In my veins (eBook)

You're my lifeline

Ruby Tosemito (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
168 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-113745-5 (ISBN)

Infos

After experiencing traumatic events as a Navy medic, Luca Evans sells all his possessions and leaves his old life behind, ending up in a small town in Oregon. His only goals are to survive and live under everyone's radar, mainly his family. During the day, everything seems fine, but every night, he suffers immensely, battling the demons inside his head.

He lives like this for almost three years until on a rainy, cold night, he figuratively stumbles upon a woman with long, black, wavy hair. Her name is Alexandra Vega. He finds her in a ditch, injured, barely conscious, and carries her back home to tend to her wounds.

In the days that follow, Luca finds out that she is very stubborn, feisty, at times bratty and those are the reasons why she is injured. She finds out that he is broody, grumpy and not very talkative, wanting nothing more than to be left alone. However, he does leave his peaceful home and goes back to the big city, because of Alexandra.

Being from two different worlds, will Luca and Alexandra keep clashing or will they fall for one another?

In My Veins is more than a romance, it's a story about survival, redemption, and the courage to face what hurts most. You'll fall for Luca's quiet strength and Alexandra's fierce determination as they crash into each other's lives and discover that sometimes, love doesn't just find you, it saves you.

If you've ever felt broken, lonely, or haunted by the past, the story will remind you that even in the darkest moments, connection can still bring light.

Tropes:

· Grumpy x sunshine ☀️ : He is broody, haunted and closed-off; she is fiery, outspoken and impossible to ignore.

· Wounded hero : A man running from trauma, trying to survive each day without being consumed by his troubled past.

· Found family : A small town and one determined woman show him that home isn't a place, but it's a feeling.

· Forced proximity/ Caretaking: One rainy night brings them together when he saves her life, setting off a bond neither saw coming

· Emotional healing romance: Two broken souls learning that love doesn't erase scars, but it helps you live with them.

Textauszug

Chapter 2

I'll show you

 

Alexandra always hated the taste of cinnamon on her tongue. Whenever her mom baked cinnamon pancakes years ago, she used to have the urge to throw up after eating even just one bite of it. When she grew older, Alexandra attempted to eat cinnamon snacks a couple of times. Both times she failed miserably.

She tried cinnamon rolls, when she was around twelve years old and a piece of cinnamon cake on her friend's birthday in college. Without her accord, those two itty bitty bites ended up in the trashcan as soon as they connected with her taste buds.

So, the last time she tried cinnamon was approximately twelve years ago.

 

As her eyes fluttered open, the first thing Alexandra heard was the all familiar sound of a whistle— was it time for tea?

The second thing she noticed was the smell of fresh baked pie? Seriously? Where was she? At her grandmother's? What? Where?

Alexandra couldn't quite place where she was at the moment. As the wheels in her head started to turn, she recalled bits and pieces of the night before. She remembered being ambushed by those three thugs. Two of them attacked her, while Anderson watched with a satisfied look on his ugly face.

Asshole!

" Tell me where it is?" he barked, not even giving her a chance to answer the question, while the first thug shoved her roughly against the wall.

As Alexandra’s eyes watered, she remembered how he enjoyed seeing her suffer, while she sank onto the gallery's cold floor. She wanted to remember more, but no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to recall the rest.

While looking around, brows furrowed, she noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Alexandra Vega?” were the words that tumbled from her painful, dry lips.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings till it ended up on her body. She was lying in a small, soft, yet surprisingly very comfortable bed. OK.

How did she end up here again? She could not for the life of her, remember anything else. After those thugs had left her for dead, did someone bring her here? She shook her head, and it was then when she noticed that she wasn't wearing her own clothes.

What the actual fuck?

She furrowed her brows, and began to feel up her own body. Okay, on the back of her head she felt a thick bandage. That's one. Her small fingers automatically went to her rib cage… she pulled the over-sized shirt up and saw the bluish/ purplish bruise on her skin. Okay, that's two.

Then her eyes darted towards her right thigh. Shit! That one still hurts like a motherfucker! That's the third one.

Her whole thigh was covered with a wide, thick bandage.

'So, am I able to walk on it?' She wondered, and pulled the oversized shirt down, covering up her body. As a sigh escaped her lips, Alexandra placed her hand on her mouth and felt that her lips were all swollen. Okay, that one doesn't count as an injury.

She was an independent young woman, always had been since she was 21, so at the moment she felt what she hated the most in her life; feeling powerless. She couldn't even get up and stand on her own two feet, let alone walk out this bedroom.

While attempting to push back her tears, Alexandra thought about her situation. So someone did get her out of the ditch she was in, and had brought her here and had taken care of her. That someone must be a very kind person to do that, considering she was a total stranger. Apart from that, the person had cleaned up her body, and changed her clothes. She remembered clearly that she was wearing a black pair of jeans, a pink blouse, and a black leather jacket. And here she was in this white over-sized shirt.

But how, when and who? She tried to remember more of the night before, and as the minutes crept by Alexandra did.

