BOOK EXCERPT: #1 - TO THE RESCUE - PG13

Here's an excerpt from one of my romantic suspense books. This opening scene is a bit tame, but the book takes several hot turns.

Blurb:

Threats from an escaped murderer send novelist Amy Bartlett into the protective custody—and sexy arms—of Deputy Marshal Jacob Kissman. Seducing a witness is against the rules, but Jacob falls hard for Amy. And he knows she won't be a witness forever. But Amy is wary of being caught up in a female rescue fantasy. Safeguarding her at his secluded family ranch, can Jacob make her his before the killer closes in?

Excerpt:

Amy pushed through the crowd of gyrating twenty-something dancers, desperate to reach the club's exit. Ford had seen her. He'd followed her inside and he meant to kill her.

But the costumed crowd, the strobe lights and smoke-filled air of the Mardi Gras Boogie Club disoriented her. Where was the damn door?

Suddenly something heavy cloaked her shoulders and a man blocked her path. Startled, she stared up at the stranger. Her heart tripped. Was he a stranger?

Whisky-brown eyes caught the pulsing reflection of a nearby strobe light as he leaned close to her. Fear locked Amy's throat as he gripped a handful of the jacket he'd settled over her shoulders and tugged her into the shadow of the circular staircase leading up to the balcony lounge.

"My name is Jacob Kissman, Ms. Bartlett," he said, his voice deep enough, his mouth close enough, to carry over the loud music. His lips curled into a naturally sexy grin as he slapped a floppy feathered hat on her head. "I'm a United States Deputy Marshal and I'm here to protect you."

Something about this stranger's handsome face nagged at her memory but Amy couldn't quite catch it. And his words—

"MacKay is heading toward my position at the staircase." The man looked beyond her as he spoke into a slender headset hooked over his right ear. "I've got Ms. Bartlett. Move in."

Before Amy's fear could give way to relief that a lawman had come to her aid, his warm eyes focused on her lips. He gave a little shrug. "All in the line of duty," he said and then he pressed his mouth to hers.

The throbbing music, the pulsating lights, the taste of sweet coffee and man…sensations overwhelmed her. They smothered the fear that had plagued her since she'd seen her ex-boyfriend, Ford MacKay, murder his accountant two months ago.

It was all too much. Out of a sense of self-preservation, Amy focused on the one thing that could possibly ground her. The kiss.

Teri Thackston
www.terithackston.com
http://www.cerridwenpress.com/AuthorsBooks.asp?AuthorCode=TTha