TODAY, WE ARE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME BACK OUR GUEST AUTHOR, ELKE FEUER, WHO IS SHARING AN EXCERPT FROM HER NOVEL, 'THE TROUBLE WITH EMPATHS' #RWRTeamBlog #ReadWriteRepeat
- 7 hours ago
- 10 min read
IDEA FOR THE BOOK
The Trouble with Empaths is book two of my new series. The main characters were in the first book and everyone loved them and thought they deserved their own book. Connor and Regan have known each other most of their lives, but one kiss creates an unexpected deep connection, and one giant secret proves they don't know each other as well as they thought.
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EXCERPT
Connor cringed as the noise from the party hit his senses, loud and booming in his head. He usually prepared himself for large crowds with heavy meditation or breathing sessions, but that didn’t happen because his best friend Michael showed up early for a quick drink.
Connor should’ve insisted they didn’t drink, but Michael was about to lose the freedom he had in university when he went to work for his father in the family business in a couple of months, so saying no wasn’t an option.
Next came the mixture of emotions that swirled around and over him like multicolored ocean waves rolling to and from the shore.
Excitement.
Annoyance.
Anger.
Boredom.
And a bunch more Connor couldn’t process. Didn’t want to process.
Not if he was going to make it through this party tonight.
The happy ones he could handle, but the strong negative ones were like knives in his brain. Focusing on them only made it worse.
“You all right, mate?” Michael rested a hand on his shoulder, concern etched in his eyes.
Beyond the open doorway where they stood was Michael’s sister Regan’s eighteenth birthday party. The room was decorated like every other charity event they hosted, instead of a young woman’s party. Their parents’ doing, no doubt.
“All good.” Connor’s lips curled with a fake smile. Michael wasn’t aware of his “gift”—or curse, as his parents preferred to call it. Although his father had no trouble using it to his advantage when needed.
Empath was the word he’d learned years ago, but to him, it was too simple a word to describe it, in his opinion. No one else knew. Not since he was a kid. The possibility of losing his only real friends, and in some ways a second family, in his mind, wasn’t worth the risk. Or having them use him the way his father did sour his stomach.
He learned his lesson the hard way that relationships ended when you didn’t fit the box they put you in, whether it was your friends or their parents. Being different wasn’t appreciated, especially in their social circles.
Michael laughed and clapped him on the back. “Let’s go in there and get this over with. I’m sure Regan wants it to end as quickly as we do.”
“You go ahead. I’m heading to the toilet first.” Not enough time to prepare himself for the barrage of emotions he’d have to deal with once inside, but it was better than nothing.
This was why he tended to avoid large events.
At university, it was easy to block out the noise with alcohol but that wasn’t an option tonight. Not for Regan’s party, and definitely not with her parents watching them. Being an adult didn’t matter to them if he and Michael made a scene.
When he returned to the party, he tried inconspicuously to find Regan, but she was lost in a crush of her friends.
Regan. Just saying her name shot a thrill through him that swiftly shifted to crippling guilt.
Like an idiot, he’d complicated their relationship by kissing her on the lips on her sixteenth birthday. It was silly, really, and something he hadn’t planned. He never thought of her that way before. But after she hugged him as a thank-you for his gift and gazed at him with those stunning blue eyes of hers like he was the moon and stars, he couldn’t help himself. He regretted it the moment it happened. She was only sixteen, for Christ’s sake, and he was twenty-two.
What made matters worse was she was no longer the skinny little kid who followed him and Michael around. For the past two years, he’d sensed her watching him like a girl with her first crush, which didn’t help. Neither did the fact that she was Michael’s sister and off-limits for more reasons than their friendship and her age.
The annoying part was she was the only person he had difficulty sensing. As a kid, she wore her heart on her sleeve and in her eyes, so it wasn’t necessary. He only sensed when she needed him and what for.
The thrill that coursed through him when she watched him nailed him with guilt each time. She was just a kid, and they were friends. Close friends, even though it wasn’t the same as the friendship he shared with Michael. Her friendship meant everything to him.
Being at university helped. Talking and texting was easy and comfortable and kept their connection in the lane it belonged.
His life was complicated enough between the strained relationship with his parents and leaving university soon to get out into the working world to find a job. One that paid him enough to get out of his parents’ house. Being away from them at university made him realize distance from them was the best thing to happen to him.
