Excerpt from “Exposed”–Meet June and Ivan

It’s almost here, you guys! “Exposed,” book two of our superhero romance series, is available Oct. 1. That’s tomorrow! Eek!

To tide you over until then, here’s a little sneak peek into our main characters from “Exposed,” June and Ivan.

“Is it so hard to do something nice for a friend?”

Ivan laughed harshly. “We’re not friends.”

June stomped up onto the arched bridge spanning the river and spun around. Anger etched her features, made her eyes sharp. “Stop, Ivan. Just stop. You are part of this, this whole thing!”

June threw her arms wide then snapped one arm forward and poked Ivan in the chest. He was startled at how much it hurt. “You are part of us, whether you want to be or not.”

“I’m not any part of your little group. I’m just the Commie everyone suspects attacked the town,” he let his Russian accent drip thick from his words. “I’ll just head home to my comrades and drink vodka and plan more attacks.”

June rolled her eyes. “Stop feeling so sorry for yourself. Frank said something dumb back there, but if you really think I believe you’d hurt us ….”

“This was such a mistake,” Ivan hissed, almost to himself. “Don’t pretend you know anything about me.”

He stalked past June, would have kept walking, but her fingers wrapped around his arm and pulled him back.

“So tell me,” June demanded. “I know you’re not as stony as you pretend to be.”

“I pretend nothing.” He glanced down at June’s fingers where they wrapped around his arm. He could feel the heat of her through his thin shirt, and he hated the way that touch sent pulsing tendrils of electricity through him.

Anger made her eyes flash. It made pinpoints of heat color her cheeks and her lips open in ragged breaths. He felt himself harden just at the sight of her and had to turn away.

June’s arm went limp, and she dropped her hand from where it still clung to him. Ivan looked out over the river, his hands tight on the metal railing. The air above the river snapped with cold, even as the first fingers of morning sun reached through the mountain passes.

“I’ve seen your power, Ivan,” June said quietly. “I don’t believe you could create such beauty if it wasn’t already there inside of you.”

She was standing next to him, staring out over the water. The birds grew louder in the silence as they stood side by side and watched the water rush below.

“Why do we do this?” June said, quieter now. “I ran after you to say thank you for standing up for me back there, to try to be nice. But we always end up fighting. I hate that. I’m not a mean person, Ivan. I don’t ….”

“I would never think you’re mean,” Ivan said, talking over her. “I’d say you’re too nice, actually.” His voice rumbled out of his chest and he had to grip the railing to stop himself from catching up her hands between his own.

He slid his gaze down to her and found June looking up at him with a smile.

“So can I say it now? Thank you, Ivan. I was exhausted and in pain, and if you hadn’t stopped them from making me use my power again … just, thank you.”

They fell into silence, only the roar of the river breaking the hush. Ivan tried to make himself walk away—shouted at his body to just leave—but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

OOOH! What happens next? You’ll find out tomorrow, when the first three–three!–books in our series launch. Happy reading!

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