Felicity Heaton's Blog, page 95
January 10, 2012
Teaseday - Winter's Kiss - vampire werewolf romance book
Today my Teaseday post comes from another of my current books on offer,
Winter's Kiss
, a vampire werewolf romance book and the 8th book in my popular
Vampires Realm romance series
.
At the moment, I have a fantastic offer on a selection of my ebooks. There are plenty of fantastic reads to choose from, all priced between $0.99 and $2.99 and in a range of lengths between novella and long novels, and a variety of paranormal romance sub-genres including sinful angels, sexy vampires, seductive werewolves, and even a super-hot demon and sassy witch pairing. Offers end 15th January 2012.
Find out more about the books, including excerpts and reviews, and these great offers at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php
Winter's Kiss is on offer for just $2.99 on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, Smashwords and other retailers. You can also get Seventh Circle for just $2.99, and the first three books in the series, the Prophecy Trilogy, for only $0.99 each!
So, here's a single chapter tease and a link to a downloaded extended excerpt pdf!
Winter's Kiss
F E Heaton
Their lord drinks blood and they are dead men walking. The tales of the mansion don't stop Nika from falling for one of the guards, but when wolves attack her and he rides to her rescue, she discovers that her knight is anything but saintly. He is a vampire and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between their species is forbidden—the penalty death.
Winter's world is shaken beyond salvation and his allegiance to his bloodline tested as he watches the woman he's fallen for turn into a werewolf. His heart demands vengeance and that he protects her, both from the werewolf now hunting for her and from himself, but she tempts him more than he can bear and it isn't long into their journey before he's torn between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.
Will Nika be able to convince Winter to leave his world and stay with her or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter's kiss?
LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER: Only $2.99 (normally $3.99) as part of my Winter Warmers deal - offer ends 15th January 2012. Find out more about the offer and where it is available.
Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-Romance/book-EnqLOg3Bska1G5ouPxjkcA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Apple iBookstore USA: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore UK: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Australia: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Canada: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/isbn9781452386980
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/
EXCERPTA scream rent the still night air.
Winter raised his head. The brush in his right hand paused against his horse's sleek black flank. He frowned, calculating the distance from where he stood in the stable courtyard to the person who had shrieked. The human female voice could carry for miles on nights as calm as tonight. If she screamed again, he would be able to pinpoint her location to within one hundred metres.
A Watchman of the Validus bloodline, Winter had spent years honing his skills in tracking, hunting and killing to the highest echelon of perfection. They gave him the ability to ascertain that whoever the victim was, she was over three miles away.
He returned to his work, lovingly stroking the huge beast's glossy coat and murmuring soothing words to him. It had been too long since he'd had the chance to ride. The rotation of duties within the household and Hyperion's plan to spread their empire wider across Europe had left him with longer shifts at the gate. It was an honour to protect his lord, but long nights spent braced against the freezing winds that scathed the landscape in this part of Russia were tiring and left him little time before dawn to ride. His eyes closed. Honour wasn't the only good thing to come of standing guard from sunset to sunrise.
He saw her more often.
An image of her flashed across Winter's mind. Pale blonde hair hanging in waves down her back. Sparkling green eyes that glittered under the moonlight. A cherub's rosy lips that promised sweet kisses and an imp's smile that spoke of mischief. That image had branded itself on his mind the first night he had seen her as an adult. Every night that she passed and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she burned her face a little deeper into his heart.
His horse kicked impatiently at the floor, scratching the scattered hay away from the dirt and leaving a long groove.
Winter patted Midnight tenderly on the neck and placed the brush down. Gathering the large black saddle, he positioned it on the horse's high back and let his thoughts wander while he buckled the straps.
They instantly roamed back to her. Many years had passed since Winter had first seen her. She had been a little girl then. Now she had become a beautiful woman. Perhaps soon she would find the courage to speak to him for longer. She had stopped a few times, always singling him out even though his black armour covered him from head to toe, leaving only the section across his eyes exposed. She had spoken to him tonight, asking him why he wore armour and guarded the mansion. He hadn't answered her. He had no place talking to humans when he was on duty.
There had been a beautiful lack of fear about her. Not even the sight of the naginata that he and the other Watchman held bothered her. Perhaps one day he could turn her. He cursed under his breath and tightened the last strap on the saddle. Those were not thoughts that he should be entertaining. His loyalty was to his lord and his bloodline first and foremost. He had a debt to repay. Once he felt as though he was worthy of asking his lord for permission to court the girl, he would, but until then he had a duty to do.
And that duty came first.
No matter what his feelings for her were.
A ride would clear his head.
A wolf howl sliced through the night.
Winter tensed and instinctively brushed his long heavy black cloak aside and reached for the sword hanging at his side. His fingers closed around the hilt as he calculated the distance to the howl.
Three miles.
Was the wolf after the woman?
Another scream shattered the returning silence. This time, it was a word.
"Niet!"
Winter's eyes shot wide, an emotion rushing into his heart that he hadn't felt in long years. Fear. The girl. He would know her voice anywhere.
With the preternatural speed and grace of his kind, Winter mounted the horse and bolted straight for the stable entrance. Midnight thundered forward, hooves pounding the dirt in a sure confident gallop. The gates barely had time to open as they approached. Winter tucked into the horse, bringing his feet up behind him along with the stirrups. The half-open wrought iron gates brushed his knees as they raced through, almost knocking the guards over.
Someone shouted something abusive in his direction.
He didn't have time to slow down. The moment they had turned onto the road, he urged Midnight on, lowering his feet again but leaning forwards against its neck. It stretched forwards too, mimicking his move and galloping harder as though it had sensed his desperation.
The bottom of Winter's chest armour dug into his hips as he rode. His long cloak streamed out behind him. The light flurry of snow became bitter darts of ice that cut into his eyes, forcing him to squint. He changed, his eyes turning purple to reveal his bloodline as his senses sharpened. The thundering hooves of his horse were the only sound in an otherwise still world. Winter snapped the reins. Midnight snorted and galloped faster, heading directly for the woods with no sign of slowing.
Winter willed the woman to make another noise, or the wolves to break their silence. He needed to get a fix on their location but it wasn't only that driving him to beg the woman to shout or scream. He needed to know that she was still alive.
He hunkered down against his horse's neck when they entered the thick forest of pines. Snow exploded from the branches as they crashed through them, heedless of the pain it caused them both. His armour would protect him from the whip-like branches of the trees, and his horse, Midnight, would go wherever he bid him to, regardless of whether it hurt.
A branch hit Winter directly across the black leather and metal mask covering his nose and mouth. It smacked the armour against his nose and forced a flinch from him as pain shot out in warm waves across his skull. He turned Midnight to his right and towards a more open area of forest. While the pain didn't bother him, it would dampen his senses and he needed those as sharp as possible.
He pulled Midnight to a halt in a clearing and scanned the darkness, stretching out with his senses and searching for her. The wintry weather hadn't managed to penetrate the dense trees and the ground was clear of snow, leaving him without a visible trail to follow. He breathed deep, catching a faint hint of her scent on the breeze. She had been here. He cursed. Where was she now?
Was she dead?
Had the wolves killed her already?
That thought made a dull ache settle in his chest. Winter refused to believe it. He wouldn't believe it until he saw her body for himself. Another deep breath caught a stronger scent. A growl rumbled up through his chest.
Not wolves.
Werewolves.
His eyes narrowed into dark slits between his black helmet and facemask. He stared into the distance as one hand left the reins and closed around the hilt of his sword. Blood would spill tonight. Not only because werewolves had dared to enter Validus territory. If they had killed her, no, if they had even touched her, they would die by his hand.
A distant scream reached his ears.
He pulled on Midnight's reins.
Midnight reared onto his hind legs, whinnied and then broke into a gallop. Winter sneered behind his facemask, his blood calling for violence.
* * * *
Nika walked the quiet winding path through the woods, wishing she had chosen to wear her thicker coat. Thick fake fur lined the long black coat she wore and it would have been warm enough under normal circumstances in late spring, but tonight was bitterly cold and the icy wind was searching, discovering cracks and places it could sneak into the coat and chill her to the bone. It was strange to have such wintry weather this side of spring. When she had left, the weather had been pleasant enough, and the snow had melted. Now it had come back with a vengeance. She had hoped the weather would be warm and sunny by the time she had returned from the city.
She folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep a little heat in. Her coat and dress reached the floor, both grazing the leaf litter and twigs that covered the path. The wind found its way into there too and blew upwards, snaking around her legs and sending her shivering. Her honey hair blew across her face as she turned and she clawed it away, thankful she'd had the good sense to take two long strands from beside her temples and plait them before tying them at the back of her head. It kept the bulk of her hair in place but left the long strands from that point downwards to dance in the breeze.
At least the snow couldn't make it through the trees.
Nika hummed quietly to herself while she walked, thinking about how nice it would be to arrive home and sit down in front of the fire. The thought of that warm blaze made the cold feel distant. She wasn't far from the village now. Soon she would be safe in her family's home, out of the frigid night and bleak woods. It felt like months rather than weeks since she had gone away to St. Petersburg. A smile touched her lips when she recalled walking past the mansion. He had been on guard duty again, silent and sentinel outside the gate with another man. She knew it was him. Those beautiful dark eyes had spoken to her as they always did, telling her words that her heart loved to listen to. He never looked at her, but there was always a strange emotion in his eyes when she stopped in front of him. The cold emptiness that used to fill them disappeared, leaving what her heart interpreted as warmth behind.
She didn't know who he was, or even what he looked like beneath his armour, but she knew one thing. She wanted no other man in this world.
Her heart lightened as memories of him came back, always protecting the gates of the large mansion. On the few occasions that she had plucked up the courage to speak to him, he had never uttered a word back at her. He hadn't even spoken tonight when she had mentioned the tales about the man he guarded. Terrible tales they were. Stories of demons and death, of bloodshed and violence. Her whole village whispered of them. They were right in a way. There was something different about the men there. In all the years that she had passed those gates, that man had never changed. Not when she was a child and not now that she was an adult. It was the same man. He hadn't aged one year in the twenty she had seen him. She was sure of it.
Through the trees, pinpricks of light flickered in the darkness. The village. She doubled her pace, thinking only of the warm fire and seeing her father again.
A howl sliced the night in two.
Nika froze to the spot, ears pricked and heart thundering.
Perhaps it had been the wind.
Low growls made her head snap around. Seven large dark shapes slinked out of the shadows. Their fur spiked in a line down their backs, wriggling like a snake when they shook themselves and growled at her. They stepped onto the path between her and the village. These were no ordinary wolves. She remembered them from her childhood. They had killed half of the village.
The one in front lowered its head and stared at her with bright amber eyes that promised a painful death. It snarled to reveal huge canines.
Nika screamed.
Before it could attack, she turned, dropped her bag and ran. She grabbed the front of her coat and skirt, lifting them so she could sprint unhindered, and headed through the woods in the direction of the mansion.
It wasn't long before her legs were beginning to tire. Their muscles strained under the pressure of running over the uneven ground and seized up as the fear broke into her mind, sending panicked thoughts pounding through her skull.
She was going to die.
The voice at the back of her mind told her to give up, but she wouldn't. She wasn't ready to die. It was something that happened to someone else, not to her or the people she loved. If she could make it to the mansion, she would be safe. The men there would fend off the wolves. The man would protect her.
