Words That Bind by Ash Krafton
Genre: Paranormal
Romance, sensual heat rating
Publisher: The
Wild Rose Press
Date of
Publication: Oct. 10, 2014
Social worker Tam Kerish can’t keep her cool professionalism when steamy client Mr. Burns kindles a desire for more than a client-therapist relationship—so she drops him. However, they discover she’s the talisman to which Burns, an immortal djinn, has been bound since the days of King Solomon…and that makes it difficult to keep away from him.
Ethical guidelines are unequivocal when it comes to personal relationships with clients. However, the djinn has a thawing effect on the usually non-emotive Tam, who begins to feel true emotion whenever he is near. Tam has to make a difficult choice: to stay on the outside, forever looking in…or to turn her back on her entire world, just for the chance to finally experience what it means to fall in love.
Chapter One
Damn, but this was a miserable city.
A miserable city, in a miserable season, with a miserable
chilly dampness oppressive enough to put out the hottest of fires. If he didn’t
have to be here, he’d be reclining on a low couch surrounded by silken-clad
women and the open sands of the high desert.
If he didn’t have to be here, he wouldn’t be standing in a
cramped parking lot in an East Coast city (really. East Coast. The very thought
made him curl his lips in disdain) staring up at a balcony three floors up.
If he didn’t have to be here, he wouldn’t. But it was here, and it was close, and he
wouldn’t have to put up with this permeating on-again off-again rain much
longer.
The thought of it being so close made him dizzy enough to
sway on his feet. Ah, well. Wearing a human form had so many limitations. Take
skin, for instance. And this ridiculous human obsession with trousers.
A loud argument erupted on the balcony above, catching his
attention.
Women. Of course. Emotional, volatile, dangerous,
loud…sometimes, good qualities. Especially where low couches could be found.
On balconies, peppered with vulgar language…just annoying.
Still. It was
here, its presence burning like a dull itch in the back of his brain. That
particular sensation, too, was annoying, but after so many decades of not
feeling it all, it was a good kind of annoying. One that soon would be
quenched.
Forever.
Suddenly, the sensation brightened, became sharper, clearer,
like the full moon sliding free of the clouds. The argument stopped.
Ah. Finally. He turned up the collar of his overcoat against
the nip of a sudden breeze and tilted his head, scanning the balcony, watching.
Waiting.
A young female with tousled purple hair hunched over the
railing, resting on her elbows, trying to light a cigarette. Repulsive things,
cigarettes. Lacked elegance. Why not a hookah, or even a slender golden pipe?
This modern age was all substance. No style.
He unfocused his gaze and looked through the girl. Nothing
remarkable about that female whatsoever. She had nothing to do with the object
of his desire and so was of no consequence to him.
He disregarded her
completely.
Another figure appeared at the rail. Another female. This
one seized his notice, snapping his spine ram-rod straight.
Long chestnut hair swept in waves over her shoulder, hiding
her face. He zoomed in on her and almost fell flat backwards, buckling under
the smacking impact upon his heart.
Her. She had it.
Suddenly, the low gray clouds burned off in a blaze of
summer brilliance, so great was the feeling in his chest. Hope. Hope eclipsed
centuries of despair in that single moment.
She had it!
He side-stepped the BMW behind him, wanting a better angle,
wishing to see her face. So intent was he upon the other woman that he nearly
missed the cigarette that sailed past his cheek to land on the car. He curled
his fists, an oath on his lips. He should be used to the crude behaviors of
mortals, but still, how it bristled against his insides. Obviously, they’d been
raised by very different mothers.
But then woman turned, and his scowl melted from his face.
Her dark eyes met his, a split-second connection that felt like the bite of an
electric current. His heart tripped on a beat and he gaped.
Remarkable. This noisy, chaotic city where all was a tangle
of technology and confusion and those odd diagonal streets—she stood out: a
straight line, a calm constancy, the eye within the storm. He was confounded by
the impression of her psyche. Unique
was too commonplace a word.
A place to sit. He rubbed his mouth, staring up at her. To
sit would be good right now. He didn’t want to end up on his knees, not here
amidst the puddles and wet leaves.
The young girl twisted around and hopped up on the rail.
Odd. The railing didn’t look wide enough to make a comfortable seat. Well.
Considering her choice of hair color, he wasn’t surprised by her action.
Obviously, she was a little off.
He thumbed the edge of the business card in his hand, one
that bore the address and the name of the counselling center to which the
balcony belonged. Of course, she was. Why else would she be visiting a therapist?
Apparently, the bird reconsidered her perch, because she
disappeared in the next moment. A piercing shriek sounded, loud enough that he
had to cover his ears. It only lasted a few seconds, however, followed by a few
more desperate shouts.
And then there came no sound at all, except for the traffic
and the sparrows making a racket in the hedges bordering the parking lot. The
women and the mental itch had retreated back into the building.
He stood a few moments longer, watching the balcony, hoping
for another glimpse of her. But the remarkable woman and that wonderful
sensation did not return.
He brushed his fingers together and tugged his suit jacket
straight. No matter. She may have that which he sought, but she did not need to
come back out.
Because he was going in after it.
And this time, he was going to get it.
ISBN:
978-1-62830-560-9 Paperback
978-1-62830-561-6 Digital
978-1-62830-561-6 Digital
Word Count:
75000
Purchase
Links:
The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=5847
Amazon:
Kobo:
All Romance:
Bookstrand:
http://www.bookstrand.com/words-that-bind
Book
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4nf5CyjGJk
Goodreads
Giveaway (runs until Oct. 31, 2014):
Author Bio:
Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction author from
northeastern Pennsylvania. Krafton’s first novel, Bleeding Hearts was published in 2012 as part of a three-book urban
fantasy series The Books of the Demimonde
(Pink Narcissus Press). An urban fantasy novella, Strangers at the Hell Gate, was published by Wild Rose Press in
2013. Her latest book, Words That Bind, won
first place in the HeRA RWA “Show Me the Spark” 2013 competition; it is also
available through Wild Rose Press as an October 2014 release.
Krafton also writes New Adult speculative fiction novels
under the pen name AJ Krafton. Upcoming titles include The Heartbeat Thief, Face of
the Enemy, and the award-winning Takin’
It Back. She is part of a YA/NA collective known as the Infinite Ink
Authors.
In addition to novel-length fiction, Krafton enjoys writing
poetry and short prose, some of which earned distinctions in various writing
competitions. One of her poems was also nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She’s
a proud member of Pennwriters, Romance Writers of America, and Pikes Peak
Writers. Krafton is also a staff blogger for the Query Tracker Blog.
Author web
links:
Thanks for having me, Tricia...looking forward to doing a reading event with you soon!
ReplyDeleteAny time, Ash! :)
ReplyDelete