The
Sacrifice
The
Forbidden Series, Book
One
Samantha
Sommersby
ISBN: 978-1-945193-84-2
ASIN: B01N06ZLD4
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: All Romance eBooks
Date of Publication: 12/1/ 2016
Word Count: 64000
Cover Artist: Erin Dameron Hill
Book Description:
There's
a fine line between mysticism and madness. . . one they must cross to win.
London psychiatrist Wesley Atherton
is a man of science. He doesn't believe in love at first sight, but he’s
inexplicably drawn to a green-eyed American beauty he bumps into on the Tube.
Just his luck that Katherine, a fashion design intern, has an engagement ring
on her finger.
Wes knows a thing or two about
people, though. Instinct tells him there's something more than irresistible
temptation behind their attraction. She doesn't love her fiancé, he's sure of
it—now if only he can convince her they're meant to be together.
Surviving a deadly train wreck is
the first sign his intuition is spot on. The second: a psychic who warns them
the Reaper doesn't like to be cheated out of its quarry. The situation defies
all logic, but a string of strange and lethal events convinces Wes that he and
Katherine are living on borrowed time. Pitted in a battle against death itself,
Wes will do anything, make any sacrifice, to protect the woman he loves.
Excerpt
I felt myself
flying backward. It happened in the blink of an eye. One second I was on top of
the world, the next plunged into darkness, surrounded by the sounds of metal
scraping against metal, shattering glass and terrified screams—one of them my
own.
I felt myself
flying backward. It happened in the blink of an eye. One second I was on top of
the world, the next plunged into darkness, surrounded by the sounds of metal
scraping against metal, shattering glass and terrified screams—one of them my
own.
The railway car I
was on had jumped the tracks. It was skidding sideways, momentum causing it to
careen out of control. In the dim tunnel light I caught a glimpse of the
rapidly approaching wall. The car crashing into it sounded like an explosion.
Then, just as
suddenly as it had started, it ended. For a moment it seemed the earth stood
still. Silent. I was wedged on the floor between two seats, my left arm and
shoulder throbbing in pain. Using only my right arm, I reached for the seat in
front of me and pulled myself up to a standing position. Without a moment’s
hesitation, I reached into my pocket for my lighter and struck a flame.
The air was thick
with dust and debris that stung my eyes and filled my nose. I waved my hand in
front of my face in an attempt to clear it. Squinting into the darkness, I
called out for the woman who’d been in my arms just seconds earlier.
“Katherine?”
I spied her lying
on the floor; she appeared unconscious. On impact she’d been thrown clear
across the aisle. “Katherine!”
She didn’t
respond. I fell to my knees alongside her. Reaching out with a shaky hand, I
offered up a silent prayer before checking for a pulse. Thankfully, she still
had one and it was strong, steady.
I guided the light
over Katherine’s body, assessing her injuries. The butane burned and as seconds
ticked away, the outer casing of the silver lighter became increasingly hot.
Just as I noticed a tiny rivulet of blood seeping from her left ear, I dropped
it.
“Bugger!”
The blood
concerned me. The fact that she was unconscious concerned me even more. I
pushed down the rising feeling of panic, then methodically began to search the
area in front of me for the lighter. Within a few seconds I’d found it and was
able to illuminate her face.
“Katherine, love,
open your eyes.”
Still no response.
“Henry? Where are
you?”
It was the elderly
woman Katherine and I had been sitting across from just minutes ago. It had
been after midnight when we’d pulled out of the Mornington Crescent Tube
station. There were only five of us in the car, Katherine and me, the elderly
woman and her husband and a young man.
I stood and held
the light out behind me, in the direction where the young man had been. I heard
a cough and seconds later he emerged, stumbling down the aisle through the
rubble and awkwardly stepping over a section of twisted metal frame.
“Is she okay?”
I remembered
seeing the young man nursing a bottle in a paper bag as he boarded. He was
obviously pissed, unsteady on his feet.
“I’m trying to
find out. I need your help. Are you hurt?”
“No, I don’t think
so.”
“I’m Wes. What’s
your name?”
“Mark.”
“Mark, I need you
to help me. I’ve been injured.” I was suddenly acutely aware of the pain in my
left shoulder. “I need for you to do as I say. Do you have a set of keys?”
“Yeah.”
I handed him the
lighter, then leaned over and opened one of Katherine’s eyelids. “I’m a
doctor,” I explained. “Move the light up here, in front of her eyes.”
With some relief I
saw that Katherine’s pupils were dilated, and although they were non-focal,
they were still reactive to light.
