This is the 2nd stop on my short blog tour, and I'm doing things a little differently this time. At each stop I post an entire scene. They're in chronological order, so if you follow the tour you can read the first two chapters free! Scene one and the entire blog tour schedule is on my website: http://www.ashlynchase.com
Quick recap:
Vampire Anthony Cross is surveying the burnt wreckage of his
bar when his aunt gets a psychic 911 and tells him that his former manager, the
lovely Claudia Fisher, is in trouble. He immediately calls Claudia and alarm
bells go off when she slurs sarcasm at him.
Nope, Claudia isn't herself at all, but nothing matters
since her job went up in smoke and Anthony is no longer the boss of her. Not
seeing him every day is worse than losing her income, because she's been
secretly in love with her mysterious boss for years.
Will there be a contest? Of course! Even that is a little different. One random commenter at each blog will win all three published books in the Flirting with Fangs series!
Scene 3 ~ Kissing with Fangs
Stepping out of his flashback, he found the street he’d been
looking for near Central Square and stopped to catch his breath—what there was
of it.
At the brick apartment building’s entrance, a few buzzers
showed names of tenants. He located the one for C. Fletcher and pressed it. No
answer. She wouldn’t have left because I said I was coming over, would she? He
leaned on the buzzer and didn’t take his finger off until Claudia’s voice
shouted, “Cut that out!”
“Claudia! It’s Anthony. Let me in.”
“I tol’ you not to come,” she slurred.
“Well, I’m here, and I’m not leaving until I see you.”
After a few tense seconds, a third-story window slid open.
When Anthony looked up, Claudia leaned out. “There. You’ve seen me. Now go
away.” She swayed and he was afraid she might fall out.
“Let me in, Claudia.” He was tempted to jump up to that high
window, but she didn’t know what he was.
It might scare her straight, but I couldn’t enter without
her permission, so I’d just wind up hanging off the side of the building and
that wouldn’t attract attention at all.
A young man stared as he walked by. Anthony couldn’t help
feeling a little stalker-ish, standing on her doorstep and begging to come in.
At last, Claudia let out a loud sigh and said, “Oh, all
right.” She slammed the window shut, and a few seconds later she buzzed him in.
Now what? Is a buzzer enough of an invitation when someone
doesn’t want you to enter? He opened the door and cautiously extended his foot
past the threshold. Whew. I guess it is. Either that, or Claudia really did
want to see him. He went with that assumption and genuinely hoped he was right.
Jogging up to the third floor, he wondered what he should
say to her. I miss you? I can’t believe I won’t see you every day?
She opened the door just a crack, but it was enough for him
to see her face. Her eyes were red, puffy, and ringed with smudged black
mascara. He never dreamed he’d see her like this. She always seemed so smartly
put together, but clearly she was falling apart.
“Claudia,” he said softly. “May I come in?”
She hesitated but eventually let out a deep breath and
opened the door. “Why not?”
It wasn’t much of an invitation but would have to suffice.
She didn’t look like she was going to welcome him with open arms.
“Thank you,” he said as he stepped into her living room. She
had always kept his office immaculate, so he was shocked to see her apartment
looking like a Tasmanian devil had torn it apart.
A pizza container, empty glasses, and paper plates littered
the coffee table and floor around it. Empty beer cans and liquor bottles were
strewn across the open kitchen counters. Pillows lay on the floor and sported
black stains.
“Have you been crying?”
She swiped at the smudges under her eyes. “No.”
“Don’t lie to me, Claudia. Have you been depressed ever
since the fire?”
She wandered over to her sofa and plopped down on it,
dropping her head into her hands. Anthony followed and sat beside her. When she
didn’t answer his question, he softened his approach.
Rubbing her back, he said, “Tell me what’s wrong, Claudia.
This can’t all be because the bar is gone. Even I don’t feel that bad about it,
and I owned the place.”
She chuckled.
It was a welcome sound. Maybe she still had her sense of
humor. If Anthony could get her to see things in a lighter way, he might be
able to save her. He picked up a beer bottle from the floor and set it on the
coffee table. “I see you decided to open your own bar.”
She raised her face and frowned at him. “I drink when I’m
upset. What of it?”
“I’m sure you know this, but alcohol won’t help. If
anything, it will make you even more depressed.”
