd wondered where you disappeared off to," Toby said from beside me. "Kieran. It's nice to see you again." He held out his hand for Kieran to shake, but Kieran only stared at it. Toby dropped his and then turned back to me. "Come on. There's a group of people I want you to meet."
I suppressed the groan and started to follow after him, but Kieran stepped in front of me and took my hand in his. His eyes met mine.
"What are you doing?" I hissed, trying to tug away.
"You can't go to the dance without a corsage." He smiled at me. Something heavy slipped over my hand and I glanced down to see a bracelet with gold flower links resting on my wrist.
A thrill ran up me at the sight, but I knew better than to take trinkets from boys. "Shouldn't you be giving this to your date? And this isn't a corsage."
"Close enough and this is for the person I wanted to be my date," he whispered.
His thumb rubbed circles across the back of my hand. It didn't take a genius to know he was talking about me. My stomach muscles tightened in response as my heart skipped a beat.
I moved my eyes to his. "Thank you. It's beautiful." We stared at each other for a few minutes, until Toby cleared his throat.
Reluctant, I slid my hand away and followed Toby as he took me as far from Kieran as he could manage.
Toby glanced down and I could have sworn he glared at the bracelet, but he didn't say anything and neither did I.
We danced a few dances, but he was so clumsy I begged off to save my feet. Undeterred he joined me and once again started his I'm-so-good monologue. Before long though he seemed to get that I wasn't all that into his stuff and started asking questions, which I answered with the shortest possible reply.
I just wanted this night to be over with.
When he caught the hint I didn't want to talk, he stopped and we stared off into opposite directions. I was relieved when a girl came up to him and asked him to dance with her. He shot me a questioning look and I nodded and shooed him away. At least it would be quieter now.
A hand dropped on my shoulder, startling me and I looked up to see Kieran's half grin. "Where's your date?" he asked.
I gestured toward the dance floor. "Over there. Somewhere. Thank goodness."
"Has Prince Charming turned into the frog?"
I laughed. "No, he was always the frog."
He burst out laughing and then held out his hand. "Well, it's a shame for such a pretty lady to be sitting all alone tonight. Care to dance?"
I shrugged, but held out my hand for him to help me up. The dress may have been beautiful, but it was a pain to move in.
He led me onto the floor just as my favorite slow song came on. I sent him a quizzical look and he smiled. "You were listening to it the other day and you seemed happy. I bribed the DJ to change the song the minute we stepped onto the dance floor."
Giving him a large smile, I placed my arms around his neck, careful my skin didn't touch his, and he put his on my waist. I tried to ignore the little tingles his touch had given me. The last time I'd felt those things, it had been the beginning of the end for me. And nothing could come of this. I couldn't touch him. He would be the one who died this time.
"You never answered my question earlier."
"Which one was that?" Being so close to him was causing my blood to hum and I was torn between enjoying the feeling and wanting to run far away from it.
"About Toby. That you'd only come here with him because of what he did to Addy."
"Yeah, but..."
"But?"
"I don't know. There really isn't anything I can do. It wasn't a very good idea."
"Well, in a way it was."
I tilted my head back to look at him. "Why is that?"
He pulled me closer to whisper in my ear, sending tingles throughout my body. "Because now I don't have to pretend we came together as just friends."
I couldn't speak. Sand dunes had arisen in my mouth, making my mouth as dry as the desert. We were both quiet as we continued to dance.
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
I wanted to tell him that yes he did make me uncomfortable and pull away, but my heart decided to take control of my brain and answered for me. "You didn't make me uncomfortable," I said, breathlessly.
"Yeah? What did I make you?" His own voice was husky, as if he'd just woken up from sleep.
At that moment the song changed and I stepped away, but he pulled me back. "Don't go. If you do, you'll just have to deal with the frog prince."
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Toby waiting at the table for me. I tried suppressing a shudder at the look in his eyes, but Kieran caught it and tugged me closer.
"See, I told you, you wanted to stay with me."
For the rest of the song, I stayed in his arms, wondering why things had to be so difficult. Why I couldn't, for one night, pretend I was something other than what I was.
His hand rubbed up and down my back and I gave up and rested my head on his shoulder, pretending we were like any other couple on the floor.
When the song ended, neither of us let go of the other, until a hand rested on my shoulder.
"May I cut in?" Toby asked.
Kieran's arms tightened for the briefest of seconds before he let go and stepped back.
"Sure," he said and disappeared into the crowd before I could stop him.
Toby took his place in time for the next song to start, but it had changed to a faster song. I gave him a grin and a shrug and danced along with the music.
