Felicity Heaton's Blog, page 119

Her Guardian Angel second draft and blog tour

It's been another mixed week for me here in castle Heaton. I started the week with a schedule for each day, and I've stuck to it for the most part, but there has been a little shift here and there between my set times for thing. I haven't been spending as much time editing Her Guardian Angel as I should have been as I have so many guest blog spots coming up in my blog tour and I wanted to get ahead of the game and get lots of them done now.

I have another 6 or so to write and then I'm clear until the end of June. I'm hoping to get some of them written this weekend and then sent out. The crazy thing is I have around 18 blog dates for promoting Forbidden Blood and now I have to think of 18 unique things to do for them!


Monday and Tuesday was spent catching up on admin stuff and also addressing comments that I had made during my initial read through of Her Guardian Angel. I started out with 106 comments, mostly notes on improving areas, adding new stuff, repetition, and other things. I worked my way down to 13 major comments (generally layering more stuff into scenes or adding new stuff) and prepped for starting the full edit. I was meant to start that on Wednesday, but wound up writing blog posts and doing other stuff related to writing. I did start my edit again today, and have reached page 27 of 220. It doesn't sound like much, but at this stage it's good progress. I'm pleased with the story so far and it's in good nick, so doesn't need heavy editing, just polishing and tweaking, and paying attention to the details.

I also signed up to participate in Six Sentence Sunday, so watch out for my first one this Sunday, and sorted out my blog tour schedule, including adding new dates.

I think it's been quite a productive week, and my muse is enjoying my new structured approach to my days, although I think he'd like a bit of a break for a few days. I think I've worked every day for the past couple of weeks, so I need some downtime and some rest. I did manage to get another book read this week. It was a Kindle freebie, Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf. Much better than the previous freebie I had read by her, Kiss Me Deadly, which I only gave 2 stars to and that was a push. This one gained 3 stars from me, and I would have given it 4 but I was a bit irritated by the heroine and the authors blatant attempts to make her sound young. I like a more mature kick-ass kind of heroine in my stories.

This week has also seen me thinking about my release schedule for next year, and also writing notes for the next book in the Shadow and Light Trilogy . The first book, Ascension , has been getting great reviews, so there's all this pressure to make the next novel just as good, if not better, than it. I don't mind a challenge, and I think the story I have in mind will appease readers and reviewers. There'll be plenty of action and passion in this one too, and a very kick-ass Taig and Lealandra, and yeah, they might just go to Hell to find out what happened to Taig's parents.

Other books I've been writing up notes for are When Darkness Falls which is a Vampires Realm story I'll be writing for next year, and also my Hades' Boys series. I'm really hoping to start writing that series this year and to get the first couple of books in it released next year. It's going to be a kick-ass series and I think everyone will really like the heroes in it, and the heroines too because they'll do their share of kicking butt, or at least assisting to kick butt.

I think next year is going to be as full of paranormal romance books as this year is for me. I wish I could find the time to write another science fiction romance, but I have to focus on what my muse is into, and at the moment it's vampires, demons, and gods, with the odd angel tossed in for good measure.

I also think next year is going to be a year for series books. At the moment, I'm planning to release the Shadow and Light Trilogy #2.5 and Shadow and Light Trilogy #3. Book 2.5 in the series is a novella focusing on another two characters in the series. Alongside those two books, I'll release another Vampire Venators story, as well as one or two Vampires Realm stories. I'm debating whether to write another novel or novella in the Her Angel series. I do have a character in mind for one, but I'm not sure whether it's novel or novella material. He's in the Her Guardian Angel novel, so you'll get to meet him then. I'll judge whether to continue the series when that one is released.

Last up for next year is my Hades' Boys. I need to design a website for it, gather all my materials, and also prepare other stuff for it. It's going to be a very big series of seven novels. I have the first three roughly planned, and their place in the overall arc that runs through the series. I think the characters are basically there now, with only a little more work needed on them. I've been working on this series in the background since 2007 or maybe 2008. It's been years anyway. It's probably about time that I wrote it, and I feel I'm in a place now where I can justify writing it and I feel I'll make a top job of it. I've been reluctant before now because I wanted to write it when I was at the top of my game, and had learned enough about writing to produce something amazing with this series. All seven books will be linked, although there'll be individual baddies for each hero to fight, but those baddies will all be part of the same team, and I'll reveal little by little who the big bad is behind everything. Just talking about it makes me want to write it!

Back to work for me.

Don't forget that tomorrow is the third chapter of Forbidden Blood on Sneak Peek Saturday. There's only 21 days left before this book is released in e-book, and shortly afterwards in paperback.

Also, don't forget to enter my 500 BLOG FOLLOWERS INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY if you haven't already. Following the instructions on the giveaway page . Invite your friends too. We're up to 375 followers now, so there's only another 25 to go before we reach the next level of prizes!

Happy reading everyone.

Felicity

Teaseday - Love Immortal - Vampire Romance Novel

This week's Teaseday is brought to you by Love Immortal . Love Immortal is an epic vampire romance novel, full of immortals, vampires, gods and goddesses, werewolves, and people with supernatural powers. It's a rollercoaster ride of action, drama and passion. This is chapter two of the story, and the hero, Julian, has just rescued the heroine from werewolves.



Love Immortal
Felicity Heaton
Rescued from werewolves by the most breathtaking man she's ever seen, Lauren is dragged into the fight of her life and a dark world she never knew existed. There, she discovers that she's the latest reincarnation of a goddess and must drink the blood of her immortal protector, Julian, in order to reawaken and continue her three thousand year old mission to defeat Lycaon, the original werewolf.

With the help of Julian and an organisation of people with supernatural abilities, Lauren fights for her life, their future and the fate of mankind against Lycaon and his deadly army, but can she succeed when Lycaon has killed all of her predecessors?

Can she crack the armour around Julian's heart and seize her happily forever after with him? And can Julian bring himself to trust Lauren with the fragments of his heart after everything he's been through?


ebook price: $4.49
paperback price: $12.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 157000 words
rating: sultry
released: January 2011

Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Love%20Immortal
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004HYHHME/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Love-Immortal/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940011179648/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Love-Immortal/book-OyQ9CMW5Jkaf0K_UwfVfGw/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/love-immortal/_/R-400000000000000340123

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456487884/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456487884/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Love-Immortal/Felicity-Heaton/e/9781456487881/



EXCERPTJulian looked around the small messy living room. His gaze scanned over the haphazard piles of women's magazines on the coffee table, the open face-down book on the beige couch to his left, and the bookshelves filled with DVDs that stood either side of an old television and its stand in front of him. He moved to the window on his right and checked the street in both directions. The area was silent save the sound of distant traffic but it didn't soothe him in the slightest. Three werewolves. It couldn't be coincidence. The one by itself or the two together he could dismiss, but two separate attacks left him worried. He needed to get Lauren to safety as soon as possible. For that to happen, he needed to tell her why monsters were after her.

And then he needed to get her to believe him.

He stared up at the ceiling, sensing Lauren in the bathroom above. She had been there a while, her feelings in disarray and her fear running through his blood. She was still fragile but he couldn't allow her to be alone as she needed to be. He couldn't risk her attempting an escape, not now that he'd found her.

He'd never resorted to kidnapping her before, but he was beginning to consider it if he couldn't convince her to come with him of her own free will.

There was a first time for everything, or so they said, but countless centuries had passed since he'd experienced such an event. At his age, it was almost impossible to find something he hadn't done before.

He walked up the stairs, his footsteps dulled by the thick carpet and his focus fixed on Lauren, monitoring her feelings in case they grew worse. His duty now was to ensure her survival and to protect her. Being in her home would reassure her and make it easier for him to explain things, but now that she was somewhere safe, she wouldn't want to leave, and they had to get away from this place before other werewolves came. He considered knocking on the white bathroom door and then continued down the hall, giving her some privacy. She would come out soon enough and if she didn't, he would go in and get her. He paused on the threshold of her bedroom.

Her soft scent lingered in the air, warm and comforting, filling him with a sensation of need he had long forgotten. He shook it away. He needed to get some clothes and things together for her. Having some of her personal belongings might ease the transition and make things less confusing and painful for her.

It was always difficult for her to believe what he was going to tell her, and this time he didn't have the luxury of years in which to break it to her. He wasn't sure how long it was until her awakening but it was close.

In a small wicker basket on her chest of drawers, he found something that would answer that question. Her passport. The date of birth in it revealed that it was one month to her birthday. He was cutting it close.

Julian pocketed her passport and then looked down at her bedside table. The books stacked there were all about swords, fighting, and history. The movies near the small television opposite the end of her bed were mostly tales of hit men, martial arts and horror films. Her instincts were there. He wondered if she knew why she liked these things. There were another two shinai propped up beside the wardrobe next to the television. She had been courageous to attack the werewolf with such a flimsy weapon. It had surprised him enough that he'd kept back and watched her rather than intervening as he should have. He had never seen her so brave before the awakening.

He found an empty backpack in her wardrobe and crossed the room to a pile of ironed clothes on the wooden trunk under the window. They were recently washed so had to be clothes that she favoured. He packed some of them. She would feel better for having a new pair of jeans to wear and a clean top. He lifted a top off the pile and held it up. The sight of the small black camisole made his heart beat hard and he couldn't stop himself from imagining her in it. It had been a long time since he'd seen her in such revealing clothing and even longer since it had affected him. He reined in his feelings and shut them down, reminding himself of his position and his duty.

Julian went to leave but stopped when he saw a picture beside her bed. He rounded the bed again and picked it up, frowning beyond the image of Lauren and an older couple to the man crossing the park behind, seeing him for what he truly was. A werewolf. He opened the frame and removed the back. The date printed on the rear of the photograph was six months ago. His stomach dropped. The attacks hadn't been random. Lycaon knew where she was.

He dropped the picture onto the bed.

Illia.

Julian spun to face the bedroom door. Lycaon was hunting her. He raced down the hall to the bathroom.

He had to protect her.

He couldn't lose her again.

They had to leave.

He banged on the bathroom door, his heart thundering and his chest tight. Fear stole his strength and left him weak. He clenched his teeth and fought against the feeling. He wasn't weak.

"Illia!" He banged again but she didn't answer.

She wasn't there. He told himself to calm down. She was there. He could sense her and feel her heart beating. There was no reason to panic, so why couldn't he stop his heart from racing and his limbs from shaking?

"Illia!" Julian stepped back, his mouth turning dry, and assessed the door.

He was about to break it down when it opened and she peered around it.

"Who's Illia?" She looked so small clinging to the white door, her rich brown eyes red with tears and wide with fear.

All of Julian's strength left him and he sank back against the wooden banister, relieved that she was still safe. He leaned there a moment, gathering himself and regaining control. It wasn't like him to react like this when she was in danger. Was it because she was still fragile?

She twisted the wet strands of her near shoulder-length dark red hair around her pale fingers and stared at him, an expectant look surfacing in the depths of her warm eyes. Her teeth teased her lower lip, reddening it and drawing his attention there. A surge of hunger pushed through him, a desire to do the impossible. He balled his hands into fists and swallowed.

Or was his reaction because of something else?

Julian dropped his gaze and realised with some dismay that she was still wearing her black jacket, brown t-shirt and jeans, and that they were soaked. He looked down and frowned at her damp shoes. She hadn't even removed them. The clothes stuck to her slight frame, emphasising her slender figure, and the fact she was trembling. He looked into her eyes, studying the pale beauty staring back at him. A fierce need to protect her gripped his heart, seizing control of him, and he stepped towards her, raising his hand to brush the tangled threads of hair from her face. He wanted to tell her that he would protect her, and would never allow anything to happen to her. No monster would ever lay a hand on her so long as he breathed. She had no reason to fear now. He was here.

His hand fell to his side when he realised what he was doing and thinking. It was impossible. Such things went against his duty.

He reached behind him to grip the banister and felt the towel there. Pulling it off the banister, he walked towards her. She tensed and then watched his hands as he placed the cream towel around her shoulders and drew it closed over her chest. He held her shoulders, tempted to rub the towel against them to dry her. She was still fragile. She needed to take more care of herself. Releasing her, he stepped back to give her more room.

She pulled the towel around herself and walked past him. Her hand went to her jeans pocket and she tugged her mobile phone out. She started pressing numbers, muttering at the phone and cursing it. When he caught her arm, she frowned at his hand.

"What are you doing?" he said, studying the faint flicker of emotion he could feel surfacing in her.

"I'd like to call the police now." She removed his hand from her arm and tapped her phone, glaring at the blank display.

He knew enough about technology to know that electronic devices didn't respond well to large quantities of water dousing them. The phone had been in her pocket when she had been in the shower. He doubted it would work even if it dried out.

"Not necessary," he said and tried to remember if he had seen a phone in her house. He couldn't allow her to do such a thing.

Lauren backed off a step when he advanced one.

"Oh, I think it is." She moved again, working her way towards her bedroom door, still pressing buttons on her phone as though it would miraculously spring back into life. He followed her. "I'm going to call the police about those men and then I want you to leave."

"I cannot do that." He advanced another step, his pace slow so he didn't frighten her. The hard look that had entered her eyes said that she was serious. "And I cannot allow you to call the authorities."

"Why not?" She took another step towards her room, glanced over her shoulder at it and then back at him.

"What would you tell them?"

She paused and frowned. Her mouth opened and then closed. She glared at him. "I want you to leave now."

"I cannot. You are in danger."

"You're telling me," she muttered and backed away. "I don't know what you're after—"

"Nothing, Lauren." That name still felt foreign to him. Illia. She was Illia but, at the same time, she wasn't. None of them had ever been Illia. Not really.

Her pulse quickened, rushing in his ears. "How do you know my name?"

He hadn't meant to frighten her by revealing that he knew about her. It had come out before he could stop himself. He took another step towards her.

"I will explain everything, but right now I need you to answer something for me."

She stared at him for a full minute and then slowly nodded.

Julian went into her room and picked up the picture from her bed. He looked at the photograph of her and the couple. Her parents? Of course. She had parents. Or at least, she'd had parents.

He held the picture out to her. She snatched it and stared at it. When she blinked, tears tumbled down her cheeks.

"When did your parents die?" he said and her head jerked up, her eyes betraying her shock as much as her thundering heart did. "Was it shortly after this picture was taken?"

She looked confused and then nodded. Her eyes searched his. "They were attacked in the park. The police never caught their murderer."

"And they never will."

She gasped. "Those things? Oh God."

He dashed forwards when she collapsed, dropping her phone and the picture on the floor, and caught her under her arms. He lowered her so she didn't hurt herself. She was freezing in her wet clothes. He drew the towel around her and covered as much of her as possible. When she was kneeling, he knelt before her, waiting for her to take it all in.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. Her eyes met his, swimming with tears that filled him with a strange ache to wipe them away. He couldn't. "How? What are they?"

"Werewolves."

She paled. Another tear dashed down her cheek.

"Werewolf?" A bark of nervous laughter. "A werewolf?"

He nodded and her smile faded.

Before Julian could say another word, she ran past him towards the bathroom. A moment later, she retched. He got to his feet and went to check on her. She'd knocked her head in the fight and there was a chance that she was dealing with a concussion on top of everything else.

He wished he could make it easier on her.

It was never easy.

Getting her to believe the existence of werewolves wasn't normally the hard part. It was all the rest. It was the awakening, her duty, and the strange tale of her history.

He walked into the bathroom to find Lauren at the basin. She splashed water over her face and then gripped the edge of the sink, staring blankly at the peach porcelain.

"I will not hurt you, Lauren," Julian said and she looked over her shoulder at him. "I am only here to protect you from those creatures."

"The werewolves?"

He nodded. "The werewolves." Amongst other things.

Lauren swallowed and closed her eyes, looking as though she was struggling to stop herself from being sick again.

"Why did they kill my parents?" Her voice was small.

Julian stepped into the hall, giving her some space, and thought about how to explain things to her. They didn't have much time. He needed to convince her to come with him as soon as possible. They needed to go somewhere they would be truly safe.

"Come and sit down," he said and she turned to look at him.

"I'm fine here." Her stubborn streak had remained with her then. It was something she always had. For once, he wished that she didn't.

"You need to be sitting." After her collapse at the mention of her parents' death, he wasn't taking any chances. In the cramped bathroom, he wouldn't have room to get to her if her knees gave out and he didn't want her to hit her head on the basin. "And we need to get you changed into something dry."

"I said that I'm fine. Just answer my question."

"To weaken you."

Her expression changed to one of confusion.

"Lauren, you are special, born to serve a purpose… a destiny that is three thousand years old, born thirty lifetimes ago."

She swallowed several times. "I think you were right. I need to sit down."

Julian stepped aside. She fumbled her way along the wall and into her small bedroom. When she reached the double bed, she collapsed onto the dark covers and leaned forwards so her head was between her knees. Her rough breathing and the fast beat of her heart filled his head.

She was taking it better than he'd expected. Kneeling in front of her on the floor, he waited for her to emerge before continuing.

"Why are they after me?" she whispered. "I felt as though they were. I thought they wanted you and then I… I realised… they wanted me… and you were protecting me. Why?"

What did he tell her, the long version or the short? He needed to convince her quickly to come with him. He couldn't take her searching for the safe house during daylight when he wasn't strong enough to protect her.

"Because of who you are," he said.

She laughed. Not the reaction he'd expected.

"Who I am? I don't know who I am! Christ, my friends have been teasing me something chronic about my whole 'find myself' gig recently and all of a sudden I have a strange masked monster telling me that I have some purpose and werewolves want to kill me because of who I am."

Julian frowned and touched the tall collar of his black coat. Masked monster? Is that how she saw him? He'd never considered himself a monster before. If he was, then she was a monster too, she just didn't realise it yet.

How was she going to take that?

There was only one way to find out.

"That is because you have not yet awoken," he said. She stared at him in silence. He took it as a cue to continue. "You were born almost four thousand years ago as Illia and are the daughter of the minor goddess Selene who looked favourably upon a man named Lycaon. This favour angered Zeus as he had banished all form of contact with Lycaon. As punishment to Selene, he placed you on Earth. Zeus promised you that your task would redeem your mother, so you willingly accepted it and Zeus bound your fate to Lycaon's. Zeus ordered his brother Hades to refuse your soul entry to the underworld on death until Lycaon has been defeated, so each time you are reborn."

She just stared at him, her rosy lips parted and her eyebrows raised high.

Her heartbeat was steady though. Either she didn't believe him, or she did and it was beginning to make a little sense.

He hoped it was the latter.

She laughed.

The former.

"I'm having a hard time with this," she said. "You're telling me that I was born to some goddess in God-knows-what-BC and I'm supposed to defeat some man named Lycaon?"

"In essence, yes." He paused and tried to think of a way to put it that would make her believe it. Back when he had been human, people had believed in the gods. He'd understood that Illia was the daughter of the goddess that he and his men worshipped. He'd accepted his duty without hesitation. "Lauren… Illia's soul resides within you. Each death at Lycaon's hands sees you reborn, but it is only her soul and her purpose that carries over to her new incarnation."

"So I'm not really her?" Lauren said and her heartbeat picked up a little. Thirty times of telling her and he still hadn't found a good way. "So how do you know I'm her… reincarnation… or whatever it is you think I am?"

She was beginning to believe him. He just had to keep her calm and explain things clearly, and she would eventually understand.

"Yes, you are her reincarnation, and when you reach thirty-five you will awaken and be ready to continue the fight against Lycaon. My fate is tied to yours and has been for three thousand years. When Illia was sent to Earth, she was given two hundred Arcadian soldiers to carry out her orders. I was their commander."

"And now you've been reincarnated, like me?"

Julian hesitated. This never went down well but he had to tell her the truth.

"Lauren, I have not been reincarnated."

Her jaw dropped.

She blinked.

"I died three thousand years ago, the last of your Arcadians, and you bestowed this gift upon me so I could continue to help you." Those words grew harder to say each time. They brought back every ounce of pain he'd felt that day and more. It hurt to remember the things that Illia had said to him then but had never said again.

Lauren stood and stormed past him, heading for the stairs. He hadn't locked the front door.

"This is insane. I'm out of here." She ran down the stairs, grabbed the door handle and yanked it hard in her attempt to escape.

Julian was next to her in an instant, his fingers closed tightly around her wrist. She turned and hit his hand, scratching it and trying to prise it off her. Losing patience, he spun her around and pinned her to the door by her wrist, holding her hard and tight. She struggled and he tensed his jaw, steeling himself against his desire to grab her other hand.

"I will not let you leave," he said and she stilled, her eyes round and shining with fear again. He sighed to release his anger and reminded himself that it was his duty to protect her, not frighten her.

She punched him hard across the face and then hissed in pain, shaking her hand and scowling at him. He wasn't sure what she had expected to gain from turning violent. She hadn't hurt him, if that was her intention. She had only hurt herself by hitting the metal bands that held his collar closed. She shoved his shoulder hard enough that he had to step back to steady himself. He held her wrist tighter and thought about what to say.

"I cannot let you leave. I must protect you."

She stared up at him. Fear still widened her eyes and her heart was beating fast.

"Lauren, you know that they are after you. I know you must have felt something tonight, a sense that you were in danger even when there was no imminent threat."

A distant look filled her eyes and she nodded a fraction.

"I assure you that you are safest with me. I must keep you with me in order to protect you. I have no choice," he said and she slowly leaned back into the door, relaxing enough that he could loosen his grip without fearing she would attempt to escape. "You are not my prisoner, but I cannot let you leave, and I cannot leave you. Come, sit back down and I will answer your questions."

He released her arm, hoping she would see that he trusted her and that she would begin to trust him.

"And what do you want in return?" Lauren said with a sceptical look and rubbed her wrist. It was red where he had been holding it too tightly. He hadn't meant to hurt her but the thought of her leaving, of losing her again after all the mistakes he had made with her, had made him react. "What is it you want with me?"

"I ask only that you come with me to meet some people and that you grant me time to explain things to you and make you see that all of this is real and that there is no escaping your destiny. I will protect you from the monsters, Lauren."

She frowned.

"You're a monster."

"We are not monsters."

"We?" Her voice was tiny. In her eyes, he could see that she knew the answer to that question.

"When you awaken, you will become like me again. That is why in three thousand years you have only lived thirty lifetimes. Sometimes you live for longer, sometimes for only short periods. All of you awaken on your thirty-fifth birthday because it is the mortal age at which Illia was cast to Earth to fulfil her task."

She paled again and surprised him by stepping away from the door. His gaze tracked her as she walked to the stairs and sat down. He was tempted to lock the door but knew that she would think he didn't trust her if he did and that she would feel threatened. He needed to gain her trust and trusting her was the first step.

He knelt in front of her again. She was quiet for a while, the myriad of feelings flickering across her face telling him that she was struggling to take it all in.

"And what is this… awakening… thing? Who's Lycaon? What does this all really have to do with me? And why the hell am I beginning to believe you?" she said.

"Because in your soul, you know me. When you died the first time, Zeus heard your plea and gave me the task of finding and awakening you so you could continue your duty. He brought me over, just as you wished. You know me, Lauren, only your mind and heart is reborn clean so you have no memory of me."

