My name is LaVerne Thompson and I write contemporary, fantasy and sci/fi romances. I also love reading this stuff. My first published work is a short, PROMISES a contemporary romance from Red Rose Publishing, also coming soon from Red Rose is MASQUERADE part of a series about three sisters. Also available on Mar. 3rd from Freya's Bower is COME TO ME. I have several things in various stages but my next release is HOLD ON from Red Rose Publishing availabe today. It's a novella, a contemporaray romance with a touch of suspense and a dash of violence. Have you ever been stalked? If you want to know more about my work visit my website http://www.lavernethompson.webs.com/ or friend me on myspace myspace.com/lavernethompson
HOLD ON
By LaVerne Thompson
One phone call changed both their lives.
A real life knight in shining armor, except he isn’t in armor he’s in a suit. But the first time Lena Douglas lays eyes on Stephan Grayson that’s what he seems to her. He saves her from a violence that still haunts her nights, but at least he’s there to hold her should she wake. But the nightmare’s not over, it stalks them both now. Something from her past that will not let go.
But then neither will Stephan. He saved her once and he’s not about to let anyone, especially Lena stand in the way of what is happening between.
But will Stephan always be there to shield her from her past?
Excerpt:
“911 Operator.”
“Hello…listen I’m at the corner of Broad Street and Denny Way. I’m looking into the second floor of a garden style apartment opened onto Broad, and it looks like there’s a…a robbery taking place.” Stephan spoke anxiously into the phone, his voice cracking mid-speak.
The emergency operator on the other end replied in a steady tone, “I’m dispatching a patrol car to the area sir. Stay on the phone with me. Are you one of the victims or do you know the people involved?”
“No, no it’s not me and I don’t know them. I’m in my car. Hang on, the light’s changing. I’m going to make a U-turn and park on the street so I can keep watch.” He ignored the car honking at him because he had cut in front of it. The building in front of him, and the woman in trouble his only focus. The sun hadn’t been down for very long, but the open lighted walkway in the three-story building allowed Stephan a pretty clear view.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to remain in the car,” the operator insisted in a forceful voice. “How many people are involved?”
“Two, I think. A man and a woman, he grabbed her purse and she tried to run. Hurry!” he cried.
“Help is on the way. Please try to stay calm.”
“My God!’ the man exclaimed. “He just hit her… she’s trying to fight him off. He kicked a door open and…he’s…he’s trying to drag her in!” His words were coming faster, rushing to get the information out. “She’s fighting back. I can’t just sit here watching this.”
“Sir, please do not leave your car,” the operator said firmly. “The person could be armed as well as dangerous. Wait for the authorities.”
“I’m sorry. I’m already at the building. Tell the cops, when they get here, it’s the second building from the corner, second floor, the door at the top of the stairs. I’m going to leave my phone on so you can listen in, but I’m putting it in my pocket.”
Without waiting to hear a reply, Stephan did just that.
As he ran up the stairs he could hear a woman’s screams. Why isn’t anyone trying to help her? He had seen three other doors with apartment numbers on this floor. Surely one of them was occupied. It didn’t matter, he was here and he wasn’t going to do nothing. Too late, he wished he’d taken the time to grab a tire iron from his car. But he had stopped rational thought as soon as he glimpsed the woman in trouble. He’d just have to rely on being in good physical shape. It wasn’t like he was a fighter, in truth he used his mind not his muscle. Now he may have to use both, and so far he hadn’t been using much of his so-called intelligence tonight. An intelligent person would have waited on the sidewalk and pointed the cops in the right direction.
Stephan stopped at the now closed door he had seen the man kick open. A scuff mark near the bottom of the panel confirmed he had the right place. He put his ear to the wood but could hear nothing. Turning the doorknob he found it unlocked, and cautiously pushed it open. He slipped inside leaving it slightly ajar so the cops could enter easily.
Muffled sounds were coming from the interior of the condo. Taking a step in the direction of the noise, ragged cries suddenly rent the air. A hallway, probably leading to a bedroom, stretched in front and to the right of him. There were no lights on, but the blinds were partially open, and the glow from a street lamp provided enough light to illuminate the small room.
Glancing to the left he spied a kitchen. His heart pumped blood into his system, adding strength to his resolve. Moving quickly, he headed there first for a weapon. As soon as he pulled a knife from the block on the counter, the wail of a siren whined from a distance, at the same time he heard a scream that curled his soul.
Throwing caution out the window he ran down the short hallway, fear setting his pace. Stopping in front of the only room he gripped the open doorframe. The scene unfolding before him chilled his blood.
