Greetings!

Frist off, Happy Friday! If you are in areas with insane amounts of snow and freezing weather, I hope you are safe and warm. My heart goes out to those who are affected by this winter.

My amazing friend, author N.L. Hoffmann has released her new book Soulless! It is the first book in the three-book series about the sons of Lucifer! There is romance, action, and adventure!

Eva hasn’t worked for Hell in years until Lucifer decides to force her into doing his dirty work yet again. A babysitting job no less to help his seriously hot son, Damon, recapture a mysterious puzzle box that allows the worlds to merge. If they don’t find the box, hunters will possess it and release demons to roam around wreaking havoc. But it all goes wrong when she ends up stuck trying to save Damon from hunters who want him dead. Never mind that she’s developing feelings for the guy because keeping number one out of danger seems like the best way to come out of their situation alive.

Waking up surrounded by dead bodies, Damon knows it’s the first sign his life is going to hell. That’s before discovering that Lucifer is his father. Things seem grim until he lays eyes on the exquisite Eva who claims his life is in danger.

Damon and Eva have the means to stop the hunters, but can they get there in time? Most of all, will they be prepared to handle the threat that will be unleashed? Will their new bond help them fight the most dangerous enemy of all or will their distraction of heated exchanges be their undoing?

I’m excited to be able to share an excerpt from it:

Chapter One – Eva

The moment I entered my apartment, I knew Benny was into something he shouldn’t have been. I could hear his slobber from the front door. The wet, slopping noise filled the living room. It was a disgusting sound. The hellhound was a pain in the ass, but he was mine and that was all that mattered. Doomed to eternity as one of Hell’s mutts, Benny had been with me since the beginning of his punishment.

No, he wasn’t obedient and often talked back when given the opportunity, but he was a good friend. As much of a friend as a hellhound could be, anyway. They weren’t usually the reliable type, especially when there were females around. Female dogs, that is.

Someone was inside, and Benny was too busy slobbering over his meal to even care. Frowning, I looked around the darkness, taking in the shapes of the furniture. Then I spotted the figure sitting in my recliner. My powers surged into my hands, ready for the attack. Whoever it was, they’d learn not to break into my home.

“Calm down, Eva. It’s just me,” Lucifer said as the light from the lamp next to him snapped on.

I blinked several times, until my eyes adjusted to the light. When they finally did, I glared at him as I kicked the door closed.

“Why are you here?” I demanded. It was my only seat in the entire living room. I didn’t have much furniture.

My old boss smiled, staring up at me as he crossed one leg over the other. Lucifer was perfection, but then what else would I have expected from the devil? He always wore a suit, nothing out of place. Most of the time, he wore black and white wingtip shoes but tonight he just had on regular black ones. Whatever he’d come for must have been serious because normally he went out of his way to piss me off with his off the wall comments that only made him laugh.

He picked up a cup that sat on the table He sipped quietly, continuing to stare at me. It was probably his usual cup of tea that he brought from home.

Home, as in Hell.

I shifted uncomfortably as I waited for an answer. I couldn’t rush the King of Hell. If he wanted to tell me something, then he’d do it when he was ready. Even though he came off as a jokester most of the time, his mood could change in an instant.

“I have a job for you,” he said after finishing his cup of tea. He tossed it behind him, and it disappeared presumably to his dishwasher in Hell.

Before he could even continue, I started shaking my head and placed my hands on my hips. “Fuck that. I told you I was done, and you agreed. It was our deal. Since when do you back out of deals?”

As he ran a hand through his dark hair, I studied him. He was frustrated, something I’d never seen before. Normally, he was calm and collected. Even during torture, it was like watching an artist at work. Now he sat before me, tense and obviously under stress. Were those bags under his baby blue eyes?

“I wouldn’t have come, but my wife, Maye, said you’re our only hope in successfully defeating our problem. You know how I hate asking for help—especially after someone has blown me off.” He shook his head in feigned disappointment, a small smile curving his lips.

“Are you serious right now? You kept prank calling me from different countries, claiming to be in trouble.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes as I let out a breath.

Lucifer squinted at me. “I’ll have you know I was in Africa fighting lions then in Scotland running from a bunch of large men with axes!”

This was not happening. We’d parted ways nearly ten years ago. Why was he bothering me now? “Why would you be in those situations in the first place?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.” I grabbed his left arm and started tugging. “What I do want is for you to leave. You’re not welcome here.”

“Is that why you have your home warded with anti-devil sigils?” he asked, refusing to move.

How much did he weigh? Even though I was throwing my weight into it, he wasn’t moving an inch!

Losing my grip on his arm, I stumbled back, my hair falling forward and into my face. Growling, I fixed the wild strands, glaring at Lucifer. “Yes! Why didn’t it stop you? I put a lot of work into making those.”

Amused, Lucifer stared at me as if I was the dumbass. This coming from a man who once thought that, since his home was in the fiery parts of Hell, he could handle the heat of a ghost pepper. “I’m too powerful, love. Nothing can stop me.” He snapped his fingers, and every sigil on my walls and doors disappeared with a puff of smoke.

“Aden can stop you,” I pointed out, thinking I was clever coming up with that response. I raised my eyebrows, daring him to challenge me.