Lauren buried her head in her hands and exhaled long and slow. "I'm going insane."

"You are not."

"I am, because when I first saw you and you killed that… werewolf… I felt I knew you and I felt you were protecting me."

Julian placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, hoping to reassure her. "Because you do know me and I am here to protect you. I will do all in my power to protect you from Lycaon so you can complete your destiny."

"Who is Lycaon? Why does Zeus hate him? Why do I have to kill him?"

"Lycaon once tricked Zeus into eating human flesh. As punishment, Zeus cursed him into the form of a werewolf. He was told that he would become human again if he abstained from his cannibalistic ways for ten years. Lycaon did not. He refused to and embraced his new life as a werewolf, quickly learning that he could spread his curse to others." Julian wished that he had more time, could break everything to her slowly, but that wasn't an option. Lauren was in danger. Lycaon could be tracking her. He needed to tell her as much as she could take right now. "Lycaon hunts you so that he may be rid of you for another period. He wishes revenge on Zeus and for whatever reason he is willing to go to great lengths to achieve it."

He wasn't sure why but the thought of Lycaon killing Lauren made heat coil in his stomach and his fingers itch to grasp his sword. He hadn't felt like this since Illia. He wouldn't let Lycaon kill her. Not Lauren. He would protect her.

She raised her head and looked into his eyes. Their beautiful dark depths soothed the anger inside him. She was looking at him so strangely, with warmth that made him want to ask her what she was thinking and why she looked at him that way. She'd done it several times now. None of her predecessors had ever shown him such feeling.

"And I have to kill him… because Illia's mother favoured him," she said with a slight tremble in her voice.

She seemed to be getting to grips with her role now but Julian still wasn't sure if she fully understood what was happening to her or her duty.

"We must stop him from achieving his revenge," Julian said.

"He had my parents killed. I want him to pay for that. I want revenge too." She leaned forwards causing the towel to slip off her right shoulder.

Julian leaned back, sitting on his heels. The steely determination in Lauren's eyes backed up her brave words. She did want to avenge her parents and kill Lycaon. None of the others had ever had a personal reason for fulfilling their duty before. Perhaps where they had failed, Lauren would succeed.

Perhaps.

First, she had to make her decision. Her desire for revenge wasn't her answer. When she'd come to terms with what was happening to her, he would ask her whether she was willing to go through with the awakening and take on her duty once again. Until then, he could only wait and tell her all that she needed to know. He could only protect her.

Julian covered her shoulder with the towel again. "I will explain more soon when we leave this place. If you have any more questions—"

"I do," she said, looking straight into his eyes. "What is this awakening thing you keep mentioning?"

He wasn't sure if she was ready for the truth about it. None of Illia's incarnations had ever taken this part well. All of them had feared death. Only Illia herself had embraced it.

"Your blood flows in my veins. When the time is right, I will offer it to you." He peeled back the left cuff of his coat to reveal the many pale scars on his wrist and watched her closely.

A familiar look entered her eyes. Hunger. A desire to feed and grow stronger. Her teeth sank into her lip. She reached out towards him and then took her hand back a fraction before continuing and using her index finger and thumb to measure the distance between the marks on his wrist. Her touch was light and warm, and sent a spark chasing up his arm. He didn't understand. She had never affected him like this before.

Lauren measured another set of marks with her fingers, and then brought them to her teeth. The gap between them fitted her canines perfectly. Fear and confusion laced her scent. She recoiled, drawing back into herself and frowning at him. It was too soon for her to understand her desires.

"My blood will awaken you and you will regain your powers and become like me again." He covered his wrist.

"An immortal?"

Julian nodded. It was better than calling him a monster, although not a true definition of his existence. He could die. As could she. He was painfully aware of that.

"Come, you need to change into something dry." He stood and offered his hand to her. "Then we shall go somewhere that we will be safe."

"I still don't understand what's happening." She surprised him by catching hold of his hand, clutching it tightly in her own, but not standing. Her feelings were in disarray, her heart beating hard and fast. He couldn't push her any more today. She'd already reached her limit.

He hesitated a moment and then covered her hand with his, completing the tangle. She needed reassurance and that was all he was offering. This touch didn't break the rules.

"Rest for now. Give yourself time to take everything in but know that I am here to protect you, Lauren, as I have always been. That is my duty. I am not a threat to you."

A small smile graced her lips and she nodded. He released her hand but she didn't move. She remained sitting, staring at the door. He leaned against the wall and waited for her to come out of her thoughts.

"Er… I'm so rude… I don't know your name," she said and Julian smiled behind his collar.

It had taken her more time than usual to ask that question, and less time to ask about the awakening.

"Julian." He leaned the back of his head against the wall. The tip of his nose brushed the funnel neck of his coat.

"Julian?" The note of trepidation in her voice matched the one in her heartbeat.

"Yes, Lauren?"

"I should thank you for saving me… I mean… you did save me from those werewolves."

"I did."

"So, erm, thanks." She stood on the bottom step of the stairs and smiled at him, her heart steady now. He liked the gentle patter of it in his mind. It was soothing. He liked her smile. "And Julian… I knew… I knew that you wouldn't hurt me."

Those words sent a jolt through him. Julian closed his eyes, relishing them and the soft way she'd said them.

He listened to her breathing, slow and calm. She'd never taken things this well before. It was a good sign. It might mean that when he told her everything else that she would be able to cope with it too.

"So where are we going?"

"A group that I met and have worked with to find you. People with special abilities like you and me." Julian looked at her. The questions were another good sign. Sometimes she went into a catatonic state when he told her. Normally when she questioned him, she turned out to be a fighter, one who lived for years before succumbing to defeat.

That word sent a chill through him. For Lauren's sake and his own, he hoped that she was a fighter. He'd seen her books and movie collection, and seen her fight a werewolf with nothing more than a bamboo sword. She could fight. She could survive this time.

He thought about where he was taking her and the implications. They had never worked with others before but it could only be a good thing. The greater their numbers, the greater their chance of defeating Lycaon.

There were other advantages too.

Duke and his team would be able to protect them during Lauren's awakening, but whether she survived the process of regaining her powers was up to the Fates. Julian could only do so much to ensure that she lived. The Fates were fickle and didn't always heed Zeus's order to allow Illia's soul to return so she could continue her fight. Julian had lost her before during the awakening. He looked at Lauren. The thought of losing her turned his insides. He wouldn't let it happen. For her, he would face the Fates and demand Illia's soul crossed over. He wouldn't let Lauren die. His fists clenched. He hadn't felt this way in so long. Since finding her, he'd watched her closely. She fascinated him, and he felt intensely protective of her, far more so than he'd ever done with the others.

She started up the stairs and then stopped.

"Do they have a name?" Her wide brown eyes shone with curiosity.

He would protect her. They would protect her.

"Ghost."


Available in e-book from:
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Enjoyed the tease?

Manday goodness

It's Manday again. I've already posted this picture over at my Facebook, and here it is at my blog. Your sweet treat to start the week!



He looks as though he needs some love! Who wants to give it to him?

Also, don't forget to enter the 500 Blog Follower International Giveaway here at my blog! We're slowly creeping towards the 400 followers prize tier.

Forbidden Blood - Vampire Venators Series #1 - Chapter Two

As part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour , I'm going to be posting the first FIVE chapters of my next release, Forbidden Blood. I posted chapter one last week.

Forbidden Blood is a dark vampire romance novel, and the first book in the Vampire Venators series. I'll be posting more information about the series closer to the release of Forbidden Blood. In the meantime, here's chapter two, and here's a link to the previous chapter: Chapter One



Forbidden Blood
Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampire's grasp, it turns out she's the lead he's been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearn's world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exterior—hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Forbidden Blood is book one in the Vampire Venators series and a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.

genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 126000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 18th 2011
Book 1 in the Vampire Venators series



CHAPTER TWO
Kearn closed the door to his apartment behind them and locked it. It wouldn't stop the man from entering if he wanted to reclaim the woman, but it would make her feel safer. He walked past her where she stood in the middle of the large white open plan room holding her black leather handbag and pointed towards the living area to his right beyond the modern fireplace that divided it from the study near the door. She followed him and stopped near the back of the long low black couch that faced the wide bank of windows, setting her bag down on the cushions. She stared out of the windows, her hazel eyes bright with fascination. He had grown bored of the view of London from his apartment a long time ago. He rarely looked out at the rooftops now.

He looked at her instead. She reached up and removed the band from her messy ponytail, freeing her long brown hair. It fell down in loose waves over her shoulders and blended into her black suit jacket. Its rich shade contrasted against her pale face. The colour was gone from her skin, the only visible sign of her ordeal. She placed the band around her wrist and then stood with her left hand clutching her right, the palm of that hand turned upwards, crimson staining it. She remained still and he frowned after a few minutes. Had she slipped into shock? He couldn't sense it in her.

She seemed incredibly calm considering everything that had happened to her and her situation. A little too docile for his liking. He studied her. It wasn't normal for a human to be so unafraid after everything she had experienced. He had expected her to put up more of a fight about remaining with him and coming up to his apartment.

The man had given his blood to her. She was under his influence. It would explain why she was so at ease and why not a trace of fear laced her scent. The man wasn't afraid, so she wasn't either.

Kearn kept his guard up and approached her. She wasn't herself and wouldn't be until her body had eradicated the man's blood from her system. She had flitted between afraid and angry during the journey here and in the garage. The man was using his blood to control her.

"Make yourself comfortable." He stripped off his holster and then his white shirt.

Her gaze moved to him. It roamed unabashed over his body. He headed back to the door and tossed the ruined white shirt onto the floor of the beech wood kitchen. When he turned around, the woman didn't take her eyes off him. She continued to stare at his torso. He touched his ear and then frowned at the blood on his fingers. Without looking at the woman, he crossed the room to the bedroom door and opened it. He dropped the holster and his gun onto the deep brown duvet covering his double bed to his right and then flicked the light on. The dark earthy walls and low lighting in his bedroom soothed his tired eyes.

Kearn touched his ear again and walked straight through the gap between the foot of his bed and the built-in wardrobe, heading for the door across the room. He flinched when he turned the light on in the en-suite bathroom. He needed to put a dimmer one in at some point but it always slipped his mind. The white tiles bounced the light around, making it too bright for him. He looked into the large black-framed rectangular mirror that occupied the wall above the wide black sink cabinet in front of him. The cut had already started to heal but he still needed to help it along, if only to stop it from bleeding down another shirt.

He washed the blood off his neck and chest, watching the red swirl down the drain of the white oval sink. The cut began to bleed again. He took a small dark brown hand towel off the side of the black cabinet, dabbed his ear to dry it, and set it back down. Before his earlobe could bleed, he spat on his index and forefinger, and rubbed the saliva into the nick. It stung. The man hadn't been aiming at the woman. He had wanted to use her distracting him as a chance to kill him.

He should have realised sooner that the woman was under his control.

Kearn stared in the mirror, through his bedroom to the main room of the large open plan apartment. The knife in his car would yield nothing. Only her blood had been on it and the man had been wearing gloves. The woman was his only clue, and the best one he'd had since he had started hunting this man three years ago.

He looked at his reflection and cursed the sight of it. It was still strange to him. Not himself staring back at him but someone else. He hadn't seen himself in the mirror for over one hundred years, and he never would again.

He crouched, opened the two doors on the sink cabinet, and took out anything that would help a human heal. There wasn't much. He could only offer bandages.

Or he could help her heal.

Kearn shoved that thought away.

It wasn't going to happen. The woman was a lead and that was all. Her wound would heal with time. He didn't need to interfere. If she were a Source Blood as he suspected, then drinking from her would be dangerous.

