Synopsis
Keanu Raine is a fire fighter, and has fought the most dangerous forest fires for years as a smokejumper. His training has served him well, but his ability as a fire elemental has saved lives many times over, on he had no plans to quit any time soon. When he returns home to the Pacific Northwest, he has no clue that the biggest blaze he would ever fight, would be the one that Cammie Masters stirs in his soul.
Cammie has loved Keanu since the day he rescued her when she was a twelve year old girl trapped in a tree. But now, her school girl crush is a woman’s lust. But Keanu has blown into town before, is he really here to stay this time?
Keanu’s investigation into the arson plaguing his hometown is heating up, and so is his relationship with Cammie. But it soon becomes clear that Cammie isn’t a bystander, she is a target. As Keanu tries to uncover the truth, things turn deadly, and as the smoke clears there is more than just one elemental who has their sights set on Cammie.
FireStarter Excerpt
She looked up, stunning him with her gorgeous smile. “I’m free all weekend. Oh, God, I didn’t mean that I want, or that I meant…” Cammie’s face scrunched up. “Dang it, I’m messing this all up. I meant to say, that I don’t have to work next weekend at all. What did you have in mind?”
Stifling a laugh, Keanu squeezed her hand. “I was thinking that maybe we could go for a picnic and do some hiking. I haven’t roamed the forests around here in years, and you said you still like to climb trees.”
“I’ll never live that down.” She covered her face with one hand. “Do you know my mother still teases me about that? And to add insult to injury, I had to wear a stupid boot thingy, all because I’d bruised several bones.”
“No shit? I’m glad I insisted on carrying you all the way home. You could’ve seriously injured yourself.”
Cammie peeked at him from between her fingers. “Well you did, and I’m fine, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen.” She cringed, her embarrassment clear to see.
Keanu loved the blush that stole up her neck and into her face. Thinking about Cammie blushing as he made her come had his comfy jeans a little tight. He shifted in his seat, adjusting himself discreetly.
He reached across the small space and tugged her hand away from her gorgeous face. “Thank you for having dinner with me. Would you like some dessert?”
“I couldn’t eat another bite.” She rubbed her stomach. “I had a really great time tonight.”
“You sound surprised.” He smiled and watched her yawn again. “I did, too. Are you ready?” At her nod he motioned for the check.
He paid the bill and waved the waiter away, telling him to keep the change. When Cammie made a move to get up, Keanu stood and pulled her chair out, placing his hand at the small of her back. He didn’t miss the way her body shivered; it was a feeling he wholeheartedly agreed with. The small gesture caused flames to lick up his torso. He banked down the internal heat, leading her out to her car.
“Did I tell you that I love your Jeep?”
She turned to look at him. “You do, huh? Would you like to drive her next weekend?”
Keanu groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t give her, and I stress her, some silly name?”
“I did not name her something silly.” She waited a beat. “Her name is…wait for it, wait for it…Lightning.”
The little minx was laughing at him, and damn if he didn’t enjoy it. “Like Lightning McQueen?” he joked.
“No, like the lightning in the sky.” Cammie slapped his arm. “She’s a big bolt of it.”
“I like that a lot. Lightning and thunder are my favorite parts of a storm.”
“Mine, too.”
When they reached her vehicle, Keanu turned her to face him, smiling down at her upturned face. He traced her bow-shaped mouth with the tip of his finger. Keeping her anchored to him with one arm, he wrapped the other around her waist, loving how she fit perfectly to him. He gave her plenty of time to reject his kiss. Seeing her eyes close, and feeling her body molding to his was his undoing.
Keanu meant to take it slow, to give her a light, almost friendly kiss. But having her softness, against all his hardness, sent him reeling, and devouring her mouth became his goal.
* * * *
Cammie wrapped her arms around his shoulders. In her three-inch wedge espadrilles, she reached his chin, making them a perfect match. His tongue invaded her mouth, tangling with her own, the taste of the spicy food they had eaten exploding in her mouth, like another sweet temptation.
She sucked in a breath, aching from the kiss, her heart thudding with excitement at her first real taste of him.
He gentled the kiss, brushing his mouth lightly over her parted lips, then nipped her bottom one. Cammie felt the tremor that wracked his large frame, happy to realize that she wasn’t the only one affected.
