Inferno

by Bianca D'Arc

  The sharing of blood. The sharing of life. The sharing of love.

  Now and forever.

  Despite making love all night and sleeping more deeply than she had in ages, Megan woke at her normal time in the afternoon of the next day. Dante rolled over when she left the bed, closer to the surface of sleep than he normally was at this hour. She thought nothing of it until she got to the kitchen.

  Sunlight streamed in through the windows, making her squint. Aside from that small inconvenience, the sunlight felt good on the bare skin of her arms. Then she remembered. She was a vampire. Sunlight should burn—not feel pleasantly warm. Something very strange was going on here.

  Duncan turned from the stove, as he had many times since she’d come to stay in Dante’s house. When he saw her, the plate full of eggs slid out of his hand to crash on the floor in a million pieces. He didn’t even notice.

  “Sweet, blessed Lady.” His voice was a whisper of shock, his eyes wide as he looked at her. “He changed you last night, didn’t he?”

  Mutely she nodded. She didn’t understand what was going on here and Duncan’s reaction had her worried. She clutched at her arms, rubbing one hand over her opposite forearm.

  “And the sunlight here doesn’t bother you?”

  “No.” After her eyes adjusted, she was okay.

  Duncan considered her as if she were a germ under a microscope. “Are you hungry?”

  The question was so commonplace, it put her more at ease. “Now that you mention it. I could go for some steak and eggs.”

  “Fascinating.” Duncan stepped over the shards of ceramic and globs of egg decorating the floor. “Don’t you want blood?”

  At mention of the word, fangs erupted in her watering mouth, but not just any blood would do. She wanted Dante’s blood and his lovemaking. With her fangs also came a wave of lust for her mate. She didn’t want any other—not in any way. Only Dante.

  “Not yours,” she answered Duncan’s question as he stood facing her. His gaze measured her, noting the slight bulge of her dainty fangs and following them as she spoke around her new dentition.

  “Dante’s? You want Dante’s blood?”

  “Yes!” The word was torn from her lips as her body heated.

  A second later, the door behind her swung open and Dante’s arms came around her from behind, pulling her into the dark hallway. She turned willingly in his arms, sealing her lips to his as he kissed the breath from her body.

  This was what she craved. What she needed.

  “I know,” he answered in her mind. “It’s what I need too. You. Only you, my love. Forever.”

  ***

  Far away, a mage sat up straight in his chair.

  “Poferov, the old fool, is dead,” the mage said to his companion.

  “Are you certain?”

  “I bespelled his familiar to send me an alarm should anything happen to Igor. He is dead. As is the snake.”

  “It is a loss for our cause.”

  “He can be replaced. I’m more concerned about how he was caught and who ended him. The first question could cause problems for us if he was betrayed from within.”

  “And the second question?”

  “Not to worry. The snake tagged its killer. If they didn’t kill Poferov, they were close enough to see who did. We will find them and…ask.”

  “Ask?” The companion smiled evilly.

  “With all due prejudice, of course. If you’re good, I’ll let you have the honor of torturing the being who bested Poferov. No doubt such a one will make good sport for you.”

  About the Author

  A life-long martial arts enthusiast, Bianca enjoys a number of hobbies and interests that keep her busy and entertained such as playing the guitar, shopping, painting, shopping, skiing, shopping, road trips, and did we say…um…shopping? A bargain hunter through and through, Bianca loves the thrill of the hunt for that excellent price on quality items, though she’s hardly a fashionista. She likes nothing better than curling up by the fire with a good book, or better yet, by the computer, writing a good book.

  To learn more about Bianca D’Arc, please visit www.biancadarc.com. Send an email to Bianca at BiancaDArc@gmail.com.

