Excerpt Monday ~ July 13th

Hello everyone! Welcome to Excerpt Monday! This is an unedited excerpt from my soon-to-be released novella from Liquid Silver Books called Between Heaven and Hell. I hope you enjoy it.

Blurb:
Somewhere between Heaven and Hell … there are nightmares. After being forced to confront an abusive ex-lover in court, Elaina Richmond wanted nothing more than to get away from the trial and the nightmares that came with it. Escaping to her Aunt and Uncle’s vineyard in the rolling hills of Sonoma, California, she is reunited with her first love, Caden Russell. An old flame is rekindled. Though Heaven is found in his arms once again, Elaina soon discovers that the Devil has a way of finding you … especially when there’s hope to destroy.

Excerpt: (The beginning bold section of this excerpt is a dream sequence).

Somewhere in the distance, there were voices. As Elaina opened her eyes, she tried to zero in on where the laughter was coming from, but the room spun violently around her and made her dizzy. Closing her eyes again, she swallowed hard to keep from vomiting. After a few minutes, the laughter died down to a mumble, and suddenly Jeff’s voice filled the space surrounding her.

“Do you know what I love, Elaina?” He asked softly. “Your skin. When we met, I couldn’t help but notice your beautiful complexion right away. I wanted to touch you so badly, but I didn’t want to frighten you.”

Opening her eyes again slowly, Elaina looked around the room. The dizziness had lessened, but she still felt odd. It was a drowsy feeling, like fading in and out of consciousness. Her body felt heavy and the heat in the room was stifling. She was lying on a bed, dressed only in her bra and panties, but it wasn’t her bedroom.
Jeff stood at the foot of the bed, fully clothed, with his arms folded across his chest. A cigarette dangled between two of his fingers. Smoke oozed from the ashes and assaulted her senses, making her stomach churn.

Her arms were above her head, and there was a burning sensation in her wrists. Turning her head carefully, disorientation turned to shock when she saw the thick rope secured around both wrists. It was anchored to the headboard, and as she tried to pull herself free, it dug deeply into her skin and made her wince from the pain.

“Please don’t struggle, Elaina. They’ll hear you.”

He was speaking so calmly, as if talking to a child. Turning to face him, she noticed with alarm that his eyes were black as coal. They were terrifying and seemed to burn through her skin to her very soul. The bedroom door was closed, but she could still hear the voices not far beyond it. She tried to scream, but in an instant, Jeff was by her side. Placing his hand over her mouth, he muffled her cry for help.

“That will only make it worse, Elaina.” He whispered ominously. “Stay quiet and I might not prolong the agony.”

She didn’t make a sound. At the moment, she was too frightened to do anything. All that remained were the tears that slid silently down her cheeks and nestled in her hair. After removing his hand, Jeff crawled on top of the bed and straddled her legs to keep her still as if he honestly thought she would try to escape. But how could she when he had made it impossible to do so?

“You think I don’t notice the way other men look at you, but I do. I’ve seen the way they admire you. Your eyes, your hair … your skin.”

When he reached out to touch her stomach, she tried to move away, but he held her firmly in place. Though his eyes were scorching, his touch was cold as ice.

“I realized the only way I could get them to stop looking at you was to destroy what they admired so much.”

The words slithered off his tongue and sent a chill coursing through her bones. Then, before she had time to react, he placed the tip of his lit cigarette against her stomach and ground it into her skin. The pain was excruciating. She pulled at the restraints and bit her bottom lip hard to keep from screaming. Somehow, she knew she must keep quiet. If she didn’t, he would never stop.

Taking a lighter from his back pocket, he flipped the top open and re-lit the cigarette while she writhed beneath him. She tried to brace herself for what she knew was coming next, but the moment he dug the burning tip into her once again, she viciously yanked at her bindings repeatedly to keep from yelling out.

Something cool slid down her forearms and she knew without looking that it was blood from the cuts she bore into her wrists whenever she pulled at the rope that bound her. She couldn’t help it. Numerous times, he lit the cigarette and burned holes in her body while she fought the urge to scream for help. Even through the anguish, she could still hear the laughter coming from the next room. They were so close. Why wasn’t someone coming to help her? Didn’t they know she was here?
His torture continued. Why didn’t he stop? He said he would if she promised to be quiet.

“They can’t love what isn’t beautiful.” He mumbled stoically, again and again.

She prayed for her body to go numb, but instead the pain became that much worse. It was too much. She couldn’t take it anymore. He would just have to kill her. Summoning as much strength as she could, she opened her mouth wide and prepared to scream at the top of her lungs.

One … two … three …

“Elaina!” Someone bellowed. “Elaina, wake up!”

Shaken, Elaina sat up in bed, gasping. Her skin was on fire. There was cigarette smoke in the air, and she could smell her flesh as it burned. Someone, please help me. Make him stop. She tried to touch her stomach to snuff out the pain, but someone was holding her.

Confused and bewildered, she tried to focus on what was happening. When she did, she saw Caden sitting beside her on the bed, his hands cupping her shoulders to keep her still.

“Elaina … Elaina. Breathe.” He whispered, pulling her into his embrace. “Just try and take some deep breaths.”

Closing her eyes, she waited for the shaking to stop. How long had she been asleep? Why was Caden in the room?

She had hoped the nightmares were fading. Since being with Caden, they had lost some of their intensity, but the forcefulness of this one had taken her completely by surprise and left her shaken to her very core. The severity of them had returned.

“How … how did you get in here?” She asked.

“There’s a key under the mat by the front door. Mrs. Vivien put one there after some of the workers staying here kept accidentally locking themselves out.” He explained. “I heard you screaming.”

Lying back down on the bed, she brought Caden with her and snuggled close to his body for warmth. After several minutes she felt more at ease, and the tremors had stopped.

“It was so horrible. Even after I woke up, I could still feel him around me.”

He hushed her by gently caressing her cheek.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you now. I’m not going anywhere.”

Safe in his arms, Caden held her against his chest and delicately wove his fingers through her hair to soothe her. She didn’t want to sleep, but after awhile the tension began to ease from her muscles and she felt herself drifting. Cradled in his strong embrace, she let go without hesitation.

Still, not long after she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, Jeff was waiting for her again like all the times before.

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To read another excerpt from Between Heaven and Hell, click here.

Below are some links to other authors participating in Excerpt Monday. Please note that some of these websites are adult-oriented so you must read at your own risk.

Mel Berthier, Urban Fantasy (PG 13)
Kinsey W. Holley, Paranormal (PG)
Babette James, Fantasy Romance (PG13)
Christina DeLorenzo, YA (PG 13)
Kaige, Historic Romance (PG-13)
Adelle Laudan, Contemporary Romance (PG 13)
Jeannie Lin, Historical Romance (PG13)
Rebecca Savage, romantic suspense (PG 13)
Crista McHugh, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)
Jax Cassidy, Contemporary Romance (R)
Maya Doyle, Paranormal Romance (R)
Cate Hart, Paranormal (R)
Ali Katz, Historical Erotic Romance (R)
Inez Kelley, Romantic Comedy (R)
Aislinn Kerry, Paranormal Romance (R)
Cherrie Lynn, Paranormal Romance (R)
Vivienne Westlake, Erotic Historical (R)

Evie Byrne, Medieval Paranormal Romance (NC 17)
Kim Knox, Erotic SF Romance (NC17)
Kirsten Saell, Erotic Romance (NC 17)