Category Archives: vampires

Saturday Snippets – CRAVE – vampire erotic romance novella – part one

Posted on 17th March 2012 by Felicity Heaton

It’s release time again! CRAVE, the second book in my already popular Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series, is out now and I’m going to spend the next couple of weekends focusing on the book in my Saturday and Sunday Snippets!

So, here’s the blurb for this hot new erotic vampire romance novella and the first part of chapter two. You can read chapter one in this previous post.

Crave
Felicity Heaton
His mind has been set on his work for the past one hundred years. Now a forbidden beauty has stolen his attention and is threatening to steal his heart too.

Callum has come to the city of romance on business, not pleasure, but when he sets eyes on a gorgeous werewolf in a nightclub, he canâ€™t ignore the dark carnal craving she ignites in him. His work for Vampirerotique, the erotic theatre he runs with three other vampires, can wait. The only thing that matters now is satisfying his sinful hunger for a woman who most vampires would consider an enemy.

Kristina is on the run from her pack. Her alpha is intent on forcing her to bear his child and sheâ€™s not about to live through the same nightmare as her mother had. When a tall, dark and sexy vampire catches her eye, she canâ€™t believe the ferocity of the desire he unleashes in her or the fact that she enjoys the feel of his eyes on her and his silent pursuit of her in the clubs each night.

When Kristina finally gets a taste of Callum in a forbidden kiss, will she be strong enough to resist the allure of the vampire and his offer to share his bed for a week of unbridled, wild sex, or will she surrender to her own craving for the safety and passion she finds in his embrace?

genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 35000 words
released: March 2012
Book 2 in the Vampire Erotic Theatre series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Crave
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HBKNG6
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007HBKNG6
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B007HBKNG6
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B007HBKNG6
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/140336

EXCERPT

What was she doing?

When she had fled England, Kristina had vowed to avoid interacting with werewolves. It was safest that way, no matter how much she often craved the company of her kind. All packs had a unique scent, something a werewolf could smell on each other and recognise. Part of her training as a cub had been spent on burning knowledge of the European werewolf packs and their scents into her mind. It was something all packs taught their young. The man now grinding against her backside and turning her stomach with his dominant grip on her was from a local pack here in Paris but that didnâ€™t mean he wouldnâ€™t turn her over.

She had been on the run from her pack for months now but she was sure they were still looking for her.

This was a mistake.

Kristina tried to get free of her partner but his thick arm tightened across her stomach, holding her firm. A spark of panic leapt through her blood and she struggled to tamp it down and disguise it so he wouldnâ€™t sense it in her. She made out she was turning in his arms and he allowed it, his large hands moving to her backside, clutching and squeezing.

What the Hell had she been thinking?

The vampire had scared her and she had gone running to her own kind. Pathetic. She was stronger than that. So his fangs had come out and she had felt their sharp tips on her tongue, that didnâ€™t mean he had intended to bite her. Not everything she had been told about vampires was true. She had thought she had known that, had accepted it as fact, and had always been proud of herself for being able to see that vampires werenâ€™t really a threat unless you made them one by provoking them. It turned out that she was wrong and she hadnâ€™t accepted it after all. The moment his fangs had touched her, she had panicked and lashed out, her heart rocketing and hackles rising. Everything bad she had ever been told about vampires had shot through her mind and she had gone with it rather than telling herself that it was just desire that had brought his fangs out. It was a reaction her kind shared with vampires. Whenever she got a little overexcited, her canines extended against her will.

She should have been flattered by his reaction to her kiss, not sought to knock his fangs out.

She was no better than every other werewolf. They had driven fear of vampires, horror stories about them, so deep into her mind that she couldnâ€™t escape it even when she thought that she had.

The male werewolf leaned down towards her and she stiffened in his arms, fear of him rising inside her and telling her to break away from him, that he would try to dominate her just as her alpha had. She had to run.

His warm breath washed over her skin, turning her stomach, and she shrank backwards, trying to escape his touch. She had been a fool to run back to her own kind for protection. She had probably been safer with the vampire than she was with this male. They all wanted the same thing from her, all smelt her readiness to mate and took it to mean that she wanted them when she didnâ€™t. She wasnâ€™t interested in bearing cubs like a dutiful female. She wanted a life.

A firm cool hand on her shoulder caused her to jump. The start of a shriek escaped her before she clamped down hard on it and the world whirled past her in a blur of blue and purple neon and laser lights. A hard wall of black slammed against her and a low threatening snarl curled out over the pumping music.

Her instincts sparked, senses zeroing in on the male werewolf at her back and the dark presence of vampire in front of her. The vampireâ€™s arm tightened around her, pressing her to his chest, and he snarled again, a feral sound that a werewolf would have been proud of making. The werewolf growled back but it lacked the strength and ferocity of the vampireâ€™s, sounding weak and tailing off at the end.

Kristina glanced up at her unlikely saviour, looking past the strong defined line of his jaw and the sensual mouth that had sent her head spinning with only a kiss, beyond his straight nose that said he might be an aristocrat vampire, to the red coals of his irises and the vertical slits of his pupils. He growled again, bearing his fangs. They were enormous now, fully extended as he threatened the werewolf behind her.

The werewolf snarled back at him and she sensed the two other male werewolves rise from their seats, heading out of the booth to back up their leader.

Kristina wasnâ€™t sure how to defuse the situation before it exploded. She did the first thing that came to her.

She tiptoed, caught the vampireâ€™s cheek in her palm, and kissed him.

Did you all enjoy the excerpt?

Posted in Crave, paranormal romance, snippets, Vampire Erotic Theatre, vampire romance, vampires | Comments Off

Crave – hot vampire romance novella out today!

Posted on 10th March 2012 by Felicity Heaton

It’s release time again! CRAVE, the second book in my already popular Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series, is out today and to celebrate I’m going to post the excerpt here to tease and tempt you all. Crave has already received some fabulous reviews from both readers and reviewers alike. Some are even saying that it’s now their favourite in the series, which is exciting for me because after the reviews for Covet I began to feel that Crave might not live up to the hotness and intensity of that book. Phew!

So, here’s the blurb for this hot new erotic vampire romance novella and an excerpt almost guaranteed to crank your temperature up a few notches!

Crave
Felicity Heaton
His mind has been set on his work for the past one hundred years. Now a forbidden beauty has stolen his attention and is threatening to steal his heart too.

genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 35000 words
released: March 2012
Book 2 in the Vampire Erotic Theatre series

EXCERPT

Three weeks had passed since Callum had left London and headed to Paris to scout for performers for a new show at the theatre he ran with three other vampires, and it had been one week since he had last emailed Antoine, the aristocrat pureblood in charge of overseeing the performances at Vampirerotique.

He should have contacted him again by now. It wasnâ€™t as though Callum hadnâ€™t thought about it. He had booted up his laptop and started to type out the email every morning before retiring for the day. Yesterday, he had even reached the point of typing in his name at the end of the email before deleting the entire thing.

Callum leaned his back against the brass rail that edged the curved dark mahogany bar top, his green gaze scanning the occupants of the crowded room, picking out viable prey, potential performers, and identifying the species of each person his eyes fell on. Part of him was still working and it was that part that kept whispering that Antoine wouldnâ€™t be angry with him for disappearing. If he just dropped a brief email or even a text message stating that he was still looking for performers but hadnâ€™t spotted anyone worthy of joining the Vampirerotique family in the past week then Antoine would probably forgive him for disobeying his command to contact him daily.

It would be a lie though.

He had seen several vampires, both male and female, at the nightclubs he had been moving between for the past three weeks. All of them would work well in the theatre and draw the crowds. They were exhibitionists who had been more than comfortable performing private acts in front of the gathered dancers. There had been males who had groped and grinded with their human female prey, and female vampires who had engaged in acts just a whisper away from screwing in the open booths where anyone could see them. All of them had been worthy of him approaching them and giving them the hard sell. Not many of their type refused to audition when they gained an all expenses paid trip to London and the chance to try out for a place in a famous theatre.

There was one female who had stood out amongst the usual crowd last week. She was perfect for the new show that Antoine had in mind, could easily be the star performer, but Callum couldnâ€™t bring himself to approach her and whenever he thought about mentioning her to Antoine, a knot formed deep in his gut.

Callum had ignored the feeling and just satisfied himself with watching her in the club. He had first seen her with another female, one that he had approached during a lull towards the end of the evening. She had eagerly accepted his offer of an audition, even though she knew the sort of place his theatre was and that it didnâ€™t normally look for performers from her species.

Werewolf.

When Antoine had first told him that he would be departing for Paris in search of new talent, and that it wouldnâ€™t just be the usual scouting mission this time but would include seeking werewolves for a special performance, Callum had almost choked on his glass of blood.

Vampirerotique had never hired werewolves before. In fact, he was certain that in the hundred years they had been running the theatre, there had never been a werewolf on stage. Their kind rarely interacted with each other, unless you counted the occasional war. Werewolves didnâ€™t like vampires. The feeling was more than mutual.

Callum had sent three werewolves to audition so far, all female as requested.

This female would be perfect for the show too. She would steal it and make it hers, just as she stole the attention of the entire club as she moved through it with sensual grace that had the eyes of every male and some females on her, and made Callum think about some therianthropes he had met in the past. She had the moves of a feline shifter rather than a werewolf.

Callum could easily imagine her moving on the stage, how she would sidle over to the large vampire males and bring them to their knees with only a seductive sway of her hips and flash of a sultry smile.

Hell, she had Callum on his knees. He had been following her for a week now, shunning his duty in favour of tracking her down each night and watching her from a distance. His new private pleasure. The club she had chosen tonight catered to a mixed crowd, although the humans didnâ€™t know that. One of the male bartenders was a shifter, one was human, and one was a vampire. That surprised Callum. He had never thought he would live to see a vampire working alongside a shifter, but the two young males seemed to get along. He couldnâ€™t sense any bad feelings between them so it wasnâ€™t an act put on for the sake of the patrons and the human bartender.

Callumâ€™s gaze tracked the female through the club, studying how she slid between the dancers, occasionally stopping to work her body against a male. She smiled wickedly at a young human man as he caught her wrist and pulled her against him, twisting her so her back pressed against his front. She wriggled her hips and raised her hands above her head as she slid down the length of her partner and then back up again, almost as tall as he was in her heeled black boots. Her tight dark jeans emphasised lean long legs that Callum had rather disturbingly dreamed about since first seeing her, imagining their slender strong lengths wrapped around his backside as he fucked her. He had dreamed about pushing the loose flowing material of her empire-line top up to reveal the toned plane of her stomach and then kissing it, feeling her body shift beneath him, before continuing and peeling the high waist tucked under her breasts over their full firm globes. He had dipped his head and captured each sweet dusky bud in turn, swirling his tongue around and sucking them until she moaned low in appreciation.

The brunette female werewolf moved on, thanking her temporary partner with a brief brush of her rosy lips across his cheek and a saucy stroke of her palm over his crotch that had Callum ready to speed onto the dance floor and rip the human to shreds.

She was his.

He drew a long slow breath to calm himself, focusing on it and not her, waiting for the need to pass. If he looked at her now, he would be on the dance floor before he realised what he was doing and would be tugging her into his arms, using all of his strength to make it clear to her that she belonged to him now.

Callum shook his head to rid it of the desire to dance with her and feel her body pressing into his, hot and supple under his questing hands. He wouldnâ€™t let her go as easily as the male human had.

