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Author of magical, sensual romance |
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Melani Blazer |
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Copyright © MELANI BLAZER, 2005. All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc. “Huh?” Bree rubbed her eyes and squinted at the clock. First she’d thought she’d slept all night and Bash had already returned. But it was two in the morning. It couldn’t be Bash. Unless it was an emergency. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched. She smiled into the darkness, feeling the stretch of muscles rarely used and the lingering satisfaction that can only follow a very good orgasm. She flipped on the light and reached for her robe when she heard it again. A car revving. As in, sitting in her driveway and revving. Not Bash. He’d have turned it off and rapped on the door, conscious of the neighbors and the time. Besides, he wouldn’t scare her after that incident with the Corvette. Goosebumps covered her skin and she couldn’t pull the thick material of the robe around her fast enough. She turned off the light, sat on the bed, and stared at the window. What did he want? Who was he? One name came to mind, but she wouldn’t put form to it. No. She didn’t believe in ghosts. And if she did, weren’t they just some…billowy, transparent vision that floated in and out of walls? Certainly they didn’t drive souped-up classic cars and alert the entire neighborhood to their presence. Of course it wasn’t a ghost. Duh. She grabbed the bedside phone and dialed 911. Her hand shook as she held it to her cheek and waited for the operator. “There…there’s a car outside, in my driveway, revving up his engine.” Calmly, the operator verified Bree’s address and name. “Do you know who it is?” “No! But I’ve seen the car in daylight. It seems to be…stalking me or something.” “Has anyone gotten out of the car? Did you get a plate number?” License plate? She hadn’t thought to look that one time she had seen it clearly. “No. The windows are dark and I can’t see any…” she swallowed and blinked her eyes closed. “I can’t see the driver at all, even a silhouette.” “Is it there now?” Bree couldn’t believe the woman couldn’t hear it through the receiver. She didn’t want to think it heard her and was becoming more aggressive. “Yes. In my driveway. Can’t be more than ten feet from my bedroom window.” “I’m dispatching a car to your address, Ms. Williams. Do you want to remain on the phone with me until the officer arrives?” Bree wasn’t sure. If only Bash were here. Dammit. “Just for a minute. I’m going to walk over to the window and look out.” “Do you think that would be dangerous?” And what was she going to do about it if it was? She hated this fear. It felt better that she’d made up her mind to look. Outside, the engine raced. The windows rattled in their panes, creaking against aged wood. She jumped back and screamed as headlights came on and flooded her room with light. “Ma’am, ma’am?” Bree fumbled for the phone she’d nearly thrown in reaction. “I’m here. Oh God. Whoever it is knows I’m in here. As soon as I peeked through the blinds he hit high beams. The car’s facing my window—he’s sitting sideways in my driveway.” What was he going to do, run into the house? Why was he after her? What did he want? Just to scare her? Doing a damn fine job of achieving that goal, that’s for sure. “Stay away from the window. Can you get to another room? An interior room or hallway?” Deep breaths. She had to concentrate on slow, easy breaths. Why are you doing this to me? She wanted to shout through the window. But she knew she wouldn’t get an answer. Whoever was in that car was staying in that car. Why? “Ma’am, according to the officer, he’s within a minute from your home. Is there a door you feel is safe for him to approach?” Door. Right. “Probably the front door. The car is on the south side of the house, between the house and the garage.” “I’ll pass that along. Can you see the front of the house, the road?” Bree peered through the peephole at the front door. Nothing but black. Hell, some monster could be standing there with his finger over the hole for all she knew. “If I move the blinds. They’re all pulled.” “Wait—” Bree cut in. “I see headlights—a car. Coming down the road. It’s him.” “The police officer?” “Yeah.” She could finally breathe. But it was short lived. “Oh my God!” she gasped as the black Corvette, visible only in the reflection of her porch light—roared out of her driveway and directly toward the oncoming car. “Ma’am? What is it?” Bree tensed, waiting for the impact. But the sound of metal hitting metal never came. No sparks shooting off the point of impact, no screeching of tires. “What’s going on?” Bree took a few deep breaths. What had she just witnessed? “The car left. Tore out of here without any lights on and, well, it looked like it was going to crash right into the front of the police car.” “It’s gone?” Bree’s heart beat so hard and fast against her chest that she felt lightheaded. Pure exhaustion hit her body, dragging on her muscles and desire to deal with this any longer. “Gone. But police car is turning into the drive now. I’ll go talk to him.” “Good.” Bree hung up and leaned the handset against her forehead. What was going on? Why was she being haunted…stalked? She answered the rap on her door and flooded the kitchen with light. “Did you see it?” she demanded as soon as the police officer handed over his card. “From here, it looked like it was going to hit you head on.” “See what?” |
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Michelle Naumann from Just Erotic Romance Reviews… Hot Rod Heaven is a skillfully woven, subtly tense read that had me racing through the pages (pun intended). For any readers who enjoy a bit of suspense and fabulous cars thrown in with their romance, grab this book now.
Fallen Angel Reviews Rating: 5 Angels … This was a really great twist on a theme. Take a doomed love affair, a controlling fiancé from the grave, and hot cars and you get this engrossing story. Hot Rod Heaven is not only a ghost story, but also a story of continuing on with one’s life and leaving the past in the past. A sweet, yet steamy relationship between Bash and Bree keep the story balanced. I really enjoyed this book and have made Ms. Blazer an auto-buy author. Thank you for all of your consistently good books. Reviewed by: Serena
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