The Soul Within by Nancy Adams

The Soul Within

by Nancy Adams

About the Novel:

Alex’s body is in a coma. His soul, however, is not. Desperate to become whole, he must first convince stubborn beauty Evening Sinclair that he is not dead.

For generations, the Sinclairs have been healers. Using a gentle touch to heal the body and a soothing word to heal the soul, Evening Sinclair is no different. Yet despite her secret abilities, Eve has a somewhat normal existence. She enjoys her small physiotherapy practice, dotes on her eight-year-old daughter and occasionally helps souls get back into their bodies-that is until Alex, with his brooding good looks and glowing eyes, appears in her kitchen.

Alex is desperate to get back into his body-two innocent lives depend on it. His only obstacle is Eve and her stubborn fear. Unfortunately for Eve, Alex is ruthless and just as stubborn. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He will not 'go away' and no matter how much Eve tortures him with her lush body and perfect mouth, he will not change his mind. Eve will merge him, and if it takes him haunting her day and night, she will merge him back with a body-any body. 

Excerpt:

 “Go. Please,” she implored again. The look on her face caused him to frown. Not because she had recited those words, yet again, to him but because he was actually considering giving her what she wanted and leaving her alone. He wished he could give her that, but he wouldn’t. Besides, he didn’t like it when people lied to him and she was lying. She was capable of putting him back into his body—he read it on her face, in the movement of her hands and body.

The Guardian Project had spent long hours and millions of dollars teaching their soldiers how to read and interrupt body language. After all, if the people he hunted were on his kill list, they’d been good enough to avoid traditional police and military forces and he had to be better in order to stop them.

Deep in his gut he knew there was more—she wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Shit she wasn’t really telling him anything. It didn’t matter—he would not walk away just because Eve was scared. He would not let Miles kill Jillian. She and her baby would live.

He shook his head. “No.”

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “I won’t help you.”

 “Yes you will.” He took a step closer to her. “And I’m going to haunt you until you give me what I want.”

 “Haunt me.” Her eyes grew wide as a shiver shook her from head to toe.

 “Mmm.” He winked. “I’m not leaving your side until you put me back in my body.”

Heavy footsteps echoed on the front porch.

 “No,” she whispered, her eyebrows pressed together. “I won’t help you.”

 “Yes. You. Will.”

About the author:

Nancy’s addiction for a good trash novel began in her late-teens when her grandmother gave her a bag of Harlequin Romance books. She was hooked and spent the next few years lurking in the dark corners of used bookstores searching for her next fix. Until, one marriage and two kids later, her own ideas had her jumping up at 3 am (much to her husband’s annoyance) and typing them into her laptop. Beside her husband and children, Nancy has three passions, rearranging furniture, buying bed linens and, of course, writing. Nancy lives in Eastern Ontario with her family and two over sized lap dogs. 

You can contact her via e-mail, at Fancy-nancy@hotmail.com, or Facebook.

Nancy will be giving away a $20.00 Total e-Bound or Amazon gift certificate to one random reader throughout the tour, so make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win!

Friday Flash: "The Darkness Enters"

This work contains adult content.

The unusual silence that came with the twins’ absence made the house feel uncomfortably empty.  They would most likely be home in the next day or so, and until then, Carrie and Grant both needed to reflect upon their own roles in the destructive path the family had taken.  Equally, the twins needed to learn that the repercussions would eventually catch up with them if they kept trying to live life by their own rules.

Grant came home exasperatingly late.  He had opted to leave his phone in the car before stopping in the bar for a drink or five.  The bartender had sent him walking home again, and Carrie was in no mood for his excuses when he finally staggered in.

She sent him to sleep on the couch, knowing better than to discuss important matters with someone who was that ridiculously drunk, then went to bed early, unsure what else to do with herself in the dark, empty house.  She assured herself that the twins were safe, and that Grant would be fine once he slept off that heavy stout he insisted on drinking.  She only needed to worry about herself for a change, and so she fell against the pillows and stretched around them until she was selfishly comfortable.  It felt nice taking all of the sheets, and as she lay in the king-sized bed, she felt herself begin to relax.  She closed her eyes, smiling at the prospect of finally getting a good night’s sleep.

