Felicity Heaton's Blog, page 31
April 1, 2014
Teaseday – Claimed by a Demon King (Eternal Mates Paranormal Romance Series Book 2) – Excerpt
Today’s tease comes from the book Claimed by a Demon King, which is the second book in my popular Eternal Mates romance series. Read on for this Tuesday’s tease…
Sable’s world disappeared in a swirl of cold black shadows. She closed her eyes against it. The heat of the sun on her skin gave way to the icy chill and then became a blast of moist warm air. The shrouding silence of the portal shattered under the explosion of grunts and roars and the metallic clang of weapons clashing.
The scent of morning became the odour of blood.
Sable snapped her eyes open and her heart leaped and pounded, quickening her blood and preparing her body.
The first thing she saw was Thorne shirtless and swinging his enormous broadsword at an equally massive bare-chested warrior. His opponent blocked with his own blade and growled, flashing huge fangs as he swung a meaty fist. The blow connected with Thorne’s right cheek and he stumbled, grunting as he struggled to regain his footing and ready his blade to defend himself.
Sable’s hand instantly went to the folded crossbow at her side and she flicked it open, pushing away from Bleu at the same time. Another immense demon attacked Thorne before he managed to right himself and the dagger sliced across the Third King’s thickly muscled right shoulder.
Thorne roared and finally launched himself at the males, taking them both on at once. They weren’t alone. The wide oval courtyard of the dark stone fortress was in pandemonium. Sable counted at least two dozen demons, all focused on him with their weapons drawn and at the ready. No other fought on his side.
The sight of him standing alone against so many adversaries, bleeding from multiple wounds on his torso and arms, brought a red haze down over her vision.
Sable launched herself into the fray just as one of the males attacked. Her heart raced, pumping adrenaline that made her feel high as she reached beneath her left arm, slipped her fingers into the rings on two of her throwing knives, and hurled them with deadly accuracy at the warrior. They nailed him in the left of his broad chest and his shoulder, and she didn’t give him a chance to recover his focus. She loosed a barbed dart from her crossbow at him, reloaded in the space of a heartbeat, and shot the other male now attacking Thorne.
The barbed dart embedded into the demon’s left thigh and he grunted, his eyes glowing crimson as he turned his attention on her. Good. She had to give Thorne a moment to recover his wits and get back in the fight.
The warrior stomped towards her, blood pulsing down his leg with each step, turning his black leathers slick and shiny. He growled, his top lip peeling back off his fangs, and shook his head. His dusky horns curled further, forming a loop and flaring forwards into twin dangerous points near his cheekbones.
Sable made a mental note to avoid them and drew the short blade strapped to her other thigh, ready to fight him. He swung the moment he was within reach and she ducked beneath the long silver blade, rolled forwards and came to her feet behind him. She slashed up his back, her knife splitting tanned flesh and scraping over bone, and grinned as he arched forwards and roared.
The thrill chasing through her blood increased, consuming her, driving her to keep going and embrace wildness it unleashed within her. She had been born to fight monsters and she felt it now more than ever as she faced off against the enormous demon males, swiftly calculating their every move before they could make it, ready for anything.
Sable grabbed a bolt with a thick cylinder on the end from her quiver pouch. Explosive dart. God she loved these things. She loaded it onto the small crossbow and swung to her left, aiming at the group of males storming towards her.
She grinned and pulled the trigger.
A large bloodstained hand clamped down on the weapon, grasping it and holding the bolt in place.
Sable growled in frustration and released her crossbow, leaving it in the demon’s hand. She thrust hard with her blade, blindly stabbing at her new enemy.
The huge male grabbed her wrist before she could drive the cold steel into his flesh. The tip pressed into his muscular chest and she froze when she realised it was Thorne frowning down at her, his rough masculine features crinkled in confusion.
“You seek to harm me, Little Female? I thought we had discussed this before?”
His deep gravelly voice washed over her and his thumb caressed the inside of her wrist. Sable trembled. The hot shivery ache rolling through her increased in intensity as he tugged on her wrist, gently drawing her closer to him, his red gaze holding hers, commanding and powerful. She couldn’t break its hold on her. She tilted her head right back, lost in his eyes as he towered over her, making her feel small and weak, vulnerable to him.
Sable dropped her blade, the clang of it hitting the stone slabs beneath her feet jarring in the thick silence. She breathed hard, firmly under his spell and unable to form a response.
She had forgotten just how gorgeous he was and how his presence lit her up inside like fireworks on November fifth.
“Well?” Thorne cocked his head to one side and a hank of wild red-brown hair fell down onto his bloodstained brow.
Sable slowly shook her head and forced words up her dry throat and past her lips. “I was trying to help.”
A smile worked its way onto his firm lips and he flashed short fangs. “That is very kind of you… but I do not require your assistance to spar with my men.”
Spar?
Sable inched her gaze towards the demon males to her left. They had all stopped and were staring at her. She looked to her other side, at her team and the elves, and cringed. None of them had moved. She alone had leapt into the fray.
A blush burned up her cheeks before she could stop it. Thorne canted his head again, raised his free hand and lightly brushed the backs of his short claws across her left cheek. She shuddered under the gentle caress, her pulse quickening for a different reason as the heat burning inside her exploded into wildfire. She had to get a grip. This was a mission.
“Did you believe me to be under attack?” he husked in a low, quiet voice that sent a fierce shiver through her, cranking up her temperature another thousand degrees.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She nodded, and admitting it left her feeling like a fool.
“And you came to my aid?” Had he moved closer to her? His breath washed over her cheek, moist and hot, smelling faintly of something sweet and the coppery tang of blood.
Sable nodded again.
“You are but a little mortal female… yet you desired to fight all these demon males in order to protect me?”
When he put it like that, she couldn’t stop herself from blushing harder. She had reacted on instinct but the tone of his voice and the way he drew her closer still, until she could feel his heat rolling off him and over her, told her that he thought she did it because she felt something for him.
Desired him.
She cleared her throat, finally locked down her emotions and found her voice again, and even the courage to lift her gaze to his. “Not out of favouritism or anything. I’m here on a mission and that mission entails protecting you and your kingdom from demons. I saw you battling a score of demons and I did my duty.”
She twisted her hand free of his grip and hated the sharp disappointed edge his eyes gained. It made her feel like a bitch. She grabbed her blade from the dark stone pavement and jammed it into its sheath, and then snatched up her crossbow and checked it over, taking her time about it, stewing under the intense heat of his gaze.
Sable kept her head bent and holstered her crossbow and the unused explosive dart. Thorne continued to stare at her. So did everyone else. She was not going to blush. She racked her brain, trying to think of something to say to make everything go back to normal, and diligently kept her gaze away from Thorne.
