Caleb Ward is trying to forget the night he almost died.Ava Lin is trying to understand why he survived.
But Hollow Creek isn’t letting either of them move on.
What starts as a strange blackout spirals into a trail of eerie clues, shifting shadows, and a connection between Ava and Caleb that grows hotter and more undeniable with every new secret uncovered.
Ava told herself she had a job to do.
A simple vitals check. Routine. Clinical.
But the second Caleb stepped out of his hoodie, every ounce of training she’d ever had tried to evaporate at once.
Under the thin lantern light, he looked unreal - like someone carved him in secret and forgot to tone it down for real life. Broad shoulders, smooth lines of muscle, a chest that rose and fell in slow, steady waves. Even the long cut of his waist looked sculpted, defined by a faint shadow that dipped beneath the band of his shirt.
She swallowed hard. Professional. She had to stay professional.
“Sit… sit still,” she said, though her voice wavered.
Caleb obeyed, but the motion only made things worse - muscles shifting under his skin like a quiet ripple, arms flexing as he rested them on his knees. There were faint veins along his forearms, subtle but impossible to ignore, and his hands… strong, warm-looking, capable.
Ava’s fingers hovered before she touched him.
Focus. Just focus.
But then she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm, and her fingertips brushed the heat of his skin - the kind of heat that wasn’t just temperature. Caleb drew in a breath, low and surprised, and she felt it like a pulse of electricity between them.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“Yeah,” she lied instantly.
His eyes flicked to her mouth for half a second - half a second - and her heartbeat misfired so hard she nearly fumbled the stethoscope.
Get it together, Ava.
She leaned closer, pretending she needed to hear his pulse better, but really just trying to anchor herself. Caleb smelled faintly of clean soap and something warm, something masculine that made her knees weaken.
“Your heart rate’s elevated,” she murmured.
His voice dropped: “Yours too.”
Her hands trembled.
Professional. Right. Any second now.
Dustin is a lifelong fan of science and speculative fiction, blending his fascination with astronomy, technology, and the unknown into stories that explore the edge between logic and wonder. When he’s not writing, he’s reading, stargazing, or chasing trails on his dirt bike — always searching for what lies just beyond understanding.
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I liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Capturing that rush of first young love - and those unforgettable butterflies - was really important to me.
DeleteThis is an interesting combination of genres! The cover sets the mood for the book.
ReplyDelete