Excerpt set up: Fawn is a shifter. Unknown to Wade, she is the mysterious feral white mare. Fawn located Wade in a secluded section of the ranch; she shifted into the white mare. He whooped and pulled off his cowboy hat when he spotted her. Galloping toward her on Misty, he slid off his mount to straddle her bareback. Together they soared across his land. He called her by the name he'd given her, Sweetheart. Fawn had never shown herself to anyone but Wade. Sometimes she'd hear the cowboys razzing him about the ghost horse he always claimed to be riding. A sudden gathering of clouds bumped each other and lightening zigzagged. The pasture darkened and rain poured in buckets. Wade, leaning low and grasping her mane, yelled for her to slow, but the feel of him on her back, and the pelting rain, excited her so much that she threw caution to the wind. He yelled again. Her back hoof hit a mud pocket and she went down, throwing Wade sideways off her back. Shooting pain lanced her hind leg and she squealed. Wade jumped to his feet, sluicing mud from his body. He bent over her, "My God, No! No! Please God, let her be okay." Fawn dug her hooves into the rain soaked earth and stood again. Wade rubbed her neck and tried to sooth her. He zeroed in on her limping leg, and rasped, "Please don't let it be broken." His expert hands felt the leg and he yelled above the downpour, "I don't think it's broken, Sweetheart." He reached for the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt and lightening split the sky asunder. Shaking the device, he punched the buttons again. "Shit!" Fawn needed to find a place to shift and she started to move away. "No! Sweetheart, don't try to walk on that leg. I've got to get a vet to you." Fawn saw movement and looked toward it. Wade followed the direction of her head. Misty stood in the distance under the covering of a ledge. Wade whistled to her, but the storm blocked the sound. Lightening flashed again, followed by a deafening boom. Misty remained in her shelter. Wade spat the words, "Damn! I've got my cell phone in the saddle bag. Maybe the service is working." His Stetson had flown off when he'd been thrown and he now reached to wipe rivulets of water from his eyes. He turned back to her, soothing her with words and touches. He said something that made her heart pound. "Sweetheart, we seem to have some sort of spiritual connection that I don't understand." He spoke in her ear. "Don't leave. I've got to get help." He patted her neck and leaned his forehead against it, then he turned and ran toward Misty. With his back to her, Fawn knew what she had to do. She had to get back to the ranch before Mrs. Porter brought Zoe home. She prayed, shifted into a sparrow and flew skyward against the downpour. Wade turned back around. "Holy shit! Sweetheart, where'd you go?"
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Set up: Fawn has just arrived at Dream Catcher Ranch to a strange reception. The moment they stepped onto the wide porch of the two-storied ranch house, Eileen Porter, Wade's closest neighbor from three miles down the road, scurried through the door looking flustered. "She just started that yellin' when you drove up." Eileen looked beyond Wade to the new nanny, and her eyebrows almost hit her hairline. Wade said, "Thank's Eileen. I appreciate you watching Zoe while I picked up Ms. Woods." He sighed, and thought, Looks like Zoe's gonna send Ms. Woods packin' sooner'n later. "I'll call you this evening Wade and check on Zoe." Mrs. Porter gave another curious glance at Fawn before extending her hand and saying, "Pleased to meet ya." Wade tipped his Stetson. "Excuse me, ladies. I'll leave you to get acquainted." He entered the house and heard Fawn say, "I'm Fawn Woods and I'm pleased to meet you, too, Mrs. Porter, but I should probably go with Wade to help with Zoe." Halfway up the stairs Wade heard the screen door open and close. Wade entered Zoe's bedroom to find her sitting in the middle of her pink princess bedspread shrieking like a banshee. She had her hands over her ears, shouting, "Make them stop talking to me. Make the voices stop." He sat beside her and placed his arm around her thin shoulders. "Honey, it's okay. It's Daddy." She continued shrieking. "Make them stop! Make them stop!" He glanced up to see Fawn standing in the doorway looking concerned. He shook his head, and said, "It may take some time for her to calm down." Suddenly, Ms. Woods said sharply, "Zoe, I'm going to make the voices stop!" Zoe paused in her shrieking. Fawn said with quiet authority, "Voices, I command you to stop, NOW!" Zoe studied Fawn and then