Nika shrieked again as she tripped on a branch hidden beneath the frozen leaf litter and hit the ground hard. She immediately scrabbled to her feet and ran blindly into the forest, desperate to escape the wolves. Behind her came their thundering feet and heavy panting. They were closing in.
In the blink of an eye, it was over. The full weight of one of the wolves hit her in the back, sending her tumbling to the floor. Another howled. She turned and wrestled the wolf off her, scrambling across the dirt away from it. One of them grabbed her ankle, the thick leather of her boot the only thing protecting the delicate joint. It growled. Nika screwed her eyes shut and brought her hands up in front of her face as the others leapt at her.
"Niet!"
Nika kicked the wolf off her ankle, eliciting a whimper from it, and pushed against the others. Breaking free, she got to her feet and ran again. Moonlight broke through a gap in the trees some distance ahead of her, illuminating a small shack.
Her heart willed her to make it there. It was her only chance.
She screamed again when one of the wolves snapped at her, trying to grab her arm. She punched it across the face and kept running, desperate to survive.
A thundering sound joined the cacophony of wolf growls and snarls and her rough breathing. Nika looked ahead of her to see the shack and then a large black horse with rider. She reached out to him, a silent plea for him to help her, and then fell when the wolves pounced on her. Pain erupted in her leg. Her heart missed beats as claws and teeth tore through her clothes.
Her last hope left her when she found herself face to face with the largest wolf. Hot breath washed her face, stealing her own. She sent a prayer to God and stared into the wolf's yellow eyes, into the eyes of death.
The thundering hooves stopped. Above her the horse's legs appeared, kicking out as the huge black beast whinnied and snorted. The wolves scattered, leaving her pressed into the dirt and frozen leaf litter, petrified and in too much pain to move.
The horse snorted again as it came down onto all four feet beside her and the rider appeared in her tear-blurred view.
"Hand," he said in a muffled Russian voice and extended his towards her.
Nika feebly raised hers towards him. She wanted to take hold of that black gloved hand and escape this nightmare. He shook his impatiently. She struggled to move faster, weak from the white-hot pain burning inside every inch of her body. He bent forward on the saddle, caught her hand, and pulled her up into the air as though she weighed nothing. He settled her on the saddle in front of him. Pain shot up her leg and lanced her stomach. It stole her senses, filling them until she knew nothing but the warm pulsing throb. She was vaguely aware of his arm against her back and his hand on her waist, and the wolves closing in.
He turned the horse. Nika gritted her teeth and leaned into him. Each step of the horse's gallop jostled her on the saddle. The pain was unbearable, wracking her to the depths of her bones with each movement, but the alternative made her cling to consciousness and life. The wolves growled, closer now. The horse suddenly stopped and the man lowered her to the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her before she could collapse and held her close to his hard chest.
"Run!" he said and she hazily wondered if he was talking to her. She didn't think that she could run. The pain in her leg was too intense, blinding. The horse whinnied. Was he talking to it?
Her heart beat faster, each pulse sending stabbing needles sweeping around her body. Darkness encroached at the edges of her mind, sending her thoughts fuzzy and her body numb. The man carried her into somewhere and set her down on something soft but lumpy. The sound of wood scraping and heavy objects slamming made her open her eyes. She frowned, vaguely aware that they were in the small shack she had seen and that he was barricading the door.
A wolf howl sounded just outside.
She flinched in pain when she curled up, the wounds on her body stinging. Her left leg burned as though it was on fire. She couldn't move it. She left it lying limp in front of her. The man looked at her and then around the small hut.
"Do not be frightened," he said, as though those four words could erase all her fear.
It crushed her chest and stole her breath. She struggled to suck in air, panic closing her throat and pain making the slightest thing too hard. Her leg was wet. She could feel the steady slide of blood down her arms. Oh God. She was going to die.
Her panic only increased when the dreadful sound of claws against wood filled the small shack. Snarls came in under the door and growls made her skin crawl. She tried to back away but the sound surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to go. The man stood at the door, his tall figure a black shadow in the low light. He didn't move. He stood sentinel with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side.
The blade of which gleamed when he began to draw it.
The wolves scrabbled faster at the door and walls, as though they were trying to dig their way through. Nika reached out to the man, numb and petrified. He stepped towards the door and her heart slammed against her chest.
The two small windows on either side of the door exploded, showering her and the man in glass. The wolves leapt high, paws scrambling for purchase on the windowsill. They disappeared again only to attempt another go at getting into the building.
The man fully drew his sword.
She extended her hand further towards him. "You can't fight. There's too many!"
A terrible scream made them both jump. She had never heard such a horrifying and inhuman sound. A chill swept over her back and down her arms. The scream came again amidst a discordant symphony of growls and snarls. She closed her eyes and used the last of her strength to cover her ears, not wanting to hear the horse as it died.
Dreadful silence fell.
DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF
Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-Romance/book-EnqLOg3Bska1G5ouPxjkcA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Apple iBookstore USA: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore UK: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Australia: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Canada: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/isbn9781452386980
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/
At the moment, I have a fantastic offer on a selection of my ebooks. There are plenty of fantastic reads to choose from, all priced between $0.99 and $2.99 and in a range of lengths between novella and long novels, and a variety of paranormal romance sub-genres including sinful angels, sexy vampires, seductive werewolves, and even a super-hot demon and sassy witch pairing. Offers end 15th January 2012.
Find out more about the books, including excerpts and reviews, and these great offers at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php
Winter's Kiss is on offer for just $2.99 on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, Smashwords and other retailers. You can also get Seventh Circle for just $2.99, and the first three books in the series, the Prophecy Trilogy, for only $0.99 each!
So, here's a single chapter tease and a link to a downloaded extended excerpt pdf!
Winter's Kiss
F E HeatonTheir lord drinks blood and they are dead men walking. The tales of the mansion don't stop Nika from falling for one of the guards, but when wolves attack her and he rides to her rescue, she discovers that her knight is anything but saintly. He is a vampire and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between their species is forbidden—the penalty death.
Winter's world is shaken beyond salvation and his allegiance to his bloodline tested as he watches the woman he's fallen for turn into a werewolf. His heart demands vengeance and that he protects her, both from the werewolf now hunting for her and from himself, but she tempts him more than he can bear and it isn't long into their journey before he's torn between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.
Will Nika be able to convince Winter to leave his world and stay with her or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter's kiss?
LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER: Only $2.99 (normally $3.99) as part of my Winter Warmers deal - offer ends 15th January 2012. Find out more about the offer and where it is available.
Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-Romance/book-EnqLOg3Bska1G5ouPxjkcA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Apple iBookstore USA: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore UK: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Australia: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Canada: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/isbn9781452386980
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/
EXCERPTA scream rent the still night air.
Winter raised his head. The brush in his right hand paused against his horse's sleek black flank. He frowned, calculating the distance from where he stood in the stable courtyard to the person who had shrieked. The human female voice could carry for miles on nights as calm as tonight. If she screamed again, he would be able to pinpoint her location to within one hundred metres.
A Watchman of the Validus bloodline, Winter had spent years honing his skills in tracking, hunting and killing to the highest echelon of perfection. They gave him the ability to ascertain that whoever the victim was, she was over three miles away.
He returned to his work, lovingly stroking the huge beast's glossy coat and murmuring soothing words to him. It had been too long since he'd had the chance to ride. The rotation of duties within the household and Hyperion's plan to spread their empire wider across Europe had left him with longer shifts at the gate. It was an honour to protect his lord, but long nights spent braced against the freezing winds that scathed the landscape in this part of Russia were tiring and left him little time before dawn to ride. His eyes closed. Honour wasn't the only good thing to come of standing guard from sunset to sunrise.
He saw her more often.
An image of her flashed across Winter's mind. Pale blonde hair hanging in waves down her back. Sparkling green eyes that glittered under the moonlight. A cherub's rosy lips that promised sweet kisses and an imp's smile that spoke of mischief. That image had branded itself on his mind the first night he had seen her as an adult. Every night that she passed and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she burned her face a little deeper into his heart.
His horse kicked impatiently at the floor, scratching the scattered hay away from the dirt and leaving a long groove.
Winter patted Midnight tenderly on the neck and placed the brush down. Gathering the large black saddle, he positioned it on the horse's high back and let his thoughts wander while he buckled the straps.
They instantly roamed back to her. Many years had passed since Winter had first seen her. She had been a little girl then. Now she had become a beautiful woman. Perhaps soon she would find the courage to speak to him for longer. She had stopped a few times, always singling him out even though his black armour covered him from head to toe, leaving only the section across his eyes exposed. She had spoken to him tonight, asking him why he wore armour and guarded the mansion. He hadn't answered her. He had no place talking to humans when he was on duty.
There had been a beautiful lack of fear about her. Not even the sight of the naginata that he and the other Watchman held bothered her. Perhaps one day he could turn her. He cursed under his breath and tightened the last strap on the saddle. Those were not thoughts that he should be entertaining. His loyalty was to his lord and his bloodline first and foremost. He had a debt to repay. Once he felt as though he was worthy of asking his lord for permission to court the girl, he would, but until then he had a duty to do.
And that duty came first.
No matter what his feelings for her were.
A ride would clear his head.
A wolf howl sliced through the night.
Winter tensed and instinctively brushed his long heavy black cloak aside and reached for the sword hanging at his side. His fingers closed around the hilt as he calculated the distance to the howl.
Three miles.
Was the wolf after the woman?
Another scream shattered the returning silence. This time, it was a word.
"Niet!"
Winter's eyes shot wide, an emotion rushing into his heart that he hadn't felt in long years. Fear. The girl. He would know her voice anywhere.
With the preternatural speed and grace of his kind, Winter mounted the horse and bolted straight for the stable entrance. Midnight thundered forward, hooves pounding the dirt in a sure confident gallop. The gates barely had time to open as they approached. Winter tucked into the horse, bringing his feet up behind him along with the stirrups. The half-open wrought iron gates brushed his knees as they raced through, almost knocking the guards over.
Someone shouted something abusive in his direction.
He didn't have time to slow down. The moment they had turned onto the road, he urged Midnight on, lowering his feet again but leaning forwards against its neck. It stretched forwards too, mimicking his move and galloping harder as though it had sensed his desperation.
The bottom of Winter's chest armour dug into his hips as he rode. His long cloak streamed out behind him. The light flurry of snow became bitter darts of ice that cut into his eyes, forcing him to squint. He changed, his eyes turning purple to reveal his bloodline as his senses sharpened. The thundering hooves of his horse were the only sound in an otherwise still world. Winter snapped the reins. Midnight snorted and galloped faster, heading directly for the woods with no sign of slowing.
Winter willed the woman to make another noise, or the wolves to break their silence. He needed to get a fix on their location but it wasn't only that driving him to beg the woman to shout or scream. He needed to know that she was still alive.
He hunkered down against his horse's neck when they entered the thick forest of pines. Snow exploded from the branches as they crashed through them, heedless of the pain it caused them both. His armour would protect him from the whip-like branches of the trees, and his horse, Midnight, would go wherever he bid him to, regardless of whether it hurt.
A branch hit Winter directly across the black leather and metal mask covering his nose and mouth. It smacked the armour against his nose and forced a flinch from him as pain shot out in warm waves across his skull. He turned Midnight to his right and towards a more open area of forest. While the pain didn't bother him, it would dampen his senses and he needed those as sharp as possible.
He pulled Midnight to a halt in a clearing and scanned the darkness, stretching out with his senses and searching for her. The wintry weather hadn't managed to penetrate the dense trees and the ground was clear of snow, leaving him without a visible trail to follow. He breathed deep, catching a faint hint of her scent on the breeze. She had been here. He cursed. Where was she now?
