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When fantasy becomes reality, it brings to life one who has traveled through time, and a woman finds a man who sets her body ablaze with passion.
Ta-Mara LeBreaux finds escape reading a love story of a couple who get together despite all odds. Yet she never expected to be caught in her own tale—the outcome of which will be up to the fickleness of destiny. A man appears in her life and all signs point to the fact that he is the same Levi from her book—a book she has read countless times. She must be crazy… However when the impossible becomes reality, Ta-Mara is faced with Levi who has come from between the pages to her world. He’s all her dreams come true. This man is all too real and sexy as hell. But is she living on borrowed time with Levi, who can’t possibly be hers?
Levi Jefferson Davis Madison doesn’t know what brought him to this time or this particular woman. He is sure of one thing. Ta-Mara is the light that fills his soul. He won’t let anything or anyone stand between them. Yes this present time is so much different than he is used to but he won’t let that stop him. By opening first her home then her heart to a stranger, she shows him the depths of her character. Loving her is easy but being able to keep her by his side is his greatest challenge. Or is it…? There are some things that go beyond time and space. When love meets time, nothing can get in the way of unbreakable bonds.
General Release Date: 8th May 2015
The shot had torn through flesh and bone, making each movement—from breathing to continuing his forward motion—a painful chore. The man stumbled occasionally, yet pressed on. Baying dogs gained on him as his steps slowed. Sticky blood ran down his bare arm and mingled with the rain that cascaded around him. Wet branches reached out and ripped at his exposed upper body. Any and all air was ingested desperately as he ran farther into the forest.
He couldn’t be caught. He didn’t want to die without knowing who had killed her. He had to find a way to survive.
His Calliope.
Her sweet brown face appeared before him—plump lips, a somewhat flat nose and eyes the color of a mug brimming full of rich hot chocolate.
Calliope.
Tears mixed with rain as he ran on. A gun barked seconds before he collapsed as a bullet ripped through the back of his thigh. His fingers dug into the fertile soil as he struggled to regain his footing.
“There is nowhere for you to run, Levi. We will find you.” The deep, drawling voice rose above the storm, carrying through the trees.
Blood loss, combined with pure exhaustion brought on by his days of being held and beaten, overwhelmed him. Levi Jefferson Davis Madison sank ungraciously back to the forest floor, knowing he wouldn’t be able to continue. “I’m so sorry, Calliope. I tried, my love. I tried.” The tortured words were full of sorrow and pain.
Despite the cold his body had experienced for the past week, Levi felt a warmth flow over him like a feather blanket. A heat he hadn’t felt since before the day he’d lost his love.
A whisper came through the dark to reach his ears. Levi, you are a man whose love is pure. In a world divided by color, you never faltered. Despite everything put to you, you stayed true to your heart and never turned your back on your soul mate. For that, I tell you this… Rest now. Fear not, for you shall be returned to the arms of your love. Trust your heart, for it will not lead you astray.
Levi couldn’t explain it, but the words calmed his breaking heart. With a sigh that was more of a gurgle of blood, the man closed his eyes, ready to accept his death. He knew he would one day be reunited with the love who had died in his arms. The ones who had killed her were the same men who chased him.
One day couldn’t come too soon.
Lightning lit the sky as he turned tired eyes up and watched the night shadows become men whose faces were full of hate. Two watched him, one with green and one with blue, as they told him they were the ones who’d killed the love of his life.
The thunder rolled.
* * * *
Ta-Mara LeBreaux sniffled and smiled to herself behind the counter of the used bookstore she worked in, Roberta’s Reads. She closed the book and fondly ran her hand over the front cover.
What better way to pass the stormy afternoon than by reading about real men and real love? This was one of her favorite books. A story of the Old South, where despite the laws, one man had stood up for his beliefs and openly admitted his love for a freed slave. And although they hadn’t been able to get married, he’d claimed he was married in the eyes of God to her.
Levi Jefferson Davis Madison, raised in the Deep South, had fallen in love with a woman known as Calliope Jones.
She sniffed again. How wonderful it would be to have a man like him—tall, handsome, dangerously alpha and yet totally in love with his woman, willing to stand up to the bigots and take whatever crap they dished out.
“The only thing that sucks about this is that I don’t know if he dies or not.”
Age had yellowed the pages and the final bit was missing. The only thing resembling a title was faded script on the front that read Unbreakable Bonds. She had asked her friend, Reginald ‘Reggie’ Carpenter—the store’s owner—about the book and had even gone to the library and checked online to see if she could figure out more about this mysterious story. Nothing came up. And she couldn’t find an author name anywhere on it either.