She had known since the age of twelve that this man was it for her. Now, ten years later, she realized her desire for him had only intensified, had become a woman’s need in place of a young girl’s infatuation. The times she had seen him in town over the years had always awoken a hunger, but she hadn’t thought she had a chance since he didn’t live there anymore. Now, with him pressed against her, she was aware of his powerful erection jutting against the juncture between her legs. Her own desire flooded her panties, but Cammie was shocked to feel Keanu pulling away.
“You’re fucking amazing,” Keanu murmured.
“What?” she asked dazed.
“I don’t want to rush you. I want to savor every moment, every sigh you make.” He captured her lips in another heated kiss.
Kissing him was a major feast to her starving senses. All thoughts fled her brain as he deepened the kiss, and drew her closer to his arousal. She sucked on his tongue, and nipped his lip like he had done to her, before licking the small hurt. Rushing sounded really good to her at that moment.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GIV8D7
FireStarter
SmokeJumpers
Book 1
Chapter
One
Elle
Boon
Keanu
Raine walked a few feet from his team, letting his inner fire control him. The forest
fire was all but burned out, but it was searching for more, and he knew it had
found a new source. The living breathing entity of unforgiving heat that could
engulf hundreds of acres, only needed a little spark to ignite all over again,
only Keanu wasn’t going to allow it if he could stop it. He ignored their
questions knowing they were missing something. The hair on the back of his neck
stood on end, never a good sign when you were in the middle of a huge forest
fire. “Hey, did you guys hear that?” Keanu asked.
“Shit,
man, this gobbler is a fuck nut,” Brax McKay grumbled.
“Kea,
all I can hear is my stomach rumbling.” Hal Aldridge grinned, his blond hair
soaked with sweat.
“I
swear something’s not right.” Keanu nodded in the direction of the burned out
forest.
He
couldn’t squash the feeling of doom as he looked through the smoke. His inner
fire leapt to life, sending his senses on high alert. A small blaze could
easily turn into something much larger with the dry conditions, and in Keanu’s
opinion, it was a guarantee. They’d evacuated the surrounding homes, but it
wasn’t always a certainty all families would get out.
“I’m
going to scout around a bit, since we have about thirty minutes before pick-up.
You guys head for the zone and wait for my call. If I’m not there when the DC
shows, I’ll meet you at the next drop.” He tapped the radio attached to his
suit.
“Yeah,
right, boss. I don’t think so, I’m going with you,” Hal snorted, moving to
stand by him.
“It’s
cool. I’ll go by myself. It’s probably nothing.” Keanu shrugged.
Hal
shook his head. “Let’s go.”
The
group of smokejumpers paused and Keanu nodded to Brax. He knew Hal would follow
him regardless. They left the other six members of their team and headed in the
direction that Keanu sensed the disturbance. The overwhelming feeling
persisted. Someone was trapped in the
middle of the blaze. He could feel it in his bones. They needed to locate him
or her quickly, or there wouldn’t be anything left to find.
Several
minutes later, they stood on the outskirts of an already evacuated community. Keanu
considered calling a stop to their search, fearing he was too late. There were
towering homes to his right, less than a hundred yards away, and blackened
earth to his left.
“Kea,
if there was someone here, they must’ve gotten out.”
Keanu
wasn’t sure how Hal knew he was searching for a person, but he had figured out
early on Hal was every bit as sensitive as he was.
Hearing
Hal mimic his thoughts about their search made his stomach drop. The other man
didn’t have to add or they were dead;
nothing could’ve survived in the middle of the area.
Keanu
shook his head, not willing to give up yet. “This way, I know I’m right.”
Turning toward the trees, he didn’t need to check to see if his partner
followed.
Burnt wood and grass surrounded
them. Inhaling deeply he caught a scent so distinctive it made most people gag.
“My
water tank is almost empty. If there’s a fire, and I’m not saying there is,
maybe we should call for back-up.”
“There
isn’t time. I smell burnt human hair.”
“Shit,”
Hal swore.
Keanu
led them into a thick clump of charred trees. With all the blackness
surrounding him, he couldn’t see a thing, but he sensed a hot spot. A tingling
deep inside wouldn’t let him ignore what he knew was a real threat. He rushed
to the area before coming to an abrupt halt. A large section of land filled
with tall dry grass had started to smolder.
“What
the fuck? How the hell did we miss this?” Hal pointed. “Look.”
A
small boy was nestled in the branches just above the flames.
“Hal,
you climb and I’ll take care of the fire,” Keanu ordered, relieved to see his
partner and best friend didn’t argue for once.
