After numerous rounds of edits, my book The Demon Within is finally done!

 

This book has been in the works for years, so I’m glad to finally get a chance to share the Ruman and Caly’s story about how a tarnished angel and a reformed demon fall in love.

 

I did a lot of research for this book, so the little tidbits you read about are pull from history. For example, did you know that for decades, people really believed (and still do) in demons? They would put a demon statue in their home for protection. Or how about djinns, possession, angel and demon lore, and King Arthur’s dagger?

 

Sound interesting? Then come and check out The Demon Within.

It’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and coming soon at ARe.

(The print version should be ready to order by Wednesday.)

 

Blurb:

When the balance in the world is threatened, human survival rests in the hands of two unlikely saviors, a disgraced angel and a reformed demon.

 

As a punishment for failing his duty as an angel, Ruman finds himself encased in stone in the form of a guardian statue. Every few decades he is given a chance to repent. And fails. Until the totally unsuitable Caly Sawyer accidentally brings him back to life. Nothing is going to prevent him from gaining his freedom, especially some willfully stubborn human determined to kill him.

 

Caly doesn’t trust the mysterious stranger who came out of nowhere and risked his life for hers. As a demon hunter, she knows there is something not quite human about the sexy bastard. Her ability to detect demons is infallible. She should know. She used to be one.

 

War is brewing between demons and humans. The demon infection that Caly had always considered a curse might just be the key to their survival…if Ruman can keep her alive long enough. Despite the volatile attraction between her and her sexy protector, Caly’s determined to do whatever it takes to keep everyone alive. The more Ruman learns about his beautiful charge, the more he questions his duty and loyalty…and dreads the call to return home. If they can’t learn to trust each other in time, one of them will die.

 

Here is a little peek:

(Caly just literally fell at the hero’s feet.)

 

Blood trickled from a gash, coating the rough surface beneath her fingers. Warming it. Pulling her arm back, she ignored the cut and parted the vines.

 

And caught a glimpse of stone.

 

Spreading the vegetation further, she stilled when powerful thighs filled her gaze. The voices of the men arguing disappeared in the background as she tilted her head back and looked up.

 

A black beetle so large it had to be on steroids paused in climbing the statue and flicked a perturbed glance at her. With a little hiss for disturbing him, the little critter launched itself in the air with a flutter of wings. She flinched, bowed backwards to miss being hit in the face.

 

And met the open-eyed stare of the stone man, forever captured in time. Thoughts of bugs vanished. Caly’s lips parted, and her breath stuttered out of her mouth.

 

There was a God.

 

The man — and from her view kneeling on the moss covered ground, he was most definitely a man — was absolutely gorgeous. Not in the normal sense, not by Hollywood standards. Prominent cheekbones, a full, sharp nose and a strong jaw kept his face from being too feminine.

 

Desire twisted through her. A deep yearning tightened her chest, and a bubble of hope swelled. This was a man she could depend on to not let her down. When she looked at him, the chaos inside that defined most of her life settled.

 

She felt normal.

 

Then reality crashed over her.

 

Desire for a damn statue.

 

How ironic she could be attracted to stone when living men left her cold. But here, in the middle of nowhere, she found a man who turned her on like nobody else, and he wasn’t real. It was enough to make a grown girl cry.

 

Little details filtered into her brain, and a thrill of excitement thrummed under her skin. The answers she sought about her condition were stuck in the past; she only had to uncover the clues. Since they’ve landed, he was the first concrete hint something was off.

 

This was why she came here. What quieted her protests against the mission. All for the chance to learn if there was a possibility for her to be fully human again and finally destroy the demon infection that had taken root and flourished in her body. Every day, it ate away her humanity. Relished the fighting a bit too much. Each time the darkness opened up in her, the more she wondered why she fought it at all.

 

The mission forgotten, Caly took her time to catalog the odd details. The statue wasn’t what she’d come to expect from this region. Instead of native garb, the grey stone man had chiseled, close fitted pants.

 

Two inch carved straps crisscrossed his chest, appearing to almost dig into the stone. His long hair, wild with waves, was tied back from his face. Her fingers twitched to run her hands over him. Though his complexion was tinged green with age, the fierce expression drew her gaze instead of repelling her.

The turn of his lips was anything but sensual, yet their fullness made her think of sex and what a man could do with a mouth like his.

 

Strong shoulders led down to a lean, sculptured chest. His open shirt did little to disguise his physique. The statue shouldn’t have impressed her, but it was as if the stone called to her. A streak of light filtered through the canopy, wavered a moment then illuminated him like an offering.

 

Something just for her. She had to curl her fingers into a fist to resist touching him.

 

As she watched, she swore his chest moved to breathe. It took a physical effort to pull her gaze away and longer to tuck away the desire to stake claim.