The International Day of Awesomeness
Betty Amanda Evans Bowers Hey Philip, I missed Awesomeness day. Didn't see the
Oh I should also let you know that Carmen Desousa will also be part of my mega tour taking place in March on behalf of eNovel Authors at Work.
These wonderful ladies have pulled out all the stops to give my readers and bloggers, books and gifts to die for!
Make sure you join the fun with this linky and who knows...
you might be surprised by a Paypal email making a drop in your inbox.
Now...to the reason for this post.
I'm looking forward to getting this on my ereader as well after reading the sample.
And for chance to #WIN one of 3 copies of BOOK 1 ...go HERE.
And for chance to #WIN one of 3 copies of BOOK 1 ...go HERE.
ENJOY!!!!
Ancient myths, superheroes, vampires... Forget everything you've heard.
For four thousand years, creatus have concealed themselves from the humans who almost hunted them to extinction. Now, one rogue wants the world to know they exist.
Victoria doesn't want any of it; she just wants to live in peace without men--humans or creatus--messing with her head. When the rogue decides he wants her to join him, though, only one person is close enough to help her. Only problem, he's her prisoner, and if he escapes, she's supposed to kill him.
The Creatus Series is not your normal paranormal story... It's a realistic romantic mystery based on the myths you've heard your entire life. Prepare to believe...
CHAPTER ONE
“You want me to do what?” Vic threw up her hands, turning her back on the man she’d once loved. If she were being honest, still loved. She peeked over her shoulder, hoping he’d admit that he was joking.
Derrick said nothing, just waited, as he always did, calm, cool, and collected. Not one strand of his silky black hair was out of place, even though she knew he’d been at the hospital for more than twelve hours already.
As she stared out his office window that overlooked Boston Harbor, she tried to comprehend how he could ask her to do such a thing. Afternoon clouds had rolled in, seemingly to match her dismal mood, and even though it’d be another hour before sunset, she could tell by the lack of boats on the waterway that the temperature had already started to drop.
Turning away from the window, she walked back to Derrick’s desk and plopped down in the chair. How dare he suggest such a thing? Just because he didn’t want her, didn’t mean he got to choose her destiny. “You’re kidding, right? I said I was sorry. I told you I wouldn’t bother you or Kristina.”
A burst of air popped out of Derrick’s mouth as if she’d said or done something funny. There was nothing humorous about this situation.
“Vic…” He sighed. “We don’t have a choice.”
“What does Mike have to say about this?” she asked. “I bet your brother wouldn’t agree.”
“Of course he wouldn’t agree, but when has Michael ever agreed with me? He’d be happy to take care of this issue. The last thing he wants is for you to be anywhere near Reece Buckley.”
“And yet, you want me to fall for him, as if that’s even possible.”
“It’s possible. You seem to forget that my mother and wife are human. My mother reciprocated when my father fell, and Kristina fell for me. It’s clear we have more in common with humans than we thought.”
Vic jumped up from her seat again. Hearing about Derrick falling for a human wasn’t something she liked to think about. All the nights they’d spent in each other’s arms, all the deep discussions they’d had, and they’d never fallen for each other. If it couldn’t happen with Derrick, then it certainly wasn’t going to happen with a human.
“He’s human. How could I fall for a man who’s weaker than I am, a man who wouldn’t be able to protect me if the need arose?”
Derrick laughed full and deep this time. “As if you need protecting. You beat the crap out of my brother and then went and took out Reece.”
“Yeah, well. Michael wasn’t fighting back; he’d only defended himself, and Reece is human, so he doesn’t count.”
Derrick got up from behind his desk and crossed the room to stand in front of her. Her body heated up about ten degrees as he got closer.
Even though she knew they were over, that after he’d fallen for another woman he’d never fall for another one again, she still found it hard to move on with her life.
She didn’t wish any danger to befall Kristina, but she couldn’t help but wonder what would occur if something happened to her. If their histories were wrong about humans being able to fall for creatus, then maybe a creatus could fall more than once in a lifetime.
Kristina was still in danger. And she was human. It wouldn’t take much for her to die.
The killing spree had stopped, at least in Boston. Nothing in the last few days resembled the previous murders anyway. But she was sure the rogue hadn’t given up that easily.
The rogue—she couldn’t bring herself to believe that Jonas was capable of all the things he’d been accused of, so she’d continued to refer to the culprit as the rogue. She’d known Jonas almost her entire life. She’d even thought that maybe he was the One at one point. They certainly had made a good go at it. The night she’d spent with him had been powerful. Of course, she’d been trying to fall, trying to get Derrick out of her head.
Derrick rested his hand on her shoulder. Even through her clothes, his touch felt as if it would burn her skin. “He saw you, Vic. He saw Michael. And then you threw him across the room, again reinforcing your abilities.” Derrick shook his head. “Why did you do that? We might have been able to talk him out of believing that we’re different.”