I ran my hand over
her hair. “Stay with me now. We’ll get you out of here,” I assured her before
turning back to Mark.
“Remove her shoes.
We need to check her motor response. That’s it. Now, firmly run the key up the
length of her foot.”
For a second I
held my breath.
“Like this?”
Katherine’s foot
retracted.
“Thank God!” I
whispered. She’d clearly felt it.
“So she’s okay?”
“Not by a long
shot. But it could be worse. Much worse.”
“What’s wrong with
her?”
“Head injury.
She’s had a bleed, I think. We’ve got to get her to a hospital.”
“Somebody help me.
Henry?” It was the elderly woman again and she sounded short of breath.
I leaned down,
placed a gentle kiss on Katherine’s forehead, then whispered, “Wait for me,
love. I’ll be right back.”
My coat was
crumpled under one of the nearby orange seats and I reached for it.
“Help me get this
over her.”
“What’s wrong with
your arm?”
“It’s nothing.” I
climbed to my feet.
“Do you have a
signal?” I asked, pulling my own mobile out of my pocket.
“No. You?”
“No. Let’s check
on the others.”
Mark went first,
holding the lighter out in front to show the way. First we reached Henry. He’d
also been thrown across the carriage on impact, only his head had struck the
window and shattered the glass. The scene was gruesome. The lighter went out,
once again plunging us into darkness. I was almost grateful.
“Sorry,” Mark
apologized. He relit the flame, now holding the outside of the lighter with a
bandanna he’d retrieved from his pocket. “The casing’s hot.”
Mark turned his
head away from the dormant body. I couldn’t blame him. The man’s face was
covered with blood; his neck had been partially severed by a section of glass.
He was gone.
“Is he dead?”
“Dead?” The woman
began to franticly call out for her husband. “Henry? Henry!”
I quickly crossed
the aisle and crouched down next to her. “What’s your name, love?”
“Margaret.” She
was struggling for breath. “Where’s Henry?”
“Margaret, I’m a
doctor. I’m going to try to help you. Are you hurt?”
“My arm. And my
chest. It feels like something might have fallen on top of me. Where’s Henry?”
Her breaths were becoming more labored. “Henry!”
There was nothing
on top of her chest. I checked her pulse. “I want you to calm down for me now.
You’re heart’s beating like a humming bird. Do you have a heart condition? Do
you take any medicines?”
“He’s dead, isn’t
he?” Margaret looked me right in the eye. “Tell me!”
Before I could
respond, the old woman gasped in pain and clutched her chest.
“What’s going on?”
Mark sounded panicked. “Is she dead, too?”
Things were going
downhill fast. If we didn’t act quickly, we were going to lose her. I bent over
and placed my face next to Margaret’s.
“She’s not breathing
and I’ve lost her pulse.”
“Fuck!”
“Could be just a
heart attack, but she was struggling for breath earlier. Could be an injury to
the chest wall, or a collapsed lung, maybe an embolism. I’m a psychiatrist, for
Christ’s sake. It’s been years since I’ve done this sort of thing and my left
arm is useless! You’re gonna have to help.”
“Help do what?”
“Save her. Come
over and sit by me. Give me your hand. I’ll guide the chest compressions.”
Mark dropped the
lighter on the floor. “Damn it!”
“Leave it! Look,
we don’t have a lot of bloody time here. We need to open her airway. I want you
to place your hand under her neck to tilt her head back and then pinch her
nose, move her chin forward, and give her two breaths. Got it?”
There were a few
scattered lights lining the left wall of the tunnel. My eyes had begun to
adjust to the darkness and I could now see the outline of the woman.
“What if I do it
wrong?”
“Do it!”
He did, then I
leaned over the woman again to assess her breathing. Nothing. I reached for
Mark’s hand and placed it beneath mine on her chest.
“We’re going to do
chest compressions. Not too much force. Fifteen times. Ready? One, two, three,
four,” I counted. There was an audible crack. I felt Mark begin to pull back.
“I can’t do this.”
He sounded as if he were about to cry.
“It’s just a rib.
Not so much force. Keep going all the way to fifteen. That’s it. Now, breathe
twice!”
We continued the
cycle six times with no response.
“It’s not
working!”
He was right. For
the first time in ages I felt incompetent. I’d been of no more use to Margaret
than the pissed boy had been. I reached up and wiped the sweat from my brow.
“No, it’s not
working,” I admitted, realizing that I had to accept defeat and move on.
Katherine was still alive and she needed me, was depending on me.
“Now what?”
“Now we check on
my girl. We’ve got to get her out of here.”
