Innocent, fairylike Agnès Gunarsson finds herself as a fish out of water when she meets the ‘terrible twins’, Elle and Jacques, at Château de Dragancourt in Picardy.
Elle and Jacques de Dragancourt both fall head over heels for Agnès. They each vie for her affections, each attempting to outdo the other, trying to win her heart.
The Swedish orphan has no idea how to handle this sibling love triangle. Her tragic past has in no way prepared her for the bold world these aristocrats embody.
When Elle’s advances go too far, Agnès must decide what she wants for herself and her future. Will she stay at Chateau de Dragancourt with Elle and Jacques, or is it all becoming too much for her to handle?
A tender coming-of-age tale of darkness and light, love and misunderstanding.
She lay motionless. Agnès panicked. Her knees became wobbly and weak. Had she killed her?
But she saw Elle move, then curl up in a ball. With eyes closed, she kept lying like that. A beautiful dark Siren, lost in herself.
Without knowing what to do next, Agnès picked up the key that had fallen on the ground, and grabbing her bag called Gåva to follow her along the corridor, tears stinging her eyes. Not seeing where she was going until she bumped into Jacques. He’d clearly awoken from the noise and was coming to see what was going on.
Agnès stammered incoherent words, sobbing loudly, but in the end Jacques could make out what had happened and soothing her tried to make her sit down, but there was no reasoning with the distraught girl anymore. It was as if Elle’s wildness had transported over to Agnès.
“I hate her, I hate her!” she kept repeating.
So in the end Jacques wrapped Agnès in one of his own jackets and with rattling teeth, carrying the shivering Gåva in her arms, drove her back to her father’s château in the T Ford, while the first rays of light glimpsed over the rolling hills.
Introducing My Fellow Author GO Partner, A.M. Griffin
A.M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.
Life is good. My mom is recovering and I wasn’t torn apart by the Lycans. Work is rolling in almost faster than I can handle, and I might even be about to find my dad. The cherry on top? I’ve met a man. One who gives me all the attention Demarcus never did and doesn’t make me nervous like Zaid does. Yeah, I know he’s human, so a relationship is out of the question, but I’m going to enjoy his company for as long as I can. It’s nice to have a normal, non-paranormal friend, especially when he’s as handsome as Easton.
When will I ever learn that just when thinks are going well, it’s time to expect crazy to rear its head? Nothing is turning out quite the way I expected, but through trying to keep my human IT guru out of Undercity business, dealing with a stalker and the aftermath of some of the best sex of my life, I come to one conclusion. It really isn’t me…
Zaid is one of the oldest living Vampires. His age is unknown and, from his own mouth, he predates the birth of Christ. Melia is over two hundred years old and in the Vampire world, while she’s not considered old, she’s considered seasoned. The older a Vampire is, the more dangerous they become and their powers become more refined. I could see why everyone feared Zaid on that point alone.
When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I made out the furnishings in his room; dresser, recliner and large bed. His eyes were like beacons, letting me know that they were not only open, but looking directly at me.
I made my way to his recliner and eased into the comfortable leather seat. “I can see why you like this thing. It’s comfy.” I had to hand it to them. Vampires sure had a way of picking out comfortable seating.
“Aw, I was hoping you would join me in bed,” he said in a deep and throaty voice. “This is quite…comfortable too.”
I brought up my legs and crossed them. “Not on this visit, buddy.”
He chuckled.
“Usually when I come during the day you’re up. I mean, you’re in bed, but you’re wide awake. Why are you so sleepy now?”
“I sleep during the day, but just not as long or hard as the others.”
“Is it because you’re so old?”
“Partly.”
“Partly,” I repeated. “What are the other factors?”
“Babylonia, I am exhausted and if I don’t get some sleep I’ll be cranky. You wouldn’t like me when I’m cranky.”
I snorted. “I don’t like you now.”
“Stop lying. You adore me.”
“Adore would be stretching it. Alright. Go to sleep and I’ll just sit here and wait.”
He went quiet and I folded my hands in my lap, trying to stay still and not fidget. I began to think about exactly how the visit would go down. The Fairy King will come up to me and, with one look, declare that not only was I half-Fairy but he was also my father. There would be a little crying and some hugs. He would tell me that he hadn’t known that I existed, he would apologize for being absent in my life and for leaving my mom to struggle on her own.