For the rest of the night I kept an eye out for Kieran, but I could never find him. I found Becca though and she did not appear happy. Eventually I gave up looking for him. And made sure to stay out of Becca's way.
A pop song came on and I wiggled my hips and moved my body in time to the bass. The best part of this world was it's music. Where I'd come from music was boring and even the chaste dance I'd had with Kieran would have been outlawed. Toby's eyes gleamed when he saw my movements and then he joined me, stepping behind me and placing his hand at my hip, matching his movements to mine.
Having too much fun, I didn't care. I laughed when we bumped each other. When I glanced behind me to smile at him, I stopped in mid motion. Kieran was leaning against the wall in the corner, his eyes focused on me. He raised a brow and I gave him a saucy smile. He lifted his glass in a toast and smiled back. I took a step toward him, but Toby stopped me, turning me around to face him.
I pulled away and started again in Kieran's direction, but he'd disappeared again. Disappointed, I stayed where I was and eventually let Toby pull me into another dance. This one a slow song again.
Halfway through the song, he tugged on my hand and started leading me toward the doors leading to the outside.
"Let's go get some fresh air."
I set me feet and shook my head.
"I don't want to go outside."
He ignored me and pulled harder. Unfortunately, even though I was supernatural, I didn't have super powers. Meaning I wasn't stronger than him and he was able to pull me toward the doors.
I struggled to get away, but it wasn't any use. Tremors of panic zigzagged through me as he succeeded in pulling me outside and into the garden.
It surprised me nobody had noticed his little stunt and come to help me. Then again, I was just the new girl and a freak on top of it. No one probably cared what happened to me.
When we'd gotten to where he wanted, he loosened his grip at the same time as I found the strength to pull my arm away. But I did one better and punched him in the face. Blood spurted out of his nose and splattered my dress.
He yelped and jumped back, tearing one strap of my dress. I hissed at the throbbing in my fist, but stood firm.
He glared at me out of tear filled eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded.
"Me? You pull me into the middle of some dark garden without my consent and you wonder what's wrong with me?" I stood there, panting and cradling my fist in my other hand.
"You owe me."
"For what?" I spit out. I couldn't believe my ears. How the hell did I owe him that?
"I bought you dinner. I bought the stupid tickets to this dumb dance, rented the car, and I took you here. You owe me."
I sputtered. And instead of answering, reared my hand back to punch him again, but a hand grabbed my wrist stopped me. I glanced over and saw Kieran next to me.
"Don't. He's not worth breaking your fingers over." He glared at Toby. "Don't you ever touch her again," he told him.
Toby smirked. "Yeah, and what are you going to do about it. You didn't do anything when I took Addy away from you and you won't do anything now."
Before I could say anything, Kieran had punched Toby and sent him crashing into a large potted tree. I stared in shock as a Toby fell over the pot and landed on the ground.
Blood continued to pour from his nose and he was starting to get a black eye, but he didn't get up. He was out cold.
The crash from his fall had finally alerted the others and pounding feet raced toward us. I tugged on Kieran's hand. "Come on. We have to get out of here."
When he didn't budge, I was worried he wouldn't come and we'd get into trouble, but when I tugged again he slowly followed. And soon we were racing to the parking lot. He took the lead and pulled me to his truck. It sparkled under the lamplight.
"It's clean," I said with a laugh.
"Well, yeah. I had a date, you know. I couldn't let her get her pretty dress ruined before she could show it off." He lowered the tailgate and patted it.
He turned when I made no move to jump onto it and sighed. Then he stripped off his jacket and pulled it around my shoulders. "What a creep."
"Yeah, I guess he was. Well, at least we both payed him back for Addy."
"Nice shot, by the way."
"Thanks." I winced when I moved my hand and a sharp pain shot up from my knuckles to just above my wrist.
He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up to sit on the tailgate, and then took my hand. I yanked it away. "Don't take off the gloves."
"Why?" he asked. "I have to to see what damage you did." He started to tug on the silk again.
I pulled away again, causing the glove to slid off. Damn it! "No, please. Just trust me."
"What's the big deal?" He paused. "Are you a cutter?"
I blinked. "A what?"
"A cutter. You know," he made slicing gestures over his arm. "The people who cut themselves to make themselves feel better. Is that why you're always covering your arms up."
"Oh, no. I'm not a cutter. I...uh...have a skin disorder. Very contagious. Nasty stuff."
He gave me a 'yeah right' look, but handed me the glove. "Go ahead and put it back on. I've seen enough."
When I'd replaced it, being as careful as possible, he took my hand and started feeling around.I prepared for more pain, but he probed around very gently.
