K.L. Donn's Blog, page 4
March 25, 2022
Broken Princess Prologue
Prologue
King
“Motherfucker!” Everyone in the house comes running into the war room as I scream. The contents of my desk, now on the floor, shattered.
I’m not fucking done yet, though. Not by a goddamned long shot. Some motherfucker is about to die.
“Boss?” Cas is the first to walk closer. The air in my lungs forces harsh breaths out, and I know I look like a rabid fucking dog.
“Someone took her.” No one needs to ask who I’m talking about.
I only get this livid over two girls in my life. My queen, Lilith, and our daughter, Aria. The little princess who wasn’t supposed to make it. She was meant to die, the doctors said, but my girl is a true Adair. She’s a fighter. She takes no prisoners and pushes through life.
“Danny-boy, get on surveillance at the school,” Cas commands. Born at six months, Aria has spent much of her life in and out of the hospital with an auto-immune disorder. She’s been home the past three weeks with a terrible flare-up and begged to go back to school today.
At fourteen years old, she just wants to be treated normally. As normal as an Adair can be anyways. In the best private school in Pensacola, Florida, her security is tight, which makes me wonder if we have another mole.
“King?” Lilith’s fearful voice penetrates the haze that's clouded my sanity.
“My queen.” I hold my arms open for her as she worriedly strides forward, and the men surrounding me remain silent as she surveys the room.
“What’s happened?” The nervous tone in her voice suggests she has an idea.
Sitting her on the couch, I kneel in front of her as Luther stands behind her. Dimitri and Atticus bookend both sides of her frightened body. They know her reaction may be worse than mine.
“Aria,”—she shakes her head in denial, and my fury continues to spike—“has been taken.” There are no rose-colored glasses in our world.
“By whom?” she forces out. Tears spill down her cheeks as she pales.
“I don’t know.”
“What do they want?” Her lower lip trembles.
“I don’t know.” I hate not having fucking answers.
Her eyes narrow, and I know I don’t have to worry about her falling apart… I have to worry about her slaughtering someone without blinking an eye. “What do you know, King?”
“Nothing yet.”
Pushing away from everyone, she stands and walks to the window. “Dimitri!” she snaps.
“Yeah, Lil?” D stands and meets her stare.
“Find my daughter's guards. Bring them to me.” A smirk plays on the other man’s lips as he nods and leaves the room.
“My queen, behave,” I mutter.
“My baby is missing, King. My little girl is scared and needs to come home.” Her words are vehement, but her eyes show vulnerability.
Pulling my love into my arms, I look to Luther with a nod, and I know he’ll have everyone in the house on it. Including her brother Holden. Our boy protects his sister like she’s his child half the time, and I know if he and the Petrov-Corelli boys get to whoever took her first, we’ll never have answers. Only body parts.
* * *
Aria
Gasping awake, I look around the darkness surrounding me, and sheer terror invades every fiber of my being. I’m gripped in the icy cold hands of death and struggling to remember everything Uncles Luther and Cas taught me.
I was warned from an early age that I was the vulnerable one. I was the one our enemies would focus on because I’m sick. I’m always damn well sick. And while I don’t understand all the dealings my parents are involved with, I know the majority are illegal.
I notice how people fear my dad and uncles like venomous snakes. My brother and all the other boys of my generation are precisely the same as their fathers. And we girls get left in the dark, guarded, loved, placed on a pedestal that is now crashing down.
I have no idea when I was taken. What day or time it is even. I do know I’m in the forest somewhere because I can hear the call of an owl, so it must be nighttime or close to it.
“Breathe, Aria,” I say to break the silence I’m encased in. “Luther and Cas told you what to do.” Taking a couple of deep breaths, I register the faint scent of gasoline in my nostrils, and fear blasts through my veins.
Feeling around me, it doesn’t take long to figure out I’m in the trunk of a car. There should be an escape latch, though, and I struggle to find it. Touching along the panels above and beside me, I can’t locate the small handle that’s supposed to be there.
“It won’t be there, little girl.” I freeze at the voice. I recognize that voice.
“Please let me out, Tristan.” He’s an older boy at my school. He has asked me out a number of times, but I’m not allowed to date, and even if I was, I've always gotten a bad feeling from him. He cornered me in the bathroom at school once and tried to force a kiss on me. He touched me inappropriately, and when I fought back, he slapped me so hard across the face I had a black eye.
My older brother, Holden, got so angry when he found out. He’s always watched over me; same with two of the Petrov-Corelli boys, Seven and Severo. They’re the twins of Danika, Dimitri, and Daniel and have always been by my side whenever I've gotten sick. I felt safe with them, so I confessed what had happened.
Tristan spent a month in the hospital after that, swearing a blue streak that I would pay for it. That was almost four months ago, though, and I don’t understand why he's doing this now.
“You’ll never see the light of day again, you little cock tease.” I was never a tease. I’m only fourteen, and he’s about to turn nineteen. I wouldn’t have been interested no matter what.
“You don’t have to do this. Please let me go, and I won’t tell anyone,” I beg, openly crying. I can’t find the latch, which might mean it’s an older car.
The loud whoosh of oxygen being sucked into something and the smell of fire invade my senses, and I scream. “Let me out!” Smoke quickly fills the trunk, and I know it won’t be long before I pass out and burn to death.
“See ya, cock tease.” Tristan’s laughter fades as he leaves me to die.
“Daddy!” I scream over and over until my throat is hoarse and I’ve lost my voice. “Holden!” My brother has always been my savior. From the time I was born, I was the princess. And everyone treated me that way.
“Daddy, please!” I cry again.
I can see flames licking at the seat behind me, and a new idea strikes. Turning my body so my feet are pressed to the back seat, I begin kicking with all the strength I have. Inhaling more and more smoke with every labored breath.
The smell of burned metal and leather makes everything so much worse. The chemicals permeate my lungs, so I can barely breathe; my throat feels like it’s on fire. My eyes are swelling shut. The heat of the inferno scalds, and I can feel it chasing my legs with every kick.
When the seat finally gives way, a sense of relief rushes through me, and I scramble to turn myself, ignoring the searing skin as I crawl through the tight opening into the back seat of the car.
The vehicle's interior is almost completely engulfed in flames, so when I cover my head with my arms and hurl myself at the back window, flying through fire and broken glass, I can feel my body burning. The side of my face gets the worst of the pain as I fight to free myself of my clothing and roll around in the dirt.
I was right. It’s dark out. The only light comes from the engulfed car just feet from me as I try to pry my eyes open. The cool breeze across my nearly naked body makes me shiver. The sound of the owl plays on, my personal, devastating symphony, as his prey eludes him.
Pain soaks into my flesh like a wet sponge, and as I drift into the darkness, my focus has settled on a broken rose. A lonely flower of one, singled out by the burning light of the fire.
Anton Excerpt
Chapter 1
Sofiy
“…Seven...eight...nine...ten, ready or not, here I come!” Uncovering my eyes, I stay seated a moment as I wait on Svetlana Renznikov to find her perfect hiding spot. Lana is the only child of Anton Renznikov, the man who has employed me for the last two years. She’s a darling three-year-old girl with her father’s dark hair and nearly black eyes. She has a mischievous soul and constantly keeps me on my toes.
During the day, I am her au pair and playmate because Mr. Renznikov doesn’t trust outsiders. He runs the Odessa Organization, a criminal enterprise that the whole of Ukraine knows about, and I don’t fully understand, but I know he has many enemies. All of which would do anything to bring him to his knees. Hurting Lana is the only way to make that happen.
“Here I come, malo svitla!” I warn her again as I stand from my spot, ensuring my uniform is in place because, despite my position as an au pair, I’m expected to project the role of the help. There isn’t much room for error in this home.
Lana’s favorite game is hide and seek, and we play it nearly every day, so I know all of her hiding places. Opening the doors to the den, I peer under the small desk left for Olena, the house manager, and my supervisor to do her payroll and assignments.
“Hmmm, where could she be?” Sometimes Lana hides too well on me, and I have to continue to speak out loud, so she’ll giggle and give herself away.
“He’s not going to be pleased,” Olena mutters as I pass her by the staircase, and suddenly, I suspect I know where she is.
Mr. Renznikov’s office. A place nobody is allowed to enter without his explicit permission, which barely ever happens. Rushing to the other side of the house, I take deep breaths before knocking softly. I didn’t think anyone was home today, but they must have come in while Lana and I were in the garden.
