Night Stalker (Cities Below #6)
Sneak peek at book 6 in progress...
The woman took hold of his left arm and pulled it away from his body, methodically sliding her fingers over his ribs, beginning at his sternum and sweeping down his side. Jake groaned as she prodded a particularly painful area. Once she moved off that spot, it took him a few moments to catch his breath.
Moving his arm hurt, breathing hurt, and from the way she was inspecting his ribs, she must suspect the same thing. Bone damage. To what extent, he didn’t know, but this was not the first time he’d come out of a fight a little battered. That’s just what happens when you take on big guys.
“What’s your name,” he demanded, trying as best he could to ease away from her searching fingers.
“Why would you want my name?” she asked innocently, her fingers suddenly pushing more firmly along his lower ribs.
“Ah, Christ!” Jake barked out, then gritted his teeth as a second jolt barreled through him from his shout. Damn, that hurt! He glared at her, seething with anger and frustration. He’d never raised his voice to a woman, never let his anger loose on their gentle gender, but this one…
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said, a tiny smile curving her lips. Smiling? What the hell did she find so funny?
Jake opened his mouth, but before he could get a single syllable out, she pushed down on another rib with a single finger. Absolute agony shot through him, seizing his breath, making his muscles spasm. Jake struggled to control his breathing, along with any other physical reactions that might jar his ribs further.
Several moments after she'd stopped poking at him, he recovered control. Jake glared at her, teeth clenched together, and he struggled to regulate his voice, but it still came out as a low growl, “Can’t curse your name...without your name!”
“Dulcina,” she finally gave it up, and then she laughed. Outright laughed. It was a sweet, feminine sound that severely contradicted the torturous creature he now knew her to be. Even her short, black curls bounced happily around her face.
“Startin’ to hate you,” he mumbled. He had to pause to draw in another breath, but then added, “Dulcina.”
“Hate? Be grateful I got to you in time.” Dulcina stood and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up mid-chest, then tucked him in awkwardly. “Nothing’s broken. Maybe a couple fractures to match that knot on your head and your bruised face. You’ll live.”
Dulcina got up and crossed the room. She didn’t ask if he needed anything, or if she could help with the pain. No false comfort. The woman defined no-nonsense.
Biting back his frustration, he said to her, “Ribs need wrapped.”
“Is that what your people do?” she asked with a strange amount of amusement in her voice. “Wrapping is useless. Even for a human.”
“Nah...not about medical. I know me. If I don’t...wrap them, I’ll forget I’m all busted up...and do something stupid,” Jake said, squeezing his eyes shut, taking another moment to recover.
She shrugged, bringing over a bottle of water with a straw, and holding out two pills in her hand. “Maybe later. When I’m in the mood to torture you again.”
Jake studied the sound of her voice, her facial expression, anything to pan out if she was joking or not. He couldn't tell. Dutifully, he took the pills, swallowing them quickly, eager for anything that would shut down the searing waves of agony. Letting go of consciousness for a while sounded like a real good plan.
by Jen Colly
October 11th 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: 10/11/2022
ISBN:9798201144319
Number of pages: 300
Word Count: 97,000
Cover Artist: Ryan Imbrock
Prepared to die…fighting to live.
Savard was in a mood to die, but when a human insists on saving his life, death is no longer an immediate option. He knew of no species – human, vampire, or demon – that could see him while in his invisible Spirit form. Unique to this world, this woman’s singularity was a danger to the entire vampire race.
Waking behind bars in an underground vampire city was not how Sera envisioned her night drive ending. She has come to expect nothing from those who pass through her life, but this man, dying on the side of the road, proves to be different. Savard fights to free her from tyrannical vampire laws and to hide her unique abilities. What Sera doesn’t understand, is why he would fight his growing love for her.
Savard’s haunted past threatens to tear them apart. Soon, Sera discovers just how far her guardian is willing to go, and what he’s willing to do, to keep her safe.
Book 1
Excerpt
Savard watched her delicate jaw drop at the sight of his fangs. Never in his long life had he shown a human what kind of creature lurked behind the visage of a man. He waited for her scream, expected her terrified flight or even a fainting spell. Instead of acting like a normal human, she just sat there, taking it all in, processing, and then out of the blue, the minx slugged him in the shoulder.
He groaned, not so much from her punch, but from stabilizing his core muscles to keep his body upright. Through gritted teeth, Savard asked, “What the hell was that for?”
“Give it a guess,” she huffed, not frightened, and certainly not shying away. “You can speak. Just say what you are. You didn’t need to threaten me with the pointy teeth.”
“Wasn’t a threat…won’t bite,” he mumbled. He knew he was behaving poorly, but his body ached, his hunger beat a heavy cadence against his tongue, and this woman had ruined his plans for a quick death.