He grabbed a fresh black shirt from the built-in oak wardrobe in his bedroom and then walked out into the living room. The woman looked up from the couch facing the window, her hand still held in front of her. It was bleeding badly, filling his apartment with the sweet scent of blood.

Kearn stopped beside the couch that lined the wall between the living area and his bedroom.

He wasn't sure what to do with the cut or with her. He had never worked with a human before nor had this sort of contact with one. Normally they were dead by the time he met them. The thought of tending to one was disgusting, but she was the lead he had been searching for. He was sure that the man who had attacked her was part of the group he was after, if not the leader. They had been testing her in the side road, and the man had been powerful enough to control her and make her try to drink her own blood even at a great distance. He would have to be a Lesser Noble or a Noble to be able to determine through their connection alone whether she was a Source Blood.

The woman continued to look at him, a dull edge to her hazel eyes. The man's blood was still affecting her. Kearn scanned the separate areas of the room. There was nothing she would be able to reach before him and use as a weapon, and she was only human so the furniture posed no threat. She wouldn't hurt him if she used her fists, although she had done a good job with her knee back in the garage. He placed the bandages down on the large square wooden coffee table in front of her.

Her gaze followed him across the room, unmoving from his back as he went into the kitchen. He filled a clear bowl with warm water and placed it down on the black granite work surface while he unravelled a wad of paper towel from the roll. He crossed the room back to her and placed the bowl and paper towels down next to the bandages. She watched intently as he put his black shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned, and then looked at her hand when he came to sit beside her.

This close to her, the smell of blood was overwhelming.

Kearn clamped his teeth shut and held the change at bay. It had been too long since he had smelt anything like her and it pushed at his control. He had been able to subdue the effect of her scent when he had been at a distance from her, but he couldn't contain it now. His gut clenched and twisted, saliva pooling in his mouth and his fangs itching to extend as hunger to taste the blood that went with the divine scent tore through him.

"Keep still," he said from between his teeth and soaked some of the paper towel.

Kearn took her hand in his and forced himself to focus. Her skin was warm and soft, and he used his senses to see how much vampire blood was in her system. Enough to keep her under control and stop her from answering his questions. He had promised that he would make her feel better. He only had one way of doing that and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with it or not.

He wiped the blood from her hand. It mixed with the water and covered his, ran down his arms in beautiful rivulets, soaking into his shirtsleeves. He slowed without thinking, fascinated by how her blood blossomed on the surface of the cut and savouring the warm alluring smell. He swallowed the burning ache in his throat and focused. She inhaled sharply when he wiped the blood away again and he grabbed the bandage. He wound it around her hand as quickly as possible and pinned it on her palm. The smell of blood lessened but it was all over his hands. He licked his lips. The fiery thirst in his veins begged him to quench it. Did he really want to do this?

"Why did he make me do that?" she whispered and Kearn looked at her. There were tears in her eyes as she stared at her hand. They trembled on the brink of falling. Her feelings travelled through their joined hands, filling him with a sense of fear and confusion. He released her fingers and sat back.

"There is a reason he made you drink his blood. It will help him find you, which is why I need to keep you with me."

She didn't seem shocked by what he had said. He had expected her to react with disbelief or horror. Perhaps the blood in her veins and what she had witnessed was enough to make her believe him.

"Why did he cut me?" She raised her hand and toyed with the bandage. The blood was already soaking into the edges of it.

Kearn looked down at the scarlet ambrosia coating his hands. "Your blood may be of a type which is valuable to his kind."

He curled his fingers into fists. They shook.

"I must wash my hands." He stood and headed straight through his bedroom and into the white and black bathroom. He stared at his hands. The blood looked even redder against the white sink beneath them. They trembled uncontrollably.

Did he really want to do this?

He needed answers and to get them he needed to eradicate any control the vampire might have over her.

Kearn lifted his hand to his nose and sniffed the blood. It smelt strong and enticing. His mouth watered. He took a deep breath followed by another two, trying to prepare himself. This could be a grave mistake.

Closing his eyes, he tentatively reached out towards his fingers with his tongue. The moment the blood touched it, a jolt rocked his body. She was definitely a Source Blood. He hadn't tasted forbidden blood since becoming a Venator but he hadn't forgotten the effects.

He licked his finger and swallowed. The jolt became an intense buzz and his fangs extended. His eyes shot open and familiar red ones looked back at him from his reflection, a fragment of the real him that he didn't often see. He grasped the edge of the cabinet with his other hand to steady himself and then licked the blood off his other fingers, gaining pace. He needed more. Just a little more, so he would be sure of his ability to command her and clear her blood of interference. That was the only reason he had to suck each of his fingers clean. It had nothing to do with the delightful way her blood made him tremble, made his breath stutter and his heart beat faster, at an almost human speed.

He went to lick the blood from his palm and stopped himself. Unpeeling his fingers from the edge of the cabinet, he forced himself to turn on the tap. The water ran fast and hard down the drain but he couldn't bring himself to put his hands under it and wash the blood away. He only wanted a little more. A warm pulsing feeling relaxed every muscle in his body and his head felt light. His eyelids fell to half-mast and the warm buzz became a hot inferno in his blood, an ache to feed and give in to his animal instincts. His breath shuddered. Just a little more.

No.

Stop it.

Kearn forced his head under the water instead of his hands but it did nothing to stop the hunger gnawing his stomach and the hard ache in his trousers. He groaned under his breath and kept his head under the freezing water, begging it to clear. He didn't want to remember.

High laughter. The scent of sex. The mindless lust. The painful betrayal. The blood on his hands.

He didn't want to remember any of it.

He didn't want to feel that way again.

Kearn squeezed his eyes shut and shoved his hands under the water the moment he pulled his head out of it. The scent of blood instantly diminished and his control came creeping back. He focused on it, trying to expel the effects of her blood on him. It was difficult. Her blood was more potent than what he had experienced before. He had never had blood direct from a Source, only diluted from another's veins. He closed his eyes and kept his hands under the water, gradually clawing back a sense of calm and shutting his rampaging feelings down.

The cold water numbed his hands. He kept them there, not trusting himself. If any trace of her blood remained on his skin, he would be tempted to lick it off, and it would undo all the work he had done to regain some control over himself. He grabbed the bar of soap from the side of the basin and washed his hands with it, erasing every drop of crimson on his pale skin. When he had been washing them for nearly ten minutes, he turned off the tap.

He glanced at himself in the mirror.

His eyes were still red.

The colour of blood.

Kearn focused on thinking over everything that had happened tonight. The woman was lucky that he had been patrolling the area and had smelt the blood. It had been the vampire's blood that had caught his attention, carried on the night air in a rich vein that had been easy to detect. Unfortunately, he couldn't use its scent to recognise the man. Vampire blood all smelt the same. Heavy and strong.

Human blood was a light fragrance. He resisted the temptation to take a deep breath and see if he could smell her blood. He was almost in control again.

The knife, the vampire's blood, the man's appearance, none of it was the break he needed.

But she was.

He looked at himself in the mirror again. Green eyes welcomed him back, cold and empty, familiar in their darkness. He turned away from them, hating the sight, and walked back through the bedroom to the living room.

The woman was still fraying the ends of the bandage around her right hand. Her gaze fixed on him and she frowned. Water dripped from the jagged tips of his silver hair and soaked into his black shirt. He raked his hair back, picked up the bowl and paper towels, and walked past her to the kitchen area. Her eyes followed his every move, her focus intent on him. She could look all she wanted. She wasn't going to figure him out, not even with her blood in his veins.

"Are you feeling any better?" Kearn ignored the warm sedated buzz in the depths of his bones that constantly switched between whispering hungry words to him and making him want to smile. He felt normal. There was no reason to get ideas about her blood. He was in control and she was nothing but a lead.

Not dinner.

He couldn't kill a human.

"Just now." Her voice ran as deep in his veins as her blood, teasing his senses. The soft sound of it wrapped around him, caressing him and making him want to look at her. He ignored it too. It was just her blood affecting him. "My head feels clearer."

That was what he had wanted to hear. It was difficult to use her blood in his veins purely to control the effect of the vampire's on hers rather than controlling her, but he would keep it up for as long as he could. Soon her blood should have cleared enough that the vampire wouldn't be able to control her at any great distance.

Kearn filled a glass with water and carried it back to her. He placed it on the coffee table in front of her and then sat beside her again. The smell of her blood drifted on the air and flowed down into his lungs with each breath he drew, pushing at his restraint. He had never smelt anything as alluring and tempting.

The connection between their blood shattered.

"What was he?" she said without any hint of trepidation.

"I'm sorry?" He tried for confused while he struggled against her blood and the vampire's. The bastard was pushing for control.

The woman scratched at the bandage. Kearn kept an eye on her. If she made any move to open the bandage, he would stop her and restrain her. Until then, he would keep fighting the vampire's hold over her.

"I'm not crazy, and I know what I saw would make me sound as though I am, but I wasn't imagining it." Her hand left her other one and settled on her thigh.

He made the mistake of looking at it. There were damp spots on the black material of her trousers. Blood. Delicious, fragrant, blood. Diverting his eyes before they changed again, he stared out of the window.

She leaned forwards into view and frowned at him. "That man had fangs. They couldn't have been fake. It all felt so real. He wanted to drink my blood... I felt it inside me. Some dark hideous hunger. He had some sort of power over me. Now either tell me I'm insane and heading for a spell at the nearest asylum, or tell me the truth. He's a vampire."

Kearn's silver eyebrows rose. There was no point in lying to her if she had already figured out what she was up against and believed it.

He nodded.

She gasped and grabbed his hand. The contact sent a sharp jolt through him and pushed at his control. Her blood called to him. The same dark hideous hunger she had sensed in the man. He fought his desire to look at the smooth column of her throat, knowing that if he did he wouldn't be able to stop himself from licking it and acting out his desire to sink his fangs into the soft flesh and drink his fill of her.

Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on her face and was struck by a different sort of hunger.

She was beautiful.

He had never paid much attention to humans. They had been nothing more than a mission to him for centuries and only a meal before that, but now he had stopped to look at one and some part of him wished he hadn't because she mesmerised him.

Her wide round hazel eyes were fascinating. The overhead lights of his apartment played on them, highlighting the flecks of gold and green. Long wavy brown hair caressed her face, cascading over slender shoulders. Rosy lips spoke to him and he didn't hear a word they said. He watched the way they moved and the sensual shapes they made, and the tiny flash of soft pink tongue against straight white teeth.

"What's a Venator?"

That question broke his reverie.

"Me."

"You?" She stared blankly at him. No, through him. She was trying to remember something. "I knew that word. I wanted you to kill that man and then I wanted to stop you. I knew you. There was something else too. I wanted to taste my blood."

She sounded as confused as she felt.

"The man desired to test you to see if you were a Source Blood."

"Source. I knew that word too and that it meant something different. You said my blood is valuable."

"It is." He picked up the glass and offered it to her. The water would thin her blood and lessen the vampire's control over her, but it would weaken his too. It was a risk he had to take. "It is very valuable on the black market but also extremely illegal. My job is to find those who dare break the law by attempting to purchase, sell or harvest the blood."

No fear touched her features but he could feel an underlying sense of nerves in his veins that belonged to her.

He studied her blood and the strength flowing through it surprised him. Her blood within him, and the vampire's within her, was enough to convince her that she wasn't going insane and that everything that had happened tonight was real. She understood and accepted it, and had even found some sense of resolve to face it all. He had expected her to be more fragile and sensitive, to panic and plead him to protect her. Her calm acceptance of the situation made him reassess his earlier thoughts about her. It wasn't the vampire's blood in her veins that made her unafraid. It was her own natural strength, and it only added to her beauty.

