Excerpt 3: Full House, Doritos & Sleeping

It's Day 4 in my countdown to the OFFICIAL release of HELLSBANE in mass trade paperback.

November 20!!!! 

If you haven't been here in a while you may have missed the start of my attempt at holding onto my sanity by posting never-before-posted excerpts each day while I wait for the release. And if you missed that then you probably also missed that I'm GIVING AWAY a free print copy of HELLSBANE (includes BONUS chapter!) and a cool Angel Tarot card deck. 

Read on after the excerpt for details on how to enter and win!

There. That's out of the way. On to today's excerpt. This next slice of HELLSBANE involves a few favorite things from my childhood

Okay, so technically I still enjoy sleeping but...you get the idea...I mean, you will once you read the excerpt.

~*~

CHAPTER TEN

             It was noon when I opened my eyes and heard someone in my room...eating. Fear snaked through me. The last thing I remembered was being charged by a bunch of stinky, drooling, pissed-off demons.

The green digital display on my alarm clock flashed 12:01. Five and a half hours of sleep does not make for a happy Emma. From behind me, jaws snapped and crunched and mashed: crackle—snap—crunch—chomp-chomp-chomp. It sounded like the Rice Krispies guys with a case of ’roid rage.

“Ahh, Mary Kate, Ashley, you were such cute kids. What happened?”

Hey. I know that voice.

“I think Michelle could really use a hug from her uncle Jesse.” Bob Saget? I rolled over.

“How the hell did you get in here?” I asked Tommy. He sat next to the bed at my vanity, which was really just a cheapo desk with a lighted, trifold mirror on top and all the makeup brushes, foundations, eye shadows, and blush I hardly ever used scattered around it.

Tommy lounged with his dirty Converse sneakers propped on the edge of my bed. The jeans looked the same as the last time I’d seen him on Mount Washington: faded, raggedy, with a hole in one knee. His blue, snug-fitting I’m with Stupid T-shirt was speckled with red Doritos dust.

“Hey. Are those my chips?”

He twisted the bag, then glanced at me. “Yeah. They’re a little stale, though. You should get one of those bag clips.”

Afternoon sun streamed through my bedroom window, adding a gleam to Tommy’s pale blue eyes, making the dark circle around the iris all the more intense. Soft, sandy-blond curls brushed over his forehead and neck, his cheeks flushed with health and youthful vitality. He winked at me.

Crap. The man was too cute for his own good, and he knew it. That’s just irritating. I tugged the covers up to my neck. “I’ll try again. How. The hell. Did you get in here?”

He laughed. “How do you think? We can go anywhere, Em.”

I shoved my foot into his and knocked his grimy sneaker-feet off my bed. They hit the floor with a loud clomp and knocked him off balance on his chair. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. This is my bed...and I’m in it.”

His gaze moved to the comforter I clutched as though it were the key to my chastity. “What’s the big deal? You’ve got clothes on under there.” His brows bobbed and his smile turned lecherous. “I checked.”

I peeked under the covers. Pink tank top over white, and tan shorts—I was still wearing the clothes from my trip around the world with Eli. I didn’t even remember getting home this morning, let alone crawling fully dressed into bed.

“By the way, you’ve got some”—Tommy motioned to the corner of his mouth with his pinky—“I think it’s dried spit.”

I scrubbed the back of my hand across my mouth. Crap. “Get out, Tommy.”

“Nope. Can’t.” Tommy straightened, crumpling the empty chips bag, then reached to trade it for the remote sitting on my vanity and turned off the TV. “We need to talk.”

He brushed the chip dust from his hands and shirt, then swiveled in the chair toward my bed. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What happened with you and Eli before he brought you home this morning?”

~*~

I hope you enjoyed today's EXCLUSIVE excerpt from HELLSBANE (book 1) and check back tomorrow for another never-before-posted slice of the book.

Now, wouldn't you love to have your own crisp new copy? Or be the runner up and win a cool Angel Tarot Card deck? Take the time to enter below. You can either fill out the form or leave your info and answer in the comments. Good luck!