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SENSUALITY: Spicy Cover art (c) Jenny Dixon 2006
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A storm is brewing in the desert outside Las Vegas, Nevada. A loud clap of thunder rumbles nearby and lightening streaks across dark clouds. A stream of raindrops slide down the window as a man sits in his car and waits. He is on a desperate mission. His daughter Katlin may have inherited his mental gifts, which means she will be forced to join the organization. He vows to keep both his children from the dark world that entangles his life and his future. Ten years later, a car bomb hurls Katlin Campbell into a world of chaos. She is forced to go on the run, her head filled with dangerous information passed onto her by a dying man. Her only chance of survival--Ryker Duncan, a retired bodyguard. A man interested only in keeping her alive long enough to find a way to retrieve and sell the information in her head to the highest bidder. Only Ryker can't seem to keep his hands off her.... Rating: Contains violence, adult language, and explicit sexual content. |
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EYE OF THE STORM By Samantha Storm
Cover art by Jenny Dixon, © copyright July 2006 ISBN 1-58608-928-5 New Concepts Publishing Lake Park, GA 31636 www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Chapter One Las Vegas, Nevada October, 14th 2002
Her thirteen-year-old brother, Colin, lay on the ground, blood pouring from his nose. The first assault from the schoolyard bully had been unexpected and brutal. The second, calculated. Katlin stepped forward, unconsciously balancing herself as she’d been taught by her instructors. Next, a few deep breaths to align her energy and concentrate her efforts. Katlin slowly raised her arms and focused on the sky. It was never easy for her to draw in energy, especially on a cloudless day. Luckily a storm was brewing overhead and the gray clouds gathering were full of electrical charge. A charge she could use. It was true she wasn’t the strongest of Talents, and if she’d been thinking clearly, she might have run for help rather than go one on one against the bully. The fact that he was stronger, both mentally and physically, never entered her mind as she closed her eyes and lowered her consciousness. Someone was hurting Colin, and she had to stop the assault. Now as she focused her mind, she could clearly make out the lines of energy surrounding the clouds. They wrapped gently around each gray fluff of air like a delicate spider web. It was a web of energy that entwined the clouds inside and out, connecting each one to the other. Small strands of blue light hung down, suspended on the wind as they fell slowly to the earth. These strands, the ones closest to the ground, were the ones Katlin concentrated on. She raised her arms and called to them, willing them toward her body. Nothing happened. She could hear Colin’s cry of pain as a fist connected with his body. Colin would not defend himself. Not mentally. He would never break one of their father’s rules. It was not in his nature. She ignored the panic building in her stomach and took a deep breath. Settle down. Relax and concentrate. Stop trying to force it. She had heard the words so many times from her father, from Colin, from her instructors, she automatically repeated them to herself as she took another breath and gathered her thoughts, throwing them upwards. Ever so slowly, the strands changed direction. She watched as they drifted down from the clouds, stretched and twisted toward her in a funnel of air, spinning as they picked up speed, until they resembled a small tornado. Suddenly, she was in the middle of the storm. Blue strings of light swirled around her head, encompassing her body as she siphoned the energy from the clouds. She gathered the power around her and then threw it with all her might in the direction of the bully. In theory, a wall of blue should have washed toward him, overtaking him like a tidal wave. In reality, the energy backlashed and sent her flying. She slammed into the ground a few feet from where she had been standing. The sky overhead opened up, and rain pelted her body as she lay in the dirt. She pushed herself upright and wiped the hair from her eyes with mud-streaked fingers. Colin was now on his feet, and she watched as his right hand snapped out, his fist slamming squarely into the bully’s face, sending the boy to his knees. Colin ignored the boy and walked over to Katlin, offering her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. “Are you crazy? That was a stupid thing to do. And you didn’t even do it right.” She hung her head low. He reached down and lifted her chin and gave her a big smile. “Stupid, but brave. Thanks.” She returned the smile. Colin started laughing. “Good thing dad wasn’t here. You’d be grounded for life.” It was their father’s turn to pick them up from school. Katlin looked at her watch and wondered where he was. Dad was a man who prided himself on always being on time, and he was all ready twenty minutes late.
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