Was she dead?
Had the wolves killed her already?
That thought made a dull ache settle in his chest. Winter refused to believe it. He wouldn't believe it until he saw her body for himself. Another deep breath caught a stronger scent. A growl rumbled up through his chest.
Not wolves.
Werewolves.
His eyes narrowed into dark slits between his black helmet and facemask. He stared into the distance as one hand left the reins and closed around the hilt of his sword. Blood would spill tonight. Not only because werewolves had dared to enter Validus territory. If they had killed her, no, if they had even touched her, they would die by his hand.
A distant scream reached his ears.
He pulled on Midnight's reins.
Midnight reared onto his hind legs, whinnied and then broke into a gallop. Winter sneered behind his facemask, his blood calling for violence.
* * * *
Nika walked the quiet winding path through the woods, wishing she had chosen to wear her thicker coat. Thick fake fur lined the long black coat she wore and it would have been warm enough under normal circumstances in late spring, but tonight was bitterly cold and the icy wind was searching, discovering cracks and places it could sneak into the coat and chill her to the bone. It was strange to have such wintry weather this side of spring. When she had left, the weather had been pleasant enough, and the snow had melted. Now it had come back with a vengeance. She had hoped the weather would be warm and sunny by the time she had returned from the city.
She folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep a little heat in. Her coat and dress reached the floor, both grazing the leaf litter and twigs that covered the path. The wind found its way into there too and blew upwards, snaking around her legs and sending her shivering. Her honey hair blew across her face as she turned and she clawed it away, thankful she'd had the good sense to take two long strands from beside her temples and plait them before tying them at the back of her head. It kept the bulk of her hair in place but left the long strands from that point downwards to dance in the breeze.
At least the snow couldn't make it through the trees.
Nika hummed quietly to herself while she walked, thinking about how nice it would be to arrive home and sit down in front of the fire. The thought of that warm blaze made the cold feel distant. She wasn't far from the village now. Soon she would be safe in her family's home, out of the frigid night and bleak woods. It felt like months rather than weeks since she had gone away to St. Petersburg. A smile touched her lips when she recalled walking past the mansion. He had been on guard duty again, silent and sentinel outside the gate with another man. She knew it was him. Those beautiful dark eyes had spoken to her as they always did, telling her words that her heart loved to listen to. He never looked at her, but there was always a strange emotion in his eyes when she stopped in front of him. The cold emptiness that used to fill them disappeared, leaving what her heart interpreted as warmth behind.
She didn't know who he was, or even what he looked like beneath his armour, but she knew one thing. She wanted no other man in this world.
Her heart lightened as memories of him came back, always protecting the gates of the large mansion. On the few occasions that she had plucked up the courage to speak to him, he had never uttered a word back at her. He hadn't even spoken tonight when she had mentioned the tales about the man he guarded. Terrible tales they were. Stories of demons and death, of bloodshed and violence. Her whole village whispered of them. They were right in a way. There was something different about the men there. In all the years that she had passed those gates, that man had never changed. Not when she was a child and not now that she was an adult. It was the same man. He hadn't aged one year in the twenty she had seen him. She was sure of it.
Through the trees, pinpricks of light flickered in the darkness. The village. She doubled her pace, thinking only of the warm fire and seeing her father again.
A howl sliced the night in two.
Nika froze to the spot, ears pricked and heart thundering.
Perhaps it had been the wind.
Low growls made her head snap around. Seven large dark shapes slinked out of the shadows. Their fur spiked in a line down their backs, wriggling like a snake when they shook themselves and growled at her. They stepped onto the path between her and the village. These were no ordinary wolves. She remembered them from her childhood. They had killed half of the village.
The one in front lowered its head and stared at her with bright amber eyes that promised a painful death. It snarled to reveal huge canines.
Nika screamed.
Before it could attack, she turned, dropped her bag and ran. She grabbed the front of her coat and skirt, lifting them so she could sprint unhindered, and headed through the woods in the direction of the mansion.
It wasn't long before her legs were beginning to tire. Their muscles strained under the pressure of running over the uneven ground and seized up as the fear broke into her mind, sending panicked thoughts pounding through her skull.
She was going to die.
The voice at the back of her mind told her to give up, but she wouldn't. She wasn't ready to die. It was something that happened to someone else, not to her or the people she loved. If she could make it to the mansion, she would be safe. The men there would fend off the wolves. The man would protect her.
Nika shrieked again as she tripped on a branch hidden beneath the frozen leaf litter and hit the ground hard. She immediately scrabbled to her feet and ran blindly into the forest, desperate to escape the wolves. Behind her came their thundering feet and heavy panting. They were closing in.
In the blink of an eye, it was over. The full weight of one of the wolves hit her in the back, sending her tumbling to the floor. Another howled. She turned and wrestled the wolf off her, scrambling across the dirt away from it. One of them grabbed her ankle, the thick leather of her boot the only thing protecting the delicate joint. It growled. Nika screwed her eyes shut and brought her hands up in front of her face as the others leapt at her.
"Niet!"
Nika kicked the wolf off her ankle, eliciting a whimper from it, and pushed against the others. Breaking free, she got to her feet and ran again. Moonlight broke through a gap in the trees some distance ahead of her, illuminating a small shack.
Her heart willed her to make it there. It was her only chance.
She screamed again when one of the wolves snapped at her, trying to grab her arm. She punched it across the face and kept running, desperate to survive.
A thundering sound joined the cacophony of wolf growls and snarls and her rough breathing. Nika looked ahead of her to see the shack and then a large black horse with rider. She reached out to him, a silent plea for him to help her, and then fell when the wolves pounced on her. Pain erupted in her leg. Her heart missed beats as claws and teeth tore through her clothes.
Her last hope left her when she found herself face to face with the largest wolf. Hot breath washed her face, stealing her own. She sent a prayer to God and stared into the wolf's yellow eyes, into the eyes of death.
The thundering hooves stopped. Above her the horse's legs appeared, kicking out as the huge black beast whinnied and snorted. The wolves scattered, leaving her pressed into the dirt and frozen leaf litter, petrified and in too much pain to move.
The horse snorted again as it came down onto all four feet beside her and the rider appeared in her tear-blurred view.
"Hand," he said in a muffled Russian voice and extended his towards her.
Nika feebly raised hers towards him. She wanted to take hold of that black gloved hand and escape this nightmare. He shook his impatiently. She struggled to move faster, weak from the white-hot pain burning inside every inch of her body. He bent forward on the saddle, caught her hand, and pulled her up into the air as though she weighed nothing. He settled her on the saddle in front of him. Pain shot up her leg and lanced her stomach. It stole her senses, filling them until she knew nothing but the warm pulsing throb. She was vaguely aware of his arm against her back and his hand on her waist, and the wolves closing in.
He turned the horse. Nika gritted her teeth and leaned into him. Each step of the horse's gallop jostled her on the saddle. The pain was unbearable, wracking her to the depths of her bones with each movement, but the alternative made her cling to consciousness and life. The wolves growled, closer now. The horse suddenly stopped and the man lowered her to the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her before she could collapse and held her close to his hard chest.
"Run!" he said and she hazily wondered if he was talking to her. She didn't think that she could run. The pain in her leg was too intense, blinding. The horse whinnied. Was he talking to it?
Her heart beat faster, each pulse sending stabbing needles sweeping around her body. Darkness encroached at the edges of her mind, sending her thoughts fuzzy and her body numb. The man carried her into somewhere and set her down on something soft but lumpy. The sound of wood scraping and heavy objects slamming made her open her eyes. She frowned, vaguely aware that they were in the small shack she had seen and that he was barricading the door.
A wolf howl sounded just outside.
She flinched in pain when she curled up, the wounds on her body stinging. Her left leg burned as though it was on fire. She couldn't move it. She left it lying limp in front of her. The man looked at her and then around the small hut.
"Do not be frightened," he said, as though those four words could erase all her fear.
It crushed her chest and stole her breath. She struggled to suck in air, panic closing her throat and pain making the slightest thing too hard. Her leg was wet. She could feel the steady slide of blood down her arms. Oh God. She was going to die.
Her panic only increased when the dreadful sound of claws against wood filled the small shack. Snarls came in under the door and growls made her skin crawl. She tried to back away but the sound surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to go. The man stood at the door, his tall figure a black shadow in the low light. He didn't move. He stood sentinel with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side.
The blade of which gleamed when he began to draw it.
The wolves scrabbled faster at the door and walls, as though they were trying to dig their way through. Nika reached out to the man, numb and petrified. He stepped towards the door and her heart slammed against her chest.
The two small windows on either side of the door exploded, showering her and the man in glass. The wolves leapt high, paws scrambling for purchase on the windowsill. They disappeared again only to attempt another go at getting into the building.
The man fully drew his sword.
She extended her hand further towards him. "You can't fight. There's too many!"
A terrible scream made them both jump. She had never heard such a horrifying and inhuman sound. A chill swept over her back and down her arms. The scream came again amidst a discordant symphony of growls and snarls. She closed her eyes and used the last of her strength to cover her ears, not wanting to hear the horse as it died.
Dreadful silence fell.
DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF
Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-Romance/book-EnqLOg3Bska1G5ouPxjkcA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Apple iBookstore USA: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore UK: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Australia: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isbn9781452386980
Apple iBookstore Canada: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/isbn9781452386980
Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/
January 9, 2012
SEDUCE (Vampire Erotic Theatre Romance Series #3) is underway!
I was a good author today and, having spent yesterday evening typing up scraps of notes I had scribbled in various notepads and piecing them together with the notes already in my outline document so they formed a coherent flow that worked for the plot, I started writing the third book in my Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series.Seduce is Antoine's story. Yes, those of you who have read the first book already, Covet, might think this aristocrat vampire has a stick up his backside and isn't very nice, but I guarantee that by the end of his story, you will be melting for him. You know I can write a tortured hero like no one else and that I can come good on that promise.
I wrote out the character bios this morning for Antoine and his heroine, Sera, and then scribbled down a rough chapter by chapter blow of the story. It's all quite sketchy but it's enough to keep me writing. Nothing slows me down like a lack of clear direction. I have to outline my stories to the letter normally, but with novellas I have a little more leeway and I only slow down when things just aren't clear and I'm not sure how to proceed. I hate having to stop and think during a writing session. It tends to dent my confidence in the story.
My session on the book today, seated in my local cafe with some fruit, water, and only a skinny latte and two cups of tea to fuel me, ended with me at the 8200 word mark. The chapters on this one have been quite short so far because we're switching quite rapidly between Antoine and Sera. They'll get longer now, back to my usual length. I like to write shorter chapters sometimes, especially when I feel there's a rapid exchange of views needed like in this book. The short chapters are necessary. You'll see.
I'm happy with it so far. I'll probably have it done by Friday since it's only a novella. No full on sex scenes as yet but I get to write one tomorrow. Pretty much first thing too, which should be interesting. I'll have to read over the story to work up the required amount of passion. I can write a love scene from a cold start. I need to get the tension and attraction between the couple back into my mind again and start where it left off.
I'm also pleased because it means my 2012 Word Count Target has now left zero and is sitting at a measely 2.1% done. That looks quite pathetic. Still, only another 391,800 words to go until I hit my target for the year!