Reginald had given her the book for helping him out in the store. She carried it with her always and reread it when she had any free time like now, on this dark stormy afternoon in Louisiana. Not many people were out, so after cleaning a bit, she had hunkered down and begun to read.
The book wasn’t very thick, but the words resonated with the passion Levi and Calliope had for one another. “I wish I knew the ending of this.” Her imaginative mind had created lots of different endings for the story. Of course, she substituted herself in place of Calliope, but at least Levi found his love.
A loud rumble of thunder echoed through the small brick building but it wasn’t until the lights flickered that she looked away from the object in her hands. The hum of the lights, which normally filled her with familiarity, seemed odd and unsettling. Almost like they were still trying to catch up from the power surge.
“What I need is to turn on some more music,” she muttered to herself as she placed the book down on the now clean desk. “My imagination is beginning to make me think I’m crazy.”
She headed down the middle of the store, her eyes traveling over the numerous shelves packed with books. This place made her feel at home. Rounding the final shelf, she turned toward the entrance of the back room.
Numerous boxes of books were stored there—extra copies, books for donating to literacy programs and more. Nimbly avoiding them, Ta-Mara finally reached the CD player. She dragged a finger over the stack of CDs before she made her selection and pulled a disc free from its case. “John Legend is always good to listen to.”
Content all was set, she headed out of the stockroom to return to the front of the store. Ta-Mara frowned as the smell of dirt and rain hit her nose. Okay, I get it. No more wild daydreams. She shook her head to rid herself of the crazy trip her mind was taking.
Two steps then she stopped as the entire place went pitch black. Lightning flashed and in its eerie glow, Ta-Mara found herself face-to-face with a man—a man with blood and water streaking his face. A man who lurched toward her and reached out as if to grab her.
An inhuman scream left her before she crumpled to the floor.
* * * *
Ta-Mara stirred. She moaned as she rubbed her head. Damn that hurts. The lights were still out in the store, so she got up slowly.
“Hello?” she asked the dark.
Was someone there? She would swear she had seen a man, but on the off chance he remained, did she really want him to know where in the store she was?
Oh, get a grip, Ta-Mara. You imagined it. That’s all.
There was a soft groan in the darkness. A whimper of fear slipped out as she realized she wasn’t alone in the store.
“Hello? Is someone there?” She reached behind her to the shelf where they kept hardbacks and she grabbed a thick one. Ta-Mara gripped it before her and said with more bravado than she felt, “Answer me. I’m armed and…and I know karate.”
Okay, I thought about taking karate. Now I wish I had.
No answer. Not even another groan.
Gritting her teeth, Ta-Mara positioned her body to head back to the storage area and the fuse box. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself. The situation would have been laughable if not for the pounding of her heart and her sweaty palms.
Normally of solid character, panicking was so unlike her—and she didn’t like it. Moving carefully, Ta-Mara made her way through the blackness to where she knew the box was.
Sliding her feet along the carpet to make sure she didn’t trip, Ta-Mara hesitated as she brought up a mental image of the back room. What, if anything, sat on the floor between her and the wall supporting the fuse box?
Crack! Another lightning flash was followed immediately by more rumbling thunder.
She was ready to jump out of her skin, as tight as her body was wound. Ta-Mara felt the hum of electricity before the lights actually came back on. They flickered a bit but with a final surge, a sigh escaped her as the glow of florescent bulbs flooded the back room.
Closing her eyes in relief, Ta-Mara heard the sexy voice of John Legend fill the air and she turned around to see if anyone was behind her. Her hands remained curled around the heavy book and she was ready, just in case. She put the CD player on batteries so it wouldn’t skip again with the inclement weather.
She checked each aisle and didn’t find a single person. Wearily, she headed back to the spot where she had retrieved her hardback weapon and returned it. There was no one in the store aside from herself as she walked to the front desk.
Her book was gone.
Taige Crenshaw
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Taige Crenshaw has been enthralled with the written word from the time she picked up her first book. It wasn't long before she started to make up her own tales of romance.
Her novels are set in the modern day between people who know what they want and how to get it. Taige also sets her stories in the future with vast universes between beautiful, strange and unique beings with lots of spice and sensuality added to her work.
Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun and frolic, with interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels.
Aliyah Burke
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She is happily married to a career military man. They are owned by six Borzoi. She spends her days at the day job, writing, and working with her dogs. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here. She can also be found on Facebook or Twitter: @AliyahBurke96. And Pinterest.
If you would like to be kept abreast of what's going on in the world of Aliyah, you can sign up to her newsletter here.
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