See Me by Natalie-Nicole Bates
Carly Anders is
hearing voices in her head. Another one of her kind is trying to contact her.
She knows of the malevolent freaks—others
who are eternal like her and seek out the weak to inflict pain upon. For years,
Carly has held up huge protective walls to keep herself and her secrets safe.
Now, physically and mentally exhausted, Carly needs protection and rest.
She accepts the
invitation to visit an internet friend who needs help appraising a collection
of antique photographs. The situation is
not ideal, but Carly hopes a male presence in her life will deter the
determined suitor who haunts her thoughts and dreams.
Daniel Tremont is not
what Carly is expecting.
The former funeral
director has a secret of his own. Not only is he eternal like Carly, he is her
creation from all those years before—her abomination she thought she killed.
Daniel has been
searching for Carly for years. He knows she is the piece of his life that he
has been missing for so long. Now that he has found her, he has no intentions
of letting her go.
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*****
Excerpt:
He waved a hand in
front of her face, but she didn’t blink. The
lights are on, but no one’s home.
“Carly, my angel,” he whispered and cupped
her cheek into his palm. He revealed in the silkiness and warmth of her skin.
Still, she didn’t react. She was almost…a zombie.
His own body jerked in reaction to the
fear she was emanating. She was clearly sleepwalking and in the throes of one
hell of a nightmare, yet she didn’t cry out any longer. It was all now playing
out inside her mind.
“Charlotte, see me,” he implored.
Her lips twitched at the mention of her
real name.
“See me,” he repeated.
Suddenly, her body gave way and she
collapsed. Catching her, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the
bed. As he laid her down, her breathing became ragged. He placed a hand over
her heart as it raced, and passed healing calmness through his hand, feeling
the energy pulsate against her skin. Beneath his hand, he would feel her
heartbeat slow to a normal rhythm.
“Daniel?” Her voice was mere caress.
“I’m here, my angel. You’re having a
nightmare. You’re frightened. It’s okay now, I’m here, and I will never leave
you,” he promised.
“Everyone leaves, Daniel. You can’t
understand, you can’t…” Her body started to tremble.
He climbed onto the bed and straddled her
body. Leaning close to her face, he said, “Carly, let go of your fear. I can
take it. Let go and see me,” he commanded.
Her breath came out in a whoosh, and a
wall of fear and resistance hit him like a blow from above. It wasn’t exactly
painful, more startling than anything else.
His vision flip-flopped, and he could see
an image from inside her mind of two souls forever entwined as the result of
one act. It made perfect sense. She was reliving the day their souls became
one. The day of the fire.
He then saw black, suffocating water. She
was reliving her own death, as well.
As the visions left him, he was consumed
with the mishmash of fear, loneliness, and resistance within her.
He had to make her understand that it was
over. “I will never leave you, Carly. That is my promise to you,” he insisted.
A flicker of life ignited in her eyes. Her
hands came up to his face, and to Daniel’s surprise, tears bubbled from his own
eyes. He was releasing the pain and fear he had absorbed from his beloved.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel, so sorry,” she
murmured.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, my love.
It’s over. It’s time to move forward now.”
“You don’t understand what I am, Daniel.”
“I do understand, Carly. I am what you
are. See me for what I am.”
In his mind, he could see the moving
clockwork gears of her thoughts once again as she tried to process what he was
telling her to be true.
“Just accept it, and let’s move forward.”
She drew his face to hers and her lips
parted beneath his. Time blurred and he drank in the essence of his Carly. Her
soft, barely covered curves molded themselves against his the hard planes of
his body. Her hands were under his t-shirt, her fingers stroking him.
If he pressed on, he knew she wouldn’t
refuse him. But in her vulnerable state, he wouldn’t let anything progress
further that night. Carly needed time to process everything that happened.
There was plenty of time to pursue a physical relationship. They weren’t going
any where…he hoped.
*****
Natalie-Nicole Bates
is a book reviewer and author.
Her passions in life
include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and
antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey
to being born in Russia.
She currently resides
in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of
19th century post-mortem photos.
Visit Natalie online
at www.natalienicolebates.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BatesNatalie