said, "Okay, they stopped. Are you my new nanny? You're really pretty and so are your colors. I bet my daddy thinks you're pretty, too." Wade's mouth went slack, but not because of the "pretty" comment. He'd never seen Zoe stop yelling so abruptly. He looked back at Fawn and narrowed his eyes. Zoe jumped up, seemingly dismissing the two of them, and walked to her book shelves. Pulling out a book and sitting cross-legged on the floor, she started reading as if he and Fawn weren't in the room. Set up: Roth Beowolf is transporting Rainey Childress to Egypt for her protection. She's not happy about it! Roth moved his gaze from staring at emptiness outside the porthole of the jet, to Rainey seated across from him. She'd tilted her seat back and her head lolled to one side. Her deep breathing evidenced her exhaustion. He studied her face. In sleep, she looked young, innocent, and vulnerable; unlike the hellcat that had fought him earlier. He sighed and looked back out the porthole. The black night called to his animal instincts. To distract the desire of his body to shapeshift, he thought about their destination in Egypt. Located two hundred miles southwest of Cairo, the town of Bawiti in the oasis of Bahariya, made him quirk a smile. He remembered a previous assignment as a camel with a Bedouin tribe. He had been sent to make sure a young man named Tahnoon Kahlifa arrived for his nuptials. The Thirteen co-Princes believed the marriage of Tahnoon to a girl he had been espoused to since childhood, would prove favorable to the human condition. However, the young man didn’t want to marry, and when he’d attempted to turn his camel around, Roth had steadfastly stayed on the path. The tenacity of the camel had unnerved the young bridegroom so much so that he’d decided his marriage was the will of Allah. Later, Roth had learned from the co-Princes that the marriage had turned out well. He glanced at Rainey again, and then allowed himself to drift into sleep. A bank in the plane's direction roused him. He opened his eyes to a lovely pink glow rising in the eastern sky—and Rainey shooting arrows at him with her eyes. "Good morning to you, too, Sunshine." She looked away and stood. When she started to step into the aisle, he moved his leg to block her exit. She looked back at him and said acidly, "Do you think I’m going to commandeer the plane? I’m going to the bathroom." He moved his leg back. "I just wanted to hear your sweet voice," he chuckled. Rainey jerked past him and stalked down the aisle. The pilot spoke over the speaker. "We’ll begin our descent in fifteen minutes." Excerpt: Roth could feel Rainey’s head lolling against his back. Her hands had gone slack and he held both of them in one of his against his stomach to keep her upright on the camel. He’d actually felt bad about springing their caravan travel on her. However, she'd left him no other option. If he’d told her beforehand, he would have had a spitfire on his hands. Roth smiled. For all her primness in dress, she was definitely a fiery woman. When his thoughts turned to the implications of that, he quickly suppressed them. He would not allow free reign to his imagination with her tightly tucked against his body. They had been traveling for about two hours. Although hot, it was not dangerously so because of the spring season. Tahnoon halted his camel and their caravan began dismounting. When Roth’s camel bowed to the ground, the movement jarred Rainey awake. "Wh-what’s happening?" She clutched his waist again. "We’re stopping to drink and rest." He dismounted and reached to lift her. She didn't fight him. "Ouch," she said. He held her arms to steady her. She glared at him and jerked away. Her action sent her unstable body pitching backward. He caught her by the waist before she landed on her rear in the hot sand. The veil covering her face slipped and one eye peeked through. Reaching for the burqa, she jerked it off and said, "It’s hot as a frying pan out here!" She pushed his hands away from her waist and reached to lift the dress over her head. "Don’t," Roth warned, and grabbed her hands to stop her. "The dress is protection. And even though you’re wearing street clothes underneath, it would be vulgar to remove it in the midst of these men. I’ll give you some water to drink and bathe your face. Then put the burqa back on." Excerpt from Chapter Three As the magnitude of the moment solidified in their hearts, a hush fell over the Fairies-on-Assignment. Jazmine had never felt as proud as she did at that moment. Her dream of visiting the human realm and carrying out an assignment from Boss-at-the-Top had finally