Sweeter Than Wine (28 page)
Authors: Bianca D'Arc
Tags: #Romance, #Fiction, #General, #Paranormal, #Vampires, #Leopard Men, #Erotic Stories, #Supernatural, #Abused Women
“I could never forget that, Sebastian. I may be your days and nights, but you’re my future. My forever. I love you, Sebastian.” She strained upward and kissed him, looping her hands around his neck to draw him down, over her. She put all her love into the kiss and the long, languorous loving that followed. They were One in mind, heart and body, as they would be forevermore.
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A few weeks later, Christy and Sebastian walked into the courthouse just after sunset. Sebastian had used his influence—both political and magical—to get time with a judge willing to see them at night.
The
were
lawyer, Morgan, represented Christy in the action they’d brought against Jeff. Sebastian had paid a little private visit to Jeff and once again used some of his vampiric power to convince the man that fighting them in court would be detrimental to his health. The bully backed down with a whimper and didn’t contest the divorce proceedings. Sebastian had even procured a lawyer for Jeff, to be certain there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the proceeding was legal…and final.
Once the papers were signed, the couple went home to celebrate all night long—
privately.
They celebrated again a few months later, with their friends, at an elaborate wedding held at Sebastian’s estate. All of Christy’s college friends came to the wedding, some of them already part of the supernatural world, some only just becoming aware of such things, and one who knew nothing at all…yet.
Jena was part of the middle group. She knew about vampires, but had no idea that most of the rest of the handsome men and women at the party were
were
folk. She saw them eating, so she knew they weren’t vamps, but as a doctor she noticed differences about them. They all seemed in robust health with hearty appetites. And they were all muscular, lithe and drop dead gorgeous—the men and women alike. She couldn’t stop staring at them, wondering what made them stand apart.
“Curiosity killed the cat.” A deep voice spoke from behind her and Jena whirled to face the man she’d met earlier that evening, before the ceremony in the moonlit garden.
219
“Mr. Sinclair, isn’t it?” She knew damned well what his name was. It was burned in her memory, as was the image of the most handsome man she’d ever seen in person.
“Call me Ian.” He lifted a delicate glass filled with blood red wine to his lips, holding her gaze as he sipped from the exquisite antique crystal. “I noticed you were sizing up the company here tonight. Not such a wise thing for a woman in your position.”
“I was doing no such thing.” She was trying not to let him see how he affected her, but feared she was doing a lousy job. She’d never been good at dissembling. “And exactly what do you mean by
my position
?”
“You know about us now,” he said in low tones, moving closer. His words only confirmed what she’d already guessed. He was one of them—a vampire. God only knew how many centuries a man had to live to get that sexy. His tone was seduction itself, but she did her best to resist. “And now that you know, you’ll be watched. Probably for the rest of your life.”
“Is that a threat?”
Even his shrug was sexy. “We will protect our secrecy by any means necessary. Too many lives are at stake to let one mortal endanger us all.”
“I can understand your position, but surely you know I would never betray my friends, three of whom are now like you. I’d never hurt them or the men who’ve made them so happy.” Her gaze turned to the dance floor where Christy, resplendent in her designer wedding gown, danced in the arms of her new, beloved husband. Next to them were Kelly and Marc, beaming with a love that was almost tangible, and on the other side danced Lissa and Atticus, just as blissfully happy. Never would Jena jeopardize the happiness of her best friends, no matter what they had become.
A warm hand touched her shoulder.
“Dance with me.”
It wasn’t a request, but regardless of the presumption, Jena found herself powerless to resist. She took Ian’s hand as he led her out onto the dance floor and stepped into the dream.
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Author’s Note
Find Ian and Jena's story, Forever Valentine, in ebook or in the Caught By Cupid print anthology, available now at Samhain Publishing.
221
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 [email protected] or join her Yahoo group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Bianca at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BiancaDArc/
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Forever Valentine (in the Caught By Cupid anthology) Hara’s Legacy
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The end of a curse is the beginning of a magical love.
Reading Between the Lines
© 2007 Lauren Dane
Celtic language expert Haley O’Brian is thrilled when she gets the chance to translate a scroll written in Ogham, an ancient Celtic text used in magic and divination.
While translating the text, she unwittingly frees Conall macCormac’s Fae soul from a millennia-old curse that kept him imprisoned in a human body, lifetime after lifetime.
The end of the curse is just the beginning of the magic for Haley and the ridiculously sexy Conall. He takes her into the world of his people, the Daoine Sidhe, where she begins to learn of her own Fae heritage, carve out a new path for herself, and embrace her new-found power.
But their happiness is marred by Ninane, the jealous Fae who cursed Conall a thousand years ago. She will stop at nothing to have him for her own, including the murder of Haley’s family.
Determined to bring Ninane to justice, Haley must ask Conall to undergo the ultimate test of love—to stand aside and let her fight her own battles.
Enjoy the following excerpt for
Reading Between the Lines: The look in Conall’s eyes seared her deep. Such love there. Adoration. Trust.
Admiration. Joy. Fear too.
She felt it as well. How fortunate she was to have this. However it came about, whatever brought it to her she couldn’t feel resentful or distrustful of it. It simply was and she wasn’t going to question it.
She shared his love, his adoration, trust and admiration. And his fear. Fear that this bitch who harmed him would come back to hurt him again. Fear she’d lose the best thing she’d ever tasted. And what would her world be like without Conall now that his life had touched hers? Bleak.
