The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation #1)

Katie wants to invest her heart and soul in love, but she may lose both to Hell.
Katie, a senior in high school, is torn between loving the “good” guy, her childhood friend Wes who makes promises he doesn’t keep and abandons her when she needs him the most, and the “bad” guy, the new kid at school Josh who is also a real demon from Hell.
Katie wants someone who pays attention to her and puts her first, but what is she willing to give up to find him?
~ Bewitching BT

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Excerpt- CHAPTER 1:

“You used to have a crush on me, ya know.”

Katie stopped dribbling the tennis ball on the court and focused on the speaker. Wes

stood in front of her and to the left. He crouched, his forearms resting on his knees, his tennis

racket twirling in his hand. When he glanced over his shoulder at her, a sly smile covered his

lips. She remembered when his hair was blonde, but recently he had dyed it black and cut it into

a short spike. It made his skin look paler than normal; his thin lips looked redder. The corners of

his brown eyes wrinkled as his smile widened.

She set her jaw. There were so many things she could say to him, the first and foremost

that he was an idiot, but she pressed her lips into a line. Why would he bring that up at that

particular moment? What did it matter? With a shake of her head, she faced forward and threw

the ball in the air. Pretending it was Wes’s head, she smashed her racket into it with all her

might. It sailed over the net, and her opponent moved to the right to intercept it. A forehand

shot sent it back toward Katie and Wes. It was beyond her court realm, so she let Wes get

it. Inwardly, she kind of hoped it would hit him in the mouth, maybe swell up his lips so he

couldn’t speak. It didn’t. He was ready and backhanded it over the net. The two teams volleyed a

few more times, then the girl on the opposite side hit the ball a little too hard, knocking it out of

bounds.

“Yeah!” Wes pumped his fist in the air, then approached Katie for a high five.

Reluctantly, she gave him one. The other team readied to serve, but the bell rang. Thank

goodness, Katie thought. After leaving the tennis courts, she followed the rest of her class into

their respective locker rooms.

Not being one to dilly-dally in the locker room and catch up on the latest gossip, it didn’t

take Katie long to shower and change. Being naked around other girls made her nervous. She

was more developed than they were, and the way they stared and huffed at her, like she could

control nature, made her uncomfortable. The sooner she could cover up her body, the happier she

was. She stopped at the bathroom mirror to quickly run a comb through her hair. With her dark

brown hair wet, it looked black. It touched her shoulders, so it didn’t take long to get the comb

through. She made sure the part in the middle was straight. Her hazel eyes caught the fluorescent

lights and glittered for a moment. She leaned closer to the mirror and applied chapstick to her

pouty lips. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she turned and headed out of the locker room.

As she stepped out the door and headed for the gym, someone grabbed her wrist from

behind. The touch was familiar, and, if she was honest with herself, expected. Especially after

what happened on the courts, an apology was in order. The action didn’t surprise her, and she

didn’t cry out. Instead, she allowed herself to be pulled toward the storage area near the girl’s

locker room that held the gymnastic mats. Her wrist was released and she turned to face him,

crossing her arms over her chest. Wes hopped onto a stack of mats. It was typical of him to bring

her someplace private, away from prying eyes, after making a spectacle in public. Wes was good

at apologizing, but he was horrible about admitting he was wrong in front of others.

“Sorry about what I said on the court, but you needed some motivation. They were

creaming us. I figured the best way to get you to play better was to make you mad.” He smiled.

Katie rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. She didn’t make it very far. Wes wrapped

his legs around her thighs and pulled her backward. He draped his arm across her left shoulder

and rested his hands on her ribs, right below her breast. She shuddered. His mouth was right next

to her ear; his breath tickled her lobe.

“Why don’t you still have a crush on me?” he whispered. He traced his fingertip gently

across her shoulder and down her arm.

Goosebumps rose on her flesh. Her stomach fluttered; a chill ran down her spine. The

smell of soap and mint drifted into her nostrils. The heat from his body radiated through her,

making her feel safe. It was a short-lived sensation though, and the flutter in her stomach quickly

turned into a lump. She lifted her arm and dug her elbow into his side. He grunted and let go.

Without a word, she stomped toward the gym.

Wes caught his breath and jumped off the mats. “Katie, come on. Come back. I’m sorry.”

She turned around, her face red with anger. “Just leave me alone!”

She tried to keep her emotions in check, but the words came out louder than she

expected. She spun around quickly, not wanting Wes to see how upset she was. As she did, she

ran into someone. Jerking back, she opened her mouth to apologize, but the words stuck in her

throat. Bright blue eyes met hers, then quickly flicked over her head. She took in the boy’s short

light brown hair styled with gel, the full lips that turned down in a frown. The muscles bulged

beneath his shirt, and she fought back the urge to place her hands back on his chest. Josh Evers.

