by Lauren Smith
“Thank God.” Ian’s tone was full of reverence and relief.
Zoey tried to move, her body was limp and sore, as though she’d been beaten all over.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice cracking with pain. Her vision sharpened, the fabric of the comforter beneath her fingertips whispered under her skin, the feeling so strong, so…sensual. Her body was different. It felt alien in so many ways and yet right.
“You died,” Connor answered bluntly, eyes dark as tree bark in winter.
Ian shot him a baleful glare. “Tact, Connor.” He turned back to Zoey. “Do you remember the car hitting you?”
The memory returned with shocking clarity—the sudden impact and breaking of her body…and then it all was muddled after that.
“Connor and I…we turned you.” Ian looked away and cleared his throat. “We couldn’t lose you, Zoey. We’d been through that once before. A world without you was a world we couldn’t live in. I hope you can forgive us. We made the choice without you, and I’d vowed I’d never do that. But you’re ours, a true mate, just like I told you about. You remember?”
She stared up at them, amazed at this new brighter sight she had. Vampire vision? Connor took her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. The sensation was a thousand times stronger, more arousing and enticing than she could ever imagine—as though she could feel every cell of her skin as he brushed his fingers over it. Her eyes tracked his as he studied her seriously.
“You can hate us,” said Connor. “But know that we love you and we chose to keep you here. You were meant to be ours, not to sleep in the company of angels.”
His words struck something bittersweet inside her. A strange dream of an angel with wings of diamonds and fire… She blinked away fresh tears. Her father’s voice echoed in her mind. “Your place is back there, with them.”
When had he said that? She couldn’t seem to recall. Funny, she felt as though she was missing something, but whatever it was, it didn’t matter anymore. She flung her arms around Connor’s neck, covering his face with kisses. Then she turned and opened her arms to Ian. He scooped her up, pulling her toward him as he took her mouth hungrily, his lips trembling beneath hers. When they pulled apart, she was laughing.
Ian’s brows rose. “Well, that certainly was not the reaction we expected.”
Connor chuckled darkly. “It certainly wasn’t the way I acted when I was turned.”
“Me neither. Then again, our sire had not exactly been the welcoming sort.” Ian nuzzled her cheek, his long lashes tickled her newly sensitive skin.
Zoey pulled back and looked at them both. “Is it hard? Being a vampire?”
“It won’t be easy. At first you’ll fight hunger for blood every day, but we can help you. We’ll teach you everything you need to know. How to feed and not kill. How to control the glamour.”
“And I can stay…” She was afraid to ask more clearly what she wanted to know.
“With us. Forever.” Ian stroked her back soothingly.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she whispered. “The only present I could have hoped for.”
Ian winked at her. “Better than the flannel PJs?”
“The PJs are a close second.”
She leaned into Ian and Connor hugged her from behind, the embrace warming her body and her soul. She wasn’t alone, and she’d never be alone again.
A new chapter had opened for her, and she couldn’t wait to see how this new life would unfold.
About the Author
Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, traveling the country roads to small-town courthouses, and has participated in hearings in 66 of the 77 counties of her native Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. She’s an author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She writes historical, contemporary, paranormal and gothic love stories.
She’s won multiple awards including: Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist, winner of New England’s Reader’s Choice Award, finalist in Greater Detroit Bookseller’s Best Award, winner of the Carolyn Reader’s Choice Award, and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
Laruen lives in Tulsa with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, a sophisticated cat and a dapper little schnauzer. Fans are encouraged to contact her through her website at www.laurensmithbooks.com where they can sign up for her newsletter on the home screen and can email her through the Contact tab. She’s also on Facebook and twitter at @LSmithAuthor and www.facebook.com/LaurenDianaSmith
Look for these titles by Lauren Smith
Now Available:
The League of Rogues
Wicked Designs
His Wicked Seduction
Coming Soon:
Her Wicked Proposal
Don’t miss these other titles by Lauren Smith
Can the League’s most wicked rakehell be tamed? Or has this Rogue fallen too far?
The League of Rogues, Book 2
Horatia Sheridan has been hopelessly in love with Lucien, her brother’s best friend, ever since he rescued her from the broken remains of her parents’ wrecked carriage. His reputation as London’s most notorious rakehell doesn’t frighten her, for under his veneer of cool authority she has glimpsed a man whose wicked desires inspire her own.
Lucien, Marquess of Rochester, has deliberately nurtured a reputation for debauchery that makes every matchmaking mother of the ton quake with fear. His one secret: he is torn between soul-ripping lust for Horatia, and the loyalty he owes her brother.
That loyalty is put to the test when an old enemy of the League threatens Horatia’s life. With Christmas drawing near, he sweeps her away to his country estate, where he can’t resist granting her one wish—to share his bed and his heart.
But sinister forces are lurking, awaiting the perfect moment to exact their revenge by destroying not only whatever happiness Lucien might find in Horatia’s arms, but the lives of those they love.
Warning: This book contains an intelligent lady who is determined to seduce her brother’s friend, a brooding rake whose toy of choice in bed is a little bit of bondage with a piece of red silk, a loyal band of merry rogues and a Christmas love so scorching you’ll need fresh snow to extinguish it.
The League of Rogues takes what they want—but have they taken on too much?
The League of Rogues, Book 1
For too long Miss Emily Parr has been subject to the whims of her indebted uncle and the lecherous advances of his repulsive business partner. Her plan to be done with dominating men forever is simple—find herself a kind husband who will leave her to her books.
It seems an easy enough plan, until she is unexpectedly abducted by an incorrigible duke who hides a wounded spirit behind flashing green eyes.
Godric St. Laurent, Duke of Essex, spends countless nights at the club with his four best friends, and relishes his rakish reputation society has branded him with. He has no plans to marry anytime soon—if ever. But when he kidnaps an embezzler’s niece, the difficult debutante’s blend of sweetness and sharp tongue make him desperate for the one thing he swears he never wanted: love.
Yet as they surrender to passion, danger lurks in Godric’s shadowed past, waiting for him to drop his guard—and rob him of the woman he can’t live without. (167)
Warning: This novel includes a lady who refuses to stay kidnapped, a devilish duke with a dark past, and an assortment of charming rogues who have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as
real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
The Bite of Winter
Copyright © 2015 by Lauren Smith
ISBN: 978-1-61922-495-7
Edited by Noah Chinn
Cover by April Martinez
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2015
www.samhainpublishing.com