Stepping
over the fallen branches and blackened areas, he inhaled the hot air into his
lungs. He continued sucking the flames into his body, relishing the feel of the
warmth rushing through his system, while using the water hose attached to his
pack to douse the hot spots.
By
the time Hal had the boy on the ground, he couldn’t sense any more flames. He
coughed and gave Hal two thumbs up.
They
made their way back to their teammates with the small boy cradled in Hal’s big
arms.
“What
the hell?” Brax eyed the child.
Keanu
grabbed a bottle of water from his coworker and chugged, while the rest of the
group tended to the boy. His inner flame began to cool with the refreshing
fluid and he accepted another bottle gratefully.
“Oh
man, Kea. You saved the boy’s life.” Barry looked from the boy to Keanu.
Keanu
shook his head. “Nah, I just got lucky. Hal got the kid down.”
“Bullshit!
Good job, Kea.” Brax punched his arm.
Praise
from his team made Keanu cringe. None of them were ordinary men, far from it,
but he hated having attention drawn to him. He looked to the sky, happy to see
their pick-up overhead in time to save him from unwanted admiration. They’d
radioed ahead, alerting them to the addition. The first man took the child. Keanu
was the last to leave the clearing. Giving his inner fire free reign one last
time, he made sure they hadn’t missed anything else. By the time they finished,
he was sure the next team wouldn’t have any surprises.
Getting
into the DC-3 wasn’t nearly as fun as jumping from one, Keanu mused as he was
finally lifted up.
* * * *
Keanu stood on his deck gazing
at the openness for as far as his eyes could see. He loved the smell of the
mountains, the clean pine scent. It was
very similar to his home with his grandparents. He raised his face to the sun,
allowing the rays to warm him from the outside as his internal fire warmed the
inside. Letting out a deep breath, he turned toward the fire pit in the corner
and blew a puff of air on the logs, making them burn.
Smiling, Keanu stepped into his
spacious kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Closing his eyes
in bliss as he twisted off the cap, he tipped his head for a much needed drink.
A platter of steaks and two potatoes wrapped in foil were on the counter, ready
to be cooked. He grabbed the platter, stepped outside and placed them on the
grill, then with another breath of air, the charcoals started to smoke and turn
a fiery red.
“Yo, Kea. Where you at?” Hal
yelled from inside.
“I'm on the deck. Grab a beer
and come on out.”
Hal ducked his head, avoiding
the doorjamb, and joined Keanu on the deck with two bottles dangling from his
fingers. Keanu took a bottle from Hal with a shake of his head.
“Oofta, I so needed this.” Hal
tipped his bottle to his mouth.
Keanu laughed and flipped the
steaks. “Is ‘oofta’ a real word?”
“Hell yeah, it’s real. You can
use it for just about any swear word.”
Keanu stifled a chuckle. “Thanks,
but I think I’ll just say ‘fuck’ at least once in every sentence.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Fuck off.” Keanu laughed.
They sat in companionable
silence, listening to the birds sing and the wind whistle through the trees. Keanu
loved being outside almost as much as he loved women. He swore watching the
trees sway was like watching a woman sashay as she led her man to bed.
“So, what did your grandfather
want?”
Leave it to Hal to cut to the
chase before Keanu was ready to talk about it. His grandfather lived at the top
of the Cascades. It was only fifty miles away, but it could be another country.
Keanu shrugged. “Something is
spooking him, and if you knew my grandfather, you’d know it was major. He
scares the shit out of me and I’m a grown man.”
“He didn’t give you any hints?”
Keanu looked at the pit and
sucked in a breath, making the red coals lose some of their glow, before
turning to his best friend. “Nah. He needs my expertise.” Keanu made air quotes, shrugged, and headed to the
grill.
“So,
are you looking forward to going home, boss?” Hal asked.
“Yes and no.”
“We’re
going to miss you on the team. Not sure what we’ll do without our very own
fireman.” Hal laughed, his booming voice echoing in the still of the night.
“Real
funny. I’m still on call in case of emergency situations, and you know Brax can
bend things to his will.” Keanu raised his eyebrows. The co-leader of their
group had truly amazing and sometimes frightening powers, but Keanu wasn’t
going to tell him he thought he was great. The man already had a big head.
Keanu flipped the steaks and
checked the potatoes.
“I’m going to miss my own
personal barbeque-man.” Hal had a frown on his face.
