Genre: Paranormal Romance
It’s never too late for a second chance at love.
Keiran McDermott has lived by one simple rule for over a hundred years, keep a safe distance from humans at all times. He knows from experience that close proximity to them can be disastrous and more often than not, end up badly. But when the need to explore a nearby town places him directly in the path of a woman being stalked by two foul predators, the instinct to protect the young beauty from the men intent on causing her harm forces him to break his self-imposed law.
However, once she’s safely away from her attackers, Keiran finds himself locked in another battle. He knows his weakness can kill; it did so in the past. But how can he find the courage to stay away when the image of her lovely face torments his mind?
When a new threat forces him to come to Celine’s aid again, will Keiran be able to fight temptation long enough to keep her alive and protected, even from himself?
Excerpt
Celine awoke the next morning, startled by what she found once her brown eyes glided across the room. Disoriented and confused, she scanned her surroundings, instinctively knowing she was not in her bedroom. Of course, her throbbing headache soon demanded attention and she was no longer as concerned about lying on a strange bed in a strange room. She felt as if she had one serious hangover, except she did not remember drinking at all.
What happened? Where am I?
Another glance around convinced her she was in a hospital room – or at least it appeared to be a hospital room – which confused her even more. How in the world did she get there? Why was she there?
Well, if she wanted definite answers she had to ask. Judging by the sounds emanating from what she assumed to be the hallway to her right, the hospital staff had to be making their rounds somewhere out there. If only she could reach for the cord just above the nightstand, she would have it made.
She tried sitting up on the bed and immediately recognized her mistake. The room began to spin beneath her, and she had to fight back the bile rising up in her throat almost immediately after. Although she had felt somewhat out of place upon waking, it was nothing compared to the earthquake breaking out inside her skull now. Apparently, moving only accomplished triggering her dormant symptoms, which even now threatened to get worse. In order to avoid soiling the pristine sheets covering her body from toes to mid-chest, Celine decided to stay put before she ended up vomiting all over herself. Defeated, she lay back on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that would stop the room from spinning.
By this point, she was not aware of much except that her head, right hand and back hurt like crazy, and she did not know why. She could not remember falling or anything of that nature, so the physical pain was as much of a mystery to her as the reason she was in the hospital. “So much for enjoying my days off with pay,” she muttered under her breath.
When Celine raised her hand and touched her left temple, she found at last the source of her pain. A huge bump that must look as nasty as it felt protruded from her head. Great! Just great! I had so been looking forward to my week of paid vacation, and I wake up in a hospital? How did that happen?
The last she remembered, she’d finished her long night working at the diner and had begun her commute home – and the events of the attack came back to her in rapid flashes. She recalled the assault, the two men and the fight she put up. She remembered the shock and surprise upon discovering she was being followed. She’d never been so scared in her entire life, not even when— Oh my God! Had those men…? No, she could not automatically assume the worst. But… had they… was that why she was here?
Again, Celine felt as though she might vomit. The mere thought of what those men might have done while she was unconscious disgusted and horrified her. Hadn’t she been through enough already?
All thoughts fled the second a soft knock on the door interrupted the silence in the room. She had no idea who decided to pay her a visit, but she assumed it was either a nurse, doctor, or police officer. Any of them would be welcomed. And any of them could provide answers for her, which she desperately needed. A million and one things flashed across her mind, including the one that worried her the most, had she or had she not been raped? As she called for whoever was at the other side to enter, she had nothing to do but bring the covers up to her chin and wait.
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As a child, Kristy used to lose herself in an imaginary world by the means of a good book. Now that she’s all grown up, she gets to create her own fictional realms and make them come to life in ways that most readers might not expect.
Writing has always been a passion of hers but she never had the opportunity do so until now. After trying out numerous options, she realized that writing was what she loved the most and so she decided to give it a shot. As it turns out, her very active imagination helped her achieve her goals of creating believable plots with some ordinary, and some not so ordinary characters that move the stories along in one way or another.
As she keeps achieving her dreams of becoming a published author, she divides her time in between four children and a very understanding husband.
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