She sat up when Grant entered with a knock.

He looked even paler than before.  Sweat beaded down the sides of his face.  “I’m going to be sick,” he said before he bent over and vomited a thick, black sludge onto the carpet.  He gagged as the dark mass continued to exit his body in violent, regurgitating spasms.

“How much did you drink?” she asked, heading down the hall to get some towels.

“I’m feeling much better now.  I’ll be fine.  I’m just going to go back to the couch,” he said while he stumbled back to the living room.

She cleaned as much as she could, gagging at the black, thick goo that had become embedded in the carpeting.  She threw the towels immediately into the washing machine to soak.  She looked down, surprised to find herself covered in the oily black substance.

She fought the impulse to scream and curse, and decided instead to use the mess as an excuse to take a dip in the hot tub.  The kids were gone and she didn’t care if anyone else saw her.  She turned it on, pulled off the heat-sealing lid, and stripped completely naked before slipping chest-deep into the clear, hot water.

She closed her eyes, feeling tired and peaceful, letting her mind drift and her worries dissolve with her fading thoughts.  She smelled a sudden, heavy scent of pine right before a paralyzing spell held her nearly motionless in the water.  Her eyes snapped open, and her heart beat wildly against her tight chest as she found the water had gone black and opaque.  She tried to stand, but her limbs failed her.  She feared she might slip under the water’s surface and drown, and she tried to call for help, but she couldn’t summon the breath.

She couldn’t move her head to see but she felt something slithering through the water beside her.  A moment later, something cold and slimy worked its way between her legs.  Her body ignored her mind’s command to squirm away, only able to manage a weak kick when the snakelike heap began to nudge its way into her.  It grew firm as it prodded and climbed up inside, and then it suddenly went still.

Again, she tried to cry out, but her body refused to heed.  Just faintly, but growing stronger by the moment, she could feel the presence of her intruder tapping into her thoughts, and she could feel the creature stretching through her body, reaching formlessly through the framework of her nervous system, melding with other vital reaches of her body.  She could only bear witness to the puppet it was turning her into, feeling it begin to control her arms and legs, and even her facial expressions.  It held her paralyzed, making her a prisoner in her own skin.

This isn’t really happening, she thought, struggling to shake her terror.  She tried to will it away, to force her body back under her control, but she could not.  This isn’t really happening!

The creature writhing within her practiced maneuvering Carrie’s arms and legs, looking around and blinking her eyes.  It relaxed back, floating in the light current.

What’s going on? Carrie thought, as she could no longer prompt her body to speak.

“Lovely night for a soak, isn’t it?” the creature said, using her voice.

What’s happening to me?

“Doesn’t this water feel fantastic?”  The creature moved Carrie’s back along a hot jet of water.

Please let me go!

The creature simply laughed.

Please!

“What’s the best thing you’ve done with this body?”

Her mind flashed to that fateful night when a couple had pulled her into their private shoot.  She had thought to back out before it was too late, but they had been so persuasive.  Suddenly, her clothes were on the ground and she was in the midst of a threesome involving sex toys and outrageous bodily positions.  Even more disturbing was that she had taken the extra money they had offered her at the end of the “shoot.”  They had seen her as a glorified whore, and she had taken their money because she couldn’t afford not to.

She had gone to Grant immediately, and at first, she had thought he might strangle her in his rage.  Then, strangely, he had stood, slumped like a little boy, broken and empty, barely able to speak.  He had turned away from her in a way that had put her in tears, the weight of his anger nearly enough to crush her.  With the added weight of her own guilt, she felt as though she had to drag herself into their new life here in South Bend . . . along with a resentful yet devoted husband and two teenagers who hated everything about everything.

Again, the creature laughed.

I’ve finally lost it, Carrie thought.  Just like Mom.  It was inevitable, I suppose.

“I’m no case of Alzheimer’s,” it replied with chilling certainty.  “I’m something much, much worse.”  The creature floated on her back, and together they looked up at the stars.

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