He flipped Hal off. He’d had the
ability to make a fire out of air since he was a small boy. By the time he’d
turned twelve, he’d learned to breathe the fire back into his body without much
cost to himself, other than the need to burn off the energy one way or another.
After graduating from high
school he became a fireman for the local fire department. Known as a
fire-breather in the world of elementals, Keanu could create a small flame or a
large roaring blaze, and in the next breath suck it back into his body. Of
course, the larger the fire the more energy he needed to burn afterwards.
As a child, he’d hike for miles
and freefall off a cliff into the freezing streams surrounding the Cascades. The
adult Keanu found other more pleasurable ways to expel the effects, usually
between the thighs of a woman.
“You need some help there, Kea?”
Keanu shook off his thoughts of
the past. “Could you grab the salad and dressing out of the fridge?”
“No problem.”
Within moments, Keanu had the
steaks and potatoes on the table. It always amazed him the way the six foot four
blond giant waited until everything was set before digging into his food. He’d
slice his steak with exact precision into small cube-like bites, and then stab
them with his fork, before chewing each piece several times.
Hal always consumed the meat
first, then the carbs, followed by whatever was left, claiming he liked to eat
the good stuff first. It amused Keanu to watch him. Being a man who loved his
sweets, Keanu would skip the meal and eat dessert first when he could.
“Why are you staring at me like
I’m some kind of lab experiment?” Hal asked.
Keanu shook his head, raised his
fork and pointed it at his friend. “You are the weirdest eater.”
Hal raised his bottle. “I get no
complaints from the ladies.”
“Thanks for the visual, dude.”
Ankles crossed, hands resting
over his full belly, Keanu leaned his head on the back of his chair and stared
at the darkening sky.
Hal kicked Keanu’s feet on the ottoman.
With a grunt, Keanu made room for the other man to stretch out his long legs,
too.
“Have you ever had the feeling
your world was about to get rocked?” Keanu asked without looking at Hal.
“Yep! Every time I take a lady
to bed.” Hal wagged his eyebrows.
“Shut up, dick,” he laughed. “I
don’t mean like that. Besides, I don’t get my world rocked when I fuck a woman,
I rock her world.” Keanu smirked.
“Man, you’re so full of it. I
heard Cathy calling you all kinds of names and none of them good.” Hal punched
Keanu’s arm.
“Damn, she’s one crazy-ass
bitch. Seriously though, have you ever gotten a feeling nothing is gonna be the
same again?” Keanu brought the conversation back around, avoiding the unwanted
reminder of his ex.
Hal bumped his size fourteen feet
against Keanu’s before answering. He felt like a pussy for voicing his fears.
“I don’t discount any mysterious
crap. For real, my grandmother used to talk about the berserkers in my family,
and how they came back every hundred years or some shit. I’m the first blond giant in over ten decades.” He
gave Keanu a pointed look. “My Nana’s words, not mine. Sometimes, when I’m in
the middle of a fire, I feel like another person is in my body. Ya know what I
mean?” Color spread across Hal’s face.
Keanu knew exactly what he
meant. Every member of their Smokejumper group had special abilities. Hal was
clearly a human wrecking ball. He just hadn’t realized Hal wasn’t always in
control, or didn’t feel like it at least. “I think we all feel like that to an
extent. Have you talked to the captain about it?”
Hal pinned him with a look
brooking no argument. “Nothing to talk about.”
They fell silent. Keanu let the
quiet of the night soothe his soul. One of the reasons he and Hal were such
good friends was because neither man pried into the other’s business.
“I’d better get going. You want
me to help clean up?” Hal nodded at the dishes on the table.
“Nah, I got it.”
“Hey, I owe you for cooking, but
I haven’t mastered the art of making anything other than Ramen noodles yet.”
Keanu blinked his eyes. “Because
you have the poor little boy look down to an art. You bat those baby blues and
all the ladies line up to cook for you.”
“Well, you just smile that
bright cheesy-ass grin and the ladies are lining up to take their panties off
for you. I think that trumps my free meals.”
Both men laughed at the familiar
argument, since neither man lacked for food or companionship.
They were opposite in looks.
Keanu had dark hair hanging past his shoulders, dark brown eyes, and topped out
at six foot. Hal was built more like a swimmer, and had at least three inches
on him. Keanu had the physique of a body builder and spent his off-time working
out or participating in extreme sports.
