Seraphina:
Initiation
Seraphina
Series
Book
Two
by Sheena
Hutchinson
Genre:
Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Hutchinson Publishing
Date of
Publication: 10/20/2014
Number of pages:
200
Word Count: 60,000
Cover Artist: Andrea Garcia
Book
Description:
Seraphina Cross
is unexpectedly thrown into this crazy, spiritual world of Angels versus
Demons. Never did she expect to meet Nate who was just a figment of her imagination
until last week. Now she finds herself moving in with him because of her innate
responsibility to protect her loved ones from harm.
Finally
beginning to feel at home in her new house and with her new relationship. Nate
begins training Sera in all that she can do, surprising even himself at times.
Just when she is
starting to feel safe and powerful, the Devil finds a new way to attack her at
her most vulnerable.
When her dreams
are no longer a gift, can Sera control the powers needed to defeat what's
coming before Lucifer fulfills his promise to her?
Buy Links:
Excerpt from Seraphina: Initiation
Climbing the three steps, I turn to Nate and state, “I want to cook!” as I push him into his seat in the breakfast
nook.
“Are you sure?” he asks me knowing full well I have no culinary skills
and we could conjure a meal in seconds. I could attempt
to conjure a meal, but to be honest I crave some normalcy.
“How bad can I screw
up eggs?” I joke over my shoulder as I’m checking
the cabinets for a frying
pan. When I find it I open the refrigerator for some eggs. As I open
the door, I feel the cold hit my bare legs and I’m suddenly
fully aware I’m wearing
nothing but a short, sheer,
silk nightgown. I’m beginning to feel Nate’s
eyes all over me.
I take a calming breath,
grab a few eggs, and turn to the stove pretending not to notice.
I turn the flame
on when he finally speaks.
“I feel useless! Can’t I do something?” he asks with a smirk
I know implies more than he says.
“Uh, you can make the toast!” I turn around
and joke, but he rises. Passing me so
close he just barely makes
contact, but I can sense
his body heat radiating towards
me. He pops a few slices of toast into the toaster
before I feel his body heat behind
me again. My body
stiffens when my senses begin to go haywire. Then I feel his fingers
touch my waist through my nightgown sliding
themselves lightly up and down the side of my body. With his
other hand I feel him move my hair to one side, over my shoulder as he gently
places a kiss on the back of my neck. His body heat is rising behind me as he kisses down my neck
to the tip of my shoulder. I close my eyes relishing
in his touch and let my senses feel him. I let myself feel him, his touch, his emotions, his heat. I can sense
him, and… smell him? I smell something else, something burning.
I look over to see the toast hasn’t popped back up. Regrettably and slowly pulling
away, I walk across to the toaster
and pull out the black bread.
“I give you one job!”
I joke waiving the burnt
toast in his direction.
“Sorry, I was distracted!” he defends mockingly looking down like a puppy
in trouble.
“Well,
don’t let it happen again.”
I parentally joke back as I throw the blackened bread at him playfully. He flashes me a heart-stopping smirk before sitting
back in his place
while I serve
him his eggs.
We eat breakfast in silence.
It’s hard to put into human
words, but it’s as if there’s some unspoken connection in the room. One that we are both
aware we want, but we don’t want to act on it. So instead,
we sit staring at each other,
basking in the emotion the other is giving off for what seems like forever until
Nate breaks the silence.
“Okay,”
he leans back throwing his arms up in defeat,
“I think it’s time you put some real clothes
on so we can get some actual
work done today!”
I
giggle looking down at the nightgown that’s
hugging my body before getting
up to change. I’m almost down the stairs
when I hear,
“Aren’t you going to clean up your mess?” Nate asks in his stern
training mode voice.
“What?” I flash back around to ask in surprise.
“I think it’s time you try using your mind powers,
clean this up,” he replies
trying not to move his eyes lower than my hazel ones.
I sigh before closing
my eyes, trying
to remember how Nate explained using them. I focus
my mind on all the dishes being
clean and tucked
back into their
little places in the cabinets before
snapping my fingers.