How she would have come and snuck into his office while he was in there is beyond me. I knock again, louder this time because I can hear masculine voices.
The door springs open, and I jump as Vasyl Renznikov, Anton’s middle brother, lifts an eyebrow in question. “Did she come in here?” I ask quietly.
He frowns before laughter fills his signature playful eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Who is there, Vasyl?” Anton shouts, making me jump again.
Vasyl’s gaze softens with sympathy as he opens the door fully. “My apologies, sir,” I nearly stutter, but I know it will only make him angrier.
“Well? What do you want?” I swallow roughly as he stands behind his desk, six other men in the room, including the youngest brother, Petro, who looks bored. “Spit it out already. I don’t have time to waste with you.”
The constant reminder of his disdain for me cramps my lungs. “Someone mentioned Lana might have come in here.” If possible, he looks madder, ready to kill, and I take a step back.
“Come here.” He barks the order. “Vasyl, close the door.” With trepidation jostling my body, I step into his office as the doors close behind me, sounding like the nails banging my coffin shut.
All eyes are on me as Mr. Renznikov points to a spot in front of his desk. One man snickers when I pass him.
Striking forward with his hand, Anton grips my chin in a ferocious grasp, nearly painful with his anger. “Are you stupid, Miss Koval?” I go to shake my head, but he holds me tighter, bruising my fair skin.
“No, sir,” I mutter. Embarrassment tinges my cheeks.
“Then why, after reprimanding you twice already this month, do I have to repeat myself about keeping the child out of my office and not disturbing me?” His words are growled with so much force, it’s like a punch to the sternum.
My eyes drop. “I’m sorry, sir. I was only trying to entertain Lana before her piano lessons.” Biting my tongue, I attempt to resist the urge to shake in fear of him.
“Read her a book, do a puzzle...Stop ignoring me!” he shouts, and his grip grows painfully restrictive. I don’t even think he realizes he’s done it until Petro is clawing his hand off my face.
Turning my chin towards him, he warns, “Touch her like that again, big brother, and we might have a problem.” My gaze darts to Petro, terror from his words strikes my heart.
“You threatening me?” Anton challenges him, and I know I shouldn’t be here for this.
“Look at her face.” Gently, he turns me to look at Anton, and I close my eyes, trying to fight back the looming tears.
“Get out!” Anton’s furious voice gets my feet moving before my brain has processed his words.
I hear someone shout after me, but I don’t stop until I’m in the restroom and splashing water on my face. Locking the door, I place my hands on the sink and hang my head, water dripping off my chin.
I have no idea why Anton has such a fierce hatred for me or why he keeps me around, for that matter. None of it makes any sense. I know the only reason I got this job is that Petro went to school with my older brother, Vlad. He died just a month before I was hired, and Petro saw my family was struggling and that nobody wanted to hire me for anything.
I’m quiet, was raised to be seen, and never heard. I don’t kick up a fuss about anything, but this last month, Anton’s animosity for me has become overwhelming. Hearing the door jiggle, I mumble, “Just a moment, please,” as I dry my face. I can’t look in the mirror because I know exactly what I’ll see. I’ve always bruised easily; today will be no different.
“Let me in, Sofiy.” Petro’s voice penetrates the thin wood panel.
Straightening my uniform and inhaling a sobering breath, I open the door and plaster a smile on my face. Lana is at his side, a look of dismay on her precious, cherubic face.
“You found her,” I gasp.
“Hiding under the stairs,” he says, but his focus is on my face. I shake my head when he tries to reach for me.
“Let’s get you ready for your lesson, Lana.” I clap my hands and pretend like everything is fine.
I always pretend.
March 24, 2022
Last Chance Love excerpt
“Three, two, one!” Jumping into the frigid water for the annual polar plunge in my hometown, Polar Bear, Alaska, the ice anesthetizes my muscles as I remain under for a few more seconds than necessary. As I pop up, hands reach down for me, but I dismiss them as I pull myself out of the freezing cold water.
Paramedics guide me over to one of the heated tents, where I’m handed a plush towel not quite big enough for my six and a half foot, nearly three-hundred-pound frame. My size is a plus in my line of work but can be a deficit in other aspects of life. As a logger during the summer months in Ketchikan, my size aligns perfectly, allowing me to perform the job of two men when needed. In the winters, I come home to rest and relax.