Brax, the co-leader of his team
of Smokejumpers, recruited Keanu at twenty-two when he’d made national
headlines. Now at thirty-three, he was ready to head home and settle down. Being
seven years older than Hal, he considered him like a little brother. As the
unofficial leader of the team it was his job to watch over the guys, but he’d
taken Hal under his wing. Knowing he’d possibly done his last jump, and he and
Hal would no longer be working together, Keanu already missed his friend.
He walked Hal to the door and
watched as the big man took the stairs two at a time, before jumping into his
oversized four-wheel-drive pickup. Hal waved one big hand out the window before
executing a U-turn to leave. Keanu waited until the taillights disappeared down
the long drive before going inside. After cleaning up the mess, he shed his
clothes and stood under the rainforest-like shower he’d installed on his deck. Sighing,
he closed his eyes.
* * * *
Cammie Masters loved the little
town of McKinley Landing, and the way it was tucked into the side of the
surrounding mountains. But, and this was a big but, she hated the way it had
grown. The town used to be only thirty-eight hundred people. Since the pork
plant had moved in, the population had almost doubled, and so had the crime.
Many of the residents of
McKinley Landing were a mix of races, but she connected best with her mother’s
Native American relatives. Her red hair was the only thing that was different. When
she was a child, she’d played with the other kids and wished she’d had their
black hair.
The summer Cammie had turned twelve,
she'd fallen in love for the first time. She’d climbed one of the big pines
bordering the Cascade forests and her shoe got stuck several feet up, between
two branches. She thought back to the afternoon that changed her whole life
with fondness.
“I’m
a big girl. I am not gonna cry.” Cammie shivered, looking down at the ground
from the tree she was stuck in. “Dang you, Mazey Otto,” Cammie whimpered.
Mazey
called her a fire demon because of her red hair. When she told her it didn’t
mean she was evil the other girl called her a liar. She hadn’t intended to hurt
the brat, she’d only wanted her to shut up. It wasn’t her fault. Mazey was
clumsy and fell down the stairs. Now everyone was calling her names, so she ran
away.
Swiping
at the tears dripping down her cheeks, she didn’t want to admit she was crying.
Cammie tried to wiggle her foot free, but only made it worse. The sound of
something crashing through the trees caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.
From her viewpoint, something really big was running straight for the tree—for
her.
Cammie
held her breath, closed her eyes, and prayed whatever it was wouldn’t see her
and decide she’d make a tasty snack. Her mama always said there were things in
the forests that would kill and not to go into them. But Cammie loved the big
pines, and the noises the animals made were her favorite sounds. Now, the
wilderness seemed to stop and wait, like it knew a greater predator was in its
midst.
The
beat of her heart filled her ears. Cammie opened her eyes. Surely if the beast
was hungry it would be growling or shaking the tree, right? Looking at the last
place she’d seen the thing, she relaxed, or tried as much as she could with her
arms wrapped around the trunk.
“Are
you ready to get down?”
Cammie
jumped. “Oh my God. Please don’t eat me. I’ll taste really, really bad. I
promise.”
A
deep laugh had her looking at the speaker. He had to be the most beautiful
person in the entire world. Long black hair and two dimples in his cheeks, if
he was gonna eat her, he wouldn’t smile at her, Cammie thought.
“I’m
not that hungry.” The gorgeous man snapped his teeth together. “Yet.”
She
shivered, and the tears she tried hard to hold back, dripped down her cheeks.
“I
was only joking, don’t cry. I’m going to climb up and see what’s going on,
okay?”
He
didn’t give her a chance to answer before he scaled the big tree like a monkey.
She was a good twenty feet in the air. What had taken her at least fifteen
minutes to climb, he did in less than five.
“Wow,
you’re a really good climber.”
“Why
thank you, my tiny damsel in distress. I’m Keanu Raine. What’s your name?”
Cammie’s
brow furrowed. “Um…I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
He
held out his hand. “Well, since you’re kinda stuck in this tree and it’s
getting dark, let’s become friends.”
Cammie
gazed at the man she decided she would marry someday. He told her about
himself, patiently telling her he was a local firefighter, and about his
grandfather, the shaman of their tribe. Her mother was so gonna love him. Cammie
adored the name Keanu, figuring it would go down in her diary as her new
favorite.
“I’m
going to be grounded for life if my mama finds out I was here,” Cammie groaned.
