By popular request, below is an exclusive excerpt of Murdering Eve you'll only find here.
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An unfamiliar emotion tugged deep in his soul, but with it came peace and certain knowledge. If he had sex with Eve, she would become his mate. That's why they had reacted so strongly to one another. Their souls were fated. Whit pushed the thought away, refusing to acknowledge what that fact would mean to him, and what it meant for his future. He hesitated as she lay under him, held captive by her beauty while his mind screamed to retreat, the message undelivered to his hands and his eyes. He couldn't tear himself away, no matter how much destruction making love to her eventually wrought.
The word reverberated in his mind . . . mated. The concept was too huge to contemplate, so he didn't. As she pulled at him in delicious desperation, he leaned into her and inhaled her scent, sending shockwaves through his body. He closed his mouth on her breast, and power slammed into him like a tidal wave. Moving from him to her, from her to him—wind and fire combined. That's what she was, a Fire element power, with the heat and intensity of the sun itself. Her essence burned through his veins like a brush fire, picking up speed with the velocity of a hurricane.
Eve stiffened beneath him, and some of the delicious warmth drained away.
Barely coherent, he said, "What's wrong?"
Whit saw the whites of her eyes the same moment he heard the roaring of water, as if a waterfall was crashing over them. The structure he had painstakingly built for Eve gave way with an explosion of energy. Debris crashed down all around them. Whit instinctively used his body to shield Eve, moving his torso up to protect her head. As he pushed himself up on his elbows to grab her and run for cover, a frigid band clamped around his waist and wrenched him into the air above the trees. Breath left his lungs in a rush, the g-force of his ascent as discombobulating as a botched teleport.
Gasping for air, Whit tried to grab the band around his midsection to dislodge whatever had grabbed him, only to have his hands pass through it. Water clenched him in the form of a fist, flowing down the face of the waterfall, encircling him and holding him suspended above the trees. Merciful Athena, a water God? Poseidon? No, he couldn't be here. And even if he could, he controlled the Earth's saltwater oceans, not fresh water streams. What the hell is this?
Frantically searching for Eve on the ground below, he finally saw her. She stood up and looked at him with shocked eyes, her flight instinct so strong that he felt his own legs itch to run. A flash of red caught his peripheral vision, and Whit saw someone darting through the trees, directly toward Eve. Panic gripped him as he shouted down to Eve. "Run! Someone's coming!"
A woman, taller than Eve, stepped out from amongst the trees, holding a dagger. She looked like a crazed lunatic. Leaves and sticks clung to her wild, fiery hair. Her face twisted in a murderous glare, and her mouth moved rapidly. A chant, he guessed, to keep him captive above their heads and out of her way. The woman crouched and stealthily moved through the trees, circling the open area, trying to double back behind Eve, who still stood dumbstruck, staring at Whit.
He screamed at her to snap out of it and get the hell out of there, but she seemed rooted to the spot. Whit watched in helpless horror as the redhead stalked toward Eve. Who was she? What did she want with his female? He struggled against the watery vise, but he couldn't wrestle water.
Whit concentrated intently, calling the air to him. The speed of its response blew his mind. Gale force wind instantly swirled at his command, bending over trees . The sudden intensity of the gusts knocked Eve down. He scaled back, trying to moderate his control against his rising panic. The liquid fist gripped him tighter.
Focusing the direction of his power, Whit watched as the wind emptied the river bed, spilling water out on to the banks and into the vegetation. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop the water flowing steadily over the cliff from the waterfall, and that was the source of water holding him. The rushing water encircled him, holding him fast, then flowed down from Whit's suspended form into the empty riverbed, refilling it. He couldn't break free.
To his horror, the wind he'd summoned whipped up more whitecaps on the swiftly flowing river, adding to the force of its flow. The redhead looked up at him with a sinister grin, enjoying that his power was feeding hers. He shut down his element immediately, snarling at the impotence of his power in the face of the situation.
The redhead lifted a gold, heavily jeweled dagger in mock salute to him. He recognized the weapon instantly. King Simek had given him an identical version to murder the human child so many years ago. His refusal had earned him banishment to Earth Realm. Is it really the same one?
