Judging Judas (Tarnished Saints Series Book 3) (27 page)
Read Judging Judas (Tarnished Saints Series Book 3) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Rose
You will have the chance to meet all the Taylor brothers soon, as there will be a new book out every couple of months.
Watch book trailer
.
You may also be interested in my medieval series:
Legacy of the Blade:
Also, please take a look at my medieval
Elemental Series
.
Book trailer video
The books in the series are:
The Dragon and the Dreamwalker
,
Book 1: Fire
,
The Duke and the Dryad,
Book 2: Earth
,
The Sword and the Sylph
,
Book 3:
Air,
and
The Sheik and the Siren
,
Book 4: Water.
Greek Myth Fantasy Series:
Watch book trailer video
Daughters of the Dagger Series:
Book Trailer
This series is followed by my NEW Scottish
Madman MacKeefe
series, with the first book being about the girls’ brother,
Onyx – Book 1
,
who they thought was dead.
Aidan – Book 1
,
is next, followed by,
Ian – Book 3
.
Please visit my website at
Elizabethrosenovels.com
and make sure to subscribe to my blog in order to receive updates on new releases. You can also read excerpts from any of my novels on my website as well as get sneak peeks at covers of upcoming books. And please remember that there are other authors by the same name, but my novels can be identified by the rose on every cover. Be sure to take a look at my new
book trailer videos
.
Elizabeth Rose
Excerpt from
Seducing Zeb
– Book 4:
Cat was exhausted by the time they settled into Zeb’s condo on the fourth floor and had all the luggage inside. Judas left them, and now they were alone.
“So, this is my place. What do you think?” Zeb closed the front door, stepped over the suitcases and led the way to the living room. Cat followed, drinking in the beauty and splendor of the way Zeb lived.
The front room had charcoal grey couches with grey and orange pillows sitting atop a geometric patterned throw-rug that covered the tiled floor. The rest of the furniture was black, and on one wall was the biggest flat screen TV she’d ever seen. On the other side of the living room she saw wall-to-wall windows and a patio balcony overlooking Lake Michigan.
The interior was one big room that opened up to a bachelor-type kitchen with stainless steel appliances, state of the art of course, and an island to eat at with bar type stools around it that looked to be art deco, bright green and on a metal pole that could be adjusted up or down.
“Nice,” she said, taking in the interior of the room. “Expensive.”
“Wait til you see the bedroom.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say about that, but followed him anyway to the bedroom where a huge bed that was covered with an ivory white bedspread and burgundy pillows sat low to the ground taking up most the room.
“Watch this,” he said, picking up a remote off the bedside table. He pushed a button and the lights went on, and with another button soft music spilled forth. “Or if you’re in the middle of . . . something and don’t want to deal with the remote, this will work as well.” He put down the remote and looked upward and gave a command. “Jeeva, open the blinds,” he said, and a whirring sound was heard and all of the sudden the entire wall seemed to move, as electric blinds moved sideways and revealed wall-to-wall windows.
“Who are you talking to?” She looked around the room.
“Blinds are open, Master Zeb,” came a woman’s voice from somewhere, and Cat’s eyes opened wide, not able to believe what she’d just heard.
“You have a voice activated . . . butler?”
“Not a butler – a virtual assistant. I guess you’d say . . . a maid.”
“I noticed. And you even named her. What will you be asking her to do for you next?”
“Oh, stop it, Cat and look at the view.”
“It is a nice view,” she said, walking over and staring out at the lake. It was a beautiful day and the sky was blue with puffy white clouds. Through the wall-to-wall windows it almost seemed like a perfect painting.
“Jeeva, open patio doors,” he said, and all of a sudden the clicking sound of a lock was heard and the windowed walls slid open, revealing the balcony that had two lounge chairs, a hot tub and what looked like garden squares with growing flowers and small shrubs in them.
“Patio doors are opened, Master Zeb,” came the woman’s voice again.
“The master part has got to go,” she said feeling disgusted by his arrogance. “Still, this is unbelievable.” She walked out onto the balcony to get a better look. The breeze hit her in the face and she could hear the sound of the waves washing up upon the shore in the distance. “Romantic,” she said under her breath, feeling happy yet sad all at the same time.
“That it is.” He unfastened his tie and slid it off, followed by his jacket. “Have a seat and I’ll get us some refreshments.”
The sun was just setting over the lake and it was making the most beautiful swirls and shades of red and orange. She kicked off her shoes and settled herself on the lounge chair and before she knew it, Zeb was back with a bottle of chilled champagne and two crystal flute glasses as well as a tray of what looked like bruschetta atop small pieces of crusty bread. “I hope you like bruschetta and Dom Perignon,” he said.
“I . . . guess so,” she answered, not knowing how to respond to that. She knew she liked bruschetta but had never had such an expensive champagne before. That champagne had to cost at least a hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars a bottle. “I’ve never had Dom Perignon before.”
“Well, since this is our honeymoon, I thought we should enjoy it even if our marriage is pretend and won’t last long.” He set the two flutes down on the table and popped the cork and poured them some drinks. Then he handed one to her and held his out. “A toast. To the shortest marriage either of us will hopefully ever have.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant or if she really wanted to drink to that, but before she knew it, he’d clinked her glass and was leaning on the railing looking out over the lake. “So surreal, isn’t it?” he asked. “I like living here because it makes me forget about everything and it relaxes me to be here.”