She had also forgotten how impossibly tight his dark mahogany leather trousers were. They clung to his muscular thighs, stretched over them like a second skin, held closed by criss-crossed lacing over his crotch.
Not staring. Not staring.
Her eyes betrayed her, leaping to the impressive bulge in his trousers, and she forced it upwards before anyone noticed. Thorne’s gaze locked with hers again, holding her immobile.
“I’ll need my blades and bolts back now,” she muttered, not quite with the world or aware of what she was saying.
Thorne nodded. “Of course.”
He signalled his men and Sable realised just what she had asked, and felt dismal as the men immediately tore the barbed darts and throwing knives from their flesh without giving a single grunt or revealing a flicker of the pain they must have experienced.
They came forwards and placed the weapons into Thorne’s outstretched hand. He wiped the blood off them on his leather trousers and then held them out to her.
Sable swallowed her guilt and took them from him. She slipped the blades away beneath her arms and put the darts back in her quiver. The silence in the courtyard thickened again. She wasn’t sure what to do. She had made one hell of a first impression—on her team, on the elves, on the demons.
On Thorne.
She wanted to groan and bury her head in her heads.
She needed a do-over on everything after she had appeared in the Third Realm. It really hadn’t gone as planned.
Did you enjoy today’s tease?
Claimed by a Demon King
Felicity Heaton
The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.
Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.
As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Germany | Amazon Kindle Canada | Amazon Kindle Australia
Apple iBookstore US | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore New Zealand
Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble | Amazon.ca
If you haven’t had a chance to read any of the books in the Eternal Mates romance series yet, they’re all available at major ebook retailers and in paperback, and you can find the links and samples of the books at my website:
Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series #1)
Claimed by a Demon King (Eternal Mates Romance Series #2)
March 30, 2014
Manday Hotties – Two hot new mancandy pictures to chase away the Monday blues
Good Monday Morning! It’s time for the Manday Hotties Hop! I have some yummy new mancandy pictures for you… check out these hotties…
Which shot is your favourite? I’m going with #1 because he really makes me think of a wolf shifter.
Visit the other blogs in the hop:
March 29, 2014
Snippet Saturday – Her Wicked Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 6) – Excerpt
Snippet Saturday is brought to you today by my paranormal romance book Her Wicked Angel, which is the sixth book in my popular Her Angel romance series. Read on for this Saturday’s snippet…
“What business do you have with me?” Asmodeus casually preened his feathers, preparing them for the flight home, and ignored the Devil’s scowl.
The male hated it when he spoke to him without an ounce of respect. Everyone else under his command simpered and scraped at his feet. As far as Asmodeus was concerned, the Devil had enough pathetic creatures kissing his expensive Italian leather shoes. Asmodeus wasn’t about to join them. He was above them.
The Devil’s right hand man.
A male created for destruction and bloodshed.
“You are to travel to the mortal realm and retrieve a female for me.”
Asmodeus’s black eyebrows pinched in a frown and it took him a moment to absorb exactly what the Devil had said and the connotations it contained.
One, he was ordering him to lower himself to the role of minion, retrieving him another female for his harem. Treating him like a servant. That irked him. He was not just another of the Devil’s servants.
Two, he was offering him a taste of the mortal world, granting him leave to step outside the environs of Hell for the first time in his existence. That intrigued Asmodeus. He had always wanted to see the mortal realm with his own eyes and experience it.
Asmodeus stared at him, weighing his options. Swallow his pride and finally fly in the world above, seeing the buildings and the colours, and all the things he had only ever seen in the pool on the plateau, or tell the Devil to stick it and spend the next week in the cells, probably tortured, possibly maimed permanently for his disobedience.
Asmodeus swallowed his pride and it tasted bitter. “Fine.”
The Devil grinned, revealing short fangs. “Good. You will find her in Paris, in the middle of the park near the base of the Eiffel Tower. She will be wearing crimson and black. Bring her to me.”
Asmodeus nodded, took a step backwards and then turned away from the Devil.
He threw his hand out in front of him and a black vortex appeared, swirling like smoke. It had been many centuries since he had bothered practicing glamours and veils, having given up on ever leaving Hell and having no need for changing his appearance in this realm. He hoped he hadn’t forgotten how to cast them.
Asmodeus focused on himself, casting a veil so none would see him when he stepped through the portal into the mortal realm.
“Bring her to me quickly, Asmodeus,” the Devil said behind him and Asmodeus nodded again.
Perhaps he would dally just a little. Who knew when the Devil would allow him to leave Hell again?
He stepped through the black portal and tensed as he appeared in the mortal realm. His eyes watered and he blinked against the assault of strong light, leaning back into the shade of the tower that speared the blue sky above him.
Blue.
Asmodeus tipped his head back and stared up at it, and then looked at his surroundings. Green trees. Dark metal. Pale stone. Mortals dressed in a multitude of colours. The warm air carried strange scents. Dust. Something sweet. Smoke. Sounds came from every direction. Blasts of noise and distant rumbles of what he suspected were vehicles. Constant chatter. Laughter. Squeals of happiness. All alien to him.
All choking and closing in on him.
He didn’t like it.
He took a step back towards the portal behind him and glared at everyone as they passed. Ants. Hundreds of them. Swarming. Shoving. Jostling each other. He wanted to kill them all. They were noisy. Brutal. Irritating.
Insignificant.
Powerless.
Asmodeus grinned, his golden eyes narrowing with it, and flexed his fingers. His fangs began to lengthen and his black claws followed them.
Prey for the hunter.
He would drown out the disgusting scents with the smell of blood. He would replace joy with fear, with screams and sobs and pointless pleas for mercy. He would bathe this colourful world in crimson.
Crimson.
A flash of that colour caught his eye and his gaze zeroed in on it. It was gone, lost in the sea of other hues. It flickered again, further off to his right, and his eyes shot to it. Wavy chestnut hair bounced against crimson ruffled material with each light step. He caught a sliver of black jeans. Crimson and black. The female the Devil wanted.
She turned and he glimpsed her face, and his desire to bathe his hands in the blood of these puny creatures slipped away, calm suffusing him, making him forget his irritation and dark desires.
She blinked, black lashes shuttering luminous hazel eyes, and turned away, continuing onwards towards a strip of green land to his right beyond the shadow of the tower.
Asmodeus felt a tug behind his breastbone, pulling him in her direction, but something told him it wasn’t the Devil commanding him to follow her. It was something else that made him want to track her through the crowd.
He focused and altered his appearance as he walked, hiding his pieces of gold-edged black armour with a black dress shirt, black jeans and leather boots, and shielding his wings. He lifted the veil that concealed him from mortal eyes and stalked the female as she moved through the thinning crowd, keeping his distance but remaining close enough that he wouldn’t lose her.
