I borrowed Tyler’s
car and headed over to the address Asher had texted me the day before. It had
taken some pleading on my part. Apparently both Cam and Derek had spoken with
him about limiting my means to see Asher. Yet when I asked their concerns no
one would tell me. Tyler claimed he didn’t want to color my picture of Asher,
that perhaps he was changed or even different with me.
I pulled onto the
drive and typed to code to enter. Tyler was aware of where I had been going
tonight. He had everything from the address to the code to the gate. I’d even
let him active the tracker app on my phone. I had only been out with Asher a
handful of times, but that didn’t stop Tyler from big brothering me, which
actually didn’t bother me as much as it did when the others tried. Tyler did it
in a way that didn’t make me want to punch him in the face, but actual
appreciate his concern.
If I wasn’t jaded
from living in the house with the guys, I might have thought I was in over my
head when I saw Asher’s home. The place was like a small castle.
A nervous energy
buzzed through me when I noticed how dead the place was. I heard no birds
chirping, no bugs buzzing as I walked across the walk way to the front door.
I rang the bell that
sounded a classical melody. I smiled that even the doorbell was pretentious. A
few moments passed when the door creaked open revealing an older man.
“Can I help you?” he
asked eyeing me suspiciously.
“Is Asher in?” I
wondered if I had gone to the wrong house, but then I remember the code at the
gate worked and it was unlikely that I’d stumble upon a gate with the same
code.
“My master is not
expecting any visitors.”
“Oh? Um… I’m Evie. We
had plans to meet today. He even gave me the gate code to get in. Perhaps he
forgot?” I was going to suggest that he’d forgotten to tell this man, but I
didn’t want to offend the sentinel who could deny me entrance.
“Of course,” he
nodded politely gesturing me inside. “I will inform him of your arrival.”
Then the man vanished
faster than I thought a man of his age should. I walked from the foyer into the
large sitting room. I could hear voices coming from up the stairs. I did my
best not to ease drop. A door shut and then I heard the pounding of footsteps
coming down the stairs.
“Evie?”
I turned to see Asher
making his way towards me. He was clad in only pajama pants displaying the fine
details of his chiseled chest. My eyes ran over him appreciating true art. The
sleep pants hung off his hips. I could see the defined V that lead to a place I
wasn’t all that familiar with.
“What are you doing
here?” he asked looking confused.
“We had plans,” I
stated.
“No I think I would
have remembered that. We have plans for tomorrow.”
“We said Friday,” I
reminded.
“We did. Today is
Thursday.”
I pulled out my phone
looking at the date. “Shit,” I stated. “I’m sorry. I must have gotten my wires
crossed.”
“It’s fine,” he said
placing his hand on my back guiding me back towards the foyer. I realized he
was taking me to the door.
I stepped out of his
grasp turning to face him. “I’m getting the feeling you don’t want me here,
Asher. Why is that?”
He ran his palm over
the back of his neck. If I didn’t know better I would have thought he was
nervous. “It’s simply not a good time.”
“Asher?” a voice
called from upstairs. A female voice. Asher had the decency to look guilty.
“I see,” I smiled,
but it wasn’t exactly friendly. “I think you’re right this isn’t a good time.”
“Evie,” he called
after me as I exited his house. I thought he’d let me go, but he zoomed in
front of me with a supernatural speed. His hand was over his eyes trying to
block the remaining sun that was still setting. “It’s not what you think.”
“It’s not? So you’re
not fucking her?”
“Please don’t use
that language. It doesn’t sound right coming out of your innocent mouth.”
“Are you serious
right now? You’re screwing some girl and you want to talk to me about my
language.”
“Evie,” he sighed.
“Look, Asher. This
was my mistake. We got our wires crossed and you weren’t expecting me. I’m
going to go now.”
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “I
have a thing with the guys, unless I got my wires crossed on that too.”
“Please,” he pulled
me to him. “Tell me I will see you again?”
I let out a heavy
breath. I thought about what he was asking. Truth was I wasn’t mad about him
sleeping with someone as much as I was playing witness to it.
“We’re not exclusive,
Asher. Fuck who you want. God knows it could be a long while before you’re
getting it from me.”
“You’re saying I will
see you again?”
I nodded. “I just
need a few days and to never have your sex life flaunted in my face again.”
“Of course.” He tried
to lean in to kiss me but I pulled back.
“I’m sorry, but I
can’t. You were just with her…”
“Right. Of course.”
He opened the car door and helped me in. “Call me when you’re ready.”
“I will.”
I started the engine
and drove away. When I returned Tyler was standing outside like he was waiting
for me.
I rolled my eyes
believing he must have been tracking my phone.
“No overnight?” he
asked.
“Oh I’m sure he’s
having one,” I mumbled tossing the keys to Tyler.
“What?”
I explained to him
what had happened. The more I spoke the angrier he grew.
“I’ll kill him.”
“Hey,” I placed my
hand on his shoulder. “No, sir. It’s fine. Really?”
“The guy’s cheating
on you and it’s fine?”
“He’s not cheating.
We’ve never evaluated what we were and honestly, I’m not putting out so he
should get it somewhere.”
“Seriously?” Ty asked
not believing me. “After the way you walked in here the other night?”
I blushed remembering
it. “We kissed. A lot. But it never went any further. He tried. I stopped him
and he left it at that.”
“You’re going to
continue to see him?”
I shrugged. “I told
him I would, but I need to think on it. I don’t want to get in deep with him
just to discover that this is who he really is. And since none of my roommates
will spill…”
“Trust me. It has
nothing to do with his relationship and all to do with his situation with Cam.”
It seemed everything
in my life recently was coming back to Cam. I even attempted at finding someone
to take my mind off of him and that even led me back to him. The Horseman of
War was a plague on my mind. It seemed no matter what an asshole he was, I
couldn’t get him out of my head. I wondered if that said something about me.
What I a doormat that didn’t appreciate her value? Or was I a jewel that saw
the true Cam and knew what a treasure he truly was? One thing was sure. He
still had space in my head.
Awakened
The Horsemen Chronicles
Book One
D.C. Gambel
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Date of Publication: March 16, 2018
ISBN: 1981137491
ASIN: B079FRN2WQ
Number of pages: 391
Word Count: 96k
Tagline: My vulnerability, that’s kept me secluded from the world, is now the one thing that can save it.
Book Description:
Evie has lived most of her life as a recluse, terrified that she might hurt someone. On her twenty-first birthday she meets Derek who informs her there’s a reason behind her gifts.
As someone that had to spend her entire life avoiding human contact, learning the truth about her origins as one of the Four Horsemen was a hard pill to swallow. Especially once she realizes that her fellow Horsemen are the only people she’d ever met that can withstand her touch.
The struggle to overcome her seclusion becomes very real when Evie discovers an attraction has sprung up between herself and one of her fellow Horsemen. Nothing good can come from pursuing the allure, especially when she knows that it not only would jeopardize her team, but her heart as well.
Excerpt:
“Break it down
for us, Cam.”
“I met my
informant last night,” he said, leaning between the opening of the front seats.
I angled myself to face him so I could hear him better. “He claims that Axel
Reese, pack alpha of Summery, was contacted by Asmodeus.”
There was a
swirl of profanities, but I was clueless to why. So I asked.
“Asmodeus is one
of the seven princes of hell. He’s also the prince of lust. Apparently they
were rumored to have met the night the succubus attacked the fraternity party,”
Cam went on to explain.
“I’m sure that
was no coincidence,” Tyler muttered. “I thought the succubi broke off from
Asmodeus decades ago when he started demanding that they worship him as a god.”
“They did, but
with the seals being broken the demons of lust are returning to their master in
hopes he can protect them from the apocalypse. They don’t even realize that
he’ll use them a cannon fodder to save his ass. If Axel really did meet with
Asmodeus we need to be prepared for a shift in the packs loyalty.”
“Why not just go
to Asmodeus first?” Derek asked keeping his eyes forward.
“Axel would be a
lot easier to handle then walking in to Phoenix.”
“Phoenix?” I
asked.
“It’s a demon
club,” Tyler answered. “We don’t get the warmest reception. Asmodeus owns it.”
“Stole it is
more like it,” Derek chimed in. He glanced at me. Seeing the quizzical look he
elaborated. “It used to be a safe haven for the powers of good. Demons attacked
it as a distraction for whoever is breaking the seals. The club has been in
demon hands for almost three decades after two centuries of it being in the
hands of good. Only positive thing is the demons can’t put up their wards to
keep us out.”
“They’ve tried,”
Tyler announced.
“Yes they have,”
Cam agreed. All three men chuckled and I felt like I was being left out of the
joke.
“Hair of the
dog?” I asked when we pulled up outside the dive bar. “I thought you were
joking.”
Cam chuckled.
“They’re not the most creative bunch.” His hand found the small of my back as
we headed to the door. I could feel its warmth seeping though the fabric of my
shirt almost like it was melting it away until his skin touched mine. I shook
my head subtly clearing those thoughts. “You stay near one of us and we’ll make
sure no one touches you. What skin is exposed no one should be touching anyways
unless they’re looking for trouble.” The other two nodded in agreement.
About the Author:
D.C. Gambel is a mother, army wife, and a hopeless romantic. Romance has always been her genre of choice whether it’s contemporary, historical, paranormal, or even pushing towards erotica in both reading and writing. When she first decided to try her hand at writing, romance was the obvious choice. Getting lost in a different world, living unimaginable lives is something she strives for, even if it’s just a temporary enjoyment.
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Thank you for hosting me. I tried posting on the day of but for some reason my post didn’t go through
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