The following is a brief excerpt from early in the book, chapter 5 to be exact. Enjoy!
****************
Diana glanced down at her watch
again. 5:45. Ten minutes. They had to be in the air in ten minutes. She hugged
herself, unconsciously rocking back and forth again. The sun was a blazing
orange ball sitting right on the horizon.
Nora
abandoned her book. She had completely ignored their conversation to that point
which was weird because Nora always had something to say. Glassy-eyed, she
leaned across Jen and stared at the setting sun.
“He’s
waking up.”
Diana
went rigid as she felt a familiar vibration run through her. He was there
again, inside her head, returning as suddenly as he had left that morning, and
he was hungry. She felt it as if it were her own hunger.
Raphael’s first
thoughts were of her. Without her consent, her body responded. Her heart beat
harder, louder, her pulse pounding in her ears, calling to him, betraying her
to him.
She saw him
clearly, standing in the shadows of the warehouse doorway, waiting. The minute
the sun set, he would step across the threshold and into the night. He still wore
the same brilliant blue shirt, but he no longer looked disheveled. His thick
black hair was smoothly in place, and his oh-so-perfect face was clean and
unmarred.
He fixed his gaze
on her and smiled.
Soon, he whispered through her mind. We will be together soon.
He
knew where she was, and he was coming for her. The marks on her breast tingled
in anticipation.
“No,
no, no, no, no.”
Nora
seized her arm. “He won’t let you leave, Di. You belong to him now. You
willingly gave yourself to him.” Then she shrugged, “At least that’s how he
sees it.” With that, Nora returned to her novel.
Jen
alternated between them, confused. “What’s she talking about, Di? Nora?”
The
captain spoke over the intercom, “Ladies and gentleman we are second in line for
take-off. We should be in the air shortly. Flight attendants, prepare for
take-off.”
Diana
ignored Jen, focusing on the movement of the plane.
“Come on, come on.
Get this thing off the ground.”
Her heart pounded
so hard she thought it would burst through her chest.
The
orange glow faded as the sun inevitably disappeared below the horizon. Diana
checked her watch. 5:55 on the dot.
Raphael stepped
across the threshold.
“He’s
coming,” intoned Nora.
Jen
snapped, “Damn it, Nora! What’s the matter with you? This isn’t funny! Di’s scared
half out of her mind.”
Nora
continued reading as if she hadn’t heard. Jen shook her arm, and Nora looked up
with empty eyes.
“What’s
wrong with her, Di?”
But
Diana didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her heart had stopped.
Raphael strode
down the taxiway alongside the plane, the blue lights backlighting him with an
otherworldly glow. He was the most beautiful, frightening creature she had ever
seen. He glanced at Diana, smiled in acknowledgment, and turned his attention
intently toward the cockpit.
The
plane jerked, and Diana snapped her attention to the front of the cabin. A
flight attendant reached above her head for the cockpit phone. Diana strained
to hear. The concern in the flight attendant’s face was unmistakable. Something
was wrong.
Nora’s
voice was flat, “A mechanical malfunction requires the captain to return to the
terminal.”
“God,
Nora! What’s wrong with you?” Jen turned
to Diana, “Something’s seriously wrong with her.”
Diana didn’t
answer, so Jen followed Diana’s bleak stare.
“Oh. My. God! He’s on the runway. Di? He’s on the freaking
runway!”
Diana
ignored her. She was sure there was no real malfunction. Raphael controlled the
pilot. Diana visualized the captain and focused all her energy on him, willing him
to get the plane off the ground, but it was a futile effort. Whatever power Raphael
had transferred to her wasn’t nearly as strong as his own. The plane rolled to a
stop on the taxiway.
She frantically
scanned the cabin, pushing down the panic and thinking through her options. She
could create a disruption to distract the pilot from Raphael, but that would insure
they returned to the terminal to put her off the plane. Raphael was reading her
thoughts because without looking away from the cockpit, he nodded in response,
having already reached the same conclusion.
He was going to win. That arrogant bastard
was going to win.