She stepped out into the bright sunlight on the vivid green grass and it cast golden highlights in her hair. Asmodeus’s heart missed a beat and then thumped hard against his ribs. His palms sweated.
Why?
He had hunted thousands before for the Devil. This female was no different. He would capture her and take her to him.
He wouldn’t.
Asmodeus shook his head and paused at the edge of the crowd, staring after her.
He wouldn’t?
He had pushed the Devil to the limit of his patience a thousand times but he had never disobeyed an order. He would not begin now.
He would take the female to his master.
The female in question turned on the grass and peered up the height of the tower, using a slender hand to shield her eyes, and Asmodeus’s heart missed another beat.
He slammed his hand against his bare chest and coughed. What was wrong with him?
Was the mortal world making him sick? He had never been sick before, but he had heard that demons could become ill. He wasn’t a demon though. He had never heard of an angel growing sick. Was it possible?
All the more reason to grab the female and return to Hell.
He took a step towards her, and then another one. She turned her back on him and he closed in until he was only a few metres away.
He just needed to grab her and then deliver her to the Devil. It wasn’t difficult, so why was he hesitating? He had never hesitated before. He had carried out his master’s orders without pause or regret, spilling blood and carving flesh, destroying lives. This was easy. Grab. Deliver. End of mission.
The Devil would have a new female for his growing harem. Asmodeus would return to his castle.
His stomach turned at the thought of that male laying his filthy claws on this delicate, dainty female.
He stared at the back of her head, replaying how she had looked when she had paused to glance up the height of the Eiffel Tower.
Wide hazel eyes.
Soft rosy lips.
Delicate perfect features and porcelain skin.
Chestnut hair cascading over her shapely shoulders.
Beautiful.
Pure.
Asmodeus wanted to close the gap between them, gently lay his hands on her shoulders, and slowly turn her to face him so he could drink his fill of her beauty and purity all over again.
Instead, he took a step backwards, distancing himself from her. Foreign feelings and thoughts collided in his mind, filling it and sending him in circles, tearing him between completing his mission and doing something that astounded him.
He could leave her here, in peace, and come up with an excuse. He couldn’t let his despicable master ruin her. He wouldn’t.
He turned away and held his hand out before him, focusing on the air there to call a portal back to Hell.
“Where do you go, Asmodeus?” The soft female voice caught him off guard.
His shoulders tensed and his outstretched hand shook.
She knew his name. She recognised him. And she spoke in English, even though they were in France.
English was not the native language of this land.
He had never left Hell before.
How did she know him?
He looked over his right shoulder and found her standing where he had left her, but facing him, her hands clasped in front of her, over the point where her crimson short-sleeved gypsy-style top met her black jeans.
A serene smile curved her rosy lips and it was then that he felt the incredible power in her.
Did you enjoy today’s snippet?
Her Wicked Angel
Felicity Heaton
The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. When his master orders him to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for him, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned for her… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a female who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist.
He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him.
Liora is a witch with a bad reputation and an obsession with fighting demons. A mission gone wrong sees her sent to Paris to cool off, but when a dark and deadly warrior with a gaze of golden fire lands in her life, she ends up burning hotter than Hell for the wicked angel. Nothing will stand between her and the immense, forbidding male. Not her cousin. Not Asmodeus’s sworn enemy and twin, Apollyon. And certainly not the Devil.
Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Germany | Amazon Kindle Canada | Amazon Kindle Australia
Apple iBookstore US | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore New Zealand
March 28, 2014
Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour – Week 3 Round-Up – WIN Amazon Gift Cards in the Grand Giveaway
It’s the third week of the Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour and I hope you’re all enjoying the posts, character interviews, and fun stuff. Here’s a round-up of the posts so far and also some snippets from the recent reviews of Claimed by a Demon King, the second book in the Eternal Mates romance series.
Don’t forget to visit the Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour page to enter the Grand Giveaway for your chance to win a $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Claimed by a Demon King
Felicity Heaton
The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.
Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.
As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle Stores:
USA/International | UK | Germany | Canada | Australia
Apple iBookstores:
US | UK | Australia | Canada | New Zealand
Other Retailers:
Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | All Romance eBooks
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Barnesandnoble.com
Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour Dates
mar – sat8th
I Smell Sheep
Alpha Male Diner with King Thorne
mar – sun9th
Darke Conteur
Spotlight with Excerpt
mar – mon10th
Booked and Loaded
Eternal Mates Music Playlist
mar – tues11th
Pure Textuality
Writing Kissed by a Dark Prince
mar – weds12th
Mad Hatter Reads
Character Interview with Bleu
mar – fri14th
Paranormal Haven
Tour of the Third Realm in Hell with King Thorne
mar – sat15th
Bookin it Reviews
Introduction to the Eternal Mates Series
mar – mon17th
The Book Nympho
Bleu – WTF Special
mar – tues18th
Fantasy is More Fun
Character Interview with Olivia
mar – weds19th
Romancing the Book
About the Eternal Mates World
mar – sat22nd
Not So Literary Heiresses
Author Interview
mar – mon24th
Fictional Candy
Tour of the elf kingdom with Bleu
mar – tues25th
Cocktails and Books
Character Interview with Sable
mar – weds26th
Reading Between the Wines
Writing Claimed by a Demon King
mar – fri28th
Romancing the Dark Side
Character Interview with Loren
mar – sat29th
Rage, Sex and Teddy Bears
Spotlight with Excerpt
mar – sun30th
Readers Confession
Spotlight with Excerpt
apr – mon1st
Under the Covers
Character Interview with Thorne
apr – tues2nd
Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
Spotlight with Excerpt
apr – fri4th
Book Passion for Life
What’s next in the series?
Have you been enjoying the tour so far? What has been your favourite moment?
March 25, 2014
Teaseday – Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Paranormal Romance Series Book 1) – Excerpt
Today’s tease comes from the paranormal romance book Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is the first book in my popular Eternal Mates romance series. Read on for this Tuesday’s tease…
He sat up in one fluid motion, swinging his legs over the edge of the inspection table, the movement so swift that it startled her and she shot backwards, distancing herself. Her heart thundered in her throat. She should have pressed the call button.
She should have strapped him down.
Stupid.
Her gaze darted to the red button off to her right. Could she make it there and sound the alarm before he attacked?
“Where am I?” The sound of his deep voice sent a fiery tremble through her. It was at odds with his lithe figure. The commanding edge to it had her forgetting the call button and automatically answering him, because he didn’t sound like the sort of man you could piss off and live to tell the tale.
“At a secure research facility in London.” She hoped he didn’t ask what she had been doing to him while he had been unconscious because now that he was awake, very awake, that sense of danger he radiated had only grown stronger. Her shot at resuscitating her ailing career looked as though he might kill her if he didn’t like any of the answers to his questions.
