Sneak Peek!

Here’s another exclusive look at Unholy Intentions, the fifth dark romance novel in the “Ruthless Alphas” series coming this March!

When a quiet night turns chilling, Hailey Saintpatrick realizes the shadows outside her window aren’t just in her head. Is it her stalker… or something even more dangerous?

Read on for a taste of the tension, obsession, and forbidden desire to come.

***

Hailey

“See, your fur feels so good when you’re freshly washed,” I comfort Duckling as I wrap her in a fluffy towel. She hates bathing, and fights like a valkyrie every time I dip her paws into water. She gave me a few nasty scratches this time, but ended up purring and making biscuits into the soft fabric of the towel.

 I smile down at her as I stroke her under the chin with my fingers.

“You’re so pretty,” I giggle. “Look how pretty you are.”

To think that, when I found her, she was so small that I could hold her in the palm of my hand. I found her starving and meowing for her life in a bush, so skinny and dirty she reminded me of the Ugly Duckling. Two months later, she’s grown into a splendid ball of snow-white fur. She’s a real sweetheart when she’s not sowing terror among the population of mice on the mansion grounds. And she’s got superpowers, too. She fills me with joy no matter how shitty my day was, especially when her eyes fall shut and her little tongue pushes out between her teeth before she falls asleep. 

I place her on the bed, on her pillow next to mine. No point even trying to put her in the little basket I bought for a small fortune at Dior. She’ll be tangled in my hair in the morning anyway. I don’t buy any designer shoes, bags or clothes for myself, except for the special occasions when I have to make an appearance on red carpets on the arm of my “loving dad”, but I’m never stingy when it comes to Duckling. So, next I put her into a pretty little vest I saw at Boss. I don’t care about Bobby’s money, but spending on Duckling does feel good. Meaningful. 

I’m just about to lie down next to her, when a breeze shoves the window open, flaring the curtains. I hurry over to push it shut, but then I spot movement out in the bushes. I stop mid-motion. 

The breeze travels through the room like the breath of an evil spirit. Icy fingers crawl up my spine, urging me to close the window and retreat to the bed, gathering Duckling in my arms, my eyes fixed on the spot where I saw him.

It only lasted a second, but I know what I saw. 

He’s out there, right outside my window. The stalker, finally taking shape in my reality. Watching, waiting, ready to make a move.  

Okay, I just need to breathe, to calm down. There’s no way he can get inside with Bobby’s guards patrolling outside the house. They’re professionals, the best that money can buy. Not to mention there’s Priest. 

Fire shoots through my heart.

Priest Ward. 

A First-Class Cleric. Maybe it’s him out there, and I’m just making myself crazy. Could it be him? Maybe checking the perimeter? I think it was his shape that I saw in the dark and—

Duckling taps her paw, making me realize I’m holding her too tightly.

“How can you be so calm?” I whisper in the dark, loosening my grip. “Shouldn’t you be able to sense danger? Oh wait…that’s dogs. You guys thrive on negative energy.” My chest relaxes a little. 

Maybe I’ve just imagined things. Maybe—

Something glimmers right outside the window, like moonlight reflecting off water. But it couldn’t be. This wing of the mansion is tucked out back, like the ugly spinster sister of a grand chateau, with no fancy surfaces to attract attention. It’s practically surrounded by wilderness, keeping this place a secret from the world. 

It glimmers again, closer now through the flimsy fabric of the curtains. I throw the duvet aside, dreading to approach the window but needing to close the shutters. My hand trembles as I reach for the shutters, slowly, as if weary of a wild animal hiding in the bushes.

Suddenly, a huge shadow blots out the light. I scream, only now realizing Duckling followed me to the window, when I feel her tangling between my feet. I stumble over her and the room tilts, my head bumping into something that cracks behind me. With my next breath, the world goes dark.

***

Stay tuned for more coming soon!

Want to read something from Priest’s POV? Check out the last chapter, Forgive Me Father.