Simek had handed the dagger to him locked in a case and told him to be careful. "Don't accidentally cut yourself with it, soldier. Hephaestus would laugh himself silly." At the time, he'd assumed his King was being facetious. The order had been to slay a human child, and Simek wouldn't waste the power of a supernatural weapon simply to dispatch a mortal. But seeing the redhead stalking Eve with the same dagger, Whit knew it must be created by Hephaestus. Only a weapon forged by the God of Metalworking Fire could mortally wound a supernatural. Simek had to have known Eve wasn't human; otherwise he wouldn't have given Whit a supernatural weapon. But how did Simek know about Eve, and who wanted her dead?
There was no time to ponder the riddle, because Eve had disappeared from sight. His heart soared that she might have successfully fled the area. The redhead stood still, her head making barely perceptible movements as she scanned the area. Whit held his breath, waiting for her next move.
Golden sparks shot up from about twenty yards out, revealing Eve's hiding place. The woman turned suddenly, and marched into the trees.
Pain shot through Whit's brow as he concentrated, directing his power to funnel the wind at the predator advancing on Eve.
A quick burst of wind knocked the redhead on her ass, but she got right back up. Whit repeated the hit with the same outcome. The redhead never even looked up at him. He'd intended to draw her attack away from Eve and to him, but she wasn't taking the bait. The clever bitch was holding him, safely impotent, until she could murder Eve, then kill him. A fierce howl ripped through his chest as he screamed in frustration.
The sky had opened again, rain falling torrentially, increasing the flow of the waterfall that had seemed so small when he set up the campsite. Rapid, successive lightning strikes lit up the darkness, a macabre scene, as flashes of white light illuminated every detail of the attacker's progress as she advanced closer to Eve's hiding spot.
Eve's powers were rudimentary at best, and the ability to see visions, either past or future, wouldn't help her in a fight. Granted, she had that raw power he'd felt more times than he could count, but it hadn't taken on any physical manifestation. If only she'd learned how to turn the energy into some kind of charge she could use as a weapon, but there hadn't been enough time. He beseeched the Gods . . . they hadn't had enough time. Whit screamed until his throat went raw, his heart shattering with the knowledge that she couldn't hear him above the storm.
Lightning struck the trees around them repeatedly in a circular pattern. The wood splintered as acrid smoke billowed into the air, choking Whit. Terror twisted in his belly as he watched the women square off. Eve's face contorted with rage and she screamed at her attacker, who merely bared her teeth in an evil smile.
The redhead slashed with the dagger, and Eve feinted to the right, but she tripped and fell down trying to get away. Eve scrambled to get a foothold in the loose debris scattered around the clearing, the weight of her upper body on her hands, her legs kicking wildly in retreat. The redhead lunged at her with the dagger raised. Eve's aura flashed to black as she threw out her hand. A lightning bolt ripped from her arm.
Whit's heart jumped to his throat with unexpected joy. A close-range lightning bolt would surely incinerate her attacker. But the redhead only stumbled back a few feet, redirecting the flow of electrical energy from the lightning bolt, grounding it into the dirt, suffering only a glancing blow. Somehow, unbelievably, she must have expected that form of attack and been ready for it.
Her attacker relentlessly moved toward her again. Clearly panicking, Eve dropped to the ground, scraping up handfuls of dirt in her fists. She was giving up.
The promise of vengeance coiled in his muscles. He advanced on her, his mind quickly deciding on the best method of disarming her, taking control of the dagger, and putting the weapon to good use.
As he took the first step, Eve's voice cut through the darkness, hardly more than a whisper.
Eve's questioning plea stopped him in his tracks, but his gaze stayed locked on his prey.
The redhead's lips turned up at the edges in a sneer at his hesitation. She mouthed a silent promise. "Next time."
Then the bitch was running faster than anyone with a dire wound should be able to move. Whit matched her step for step, but she had too much of a head start. Within seconds, she had jumped into the water and made it to the deepest part of the river which still had a swiftly moving current.
Following her downstream meant leaving Eve. Whit knew he needed to take the attacker out to keep Eve safe, and here was the best chance he was going to get to run her to ground. Indecision rendered him immobile. If he went after the redhead, could Eve defend herself if Michelle found her alone? Could the Custodaris and the redhead be working together to intentionally separate them? The impulse to chase his prey pounded in his ears and caused a roaring in his head, but he cast a glance over his shoulder to check on Eve.