The dimmed overhead light showed a woman lying face down on the bed, and a man in dark clothing sat on top of her, straddling her legs to hold her down. She kept screaming and bucking to try to throw him off, but he kept laughing, and using one hand to hold both of hers on her head while he ripped her blouse with the other. So engaged in his activity, he didn’t even hear Stephan behind him.
Stephan wanted to stick the sonofabitch with the knife in his hand. But he spotted an empty metal potpourri bowl on a stand near the door. He didn’t want to shed any of the man’s blood on the woman if he didn’t have to. He put down the knife and picked up the bowl. Using all of his strength, fueled by his anger, he smashed it against the side of the bastard’s head.
Like a bowling pin toppling over, the man fell off the bed onto the floor, hopefully out cold for a while. When the weight holding her down disappeared, the woman on the bed flipped over. She raised her tear streaked face and her eyes momentarily collided with Stephan’s before shifting to the man on the floor. As her gaze returned to his, fear flooded her beautiful chocolate colored eyes. She gasped, and backed up against the headboard.
Even with puffy eyes, tear tracks on her face, and a bruise on her toasted almond colored cheek her beauty still shone through. Stephan’s heart, which had been racing before, stopped in mid beat. Wide round eyes, had captured his attention first, set in an oval shaped face with a bow for a mouth, centered off with the cutest nose that started narrow but flared at the end, even more as he watched her take a deep breath.
He held up his hands, but realized he still held the bowl. He slowly placed it at the foot of the bed. “It’s okay,” he said trying to sound reassuring and non-threatening. “The police are on their way. I won’t hurt you.” He spoke in very soft clear tones, to try to calm her.
“Th…that man. He tried…” Her voice came out jittery, husky.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” he said. “I’m not going to let him hurt you.” Stephan glanced down at the man stretched out on his back on the floor. “He looks unconscious, but maybe we should get out of here in case he comes to. The police are on their way.”
“Yes…yes, thank you.” She slid off the bed on the opposite side from where the man on the carpet lay. Her shirt had been ripped from the back up to the collar but remained in tact in the front. She wrapped her arms tightly across her stomach. Stephan took his eyes momentarily off the beautiful woman to check her attacker again to see if he had stirred.
The woman came around behind him and grabbed his hips in a death grip. He twisted to put his hand around her shoulder, and coaxed her to move forward in front of him. As he turned her toward the door, pounding footsteps echoed from the stairwell. “The cops are here, you’re safe now. Let’s…” That’s as far as he got before he felt hands clench his throat. “Run!” he managed to gasp before turning to face his attacker.
PROMISES- available now from Red Rose Publishing
HOLD ON-Coming Soon from Red Rose Publishing
MASQUERADE-Coming Soon from Red Rose Publishing
COME TO ME-available Mar. 3rd from Freya's Bower
Website: http://www.lavernethompson.webs.com/
HEY GIRL!! CONGRATS! Love the cover. The dude looks so cool!
ReplyDeleteHi IR. Thanks. Glad you like it! I had a lot of fun writing it.
ReplyDeleteLaVerne
Oops. This is Stephanie a.k.a. IR LOL. What was your inspiration for this particular type of story
ReplyDeleteHi, Just wanted to stop by and congradulate you on the new release.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
A.M.
Thanks. A.M.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie,
Didn't recognize the IR. LOL My inspiration...I was sitting at a looooong traffic light one day and happened to look up at this apartment window and thought, what if there was a woman there and what if there was a man attacking her? What would I do? I broke a few speed limits in my attempt to get home and write the idea down. Then one night as I was working on the story, a song came on with the words HOLD ON and I had the title and the rest of the story.
LOL
Hey LaVerne, good luck on the new release! You guys met cuz of a similar book cover and same cover model, is that like showing up at a party with the same dress on? That happened to me at my Freshman Homecoming Dance, and we wound up becoming friends, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteHi Chaeya,
ReplyDeleteLOL. Not quite cause we didn't exactly choose the covers ourselves, whereas at a dance you dress yourself. But it's not at the same publisher and our stories are very different. But it is a great way to meet someone, and makes for a beautiful friendship.
BTW-It's not this cover but the one for PROMISES Denyse's cover is on the side for HEART OF STONE, of course it's great book, she's an excellent writer and she's got a fabulous cover.
LaVerne
LsVerne - I'm so excited to see HOLD ON in print, and I'm honored to have been one of the first people to read it.
ReplyDeleteHere's to soaring sales!!!
Chicki,
ReplyDeleteRead the dedication, that's for you too. Thank you.
