1st ExCeRpT: DENIED ORIGIN, on sale Friday 8/1

Here's the first of three teasers I will be posting between now and release day Friday from my sultry sinister suspense, DENIED ORIGIN!!!

Title: Denied Origin
Author: Amber Leigh Williams
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Imprint: Crimson
ISBN: 1-60154-276-3
Length: Rose (240 pages)

1st EXCERPT:

Her throat still burned when she fought through the waves of unconsciousness, but she was no longer cold or choking.

She was warm, wrapped in blankets. Her hand fisted in a rough-textured spread. She smelled soap and salt. When she turned her head and opened her eyes, she saw she was lying on a pillow. In a bed.

Warm. She sighed, stretching before opening her eyes. It was still dark, but she could see vaguely around the room. A single bed, a single chest of drawers, an entertainment center, a bathroom. To the right, there was a balcony door.

The figure of a man stood before it.

Her heart bolted into her throat at the sight of the silhouette. It isn’t Herve. She knew it when she ran her gaze over the strong, braced shoulders covered in a white T-shirt which he wore over jeans. He was tall, so tall. Well over six feet. His waist was trim, his build athletic, rangy. His hair was dark and long. It was just long enough to be secured in the small band at the nape of his neck. From her angle, she saw he had a strong nose and a full mouth.

He looked slightly angelic but dangerous all-the-same. She shivered and couldn’t decide if it was from fear or excitement.

She sat up. The sheets rustled and the mattress groaned. She saw him stiffen, brace. The quick reaction made her pause. She saw his hand rush to his belt and then fall away. As he turned to face her, her heart pounded in her ears.

When Mark saw her wide, brown eyes fixed on him, his pulse jolted. His toes itched to curl as her wondrous, skeptical expression fastened on his. His breath caught in his chest, squeezed off by his heart which swelled as he took her in again. Her hair fell in long, black curls halfway down the length of her back. She usually wore it straight, but it’d dried into careless curls. He liked it better that way. It fell around her oval-shaped face with its naturally-tanned skin, heart-shaped mouth, perfect nose, and dark, dark eyes.

Her eyes were the same color he remembered but deeper, more knowledgeable than before. Recognition didn’t flicker in them as she continued to take him in. Relief washed through him. He wasn’t quite ready for her to remember him. She’d been eight years to his thirteen when circumstances had parted their families and he and his mother had rushed off to live a new life with changed names and identities in the United States.

He’d never forgotten her face, though. He watched her shoulders tense as his eyes continued to roam thoughtfully over her face. His admiration for her doubled when he saw she didn’t eye him with fear but with curiosity and a bit of irresistible challenge. She found her voice at last and spoke.

“Who are you?”

He pocketed his hands and leaned casually back against the balcony door. She seemed to relax slightly at the unthreatening stance. “Mark Welles,” he replied. “Your rescuer. Twice.”

DENIED ORIGIN
Look for it Friday, August 1st at The Wild Rose Press (http://www.thewildrosepress.com/)!
For book trailers, reviews, and more info visit http://www.amberleighwilliams.com/