She looked demolished, like an electrical current which had popped a breaker after a power surge. Against every natural instinct in his body, he forced the familiar predatory urges to drain away. He couldn't leave Eve. With a few deep breaths, a desire to protect replaced the urge to destroy. Possessiveness suffused him, and a swelling sensation filled his chest. Eve needed him.
She pushed herself to her feet, trembling violently.
Whit bolted toward her, then enveloped her in his arms.
"Next time," he whispered under his breath.
CONTEST: Sign up to follow my blog, or "Like" my Facebook page starting today through November 15th, and you will be entered to win a signed copy of Murdering Eve! Contest winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 16th. Happy reading!
********
Whit felt it happening, but he still didn't quite believe it. The transference of power between two supernaturals was an awesome phenomenon in itself, but for such a thing to happen on Earth Realm was unprecedented. Only the most powerful Gods were known to have done it at all. Zeus and Hera were the most renowned, but Apollo was rumored to be able to do it at will.
Yet, as impossible as it seemed, transference was happening. He could feel Eve's power encircling him, and beginning to infuse him. A golden light, the energy warmed him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Whit's own power raged stronger than it had in decades. Satisfaction and desire rolled through him.An unfamiliar emotion tugged deep in his soul, but with it came peace and certain knowledge. If he had sex with Eve, she would become his mate. That's why they had reacted so strongly to one another. Their souls were fated. Whit pushed the thought away, refusing to acknowledge what that fact would mean to him, and what it meant for his future. He hesitated as she lay under him, held captive by her beauty while his mind screamed to retreat, the message undelivered to his hands and his eyes. He couldn't tear himself away, no matter how much destruction making love to her eventually wrought.
The word reverberated in his mind . . . mated. The concept was too huge to contemplate, so he didn't. As she pulled at him in delicious desperation, he leaned into her and inhaled her scent, sending shockwaves through his body. He closed his mouth on her breast, and power slammed into him like a tidal wave. Moving from him to her, from her to him—wind and fire combined. That's what she was, a Fire element power, with the heat and intensity of the sun itself. Her essence burned through his veins like a brush fire, picking up speed with the velocity of a hurricane.
Eve stiffened beneath him, and some of the delicious warmth drained away.
Barely coherent, he said, "What's wrong?"
Whit saw the whites of her eyes the same moment he heard the roaring of water, as if a waterfall was crashing over them. The structure he had painstakingly built for Eve gave way with an explosion of energy. Debris crashed down all around them. Whit instinctively used his body to shield Eve, moving his torso up to protect her head. As he pushed himself up on his elbows to grab her and run for cover, a frigid band clamped around his waist and wrenched him into the air above the trees. Breath left his lungs in a rush, the g-force of his ascent as discombobulating as a botched teleport.
Gasping for air, Whit tried to grab the band around his midsection to dislodge whatever had grabbed him, only to have his hands pass through it. Water clenched him in the form of a fist, flowing down the face of the waterfall, encircling him and holding him suspended above the trees. Merciful Athena, a water God? Poseidon? No, he couldn't be here. And even if he could, he controlled the Earth's saltwater oceans, not fresh water streams. What the hell is this?
Frantically searching for Eve on the ground below, he finally saw her. She stood up and looked at him with shocked eyes, her flight instinct so strong that he felt his own legs itch to run. A flash of red caught his peripheral vision, and Whit saw someone darting through the trees, directly toward Eve. Panic gripped him as he shouted down to Eve. "Run! Someone's coming!"
A woman, taller than Eve, stepped out from amongst the trees, holding a dagger. She looked like a crazed lunatic. Leaves and sticks clung to her wild, fiery hair. Her face twisted in a murderous glare, and her mouth moved rapidly. A chant, he guessed, to keep him captive above their heads and out of her way. The woman crouched and stealthily moved through the trees, circling the open area, trying to double back behind Eve, who still stood dumbstruck, staring at Whit.
He screamed at her to snap out of it and get the hell out of there, but she seemed rooted to the spot. Whit watched in helpless horror as the redhead stalked toward Eve. Who was she? What did she want with his female? He struggled against the watery vise, but he couldn't wrestle water.
Whit concentrated intently, calling the air to him. The speed of its response blew his mind. Gale force wind instantly swirled at his command, bending over trees . The sudden intensity of the gusts knocked Eve down. He scaled back, trying to moderate his control against his rising panic. The liquid fist gripped him tighter.