I stood and made
my way back to Katherine, Mark following closely behind.
“Maybe we should
wait? Don’t the Tube rails have electrical current flowing through them?”
“We’ll be careful.
I made a promise to the lady. I intend to keep it.”
“Take a chance,
Katherine. You know I’m right. You know it. You can feel it, can’t you? You
won’t regret it, not for one bloody second,” I’d promised her, leaning down to
steal one more kiss, enticing her into wanting, into forgetting, into
surrendering.
The
Ascension
ISBN: 978-1-945193-85-9
Word Count: 60000
Book Description:
There’s
only one way to safeguard the future: fight free of the past.
Byron Renfield is a master of
climbing the social ladder. He’s successful, handsome, independently
wealthy...and a vampire. As a member of an elite group of immortals, the
Dominie, Byron’s spent centuries isolating himself from humanity in order to
pursue redemption. It’s a good plan...until Violet Deeds comes along.
Violet is beautiful, sexy,
outspoken...and human, which makes her completely off limits. His society’s
canon may forbid it, but Byron is rocked by a longing so intense that in one
impulsive act of passion, he claims Violet as his mate.
Irrevocably bound together, Byron
and Violet enter one another’s worlds, threatening the balance of society and
nature. He takes steps to protect them both from the Dominie’s inevitable
retribution, but it isn’t enough. Violet is hunted down and kidnapped. If Byron
wants a life—any life—with Violet, he must defy the very core of the Dominie
itself. And win.
The
Revolution
ISBN: 978-1-945193-86-6
Book Description:
Experience
the magic.
Twenty-five years ago, Dell
Renfield’s father started a revolution. Dell plans to finish it. Sorcerer, sexy
vampire, secret weapon, he’s spent his entire life training for what he
believes to be his fate. The one deterrent he isn’t equipped for? Special Agent
Alexandria Sanchez.
Alex is quick-witted, hot-tempered,
and strikingly beautiful. Normally focused on getting the job done, she’s
completely unprepared for her new partner and his mysterious ability to drive
her to distraction. Posing as lovers, Alex and Dell infiltrate a dangerous
culture where the macabre seems mundane and passion is power. Unable to deny
their attraction or resist temptation, they begin a journey, entering into a
torrid affair that will forever change their destiny.
An age-old secret, a consort held
hostage, a curse demanding to be broken, and an unforgettable battle with a
mercenary master mage will have you holding your breath. Let Samantha Sommersby
lead you into a world like no other, a world where vampires are real, where
magic is possible, and where love still conquers all.
The
Temptation
ISBN: 978-1-945193-87-3
Word Count: 50000
Book Description:
There’s
a fine line between man and beast…one only the heart can cross.
A year ago, Jacob Madison got more
than he bargained for during a rock-climbing trip to Yosemite. A freak accident
left him badly injured, at the mercy of the elements—and the wolves who rescued
him. If it hadn’t been for them, he’d be dead. He’d also still be human. Now
he’s back, hoping to find out who he is and what he’s become. Instead, he finds
smart, sexy Allison Connelly.
A forensic psychologist, Allison is
newly divorced and proudly standing on her own two feet…until an unexpected
storm shears off the snow bank she’s standing on. She plunges down an icy
ravine, thinking she’s heading for oblivion. Then she lands in the arms of a
tall, dark Texan. Jake.
Brought together by circumstance
and bound by passion, secrets from their past threaten their future before it
can begin. And somewhere in the mountains lurks a rogue were turned serial
killer. Whatever the danger Jake’s inner beast poses to Allison, there’s only
one way to protect her—unleash it. Even if it costs him her love.
Author Bio
Samantha Sommersby left what she
used to call her “real life” day job in 2007 to pursue writing full-time. Sam’s
background in the psychiatric field is apparent in her work and allows her to
bring a unique perspective to her characters and stories. She currently lives
in southern California with her husband, son, and cocker spaniel, Buck.
Her husband is a social worker who
works with abused children. He’s an avid sailor who loves to surf, and you’ll
find bits of him in every hero that Sam has ever written. Her son is
wonderfully sensitive, with a sarcastic sense of humor. He plays the piano,
composes his own music, is a competitive fencer, and worships video games. On
the rare occasion when Sam manages to set aside some play time for herself,
you’ll most likely find her reading a book, at the movies, or out wine tasting.
Although she’s written a variety of
genres, Sam happily spends most work days immersed in the world of the
Forbidden, a world where vampires, werewolves, and demons are real, where magic
is possible, and where love still conquers all.
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