THE TOUCHED by Jennifer Weiser
Series: The Descendants # 1
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
- SYNOPSIS -
The first sixteen years of Arabella Penthallow’s life have been a lie…
In a world where deception is the key to survival, Ara has kept up the charade of being a perfect Legion Leader’s daughter. But a darkness stirs, and she discovers she is Touched, a mortal gifted by the Gods. The Touched are as rare as they are feared, and Ara is forced to leave Union City for neighboring Midnight City to protect herself and those she loves, leaving Tove Thorn, the boy who has always known her heart, behind.
Carter Decker has vowed to burn Union City to the ground…
Midnight City’s cocky, infamous bad boy always gets what he wants, and he wants Union City to pay for burning his mother alive because she was Touched. When Carter meets Ara, she is everything he’s been taught to hate. Then he learns she is Touched—just like him—he isn’t sure who he hates more…the Touched girl whose father killed his mother, or himself for being tempted by someone he’s sworn to kill.
They are told they’re fated to be soul mates…and they each wish the other never existed.
When Midnight City is attacked by Union City, Carter and Arabella will do the unthinkable…even if it means falling for the enemy. The truth lies in Arabella’s home nation, and Tove is waiting. Soul mates or not, he has an advantage Carter doesn’t, fated souls be damned.
War is coming…and Ara is the prize.
- PURCHASE -
- EXCERPT -
ARABELLA —
“I’m not lying.”
Carter’s lips pull into a small smile. My heart flutters wildly in my chest with the sight of it. I want to loath myself for the feelings he’s causing. The confusion that has begun to occur. This isn’t Carter or me. We can’t stand one another, yet I can’t help the way my mind has sometimes wandered in the last few days, playing curious images of him pulling me close, his lips becoming lost on mine.
“You are,” Carter says, closing the gap I opened between us. The tips of his black boots touch my own. “You can’t lie to me. Or to anyone in this room for that matter. I know what you’re feeling.”
“You don’t know a thing about me or what I may be feeling.”
Carter snorts and shakes his head, his hair falling lazily over his forehead. He drops his head, moving within inches of my lips. I inhale sharply, the corset constricting. Damn him. I keep my eyes locked with his, refusing to look away. Too many emotions course through my body and I can’t decide which ones overrule the rest.
Carter licks his lips, jumpstarting my pulse. “I do, princess,” Carter whispers, “everyone does.”
“No…no they don’t.”
Carter purses his lips, his eyes smoldering slightly. “Oh, little Arabella, they do. Your emotions are staining this entire room. I can feel everything you feel for me. Taste every last one.”
I suck in a deep breath, pushing back from him.
Carter smiles darkly. “The one that tastes the most appealing is that white-hot lust you have coursing through you.”
For weeks Rob has been pushing me to block my emotions from the rest. To harness them in, keep them hidden. I have succeeded in some accounts, but when Carter is around, the defense that I’ve built comes crashing down. Which infuriates me.
Carter winks as he takes in my expressions and what I can only gauge as new emotions that rage inside me. “Though I have to say, the revulsion is a nice change for me. I’ve never had a taste of that one.”
“I can intensify it, if you want.”
“I want a lot from you, princess, but I think we both can agree that you would much rather have me feel and taste your lust.” Slowly he pushes his body against mine as he leans in close to my ear. Never in my life have I wanted to throttle someone as much as I do Carter. But that’s not all I would do if given the chance. He drives me crazy, in more ways than I want him to know. “I promise to be gentle,” he whispers.
The warmth of his breath against my ear has the pit of my stomach coiling tightly. My body tensing. Carter pulls himself from me. The scent of sweet spices I can’t place and lavender fill my nose. It’s distracting and enticing. I desperately want to wrap myself around him, feel his hands touch every inch of my skin, taste his lips. I swallow pitifully as my lips begin to ache with desire. Temptation can be cruel.
Cruel. In an instant, I remember his comments and the smugness that was laced in his tone. Carter doesn’t want me because he is attracted to me, he only wishes to prove his point. My jaw clenches. Instantly, I want to break his own. Carter takes a cocky step back, winking at me once more.
“All in due time,” he promises as he spins on his heels and crosses the training room, slamming the door behind him.
I’m not sure what he means. That in time I will come to him like every other girl has, or in time I will finally wipe that grin right off his face.
- EXCERPT -
CARTER —
I can’t help the way my eyes take inventory of her. I can’t stop staring at her, almost as if I need to memorize every inch of her, as if looking away from her soft, raven-black curls, emerald-green eyes, and dark, blood-red stained lips will physically kill me. My tongue flicks over my own dry lips and I find myself wondering if hers taste like cherries. Or apples. That’s what that red of hers reminds me of.
The sky-blue corset she wears over an ivory lace shirt fits tightly around her slender curves. My hands itch to touch her. To reach out and run my hands through her hair. She’s too beautiful to be real, yet here she is. In front of me. She holds no smile toward me. No outreached hand to shake my own as Father introduces her. Her eyes narrow as she continues to stare intently at me.
Her arms cross tightly across her chest, clearly unimpressed by what she sees.
You hate her. Balling my fists at my side, I try to rein in the way she has begun to unnerve me. The way I want to run my hands down her, to watch her close her eyes and whisper my name. Chills race down my spine. My body is responding to her in ways I’ve never responded to any chick before.
Father stands with pride as he nods toward me, waiting for me to welcome Rob’s new recruit. But I don’t. I stare just as hard at her as she does at me, finally feeling the narrow of my eyes. Why the hell do I want her? Why the hell am I feeling anything for her?
Father frowns when I don’t offer my hand to her. “Arabella will be staying with us for the next few months,” Father says. But what he leaves out is, “She’ll be staying indefinitely when you realize that she’s your fated, Carter.”
But she won’t. I’ll see to that. I may like her appearance, and her body might cause me to think and feel things, but it doesn’t change the fact that I vowed to make and keep her and Union City as my enemy. I will end her. Make no mistake about that. She will burn for the crimes her father committed against my mother.
— ABOUT THE AUTHOR —
JENNIFER WEISER
Jennifer Weiser is a young adult author who has always been a book nerd and a bit chocolate obsessed. Writing has always been a favorite escape, but quickly became a passion not long after the birth of her daughter. When she isn't combing the shelves of her local book stores or blogging about newest book obsessions, you can find her nestled in her nook creating worlds she hopes that one day will inspire her daughter, who not only has given her the courage to follow her dreams--but offers the inspirations that help color their worlds together.
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/JenniferWeiser
WEBSITE: http://www.jenniferweiser.com/
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/skittle01x/
