by Virna DePaul
EXCERPT
Please read an excerpt of Virna DePaul’s upcoming paranormal romantic suspense novel Chosen By Blood (Book 1 in the Para-Ops Novels) (Berkley Publishing [May 2011] Available for Pre-Order now on Amazon.com and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.
A firm knock interrupted them. Muscles pumped as if for battle, Knox slowly stood. He didn’t turn, not even when Mahone called for his visitor to come in.
“I came as soon as I—”
It didn’t matter that he was in Mahone’s office, that Mahone was watching him, or that he and Mahone had just been discussing something as important as his clan.
He hadn’t been in the same room with her in years, but his body’s reaction to her presence was the same as it always was: instantaneous.
Her scent hit him like a sledgehammer and was followed by a wave of longing so intense it almost felled him. His skin prickled and his fangs ached as he fought to keep them sheathed. He couldn’t stop the hardening of his dick, however, or the urge he had to grab her and transport her to the Dome. To his bed. To someplace where duty and time dissolved, and he could just be with her.
She didn’t gasp or take a breath. Her words simply stopped. Something rare crystallized inside him.
Had she gotten over him? Had she found someone else?
Another emotion—pure, undiluted rage—filled him at the thought of her with another. It made everything else, every other emotion he’d ever felt, seem innocuous. Made him want to rip off his clothes—the luxurious symbols of civility that he normally loved—and make her see him as he truly was—primal, lethal, and fucking ready to prove to her that she was his, once and for all.
Instead, he took a deep breath and willed himself to calm. He opened his mind. Just a hair. Just enough to sense the desire buried beneath her resolve. Enough to dismiss that foreign emotion of fear and tamp down his rage.
When he was assured of his control, Knox slowly turned and faced the human female he’d wanted to bite from the moment he’d seen her. She was dressed conservatively in a white oxford shirt and navy blue pants, her auburn hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Taller than most females, she was neither delicate nor bulky. While most would consider her average in looks and sex appeal, Knox saw what most didn’t.
He saw the strength in her supple body.
He saw her courage, her compassion, and her integrity.
And at that moment, he saw the fiery sensuality that flared in her eyes before she banked it and stared at him with a practiced look of mild curiosity.
Felicia had always tried to hide her attraction to him, but she’d always failed. Nevertheless, he’d abided by her wishes and kept his distance.
But not anymore.
Not-the-fuck-anymore.
He didn’t speak the words, but given the way her eyes widened, she’d guessed at his thoughts. Knox dipped his head in a courtly bow. “Hello, Felicia. Imagine running into you here.”
END OF EXCERPT
EXCERPT
Please read an excerpt of Venice Vampyr, a erotic vampire novella by Tina Folsom:
Why this raven haired beauty could infuriate him like this, Raphael had no idea. Yet, she did. The moment he’d heard the gondolier say that she’d been the one who’d jumped into the frigid waters to save him, he’d felt like an ice cold hand had squeezed his heart. For the first time in his life, true fear had traveled through his body. Fear for another person. Fear of what could have happened to her.
And when the gondolier had told him how long Isabella had stayed under water and how hard it had been to pull them up, all he could think of was paddling her stubborn ass to teach her a lesson so she would never again put herself in the path of danger like she had.
“Damn it, woman, if I were your husband I would make sure you never jumped into another icy canal and risked your life.” Yes, if Raphael were her husband, there’d be a hell lot of things he’d do, starting with –
“And how would you try to achieve that, you arrogant, ungrateful man!” Isabella spat and pushed off his hands.
Arrogant? Maybe. But ungrateful – no, Raphael wasn’t ungrateful for having been given a second chance. But he was incensed about her apparent lack of concern for her own safety. As for keeping her from jumping into canals to rescue drowning strangers? He had just the right remedy for that.
With one swoop, he pulled her into his embrace and ripped the dressing gown from her grip, dropping it to the floor. “When I’m done with you, you won’t have any energy left to swim in dirty canals and save undeserving strangers.”
His mouth captured her plump lips. She’d parted them, clearly to voice her protest, a fact he now used to his advantage. Greedily, Raphael swept his tongue between her lips and dove into her. The delicious caverns of her mouth greeted him with the intoxicating flavor of an aroused woman.
He’d noticed that he didn’t leave her cold, and it pleased him to no end. He wasn’t taking a shrinking violet to bed. No, the hot-blooded woman in his arms knew full well what would happen now – or at least her body did. And her body didn’t protest anymore. On the contrary, her arms came around his neck, a hand slipping into his hair as she held him closer.
Raphael felt her generous breasts crushed against his chest with only her thin chemise and his own clothes impeding a closer contact. She was soft in all the right places and warm, so deliciously warm. He felt her heat seep into his body. Hunger attacked him, hunger for Isabella’s body and her blood. He tampered it down, not wanting to scare her. If he wanted more than just one night, he’d have to hide his blood lust from her. And he wanted more than just this one night.
The moment she stroked her tongue against his, a bolt akin to a lightning strike hit him. A deep rumble started in his chest, his body wanting to give voice to what she did to him. When she stroked against him a second time, he freed his mouth from hers and let out the moan that had threatened to choke him.
END OF EXCERPT - novel available in e-book format and Paperback from Amazon.com and other online retailers
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