The last thing he needed was to develop feelings for his best friend’s little sister—his other best friend. And a kid. Although she wasn’t a kid anymore. And that’s what bothered him the most.
Chapter 2
Regan Doherty had been in love with Connor McGrath for as long as she could remember. They’d been childhood friends forever. Well, friends by association because he was her brother’s friend, but in her mind it counted.
When she was sixteen, he ruffled her hair and kissed her on the lips for her birthday, and hugged her the way he always did. But unlike the other times, heat and goose bumps had raced across her skin, and her heartbeat stuttered before speeding up until she was breathless.
Thankfully, he didn’t notice, but she did. From that moment on, Connor was no longer the friend who brought her favorite books, really listened when she talked, and wiped away her tears when her parents were being unreasonable.
He became Connor with hair that glistened in the sunlight when they were hanging by the pool. Connor with the muscles and six-pack that stopped her breath. Her friend with the piercing blue eyes that saw into her soul.
For the past two years, the way she felt about Connor had only deepened. The distance of him being at university didn’t dim but strengthened those feelings, and she planned to tell him tonight. He and her brother Michael were home from uni. It was the perfect opportunity. Never mind that her heart was about to beat out of her chest, and doubt stabbed every pore on her skin. This was Connor. One of her best friends, who, other than her parents and brother, was the most important person in her life.
Pining for him was never going to get her what she wanted. Those were the words she’d repeated in the mirror several times as she was getting ready for tonight.
Confessing her feelings could work in her favor, if he felt the same way, or she could massively crash and burn and ruin their friendship. But it was a risk she was willing to take. When he kissed her, the sparks between them were mutual. She was certain of it. The shock in his eyes clearly said kissing her on the lips wasn’t planned, but that merely convinced her the connection between them was real.
Sparkling lights from every color of the rainbow reflected off the walls of the ballroom her parents rented for her party. People of all ages, from her friends to business associates of her father, were cramped into the space like finely dressed sardines.
Regan hated that she had to invite so many people, but there was no other option if she wanted a party. Business before family. Always. No exceptions.
On one side of the room were friends from school and her social circle under the age of thirty covered in bold colors and fine-cut suits and dresses, while the other side of the party was anyone over the age of forty and friends or business associates of her family or friends.
“Is this a party or a wake?” Ciara Kelly sipped her champagne, her heavily made-up eyes moving about the room until they settled on Michael. “You should invite your brother and Connor over.”
Regan rolled her eyes. Ciara was less than subtle about her interest in Michael. He never showed one ounce of interest, but that never stopped her. Ciara was closer to their age and only befriended her because she was Michael’s sister. “They’ll come around once they’ve made the rounds.”
Her eyes devoured Connor once Ciara wandered off to a group of her friends. He was dressed in a dark-blue suit that hugged his frame. A frame she had watched fill out from the lean one he had in high school to the thicker, more solid one while he was away at school. The body of a man and one she now drooled over even more.
His hair was slicked back so it looked almost black instead of the usual shaggy sandy-blond locks she itched to touch for reasons other than ruffling it in annoyance. It was as soft as it looked, but she wanted to run her fingers along his scalp as she tugged his face to her in a kiss.
As if sensing he was being watched, he turned, catching her staring, and graced her with one of his sexy smirks. One that made her heartbeat gallop and her knees tremble since she was sixteen.
She returned his smirk with her usual goofy grin before remembering she wanted Connor to start seeing her as a woman and not his best friend’s little sister. His eyes swept her from head to toe; his eyebrow rose in question when her grin turned into what she hoped was a seductive smile. Or maybe it was the dress she wore.
She was showing a lot more skin than usual with the off-the-shoulder, shimmering silver dress that reached her ankles, but with a split that went nearly to her thigh. Her mother had been appalled when she stepped out of the dressing room and then annoyed when Regan refused to change it to what her mother thought was a more suitable choice. Most of this party—her party—was what her parents wanted. Her dress was the one thing she wanted for herself. Her mother had relented when Regan reminded her how often what she wanted was sacrificed for the sake of business.
He glanced around behind him, as if looking for someone else the smile was meant for.
Regan took a sip of champagne and, over the rim of the glass, blasted him with the sexiest stare she could muster. Would he take the hint? Her heart sped up when he excused himself from the circle of people around him and strutted toward her with an air of confidence and yumminess that sent quivers to places on her body that were hidden, even in this revealing dress.
As he moved toward her, his gaze raked over her from the tips of her open-toe shoes to the tops of her exposed breasts, up to her lips and finally her eyes when he stood before her.
Shivers danced through her veins when his cologne hit her senses. The same one she gave him every birthday. Sandalwood with a hint of bergamot. “Connor.”
“Happy birthday, Re.”
She flinched at her nickname. “Please call me Regan. At least in public. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
His gaze traveled over her face, which was covered in makeup. Not as much as Ciara, but more than what usually covered her face.
“No, you’re not.” His voice dropped an octave before he cleared his throat and graced her with a friendly smile.
She tugged his arm. “Let’s go on the balcony. I need some air.” Regan had scouted the perfect spot outside already. One where no one inside would see them.
Connor followed her to the balcony doors, leaving her champagne glass on the tray of a passing waiter. “You’re too young to drink.”
Regan snorted. “Did you miss that today is my eighteenth birthday?”
He held open the large French door for her. “I’m just looking out for you, so you don’t drink too much and do something you’ll regret later.”
She released his arm and faced him, making sure to stay close. “Is that what happened on your eighteenth birthday?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
“No. But I’m not you.”
Her face scrunched in question. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not my best friend’s little sister who is wearing a very revealing dress and attracting more attention than she realizes.”
“Am I?” Regan placed her hand on the lapel of his jacket. Did he notice other men watching her? She couldn’t care less about them. It was his attention she wanted.
“You are.” He scanned her face, pausing at her lips before moving back to her eyes. “And wearing too much makeup.”
Regan chuckled, sidestepping his comment. “So where is my gift?” They usually exchanged gifts in private, because they were often ones her parents wouldn’t approve of.
“For someone who’s not a little girl anymore, you’re sure eager for your birthday present.” Connor’s lips curled with a smirk.
She ignored his comment, not letting his teasing get under her skin. Not tonight. Tonight, she was on a mission, and the window was closing quickly. There was only so long they could stay on the patio before someone came outside. “I know you’re going to give it to me. You want to give it to me,” she whispered seductively, and watched with surprise and awe when his eyes darkened. Her breath hitched in her throat.
His mouth opened to respond but closed. His usual blue eyes were gray under the artificial overhead light on the balcony. Silence stretched out as vast as the night sky blanketing their backdrop. The cool Irish night air swirled around them, forming goose bumps on her skin.
Tension sizzled in the small distance between them. Regan’s hand caressed the lapel of his jacket slowly up and down, imagining it was his bare chest until his hand gripped hers, stopping her movement.
“Regan…” His tone held a hint of warning.
She lifted her face toward him and moved in closer. When he didn’t step back, she pressed her lips against his, a feat she couldn’t normally manage without heels.
She’d kissed a few guys before tonight, not wanting to come across as inexperienced to Connor, whose lips had seen more than his share of women over the years. To her delight, his arms went around her, pulling her against his frame, his fingertips grazing the skin of her back. She moaned and gasped when his tongue slipped into her mouth and he took control of the kiss.
Regan’s knees weakened with every stroke of his tongue against hers, every brush of his fingers against her skin. He broke the kiss and attacked her neck with kisses, then trailed down her collarbone. She was grateful for his tight grip; otherwise, she’d be a puddle on the expensive marble floor. She arched her back as his lips kissed the tips of her exposed breast. “Connor,” she groaned. “I knew it would be like this.”
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AUTHOR BIO
She once dreamed of becoming the next Nora Roberts and traveling the world on book tours. Today, she channels that imagination into stories filled with romance, suspense, and spiritual depth. A mother of two and a lifelong lover of both superhero movies and love stories, Elke writes for readers who believe love is powerful, intuition is real, and hope can exist even in the darkest moments. Her books explore what happens when love is tested, truth is uncovered, and healing becomes possible.
My links.
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/elkefeuer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elke_feuer/
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COMING SOON: On Sunday, 12th April, we are delighted to welcome back our guest author, Lucinda Hart, who is sharing an excerpt from her novel, 'The Shadows Lengthen'.
