Excerpt: The Keeper, Crossing Realms Book 1, Paranormal Romance Series

Hello! A big thank you to Coffee Time Romance for the opportunity to share my work & talk with readers! Thanks so much for stopping by!

My name is Rebecca E. Neely, but you can call me Beckie. I write romance, the suspenseful and paranormal kind 🙂 Today I’m sharing some of the questions I’m often asked as a writer, along with a few excerpts from the Crossing Realms paranormal romance series.

***CONTEST OVER*** IMPORTANT GIVEAWAY INFO 🙂 Join my mailing list & be entered for a chance to win 1 of 3 Kindle copies of THE KEEPER, Crossing Realms paranormal romance series, Book 1. The battle in the Steel City begins…here’s the link: http://eepurl.com/bqiDi5

What’s THE KEEPER about? A tortured leader of human guardians must join forces with the one woman in the city who can save his clan from destruction: an anxious – and psychic – accountant who has no memory of him.

And the Crossing Realms series? In a nutshell – Sacrifice or salvation? A chosen psychic few may be both. As the city’s Keepers battle Betrayers to save the human race, all’s not fair in love and war.

I’m often asked…where did you get the inspiration for the series? I love the battle of good versus evil. And I loved creating a world in the ‘everyday’ where Keepers are fighting that battle. Humans are unaware and couldn’t do without them. I thought, what would happen if a Keeper was forced to rely on a human to fight that battle, a human who was as far away as you could get from being a warrior? And he just happened to be in love with her?

A little bit about me…I grew up in my parents’ restaurant business, working, cooking and eating. Both of my parents were voracious readers and so am I. I’ve loved to write all my life, and I’ve freelanced for over 15 years. I love Sherlock Holmes, The Walking Dead, and a hunk of good cheddar.

Questions? Comments? Please post ’em – can’t wait to hear from you!

And now, here’s a few excerpts from THE KEEPER, Book 1 in the series. THE WATCHER, Book 2 in the series, is coming on November 30^th! Stay tuned for a sneak peek at that later today.

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I LOVE ME SOME GOOD ACTION IN A ROMANCE…

Gruffly he added, “The Watchers haven’t transmitted any Compulsions since Dev died. Until this morning. The Betrayers weren’t expecting it. I’m hoping that buys us some time.”

The Mustang ahead of him idled forward, and he gained painstaking inches. Still he waited, shifting in his seat, analyzing their situation.

Behind them, metal crashed into metal.

Libby screamed.

They jolted forward, their seatbelts locking them down as his truck lurched and skidded to the left.

“What the hell?” Nick twisted in his seat to see out the rear window.

Its front end wedged under his bumper, a Subaru station wagon sat motionless, steam hissing from its hood. A woman, black braids swinging in time with her steps, stalked past Libby’s window brandishing what looked like a hunting knife. “You cut me off two miles ago!” she yelled. She jammed it into one of the Mustang’s tires. “You’re gonna pay!”

Libby clutched the seat belt. “Road rage. Holy shit.”

“It’s not normal,” Nick muttered.

“What do you mean?” She blinked owlishly from behind her glasses. “You haven’t seen road rage in your line of work?”

“That’s not what concerns me. Hold on.” He jerked the wheel to the left. Glass cracked. Metal shrieked.

Libby gripped the ‘oh shit’ bar. “What are you doing?”

“Making our own lane. It’s time we moved on.”

The flagman waved wildly. Gunning it, he angled around the Mustang and flattened a trio of cones, clearing the way. He hit the gas, and the truck leapt up and over the median strip. He jammed on the brakes, waited until an eighteen wheeler passed, its horn blaring. Flooring it, he roared across two lanes of traffic. Cars swerved. Horns blasted. His adrenaline still pumping, he eased off the gas and fell in behind an SUV.

He glanced at Libby. “You can open your eyes now.”

She cracked one lid. “Where are we going?”

“Across town. Pittsburgh is the ‘City of Bridges.’ It’s out of our way, but it’ll get us there.”

She threw up a hand. “You want to tell me what that was all about?”

“No.” So much for buying time. “We have to get to the network.”

“You’re a guardian of humans. Shouldn’t you do something?”

He shook his head. “Can’t right now.”

“Betrayers?” She’d wrapped her arms around herself.

He glanced in his side view mirror as they passed the car in front of them. “No.”

“Well, what do they look like?”

Nick shelved his fears. She needed to know. And he needed to tell her. “Like you and me. And like Keepers, they’re as close to human as you can get. They’re everywhere our clans are. Except their groups are called broods.”

“How do you know they’re after you?”

All his grief, all his sorrow rose up and grabbed hold. “It’s like the air is suddenly stale,” he ground out. “Fear, angst, dread surrounds you, as thick as cobwebs.” He wiped a hand over his mouth. “That’s how.”

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AND, OF COURSE I’M SUCKER FOR THE ROMANCE…

Muttering, Nick snatched off his ball cap and raked his hands through his hair. Shock and anger warred in his eyes. Then, hard on the heels of that . . . fear? Whatever it was evaporated, and fury quickly replaced it. Baffled, she searched his face, her heart pounding a new rhythm. Like before on the highway, then in the truck, the oddest sensation of recognition, of familiarity, gripped her. This time it hit harder, cut deeper. And still the connection evaded her.

Without warning, he yanked her next to him, leaned in, and covered her mouth with his.

Her arms fell to her sides uselessly, as her lips responded beneath his, unbidden. Their teeth and tongues clashed, seeking, taking. Heat and energy roared inside her, around her like an inferno.

Before today, she’d never seen this man. But she knew him on some level, as sure as constellations blazed in the night sky, century after century. He smelled of sawdust and hard work. And something else. Cedar. She basked in the scent growing stronger with each passing second.

His cheeks were sandpaper on hers. There was nothing tender in his touch. Heady with the taste of him, she gulped him down like a full bodied wine meant for sipping. Raw desire walloped her, and if she’d had any lingering doubts about her decision to follow him, he’d buried them six feet under.

She pressed a hand to his chest, slid her palm over chambray, the muscle beneath hardened from labor. A moan grew in her throat, escaping her lips. She curled her fingers around the back of his neck, over smooth skin hot to the touch, and into his hair with its coarse, uneven layers. Her fingertips grazed his collar and the leather strap around his neck.

He grabbed her by the wrist and flung her arm away like he’d been burned.

She gasped. Baffled, her libido still reeling from the uppercut he’d dealt it, her nipples puckered and ached beneath her blouse. Warm, wet heat rocked her system.

He wasn’t touching her. Not any longer. But his body, mere inches from hers, his heat, continued the assault on her senses.

He’d possessed her then kicked her to the curb, all in under twenty seconds.

Libby’s voice caught in her throat. “Why?”

Again, his expression might’ve registered fear, but fury triumphed. “To protect you,” he snapped. “I did it to protect you.”

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Want more of THE KEEPER? It’s now in print! Find it on Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

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