He watched her move through the dancers again, twirling and smiling, her wavy soft brown hair dancing with her, tumbling over her shoulders and breasts. Each time she lifted her bare arms in the air, the hem of her top rose, revealing a tantalising flash of her stomach or back. Her jeans rode low on her hips, barely covering her backside and crotch.

She was a vixen, a real predator as she glanced over every man, even those with partners, looking for tonightâ€™s fun. He had seen her leave with a new man every night. A strange urge to follow her and see what she did with them had built inside him until he had no longer been able to resist the need to know. It wasnâ€™t what he had thought it would be and an even stranger feeling had swept through him on realising that she was luring males away to feed on them. Like his kind, werewolves enjoyed the taste of blood and needed it to survive, although they could supplement their need with nourishment from food.

Unlike his kind, werewolves couldnâ€™t turn a human. Her bite wouldnâ€™t change the human into a werewolf. Once she had finished with the man, she had wiped his memory and left him in the alley.

Callum had almost followed her home but had forced himself to return to his hotel instead. The sight of her feeding had given him some seriously erotic dreams and he had woken tonight with a raging erection that hadnâ€™t gone down until he had tended to it.

It was coming back as he watched her, his thoughts diving down routes they shouldnâ€™t be taking. A vampire had no place desiring a werewolf.

Desiring?

Hell, this hunger went beyond desire and ran deeper in his veins than lust.

He craved her.

Callum turned and flagged down the vampire bartender. The blond man smiled knowingly, nodded, and took down a martini glass. He filled it to the brim with dark liquid that was black in the flashing purple and blue lights of the club and stuck a cherry on a stick in it. Callum held out a twenty euro note at the same time as the vampire placed the glass down on an elegant white napkin and slid it across the bar to him.

â€œIâ€™ll take one of those,â€ a female voice said right beside him, â€œand tall, dark and sexy here is paying.â€

He was?

Callum frowned and turned to say that he damn well wasnâ€™t paying for her drink and froze as his eyes fell on the female werewolf. He felt the vampire bartenderâ€™s gaze on him, sensed him waiting to see what Callumâ€™s reply would be. Callum glanced at him and nodded. The vampire made up another glass of blood, stuck a cherry in it, and slid it over to her before moving away.

The werewolf raised her glass in a salute to Callum, sipped the blood, and set it back down on the napkin. Her bloodstained lips curved into a wicked sultry smile.

Callum was smitten.

She leaned closer, her bare left elbow resting on the bar, and ran her fingertips down his dark purple silk tie. Her smile widened when she curled her fingers around it, drew it away from his black tailored shirt, and tugged him towards her.

â€œYouâ€™ve been watching me like Iâ€™m a bitch in heat and youâ€™re an alpha. What gives?â€ She wasnâ€™t French as he had expected. Her accent was as British as his own.

Callum calmly removed her hand from his tie, straightened it out and smoothed it down. â€œIâ€™m just here on business, and Iâ€™m definitely not an alpha. Iâ€™m a vampire.â€

She smiled and tilted her head to one side, causing the long waves of her brown hair to shift across her breasts and cover the tempting display of cleavage the tight section of her black sleeveless top created.

â€œA vampire with a definite hard-on for a species most of his kind would see as disgusting and forbidden,â€ she said over the rapid beat of the music, lifted the cocktail stick and cherry from her drink, and popped it into her mouth.

Callumâ€™s gaze narrowed on her mouth, transfixed by the sight of her sucking the cherry. She parted her lips and withdrew the glossy red fruit, dipped it back into her blood and swirled it around before raising it back to her mouth and teasing him by licking the crimson liquid off it again. His chest tightened and he struggled to breathe as the tip of her tongue flicked over the cherry, swirling around it. She slowly slid the fruit into her mouth, lips puckering as she sucked, her eyes closing in what looked like pleasure to him. The sight of her ratcheted his hunger up another notch, flooding him with a deep throbbing ache to feel her tongue brushing his in the way it had the cherry, to have her mouth on his flesh and to run his lips over every inch of her bare skin and drive her wild until she was sobbing his name and begging for more.

â€œI donâ€™t have a hard-on for your species… just you.â€ Callum moved faster than she could evade, catching the wrist of the hand she held the cocktail stick in, pulling it away from her lips and claiming them for his own.

She responded instantly, her tongue thrusting past his lips and teeth to slide along his. He slanted his head, slipped his other arm around her slim waist and dragged the full length of her body against his as he seized control of the kiss. She melted against him, as supple and hot as he had dreamed she would be, her breasts pressing into his hard chest, the heat of her driving him to the edge. He tangled his tongue with hers, swallowing her breathy gasps as he dominated her, crushing each attempt she made to reclaim control. Her fight only made him burn hotter for her, made him use his strength on her and tighten his grip on her wrist and side. Her gasps became low rumbling moans. The firmer he was with her, the more of his strength he used, the lower they became and the more she struggled, as though she wanted to feel how much more powerful he was than her.

She liked it.

The female werewolf snapped out of his grasp and slapped him so hard across his cheek that he couldnâ€™t fail to realise where he had gone wrong. His fangs cut into his lower lip. He hadnâ€™t noticed them extending. Before he could explain to her that it was just the heat of the moment that had brought them out and that he hadnâ€™t intended to bite her, she was striding away from him, heading back towards the busy dance floor.

Callum growled, swiftly drank his martini glass of blood to take the edge off his hunger and followed her, intent on explaining and tasting her again. The crowd kept closing behind her, blocking his way and frustrating him. He pushed through them, his senses tracking her so he didnâ€™t lose her again. She wasnâ€™t heading out of the club at least. The expansive dark club only had one exit and that was the other way, beyond the bar. She was either heading towards the booths that lined the edges of the room or the dance floor itself. Was she planning on losing him in the throng of people? It would be difficult to track her in amongst so many signatures. There were several other werewolves in the club tonight. Their presence would help mask hers even though he knew her scent now, had instinctively put it to memory when kissing her. Devil, she had tasted so wicked and delicious.

Callum licked the faint trace of blood off his lips and finally broke through the crowd around the bar, coming out near the edge of the dance floor. The heavy beat of the music pounded through his body, thrumming in his veins, pushing the tension mounting inside him, the need to find her and have her in his arms again.

The need to taste her lips.

He scoured the dancers and spotted her heading closer to the DJ. The lights flashed brightest there, hurting his eyes, and the volume of the music would be unbearable that close to the speakers. She knew vampires well. Her species could move around during the day so they werenâ€™t as sensitive to light and her hearing wasnâ€™t as acute when she was in her human form. She stopped there and danced with a male. He couldnâ€™t tell whether her partner was human or werewolf, but he was immense, taller and broader than Callum was. She had intentionally chosen a place that would hurt him and had now selected a partner who could easily protect her. Her wiliness told Callum that the male would be a werewolf.

He only wondered why she no longer looked confident. Her gaze constantly darted about as she danced with the man, her body held at a distance from his, as though she was afraid to get any closer. Why would she fear her own kind?

That question and the challenge she had issued by choosing to dance with an immense werewolf in an area that was uncomfortable for Callum drove him onto the dance floor. He moved through the crowd, his gaze constantly on her, studying her face and the flicker of fear that was gradually surfacing in her eyes. The usual confident shine in them was gone by the time he was within a few metres of her.

The male werewolf caught her shoulders, turned her around and dragged her back against his bulky body, caging her there with a thick forearm across her stomach. His black t-shirt stretched over an obscene amount of muscle and Callum considered the insanity of approaching such a male. Although he was likely older than the werewolf, and vampires were inherently more powerful, his build was almost slender compared to him and he was a good few inches shorter too. That could be an advantage though. A lower centre of gravity gave him a more solid footing than his monolithic rival and his slimmer build gave him the advantage of speed. He could probably incapacitate the werewolf with only minimal injury to himself.

However.

There were two other male werewolves seated on the curved dark leather seat of the booth behind the male dancing with the woman, and both of them were watching the couple. Three glasses stood on the oval black table in the centre of the booth. The male was with them.

One werewolf he might be able to handle.

Three would crush him.

It should have stopped him from pursuing the woman, but his feet still propelled him forwards, towards what could only be a bloody and painful future.

He couldnâ€™t turn back now that he had tasted her.

He hungered for another touch, another taste.

He craved her.

And he would have her.

Did you all enjoy the excerpt?

Posted in 2012 releases, Covet, Crave, paranormal romance, Vampire Erotic Theatre, vampire romance, vampires | Comments Off

Covet Book Tour continues at Bookin It Reviews!

Posted on 11th February 2012 by Felicity Heaton

It’s time for an update on my Covet Book Tour. I hope you’ve all been following the tour and are enjoying learning more about the series. There are some great posts about this vampire romance book and the Vampire Erotic Theatre series coming up so keep following it!

Don’t forget, if you comment on the tour posts, you’re also entered into my grand giveaway for six signed paperback copies of my paranormal romance releases of 2011. Sounds good, right? You can read all about it by clicking the Covet Book Tour button above!

Yesterday I was at the always fantastic Bookin It Reviews sharing an exclusive excerpt from the book and another great giveaway. It’s a hot little scene this time, so have a fan at the ready or an icy drink to cool you down!

Next week I have four appearances to round off the tour, including another exclusive excerpt, an interview with Lilah, more about writing the series and what’s next!

COVET BOOK TOUR

JAN 23rd: Riverina Romantics – Author Interview, Excerpt, Giveaway
JAN 24th: Bona Fide Reflections – Introduction to the Book / Giveaway
JAN 27th: Book Monster Reviews / Literal Addiction – Character Interview / Giveaway
JAN 30th: Grave Tells – Writing the Book / Giveaway
FEB 1st: Madame D’s Boudoir – Introduction to the Series / Giveaway
FEB 3rd: The Book Nympho – Character Interview / Giveaway
FEB 6th: Lush Book Reviews – Exclusive Excerpt / Giveaway
FEB 10th: Bookin’ It Reviews – Exclusive Excerpt / Giveaway
FEB 14th: Page Flipperz – Character Interview / Giveaway
FEB 15th: Ex-Libris – Creating the World / Giveaway
FEB 16th: Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Exclusive Excerpt / Giveaway
FEB 17th: Bitten by Paranormal Romance – What’s Next? / Giveaway

If you want to know more about my erotic vampire romance novella Covet, then you can read all about it or read an excerpt / download a sample at the following sites:

Posted in Book Tours, Covet, paranormal romance, Vampire Erotic Theatre, vampire romance, vampires | Comments Off

Sunday Snippets from my paranormal romance books

Posted on 5th February 2012 by Felicity Heaton

Look, I’ve made it two Sundays in a row with my Sunday Snippets. Now that I have a schedule for them, I don’t have an excuse for not posting them.

I’m going to share another snippet from my latest erotic vampire romance novella, Covet, the first book in my new Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series, as I’m very into this series at the moment.

Javier’s gaze fell to her mouth.

He wanted to kiss her. His blood burned with the need until it bordered on controlling him but couldnâ€™t bring himself to go through with it. To kiss her would be to violate her. Not the bond with her master, but her purity. Just the thought of her soft mouth on his made him feel like a beast. If he kissed her, he wasnâ€™t sure he could retain control.

â€œWhatâ€™s wrong?â€ she whispered and he heard the hurt in her voice, saw it in her beautiful golden eyes when his leapt to them. Her eyebrows furrowed and she touched his cheek, fingertips burning his flesh, the scent of her blood filling his senses. His fangs dropped, pressing against his lips. He saw in her eyes the moment his changed, bloodlust swamping his irises and turning his pupils elliptical.

