Reality Hero
by
Ashlynn Monroe
Erotic
Paranormal Romance
Categories:
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Superhero
Publisher:
Beachwalk Press
Release
Date: June 17, 2013
Heat
Level: Steamy
Word
Count: 72,000
Available at:
Amazon | ARe | B&N | Beachwalk Press
Description:
Can reality TV handle a reluctant
superhero bachelor, ten attention-seeking women, and one evil villain?
Dina Dell's career as a television
producer has hit bottom. Desperate to save her job, she comes up with the idea
for a reality show called I Want to Date a Superhero. But the only superhero
bachelor she knows is the only man she's ever loved—Zane Blair.
Zane was once a normal human, but a
traumatic childhood incident mutated him, along with Dina's sister and their
friends. Dina was the only one who escaped without any superhero abilities. And
while she might be the "normal" one, that only left her feeling like
more of an outcast.
Her lack of powers put Zane in danger.
Knowing that it was only a matter of time before someone used her to get to
him, she left, breaking both their hearts in the process. After all the pain
she caused him, will he be willing to help her now?
Then an old enemy emerges, putting Dina's
plans on hold. When her superhero friends are the ones who need help, Dina just
might learn that sometimes little Miss Average can be a hero too.
Warning: This title is intended for
readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult
language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.
EXCERPT
Rushing over to
where Zane and Ella lay, she couldn’t figure out why they weren’t getting up,
until she touched Zane. Screaming, she jerked her hand back. Her hand throbbed
from the shock of the electric current running through him. It wasn’t enough to
kill him, but it had to hurt like hell.
“My God, how
long have you been like this? I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”
Dina went to her
sister and was just about to touch her when Ella’s soft voice stopped her.
“Don’t touch me,
Dina. There’s more electricity in me. It’d kill you.”
Dina stepped
back a safe distance. She looked around for any trace of the source of the
electricity, but couldn’t see it. No obvious cords or wires lay around them. It
was perplexing and frustrating. Her damaged hand and side hurt like hell.
They needed a
hero. It was someone else’s turn to save their
asses. She looked around, but found nothing that would help her stop the
current. I’m all they have. I need to
figure this out.
She began to
feel the walls and floor of the dimly lit room. It seemed impossible, but it
was as if the force generated directly on top of them. Feeling the air over
them, she felt no cords, wires, or anything that could be causing it. They lay
locked in a prison of agony. It made her physically sick watching them suffer.
Anger burned inside of her.
A soft whisper
slid over her. It made her skin crawl. Turning, she was held transfixed by the
sight before her. There’d be no turning off the electricity. Ian stood in the
dark doorway at the back of the space. He was wearing a God-awful get up,
something that even an acrobat or magician would feel foolish wearing.
Half-white and half-black spandex covered his legs and torso. It had lightning
bolts running up the legs, and she swore she saw sequins glittering in the dim
light. At least his clothes advertise the
crazy inside the kook wearing them.
Even with her
life at stake, she felt amazed any man would voluntarily wear that. A pair of
young, big-haired, brunette women who resembled rock video rejects flanked him
on both sides. They looked so similar that Dina wondered if they were twins.
They rubbed against him likes cats in heat. It looked like the 1980s had thrown
up the worst of the decade all over them. Worse, they wore outfits that matched
Ian’s. His cruelty extended to the wardrobe of his minions.
Forcing herself
to focus, she glanced back at Zane and Ella. They were writhing. Ian’s
proximity must be increasing the voltage. She couldn’t believe he’d torture
people he’d once called family. She didn’t know how to stop him, except to kill
him, and the iron rod was all she had. Now she wished she’d listened to Ervin a
few years ago when he’d tried to get her to go to the range. He wanted her to
know how to shoot, and have a carry and conceal permit. A string of attacks in
the studio parking ramp had him looking out for her. She’d decided the only
safe way to carry a gun was to be willing to use it. She wasn’t willing then,
but gun would really come in handy right now.
Ian had grown
into a tall, well built, and very handsome, albeit tasteless, man. Knowing he’d
thrown away all his positive potential made her ache. In her heart, she still
wanted to help him. Dina still saw the scared boy behind his eyes.
