Ghost
By
Dani-Lyn Alexander
Publisher:
Crimson Frost Books
Release
Date: May 18, 2014
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Length: 25
Pages
Buy
Link: Amazon Crimson Frost Books
About
the book;
After a head injury, Jess begins to see things she
can’t explain. She starts to wonder if she’s hallucinating, losing her mind
completely...or if something far worse might be happening.
A scream erupted from her throat, dragging her
forcefully from the nightmare that held her captive. Heart pounding, chest
heaving, she rolled over and reached to pull the pillow over her head. The
lingering fear from the nightmare morphed into sheer terror when she realized
she was no longer lying in her warm, cozy bed, but on a cold, hard surface. She
froze, too afraid to move, and opened her eyes just enough to study her
surroundings.
“What the..?” Although she laid in total darkness,
Jess knew exactly where she was. The bumps and crevices of the rough terra
cotta tile, combined with the lingering scent of potpourri, were unmistakable.
How had she gotten here? Why were there no lights? Pain slammed through her
head when she tried to sit up. Nausea threatened to overwhelm her, and she
forced the bile back down. She lowered herself to the floor, gently resting her
cheek against the cool tile. Maybe she could just lay here for the rest of the
night.
Reality intruded, and she knew she had to stand. She
moved slowly, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her forehead against
them. Taking slow breaths and tentatively rubbing at the tender spot on her
temple, she was surprised when her hand came away sticky. “Ugh…what’s on my
hand?”
She struggled to her feet and slapped her hands
against the wall to stop the room from spinning. Once the world came into
focus, she padded to the kitchen, hoping to rid herself of the coppery taste
that was threatening to choke her.
Pain exploded behind her eyes and took her breath
away when she turned on the light. She grabbed a clean towel from the drawer,
filled it with ice, and pressed it against her throbbing head. Elbows on the
kitchen counter, she leaned into the cold of her impromptu ice pack. Numbness
prickled her skin.
How had she ended up on the floor? How long had she
lain there? Had she fallen? Passed out? The throbbing pain made thinking
difficult. Aspirin. Aspirin would help. She reached for the bottle in the
cabinet and then filled a glass with cool water. When she raised her head to
drink, she caught sight of her reflection in the window above the sink.
With darkness pressing heavily against the glass,
she was able to see herself quite clearly. The disheveled woman who met her
gaze startled her. Her short, dark hair stuck out in all directions but, when
she tried to run her fingers through the rat’s nest in an effort to tame it,
she met resistance. The sticky mess had already started to dry, leaving her
hair full of knots. She’d bled worse than she’d thought. The pink t-shirt she’d
worn to bed was also blood splattered.
“What happened to me? Was I sleepwalking?” She
sipped her water, but dumped the remainder down the sink when her stomach
rebelled. Her heart pounded in her chest, keeping time with the throbbing in
her temples. There has to be a logical explanation for this. Did I get up to go
to the bathroom and trip? That didn’t make sense, even to her own confused
mind. When her gaze returned to the window, she couldn’t fight the fear that
clutched at her throat.
“Oh, my…” she told the woman who stared back from
the window, but left the sentence unfinished when she caught movement from
behind her in the reflection. Instinctively ducking to the side, Jess turned to
find the room empty. Her heart thundered in her already constricted chest, her
breath coming in short, shallow gasps. Tremors shook her body as she struggled
desperately to fight off the impending panic attack. The hammering of her heart
made it hard for her to hear anything else, but she strained her ears to
listen.
The kitchen doorway led to the small living room
directly across from the window. Had someone been moving through the room? Was
that how she’d ended up crumpled on the floor at the bottom of the stairs? Had
she been pushed?
Dani-Lyn is a native New Yorker. She was born in
Rome, New York, then moved to Rosedale, and finally to Long Island. She still
lives on eastern Long Island with her husband and three children, ages twenty
two, fifteen and three.
Thank you so much for hosting me! Enjoy your weekend!
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