National Readers’ Choice Award Winner Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) faithfully watched weekend monster movie marathons while growing up, each week hoping that maybe this time the creature du jour would get the girl. But every week she was disappointed. So when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed that her characters would always have a happily ever after. And, thus, her love for paranormal romance was born.
And now... for the exclusive excerpt:
Excerpt
from Along Came a Spider (Transplanted
Tales #3) by Kate SeRine
Behind me, the door slammed shut,
startling a scream from me. I whirled around and grabbed the knob to pull the
door open, but it wouldn’t budge. I gripped it harder, my knuckles turning
white as I strained to turn the knob, but it was like someone was on the other
side, holding it shut. I rattled the door, trying to jerk it open. No go. My chest heaved with panicked
breaths as the walls in the tiny bathroom seemed to be closing in, slowly
squeezing the air out of the room.
Great—perfect
time to become claustrophobic.
“Let me out, damn it!” I yelled,
pounding on the door with my fist, trying desperately to keep it together, rein
in the fear and not let it take over. I had to keep calm, use my head. I let go
of the door and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Okay, okay, okay,” I
muttered. “There’s a logical explanation for all of this, Trish. There’s
nothing in here with you.”
In response, the lights began to
flicker, creating a strobe effect against the bright white tile. I spun around
and pressed my back to the door, my eyes searching the intermittent darkness. Well, shit, there went that theory. . . .
“Knock it the hell off!” I screamed.
“Leave me alone!”
The giggle came again, bouncing off the
walls, the sound distorted and disorienting. The sink faucet splurted to life,
spraying out water with such force it overflowed the sink to splatter the
mirror and rain down over the lip of the vanity and onto the floor. Then the
shower came on, the water so hot, steam began to fill the air almost
immediately. I turned back toward the door, fear making me pound on the door so
hard, I thought my hand would break. But I didn’t care—I just wanted out.
“Help me!” I shouted over the roaring
water, my feet now damp from the overflowing sink. “Someone help me! Please!”
As if on cue, the bathroom door exploded
inward, smacking me in the forehead and knocking me on my ass. I slid with the
force, nailing the back of my head on the toilet. For one terrifying, dizzying
moment, the world went black, but I forced myself to keep it together and
shakily managed to drag myself toward the open door. My apartment tilted
precariously, and my stomach lurched, but I forced down the rush of vomit and
grabbed the doorjamb, pulling myself to my feet.
The moment I was upright, the faucets abruptly
shut off and the strobe light ceased, plunging the bathroom into darkness. I
stumbled through the open doorway, shaking so violently I was barely able to
control my legs beneath me. As soon as I was through the door, I pressed my
back to the wall, my chest heaving. I gulped down the bile rising to my mouth
and was glad for the distraction of the burning sensation as it went back down.
I shook my head. Fuck this! I was
taking my cat and getting the hell out.
I pushed away from the wall and all the
lights I’d left on throughout the apartment blinked out at once, sending a
fresh shot of fear-infused adrenaline through my veins. “Oh, God,” I moaned,
dropping back against the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds,
steeling my nerves, praying like hell that I wouldn’t see someone standing in
front of me when I opened them again. I blew out a couple of quick breaths,
then forced my lids open, scanning the room at a quick glance as my eyes
adjusted to the darkness.
“Sasha,” I called, my voice little
more than a strained whisper as I continued to watch for any movement. “Sasha!” I heard her answering mew coming
from my bedroom and nearly wept.
I edged along the wall, creeping toward
my room, and heard a soft thud as Sasha jumped down from her usual perch on the
window seat, but she didn’t emerge as I expected. Then I heard her low growl
and glanced around frantically, wondering what she saw that I didn’t. A single
bead of sweat trickled down between my shoulder blades as if in slow motion,
ratcheting up the persistent niggling of dread creeping under my skin. “Sasha,
come here, baby!”
With a trembling hand, I pushed open the
bedroom door, wishing like hell that I had a gun or a baseball bat. Of course,
even as I wished it, I had a feeling neither weapon would’ve been much use
against the invisible creature who had invaded my home.
As the door swung open, I darted
inside and flipped on the light. Startled by my sudden movement, Sasha yowled
and bolted from the room, nearly scaring the shit out of me in the process.
“Damn it!” I cried as I stumbled backward, crashing into the door, the doorknob
jabbing me painfully in the kidney. “Shit!”
I winced at the pain and rushed back
through the doorway, only to stop dead in my tracks. The man standing in my living
room reached out and pulled the chain of my desk lamp, turning on the light. I
gasped at the sight of him. He’d ditched his fatigues and was now dressed in a
black turtleneck sweater and black slacks that hugged his athletic physique in
all the right places. For a split second I thought he might be a figment of my
imagination, but then he pegged me with that intense amber gaze of his, and I
knew he was real.
I was so shocked and relieved to see
Nicky, I didn’t even care why he was there. Without stopping to think, I rushed
to him, throwing my arms around his neck in a fierce hug, squeezing my eyes
shut to hold back the tears. After a brief hesitation, his arms came around me,
hugging me back, holding me as I clung to him.
“Hello, doll,” he whispered in my
ear, his voice so soft and soothing, I wanted to melt into him…
~~~
WOW! Thanks, Kate, for that teaser! Check out her buy links for Along Came a Spider (Transplanted Tales #3):
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/along-came-a-spider-kate-serine/1114865243?ean=9781601831217&itm=1&usri=kate+serine
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Kate's hosting a giveaway! Good luck!
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Connect with Kate:
Website: http://www.kateserine.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/kateserine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kateserine
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/kateserine
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Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo ~Marisa
