TODAY, WE ARE THRILLED TO WELCOME GUEST AUTHOR, CANDACE DOWDS, WHO IS SHARING AN EXCERPT FROM HER NOVEL, 'FRACTURED'. ***WARNING*** EXPLICIT ADULT CONTENT AND PROFANITY #RWRTeamBlog #ReadWriteRepeat

When the door opens, I smile when I see that Tannis has changed out of her favorite Eminem T-shirt. I knew she wouldn't be happy if she had to burn it, as we do with all our clothes after a night filled with murder. Instead, she's wearing a black pair of yoga pants and a body-hugging black, long-sleeved shirt that shows off her curves, and I immediately want to bury my face between her legs and feast for days.

"As much as I love the Dexter aesthetics, using my knife to torture him sounds like fun." She's positively giddy with anticipation. Who can blame her? She leans over Daniel. "One last time. Are you going to talk? She pushes the blade into his side, and he begins begging her to stop.

"You see, it's important to get the knife as close to the bones as possible. It's like filleting a fish." She continues to move the knife as smoothly as possible. It's like watching an artist brush strokes on a canvas."Fucking stop! Stop! Stop!" he cries while trying to free himself from the restraints.

"You'll talk then?" she asks in a sweet voice. Again, he shakes his head. "Dear me, you aren't all that bright, are you?" she questions, but he doesn't respond. She continues to cut along his side and moves the blade across the top of his pectorals, keeping close to the bones.

“You’re a fucking cunt!” Daniel screams, and suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

I head to a stunned-looking Tannis, I kiss her and whisper, “Don’t stress. It’s just Johnny. He usually helps us when we need extra hands.” I see her physically relax. “Get back to work, my queen.” Fuck, I want to take her right here and right now. I don’t care that there’s a bleeding asshole laid out before us.

She goes back to caring for his other side, and eventually, he gives in. “Okay, okay, yes, I raped you. I’m sorry.”

My chest tightens with anger, and I want to kill him myself. No one touches my girl. No one, but I know this is something she needs to deal with.

Tannis stops in her tracks. “Who else have you hurt?”

“I don’t know their names. You’re the only one I did it to who lives here. I was really drunk and stupid. My dad told me never to do it near home. He said it was too risky.” He continues to spit blood.

“What other illegal shit does your father do?” she speaks slowly and with purpose.

“What isn’t he doing illegally. He traffics women and children. He deals in drugs and weapons. If the town knew what he was up to, they’d rise up against him.” Daniel’s losing a lot of blood. It won’t be long now.

“Is there any evidence on you? On your phone?” Tannis already has a plan.

“Some of it.”

She turns to face me. “Do you have his phone?” I nod in answer. “What’s the passcode? And don’t fuck with me. I will kill your mother and sister if you lie to me.” She’s seething.

“Four, two, eight, zero,” he splutters.

“Thank you.” She takes the knife in both hands and slams it down into his chest. Within seconds, he’s dead, and she pulls it from his heart and places the weapon on his chest.

Standing back, I study her for a moment before heading over to her. “Go up and take a shower, we can deal with the rest,” I assure her. She turns, but before she leaves, I pull her into my arms and kiss her. “Go on.” I urge. “We’ve got this.”

“You sure? I’ve always cleaned up my own mess. I don’t want to leave it up to you guys.” I can see the tears threatening to fall. This kill has been in her mind for so long that the relief of Daniel being dead is overwhelming.

“Positive.” And I watch as she leaves the shop.

“Did he just fucken kiss her?” old Johnny asks Caleb.

“Yup. I’m still trying to come to terms with it. I never thought he’d fall in love ever again,” Caleb responds.

Is that what I’m feeling? Do I love her? Fuck me, maybe I do. Damn.

“You go on up there and see if she’s okay, boy. We can handle down here,” Johnny tells me. “She’s been fretting about this mother fucker for over a year. The relief will be emotionally taxing on her.”

Usually, I wouldn’t leave others to do the dirty work, but Tannis just killed the man who violated her. I need to see if she’s okay. “Call Tate, he’d love to be a part of getting rid of that fucker.”

“On it,” Caleb assures me.

Quickly, I take the stairs two at a time, and when I open her bedroom door, I call for her, but there’s no answer. When I check her bathroom, it’s empty too, so I head up to my room.

When I’m through the door, I hear my shower running. I don’t want to be one of those guys who think they can walk in on a woman just because she’s in their room, so I knock on the bathroom door. “Tannis, I just want to check that you’re okay. I’ll wait out here for you.”

“Come in.” Her voice is low and hoarse, brimming with emotion.

Carefully, I enter the room, and when I see that she’s still fully dressed and sitting on the floor of the shower, the sight crushes me.

Kicking off my boots, I open the glass door and slide down the wall, pulling her into my lap as the water falls on us. “You okay?” I press my forehead against hers. She’s exhausted. “Let me wash the blood off you.” The feelings that had suddenly slapped me in the face when she first kissed me somehow feel perfectly normal now. That kiss unlocked a side of me that hasn’t been around for years.

She grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it off, leaving her in her bra. Reaching up, I pick up the soap and begin washing her golden skin as she rests in my arms. Next, I lather her hair with shampoo and wash it until the water runs clear. I do the same with the conditioner.

“Do you want to hop out and lie down?” I whisper as I kiss her cheek. She only nods in answer. When the water is off and I’ve stripped down to my boxer briefs, I ask, “Are the clothes you were wearing in the bedroom?” Again, she nods as she stands wrapped in a towel.

When I gather her oversized T-shirt and tiny shorts, I take them to her. She lets go of the towel, undoes her bra, and lets it fall. Fuck me, her tits are so fucking perfect, but I try to avert my gaze while she pulls on the t-shirt. Next to go is her lace thong, and she then pulls on her shorts. Without saying a word, she scoots to the sofa and pulls the blanket over her.

Kneeling before her, I tell her, “I want you to take the bed, I can sleep on the sofa.”

She shakes her head. “I’ll only sleep there if you sleep with me.”

A smile forms on my lips. “Hop into bed while I get something dry to wear. You need help?” Again, she shakes her head, but she does get up.

When she’s in bed, I grab a pair of sweatpants. I change my clothes in the bathroom and brush my teeth. When I head over to the bed, she’s staring at me. Climbing in, I pull the blanket over us, and she moves closer to me. I slip my arm under her while she rests her head on my chest. It isn’t long before I fall asleep, but I wake when I feel Tannis move.

My eyes fly open. “Everything okay?” I ask, hoping she managed to get a little shut-eye.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you. I was just reaching for my phone so I could read a book.” Her smile is back.

“Have you slept at all?” I tighten my hold on her.

“I managed to get some sleep. I’m feeling a lot better than before. Thank you for doing what you did. I just hate the fact that I felt like I couldn’t deal with him myself, all because of his father.” She rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me.

“You’ll never have to deal with any of that bullshit again. We’ve decided to bring our other men in to help get rid of anyone connected to Allen’s disgusting ventures.” Reaching up, I run my hand through her hair.

“How many others are there?” She leans in and presses a kiss to my chest.

“More than enough to take those fuckers down.” I’m going to get every last one of the pricks. “I may as well tell you that I’m the president of an MC club called Hells Fury. It’s a family business. I don’t show up as often as I should, but that world is draining. However, our guys are relentless. I promise we’ll get Allen and his followers.”

She moves until she’s lying on me, and I rest my hands on her hips. “Can I help?” She moves up enough to kiss me, but when she rubs against me, I try to hold back the moan that’s caught in my throat.

Trapping her lips with mine, I tell her, “I’ll always want to have you close.”

Teasing me, she rubs against me again, her eyes on mine. “Really? I won’t be a huge pain in your ass.” She chuckles.

Grabbing her perfect ass, her breath catches. “You’ll be a pain in my ass. But you’ll be a pain in the ass that I want to keep at my side.”

She doesn’t respond with words. She sits up, pulls her shirt up and off before throwing it to the side. When I have enough time, I’ll memorize her tattoos, which I’m sure all have special meaning to her. For now, I want to make her scream my name.

Sitting up, I duck my head and take her perfectly pink nipple in my mouth, my teeth grazing the nub.

“Fuck,” she breathes as she starts grinding against me.

Her hands rest on my shoulders, her back arching, silently begging me for more, so I move to the other. When I take hold of her ass and pull her against me, she moans loudly.

Flipping us, I hover over her, my lips meeting hers as she wraps her legs around me, pressing into me. She reaches between us, pushing my sweatpants down. I rip myself away from her, unhooking her legs from around me so I can get her naked. 

When I've stripped off our remaining clothes, I move back between her legs, kissing her with force. When she wraps herself around me again, I slide inside her. Fucking hell, she feels fucking perfect. As I thrust my hips, she lets go of a moan. 

"Fuck. This is exactly what I wanted when I first met you. Never did I think you'd look at me twice, let alone at all," she tells me as she meets me thrust for thrust. 

Pulling away, I gaze down at her. "What made you think I wouldn't want you?"

"You have a reputation for not wanting to be with anyone more than once." She reaches up, cupping my face in her hands. 

Leaning in, I kiss her long and hard before pulling away to stare into her eyes. "Yes, I have a reputation, but that's only because I was waiting for you." 

Her head leaves the pillow, her lips finding mine as I thrust inside her. Reaching down, I hook her leg over my shoulder. When I thrust again, the sensation is overwhelming, and my cock hits the back of her. 

"Holy fuck!" she yells, so I keep going.

"Let go, my queen," I murmur as I feel her walls clench around me. 

"Yes. Fuck. Fuck." I know she's coming, so I allow myself to spill my seed in her, and my body quakes with the best fucking orgasm I've ever experienced. 

Exhausted, I move to my side, and I pull her against me, kissing her slick neck. 

"What the fuck was that?" she asks, out of breath. 

"What do you mean?" I then kiss her collarbone. 

"Never in my life have I peaked like that. Holy shit." She chuckles. 

"No shit, I was thinking the same thing." 

"Are you just trying to make me feel good?" Her eyes watch me.

My head shakes. "I'm not lying. It's never been like that. You're my perfect fit." She's my perfect everything, but I don't want to scare her off by telling her. Yes, we just committed murder together, but there's a big difference between murder and sharing feelings. 

**********

LINK TO FRACTURED: https://l1nk.dev/gz76gvm

**********

Author Candace Dowds

Author Bio.

I began writing after the passing of my son in 2009. It has been an emotional release for me. My family and friends support me. Other than when I am writing, I sit back for hours, reading books by my favourite authors, including Rachel Vincent, Richelle Mead, Claudia Gray, and many more. That or I will go for a calming drive while listening to Eminem, Slim Shady, Marshal Mathers, or The Rap God, whichever you would like to call him. My kids are just like me: sarcastic but fun-loving.

The rules I live by-

1. Don't take life too seriously

2. Don't live up to others' ridiculous expectations

3. Surround yourself with people who love you for you

4. If life becomes too much, have a few stiff drinks and start again tomorrow.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://acesse.one/9ldyjoj

Facebook Group: https://acesse.one/ena0fhd

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@candacedowdsauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcandacedowds/

**********

COMING SOON: On Sunday, 16th August, we are delighted to welcome back our guest author, Catherine Yaffe, who is sharing chapters 1 and 2 of her novel. 'Deliberate Harm'.