Teaseday – Exclusive excerpt from Masquerade (Vampires Realm romance series book 10)

 

Today’s tease comes from the book Masquerade, which is the tenth book in my Vampires Realm romance series.

Here’s some scene setting. Sophis and Vivek, two guards of the Venia bloodline of vampires, have been at war for the past decade, ever since a run in with two hunters almost cost Sophis her life. Sophis has grown tired of Vivek’s behaviour towards her and is determined to prove that she isn’t a weak female, and at the start of this week’s scene she’s out to do just that, by having a fight with him in the middle of one of the mansion’s public spaces. Things don’t go quite as she planned, especially when their fight gets her fired up in ways she had never thought possible…

The scent of blood reached her nose.

Sophis slowly opened her eyes, rose to her feet, and looked across the open expanse of Chinese rug to Vivek. His chest heaved as he breathed deep and fast, muscles straining against the white t-shirt. She tried to meet his gaze but he had his ice-blue eyes locked on her cheek.

His pupils dilated, blotting out the paleness of his irises.

Sophis raised her hand and touched her cheek. It stung and her fingertips came away wet. Vivek’s eyebrows knitted together but his pupils remained enlarged, fixed on the spot just below her right eye, burning into it.

Her own breathing quickened to match his, the scent of her blood affecting her almost as much as Vivek’s reaction to it. His focus was completely on that single spot on her cheek, honed with such intensity that she doubted he was even aware of the others in the room or their jeers as they waited for the fight to continue.

He wouldn’t back down. Sophis knew that.

This little cut wouldn’t stop him.

If anything, it would only make the fight more vicious and deadly.

It would only increase Vivek’s thirst for violence.

She knew it because it was how she felt as she watched him staring at the blood on her cheek, hunger darkening his eyes, his focus on his desire to taste the precious liquid that went with the scent now filling the pale blue room.

A flood of hunger crashed through her when Vivek wet his lips, tongue roughly capturing the blood that marred them. His blood. Her own ice-blue eyes fell to his mouth, her breath catching in her throat and saliva pooling around her tongue. She wanted to taste it too.

Sophis snarled and launched herself at him. He ducked, dodged to one side, and threw a punch at her. Sophis dropped low and swept her leg out in an attempt to catch his and send him down. He leapt over her attack and landed his own kick on her shoulder. She screamed this time. The tender scar tissue on her back blazed white-hot and she rolled away from Vivek, clutching her shoulder and breathing hard.

A brief flicker of concern lit his eyes.

Sophis growled, pressed her toes into the rug and sprung at him. He dodged, caught her wrist to stop her from passing him, and snapped her back to him. He didn’t get a chance to land the punch she could see coming. She swept under his arm and kicked him in the back with the full length of her shin, sending him flying forwards and over the armchair. He hit the ground with a grunt and rolled to his feet.

And was gone.

Sophis’s senses blared the warning but she wasn’t quick enough to turn. He came up behind her, locked his hand around her right wrist and kicked her feet out from under her. She hit the rug face first and Vivek came down on her, knocking the air from her lungs.

She struggled against the weight of him across her backside and lurched up only for Vivek to shove his hand against her shoulder and press her into the floor. Pain ripped over the scar on the back of her left shoulder and she gritted her teeth to contain the cry that tried to escape her. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them away, refusing to show weakness in front of her men and Vivek.

Vivek tugged her right arm back, bending it around until it felt as though it would pop free of her shoulder socket.

“Yield.” It was an order.

He wasn’t asking. He was telling her to give up the fight and concede defeat.

“Never,” Sophis spat out, forced her hips up and tipped him off her.

She rolled on top of him before he could move and straddled his stomach, her feet locked between his thighs and her hands pinning his wrists to the floor.

Sophis breathed hard and stared down into Vivek’s icy eyes. Strands of her brown hair had fallen down and grazed his cheek, shifting in the breeze of their combined breaths. His stomach moved beneath her, a steady rise and fall, muscles hard against the apex of her thighs.

