You can predict the tides but not the changes they make. Gunnison Del Valle was the current in the tide that was about to change my life.
Crash one we met.
Crash two we fell in love.
Crash three changed our perfectly planned lives forever.
When the band begins to play, I can’t help but smile. I feel at home. This beach is my other home, now if only I could dance. As couples begin to shag on the dance floor, I can’t help but look at Brett’s reaction. He’s taking it all in and watching their footsteps. I begin to giggle. “What?” he asks. I stand and take him by the hand. “I have no clue how to do this.”
“It’s easy. Just remember, one-two-three rock back. I’ll help you, no worries.” I wink. After a few songs, he becomes a natural and, we are laughing, smiling, and dancing like we have been dance partners for years. When the song ends, they slow things down and Brett never lets go of my hands. Instead, he pulls me close to him as we sway back and forth and my lips meet his.
He takes me from the dance floor and leads me to the marshwalk. We walk hand in hand from Wicked Tuna to Sisters Marina while looking at all of the fishing boats and yachts. On our way back, we walk a little slower and stop to watch the tide flow into the marsh. Brett wraps his arms around me and I can’t help but look into the clear Carolina night sky and pray this is real.
Casey Peeler grew up and still lives in North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Her first passion is teaching students with special needs. Over the years, she found her way to relax was in a good book.
After reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston her senior year of high school and multiple Nicholas Sparks’ novels, she found a hidden love and appreciation for reading.
Casey is an avid reader, blogger (Hardcover Therapy), and author. Her perfect day consists of water, sand between her toes, a cold beverage, and a great book!
Breanne Sullivan never expected to find love again. Allowing herself to move on wasn’t easy, and now it may be too late. Determined to give herself a second chance, she will go to any lengths to prove her love to Drew. If only she could find him.
Desperate to numb his heartache in the wake of Breanne’s rejection, with something other than women and booze, Drew Scott packs his bags for the West Coast. Distance and a fresh start are just what he needs to heal the wounds caused by the only woman to ever captivate his heart.
But when the past and present collide in an unexpected way, Breanne and Drew quickly learn that things aren’t always what they seem. Caught between solving the mysteries that haunt them and getting the happily ever after they deserve, the two once again find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that could destroy them both.
Answers come at a dangerous price. Sacrifices must be made in order to protect the ones they love. Can Breanne prove her love to Drew before its too late? Or will opposing forces interfere and destroy any chance of them having a future together?
Meet the Author
Teresa Michaels lives in the New England area with her husband and children. Curveball is her debut novel.
She's been named Lexia, 'man's defender', by the one who raised her and died for her, the man she called her father.
She's been named Maura, 'for darkness', by the woman who created her, a mother who sees her as a weapon, and tool for power.
She has battled for her freedom, for the revenge of her father’s death, and then given it all up to save the man she loves.
She's given up her soul, her humanity, and now, there is only one question left. Can she create her own destiny or is she bound to follow the fate set for her before she was born?
Her breath gasped out of her in a sudden hiss, dying off to a gargled cry as the cage inside of her burst open. Every kill, every emotion she’d locked away, burst out.
Her foot hit the break before he’d even jumped in her path – because she knew he was here. There was only one person in the world who could strip away every shield she’d wrapped around herself. Only one person who could reach her soul, her heart through the mountain of pain and torment inside of her.
“Linc,” she cried breathlessly, her eyes searching the dark night.
Finding the glow of his eyes first, Lexia stared as the black panther loped out of the trees, flashing his eyes at her.
He’d found her. After all this time, he’d found her. Stepping out of the vehicle in a daze, the torrential rain soaked her clothes instantly. Her feet struggled to find footing in the sodden earth. She walked toward the majestic cat. Standing in the beam of the headlights, overcome with emotions, she was stripped of words, lost in the chaos of her mind.
“Linc,” Lexia whispered, afraid her dream may shatter into a million pieces, but Lincoln wasn’t a dream. He’d found her – just like she always knew he would. Her past had been galloping toward her and had finally collided.
“Lexia?” Derrick murmured softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. The caring gesture snapped her out the daze.
“Take your hand from my mate, hunter,” Lincoln growled as he suddenly shifted.
“Lincoln, leave him,” she said, taking a tentative step toward him. “What are you doing here?” She sighed longingly.