In other Vampire Erotic Theatre related news, Smashwords is being exceptionally slow and still hasn't approved Covet for distribution. Useless. I really hope that BN opens Pubit to international authors soon, and that Kobo and Apple go ahead with their intended self-publishing platforms, because dealing directly with the publishers will be blissful. I had hoped that giving Smashwords a two week start on getting Covet distributed would mean it was at retailers in time for the book's official release day on January 14th. It doesn't look like that's going to happen now. Sorry folks. As soon as they finally deem the book worthy of approval, and it reaches the stores, I'll let you all know.In the meantime, Covet is available for Amazon Kindle devices at:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.es | Amazon.it
It will be available on my website from January 14th, in epub, mobi, pdf and html formats.
Manday Hotties - get your mancandy fix!
It's time for the Manday Hotties Hop again! Be sure to follow the links in the list below to get your full fix of hot sexy mancandy this Monday
I had to look around for some new pictures because I seem to be getting through them somewhat! Hope those chosen few below satisfy those Monday morning pangs for a hottie...
You like?
Don't forget to clicky click him to make him bigger!
Visit the other blogs in the hop:
January 7, 2012
750 facebook members drive - snag yourself 6 signed paperbacks - only 180 fans to go!
Wow. It's less than a week since I started my750 Members Giveaway on my Facebook page but we're already at the stage where there are only 180 LIKES to go before we unlock the first tier of prizes! How incredible is that?If you haven't entered the giveaway yet, and you want to get your hands on a bundle of hot prizes - a signed paperback copy of each of my paranormal romance books released in 2011 - then go on to my facebook fan page, LIKE it and then go to the 750 Members Giveaway page (linked in the left menu) and put your name/email into the Rafflecopter form! Easy as that.
The paranormal romance books included are Love Immortal, Hunter's Moon, Ascension, Forbidden Blood, Her Guardian Angel, and Heart of Darkness!
If my facebook fan page reaches 750 LIKES by February 14th 2012, I will giveaway this bundle of signed books. For each 250 LIKES we go beyond the 750, I will add another bundle! So if we reach 1000 there will be 2 bundles of books on offer, for 1250 there will be 3 bundles, etc.
Giveaway is open internationally. If you want to make sure we reach the 750 LIKES, or even hit the numbers beyond it to unlock more prizes, then start spreading the word to your friends.
ENTER HERE: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton?v=app_204684816209053
January 6, 2012
My sexy angels will soon be speaking Spanish! COVER REVEAL!
February is drawing closer and I'm getting more excited by the day because that's the month when my sexy seductive angel heroes in the
Her Angel series
will learn to speak Spanish and reach a whole new audience of readers through the amazing Booket imprint of the Planeta Group.
The first book that will be released is the Spanish translation of the first three novellas in the series, which will be available as a single anthology in both ebook and paperback. That's Her Dark Angel , Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel in one book. I believe that Her Guardian Angel will follow in the summer.
It's all very exciting, especially because word on the street is that readers are looking forward to the addition of my angel romances to the already popular Booket imprint (which also publishes Christine Feehan) and because I can now reveal the cover. Before you ask, yes, I did design the cover for the book. Take a peek below:
ÁngelViven camuflados entre nosotros. Están aquí para observar nuestro mundo, protegernos o incluso luchar contra los demonios. Son hombres atractivos y apasionados, atrapados entre las órdenes de sus superiores y los dictados de sus corazones. Y no son precisamente santos...
La historia de amor entre una bruja mortal y un ángel justiciero que nacerá en medio de una venganza. Un ángel forajido acusado de un crimen que no ha cometido intentará recuperar sus alas y, al mismo tiempo, conquistar a la mujer de la que está perdidamente enamorado. Un ángel guerrero sacrificará sus alas por la mujer que ama. Ella le ayudará a recuperarlas, mientras juntos luchan contra los demonios que tendieron otra trampa a otro ángel.
¿Qué esconden estas tres historias? Descúbrelo en Ángel y prepárate para vivir una apasionada historia que te llevará desde el Infierno al Cielo.
Publicación en un solo volumen de los tres primeros títulos de la serie "Ángel": acción, aventura, misterio y pasión en las relaciones de pareja más oscuras imaginables.
Isn't this exciting? I find it giggle-worthy just reading the description. I'm not good at Spanish myself, but I definitely think I'm interested in learning it now so I can read the books in Spanish!
I think Apollyon is going to sound mighty hot speaking it... don't you?
The first book that will be released is the Spanish translation of the first three novellas in the series, which will be available as a single anthology in both ebook and paperback. That's Her Dark Angel , Her Fallen Angel and Her Warrior Angel in one book. I believe that Her Guardian Angel will follow in the summer.
It's all very exciting, especially because word on the street is that readers are looking forward to the addition of my angel romances to the already popular Booket imprint (which also publishes Christine Feehan) and because I can now reveal the cover. Before you ask, yes, I did design the cover for the book. Take a peek below:
ÁngelViven camuflados entre nosotros. Están aquí para observar nuestro mundo, protegernos o incluso luchar contra los demonios. Son hombres atractivos y apasionados, atrapados entre las órdenes de sus superiores y los dictados de sus corazones. Y no son precisamente santos...
La historia de amor entre una bruja mortal y un ángel justiciero que nacerá en medio de una venganza. Un ángel forajido acusado de un crimen que no ha cometido intentará recuperar sus alas y, al mismo tiempo, conquistar a la mujer de la que está perdidamente enamorado. Un ángel guerrero sacrificará sus alas por la mujer que ama. Ella le ayudará a recuperarlas, mientras juntos luchan contra los demonios que tendieron otra trampa a otro ángel.
¿Qué esconden estas tres historias? Descúbrelo en Ángel y prepárate para vivir una apasionada historia que te llevará desde el Infierno al Cielo.
Publicación en un solo volumen de los tres primeros títulos de la serie "Ángel": acción, aventura, misterio y pasión en las relaciones de pareja más oscuras imaginables.
Isn't this exciting? I find it giggle-worthy just reading the description. I'm not good at Spanish myself, but I definitely think I'm interested in learning it now so I can read the books in Spanish!
I think Apollyon is going to sound mighty hot speaking it... don't you?
Wallpapers - January features Covet - my upcoming vampire romance book
January's wallpaper features my first release of 2012, COVET, which is also the first book in my hot new vampire romance series, Vampire Erotic Theatre. Covet comes out on January 14th, but is already available at Amazon Kindle stores:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B006RW977M/
You can download the desktop wallpaper for January in various sizes direct from my website. There's also a version of each wallpaper without the calendar element so you can have them on your desktop at your leisure.
Just click on the sample image of the wallpaper below to go to my site and find the size right for you!
[image error]
If you want wallpapers with or without a calendar, I have them available for my books in the Goodies section of my website. At the moment, I have ones available for: Heart of Darkness, Hunter's Moon, Love Immortal, Her Guardian Angel, Forbidden Blood, Ascension and Covet.
Yummy!
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B006RW977M/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B006RW977M/
You can download the desktop wallpaper for January in various sizes direct from my website. There's also a version of each wallpaper without the calendar element so you can have them on your desktop at your leisure.
Just click on the sample image of the wallpaper below to go to my site and find the size right for you!
[image error]
If you want wallpapers with or without a calendar, I have them available for my books in the Goodies section of my website. At the moment, I have ones available for: Heart of Darkness, Hunter's Moon, Love Immortal, Her Guardian Angel, Forbidden Blood, Ascension and Covet.
Yummy!
January 3, 2012
A New Year means new goals - Writing, indie publishing, reading and others
It's that time of year again where we're caught between looking back and looking forwards.
2011 was a very special year for me. It was the year when all my hard work over the past five years started to pay off and I was able to quit my day job and venture into the unknown murky waters of being a full-time writer. So far, it has paid off, partly because of my own focused determination to succeed and continue to publish top quality paranormal romance books and partly because I have the most amazing readers, and some of them are awesome enough to help spread the word about my books to their friends, through reviews, or through sharing posts on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you to everyone who has done something for me in 2011, has been a friend, or supported me in some way. Without you, I would be sitting here writing for myself.
It was also a year where I achieved more than I had dreamed possible as an author, and now that I know what I'm capable of, I can set crazy targets for the coming year. Here's a few of my goals for 2012.
As a Reader I read 24 books in 2011 through the Goodreads challenge. Considering I probably read around 3 the year before, this was a substantial and welcome leap for me. I joined the challenge late in March, but still managed to reach my goal.
In 2012, I am upping my game and challenging myself to read 36 books. That's a lot when you're a writer too! I've already read one, and I'm on my second. There's a huge TBR pile on my bookshelf just screaming at me to read them all.
As a Writer My goals as a writer are quite big this year, and some might think they're a bit crazy, but I think with a little grim determination and hard work they are completely possible.
Sell 250,000 books in total in 2012 (not including free books)Write 400,000 words, and track progress on my blog in sidebarAchieve a NY Times / USA Today best sellerWin an award for my booksOverhaul the Vampires Realm series websiteCreate the Her Angel series websiteI think those are quite straightforward and achievable. I have other goals too, but not the sort that people will be interested in.
I also intend to change my Vampires Realm series over to my main author name of Felicity Heaton to help promote sales of my books and make it clearer that they're both by me, and remove some of my older books from sale so I can read them and decide whether to do a second edition of them, or whether to just trim the fat on my backlist a little.
The other thing I want to do is really get my brand sorted and working for me, and put together a three year plan for my business.
So, what are your goals for 2012? I already know that some of you plan to read a huge amount of books that has left me in complete awe!
2011 was a very special year for me. It was the year when all my hard work over the past five years started to pay off and I was able to quit my day job and venture into the unknown murky waters of being a full-time writer. So far, it has paid off, partly because of my own focused determination to succeed and continue to publish top quality paranormal romance books and partly because I have the most amazing readers, and some of them are awesome enough to help spread the word about my books to their friends, through reviews, or through sharing posts on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you to everyone who has done something for me in 2011, has been a friend, or supported me in some way. Without you, I would be sitting here writing for myself.
It was also a year where I achieved more than I had dreamed possible as an author, and now that I know what I'm capable of, I can set crazy targets for the coming year. Here's a few of my goals for 2012.
As a Reader I read 24 books in 2011 through the Goodreads challenge. Considering I probably read around 3 the year before, this was a substantial and welcome leap for me. I joined the challenge late in March, but still managed to reach my goal.
In 2012, I am upping my game and challenging myself to read 36 books. That's a lot when you're a writer too! I've already read one, and I'm on my second. There's a huge TBR pile on my bookshelf just screaming at me to read them all.
As a Writer My goals as a writer are quite big this year, and some might think they're a bit crazy, but I think with a little grim determination and hard work they are completely possible.
Sell 250,000 books in total in 2012 (not including free books)Write 400,000 words, and track progress on my blog in sidebarAchieve a NY Times / USA Today best sellerWin an award for my booksOverhaul the Vampires Realm series websiteCreate the Her Angel series websiteI think those are quite straightforward and achievable. I have other goals too, but not the sort that people will be interested in.
I also intend to change my Vampires Realm series over to my main author name of Felicity Heaton to help promote sales of my books and make it clearer that they're both by me, and remove some of my older books from sale so I can read them and decide whether to do a second edition of them, or whether to just trim the fat on my backlist a little.
The other thing I want to do is really get my brand sorted and working for me, and put together a three year plan for my business.
So, what are your goals for 2012? I already know that some of you plan to read a huge amount of books that has left me in complete awe!
Teaseday - Seventh Circle - vampire romance book
Today my Teaseday post comes from another of my current books on offer,
Seventh Circle
, a vampire romance book and the seventh book in my popular
Vampires Realm romance series
.
At the moment, I have a fantastic offer on a selection of my ebooks. There are plenty of fantastic reads to choose from, all priced between $0.99 and $2.99 and in a range of lengths between novella and long novels, and a variety of paranormal romance sub-genres including sinful angels, sexy vampires, seductive werewolves, and even a super-hot demon and sassy witch pairing. Offers end 15th January 2012.
Find out more about the books, including excerpts and reviews, and these great offers at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php
Seventh Circle is on offer for just $2.99 on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, Smashwords and other retailers. You can also get Winter's Kiss for just $2.99, and the first three books in the series, the Prophecy Trilogy, for only $0.99 each!
So, here's a single chapter tease and a link to a downloaded extended excerpt pdf!
Seventh Circle
F E Heaton
Born with powers similar to a vampire's, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmare—a client who is not only attractive but a vampire.
Lincoln is a powerful pureblood with a problem. He's caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, he's prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isn't prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her.
Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work together but when Lincoln reveals the truth about her powers, will Lilith find the strength to embrace a side of herself that she wished didn't exist? And when they discover Lilith's role in the prophecy, how far will Lincoln go to save her?
Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world.
LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER: Only $2.99 (normally $3.99) as part of my Winter Warmers deal - offer ends 15th January 2012. Find out more about the offer and where it is available.
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EXCERPTLincoln stared at the ceiling. Sleep evaded him, chased away by the thousand screaming heartbeats in his head. He clapped a hand over his eyes, wishing to shut the world out. The blood of every human in the building still called to him.
None more than Lilith's.
He focused on it as it beckoned him, a strong steady melody in his ears, a siren song. His eyes slipped shut behind his hand and a smile teased his lips as he reached out with sharpened senses and listened to her moving around the small apartment. She was muttering to herself about the heat. It was hot in the building. Everyone's blood was rushing close to the surface, their hearts working overtime to cool their bodies down. It only made them more alluring.
Shifting his focus, he listened to the clanging of metal on metal far below him. Someone was trying to fix the boiler. Its malfunction was obviously the cause of the temporary heat wave.
Lilith cursed again from the other room, loud enough this time that he would've heard it if he'd been human.
Her heart thumped rhythmically, pounding in his blood and telling him to go to her. Neither of them could sleep. Perhaps they could begin researching, although it would probably be unwise to disturb her now. When her superior had told her to share her apartment with him, and that his safety was maximum priority, she'd looked as though she'd been chewing a wasp. Her superior had been right. She did despise his kind, as did everyone here. Common sense told him to leave before someone got it into their head to attempt to kill him, and not just make idle threats. His heart said that he had to stay. He had to know if she really was the one.
Sitting up, Lincoln stared at the closed door of his room. On the other side was Lilith. She was moving around the kitchen of the small two bedroom apartment. The modernity of this area of the mansion was a strange contrast to the more in-keeping look of the area he'd first arrived in, with its large rooms filled with antique furniture and old paintings. This wing seemed to act like a dormitory for the hunters. Were all the apartments like Lilith's or was hers special? Perhaps hunters shared them. Had she shared this apartment with her dead friend or her sister? His focus shifted back to Lilith as she moved again. He could sense her fatigue. It gave out a call to his instincts, telling him she'd be easy prey in her current state. It was hard to ignore such instincts even when he had to.
It had been near impossible to stop himself from killing those hunters this morning.
Getting up, he walked to the door and opened it. Lilith was in the kitchen side of the living room now, busying herself in some vain attempt to pretend he wasn't here, that he hadn't heard her crying, and by the looks of things making tea. He studied her, amused by the way the oversized grey t-shirt swamped her and the loose black jogging bottoms trailed on the floor. She'd tied her golden hair back into a high ponytail. The tips of it brushed her neck. He dragged his eyes away from it and raised them to her face. She looked tired, her face drawn and pale.
He glanced at the coffee table and saw it spread with books. She must have gone out to get them during the short hours of sleep that he'd snatched. Now the sun was growing close to setting and its sway over him was less. Soon night would fall and it would be almost impossible to ignore the lure of the cacophony of heartbeats.
Aware that he was dressed only in his black jeans, he walked with head held high into the kitchen area and leaned against the counter near her.
Her eyes darted to him and then away again. They didn't make it as far as his face. They'd only reached his chest. He smiled internally at this small victory over her. Since their meeting this morning, she'd been a hellion, refusing to work with him and making sure that he knew how much she hated him. She wanted to make things difficult for him and he was more than willing to show her what a pain in the backside he could be to her. Besides, it was interesting to see a human's, a hunter's no less, reaction to a vampire, especially when they couldn't kill them. The temptation to push her to breaking point just to see what she'd do was overwhelming and a wonderful way of alleviating his boredom.
"You can't walk around my place like that or I will lock that door just like I threatened." She frowned at him, her eyes managing to make it to his this time.
"Why not?" He challenged her, leaning back a little and planting his palms against the counter so his muscles tensed. She did a good job of resisting a look. He could see that she was curious.
"It's..." She swallowed, pensive and still frowning beautifully.
"Distracting?" he suggested with a smirk.
"Off putting," she said, deadpan and glaring.
She moved to the sink and filled the kettle before putting it on. Lincoln watched her, silent and motionless. The way she moved around was entrancing. Strength laced her natural grace. It spoke of it to him, telling him that she believed herself a force to be reckoned with. Maybe she was in human terms.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" she said.
"I could not sleep." He moved closer to her, leaning against the tall cupboard next to where she now stood waiting for the kettle to boil.
"Vampires have sleepless days?" There was a playful note in her voice that he hadn't expected. She seemed surprisingly relaxed around him now. The trace of fear he'd detected in her this morning was gone.
"More often than you think when we are hungry," he whispered, his eyes caressing her throat.
"Never going to happen," she said without even looking at him.
Her senses were acute if she'd detected his intent without having to see it with her own two eyes. There was something different about her. Perhaps she'd been modified like some of the other hunters he'd encountered recently. Since the Law Keepers' report that humans had been playing god, they'd met more genetically altered hunters. They'd killed every one.
She filled her mug, removed the tea bag and went to move past him towards the lounge area. Her eyes strayed to his torso again.
He tensed his muscles for her and she quickly looked away. Either she was a prude, or it was because he was a vampire that she didn't want to look at him. He hoped it was the latter. It would be fun to prove to her just how curious she was about his kind. Her eyes strayed again and he waited to see what she'd do this time. She stood there, gaze furtively taking in his body. A dull ache settled in his chest, followed by another in his gut. Temptation whispered to push her now while he had the chance.
"Have you ever been curious? Come now, you must have been curious to know sometimes." Lincoln held her gaze when it darted to meet his. She looked wonderfully innocent and clueless. It didn't fool him. She understood what he was saying. He stepped away from the cupboard and towards her. "What we feel like, what it feels like."
"Never!" There was such defiance in her voice, such vehement denial. He might have believed it if she'd managed to keep better control of herself. Her eyes betrayed her. They strayed to his chest for a split second.
He grinned, enjoying this game. It was time to up the ante.
He trailed his fingers across his bare chest.
"I know you want to feel it." His senses locked onto her heart, revelling in the staccato rhythm it had adopted. A rush of adrenaline entered her blood, sending the scent of it into the air through her overheating flesh. She was either embarrassed, or his words held some truth and she wanted to touch him. Another push. "Just reach out and touch. I can see the questions in your eyes, Lilith. Is it cool, hard? Would you feel a heartbeat? Would I feel your touch, feel pain if you scraped your nails down it... feel pleasure?"
Her cheeks blazed and her eyes widened. She went to turn away. He was beside her before she could move, his hand tight around her wrist. He couldn't let her get away when it was just getting interesting.
Taking the mug from her other hand, he placed it down on the counter away from them, his movements slow so he didn't draw her attention away from his eyes. He drew her towards him. Her fingers shook in his. Her breath trembled uneasily, quivering with her racing heart. Her dark eyes fell to his chest and she slowly wet her lips with the bare tip of her soft pink tongue. He stared at her mouth, mesmerised by the motion of her tongue against her lips, and then snapped himself out of it.
This game was turning dangerous for them both. It didn't matter. He couldn't stop now.
He had to see what would happen.
"Surrender to it," he whispered, voice smooth and convincing.
Her fingertips barely grazed his skin and he was on fire. His eyes half closed as he absorbed the sensation of her warm caress heating his body. He hadn't expected this. He clawed back a modicum of control, telling himself this was just a game to annoy her, to make her feel weak. It shouldn't make him feel this way.
Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated as she stared at her fingers where they traced patterns on his chest. She was lost. He could smell the hint of arousal, the alluring pheromones coming off her.
He breathed in a voice of temptation, "Imagine what it is like to kiss me."
Her gaze burned him, trailing fire over his body as it rose to his mouth. He stared at hers, imagining the silky glide of her lips against his and the brush of her tongue, the warmth of her.
"Imagine what it is like to be kissed by me." He smiled to reveal his extended fangs.
She jerked her hand away and then shoved him hard in the chest. He laughed. She stormed off into her room. A small cream table lamp took the brunt of her anger. It hit the wall not five feet from him and smashed into pieces, raining down on the kitchen counter. He'd expected her aim to be more accurate.
Lincoln forced his teeth to recede and listened to her tramping around her room. What was she doing? Was she looking for something else to throw at him? He didn't know why she was angry with him. All he'd done was play a vicious game as she had been. Only his game was different. Instead of being designed to show her how much he hated her kind as hers was, it was designed to show her how curious she was about them and how tempting they were to her.
She walked back out of the bedroom.
He froze and stared at her.
The only trouble was she was becoming tempting herself.
The rose-coloured camisole hugged her upper body to the point where imagination wasn't necessary. It emphasised her breasts. They swayed as she moved towards him, free of a bra to restrain them. Dark blue jeans were moulded to her legs, revealing their slender shapely form. Her small feet were bare, her toes painted a sultry black.
She neared him and he raked his eyes back up her. They didn't make it to her face. She made sure of that. Her fingers skimmed across her chest, gathering the sheen of sweat there until it beaded against her skin. He swallowed. She stopped close to him, not three feet away. He couldn't take his eyes off what she was doing. The sensuality of it only heightened his desire for her, his want to take her and her blood for his own. He curled his hands into tight fists of restraint. It didn't stop his desire from rising. It was no use. He was captivated. She had turned his game against him and triggered thoughts that he shouldn't be entertaining. What they spoke of was forbidden. It was a sin to want a human.
He licked his lips and stepped towards her, still mesmerised by the motion of her fingers on her chest. A single drop of moisture slid down over the arc of her breast and into her cleavage. His lips parted in fascination and he looked at her. She smiled, all innocence laced with seduction. This was a cruel game to play with a man.
Another step.
She moved before he had time to react, reaching into her back pocket and pulling something out.
His eyes flicked to it.
A stake.
He leapt backwards.
She didn't attack.
His own weakness hit him with tremendous force. She'd lured him in and had drawn her stake before he'd even known what was happening. If she'd been serious about staking him, there was no telling what might have happened, but there was every possibility she would have hit her mark.
"Next time you try something, I will be armed, and I will kill you," she said, voice dark and lethal.
He raised his hands, in control again. "Touché."
She slipped the stake into her back pocket and walked towards him. His eyes followed her and he turned as she passed him, unwilling to show her his back. She grabbed the waste bin and pushed all the pieces of the lamp into it.
"And you owe me a new lamp."
Lincoln stared at Lilith's back, cocking his head to one side. Just below her neck and between her shoulder blades was a black tattoo. He stepped closer to see it better as she picked up her mug of tea. It was a sun surrounded by pointed rays and inside the circle of it was a crescent moon.
She turned to face him and sipped her drink. It had to be cold by now.
His little game would have seen to that.
In the end, he wasn't sure who the victor had been. She'd touched him and he'd seen in her eyes that she was curious. It didn't seem to go beyond that. Her scent had only shown a tiny sign of desire. If she'd been a vampire, she would have easily noticed the change in his own scent. He'd wanted her. Looking at her now, he still wanted her. The moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd admitted to himself that she was attractive for a human. She called to him on some base level where he wasn't master.
There was no way he could act on the attraction he felt though. The law was there to prevent such trysts between vampires and humans, unless he intended to kill or turn her. He had to uphold the law regardless of his situation. If he survived this, he would face trial for conspiracy against his bloodline. He didn't need to add any more sins to his list or he would lessen his chances of making the Law Keepers release him rather than execute him.
"Are you even listening to me?" she said with such an air of irritation that he realised their game still had her flustered.
He wondered if she felt as flustered as he did. Did the hunters have laws to prevent such relationships too? He doubted it. Humans seemed a lawless race.
"From the look on your face, I'm guessing no." She placed her mug down on the counter and glared at him. "I think we need a few ground rules, or I'm going to end up killing you before this assignment is complete."
He denied his urge to laugh at what she'd said. Laughing at her when she was already angry with him was going to get him nowhere, no matter how ridiculous her idea of being able to kill him was.
"What like?"
"First, no walking around my apartment naked."
Lincoln looked down at himself. "I fail to see that I am nude. Half nude perhaps, but not nude."
Lilith frowned and narrowed her eyes into a look that might have killed him if he'd been close enough. "Second, I need a reason not to lock you in your room during the day."
"Other than the fact I could just pull the door off the hinges or kick it down?" Another sour look met his question. "Are you afraid I am going to attempt to kill you?"
"I'm afraid you're getting ideas above your station, demon."
He raised an eyebrow at her tone. Snide and derisive. It sounded familiar. She sounded like he used to.
"Speak to me in that way again, and I will show you who is inferior." His eyes switched to red for a moment, enough to give her a reminder of just what she was dealing with. There was only one reason he hadn't killed her yet, and that was because she might be key to his own survival. If she hadn't been, he would've turned her into a delicious meal the first time she'd insulted him by grabbing him in her superior's office.
She walked past him, evidently choosing to ignore his warning.
"I mean it. You're surrounded by humans and they're unlikely to ignore you. It's our calling to kill creatures like you. The treatment the men gave you this morning was just a taster. What's to stop you from killing them next time?"
The only thing stopping him from killing them was himself. He realised any other demands she might have were just padding to draw his attention away from how important this one was to her. She was worried about her friends and with good reason. He wouldn't think twice about killing any of them, anyone but her, unless it meant that she would take her services away and leave him vulnerable.
Could he honestly say what she wanted him to say? If pushed, he would push back. Instinct and years of training made him see her kind as below him, as nothing more than fodder for his species. She was asking something of him that he didn't know if he could do. He could only try.
He swallowed his pride and the bitter taste of his thoughts. To promise her this would be to lower himself, and that was something he wasn't used to. His heart rebelled against the idea.
"I will make a pact with you," he said in a clear voice full of conviction even as his instinct told him to kill them all, to revel in their deaths and force her to help him.
"Your terms?" She seemed so confident and calm. There was a sparkle of victory in her eyes.
She had taken him down, kicked out his legs, bound his hands and forced him to submit to her, and all it had taken was the idea that she would turn her back on him and leave him to face his terrible fate alone.
"You will protect me... and in exchange, I will give you my word not to kill any member of this compound." Those words were easier to say than he'd thought they would be.
A smile bowed her dusky lips. "Agreed."
He frowned and watched her moving around the apartment, gathering a black shirt from where it lay draped over the back of the dark brown couch and then checking a crossbow that sat on the coffee table beside the books.
She'd agreed incredibly quickly. He'd thought she'd protest to the idea of having to protect him. She'd accepted his terms without a moment's pause. He only wished he could accept hers so easily. This feeling of weakness and his reliance on a human sickened him. He needed to feel strong again.
"Where are you going?" he said when she put the crossbow down, checked her stake was in her back pocket and then started putting her boots on.
She looked over at him, dark eyes still sparkling with diamonds and her smile.
"To hunt," she said.
No wonder she sounded so happy. He stared into the distance as he remembered what it felt like to hunt—the rush, the thrill, and the beauty of violence. He'd always been happy when he'd been going out to hunt. A vampire hunter had to feel something similar.
"I would be interested to see you hunt." He moved to block her path to the door.
Her wide eyes spoke of shock. It soon gave way to something else. She held her head high and looked him over, assessing him. What was going through her mind?
"Get dressed then," she said with a half smile. "And I'll show you just what hunters are made of."
* * * *
Lilith's muscles screamed in protest as she tried to push herself that bit harder. It was too much to ask of her tiring body. There was no way she could keep running at this pace. It was too fast.
Lincoln was edging away from her, taking the lead now.
She'd valiantly kept up with him, wanting to catch the demon before he did for the sake of her pride as a hunter. It was impossible. He was relentless and showed no sign of stopping or slowing.
The dark clouds above surrendered to the pressure of their load and heavy rain fell, drenching the pavement and road, and turning the grass embankment slippery in an instant. She ran onto the path and pushed on, not wanting to admit that she was beginning to slow down. She could continue. She could keep up with him. It wasn't about the demon anymore. It was about Lincoln being better than her.
She hated that.
Even with her gift and her natural strength, even though she could outrun any hunter in Section Seven, she couldn't beat him.
He had to be tiring now, surely? They'd chased the demon across the city and no one, not even a vampire, could keep running forever.
Stopping dead, she keeled over and grasped her knees.
A vampire hunter definitely couldn't.
She breathed hard through burning lungs as her body shut down, shrieking with pain. It was useless. She couldn't go on.
He'd won.
Closing her eyes, she fought to level out her breathing. Her throat was sore and tight, her chest wheezing with each lungful of air she dragged in and exhaled.
"The demon is getting away." Lincoln didn't sound as though he was mocking her. Her heart said that he was. The matter of fact tone he'd adopted didn't hide his underlying thoughts behind those words. He knew he'd won. He'd bested her when she'd brought him out on a hunt with her to prove her strength and superior skills.
"Let it," she rasped through a sticky throat and dry mouth, dying a little more.
It took all the energy she had left just to raise her head and look at him.
He towered above her, black hair slicked by the rain and forming spikes against his forehead. Droplets raced down his cheeks to his chin and fell to his chest. His clothes were soaked, sticking the black t-shirt to his chest and making her think of this evening.
She couldn't believe that she'd touched him. Worse than that, she'd wanted to. His words had been so convincing, making the temptation rise in her until she'd no longer wanted to resist it. She'd wanted to feel him and know all those things he'd whispered.
"I could go on alone," he said and again there wasn't a trace of malice in his voice.
He seemed to be enjoying the hunt, and it didn't seem to bother him what he was hunting. She'd dispatched a weakling vampire with all the grace, speed and skill she'd wanted to show him. The fight had been short, but not as short as his one against another weakling.
He'd killed it with one blow.
It had taken seconds.
Then the demon had shown up and she'd seen her chance to show him that she was better than him.
Only he'd beaten her that time too.
He'd outrun her and he didn't even look as though he'd broken a sweat. Did vampires sweat? They probably didn't.
Straightening, she peered into his dark eyes. The light was bad, sickly yellow sodium that did nothing to illuminate his face. She didn't see any sign of fatigue though.
"Aren't you tired?" she said and then wondered when she'd fallen onto such easy terms with him. A part of her said to rebel and treat him as she had when she'd first met him. She was too tired to go through with it. Maybe tomorrow she'd give him hell again.
She hadn't realised how close he was to her until he shifted slightly. He was barely three feet away. It compounded the strange notion she'd come up with earlier in the night. He was always close to her. Was it his need for protection driving him to stay so near, or something else? His desire for her blood? He hadn't hidden that back at her apartment. He'd bite her if she let him, of that she was sure. This was different though. It was as though he couldn't leave her side, as though they were one and the same. She didn't like that thought. It made her stomach turn and made conflict ring in her head.
Her gaze fell to his hand. The angle of their bodies made it close to hers. There was strength in those large hands and long fingers. She'd felt it when he'd held her wrist and seen it when he'd killed the weakling.
Her hand shifted to her pocket where she kept her stake, and she went rigid and alert as a noise broke the silence. Down the road, a man crossed over to the other side. She slumped back into a more relaxed position and lowered her hand. Lincoln moved a step closer and her attention was with him again. He looked thoughtful and then shrugged.
"I am certain that I will need a good stretch come tomorrow night." He laughed and she noticed his extended fangs. They glistened in the streetlight, capturing her attention until she was staring at his mouth. Would it hurt?
That thought shocked her and she backed away a step, distancing herself from him as though that would rid her of the things going around her head.
"I know what you are thinking," he said.
Her heart hammered at the idea he might, that any cocky comment he was about to make might actually be true.
"You do?" Her voice shook.
"They take a while to get used to when talking," he said and relief filled her, swift and calming. "There is a lot of bloodied tongue at first... not that that is a bad thing."
The idea of that should have repulsed her. She knew that. For some reason it didn't sicken her to the extent she'd thought it would. She frowned and rubbed her temples. This was all getting horribly complicated and she was beginning to lose perspective.
He was a vampire.
She killed vampires.
That's all there was to it.
She hated his kind. He used hers as food or for amusement and then food.
Her heart whispered a reminder that he wasn't just a demon now, not to her. He'd somehow made himself almost human. She was beginning to forget what he truly was. He was starting to become something other than an enemy.
Her eyes fell to his mouth again and the sight of it stirred thoughts she'd been trying to repress all night—his teeth, his lips, his kiss.
His fangs receded, shifting back into normal teeth, and he flashed a winsome smile.
"The demon?" he said in a voice that sounded distant to her ears.
"Let it go."
What was happening to her?
She was still staring at his mouth when her senses screamed of danger. Her instinct kicked in, her training taking over. Her hand shot to her stake. She turned to face their attacker.
The man that had crossed the road changed in front of her eyes. In the space of a heartbeat, he'd sprouted a curling pair of horns and tattered leathery wings that beat the air. Razor-sharp teeth cut across his widening mouth and scales erupted over his body. The demon unleashed an ear-splitting shriek that had her desperate to cover her ears.
Another heartbeat and it flew upwards, out of her reach, heading into the darkness.
It had taken Lincoln with it.
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At the moment, I have a fantastic offer on a selection of my ebooks. There are plenty of fantastic reads to choose from, all priced between $0.99 and $2.99 and in a range of lengths between novella and long novels, and a variety of paranormal romance sub-genres including sinful angels, sexy vampires, seductive werewolves, and even a super-hot demon and sassy witch pairing. Offers end 15th January 2012.
Find out more about the books, including excerpts and reviews, and these great offers at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php
Seventh Circle is on offer for just $2.99 on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, Smashwords and other retailers. You can also get Winter's Kiss for just $2.99, and the first three books in the series, the Prophecy Trilogy, for only $0.99 each!