“Everything all right, Katie? This guy bothering you?”

Oh, my God! she thought. He knows my name. Josh Evers knows my name!

It took her a moment to find her voice. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

The redness in her face that had been there from anger quickly turned into

embarrassment. The desire to run and hide from both boys overwhelmed her.

“Hey, Josh, why don’t you mind your own business? Katie and I were having a private

conversation.”

Katie glanced over her shoulder. Wes had placed his hands on his hips but hadn’t moved

forward. She looked back at Josh.

“If you ask me, it doesn’t look like she wants to talk to you at all.” He balled his hands

into fists at his sides, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Wes.

“Oh, really? What are you going to do about it, Josh?” Wes spit the name out before

taking a step forward.

Josh also took a step, and worry coursed through Katie’s body. The tension in the air was

palpable. She didn’t want them fighting on her account. Although, in the back of her mind, the

action flattered her. Especially coming from Josh. He had just transferred to their school at the

beginning of the semester. As the captain of the baseball team, he was the desire of every girl in

the school and the envy of the boys. Katie hadn’t thought he knew she existed. Yet, there he was

coming to her rescue and calling her by name. It was enough to make her swoon. And she would

have if the situation had been different. As it was, she needed to stay alert. A teacher could come

by at any moment. She didn’t want them getting in trouble for her. She had no idea what she

would say, but she could probably come up with something if she really needed to.

Not that she had anything to worry about from Wes. He’d never do anything to hurt her.

He wasn’t lying when he said she used to have a crush on him. She’d liked him since they were

in kindergarten. At times, Wes even made it seem he liked her back. Then, at other times, he

made it perfectly clear he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Those moments crushed her, sent her

home crying on more than one occasion. But those moments of tenderness, the ones that made

her believe he liked her, sustained her, kept her hoping that maybe someday something would

happen between them. He had toyed with her emotions for their entire school career.

By her senior year in high school, she’d had enough. She couldn’t take the roller coaster

of emotion, didn’t want to feel like she was being strung along. She resolved to stay away from

Wes, convincing herself she could do it. Only one more year, then she’d leave for college, and

she’d never have to see him again. But he showed up her in homeroom, then in her gym class.

She wanted to burst into tears when he took the desk next to her. Why was he making this so

difficult? Still, she wasn’t going to let her resolve fail. She would ignore him, pretend he didn’t

exist.

When Josh showed up, he made pretending Wes wasn’t there so much easier. On top of

that, he was standing up for her honor, defending her against a rival. As he stood in front of her,

so close to her body she felt the heat radiating from him, thoughts of wrapping her arms around

his waist and kissing him ran through her mind. She imagined how firm his muscles would feel

under her hands, how soft his lips would be. She inhaled deeply and the spicy tang of aftershave

caressed her nostrils. It took every ounce of self-control to keep from molesting him.

Josh took another step closer to Wes. Without thinking, she placed her hands on Josh’s

stomach to stay him. As she suspected, the muscles were hard under her fingers. The seriousness

of the situation flooded back into her mind. If she didn’t say something, a fight could ensue and

someone might get hurt.

“Josh, no, please. He’s not worth it.” She glanced over her shoulder and stared at Wes

with narrowed eyes.

Wes held his hands out to his sides. Hurt crossed his face.

Without saying another word, Josh wrapped his arm around Katie’s shoulders and

escorted her into the gym away from Wes. ”

About the Author & Links:

n 2009, eTreasures Publishing published my first novel, a sci fi adventure story. Since then, they have published my two YA zombie novels, my religious zombie novella, two children’s picture books, and two novellas with romantic elements. I have an urban fantasy novel about dragons and a vampire novelette that was published by MuseItUp Publishing. Musa Publishing has published my novelette with romantic elements and a collection of short stories. I have a middle grade urban fantasy novel that was published by Little Devil Books. My nonfiction book about slasher films was published by Scarecrow Press.

Writing is my passion. I enjoy creating fantastic worlds and memorable characters. I’m an active promoter of my works and love to talk to readers at book signings and readings. Doing giveaways on Goodreads has been an exciting experience, and having contests for readers has been fun. I actively promote various authors on my blog and participate in blog tours to promote my own work.

I write under several different pen names. For my children’s titles, I write under J.D. Pooker, and for my YA and adult novels, I write under Pembroke Sinclair. My nonfiction work is done under my real name.

I am a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and am on a committee to create membership criteria for iPAL, which is a sister group to the Published Authors Liaison group and focuses on independent and self-published authors. I am also a member of the ALA and really enjoy doing library visits.

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