Absolute Surrender

KUDOS FOR
ABSOLUTE SURRENDER

Absolute Surrender is an extraordinary experience, which no one should miss. The hero in this book is way too sexy! –
Piper Shelly, author of
Play with Me
and
Loving Your Lies

A beautiful story, filled with love, sacrifice, courage, and a devil-may-care humor that takes it all in stride.
– Lauri Wellington, editor

This book is a definite page turner that will keep you reading well into the night. Full of action and suspense, and angels and demons, and a kind of luscious, lusty romance that leaves you needing a cold shower—or maybe two!—this book has it all. I couldn’t put it down. I was pulled in by the storyline, wanting to know what would happen next and how it would turn out for these star-crossed lovers as they battled heaven and earth to be together. It was a great book. –
Taylor, reviewer

The storyline is solid, tense, and well thought out. I was pulled in immediately, before I finished the first page, and the book held my interest all the way through, without letting up a single time. I really liked Echo. She’s smart, sassy, flawed, and independent as hell. My kind of gal. Aethan is a hunk, of course. How could an angel be anything else? But he also has a streak of mischief that I found very appealing. And Echo drives him absolutely crazy. It’s fun to watch. Absolute Surrender is a good, solid story, the kind you can sink your teeth into—one you’ll want to keep on your shelf and come back to visit again and again. –
Regan, Reviewer

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My heartfelt thanks to:

My critique partners: Tricia Penske Quinnies, who so meticulously read and reread my chapters. Gina Danna, who hung in there until the very last page and beta read because she loved Aethan. And Piper Shelly, I’m so glad we met and became friends. Your encouragement and support means the world to me, and for falling in love with my hero. You rock.

And to Lauri Wellington, my wonderful editor, who loved my story, for your amazing support through all this.

To my husband, Terence, and my son, Ty-Quinn, I treasure your unconditional love and understanding in giving me the time I needed to write. I love, you guys.

And finally to my daughter, Montana Jade—without you this book would not have been possible. I enjoyed our brainstorming sessions and the world building of the Fallen Guardians. Your amazing mind and your enthusiasm still astounds me. And for the lattes at Starbucks when I needed a pick-me-up—you knew exactly how to get me back on track. And most of all, for designing this gorgeous cover: I love you.

ABSOLUTE SURRENDER

Georgia Lyn Hunter

A BLACK OPAL BOOKS PUBLICATION

Copyright 2013 by Georgia Lyn Hunter

Cover Art by Montana Jade

Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-62694-002-4

EXCERPT

He only did what she told him to...well, almost.

Her lush mouth dropped open at his words. But her surprise fast turned to sarcasm. “Jeez, thanks for the newsflash.”

She picked up her backpack and tried to walk around him.

“I’m not done.” He stepped in her path. “You
need to start explaining.”

“And you can bite me,” she shot back with all the sweetness of acid.

A hell of a provocation that set him off. He yanked her forward, ignoring her gasp of outrage and bit her. Coherent thoughts flew out of his head the moment his mouth clamped down on her neck. Her enticing warmth, the fragrant taste of her skin coated his tongue and scattered his senses.

For a moment, she remained utterly still. Then she started struggling. He tightened his grip on her waist and a delicious friction built between them. Her heart pounded against his chest like a drum-roll. He licked her slowly over the bruised skin—

She shoved at him, color streaking her cheekbones. “Are you crazy?”

Probably
. “No. Just gave you what you asked for. Prepared to talk, or do we go for round two? I’m game, are you?” He dropped his hands to her hips, keeping their lower bodies connected.

“All right.” She scowled. “I see them.”

He let her go, stepped back, and shoved his hands into his coat pockets—and away from the temptation of her. As ideas went, this was a real bad one because he was so damn hard, his leathers chafed against his aroused groin.

“I can see auras—a pulsing red for the soul-eating fiends!”

Then she snatched her fallen backpack and sped off for the cathedral entrance as if the hounds of hell were after her.

DEDICATION

To George and Ann, I’ve been blessed to have

loving parents who always believed in me.

This is for you
.

CHAPTER 1

It was too early in the night to be breaking a sweat. Not that he did. But hell, the faint odor of sulfur Aethan had been tracking was fast dissipating in the frigid air. He had no plans on losing the
demonii’s
trail. With mortals still about, yeah, it became damn difficult to end them.

With a burst of inhuman speed, he cut through a dingy alley on the Lower East Side and pulled up short. The stench of decay, from the mile-high trash bags piled on the street, hit him square in the face. His breathing shallow, he scanned the buildings, and there, in the shadows of the looming warehouses, he could clearly see the two, hauling a whimpering female with them.

The tattoo on his biceps pulsed, demanding release to do the job it was created for. He ignored the call, hoping for a hands-on fight.
Demoniis
were a damn menace to humans. Always drawn to a mortal’s life force with a constant fix needed to sustain their decaying bodies.

“Let the female go.”

The pair swung around. Their eerie red eyes glowed in the dark.

The terrified female turned, shrieking for help. She took one look at him. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. He couldn’t blame her if she thought he was one of those deadbeats. Dressed all in black, he probably looked like the killer he was, unlike those two who had doubtless seduced her into leaving with their pretty-boy faces. Too bad for her, she chose wrong.

The
demonii
yanked her to him, baring her neck to his mouth. “Leave, or I’ll kill her.”

They thought to bargain with him? Not only did they gorge on souls, but also on blood, judging by the length of their fangs.

“Before you reach us, I’ll chew out her jugular. There’s little you can do, Guardian.”

“But how long would her soul last?” Aethan drawled. “Mine’s far better. Lasts longer, too.” He held out his hands to show he was unarmed.

Their eyes slitted. He could see the wheels turning as they contemplated how fast they could kill him for the coveted prize.
Dumb shits.

The dark-haired
demonii’s
gaze dropped to Aethan’s belt. “The dagger—throw it here. And anything else you have in your pockets.”

With a shrug, Aethan tossed his obsidian dagger onto the dirt-encrusted asphalt near the
demonii’s
feet. It landed with a dull thud. Then he emptied his pocket of a few sticks of gum.

The
demonii
laughed and kicked the obsidian away. The blond one flung the female aside, and they came at him like unleashed bullets. Dodging the attack, Aethan lashed out, his fist connecting with a jaw. A roundhouse kick and one of them crashed into a wall.

A fiery missile zinged past his face. He jumped back. Shit, too close. A hit by a
demonii
bolt, and he might as well lie down and let them have his soul.

“Not so brave now, are you?” The dark-haired one advanced, sporting a macabre grin at how easily they’d cornered a Guardian. Another Hellfire bolt formed in his hand.

Aethan narrowed his eyes. Too bad they didn’t fight fair. He’d been quite prepared to extend their lives by a few more minutes. Time to end this travesty. With his mind, he willed back his obsidian dagger and released the blade in a move so fast the dark-haired
demonii
had no idea what had nailed him in the chest. A raucous snarl filled the backstreet. The blond scurried back to the female.

Aethan summoned his weapon. The tattoo on his biceps shifted. A tingle ran down his arm. He lunged after the
demonii
as a six-foot long sword took form in his hand.

He spun around, his blade hissing in a deadly arc, and decapitated the
demonii
set on fleeing. It disintegrated within moments. Just a thick, black glutinous mess remained for a second before it, too, disappeared. He didn’t bother looking for the wounded
demonii
, knew he’d flashed out of the alley. Taking a deep breath, Aethan let his sword shimmer and settle on his biceps, a slight tingle flowing through his arm. Then he willed his dagger back to him.