Maybe I’d go visit him so he could teach me all about my powers. No. I couldn’t do that. According to Zaid I might go there and when I came back years might’ve passed. He would have to stay with me for a while. As the King, could he leave for an extended visit? I mentally shrugged. Probably.
Zaid let out a deep breath and pulled me from my thoughts. “I don’t think I can sleep while you’re in the room.”
“I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“It’s not that. Even in sleep I can defend myself.” I thought back on the time when I’d made a mistake and gotten too close to Melia while she’d slept. She held me in a tight grip until she’d woken up that evening. I couldn’t pry her hand off of my forearm and couldn’t get away. I’d been powerless. “It’s your scent,” he continued. “It does something to me.”
I lowered my head to sniff at my cleavage. “I don’t remember putting on the Chanel N°5 this morning, but I could’ve.” I’d bought a small bottle of the very expensive perfume and because I’d worn it sparingly, it had lasted almost a year. But thanks to Zaid, I had a new, bigger bottle. I frowned. “I was a bit out of it today.”
He took a longer, shuddering breath. “It’s not the perfume. It’s your natural scent.”
I straightened. “Oh, I can’t do anything about that. Just stop breathing then, you’re a Vampire, you don’t need to anyway.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yeah, it is, just hold your breath.”
“You’re going to be the death of me.” He shifted on the bed. “Why were you ‘out of it’ this morning?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I guess I had a little too much to drink last night.”
He paused and through the silence my heart picked up speed. We weren’t dating. We weren’t an item. But a flash of guilt surfaced as I thought about my date with Easton.
“What happened last night?”
“Nothing,” I was quick to reply.
“Another lie. I can hear it in your voice and the way your body is reacting. What happened last night?”
“None of your concern.”
He turned on his side, giving me his back. “Have fun finding the Belle Isle portal without me.”
I slapped my hands on my thighs. “Oh my god, stop being childish. I went on a date. There.”
He didn’t reply. An uncomfortable silence fell over us.
After a few minutes I cleared my throat.
“Who did you go out on a date with? Demarcus?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, right. Been there, done that. Don’t need to revisit that fiasco. Ever.” I waved a hand through the air. “I went out with a guy I met the other day. A human.”
“A human? You don’t belong with a human. A human would never understand our kind.”
“I know.” There was no point in denying it. Growing up I’d had human boyfriends and I’d found that hiding and lying didn’t result in a good relationship and, in the end, the relationships had been more trouble than they were worth anyway.
“Then why did you go?” he asked softly.
I sighed. “I don’t know, Zaid. He was nice, cute, funny and he was normal. He was just a normal guy that was interested in me and it felt good to be noticed.”
“Worlds collide when a Nightwalker and Fae fall in love.”
A Kiss of Ashen Twilight Excerpt
“Ariya.”
At the sound of her name, she immediately turned to Jace. The look in his eyes and the subtle tremor of his hungry voice alerted her of what he really needed. Blood.
Right away she pulled her curly hair away to bare her neck to him.
“Take me,” she whispered. Her warm breath caressed his hot, broken skin.
“No, Ariya,” he said weakly. “I can’t take your life. I’ve never—”
I’ve never fed before without killing in the process.
She silenced him, leaning down to press her lips against his in a kiss. “I trust you,” she whispered into his mouth in a kiss.
I can’t chance it, Ariya, his words echoed in her mind.
Ariya remembered his words about the feed.
With the right person, it is highly pleasurable, but potentially deadly. It’s hard to put into words the heights of bliss one rises to as they are pushed to the edge of death. Unless they share the experience with me, apparently. Then they don’t survive at all.
She sensed him tense with her remembrance and a wash of fear fell over him at the risk. Despite it all, she couldn’t let him die here. She refused to stand by and lose another person. This was the only option, even if she had to force her blood in his mouth to help him stay alive.
His understanding was confirmed as she felt his cold, yet gentle, touch. His hand caressed her skin in reluctant movement as he reached out to cradle her head. Pulling her down to him, he entangled his fingers with her tight, curly locks and sharply sucked in a gulp of air before speaking.
“Ariya, please forgive me.” Jace gripped a handful of locks in a tight fist and opened his mouth to reveal his white, shiny fangs.
With a soft growl from deep within his throat, he sunk his teeth into the soft skin of her neck.