So, here's a single chapter tease and a link to a downloaded extended excerpt pdf!
Seventh Circle
F E HeatonBorn with powers similar to a vampire's, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmare—a client who is not only attractive but a vampire.
Lincoln is a powerful pureblood with a problem. He's caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, he's prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isn't prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her.
Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work together but when Lincoln reveals the truth about her powers, will Lilith find the strength to embrace a side of herself that she wished didn't exist? And when they discover Lilith's role in the prophecy, how far will Lincoln go to save her?
Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world.
LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER: Only $2.99 (normally $3.99) as part of my Winter Warmers deal - offer ends 15th January 2012. Find out more about the offer and where it is available.
Available in e-book from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Seventh%20Circle
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EXCERPTLincoln stared at the ceiling. Sleep evaded him, chased away by the thousand screaming heartbeats in his head. He clapped a hand over his eyes, wishing to shut the world out. The blood of every human in the building still called to him.
None more than Lilith's.
He focused on it as it beckoned him, a strong steady melody in his ears, a siren song. His eyes slipped shut behind his hand and a smile teased his lips as he reached out with sharpened senses and listened to her moving around the small apartment. She was muttering to herself about the heat. It was hot in the building. Everyone's blood was rushing close to the surface, their hearts working overtime to cool their bodies down. It only made them more alluring.
Shifting his focus, he listened to the clanging of metal on metal far below him. Someone was trying to fix the boiler. Its malfunction was obviously the cause of the temporary heat wave.
Lilith cursed again from the other room, loud enough this time that he would've heard it if he'd been human.
Her heart thumped rhythmically, pounding in his blood and telling him to go to her. Neither of them could sleep. Perhaps they could begin researching, although it would probably be unwise to disturb her now. When her superior had told her to share her apartment with him, and that his safety was maximum priority, she'd looked as though she'd been chewing a wasp. Her superior had been right. She did despise his kind, as did everyone here. Common sense told him to leave before someone got it into their head to attempt to kill him, and not just make idle threats. His heart said that he had to stay. He had to know if she really was the one.
Sitting up, Lincoln stared at the closed door of his room. On the other side was Lilith. She was moving around the kitchen of the small two bedroom apartment. The modernity of this area of the mansion was a strange contrast to the more in-keeping look of the area he'd first arrived in, with its large rooms filled with antique furniture and old paintings. This wing seemed to act like a dormitory for the hunters. Were all the apartments like Lilith's or was hers special? Perhaps hunters shared them. Had she shared this apartment with her dead friend or her sister? His focus shifted back to Lilith as she moved again. He could sense her fatigue. It gave out a call to his instincts, telling him she'd be easy prey in her current state. It was hard to ignore such instincts even when he had to.
It had been near impossible to stop himself from killing those hunters this morning.
Getting up, he walked to the door and opened it. Lilith was in the kitchen side of the living room now, busying herself in some vain attempt to pretend he wasn't here, that he hadn't heard her crying, and by the looks of things making tea. He studied her, amused by the way the oversized grey t-shirt swamped her and the loose black jogging bottoms trailed on the floor. She'd tied her golden hair back into a high ponytail. The tips of it brushed her neck. He dragged his eyes away from it and raised them to her face. She looked tired, her face drawn and pale.
He glanced at the coffee table and saw it spread with books. She must have gone out to get them during the short hours of sleep that he'd snatched. Now the sun was growing close to setting and its sway over him was less. Soon night would fall and it would be almost impossible to ignore the lure of the cacophony of heartbeats.
Aware that he was dressed only in his black jeans, he walked with head held high into the kitchen area and leaned against the counter near her.
Her eyes darted to him and then away again. They didn't make it as far as his face. They'd only reached his chest. He smiled internally at this small victory over her. Since their meeting this morning, she'd been a hellion, refusing to work with him and making sure that he knew how much she hated him. She wanted to make things difficult for him and he was more than willing to show her what a pain in the backside he could be to her. Besides, it was interesting to see a human's, a hunter's no less, reaction to a vampire, especially when they couldn't kill them. The temptation to push her to breaking point just to see what she'd do was overwhelming and a wonderful way of alleviating his boredom.
"You can't walk around my place like that or I will lock that door just like I threatened." She frowned at him, her eyes managing to make it to his this time.
"Why not?" He challenged her, leaning back a little and planting his palms against the counter so his muscles tensed. She did a good job of resisting a look. He could see that she was curious.
"It's..." She swallowed, pensive and still frowning beautifully.
"Distracting?" he suggested with a smirk.
"Off putting," she said, deadpan and glaring.
She moved to the sink and filled the kettle before putting it on. Lincoln watched her, silent and motionless. The way she moved around was entrancing. Strength laced her natural grace. It spoke of it to him, telling him that she believed herself a force to be reckoned with. Maybe she was in human terms.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" she said.
"I could not sleep." He moved closer to her, leaning against the tall cupboard next to where she now stood waiting for the kettle to boil.
"Vampires have sleepless days?" There was a playful note in her voice that he hadn't expected. She seemed surprisingly relaxed around him now. The trace of fear he'd detected in her this morning was gone.
"More often than you think when we are hungry," he whispered, his eyes caressing her throat.
"Never going to happen," she said without even looking at him.
Her senses were acute if she'd detected his intent without having to see it with her own two eyes. There was something different about her. Perhaps she'd been modified like some of the other hunters he'd encountered recently. Since the Law Keepers' report that humans had been playing god, they'd met more genetically altered hunters. They'd killed every one.
She filled her mug, removed the tea bag and went to move past him towards the lounge area. Her eyes strayed to his torso again.
He tensed his muscles for her and she quickly looked away. Either she was a prude, or it was because he was a vampire that she didn't want to look at him. He hoped it was the latter. It would be fun to prove to her just how curious she was about his kind. Her eyes strayed again and he waited to see what she'd do this time. She stood there, gaze furtively taking in his body. A dull ache settled in his chest, followed by another in his gut. Temptation whispered to push her now while he had the chance.
"Have you ever been curious? Come now, you must have been curious to know sometimes." Lincoln held her gaze when it darted to meet his. She looked wonderfully innocent and clueless. It didn't fool him. She understood what he was saying. He stepped away from the cupboard and towards her. "What we feel like, what it feels like."
"Never!" There was such defiance in her voice, such vehement denial. He might have believed it if she'd managed to keep better control of herself. Her eyes betrayed her. They strayed to his chest for a split second.
He grinned, enjoying this game. It was time to up the ante.
He trailed his fingers across his bare chest.
"I know you want to feel it." His senses locked onto her heart, revelling in the staccato rhythm it had adopted. A rush of adrenaline entered her blood, sending the scent of it into the air through her overheating flesh. She was either embarrassed, or his words held some truth and she wanted to touch him. Another push. "Just reach out and touch. I can see the questions in your eyes, Lilith. Is it cool, hard? Would you feel a heartbeat? Would I feel your touch, feel pain if you scraped your nails down it... feel pleasure?"
Her cheeks blazed and her eyes widened. She went to turn away. He was beside her before she could move, his hand tight around her wrist. He couldn't let her get away when it was just getting interesting.
Taking the mug from her other hand, he placed it down on the counter away from them, his movements slow so he didn't draw her attention away from his eyes. He drew her towards him. Her fingers shook in his. Her breath trembled uneasily, quivering with her racing heart. Her dark eyes fell to his chest and she slowly wet her lips with the bare tip of her soft pink tongue. He stared at her mouth, mesmerised by the motion of her tongue against her lips, and then snapped himself out of it.
This game was turning dangerous for them both. It didn't matter. He couldn't stop now.
He had to see what would happen.
"Surrender to it," he whispered, voice smooth and convincing.
Her fingertips barely grazed his skin and he was on fire. His eyes half closed as he absorbed the sensation of her warm caress heating his body. He hadn't expected this. He clawed back a modicum of control, telling himself this was just a game to annoy her, to make her feel weak. It shouldn't make him feel this way.
Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated as she stared at her fingers where they traced patterns on his chest. She was lost. He could smell the hint of arousal, the alluring pheromones coming off her.
He breathed in a voice of temptation, "Imagine what it is like to kiss me."
Her gaze burned him, trailing fire over his body as it rose to his mouth. He stared at hers, imagining the silky glide of her lips against his and the brush of her tongue, the warmth of her.
"Imagine what it is like to be kissed by me." He smiled to reveal his extended fangs.
She jerked her hand away and then shoved him hard in the chest. He laughed. She stormed off into her room. A small cream table lamp took the brunt of her anger. It hit the wall not five feet from him and smashed into pieces, raining down on the kitchen counter. He'd expected her aim to be more accurate.
Lincoln forced his teeth to recede and listened to her tramping around her room. What was she doing? Was she looking for something else to throw at him? He didn't know why she was angry with him. All he'd done was play a vicious game as she had been. Only his game was different. Instead of being designed to show her how much he hated her kind as hers was, it was designed to show her how curious she was about them and how tempting they were to her.
She walked back out of the bedroom.
He froze and stared at her.
The only trouble was she was becoming tempting herself.
The rose-coloured camisole hugged her upper body to the point where imagination wasn't necessary. It emphasised her breasts. They swayed as she moved towards him, free of a bra to restrain them. Dark blue jeans were moulded to her legs, revealing their slender shapely form. Her small feet were bare, her toes painted a sultry black.
She neared him and he raked his eyes back up her. They didn't make it to her face. She made sure of that. Her fingers skimmed across her chest, gathering the sheen of sweat there until it beaded against her skin. He swallowed. She stopped close to him, not three feet away. He couldn't take his eyes off what she was doing. The sensuality of it only heightened his desire for her, his want to take her and her blood for his own. He curled his hands into tight fists of restraint. It didn't stop his desire from rising. It was no use. He was captivated. She had turned his game against him and triggered thoughts that he shouldn't be entertaining. What they spoke of was forbidden. It was a sin to want a human.
He licked his lips and stepped towards her, still mesmerised by the motion of her fingers on her chest. A single drop of moisture slid down over the arc of her breast and into her cleavage. His lips parted in fascination and he looked at her. She smiled, all innocence laced with seduction. This was a cruel game to play with a man.
Another step.
She moved before he had time to react, reaching into her back pocket and pulling something out.
His eyes flicked to it.
A stake.
He leapt backwards.
She didn't attack.
His own weakness hit him with tremendous force. She'd lured him in and had drawn her stake before he'd even known what was happening. If she'd been serious about staking him, there was no telling what might have happened, but there was every possibility she would have hit her mark.
"Next time you try something, I will be armed, and I will kill you," she said, voice dark and lethal.
He raised his hands, in control again. "Touché."
She slipped the stake into her back pocket and walked towards him. His eyes followed her and he turned as she passed him, unwilling to show her his back. She grabbed the waste bin and pushed all the pieces of the lamp into it.
"And you owe me a new lamp."
Lincoln stared at Lilith's back, cocking his head to one side. Just below her neck and between her shoulder blades was a black tattoo. He stepped closer to see it better as she picked up her mug of tea. It was a sun surrounded by pointed rays and inside the circle of it was a crescent moon.
She turned to face him and sipped her drink. It had to be cold by now.
His little game would have seen to that.
In the end, he wasn't sure who the victor had been. She'd touched him and he'd seen in her eyes that she was curious. It didn't seem to go beyond that. Her scent had only shown a tiny sign of desire. If she'd been a vampire, she would have easily noticed the change in his own scent. He'd wanted her. Looking at her now, he still wanted her. The moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd admitted to himself that she was attractive for a human. She called to him on some base level where he wasn't master.