She sighed and sagged against the colorful pillows. “I
missed the smell of Boston Uncommon. I know that’s nuts, but it’s the truth.
So, that’s why…” She made a sweeping gesture toward the well-stocked
kitchen-counter bar. Only then did he notice that all the bottles were open and
most were empty.
He doubted that was the only reason why, but now was not the
time to discuss a possible drinking problem. The thing was, he’d never smelled
alcohol on her at work. They shared an occasional brandy when they discussed
business before she left for the evening, but he’d never seen her have more
than one.
Claudia’s eyes shimmered with new tears, and she turned her
head away from him.
Anthony couldn’t refrain from touching her any more than he
could fly to the moon. He reached over and pulled her into his arms.
She leaned against him and sighed. Then she turned her face
into his shirt and inhaled deeply. If she knew I ran all the way here, she
might not want to do that. As it was, she seemed to melt into him.
“Claudia, Claudia, Claudia…what am I going to do with you?”
She leaned away from him and looked up into his eyes,
searching, yearning—but for what?
Could she have harbored feelings for me and hidden them so
well that I never recognized them? Well, why the hell not? He had done the same
thing around her for the last five years.
From the day she walked into his office to apply for a
waitressing job, he had felt the instant pull of attraction. If not for his
jealous ex-girlfriend, Ruxandra, showing up, he might have considered acting on
it. For Claudia’s safety, he had kept her at arm’s length. Now here she was
safe in his arms, feeling like she’d always belonged there.
Claudia’s blond highlights might not be natural, but they
made her hair shine like spun gold whenever she stepped under the lights of the
bar. He cherished the memory—especially now when it looked as if she hadn’t
brushed her shoulder-length bob in days.
She seemed to be fading fast. Her eyes fluttered closed, and
eventually her breathing took on the long, slow rhythm of sleep. She might have
passed out, but Anthony chose to believe she felt so safe in his arms that she
could finally relax and let go.
He vowed to hold her until just before dawn, if she didn’t
wake up before then. At that point, he’d have to leave. Otherwise, he would
appear to be the one who’d passed out cold…more like dead. He didn’t think she
could handle that in her fragile condition.
Comment to win:
Comment to win:
Happy Launch! It sounds like a fabulous book :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christy!
DeleteHe is hot, and totally my type. :) Just send him my way, Ash. :)
ReplyDeleteSure thing, Terry. As soon as I'm finished with him. (Don't hold your breath. LOL)
DeleteWhew! Maybe that's why winter is hanging on so long. We couldn't take that hot hero and the summer heat both! Congratulations on a new release! Love the excerpt, the idea for the blog tour and of course, THE COVER!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn! I hope the idea pans out. Theoretically, it should work out great. (crossing fingers)
DeleteCongrats on the new release! Great cover, great excerpt! Still wondering what it would be like to actually kiss a guy who has fangs...
ReplyDeleteLOL. Let's hope we never find out!
DeleteLove the excerpt! Congrats on the release.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shana!
DeleteWhat a fun idea! Congratulations on the new release! Off to follow along...
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Sherri!
DeleteCan't wait to read it :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
DeleteGreat excerpt. Can't wait to read this series.
ReplyDeletemythic021@gmail.com
Thanks!
DeleteFun excerpt! Wishing you all the best with your new release!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amanda!
DeleteSounds interesting
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Wonderful and fun excerpt. Makes my mouth water for more.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the release, Ash.
Thank you, Tamara!
Deletecongratulations Ashlyn! The excerpt is great.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLoved this series! I'm happy to hear there will be another book!
ReplyDeleteLove, love these books!! Can't wait to read Kissing With Fangs. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletemlawson17 at Hotmail dot com
Congrats on the release of Kissing with Fangs. It sounds like a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that this is a really good read. As usual Ashlyn writes with humor but she also tackles a very true to life problem. Very well done! I'm really looking forward to more :).
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to reading this. Loved the excerpt!
ReplyDeletemiztik_rose@yahoo.com
Congrats on the new release Ashlyn! This was one of my favorite scenes in the book. Heck they were all my favorite scenes :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the series and am very eager to read this one. Your books always make me smile and brighten a bad day.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on release.
fsteph55(at)yahoo(dot)com
Great scene; can't wait to read the book!
ReplyDeletejmcgaugh (at) semo (dot) edu