Last week
I shared a short excerpt from early in Whispers in the Dark. The excerpt
continues here.
I gaped up at the
man towering over me. Bare chest, muscular and bronzed. Black hair pulled back
from a face full of sharp planes and angles. Dark eyes fierce under scowling
brows.
My heart jolted
painfully. I’d come face to face with an ancient warrior. He was gorgeous.
At me.
***
“Don’t you read signs?”
I blinked at the apparition.
“Uh....”
He gestured back at the main path.
“The signs at every turn saying ‘Stay on the path’? The notice at the entrance
telling you to leave artifacts alone? I could have you arrested and fined.”
Oh. I felt color flooding my
cheeks. My pounding heart refused to slow yet, and the rush of adrenaline
turned my arms and legs to jelly, but I rose steadily enough. I tried to ignore
the heat in my face and the queasy feeling of panic in my stomach, which hadn’t
yet accepted the message that I wasn’t in danger. “I’m Kylie Hafford,” I said
coolly. “The archaeologist. Are you Danesh?”
I saw a satisfying flash of
surprise and then guilt. Or maybe I had just imagined it, as his face settled
immediately into a neutral mask. “Yes, I’m Danesh.” He hesitated before adding
stiffly, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.”
He must have caught my irony,
because he almost smiled—I think. He said, “I’m sorry I startled you. I wasn’t
expecting you yet, and....” He shrugged. “I’ve been noticing scuff marks in the
ground, off the trail where tourists aren’t supposed to go. I figured someone
was poking around, maybe looking for treasure.”
“And you assumed I was your
treasure hunter?”
This is a blog hop. Visit all the Book Hooks from #MFRWHooks - You might find
your next great read!
Kris Bock writes romantic suspense novels set in
dramatic Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark brings
a gothic drama to an archaeology dig at ancient Southwest ruins. In What
We Found, a young woman’s life swiftly changes when she finds a murder
victim in the woods. In Counterfeits, an artist heads back to the
children’s art camp she once knew well – but danger awaits.
The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a legendary treasure in the New Mexico
desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives must follow
a series of complex clues in a competition to locate a buried treasure.
In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, reader favorites Camie and Tiger
the cat help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle. Each book stands
alone, with no cliffhangers.
Read excerpts
at www.krisbock.com or
visit her Amazon page. Sign up
for the Kris Bock newsletter for
announcements of new books, sales, and more.
Oops! LOL Great first meeting!
ReplyDeleteinteresting first meeting.
ReplyDeleteGreat set up and first meeting. I love archaeology!
ReplyDeleteDelightful switch, setting us up to expect the supernatural only to jerk us away to the reality of a guy saying Stay Off the Grass!
ReplyDeleteLoved this part - I’d come face to face with an ancient warrior. He was gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAnd furious.
At me.
A great visual. Tweeted.