  Look for these titles by Bianca D’Arc

  Now Available:

  Dragon Knights

  Maiden Flight

  Border Lair

  Ladies of the Lair

  The Ice Dragon

  Prince of Spies

  FireDrake

  Tales of the Were

  Lords of the Were

  Caught by Cupid anthology

  Forever Valentine

  I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1

  Wings of Change

  Resonance Mates

  Hara’s Legacy

  Davin’s Quest

  Jaci’s Experiment

  Brotherhood of Blood

  One and Only

  Rare Vintage

  Phantom Desires

  Sweeter Than Wine

  Coming Soon:

  Grady’s Awakening

  An ancient evil is stalking the twin alpha rulers of the werefolk and the half-were woman who is destined to be their mate…if she lives long enough.

  Lords of the Were

  © 2008 Bianca D’Arc

  Tales of the Were, Book 1

  Fulfilling her mother’s dying wish, Allie climbs a wooded hill just before midnight on Samhain—All Hallow’s Eve. At the top, she finds an overgrown, magical stone circle, and her destiny. Waiting for her there are twin alpha werewolves who will be her sworn protectors, her mentors…and the loves of her life. If she lives long enough.

  Overprotective is just one word to describe Rafe and Tim. Sexy is most definitely another. But their newfound love and all their skills—both mundane and magical—will be tested by an ancient evil. A hostile human mage and a misguided vampire hunt them, servants to secret plans of the ancient Venifucus, a society dedicated to destroying women like Allie.

  They will earn unlikely allies, including a half-fey knight imprisoned Underhill for centuries. But will it be enough to battle the evil that stalks them? Will Allie’s men be strong enough to let her aid them in her own defense? Only together can were, fey and vampire defeat this latest threat and learn that love does truly conquer all.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Lords of the Were:

  “We work up an appetite when we run in our fur.” The deep voice at Allie’s ear made her jump, though she instantly recognized Rafe’s warm presence behind her. Still buttoning his shirt, he sniffed appreciatively at the food.

  A moment later he was joined by Tim, whose eyes snapped fire as he looked down at Allie. Surprisingly, he seemed less angry than he’d been before and had a few scratches on his face that needed tending. She couldn’t draw her eyes away from the drying blood on his cheek and before she realized quite what she was doing, she’d taken Tim by the hand and was leading him down the hall toward the small bathroom.

  “Where are we going?” Tim’s voice was tinged with a surprising humor she hadn’t yet seen in him.

  “You’re hurt.”

  She’d been up all night and perhaps that’s why she thought it should be obvious to him that if he were hurt, she would care for his injuries. It seemed perfectly logical in her tired mind, though later she would admit she hadn’t been thinking clearly from the moment she saw the twins in that sacred circle the night before.

  Tim tugged on her hand, slowing their progress. “I heal faster than a human. You don’t have to tend me.”

  She looked at him as if he were crazy. “You don’t want a scar do you? Or an infection? Those scratches have dirt in them, Tim.”

  His eyes flared as he searched her face. “So you can tell us apart. Why then are you being nice to me? I’ve haven’t been very nice to you so far, as my brother pointed out earlier.” He fingered the drying blood on his face and suddenly Allie realized the brothers had come to blows over her. The very idea caused her heart to clench in anguish and
wetness to gather behind her eyes. She never wanted to come between them…at least not in a bad way.

  “You’re hurt,” she repeated stubbornly, tugging him into the small bathroom. “I don’t like to see anyone suffer needlessly.” She closed the lid on the toilet and pointed. “Sit.”

  Tim actually laughed. “I’m a wolf, not a dog,” he protested, but sat anyway, his gaze tracking her around the tiny room as she gathered a small washcloth and some bandages.

  She ran warm water onto the small cloth and began gently bathing the long scratches on his angular face. The angry gouges started at his left temple and went down all the way to the corner of his mouth. Dirty, the nasty gashes were crusted already and had bits of what looked like tree bark and moss mixed in with the dried blood.

  Tim didn’t complain as she scrubbed gently at the mess on his face, and watched her every movement. Hesitating only briefly, she worked towards his firm lips, using the fingers of one hand to stretch his skin and the other to cleanse it so she could cause him the least amount of pain and still be thorough. The heat of his gaze and the warm, firm feel of his lips against her fingers began to distract her from her task.

  “I haven’t been very nice to you since we met, Allesandra, and I’m sorry.”

  Rocking back on her heels, she was more surprised by his soft tone than even his words. His expression was tender but his eyes lit with a secret fire as he took one of her small hands in his and brought it back to his mouth. Gallantly, he placed a warm kiss in the center of her palm and closed her fingers around it.

  Allie shook her head. She was operating on too little sleep and everything had a fuzzy edge, but she kind of thought this man would muddle her senses no matter what. She had to clear her throat before she could talk at all.

  “You don’t have to apologize. I think I might understand a bit of what you were feeling. I know I’ve been overwhelmed more than a few times in the last few hours and have resented it.” She resumed her work. Once again she had to place her fingers on his lips, but this time, he sucked them inside his mouth, swirling his tongue over her digits as she gasped.

  “So you think you’ve got me all figured out, hmm?” His eyes sparkled as he held her wrist, placing little nibbling kisses on her fingers and knuckles.

  “I didn’t say that.” She squirmed a little as he sucked on her thumb, letting her go with a wet popping sound as he moved up to her wrist, and then higher to the sensitive valley of her elbow.

  “I need to put some ointment on your scratches, Tim.”

  “In a minute.”

  He stood, towering over her in the small space, wrapping her in his embrace. She went to him willingly, unable to deny this man anything he wanted, though she’d only just met him. She felt the rightness of his arms around her, felt the desire, the passion and the burgeoning emotions she didn’t dare name. In her heart, she knew it was the beginnings of love. Whether he could love her remained to be seen, but she was fast on her way to falling head over heels in love with this man and his rakish twin, though the idea of loving two men at one time was still startling in the extreme.

  Tim’s firm lips drifted down, placing kisses on her shoulder, her collar bone, working toward the hollow of her throat and up her neck to her ear where he swirled his tongue briefly inside, making her shiver. He didn’t stop there, biting down on her earlobe, making her yip in surprise. He moved to her temple, then her eyes, placing soft kisses on each one before tracing down in a sinuous seduction, finally capturing her lips with his in a kiss of discovery, of question and of undeniable passion.

  He sought entrance and she gave in with a sigh of delight. He seduced her with every motion of his mouth, every sweep of his hands down her back, every squeeze of her ass gripped in his big palms. He began a rhythm with his tongue, echoed by the press of his hard cock against the apex of her thighs. She still wore the thin ceremonial robe, but he was clad in soft denim that molded his every bulge. And she was fast learning his bulges were very impressive indeed. Allie ran her hands over his muscular arms and wrapped her arms around his hard middle.

  He was all she could have imagined and more, and he kissed like a dream. His rhythm was seductive and hypnotic, inciting all her senses as he stroked her with his whole body, making love to her with his mouth.

  She felt coolness on her back as the door opened, but Tim didn’t let go. Instead, a moment later she was enveloped from behind as well as in front, and she knew it was Rafe who’d entered the small room and now sandwiched her between himself and his twin.

  “I came to make sure he was playing nice with you,” Rafe rumbled into her ear as he swept his hands up her ribcage to her breasts and squeezed. “But I see you’re getting along better than I expected. I have only one question.” He tugged at the little buttons holding her robe together, freeing them one by one as Tim moved back obligingly to make room. Before she knew it, she was naked in their arms in the small bathroom. Tim’s mouth moved down her neck as her breath came in harsh pants.

  Rafe held her breasts in his big hands, up and ready for his brother to suck. Tim latched on to one nipple while Rafe plucked at the other with his fingers, his breath hot against her neck.

  “Don’t you want to hear what my question is?” Rafe prompted, making her crane her neck to try to see him.

  “What?”

  Rafe smiled as he bent forward to capture her lips with his. He kissed her long and hard, zeroing in on her tongue, worshipping at her lips with a hunger she’d felt only once before—from his twin. When Rafe let her up for air, it was only to allow Tim to switch over and torment her other breast with his lips, teeth and downright sinful tongue.

  “I was going to ask if you planned to do this without me,” Rafe teased, biting her neck with nipping teeth, “but the question is now moot.”

  “I will always love you.” Not just a figure of speech when you're undead.

  Big Girls Don’t Die

  © 2009 Crystal Jordan

  In the Heat of the Night, Book Two.

  Six months ago, Andre St. James committed the ultimate one-night-stand party foul by turning Cynthiana into the spawn of Satan…also known as a vampire. He insisted he knew they were meant to be together forever and ever, so why wait for her to be on the same page with him to suck the life out of her?

  What. Ever. The only thing the two of them share is chemistry that blasts off the charts. So she drop kicked him out of her life and told him to never come back. He listened. Until now.

  Andre knows Cyn has trouble dealing with his take-no-prisoners approach to life, and that turning her against her will was a mistake. But he’s got patience born of centuries of immortality, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get back into her good graces and stay there forever. Including wait until she has no choice but to turn to him.

  After all, no one understands forever like a vampire. He’s loved her from the moment he saw her…and he always will.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Big Girls Don’t Die:

  My hands clenched on the steering wheel. I had to get to my cousin. That’s all I could think. Please, please let Desi be okay. I loved that little girl so much. I was going crazy right now. Worry gnawed at me like a hungry werewolf. One quick look at the speedometer told me that I was about ten miles over the speed limit. They wouldn’t pull me over for that, would they? I pushed my convertible Mini Cooper a little faster.

  Flicking a glance down while I punched the speed-dial, I tried to get Misty on the phone for a progress report on Desi. It was a few hours to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, but if I hurried I could be inside the hospital before dawn. Something else to get pissed at Andre for. No reflection, no sunlight.

  My stomach rumbled. Oh, yeah. Cravings for blood. Another lovely side effect. When was the last time I had fed? I meant to have something substantial before I went to Eclipse, but Andre had sort of interrupted that plan. I’d barely taken any blood from him, so my stomach felt as if it was digesting itself right now.

  “Hi, th
is is Misty and Desiree, leave us a message—”

  “Damn it.” I huffed out a breath and tossed my cell phone on the passenger seat.

  My gaze swept the barren landscape along I-15. There wasn’t anything for as far as I could see except dirt and stars and a few ragged Joshua trees. When I glanced back at the road, a large white jackrabbit hopped in front of my car.

  “Shit.” I jerked the wheel and swerved to miss it, but the crunch of bone sounded as it bounced against the underside of my car. “Oh, that is just nasty.”

  And then my tire blew up. Rubber popped. The Mini Cooper’s back end spun out. My heart stuttered as my pretty little car made grinding noises when the metal of my tire rim hit pavement.

  “Shit, piss, motherfucker. Oh God. Oh God.”

  Skidding off onto the soft shoulder of the road, the car finally came to a stop. I sat there and panted while my heart rate galloped. My knuckles showed white on the wheel, and I had to force myself to relax my grip and reach down to shift into park. My hands shook on the door handle when I hauled myself out to go look at my tire. I walked around the car to the passenger side and kept an eye out for crazy-ass drivers who might be too blind or stupid to see the emergency flashers on my car and hit me. Oh, yeah. That was the flattest tire I’d ever seen. Little bits of rubber hung off it and flopped on the ground.

  “Spare tire, Cyn. Put it on and get the hell to Vegas.” Popping my trunk, I—What the hell?—Where were the jack and tire iron? I had forgotten to check for them in this car when I bought it from the used car dealership last week. Now that I needed ’em, they were nowhere to be found. Fan-damn-tastic. Time to call in reinforcements.

  I opened the passenger door and fished around for my cell phone. Please, please, please let me have cell phone service. I was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, not daring to look. My breath whooshed out when I saw I had full bars. I pulled in a deep breath while I dialed my roadside assistance number. The number was programmed into my phone, just in case. You never knew when a Rambo-wannabe jackrabbit would hang on to your bumper and use his last breath to shred your tire. Fucking bunny.