Hey LaVerne! I just wanted to drop in to say, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Here's to many maaaaaaaaaaany sales!
ReplyDeleteHi LaVerne!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great story!
Hope you have many sales! :)
Colleen
Thanks Naomi.
ReplyDeleteHi Colleen,
Thanks. I had fun writing it.
LaVerne
Ooh! LaVerne do you have anything other projects going on? And if you do can you give us a sneak peak. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. I have several in various stages. COME TO ME from Freya's Bower will be available on Mar. 3rd here's a little peek.
ReplyDeleteExcerpt- COME TO ME by LaVerne Thompson
The mangled scents of perfume and sex teased Baron Munro as he turned his head and looked for a clock on the bedside table. There wasn’t one. Didn’t matter, it was time to go. He’d indulged them both long enough. Glancing at the tangle of long blond hair resting on the pillow near his head, he hoped its owner would continue to slumber. The last thing he needed was to explain why he wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night, or any other, with her. He should have been long gone already, but he’d been exhausted even before the sex marathon. And that damned near drained him. Yet, he still felt unsatisfied.
In the last few months, no matter how much he indulged, he’d roll out of bed feeling as empty as he had before he climbed in it. Even with his brief hiatus from casual sex, this time was no different from any others. A break was not what he had needed. Whatever he was looking for wasn’t here either.
Shifting, he eased his body off the bed and picked up his clothes where he’d thrown them on the chair earlier in the evening. Naked, his clothes clutched to his chest, he carefully opened the bedroom door. He closed it behind him and released the breath he’d been holding. After dressing in the hallway, he made his way fully clothed to her front door. When he reached the lobby of the building he dumped the card with the woman’s name and number in the trashcan near a pillar. They’d been out a couple of times now; but he never saved her number in his speed dial. He wouldn’t be calling her again. She was a mistake, another in a long succession of them.
At thirty-one, he was too old for this crap. He had to believe something more existed out there.
He whipped out his cell phone, her sultry voice came on before the ring had finished its first vibration, as if she waited by the phone for his call. He wished.
This wasn’t the first time he’d spoken to Jasmine Sandler and it wouldn’t be the last. Not if he had anything to say about it. She gave him hope. In truth, since she became the building manager six months ago, he’d taken every opportunity to talk to her, to try to get to know her—even if her voice wreaked havoc with his libido, sending it into overdrive whenever he heard it.
Their flirting had begun from the very first time he’d spoken to her, and she’d flirted right back. He’d tried several times to meet her, but she always put him off. No one he knew in the building had ever seen her, but everyone he’d spoken to about her agreed she had a sexy voice. The kind that had him taking cold showers a couple of times after talking with her. No matter how often he told himself she was probably sixty, with four kids, nothing helped. If she looked half as hot as she sounded on the phone, he’d still want her.
Therein lay his problem of the last six months. She went by the name of Jasmine. She teased his senses on every level. A woman he’d never met, but one he could not ignore. No matter how many women he tried to deny his feelings for her with. Pathetic.
Here's a tiny peek at MASQUERADE part of the Three Sisters series coming soon from Red Rose Publishing. This is Sydney's story.
ReplyDeleteEyes the blue of the Caribbean Sea looked out at her from behind a dark mask. The black satin provided an intense contrast to his thick blond hair streaked with varying shades of blond, and curled against the nape of his neck. The unmasked skin around a full sensual mouth appeared slightly tanned, like he had recently gotten a little sun. His strong squared jaw line shifted slightly as he stared at her. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face, what she could see of it. Then he smiled, showing beautiful straight white teeth, and a small dimple appeared on one side of his lips.
A smile of her own answered his.
Without a word, he raised his arms away from his sides, as though opening them for her to walk into. The movement brought her attention to his sculptured chest. Was that a six pack? Maybe there was something to be said for shirtless.
Taking him up on his invitation, Sydney drew nearer. She raised her hands, his jacket lay already parted and she placed her palms on what felt like granite. But he wasn’t cold. He burned, and she could feel the rhythm of his heart accelerate as he enclosed her in his arms, wrapping them around her waist; daring her closer and letting her know this was no fantasy, but a living breathing man.
Wow - things are happening here today... Congrats again, LaVerne!!! So happy you're sharing your books with everyone!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Denysé
Thank you Denyse. I'm having fun doing that.
ReplyDelete*hugs* back at ya. LaVerne
Congrats! Congrats! Congrats on the new release and all of your publishing successes! You're awesome!
ReplyDeleteBridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com
Wow! Bridget. That means a lot coming from you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLaVerne