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Excerpt from new PR novel
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You captured me! Not a PR fan but this looks interesting.Thanks for the excerpt
Erin Bolton knows her former foster sister is a sorceress and a witch, but she wants nothing to do with that world. Fear dictates her life, panic attacks disable her, and only alcohol gives her the freedom she craves. The day before her twenty first birthday, a tall, dark, and terrifying vampire, Marcelo, turns Erin's world upside down. He convinces her that he was sent to escort her to the safety of the Underworld, where her sister is waiting. But she wonders, who will keep her safe from him?
Marcelo had never felt so out of sorts. Everything about this task was becoming uncomfortable. Flying. Taking Erin to her apartment though sorcerers and werewolves were doubtless looking for her. Being manipulated by a mere mortal. He cursed in a multitude of languages while running a hand through his hair.
As if that weren’t enough, now he was escorting a girl with anxiety and a budding alcohol problem. It was clear Erin was using it as medication. Hopefully, Sage could rid her of that habit. He shook his head. Not my problem. Other than when they were on the airplane she would not be drinking near him and that was final.
Marcelo paced across the confines of the small bedroom in Erin’s apartment as she chewed her nails waiting for the plane tickets to print. At least her human boyfriend wasn’t home to complicate things. Anger seethed through him at the thought. Some boyfriend. He left his woman alone all night knowing she’d planned to go to a bar dressed as rape bait with the goal of getting drunk. The man shouldn’t be allowed to live. He brushed the feelings off. Not my problem, he told himself. Again.
“Are you almost done?” he snapped.
She nodded, rising from the computer. “I just need to pack some clothes.”
“Hurry up.” He resumed his pacing while she rummaged through her closet. How would he get through the next few days with a woman who couldn’t even step foot in a gas station? He replayed the conversation she’d had with Sage in the hotel. Sage had been able to calm her sister down. As a last resort he could get her back on the phone. “Why did Sage call you Dot?”
Erin looked puzzled for a moment, then mumbled, “Eavesdropper.” A duffle bag sat open on her bed and she stuffed handfuls of clothing into it. “Animaniacs.”
“What?”
“The nickname Dot is from the cartoon show, Animaniacs. It’s about two brothers, Wakko and Yakko, and their sister Dot.”
“And did Sage get a nickname from this show?”
“Brain,” she answered. When he arched a brow she explained, “An evil genius lab rat always plotting to take over the world.”
“Fitting.” Eerily so. “And this is a popular TV show?”
“Umm…well…it has a cult following.”
“I see.” He fought to keep a smile from his lips. “Are you almost done, Dot?”
She cast him a look that said she wasn’t amused then shoved some bottles of feminine stuff into her almost full bag.
“You have two minutes,” he told her, resuming his trek across the room.
He froze when a thud followed by shushing sounded outside the apartment door. His nostrils flared as he took a great big whiff of the air. Not vampires. Not werewolves. Most likely the sorcerers had returned for Erin. She watched him closely, her hands fisted around the handles of her bag. Then he shoved her so fast towards the bedroom window, the bag slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor. Marcelo didn’t give it a second thought.
“Wait!” she yelled, jerking away from him. “My stuff!”
“Leave it.” His hand shackled her wrist as he kicked the screen out of the window. He released her only long enough to climb out onto the fire escape. With a look that dared her to defy him he snarled, “Out. Now.”
“Not without my medication.” She scrambled away from the window as the front door burst open. The bedroom door was closed, which gave them mere seconds to get away without bloodshed. Before Marcelo could stop her, Erin ran into the attached bathroom.
“Get back here!” he hissed. So much for no bloodshed. I might just kill her myself. He started to climb back through the small window to haul her out of the apartment by force when the bedroom door splintered and in marched three male sorcerers, dressed all in black.
Having the ability to manipulate the air’s electricity, they already had balls of light in their palms ready to hurl at Marcelo. He moved at a speed no sorcerer could match, sprinting into the bathroom after Erin. Depending on their strength, the sorcerers could actually be a danger to them both. They needed to get out of there. Fast.
In the bathroom Erin scavenged through the medicine cabinet. He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her into a linen closet.
“Don’t you dare move until I come for you,” he told her sharply. Without giving her a chance to respond, he slammed the closet door and walked back into the bedroom.
--------------------------------------------------
Calm and cool, he walked to the closet where he’d left Erin, kicked the unconscious body to the side, and opened the door.
The stench of fear rolled off her in waves. Her eyes flooded with relief when she looked up at him. A burst of male pride sprung forth. He was needed. A smile touched his lips before he pushed it back and put in place his usual scowl. Don’t get any stupid ideas, Marcelo. She may be a damsel in distress but you’re no Prince Charming.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her out so roughly she grunted and stumbled into him. “Let’s go.”