His eyelids drifted shut, his head tilted back against the cushion. He was getting worse. The pain was there, but not exactly excruciating, making it easier to speak. His body was numbing out, going cold on the inside. Sensation was slipping away, along with life.
“If you’re what I think you are, then…” her soft voice trailed off, as if redirecting her question.
“What can I do? Be honest.”
“Nothing you’d be willing to do,” Savard said, cracking one eye open to observe her reaction, and when she shifted closer, he suddenly realized she still held his hand. In fact, her grip had never wavered. Even after he’d bared his fangs.
“Like letting you bite me? How can you be sure I wouldn’t?”
“I’m not asking.”
“But if it would help you…” Her delicate eyebrows scrunched together, and she asked in earnest,
“Would it help you? And would it hurt?”
His lips twitched, the beginnings of a smile that never fully formed. For some reason, he found explaining the nuances of a vampire’s bite to this innocent human amusing. “Blood heals. A bite is more pleasure than pain.”
“I wouldn’t turn into a…”
“No.”
“When you bite someone…” Her voice was hesitant, the first subtle hint of trepidation he’d found in her. “Do they die?”
“No. Life is precious,” he said quietly.
Deafening silence surrounded him and he closed his eyes again, the calm lulling him. Several minutes passed, or perhaps more, and then he unexpectedly caught her scent. The soft, delicate flesh of this woman had a scent all its own, and he opened his eyes to see her leaning close to him, her hand pulling that fluffy white-blonde mass of randomly braided hair away from her neck. Savard growled, closing his eyes against the temptation, and turned away from her.
“Why not?” she asked, her steady voice sending shivers through his battered body.
Teeth clenched, he said, “You should have left me there.”
Savard watched her delicate jaw drop at the sight of his fangs. Never in his long life had he shown a human what kind of creature lurked behind the visage of a man. He waited for her scream, expected her terrified flight or even a fainting spell. Instead of acting like a normal human, she just sat there, taking it all in, processing, and then out of the blue, the minx slugged him in the shoulder.
He groaned, not so much from her punch, but from stabilizing his core muscles to keep his body upright. Through gritted teeth, Savard asked, “What the hell was that for?”
“Give it a guess,” she huffed, not frightened, and certainly not shying away. “You can speak. Just say what you are. You didn’t need to threaten me with the pointy teeth.”
“Wasn’t a threat…won’t bite,” he mumbled. He knew he was behaving poorly, but his body ached, his hunger beat a heavy cadence against his tongue, and this woman had ruined his plans for a quick death.
His eyelids drifted shut, his head tilted back against the cushion. He was getting worse. The pain was there, but not exactly excruciating, making it easier to speak. His body was numbing out, going cold on the inside. Sensation was slipping away, along with life.
“If you’re what I think you are, then…” her soft voice trailed off, as if redirecting her question.
“What can I do? Be honest.”
“Nothing you’d be willing to do,” Savard said, cracking one eye open to observe her reaction, and when she shifted closer, he suddenly realized she still held his hand. In fact, her grip had never wavered. Even after he’d bared his fangs.
“Like letting you bite me? How can you be sure I wouldn’t?”
“I’m not asking.”
“But if it would help you…” Her delicate eyebrows scrunched together, and she asked in earnest,
“Would it help you? And would it hurt?”
His lips twitched, the beginnings of a smile that never fully formed. For some reason, he found explaining the nuances of a vampire’s bite to this innocent human amusing. “Blood heals. A bite is more pleasure than pain.”
“I wouldn’t turn into a…”
“No.”
“When you bite someone…” Her voice was hesitant, the first subtle hint of trepidation he’d found in her. “Do they die?”
“No. Life is precious,” he said quietly.
Deafening silence surrounded him and he closed his eyes again, the calm lulling him. Several minutes passed, or perhaps more, and then he unexpectedly caught her scent. The soft, delicate flesh of this woman had a scent all its own, and he opened his eyes to see her leaning close to him, her hand pulling that fluffy white-blonde mass of randomly braided hair away from her neck. Savard growled, closing his eyes against the temptation, and turned away from her.
“Why not?” she asked, her steady voice sending shivers through his battered body.
Teeth clenched, he said, “You should have left me there.”
Jen Colly is the rare case of an author who rebelled against reading assignments throughout her school years. Now she prefers reading books in a series, which has led her to writing her first paranormal romance series: The Cities Below. She will write about anything that catches her fancy, though truth be told, her weaknesses are pirates and vampires.
She lives in Ohio with her supportive husband, two kids, one big fluffy dog, and four rescued cats.
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Savard's haunted past threatens to tear them apart, and Sera discovers just how far her guardian is willing to go, and what he's willing to do, to keep her safe. #citiesbelow #theguardian #paranormalromance #vampire
Savard's haunted past threatens to tear them apart, and Sera discovers just how far her guardian is willing to go, and what he's willing to do, to keep her safe. #citiesbelow #theguardian #paranormalromance #vampire