Focusing the direction of his power, Whit watched as the wind emptied the river bed, spilling water out on to the banks and into the vegetation. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop the water flowing steadily over the cliff from the waterfall, and that was the source of water holding him. The rushing water encircled him, holding him fast, then flowed down from Whit's suspended form into the empty riverbed, refilling it. He couldn't break free.
To his horror, the wind he'd summoned whipped up more whitecaps on the swiftly flowing river, adding to the force of its flow. The redhead looked up at him with a sinister grin, enjoying that his power was feeding hers. He shut down his element immediately, snarling at the impotence of his power in the face of the situation.
The redhead lifted a gold, heavily jeweled dagger in mock salute to him. He recognized the weapon instantly. King Simek had given him an identical version to murder the human child so many years ago. His refusal had earned him banishment to Earth Realm. Is it really the same one?
Simek had handed the dagger to him locked in a case and told him to be careful. "Don't accidentally cut yourself with it, soldier. Hephaestus would laugh himself silly." At the time, he'd assumed his King was being facetious. The order had been to slay a human child, and Simek wouldn't waste the power of a supernatural weapon simply to dispatch a mortal. But seeing the redhead stalking Eve with the same dagger, Whit knew it must be created by Hephaestus. Only a weapon forged by the God of Metalworking Fire could mortally wound a supernatural. Simek had to have known Eve wasn't human; otherwise he wouldn't have given Whit a supernatural weapon. But how did Simek know about Eve, and who wanted her dead?
There was no time to ponder the riddle, because Eve had disappeared from sight. His heart soared that she might have successfully fled the area. The redhead stood still, her head making barely perceptible movements as she scanned the area. Whit held his breath, waiting for her next move.
Golden sparks shot up from about twenty yards out, revealing Eve's hiding place. The woman turned suddenly, and marched into the trees.
Pain shot through Whit's brow as he concentrated, directing his power to funnel the wind at the predator advancing on Eve.
A quick burst of wind knocked the redhead on her ass, but she got right back up. Whit repeated the hit with the same outcome. The redhead never even looked up at him. He'd intended to draw her attack away from Eve and to him, but she wasn't taking the bait. The clever bitch was holding him, safely impotent, until she could murder Eve, then kill him. A fierce howl ripped through his chest as he screamed in frustration.
The sky had opened again, rain falling torrentially, increasing the flow of the waterfall that had seemed so small when he set up the campsite. Rapid, successive lightning strikes lit up the darkness, a macabre scene, as flashes of white light illuminated every detail of the attacker's progress as she advanced closer to Eve's hiding spot.
As another crack of thunder ripped the air, Eve darted out from her hiding spot and swung a tree branch at her attacker's head. The redhead blocked the blow with a raised arm, and the dagger flew from her hand. Eve dropped the branch and burst back through the trees into the clearing. Whit thought she was going to keep running, but she stopped and turned around to face her opponent, who emerged from the tree line, again holding the dagger.
Merciful Gods, what is she doing?
Merciful Gods, what is she doing?
Eve's powers were rudimentary at best, and the ability to see visions, either past or future, wouldn't help her in a fight. Granted, she had that raw power he'd felt more times than he could count, but it hadn't taken on any physical manifestation. If only she'd learned how to turn the energy into some kind of charge she could use as a weapon, but there hadn't been enough time. He beseeched the Gods . . . they hadn't had enough time. Whit screamed until his throat went raw, his heart shattering with the knowledge that she couldn't hear him above the storm.
Lightning struck the trees around them repeatedly in a circular pattern. The wood splintered as acrid smoke billowed into the air, choking Whit. Terror twisted in his belly as he watched the women square off. Eve's face contorted with rage and she screamed at her attacker, who merely bared her teeth in an evil smile.
The redhead slashed with the dagger, and Eve feinted to the right, but she tripped and fell down trying to get away. Eve scrambled to get a foothold in the loose debris scattered around the clearing, the weight of her upper body on her hands, her legs kicking wildly in retreat. The redhead lunged at her with the dagger raised. Eve's aura flashed to black as she threw out her hand. A lightning bolt ripped from her arm.
Whit's heart jumped to his throat with unexpected joy. A close-range lightning bolt would surely incinerate her attacker. But the redhead only stumbled back a few feet, redirecting the flow of electrical energy from the lightning bolt, grounding it into the dirt, suffering only a glancing blow. Somehow, unbelievably, she must have expected that form of attack and been ready for it.