He raised a trembling hand and ran his thumb across her lower lip, and even that small caress was almost too much for him, branding her name on his soul.

â€œI want to kiss you,â€ he uttered and her eyes dropped to his mouth. â€œWould you let a monster like me ruin you?â€

I hope you enjoyed this Sunday Snippet!

Posted in Covet, paranormal romance, snippets, Vampire Erotic Theatre, vampire romance, vampires | Comments Off

Teaseday – Seventh Circle – vampire romance book

Posted on 19th October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

It’s chilly today. There’s a frost on the ground and the air is so cold I can see my breath when I’m outside. Autumn has just announced itself. We’re a week closer to Halloween, so my vampire mood is increasing, especially since the release of Heart of Darkness is this weekend!

I’m contuining with the Vampires Realm series theme and posting a chapter from my vampire romance book Seventh Circle today for my Teaseday.

My Vampires Realm series is full of stories of forbidden love, not only between vampires and werewolves but also between the different vampire bloodlines and humans too, even vampire hunters! If you like vampires that drink from the vein, are kick arse, and dark and mysterious, then this series is definitely for you!

Seventh Circle
F E Heaton
Born with powers similar to a vampireâ€™s, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmareâ€”a client who is not only attractive but a vampire.

Lincoln is a powerful pureblood with a problem. Heâ€™s caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, heâ€™s prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isnâ€™t prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her.

Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work together but when Lincoln reveals the truth about her powers, will Lilith find the strength to embrace a side of herself that she wished didnâ€™t exist? And when they discover Lilithâ€™s role in the prophecy, how far will Lincoln go to save her?

Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world.

ebook price: $2.99
paperback price: $9.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 106112 words
rating: sultry
released: November 2008
Book 7 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Seventh%20Circle
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDO68/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDO68/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDO68/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Seventh-Circle/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000800973/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Seventh-Circle/mix-ZGYNJZH8-kmDBm5GV0YlJg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7734
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/seventh-circle/_/R-400000000000000249275

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1460978579/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1460978579/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-circle-f-e-heaton/1021362622

EXCERPT

Blood.

No matter where she looked, she couldn’t escape it. It spotted his face and arched over his jaw from the wound on his throat. It seeped into his damp blond hair, darkening the whole side of his head. Turning away, she swallowed her desire to be sick and stared at the ground. Crimson coated the grass until it glistened under the harsh sodium streetlight on the cemetery path. The acrid smell thickened the air, filled her nostrils and choked her lungs. Cold stole through her, rising up from her knees where they pressed into the wet dirt close to his body, chilling her as it swept towards her soul.

“Jackson!” Lilith’s frantic patting of his cheek did nothing to rouse him. Her rough, erratic breathing and the thundering beat of her heart filled her ears as she stared down at him. Panic consumed her. “Jackson, don’t you die on me, Jackson.”

His eyes opened, igniting a spark of hope inside her. The darkness of despair extinguished it when they closed lazily again a second later.

She was losing him.

“Jackson.” She patted his cheek again, faster this time, a constant drumming that matched her pulse. Her other hand pressed the wad of material harder against the wound. Sticky, warm blood coated her fingers, sickening her. “Don’t give up. I won’t lose you!”

He convulsed and his face contorted into a look of sheer agony. A thin line of darkest red crept from the corner of his lips. She held him down, restraining him in the hope of stopping him from killing himself, and her eyes widened as the crimson trail eased down towards his ear.

Everything became still.

Her ears rang with it, with the numb and icy cold filling her, sending sweeps of shivers over her skin as what was happening finally sunk in.

This was no way to feel, so drained of life and welcoming death with open arms, watching for it. Not when the creature that had done this was still nearby.

Waiting.

She focused again, searching for it while applying more pressure to the wound on Jackson’s throat. Was it to stem the flow of blood, or the flow of hope as it left her?

There was no way she could save him.

He was pale now, barely breathing. Tears blurred her eyes, hot against her cold face. Not five minutes ago, he’d been so full of life, full of jokes that had always annoyed her for some reason. Funny how it could disappear so quickly. You thought you were strong, indestructible. In reality you were as fragile as a butterfly when faced with one of themâ€“one of the pure bloodlines.

A low laugh sent a shudder through her.

She knew what it found so amusing.

Jackson was dead.

She closed her eyes, touched his cheek as a goodbye and prayed that he had found a better place on the other side.

Picking herself up, she shut down the side of her that wanted to throw itself over his body and cry her heart out for him, and for her own loss. She had a job to do. He’d understand. It had been his job too.

She stood and stared down at him. The world seemed strangely blue and quiet. Cold. He looked peaceful lying there on the grass, darkness shrouding his body while the streetlight crowned his head in golden light.

Almost angelic.

Her gaze fell to her hands as she brought them out in front of her, palms facing the heavens. She frowned at the dark liquid coating them and then at the torn sleeve of her shirt. So much blood but she felt nothing as she stared at it. This was no time for mourning. She could do that later. Right now, she had business to attend to.

She wiped her hands on her black combat trousers and then retrieved her wooden stake from the grass.

A breeze.

A sigh.

The world blurred as she turned on a pinpoint and blocked the vampire’s attack.

It grinned at her, teeth sharp and eyes bright, challenging her to make a move. She knew what it wanted. It wanted her to run, or scream, or at least give it a good fight before it finally killed her. It was playing with her.

Well, she wasn’t about to play with it.

This man, this thing, was going to die for what it had done to Jackson.

It turned and the streetlights caught its eyes, making them flash like mother of pearl. She gave no quarter, turning with it and keeping their arms locked. Its weight pressed against her and she pushed back, her eyes never leaving its. It could throw her if it wanted to. It was far stronger than she was.

That smile it wore wasn’t fading. It was beginning to unnerve her. It curved the vampire’s face, cutting across it in a sinful line that exposed the points of its bloodied teeth. Jackson hadn’t stood a chance.

She didn’t stand a chance.

Neither of them had ever fought one of the pure bloods. Those that did rarely survived to tell the tale. She’d never heard of anyone managing to kill one.

Before she could blink, it had disappeared and she stumbled forwards from the release of pressure against her. She turned sharply in all directions, panic guiding her movements, and then forced herself to slow down. Her senses reached outwards into the inky night, desperate to locate the vampire so it couldn’t attack without her noticing.

The early spring breeze tousled her honey hair, sending a shiver dancing down her spine as its cold fingers worked their way under the hem of her black shirt and into her collar. When she faced Jackson, she sniffed back her tears and tried not to look at him. This was no time to lose focus, or she’d be joining him in the afterlife.

Something shifted.

She tensed and then relaxed when it didn’t move again.

The graveyard was quiet. Too quiet.

It could only mean one thing. The vampire was stalking her. It had slipped into the shadows to watch her. She could feel its eyes on her, touching her, studying her. It was looking for a weak spot, a momentary drop in her defences when it could slip in and kill her with a single move. Her heart thumped hard against her breastbone at that thought and she steadied her breathing in an attempt to slow it down. Panic made her hands shake and her body threatened to join them.

Her fingers flexed around the stake several times. It did nothing to soothe her nerves as she’d hoped. If she didn’t calm down and regain her focus, she didn’t stand a chance. The vampire would be able to sense her fear. It would drive it on. It would make it hungrier for her blood. She had to do all she could to maintain control and a steady heartbeat. Only then would she have the slightest chance of killing before she was killed.

Doubts crept in at the corners of her mind, sending the edges of her thoughts black and sinister. She pushed them away, not wanting the distraction that the memory of seeing Jackson killed was bringing, and not wanting to lose her concentration by imagining herself suffering a similar fate.

No one, not a human and definitely not a vampire, was going to bite her neck.

Ever.

She frowned into the distance where the darkness swallowed the trees and nothing but the night reigned. She had nothing to fear. An elite hunter had no fear.

Her training had been the same as Jackson’s and the rest of her company, except she’d always excelled where they had merely passed. She’d taken the rank of elite hunter three years earlier than expected. She was one of only a handful to hold that title.

She could defeat this vampire.

She would win.

She had a gift.

Her eyes rolled closed and she released her breath, emptying herself. Her hands came up in front of her, close to her chest, her stake held steady in her right and her left joining it. Her heart rate slowed to a steady beat and her blood rushed through her veins. There was such strength in it if only she’d be brave enough to embrace it.

Her soul surrendered to the call of the night.

The world blackened.

She didn’t need to see the change to know it happened. Everything felt different. The air tasted metallic, like blood. The rising of her instincts made her senses razor-sharp and sent painful throbs down her spine from her aching head.

She could only hold this for seconds or she’d fall into the darkness she could feel encroaching at the corners of her soul.

A few seconds would be enough.

A flicker of movement and she could see the world through her closed eyes. Silvery threads outlined everything, scribbled onto the darkness like rough chalk drawings on a blackboard. She saw the trees sway in the breeze. She saw Jackson. She saw death.

Her eyes shot open and she gasped at air to save herself from drowning in the shadows. It filled her lungs, burned them and her blood. She ran regardless.

She ran straight at the vampire.

One hand on top of the stone sarcophagus was enough to vault her over it and she landed with precise grace on the other side, right beside her quarry.

Her hand came down in a blurred arc, so fast that the vampire couldn’t fully evade her attack. She missed the heart as the vampire dived to the side. Her stake caught its shoulder, scraped hard against bone. The vampire growled and then roared at her. She flipped backwards before it could attack and gave herself over to the fight, letting her instincts guide her as her senses locked onto the vampire. She could almost see its movements before it made them, a ghost of it shone in her eyes.

Except time was running out.

The lingering effect of her gift would soon disappear, leaving her to fight without these sharpened senses.

She would be vulnerable.

She would be weak from calling on her gift.

That was the price.

She cart-wheeled away, still gripping the stake. The moment the vampire closed in, she stopped and swept her leg around in a fast, hard kick, grunting with effort. The vampire laughed and slid to the side, away from danger. Before she could put her foot down and attack again, it had hit her in the chest with a kick of its own, sending her flying backwards into a tombstone.

Her breath left her on impact, a red hot bar across her back marking where she’d hit the heavy stone. She needed a moment to recover, only she didn’t have one. The vampire was on her before she could blink and she was barely able to block it. She crossed her arms against its chest, holding it off her.

It snarled and snapped its jaw.

With each gnash of its teeth and each millimetre closer it got to her, her heart accelerated, until it was racing so fast she had trouble breathing. Adrenaline mixed with the panic coiled deep inside her. For the first time in her life, she could taste death, could see it coming, and it had red eyes and sharp teeth, and a mane of black tousled hair. It bore down on her, its body pressed hard against hers, trapping her between it and the headstone.

She clutched the stake, hands trembling as she weakened.

The vampire growled.

There was no chance of escape, but blind panic and a will to live forced her to try.

She pushed with all her might, shoving her left hand against the flat end of the stake as she drove it forwards.

The vampire sprung backwards the moment the stake made contact with its shoulder. She didn’t give it a chance to escape. She threw herself at it in a last ditch attempt to be the victor in this deadly dance.

She tumbled to the floor with it, wrestling for control. The world blurred and sped by. The pain of the vampire’s blows barely registered in her tired body as she struggled to keep it away from her neck and get her stake against its chest. The noise was deafeningâ€“the rush of her breathing, the snarls of the vampire, and the harsh pounding of her heart.

Then silence.

She was on top.

Her stake plunged deep into its chest.

Her gaze locked with his.

It was a man now in her eyes.

He was breathing, fast gasping breaths. His eyes were wide, wild, as he clawed at his chest and the wooden shaft protruding from it.

She pulled the stake out and stood, looking down on him, watching him die. Her body shook from the adrenaline and the exertion. Her fingers loosened and the stake fell to the grass with a soft thud. Exhaustion surrendered to shock. She couldn’t believe it. She’d killed it. She’d killed a pure blood.

His eyes rolled closed and then he began to disintegrate as time raced to catch up with him. Before a minute had passed, he was nothing more than ashes scattering in the breeze.

She swept a hand over her sandy blonde hair and sighed.

It was over.

No, it had only just begun.

She’d never heard of a vampire of the pure bloodlines travelling into this area. There had been reports of hunters meeting them in London, but never out here, so far from the capital. She’d only ever fought vampires from the weaker bloodlines.

What had he been doing out here?

She remembered the flash of his red eyes. A Vehemens? The violent. The last she’d heard, they rarely ventured outside Scandinavia. All the stories she’d heard had been of hunters encountering vampires from the other bloodlinesâ€“the Caelestis, Aurorea, and even sometimes Venia or Validus. Never the Vehemens, Tenebrae or Nocens.

So what had brought him here?

She frowned at the patch of dust that represented him now. Maybe she should’ve asked him. Her superiors weren’t going to be pleased with her. A pure blood in her area and she killed it without any attempt to extract information.

A shiver bolted up her spine and she rubbed her bare arm.

The report was going to be hell to write.

What was worse, a voice at the back of her mind was screaming that what she’d done tonight was going to have repercussions. The pure bloods didn’t take lightly to hunters killing their kind.

Leaning over, she picked up her stake and pocketed it. Her dark eyes scanned the cemetery, searching the shadows for any sign of danger. The moon broke free of the clouds, illuminating even the darkest corner and chasing the shadows away into the trees. Nothing came to her. It was silent and empty. It filled her with cold and dread.

Her gaze fell to Jackson’s body. The pain she’d been stifling all this time broke to the surface.

She would have to file a full report on his death too. How could she write what she’d seen? Jackson hadn’t stood a chance. The vampire had torn his throat open before she’d even sensed its approach. She’d had no chance of saving him, not even with her gift.

Her heart ached to see him lying on the grass, motionless and cold. It could have easily been her in his place. Would he have managed to kill the vampire? It didn’t bear thinking about. She had survived. Jackson was dead.

She walked towards him and her knees buckled when she reached his side. Their impact with the dirt sent pain shooting up her spine and jolted the tears from her eyes. They dashed down her cheeks, turning into freezing streaks of ice as the wind blew against them.

She let them come, no longer able to hold back the surging tide of her emotions and needing to get them out of her before she returned to the compound. She couldn’t let the others see her like this. Reaching into her pocket, she pressed the alarm button on her phone. It would trigger the GPS back at base and send them to her. She had fifteen minutes to gain control of herself. She would need every second.

Her hand found Jackson’s and she held it, not caring how cold it felt in hers, or the way it made her feel as though she was touching death itself.

The sobs started out slow but built until she was gasping at air, her throat tight and chest aching as she stared down at Jackson’s peaceful face.

She couldn’t let them think she was weak.

She was the strongest they had.

Jackson would tell her that if he was still alive. He’d always told her that. He’d always been there for her, getting her out of scrapes and protecting her.

She’d failed to protect him.

Leaning forwards, she rested her head against his still chest and closed her eyes. Silence engulfed her as she lay with him, her mind empty. The night called her. She always felt this way after she’d used her giftâ€“close to the darkness, at one with the shadows. She didn’t understand the words drifting around her head or the tugging sensation in the depths of her heart. She felt the meaning though. It wanted her.

She curled up.

It couldn’t have her.

She was a hunter.

The elite.

She killed those that heard the call of the night.

She killed any vampire she came across.

Nothing was going to change that.

* * * *

Lilith trudged into the mansion house, desperate for the solitude of her quarters. The team had arrived to find her standing beside Jackson’s body, all sign of her emotions wiped from her face. She had given them instruction to take him back to the compound and had then told them that she would walk back. The thought of travelling with Jackson’s body in the back of the van had been unbearable. The night had offered her so much comfort, the darkness hiding her feelings from the world, and she’d taken it all. The walk back had been long and had given her time to regain true control of herself.

Only now, she was walking the halls where they’d once walked. It was a painful reminder that only one of them had returned, while the other lay in the morgue below her feet.

No one ever spoke of the morgue.

It was as though by never mentioning it, they could make it go away, make all the deaths of their friends disappear.

“What happened?” A sharp voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she found she was standing in the entrance hall staring down at the floor, seeing straight through it to the cold grey morgue below.

She raised her head, looked Daniel in the eye, and then turned away. Her throat was too tight to speak. If she tried, she would lose what little control she’d regained and would start to cry again. She’d never lost a friend on routine patrol before. She hadn’t lost anyone since her sister.

He caught her arm before she could pass him, stopping her dead. She knew better than to break free of his grasp. As her superior, he commanded her respect. Her hands came up in front of her and she stared at her palms, at the dried and cracked blood that still coated them. Nausea swept through her, cramping her stomach, clenching her heart. Numbness followed it, stealing away the sickness until she felt nothing. It was so hard to breathe. Everything was so hard. She was too weak from the fight and the drain of controlling her emotions.

“Jackson. Son of a bitch got Jackson,” she said, voice steady and showing no trace of the turmoil inside of her. “We didn’t hear it coming. I didn’t feel it.”

She stared into Daniel’s green eyes. The amount of concern in them surprised her. He gave a sympathetic smile, causing crow’s feet to surround his eyes. When had he become so old? He seemed so grey now when before he’d always been the young man she’d first known when she had been a child. She looked around the hall, wanting to avoid his questioning gaze. Everything seemed so grey and different.

“It was one of them, a Vehemens,” she said. “What in God’s name is one of them doing around here?”

Daniel didn’t look at all shocked by her news. His expression remained unchanged and he removed his hand from her arm only to place it lightly on her shoulder. She frowned at the strange sensation that filled herâ€“something was wrong.

“Did you kill it?” he said.

“Of course.” She went to move past him again. His hand tensed, gripping her shoulder and stopping her. She sighed. “Daniel, I really need a shower and bed. Can’t the debrief wait until morning?”

“It can, I wouldn’t want to make you talk about what happened until you’re ready… but… I need to speak to you about a contract that just came in.”

Her right eyebrow rose. It had been a while since Section Seven had been contracted by anyone. They were rare and required only the elite hunters.

It piqued her curiosity and almost made her agree. The ache inside her overruled it though. It had become a dull throbbing and she knew that warning well enough. She was close to collapse.

“Can’t that wait too?” she said, hopeful.

“I don’t think the client will wait any longer.”

Her eyes widened. “They’re here?”

“They’ve been waiting all night for your return,” he said. “I know this isn’t the best time, but it has to be now. It can’t wait.”

Staring into his eyes, she could see that he wasn’t going to budge on this. She had to meet the client tonight. He was right. It would be rude to keep them waiting until she’d had a chance to get some rest and she didn’t want to blow her first contract.

“I’ll clean up first if that’s okay?”

He nodded. “He’s waiting in my office.”

She watched Daniel walk away. He? She wondered what kind of problem they had as she walked. Someone was in the first bathroom she came to so she carried on along the hall until she was near the cafeteria. She avoided going in. By now, news of Jackson’s death would be spreading and she didn’t have the energy to meet her client let alone field all the questions people would have. A couple of men from her company walked out of the room. She dived into the nearest bathroom, desperate to hide from them. Locking the door, she pressed her back against it and stared at herself in the mirror.

She looked like hell.

Moving closer to the mirror, she gingerly prodded the cuts and bruises on her face and arms. The vampire had done a real number on her. At the time, she hadn’t noticed. The adrenaline and shock had taken all feeling away. Washing her cuts, she stared into her brown eyes and thought about what had happened tonight. Why hadn’t she sensed it? Normally she could sense vampires before they got within twenty metres of her. Normally she was fighting weaklings.

Were those of pure blood really so superior?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she didn’t need to check it to know it would be Daniel. She finished making herself look more presentable and then stared at her torn shirt. She couldn’t do anything about that.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she hurried down the hall. She turned the corner that led to the commanders’ offices and bumped into a woman from her company.

Her eyes fell to the woman’s black jacket. “Can I borrow that?”

The woman hesitated for a moment, looked her over with a raised eyebrow, and then peeled the jacket off. “Important meeting, huh?”

“You could say that. Do you know about the client?”

“I heard someone arrived… walked in through the door with the section chief from London… but I didn’t see him.”

Lilith slipped the jacket on and buttoned it up.

“Thanks for the loan.” She waved idly and walked away, her thoughts now firmly fixed on her client. A man that had arrived with the section chief. Whoever he was, he had to be important to garner that kind of escort.

Reaching Daniel’s door, she rapped her knuckles against the mahogany and waited.

“Come in.” Daniel’s muffled voice drifted through it.

She paused, needing a few seconds to gather herself and push her fatigue and feelings to the back of her mind, and then opened the door and walked into the large office.

Directly in front of her was a heavy mahogany desk. Daniel was leaning against it with his arms folded and a wary look on his face. The tall curtains of the office’s two windows framed him. They were drawn. She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was nearing six in the morning. The sun would be rising by now. It was unusual for Daniel to keep the curtains drawn against the sunrise.

She sensed her client’s presence. He was sharp, focused, watching her and studying her movement across the room. There was something familiar about that.

She stopped in front of Daniel. Worry had joined the concern she’d seen in his eyes earlier. He knew she wasn’t in the mood for this meeting. If he hadn’t been so insistent, she would have continued to refuse his orders until he backed down. His words, however, had made it clear that this client was important and he wasn’t one to wait any longer for an audience with her.

Her eyes roamed the room, seeking the man out. They scanned along the packed bookshelves and their leather-bound tomes. They found him masked in the shadowed recess to the side of the bright fire. Darkness shrouded his face and obscured his figure. Her senses spoke to her.

Here was a dangerous man.

Here was one who demanded respect and commanded power.

“Lilith, our client,” Daniel said behind her.

The man stepped forwards and the warm firelight instantly chased the shadows from his face. He was young, handsome in a way that had her staring. In fact, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He ran slender fingers over his short black hair and then around the back of his neck, drawing her attention to it. She frowned at the scars there. Bite marks? Was he a victim of a vampire attack? Her eyes darted to his mouth, absorbing the gentle bow of his lips, and then rose to meet his.

His dark eyes met hers and a shiver of recognition bolted down her spine and sent alarm bells ringing in her head.

His mouth became a thin line and tilted into a cruel smile, one that fitted him perfectly.

She’d been wrong.

He wasn’t young.

His appearance betrayed his age.

Here was one older than she’d ever met.

She stepped forwards, defiant in the face of him, and reached for her stake.

Anger rose inside her and everything faded until there was only him.

He was no victim.

He was a murderer.

“Vampire.” She sneered, assuming a fighting stance.

He growled and she felt that command deep in her soul.

She refused follow it.

To drop her stake would be to leave herself open to attack.

“Lilith!” Daniel said, his hand on her wrist making her tense. He lowered it for her.

She looked at him, stunned. Her eyes slid warily to the vampire, her anger not abating. How had he fooled her? She’d thought him nothing more than a man. She’d found him attractive. Her stomach rolled with that thought. Only the darkness in his eyes had betrayed him and lifted the veil from hers.

“Mr. Lincoln is our client.”

She glared at the vampire. He had a name.

They’d never had names before.

They’d been nameless, faceless demons for her to eradicate. Now there was one whose name she knew, and for some terrible reason, it made him seem more human.

The vampire smirked, a challenge, the same as the one in the cemetery had issued her. She amused him. He meant to provoke her.

“I am not working with it!” She flung her arm around to point at the vampire at the same time as she turned to face Daniel. There was no need to look at the vampire to know he was glaring at her. The heat of it caressed her skin until she was burning wherever it touched. She shook the feeling away, and the attraction she’d felt towards him, and focused with all her effort on Daniel. “For all we know this could be bullshit. It could want to drain me dry.”

The vampire snorted contemptuously, as though that was one thought that would never cross his mind.

“I’m being serious.”

Daniel just shifted position, folding his arms across his chest and giving her the impression that her tirade had fallen on deaf ears. The only one paying the remotest of attention was the vampire. Her eyes roamed to him against her will. A brief glance was all it took to see he was still standing in the same spot in front of the fire, staring at her with intense dark eyes. She told herself that look wasn’t making her body burn. It was anger and the fire.

A sigh drew her attention back to Daniel.

When she looked at him this time, she could see that he wasn’t happy. She frowned at the floor. The section chief from London had brought Mr. Lincoln to this place to meet with her and Daniel. Daniel had as little choice in this matter as she did. The vampire had cleverly gone over their heads and left her superior powerless, unable to get her out of this mission.

Her eyes narrowed on the vampire. He smirked and nodded. If he’d had a hat, she swore he would’ve tipped it. Her fists clenched and she wished to God that she could wipe the smug look off his face. Taking a deep breath, she clawed back a little control. He wasn’t going to provoke her. He didn’t frighten her. She was going to find out what this contract was about and then do everything she could to either get rid of him as soon as possible or get out of it.

“So what do you want, vampire?” she said, striding up to him until she was close enough to see he wasn’t breathing.

He was very old then, and he was powerful. At this range, she could feel it radiating off him, sparking her senses and making her instincts kick into gear. They told her to run. She stood her ground.

“It is a pleasure to meet you too, Lilith,” he said in a mixed accent. There was a lot of English in there and an equal amount of European too. If she had to guess, she’d say he’d spent a lot of time in Scandinavia and wasn’t a weakling.

“What bloodline are you?” Her tone was nothing short of venomous. Her eyes searched his, trying to discern whether he was going to lie to her or ignore this question too.

He straightened to his full height and looked down on her.

“Vehemens.”

That one word made her stomach drop and broke the restraints that had been holding her anger at bay. Before she could stop herself, her hand was around his throat and she was forcing him backwards towards the fire. She growled when he planted his left foot against the cast-iron fireguard behind him, effectively stopping himself from moving, and yanked her hand away from his neck.

It went straight for the stake in her pocket. She grabbed it and lunged at him with it. He caught her wrist and twisted it until she had to kneel in order to stop him from breaking her arm. His eyes darkened. Her heart sped, fear saying he was going to attack.

He surprised her by releasing her the moment her knees touched the floor. She was back on her feet before he could move, the stake still held firmly in her hand.

“Lilith!” Daniel stepped between them, his hand on her shoulder forcing her backwards. She moved farther away and pocketed her stake to show him that she wasn’t going to attack again. He went back to his desk. She glared at the vampire.

“Bastard!” She spat it at him with as much hatred as she could muster. “It was your fault wasn’t it? You’re the reason they were here!”

He looked confused, a trait she’d not witnessed in one before. She hated him even more for itâ€“for attempting to look human by reflecting such emotions. She had no doubt that he knew what she was talking about. It couldn’t be chance that two Vehemens had arrived in her city in the same night.

“I wish to discuss the contract in private with you.” His words were calm, measured.

Her attack hadn’t shaken him in the slightest. The idea of that made her feel weak and fatigue crept in again as she remembered watching Jackson die. She’d been powerless then, and she was powerless now.

“Discuss it in private all you want, but I’ll still have to write it all in my report anyway, and everyone will know. Hell, I might post on the bulletin board that you’re a vampire and sit back and watch the show.” She hoped that her words carried all the spite behind them. It was childish, but she wasn’t about to make anything easy for the vampire. If she couldn’t attack him physically, words would have to do.

“Lilith,” Daniel warned again. She sighed and ignored him.

“Why do you hate my kind so much?” the vampire said. It caught her off guard.

She stared at him, knowing that she looked like a rabbit in headlights and that she needed to recover herself before he realised that he’d rattled her.

“You seem very driven to hate us… to kill us.”

Her eyes never left his. She held his gaze even as the barrier around her heart came back up as swift as a dart, shutting out his attempt to peer into her innermost thoughts and feelings. She wished she could shut out the pain as easily. She turned away from him and walked to the door.

“Come with me,” she said and stepped outside the office.

Lincoln stared at the open door and the hall beyond. He frowned, dark thoughts stirring at the back of his mind and plaguing him. A glance at her superior told him that he wasn’t pleased with the way his subordinate was acting. She seemed headstrong and wilful. Perhaps a little too wilful.

“She openly detests my kind,” he said, getting the superior’s attention. In his world, a superior wouldn’t tolerate such behaviour from one below him. He had never tolerated it. “Are we going to have a problem?”

The man looked thoughtful. “No. Today has been hard on her. She’ll work with you as agreed in your contract with us.”

“I would like to know one thing.”

“And that is?” The man pushed away from his desk and walked around it to sit in the plush leather chair.

“Why does she hate vampires so much?” he said with another glance towards the door.

He could feel her waiting in the hall, knew that she would be able to hear him. She hadn’t answered his question, and he needed a reply. The idea that she would hate him contradicted everything he’d been told.

The man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Her sister was murdered by a vampire,” he said and then looked at the open door, “and tonight Jackson was killed. He was Lilith’s closest friend and he died at the hands of a Vehemens.”

Lincoln frowned. That explained her outburst. She was probably right. Not many of his bloodline lived outside the safe houses scattered across Europe or the family mansion in Oslo. The Vehemens had been here because of him.

“I think it’s understandable that she should hate your kind… you.” There was so much anger in the man’s voice, so much loathing and disgust in his words. He’d never realised the extent of the humans hatred towards his species. “No one here is going to welcome you with open arms… no matter how much you pay our superiors.”

He gave the man a dark look, matching his glare and tipping the balance in his favour. The man looked away, turning towards the closed curtains. Lincoln turned towards the door and reached out with his senses, focusing them on the woman. Lilith.

Had they been wrong about her?

Could one so fixated on destroying his kind truly save him?

Posted in Teaseday, vampire romance, vampires, Vampires Realm | Comments Off

Heart of Darkness – Vampire romance book now available at Amazon Kindle!

Posted on 19th October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

Well, it’s only a few days now until the release of my new vampire romance book, Heart of Darkness. This is a stand alone vampire romance book so it isn’t part of any of my series. Good news for people only at the start of my vampire romance series books.

Heart of Darkness is now available on Amazon Kindle, so those of you with Kindles can get your copy ahead of the rest! Be sure to tag the ebook if you buy it and leave a review if you enjoy it.

Here’s some information about Heart of Darkness and the purchase links for the Amazon Kindle stores.

Heart of Darkness
Felicity Heaton
A vampire prince on a four hundred year old mission to avenge his murdered sister…

Aleksandr Nemov wonâ€™t stop until the last of the vampire hunterâ€™s progeny is wiped from the Earth. Each kill has stolen a piece of his humanity, pushing him towards the black abyss all vampires hold within their hearts. Now he is teetering on the edge, close to devolving into a beast, and time is running out as he tracks the last hunter to Prague. There he finds a beautiful woman who could be his one chance for salvation, but is it already too late for him?

A vampire guard who will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves…

Elise is dedicated to her duty. Itâ€™s the only thing she has left. All that changes when she meets Aleksandr in Prague and her master grants him permission to stay at her bloodlineâ€™s mansion. She knows all about Aleksandr but none of it prepares her for how she feels when the legendary princeâ€™s hunt becomes one for her heart. Elise battles him with all of her strength but can she stop herself from falling for the handsome hunter? When he reveals the depth of the corruption in his soul, will she have the strength to face the pain in her past and do whatever it takes to save him?

ebook price: $3.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 130000 words
rating: sultry
released: 22nd October 2011

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005WK6E58/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005WK6E58/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005WK6E58/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B005WK6E58/

So, head on over to the Amazon Kindle stores to grab your copy of this action-packed, intensely emotional and heart-wrenching vampire romance book!

Posted in Amazon Kindle, Heart of Darkness, new release, paranormal romance, vampire romance, vampires | Comments Off

Teaseday – Winter’s Kiss – vampire werewolf romance book

Posted on 10th October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

Autumn is well and truly here now and it’s almost Halloween, so I’m in a vampire sort of mood. Contuining with the Vampires Realm series theme, I’ll be posting a chapter from my vampire / werewolf romance book Winter’s Kiss today for my Teaseday. If you like heart-wrenching stories of forbidden love, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one. It packs quite the emotional punch.

Winter’s Kiss
F E Heaton
Their lord drinks blood and they are dead men walking. The tales of the mansion donâ€™t stop Nika from falling for one of the guards, but when wolves attack her and he rides to her rescue, she discovers that her knight is anything but saintly. He is a vampire and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between their species is forbiddenâ€”the penalty death.

Winterâ€™s world is shaken beyond salvation and his allegiance to his bloodline tested as he watches the woman heâ€™s fallen for turn into a werewolf. His heart demands vengeance and that he protects her, both from the werewolf now hunting for her and from himself, but she tempts him more than he can bear and it isn’t long into their journey before heâ€™s torn between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.

Will Nika be able to convince Winter to leave his world and stay with her or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter’s kiss?

ebook price: $2.99
paperback price: $7.99
genre: paranormal werewolf romance book
length: 78000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2009
Book 8 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Winter’s%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss/mix-SbRY0TdPE0-Zl8QkcSDTzA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/

EXCERPT

A scream rent the still night air.

Winter raised his head. The brush in his right hand paused against his horseâ€™s sleek black flank. He frowned, calculating the distance from where he stood in the stable courtyard to the person who had shrieked. The human female voice could carry for miles on nights as calm as tonight. If she screamed again, he would be able to pinpoint her location to within one hundred metres.

A Watchman of the Validus bloodline, Winter had spent years honing his skills in tracking, hunting and killing to the highest echelon of perfection. They gave him the ability to ascertain that whoever the victim was, she was over three miles away.

He returned to his work, lovingly stroking the huge beastâ€™s glossy coat and murmuring soothing words to him. It had been too long since heâ€™d had the chance to ride. The rotation of duties within the household and Hyperionâ€™s plan to spread their empire wider across Europe had left him with longer shifts at the gate. It was an honour to protect his lord, but long nights spent braced against the freezing winds that scathed the landscape in this part of Russia were tiring and left him little time before dawn to ride. His eyes closed. Honour wasnâ€™t the only good thing to come of standing guard from sunset to sunrise.

He saw her more often.