I open one eye first
to check the table, when I see all the plates are missing from the table I open the other.
I smile proudly, shrug my shoulders before turning around
and dashing upstairs
to put on something more, appropriate.
A few minutes
later, I’m running
down the stairs
in my training clothes and my hand excitedly reaches for the front door when I hear Nate cough behind
me. I turn to see him standing
in the dining room. Confused, I walk towards
him.
“Aren’t we going
for a run?” I ask him pointing over my shoulder
to the door behind me.
“I’m sorry Sera, but we can’t
go outside anymore.
If you need to release
some energy I made a treadmill in the basement.”
I freeze staring
past him and out the glass wall of the dining room at all the trees and
the gorgeous cliff and my heart sinks.
I can’t go outside anymore?
I can’t feel the sun on
my face? The wind in my hair? The heartbeat of the earth?
I’m a prisoner
in my own house. I know this is because of the bear yesterday and that this is for my own safety, but I can’t help feeling
my heart drop and I know Nate can see it sprawled
all over my face.
“I’m sorry
Sera, but until
you are trained
you shouldn’t be in harm’s
way… consciously, not if I can help it.”
I can’t be mad at Nate he’s only trying
to protect me, but I can’t help the resentment I feel. I turn around without
a word, open the basement
door against the side of the staircase,
and slam it behind me as I descend the stairs. When I reach
the last step,
I eye the plain cement
basement with the treadmill in the middle
of the room. He has set up a flat screen television with a picture
of the forest, but it doesn’t help. Looking around,
in this dreary training
facility I notice
there are no windows or air. I can’t help the anger I
feel, but instead of thinking
about it, I try and focus it. I turn the treadmill
up and run. I run as fast as the stupid
machine will go. I run, trying to escape all the anger,
all the sadness,
all the confusion and all the other weird feelings
I can’t put into words. I run until
all my overwhelming emotions produce
a tear. I feel it begin to trace its way down my
cheek. As if in slow motion, I see the singular tear drop all the way down to the belt before my foot extends
and I step on it. I slam my foot down as if I’m repressing all the depressing
feelings, all the anger I harbor. Somehow
in all that is going on I realize the old, depressed, weak Sera is gone. She died that night in the middle
of the street. The only thing that remains is Seraphina. She is strong,
confident, and she is who I need to
become. I slam my hand down on the ‘Stop’
button and jump off the treadmill wiping
my cheek before heading
upstairs, ready to learn how to become
who I need to be.
About the Author
Sheena is a born
and raised New Yorker, even her writing can't seem to hide her hard sarcasm.
She claims destiny has lead her back to her true passion for writing.
She constantly
strives to be a positive role model and writes stories that empower and
inspire. Sheena always roots for the underdog, believes in love at first sight,
and that everyone should have their happily ever after.
While God is
currently still writing her love story, she continues to put all her effort
into her writing as she is constantly getting new inspiration.
For more info,
updates, and fun facts visit her website at www.SheenaHutchinson.com
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
2 e-book copies
of Initiation.
2- signed
paperbacks of Initiation open to US Shipping.
1- Swag Basket --
Signed paperback of Awakening & Initiation, bookmark, mug, Chapstick, key
chain, pen, and $10 Amazon gift card- open to US Shipping.
1- $25
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This sounds like my type of book! I love discovering new Angel books :) *Holdings thumbs* Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteChanzie @ Mean Who You Are.
This story sounds different than I usually read, but I am wondering if Seraphina will be able to protect who she wants to and become this new person she wants to become.
ReplyDeleteahhh, only time will tell ;)
DeleteSounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me today! Love the blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this awesome giveaway! Initiation sounds really good so I sure hope I win!!
ReplyDeleteHello Sheena, Seraphina sounds great! I would enjoy reading this book. Thank you
ReplyDeletegreat cover and liked the excerpt! - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteSounds really good!
ReplyDelete