Book Excerpt: Water and Fire by Demelza Carlton

His coffee clunked loudly to the table, the contents of the cup slopping around like the storm swell in the port that morning.

"I swear it's some kind of crazy conspiracy. Now the Nannup Tiger's broken a man's leg – or someone's pulling mine."

I looked up in surprise as Aidan slumped into the seat across from me. His hair was tufted and on end again. He took a slurp of coffee. For the first time, he looked annoyed.

"How can an extinct creature break a man's leg?" I asked calmly.

"Murray Piesse, a dairy farmer from over Elleker way. Swore he saw a thylacine on his lawn, drinking from the bird bath. So he grabbed a camera and went out into the dark after it. The beast disappeared, if it ever existed at all. Murray stumbled over a tree stump or something in the dark and broke his leg. He managed to crawl back up to the house by morning to call for help.

The ambulance brought him in." Aidan's brows met over his nose as he gulped down more coffee.

"I wonder if he got a photo of it…" I mused.

Aidan snorted, then choked as he got coffee up his nose. It took him a few minutes before he could do anything but splutter, so I waited without speaking. "Do you honestly believe him? Or are you making fun of me, too?"

I wet my lips. "I believe it's possible – he might have seen a thylacine," I replied carefully. "But I'd want to see pictures or the beast itself before I'd believe it for sure."

He looked hard at me, as if he was trying to decide if I was telling the truth. Finally, he spoke again. "Thing is, if Murray really did see the Nannup Tiger, it was headed toward my place. I live next door to him in Elleker and it's all bush except where the house is. If the beast's out there, it could be hunting my place at night, and it's just me out there."

"If you're so scared of the Tiger, don't go out at night then," I replied lightly. "Besides, it doesn't sound like the Tiger was the real danger for Mr Piesse, but the tree stump he tripped over. Take a torch if you go outside at night and you should be fine."

"I do that already," Aidan grumbled. His expression cleared. "You could come up any night you're free and watch for the Tiger, if you like. A proper stakeout. Maybe we could discover an extinct species in my backyard." He looked hopeful.

I forced a smile. "No, thank you. We'd probably just see a lot of darkness and no Tiger, or freeze if it's a clear, cold night."

"I wouldn't let you get cold. I'd keep you warm, Belinda," he replied instantly, the sound of longing in his voice.

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About the Author

Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish.

She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.

Sensationalist spin? No - Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.

Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.

The Ocean's Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by the Nightmares trilogy.

Purchase links:
Amazon: http://viewBook.at/B00AFEO80O
Apple: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/oceans-gift/id658386033?mt=11
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oceans-gift-demelza-carlton/1114691067?ean=9781479399062
Diesel: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000320806/Carlton-Demelza-Ocean-s-Gift/1.html
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Oceans-Gift/book-P-nk85-VIkqkPAiTt7FriQ/page1.html?s=T9Ro7sIJYkaSx24D-tQKqQ&r=4
Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/demelza-carlton/ocean-s-gift/_/R-400000000000001058270
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/320806
Demelza's website: http://www.demelzacarlton. com

Contact links:
Website: http://www.demelzacarlton.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DemelzaCarltonAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DemelzaCarlton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/DemelzaCarlton
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DemelzaCarlton?feature=watch
Amazon: http://viewauthor.at/DemelzaCarlton

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About the Book

A steamy contemporary medical romance involving a sexy doctor, a naughty nurse, a midwife on a mission and a mysterious predator in Albany, Western Australia.

Working as a student midwife in an Australian country hospital is never easy, but Belinda finds more trouble than most.

There's the intern doctor who follows her around like an overgrown puppy, the dangerous local wildlife and her own secrets she must keep.

When she finds herself without a place to live, what else can possibly go wrong?

Or is it time for something to go right?