| Kindness was in the woman's voice, concern warmed her pale blue eyes. For him. Most people in his country either pretended not to see him or made a hasty departure. They knew what he was about, what his dark purpose was, and they feared his appearance. Not Morgan Edwards. She didn't seem to be aware of the significance of his presence, or perhaps didn't care. Instead, she had consistently noticed him, watched him, even worried about him. She'd ventured out in a storm to make sure he was all right, not knowing he was unaffected by it. Offered him food, not knowing he didn't eat. And finally, invited him inside. Inside. He'd long forgotten what that was like. More than being warm and comfortable, if he had been able to feel such things. It was the sense of being welcome. Wanted. Curiosity, in itself a novelty, compelled him to accept the woman's invitation, if only for a moment. He'd watched her with interest, admired the fearless efficiency in the way she moved. She'd been startled when she came face to face with him—but she hadn't screamed. He'd been startled, too. Morgan Edwards was pretty by human standards and almost as finely featured as the Fae themselves. Yet, while their hair was fine and icy white, hers was thick and glossy, the very color of a newly hulled chestnut. Her scent had filled his nostrils, crept into his lungs to nestle by his unbeating heart and warm it. It shouldn't be possible. He'd vanished then, returned to the elements outside, to the cold and familiar darkness. But a faint spark had been fanned to life inside him, some emotion he could not name. Emotion was a stranger, must be a stranger, and yet… He must not interfere. He was forbidden to interfere. Destiny ruled over life and death, the Tylwyth Teg had said before charging him with his terrible task. What destiny has decreed, you will herald. It cannot be altered or defied. Yet, for the first time in centuries, he considered that perhaps the Fair Ones were wrong. This excerpt was from the new paranormal novella A Leap of Knowing © copyright 2008 Dani Harper NOW AVAILABLE as a downloadable ebook from Cobblestone Press www.cobblestone-press.com Direct Purchase Link: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/aleapofknowing.htm |
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| Unedited Excerpts from A Leap of Knowing © copyright 2008 Dani Harper |
| Excerpt One |
| Excerpt Two |
| She turned her car into her laneway and was surprised to find Jay's blue van parked by the barn, as well as a gray pickup truck attached to a horse trailer. Was it that day already? Jay and his role-playing buddies came to Morgan's farm twice a month to practice archery, swordplay, and occasionally even jousting, activities that didn't readily fit in suburban backyards. Morgan parked beside the van and had barely gotten out of her truck before she was captured in a hug by Jay's wife, Starr. "It's so good to see you! Did you just get off work? You must be starving—we've laid out a picnic since it's so nice outside, and there's lots of food. Let me find you a plate. Oh, and you have to try the fruit bars I made," Starr chattered as she led Morgan around the corner of the barn. "Thanks. If they'll give me your energy, I could really use some," laughed Morgan. The air was suddenly rent with loud cheers and decidedly male hoots that belonged more to a football game than to archery. Still chuckling, she turned to look—then stopped in her tracks and stared. The group was cheering for Rhys. Riding without saddle or reins, he was guiding a big black Friesian in an easy circle as he nocked arrow after arrow and sent them into a straw target. "Can you believe it?" asked Starr. "He's directing Brandon's horse with nothing but body language. I guess that's how dressage is done, but Boo's never been trained for it." Body language. Rhys' body was certainly communicating something to hers, Morgan thought, unable to take her eyes off him. The black T-shirt he wore only seemed to emphasize the muscle beneath. He was tall and broad of shoulder, yet his movements were graceful, fluid. Both bow and horse seemed to be part of him, moving as a seamless whole. She'd never openly admired a man in her life, but there was no help for it— every sensuous dream she'd had replayed in her mind as she watched him. Jay's voice sounded in her ear, making her jump. "You think that's good, you should see Rhys with a sword. He showed up right after we got here and ended up helping all of us with our techniques." He rubbed his upper arms. "What a workout! Mike's had the most training of any of us, years of it, but he says he learned more in an hour with Rhys than all of it put together. You know what this means, don't you?" "You have a new playmate to invite to your renaissance fairs?" "He'd sure make a helluva impression." Jay lowered his voice then. "And that's just the point. Morgan, this guy of yours is hyper-skilled with weaponry." "That's pretty obvious. But so what? Brandon and Mike are, too; so are the rest of you. Starr's a whiz with a bow while I can barely hold one." "Maybe you're not experienced enough to see the difference. Look, even Mike and Brandon agree with me that Rhys is different. Really different. He seems to be a good guy and all, don't get me wrong. I like him. But his level of skill with a sword or a bow, or even a horse, doesn't come from taking classes." "Why not? Where else would you learn this kind of stuff?" "From living it, Morgan." This excerpt was from the new paranormal novella A Leap of Knowing © copyright 2008 Dani Harper NOW AVAILABLE as a downloadable ebook from Cobblestone Press www.cobblestone-press.com Direct Purchase Link: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/aleapofknowing.htm |
