Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel
eBook ISBN: 978-1-946966-24-7
Print ISBN: ?? (Print book coming soon!)
Damien can't believe how wrong he was about Samantha Brody. The woman of his dreams, the woman he fired over theft, is as innocent as a newborn lamb. Now Damien has to decide if it's worth upending his entire life to bring Sam into his world.
Finding out she already knows about his Nephilim ties makes him even more leery of putting her in danger. Nothing is worth Sam's life, not even his growing feelings for her.
When she does him a favor Sam winds up in his world faster than Damien can say "Shem." He takes her to Gabriel, where the two begin to build their relationship.
The Shem don't take lightly to others butting into their business, especially when it involves missing Nephilim. With the Shem hot on their heels can Sam and Damien finally find the love they haven't put into words?
*****
“What
happened?” Sam kept her voice low. She didn’t want to disturb Damien, but she
was dying to find out how they’d rescued Rafe and whether or not Damien needed
anything other than a shoulder to lean on.
“I
followed the…” He scowled. “I’m not sure how to explain this.”
“I’ll
wait while you figure it out.” She started stroking his forehead. The poor man
looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his curiously glowing eyes, and
his shoulders were slumped. Damien leaned heavily against her, snuggling close.
His
power must take a lot out of him, because he’d napped before he left and now he
looked like he hadn’t slept in at least three days.
He
sighed, the scowl slowly disappearing. “You have forever to stop doing that.”
Sam
continued to rub his forehead, patiently waiting for him to speak again. This
close to him, the scent of his skin, his hair, and feel his breath on her
breasts made her want to hold him even closer, preferably naked. She tried
desperately not to react when his hand landed on her thigh, an intimate touch
that went nowhere. He didn’t move his hand, just let it sit there, warming her.
It was a brand, as if he was setting his claim on her, and she couldn’t find it
in her to ask him to move. She didn’t want him to. She wanted to be claimed by
him, but she wasn’t sure how to tell him so.
“Shem
give off a certain aura, a scent and a fog that’s…” He grunted. “It’s this
thick green miasma only other angel-born can see and smell.” Damien grimaced.
“We call it their stench, because there’s this odor that accompanies them, like
rotten food or spoiled eggs.”
“Ew.”
Sam wrinkled her nose.
“The
place was saturated with it, so much so I couldn’t see into the building. We
had to go in to see who was there. While Gio and Sasha took care of the first
floor, I went to the second and found the kids.”
“Are
they Shem, too?” She couldn’t imagine such innocent-looking children being
hungry little Shem.
“Yes
and no. They’re too young to hunt and feed, so they can be saved. But they were
born to Shem parents and lived in the stench for so long the little boy’s belly
hurt from Shem hunger. I think Gabriel is their best hope for not turning fully
Shem. They have the chance to become true Nephilim now.”
“So
you not only saved Rafe, you saved two kids.” She’d known he was a superhero,
even if he didn’t believe it himself.
He
grunted. “There was no hope for their parents. They were lost years ago.”
“But
there’s hope for them, and that’s all you could do.” She started as Micah came
thundering down the stairs, racing toward where Gabriel had disappeared with
Rafe. “Does Gabriel need our help?”
Damien
shook his head wearily. “That’s what Micah’s doing. He’ll help Gabriel, maybe
even take on some of the healing himself.”
She
bit her lip. “You seem really tired. Are you ready to go to bed?”
He
smiled. “Are you propositioning me, Ms. Brody?”
Sam
smacked his forehead. They’d only gone on one non-date he insisted was a date.
No way she’d ask him to her room so soon.
“Ow.”
He sat up, rubbing the faint red mark she’d left behind. “No, not yet. It’s
going to take a little bit longer for my vision to return to normal.”
“Okay.
Want me to keep you company?”
He
leaned his head wearily against the back of the sofa. “Yes, please.” He took
hold of her hand. “Anything happen while we were gone?”
“Nothing
major, unless you count some foxes playing in the backyard important.” She eyed
him sideways. “Zeke only flirted with me twice.”
His
grip on her hand tightened. “Oh?”
She
blushed furiously. She was going to go to hell with the lies she was telling.
“Yup.”
“Did
you tell him I’d kick his ass if he kept it up?”
She
stared at him in shock. “No. Why would I?”
He
started to laugh. “Why would you?” His tone was self-mocking, bittersweet
almost. He turned to face her, the pale blue now a deep cornflower blue. He’d
said it would be a while before he saw correctly again. His eyes were darkening
back to his natural sapphire. “You want to find out why you should?”
She
nodded, unable to look away from his strange, hypnotic eyes.
“This.”
He leaned forward, taking her mouth in a ruthless, possessive kiss that left
her senses reeling. The taste of him overwhelmed her, his scent filling her.
His hands cupped her face, his fingers slowly threading through her hair. She
whimpered when he started to pull away, throwing her arms around his neck. She
pulled him closer, kissing him back, practically begging him to keep going.
He
moved his hands from her face to her waist, taking charge once again. The kiss
changed from possessive to sensual, drugging her with desire.
The
kiss went on and on. She couldn’t tell if it had been hours or minutes since
his lips met hers, and she didn’t care. When his lips left hers she could
barely catch her breath.
His
hands clenched, gathering the back of her shirt in his fists. “I don’t want to
go any further than this. I don’t want to scare you off.”
Damien’s
eyes were finally back to normal, the beautiful sapphire so dark it was almost
navy blue. “There you are.” She smiled and touched just beside his eye. “Can
you see again?”
He
nodded. “You’re not afraid of what I am?”
“No. Not even a little.” She frowned, thinking about
him out in the night, fighting monsters. “I’m afraid for you.”