been realized. The only thing left to do was succeed. “I can do this,” she whispered. One by one, the Fairies-on-Assignment entered the raspberry portal. Jazmine was the last to enter. Turning for a last look at Teacher-Fairy, he winked at her. She nodded and flew into the unknown. Thank you for visiting Sample Sunday! To read more about this sweet romance, go to the books page. Set up: Psychic Mariel Dorian is pondering the voice she keeps hearing in her mind. After Mrs. Johnson left, I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, still pondering the vision and impression that had distracted me earlier. In less than two weeks, the same soul had contacted me five times. In my mind's eye, I envisioned the vague outline of a man. He appeared neither old nor young, nor had he transitioned to the other side. He remained in this dimension, crying out; or rather, his soul was crying out to me for help. That concerned me. Rarely, did the soul of a living person call for help separate from its body. My grandmother said she had encountered the phenomena only once. For me, this was a first. People came and asked me for help while still in their bodies. Apparently, this soul had partially detached from its physicality. I couldn't imagine where to begin looking for the owner of this confused soul, but one thing remained certain, its cry was becoming stronger. Available at: Amazon Barnes & Noble Smashwords Omnilit Amazon UK Set up for this scene: Spoiled heiress and scientist, Rainey Childress, is having a sleepless night.
Rainey punched her pillow yet again. She wanted to sleep, needed to sleep because of the workday ahead of her. She opened her eyes and sat up. Damn bodyguard. What was his name? Ross… Ron… Rat… Roth. Wolf… Beowolf. What the hell kind of name is that? She walked to her window and pulled the drapes aside. Shifting clouds played with an almost full moon. Eerie shadows waltzed across the grounds of her father’s estate. Unexpectedly, the clouds cleared and the moon shone brilliant. Rainey gasped when a huge bird swooped from the sky and soared past her window, its magnificent wings agilely directing its body. She watched the creature until it disappeared in the direction of the woods. I wish I could fly with you. Set up for this scene: Spoiled heiress and scientist, Rainey Childress, is in the women's tent at a Bedouin camp in the Sahara Desert. She's about to go on an adventure... not of her choosing.
Halima went to a corner of the tent and returned carrying a black dress and black face veil decorated with red cross-stitches. She said something to Rainey with gestures. Rainey gave her a look that conveyed her confusion. The two women closest to Rainey gently pulled her to her feet. They raised her hands and pulled the black dress over her head and clothing. Next, they placed the veil over her face. She peeked out the eye slits and laughed. Okay, I can play their dress-up game. Halima pointed to her own veil and said, "burqa." Rainey pointed to the veil she was wearing and repeated, "burqa." The women giggled and nodded their heads. Again, a man called from outside the tent, and Nadia motioned for Rainey to follow her. Rainey started to disrobe, but the women quickly stopped her, pushing her toward the tent flap. Confused, she walked outside. The women led her to an open area near some tethered camels. Several men standing near the camels began loosing them. The camels knelt in the sand. About half a dozen men climbed onto the backs of the camels. Rainey thought the sight very interesting. She looked for Roth. Scanning back and forth, her gaze stopped when it reached a tall, muscular Bedouin dressed in white layered robes and a white turban. Huh? The women guided her toward him. "Why are we dressed like Bedouins, Roth?" He ignored her and grabbed the reins of a camel. The other camels began to rise with Bedouins on their backs. Roth motioned her forward. She got that uneasy feeling again. "Rainey, we’re going on a little adventure." Rainey’s jaw dropped and her mouth hung open. But of course, no one could see her mouth because of her veil. She watched the camel kneel. She looked at the split saddle, apparently for two riders on the same camel. "No way," she whispered, feeling her breath bounce off the veil. Louder, she said, "There is absolutely no way I’m getting on that beast. I don’t know what kind of weird joke this is, but I am not, not, NOT, riding a camel to God knows where with you!" Her voice rose in volume until she was shouting. The camel nonchalantly watched her while chewing something. |
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