A Brazen Excerpt

Things aren’t always what they seem, especially in Eden...

EXCERPT

Alex slung the bag over one shoulder and took a last look around. The only picture she had of her with her father caught her eye. After a second’s hesitation, she stuck it into the side pocket of her backpack. He’d always insisted that a paper picture was worth more than the digital kind.

She headed toward the side door and pushed it open. The metal still felt hot to the touch from entering the atmosphere. A rush of cool air struck her face, and she enjoyed the way it caressed her curls away from her face. The sweat that had built up beneath her clothes cooled her as it dried.

For a second, she cursed herself for being so stupid. She’d opened the door without a moment’s hesitation. What if she’d needed an oxygen mask on this planet? For all she knew, there could have been some poisonous gas in the air.

She shook her head, disgusted at her absentminded manner.

Alex stepped outside but couldn’t find firm ground below her feet. She tumbled forward, flying through the air as her hands clawed to grab at the branches that struck her face and body on the way down.

When she finally landed, it was on top of something that made a sound and collapsed beneath her.

Alex felt the undeniable beating of another’s heart as she scrambled to lift her body upward with both hands. Her eyes met the blazing green ones of a dark-haired man who lay underneath her. Alex had his hips pinned with hers as her legs straddled him. Their noses were only centimeters from touching as the stranger stared at her with wide eyes, and so many questions buried in that one single look.

His hands held her arms down.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“You fell out of the sky,” the guy returned. He seemed amazed, as if a miracle had just occurred. “Were you sent to me by the Almighty?”

“No, I was sent to you by the tree.”

“What do you mean?”

Alex lifted her chest off his and sat back on his hips to gaze down at the man. His hands slipped off her arms as she took in every detail. He was muscular, in the same athletic way as Ulric. Muscles bulged from his arms like he spent hours at some sort of gym. Though, by the looks of the jungle around them, Alex wondered if this was some sort of rural civilization. Maybe his muscles were from manual labor, a thought that surprisingly aroused her.

Think of Ulric, she told herself. With this hunk stuck beneath her, there was no way she could think about anyone else.

“I fell out of the tree,” Alex finally answered. “My ship’s up there. I crash-landed here.”

His eyes were shiny. “I watched the fireball descend, but wasn’t sure if it was a ship or a meteor. We rarely have any visitors here.”

“Where is here, by the way?”

“Welcome to the planet of Eden.”

PROMISE IN EDEN is now available here.

Yolanda
http://www.yolandasfetsos.com/