Growing up on Bear Mountain with my grandfather, he taught me all about woodworking and craftsmanship, so in the colder winter months, I’m able to keep up with the trade. Building furniture for the residents of Polar Bear as well as across the state keeps those lonely nights at bay and leaves me satisfied in a constructive way.
“Mr. Cole?” Glancing up, I’m stunned by the beauty smiling down at me. I’ve seen her around before, but I never caught her name. Her blonde hair is nearly white as she shows me the mukluks in her hand. “I made these. Would you like me to put them on you?” My eyes shift to the soft, worn leather adorned with intricate beadwork in blues and whites on the outside and lush wool inside. Nodding my acceptance, I can’t take my eyes off her slight frame as she kneels in front of me.
The heat of her hand on my calf as she lifts first one leg to slip the shoe on, and then the other goes straight to my groin. My dick begins to engorge in a way I haven’t felt in years. Thirty years old, and I’ve never had a committed relationship in my adult life because no woman has ever captured my attention the way this young lady has.
“EmaLeigh, let’s go!” an older woman, looking crankier than she has any right to, bellows at the lovely person at my feet, and as she smiles before taking off, regret sours my gut.
Something about her is tempting me to go after her, to claim her as my own.
November 17, 2021
I asked, you asked, now I'm answering!
And that's all for the questions and comments. There were so many amazing ones too. If you don't see your specific question here, it's likely because I was asked multiple times. I tried to answer all of them and address a few comments. I want to say a huge THANK YOU for all the wonderful comments you guys gave me. It gave me a confidence boost I didn't realize I needed but I'm so grateful for.
The tropes and genres you guys asked for, I WILL be incorporating a ton of them into future books. I'm not sure if you know this or not but on the ,HOME PAGE of my website I have every book listed with the trope or genre it falls under. I will always keep it up to date (which I have to do since I have a couple new preorders). When you go to a books page, it will also give you the tropes that book falls under. I'm so excited for the website overhaul I did. Have you seen it yet?
If ever there is something you're curious about, I'm an open book! ,Contact me anytime and I can't promise to have an exact answer, but I'll do my best!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this survey and anyone who is reading this now, your support means everything to me!
Also check out my ,PRINTABLES page for some fun things. I'll be adding more colouring pages soon because I get asked for them so often!
XOXO,
Krystal.
September 5, 2021
Kennedy's Redemption Prologue
BOOM! Kennedy was thrown from the driver’s hand right into a dumpster and pain immediately assaulted her body. Shaking off the buzzing in her head and the aches in her body, she got up in search of Emily and Eric. “Em!” she cried out and started a coughing fit from the smoke and debris of what could only be their vehicle.
Crawling towards where she last thought she had seen the others, she nearly collided with a body. “Kenny?” she heard Emily call out, her body sagging in relief. She grabbed her friend at the same time she felt a pinch on her neck…and then blackness.
* * *
Waking up to a hand running gently across her bare flesh, Kennedy’s skin broke out in goosebumps and a shiver of foreboding ran up her spine. She knew she was in a world of trouble when she opened her eyes.
“C’mon, Red. I know you’re awake,” a silky voice whispered in her ear right before stabbing pain met her thigh making her scream out in agony.
Opening her eyes, she did a quick look around while gritting her teeth, noting she was chained to a wall with one window on the other side of the room and a closed door adjacent to that. Staring at her captor, she was shocked to see it was a woman.
Grabbing Kennedy’s face, she kissed her square on the lips whispering, “We’re gonna have so much fun together.”
* * *
“Noooo! Don’t touch me!” She screamed stuck in her nightmare—the pain, the endless harsh laughter with every scream she let out every time she begged for relief. The hands on her arms felt like pricks of ice dropping on her and slicing her skin open.
“Kenny? Kenny, kid, it’s Nate. You’re safe, but you have to stop fighting. I can’t untie you if you keep fighting.” She could hear Nate’s voice in her head like a cruel reminder of what she’ll never have again. The love of her family, the freedom of youth. She was going to die and never get to tell her family and friends she loved them again.
“Kennedy!” She heard a harsh yet soothing voice snap right before something was put over her nude body.
“No, please, take it off. Oh God, it hurts,” she half whined, half yelled out.