"It's swollen and bruised. I think you broke more than his nose."
I groaned. Super healing was also not part of the job description. I was as close to human as I could get without being, well, you know, human. "Great. Well, that's just the perfect end cap to the night. Isn't it?"
"Here. I'll kiss it and make it all better," he said.
I laughed, but shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
He lifted my hand to his mouth, and watching my face, kissed it. My nerves hummed at his touch. His eyes turned black as desire filled them and the next thing I know his mouth was on mine and he was pulling me into him.
At first I was frozen in place, and only had only a moment to think that he shouldn't still be kissing me, that he shouldn't be alive, before my mind went blank and I was lost in the moment.
My eyes fluttered closed and I brought my arms around his neck. He made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a moan. His hands grabbed my hips and yanked my closer, pressing his body against mine. The skirt of the dress hiked up along my legs, revealing them to my thighs, as he slid his body between them.
My head spun and my pulse bounded in my throat as he pulled back to give
us a chance to take a breath, but I dragged him back to me again. I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my ankles.
He moved his mouth to my throat and I tilted my head, enjoying the sensations of his tongue running down my neck and along my collarbone. His hands moved to my legs, but stayed just above my knee, his thumbs running circles over my skin and driving me crazy.
All at once, reality came crashing in on me and I realized what was happening. I yanked away and jumped to the ground, getting as far from him as possible.
I was still gasping for breath, as he was. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking a step toward me.
I stepped backward. "What are you?" I asked, trembling. Why was he still alive? How come I didn't kill him?
He stopped in his tracks and his face went blank. "What do you mean?"
"How come I didn't hurt you?" I didn't care at this point that I was giving too much away. There was no reason he should be still alive.
He laughed. "A kiss isn't going to hurt me, Emily. I'm not worried about...your skin disease."
I narrowed my eyes and studied him carefully, and then did the dumbest thing I could think of. I ripped off my glove and grabbed his hand.
It's that time again! Here's a little excerpt from my newest WIP. It's very, very rough, but I thought I'd give you a hint at what's to come. :D
I tapped a sheaf of papers—which was all that was left to do after my latest transport—so the pages lined up, and placed them off to the side to bring to the file clerk, even in the Otherworld there was paperwork. I adjusted my stapler on the corner of my desk so the edges matched up, spending almost five minutes making sure it was perfect. Then I slipped my pen in the drawer, and preceded to organize my already organized files, going so far as to make sure the files in the alphabetized folders were also in alphabetical order.
This wasn’t done to make sure my workplace was tidy; it was a way of stalling. Just after I’d transported her to her final destination, I’d received a message from Azrael—my boss, “Meet me in my office when you’re done,” and I’d been a nervous wreck since.
That wasn’t at all the way it was supposed to happen. Usually, I got a ‘good job’ when I handed in my paperwork—if he was around. If I’d done really well, I might have even gotten a handshake, but I’d never gotten called to his office. And especially not the second I’d returned from Elysia. In fact, I’d only ever been to his office once. The day I’d arrived.
Almost no one went to his office, unless you were a member of his Assembly or you did something very, very wrong. I was not a member of his Assembly.
When I caught myself straightening the pencils in my drawer so the tips all faced the same direction, I forced myself to get up and go to Azrael.
His office was similar to mine—as were all the offices—except it was bigger. A lot bigger. But then when you where in charge of every single reaper in the Otherworld it only made sense.
The walls of his office were a fawn color and had wainscoting along the bottom, while my walls were a dingy yellow, as if they had suffered through years of smoking. His desk was beautiful rosewood, while mine was a dented, brown, metal military surplus. He had a beautiful Turkish rug over Mahogany hardwood floors and I had threadbare carpet over concrete.
I stepped into the anteroom, which was a smaller, cozier version of his office. It was where he did his more informal discussions with those in the higher circle. Those that had gone beyond just a simple collector or transporter. Candlelight lit the room, giving it an even more homey feeling.
As modern as the Otherworld had become, it still didn’t run to modern conveniences such as electricity. There really wasn’t any need. Reapers didn’t need the comforts humans did. Cold, heat, light, dark. None of that mattered to us. If we were lucky enough to be given an assignment that meant becoming corporeal, than it would. We would feel the same humans did, but that was rare and only given to the most trusted reapers. An experience I hoped to gain one day.
I grinned when I saw Azreal’s hound sleeping in the center of the Aubusson rug. One massive eye opened, then the rest followed suit. His tail waged, and three tongues appeared from behind rows of razor sharp teeth. I knelt down to scratch his belly with both hands, laughing when his leg started kicking. For a dog that had three heads and was larger than myself, Cerberus was as gentle as a lamb. With people he liked anyway.
