Excerpt:
When we got back to the hotel, he was still amped up and wanted to make love in the
Jacuzzi in our suite. What should have been a romantic interlude turned into a lot of playful
splashing, dunking and laughing. We’d wrestle for a little, then make love, start wrestling again
and suddenly that would turn into more lovemaking. By the end of it, we were soaked and
exhausted.
Later that afternoon, I spoke to Bella again and we settled on dinner at her boyfriend’s
restaurant at seven. On the drive over, Curtis and I were cuddled in the backseat of the rental
car like childhood sweethearts when suddenly I felt a familiar tightness in my chest. Breathing
deeply didn’t help. Predictably, I started trembling and began to feel weak.
“Are you shaking, baby?” Curtis asked. “Dave, throw me one of those bottles of water.”
Unable to speak, I watched, as if from a great distance, as Dave passed a bottle of water to
Curtis. Curtis grabbed my purse and pulled out several bottles. He selected one containing
the fast acting, anti-anxiety pills. “Open your mouth, baby,” he told me. He slid a pill into my
mouth, opened the bottle of water and held it to my lips until I drank. Then he held me and
stroked my forehead until the pill took effect. “Any idea what caused it?”
I shrugged. “I feel like it has something to do with this dinner. Or Bella. I don’t know.” I
sighed. “I just got a bunch of warning signals all at once.”
“Do you want to call her and cancel?” Curtis asked.
“No,” I said, pausing to cough. “I need to be there.”
When we walked in, Bella was waiting at the hostess station looking camera ready in a
form fitting, black mini dress. Her bright red locks had been flat ironed to perfection, and her
makeup was flawless. She grabbed a stack of menus and quickly ushered us through several
elegant dining rooms and up a small flight of stairs. On the way, I noticed the brass railings that
edged the upper level dining rooms. “You okay?” Curtis asked when I stumbled on the stairs.
“I’m fine,” I said as we continued to a private dining room near the back of the
restaurant. I knew that brass railing. I knew it from that awful dream.
Now that Curtis had gotten through the place unrecognized, there was time for greetings
and introductions. “I’ve seen you work,” Curtis told Bella as he removed his sunglasses. “You’re
very good.”
“Thank you,” Bella said with an enchanting smile. “I’ve seen you in concert six or seven
times. Australia, England, Germany, New York. You rock, man. You just get out there and spit
fire. And the things you do with beats are sick. Hey, why don’t you guys have a seat and I’ll let
the chef know you’re here.” She grinned and headed off to the kitchen.
When she returned with her boyfriend, I reached over and grabbed Curtis’s hand as we
stood for the introductions. My heartbeat was so violent, I imagined it was visible through my
dress.
“Rory, Curtis, this is my boyfriend Cliff Wexler.”
I took in the dark hair on his head and on his knuckles when he reached out to shake my
hand. I nearly drew back my hand when I saw the manicured fingernails. Cliff. Cliff? How could
Bella have ignored that? “Pleased to meet you,” I said as a sea of blood roared through my ears.
He was pleasant looking, in the way a conservative Republican politician can look pleasant. He
had dark brown hair, a high forehead, close set brown eyes and thin, thin lips.
“Yeah, pleased to meet you Cliff,” Curtis said as he instinctively took my arm and
allowed me to sag against him. To me, his voice sounded like it was coming from the far end of a
ten mile tunnel.
Cliff’s eyes widened as he stared at me with speculation.
Suddenly, two female spirits appeared on either side of Cliff. They were nude and foggy
white. Each wore a gruesome necklace of blood that dripped down, past their breasts. As my
eyes moved lower, I saw that, unlike the white hair on their heads, their pubic hair appeared in
lifelike shades. One woman had been a brunette and the other had had black hair. Then I noticed
huge clots of blood sliding from between their legs.
“Rory is such an awesome medium,” I heard Bella say, from what seemed like a
thousand miles away. “Dead people contact her all the time with warnings for the living. She’s
amazing.”
Every ounce of strength left my legs as I blacked out.
Rory’s Love
Aurora, Psychic For the Stars
Book One
Donna Butler
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 13-978-1503377257
ASIN: B00PUDMXMA
Number of pages: 197
Word Count: 60,547
Cover Artist: Donna Butler and Sander Cha
Book Description:
As a psychic medium to the stars, Aurora Alexander believes her life is about as full of glamor and excitement as it can get. Until she falls in love with a client, the multi-platinum selling performer and record producer, Curtis Love. Even though Curtis has a girlfriend, he and Rory share an attraction that proves to be irresistible. Once Curtis breaks up with his girlfriend and they give in to their passion, the story takes them from St. Tropez to Manhattan, Maui, Paris, Milan and elsewhere. Rory’s life becomes every woman’s dream come true, filled with designer clothes, jewels, glam squads and a personal bodyguard. But in spite of all the glamor and globe-trotting, Rory can’t outrun the suspicion that Bella, one of her clients, is in grave danger.
Rory’s devotion to her sometimes dangerous line of work begins to cause friction in her relationship with Curtis. Despite Curtis’s warnings, when the ghostly victims of a serial killer come to Rory for justice, she can’t help but chase down their killer. But as she puts her life in jeopardy to expose a killer and rescue Bella, she also jeopardizes the greatest love she’s ever known.
About the Author:
Donna lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and three cats. She wrote her first novel at fourteen and has had a love affair with writing ever since. In addition to writing, she loves gardening, laughing at reality television and playing with her three-year-old granddaughter.