Bouncer Post #35

Title: Dark Scion

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Word Count: 86,000

Query:

Supernatural police woman Arianna Walker has spent most of her adult life pitted against the slimy underbelly of paranormal Memphis—and hiding the fact that she's just like the monsters she kills.

A scion of magic, she’s cursed with the blood of every preternatural faction, giving her innate powers and a plethora of weaknesses—including a severe case of human mortality. She’s taken every precaution to keep her unnatural identity a secret. But when a routine investigation turns sour, a demonic spirit attempts to posses her, revealing someone has unearthed the truth about her genetic mutation. After the magic-seeking wraiths fail to destroy her, they resort to exploiting the one weakness Ri never counted on: her love.

A vicious attack lands her closest friends in the hospital, fueling Ri’s need to find and stop the perpetrator. To save them, and herself, she’s going to have to do more than rely on her hunting prowess. She’ll have to learn to play nice with her inner demons and her fear of exposure. And she’ll have to do it fast, because every clue she discovers suggests the person behind the attacks might be someone she’s loved all along.

First 250:

The December wind whistled down the busy street like an invisible train of ice. I hunkered down in my black pea-coat, cinching the tie at my waist. Anything to keep the blasted cold out.

“Ri, are you okay?” Ryan asked as I lingered in the doorway of the warm movie theater.

I shrugged and stepped out onto the street. “Peachy. Just hate winter.” As if on cue, chill bumps raced across my skin as frigid tendrils of air crept through the fabric of my jeans.

Ryan walked on, as comfortable in the frosty temperature as the massive tiger lurking beneath his skin. “So, what did you think?”

I grinned up at him and noticed the way the wind tousled his short, dark brown hair. My fingers itched to do the same. “You’re lucky I like action-packed, kick-ass movies, with lots of babes baring everything God gave them—and some things He probably didn’t.”

Warm sapphire eyes danced as he turned to me. “It was enough to make a gentleman thoroughly sick. Only sheer politeness kept me from retching on you.” He placed a strong hand against my back as we moved through a pair of cars.

I tried to ignore the butterflies his touch created. “Right. I can see how young blondes with big, firm breasts would make any man lose his lunch.”

“I’m not really into busty blondes.”

“What? Young and pretty not your type?”

His soft chuckle was more of a low, throaty rumble. “Nah. I like my broads repulsive and practically in the grave.”