Pain shot throughout her body, mixing with waves of pleasure. Jace held onto her as he fed, taking with her blood not only energy to revive him, but her very essence that mixed with his own. It drained into him as he took more and more.
Ariya’s blood was on fire with a passion she had never felt before. Sensual pleasure shot straight to her core. She wanted more. She needed to have more of him.
Just when she thought her body was ready to explode, he released her and she fell back on the sandy ground with shallow breaths.
Jace’s hands curled into claws and his back arched as he released a loud thunderous roar. His body regenerated itself right before her eyes from a scalded, damaged figure to his youthful, pale handsome form. His breath slowed until he calmed as the night stilled around them. He didn’t waste another moment before rushing over to Ariya.
“Ariya—” He grabbed her arms and helped her sit up. Gently, he caressed the two puncture wounds he had made on her neck.
The pain dissipated under his touch and when Ariya brushed her finger over the tender area, she found it smooth, as if he had never fed. How did he do that?
“Jace?” she said, her voice weak even to her own ears.
“Yes, baby. It’s me.” He brushed his fingers against her hair, smiling as he gave a gentle laugh.
Sirens loomed in the distance and the spell between them had been broken.
“Looks like that’s our cue,” Rich said with a gruff edge to his tone.
Jace looked up at his Uncle watching them in silence. “Uncle, I know you don’t condone–”
Julian held up his hand, silencing Jace. “We’ll discuss this later. Come, you can rest at the Ashen Twilight House.”
Rich tapped Gael’s chest before gesturing to their waiting vehicles.
Gael nodded in response. “We need to clear out before the Mortal law enforcers show up with tons of questions.”
Car engines started up like a musical symphony followed by a succession of doors opening and closing. Jace scooped Ariya up into his arms and rushed over to a nearby limo where Rich held the back door open.
Jace froze as something dawned on him. “Your bike.”
Rich waved him away. “Uncle’s got it taken care of. Come on.”
Jace climbed in the back, settling across from Gael while he set Ariya down in the seat next to him. Rich tapped the top of the limo in short succession before climbing in to join them. As soon as he closed his door, the limo started on its way.
Ariya shifted position to rest on Jace’s chest as he embraced her. Wrapping her arms around his torso, she exhaled softly, finally feeling the weight of the night’s events slip away.
“She lived,” Rich said, smiling proudly.
Jace nodded. “That she did.”
“You know what this could mean?” Gael leaned forward, folding his hands while resting his elbows on his knees.
Jace didn’t respond and Ariya wondered what he was thinking after hearing Gael’s question. As he looked down to meet her gaze, realization struck him like the heat of the sun’s rays on his cold skin.
After tonight and the act they shared, Jace knew his immortal days had been changed forever.
Meet Rae Lori
Rae Lori is a multi-published award winning author and a geek girl at heart. Over a twenty year plus writing career, she has been published with various zines, journals and publishing companies and taught new writers the craft of novel writing in between her projects. She can usually be found with her head in the clouds daydreaming of her next story. That is, when she isn’t gaming or watching her fave movies with her fellow geekazoid husband (it’s time for another Aliens rewatch!), crocheting, or has her nose in a book.
Touch the Dark, available at your favorite ebook vendor!
Shanti expected pain, but her whole body hummed, like that glowing feeling after an orgasm. God, it had been so long since she’d felt that hum of electricity between her thighs. If only this feeling were from a man, but it wasn’t.
The last thing she remembered was the blue scorpion coming towards her, then pain in her leg. She’d heard that some predators sent endorphins into their prey as they ate them. If so, she wished she’d gotten stung to death a few months earlier so that she could’ve experienced this kind of release before laying down a chunk of her savings in search of a spiritual release in India. This feeling traveling through her body was the ultimate release.
Oh no, she groaned, she was dead.
That eight-legged freak had killed her.
All she’d been doing was looking for a sign from God. But she guessed God intended to talk to her face to face.
Shanti struggled to open her eyes. When they adjusted she saw the dark blanket of night disturbed only by the stars that poked through. She wondered where she was. That looked like the Big Dipper over there. Was she still on Earth? Maybe she was having an out of body experience?
But…no. It felt like she was still in her body.
The tingling in her leg continued. It radiated down to her toes and up through her spine. There was no pain. Instead it felt…good. Really good.
Her mind turned once more to the sweet release that hummed at the base of her spine. She gave into the need to press her thighs together. But the friction didn’t work. It only increased the pressure. And that wasn’t the only place she felt a delicious pressure.
It radiated up and down her leg. She also felt a pressure resting on head. When she tried to blink, she felt an obstruction on her brow. Her eyes flicked over to the side. A hooded figure loomed over her.
This must be the Angel of Death. Wasn’t that Saint Peter? But she was pretty sure Saint Peter didn’t wear a hood. Plus there were no shimmering wings.
Maybe it was Anubis, the Egyptian god of the Underworld. That was whom her father had expected to meet at the end.
Shanti had spent many nights wondering who greeted her parents at the end of their lives. Her parents subscribed to different religious systems from each other. Her father began his life praying to Jesus, then prostrating to Allah, and finally ended up following a cult that worshiped the ancient Egyptian gods. Her mother had been a different story, or rather the same continuous story. From birth to death, Shanti’s mother continued her lifelong devotion to Shiva. In life, her parents’ different beliefs didn’t interfere with their love. They had been the most accepting people she’d ever known.
Shanti had never subscribed to any particular religion. She’d gone through so many in her youth that they all melded together. She did know that there was a Creator. It was evident in every blade of grass, in the organic systems of all living creatures, in the perfection of the ecosystem.
That is, before humans began poking at it with a stick.
Shanti was surprised to find her easy acceptance of this next stage of her existence. She was health-conscious by birthright. She’d expected to live an active life as an octogenarian as the coach-potato adults and the handheld-device addicted youth in her community withered away after half a century. She’d wanted to be able to say ‘I told you so’ to everyone in her community who went against her and continued to pollute the waterways. She’d wanted to dance in front of them in her svelte yoga body as they all lay in hospital beds on dialysis. But they’d have the last laugh.
Thirty was too soon to go. But so far death was having its perks. For example, that building buzz of an orgasm.
She wanted to hold still and let the waves of pleasure consume her. But then they stopped. The pleasant pressure released from her leg, but not her forehead.
She looked down at her leg. The hooded being had removed his -or maybe her- hand. Shanti tried to peer into the darkness of the hood, but she could see no facial features. She saw no dog muzzle to indicate Anubis either.
“Am I going to heaven?” Shanti asked.
No response.
“To Nirvana?” She wracked her brain through all the religions her parents had introduced her to.
“Elysium? Shangri-La? Zion?”
Still no response.
“Well I can’t be going to Hell. Not with all the work I’ve done for the environment and animals.”
The hooded figure pushed his hood back, revealing his face and Shanti let out a blood-curdling scream.
She’d never thought the Creator was a being like her. She didn’t think such a craftsman had a huge ego to craft its highest being in its own likeness. Plus she believed in evolution, which told her that humans were not born first, neither were they naturally the highest on the food chain. Had it not been for a meteor, the dinosaurs would have eventually evolved to write the stories that would make up religious texts and humans would be worshiping a reptilian god.
It was a shock to see such a different being up close and personal.
The closest approximation Shanti could use to describe this being was that he looked like a depiction of the Buddha. Not the human prophet Siddhartha Gautama, who was an Indian human male. This being resembled the cone-headed Buddha depictions with nodes around his dome instead of hair. His skin was a pale shade of blue. His eyes were overlarge and without lashes.
When all the air left her lungs at the end of the scream, Shanti calmed down and caught her breath. As common sense returned, she guessed this all made logical sense. She was in India after all. It was only fitting that one of that culture’s idols serve as her guide into the afterlife.
The being held up his hand. Even his fingers were overlong. It took Shanti’s mind in a different direction, wondering if all of his limbs were long.
God, she was horny even in death.
The hooded figure stretched out his fingers to her as though he wanted her to take his hand. After a brief moment’s hesitation, Shanti placed her hand in his. The second their palms touched, warmth flooded her body.
Pictures flashed through her mind. She saw an Indian woman smiling at her, surrounded by other cone-headed males with big eyes. Blue men, purple men, green men. Then stars. So many stars. And planets. Planets of colors she’d never imagined.
Was this what she could expect after life on Earth? To travel amongst the stars?
“Yes.”
Shanti blinked and refocused on the being before her. His lips hadn’t moved, but she got the sense that he was communicating with her.
“Would you like to see the stars?”
Shanti gasped. Her gasp was the only sound in the clearing. His lips still hadn’t moved. The words she’d heard in her head hadn’t really been words, more of an image of the stars in a sea of dark space and a sense of someone welcoming her into that space.
“I have not heard the language of the Earth for many years.” His large eyes probed hers. “My deepest apologies if you find this invasive.”
He went to withdraw his hands from her. Shanti clasped it back, tightly.
“No. Its fine,” she said. “It’s just -I’ve never experienced this before. Well of course I’ve never experienced this before. Unless there’s such a thing as past lives, which my mother believed in, but I’ve never been so sure. I don’t really know what I believe, which is crazy now that I sit here before you and you’re giving me a choice of what to do next with my soul.”
Shanti stopped her tirade and took a deep, cleansing breath. She stared up at his eyes. His deep, soulful eyes.
“Did you understand any of that?” Shanti asked. She waited to hear his response, but it sounded from within her, from somewhere deep within. It began in her gut and radiated to her head. She struggled to concentrate on his words, or were they his thoughts?
“I understand that my touch does not repulse you.”
His thumb rubbed the ridge of her hand. Shanti felt a thrill skitter up her arm. “I like the way you touch me,” she said.
A small smile ticked at the corner of his mouth. His lips were full. She wondered what they would feel like against her lips, her neck?
His hand moved to her neck.
Shanti’s eyes widened. “Oh god, are you reading all of my thoughts?”
He shook his head slowly, his eyes were still fastened to her neck. “I do not understand all of your words.”
His eyes traveled across her lips. Shanti felt the heat. She pulled the corner of her lower lip into her mouth.
His eyes locked on her mouth. “I can read your emotions, you desires, clearly.”
Shanti’s lips parted. His nostrils flared.
Oh God, was she seriously flirting with this…she didn’t know what he was.
“I am Eloheem.”
Shanti knew that word. It was the Hebrew word for angel. So this was it. She really was dead. She looked down at her leg. The wound was closed. Only a red spot remained, but the redness was fading fast before her eyes.
“I sense unease within you.”
Shanti turned back to him. But he was no longer looking at her eyes, lips, or neck.
“Does it still ache?” His hands went to her thigh. When his long fingers brushed her skin, Shanti shivered. That pleasure-filled pressure running to her core once more. Her eyes closed unbidden and a soft moan escaped her lips.
“I sense another ache in you.”
“Yes,” she moaned aloud.
The physical feel of his fingers combined with the mental invasion of his voice threatened to send Shanti over a cliff of pleasure.
“Tell me your name,” he whispered into her mind.
“Shanti.”
“Shanti.” This time the sound hit her ears.
Shanti opened her eyes. His large eyes roamed over her body leaving a trail of heat in its wake.
“If you come with me,” he said into her mind once more, “you will never ache again. I promise you…”
Shanti watched as his mouth opened. She saw his tongue, saw his teeth clench the second before he sounded out her name once more.
“…Shanti.”
Shanti couldn’t form any words with her lips. Luckily she didn’t have to. He said he could read her emotions, her desires. What she felt was crystal clear. She reached for his hand once more. When their fingers clasped, Shanti knew her life, or whatever this existence now was, would be forever linked to this man, or whatever this being before her was.
Meet Author Ines Johnson
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!
Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.
Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.
Touch the Dark, available at your favorite ebook vendor!
I drop onto my bed and am about to put in my headphones when Genna turns around.
“Caleb, meet Maia. Maia, Caleb.” She points back and forth between me and her desk, then goes back to her dresser. Ghost Boy is staring right at me, but I avoid his eyes and look at Genna’s back. I don’t engage the dead anymore. Ignoring them has been working really well so far. And I know Genna can’t see him, she never has before, so I have no idea what she’s talking about. She slams her drawer shut, turns around, and smiles.
“She’s kind of shy,” she says.
I’m looking at her like she’s crazy. Who the hell is she talking to? Her phone is on her desk, and she doesn’t have a Bluetooth. Something about brain cancer.
Ghost Boy stands up directly in front of me, blocking my view, and holds out his hand like he expects me to shake it. Genna comes up beside him and lays a hand on his outstretched arm. I shoot off the bed, unable to peel my eyes away from her fingers brushing his arm. She’s touching him. His skin looks normal. Golden hairs dust his forearm. His hand is still stretched out to me; I reach for it tentatively, brushing my fingers across warm human flesh before pulling my hand back as if stung.