“Whose a good boy? Huh? Whose a good boy?” One of his large heads lifted and his tongue slurped up the side of my face. “Eww!” I exclaimed, laughing, and trying to wipe the slobber off with my sleeve. “Keep that up and we won’t play Frisbee later.” His tail thumbed heavily.
A throat cleared behind me and I jumped up to stand at attention, trying not to show my embarrassment of having been caught by the man himself, playing with his dog. Cerberus whined, stood, and went to his master—who gave him a few strokes behind the ears of one of his heads—before going to curl up in the corner.
“Emily, it’s wonderful to see you again. I don’t get to nearly enough,” Azrael said, and took my hand to shake it. He gestured to the couch behind me. “Please have a seat.”
My nerves settled slightly as I took a calming breath. We weren’t going to his office, which meant I wasn’t in trouble. I sat, but didn’t relax completely; I’d still been summoned. That was never a good thing.
He waited until I sat before doing the same, and then steepled his spidery thin fingers together. He propped them under his chin and then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, studying me, while I watched him. His dark hair and pale skin glowed under the lamplight. His eyes locked onto mine and stayed there, not even blinking.
When I started to fidget from the intensity of stare, he smiled. “Yes, I do believe I was right about you.”
That threw me for a loop and I blinked. “Sir?”
“When I brought you on board.” His smile grew. “I saw something in you. The others did not agree, but you have proven me right time and time again. As you well know, there aren’t many that were in your position that are offered what you were. I am quite proud of you, Emily.”
I blushed and looked down at the hands I’d clasped in my lap. “Thank you.”
He stood up, drawing my attention back to him. “There is a request I must make of you.”
Knowing better than to interrupt, I waited for him to continue. He walked across the room to shut and bolt the heavy door, sealing us into the room. A feeling of dread settled over me.
“You did well with your latest,” he said, returning to seat.
“Sir?” The abrupt change of subject confused me, but did nothing to expel the dread that was creeping into every corner of my being.
“The woman. With the heart failure.”
“Mrs. Crous?” I asked, stupidly, my eyebrows winging up.
He gave me an indulgent smile. “Yes, you would know your charges name. You always do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That case could have been very difficult.”
I gave a soft snort. “How so? It was just a standard C & T.”
He shook his head. “There is no such thing as standard, Emily. But yes, sometimes they are easier than others.” He stared of into space again.
I waited him out, being careful not to say anything. Whatever was on his mind was big and it was bad. Worry and little prickles of panic tickled my nerves.
“We have a problem,” he said, with a sigh. “A big problem. And I need your help. I’m making you a part of the Assembly.”
“M-me?” Ohmigosh.
“Yes. I’m afraid you’re the only one it can be. I trust no one else.” His eyes hardened when he said it, stopping me from asking any more questions. He tossed me a file folder he’d pulled out of thin air. It never cease to amaze me how he could do that. “Study that.”
With a slight hesitation, I flipped it open and read through it. The only sound was the rustling of pages and Cerberus’ light snore. When I finished I looked back up, my brows furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“There’s been an influx of ethereal activity in the past six months, but no one can find the source. We’ve monitored it, but it wasn’t until a girl died and Cera, who’d been assigned to her, came back without the girl’s soul. Because there wasn’t one to collect.”
Shock poured over me. “She sold her soul?”
He shook his head and sighed. I worried I’d disappointed him, but it was sadness etched onto his face. “No. Worse. Read it again.”
I read through again, carefully this time. Going over a few pages several times just to make sure I was reading correctly.
“Someone stole her soul?”
He gave me an indulgent smile. “I knew it wouldn’t take you long,” he said, rubbing a hand over his eyes. It was the only outward sign of agitation I’d ever remembered seeing on him. “Yes, and she’s not the only one. I’ve had three more reapers come back empty handed.”
“Why? Who?”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “There is no good reason and that’s what I’d like to know.”
“What do we do?”
“I can do nothing. It’s you that’s going to have to do it.”
I almost swallowed my tongue. “Me?”
“I need somebody I trust to go to the Corporeal world—to become corporeal.” He watched me as the news sunk in. “You will try to find out who is doing this and why. We also need to find everyone who’s missing a soul, so we may return it to them after we get it back from the creatures that have taken them and you have to do it quickly.”
“Why?”
“The longer a human is without their souls the less chance we’ll be able to get the body to take it back and the more chance that someone is going to realize they’re living, talking, and eating with living, breathing zombies.”
