Happy Friday!

When writing Beg for Mercy, I didn’t have anyone pictured in my head when I developed the character. About halfway through, I decided to have a look around for visuals for fun. And I found Alex Pettyfer. I knew he was Luke for me. So when Sonya posted a picture of who she thought of for Luke when she was reading, I was like, yeah, great minds think alike. 🙂

Borrowing a picture from the movie Beastly, I thought it was a good enough visual to sort of go with this teaser.  Enjoy.

AOM Promised Teaser #1 (Angel of Mercy excerpt by Shannon Dermott copyright 2012) Please note that I’ve modified this teaser slightly to not give spoilers away.  When it is published in the book, it will differ slightly.

~

There was darkness and there was absolute darkness.  The latter, I remembered all too well.  Confined in it, I looked around to see the nothingness except the burning orange of the souls trapped there.

Suffocating, I didn’t need a reminder of the utter desolation.

“Mercy,” a voice cried out.  Turning back to face in the direction my body was, I came face to face with the man responsible for half my DNA.

“Father,” I heard myself say.  Why had I called him that?  He wasn’t anything to me but pure evil.

“The time has come, Mercy.  Your mother may have delayed destiny but now is the time for you to fulfill the bargain struck.”

“Bargain,” I hedged.

A wicked smile crossed his handsome features.  He was so striking. I couldn’t blame my mother for falling for him and he for her.  They were two beautiful creatures to behold.  “We all make bargains and mine was paid with your betrothal.”  My heart stopped when the name of my “betrothed” crossed his lips.

Sitting up, slicked with sweat, my breath came ragged and hard.  Pushing back my hair that was damp and pressed to my forehead, I looked over at Luke who was now alert and fully awake.  He was searching the room for possible threats based on the way his head moved to survey the room. Pushing himself up, he drew me close and gently kissed my forehead while pushing more hair from my face. “It was just a dream.”

I wondered how this boy could look at me which such love after I damned him. Not to mention, I could feel my hair matted to my head from sweat. I had to look like a total mess.  I drew away from him, swinging my feet over the side of the bed not sure where I was going.  Swiftly, he matched my movements and put an arm around my waist drawing me close.  I was shaking.  The dream felt so real.  It felt like I had been there somehow.  I thought about my damp skin and the heat that had surrounded me.  Trembling, I tried to shake it off.  My dream was fast becoming a waking nightmare.

“It was my father,” I choked out, before he could question me.  Then I proceeded to tell him all about it.

His previous golden tan was already dim from the damnation I’d cursed him with.  Yet, somehow he managed to pale to an almost gray color in that moment.  There was something like fear in his eyes.  “Mercy,” he said, a bit unsteadily.  “It was just a dream,” he reiterated.  “Even if it was true, this isn’t the middle ages.  Your father,” he began, looking off to the side.  Then he seemed to adjust his thoughts, shaking his head a bit. “Your dead father can’t marry you off.”  My gut clenched with worry.  I could see the crinkle of frown lines on his brow.  He had come to the same conclusions I had.

“I know,” I said. My father, tucked away in hell, couldn’t force me to marry anyone.  That wasn’t the problem. “But it all seems to make sense.  If it is true, it may explain some of what you found in your father’s library.”

~ I will post promised teaser #2 before the weekend is over ~