“Let’s
worry about getting you down and then I’ll take you home. I’m sure she’s
already worried about you.”
She
nearly fell out of the tree when Keanu pulled out a little knife. “Please don’t
hurt me.”
“What?
This?” Keanu held it up. “I’m going to trim some of the bark off between these
branches, so we can get your shoe loose.”
Watching
closely, Cammie held completely still until the pressure eased on her foot. She
jerked her leg, nearly kneeing her knight in the jaw.
“Thank
you, thank you, Keanu.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“All
right, now we need to get down. I want you to climb on my back and hold on. Can
you do that?”
“I
can get down by myself. I got up here, didn’t I?”
“Yes,
little lady, you did, but you also got yourself stuck. Besides, it’s my job to
rescue people, so you’d be letting me do my job.”
He
made it sound like she was helping him. With a huff, Cammie wrapped her arms
around Keanu’s neck and held on for dear life.
He
descended the tree like he’d been doing it all his life. She didn’t want to let
go when they reached the bottom and he obviously thought she couldn’t walk. All
the way back to town, he told her about his new job. When he told her he was
leaving to become a part of a group called Smokejumpers, she wanted to weep.
Cammie
decided she was going to be just like him when she grew up.
“Hey, Red, how ’bout you and me
going out tonight?” Ted Grossman asked.
The question jarred her out of
her memories. She used to consider Ted to be one of her best friends. Any time
Cammie was in a jam, Ted was there to help pull her out. When her high school
boyfriend had been cheating on her, it had been Ted whose shoulder she’d cried
on. Luckily for her, Ted was also the one who had broken the news to Cammie. Otherwise
she may have made the biggest mistake of her life, since it was prom night and
all.
Now, the thought of Ted and his
new friends made her skin crawl. There was something about the three men he’d
been hanging out with that didn’t sit well with her.
“Um, not tonight, Ted.” She
smiled to lessen the blow.
Cammie tried to walk around the
pack of idiots standing outside the bar. One of them grabbed her arm, making
her flinch at the rough treatment. The hand wrapped around her bicep held her
in place. She looked at the man, at his hand where it rested on her arm, and
back to him. She raised her eyebrows. Ted gave her a beseeching look.
“Listen, you little bitch. You
think you’re better than us? Well, I have news for you.”
She recognized Bob Thompson and
his sneering voice immediately. “Guys, I’m tired. I really just wanna go home
and get some rest. Why don’t you go back into Sully’s and have another beer?” Cammie
looked at Ted, a guy she used to consider a friend.
“Aw, come on, Cam. You can have
just one drink. You know you’re the hottest piece of meat in town,” Ted said
with a drunken leer.
Cammie shuddered. “Did you just
call me a cow? No, don’t answer that.” She held up her free hand. “Seriously, I
really appreciate your flattery, but I’m going home.” Cammie looked pointedly
at the hand still holding her arm.
“Let’s go, Bob. I’ll buy you a
drink,” Ted offered.
“You are a fucking pussy, Ted,”
Bob snarled.
Cammie had enough. Using Ted’s
distraction, she shoved her palm into Bob’s chest, pushing him away, and
twisted out of his grasp. He lunged, but luckily for her his friends dragged
him back into the bar. His curses still rang in her ears. Tossing her ponytail
over her shoulder, she shook her head and quickened her pace.
Walking to the firehouse
yesterday had seemed like such a good freaking idea. Why hadn’t she considered
the danger of leaving at midnight the following night? She decided to claim
temporary insanity. With the string of fires, and one of her teammates injured,
it worked for her.
She picked up her pace, pushed
her bag over her hip, and tapped her pocket to make sure her phone was still
there. She’d be totally lost without her iPhone. The hair on the nape of her
neck prickled. Cammie glanced over her shoulder and saw a Jeep sitting idle at
the stoplight. The late hour and the dark tinted windows didn’t allow her to
see the driver, and a shiver wracked her frame.
With some kind of pyromaniac
running around, the last thing she needed was a stalker for crying out loud. The
engine roared and she watched from the corner of her eye as the Jeep turned at
the light. “Thank you, Lord Jesus,” Cammie murmured.
* * * *
Ted wanted to hit Bob for the
way he treated his Cammie; he also wanted to call back his own words. When he
saw the woman of his dreams walking alone, he thought he’d invite her in for a
drink, but it seemed he had no control over his mouth. He had no clue Bob and
the other guys would follow him. Her rejection nearly gutted him, but he still
didn’t want her hurt, and she’d be a lot more than hurt if Bob got ahold of
her. Ted had seen firsthand what the man could and would do to those who didn’t
do as he wanted.
