Synopsis:
Leona, a woman in
her late twenties who has been dreaming about a guy that she doesn't know
finally sees him in real life one day, but she doesn't approach him out of
bizarreness of the whole situation and that leaves her with an feeling of
missed opportunity, so when life gives her a second chance she grabs it with
both hands. Nathaniel, a police officer who's been on a hunt to find his
brother's killer for over a year now turns out to be a dreamguy in real life
too, and while things are going great between the two of them, Leona's long
life friendship with her dear friend Naomi isn't. Resenting the thought of
having to choose between the two of them she and her two friends Alyssa and
Alexandra come up with an idea to whisk Naomi away for a little holiday in the
hopes that after they'd spend some quality time together things would finally
go back to the way it used to be, but it doesn't and when Marcus, Naomi's
current boyfriend who followed them out there confesses something to Leona that
she really wished he hadn't, she keeps finding it harder and harder to even
look her best friend in the eyes without feeling like the worst friend ever...
Excerpt #1
I leaned in closer to try and make out what she was saying and could only
just about hear her whispers. “Stop asking me to do that, I wouldn’t do that to
her, she’s one of my best friends and I love her to death.” She was almost
crying and sounded slightly unhinged as she talked. “Even if I wanted to do it,
I couldn’t because he’s always with her. Just stop it, I can’t handle you in my
head anymore, get out, get out and leave me alone.”
She sat on the floor and curled her knees up into her arms, then she
started rocking back and forth like an upset child. All of a sudden she began
hitting herself on the head and between sobs, started chanting, “Get out of my
head, get out of my head, I won’t do it, I won’t do it, I won’t.” What the hell is going on? Who is she
talking to?
Unable to bear seeing my friend like this any longer I tried to decide the
best thing to do. It was starting to freak me out. Had she lost her mind? Was she seeing ghosts? Was she possessed? Every
frightening scenario flashed through my mind in those moments and I didn’t know
what to do, I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her.
I decided I couldn’t leave her like this, so I pushed the door wide open
and walked over to her on the floor. I tapped her on the shoulder and called out
to her but she didn’t react. I tried again, louder this time, “Naomi! What the
hell is wrong with you girl?”
She turned to look at me, but her face was almost unrecognizable. She was
so pale, as if all the blood has rushed from her face, and her pupils were
fully dilated. I didn’t want to say it, but she looked scary. Mascara trails
created crooked black paths from her eyes, down her cheeks and over her nose,
and she was looking straight through me. As if I wasn’t really there. She
didn’t look like Naomi at all and it sent chills down my spine.
I knelt down beside her and threw my arms around her shoulders, trying my
best to comfort her. “Naomi, please answer me, what’s wrong? Who were you
talking to?” She didn’t respond; it was as if she was in some kind of trance
and I couldn’t pull her out of it.
Beginning to get desperate for a reaction, any reaction would do right now, I took her arms in my hands and
shook her violently. That only seemed to agitate her though, and she screamed
in my ears, “I won’t do it, I won’t!”
Not knowing what else to try, I text the girls and told them I needed help.
I thought it was best not to let the guys in on this though, so I mentioned to
leave them downstairs. It had crossed my mind that Naomi had taken some sort of
drug to make her so out of character and I didn’t want her to get arrested.
Even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t very nice for them to see her like this. The
girls didn’t listen though, and when they arrived Nathaniel walked in behind
them, both Joshua and Anthony were in tow.
“Wow, I sensed that something was really bad up here and I wasn’t wrong,
was I?”
The first thing they did was switch on the lights; I had already grown so
accustomed to the dark in my haste to get through to Naomi that I didn’t even
notice the lights were still off. “What’s wrong with your friend, Leona? Why is
she crying there on the floor? Did you argue with her as well?” Wow,
Nate didn’t just say that did he? I swear I’d never felt the urge to slap
someone in my life, as much as I wanted to slap him right then. Not even
Vivian.
Right now wasn’t the time to get into an argument though, so I ignored him.
Besides, I knew that he was only trying to provoke me in an attempt to get me
to speak to him again. Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a rise from me, he
took control of the situation; telling the girls to clear Naomi’s desk and
getting Joshua to help him put her on it.
As he picked her up, she draped her arms around him, and for a split second
it seemed like she was nuzzling his neck. She breathed heavily, her chest
heaving as she took in his scent. I thought I was imagining it until she held
on to the back of his head and grinned at me. What the hell was she playing at? I wanted to say something, but
she let loose my gaze in the blink of an eye. It all happened so quickly that I
began to second guess myself as to whether it had actually happened. Could my mind be playing tricks on me? It’s
feasible that I had too many glasses of wine at the party.
“Anthony, go and ask the door staff if they have any of those smelling salts they use on people when they faint.” Nathaniel’s
words snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You’re not really going to use them on her are you? If she’s not resistant
nothing good will come of it.” Anthony was apprehensive and when Joshua tried
to assure him that Nate knew what he was doing, he snapped back at his friend
and stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath.
Alexandra tried talking to Naomi but she couldn’t get through to her
either. She looked right through her with vacant eyes and caressed Alyssa’s
face, murmuring over and over that she was a “pretty lady.” They asked if I
thought she was on something and I had to let them know that I wasn’t sure.
“She didn’t recognize me either, I don’t know what’s wrong. I didn’t think
she’d taken anything at first, but this is all starting to look like a trip, a
trip that’s gone really wrong.”
Nathaniel and Joshua were standing in the corner, clearly talking about
something that we weren’t supposed to hear. I just prayed that they weren’t
about to take her down town for a drug test. The whole time they were whispering, Nate never took his eyes off me. I
hated it when he looked at me like that, he could always draw me in with his
stunningly chocolate eyes, and even though I needed to stay focused for Naomi,
somehow I just couldn't help but to stare right back at him.
A few minutes later, Anthony finally returned with a small capsule which
Nathaniel took and placed under Naomi’s nose. It was amazing, within seconds
she began to breath quickly and slowly but surely came back to her normal self.
When she snapped out of whatever she was on, she was shocked to find all of us
in her office. “What happened?” She
asked me, confused. She couldn’t remember anything from the last couple of
hours.
I talked her through what had gone on, from when I found her sitting at her
desk until now; she had no recollection of doing any of those things. I
believed her because she couldn't fake an embarrassment like that even if
she tried. She looked exhausted and said that all she wanted to do was sleep.
Alyssa suggested we take her to the hospital for a checkup and we all
agreed that it was the safest decision. We still didn’t know what had happened
to her, so if she had been on drugs, the results would tell.
Excerpt #1
We arrived at Club N around two and I excused myself straight away to go
and find Naomi. I couldn’t see her anywhere in the main club, so I made my way
up to the office. Her door was slightly open and she was sitting at her desk;
it seemed like she was talking to someone but there was no one to be seen.
Thinking she was on the phone I waited for her to finish, but after a few
minutes I noticed her cell lying on the corner of her desk. Could I be about to interrupt her on some
sort of office booty call? The
thought of someone hidden under the desk, pleasuring my friend, made me want to
laugh out loud. Oh my God, no; Naomi
wasn’t that kind of girl. She was far too shy for that, especially with the
door open.
I leaned in closer to try and make out what she was saying and could only
just about hear her whispers. “Stop asking me to do that, I wouldn’t do that to
her, she’s one of my best friends and I love her to death.” She was almost
crying and sounded slightly unhinged as she talked. “Even if I wanted to do it,
I couldn’t because he’s always with her. Just stop it, I can’t handle you in my
head anymore, get out, get out and leave me alone.”
She sat on the floor and curled her knees up into her arms, then she
started rocking back and forth like an upset child. All of a sudden she began
hitting herself on the head and between sobs, started chanting, “Get out of my
head, get out of my head, I won’t do it, I won’t do it, I won’t.” What the hell is going on? Who is she
talking to?
Unable to bear seeing my friend like this any longer I tried to decide the
best thing to do. It was starting to freak me out. Had she lost her mind? Was she seeing ghosts? Was she possessed? Every
frightening scenario flashed through my mind in those moments and I didn’t know
what to do, I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her.
I decided I couldn’t leave her like this, so I pushed the door wide open
and walked over to her on the floor. I tapped her on the shoulder and called out
to her but she didn’t react. I tried again, louder this time, “Naomi! What the
hell is wrong with you girl?”
She turned to look at me, but her face was almost unrecognizable. She was
so pale, as if all the blood has rushed from her face, and her pupils were
fully dilated. I didn’t want to say it, but she looked scary. Mascara trails
created crooked black paths from her eyes, down her cheeks and over her nose,
and she was looking straight through me. As if I wasn’t really there. She
didn’t look like Naomi at all and it sent chills down my spine.
I knelt down beside her and threw my arms around her shoulders, trying my
best to comfort her. “Naomi, please answer me, what’s wrong? Who were you
talking to?” She didn’t respond; it was as if she was in some kind of trance
and I couldn’t pull her out of it.
Beginning to get desperate for a reaction, any reaction would do right now, I took her arms in my hands and
shook her violently. That only seemed to agitate her though, and she screamed
in my ears, “I won’t do it, I won’t!”
Not knowing what else to try, I text the girls and told them I needed help.
I thought it was best not to let the guys in on this though, so I mentioned to
leave them downstairs. It had crossed my mind that Naomi had taken some sort of
drug to make her so out of character and I didn’t want her to get arrested.
Even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t very nice for them to see her like this. The
girls didn’t listen though, and when they arrived Nathaniel walked in behind
them, both Joshua and Anthony were in tow.
“Wow, I sensed that something was really bad up here and I wasn’t wrong,
was I?”
The first thing they did was switch on the lights; I had already grown so
accustomed to the dark in my haste to get through to Naomi that I didn’t even
notice the lights were still off. “What’s wrong with your friend, Leona? Why is
she crying there on the floor? Did you argue with her as well?” Wow,
Nate didn’t just say that did he? I swear I’d never felt the urge to slap
someone in my life, as much as I wanted to slap him right then. Not even
Vivian.
Right now wasn’t the time to get into an argument though, so I ignored him.
Besides, I knew that he was only trying to provoke me in an attempt to get me
to speak to him again. Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a rise from me, he
took control of the situation; telling the girls to clear Naomi’s desk and
getting Joshua to help him put her on it.
As he picked her up, she draped her arms around him, and for a split second
it seemed like she was nuzzling his neck. She breathed heavily, her chest
heaving as she took in his scent. I thought I was imagining it until she held
on to the back of his head and grinned at me. What the hell was she playing at? I wanted to say something, but
she let loose my gaze in the blink of an eye. It all happened so quickly that I
began to second guess myself as to whether it had actually happened. Could my mind be playing tricks on me? It’s
feasible that I had too many glasses of wine at the party.
“Anthony, go and ask the door staff if they have any of those smelling salts they use on people when they faint.” Nathaniel’s
words snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You’re not really going to use them on her are you? If she’s not resistant
nothing good will come of it.” Anthony was apprehensive and when Joshua tried
to assure him that Nate knew what he was doing, he snapped back at his friend
and stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath.
Alexandra tried talking to Naomi but she couldn’t get through to her
either. She looked right through her with vacant eyes and caressed Alyssa’s
face, murmuring over and over that she was a “pretty lady.” They asked if I
thought she was on something and I had to let them know that I wasn’t sure.
“She didn’t recognize me either, I don’t know what’s wrong. I didn’t think
she’d taken anything at first, but this is all starting to look like a trip, a
trip that’s gone really wrong.”
Nathaniel and Joshua were standing in the corner, clearly talking about
something that we weren’t supposed to hear. I just prayed that they weren’t
about to take her down town for a drug test. The whole time they were whispering, Nate never took his eyes off me. I
hated it when he looked at me like that, he could always draw me in with his
stunningly chocolate eyes, and even though I needed to stay focused for Naomi,
somehow I just couldn't help but to stare right back at him.
A few minutes later, Anthony finally returned with a small capsule which
Nathaniel took and placed under Naomi’s nose. It was amazing, within seconds
she began to breath quickly and slowly but surely came back to her normal self.
When she snapped out of whatever she was on, she was shocked to find all of us
in her office. “What happened?” She
asked me, confused. She couldn’t remember anything from the last couple of
hours.
I talked her through what had gone on, from when I found her sitting at her
desk until now; she had no recollection of doing any of those things. I
believed her because she couldn't fake an embarrassment like that even if
she tried. She looked exhausted and said that all she wanted to do was sleep.
Alyssa suggested we take her to the hospital for a checkup and we all
agreed that it was the safest decision. We still didn’t know what had happened
to her, so if she had been on drugs, the results would tell.
Want another excerpt? Sure why not :
Excerpt #2
“Why don’t we have a dance?” Alex said, “I’m tired of looking for a minute.
She was the one who stormed out, if she wants to spend her time with that
bastard then let her. This is our holiday too, we deserve some fun.”
“Hell, yeah! I’ll go get us some drinks.” Alyssa skipped to the bar and
returned a few minutes later with three Chivas. The drink really took the edge
off and it finally felt like we were having a good time again. As the song
finished I noticed the guy with dreadlocks from yesterday approaching me with
his arm outstretched. I didn’t want to seem rude, so I took it and allowed him
to kiss my hand. He told us he was enjoying his night off and asked us if we
were having a good time. When we said we were, he tried again to offer me his
number. This guy really wasn’t getting
the hint.
“Don’t throw it away this time, give me a call; I’ll make it worth your
while.” He grinned at me, flashing all his front teeth. I pushed the paper
away, refusing him politely. “Don’t try and tell me you have a man here, girl,
I’ve only been seeing you with these two.” He pointed to my friends and thrust
the paper in my hand again.
“Look, I have a boyfriend, but he’s not here. I said that to be polite. My
man is at home, but I’m not interested okay?”
“Ah, what he don’t know won’t hurt him.” He leaned in towards me and put
his hands on my waist.
As he did so, he caught sight of something behind me and his eyes grew
wide. I turned to see Marcus glaring at the poor guy, “Get your hands off her
this second or you won’t have any fingers left, you hear me?”
He immediately backed off, insisting that he didn’t mean any harm. I turned
on my heel to face Marcus, angry that he’d interfered, “I don’t need your help
Marcus, leave me alone. Where’s Naomi?”
“You didn’t seem to be doing such a good job defending yourself. Unless I
got in the way of you getting some d…”
I shoved him away, cutting him off. I hated the guy so much, “Oh fuck off.
What is it to you anyway? You’re nothing to me, you never will be. Answer the
question, where’s Naomi? We’ve been looking everywhere for her.”
He stepped towards me again, this time his demeanor had changed. He seemed
calmer and actually human. He brushed a finger across my cheek with a saddened
look in his eye, “That’s not nice; I’ve been nothing but gallant to you today.
I…I…”
Whatever he wanted to say, he didn’t manage to get out. He was looking at
me like a long lost lover, and as much as I hated to admit it, it melted
something inside me for a second. I caught myself and chastised my mind for
letting him get to me. What are you
playing at Leona? This man is evil; you know that, this is just one of his
games. I pulled myself together and threw his hand away, “Get off me,
Marcus. Where the hell is Naomi?”
“You heard the lady, get away from her,” a familiar voice sounded behind
me. What the fuck? Nathaniel? What was he
doing here?
I didn’t have time to think about it though, he slipped his hands around my
waist as he continued, “I’ll give you one more second to remove your hands from
my woman, before I remove them for you.”
They stared intensely into each other’s eyes as Naomi appeared from
nowhere, looking confused at the three of us. She looked to Marcus first, then
to me and finally, N
Nathaniel, then her expression changed. Oh my God, it’s finally hit her. Shit, today of all days, she’s noticed
it. I hope she doesn’t think I’ve encouraged him. The only reason I never told
her about this was because I didn’t want to hurt her. I couldn’t look her
in the eye as she stood there looking at us all. Tears rolled down her cheeks
and eventually the anger caught up with her.
“What the fuck are you doing Marcus? Why do you have your hands all over
Leona?” He dropped them to his sides instantly and it was only then that I
realized he probably hadn’t even seen her standing there. She was stood
slightly behind him and he was so wrapped up in his staring contest with Nate
that he’d completely missed her.
“I was just consoling her, my love. There was a guy bothering Leona and I
got rid of him. Lover boy here is just mad because he failed to take care of
business himself.”
He stepped away from me and went to stand behind Naomi, placing his hands
around her waist. “You know I’d do anything to protect you and your friends.”
He kissed her and grinned maliciously at Nathaniel behind her back.
Nathaniel took a step forward with clenched fists and I could tell by the
look in his eyes that he was ready to go all rogue cop on him. I didn’t want
things to escalate any further so I pleaded with him to let it go, but he wouldn’t
have it. In that moment, he needed to set Marcus straight.
Marcus knew what was coming and it was as if he had been waiting for this
moment for a long time, he pushed Naomi aside and told her to stay out of his
fucking way. She looked at me and started yelling, “This is
all your fault, you’d better control your little baby boy Leona, because if he
hurts my man I swear to god I’ll kill him.” While a part of me was shocked
to hear her say it, another part wasn’t, and to be honest at that point, nothing
that Naomi said or did surprised me much anymore.
Marcus clearly had her under his spell again, I mean he must have for her
to believe that bogus explanation he gave her just a few minutes before.
Nathaniel lunged for Marcus but was caught around the chest by Joshua. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I did see him
yesterday. “Now isn’t the time or the place for this Nate, stop it.”
Nate didn’t listen though; he barged forwards, taking his colleague with
him. I couldn’t help but think how scarily strong he was when he wanted to be.
It took Anthony and another man who I didn’t recognize to drag him away. Marcus
grinned, knowing he’d got what he wanted. He took Naomi by the hand and walked
away, taking care to whisper in my ear before he left. “Until next time, sexy. I can’t wait.”
“Go fuck yourself, Marcus.” I flipped him the finger and watched them walk
off in disgust. I couldn’t believe this was happening, this holiday started off
so well and now it was turning into the holiday from hell. I couldn’t wait to
get home.
My Review:
S.E Felida does a great job of introducing a good amount of characters without overshadowing the two main characters. I liked the story very much. At moments I was a little confused, but once I got into the book I got really into it!
4 stars ot of 5
About our lovely author:
I was born in Curacao,
a small Island in the Caribbean. But I’m currently living in Holland with my husband
and our three boys, I’m still in school and I’m studying to become a
kindergarten teacher, I go to school two times a week and the remaining of the
week I am a teacher’s aide at a kindergarten. I've always loved to read books
and to write short stories and poetry, I began writing at the age of eleven. In
my spare time you can find me in the kitchen, on the soccer fields to watch my
sons play, reading, writing or having a girls night out with my lovely ladies.
Interview with The lovely Author:
1. Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was
born in Curaçao, a small Island in the Caribbean but I’m currently living in
Holland with my husband and our three sons.
2. Tell us about something that has just/recently happened in your life
that you
would like to share?
Incredible
Dreams has finally been translated into Dutch and will be ready to release this
December for my Dutch readers.
3. If you had to sum up incredible dreams in 30 or less words, what would
you say? Incredible Dreams is an Erotic,
Suspenseful Romance Novel that will try and pull its readers further and
further into the story throughout the book and series.
4. List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend to readers?
Wow
I’ve read allot of great books this year but if I needed to recommend just
three of them, my top three would definitely have to be The Boy Who Sneaks in
my Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley, Thoughtless series by S.C Stephens and Find
You in the Dark Series by A. Meredith Walters.
5. What is Your Favorite Wine?
Canei Rosé
6. Is there an Author that you would really like to meet in person?
Yes a
few actually but J.K Rowling is at the top of list.
7.What
authors have inspired your work?
Stephen King, J.K Rowling and Nicci French but the latter
the most seeing as
they are the closest in the genre that I write in.
8. Are you currently working on any upcoming projects?
Yes I
have two pending projects, one Romantic thriller that’s called The Puppet
Master and another Suspense Romance Novel that’s called Colorless Love.
9. What's your favorite movie of all time?
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Author Links
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SE-Felida/542076022518975
Goodreads author page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7225455.S_E_Felida
Playlist:
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