The world disappeared for her this time, the jeers of her men fading a little more with each second that she stared into Vivek’s eyes.

The instinct to fight drifted away together with her consciousness of her surroundings as an awareness of only Vivek grew into existence. It shrouded her senses, forcing them to shift to him in their entirety. He lay beneath her, muscles strained and taut, gaze locked on hers, neither submissive nor aggressive.

Her breathing fell into synchronisation with his.

His gaze fell to her cheek. His pupils dilated again, hunger filling his eyes, sparking on her senses in a way that sent heat into her veins.

“Yield,” she whispered, too caught in the moment to put a firmer voice to that word. It should have come out strong and commanding, not so soft and full of desire that was nothing short of disturbing.

Vivek drew a long deep breath. His stomach pressed into her groin, sending a not-too-unpleasant shiver through her.

With a lightning-fast move, he twisted his wrists out of hers, caught her hands, and flipped her.

Sophis’s eyes widened when she found herself lying beneath him with his hips firmly wedged between her thighs. The spark of violence that had risen back into Vivek’s eyes flickered and died as he dragged his gaze over her, heating her with only a look until she burned hotter than she would have if the sun had touched her. What the hell was happening to her?

She struggled against his grip but it only made things worse. His fingertips pressed into the backs of her hands and she realised with horror that he had entwined their fingers, his palms against hers, and had them pinned to the floor on either side of her head.

Worse than that, he was using a part of his anatomy that she didn’t want to think about to keep her hips against the floor, immobilising her lower body.

Sophis swallowed and stared up into Vivek’s eyes as his gaze shifted once more to the cut on her cheek. His lips parted to reveal the tips of his fangs. His cool breath caressed her face. Her breathing hitched. She almost wanted him to go through with it and run his tongue over the line of blood.

Things couldn’t get worse than this.

Did you enjoy today’s tease?

Caris Roane is also posting a Teaseday snippet, so be sure to check out her blog and read it! http://carisroane.com/?p=2959

 

Masquerade
F E Heaton
Ten years have passed since Sophis and Vivek, two vampires of the Venia bloodline, came close to death at the hands of twin hunters Aleksis and Izabella Romanov. The events of that night turned Sophis and Vivek against each other, shattering their close friendship and driving them apart.

Now, on the eve of a centenary Creator Day masquerade and at a time when things between them are dangerously close to separating them forever, they uncover a small army of vampire hunters in Saint Petersburg, led by their nemeses, Aleksis and Izabella.

With the safety of the rulers of the seven pure vampire bloodlines in their hands and their chance for vengeance hanging in the balance, can Sophis and Vivek face their past and overcome their differences? Will they realise their true feelings for each other before it’s too late or will the hunters finally claim their lives as their deadly plot to destroy the bloodlines unfolds?

Available in e-book from:

Author’s website

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Kindle UK | Amazon Kindle Germany | Amazon Kindle France

Apple iBookstore US | Apple iBookstore UK | Apple iBookstore Australia | Apple iBookstore Canada

Barnes and Noble | Kobo Books | Smashwords | All Romance eBooks

 

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble

 

 

About Felicity Heaton

I'm a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In my books I create detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will love my books too.

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Jellytotsmuggler
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I don’t know how you do it, but its a fab book – just like the rest of them! Thankyou!

Felicity Heaton
Guest

I am out of the office from 8th November until 3rd December 2012, but will respond to your email as soon as I return.
Thanks,

Felicity Heaton

Paranormal Romances with Passion

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton
Blog: http://www.indieparanormalromancebooks.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton

Author of:
VET series — enter Vampirerotique, a dark sexy vampire theatre
Her Angel — best selling acclaimed angel romance series
Vampires Realm — critically acclaimed paranormal romance series
Sons of Lyra & Daughters of Lyra — best selling science fiction romance series

Felicity Heaton
Guest

 Thanks! I really do put my all in to my books to try to make them the best they can be so you guys get the read you deserve.

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