The images sent ice through his
veins. “You owe me more than a drink, Teddy.” Bob’s voice slurred.
The overwhelming urge to smash
the empty bottle over Bob’s head heated his once chilled body. The knowing
glint in the other man’s eyes made Ted knock his knuckles on the table instead.
He signaled for the waitress to bring them another round. At the rate they were
going, Ted was going to owe more than he made in a week. The alternative was
something he didn’t want to consider.
Since Bob and his friends had
come to town, Ted didn’t know what was what. One night he’d had too much to
drink and the next he owed his soul to the devil, or in this case, Bob.
Memories of that night were
sketchy, but Bob and the other guys were only too happy to fill him in, with
video proof. Ted shook his head. He thought of the saying there’s no use crying over spilled milk, and wanted to yell at the
absurdity. If only it was milk he’d spilled. His stomach churned.
The waitress brought over the
tray of tequila shots and beer bottles. Ted didn’t wait for her to place them
on the table, and grabbed a shot glass off the tray. He needed more liquid
courage, and the sooner he finished the drinks, the quicker she would bring
more.
Ted tossed his head back,
letting the liquid burn his throat before a pleasant numbness stole over him. If
he could always feel this way, maybe he’d stay drunk for the rest of his life,
which might not be much longer if Bob had any say in the matter. He raised his
hand again, happy to see the bartender already refilling their order.
About the Author
I’m
a wife and mother who is a retired stay at home mom of 2. I say retired because
my youngest is 14 and my oldest is 21 eeek. When my baby went to school,
reading saved my sanity, and then the same year he started school, I was
diagnosed with Cancer, again reading saved my sanity. When I recovered and
realized how quickly life could change, I made a bucket list. The number one
thing was to live. Check. On top of that list was to become a published author.
Check. Eight years later I have accomplished that goal and several others. Now,
I continue to add to the list and check them off as I go.
I live in the Midwest, but I”m a southern girl
with only a slight twang who says y’all quite frequently, and am known to say
“Bless Your Heart” A LOT. If you know what that means, you do not want to be
the one I say that to, lol. I cuss worse than if a trucker and a sailor were
put together, but I do it with class *WEG*.
I write what I love to read, erotic romance.
My books are definitely full of lots of story, but I leave nothing to the
imagination, in or out of the bedroom. My hope is that after readers have read
one of my stories, they fall in love with the characters as much as I have.
The
best part of my new journey is that I get to create new worlds, and have all
kinds of stories in my head just waiting to be written. I truly love to hear
from readers. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter or my website, but I’m on
Facebook all the time, so find me. I’d love to you from you J.
XOXO Elle <3
Contact
Links
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1405756769719931/
Author Bio
I’m a wife and mother who is a retired stay at home mom of 2. I say retired because my youngest is 14 and my oldest is 20. When my baby went to school, reading saved my sanity, and then the same year he started school, I was diagnosed with Cancer, again reading saved my sanity. When I recovered and realized how quickly life could change, I made a bucket list. The number one thing was to live. Check. On top of that list was to become a published author. Check. Eight years later I have accomplished that goal and several others.
I live in the Midwest, but I”m a southern girl with only a slight twang who says y’all quite frequently, and am known to say “Bless Your Heart” A LOT. If you know what that means, you do not want to be the one I say that to, lol. I cuss worse than if a trucker and a sailor were put together, but I do it with class *WEG*.
I write what I love to read, erotic romance. My books are definitely full of lots of story, but I leave nothing to the imagination in or out of the bedroom. My hope is that after readers have read one of my stories, they fall in love with the characters as much as I have.
The best part of my new journey is that I get to create new worlds, and have all kinds of stories in my head just waiting to be written. I truly love to hear from readers. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook or my webside, but I’m on Facebook ALL the time, so find me. I’d love to hear from you J
www.elleboon.com
https://www.facebook.com/elle.boon
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elle-Boon-Author/1429718517289545
https://twitter.com/ElleBoon1
http://www.amazon.com/Elle-Boon/e/B00K03HY42/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1415849092&sr=1-2-ent
Attend the Release Party for a chance to win a Coach Wristlet
https://www.facebook.com/events/792308860845259/
No comments:
Post a Comment