"Why is it worth so much? Are all humans Source Bloods to vampires?" She took the glass, tilted her head back and drank some of the water.

Kearn refused to look at her throat.

"No. Source Bloods are very rare. It refers to a specific gene in your blood that affects vampires. Vampires believe that millennia ago, they branched away from humanity and evolved separately. At that time, the same gene in their blood was stronger. Over the generations, it weakened to what it is today and has remained that way."

She frowned and lowered the glass. "So I share a gene with vampires?"

He nodded. "Your bloodline did not evolve and gain the ability to use the power that gene gives you."

She swallowed and a sense of unease ran in his veins. Her blood. It was potent. He was constantly aware of it and how it mixed with his, stirred it to a frenzy of hunger and need. Kearn shifted his focus back to her, using all of his strength to keep it pinned on her and not his blood.

"I'm like a vampire?"

"No, you are human, but different. Special."

A hint of colour touched her cheeks and she dropped her gaze. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction and cocked his head to one side. Her blood whispered warm words at him, teasing him into submitting to her. She had watched him earlier when he had removed his shirt and sometimes her pupils dilated until they darkened her hazel eyes. Desire? Was she attracted to him? A human? As though he could desire such a weak creature in return.

The colour on her cheeks deepened, sending a gut-tugging jolt through his blood, and his lips parted. He swallowed when she shyly raised her eyes and looked at him through her dark lashes. His body burned with the desire to sweep her into his arms and taste her again. Kearn forced his eyes down to the floor. It was just her blood commanding him to do as she wanted. It wasn't his desire.

It couldn't be.

He cleared his throat and frowned, trying to make sense of the feelings running riot in him. Not all of them could be hers. Some of them had to be his.

"Do vampires only drink from people like me?" Her voice shook and he was tempted to touch her hand again to reassure her, but restrained himself.

If he did such a thing, he would have a hard time resisting pulling her against him and slaking his growing thirst for her. Taking her blood had been a mistake. He had less control over himself than he had anticipated. He had forgotten how potent Source Blood was.

"Vampires gain sustenance from all human blood. Source Blood is different. It is a drug to vampires. Most only drink enough to produce a natural high that makes them giddy and removes their inhibitions." He battled his need to look at her throat. "Others are seeking something more sinister. In a large enough dose, it temporarily restores the strength in the shared gene, enhancing them and reinstating the devastating power they once commanded. With enough Source Blood in their veins they would become living gods."

His gaze slid to her neck and he turned away, cursing himself for tasting her. He had needed to be sure that she was a Source Blood though and needed to calm her enough to get answers.

"That man knew I was a Source Blood and that's why he followed me?"

"No." Kearn shook his head, as much to clear it of the whispered command to feast on her as to answer her. "Source Blood is difficult to detect if the human is not bleeding. You said he gave you his blood. He was seeking to turn you compliant so he could kill you. When his blood joined with yours, he realised that you were different. Your blood saved you."

"It doesn't feel as though it saved me. I feel as though it damned me."

Would she rather be dead than in this situation? He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't sense any fear in her, but there was an edge to her eyes, a look that said she was desperately trying to be strong but everything was beginning to take its toll on her.

"I will protect you," he said and felt her look at him. He couldn't meet her gaze, not yet, not until the need to look at her throat and taste her blood had passed again. "If you help me, we can find the man who hurt you. I have been searching for him for three years. If we can capture him, you can go back to your life. No one else will know what your blood contains."

"What will happen to him?"

"He will be sentenced." He looked at her now, trusting himself not to change and frighten her. She wasn't likely to help him if she knew that he was also a vampire.

"Are you a cop? Is that what a Venator is?"

"No—sort of. I have to carry out the sentence on the people whose names are given to me by my… bosses." He had never needed to explain his position before. It was difficult to put it into words that didn't sound medieval or make him a murderer. He hunted those the Sovereignty deemed had broken the law. He sentenced them to eternal darkness. Usually they knew the name of the law-breaker. This time there wasn't one. There had only been a location to start looking. "Will you help me?"

He didn't really need her to answer. Either way he wasn't letting her leave. He needed her and she was going to help him, although he would prefer that she did so of her own free will. Forcing her wouldn't solve anything but he would if she left him no choice.

"He'll come after me." She looked down at her hands, playing with the bandage again. Her pulse began to pick up pace and he sensed her rising panic. Was she remembering what had happened to her? Her blood inside him whispered of fear and death. She looked up at him, blinked away her tears and nodded. "I'll help you if you promise to keep me safe."

"It is a promise." Kearn tried to think of how humans made deals. He held his hand out to her.

She slipped hers into it and shook it a single time, and then her hand lingered in his.

And his eyes fell to her neck.

"Do you remember anything else?" he whispered, those words distant to his ears as he perused the gentle sloping grace of her throat.

Her hand left his and he dragged his eyes away, forcing them up to hers. They were watching him again, giving him the impression that she was looking for a secret or trying to see past his exterior and down to his heart. It wasn't going to happen.

Kearn stood and walked around the square coffee table to the windows. He placed his hands behind his back. The rooftops of London stretched into the distance, lights twinkling in the darkness. It was barely past midnight. The night still lay before him.

"The man was in a courtyard. They're always cleaning it with disinfectant in the morning. The other two, the ones who held me, were there too, carrying black sacks over their shoulders."

Kearn frowned.

A storehouse?

He turned to face her.

"I need you to show me this place," he said and she nodded. "And we need to lure the man out. The man will want to finish what he started and test your blood. He will come looking for you. I will keep my promise and see to it that nothing happens to you. Would you be willing to act as bait?"

She didn't look so sure now. She was silent and a myriad of emotions flickered in her hazel eyes.

A sense of resolve laced his blood. Her resolve.

She nodded.

"If it will get rid of that man, I'll do anything. Just keep me safe."

Kearn nodded.

He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

A voice deep inside him said that it wasn't only because he needed her as bait. There was something else at work here too.

She really was beautiful.

But she was forbidden blood.

And he had tasted her.




Enjoying the story so far? I'd love to hear what you think, so don't be afraid to leave a comment.

adventures in paranormal romance and blog giveaway

Well, it's been an eventful week, but at the same time, not very eventful. Time seems to be slipping away from me at the moment and my motivation is hitting a low spot. I have so much that I need to do, that it sort of piles up and then overwhelms me. I have decided that it's not easy having releases only 4-6 weeks apart. I'll have to address that next year. I just don't feel as though I'm putting enough into promoting each separate book. As soon as a new one come along, I forget to promote the previous one. Bad me. That's not the way to sell books!

I was distracted from my work last week because Reunion was listed as FREE at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, so I was promoting that when I probably should have been continuing to promote my paid-for releases like Love Immortal , Hunter's Moon , and Ascension . All three are available in e-book and paperback now.

This week, I spent the Monday and Tuesday doing the initial read through of Her Guardian Angel, the fourth book but the first novel in the Her Angel romance series. On Wednesday, I inputted all of the changes I'd noted down on the book (I read on paper initially as it gives me a better experience during this phase when I'm supposed to read as a reader would, not an editor or writer) into the word document, so it's ready to go. There's over 100 comments to address, but most of those are about repetition of words / thoughts / feelings. I also have some smoothing out to do in the latter half of the book, and I want to change the ending to make it more dramatic. I'm not sure if this will be the finale of the series, or whether I'll write another novel for it. I do have a character in mind for another novel or novella, but I need to take stock of the success of the series. I guess if Her Guardian Angel sells well and people make positive noises about wanting another or liking the character I have in mind for it (who appears in Her Guardian Angel), then I'll probably write the next book.

I'm also trying to decide what to write for December. I have a release slot penned down on my schedule. I was thinking about writing the next Shadow and Light Trilogy novel, which will follow on from Ascension and track the progression of Lealandra and Taig's relationship. I could also write the next Vampire Venators series novel. Both require some world building. It definitely won't be a Vampires Realm series book as I've had two of those this year. Don't worry, I'm hoping I can write two more Vampires Realm stories for next year. That's the downside to series. I have four on the go at the moment (well, that I'm actively working on anyway), plus another two that I want to start, one of which is my seven book Hades' Boys series. With all those series to balance, it's difficult to keep my schedule in order. I think next year will definitely be very series-orientated, even though I have a few stand alone paranormal romance books that I want to write.

I did manage to get some downtime this week. Husband and I went out yesterday to the cinema and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 3D. It was good. Probably up there with the best movies I've seen this year. Definitely blockbuster material, and Johnny Depp was fantastic as usual. Did some shopping afterwards and went to Yo! Sushi for scrummy pumpkin korroke and doroyaki.

Today I should be working on the second draft edit for Her Guardian Angel, but I'll spend it writing blog tour posts as that's quite a weight pressing down on me and I'd like to get a whole bunch of them written and sent off so they're not playing on my mind and I'll be able to focus on my edit.

Oh, and I started my 500 Blog Follower International Giveaway this week. We've reached around 330 followers now, and I'm thrilled by how quickly my followers have risen and touched by the effort some readers have been putting in to help me spread the news about this giveaway. You guys rock, and you rock hard!

I've also had a great review or two for Ascension , and my other novels. It's great to get reviews coming in for them. I'll try to take snippets of them soon and add them to my website for everyone to read. Sometimes it's difficult to get a good snippet though.

Wow, this has turned into a long blog post.

What shall I write for December?

Teaseday - Prophecy: Child of Light - Vampire Romance Novel

Welcome to Teaseday, my new name for Tuesday. Every Tuesday, I mean, Teaseday between now and forever, I'll be posting an excerpt from one of my books. Since I have around 30+ books, I have plenty of them to share with you!

First up is an excerpt from Prophecy: Child of Light , a vampire romance novel and the first book in the Prophecy Trilogy. Prophecy: Child of Light is also the first book in my Vampires Realm series that I write as F E Heaton, and a great introduction to it since it's only $0.99! You can also download a 75,000 word excerpt of this book on the Prophecy: Child of Light page on my Vampires Realm website



Prophecy: Child of Light [book 1]
F E Heaton
A vampire unlike any other, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she encounters Valentine, a gorgeous vampire who is both her enemy and the man who will change her life forever.

Convinced that the prophecy about her is wrong and unable to ignore the vision of them that he saw in her blood, Valentine goes against his orders to execute Prophecy and kidnaps her instead. The attraction between them grows as they search for the truth behind the prophecy, battle a dark evil that threatens to destroy the world, and attempt to evade their families and the Law Keepers.

When the truth about her is revealed, will Prophecy be strong enough to face it? Will they discover a way to save the world from Hell? And will they finally see past the hatred bred into them by their families and surrender to their love?

The first novel in the Vampires Realm series, Prophecy: Child of Light, is part one in an epic tale of love and war that is sure to capture your heart and leave you craving more.


ebook price: $0.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 135000 words
rating: sultry
released: March 2007
Book 1 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Prophecy:%20Child%20of%20Light%20[book%201]
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Prophecy/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000801048/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Prophecy-Child-Of-Light/mix-rDOnD6cECkGermYtAHD9Dw/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/prophecy/_/R-400000000000000248920



EXCERPTTrapped.

That's what she was, what she had been for as long as she could remember.

The walls around her had seemed to close in as the years rolled on, making the mansion increasingly unbearable, and drawing her ever more to the world outside her bedroom window.

Rain rattled against the windowpanes, creating an eerie melody when combined with the howl of the wind cutting through the power lines. Watching the streaks of water coursing down the windows, Prophecy ignored the ramblings of her blood-mother, Iona, and kept focus on the outside world.

She slowly ran the brush down her long auburn hair, smoothing away the knots and tangles while she stared out into the night.