His blue gaze moved around the room, cataloguing everything, a keen edge to it. Strategising. He had adapted to blend into his environment and now he was plotting a way out of it.
“How did you do that?” she said, unable to get her voice above a whisper. His attention snapped back to her.
“How did I do what?” He could definitely grasp her language.
“Your eyes… your ears.” She pointed a shaky finger at them.
He planted his hands on the edge of the table on either side of his hips and she struggled not to look down. Her guest didn’t appear to have any qualms about being naked in front of a stranger. He sat on the table, frowning at the equipment in the room. His gaze caught on the wires attached to the machines and he followed them to his chest. He raised a single black eyebrow and pulled the sticky pads off his body.
“Strange to ask me how and not why,” he said at last and looked up at her through his long black lashes, his blue eyes holding a glimmer of curiosity.
“I’m a medical doctor… a scientist.” She pulled at the chest of her long white coat, drawing his attention to it.
He glanced at it and then back around the room. His gaze lingered on the tray of tools to his left, narrowed, and then slid to her. A threat. She had enough experience of the world to know when someone was silently threatening her. He didn’t intend to use the scalpels and other implements on her. No. He meant to warn her that if she dared to attempt to use them on him, she would come off worse.
Olivia held her hands up in front of her. “Listen, I’m just curious about your species, and the things you can do. I wanted to help you.”
He grimaced and his grip on the edge of the table tightened until his arms shook. He ground out dark words in a foreign tongue and paled further. The edges of his irises turned purple.
The heart rate monitor still linked to his finger went crazy. He scowled at the machine and tried to move to take the clip off. His hands trembled violently.
“You’re not well.” Olivia reached out to steady him, instinct telling her to help him. She caught his upper arms and gasped. He was burning up, shaking beneath her fingers, his skin clammy. “You need to rest.”
“I will be fine… with a little fluids.” Pain grated in his deep voice and he swallowed hard.
“I wasn’t sure what to give you.” Olivia pressed her palm to his forehead. A fever? Was it part of his healing process or was his condition deteriorating? “I wasn’t sure what would harm or help you.”
He leaned forwards and his breath skated over her bare neck. She shivered, a hot rush sweeping through her.
“I know what fluid I need,” he whispered low, his voice barely there and teasing, stirring unbidden heat in her veins and quickening her pulse.
“Tell me and I’ll get it.” She tried to draw back and his hands shot up, fingers closing tightly around her upper arms.
“Oh, you already have it.”
He struck hard on the left side of her throat and her eyes widened. Shock stole her senses for a second before reality came crashing back. He was biting her. He was drinking her blood. Dark memories surged to the surface and she fought his hold on her, struggling like a wild thing. She wouldn’t let it happen to her again. She shoved at his chest, clawing with her short nails, and pounded her hands against it, striking as hard as she could.
He pulled her against his chest, caging her there, his arms steel bands across her back, pinning hers between their bodies. She wriggled, desperate to escape him, fear pounding down on her and making her heart stutter. He was going to drink her to death.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and her head spun, wooziness threatening to pull her down into the darkness.
“Please,” she whispered, breathless and weak, barely clinging to consciousness as her panic and fear overwhelmed her. “Release me… don’t kill me.”
Did you enjoy today’s tease?
Kissed by a Dark Prince
Felicity Heaton
Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for…
Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.
One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.
To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.
But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Germany | Amazon Kindle Canada | Amazon Kindle Australia
Apple iBookstore US | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore New Zealand
Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble | Amazon.ca
If you haven’t had a chance to read any of the books in the Eternal Mates romance series yet, they’re all available at major ebook retailers and in paperback, and you can find the links and samples of the books at my website:
Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series #1)
Claimed by a Demon King (Eternal Mates Romance Series #2)
March 23, 2014
Manday Hotties – Two sexy new mancandy photos to cure your Monday blues
Good Monday Morning! It’s time for the Manday Hotties Hop! I have some yummy new mancandy pictures for you… check out these hotties…
Which shot is your favourite? I have to go with #1 this week… he’s totally pointing at me!
Visit the other blogs in the hop:
New Nook Book Links for my Paranormal Romance Books and Series – Reviews / Ratings Needed
I have new Nook links for most of my ebooks now because I have moved from using Smashwords to working with Nook Press in order to distribute my ebooks onto Barnes and Noble. My reasons for switching over were primarily because Barnes and Noble allow me to use the same improved epub file that I use at Kobo, Apple, and will soon use for Google Play. I feel my epub files offer a much better reading experience and a nicer product over what Smashwords produces from a word document.
I have moved my paranormal romance books over now, and will soon add my science fiction romances. In the meantime, here are all the new links if you’re a Nook user. They have been updated on my website too.
NOOK REVIEWS / RATINGS NEEDED: Because I made this switch in order to provide you with a better experience that my other readers gain from this better epub file, I have lost the majority of my reviews and ratings on my books. If you have previously reviewed one of my Nook Books, PLEASE consider reposting your review, or rating. If you have yet to review / rate books you have read by me on Nook, this is a great chance to help me out by doing so now. Thank You!
Eternal Mates Series
Book 1.0: Kissed by a Dark Prince
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kissed-by-a-dark-prince-felicity-heaton/1118953920
Book 2.0: Claimed by a Demon King
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/claimed-by-a-demon-king-felicity-heaton/1118953921
Her Angel Series
Book 1.0: Her Dark Angel
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Her-Dark-Angel/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940011095184/
Book 2.0: Her Fallen Angel
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-fallen-angel-felicity-heaton/1103093634
Book 3.0: Her Warrior Angel
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-warrior-angel-felicity-heaton/1029034616
Book 4.0: Her Guardian Angel
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1104775871
Book 5.0: Her Demonic Angel
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-demonic-angel-felicity-heaton/1112882477
Book 6.0: Her Wicked Angel
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-wicked-angel-felicity-heaton/1118953935
In Heat Series
Book 1.0: In Heat
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-heat-felicity-heaton/1103391227
Book 2.0: In Heat: Mating Call
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-heat-felicity-heaton/1103391228
Vampire Erotic Theatre Series
Book 1.0: Covet
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/covet-felicity-heaton/1113032373
Book 2.0: Crave
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crave-felicity-heaton/1109801020
Book 3.0: Seduce
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seduce-felicity-heaton/1111640882
Book 4.0: Enslave
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/enslave-felicity-heaton/1112440317
Book 5.0: Bewitch
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bewitch-felicity-heaton/1114165991
Book 6.0: Unleash
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unleash-felicity-heaton/1115359794
Vampires Realm Series
Book 0.0: Prophecy Trilogy
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prophecy-trilogy-f-e-heaton/1112135406
Book 1.0: Prophecy: Child of Light [book 1]
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Prophecy/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000801048/
Book 2.0: Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [book 2]
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prophecy-felicity-heaton/1118953947
Book 3.0: Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising [book 3]
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prophecy-felicity-heaton/1117562264
Book 3.1: Spellbound
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spellbound-f-e-heaton/1103099073
Book 3.5: Reunion
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reunion-f-e-heaton/1102346159
Book 4.0: Seventh Circle
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-circle-f-e-heaton/1100072365
Book 5.0: Winter’s Kiss
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winters-kiss-f-heaton/1100639845
Book 6.0: Hunter’s Moon
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunters-moon-f-e-heaton/1102801398
Book 7.0: Masquerade
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/masquerade-f-e-heaton/1111372839
Standalone titles
Blood and Snow
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-and-snow-felicity-heaton/1106546158
Vampire for Christmas
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Vampire-for-Christmas/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940011177187/
Love Immortal
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-immortal-felicity-heaton/1100075512
Ascension
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ascension-felicity-heaton/1100544858
Forbidden Blood
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1103572024
Heart of Darkness
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-darkness-felicity-heaton/1106991833
Thanks for all your patience!
March 22, 2014
Snippet Saturday – Claimed by a Demon King (Eternal Mates Paranormal Romance Series Book 2) – Excerpt
Snippet Saturday is brought to you today by Claimed by a Demon King, which is the second book in my popular Eternal Mates romance series. Read on for this Saturday’s snippet…
Sable paced, hoping to work off at least a little of her tension before Loren arrived with his elves. She really didn’t need him noticing that she was wound tighter than he had ever been during his courtship of her best friend, Olivia.
She could do this. Mark had told her as much before she had left his office barely an hour ago. He wanted to give her the title of commander and this was her test. She wouldn’t fail him and she wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of her achieving that rank.
She had busted her arse over the past month, working twice as hard as normal in order to convince Mark and the senior staff that she was the perfect candidate for the role of commander on this mission.
It had absolutely nothing to do with getting a pass into Hell and seeing Thorne again.
Not at all.
She was going because she wanted the position of commander.
A familiar female voice cut off a deep male one and Sable smiled as she turned to glance across the courtyard.
Their transport was arriving. Scores of elves dressed in their tight black scale-like armour appeared before her eyes, the air shimmering around them. Prince Loren led them across the courtyard towards her, his long strides eating up the distance and his left hand resting on the hilt of the black sword sheathed at his waist. His black eyebrows knit into scowl and his purple eyes darkened.
The slight brunette beside him shook her head, causing her long chestnut hair to sway against the shoulders of her dark t-shirt, and waved him away. “I’ve told you a million times, Loren… I am going on this mission.”
Loren’s lips compressed into a thin line. Olivia was trying her mate’s patience again. He looked ready to grab her and teleport her back to the realm of the elves and leave her there.
Olivia had a mean stubborn streak though and that was another reason why Sable had been eager to win this mission. Olivia was her best friend at Archangel and she didn’t want her friend in the firing line during a war, but having her there was necessary. They needed a doctor on hand to take care of any injured. That and Sable needed the moral support of her friend on this mission. She would go crazy without her.
“Olivia,” Loren started and then seemed to think the better of whatever he had intended to say and scrubbed a hand over his face instead. He threw Sable a pleading glance.
Sable shrugged. Helping him was above her pay grade. She couldn’t overturn a decision made by Mark and the board of senior staff. Loren scowled again and turned back to his mate, speaking in a low voice now.
Sable glanced at Bleu as he strode to his prince’s right, meeting his green gaze. It was strange seeing him in better control of his emotions than Loren was, able to retain a more mortal appearance, concealing his normal purple irises and pointed ears.
She smiled at Bleu as Olivia began to rant.
Bleu raked long fingers through his wild black-blue hair and gave her a warm smile in return.
“I am going whether you like it or not,” Olivia snapped at Loren and then softened. “I know you’re worried but I’ll have you there with me, and Sable too. Archangel assigned me to this mission as the medic and to research any new species we encounter… and you know both of those things are very important to me. So I’m going and that’s final.”
Loren looked as if he had just lost a war. His shoulders slumped and he let out a long, weary breath. “Very well, Ki’ara.”
Bleu shook his head. “Olivia, you sound more like my sister every day.”
Olivia didn’t look sure whether that was a compliment or not. Sable had seen Bleu often over the past few weeks. He had visited Archangel whenever Loren had and Loren was rarely away from Olivia when she was working.
The dark elf commander was a great sparring partner and had helped Sable step up her game during their training matches. She was glad he didn’t hold back when he was fighting her.
Well, he didn’t hold back much. She knew he wasn’t going all out on her and in a way, she was glad. She had seen him fight and part of her knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against him, even if her pride wouldn’t allow her to admit it.
The only time Bleu hadn’t been with Loren was when his sister had returned to his family home for a rare visit. Bleu had disappeared like a shot. Sable had asked about this elusive sister and Loren had informed her that Bleu had only one sibling, a younger sister, and that he was forever getting her out of scrapes, but that only seemed to make him love her more dearly.
The indulgent and amused twinkle in his eyes at times made Sable feel that he was beginning to view Olivia with similar brotherly affection. It would be nice for Olivia to have family again after everything she had been through.
Sable idly rubbed her right wrist, her thumb caressing the stylised black cross on the inside of it, and tamped down the dark thoughts that threatened to rise and ruin her mood.
“Is everyone ready?” She checked her assembled team and then the elves. Loren had finally given up trying to convince Olivia not to come on the mission and was speaking with Bleu and several of his men. He motioned towards the crates and baggage, and a group of elves broke away, heading towards them.
The rest of the elves made their way over to her team, one for each member. A few low giggles broke the silence as the female hunters in her unit met the tall, darkly beautiful male who would be teleporting them.
Sable sighed this time. “Rein it in. This is a mission, not a Club 18-30 holiday. Remember that.”
Her hunters jolted to attention and nodded as one.
Sable just hoped that she could remember it. Whenever she thought about seeing Thorne again, she got the jitters. Stupid of her considering she had only met him once and for little more than a handful of hours. It hadn’t stopped her from desperately trying not to hang on every word whenever Loren had spoken of the demon king. It wasn’t like her, but she couldn’t help herself. Something fundamental inside her had changed the moment Thorne had barged into her life.
Thorne met often with Loren to discuss their arrival and arrangements, and to keep him abreast of the situation in the Third Realm.
Loren relayed everything to her.
It hadn’t satisfied her in the slightest. Loren never said how Thorne was coping with everything or how he seemed to him.
She wanted to know how he was doing and wanted to see that he was still well, and still the same brash male she had met a month ago. Of course, she refused to admit that to Olivia whenever her friend pressed her about Thorne, and her friend had pressed a lot over the long four weeks.
Sable had denied everything, refusing to admit that she couldn’t stop thinking about the demon king.
She couldn’t get that moment in the cafeteria out of her head. Thorne had teleported them back to Archangel after they had defeated Kordula, freeing Loren’s brother Vail from the bitch-witch’s spell. Thorne had stood with his hand on Sable’s arm, as if he couldn’t bring himself to let her go, and had stared at her for so long that she had ended up lost in his crimson gaze. He had opened his mouth to speak, had turned frustrated about something, and had teleported out of her life as quickly as he had come into it, leaving her confused and curious.
What had Thorne wanted to say to her?
Whatever had been balanced on those firm sensual lips, she wished he had just come out and said it because it had been driving her completely crazy. She had found herself pondering it at the strangest times. Dangerous times. A hunt was no place to lose track of your surroundings. That moment kept invading her head though, replaying in infinite detail, every shift in his body language and expression captured perfectly. With each replay, she found herself wanting to know more than ever what he had meant to say.
The first chance she had, she was asking him about it.
Sable grimaced and reminded herself again that she was going to Hell on a mission, not just to see Thorne. This was about the mission. This was about her future with Archangel. This wasn’t about the big, rough, demon male.
She jolted when someone took hold of her arm and looked up into Bleu’s eyes. Flecks of purple broke through the green, slowly taking over until not a trace of emerald remained. His violet gaze narrowed on her and he moved closer, towering over her, a vision of dark beauty and lethal grace. His lips parted, flashing white daggers at her. His fangs were down. The tips of his ears turned pointed. He had shaken off his mortal guise, revealing his true nature.
“Ready?” he murmured, his fingers lightly flexing around her arm and his gaze locked intently on her.
Sable blinked herself back the courtyard and nodded.
Her world disappeared in a swirl of cold black shadows. She closed her eyes against it. The heat of the sun on her skin gave way to the icy chill and then became a blast of moist warm air. The shrouding silence of the portal shattered under the explosion of grunts and roars and the metallic clang of weapons clashing.
The scent of morning became the odour of blood.
Sable snapped her eyes open and her heart leaped and pounded, quickening her blood and preparing her body.
The first thing she saw was Thorne shirtless and swinging his enormous broadsword at an equally massive bare-chested warrior. His opponent blocked with his own blade and growled, flashing huge fangs as he swung a meaty fist. The blow connected with Thorne’s right cheek and he stumbled, grunting as he struggled to regain his footing and ready his blade to defend himself.
Sable’s hand instantly went to the folded crossbow at her side and she flicked it open, pushing away from Bleu at the same time. Another immense demon attacked Thorne before he managed to right himself and the dagger sliced across the Third King’s thickly muscled right shoulder.
Thorne roared and finally launched himself at the males, taking them both on at once. They weren’t alone. The wide oval courtyard of the dark stone fortress was in pandemonium. Sable counted at least two dozen demons, all focused on him with their weapons drawn and at the ready. No other fought on his side.
The sight of him standing alone against so many adversaries, bleeding from multiple wounds on his torso and arms, brought a red haze down over her vision.
Did you enjoy today’s snippet?
Claimed by a Demon King
Felicity Heaton
The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.
Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.
As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Germany | Amazon Kindle Canada | Amazon Kindle Australia
Apple iBookstore US | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore Canada | Apple iBookstore New Zealand
Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble | Amazon.ca
If you haven’t had a chance to read any of the books in the Eternal Mates romance series yet, they’re all available at major ebook retailers and in paperback, and you can find the links and samples of the books at my website:
Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series #1)
Claimed by a Demon King (Eternal Mates Romance Series #2)
March 20, 2014
Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour – Week 1 Round-Up – WIN Amazon Gift Cards in the Grand Giveaway
The Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour is under way and I hope you’ll enjoy all the posts, character interviews, and fun stuff. Here’s a round-up of the posts so far and also some snippets from the recent reviews of Claimed by a Demon King, the second book in the Eternal Mates romance series.
Don’t forget to visit the Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour page to enter the Grand Giveaway for your chance to win a $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Claimed by a Demon King
Felicity Heaton
The moment the demon King Thorne of the Third Realm set eyes on the mortal huntress Sable, he knew she was his fated one. The fiery, dangerous female awakened hungers he had never experienced before, a dark craving and passion that has consumed him in their time apart. As the lunar cycle wanes, she enters his world again and nothing will stand in the way of him claiming his forever with her—not the relentless assault from the Fifth Realm or the dark elf male determined to seduce her out of his grasp.
Intent on achieving the coveted position of commander at Archangel, Sable leads her small team into the dark underworld and the Third Realm, to a war where her allies are the very creatures she normally hunts—vampires, werewolves, and demons. Her eagerness to lead the deadly mission has everything to do with winning her promotion, and nothing to do with the kingdom’s brash, lethally seductive demon king—a king who stirred fierce desire and wildfire heat in her with just a look and an innocent touch when they first met, and has been in her wicked dreams ever since.
As the gathering storm between rivals unleashes irresistible passion that flares white-hot and the heat of the battle brings life-shattering realisations, can Sable place her duty before her heart? Or will she surrender to her deepest desires and be claimed by a demon king?
Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle Stores:
USA/International | UK | Germany | Canada | Australia
Apple iBookstores:
US | UK | Australia | Canada | New Zealand
Other Retailers:
Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | All Romance eBooks
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Barnesandnoble.com
Claimed by a Demon King Book Tour Dates
mar – sat8th
I Smell Sheep
Alpha Male Diner with King Thorne
mar – sun9th
Darke Conteur
Spotlight with Excerpt
mar – mon10th
Booked and Loaded
Eternal Mates Music Playlist
mar – tues11th
Pure Textuality
Writing Kissed by a Dark Prince
mar – weds12th
Mad Hatter Reads
Character Interview with Bleu
mar – fri14th
Paranormal Haven
Tour of the Third Realm in Hell with King Thorne
mar – sat15th
Bookin it Reviews
Introduction to the Eternal Mates Series
mar – mon17th
The Book Nympho
Bleu – WTF Special
mar – tues18th
Fantasy is More Fun
Character Interview with Olivia
mar – weds19th
Romancing the Book
About the Eternal Mates World
mar – fri21st
Paranormal Cravings
Spotlight with Excerpt
mar – sat22nd
Not So Literary Heiresses
Author Interview
mar – mon24th
Fictional Candy
Tour of the elf kingdom with Bleu
mar – tues25th
Cocktails and Books
Character Interview with Sable
mar – weds26th
Reading Between the Wines
Writing Claimed by a Demon King
mar – fri28th
Romancing the Dark Side
Character Interview with Loren
mar – sat29th
Rage, Sex and Teddy Bears
Spotlight with Excerpt
mar – sun30th
Readers Confession
Spotlight with Excerpt
apr – mon1st
Under the Covers
Character Interview with Thorne
apr – tues2nd
Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
Spotlight with Excerpt
apr – fri4th
Book Passion for Life
What’s next in the series?
Have you been enjoying the tour so far? What has been your favourite moment?
March 19, 2014
WIP Wednesday – Hunger (Vampires Realm Romance Series Book 7) – with special sneak preview excerpt!
I know I promised to keep up to date with my WIP Wednesday posts but I’ve been so busy trying to keep on top of my schedule that these fell to the back of my mind. I’ve had my head down over the past few months writing Hunger, which will be the next Vampires Realm romance series book. It is now written and edited, and I’m about to begin proofreading it.
Hunger is Tor and Eve’s story. You’ve met Tor in a short flash fiction piece I posted here on my blog a year or two ago. Eve is Lilith’s sister. You remember Lilith. She’s the heroine in Seventh Circle. Tor and Eve were also mentioned in Masquerade, the last release in the series. Hunger will be out this May in ebook and paperback.
Tor is hard to put into words, so I think I will let Eve tell you her first impressions of him in this sneak peek of the book… to make up for my lack of updates on my scribblings, it’s going to be a long one today, and I hope you enjoy it!
As always, it’s still waiting for me to polish it to perfection, so forgive any mishaps. Happy reading!
She turned to face the three men waiting for her. The dark-haired one who had made her intimately acquainted with the bar stooped and picked up her knife. She palmed the one she held and calculated her chances of survival.
Slim at best.
With her head pounding and dampening her senses, hunger riding her mercilessly and weakening her, she wasn’t up for a fight against one strong vampire, let alone three. If the fourth chose to join the fight, she was definitely dead.
Again.
Eve inched to her right, towards the open space where she had been speaking with Oneiric before the intrusion. The sounds of his fight carried through the darkness and her dull senses said that he had already dealt with three of his foes. She had yet to dispatch one.
It marked the vast difference between them. They were of the same pure bloodline and she should be strong enough to fight these weaklings, but she wasn’t. She was weaker than these men before her, and it was her own fault. She could have easily dispatched them if she had been feeding. If she had been strong.
Her stomach turned at the thought of taking human blood and she kept edging away from the men, buying herself space and time. A fourth vampire disappeared from her senses. Oneiric was down to three. If she could keep her four occupied while not giving them a chance to kill her, Oneiric could make it back to her. She hated having to rely on him to fight her battles, and knew he would use it to illustrate his point about her need to feed, but she had no choice. She couldn’t die here. She wasn’t ready to go to Hell yet.
The three vampires tracked her and the fourth stumbled to his feet. He pulled his hand away from the deep slash across his throat. It had stopped bleeding.
Eve turned with them, her back to the dance floor now.
She readied her knife and called on her senses, allowing them to stretch out and encompass the men. Silver lines shimmered over their bodies, forming ghost versions of each of them. Those ghosts moved, her senses predicting the paths they would take, giving her a shot at taking at least one of them down. Three of them had multiple paths, a blur of motion that made it dangerous to act on.
The path of the fourth, the one with the neck wound, was as clear as night and he was about to make a grave mistake.
He disappeared from behind the other three vampires, a shadow of movement through the tables. Eve waited for the critical moment and then thrust her right hand in a sharp diagonal arc at her side, burying her knife to the hilt under his chin. He gagged and cold wet gushed over her hand and trailed down her arm.
Eve pulled the blade free and swept it across his throat, throwing all of her strength into the blow. The knife cut deep, severing his spine, and he dropped hard.
The remaining three weakling vampires snarled and launched themselves as one at her. Eve did her best to block each blow they threw, her forearms taking the brunt of their wrath, and tried to get some attacks of her own in. They were relentless, driving her backwards, crowding her and making it impossible for her to escape.
She bit her tongue to silence her cries as claws cut and fists slammed, each blow weakening her a little more.
She couldn’t die yet. She needed peace. She needed to make the bastard pay.
It couldn’t end here. Now.
A cry escaped her as sharp talons sliced through her right biceps and she dropped her only weapon.
A deep male voice rolled over her like a storm, his foreign tongue dark and sinister.
The three vampires crowding her eased back and turned as one to face the newcomer. Eve withdrew, clutching her arm. Blood spilled from between her fingers and the ever-present hunger grew worse, bringing out her fangs as it demanded she taste the sweet, coppery liquid.
A fifth male melted out of the shadows at the entrance of the club, a six-foot-five wall of lethal muscle and deadly grace, his face obscured by the hood of his oversized black sweatshirt. Calm laced with malice rolled off him and she felt his gaze flicker to her.
A hot shiver went through her in response to the intense feeling, the incredible awareness that shot an arrow straight through her heart and made the rest of the room fall away in an instant, drawing every shred of her focus to him.
He calmly set his black duffle down on the bar and strode forwards with purpose, his black army boots loud on the wooden floor. She felt his eyes leave her. The room crashed back into existence and air rushed into her lungs again.
The low lights flickered over the lower half of his face, giving tantalising glimpses of firm, sensual lips and a defined jaw. The corner of those lips quirked, a split-second shift that she would have missed had she not been staring so intently at them.
Panic began as a low thrumming in her belly, a turbulent swirling that made her take another step back for each one he advanced, placing more distance between them. The malice and darkness he emanated grew stronger and her instincts warned her away, screamed that she stood no chance against this newcomer.
He was stronger than the other four combined.
Stronger than Oneiric.
Her panic exploded into outright fear as the man reached behind his back, whipped out a black pistol and fired off a round, nailing the vampire she had tagged as the leader between his eyes. His head snapped backwards, blood spraying from the gaping wound in the back of his skull, and he fell into a table, crushing it under him.
The other two rushed the man.
They didn’t stand a chance.
He took the first out with lethal efficiency, kicking him hard in the balls and then catching him with a diagonal uppercut as he doubled over, snapping his neck.
Eve stood frozen to the spot, unsure what to make of the deadly new combatant, and unsure whether he was friend or foe.
She hoped to God he wasn’t foe.
She wasn’t even sure he was a vampire. Her scrambled senses said that he was but he didn’t fight like any vampire she had ever met. None of them had used guns for a start, and none of them fought dirty as this man did.
The remaining male bravely faced off against him, brandishing both of her fallen knives.
It didn’t help him.