Her attacker relentlessly moved toward her again. Clearly panicking, Eve dropped to the ground, scraping up handfuls of dirt in her fists. She was giving up.
"No!" Whit screamed and thrashed against the liquid harness, hopelessness and despair threatening to drive him to madness.
The redhead was two strides away when thunder clapped so hard, Whit saw the ground vibrate. With another clap of thunder, the earth shook violently and the redhead struggled to stay upright. An eerie, cracking noise rent the air as the ground beneath the redhead's feet split, a widening gash that threatened to swallow her beneath the surface. She jumped out the way, and backed away from Eve, slowly shaking her head.
Eve lifted her face toward the sky. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth moved in a silent chant. The face of the cliff began to crumble, boulders raining down around the women. Huge chunks of rock pummeled the remains of their campsite, and fear clenched in Whit's gut as they struck the ground inches away from Eve.
The steady beating flow of the waterfall disintegrated into the deadly rush of a wall of water. The fist around him suddenly lost its grip, and with its release, he dropped like a stone. Whit landed at a midpoint between the two women, both a few yards away from him.
His feet firmly planted on the ground, Whit locked on to his enemy's location. The redhead continued to back away from Eve, distracted by the spectacle before her. She still clutched the dagger, but it appeared forgotten as she stared at the cliff. The waterfall split over and over, crumbling under the fist of an invisible God. Water flooded around her.
Tearing his attention from the redhead, Whit looked back at Eve. She still knelt in the same place, clutching fistfuls of dirt, her eyes upturned toward the heavens. Eve was doing this. She was tearing the earth apart.
He flipped around to confront the redhead. Stark terror marred her face.
The riverbed widened from new gashes ripped in the earth; Whit noticed the boulders of rock flying from the cliff had littered the stream, breaking up the flow. The river eased from a rushing torrent to a slower current as water spread out thinly across the forest.
He maneuvered to stand directly in front of Eve, ready for his turn to fight off the at
tacker. With the redhead's water element threat weakened, he would dispatch her easily enough in hand-to-hand combat. Lightning flashed again. A huge, bloody laceration had opened across the side of the woman's head. Well done, Eve.
tacker. With the redhead's water element threat weakened, he would dispatch her easily enough in hand-to-hand combat. Lightning flashed again. A huge, bloody laceration had opened across the side of the woman's head. Well done, Eve.
The promise of vengeance coiled in his muscles. He advanced on her, his mind quickly deciding on the best method of disarming her, taking control of the dagger, and putting the weapon to good use.
As he took the first step, Eve's voice cut through the darkness, hardly more than a whisper.
"Whit?"
Eve's questioning plea stopped him in his tracks, but his gaze stayed locked on his prey.
The redhead's lips turned up at the edges in a sneer at his hesitation. She mouthed a silent promise. "Next time."
Then the bitch was running faster than anyone with a dire wound should be able to move. Whit matched her step for step, but she had too much of a head start. Within seconds, she had jumped into the water and made it to the deepest part of the river which still had a swiftly moving current.
Following her downstream meant leaving Eve. Whit knew he needed to take the attacker out to keep Eve safe, and here was the best chance he was going to get to run her to ground. Indecision rendered him immobile. If he went after the redhead, could Eve defend herself if Michelle found her alone? Could the Custodaris and the redhead be working together to intentionally separate them? The impulse to chase his prey pounded in his ears and caused a roaring in his head, but he cast a glance over his shoulder to check on Eve.
She looked demolished, like an electrical current which had popped a breaker after a power surge. Against every natural instinct in his body, he forced the familiar predatory urges to drain away. He couldn't leave Eve. With a few deep breaths, a desire to protect replaced the urge to destroy. Possessiveness suffused him, and a swelling sensation filled his chest. Eve needed him.
She pushed herself to her feet, trembling violently.
Whit bolted toward her, then enveloped her in his arms.
"Next time," he whispered under his breath.
*********
Stay tuned! Tomorrow, the utterly phenomenal KB Cutter will be stopping by for an interview, and you'll get a sneak peek at his newest erotic paranormal romance - The Darker Side of Heaven. Be warned, even the excerpt will curl your toes!! Yippee!!!
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