200 Likes, a Prologue and an ARC Giveaway!
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Guess what?!? My Author page on Facebook has reached 200 likes!!
I promised I would do something awesome when that happened so here it is...
I introduce to you my PROLOGUE!
Eeepp!
Here is the book synopsis again
Orphaned at 7, with no memory of her past or the family she lost, 17 year old Skye Martin is tired of being alone and afraid. After a hard night of partying, Skye wakes up alone in an unfamiliar hotel. All she can remember is the deep voice of her rescuer and his promise: “I am safe.”
Xander has been tasked with watching Skye from afar for the past two years, in order to keep her safe from the demons that hunt her. An easy job - until a pair of red glowing eyes reveal themselves to Skye, and Xander, in a moment of weakness, is forced to break his cover to protect her.
Never good at trusting people, Skye is inexplicably drawn to Xander and the immediate bond she feels for him. However, Xander is filled with secrets and ties to her past that threaten to thrust Skye into a world she could never imagine existed…
As she begins to unravel the truth about who Xander is and the details surrounding her family, she discovers that she might just be the key to saving everything...
And, most importantly, she finds that there has always been someone by her side who would never let her fall…
Xander has been tasked with watching Skye from afar for the past two years, in order to keep her safe from the demons that hunt her. An easy job - until a pair of red glowing eyes reveal themselves to Skye, and Xander, in a moment of weakness, is forced to break his cover to protect her.
Never good at trusting people, Skye is inexplicably drawn to Xander and the immediate bond she feels for him. However, Xander is filled with secrets and ties to her past that threaten to thrust Skye into a world she could never imagine existed…
As she begins to unravel the truth about who Xander is and the details surrounding her family, she discovers that she might just be the key to saving everything...
And, most importantly, she finds that there has always been someone by her side who would never let her fall…
Prologue
“Skye?”
A distinctly male voice called out to me.
“Skye? Can you hear me?”
As the voice kept barking questions, something warm touched my cheek. My head lolled back as I tried to pry my eyes open to see who was yelling at me. They wouldn’t cooperate, and my head spun dizzily.
“What the hell are you trying to do to yourself, Skye?” The voice asked, as I felt myself being lifted into a strong pair of arms. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes as he carried me away.
“Skye?” the voice whispered in my ear. I could hear a touch of fear in his voice. It was deep and strong and laced with panic.
Groaning, I rolled over slowly. “Stop shaking me,” I heard my voice reply. I was so groggy that I couldn’t tell what was up or down, and my stomach and head felt as if I had been on a boat for weeks, they were so topsy turvy.
I felt something hot touch my ice cold head again, as a worried sound was emitted from my male companion. I actually felt myself push into the warmth, trying to seek out more.
“Skye? What did you do tonight?” his familiar voice asked. Why was it familiar? I couldn’t make out who he was. I tried again to open my eyes, but found myself starting to retch.
“Damn,” he spat out; the panic in his voice gone now as he rolled me over. I emptied my stomach of the mostly liquid diet and I was spent. The smell was so revolting, and I wanted to remove my clothes, but I couldn’t get my arms to cooperate with my brain. Or perhaps it was that my brain wasn’t functioning properly? I choked out a sob and asked my rescuer to help me, but there was no answer.
“Hello?” I called out weakly, as I lifted my head and tried to take in my surroundings through my tear-blurred and alcohol-induced hazy vision.
“C’mon,” he replied, startling me from behind. “Let’s get you cleaned up so you can sleep this off.”
I could feel him as he sat me up and struggled to pull my vomit-stained shirt off. I tried to help him, but all I succeeded in doing was rolling from one side to the other. After a few moments, his strong arms picked me up again and carried me into a bathroom. He easily placed me into the shower, holding me up under my arms, while he stood behind me. I felt the hot water begin to stream down my front.
Xander
I was sickened by her behavior, again, as I stood in the shower and held her in my arms. Her head hung low, as the water hit her hair and streamed down in a waterfall; rinsing vomit from the long, dark brown strands. She was so wasted, that her entire weight rested on my arms. If I were to let go of her, she would collapse like a rag doll.
I gritted my teeth as I thought about what she was doing to herself time after time, going to parties and drowning her sorrows. She was running from something that she would never be able to outrun - not on her own anyway, she just didn’t know that yet. I had been watching her from afar for so long, but that night I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t watch her kill herself anymore.
My arms were wrapped around her waist, and my fingers skimmed the soft skin of her ribs below her breasts. It was torture! Removing her shirt had been necessary, since it had been covered in vomit and liquor. Standing behind her, I tried to keep my hands from roaming over her bare skin too much. Her low rise jeans were slipping down from the weight of the water, revealing more and more of the small of her trim back.
I needed to get away from her - and quickly - because the longer I stood with her in my arms, the harder it was for me to remain aloof.
As her Guardian, I was not supposed to make contact with her. I was to watch her from afar and keep her safe until it was time for her to learn about us. As I thought about the consequences I would probably face because of this night, I felt her shoulders start to shake. She was crying quietly and I leaned in, trying to hear what she was mumbling.
“Are you safe?” she whispered brokenly over and over. I remained quiet for a few minutes, waiting for her to say more, but she just kept repeating herself.
Finally, she managed to voluntarily move her arms and pushed her hair back from her face. Still unsteady on her feet, she looked over her shoulder and raised big brown eyes to my face. They were dilated still, but seemed a little clearer. She stared into my eyes as she spoke once more, “Are you safe?”
I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t know what she was asking, as I looked into those eyes and saw the tears stream down her pale face. Her voice was shaky, and the small hand that held the hair back from her face was trembling.
Although I could tell she was standing a bit straighter, I was still supporting most of her weight. Sighing, I resigned myself to the trouble I was about to get myself into.
“Yes, Skye.” I leaned down, holding her eyes with my own. “I promise you, I am safe.”
She gasped as she heard my answer, and to my astonishment, immediately broke into loud sobs as she crumpled into my chest. I sank down to the tile floor and held her close to my chest as she cried.
The steaming hot water of the shower pulsed down on us and washed her tears down the drain, along with the last of my resolve to stay away from her.
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