Teaser Tuesday: Angel Betrayed by Cynthia Eden

Hey y’all! We’ve got Cynthia Eden here today sharing an exclusive excerpt of her upcoming book Angel Betrayed! Which is totally exciting, because it’s out June 26! So we’re getting this teaser a whole month in advance. But not only that, the book releases a measly two days before my birthday! (Cuz we all know what’s important to me here, right? … ME! )

Unedited excerpt from Angel Betrayed (by Cynthia Eden, June 26, 2012, Kensington Brava)

Sammael–call him Sam–was an angel once. An Angel of Death. But the dispassionate, watch-from-above thing just wasn’t working for him when it meant watching evil torture innocent souls day in and day out. It might have cost him his wings, but these days he gets to apply the direct method on the bad guys. Problem is, what’s making his life difficult is a bad girl…

Seline O’Shaw needs protection, and with the hounds of hell on her tail, she’s not going to quibble too hard about where she gets it. Sam’s virtue is questionable, but he’s smoking hot, massively powerful, and owes her a favor. So what if she’s getting a little case of angel lust? There are some damn deadly sins after her hide…

    A shiver slipped over her at his touch.  She hadn’t expected her reaction to Sam. The first time she’d seen him, she’d…wanted him, and that wasn’t the way things were supposed to work in her world.  She was the one desired. The one wanted.  That was the way she’d been made.  She might not like the life she’d been given, but screw the bitching and moaning routine. Seline couldn’t control what she was, but she could use her power.

    Sam led her through the crowd and to a small door on the side of the club.  The private room. Yeah, she knew the place. She’d been working at Sunrise for a while now, and she’d learned the rules. This room was for the VIPs. A place for them to have quick sex, to run a business deal, or to party the night away.  All without having to worry about any prying eyes watching.

    Unless you wanted to be watched, because she knew some folks in Sunrise liked that, too.

    The bouncer at the door immediately let Sam inside. Figured he’d get instant access because right then, she knew Sam was the most important VIP in the place.

    Fear had a way of making certain people very, very important.

    The door closed behind her with a soft click.  No watching. Seline’s heart did a too-fast kick when Sam turned around and locked his stare on her. “Better now?” he asked with a twist of his lips. Sexy lips. “I’m all yours.” He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her with a gaze that always saw too much.

    Oh, damn.  She swallowed. Play the game. “I-I…you owe me, Sam.”

    His dark brows—black to match his midnight mane of hair—rose. “Do I?”  His voice was careless, but she saw the intensity in his eyes.

    Seline nodded quickly. “I helped you before. I told you—told you when the shifter wanted you dead.” Who didn’t want him dead? But a few weeks ago, she’d tipped Sam off about the very dangerous coyote shifter who’d been hunting him. That tip-off should give her the bargaining power she needed right now.

    His head inclined. “So you did.” His gaze raked her body, and that hot blue stare lingered a bit too long on her breasts and her thighs.  The top of her “uniform” plunged right between her breasts, and the skirt barely skimmed the tops of her thighs.

    She shifted slightly beneath his stare but quickly caught herself. “You owe me now, Sam,” she reminded him.

    That brought his eyes back to hers.  His face, that perfect face that didn’t belong on someone so dangerous, tilted to study her.  Sam might have the reputation of the devil, but the man’s face and body were pure perfection.  All the better to tempt.

    Sometimes she felt like everything about the man was a lie. But, fair enough, she was pretty good at deceiving, too.

    She pressed, “You pay your debts, right?”  He’d better.

    “Depends on the debt.”

    That wasn’t the answer she wanted.

    Sam lowered his arms and stalked closer until only a foot of space separated their bodies. The door was closed behind her, and when he leaned in, Sam slapped both of his palms against the wooden frame and caged her with his arms. “What do you need, Seline?”

    She wasn’t surprised that he knew her name.  He’d watched her often enough in the last two months. First, he’d watched her at Temptation.  Going in as a dancer had been the only way she knew to get close to Sam—and she had to get close.

    But when some assholes had torched the joint, she’d had to come up with a real fast plan B. Since she knew Sam spent a lot of time here, she’d taken a waitressing job at Sunrise.  All to stay close to him.

    It had only been later that she’d learned Sam actually owned Sunrise, too.

    “Seline?” His breath feathered lightly over her cheek. “What do you want from me?”

    Her chin lifted but she kept her hands at her sides. Don’t touch him. “Protection.”

    His brows rose.

    “I won’t lie to you, Sam.” Yes, actually, she would. A lot. “I haven’t exactly been living the pure and innocent life.” Okay, that line was one hundred percent true. “I made a mistake a while back, and now there are some people out there that want me dead.”

    “Why?”

    The door was shut. They were totally alone. She could confess to him. “Because I killed a man.” The words seemed to fall into the thick silence of the room. “I didn’t plan to do it. It-it was an accident—”

    “Was it?”

    Her hands clenched into fists. Ah, caught me. “No, it wasn’t.”  Again, this part was true. The lies would only come later. “He was an asshole who got off on hurting women. He used his fists any chance he had, and I wasn’t gonna be the next body he put in a box.”  She wouldn’t be any man’s punching bag.

    His eyes studied her. “You’re afraid.”

    Only of a few things in this world.

    “Is that why,” he continued quietly, “you’re always armed?”

    He knew?

    “With a gun close by, tucked in your purse or…” His fingers slid up her thigh. Up, up, stroking over her flesh until he found the sheath of her knife, tucked right on the interior of her thigh. “Or why you keep a knife strapped to your thigh?”

    “You can’t be too careful,” she whispered, her body tight because he was still touching her—and she liked it. Can’t. Too dangerous. Wanting Sam could make her weak, and lust was a weakness she couldn’t afford right then.

    Unfortunately for her kind, lust was like kryptonite.  The closer the temptation, the stronger the weakness.

You can also read an additional excerpt on Ms. Eden’s site here.

Wasn’t that such a tease? Ms. Eden also mentioned a signed copy of Angel Betrayed to one lucky commenter here. But, I wouldn’t take that at face value. I’m sure the heat got to her, and she meant to say she’s going to send me a copy and all the rest of you are supposed to congratulate me on my luck. Yes, that’s it.

For those of you unused to my sense of humor… yes, Cynthia Eden is giving away a signed copy of this book. So tell us, what did you think? Do you like paranormal romances or not? Which are your favorite types of paranormal creatures?

About these ads