“See how you fit right here Jasmine. I love it when you cuddle into me. My body craves your touch like an addict craves a fix.” He leaned down again and kissed my head. For some reason, my intuition kicked in and I knew today would be a turning point for us. Good or bad, things were changing.
“Nathan,” I whispered completely relaxed and entranced by him.
“Hmmm,” he answered nuzzling into my neck and placing whisper soft kisses up towards my ear.
“What’s luminosity?” As soon as the word was out his whole body reacted. He froze under me, his eyes shot open and he pulled away from me standing up. I watched in silence as he turned and paced up and down the cave running his fingers through his hair. His whole body trembled and I pushed up onto my knees intending to go to him when he held up a finger towards me.
“Nathan, what is it? I don’t understand.” He shook his head at me and continued pacing the floor without looking at me. He shook his head again and stared at the back wall of the cave. My body tensed as he came towards me in full demon mode and I scrambled backwards away from him. He stalked closer and eventually I had nowhere left to run.
He moved towards me and his black tongue reached out and he licked me. His eyes fought from black to brown and back again and my heart thrummed loudly in my ears. He spun me without warning and pushed me against the wall facing away from him. His lips touched the back of my neck and I shuddered as my body went slack in his hands.
His body shook violently and he released me, pushing me away so hard I hit the wall and slid down it. He ran to the back of the cave and stopped looking over at me, horrified as I turned towards him sporting a gash on my head.
“Oh my god,” he whispered, “Jas, are you ok baby?”
My whole body was shaking as adrenaline raced through me and I looked over at him through tear filled eyes. I shook my head. He was beside me in an instant, cradling me in his arms and muttering apologies into my hair. After a few seconds of composing myself I managed to choke out,
“Nathan, what the fuck was that?” His body shook again and my eyes darted up to his. I could see some sort of internal battle going on inside his head, but what he was fighting I couldn’t say. His eyes hardened and his posture stiffened as he pushed me from his knees and went to sit against the rocks hugging his knees. My body felt oddly bereft, but my mind was still racing from his reaction.
“Jasmine, you have to realise I’m a monster and sometimes that comes out in me.” His eyes looked sad as they swept over me and his lips turned down as he noticed the cut on my head. “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you. It’s just hear . . .” he broke off, swallowed and continued, “hearing you mention that caused my demon side to kick in.” I must have looked my confusion because he whispered, “Luminosity.” The pain in his face was replaced with a hunger that made my skin crawl, but I shook it off needing to hear more from him about what I had that was so special and dangerous for me.
“What is it?” I asked quietly, working the sleeve of my cardigan between my fingers as I watched him. This was a pivotal moment in our relationship, either he would tell me and we would be OK or he wouldn’t and we would be over. I knew for certain if he refused to tell me that I would never be able to trust him again. His eyes widened at the direction my thoughts had taken and he looked at me sadly.
“Ok, you wanna know about luminosity. Here it is.” His eyes became hungrier as they watched me and I could see him shiver as he fought for control of his body. “It’s the light of your soul. Every person has a soul but some souls are more luminous than others. Demons feed on the more luminous souls and it helps to sustain our bodies.”
My eyes widened as he spoke and I could feel myself beginning to tremble, “So what happens to the bodies once the soul is gone? Do these people go on soulless?”
“Jasmine, they die.” He answered with brutal honesty while staring at my face and my heart dropped into my toes as I realised I had been brought here to die. My breath began speeding and Nathan moved to my side. He tentatively reached out a hand towards me and I slapped it away, my mind reeling with the revelation.
“Nathan, am I going to die?” My head turned at the question and I looked into his eyes, dread filled his eyes at my question. He shook his head and turned his gaze away from me. We sat in silence for a moment and I thought he wasn’t going to answer me, but he sighed and turned to me with bright eyes full of unshed tears. “Yes,” he whispered and he paused at my sudden intake of breath.
“When?” I asked needing to know how long I had left. A tear rolled down his cheek as he muttered brokenly, “Halloween.” My eyes closed and my mind revolted, I only had three and a half weeks to live.
He placed his hands softly on my face caressing my cheeks. The heat from his body coursed through me, warming my heart. I refused to open my eyes and he leaned over me kissing each lid before he whispered, “next Halloween, Jas and you will only die if I can’t find a way to save you.” I nodded along with him and he pressed his lips to mine, but I was numb and couldn’t remember how to kiss. My heart was crushed and all of my dreams, future and fantasies were ashes knowing that I wouldn’t get to have a family or travel or do any of the amazing things I wanted to.
