The following excerpt is one of the first portions I wrote for Possessed. It's not the beginning of the book, but this is the scene that I just had to save before it escaped me. (I'm going to have to come up with a term for that since for every book I write there is that one bit that comes to me and lingers for days.) Later I went back and filled in the start. I probably would have delayed putting out this excerpt since the release date isn't until July 6 at Sugar and Spice. You can thank LailaNn for this!
When she entered the dining room off the kitchen, Lily was finishing up. She twitched the flowers in the vase and placed it at the center of the table.
“Do you need any help?”
Lily smiled and spread her hands out like a showcase model as if to display the gleaming silver and napkins. “All done.” Keva followed Lily out into the den. “How do you like your new job?”
“It’s okay,” she said without much enthusiasm. She’d gotten a job in the billing department at the hospital. It was a job and it covered the rent, but she didn’t see herself working there forever.
“Do you like your coworkers? Any cute guys there?”
“Yes to the first question. No to the second. I’m off men for the moment.” She saw no point in dating when her heart wasn’t in it.
“Really? Anthony made a point of telling me how pretty he thought you were last week after church. I almost invited him over for dinner.”
Keva’s brows rose. She was glad that didn’t come to pass. She’d dated Anthony for about three days in high school before he went back to his old girlfriend. He’d never told her what went wrong. It might be spiteful of her, but she wasn’t interested in giving him a second chance. “Don’t bother.”
“But he’s so cute.”
A buzzing sounded from her back pocket before she could reply. Keva frowned at her cell. She didn’t recognize the number displayed on the caller ID. She answered with a cautious, “Hello?” The only reply was labored breathing. “Hello? Who is this?”
“Keva,” a rough voice said. It was deep and dark, more of a growl than anything.
She whipped around so that she was no longer facing her sister. “Who is this?” she repeated in a frantic whisper.
A short, dark laugh met her ears. It was as if she spoke to Satan himself. “You know who this is.”
“Sebastian?”
“Bastian,” he corrected her.
“What do you want?”
Another laugh, more evil and polluted than the last. It held no mirth. It was a lazy, taunting expulsion of air. “You know what I want.”
“Spell it out for me. Do you need to talk? We can perform a therapy session…”
Restless shifting reached her ears. “Pussy,” he said the word as though he were savoring it like a fine wine. “I need pussy.”
Keva stiffened her spine. Anger and fear threatened to break free. She would not let him affect her. Would not let him use her or manipulate her anymore. Straining to keep her voice as neutral as possible, she replied, “I'm no longer in Nevada.”
“I know,” he drawled in that menacing tone of his. “I tracked you.”
Keva tightened her hand around her cell to still her trembling. Her heart slammed against her ribs in panic. Bracing herself with the arm of the sofa, she found the seat cushion with numb fingers and sat down. “Y-you’re in North Carolina?”
“Mmm.” His affirmative sound resembled that of a lion purring. “Greenville to be exact. I need you, Keva.”
“Sebastian, I don't do that type of work anymore.”
“Bastian.” He couldn't have given her a better reminder of whom she was speaking to. Sebastian was hesitant, almost shy, but when his power was riding him, he turned into the arrogant, demanding creature that was Bastian. “I need you,” he repeated.
“You’ll need to find someone else. I won’t—” A loud rumbling interrupted her and she realized with a start that it was him. He was very displeased.
“You. I want you.”
“What the hell was that?” Lily asked behind her.
Keva ignored her. “Bastian, please be reasonable.”
“Be ready, Keva. I’m coming for you.” He disconnected the call.
