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Deadly Kisses
by Kerri Cuevas
Published: March 5th 2013
Category: YA Paranormal Romance
Summary: Aiden Grant has a killer kiss. Literally. And it’s not every reaper who gets to work with the Sixteenth President. Sure, Honest Abe likes to throw out history lessons with reaping assignments, but when you’re favored by the ancients, grim reaper life is pretty sweet for a newly dead seventeen-year-old.
Then things get messy.
Aiden is assigned to reap the soul of Bee, the only girl he has ever loved. When Aiden’s kiss of death fails, intertwining their souls, she is still very much alive and they are both in trouble. The ancients want Bee, who has special powers of her own, and they’ll do anything to get her.
Some rules are meant to be broken, even if that means Aiden must bargain with his own soul to save Bee. Who knew the afterlife could get so complicated?
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Excerpt
From Chapter 1
I grinned at the old man. The dim grey light of his aura flickered. He lay motionless in the hospital bed with thin white sheets that clung to his long, scrawny body. His face was sunken in, leaving his cheekbones visible. Heck, a pile of dog crap sitting on a black tarred parking lot on a mid-summer day looked better.
“It’s time to die, old man. Tell you what, I’m feeling lenient and I’ll give you about five seconds to tell the little hottie sitting next to you goodbye.”
He looked up to meet his guide to the other side: me. I, Aiden Grant, came bundled in a nice package of black cloak and a hood that came down over my nose. All he could see of my face was my Hollywood smile. It was the ribbon on the present.
“Will it hurt?” His tongue extended in a continuous motion making sounds like a lapping puppy. When my phone rang loud with Paramore singing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” his eyes widened and I laughed, because today was Sunday. The dude just might keel over from a heart attack before I could reap him.
“Tell you what, you tell me who the little blond chick is and I’ll make it quick and painless. Don’t worry, she can’t see me.” She was hunched over the old prune just enough so I could see down her shirt.
“It’s my granddaughter.” His stiff hand moved to her head, smoothing down her yellow hair.
She sat up in alarm and eyed the heart monitor, ruining my view. “Did you say something, Granddad? Do you want more pain medication?”
“Damn, dude, you must be like one hundred because she has got to be about my age. Seventeen?”
“Yes.” The old man croaked. The girl pressed the call button, but he was looking at me with brown, watery eyes.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Time was up, and I yearned for the temporary warmth of his soul. “Here’s how this is going down. When I collect your soul, your heart will stop beating. You have to come with me, but your physical body stays right there on the bed. You’re going to be foggy-looking until I deliver you to a little place called Destination Forever. Once there, your soul will be returned to you, giving you a normal appearance again. Now, do you have any regrets?”
He moved with a slight twist that looked like a no.
“Good, because if you did, you would be stuck with me, a dead president, and a black cloak. Just stay still and it will go faster.” This wasn’t my dream job, so the quicker I collected the soul and delivered it the better. I tracked, reaped, and delivered within days even though I was given a week to complete an assignment.
I leaned in close. He started to whimper and pull back. I became annoyed. “I do this all the time and don’t want to brag, but I’m that good. As long as you’ve got no regrets, your pain will disappear. Do you want that?”
I was inches from his face. The corner of the old man’s mouth twitched and rose. The scythe heated up and my bony hand hovered over his heart. I placed my mouth to his dry cracked lips and drank up his soul. He didn’t flinch. His soul filled my body. It tasted old, sour, and provided little of the warmth I craved, but I took what I could get.
When the slow thud of his heart stopped, I pulled away to watch the chaos that followed. It was always a sight. The heart monitor went flat with a long, drawn-out note, and the hottie started to cry.
Flawless performance.
“It’s time to die, old man. Tell you what, I’m feeling lenient and I’ll give you about five seconds to tell the little hottie sitting next to you goodbye.”
He looked up to meet his guide to the other side: me. I, Aiden Grant, came bundled in a nice package of black cloak and a hood that came down over my nose. All he could see of my face was my Hollywood smile. It was the ribbon on the present.
“Will it hurt?” His tongue extended in a continuous motion making sounds like a lapping puppy. When my phone rang loud with Paramore singing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” his eyes widened and I laughed, because today was Sunday. The dude just might keel over from a heart attack before I could reap him.
“Tell you what, you tell me who the little blond chick is and I’ll make it quick and painless. Don’t worry, she can’t see me.” She was hunched over the old prune just enough so I could see down her shirt.
“It’s my granddaughter.” His stiff hand moved to her head, smoothing down her yellow hair.
She sat up in alarm and eyed the heart monitor, ruining my view. “Did you say something, Granddad? Do you want more pain medication?”
“Damn, dude, you must be like one hundred because she has got to be about my age. Seventeen?”
“Yes.” The old man croaked. The girl pressed the call button, but he was looking at me with brown, watery eyes.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Time was up, and I yearned for the temporary warmth of his soul. “Here’s how this is going down. When I collect your soul, your heart will stop beating. You have to come with me, but your physical body stays right there on the bed. You’re going to be foggy-looking until I deliver you to a little place called Destination Forever. Once there, your soul will be returned to you, giving you a normal appearance again. Now, do you have any regrets?”
He moved with a slight twist that looked like a no.
“Good, because if you did, you would be stuck with me, a dead president, and a black cloak. Just stay still and it will go faster.” This wasn’t my dream job, so the quicker I collected the soul and delivered it the better. I tracked, reaped, and delivered within days even though I was given a week to complete an assignment.
I leaned in close. He started to whimper and pull back. I became annoyed. “I do this all the time and don’t want to brag, but I’m that good. As long as you’ve got no regrets, your pain will disappear. Do you want that?”
I was inches from his face. The corner of the old man’s mouth twitched and rose. The scythe heated up and my bony hand hovered over his heart. I placed my mouth to his dry cracked lips and drank up his soul. He didn’t flinch. His soul filled my body. It tasted old, sour, and provided little of the warmth I craved, but I took what I could get.
When the slow thud of his heart stopped, I pulled away to watch the chaos that followed. It was always a sight. The heart monitor went flat with a long, drawn-out note, and the hottie started to cry.
Flawless performance.
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Purchase Deadly Kisses: Amazon | WiDo Publishing
About the Author
Kerri Cuevas was born and raised in Rhode Island. She moved to New Hampshire with her husband, three kids, cats and a rabbit named Hercules in 2005. When she's not writing, she's chasing chickens on her small farm or searching for the ultimate mac-a-cheese recipe.
Kerri went to college for Early Childhood Education but now writes books for young adults full-time. Her storytelling stems from watching too many horror flicks as a teen, but she no longer needs to sleep with the lights on.
Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
Kerri went to college for Early Childhood Education but now writes books for young adults full-time. Her storytelling stems from watching too many horror flicks as a teen, but she no longer needs to sleep with the lights on.
Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
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Giveaway
This excerpt has officially made me want to read this book!
ReplyDeleteLily @ lilysbookblog