They just stared
at one another. Dina frowned. She could tell she was the last person he’d
expected to see in his abandoned warehouse. He looked as if he were trying to
decide what to do. She could sympathize because she was trying to think of a
way to kill him. She knew he was the Electrocutioner, but actually seeing it
herself was heartbreaking. The electricity related crime spree should have
given him away, but she’d hoped she was wrong. After he’d left, she’d always
hoped he’d found a way to live a normal life—be happy.
Turmoil raged on
his face, and Dina wanted to reach out to him and help him stop the madness
he’d created. She lifted her arm ever so slightly and took a small step forward
as if to go to him. His men who’d left the room earlier suddenly returned. They
were all dressed in black suits and wore sunglasses. All of them had that slack
blankness in their expressions. Creeptastic.
She shuddered. The minions raised their guns simultaneously. Creeptastic-er. She saw it as if it were
slow motion. Her senses seemed to sharpen as mortal fear for her life kicked
in, making her hypersensitive to the danger. She heard the shot and closed her
eyes. Certainty she’d be dead filled her with resignation. If only I’d saved them, it would have been worth it. Dina felt no
pain. She felt no wound. Opening her eyes, she saw the men lay dead. Her mouth
fell open, but no sound came out. Confused and terrified, she looked back at
Ian. His spandex kitties backed away from him, looking at him uncertainly. She
realized that he’d killed his own men.
“How could you
kill them?” she asked quietly.
A booming laugh
came out of him, and the spandex twins backed farther away. They looked truly
terrified. He suddenly stopped laughing, his head snapped forward, and he
pinned Dina with a dark look.
Now she knew why
the women looked scared. She saw the electricity in his eyes. It hadn’t been
there a moment earlier. The realization that he could kill her immediately with
a look took a moment to sink in.
“Please, Ian,
stop this now. I want to help you. You’re not a killer. This is wrong— What
have you become?”
She saw the
electricity crackle more intensely. Me
and my damn big mouth.
His booming
laugh now had his kitties hunched down shaking, but still flanking him. How much electroshock therapy does it take
to make your minions that devoted and devoid of style sense? Dina thought
she detected genuine humor this time as he laughed. When he stopped, the look
he gave her was the oddest one she’d ever seen. His hard face softened
slightly. Yet he still appeared lethal. When
he kills me, I hope it’s fast and painless. He’d not spoken to her, but his
gaze seemed intensely transfixed on her. He’d always given her soul-deep
stares, but this felt edged with a matured hunger. She experienced white-hot
terror mingle with the adrenaline.
Dina took a step
back, and it seemed to break his focus.
“Should I kill
you, Dina? Should I kill Zane or Ella and make you watch? What am I going to do
with you? I never thought that I’d be near you again, but here you are. It
looks like you wanted to come for a visit very badly.” When he spoke, his voice
sounded hard and unfeeling. He glanced at her bloody hand and side.
She said
nothing, afraid to make him more unstable. She regretted her rash dialogue
earlier. She might’ve sealed all their death warrants.
“It’s a reunion.
I received a lot of money to bring you two here and hold you.” He turned toward
Zane and Ella as he spoke. Then he looked back at Dina. “Poor Dina just came
here to give me a little bonus. I’m sure my employers would pay an additional
amount for her. Zane, I see how you’re straining to free yourself. You should
stop and save your energy, because you’re going to need it. I wonder if I
should keep Dina for myself. My employers need never know I have her. Dina,
you’re the only thing I ever wanted but didn’t get. I’m wealthy—crime pays. I
can buy anything, except…”
Fear coursed
down her spine as he trailed off, looking vacant. Zane groaned with his
struggles behind her. This wasn’t going to end well for any of them, but she
feared that it would go extra badly for her if Ian decided to keep her. Death
was preferable to rape. Dina wanted to run. Yet she couldn’t abandon her sister
and Zane. If she ran, he would fry her like the guards. Indecision made her
crazy with all the various possibilities.
About the Author:
Ashlynn Monroe has been dreaming up
stories all her life. She started to put them on paper at thirteen, but it
wasn’t until she was thirty that she decided to share them with others. She’s a
busy mom with a full time job, fantastic friends, and a unique sense of humor.
She’s just a regular girl who’s in love with the idea of happily-ever-after.
She’s honored to be multi-published by some of the best electronic publishers
in the industry. Ashlynn survives each day by dreaming up her next tale of
romance.
Connect
with Ashlynn Monroe
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Kindlegraph | Goodreads
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