Something stirred in the darkness and her gaze shifted there. The hunting group crossed the grounds towards the gates. There were eleven of them tonight, one less than last night because one had fallen. Talk of it had reached her even before her mother knew. The walls had ears in this house and Prophecy knew the owner of them.

A chance meeting with the other bloodline that lived in this city had led to a fight in which her family had lost a son.

Not that she cared.

What was it to her who died out on the hunt? She didn't know them, didn't know anyone outside a set sphere of people.

Her brown eyes followed the group as they reached the gates and she watched them slip into the darkness beyond. She knew where they were going. They were heading down into the city, down to a place she'd never been. Losing sight of them, she glanced at the high stone wall that surrounded the grounds.

It was the final barrier between her and the city. The outside wall of her prison.

A wall she longed to breach.

"Where do they go?" she said in a distant tone of voice, sounding as disinterested as possible.

She heard a swish of material and felt her mother close behind her.

"To hunt," her mother replied in a matter of fact tone. She took the brush from her.

Prophecy mused her mother's answer while she stared at the rain-soaked scenery and felt the brush in her hair, her mother's delicate fingers working through the knots.

To hunt.

It sounded so enthralling, so dangerous and dark. She wished she knew what it was to hunt, but she'd never been allowed out into the night with the others, not even with her so-called brother, Arkalus.

"Can I go too?" she asked, knowing what the answer would be, but hoping that tonight it might be different from the thousands of times that she'd asked in the past.

"I am afraid not," her mother replied and smoothed down her hair.

"Why not?" Prophecy challenged and turned to face her mother.

Iona didn't look at all concerned by Prophecy's outburst. Her face was a mask of calm, and Prophecy's eyes roamed over it, taking in the luscious black of her mother's curled hair and the wicked red that smeared her lips. Her eyes were surrounded by layers of black and brown, making them sinfully dark and alluring against her creamy pale skin. In all the years that Prophecy could remember her, Iona had always looked this way—like a true child of the night. Her mother was a fitting master of their bloodline, never straying from the tradition of dress or habit. Never straying from the laws.

All her life Prophecy had been taught to obey the rules of their society and of their house, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to obey her mother. She could feel the lure of the outside world keenly, as though it was in her blood, and she could no longer ignore it. She had tried. She had spent night after night resisting the call of the city and the promise of excitement it whispered in her ear. Now her blood was screaming at her to escape the confines of the mansion and taste the thrill of the hunt, to take hold of it and live the life she was born to.

"You're too young." A fond smile teased her mother's lips and she raised a slim hand. She pushed Prophecy's hair behind her ear, clearing it from her face. "Soon, maybe."

Prophecy allowed herself a small smile. It was the first time her mother had said that she would be allowed to hunt soon and it ignited a spark of hope inside her. She glanced at the window, still smiling serenely as her eyes followed the spatter of the raindrops against the glass.

"But first, you must complete your training."

A sigh escaped Prophecy's lips while she thought about that. Each night she woke and went through the rigmarole of training, and each night she was held back while the others went out to hunt. All she wished for was one night of freedom.

One thrilling night out hunting, even if it were with Arkalus.

Then she would be happy.

Then she would gladly spend eternity cooped up in the mansion.

She watched her mother leave and turned her attention back to the rain-soaked world outside her window. In the distance, she could see the pinpricks of light that were the buildings in the centre of the city.

Prague.

She longed to go there.

During her studies in the library, she'd read every book about the city and its dark history, even when she was supposed to be reading about her family and their own black and bloodied past. She didn't care much for them or the other family that presided over the city; she just wanted to be out there in amongst the people, and feeling the thrill of the chase.

She wanted her first taste of a kill.

Standing, she ran her fingers around the smooth white column of her throat while thinking about killing her first victim and her large dark eyes scanned the horizon. She caught sight of two guards patrolling the grounds.

How was it everyone else was allowed to hunt when she was forced to stay at home? She'd done her training, knew how to execute a clean kill, and could defend herself from the other family if she needed to.

She was ready.

Why didn't anyone see that?

Why was she being held back?

Casting a glance around her dimly lit room, she stopped when her eyes came to rest on her wardrobe. A mischievous smile wove its way across her lips.

She would see this city. She would feel the excitement of the hunt and learn the taste of fresh human blood, and no one would even know about it.

Tomorrow, the night was hers.

* * * *

The city was dark and clouds hung heavy in the air, weighing down upon it as they threatened rain. Prophecy slipped through the black shadows. Quieter than a cat, she moved from street to street, invisible to the people walking them as the nightclubs turned out.

She froze when she entered the cemetery, hurriedly crouching low and turning her face to the sky as a rumble of thunder echoed overhead. Her eyes narrowed and ran over the clouds, assessing just how long she had before the downpour reached her.

Just enough time to hunt.

She listened to the chatter of people as they passed by on the other side of the wall, unaware of the creatures they shared their world with.

Creatures like her.

She couldn't remember a time she had been like them. She'd never been able to remember it. Her kin barely spoke about their lives as humans, but she knew they could remember them. On the rare instances they'd mentioned them, she'd always been listening from the shadows. Their conversations had left her wondering about her life before she was a vampire and why she couldn't remember it.

The voices drifted into the distance and she stood up. She moved swiftly into the inviting darkness of the graveyard, allowing it to envelope her and hide her from the world.

She slipped from tomb to tomb, sharpening her senses more and more with each passing second and waiting with baited breath for someone to stray from the human world and into hers.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She pressed her back flush against the wall of a crypt when her sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps heading towards her. Her eyes closed as the person neared and she listened to their erratic movements. Inhaling deeply, she tried to catch their scent in the damp air.

Lightning forked in the distance, the thunder rolling above her just a few seconds later.

She only had a short time before the rain came, but it was all she was going to need.

She grinned when the man she was tracking stumbled and fell.

This man had been drinking.

Smoothing her clothes, she checked her appearance and then slipped out of the shadows and into the path of her quarry.

He stopped, his eyes raking over her as she stood awaiting him.

"What do we have here?" he breathed in a thick Czech accent.

She braced herself when he took a step towards her, his smile widening. Her stomach tightened with nerves and she struggled to keep her focus while she repeatedly went over what she needed to do in her head.

She managed a smile, dipped her head slightly and looked up at him through hooded eyes, luring him in. She fluttered her eyelashes when he stumbled forwards. The stench of alcohol came off him in waves and intoxicated her senses as it mixed with the scent of his blood.

He wasn't a large man, barely the same height as her and nearly as thin. His sandy hair hung in loose, wet curls, like a shaggy mop on top of his head. She wondered if someone had dunked him in one of the city fountains. He couldn't have been caught in the rain because it hadn't reached them yet.

"All alone…pretty girl like you…city like this," he slurred.

She kept her smile steady, holding her nerve and waiting for the right moment to strike.

When he came within arms reach, she lowered her head completely, turning it away from him so she was almost looking behind her.

So her face was hidden in shadow.

"I don't come out often," she said, hesitating while she built up the courage to take her first life.

"Shame…not enough girls like you in this city. You shouldn't hide away." He stepped up to her.

His fingers brushed against her cheek. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Anticipation curled like a snake in the pit of her stomach and she was ready to strike.

"Not enough girls like you in the world," he murmured and she smiled.

"You'd be right there." She raised her head as her fangs descended and in one swift move, she was on him.

Grasping his arms, she bit deep into his neck, hoping her aim was true and she would catch a vein strong enough to drink from.

Her hands wrestled with his. He struggled against her in a desperate attempt to break free. She sank her teeth deeper into his neck and was rewarded with a mouthful of blood. It tasted sweeter than the rarest wine as it slipped down her throat and she couldn't stop herself from drinking deeply. It was intoxicating. He started to cry out and she covered his mouth roughly with her hand, stopping him from drawing attention to them. She held him tighter and tried to contain him so she could feed properly. He was wriggling against her now and it only served to drive her on, heightening the thrill of her first kill. The taste of fresh, warm blood made her fingers curl and she didn't even notice that her nails were digging into his flesh.

All she could think about, all she could feel, was the all-consuming pleasure of his blood.

His heart stopped and she released him, hearing him slump to the ground at her feet.

Her head fell backwards and she lost herself in the sensations running rampant through her, potent feelings she'd never experienced before. Her mind swam with desire while she savoured the divinity of what she'd tasted.

* * * *

From the shadows, Valentine watched her, his eyes following her every move. She wiped her fingers across her mouth, licking and sucking every last drop of blood off them as though it would be her last. He'd never seen one take so much pleasure from the hunt and the kill. He'd never witnessed one lose themselves so much in the feed.

Slipping out of the darkness, he walked towards her, moving silently for fear of alerting her to his presence before he was willing to make himself known.

She was enthralling. Still wrapt in delight, she ran her fingers down her body, clearly buzzing from the fresh blood in her veins. He arched a brow at her when he stopped at a distance, close enough to see who she was, but far away enough that she still didn't notice him. She ran her tongue along her soft full lips, clearing them of any remaining blood.

"And what have we here?" he said.

Prophecy started as the velvet-edged, strong voice roused her from her haze. For a moment, she thought about answering him by mentioning that he'd just said exactly what her last victim had, but then she caught his scent and froze.

He wasn't human.

He was a vampire.

Her eyes shot open and she stared at him, her senses becoming painfully sharp when he stared straight back.

His eyes were sharp, narrowing as he studied her. "Who are you?"

She remained mute. She could sense a power in him that was nearly as strong as her mother's and she knew instinctively that he was from the other family. Her eyes remained fixed on him when thunder rumbled threateningly overhead and she blinked rapidly when fat raindrops began to fall. The sound of them filled the silence. She was saturated in a matter of seconds.

Those seconds seemed to stretch into minutes while she stared at him and he looked back at her. The dead body of the man she'd killed lay prostrate between them, marking a line that she chose as the boundary between her and the newcomer. If he stepped near it, she'd bolt in the opposite direction and head for the safety of home.

Until then, she would stay where she was and stand her ground as she'd been taught.

Lightning illuminated the turbulent blanket of grey above them. She noticed that his hair was black against his skin; a tangled spiky mess that made his slim face look even thinner. He stood straight, his head tilted back a fraction and his focus wholly on her. His eyes were as green as hers were when she was in her vampire guise and she was drawn to looking into them as he stared at her with a critical coldness.

He took a step towards her and she moved back one, keeping the distance between them steady.

"Why are you alone?" His words were an obvious attempt to get her to speak. She kept silent. "Not hunting with the pack?"

She felt like turning that question against him, but she was trapped in his gaze and answered without thinking.

"They won't let me. I'm still learning." It came out sounding sulky and she lifted her chin in defiance when he pulled an expression of mock sympathy.

"Learning what?" He took another step towards her. This time she remained standing in the same spot, not letting him back her up any more.

"To hunt," she said.

Her senses stretched out and assessed all avenues of escape around her. Now that he was closing the gap, she could feel just how powerful he was and her instincts were telling her to run before he got too close. She knew she would be able to outrun him. He was taller than her, but had a slightly heavier build, which would slow him down, even with his heightened abilities.

He laughed mockingly and then gave her a serious look when he took another step towards her, cutting the distance between them down to only a few feet.

"To hunt is in your blood." His voice lowered, his intimate tone sending a shiver down her spine. He looked deep into her eyes and held her gaze while he moved towards her. "To kill, your nature."

She blinked.

"Who is your sire, little one?" He purred the words at her, his sensuous voice lulling her. Her eyes closed for a split-second before she got the better of herself and they shot open.

She raised her head in an attempt to show him that she wasn't scared of him. She wasn't going to answer his questions and she could see he wasn't pleased about that when a shadow of annoyance crossed his face.

