by Donna Del Oro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: romantic
suspense w/ESP elements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What if you could read minds with just a
touch? Would you be able to trust anyone?
Athena Butler, the twenty-year-old
descendant of an ancient bloodline of psychics, yearns to lead a normal life.
She wants a career, a boyfriend, independence. Her clairvoyant gift, however,
has taught her that people can be false and dangerous. Although warned to keep
her powers a secret, she's recruited by law enforcement to help search for a
serial killer and uncover a terrorist cell.
She bonds with an intriguing, handsome man,
Kas Skoros, who knows her secret and accepts it. Of the same bloodline, his
mother is precognitive and predicts that they are meant to be together…some
day. Kas, military veteran and Search and Rescue deputy, is skeptical and
cynical-- life is too uncertain--but can't resist exploring his passion for
Athena. Yet there are obstacles beyond their control.
Can Kas overcome these obstacles? Can
Athena stay alive long enough to fulfill her dream?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Got it.” She slowly mounted, excitement
and fear surging through her. He counter-balanced her weight while she settled
in back and clasped her arms around his waist.
“What did you think of your portrait?”
She’d given the painting to his parents the night before and they’d hung it
over the fireplace mantel after much ado.
He was silent as he backed up the Jet Ski
and maneuvered a turnaround as he pointed the bow towards the open water.
Before taking off across the lake, he worked the throttle a bit to juice up the
engine. Then he turned his head to look at her.
His guard was down. No stone wall this time.
“I liked it. You captured a side of me that
I forgot was even there. I looked young, idealistic. I’d forgotten I was like
that once. You’ve got a lot of talent, Athena.”
She’s a girl but looks like a woman. What
would it be like to make love to her? She could even be the one Mom has
foreseen in my future, or maybe not…don’t even go there, just Mom’s fantasy
dream, wants me to settle down…Never mind, it’s all nonsense, even though it’s
superstitious of me to refuse to ride in a car with Alex, my own brother…just
bullshit the way Mom manipulates us… Might as well not tempt fate, she tells
us…she’s right most of the time… Fate? Is this pretty girl my fate? Hell if I
know…this girl, Athena, she’s like a magnet, no doubt she has a powerful pull
on me… I’ve got such a hard-on for her…oh well, the cold water will take care
of that soon enough… I’m a big boy, I can resist her if I want to…
Do I want to?
His thoughts and feelings revealed so much
more than what he said. Now she knew he liked her. Very much. As much as she
liked him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donna Del Oro lives in Northern California
with her husband and three cats. She taught high school and community college
English classes for 30+ years and is now happily retired. When not writing
novels or reading voraciously, she travels and sings with the medal winning
Sacramento Valley Chorus.
Donna is a member of Capitol Crimes, the
Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime in addition to the Valleyrose chapter of
the RWA. She has judged RITA entries and does developmental editing on the
side. Two of her novels, Operation Familia and Born To Sing, have won national
and international awards.
Follow clairvoyant artist Athena Butler in
the next book in The Delphi Bloodline series: ATHENA’S QUEST.
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