I feel like I have been stung. Shocked by a cattle prod is more like it. I look back and forth from him to her, disbelief cutting off my airways. What. The. Fuck?
Genna’s staring at me like I’m covered in green slime, and Ghost Boy’s eyebrows are up to his forehead. I shake my head, trying to clear it. I can’t take this. It’s too fucked up.
I leave my stuff and run out of the room. Run until the dizziness engulfs me and I collapse.
Meet Author L. Penelope
Leslye Penelope believes love is magic and likes her romance with a healthy dose of imagination. She writes new adult, fantasy and paranormal romance with multicultural characters.
Equally left and right-brained, she thinks puzzling out a programming problem is fun and has a quote from The Matrix tattooed on her arm. She lives in Maryland with her husband, one eighty-pound lap dog, and an attack cat.
Touch the Dark, available at your favorite ebook vendor!
Today’s spotlight is on the talented author, Jamallah Bergman! I met her in one of my favorite FB groups for Wicked Women like myself. She has a collection of amazing stories to share with your eager eyes.
My name is Jamallah Bergman and I’ve been writing for a number of years but I didn’t become a publisher author until 2011 with my first story “If…Only You Knew”.
As of to date, I have 11 books with my publisher Secret Cravings Publishing as well as 3 self-publish books that two of which I’ve published an anthology with other authors with more stories to come for sure.
My latest release is the fourth book in the Ciprianos of Kellington series called Federico.
Each story in the series deals with a brother which starts with Renzo, the oldest….then Simone and Gianni and now the youngest of the brothers has his own story. I have to say that I’ve gotten a lot of praise for this series from a lot of my fans for they have enjoyed reading up about the brothers and the family itself.
I can say that not only am I an author but I am also a friend to those that I talk to online. If you every message me or anything, I take the time to talk with whoever wants to talk and I’ve been known to give helpful advice. So if you every want to ask me a question about any of my books, feel free to ask away, I enjoy getting messages from readers and fans alike.
~~~~~
Federico Blurb
Federico Cipriano has everything going for him….he has charm and flair as well as being the owner of his own landscaping business. Plus the fact that his good looks has gotten him with many women in town. But there seem to be one who is playing hard to get and she’s the one he desires the most out of all…..Michelle Bordeaux.
Michelle Bordeaux came with her parents to open up Le Jardin Des Cygnes in Kellington, on the knowledge that she would return back to Arizona after a year, so she could get back with the man she loves. But there has been something, well actually someone who has been nothing more than a thorn in her side since the first time he laid eyes on her….Federico Cipriano.
He wants her as a conquest…..but soon he realizes that he wants more.
She wants nothing to do with him…..but why does she find herself unable to get him off her mind?
What happens when these two absolutely different people go head to head with one another?
Plenty of laughs as well as tons of sparks.
Also see what happens with Renzo & Jaslyn, Simone & Delia along with Gianni, Maiara and Fiona in the last book of the Cipriano of Kellington series.
Federico Excerpt
“Why good evening, ladies,” Rudolph started in as Federico kept his eye on her.
“Hello, Rudolph, and hello, Federico, how are you guys doing tonight?”
“Doing good, we saw you ladies sitting here by yourselves and thought it would be nice to come over and sit with you two.” Federico told them with a smile that could probably melt any other woman’s heart but not her own. “Do you mind if we sit down?”
“Of course please do?” Regina scooted over toward her and all Michelle could do was shake her head in disapproval. Of course he had to sit right next to her, so close that she could smell his cologne. When she looked over at him, eyes which were a mix of both blue and steely grey continued to stare her down, like she was some painting in the Louvre. “Do you mind not sitting so close to me, Mr. Cipriano?”
“I’m sorry.” He pulled back only but an inch or so from her, which really didn’t make much of a difference. She sat back, looking out toward the crowd. “You are so going to make this evening just as difficult as you did at the restaurant aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean by that, Michelle. I’m just sitting here with a lovely lady tonight. Would you like another drink, it seems your pitcher is empty.”
“No thanks.”
“Of course we would like another pitcher, thanks, Federico.” Regina told him, nudging her knee underneath the table.
He motioned for the waitress and when she came over, he told her to bring another pitcher of margaritas. But as soon as he did that, he scooted even closer to her, to where he was literally breathing down her neck he was so close. “I must say, Michelle, you smell good tonight.”