While he dragged her towards the bedroom window, she silently trembled behind him.
Observing the fateful scene in the bedroom, she dug in her heels. “Are they dead?” she gasped. “Did you really kill them?”
“Not all of them.” When she tried to reach down to check a pulse he gave her a yank. “We don’t have time for this!”
She ignored him pulling against his hold to reach for the phone on the desk. Part of him wanted to oblige her human need for compassion. And part of him wanted to yell at her for her ridiculous insistence on going to the apartment in the first place. If anyone was to blame for the sorcerers’ deaths, it was her. The hell if he was going to say that out loud though. Damn it! Those big brown eyes and pouty lips were making him soft.
“We have to call an ambulance,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
He swung around and whispered harshly, “They just tried to kill me, querida. And they were going to kidnap you. And now you worry for their lives? You need to get your priorities straight!”
Without another word he picked her up and forced her onto the fire escape. He wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped down the three flights landing with a soft thud. To her credit, Erin managed to hold in a scream and settled on a soft yelp instead. She looked up at him in awe, feeding his ego again. Instead of bowing like a gentleman, he bared his teeth and growled, hopefully sending a clear message. She should fear him enough to do as she was told, but know that he would never hurt her.
She opened her mouth to speak but cut off with a squeal when he pulled her hard against his body just as a Bolt soared at them from above. Pavement exploded into dozens of pieces, bouncing off the alley walls. Several pieces thudded against Marcelo’s back when he spun Erin around to avoid the spray.
“Sage can do that?” Erin muttered peeking over his shoulder.
Marcelo looked up to see the sorcerer who’d been passed out by the closet climbing onto the fire escape. Should have killed that one too. He scooped Erin up in his arms then sprinted towards the hotel taking a longer route in case anyone followed his trail. The injury on his back was ablaze, but he ignored it. Erin held still in his arms, her face nuzzled into his chest, her eyes squeezed shut. His body liked her there, which concerned him. Women, aside from Natalia, were only useful to Marcelo for sex and food. That was it. Not companionship. Not affection. And definitely not cuddling.
He set her down when they reached the hotel parking lot. She wobbled a bit on weak knees but pushed Marcelo’s steadying hands away.
After taking several deep breaths she stared down at the ground and whispered, “Is it so easy for you to kill?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
Eyes glued to her feet, she nodded.
She was sad? He gave a frustrated sigh. Humans were pitiful creatures, with their bleeding hearts and leaky tear ducts. Always getting attached to things as insignificant as human life. “You would rather I’d have left them alive? So they could hunt you down and imprison you? Maybe even kill you? Gods, woman, you make no sense!”
“I live in the human world, you crazy vampire! This stuff doesn’t happen to me. It happens in movies, but never to me!”
“I’m sorry, querida.” His tone was mocking. “Had I known it would offend you so strongly I would have positioned the bodies to look like they were merely taking a nap.”
She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “You’re making fun of me.”
“I am trying to find a way for us to work together. This is my life and it’s yours now too.” He took a step towards her. “It isn’t always going to be sunshine and puppy dogs. Death happens. Get over it.”
She inched closer to him, fists clenched. This had officially become a screaming match. “My life has never been sunshine and puppy dogs!”
“Good! Then we understand each other!” His bellow echoed in the empty night. He stomped the several steps to the hotel door pulling it open with more force than necessary. When he turned back around to hold it open for her, she was walking away. In the opposite direction.
He was in her path in less than a second. She jumped back at his sudden appearance then cast him a dirty look.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
“I can’t do this anymore. Just…go away.” She shooed him with a wave of a hand.
A human? Shooing him like a pesky fly? He couldn’t remember a time that had ever happened.
“I’ll find Jimmy and we’ll go somewhere far away. I’ll change my name if I have to. But I can’t do this.” She tried to step around him but he moved with her, blocking her path.
“Erin,” he started, as patiently as he could, feeling tired and irritable with the coming dawn. “I understand your reluctance to travel with a vampire, but I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter. You are coming with me to safety and I won’t hesitate to force your compliance if necessary.” He said it softly but with a subtle menace under the lacy tones, just so she knew he was capable of following through.
She inhaled a sharp breath, fiery determination written all over her face. But before she could utter a single word, Marcelo dropped his voice to a dangerous whisper. “You have seen but a hint of what I am capable of, querida. Do not force me to show you the full arsenal of my power.”
Anger flashed in her eyes before his words sunk in. He could tell the moment she realized the truth – she was stuck with him, at his mercy in every way. Her face crumpled in utter defeat as her shoulders sagged. With her eyes on the ground she nodded slowly. He swallowed back a smile at her surrender.
You can read the 1st chapter on my website.
Leia Shaw
http://www.leiashaw.com