| Suddenly shaky, she sat on the grain bin, unable to take her eyes away from Rhys' broad back. The last time she had seen him naked—when she'd threatened him with a garden hoe—she'd noticed a number of wide white scars on arms, legs, even chest, and thought them profuse. She hadn't seen his back at that time, hadn't seen his back in last night's darkness either. Hadn't seen the dozens upon dozens of long thin scars there. They appeared smooth and flat, but there was barely an inch of skin that wasn't brutally marked. "What the hell happened to your back?" she blurted out in an unsteady rush. Rhys finished wrapping the mare's leg and came to stand in front of Morgan, wiping the salve from his hands on a cloth. "To the Roman way of thinking, a man with the sign of a dog should be treated as a dog. They whipped me for sport as much as for punishment." He shrugged. "It was a long time ago, and their bones are naught but dust now. Truly, the Fair Ones were just as cruel, though they dinna lay a hand on me." Dust. Romans. The Fair Ones. Morgan didn't know what to say. Her expression must have showed her bewilderment because Rhys tried to brush her face with his fingertips and, God help her, she shied from his touch. She didn't mean to, but she couldn't help it. Her mind was racing like a rabbit from a lynx, panicked and desperate. She cared for this man, perhaps even loved this man, and he had abruptly morphed into a deluded stranger again. She was suddenly angry, upset with him for changing, but most of her fury was directed at herself. This was her own fault. Why hadn't she asked more questions? Why had she rationalized away the strange things he'd said when she first found him naked? Had she thought that if she just ignored them, Rhys' mental problems would simply disappear? "Look," she said, fighting to steady her voice and losing the battle. "I don't know what you're dealing with, but you don't have to do it alone. We can work on it together, find you some help—" "Help?" He looked both puzzled and annoyed. "There is no help for the truth, lass." This excerpt was from the new paranormal novella A Leap of Knowing © copyright 2008 Dani Harper NOW AVAILABLE as a downloadable ebook from Cobblestone Press www.cobblestone-press.com Direct Purchase Link: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/aleapofknowing.htm |
| Excerpt Three |
| Now Available as a download from Cobblestone Press http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/aleapofknowing.htm |
| Morgan found herself in a forest clearing by a fallen tree. Stars pinwheeled high above, and a group of horses milled about just within the trees. She could smell them, hear them as they stamped and snorted, making the sounds of animals settling for the night. She was far from settled. Instead she stood, naked, waiting, anticipating. Suddenly she felt him standing behind her. He hadn't made a sound, but she was as aware of this man's presence as she was of her own. She quivered as he nuzzled the back of her neck, planting kisses there. His broad rough palms skimmed lightly over her shoulders and down her arms to her wrists and back up to her shoulders to begin again. Down and up, barely touching her, down and up. It sensitized her skin until every part of her body was yearning to be touched. His strong hands glissed over the length of her back, their power leashed. He traced intricate circles and symbols there with the same maddeningly gentle touch, as a soft warm breeze flowed sensuously around her legs, her face, her breasts. Gradually his hands circled lower, grazing softly over her bottom, round and round, back and forth until she wanted to scream from the sheer tension. She could barely stand still. Her breasts were tight, her insides clenching until she could feel the moisture collecting between her legs. Touch me, damn it, please! Suddenly he gave her just what she'd been craving—he cupped her buttocks and squeezed them hard, kneaded them with his broad hands. It electrified her. The jolt of pleasure shot throughout her body, prickling her already hard nipples and tingling through her clit. He pressed lightly on her upper back, bending her until she had to place her hands on the fallen tree. His other hand slid between her legs, and she parted them readily. She was aching to be rubbed, and rubbed hard, but again the broad fingers barely brushed over her tight wool and swollen lips. Morgan tried to rub herself on his hand, but it eluded her, softly stroking her inner thighs instead until she trembled all over, nearly frantic with arousal and need. Without warning, he knelt behind her and began pressing soft moist kisses to her buttocks. She was wriggling now, wanting more, but he threw a powerful arm around her hips and held her in place. Slowly, painstakingly, he kissed his way over every inch of her bottom, interspersing the kisses with light nips that were immediately laved with his tongue. The pleasure shot through her like hot current through copper wire. Her last coherent thought was to marvel that everything within her was so intricately connected that to be touched in one place was to be touched everywhere…. This excerpt was from the new paranormal novella A Leap of Knowing © copyright 2008 Dani Harper NOW AVAILABLE as a downloadable ebook from Cobblestone Press www.cobblestone-press.com Direct Purchase Link: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/aleapofknowing.htm |
| Excerpt Four - Rated Sensual |
Dani Harper writes paranormal romance you can really sink your teeth into...
| Rated by Night Owl Romance http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlro mance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=2815 |
| REVIEWER TOP PICK |
| "A Leap of Knowing is a wonderful tale full of magic and romance." RATED 5 out of 5 by Long and Short Reviews |