“Do you have to be so God damn close?”
“I can’t help it, you smell too good for me to be not sitting so close.” His body pressed up along her back of her chair and in an instance she felt like leaning up against it. But she had to be strong and keep her composure.
“Sir, if you don’t mind getting out of my personal space before you end up with a wet lap.” Michelle warned him.
“Do you mean you plan on tossing a drink in my lap because I’m in your personal space?”
“Well isn’t that wonderful to hear that at least you have some bit of sense.”
Moving in close to her ear, Michelle heard him whisper, “I dare ya.”
Both Rudolph and Regina looked on as they didn’t know what the hell would happen next between the two of them. Michelle turned to look this man eye to eye, which she realized was a big mistake because this fool had the nerve to smile at her, which only made her even angrier. Oh she planned on wiping that smug smile of his off his face for good. Looking around she saw the waitress coming over with the pitcher of margaritas toward their table. When she put it down on the table, Michelle immediately picked it up. “So you want to play I see?”
“Well, I do love to play games,” Federico told her as they both eyed the pitcher in her hand.
“Oh my God, Michelle, if you think of doing what I think you’re thinking of doing, you are cruel,” Regina told her while everyone around them stared wide-eyed.
A defense attorney working for Cameron, Cameron & LaSalle, P.C., Alisha Carrington, hasn’t dated anyone since she was betrayed by her fiancé. Too afraid to risk her heart again, she has vowed to dedicate her life to building her career. Unbeknownst to Alisha, she has caught the eye of two very powerful men, Tristan Cameron and James Langston.
Tristan is more than a drop-dead gorgeous attorney. Undercover for the FBI, he has been using his family’s law practice in Atlanta as his front. Although he loves women, his undercover work is just too dangerous for him to commit to one woman. Summoned to New York by his brother, Tristan comes face-to-face with the one woman who can make him rethink his vows against commitment—Alisha. He’s tried to resist his attraction to the sexy African-American for years, but when Alisha’s life is threatened, he vows to keep her safe…and the powers-that-be help them both.
Tristan noticed the ebony beauty as soon as she opened the door. He sucked in his breath in admiration. He had noticed Alisha every time he had come into the New York office, but he had kept his distance. She was another reason he stayed away. He knew that she had no idea of his interest in her, and he wanted it to remain that way. Anyway, it seemed that whenever he came within a few feet of the lady, she would turn and go in the opposite direction. His brother, knowing him as well as he did, had evidently picked up on his interest in Alisha. So that’s her name—and she’s single, apparently. He’d never known her name. Had never bothered to find out. Just knew that he’d had a strong physical attraction to her. Up close, she was even prettier than he’d originally thought.
Maybe New York isn’t so bad after all. Tristan heard her speak and was floored. Her smoky voice turned him on. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He could feel Brandon staring him and couldn’t care less. Well, Damn! Tristan thought, surreptitiously looking at her in admiration.
There she was in the office of the partners, standing tall with her head up like she didn’t have a care in the world. Most people, when called to one of their offices, were scared shitless that they had done something wrong, but not Ms. Alisha Carrington. In fact, she looked mad as hell that he was gawking at her openly.
He knew he should stop, but she was even more beautiful up close. Tristan loved the fact that she appeared to have some fire to her, too.
* * *
Alisha said, “Hello David…Mr. Cameron.”
“How are you, Alisha?” David said.
“I’m fine. You?” She was starting to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious under Tristan’s scrutiny, and a little irate, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit flattered and turned on at the same time. Resolutely, she turned and looked at Brandon, “Hello, Brandon. Betty said you wanted to see me?”
“Uh, yes, Alisha. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. Have a seat,” Brandon said, motioning for her to take the unoccupied seat next to David.
The very talented Jade Kerrion interviewed me earlier this year, and I must say I enjoyed every bit of it. We touched a little on my writing process, the Dragon Queen Series, and the ups and downs of my career.
“When I started writing, my goal was to answer the reader’s call, to make characters relatable to people from different backgrounds. I’d like to believe I achieved that in the Dragon Queen series.”
There’s still time to enter the Winter Giveaway! The contest is over on Friday, December 20th when SHIFTING DARKNESS, the 4th installment of the Dragon Queen Series releases. Don’t miss out on your chance to win!
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