I burst out laughing. “Zombies? What like those horror flicks that humans are always watching.”
His mouth tilted up a little in the corner. “Yeah, a little, but they’re not like that exactly. The voodoo definition is a more accurate description.” His lips went back to the straight line he’d held before. “But this isn’t a laughing matter, Emily. We don’t want any more innocents dying without their souls. And I don’t want you to lose yours.”
My heart leaped into my throat. “What do you mean?”
“Demons and reapers don’t get along because Reapers impede the demons need to corrupt innocent souls. They can’t harm a soul as long as we are they to courier them to the Otherworld. If a demon knew you were there—especially the one that’s the cause of all this—the results could be disastrous.”
“But why me? Surely you have someone who’s been around longer, someone who’s dealt with this kind of thing before. Someone who isn’t here as a punishment.”
“Because you’re the only one I trust.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“Because in life—and death—despite your…mistake, your soul is pure. You have a kindness that knows no bounds, and most importantly, you still remember what it’s like to be human.”
Today's teaser is from It's Complicated. I wrote this just yesterday so it's a little rough, but I thought you all would enjoy something from further into the story. Not exactly sure where this is going to go, but that's half the fun. :) Hope you enjoy!
Aidan smiled when he saw me and waved me over. I hurried over, trying to ignore the horses that were tied everywhere. If I pretended they weren’t there, I could get through.
When I reached him, he asked, “You okay?”
I tugged my t-shirt down. “Perfect. Did I make it in time?”
“Just. He’s up next.” He led me through the groups of people so I didn’t get lost. Or panic and bolt, I thought when a horse poked it’s head near my head and snorted. I jumped and clung to Aidan, who laughed, but moved faster.
Why did I come again? Oh yeah, because Sloan deserved to have someone he knew watch him win. Just because Maggie and my dad couldn’t be there for him, didn’t mean I couldn’t be.
We stopped at the fence and watched, as the horse Sloan would be riding was loaded into the chute. Then Sloan settled himself on top and was prepped by his and the horses handlers.
He glanced over toward Aidan and smiled, but it slid off his face when he saw me. His eyes widened, but before he could say anything the gate opened and the horse ran straight out into the arena, bucking the whole way. Unfortunately, Sloan hadn’t been ready and he’d been tossed to the ground within moments of leaving the gate.
My heart leaped into my throat as the horse reared and came way too close to stomping on him, but he got up immediately while the wranglers soothed the horse and brought him back in. Sloan on the other hand brushed off his hat and stomped over to me. When he reached me, he grabbed the upper part of my arm and dragged me along behind him.
Even though I’d dug my heels in, he was able to pull me out of the arena, past the livestock pens, and into a shaded spot that was away from the main drag.
I yanked out of his grasp and rubbed at my arm. I was so angry I couldn’t form the words to tell him off.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? You made me lose!” He glared at me, taking a step closer.
“I made you lose?! No, you did that on your own. You’re the one who fell. I did nothing but watch,” I said. My back hit the wall behind me and I realized I’d backed up away from him. Refusing to let him scare me, I set my feet shoulder width apart and stared him down. But my eyes wanted to do a study of him and make sure he was all right. He’d taken such a hard fall.
“If it hadn’t been for you watching me, I wouldn’t have fallen. Why are you here?” He took another step closer. His toes bumped mine and he put his face into mine.
I shoved my hair away from my face. “I came to see you win. What did it look like? I knew you were disappointed that Maggie and my dad couldn’t come watch, so I came. But don’t worry about it. I won’t do it--”
I was cut off when his mouth came down on top of mine. At first I was frozen in place, but before long my eyes fluttered closed and I brought my arms up around his neck. He made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a moan. His hands grabbed my hips and yanked my closer, pressing his body against mine.
My head spun and my pulse bounded in my throat as he pulled back to give us a chance to take a breath, but I dragged him back to me again. His mouth met mine and he pushed me so I crashed into the wall behind me. My body was crushed between his and the wall, but I didn’t care.
He moved his mouth to my throat and I tilted my head, enjoying the sensations of his tongue running down my neck and along my collarbone. His hands slipped under my shirt, but stayed at my waist, his thumbs running circles over my skin and driving me crazy.
As if from a fog I heard his name being called, but neither of us seemed to care. When we heard it again, he groaned and pulled back, but only enough to look and see who was calling him. A brief second later, he cursed, dropped his hands and took three huge steps backward. I kept my eyes glued to the ground as my emotions and body tried to adjust itself to what had happened and what I needed to do now.
