Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best black authors .txt) 📕

Emily smiled before moving to the edge of the bed, where she gently stretched her neck and padded her way to the bathroom. She grabbed some Ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet, cupped her hands under the sinks faucet, and swallowed the medicine.

Emily looked in the mirror and was startled by her reflection. The circles under her eyes looked more like bruises than the typical light shadows she normally had after a bad night of sleep. Her complexion appeared sallow. It would be a makeup kind of day for sure.

The sound of floorboards creaking caught her attention. It sounded as if someone were walking. Peeking her head out into the hallway, she had a clear view of most of her apartment. No one was there. And she spotted the chain lock on her door still in place. It was probably Liam walking around upstairs. The building was old. Emily had read that the majority of the Victorian homes in San Francisco had been built in the mid-eighteen hundreds. The house was well over a hundred and fifty years old and bound to come with creaking and settling sounds.

Stepping into the shower, Emily stood under the spray of the hot water, letting it cascade over her. Her mind drifted to her new neighbor, Liam. She couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was when she met him last night. In the past, Emily had never been attracted to men with facial hair, but on Liam, she thought it was sexy as hell.

It had been years since Emily had dated, and she hoped that starting her new life in a new city would be the spark she needed to live a normal life. Her last boyfriend had been a disaster, and she swore off dating forever at the time. But after seeing Liam last night, dating kind of made its way back into the forefront of her mind. He was tall, incredibly gorgeous, kind of mysterious too. That was new for her. But maybe, she needed new and different. Hell, that was why she left Seattle in the first place. She wanted a change. The spontaneous pull she felt to move ignited a desire within her to live a life she had always wanted. To find peace and be happy. Maybe even find love.

She shook the thought from her head. What were the chances that Liam was even available? Knowing her luck, he probably had a gorgeous girlfriend. Emily had never thought of herself as being particularly attractive. The thought that someone like Liam could be attracted to her was far-fetched in her mind.

Maybe she would just let things play out and see what would come of it. If she had learned anything through her trials in life, it was never to get her hopes up. Staying neutral was safe, and if she got more than she thought she would, great! If not, no harm done. That was how she lived her life. Completely neutral.

Clearing the thoughts of Liam from her mind, Emily mulled over ideas for her website. It was early spring and considered to be the offseason still. There wasn’t much work for photographers just yet. Most people who were getting married that summer would have already hired their photographers. So, she decided that focusing on family photo sessions for the summer was her best bet. Next year she would have plenty of weddings to photograph.

With her head still under the running water, she felt the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up, and a cold breeze blew past her. She knew all of the windows in her flat were closed and could hear the faint hum of the furnace running through the vent. Perhaps the living room window blew open again? But she closed the bathroom door, so how could the breeze come through?

The air changed. Electricity swirled, prickling Emily’s skin with pins and needles. Goosebumps formed, inflaming her body with tiny, painfully hard lumps. Her breathing quickened, and her heart hammered against her ribs. Despite the cold blowing around her, her face flushed, and her ears rang. Afraid she might pass out, Emily pressed her back against the cold tile behind her.

Another bitter cold breeze blew through. This time, Emily could see her breath in the chilled air. She lifted her gaze and turned her head. Looking through the opaque, white shower curtain, a shadow stood near the door. Emily sucked in a breath of air, where it froze in her lungs. Unable to move, she stared at the form in front of her. It was hard to make out what it was exactly. It resembled a human form—one of a man with broad shoulders and much taller than her. Only it did not look natural. It pulsated, becoming more solid before fading and coming back into view—a void of darkness against the light in the room.

“Hello?” was all Emily could manage. Fear rose within her. She turned off the water, hoping the absence of the sound would clear her hearing. It did, but only barely. Her ears still rung from the fluctuating energy swirling around her, and a funhouse effect took over her equilibrium. Her balance was off, and her legs wobbled. She hesitantly reached for the shower curtain. Not wanting to look, but knowing she had to see what had invaded her space.

Gripping the edge of the curtain, she mustered all of her courage to pull it back. Only she didn’t have to. In an instant, whatever was in her bathroom lunged toward her, stopping inches away from the other side of the curtain. She could now clearly see the shadowy outline of a person. Complete blackness in the form of a man stood in front of her. Watching her on the other side of her shower.

The hair-raising scream that escaped her throat pierced her own ears. Shutting her eyes, she crouched into a protective ball before another icy blast of air shot through her. She shivered