Her eyes widened when his teeth extended, his eyes shifting into their blue state as he revealed his true self. She gasped when he closed the gap between them and caught hold of her before she could move. She should have run when she'd had the chance. She shouldn't have come out alone.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she felt as though the tables had been turned on her while she struggled against him, trying to escape his grasp like her victim had attempted to break free of hers. She flinched away from him when he held her firm and whispered words to her.

"Do not be frightened. You know what I am going to do," he said and she closed her eyes, leaning away from him when he neared her neck.

She had to block him, had to stop him from seeing the visions of her past from her blood like he wanted to. She desperately tried to remember what she'd been taught, but forgot it the instant his lips brushed against her skin, sending shivers of desire racing through her, washing away all fear.

She swallowed hard and grimaced when his sharp incisors penetrated her, sinking deep into her. She stilled for a moment as pain swept through her, clearing the clouds of desire from her mind. He pulled on her blood and his fingers tightened around her upper arms. She struggled against him.

Escape.

She needed to escape.

* * * *

As the images that were swimming in his head came into order, Valentine stumbled backwards and stared at her. She was standing before him, clutching at her neck, her eyes wide and full of fear. He blinked once, twice, and then frowned when she bolted out of the cemetery gates, leaving him alone in the darkness.

He stared at the place where she'd been not two seconds before and then brought his fingers up to his mouth. He brushed the blood from his lips and thought about what had just happened. He thought about what he'd seen.

Could it be?

He glanced at the blood staining his fingers.

"Prophecy."


Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Prophecy:%20Child%20of%20Light%20[book%201]
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Prophecy/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000801048/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Prophecy-Child-Of-Light/mix-rDOnD6cECkGermYtAHD9Dw/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/prophecy/_/R-400000000000000248920

Manday has come to my blog

A couple of months ago, I renamed monday as Manday on my Facebook, and posted delicious pictures of my man of the moment to brighten the start to everyone's week and give us the strength to face it. Now, I'm bringing Manday to my blog too!

Here's your delicious sweet treat to start this week!


 
Super-yum, right? He looks as though he could use someone to cool him down... any volunteers?

;)

Flash fiction plot device poll results

Well, you've all had your time to vote on the poll I set up to decide the plot device that will be used in a piece of flash fiction I'll be writing for Julian and Lauren from Love Immortal , and the results are in.

77 people voted in the poll and the votes fell like this:

27 votes - Moonlight
18 votes - An island
16 votes - Red roses
12 votes - A temple
4 votes  - A tower

I was going to keep this a secret, but I'll tell you all now. I was being sneaky and told you I was going to write one piece of flash fiction based on the winner of the last poll, with the plot device as the winner of this poll, but really I'm writing three pieces of flash fiction. First, second and third on the character poll are being matched with first, second and third on this poll. This means that I'll be writing the following pieces of flash fiction for posting this year:

Julian and Lauren with plot device of moonlight
Apollyon and Serenity with plot device of an island (oh, you don't know how PERFECT this one was, but you'll have to wait and read Her Guardian Angel to see why I'm so excited these two matched up!)

Hyperion with a plot device of red roses

Are we all looking forward to these now?

I'll get them written when I can and they'll probably be spread throughout the remainder of the year.

I wish Tatyana and Nicolae had come third as red roses would've been a cute device for them, but you guys are obsessed with Hyperion!

Forbidden Blood - Vampire Venators Series #1 - Chapter One

As part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour , I'm going to be posting the first FIVE chapters of my next release, Forbidden Blood.

Forbidden Blood is a dark vampire romance novel, and the first book in the Vampire Venators series. I'll be introducing you to a whole new world and a whole new type of vampire, and I hope that you'll enjoy the book and want more in the series.



Forbidden Blood
Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampire's grasp, it turns out she's the lead he's been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearn's world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exterior—hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Forbidden Blood is book one in the Vampire Venators series and a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.

genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 126000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 18th 2011
Book 1 in the Vampire Venators series



CHAPTER ONE
She shouldn't have looked.

Amber hurried through the dark side streets of central London, heading for the nearest Underground station. She glanced back over her shoulder. The man from the courtyard of the redbrick factory building stood on the other side of a busy road. The hood of his black coat obscured his face but Amber could feel his eyes on her—intent and cold.

She turned away, huddled up into her thin black suit jacket, and carried on walking. She could feel the man still staring at her.

The courtyard flashed across her mind. Two men with sacks and another sweeping disinfectant out into the street. She had never seen the wooden gates open before, but there was always a puddle of disinfectant outside in the mornings. What did they have in those bags? What were they trying to wash away?

Car headlights snapped her out of her thoughts. A white Audi sports car purred past her, rear lights flashing bright crimson in the darkness as it stopped at the junction ahead and then turned and roared away.

Amber undid the button on her jacket and one on her white shirt, hot from her leaving party and panic. She had to get a grip. She glanced back again, shifting her handbag on her shoulder. No one was there save a few Londoners making their way home from the pubs or going to nightclubs. She hated walking around the city so late at night. It always got her jittery and the few drinks she'd had with her work colleagues at the pub weren't helping.

It wasn't far to the Underground station. If she focused on thinking about good things, she would be there before she knew it and then she would feel foolish for being so nervous. She smiled when she thought about her leaving party. She had worked for the company for years, but it was time for a change and she couldn't wait to start her new life. In only a few weeks, she would be working in Paris. She would be able to see her brother more often and would be able to soak up a different culture. It seemed like a dream and she was so caught up in it that she didn't care about all the work she still had to do—the crash course in French, even though it was a British firm she was going to work for and there would be English speakers there, all the packing and things she had to arrange.

Amber turned down a narrow one-way street. A light on the wall of a building above her blinked on and off. Footsteps rang out behind her, echoing along the road. Pleasant daydreams about her future life in Paris disappeared. She walked faster, her heart beating quicker now as fearful thoughts crowded her mind.

She had almost reached the other end of the road when two men appeared, walking towards her. She went to cross the road to avoid them but they split up and motioned to each other. Her hazel eyes shot wide when she recognised them from the courtyard. She turned to go back the other way.

The hooded man stood at the other end of the street.

Amber searched for a way to get past him. Why had he followed her? Her heart beat harder. Long heavy black sacks. Pink disinfectant.

Bodies?

Blood?

A hand around her wrist sent a jolt through her and she tried to pull free. One man twisted her right arm behind her back and the other grabbed her left wrist. They pulled her backwards into the shadows.

Amber kicked her legs and opened her mouth to scream. A heavy gloved hand covered it. The smell of leather filled her nostrils and she breathed hard through her nose, staring wild-eyed at the man in front of her. The hood obscured his face but she could see his jaw, see the hint of a smile on his lips.

He nodded to the two men behind her and their grip increased. Amber flailed, desperate to escape. It was impossible. She stamped on their feet, kicked their legs, wriggled with all of her strength, but they wouldn't let her go.

The man motioned to one of the others holding her. The moment he removed his hand from her mouth, another covered it, keeping her silent. She tried to call out anyway, her eyes darting between her attackers and the street. The hooded man smiled at her, as though amused by the muffled sound and her panic.

Amber stilled when he reached inside his long black coat and pulled out a knife. Her eyes went round and her heart raced, fear thundering in her veins.

He was going to kill her.

She shook her head and didn't stop, not when the man took another step back and not even when he raised his left hand and drew the knife down the palm of his leather glove, cutting into his flesh beneath. Not a trace of pain showed on what she could see of his face. Was he trying to frighten her by showing how strong he was? She was already petrified. He stepped towards her and she redoubled her fight against the men, kicking with all of her might.

"Hurry," the man to her right said in a low voice as her heel connected with his shin. "Get to it already."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and a chill swept in constant waves over her skin, stealing her strength. She shook her head again and begged the man not to hurt her, but the other man's hand over her mouth turned her words into nothing more than a frightened murmur. Futile.

The hooded man stepped up to her, balled his cut hand into a fist, and raised it towards her face. What was he going to do? She kept her eyes fixed on the knife in his other hand, afraid that he would stab her if she dared to look away from it.

She gasped when the man holding her mouth released it but didn't have time to call out for help. He pressed his fingers into her cheeks, forced her mouth open and tilted her head back. Her gaze snapped to the hooded man's hand. He held it above her and drops of blood trembled on the edge of his black glove.

He was going to make her drink his blood.

She tried to move but couldn't. The men's grip on her increased again, fingers pressing hard into her arms, bruising her. The drop fell, landing on her tongue, and another quickly followed it. The hooded man tightened his fist and more dripped into her mouth. She tried not to swallow, didn't want to taste his blood. It slid down her throat, one drop after another, until she wanted to be sick.

And then she felt strange.

A hollow feeling opened inside her and her mind emptied.

His hand hovered above her, feeding her blood, and it no longer felt repulsive or frightening. It tasted good. Thick, heavy fog rolled into her mind, weighing her head down. She closed her eyes and then struggled to open them again.

The men behind her released her arms.

Amber stood there facing the hooded man, her shoulders relaxed and her head tilted to one side. He wavered in her vision as he raised the knife and licked the blade. It didn't scare her. Her handbag slid down her right arm to the crook of her elbow as she raised her hand. She held it out to him, palm up, and blinked languidly.

He took it in his, so gently that she smiled, and ran the knife over her palm. The sting of pain was pleasurable, flooding her with hazy warmth from head to toe, awakening blissful awareness of his touch and his hungry intent.

The man lifted her hand towards his mouth and dipped his head. Was he going to kiss it better? She continued to smile, amused by his chivalry.

What a nice man.

His tongue came out. White lights flashed across him.

They blinded her and she flinched away, afraid of the bright light that drowned out the world. The man released her hand and was behind her in an instant. Her handbag dropped to the floor and she tried to blink away the white spots in her vision and they multiplied.

The sound of footsteps echoed in her mind and she cursed the other men for fleeing. They would pay for leaving her here to deal with this Venator.

Her hands tightened into fists.

She couldn't risk fighting the Venator but she had to taste the blood. She raised her hand towards her mouth. This was an unexpected twist but she could work it in her favour. First, she had to be sure she was a Source, and then she would take care of the Venator.

What was a Source?

She stopped with her hand mid-way to her mouth. Blood pooled on her palm, black in the low light.

What was she doing?

The door of the white car opened and Amber looked at it. It was the Audi. A man stepped out and she moved back. Damn interfering Venator.

Amber frowned at her thoughts. What was a Venator? What was going on? She tried to remember but her thoughts became tangled with others, ones she didn't understand. They didn't feel as though they were her own.

She turned towards the hooded man. The car lights shone on the lower half of his face, highlighting his jaw and mouth. A tilt of a smile touched his lips. She needed to taste the blood.

"Get in the car," a male voice said behind her, deep and intense.

She refused. She had to taste the blood and then leave. She raised her hand and poked her tongue out. A taste was all it would take. Then she would know.

"Now!"

Amber jumped, startled by the volume of that word. She looked at her palm, horrified by what she had been about to do, and then at the hooded man. He continued to smile at her and she felt compelled to do as he silently wished.

"Car, now!" the man behind her said. He was right. She had to get away from the man who had cut her but she couldn't move.

Her thoughts became strange and distant again, and no matter how many times she told herself to run, her feet wouldn't cooperate. She wanted to go with the hooded man, even though she knew he would kill her.

Her head spun.

She took a step towards him, her mind heavy and thick again.

Someone grabbed her arm from behind and then a bright blue flash burst out of the corner of her eye. She stared at the silver handgun beside her head and the strange blue marks on the man's hand. They glowed. Shiny. Amber reached out to touch them.