An image of her flashed across Winterâ€™s mind. Pale blonde hair hanging in waves down her back. Sparkling green eyes that glittered under the moonlight. A cherubâ€™s rosy lips that promised sweet kisses and an impâ€™s smile that spoke of mischief. That image had branded itself on his mind the first night he had seen her as an adult. Every night that she passed and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she burned her face a little deeper into his heart.

His horse kicked impatiently at the floor, scratching the scattered hay away from the dirt and leaving a long groove.

Winter patted Midnight tenderly on the neck and placed the brush down. Gathering the large black saddle, he positioned it on the horseâ€™s high back and let his thoughts wander while he buckled the straps.

They instantly roamed back to her. Many years had passed since Winter had first seen her. She had been a little girl then. Now she had become a beautiful woman. Perhaps soon she would find the courage to speak to him for longer. She had stopped a few times, always singling him out even though his black armour covered him from head to toe, leaving only the section across his eyes exposed. She had spoken to him tonight, asking him why he wore armour and guarded the mansion. He hadnâ€™t answered her. He had no place talking to humans when he was on duty.

There had been a beautiful lack of fear about her. Not even the sight of the naginata that he and the other Watchman held bothered her. Perhaps one day he could turn her. He cursed under his breath and tightened the last strap on the saddle. Those were not thoughts that he should be entertaining. His loyalty was to his lord and his bloodline first and foremost. He had a debt to repay. Once he felt as though he was worthy of asking his lord for permission to court the girl, he would, but until then he had a duty to do.

And that duty came first.

No matter what his feelings for her were.

A ride would clear his head.

A wolf howl sliced through the night.

Winter tensed and instinctively brushed his long heavy black cloak aside and reached for the sword hanging at his side. His fingers closed around the hilt as he calculated the distance to the howl.

Three miles.

Was the wolf after the woman?

Another scream shattered the returning silence. This time, it was a word.

â€œNiet!â€

Winterâ€™s eyes shot wide, an emotion rushing into his heart that he hadnâ€™t felt in long years. Fear. The girl. He would know her voice anywhere.

With the preternatural speed and grace of his kind, Winter mounted the horse and bolted straight for the stable entrance. Midnight thundered forward, hooves pounding the dirt in a sure confident gallop. The gates barely had time to open as they approached. Winter tucked into the horse, bringing his feet up behind him along with the stirrups. The half-open wrought iron gates brushed his knees as they raced through, almost knocking the guards over.

Someone shouted something abusive in his direction.

He didnâ€™t have time to slow down. The moment they had turned onto the road, he urged Midnight on, lowering his feet again but leaning forwards against its neck. It stretched forwards too, mimicking his move and galloping harder as though it had sensed his desperation.

The bottom of Winterâ€™s chest armour dug into his hips as he rode. His long cloak streamed out behind him. The light flurry of snow became bitter darts of ice that cut into his eyes, forcing him to squint. He changed, his eyes turning purple to reveal his bloodline as his senses sharpened. The thundering hooves of his horse were the only sound in an otherwise still world. Winter snapped the reins. Midnight snorted and galloped faster, heading directly for the woods with no sign of slowing.

Winter willed the woman to make another noise, or the wolves to break their silence. He needed to get a fix on their location but it wasnâ€™t only that driving him to beg the woman to shout or scream. He needed to know that she was still alive.

He hunkered down against his horseâ€™s neck when they entered the thick forest of pines. Snow exploded from the branches as they crashed through them, heedless of the pain it caused them both. His armour would protect him from the whip-like branches of the trees, and his horse, Midnight, would go wherever he bid him to, regardless of whether it hurt.

A branch hit Winter directly across the black leather and metal mask covering his nose and mouth. It smacked the armour against his nose and forced a flinch from him as pain shot out in warm waves across his skull. He turned Midnight to his right and towards a more open area of forest. While the pain didnâ€™t bother him, it would dampen his senses and he needed those as sharp as possible.

He pulled Midnight to a halt in a clearing and scanned the darkness, stretching out with his senses and searching for her. The wintry weather hadnâ€™t managed to penetrate the dense trees and the ground was clear of snow, leaving him without a visible trail to follow. He breathed deep, catching a faint hint of her scent on the breeze. She had been here. He cursed. Where was she now?

Was she dead?

Had the wolves killed her already?

That thought made a dull ache settle in his chest. Winter refused to believe it. He wouldnâ€™t believe it until he saw her body for himself. Another deep breath caught a stronger scent. A growl rumbled up through his chest.

Not wolves.

Werewolves.

His eyes narrowed into dark slits between his black helmet and facemask. He stared into the distance as one hand left the reins and closed around the hilt of his sword. Blood would spill tonight. Not only because werewolves had dared to enter Validus territory. If they had killed her, no, if they had even touched her, they would die by his hand.

A distant scream reached his ears.

He pulled on Midnightâ€™s reins.

Midnight reared onto his hind legs, whinnied and then broke into a gallop. Winter sneered behind his facemask, his blood calling for violence.

* * * *

Nika walked the quiet winding path through the woods, wishing she had chosen to wear her thicker coat. Thick fake fur lined the long black coat she wore and it would have been warm enough under normal circumstances in late spring, but tonight was bitterly cold and the icy wind was searching, discovering cracks and places it could sneak into the coat and chill her to the bone. It was strange to have such wintry weather this side of spring. When she had left, the weather had been pleasant enough, and the snow had melted. Now it had come back with a vengeance. She had hoped the weather would be warm and sunny by the time she had returned from the city.

She folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep a little heat in. Her coat and dress reached the floor, both grazing the leaf litter and twigs that covered the path. The wind found its way into there too and blew upwards, snaking around her legs and sending her shivering. Her honey hair blew across her face as she turned and she clawed it away, thankful sheâ€™d had the good sense to take two long strands from beside her temples and plait them before tying them at the back of her head. It kept the bulk of her hair in place but left the long strands from that point downwards to dance in the breeze.

At least the snow couldnâ€™t make it through the trees.

Nika hummed quietly to herself while she walked, thinking about how nice it would be to arrive home and sit down in front of the fire. The thought of that warm blaze made the cold feel distant. She wasnâ€™t far from the village now. Soon she would be safe in her familyâ€™s home, out of the frigid night and bleak woods. It felt like months rather than weeks since she had gone away to St. Petersburg. A smile touched her lips when she recalled walking past the mansion. He had been on guard duty again, silent and sentinel outside the gate with another man. She knew it was him. Those beautiful dark eyes had spoken to her as they always did, telling her words that her heart loved to listen to. He never looked at her, but there was always a strange emotion in his eyes when she stopped in front of him. The cold emptiness that used to fill them disappeared, leaving what her heart interpreted as warmth behind.

She didnâ€™t know who he was, or even what he looked like beneath his armour, but she knew one thing. She wanted no other man in this world.

Her heart lightened as memories of him came back, always protecting the gates of the large mansion. On the few occasions that she had plucked up the courage to speak to him, he had never uttered a word back at her. He hadnâ€™t even spoken tonight when she had mentioned the tales about the man he guarded. Terrible tales they were. Stories of demons and death, of bloodshed and violence. Her whole village whispered of them. They were right in a way. There was something different about the men there. In all the years that she had passed those gates, that man had never changed. Not when she was a child and not now that she was an adult. It was the same man. He hadnâ€™t aged one year in the twenty she had seen him. She was sure of it.

Through the trees, pinpricks of light flickered in the darkness. The village. She doubled her pace, thinking only of the warm fire and seeing her father again.

A howl sliced the night in two.

Nika froze to the spot, ears pricked and heart thundering.

Perhaps it had been the wind.

Low growls made her head snap around. Seven large dark shapes slinked out of the shadows. Their fur spiked in a line down their backs, wriggling like a snake when they shook themselves and growled at her. They stepped onto the path between her and the village. These were no ordinary wolves. She remembered them from her childhood. They had killed half of the village.

The one in front lowered its head and stared at her with bright amber eyes that promised a painful death. It snarled to reveal huge canines.

Nika screamed.

Before it could attack, she turned, dropped her bag and ran. She grabbed the front of her coat and skirt, lifting them so she could sprint unhindered, and headed through the woods in the direction of the mansion.

It wasnâ€™t long before her legs were beginning to tire. Their muscles strained under the pressure of running over the uneven ground and seized up as the fear broke into her mind, sending panicked thoughts pounding through her skull.

She was going to die.

The voice at the back of her mind told her to give up, but she wouldnâ€™t. She wasnâ€™t ready to die. It was something that happened to someone else, not to her or the people she loved. If she could make it to the mansion, she would be safe. The men there would fend off the wolves. The man would protect her.

Nika shrieked again as she tripped on a branch hidden beneath the frozen leaf litter and hit the ground hard. She immediately scrabbled to her feet and ran blindly into the forest, desperate to escape the wolves. Behind her came their thundering feet and heavy panting. They were closing in.

In the blink of an eye, it was over. The full weight of one of the wolves hit her in the back, sending her tumbling to the floor. Another howled. She turned and wrestled the wolf off her, scrambling across the dirt away from it. One of them grabbed her ankle, the thick leather of her boot the only thing protecting the delicate joint. It growled. Nika screwed her eyes shut and brought her hands up in front of her face as the others leapt at her.

â€œNiet!â€

Nika kicked the wolf off her ankle, eliciting a whimper from it, and pushed against the others. Breaking free, she got to her feet and ran again. Moonlight broke through a gap in the trees some distance ahead of her, illuminating a small shack.

Her heart willed her to make it there. It was her only chance.

She screamed again when one of the wolves snapped at her, trying to grab her arm. She punched it across the face and kept running, desperate to survive.

A thundering sound joined the cacophony of wolf growls and snarls and her rough breathing. Nika looked ahead of her to see the shack and then a large black horse with rider. She reached out to him, a silent plea for him to help her, and then fell when the wolves pounced on her. Pain erupted in her leg. Her heart missed beats as claws and teeth tore through her clothes.

Her last hope left her when she found herself face to face with the largest wolf. Hot breath washed her face, stealing her own. She sent a prayer to God and stared into the wolfâ€™s yellow eyes, into the eyes of death.

The thundering hooves stopped. Above her the horseâ€™s legs appeared, kicking out as the huge black beast whinnied and snorted. The wolves scattered, leaving her pressed into the dirt and frozen leaf litter, petrified and in too much pain to move.

The horse snorted again as it came down onto all four feet beside her and the rider appeared in her tear-blurred view.

â€œHand,â€ he said in a muffled Russian voice and extended his towards her.

Nika feebly raised hers towards him. She wanted to take hold of that black gloved hand and escape this nightmare. He shook his impatiently. She struggled to move faster, weak from the white-hot pain burning inside every inch of her body. He bent forward on the saddle, caught her hand, and pulled her up into the air as though she weighed nothing. He settled her on the saddle in front of him. Pain shot up her leg and lanced her stomach. It stole her senses, filling them until she knew nothing but the warm pulsing throb. She was vaguely aware of his arm against her back and his hand on her waist, and the wolves closing in.

He turned the horse. Nika gritted her teeth and leaned into him. Each step of the horseâ€™s gallop jostled her on the saddle. The pain was unbearable, wracking her to the depths of her bones with each movement, but the alternative made her cling to consciousness and life. The wolves growled, closer now. The horse suddenly stopped and the man lowered her to the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her before she could collapse and held her close to his hard chest.

â€œRun!â€ he said and she hazily wondered if he was talking to her. She didnâ€™t think that she could run. The pain in her leg was too intense, blinding. The horse whinnied. Was he talking to it?

