Six on Sunday - CUT GLASS: JEWELS, BOOK 2 - RUBY

Six paragraphs from CUT GLASS: JEWELS, Book 2 - RUBY

An erotic urban fantasy romance

by Linda Mooney

Available from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=627  

Cutler and David are reunited, and this time they will fight anyone who tries to separate them again. But when someone steals shards of defeated jewels, word is that an underground faction is trying to re-grow the deadly entities from those pieces. Cutler and David are assigned to help recover those shards before that can be accomplished. Because if they fail, the number of jewels will increase to where the delicate balance between lapies and demons will be compromised.

After which the wholesale slaughter of mankind will be imminent.

Warning: Contains strenuous hiking, shower sex, a traitor, Strychnine poisoning, a secret apartment, bell jars, emotional torture, slaughter in a hospital, and a job offer he can't refuse.

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1. They ate for another minute or two in silence. It was a comfortable interlude. They both needed the time to heal emotionally, and their companionship had always given them the chance to enjoy each other’s nearness. Finally, after being apart for so long, to be in each other’s company was like a long sought after wish being fulfilled. Coming back together was almost a healing in itself. It was like slipping on a comfortable article of clothing they had missed wearing. David reached across the table, palm up. Without hesitation, Cutler placed her hand in his and watched as he closed his fingers around it. That dainty hand could knock the ever-loving crap out of him. It could kill. It could do untold damage elsewhere. But he knew that deceptive-looking hand could also be incredibly gentle, as well as drive him sexually up the wall.  

2. He smiled, his lips millimeters away from hers instead of inches. She could feel him breathing. The air from his nostrils feathered across her mouth. The urge to kiss him, the need to kiss him, ballooned within her. Hunger clawed at her heart. She had missed him so much, and to finally have him back was crippling her ability to concentrate. All she had to do was close her eyes and tilt her head back a tiny bit, and their mouths would connect. A small movement, the littlest effort, and...

3. “Because if our information is correct, the blue shard might be there. That’s the blue you defeated, Cut. If that diamond is actually there, you’re the only person who can identify it and be certain. And, hopefully, if there are any recreations of it, you might be able to spot the original, as well as tell us how the duplicates differ. In the meantime, I need you to heal up. You need to be a peak efficiency before you leave. As for you, Mr. Fellowes.” She gave David a steely glare. “You may have saved Cut after her battle with the blue, but from here on out things are going to get hairier. I know you worked homicide, and you’ve developed a thick skin, but are you prepared to face true horror on a regular basis?”

4. She grabbed the Walther and shoved it into her jeans pocket. Holding the bag of inert jewels in her teeth, she opened the door leading into the hallway. Double-checking to make sure it was safe, she grabbed David under the armpits and dragged him back to the office. With a little effort, she managed to hoist him out the window and get him back to the fence. Once she got him part-way under the fence, she backtracked to her swinging root, using the roof of the lab to give her the running start she needed to jump and snag it. Landing on the other side of the enclosure, she hurried back to pull him the rest of the way through, thankful he was unconscious. His limp, nearly lifeless condition made his body flexible enough to manage. 

5. She lifted the jacket lapel and smelled David's scent clinging to the fabric. She recalled how they sat in the back of the pickup, her arms around him as he pulled his coat over her shoulders to keep her from getting chilled. She had snuggled against him, her cheek on his chest. As she absorbed his warmth, she'd fallen asleep, lulled by the sound of his strong, steady heartbeat. With his scent wrapped around her, Cutler drifted into unconsciousness.

6. Christine started to answer when there was a soft groan. Cutler automatically looked over at where Bar lay sprawled against the small fridge. Redness smeared the front of the white appliance. It was the wrong move to make. From the corner of her eye Cutler saw the foot aiming for the side of her face. She ducked, but not fast enough. The wooden heel of Christine's boot smashed into her cheekbone, and the world exploded in black pain.