“What’s wrong with Thunder Lake?” She took a sip of champagne, feeling the bubbles tickling her nose. “After all, by living here, you’re separating yourself from your brothers and their families.”
“Thunder Lake is just a watering hole, and Sweet Water is so small it doesn’t even have a fire station or more than one real restaurant in town.”
“But it’s where your family is. I’d think family would be important to you and you’d want to be around them.”
“I’m close enough here,” he said, coming to sit down and helping himself to some bruschetta. “Besides, half my brothers don’t even live here, so what’s the difference?” He took a bite, licked his lips and nodded to the plate. “Try some. It’s leftovers from a quaint little restaurant not far from here. I love bruschetta. When I was in law school, I would go into a restaurant - and since I couldn’t afford a whole dinner I’d order just this.”
“You ought to make it yourself. You’d probably save a lot of money.”
“Maybe.” He took another bite, staring out the window again. “But I enjoy eating out. Being a bachelor, I don’t have anyone at home cooking for me, so it doesn’t matter.”
She cleared her throat to remind him he was married now, and he looked up.
“Oh, that’s right,” was all he said.
Excerpt from
Amber – Book 3
(Daughters of the Dagger Series)
Bowerwood Abbey, England, 1357
Vespers had just finished, and Amber de Burgh of Blackpool, novice of the Sisters of St. Ermengild, blessed herself as the doors to the church slammed open, and in entered the devil himself.
All heads of the congregation of praying nuns and monks turned toward the door, and Father Armand who was conducting the service looked up sharply in surprise.
“Lucifer!” he cried out, startling everyone inside the church. “Bid the devil.”
Commotion broke out and the occupants of the church parted like the Red Sea. The nuns huddled together in a hurry, quickly blessing themselves and praying aloud in the process. The monks gathered together at the other side of the church in silence.
Amber raised her chin looking over the heads of the nuns, surprised to see a man standing in the doorway instead of the horned and hoofed demon she expected to find. A bedraggled man with a chain around his neck and chains on his wrists stood in the entranceway. His legs were spread, and his hands raised up to stop the doors of the church as they hit the wall and swung back toward him. Lightning illuminated him from behind, and thunder boomed from outside as rain pelted down like a barrage of arrows from the sky, crashing against the stone steps of the church directly behind him.
“Father,” the man said in a low voice through clenched teeth, and Amber knew he was speaking to Father Armand. “I will see you in Hell before I do your bidding again, you bloody bastard!”
Cries of shock went up from the group of nuns around Amber and one of them swooned, ending up prone on the floor in a tangle of her black robes and long veil. Several of the sisters rushed over to assist her. The monks at the other end of the church conversed in soft whispers behind their hands. Amber curiously made her way from the wooden bench at the front of the church closer to the door to gaze upon this spawn of the devil.
“You are naught but the devil,” shouted the priest. “Lord Jesus Christ, we beg your forgiveness for this possessed man who has entered into your house of worship.” The priest made his way down the steps of the dais, raising his book of prayer to the sky as he walked a straight line toward the angry man.
“God’s eyes, look what you’ve done to me,” spat the devil man in the doorway. That’s when Amber noticed the gashing wound in his side and the trail of blood behind him as he took a step forward.
“You will not use blasphemy in the house of the Lord,” reprimanded Father Armand. “And you will remove yourself from these premises immediately.”
“I will not!” shouted the man the priest had called Lucifer, stumbling forward and catching himself on the edge of a bench, bent over. “I seek refuse and ministrations and dammit to hell I will get what I came for and not be sent away again.” His words were filled with anger and venom, and Amber felt the fear in the room. The nuns cowered together, watching with wide eyes, and the monks huddled together in the shadows. The priest grabbed hold of a tall free-standing iron candleholder, slowly making his way toward the wounded man.
Lucifer had shoulder-length dark blond hair that was soaked from the rain. The water ran in rivulets down his dirtied face and neck, and she could see his coarse, brown tunic ripped down the front and exposing his naked broad chest that was scratched and scarred. His face was covered with a mustache and full beard that made him seem as though he’d been on the road for quite some time. He had a traveler’s bag made of canvas with a long strap slung across his chest that hung down across one side of him. And on his waist he donned a sword and also a dagger. He was bent over now, his hand holding his side, and slowly he stood up, holding up his palm outward for all to see it covered with blood.
Shrieks went up from the nuns, and Sister Dulcina, the abbess, gathered the women closer.
“Get away from him, quickly,” she instructed, moving her large frame in front of them in a protective manner with her arms outstretched as she herded the women together at the front of the church.
Amber had been a novice of the Sisters of St. Ermengild at Bowerwood Abbey and Monastery in Kent for three months now. Her petition to become a nun and live by the ways of God had been granted easily. She supposed ’twas because of the sizeable wealthy dowry that had accompanied her and was eagerly accepted by Father Armand who oversaw the double monastery that housed both nuns and monks. Still, it didn’t matter to her. She’d made her decision to atone for the sins of her family, and she would do whatever it took to ensure an easy path to Heaven for those she loved.