“I promised you I’d never let the darkness take you. You are mine, Lex. The hunters can’t have you.”
Sucked back to a memory, Lexia dropped to her knees screaming, the skull-cracking pain in her head too much to bear. She could hear Lincoln and Derrick shouting at her, but she’d lost all control of her body. Falling forward, her hands gripped the ground as they were swallowed by thick mud.
She sat in Lincoln’s arms. His warmth seeped into her bones, warming her down to her very soul.
“Killing is never easy, Lex, but sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes we have no choice. You have to find balance, find a way to deal with it before it destroys you.”
“No, Linc, you’re wrong. The killing, that’s easy. To me it’s as natural as breathing. Admitting deep down inside to enjoying it, to relish in the power I have over people, that’s the hard part. That part will destroy me, because one day, I might stop being disgusted with myself. One day, I might truly be lost and every kill – every life I take – will give me pleasure, make me smile. I hope that day never comes.”
“Lexia,” he whispered.
“Just give me space, Linc, please?” She rose from his lap, feeling like she didn’t deserve his love.
“Lexia, that will never happen. Are you listening? I will never let that happen.”
The memory broke free the feelings she’d hidden inside of her. Gripping her head, she rocked as she remembered faces of the dead, their screams, their pleas, and her joy.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to them. “I’m so sorry.” Dragging in a deep breath in hopes of calming herself, she concentrated to the frantic beating of her heart. Each pump whooshed in her ears, drowning out the memories.
Her eyes found Lincoln. Remembering how he’d smiled, how his eyes would burn with desire…she remembered every sweet smile, every caress. Oh, how she missed his touch, missed feeling like the most treasured person in the world.
It didn’t matter how much it hurt to feel as she did around him. It didn’t matter how many people Maura had killed with her hands. Lincoln had the power to reach through every layer of darkness. There was no power equal to his love.
The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them. “My pretty panther,” she said on a broken sob. Sitting back on her heels, she looked up at him as he took a step toward her. Rain mixed with the tears running down her face as she remained powerless to move.
Lincoln dropped to his knees with a pained cry, his eyes looking vulnerably human. Unable to speak, she smiled through her sobs, tilting her head ever so slightly before giving in and falling into his arms. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes, her fingers touching his face, as he touched hers, lips crashing together in desperation. They kissed, rain dripping from their hair, mingling with their tears.
The rain blinded them and froze their tortured souls. It was tragic and divine, and as they pulled apart, Lexia felt herself fracture. Every broken, patched back together piece of her fell apart. Her power left her in a broken cry as her eyes turned blue. She fell onto her hands, resting her head against his chest.
“Linc, you should have never come. Why did you come? You’ve put yourself in danger,” she said against his chest, taking every effort to keep the tremble from her words, yet failing.
“How could I just leave you? Come with me, Lex,” he begged.
“I can’t. It’s not that simple.” She wished there was some other way. Wished she had somehow ended up in a universe where her ledger was clean.
Drawn into a world she thought impossible, Lexia’s innocent night of partying leaves her dazed, confused and asking questions she’s not sure she wishes to know the answers to.
Attacked by vampires, Lexia’s ability to defend herself triggers events she can't escape. Before long, she struggles to keep up a façade around her friends and family.
Then, there is Lincoln. Finding herself irresistibly drawn to him, Lexia senses he desires something more dangerous than a simple romance. Lincoln has secrets and what she learns changes her life forever.
A story of love, loss, and, betrayal, Lexia and Lincoln’s lives will never be the same again.
All Lexia ever wanted was to graduate from high school and leave Deadwood. Now she would give anything to have her quiet life back. With her Father murdered and her best friend, Alice kidnapped. Life is anything but Simple.
Despite the odds, Lexia and Lincoln, the panther shifter she has fallen in Love with, rescue Alice. On their journey, Lexia meets the one person she least expected to see again, her mother.
Seemingly abandoned as a baby, secrets unravel and lexia learns who she really is. Her Mother created her and she was created for one purpose only...
Darkness.
Only one thing is certain, sacrifices will be made and lives will be lost.
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Born and raised in N.E.England before moving to New Zealand in 2008. She now lives in Queensland, Austraila with her Husband, three Children and a Golden Lab. Paranormal Romance Author of The Deadwood Hunter Series and YA Paranormal Author of Winter Wolf. A New Dawn Novel She hopes you love her characters as much as she does :)
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