“Why did I—” She huffed out a breath. “You started this, Derrick. The reason Reece even began this investigation was because you felt compelled to save a human. Michael had been trying to clean up your mess. We all were.” She stepped out from under his hand and walked back to the window, wishing she were anywhere but here. A few months ago, she never would have believed that Derrick would demand she fall in love with another man—a human man. “I can’t believe you want me to fall for a mere human?”
“That mere human put up a fight against Michael. Michael is one of the strongest creatus on the planet. We both are. No one denies that. No one understands why being half-human makes Michael and me stronger than the average creatus, but we are. So how do you explain that a mere human put up a fight?”
Vic turned to look at Derrick and shrugged. She really didn’t care. No way was she going to get romantic with a human. No matter how good he looked. No matter what he did to her insides every time she stepped within ten feet of him. She hated humans, and she was starting to hate half-humans like Derrick, Michael, and Jonas too. For that matter, she was starting to hate men in general—all species.
“Mike probably wasn’t trying to hurt him,” she said. “He just wanted the evidence in Reece’s briefcase. Again, evidence you provided the government of our existence. For four thousand years we’ve managed to stay hidden, but you go and do a swan dive off the Tobin Bridge and bring some division of the National Security Council down on us.”
Derrick casually leaned back against his desk. “My saving Kristina isn’t what made the Feds aware of us. They’ve been tracking supernatural events since 1947. You can blame that on our parents and grandparents for trying to be superheroes and save the world.”
She laughed without humor. “Yeah, well… You’re still at fault more than I am. Why don’t you see if you can get him to fall for you?” She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him in her juvenile wordplay. She couldn’t help it; that’s how she felt, and it felt good to release some of her pent-up anger. “Or, you kill him. You’re the boss.” She plopped down in the chair again and crossed her arms. No way was she going to come on to Reece Buckley. If Derrick wanted him dead, he could handle it. She didn’t care about a stupid human.
“Is that what you want, Victoria? You want me to approve the assassination of an innocent human?” Derrick asked.
Unable to keep up her charade, she sighed and dropped her head into her hands. “No.”
Derrick sat down beside her. “Vic, Michael would take him out without a second thought. I love my brother, but even though we have a human mother, he treats humans as if they are a subspecies. As though their lives mean nothing. And some of Reece’s comments haven’t helped the matter. I know my brother can be cold hearted, but as you said, he hadn’t hurt him in that alley. Now all of a sudden he’s willing to kill him.”
Vic whipped her gaze to him. “What do you mean? What comments?”
“Reece keeps asking about you. Every time Michael or I take a security watch, he asks questions about you.”
“Me? What types of questions?”
Derrick sighed again. “Victoria, honestly, are you trying to tell me you don’t see the man is enamored with you?”
She shook her head, even though she had noticed. Never had a man gazed at her the way Reece had. It didn’t matter. She didn’t want anything to do with him. Him or any man for that matter, human or creatus.
“I asked him,” Derrick continued, “When I realized we couldn’t change his mind on what he saw, what he believes we are, I asked him why he didn’t fight you.” Derrick smiled. “You know what he said?”
Vic gulped, shaking her head again, unable to find her voice for some reason. She didn’t want to know what he said.
“He said you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He admitted that he threw a chair in your direction, but he knew he wouldn’t hit you. And there was no way he could ever hit a goddess.”
Vic snorted. “I bet you rolled with laughter at that comment, huh, Derrick?”
“Victoria, why do you do that to yourself? You know my falling for Kristina had nothing to do with you. You know you are one of the best-looking women on this planet. Reece even made a comment that you look like a modern-day Wonder Woman.”
“What the hell? Are you guys best friends now?” she asked.
Derrick shrugged. “He’s a nice guy. What else is there to do when I have to take four hours out of my day to sit with him? We play cards and talk.”
“I just don’t understand why we can’t leave him handcuffed to the bed,” she said.
“Because it’s inhumane, and even if we aren’t human, we are not mindless cold-blooded beings, as some would believe.”
“We have him locked up in the psyche ward. The lock was probably broken when he escaped the first time.”
“The lock wasn’t broken, and Michael admitted that Reece put up a decent fight. Something he hadn’t been prepared for. If being half-human makes Michael and me twice as strong as most creatus, imagine what having any creatus blood, even hundreds of years ago, would mean to humans.”
Vic narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying, Derrick?”
“I think there’s a reason some humans are ridiculously stronger than other humans. Why some can dead lift more weight than other humans, why some are Olympians. I believe there were more interspecies relationships—or, would interracial be a better word—than we knew of in the past. I’m pretty sure Reece Buckley has creatus blood running through his veins.”
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