She was trapped in
an airplane that wouldn’t leave the ground. He would be waiting at the gate for
her, and all the airport security in the world wouldn’t stop him. Again he
nodded smugly, eavesdropping on her panicked thoughts.
She clenched her
fists in frustration and pounded them on the window. “You son of a bitch! Leave
me alone!”
Pain shot through
her hand as her fingernails reopened the wound on her palm, and the answer came
to her. Inside the pain was a revelation.
She eyed Raphael,
still intently focused on the pilot, and smiled. She hoped the bastard was
still listening. She gouged her fingernail into the wound, causing blood to
stream down her arm. Raphael’s head whipped around, away from the cockpit, his
eyes locking on hers.
She had his
attention. Good. She put her bloody
hand against the window, allowing him to see it. She read the hunger in his
eyes, felt it thrumming through him.
She smiled seductively
and ran her tongue across the wound. Raphael staggered, tasting the blood as
she did. She lapped at it, teasing him, letting him watch, letting him taste.
His eyes were dark. They held that strange light she had seen the night before.
Diana met his powerful eyes and stared boldly. Then she put her hand to her
mouth and began to suck on the wound in a hard, slow, erotic rhythm.
His hunger became
her hunger. The warm blood trickled down her throat, and she wanted more. She tore
open the flesh of her palm, expanding the wound to her wrist, so the blood
flowed more freely. She felt no pain, only warmth. He was inside of her, and
she in him. The merging of their minds was sensual and intimate and awakened another
hunger. She closed her eyes, shutting out everything except the desire he had
conjured up inside of her.
Her eyes feasted
on his naked chest as his sapphire shirt fell open. She stroked muscles made of
steel and stone. She straddled him, riding him through their clothes. His hands
massaged her breasts, pinching her nipples through the lace of her bra. She
leaned into him, breathing him in, pressing herself down on his erection, driven
by need. He caressed her mind as well as her body, and when he bared his
gleaming white fangs, fully extended, she was not frightened. His fangs excited
her. He leaned over to kiss her, and her heart fluttered in anticipation.
Abruptly and
painfully, she returned to her window seat. Nora leaned across Jen, grabbing
Diana’s arm, trying to pull her wrist out of her mouth. Diana was momentarily
disoriented. The scene in the limo replaying itself had been so real. Her body
still quivered from Raphael’s touch. She still breathed his rich, masculine scent.
For the few moments they were connected, reality had shifted.
She took a long
breath to clear her head. Diana couldn’t let Nora break her hold on Raphael.
She barked at Jen
through her wrist, “Stop her, Jen.”
Jen gaped at
Diana, horrified, but something in Diana’s eyes told her Nora was the bigger
problem. Jen struggled to pull Nora off, and succeeded to some degree.
The plane was
rolling again, making the turn from the taxiway to the runway. Diana’s heart
stuttered at her last glimpse of Raphael, bathed in blood. She blinked and saw
only the red glow of the runway landing lights. Then she lost sight of him.
Jen struggled with
Nora. Raphael’s trance broke the same moment as Diana’s, and he fought to regain
control of the captain. She sucked on her wrist, in his head as much as he was
in hers. She felt his frustration and his desperate struggle to control the
situation. Compelling an airline pilot to act contrary to his training and the
safety of his passengers took tremendous focus. Diana’s distraction was enough.
The engines
screamed as the plane lurched, picked up speed, and raced down the runway. Diana’s
stomach churned. Raphael was angry. His rage burst through her brain like
fireworks, like an airplane skidding off the runway in a ball of fire. She had
overplayed her hand. He would stop her at any cost. She braced for impact, but
the plane continued on its course.
The blood still flowed
from her wrist, making her gag. What had been erotic was now just gross. When
she felt the plane’s wheels leave the ground and its nose aim skyward, she
dropped her arm limply into her lap. She panted, and sweat soaked the back of
her shirt.
Nora quit fighting
Jen. She pulled a bright green scarf out of her hair and handed it to Diana. She
had bought it the day before in a trendy little SoHo
shop. Diana pulled the scarf tight around her wrist. The bleeding stopped, but
she was a mess. The couple across the aisle stared open-mouthed at the three of
them.
************
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