Her heart beat faster, each pulse sending stabbing needles sweeping around her body. Darkness encroached at the edges of her mind, sending her thoughts fuzzy and her body numb. The man carried her into somewhere and set her down on something soft but lumpy. The sound of wood scraping and heavy objects slamming made her open her eyes. She frowned, vaguely aware that they were in the small shack she had seen and that he was barricading the door.

A wolf howl sounded just outside.

She flinched in pain when she curled up, the wounds on her body stinging. Her left leg burned as though it was on fire. She couldnâ€™t move it. She left it lying limp in front of her. The man looked at her and then around the small hut.

â€œDo not be frightened,â€ he said, as though those four words could erase all her fear.

It crushed her chest and stole her breath. She struggled to suck in air, panic closing her throat and pain making the slightest thing too hard. Her leg was wet. She could feel the steady slide of blood down her arms. Oh God. She was going to die.

Her panic only increased when the dreadful sound of claws against wood filled the small shack. Snarls came in under the door and growls made her skin crawl. She tried to back away but the sound surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to go. The man stood at the door, his tall figure a black shadow in the low light. He didnâ€™t move. He stood sentinel with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side.

The blade of which gleamed when he began to draw it.

The wolves scrabbled faster at the door and walls, as though they were trying to dig their way through. Nika reached out to the man, numb and petrified. He stepped towards the door and her heart slammed against her chest.

The two small windows on either side of the door exploded, showering her and the man in glass. The wolves leapt high, paws scrambling for purchase on the windowsill. They disappeared again only to attempt another go at getting into the building.

The man fully drew his sword.

She extended her hand further towards him. â€œYou canâ€™t fight. Thereâ€™s too many!â€

A terrible scream made them both jump. She had never heard such a horrifying and inhuman sound. A chill swept over her back and down her arms. The scream came again amidst a discordant symphony of growls and snarls. She closed her eyes and used the last of her strength to cover her ears, not wanting to hear the horse as it died.

Dreadful silence fell.

Posted in paranormal romance, Teaseday, vampire romance, vampires, Vampires Realm, Winter's Kiss | Comments Off

Teaseday – Prophecy: Child of Light – vampire romance book

Posted on 3rd October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

It’s been a while since I shared a chapter from one of my Vampires Realm series books so today I’m going to share chapter two of Prophecy: Child of Light. Prophecy: Child of Light is the first book in my popular vampire romance series so it’s a great introduction to the series, and since it’s only $0.99 it’s a bargain too. Why not pick up a copy and see for yourself why so many readers are enthralled with this series?

If you like adult vampire romances with vampires that behave more traditionally and thirst for human blood and take it straight from the vein, vampires that are dark and mysterious, with powers and a society separate from our own, then this is definitely a series that you’ll enjoy. I write dark vampires, ones who can kill without regret in order to survive, and who feel intense emotions even when the object of their affection is forbidden fruit.

Prophecy: Child of Light [book 1]
F E Heaton
A vampire unlike any other, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she encounters Valentine, a gorgeous vampire who is both her enemy and the man who will change her life forever.

Convinced that the prophecy about her is wrong and unable to ignore the vision of them that he saw in her blood, Valentine goes against his orders to execute Prophecy and kidnaps her instead. The attraction between them grows as they search for the truth behind the prophecy, battle a dark evil that threatens to destroy the world, and attempt to evade their families and the Law Keepers.

When the truth about her is revealed, will Prophecy be strong enough to face it? Will they discover a way to save the world from Hell? And will they finally see past the hatred bred into them by their families and surrender to their love?

The first novel in the Vampires Realm series, Prophecy: Child of Light, is part one in an epic tale of love and war that is sure to capture your heart and leave you craving more.

ebook price: $0.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 135000 words
rating: sultry
released: March 2007
Book 1 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Prophecy:%20Child%20of%20Light%20[book%201]
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Prophecy/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000801048/
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Prophecy-Child-Of-Light/mix-rDOnD6cECkGermYtAHD9Dw/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/prophecy/_/R-400000000000000248920

EXCERPT

When he approached them, Valentine nodded at the two guards that were flanking the main entrance of his familyâ€™s house. The rain was falling fast now, the wind driving it hard against the faÃ§ade of the old mansion and saturating the heavy black coats the guards wore. He mused that they wouldnâ€™t provide much protection against the weather tonight.

Stepping out of the darkness and into the brightly lit hall of his home, he unbuttoned his long coat while he walked along the corridor and through the entrance reception room. Shaking the excess water off his jacket, he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, ignoring the vixens of his household as they called to him. He didnâ€™t have time for making sport tonight.

Tonight he had more serious business to attend to.

His thoughts drifted to the female vampire. She had been slim, her dark tunic top and trousers clinging to her figure as sheâ€™d defiantly stood before him in the rain. Her long hair had been soaked and had hung in loose tendrils. The darkness of it had made her face seem even paler than it probably was, drawing his attention to it. Her round dark eyes had spoken volumes to him, but all in a language that he couldnâ€™t understand. There had been something about her that had drawn him in until heâ€™d been powerless to resist seeing what she held in her blood. Little had he known that what he would see would only confuse him. If instinct had told him that, he would have let her go.

Let her go?

By the Devil, he wished he had.

He wished sheâ€™d answered his damn questions, wished heâ€™d never laid eyes on her.

He stopped just short of the heavy wooden doors that led into the main reception room.

What was he doing?

He almost laughed aloud at himself while he tried to make sense of the thoughts that were running riot through his mind. He shut them down. To think such things was mutinous, disloyal. His hands curled into tight fists, his nails digging into the softer skin of his palms while he stared unseeingly at the dark doors. It was his duty to report this. It didnâ€™t matter what heâ€™d seen in her blood.

Taking a weary step forwards, he pushed the doors open. Everything felt heavy, his limbs, his heart, and his head. It all conspired to make him feel as though he couldnâ€™t take another step towards his destination, and that he couldnâ€™t tell his lord what heâ€™d discovered tonight.

The sounds of merriment drifted into the background as he pushed on, walking into the room and closing the doors behind him. He could feel all eyes on him and he knew what they were thinking.

He didnâ€™t belong here.

He was too young to be a part of this hallowed scene, this sanctum for the elder vampires of his family, this place where they hid themselves away from the idle play of the children. His place was here, whether they liked it or not. Heâ€™d worked hard to attain his position. Heâ€™d spent over two centuries as a loyal servant to his lord and a dutiful son of his bloodline.

He looked down at his hand, almost seeing the smear of blood that had stained his fingers not thirty minutes ago. Her blood. Thatâ€™s all it was. Just blood. There was nothing more to it. It was responsible for the disquiet he felt inside. It was always a danger when drinking from another of the seven pure bloodlines. They had power, enough to intoxicate the drinker and make them believe the things that the blood whispered to them.

â€œGood hunting?â€ A voice cut through the noise and reached his ears.

Peeling his jacket off, he handed it to Cornelius who was approaching him from the side.

â€œNoâ€¦interesting hunting,â€ he answered, stopping a few feet inside the room.

Cornelius arched a brow at the soaking wet coat and then neatly arranged it over his arm. Valentine gave him a look that warned him not to complain. The only reason that Cornelius could enter this area of the house was because the young vampire was his aide. That title meant bearing everything that he threw at himâ€”even wet coats. He knew his friend would do almost anything he asked so long as it afforded him such standing amongst their family and so long as he treated him well.

â€œDid you run into him?â€ Cornelius asked.

Valentine touched a lone finger to his lower lip, remembering the sweet taste of her blood. He could smell it still, knew it continued to stain his lip for all to see.

â€œNoâ€¦a her.â€

His eyes scanned over the plush plum walls of the room, their height almost reaching forty foot. He ignored all the looks he was receiving while he searched the balcony and then the floor in front of him.

â€œWho?â€

When he failed to find who he was searching for, his eyes fell to rest on an ornate mahogany door directly opposite him. His stomach squirmed for a moment and then settled when he reminded himself of his duty to his family. It was just her blood trying to work its will and contaminate him. That was the only reason he felt this way.

He nodded towards the door. â€œThat would be telling. Is he in?â€

Cornelius frowned. â€œHeâ€™s engaged with Indigo.â€

â€œNot anymore he isnâ€™t. This is more important than pandering to that girlâ€™s needs.â€ Valentine moved swiftly towards the closed door, continuing to block out the mutterings of his elders.

â€œWhat is it?â€ Cornelius hurried after him.

â€œYou shall hear in time. I have to tell him first. I shall be a dead man if you know before him.â€

â€œYou already are a dead man,â€ Cornelius said as one of the men guarding the door stopped him and held him back as Valentine passed.

Valentine smiled and continued walking towards the door. His friend always had a habit of wanting to know everything first, but this time he couldnâ€™t risk his lordâ€™s anger by letting Cornelius know before Kalinor heard.

Taking a deep breath, he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to relieve some of the tension in his body and then pushed the mahogany door open, striding confidently into the room.

He ignored the alluring smile that Indigo gave him when she pulled away from her mate and slowly covered herself, drawing her black hair down over her bloodied neck. Blanking her attentions, he looked straight at Kalinor.

When his lord looked back at him, Valentine walked quickly towards him. He took Kalinorâ€™s hand, pressed a kiss to the ring on his finger and then looked up into his eyes.

â€œValentine,â€ Kalinor greeted him dryly with an empty smile that barely masked his annoyance over the disturbance. â€œCouldnâ€™t this have waited?â€

â€œI am afraid not, my lord.â€ Valentine bowed his head. He didnâ€™t need to look up in order to see the displeased look that his lord would be giving him.

Kalinor rarely bestowed it upon him though. Usually it was one of the other vampires in the household who was on the receiving end. Heâ€™d seen it often enough to know exactly what Kalinor would look like. His lord would be leaning against the large ebony desk, his long arms folded across his chest and his blue eyes watching him intently for a sign of why he was being disturbed.

Risking a glance, Valentine saw that he looked exactly as predicted.

Kalinor preened his sandy brown hair back into place and then scratched under his thin jaw before moving around his desk. He carefully arranged the tails of his long, ornately embroidered black jacket into place and sat down. Valentine watched him wave a hand at Indigo, silently dismissing her, and then found Kalinorâ€™s eyes meeting his again.

Valentine moved to the chair on the opposite side of the desk, sat and met Kalinorâ€™s gaze.

The elder vampire stared at him and Valentine tried to quell the desires that were rising up inside him, rebelling against his better judgement as they whispered words of insubordination to him. He told himself it would be more than disloyal to do as they asked.

It would be a sin.

It would be illegal.

He struggled to maintain a cool faÃ§ade as his lord sniffed the air and fixed him with a dark look. He knew immediately what the problem was.

He stank of blood.

Not the delicate perfume of human blood.

It was the stench of vampire blood, of Caelestis blood.

He had to tell him now. It was his duty. He swallowed hard as everything inside him told him not to.

Kalinor raised a brow.

â€œIs something wrong, Valentine?â€ Kalinor said the words with cold calculation as their eyes remained locked with each otherâ€™s. â€œDid something happen on the hunt? Iâ€™ve known you since you were barely turned and itâ€™s been a long time since Iâ€™ve seen you like this.â€

Valentine stood sharply, bowed his head a fraction and then walked to the other side of the room. He never could keep still. He had to pace in order to get his thoughts together and clear his head of the vision her blood had given him.

