From the Author
I love creating character of every color. My characters come to me fully formed whether they are black or white. Love transcends race. Some of my romance novels are interracial stories. Most of my Plain Jane Series falls into that category. I hope you give all my love stories, contemporary and paranormal, a chance.
From the Inside Flap
Avery tossed back another vodka but still couldn't get a buzz. The hole inside him wouldn't fill. It had escalated over the past few hours, putting him dangerously back on the edge. Ever since he went down to his knees at RockGate, he'd been off his game. Tonight, at the factory proved it. The irrational rage consumed and confused him. And the claws. He glanced at his hand and flexed his fingers. He wanted to rip his shirt off and have a look at his back.
Everyone thought he'd tatted his back for his eighteenth birthday. The truth: the damn thing appeared as a dark spot on his shoulder and spread.
He never looked at it. Chose to believe it was a tattoo rather than the proof of his true nature or the harbinger of something more evil than the quimaera. Something he'd never been able to excise no matter how hard he tried. And he did try. Only his concentrated detachment honed from decades of self-control kept the violent impulse at bay.
For a multitude of reasons, he shouldn't have come here tonight, but staying at the mansion with Roman and his glowing eyes disturbed him. Made him want to leap across the distance separating them. Roman's perusal shredded his skin, flayed him like meat.
What an eff'd up thought. He lit a Cubano and inhaled slowly. His empty glass mocked him. Where the hell was the bar girl? These little shots weren't touching the area that needed numbing.
He looked down from their ringside seats high above the churning pit of bodies for the tie-dyed neon cherry redhead who served them. Not the person he really wanted to see. Her name teased his brain and in the flashing lights, he glimpsed the fine features of Emeline. He knew she'd be here. Memorized her schedule, hoped it hadn't changed. That's why he came, for another chance meeting. Not likely when he'd ingrained her work schedule into his brain.
A laugh competed with the liquor tumbling down his throat.
"What?" EJ stood next to him, studying the crowd.
Avery hadn't realized he'd left his chair to stand at the rail. His hand clutched the iron railing as he sensed his brother's concern.
"What do you see?" EJ asked.
Nothing he wanted to share.
"You...okay?" EJ mumbled close to Avery's ear. He needn't have whispered. A woman sitting at the next table had Quin's complete attention.
"Stop. Hovering. We cut the umbilical cord a long time ago," Avery snarled.
"Do you blame me? After all the shit tonight?" A grimace crossed EJ's face, which annoyed Avery even more. He didn't have the patience to deal with his brother's wounded self-esteem. He glanced back into the crowd, hoping Emeline was still in the same spot. In a tide of bodies, one drop of water resembled the next. Shit. His skin--not just his burn--shrink wrapped. He needed to leave, but EJ would chase him, all concerned and worried, demanding an explanation for everything, and Quin would follow.
Avery eased his death grip off the railing and noticed the crushed section beneath his fingers. What the--
Under his burned, tattooed skin, something slithered. His heart kicked into a driving beat, in tune with the throbbing bass from the speakers down below. His knees jellied, but he managed to slide his ass into his chair, aware that EJ's gaze hadn't left him. Though silent and with the woman now perched on his lap, Quin was dialed into the situation. His dark eyes dissected and assessed. There wasn't much Quin missed.
Wonderful. Just what Avery needed, another busybody in his business, intent on helping him.
Two more women from the table made their way over. Both blonds with lots of silicone: EJ's type. One touched Avery's shoulder and though a sweater and coat separated skin-to-skin contact, his flesh cringed.
He was out of here.
"Sorry to keep you gentlemen waiting." Their waitress had finally returned with a helper.
Emeline approached, holding a pitcher of beer in each hand. Avery sat back and faded into the shadows just as her gaze focused on the area where he lurked. She couldn't see him, but he could see enough of her in the skin-tight boy shorts, sheer pantyhose, and bandeau bra top that barely contained her generous breasts. God hadn't skimped on the mammary glands. He should thank Him but didn't appreciate the rest of the world having a view of her rack.
She's not yours, fool! Yet, tension gathered in his muscles...all of them.
Two weeks of staying in the shadows, watching her from afar, close yet not close enough. Nevermore was he tempted to break his personal rule. Abruptly, she turned and walked away. He almost rose to drag her back.
This wasn't normal. Not for him. He didn't like the weaker sex. No good experience had ever come from his dealings with them. They were petty and vain, and other than bedroom gymnastics, utterly useless. None had ever held his interest longer than it took to ejaculate. So why the obsession? Why couldn't he take his eyes off her as she maneuvered her way back to the bar? Why did she continue to stir his interest?
"EJ. Glad you made it." Zachary shook EJ's hand and nodded at Avery and Quin. "I got a favor to ask you."
Favor? Avery looked up from his drink at EJ's buddy from high school. They had paid for all the repairs to the club, including renovations and the expanded area where they were seated. Seemed only fair since they and Reign had destroyed everything inside. Now Zachary wanted more? Avery gritted his teeth as he waited for the request.
"I have a friend who needs protection." Zachary continued.
"We don't do personal protection." Avery leaned forward and picked up his beer. "But you knew that already." Zachary liked to push the envelope on his high school friendship with EJ.
"Besides, we have...family obligations. We're not taking on new clients." Quin added. Steel coated his smooth voice.
EJ grimaced. His usual expression. He had a bad habit of trying to please everyone. It was time to leave before his little brother opened his mouth and placed friendship ahead of family.
Avery didn't wait for the others to follow. He wasn't going back to RockGate and his patience had run out. His skin had shrunk to the size of a postage stamp, which had him twitching, eager for his fist to connect with flesh. The crowd parted as he made his way to the exit. Only a determined effort kept his gaze from straying toward her. He failed.
Just a glimpse to end the night. He searched for her tell-tale curls, hunger gnawing his insides when a glint of metal caught his eye in the mirror behind the bar.
He spotted a knife. Then the hand and slender wrist poised to strike. His gaze continued up the shapely arm, across a bare shoulder to Emeline's tight face. Avery barreled through the crowd, grabbed her hand, and placed his body between hers and the guy sitting at the bar.
The instant Avery touched her, the frayed dark core churning within him slowed, turned into something more deadly--desire. Her skin was soft, delicate, and so damn warm. Or was it him on fire from simply caressing what he'd craved for so long? She pushed against him, struggling to be free to continue her assault. The correct pressure on her wrist and the knife dropped from her hand.
Her head jerked up and her hostile gaze nailed him. Then widened with surprise. Luscious lips parted and she sucked in a sharp breath. She shivered. In fear of him? He wondered. Did she remember their first encounter or the hospital? She shouldn't remember him at all. He'd slipped up, let impulse control him, and break his cover. Not the first time with her. She was never supposed to see him, know of his presence. Yet here he stood, looming over her.
Her chest heaved, breasts jiggled, distracting him. "Why'd you stop me?" she said, yet didn't pull her hand away. Her voice, even in anger, was sultry, potent. A narcotic to his eardrums.
Avery tossed the knife in the bar sink. "Too many witnesses."
About the Author
Nobody's perfect, especially the characters Tmonique writes about in her Descendants of Ra and UnHallowed series. Flawed characters who reflect the emotional baggage we all carry interests her the most. She writes complicated stories for complicated people. Paranormal romances and fantasy novels are her favorite genre
Check out her Descendants of Ra series. Eternity, Everlasting, Evermore, Encore, and Forever, are the first five novels available now. Entwined, the sixth novel in the series will be coming soon. The first four novels in her UnHallowed series--Only The Fallen, Only One I Want and Only You, Only One I'll Have are available now. Also, a standalone UnHallowed novel, Only Tonight will be available soon.
Born in St. Thomas USVI, Tmonique Stephens grew up in The Bronx, New York one mile from Yankee Stadium. She loves SyFy, the History channels, and also Asian cuisine. But her heart and stomach longs for anything from the Caribbean. She'll read anything about fairies, demons, or angels. Her favorite authors are JR Ward, Gena Showalter, and Kresley Cole. She also enjoys Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Preston & Child.
At any given time, you can find her on Facebook and live tweeting her favorite shows, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.