His face darkened, eyes taking on an eerie red glow. When his horns began to emerge from his head, I knew I’d stepped over the line.

Suddenly Lucifer grinned. “Just kidding. Of course, my brother is stronger than me. He created everything.” His gaze traveled over me, but not in a sexual way. He was sizing me up, making sure I could perform the job he had in mind. “But nothing you can do will stop me. If I want something, I’ll get it.” He stood and took two steps closer to me. “And my dear, I want you to get back to work.”

Benny hobbled over to me now that he was finished with his meal, whatever it had been He glanced up at me, confusion in his large, bulging eyes.

I motioned to my face. “You have some, uh, stuff on your face.” My stomach rolled violently at the sight of it. It looked like raw guts. From what, I couldn’t even begin to guess.

Lucifer stared at Benny, scrunching his face in disgust. “If I’d known you’d eat like a bloody pig I would have put you outside on the balcony with that.” He walked into the kitchen, flipped on the light and started rummaging around in my kitchen. “When are you planning on dinner? It’s almost six in the evening. Most families have begun to sit down for their feast.” He gave me a scathing look.

“Look, I’m not coming back. We had an agreement and now it’s your job to keep up the deal.” I folded my arms, watching as he pulled out a box of crackers and started munching.

“Even after I brought back Thatcher for you? This is how you repay me?” Lucifer sat the box of crackers down and straightened his suit jacket. He glanced down at his watch as if he was running out of time.

Turning around I went back into the living room and took a seat in my chair. I picked up the remote and turned on the TV to start searching through the guide. “Thatcher is dead. He died six months after you brought him back. How is that an even trade for everything I’ve done for you?”

Lucifer was a bastard for bringing up Thatcher. He was my first and only love. We were pirates with our own ship in the 1700s. We’d been together for close to ten years, discussing marriage even though he didn’t believe in it. Then one day he died. He became very ill with something I couldn’t identify even now to this day. Taking care of him was hard. Watching the life leave his eyes as each day passed was harder. When he was finally gone, I didn’t deal with it well. We attacked ship after ship, stealing what we could because I was too weak to face the truth of his death.

Eventually, a few weeks later, Lucifer showed up, surprising all of us. We attempted to kill him, but he had powers I’d never seen before. He tossed every member of my crew overboard. When he cornered me, he made the offer for me to come work with him and in return he’d bring back Thatcher. At the time, I was eager to do whatever I could to bring my lover back, but when he died during an attack, I became resentful and blamed Lucifer despite it having nothing to do with him.

It would have been unusual for him to approach a normal human. As far as my crew was concerned, I was. Thatcher was the only one who knew the truth about me being a witch. I was old, yet didn’t age over thirty-seven as far as my looks went, but I was born in 1401. I’d been through the witch hunts and was even there for the Salem Witch Trials. Yet, I managed to escape all of it.

When Lucifer approached me, he changed me into something more. There was only one of my kind, and I hated that I enjoyed that part of my powers.

Everyone in the supernatural world knew me as the Soul Eater.

I glanced at Lucifer as he opened his mouth wide and spooned a Nebraska-sized scoop of ice cream into it. Confused, I pointed at it. “Where did you get that? I don’t even have ice cream.”

Lucifer leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen. He licked his spoon, staring at me thoughtfully. Annoyed he was taking so long to speak, I turned back to the TV to start watching a cop show. It was one of my favorites and there was a new episode.

I felt his power sizzle in the air and the screen went black. I looked over questioningly. “Why are you here? You’re dragging this out, and it’s annoying the shit out of me.” I stood up and stomped a foot in irritation only to hear a yelp. “Oh shit.”

Bending over, I looked down to find Benny laying at my feet. His bug eyes stared at me like a helpless puppy would. “Sorry, dude. You keep getting under my feet.”

“I wish he’d tell you why he was here so we can watch our show,” Benny growled, plopping back down on the floor so he could go to sleep.

“You’re to work for me again. I have one more assignment that I need help with and to refuse would mean the start of your new life in Hell’s prison system.” His face was expressionless, eyes once again taking on that red sheen. He was close to showing the real devil. This was the part of Lucifer I avoided as much as possible.

Defeated, I stood up. “Fine!” I said throwing my hands in the air. “Just know I probably won’t forgive you for this. Tell me the job.”

Rubbing his scruffy chin, Lucifer smiled, pleased he’d won the fight. Asshole. I was raging inside. What could he possibly need from me that he couldn’t do himself? Hell, he could enlist his brother to help him instead of bringing me out of my retirement.

“I need you to watch over my son, Damon. Protect him and do whatever you need to do to make sure he survives.” Lucifer flashed me a smile before raising his hand, fingers posed to snap. “Now, get to work.”

“Wait—” I started to say, but he’d already snapped his fingers, teleporting me out of my apartment. When I looked around, the last thing I expected to find was the bodies littering the floor.

I’m so excited for this release as I’ve always enjoyed N.L. Hoffmann’s books – and this one is yet another awesome book!

Before you go – I have a surprise for you! If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, January Dreams is now FREE for a limited time only. Grab your copy before this sale ends!

Cheers,

Carrigan