“Kennedy, enough,” another voice demanded, smoother, like fine whiskey sliding down your throat it had a burn but then it warmed you from the belly up. Finally, her struggles ceased and the yelling stopped. “Alright, sunshine, we’re gonna untie you now.” The whiskey voice soothed her fears.
It was like a whisper of air across her skin. Feeling hands on her again she tensed, ready to scream from the ice pricking her skin, only it didn’t hurt. It was almost soothing. Their hands whispered across her flesh. She struggled from the uncomfortableness of it, but the pain was gone.
“You’re gonna be okay, doll. We’ll take care of you,” the first voice whispered in her ear again, lulling her into a sense of security where she could finally relax and give in to the darkness again. Hearing “Sunshine,” just before her mind and body gave up the fight to stay awake, she felt safe.
* * *
“Mrs. Maxwell, I’m sorry, but we just can’t treat your daughter without sedating her, and even then, she keeps ripping out her stitches. She won’t let any nurses or doctors touch her. I think a medically induced coma is her best option for healing right now,” someone explained to her mom. She couldn’t summon the energy to open her eyes or to scream no, that when she was asleep the nightmares followed her.
“She’s always moaning and crying when she’s asleep, though. Won’t those nightmares follow her?” Her mom asked sounding resigned to what was going to happen to her.
“That’s something we’ll never really know. It’s a fifty, fifty chance. But her body won’t heal if she’s constantly fighting us,” he tried to implore while she was trying scream that yes, they followed her into sleep.
“Please don’t trap me!” she screamed in her mind.
“Don’t do it!” That whiskey voice was back, and he sounded pissed. Please listen to him, she begged in her mind because her voice was still trapped.
“Son, that’s really not up to you,” her dad Andrew told him. No, daddy, please, please listen, she tried to plead.
“Doesn’t matter,” he snarled. “You shouldn’t do it. If she’s trapped in her mind when she sleeps and you knock her out for however long it takes her to heal, you’ll ruin her,” he explained menacingly to whoever else was in the room. She continued to struggle with her body to wake up, to scream, wave her arms, something, but her body refused to cooperate.
“That may be so, but what’s the alternative? She rips her body apart like she did yesterday?” Her other dad, Jackson, said wobbly.
I’m sorry, Daddy, she wanted to plead with him that she wouldn’t do it again, but she knew it wouldn’t be true. She was weak and the nightmares held her monsters. She just couldn’t go on like that anymore. She wanted to escape, but she didn’t want to be locked in her mind while her body healed either.
“Ya can’t fucking do this!” whiskey voice screamed at them.
“Linc!” That other voice, the dark one, hollered at him. “Calm the fuck down; it ain’t our choice.”
“Fuck that Creed, they’re gonna ruin her; she won’t walk away from this,” whiskey voice, now known as Linc, growled out.
“Linc, Creed, let’s go outside,” she heard Dane’s voice interject. No, Dane, please don’t. She didn’t understand the connection she had with these men, Linc and Creed, but she knew with them around she felt safe.
She might not be able to open her eyes, but she felt them leave, like all the warmth was drained from the room, like there was no more sunshine in her life. She was left cold in a world of gray filled with the worst kind of monsters imaginable.
She heard her parents talking, her mom crying, and her brothers trying to console her, but she didn’t comprehend anything until her mom kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear, “Rest now, baby. This will heal your body. I love you, Kennedy.” Her dads and brothers followed suit.
As soon as they were done, she heard the doctor order the nurse to do something. When she felt them playing with her IV, she started to freak out before she felt a burning sensation rush through her veins, her muscles going completely lax, and her brain getting more and more sluggish by the moment.
Her final thought was… I wish I were dead.
Keeley's Fight Prologue
Prologue
Eight Years Ago
At twelve years old, Keeley Stone knew three things about life.
First, her family wasn’t normal. The things her parents did and said to her were not right. The beatings, the name calling, the lies were all she knew. She didn’t know love or even friendship. When she was younger, she thought all moms and dads did these things to their kids. It wasn’t until she spent time at what few friends she had houses that Keeley realized just how wrong she was.
Second, her parents were monsters. They could act like normal people when they wanted, but she knew the truth behind the lies. Keeley saw the beasts hidden within.
