Lucas – Excerpt
I have had a slow couple of month, but have finally manged to start writing again. As you may be aware, I am starting a new paranormal shape-shifter romance series called Saving the Pack, Lucas is the first book in the series.
Sign up to the Louisa James NEWSLETTER and I’ll let you know when Lucas is available on Amazon. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak.
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“Hey, love. Another whisky for the road.”
Bella Daniels swatted the hand from her butt, resisted the urge to growl, and collected the empty glass from the table. It was the same thing every Friday: horny regulars and drunks who thought that because she worked in a strip bar she was public property. “No more for you, Frank,” she said. “Unless you plan on handing your keys over for the night.”
When she first began working at Star Legs, she’d enjoyed the money. Tips were great, and, back then, it was only meant to be a summer job. It’s easy to handle the occasional lech when you think it’s only for a few months before you head off to college. Of course, a lot can change in a few months.
Bella’s Dad passed away, and her mom had a breakdown. There was no family to turn to. Marrying a human had cause Bella’s mom to be ostracised from her wolf-pack long before Bella was born. So, with no pack to turn to for help, Bella was left as the sole earner, responsible for keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table, turning, what should have been an easy summer job to make some quick money, into a four year gig.
The adjustment it took to living without her Dad hadn’t been easy for Bella. He was the one who constantly challenged her to challenge herself. The one who made her want more out of life. He’d been so proud that she was the first in the family to be going to university. What would he think of her now? Not for the first time, she considered whether part-time study was a viable option. A few hours study during the day here and there. Although, with the hours she worked at the club, and the time spent taking care of her mother, she didn’t see how she could find the time to open a book, let alone study for exams.
Bella’s job was to take orders, serve drinks and deal with unwanted advances. Sounds easy in principle, but in practise, it made Bella want to tear her hair out. The easy part was falling into a daily ritual of coming to work, going through the motions, and going home, but there was no life in that. Bella wanted more, and although, a very small part of her hated to admit it, soon her time at Star Legs would have to come to an end. For her own sanity if nothing else.
“Do me a favour, Bella?” Candice Jones, the newest addition to the waiting staff asked. “I’m busting for the ladies. Can you serve the guy that just came in on table seven?”
Before Bella had the chance to answer, Candice darted off. “I guess I’ll go serve the guy on table seven then,” she said to thin air.
A quick glance told Bella that table seven had the rebel without a cause look down perfectly, complete with biker boots, leather jacket, tight jeans, and a crisp white Tee. A Tee that drew far too much of Bella’s gaze to the smoking hot body beneath. Damn if it didn’t hug every muscle like a second skin. The only addition to the look was the grey hoodie beneath the jacket, the hood drawn up over his head leaving his face concealed in shadows.
“Can I get you anything?” Bella asked, as she imagined her hands caressing the well-defined six-pack she was certain lay beneath his clothing.
“I’ll have a beer if you join me,” he growled in a voice that sent shivers down her spine.
Embarrassed by her reaction to him, Bella quickly looked away, mumbled an affirmation and left for the bar.
She collected the drink and braced herself before returning to the table. In an attempt to conceal her attraction, she plastered a fake smile on her face, walked to table seven and placed the beer on a mat. She was about to walk away again, when the man took her hand and pulled her onto the seat next to him.
“I don’t drink with customers,” Bella said trying to ignore her quickening heartbeat.
He moved in close, his hot breath like fire on her sensitive skin. He skimmed the back of his fingers over her chin and turned her to face him. A small voice in Bella’s head told her to resist, but every part of her body wanted to comply. His solid presence next to her struck deep in the centre of her core. Bella’s lips parted as the stranger grasped her hair and pulled her head back.
He dipped to her neck and breathed her in before whispering in her ear, “You have no idea who I am, do you?”
The sensations she was feeling were familiar all of a sudden, and Bella realised that only one man had ever made her feel like that, had ever caused her body to react with a desire of its own.
She took a deep breath of her own, filtering his scent from that of the sweat and beer in the club. Then, Bella looked up, pushed his hood down and met his gaze for the first time. “Lucas,” she said, not believing her eyes.
