fuonlyknew

Steel takes a determined step toward me. His hair is
ruffled, his clothes covered in dirt and wet from the ice and snow, his hands
balled into fists. Even without a weapon, he’s a fierce sight to behold. With
golden light kissing his features, he reminds me of a modern-day Apollo,
dressed in a Henley and dark washed jeans.

“It’s you.” His whispered words full of awe and float to me
on a rippling band of light.

I begin to ask what he means, but I catch a sliver of
movement to my left and turn my head in time to see both Forsaken disappear
around the bend of the building.

Instinct says to follow them, but when I take a step in
their direction I’m thwarted by a six-foot-five, raven-haired angel-born.

“They’re going to—” My words die a quick death on my tongue
when Steel’s hand brushes a tangle of hair away from my cheek. The small
contact causes a tremor to work its way through his body.

He closes his eyes and steps into me.

I retreat a step.

“Finally,” he breathes, dipping his head to gently rub the
tip of his nose up the column of my neck before his lips just barely brush my
earlobe.

It’s my turn to shiver.

What is he doing?
my mind screams. And do I care? it
whispers as an afterthought.

Shaking my head out of a confused fog, I take another shaky
step back.

Yes, I do care. The boy must have hit his head harder than I
thought.

“Listen, Steel, we don’t have time for this. You’re not
yourself right now.”

I bring my hands up to push him back. He’s invading my
space—big time.

When I reach forward to give him a shove, he grabs hold of
my wrists and uses my momentum to bring me closer.

The guy has moves, that’s for sure.

One look in his eyes and I can tell he’s not all there. His
lids are lowered to half-mast and his gaze sweeps lazily over my features.

 Steel takes a step
forward, forcing my capitulation until he’s maneuvered me against the rough
bricks. A foreign sensation zips along my spine, as if something heavy is fused
to each vertebrae, weighing me down. I don’t have a chance to investigate
because Steel’s head is dipping again and I have nowhere to move within the
cage of his body.

I freeze, wholly unprepared for the situation. That gives
Steel the perfect opportunity to dive in and take what he wants.

Before writing her first novel Julie
worked as a film publicist and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous . . . as
in she would gently nudge them to let them know their meal had arrived during
press interviews.She now spends most of her “office hours” with her two furry writing
buddies, Bear and Coco. Her daughter thinks that mommy’s superpower is
“sleeping all day,” but that’s because she’s often awake until the wee hours of
the morning weaving tales of adventure in worlds of her own creation. When
asked in an interview what she wanted to be when she grew up, she’s quoted to
have answered, “to never have to grow up.”She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her four favorite people–her
husband, daughter, and two fur babies (because dogs are people too).  

Connect with Julie here, or on social media.

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