*~*Stay by Emily Goodwin Blitz – Excerpt & Giveaway*~*

Genre:   Dark, Suspense, Adult Contemporary Romance

“I felt like I was walking to the end of a plank precariously hanging over shark-infested water. When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.”

Home after her first year of college, Adeline Miller is looking forward to a stress free summer filled with reading, working on her blog, and spending time with friends. But all that changes in an instant when she is witness to something terrible, something she wasn’t supposed to see.

Beaten, drugged, kidnapped.

Adeline Miller is ripped from her innocent and carefree life and thrust into darkness, into a world full of pain and horror. As a sex slave, she is forced to do horrible things, and have horrible things done to her. One of her captors has a past as dark as the world she is now living in. Will getting close to him mean freedom? Or will he pull her deeper into the shadows?

Jackson rolled over, pulling me on top of him. He kissed the top of my head and held me against him for a minute before we got dressed. After using the bathroom, I cuddled back into Jackson’s arms.

   “Why did you say ‘one more day?’” I asked, tracing my fingers over the contours of his bare shoulders.

   “I was hoping you’d forget.”

   “Not a chance.”

   Jackson took a breath. “Nate and Zane are gone. This is as good a time as any for you to escape.”

   I pushed myself up so I could look him in the eyes. “And you too, right?”

   Jackson frowned. “I don’t know the codes right now. You’ll have to go through a window.”

   “So?” I asked, feeling panic rising. “You can come with me.” I shook my head. “Windows are quiet anyway. By the time I get out and the alarm goes off, we can be long gone.”

   “As soon as I unlock a window on the first floor, the alarm will go off. The only windows I have access to up here are straight drops. You could fall and hurt yourself, and then you wouldn’t be able to run. And you’re forgetting that the ankle bracelet has a GPS tracker. Lou can go after you and find you. I have to distract him.”

   “Jackson, no. Please!” My eyes filled with tears, and my palms began to sweat. I desperately shook my head. “No. I can’t leave you. I won’t leave you.”

   “You can send help.”

   “We both know that’s a load of shit,” I said. I blinked back tears. “You’ll be dead by then.”

   “Adeline,” he whispered and reached up to caress my face. “That’s why I brought you up here. I wanted one more time with you. You’ve given me so much, more than I deserve. Now it’s my turn to give you a chance. You can have your life back, start over. You don’t need me.”

“I don’t want to start over without you.” My voice quivered as tears slid down my face. “I need you. I need your arms around me, holding me, keeping me together. I need your lips to press against mine, to hear your heart beating, to feel the heat of your skin. I need you.”

“You’ll find somebody else, someone who can give you a better life than I could.”

“Stop it!” I cried. “I don’t want anyone else. I want you! I love you, Jackson. No one else.”

“And I love you, Adeline. Enough to sacrifice myself for you. Please, Addie. Let me do this for you. Take this chance. My death will set you free.”

   I pushed his hand away. “No. Do not tell me goodbye. It didn’t work last time, and it won’t work now. There has to be another way. There has to be. I won’t let you leave me.”

 

Emily Goodwin is the author of the award winning Contagium Series published by Permuted Press as well as many independently published novels, including the internationally bestselling novel, STAY. Emily writes in a wide variety of genres, from horror to romance. She holds multiple degrees in psychology and nursing and has worked in mental health and general healthcare. Emily resides in Indiana with her husband, daughter, and German Shepherd named Vader. Along with writing, Emily enjoys riding her horse, designing and making costumes, and Cosplay.