There was no way he could act on the attraction he felt though. The law was there to prevent such trysts between vampires and humans, unless he intended to kill or turn her. He had to uphold the law regardless of his situation. If he survived this, he would face trial for conspiracy against his bloodline. He didn't need to add any more sins to his list or he would lessen his chances of making the Law Keepers release him rather than execute him.
"Are you even listening to me?" she said with such an air of irritation that he realised their game still had her flustered.
He wondered if she felt as flustered as he did. Did the hunters have laws to prevent such relationships too? He doubted it. Humans seemed a lawless race.
"From the look on your face, I'm guessing no." She placed her mug down on the counter and glared at him. "I think we need a few ground rules, or I'm going to end up killing you before this assignment is complete."
He denied his urge to laugh at what she'd said. Laughing at her when she was already angry with him was going to get him nowhere, no matter how ridiculous her idea of being able to kill him was.
"What like?"
"First, no walking around my apartment naked."
Lincoln looked down at himself. "I fail to see that I am nude. Half nude perhaps, but not nude."
Lilith frowned and narrowed her eyes into a look that might have killed him if he'd been close enough. "Second, I need a reason not to lock you in your room during the day."
"Other than the fact I could just pull the door off the hinges or kick it down?" Another sour look met his question. "Are you afraid I am going to attempt to kill you?"
"I'm afraid you're getting ideas above your station, demon."
He raised an eyebrow at her tone. Snide and derisive. It sounded familiar. She sounded like he used to.
"Speak to me in that way again, and I will show you who is inferior." His eyes switched to red for a moment, enough to give her a reminder of just what she was dealing with. There was only one reason he hadn't killed her yet, and that was because she might be key to his own survival. If she hadn't been, he would've turned her into a delicious meal the first time she'd insulted him by grabbing him in her superior's office.
She walked past him, evidently choosing to ignore his warning.
"I mean it. You're surrounded by humans and they're unlikely to ignore you. It's our calling to kill creatures like you. The treatment the men gave you this morning was just a taster. What's to stop you from killing them next time?"
The only thing stopping him from killing them was himself. He realised any other demands she might have were just padding to draw his attention away from how important this one was to her. She was worried about her friends and with good reason. He wouldn't think twice about killing any of them, anyone but her, unless it meant that she would take her services away and leave him vulnerable.
Could he honestly say what she wanted him to say? If pushed, he would push back. Instinct and years of training made him see her kind as below him, as nothing more than fodder for his species. She was asking something of him that he didn't know if he could do. He could only try.
He swallowed his pride and the bitter taste of his thoughts. To promise her this would be to lower himself, and that was something he wasn't used to. His heart rebelled against the idea.
"I will make a pact with you," he said in a clear voice full of conviction even as his instinct told him to kill them all, to revel in their deaths and force her to help him.
"Your terms?" She seemed so confident and calm. There was a sparkle of victory in her eyes.
She had taken him down, kicked out his legs, bound his hands and forced him to submit to her, and all it had taken was the idea that she would turn her back on him and leave him to face his terrible fate alone.
"You will protect me... and in exchange, I will give you my word not to kill any member of this compound." Those words were easier to say than he'd thought they would be.
A smile bowed her dusky lips. "Agreed."
He frowned and watched her moving around the apartment, gathering a black shirt from where it lay draped over the back of the dark brown couch and then checking a crossbow that sat on the coffee table beside the books.
She'd agreed incredibly quickly. He'd thought she'd protest to the idea of having to protect him. She'd accepted his terms without a moment's pause. He only wished he could accept hers so easily. This feeling of weakness and his reliance on a human sickened him. He needed to feel strong again.
"Where are you going?" he said when she put the crossbow down, checked her stake was in her back pocket and then started putting her boots on.
She looked over at him, dark eyes still sparkling with diamonds and her smile.
"To hunt," she said.
No wonder she sounded so happy. He stared into the distance as he remembered what it felt like to hunt—the rush, the thrill, and the beauty of violence. He'd always been happy when he'd been going out to hunt. A vampire hunter had to feel something similar.
"I would be interested to see you hunt." He moved to block her path to the door.
Her wide eyes spoke of shock. It soon gave way to something else. She held her head high and looked him over, assessing him. What was going through her mind?
"Get dressed then," she said with a half smile. "And I'll show you just what hunters are made of."
* * * *
Lilith's muscles screamed in protest as she tried to push herself that bit harder. It was too much to ask of her tiring body. There was no way she could keep running at this pace. It was too fast.
Lincoln was edging away from her, taking the lead now.
She'd valiantly kept up with him, wanting to catch the demon before he did for the sake of her pride as a hunter. It was impossible. He was relentless and showed no sign of stopping or slowing.
The dark clouds above surrendered to the pressure of their load and heavy rain fell, drenching the pavement and road, and turning the grass embankment slippery in an instant. She ran onto the path and pushed on, not wanting to admit that she was beginning to slow down. She could continue. She could keep up with him. It wasn't about the demon anymore. It was about Lincoln being better than her.
She hated that.
Even with her gift and her natural strength, even though she could outrun any hunter in Section Seven, she couldn't beat him.
He had to be tiring now, surely? They'd chased the demon across the city and no one, not even a vampire, could keep running forever.
Stopping dead, she keeled over and grasped her knees.
A vampire hunter definitely couldn't.
She breathed hard through burning lungs as her body shut down, shrieking with pain. It was useless. She couldn't go on.
He'd won.
Closing her eyes, she fought to level out her breathing. Her throat was sore and tight, her chest wheezing with each lungful of air she dragged in and exhaled.
"The demon is getting away." Lincoln didn't sound as though he was mocking her. Her heart said that he was. The matter of fact tone he'd adopted didn't hide his underlying thoughts behind those words. He knew he'd won. He'd bested her when she'd brought him out on a hunt with her to prove her strength and superior skills.
"Let it," she rasped through a sticky throat and dry mouth, dying a little more.
It took all the energy she had left just to raise her head and look at him.
He towered above her, black hair slicked by the rain and forming spikes against his forehead. Droplets raced down his cheeks to his chin and fell to his chest. His clothes were soaked, sticking the black t-shirt to his chest and making her think of this evening.
She couldn't believe that she'd touched him. Worse than that, she'd wanted to. His words had been so convincing, making the temptation rise in her until she'd no longer wanted to resist it. She'd wanted to feel him and know all those things he'd whispered.
"I could go on alone," he said and again there wasn't a trace of malice in his voice.
He seemed to be enjoying the hunt, and it didn't seem to bother him what he was hunting. She'd dispatched a weakling vampire with all the grace, speed and skill she'd wanted to show him. The fight had been short, but not as short as his one against another weakling.
He'd killed it with one blow.
It had taken seconds.
Then the demon had shown up and she'd seen her chance to show him that she was better than him.
Only he'd beaten her that time too.
He'd outrun her and he didn't even look as though he'd broken a sweat. Did vampires sweat? They probably didn't.
Straightening, she peered into his dark eyes. The light was bad, sickly yellow sodium that did nothing to illuminate his face. She didn't see any sign of fatigue though.
"Aren't you tired?" she said and then wondered when she'd fallen onto such easy terms with him. A part of her said to rebel and treat him as she had when she'd first met him. She was too tired to go through with it. Maybe tomorrow she'd give him hell again.
She hadn't realised how close he was to her until he shifted slightly. He was barely three feet away. It compounded the strange notion she'd come up with earlier in the night. He was always close to her. Was it his need for protection driving him to stay so near, or something else? His desire for her blood? He hadn't hidden that back at her apartment. He'd bite her if she let him, of that she was sure. This was different though. It was as though he couldn't leave her side, as though they were one and the same. She didn't like that thought. It made her stomach turn and made conflict ring in her head.
Her gaze fell to his hand. The angle of their bodies made it close to hers. There was strength in those large hands and long fingers. She'd felt it when he'd held her wrist and seen it when he'd killed the weakling.
Her hand shifted to her pocket where she kept her stake, and she went rigid and alert as a noise broke the silence. Down the road, a man crossed over to the other side. She slumped back into a more relaxed position and lowered her hand. Lincoln moved a step closer and her attention was with him again. He looked thoughtful and then shrugged.
"I am certain that I will need a good stretch come tomorrow night." He laughed and she noticed his extended fangs. They glistened in the streetlight, capturing her attention until she was staring at his mouth. Would it hurt?
That thought shocked her and she backed away a step, distancing herself from him as though that would rid her of the things going around her head.
"I know what you are thinking," he said.
Her heart hammered at the idea he might, that any cocky comment he was about to make might actually be true.
"You do?" Her voice shook.
"They take a while to get used to when talking," he said and relief filled her, swift and calming. "There is a lot of bloodied tongue at first... not that that is a bad thing."
The idea of that should have repulsed her. She knew that. For some reason it didn't sicken her to the extent she'd thought it would. She frowned and rubbed her temples. This was all getting horribly complicated and she was beginning to lose perspective.
He was a vampire.
She killed vampires.
That's all there was to it.
She hated his kind. He used hers as food or for amusement and then food.
Her heart whispered a reminder that he wasn't just a demon now, not to her. He'd somehow made himself almost human. She was beginning to forget what he truly was. He was starting to become something other than an enemy.
Her eyes fell to his mouth again and the sight of it stirred thoughts she'd been trying to repress all night—his teeth, his lips, his kiss.
His fangs receded, shifting back into normal teeth, and he flashed a winsome smile.
"The demon?" he said in a voice that sounded distant to her ears.
"Let it go."
What was happening to her?
She was still staring at his mouth when her senses screamed of danger. Her instinct kicked in, her training taking over. Her hand shot to her stake. She turned to face their attacker.
The man that had crossed the road changed in front of her eyes. In the space of a heartbeat, he'd sprouted a curling pair of horns and tattered leathery wings that beat the air. Razor-sharp teeth cut across his widening mouth and scales erupted over his body. The demon unleashed an ear-splitting shriek that had her desperate to cover her ears.
Another heartbeat and it flew upwards, out of her reach, heading into the darkness.
It had taken Lincoln with it.
DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF
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January 2, 2012
750 facebook members drive - snag yourself 6 signed paperbacks!
That's right, you can get your hands on a bundle of hot prizes - a signed and personalised paperback copy of each of my paranormal romance releases from 2011.The paranormal romance books included are Love Immortal, Hunter's Moon, Ascension, Forbidden Blood, Her Guardian Angel, and Heart of Darkness!
If my facebook fan page reaches 750 LIKES by February 14th 2012, I will giveaway this bundle of signed books. For each 250 LIKES we go beyond the 750, I will add another bundle! So if we reach 1000 there will be 2 bundles of books on offer, for 1250 there will be 3 bundles, etc.
All you have to do is head over to my facebook fan page, LIKE it and then go to the 750 Members Giveaway page (linked in the left menu) and put your name/email into the Rafflecopter form! Easy as that.Giveaway is open internationally.
If you want to make sure we reach the 750 LIKES, or even hit the numbers beyond it to unlock more prizes, then start spreading the word to your friends.
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Manday Hotties - Your first manday fix of 2012!
It's time for the Manday Hotties Hop again and it's the first hop of 2012! Be sure to follow the links in the list below to get your full fix of New Year mancandy!
I have to kick off the New Year with an old favourite... my lovely Josh Kloss... *purr*
Don't forget to clicky click him to make him bigger!
Visit the other blogs in the hop:
