Excerpt ~ Book Two

I am presently in the midst of book two, working title Blood Tryst.  Many of my readers have asked for a taste… here goes…

PROLOGUE

PARIS, July 1792

 

The petite, dark-haired woman stared into the brazier.  Though it was July, she rubbed her thin arms to keep warm. It had been days since they jarred her from an already fitful night’s sleep to drag her husband Luc away.  She could barely protest she was so weak and afraid to die, knowing she would never see him again. Living in constant in fear had taken its toll.  She barely ate, rationing the tepid water and rancid bread in case her captors decided to starve her to death.  Glancing at the tin plate of rotted bread, she debated whether that was a crueler fate than being beheaded.   Time had stopped.  Housed below ground in a stone cell she no longer knew if it were day or night.

She reflected on the milestones of her short life: growing up in Paris, the arranged marriage at fifteen to older aristocrat Luc Delacore, and all her illicit love affairs.  There had not just been one, nor two, but three vampires; each one more handsome and exciting than the next.  The first had been Gaétan who had seduced her with dreams of power.

Then, the mysterious Christian Du Mauré who had stolen her away, and finally, his best friend, Michel Baptiste, the vivacious, dark-haired vampire who had given her a  daughter: Solange. Michel had been torn between his loyalty to his best friend and his love for her; but in the end she had been abandoned by all of them to meet her fate.

Michel had fled Paris with Christian.  He no more wanted to be a father than he could be a faithful lover. It was Christian whom they had deceived, and who promised to watch over Solange from a distance, after turning her over to a French family fleeing Paris for a new life in London. She had not heard from either vampire since her arrest, nor did she expect to; Christian and Michel now lived in London, and Gaetan had taken up with Gabrielle.

She thought back to the times she had begged each vampire to turn her. Christian vehemently denied her. Immortality was the one thing she could not ply from him despite all her charms. Michel simply chuckled, which meant it was not open for debate.   The best friends were opposites in every way, from their physical appearance to their views on

life and love.

It had always been this way between them, even as children. When Michel confided to Josette how Gabrielle had turned him during the winter of 1757, she

listened enraptured.  Michel viewed what he was as a gift that brought him closer to God, not a curse as Christian saw it.  She would listen, lying beside him after making love.  His face almost animated, his green eyes full of delight as he spoke to her of the thrill of the hunt, the seduction of mortals, and most importantly; his craving for blood.  Though they both feared Christian would discover their secret trysts, if he did he never mentioned it.

Josette still blushed when she thought back to one night in particular when Michel had sunk his fangs into her neck as an orgasm ripped through her, threatening to tear her apart.  She believed that was the night Solange was conceived.  And though she knew Solange was a miracle; something almost unknown in the vampire world, Michel avoided the child, unlike Christian who gave Solange attention.  Around Solange’s second birthday he began to spend more time with the little girl, usually when Luc was away or  Christian was off roaming the streets of Paris alone as he so often did.

Josette remembered watching Michel hold the child as he rocked her to sleep in his strong arms.  Josette cherished those rare moments, feeling connected to the ethereal ampire though she knew that it was not his vampiric nature that made him keep his distance from Solange.  Even if he were mortal, Michel was just not interested in being a father or a husband to any woman. Ironically, that was all Christian had ever wanted.  Why couldn’t the child have been his? Nature played cruel tricks. Perhaps he would have acquiesced and turned her so the three of them could remain a family forever. Though Christian made her feel safe, he was impenetrable, a confessed loner who never needed much blood, at least not from her.  He had a presence, yet he remained aloof and detached from both worlds, as if it pained him to be a part of either.

Josette thought that combined, Christian and Michel were the perfect man, each possessing what the other lacked.  She wanted them both, together in her bed, but she knew Christian would never share her and Michel valued his friendship too much to even suggest it. The three of them existed like chess pieces, each strategically moving around the other while never disturbing the placid façade of their triangular love affair.

Something caught her eye, a force moving through the bars of her cell.  She jumped up off her cot in fear, but as the dark-haired vampire emerged from the shadows, her heart jumped.  With a long finger pressed to his exquisite lips, Michel floated towards her and before she could utter one word they were in each other’s arms.