Saturday, July 12, 2014

Saturday's Excerpt from Ice and Peace by Clare Dargin

Excerpt for Ice and Peace


“Sir,” a soft voice, feminine and sweet, beckoned his attention. He knew the voice, like he knew himself. His heart skipped a beat.
Rising slowly from his chair, Keegan cleared his throat and straightened his uniform. Suddenly, the room seemed unbearably long as he walked the three feet or so to be near her.
As he took in every detail of her, he was stunned silent. She wore a Marine Corps uniform with Navy insignia, with her hair neatly pinned off her neck and shoulders. Her clothes were pressed with a crease that could cut a major artery and her demeanor was impeccable. Something was not right.
Still, Caitlin was a sight for sore eyes. She was beautiful. Her petite frame was perfectly accented by the curves of her figure. And her brown eyes and coffee-brown skin was smooth, creamy.
Standing at attention, she did not meet his gaze. Though it was customary not to do as a sign of military courtesy, he could tell she was not doing it for that reason. Her gaze was different. Circling her, he tried to see if he could catch her watching him out of the corner of her eye.  In fact, she appeared to be staring blankly ahead.
Peering directly at her, he spoke in a soft tone. “At ease.”
She relaxed.
“Cate. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded mechanically.
Pain pierced his insides. She was definitely not there. Keegan placed his hands on his hips and hung his head in defeat. The one thing that was supposed to go right did not. For whatever reason, they had placed her in a deeper state of mental control than she’d ever been in. He controlled the hostile emotions brewing with him. Touching her face gently, he felt her icy skin.
This is unacceptable! Not here. I will not let this happen here. Not under my command.
“Chief, listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. He knew in this state, it was the only way he could speak to her and still have her respond.
“Yes, sir.” Her gaze became even more distant.
Her response fueled his anger. “You are going to hightail it down to the doc and receive a full examination. Tell him it is based on my orders. He will know what to do. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Knowing that she was under the influence of cryo neurotransmitters, Keegan figured the only way to combat it was to get someone to reverse it. They usually wore off once she was away from the stimulus triggers for a long period of time. But considering her stimulus triggers were high-ranking officers in uniform and combat situations, being around here meant she was going to be in a drone zone for a very long time. The last thing he needed was a zombie on board, especially one in charge of the lives others.
Only the jerks in psyche warfare thought doing this to someone would be a good idea. As long as he was running the ship, none of that would be allowed. There weren’t going to be any super zombies soldiers on board his ship. And he’d rollover in his grave before he let them do it to his wife.
“After you come back from the doc, you will report to me, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are there any questions?”
“No, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
She did an about face before leaving the room. Keegan clasped his hands behind his back. In the blink of an eye, his joy had turned to sorrow. Now faced with the responsibility of looking after his wife, he wondered how could he handle the burden of command and still protect the woman he loved.

To purchase you can buy it at Barnes and Noble or at

Amazon-   http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Cold-Warriors-Universe-Book-ebook/dp/B00DZV25QS/ref=la_B005CREN68_1_3/190-5643811-8364225?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404345298&sr=1-3


Bio

Clare Dargin is an author of Science Fiction and Romance and has been writing stories all of her life before being published in 2007. She’s a great fan of the two genres and loves promoting them.

An educator by profession, she possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in English from a major mid-western university. She presently resides in the Midwest and she hopes to expand her writings to include non-fiction, historical romance, and contemporary novels.

You can find her on the web at-

Her Blog-  claresblog2thehaven.blogspot.com

Twitter-  https://twitter.com/Clare_Dargin

Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/clare.dargin

Goodreads-  www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750164.Clare_Dargin


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