Welcome
to this week’s MFRW Book Hooks blog hop. My excerpt today is from
Fin d’Espoir, one of the other paranormal books I have on
sale during my Month of Magic. This is another vampire book, a
bisexual romance. It’s quite a bit more serious than Fangs,
Fur and the Single Girl.
Blurb
Bitter
and alone, Etienne de Rémorcy haunts the forest around the ruined
plantation of Fin d'Espoir. He has sworn to never again taste human
blood. Then a fierce storm and a runaway horse bring a slender,
raven-haired beauty to his lair. When she begs him to take her, he
cannot resist.
Madeleine
and Troy hope that a carefree vacation in tropical Jamaica will
reignite their faded passion. On a mountain trail ride, Maddy's horse
bolts, carrying her deep into the jungle. Injured and lost, she is
saved by a giant of a man whose mere presence kindles unbearable
desire. By the time she understands his dark nature, it is far too
late for her to escape.
When
Maddy returns, Troy finds her greatly changed : ravenous in bed,
restless and disturbed otherwise. The elegant stranger he meets on
the beach holds the key to her transformation - and soon has seduced
Troy as well.
Tortured
by his conscience, Etienne is determined to set the young couple
free. But their love may be his last hope for redemption.
The
Hook (Rated R)
Iron
and salt. The taste woke Madeleine from voluptuous dreams. For a
moment, she clung to the fleeing visions of naked flesh. She didn’t
want the pain of consciousness. Her shoulders ached, her neck burned
and her pussy felt raw and sore. Something sticky was smeared across
her lips. She opened her mouth. Iron and salt flowed over her tongue.
“Swallow,
now.” The elegant French-tinged voice was irresistible. She obeyed,
only to have another gout of the thick liquid dripped into her mouth.
Wearily, she opened her eyes.
Etienne
sat beside her, wearing a grim expression. He held his hand close to
her face. Crimson fluid dribbled from a two-inch gash across his
wrist, a shocking contrast to his inky skin. “Drink, Madeleine. It
will restore your strength.”
The
bright droplets called to her, but she was too weak to raise her
head.
“Here.”
He pressed his oozing flesh to her lips. She lapped at the blood,
then fastened her mouth on the wound and sucked. The flavor grew on
her, became complex and nuanced. She tasted cinnamon and pepper,
almonds and ripe plums. The scent of roses filled her nostrils,
making her head swim. She closed her eyes in bliss and increased her
suction, each swallow making her want more.
“That
is enough.” Etienne removed his wrist. “That should be sufficient
to restore you.”
“Just
another few drops,” Maddy pleaded. Her myriad pains had vanished.
She felt alert and invigorated. She heard the bleak call of an owl
outside the shack and the groan of branches in the wind. She smelled
the charred coals on the grate, rotting wood, and her own sweat. She
searched Etienne’s somber face, trying to read his thoughts.
“Please?”
“No.
It would be too dangerous.”
Maddy
wriggled lasciviously on the damp sheets. She fondled her breasts,
which were outrageously sensitive, and parted her sticky thighs.
Etienne’s
brows knitted together in a scowl. “I said no, and I mean no. Do
not try to tempt me again, girl. I have done enough damage already.”
His
obvious misery slightly dampened her blood-lust. She took his hand in
both her own, noting in passing how her wrists were chafed from his
belt. “It’s all right. You only took what I offered. It was not
your fault. You’re not responsible.”
“Of
course I am responsible!” He tore his hand from her grasp. Rising
like a black colossus, he hovered over her. Maddy had the fleeting
notion that he wanted to strangle her. Instead, he paced back and
forth, oblivious to the splintered floorboards under his bare feet.
“You
are a fool. A child. You do not understand who or what I am, not even
now, after I came close to drinking you dry. All you can see is my
glamour, my cursed beauty that makes every mortal desire me.”
“I
can see your sorrow,” Maddy whispered, raising herself to a sitting
position so that she had a better view of his graceful, powerful
form. “When you drank from me, I could feel it. Your loneliness and
your fury.”
Etienne
halted in mid-stride, searching her face. She held his eyes,
surprising herself with the strength of her challenge. “So?” he
continued after a moment, a bitter edge in his voice. “What good
does that do you? Or me? Do you think you can save me, girl?”
Still, he sank onto the edge of the bed and allowed her to take his
hand once more.
“I
swore that I would never take a human again.” His resonant voice
trembled. “After I killed her—after all the blood she forced me
to spill—I made a vow that even as a monster, I would rise above
what she had made me. Now, for the first time in nearly a century,
I’ve broken that oath.”
“Blame
me,” said Madeleine. She stroked his face, marveling at the cool
smoothness under her fingers. “I seduced you.” She placed his
hand on her breast and was thrilled when he did not remove it.
Instead, he kneaded her flesh gently, twisting her rising nipple
between his finger and thumb. “I forced you to take me.”
“No
one forces me to do anything,” Etienne answered, a welcome hint of
laughter in his tone. “Though it is true that you are very
beautiful.” Without any intervention from her, he moved his hand to
her other breast. “With your dark hair, your pale complexion, the
mischief in your green eyes, you do remind me, a bit, of her.”
Fin
d’Espoir is only 99 cents for the entire month of
October. You can find all the buy links here:
https://www.lisabetsarai.com/findespoirbook.html
Be
sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Book
Hooks!