Her mom cleaned the house and didn’t drink for a whole day. She made cookies and hung up some of Keeley’s most recent artwork on the fridge that she had believed they’d thrown out when she showed them.
Her dad was being nice, telling her how pretty she looked and how smart she was. Neither of them had, had a drop of alcohol all day. It’s how she knew something was going on. She was so happy though, she pushed the doubt to the back of her mind because she thought things were finally going to get better. That they were going to stop with the drinking and beatings.
How wrong she was.
This was the day that would shape the rest of her life.
After dinner, a meal her mom actually prepared, a nice older woman came to the house to speak to her parents and then her.
“So, the school tells me that you plan on homeschooling Keeley now Mrs. Stone, is that correct?” The woman looks from her notepad to Keeley’s parents.
“Oh yes, there are just too many bad influences in that school for such an impressionable young lady like Keeley. We feel like she would excel more at home than in that environment,” her mom said, and all Keeley could do was stare at her with her mouth wide open, in complete shock. What was she talking about? There was nothing wrong with her school. That was her salvation, the only time she could really cope with her life.
“Alright, and you have all the resources you need then? May I see them, please?” The lady, Carol she thought she said her name was, asked her mom and dad.
“Of course, I’ll be right back with them. Keeley, could you come and give me a hand?” Her dad asked her, making it out like a question for the social worker’s benefit, but it was a demand. His eyes said everything his mouth didn’t.
Following her dad into her parents’ bedroom, Keeley still had no idea what was going on, but she soon found out. “Not one fucking word little girl, you hear me? You play along with everything we say, or the beating I’ve been itching to give you all day, just to wipe that stupid look off your face, will be so much worse tonight, you hear me?” His whisper-yell had shivers of fear racking up and down Keeley’s spine.
Nodding her head vigorously, she grabbed the stuff her father told her to and walked out to the living room so that Carol could review the material. “Well, everything looks in order here. I just have a few questions for Keeley before I go, if you don’t mind?”
Nodding their heads before leaving the room, Keeley caught the warning look in her father’s eyes before turning her attention to Carol. Trying not to fidget, she waited for the questions to come.
“How do you like school Keeley, did you find it difficult to concentrate there?”
“Not really, no. I like it well enough I guess.”
“How do you feel about being homeschooled by your parents?”
Remembering her father’s warning, she thought about her answer before speaking yet another lie to someone who could probably help her, but she was too afraid. “Well, I was shocked at first, but Mom made it sound like so much fun that I’m looking forward to it now. Plus, I’ll get to spend more time with Mom and Dad,” she replied to Carol with her fake smile firmly in place, and her heart breaking just a little bit more with each false word she spoke.
“What about seeing your friends? Do you think this will affect your relationships with any of them?”
“Oh... Umm... you see, I don’t really have any friends, so I guess it won’t matter.” She had to force the truth of those words out and look down, so that Carol wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t want friends, she just wasn’t allowed to have them. Plus, she got sick of always having to lie about the bruising and broken bones, and whatever else was wrong with her.
Shocked, Carol inquired, “None, at all?” Shaking her head no, Carol moved on to the next few questions, which Keeley continued to lie her way through so that no one would ever know the truth about what happened behind the walls of her house.
After speaking with her parents a few more minutes, Carol finally left, and Keeley tried to slink off to her room in the hopes that her dad would forget about the beating he promised her.
Luck wasn’t with her. It never was lately.
“You little bitch! Where do you think you’re going?” Her father yelled while grabbing a handful of her hair in one hand and holding a bottle of whiskey in his other. Taking a swig of the foul-smelling stuff, he lifted her up by the hair and smashed her face off the wall. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t cry out, because that only enraged him more for some reason. She kept her mouth shut and didn’t answer him. Closing her eyes and waiting for this to end was her only choice.
The third thing she knew?
She had to get out or she was dead.
Emily's Protectors Prologue
Prologue
Two Years Ago
Walking home from work late at night was not one of Emily Baxter’s finest ideas, but her car had broken down the week before and she really didn’t have much choice. Working as a graphic artist gave her a pretty flexible schedule and made it easy to work from home. But every once in a while, her boss would call a staff meeting and everyone had to attend. Why he insisted on having them in the evenings, she would never understand. It was as though he thought that because he was a workaholic, everyone should be, too.
While her social calendar wasn’t screaming with dates every night of the week, she didn’t like having to go out after dark, either. Especially when she was minus a car and it was approaching eleven pm, which meant the bus that could have taken her directly home was no longer running.
Hearing a sound behind her, she turned, only to find the street empty. Shaking off the feeling of being watched she continued on her walk. Since she was only a block and a half away from her small ranch-style house, Emily picked up her pace, only wanting to get home.
Striding as quickly as her short five-foot frame would take her, she was startled when a cat hissed at her as it jumped out from behind a bush before darting across the street. Putting her hand to her chest to try and calm her nerves, Emily stopped and took a couple of deep breaths before picking up the pace and finally breaking into a sprint the rest of the way home.
Dashing to her front door, she missed the warning signs in her haste to be inside. She knew better and to always make sure the door was closed as well as locked, but being in a panic had her frazzled, and she missed the telltale click when unlocking the door. Slamming the heavy wood shut behind her and flipping the locks after she made it inside, it finally dawned on her that she hadn’t heard the deadbolt slide home when she unlocked it.
Tensing, she turned around slowly, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best, that maybe she did forget to lock up when she left or that her mom had come over earlier and forgot to tell her. Knowing it was false hope on her part, Emily pulled her cell phone from her purse prepared to dial 911 and slowly made her way deeper into the house.
Not seeing anything out of place in the living room, she made her way to the kitchen. Everything seemed in order there so she moved down the hall to where the bedrooms and bathroom were.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to her office. Cringing at the squeaky hinges, she took a quick look inside before moving on to the bathroom. Darting her gaze around the room and still seeing nothing wrong, she relaxed even more thinking that it was her mind playing tricks on her about the locks. She finally made it to her room at the end of the hall. Opening the door with a false sense of security and flicking on the light was the biggest mistake she would ever make.
Glancing up and into her room, she froze at the gruesome scene before her. With her panties and bras ripped up and strewn across her bed, blood covering nearly every surface, and nude pictures of her with her eyes scratched out and photoshopped to look like she was bound with chains, Emily lost the fight to stay conscious.
Falling to the ground she noticed a figure lurking in the corner, coming closer to where she was lying motionless and shooting some kind of liquid all over her face and chest before her brain completely shut down in horror.
January 18, 2021
The Girl who was Meant to be Mine excerpt
As we enter the mall, Jace clasps our hands. Entwining our fingers together and I forget to breathe.
Staring at our hands as we walk, I try to remember the last time someone held my hand simply because they wanted to.
“Petal.” My last memory of someone holding onto me is not long before my mother took us away. Petal and I were walking to the park down the street. I used to hate that she always held my hand until we got there. Now I miss it.
“What about Petal?” Jace’s rumbling voice interrupts my contemplations.
“Huh?” I gaze up at him and his head is cocked to the side.
“You said your sisters name. What about her?” His smile is encouraging.
Stunned that I said anything out loud, and by the memory resurfacing, I find myself confessing. “She was the last person to hold my hand.” His smile grows. “Weeks before we left, I hated it. I was a big girl, I could walk to the park without her holding me.”
Realization dawns on his face. “Sweetness.”
But I don’t stop talking. The words just purge from my soul. “I told her I could do it. That we could race. That she was just trying to be the boss. But I told her, I was a big girl, Jace. I could walk to the park on my own.” He curses as he pulls me into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around me. Holding me. Showing me he’s a good man. “I was a big girl.” I cry into his chest.
“Of course, you were sweetness.” I can feel his cheek on the top of my head as we stand in the middle of the mall while I have a meltdown.
For the first time that I can ever remember, I feel like someone cares about me. Jace didn’t sign up for the crazy lady but here he is. Holding onto me like a lifeline. He’s got me and I love but also hate it.
Pulling back, I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. I can’t meet his stare. “I’m sorry.” I mumble. “I need a washroom.” Spinning, I look for a sign and as soon as I see it, I dart towards the safety of feeble privacy in a public washroom.
Slamming the stall door shut behind me, I plop down onto the toilet seat lid and close my eyes. Taking in deep breaths, I try to control my erratic heartbeat. I can’t believe I confessed something so easily to him. He’s going to think I’m such a freak and he wouldn’t be wrong. The minutes pass and it feels like hours when I finally open the door to an empty bathroom.
Splashing cold water on my face and neck, I dry off with a paper towel before taking one last fortifying breath and heading out. Jace probably left. Realizing I’m more trouble than I’m worth so I start stressing about how I’m going to get home. I’ve never been anywhere but Long Beach and I don’t know the bus systems very well here. If I buy a present for Lily, I won’t have enough for a taxi, or vice versa. I’m stuck.
Except, there he is. Leaning against the wall with a bottle of orange juice in one hand and his other buried in his pocket.
Waiting.
For me.
“I’m sorry.” I say.
Jace shakes his head as he cracks open the lid of the juice and hands it to me. “Nothing to apologize for Calla.” I want to believe he means that.
“It’s just…” I pause because I don’t know how to finish. I’m not exactly ready to spill my guts even though I sort of already have.
“Hey,” he clasps my hand again and I feel the immediate sting of tears. “When you’re ready to tell me something, anything, everything, I’ll be here to listen. Don’t feel forced to explain yourself to me or anyone else until you’re comfortable with it. I won’t push.”
“Thank you.” I swallow roughly. Pushing back the sensations trying to climb my throat.
October 24, 2020
Before Noah Excerpt
Prologue
Ember
I’ve been in love with Noah Brennan for as long as I can remember. Every time he pushed me away, I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream and curse. But I’ve always sucked it up and moved forward.
When he kissed me, I damn near melted in my shoes.
When he shrugged it off after I confronted him about it, I tried to hide my hurt and failed.
When he showed up on my doorstep that same night, angry and possessed by lust, I accepted everything he offered and ignored everything he didn’t.
And now here we are.
Nerves have me rattled as I enter the precinct with Thea to see Kol and Noah. I don’t know why though. Noah’s note said he wants to tell Kol about us and that couldn’t make me happier. My brother’s, Kol & Arsen, mean everything to me and hiding this secret from them isn’t something I want to do.
In starting this relationship with Noah, I want clear air.
Stepping into the squad room, I immediately see Noah sitting as his desk. When he sees Thea run past him and straight to Kol’s office, his startling azure gaze meets mine.
A slow smile spreads across his face as he stands and swaggers over to me. Brushing the hair off my forehead, Noah’s eyes search mine.
I hope he find what he’s looking for.
“Hi gorgeous. Glad you came.”
His thick voice makes my insides melt. “Me too.” I whisper.
Enfolding me in his embrace, he guides me back to his desk. After pulling out the extra chair for me to sit in, Noah wheels his chair over and sits in front of me.
He’s never been so intimate with me before. Well aside from the last couple of days and sharing my bed. But never in public. Not like this.
It’s a claiming. Or it feels like it.
AVAILABLE NOW! AMAZON | APPLE | KOBO | NOOK
September 23, 2020
Possessive Neighbor is live!
Possessive Neighbor is NOW LIVE and I'm so excited!!
Book 1 in the hot new Neighbors Novels with intense alpha's and sassy but sweet women!
★★ ONE CLICK NOW! ★★
Apple: ,https://apple.co/2WgSUtE Kobo: ,http://bit.ly/364lLGh B&N: ,http://bit.ly/3396HFa Amazon: ,https://amzn.to/388mqGG Goodreads: ,http://bit.ly/31PLw9OIt's not like I was looking to meet a girl.
Let alone the one next door.
It's a cliché. Hook, line, and sinker.
I don't do those.
But I do, want Hope Carson.
The sexy, shy, introverted girl who can't read emotions but cares too fucking much.
She shouldn't be perfect for me, but I can't imagine life without her now that I've had a taste of her sweet cherry lips.
Hope has secrets. Ones I intend to discover.
Reed Burkhart is a jerk.
He laughs when I stutter.
Smirks when I blush.
And I can't figure out if he likes me or hates me.
For a man claiming to be indifferent, he sure has turned into one possessive neighbor after an all too short, soft, sexy, addictive kiss.
He wants my secrets, my body and my heart.
How do I resist?
★ ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: https://bit.ly/2Hrd01f
[image error][image error][image error][image error]CHECK OUT WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK!Moonlight Kisses & Mugshots by Lorelei Confer
Finding Forever by Milan Watson
My Escort by Kia Carrington-Russell
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