Chapter 1 The Intruder – Part 1
I hope you enjoy Part 1 of the Chapter 1 reveal! I will be revealing more every few days so check back!
1 The Intruder
Shay
The sound of the faucet dripping in the bath is nearly deafening, intermittently drowned out by the echo in the hollow shaft of the razor each time I pull it up my leg. I lean back in the tub, glancing at the purple candles on the ledge.
“My birthday,” I muse out loud, the two words riddled with sarcasm. The scent of lavender hangs so thick in the air a wave of nausea overwhelms me for a moment. I look over at the gift basket my coworkers gave me. “Fucking lavender.” Why am I doing this to myself?
Does anyone really know me? I’ve had the lavender discussion with Trish. Its shit like this that makes me feel so insignificant. Guilt creeps in as I remember the party tonight. It was a really nice birthday/pre-release party, celebrating the first issue of my comic Sanguine Specter later this week. My first time being picked up by a publisher, my first real shot at making a name for myself in the industry. It’s all coming together, finally.
A year’s worth of work. A year’s worth of crazy nightmares that I’ve been translating into ink on pages. I smile when I think of Gabriel, the hero in my comic. I don’t know why I started dreaming about him, but I’m glad I did. I conjured up quite a tidbit: piercing gray eyes, perfectly disheveled hair and full lips that make you just want to nibble on them. He really is the kind of good-looking you only find in dreams. I lean back, closing my eyes tight, searching for relaxation; I just want to quiet my thoughts, maybe Gabriel will come to me tonight. Drip, drip, drip. I focus on the faucet. I sink into the calm.
The screen door slams and my eyes spring open with alarm and I hiss. “Somebody’s in my house.”
Slowly and as quietly as possible, I push myself out of the tub and put on my robe. “I need a weapon.” My first thought is to go for my gun, but I remember Dad asked me to let him hold on to it after what happened with Elise.
I search the bathroom, looking for something I can use to defend myself. There are footsteps in the kitchen, punctuating the urgency. I spot my loofa bath sponge on a stick and then consider the gift basket. I weigh the options, deciding I’ll have more luck with a blunt object than bath salts in the eyes.
Resting my hand on the doorknob, I stop and take several cleansing breaths, trying to remain as calm as possible. Dad always insisted that Elise and I learn to defend ourselves, but honestly I never expected to need those skills. Okay Shay, try not to let the panic negate your training. It doesn’t help that I had one too many espresso martinis.
Carefully I open the bathroom door and move down the hallway, resting the balls of my feet on the tile first to hide my footsteps. I startle at the sound of a cabinet door closing. I swallow, but the lump forming in my throat only gets bigger. My body grows more rigid with each step down the hallway. Reaching the end, I spot my cell phone on the kitchen table, but there is no way to retrieve it without being seen by my would-be attacker. My back is pressed flat against the wall, all of my senses dancing with fear and anticipation.
Looking at the front door I consider running, but quickly realize I have no shoes, no car keys, and the closest neighbor is a mile down the road. Shit, shit, shit, what do I do? What can I do? I raise my weapon above my head as though it’s some medieval axe wielded by a mad knight. On the count of three, one, two, deep breath, I mistakenly yell out, “THREE”.
On what would have been “four” I burst around the corner, instantly forgetting years of training in Kali. I’m swinging the loofa wildly at the intruder, hitting him repeatedly in the head, while screaming a string of expletives at the top of my lungs. This is apparently what I learned from martial arts.
I feel some satisfaction as the wood handle vibrates with each thump to his skull. The intruder shields his head while turning around to subdue me. “Shay! Stop it.” He grabs my arms and looks straight at me. “Shay, baby, it’s okay!” he pleads.
My eyes are wide and burning with anger. “Aiden? What the hell? Breaking into my house?” I struggle free from his hold and turn away to hide the evidence of the relief, hope, and pain cycling through my mind. Then there’s the familiar conditioned response of excitement that returns whenever Aiden does. I wish I could stuff that down, but it’s just part of who I am.
“Happy birthday.” Aiden holds back a laugh as he picks up a bouquet of flowers from the kitchen counter. He flashes that wry, irresistible smile. I can’t help myself from looking back at him and his gorgeous form.
He’s let his caramel hair grow out to his shoulders. God I love when his hair is longer. His body is as perfect as ever, possibly even more so. He somehow looks both leaner and more substantial at the same time. His arms are so strong; I love the way they hold me. When he smiles, his amber eyes sparkle with all the mystery of who Aiden Roth really is.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this sneak preview of Chapter 1, Part 1 I hope you enjoyed it! If you missed the prologue on Momma Says Read you can give that a quick read here.
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