"Oh God,” she uttered, when a memory vividly entered her mind, this detail so crucial.

The man with the piercing, blue eyes and that cold, harsh voice… Crap! Now she remembers! So, if the owner of this T-shirt was the one who had saved her, then it meant

that a man had cleaned her up and changed her clothes.

“Shit! Crap! Damn it! A stranger had seen me naked!” Alexandra cursed, and felt shame. Ugh!

Well, that's not important now…right, because the man had saved her life. She remembered her thigh wound clearly, as blood continuously trickled out from it. She should be thankful that she was alive and not be embarrassed that the stranger had seen her naked.

She wanted to meet the man and also, she was very thirsty and that’s when she decided to call the man. Alexandra wanted to thank him in person.

"Hello! Anyone out there! I'm so thirsty,” she said, the tone of her voice two pitches higher than usual.” Can you bring me a glass of water, please?”

She waited, and after a minute or two, she heard loud footsteps coming her way.

'Okay, let me see what this man looks like in the daylight… the man who had saved my life and had taken care of my injuries.' She thought, waiting with bated breath.

As the door swung open, Alexandra’s breath caught in her throat. Oh my God. This man was the one who had saved her life? The look on his face was a bit frightening. He was tall, and broad, he had thick, shoulder-length, dark-brown hair and piercing, blue eyes.

Alexandra wondered if he even knew what a smile was, let alone a laugh, his face so serious, it would make anyone want to run away from him.

The second her eyes met his, she was reminded of how he had taken care of her injuries, his hands warm to the touch. Yes… this was the man with that harsh voice and those expressionless eyes. This was the man who had prevented her from dying, the night before.

"Thank you, sir. For saving my life." she said, her voice sounding strange in her own ears. She cleared her throat, as she looked at the stranger, waiting for him to react. However, he stayed quiet, eyes still fixed on hers.

As her eyes landed on the bottle of water in his hand, she tried once more to get any reaction from him." Can I please have some water, sir?"

He nodded in response. Finally!

The blue-eyed man closed the gap between them with large strides, and sat on the bed without saying a word. As he helped Alexandra take a couple of swigs from the bottle, he finally spoke.

"Do your lips hurt?" the stranger asked, while looking at her.

Alexandra shook her head.” No, but my thigh and rib cage do hurt like a mothef—” she began, but stopped mid-sentence, because of the stranger.” I mean… they both hurt. Honestly, the pain is excruciating, but I'll manage." she answered.

But just as those words left her lips, Alexandra felt that gut-wrenching pain again, making her change her mind.” I was wrong… the pain is unbearable. Do you maybe have some painkillers for me?"

The stranger furrowed his brows, nodded and walked out the bedroom door without saying a word. When he returned, he gave Alexandra the pills and water. She happily thanked the man and swallowed the pills.

The blue-eyed man watched her like a hawk, brows still furrowed, but didn’t ask her any questions.

Alexandra smiled at him, and asked." Aren't you gonna ask how I ended up in that ditch?"

"No." he replied, his voice cold.

Just like the night before... his tone was still the same, just as cold and uncaring. And yet, here she was, clean, her injuries well taken care of and awake after a good night’s sleep… in his over-sized shirt, she must add.

So, that’s why Alexandra concluded that the stranger wasn't as uncaring and cold as he wanted to appear.

"Thanks again though, for saving my life. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you… my name is Alexandra," she said, and placed a hand on his right hand.

There it was again! The same look in those eyes, shock and disbelief, because she had touched him.

He then tore his hand from Alexandra and stood up. "I bought breakfast. You can freshen up first if you want. I'll wait for you." He announced, the look on his face still serious.

'So… he didn't like it, when someone touched him?' were the words that bounced inside her head, as she watched the stranger.’ I wonder why.’

Alexandra was very curious, and wanted to know why. However, she didn't think it was appropriate to ask the stranger such personal things. So, she let it go.

"Okay, I do want to freshen up,” she told him.” But first, can I use your phone, please? I need to call my loved ones and inform them that I'm alive and safe."

"You should have breakfast first." He demanded, and she almost told him that he shouldn't be telling her what to do.

However, Alexandra held herself back. 'You need him! Don't piss him off!' She scolded herself mentally.

So, Alexandra nodded instead, and shifted on the bed, attempting to get on her feet. The blue-eyed man helped her up, and then they both walked to the bathroom. It was large, and very clean. After she had brushed her teeth, she washed her face and walked out the bathroom with his help.

‘Luckily he had a spare tooth brush’ she thought.

While she looked around, she noticed that he had a spare of almost everything he owned. Guess he liked to be prepared?

"Do you like tea?" he asked, the tone still cold.

Alexandra nodded, and leaned with all of her weight on the man, because her thigh hurt like hell." Yes, I love tea. More than I love coffee. What's for breakfast?" she asked, but he didn't reply.

She wanted to roll her eyes at him, but...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.12.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 0-00-113745-X / 000113745X
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-113745-5 / 9780001137455