The huge male cupped his hands and stepped forwards, nothing more than a blur as he closed the distance between him and the remaining vampire. He slapped his hands over the vampire’s ears, the crack as they connected startling her into moving, placing even more distance between them. The vampire unleashed an agonised snarl and thrust with one of the blades. The man sidestepped, caught his arm and twisted it hard, bringing his other hand down in a devastating blow that shattered the bone.
The vampire’s agonised snarl became a scream.
The man calmly grabbed him by his throat, pressed his free hand against his face, and shoved forwards, snapping his head backwards and breaking his neck.
Eve took another step backwards, towards the door to the back rooms. Maybe she should have made a break for the exit while the man had been occupied with neatly defeating three vampires in under three minutes.
He advanced on her, the sense of malice coming from him not abating. If anything, it was getting stronger.
When he reached the gunshot victim, he casually crouched over him and ruthlessly snapped his neck, twisting hard enough that the crack was audible and sickening, making her own spine ache in response and her stomach turn. He rose to his feet, his backdrop a vision of darkness as the vampires began to turn to ashes, and approached her, silent but not wary.
Confidence and danger flowed from him, as if those two words were created for him alone.
An assassin.
A man bred for the purpose of killing.
She had met men like him in her years as a hunter, but not on his level.
Eve backed off another step and hit the wall beside the door to the back rooms.
The man continued his advance, each step closer he came only making her more aware of how immense he was as she had to tilt her head back to keep her unsteady gaze on what she could see of his face.
Oneiric appeared beside her and the man halted his approach.
“I dealt with all the ones out the back. Are you alright?” Oneiric said in a low voice, his crimson gaze never leaving the newcomer.
Eve kept her eyes locked on him too and nodded. “Sustained a few injuries but they’re healing. I took one down, and… well… he handled the rest. Any idea what they wanted?”
She waited, curious and a little afraid, as the male shifted his focus to Oneiric.
“I imagine it was the usual grudge against our kind. My ones had a few choice things to say about us.” Oneiric moved closer to her, a protective gesture by the vampire who called himself her father, one that she appreciated.
“It must get tiring. You think they would get bored of killing themselves.” She glanced at him, catching his brief smile.
They had spent hours discussing how foolish the weakling vampires were, those with muddied blood that made them far less powerful than vampires of the seven pure bloodlines. They often attacked pureblood vampires. Oneiric had called it suicide. She had to agree. As a hunter, she had seen weaklings picking fights with purebloods and it always ended the same. A gruesome death for the weakling.
She pressed her palms against the wall behind her, clinging to it for support as her tired body threatened to give out under the stress of the fight and the presence of the assassin.
Whenever his focus leaped to her, she felt the full extent of his power and it pressed down on her. Oneiric had warned such a thing would happen around stronger members of the seven pure bloodlines and she hadn’t believed him until now.
This vampire was more powerful than any she had met. What did he want with her father? Had he just been passing and had sensed the fight, and had come to help them? Or did he have business at the club? He would make one hell of a bouncer.
Her father eyed the ashes of the vampires and then the man before them.
“I thought Lilith would be the one to come for Eve,” Oneiric said and Eve swallowed hard.
This man couldn’t possibly be her escort.
She wasn’t going anywhere with him.
The towering male said nothing in response. He simply stuck his gun down the back of his black jeans and then casually pushed his hood back.
Eve’s breath left her in a rush.
Piercing glacial blue eyes held fast on Oneiric, the pale white-blond eyebrows above them drawing down, causing them to narrow and intensify. The man was handsome, not at all as she had expected, but radiated danger too, a sense of deadliness that his appearance could easily belie.
She had never thought she would face a vampire and think they were beautiful. Her body heated, her blood turning to liquid fire at the sight of him, a startling reaction that she couldn’t control.
He glanced at her and then his cold eyes shifted back to Oneiric.
Eve could only stare at the contradiction before her. No doubt he made the perfect assassin. His looks distracted her from the darker side she could feel in him—the vast coldness—and the dangerous side she had witnessed—the lethal, efficient killer. His pale eyes glittered with intelligence as they held Oneiric’s, filled with a calculating edge that made her feel he was five steps ahead of them, already predicting the outcome of every move he made or thing he said.
Here was the kind of man that nothing slipped past. Not even the smallest detail. He was dangerous because of that, and confident too. He knew himself and his skills, and that he could take down both Oneiric and her without breaking a metaphorical sweat. That scared her a little, but didn’t stop her from feeling drawn to him. If anything, it only pulled her deeper under his spell.
The man he was inside lent a rough edge to his beauty that made him masculine. Probably the closest definition to male she had ever met. A feral, deadly devil wrapped in the guise of an angel. She had never seen anything like him, and knew she never would again.
His blue eyes flickered back to her, his eyebrows twitching into a brief frown as if her scrutiny unsettled him, and then went back to Oneiric.
“Is Lilith coming?” Eve cursed the way her question came out squeaky, in a manner that should be reserved for schoolgirls with crushes, not a skilled huntress like herself. She cleared her throat and pushed away from the wall, refusing to use it for support and giving this man any reason to think she was weak, a woman in need of protection.
“Lincoln sent me to retrieve you.” His deep voice held a thick accent similar to Oneiric’s. Her bloodline hailed from Oslo in Norway, and this man had either been there for many years or came from that frigid and isolated land too.
“I want to know about my sister. Why couldn’t she come?” Why had her mate sent a six-foot-five wall of muscle to take her to Oslo? That one she was keeping to herself. The next one she was putting out there. “And I don’t like being talked about as if I’m some package that needs to be picked up.”
Neither male jumped on that one. Wise bastards.
Oneiric moved another step closer. “What is your name, stranger?”
The formidable ice-blond vampire switched his focus back to her father. “Tor.”
“I know that name. Lincoln thinks to send a hunter to escort my daughter to Oslo?” Oneiric said.
The air thickened as Oneiric stared at Tor and folded his arms across his chest, a deep frown furrowing his brow.
Tor’s emotions didn’t shift on her senses and neither did his body. He remained perfectly still and composed, as calm and cold as before, unmoved by the sneer in Oneiric’s tone or the warning his body language was tossing at Tor like a big flashing neon sign.
“Lincoln gave me this mission and I intend to complete it to his satisfaction. The female will be safe in my care,” the big assassin said in a flat tone, one that lacked feeling but brooked no argument from her father.
Eve stared at Tor, unconvinced that he knew the meaning of care and safe. He didn’t look as if he had any softer emotions or could comprehend why Oneiric was uncertain about entrusting her to him, or why she needed an escort at all.
There was something she could comprehend though.
The way Tor handled himself, and had handled those weakling vampires with ease, said that he was her ticket to getting the taste of revenge she hungered after so badly.
What do you think?