The new man moved his arm away from her and pulled her back, so she was almost behind him. She tried to focus on his arm and the gun. The fog descended on her mind again, swamping everything, turning her numb and empty. Her gaze moved of its own accord, shifting to the man's face. Silver hair. Green eyes. Damned Venator.

She struggled against his grip, clawing at his hand.

"Calm down." He glanced at her and then back at the hooded man. "Lower the knife and come peacefully."

"Peacefully?" She yanked on her arm in an attempt to free herself, twisting her wrist in his tight grip and not caring that it hurt. She had to get away from him. The silver-haired man turned her way, his vivid green eyes bright in the car headlights and boring into hers. She sneered. "I will never come peacefully, Venator."

"Let her go," he said and she shook her head.

Amber kept shaking it, trying to clear the weird dull feeling and get her mind into order. How did she know this man? The knowledge she sought shifted and evaded her grasp, as though it was a living thing and could anticipate her. The haze in her head lifted long enough that she saw the silver-haired man clearly at last. His eyes were cold as he stared into hers, pupils narrowed and an edge of darkness about his handsome face.

"I said, let her go." He turned to the hooded man.

Amber looked there too. She couldn't see them, but she could feel his eyes on her, and could feel him inside her head and her body. She scrubbed her throat with her hand, her mouth, trying to get him out of her. The silver-haired man held her tighter. What was he waiting for? Shoot him. He had tried to kill her. He had put something inside her and now she felt strange.

The silver-haired man started to pull the trigger.

"No!" she screamed and knocked his hand away. She stared at his raised gun and her outstretched hand. What the hell was she doing? She wanted the man dead, so why had she stopped him?

The man holding her shoved her backwards and then ducked away from her. A silver streak shot past her wide eyes. The knife clattered to the floor a short distance behind her and a thin dark line flowed down the man's neck from his ear, soaking into his white shirt. He raised his gun again but she grabbed it and pulled it around to point at her.

He froze.

The hooded man laughed.

Amber's gaze shot from the barrel of the gun to him. She stared at his mouth.

Fangs.

He grinned and it felt as though he was looking straight through her. Whispered voices filled her head, clashing with each other so she couldn't make out what they were saying. She tried to focus on one of them but couldn't. The clamour in her mind rose and a deep sense that she wasn't alone washed through her. Someone else was in her head with her. The hooded man's smile widened. Him. How? One of the voices rang out above the rest and her questions fell away, leaving her docile again. He knew something about her that she didn't. Something important. She had to know too.

She took a step towards him and he was gone, leaving the street empty in front of her. Why? She went to walk after him and frowned when her arm lagged behind her, held fast by something. Her eyes drifted to her wrist and the hand tightly grasping it.

"Are you all right?" the silver-haired man said and her head suddenly felt lighter.

Her gaze ran up his left arm to his shoulder. A trail of blood stained his white shirt and she followed the drips and dashes downwards to the black holster around his shoulders. His gun was in it but not secured. If she made a lunge for it, would he reach it before her? Amber shook that thought away. This man had saved her. Why would she do such a thing to him? Because he was dangerous. She didn't want to go with him. She wanted to find the man. The feeling ran deep in her blood, flowing through her veins, compelling her. She needed to find the man.

This Venator would be her downfall.

Amber shook her head again and the haze in her mind dissipated for long enough that she felt her normal self again. Her panic and fear returned full force, crashing over her. What was happening to her? She kept thinking about things she wasn't familiar with, like Venators and Sources, and wanted to do things that went against her nature, like injuring someone.

The man held his bleeding ear with his right hand. There were pale tribal markings on it. They wove down over his wrist and under his white shirtsleeve. Those markings had glowed ethereally earlier. She couldn't have imagined it.

"You need to come with me," he said, and before she could take in what was happening, he dragged her to the white Audi R8 and pushed her into it on the passenger side.

He closed the door, picked up the knife and her handbag from the pavement, and rounded the car. Amber sat there, thoughtless and empty, her eyes fixed on the spot where the hooded man had been. She should have gone with him.

No. She shouldn't have. She didn't know what she was thinking anymore.

The car moved and she became gradually aware of the man next to her. Her gaze slid to him. He was handsome, his green eyes fixed on the road now, shadowed by a frown of concentration, and the messy finger-length strands of his silver hair brushed back out of his face. He didn't look old enough to have such white hair. He seemed barely five years her senior.

Venator.

It echoed in her head, as though something inside her knew it applied to him even when she had never heard the word before tonight.

"What is your name?" His deep voice soothed her, easing away some of her tension even when she felt she should be on alert, or escaping.

Amber didn't reply. Her eyes dropped to the gun tucked under his left arm when he clipped the leather strap over it, securing it in place. It unnerved her but not as much as the fact that she wanted to use it against him, or the fact that his arm had glowed blue and the other man had fangs. None of that made sense, even when she felt it did.

The man looked at her and she glanced up, meeting his gaze. The streetlights flashed on his face, stealing all colour and warmth from his eyes. They were so cold that she couldn't tear hers away. She stared into them, chilled by the detached air that he emanated but fascinated by him at the same time. Was he as empty inside as his eyes? She had never met anyone who looked as hollow and emotionless as this man did. Something terrible must have happened to him to make him look this way.

She remembered the way his arm had glowed.

Inhuman.

Her head spun.

Venator.

She wanted to get away from him. Her priority was to escape, not fall under a spell.

They pulled to a halt at a set of traffic lights and her hand went straight for the door. She shoved it open and the man grabbed her, pulling her back against him. The door slammed shut without her touching it and the locks clunked into place. She elbowed the man in the ribs, struggled out of his grip and lunged for the door again, frantically tugging on the handle. It wouldn't open. Her eyes darted over the moulded leather of the door. No way of unlocking it. The Venator would stop her before she could find the button on the dashboard that would unlock the doors. She spat out a curse. Never mind. If she couldn't escape, she could at least taste her blood.

"You cannot leave. You are in too much danger out there."

Amber stared down at the cut on her right palm. It had bled all over her trousers.

She had to lick the blood and taste it.

She raised her hand but the man caught her wrist.

"What happened?" He frowned at the cut.

Amber tried to get her hand back but his grip was vice tight. Interfering Venator. She gritted her teeth and twisted her arm. He didn't let go. Her stomach turned when she saw the blood on her palm and her vision distorted. She stopped struggling and looked at the man. His expression was soft, silently reassuring, and the longer she stared at him, the calmer she felt, until the sense that she wasn't in control of herself disappeared again.

Amber tried to remember what had happened to her hand but it slipped through her fingers every time she came close, as though she didn't really want to recall it.

"He gave you his blood, didn't he?"

That memory popped to the forefront of her mind and she nodded. The man had made her drink his blood. It had been disgusting and she could feel it inside her.

"Hold on." He released her hand, put the car into gear and roared off the white line.

Amber did. She grabbed the edge of the seat with her left hand as they raced through the streets of London so fast they were a blur. She couldn't take her eyes off the road and the cars as they swerved around them, barely missing each one. Her heart lodged in her throat, her right hand trembling where she held it out in front of her. What was happening? It felt as though she had slipped into some dreadful fantasy world and she wanted out.

He turned the car around a corner so sharply that the tyres screeched and she slammed against the door, and then they were going down a slope towards an underground garage. The car spun around in the brightly lit space, coming to a halt facing the exit, and the engine cut out. A grey shutter slowly rolled down, eclipsing the world outside.

Amber stared at it, still trying to catch up.

The man had given her blood, and then he had cut her. She needed to taste her blood before the Venator stopped her. She was about to lick her palm when the door beside her opened and he pulled her out of the car.

"Damned Venator!" She kneed him in the groin and ran for the garage door.

He reached it before her and stood in her path, his eyes darker and colder than ever. He glared at her and drew his gun.

"Let her go," he whispered, voice strained.

She grinned, satisfied by the pain in his voice.

"No." Amber tried to pass him.

"You do not want to leave, woman. You do not want to do as he bids."

Amber stopped. "As who bids?"

The strange feeling inside her grew worse, something telling her to keep going and not listen to him. She had to get past the man and drink her blood. That was all that mattered now.

"Listen to my voice." He put the gun away and stepped up to her.

The moment his hands touched her shoulders, Amber felt different. She stared into his eyes and her thoughts fell into better order, enough that she could recall things clearly again.

Her heart pounded.

"The man made me drink his blood... I saw him in that place with the gates and the disinfectant and then they were after me. He cut me." She held her hand out and it trembled between them, fluttering in time with her heart. "I just want to go home. I want this nightmare to end. Please? I can't take this. Please?"

The man stepped back, his eyes still fixed intently on her face, the frown not leaving his.

"The man will come for you."

"Fangs," she whispered and her eyes widened. Her heart missed a beat and then slammed painfully against her ribs. "He had fangs. He was going to drink my blood."

"I will not hurt you. You must ignore your instincts and listen to me. I will not allow him to harm you. You will be safe here," he said, so calmly and softly that the deep waves of fear surging through her eased to gentle ripples. "He will find you if you leave. I can protect you. I will not allow the man to harm you."

Amber looked at the closed garage door and then back at him.

There was honesty in his green eyes and her options were limited. Either she stayed here with him, or she ventured outside where there were monsters. If she did that, and the man found her, she wouldn't escape him a second time. He had fangs. He had been about to drink her blood.

Something inside her said that she would be fine outside, and that she wanted to find the hooded man again. She wanted him to taste her blood. Desired it more than anything. This man was lying to her.

No. Amber closed her eyes, battling the compulsion to leave, and then looked back into the silver-haired man's eyes.

The other man had wanted to kill her and drink her blood. This man had saved her. He said he could protect her.

"I will bandage your hand and make you feel better if you come upstairs," he said in a low voice, one that soothed her ears and quelled her fear. The desire to escape him drifted away, replaced by a need to remain.

"Will you tell me what's happening to me? I feel strange."

He held his hand out, pointing to his left. "If you come with me."

Amber looked at the dark grey metal door far to her right across the empty garage and then back at the man. His gaze held hers, cold but honest, and she ignored the voice inside her that was screaming for her to leave and taste her blood.

She nodded and went with him.

FREE kindle book - Reunion (Vampires Realm Series) by F E Heaton

I have a FREE Kindle book on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk right now. Yep, you can get your mitts on Reunion, a vampire romance novella in my Vampires Realm series, for absolutely nothing. It's also available at the Sony Reader Store, Barnes and Noble Nook Store, and Apple iBookstore, as well as my own website, Smashwords, and Feedbooks!

Don't worry if you haven't read anything in my Vampires Realm romance series yet. Reunion stands alone and you won't miss a thing by not having read the other books, but hopefully you'll be enticed to try a few out. Most of the stories in the Vampires Realm romance series that I write as F E Heaton do stand alone, so you can pick and choose which to read.



ReunionF E Heaton
The Law Keeper for the Venia bloodline, Marise doesn't want to return home but duty dictates that she must investigate the attempt on her lord's life by another vampire.

When she sets eyes on her lord, Marise realises that she might have been called for another reason and that the attack on her lord might not have been by a vampire after all. Her only source of information is a guard who was mortally wounded during the attack, a guard who turns out to be the man who broke her heart fifty years ago.

The sight of Jascha so close to death triggers a battle in Marise's heart that will see her struggle to turn her back on him and her family again, and maintain her sense of duty. Is fifty years enough to forgive the one you love for breaking your heart? Will Marise finally confess to everything she's held inside and kept hidden from him? And can Jascha convince Marise to listen to what he has to say and make her love him again?


ebook price: FREE EBOOK
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 27100 words
rating: sultry
released: January 2008
Book 6 in the Vampires Realm series

Available as a free e-book download from:
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