Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

This month I thought I would post a scene that inevitably ended on the “cutting room floor.”  It’s from BROKEN, and it’s a scene the morning after a big revelation that was rewritten. Caleb has brought Sarah lunch since she’s in her dorm room recouperating. What with New Moon’s release just days away, this is a little homage to Twilight. So, if you don’t like Twilight or sparkly vampires, feel free to skip to the next excerpt, but if you do leave a post. 

**Disclaimer : this scene was cut, so it never saw fine tune editing.

         “Ah, you are an angel,” I teased, smiling at the brown bag.

         “What would make you say that?”  His eyes narrowed and his body stiffened.

          “Because you brought food, silly.”

          We rode up to the third floor and walked back to my room without saying another word.  I thought for sure he would at least ask how my head was doing. Instead, we sat down on my bed and devoured the breakfast burritos he’d brought. Once he was done, finishing before me as usual, his eyes began to wander about my room. I watched in horror as he processed everything about my messy half. Finally, his eyes came to rest on the poster hanging above my bed.

          “You like that movie?” He asked with the child like tilt to his head.

          I shrugged. “I liked the books better. It’s about forbidden love, like a modern Romeo and Juliet.”

         “And that intrigues you? Forbidden love, I mean?”

          “It makes it exciting.”

          “You find him exciting because he’s all wrong for the heroine because of his desire to kill her, or put her in harm’s way?”

          My mouth dropped. “You’ve read the books?”

          His eyes darted between the poster and my small library on the top shelf of my desk. “I’ve read tons of things. When you can’t sleep–”

          “You don’t sleep?”

          His mouth twisted in a smirk. “Don’t get delusional ideas. I’m not a vampire. I can sleep; I just choose not to.”

         “I wasn’t thinking that at all.” Though, it was a possibility in my ever changing theories about who he really was. It would definitely explain his sudden appearance just before the display would have crushed me and the splintered two by fours.

          His eyes sparkled, catching the mid-day sun pouring in the window. “You didn’t answer my question.”

          I shrugged. “I don’t think he puts Bella in danger. I think she does that all by herself. He’s always protecting her, maybe a little overprotective. But I think what is so appealing about him is his self-restraint, and most of all, he falls in love with her from the moment he first sees her.”

          “He’s willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to be with her. He tempts his true nature and defies the laws that govern his kind. To me, that’s what makes their love story such a compelling one.”

          I’d expected Caleb to make a snide comment, or at the very least, to roll his eyes. But his words sank into my mind and a chill shimmied up my spine.

          I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye. “You make it sound like you identify with Edward.”

          He snorted. “Maybe.”

         “And how are you like him?”

         “I am most certainly not a vampire–”

         “You already said that, and since you’re not sparkling like a disco ball, I believe you.” I laughed as the sun drenched his fair skin and turned it a golden, milky color.

           This time he did roll his eyes. “They’re creatures of fiction. I have no desire to drain you of your blood. And I’m not seventeen.”

          I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then you are most like him in that you are breaking rules – to be with me? What rules are you breaking, Caleb?”

         He clenched his jaw and swiveled off the bed. In our brief time together, I’d come to realize that one of two things occurred when I asked more about him. He either let the hard mask fall back into place, or he simply disappeared. He didn’t grow cold, but turned his back to me as he absorbed my tiny living space. He fingers brushed over the titles of the books on my desk, the small stack of CD’s, and my research I’d left out. Before I could even think to grab the notes or the opening paragraph I’d written, he was pushing aside the papers with his fore finger.

          As he whipped around, that hard edged mask slipped completely down, and his eyes smoldered, dangerous. “What’s this?”

          “My research paper.”

          “Your research paper is on the murder of Christabell White?”

           I didn’t like the way he said her name with such familiarity. I took a deep breath and let it rattle out between my pressed lips. “Yes. I’m intrigued by local legends, and it’s one that fascinates me.”

          He balled his hands into fists. “You’re fascinated by the murder of an innocent woman?”

          “I’m not fascinated by the murder. I want to find the truth of what really happened.”  I squared my shoulders in defense.

           In a flash, he took one step and his nose came within an inch of mine. He breathed hard, and his heated words lashed across my face. “Some things are best left in the past.”

          Before I could answer, he stormed out of my room leaving a trail of scattered notebook papers drifting to the floor. I flounced back against the bed and sighed, damn his stubborn self conceited attitude. My head pounded again, and this time, it had nothing to do with the contusion I’d sustained the night before.

“Links to other Excerpt Monday writers
Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

So, to kick it off, your hosts:

Alexia Reed, Urban Fantasy (R)

and

Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG13)

Joining us this week:

Jane Bled, Yaoi/M-M Erotica/Vampire/Paranormal/Horror (PG 13)
Danie Ford, YA Urban Fantasy (PG 13)
Heather S Ingemar, Dark Fantasy (PG13)
Babette James, Fantasy Romance (PG13)
Cynthia Justlin, Contemporary Romance (PG 13)
Kaige, Historical Romance (PG 13)
Julia Knight, Fantasy Romance (PG 13)
Jeannie Lin, Historical paranormal romance (PG 13)
R.F Long, Fantasy (PG13)
Shawntelle Madison, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)
Debbie Mumford, Fantasy (PG 13)
Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG13)
Megan S, Paranormal (PG 13)
Rosalind Stone, Women’s Fiction (PG 13)
Jo Lynne Valerie, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)

Kendal Ashby, YA (R)
Jax Cassidy, Contemporary (R)
Inez Kelley, Romantic Comedy (R)
Aislinn Kerry, Fantasy (R)
Jeanne St. James, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)
Cherrie Lynn, Paranormal Romance (R)
Jeanette Murray, Romantic Comedy (R)
Christa Paige, Paranormal (R)
Michelle Picard, Fantasy Romance (R)
Mary Quast, Contemporary Romance (R)
Alexia Reed, Urban Fantasy (R)
Zora Stout, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)

Sara Brookes, Erotic Sci Fi (NC 17)
Emily Ryan-Davis, Romance (NC 17)
Ella Drake, Historical Paranormal Romance (NC 17)
Angeleque Ford, Erotic Dark Urban Fantasy (NC17)
J.W. Hankins, Dark Fiction (NC 17)
Annie Nicholas, Paranormal Romance (NC 17)
Kim Knox, Erotic SF Romance (NC17)
Michelle Polaris, Erotic Futuristic Romance (NC 17)
Bryl R. Tyne, Contemporary M/M (NC 17)

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