“Haley? Are you all right?”
She focused on his face, saw his concern. Unable to speak she nodded but a tear fell anyway and he sat up and scooted back to lean against the headboard, staying seated within her.
“What is it? Am I hurting you?”
“No,” she managed to whisper. “I don’t want to lose you. She won’t come back will she? Teach me how to fight her, Conall.” She could bear a lot, but losing him seemed totally unimaginable and yet, the anticipation she’d felt in the glade where the ring stood just a few days before remained and she had a strong suspicion it had everything to do with Ninane.
He smiled and kissed her tears away. “Lady, you slay me. So precious to me, sweet, sweet Irish witch. Ninane may try to come back. I won’t lie. But she doesn’t have the element of surprise she had before. She won’t succeed if she tries to harm me. And I’ll kill her before I’d let her harm you.”
She nodded. “Okay. I love you, Conall. I know it seems soon. Hell, it
is
soon, but I do.”
He kissed her lips softly. “Me too. I love you too. Now, if you’re not going to do your job, you can’t be on top.”
Haley undulated on him, rolling her hips as she raised one eyebrow in his direction.
His breath stuttered. “Where’d you learn that, Irish witch?”
She continued with the movement, slow and sure. “I took a belly dancing class. I’ve never tried it this way. Pity.”
Leaning in, he nipped her bottom lip, making her yelp as she laughed. “You’d better not have!”
“Conall,” she continued, breathless from laughing, “you may have been forcibly chaste for a thousand years but I’m not so stupid I don’t know you got it on with loads of chicks before that.”
Putting a hand to his chest he gasped theatrically. “Got it on? You wound me! Are you suggesting I was loose?”
“A man whore? A floozy, or is that moozy if it’s a guy? Oh get that look off your face! I’m guessing you were a connoisseur of women rather than a moozy.”
“If you didn’t have such talented hips I’d be vexed.” He totally blew it when he started to laugh, rolling over and landing on top of her body, continuing to stroke into her.
He felt so damned good Haley thought she might die from it. The heightened sensation her magic gave her now that she was Fae was incredible. Like having her skin turned on to ten on the dial. Everywhere they touched was like a brush of her clit. Every inch of his cock sent ripples of pleasure through her pussy. Stretching her even as he caressed her internally. He existed within her, not just with his cock, but with their connection to one another. He was all around her and inside her. She was awash with him, with desire. Love filled her to overflowing. To say sex with Conall was mind-blowing would be an understatement. In truth she wasn’t sure there were words adequate to describe the feeling of his cock as it pressed in and then retreated.
Haley arched her back, needing more of him. She raised her knees, wrapped her calves around his waist and dug her fingers into his shoulders. His hair caressed her bare chest and neck, his scent settled things within her even as it excited her.
Her orgasm began to build again and she let go of one shoulder to slide a hand between them. He groaned in her ear. “Goddess it’s sexy when you do that. Soon, Irish witch, soon I’m going to put you on the table and sit back and watch your fingers coated in your honey, playing over your clit.”
Her breath caught in her throat when her middle finger reached her clit and pressed gently. She didn’t need to move, he provided the friction as he fucked into her body.
“Your pretty pale skin will glow with pleasure and I’ll take my cock out. Lightly stroke it because I’ll want to concentrate on you, with those fingers sliding into your pussy. Your head will fall back, you’ll catch your bottom lip between your teeth the way you do and you’ll make soft, needy sounds.” With each word, his voice became deeper and more strained. She knew he was close and she was too.
“Oh, yes!” she gasped as orgasm rushed through her, sucking her under as her body gave over to endorphins designed to make her feel as if she floated in desire. His body on top of hers anchored her, kept her from drifting away as he arched back, thrusting into her hard and deep, and came as well.
Long moments later, he let out a satisfied sigh and rolled to the side, holding her against him as they caught their breath.
“Now, my family will be here in about half an hour. There’s to be a large meal and everyone will ooh and aaah over you.”
Haley sat up with a gasp. “Why didn’t you tell me? Conall, I have to get ready.
Shower. I don’t have any clothes here. Oh man.”
He grabbed her and pulled her back to him, kissing the top of her head. “I tried but you jumped me. Minx. And I saved you from a trip to my parents’. You should be grateful. They’ll all come over here because my mother won’t hear of you going anywhere for a day or so. Now, we will shower together. No, don’t get that look, you’re still weak and I shouldn’t have had sex with you just now but I don’t want you to fall. I can wait a few hours to have you again.” He winked and tumbled out of bed, helping her to stand.
What do you do when you’ve got a hillbilly tiger by the tail? Or maybe the question
should be: what wouldn’t you do…
Here Kitty, Kitty
© 2007 Shelly Laurenston
Nikolai Vorislav likes his single life just as it is. Simple, relaxing and quiet. What he doesn’t need is some foul-mouthed Texan hellcat living in his house, eating his food, flirting with his idiot brothers and shooting holes in his home with his granddaddy’s gun.
But those long legs, dark eyes and lethal tongue are making Nik insane and he fears he may be caught in the sexiest animal trap ever.
Angelina Santiago doesn’t know how she got from Texas to North Carolina in a night or how she ended up in some hillbilly tiger’s house wearing only a sheet. What she does know is that she doesn’t like good ol’ boys with slow, sexy drawls who can’t seem to stop rubbing up against her. Yet in order to protect her friends, Angie has to stay with a cat who seems hellbent on finding all sorts of delicious ways to make her purr.