“How will I die?” I asked, needing to know if what he had told me in his demon form was true. He pressed his lips to mine again, begging me to kiss back, but I held fast and after a moment of stillness whispered, “I have to do it.”
“Do what?” I asked him although I thought, I already know the answer. I needed him to confirm it for me. “I’m the one who has to . . . to kill you.”His voice was as soft as a pillow against my lips and all I could do was nod as I slipped into blackness. My mind reeled as I realised the love of my life was destined to kill me.
This is much harder than I realised trying to organise my thoughts to make sure I include everyone and thank everyone for their support. To start off with I would like to thank my amazing editor, friend, counsel and girl Laura. I can’t believe we are on book two already. You totally rock and you are incredible, always willing to listen to me when I have a wobble or freak out. I appreciate everything you have done more than I can ever express and can’t wait to work with you on more books, or go have wine.
Next up I’d like to thank my street team. You are all incredible, both Katie’s, Charlie, Danni, Esha, Jennifer, Laura, Sarah, Becky and Cat especially. You all give me amazing feedback and are my first eyes on the story. I can’t thank you enough for all of your support and sharing my stuff is appreciated. I have the most amazing team of loyal, willing girls and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Danni, we’ve been friends for years and I always go to you for advice. Love you honey. Thank you for being my rock and my girl. Thank you for always listening, making me laugh and supporting me. I can’t believe I’m ready to release this and I wouldn’t be without all the support and ass kicking you have given me.
Katie, what can I say? You completely rock. Thank you for helping me, listening to me and offering me advice. I really appreciate your advice and time and I cannot wait to go to our signings and rock the place out. Love you honey.
Charlie, thank you again for listening to me and helping me feel like I could do it. Next it’s your turn and we’ll be there every step of the way to help you and offer you the support you’ve given to us. Lots of love.
To my proof/beta readers and my amazing reviewers, especially Cat, Becky and Katie, thank you all so much. I love how you can see the errors and missing info and come back to me to help me fix it. I couldn’t do it without you.
Next up I want to thank my incredible writing girls, Annie, you are an amazing author, incredible friend and make me laugh with your wicked sense of humour. Thank you so, so much for the Luminosity teaser. Lisa, you are sweet, kind and incredibly talented. You will have everyone love your stories because they are truly amazing. Cat, I feel like I have known you forever. Your kind words, support and reviews mean the world to me. Thank you so much for always bein
g there.
To my amazing cover designer, Desi’s Art Designs, you seem to be able to see into my head and pick out what my cover should look like. You are marvellous and I can’t wait to see all the covers together.
To the lovely Tami at Integrity formatting thank you for making my book look amazing. You have a wonderful gift and I can’t wait to share the amazing design with the world.
To my family, you drive me insane, push me, pull me but I wouldn’t be who I am today without the support of my amazing family. I love you all more than I can say. Mum, Dad, Jen, Shaz and Morgan, you inspire me every day and I hope I make you proud. Gran and Boab, thank you for sharing your stories with me and helping me to see the bigger picture. Love you both. Marie, Richard, Alison, Mike, Russ, Maxine and Arran, thank you all for your love and support. I am so lucky to have the most incredible inlaws and I love you all.
My girls Allie, Donna, Lynne, Tracey, Aimee, Lindsay, Katy, Suz and Debbie. You are fantastic friends, there when I need to laugh, cry or vent. I love you all and here’s to many more years of friendship. To the boys, Blair and Steff, thanks for always being there and for making me laugh with your stories, you guys rock.
To my incredible hubby, I love you more every day. When we got married I thought I knew what love was but everyday it grows and grows. Seeing you with the boys, watching you love them and raise them alongside me makes me love you in a completely different way. You are my world hubby and I love you more than you know.
To my gorgeous boys, I love you with all my heart and soul. You are everything to me and everything I do is for you. Every moment watching you grow is a blessing and I love being a mummy. You opened my eyes to the world and made me see it in a new way. I love you both as far as I can reach.
Also I want to thank my favourite authors for bringing such amazing stories into the world and inspiriting me with their tales. I would name them all but then we’d be here for years. So thank you to all authors for telling stories and helping to open people’s eye’s to the wonders of their imagination. Everyone has a story to tell and you make me believe that anything is possible.
Lastly can I say a small thank you to someone else, YOU, the person who has bought this book. Thank you so much for making my dreams come true. Thank you for reading and I hope loving my characters. You are amazing.
Love to all
Stacy
Luminosity (Escaping Demons Saga Book 1) Page 19