He had to clear his head of the vision of her.

There was something about her, something enthralling. The tiny trace of blood heâ€™d taken from her had tasted so sweet, like honey on his tongue, and now a part of him was fighting against his better judgement and begging him not to tell his lord about her.

He could keep her to himself.
He shook his head to rid it of such a ridiculous notion. His allegiance was to his house, to the family of Aurorea, not to a female vampire of the house of Caelestis. Besides, if he didnâ€™t tell him now, Kalinor would have him executed when he eventually found out about her and discovered that heâ€™d known of her existence all along.

But what heâ€™d seen in her blood. It couldnâ€™t be a lie. No vampire on earth had the power to make their blood lie. It was truth, and he had seen it with his own eyes and felt it in his heart. To tell his lord of her existence was to sentence her to death and that would have terrible repercussions.

He stared at the window, watching the rain streaking down it while he pulled himself together and reminded himself that heâ€™d served this house loyally for over two centuries. Now wasnâ€™t the time to be disloyal, not when heâ€™d worked so hard to get where he was. Not when he was so close.

â€œYou seem troubled.â€

He heard Kalinor stand and he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. His lord looked worried. He was drawing too much attention to himself. He had to tell him now before he grew angry.

â€œYou did not succeed tonight in finding the hunter that plagues our city, but that does not mean you will not prevail. You will defeat him. Iâ€™m as certain of that as I am of you becoming the Law Keeper for Aurorea one day.â€

Valentine closed his eyes as he felt those words plunge into his chest, twisting there like a knife. He would be a Law Keeper one day, if only he could find his voice and confess to his lord what heâ€™d found tonight and why he smelt of their enemy.

He took a deep breath and felt tranquillity fill him.

â€œThe prophecy,â€ he said the words slowly and looked directly at his lord.

Kalinorâ€™s eyes widened, his jaw tensing while he waited to hear what he had to say.

Valentine began to pace, not wanting to see his lordâ€™s eyes when he told him about her. He could feel Kalinorâ€™s gaze following his every move, could sense the anticipation as it hung in the air between them. His lord would know that this was the reason heâ€™d seemed so distracted and agitated tonight. He could no longer go back and keep her to himself. He had to go forwards and do his duty.

â€œGo on.â€ Kalinor encouraged him.

Valentine sighed.

â€œI had no luck in hunting the man responsible for taking two of our best. I ran into something elseâ€¦somethingâ€¦â€ He closed his eyes briefly and replayed the image of her lost in the taste of blood and the thrill of the hunt. Opening his eyes, he looked at the floor and frowned. â€œEnthralling.â€

â€œEnthralling?â€ Kalinor moved towards him, but Valentine moved away, going to the window and staring out of it at the darkness.

He watched the rain sweeping across the garden and clasped his hands behind his back.

â€œShe exists,â€ he said and waited.

It wouldnâ€™t take his lord long to piece together what he was saying. He would know that the blood he could smell on him would have something to do with it. He didnâ€™t resist when Kalinor caught hold of his shoulders and turned him to face him. His lordâ€™s eyes came to rest on the small spot of red that was still marring his lips.

â€œSheâ€™s one of them?â€ Kalinor said.

Valentine nodded in confirmation.

â€œI found her hunting, alone. She appeared to be executing her first kill. They have kept her hidden wellâ€¦only she did not wish to remain that way.â€ He looked deep into his lordâ€™s eyes and searched them for an answer to his next question. â€œIs she dangerous?â€

Kalinor smiled.

It was true then. Valentine remembered what heâ€™d been told as a youngling, what all vampires were told. In the future, a dark day would dawn and with it would come the end of their existence, all at the hands of one of their own. The one he had met tonight was the child of the prophecy. She was going to destroy their kind.

Â Kalinor walked towards the door and stopped with his hand on the handle.

â€œFor now, this goes no further than the elders. As an envoy, I will visit the house of Caelestis. You will be there at my side to recount what you witnessed tonight and we will see what they have been hiding from us.â€ Kalinor looked back at him and gave him a grim smile. â€œThen you will have the proud honour of destroying the abomination.â€

Valentineâ€™s stomach dropped when he heard those words. They had been spoken with a smile that said what a true honour it would be to be known as the vampire who had stopped the prophecy from coming true. He stared at the door his lord had walked out of and felt empty inside.

He would be responsible for destroying the abomination?

What honour was there in murdering her? He couldnâ€™t see any, not as his lord could.

He shuddered inwardly at the thought of killing her.

He didnâ€™t want to be the one responsible for her death, didnâ€™t want to take eternity away from her. There was nothing honourable about what Kalinor had asked him to do.

He could hear Kalinor shouting commands to the house elders when he walked back into the main reception room and stared blankly at the floor.

He should have listened to her blood. He shouldnâ€™t have tried to ignore the vision it had given him. Raising his head, he spotted the blond mess of hair that belonged to Cornelius through the heads of the elders and headed directly for him.

He caught him by the arm and started up the stairs with him. â€œCome with me. I need your assistance.â€

* * * *

Prophecy was soaked to the skin by the time she had made it over the high wall surrounding the grounds and back to the house. Scaling the drainpipe again, she pushed the sash window up and slipped back into her room. She clawed her wet hair out of her face, closed the window as quietly as possible and then let out a sigh of relief.

She was so stupid.

She should have listened to her mother when sheâ€™d told her that she wasnâ€™t strong enough to hunt. The other vampire had been so much more powerful than her. She hadnâ€™t been able to stop him from biting her and she didnâ€™t know what to make of his reaction. At the time, sheâ€™d just seen it as an opportunity to escape, but as sheâ€™d made her way home, sheâ€™d begun to think about it. Heâ€™d been stunned by what heâ€™d seen, and she couldnâ€™t fathom why.

It wasnâ€™t as if sheâ€™d led a long or interesting life. She had spent over twenty years trapped in the same house. What was interesting about that?

At least she was back safe now, and no one had to know that she had been gone. She would change her clothes, dry her hair and then go down to see her mother. No one had to know.

She froze when she heard a noise in the darkness and realised that she wasnâ€™t alone.

â€œBrother,â€ she greeted him coldly when he stepped out of the shadows by the door and moved towards her.

Turning away from him, she carefully covered the marks on her neck and stared out of the window, waiting for him to speak.

â€œProphecy,â€ Arkalus said softly and came to stand behind her. He moved to touch her shoulder but she stepped forwards and evaded his fingers. She saw his hand drop to his side out of the corner of her eye. How long had he been waiting for her to return? Sheâ€™d been gone for hours. â€œWhere have you been?â€

She bit her tongue and continued to stare out of the window.

She could feel his eyes as they raked over her wet hair down to the smooth skin of her exposed shoulders.

â€œOne day, you wonâ€™t be able to turn me away so easily.â€

She frowned at his words, a thinly veiled threat that he emphasised by brushing his fingers lightly over her shoulder. Her jaw set tight and she turned her head away from him, disgusted by his attentions and wanting nothing more than to be alone.

Unable to hold her feelings inside, she found her mouth moving before she could stop it. â€œYouâ€™ll be waiting a long time.â€

Her words had no impact. It was as though sheâ€™d never spoken them. His fingers moved to play with her hair, his tone becoming so intimate a whisper that it made her stomach squirm.

â€œWhat makes you think I wonâ€™t tell mother about your disappearance tonight?â€ He leaned in a little closer to her and her whole body tensed.

She tried to make light of it, hoping that heâ€™d leave her alone and find someone else to bestow his attentions upon. â€œIf you did that, mother would want to know why you didnâ€™t tell her earlierâ€¦ why wait so long? Youâ€™d be in as much trouble as me.â€

He seemingly ignored her comment and stroked his fingers gently over her shoulder. She shuddered when he pressed a light kiss to it, the tendrils of his long brown hair grazing her skin. It brought the stranger back into her head. She remembered the way his lips had grazed her neck. An echo of the feelings heâ€™d ignited then danced through her.

â€œYou wonâ€™t be able to turn me away forever. Iâ€™m a patient manâ€¦â€ Arkalus whispered it into her ear. She leaned away from him, trying to escape his touch. â€œAs soon as mother passes the house to me, Iâ€™ll take you as my mate and you wonâ€™t be able to stop me.â€

She closed her eyes when the air shifted around her and then the door slammed. She let out the breath sheâ€™d been holding and slumped into her chair, thinking about what heâ€™d said.

It was no secret that he wanted her as his own. The whole house knew. Heâ€™d been courting her for as long as she could remember, but she had never once shown any interest in him. Recently heâ€™d taken to threatening her, and the more he did the more she wanted to lash out at him. She wished he would go back to how he used to be, acting like a brother to her rather than attempting to be a lover. She wished her continual rebuffs would show him that she didnâ€™t want anything to do with him in that way, but they only seemed to drive him on.

So long as their mother, Iona, was walking the earth there was nothing he could do without her consent, but Prophecy knew that one day she would be gone and then it would be her duty to do as the head of the household commanded.

The idea of being Arkalusâ€™ bride made her sick to her stomach, but she wouldnâ€™t be able to stop him if Iona was out of the equation.

Something told Prophecy that regardless of what heâ€™d said, Arkalus was growing ever more impatient. If she didnâ€™t agree to his terms soon then there was a chance that he would take the death of Iona into his own hands in order to ensure that she was his.

Changing out of her wet clothes, she slipped into a long black satin dress and lay down on her bed. She closed her eyes and pushed away from the thought of being claimed by Arkalus, and returned to her previous ones.

Who was the vampire sheâ€™d met tonight? Was he one of the Aurorea responsible for the death of one of her house or was he something else? Heâ€™d been alone, just like she had, not hunting with the pack like most vampires did. The way heâ€™d looked at her after tasting her blood seemed like an image frozen in her mind. It haunted her.

Heâ€™d looked stunned, shocked by the visions heâ€™d received from her blood, and it made her shudder to think of what heâ€™d seen to make him look like that.

Sheâ€™d suspected for some time now that she wasnâ€™t like the other vampires of her house. They all spoke about her behind her back. Serenity had told her that much. Prophecy had caught fearful looks in their eyes sometimes and now a vampire from the other house was looking at her in exactly the same way.

Curling up on the bed, she emptied her mind of all thoughts until there was only him.

His dark hair, his green eyes, and the way he looked at her as though he could see straight through her, down into her heart.

There was something about him that she couldnâ€™t quite put her finger on, but one thing she knew she could be sure of.

This wouldnâ€™t be the last time she saw him.

Posted in paranormal romance, Prophecy Trilogy, Teaseday, vampire romance, vampires, Vampires Realm | Comments Off

Teaseday – Forbidden Blood – Vampire Romance Novel

Posted on 27th September 2011 by Felicity Heaton

Today’s Teaseday is brought to you by Forbidden Blood. Forbidden Blood is the first book in the Vampire Venators romance series, and is a long novel full of passion, action, betrayal and revenge.

Here’s the tease…

Forbidden Blood
Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampireâ€™s grasp, it turns out sheâ€™s the lead heâ€™s been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearnâ€™s world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exteriorâ€”hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Forbidden Blood is book one in the Vampire Venators series and a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.

ebook price: $3.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 126000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2011
Book 1 in the Vampire Venators series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood

EXCERPT

The smell of everyone in the club wasnâ€™t even drowning out her scent. It was a good thing because he needed the vampires to smell her blood so it would lure them into speaking to her but it constantly pushed at his restraint. Since tasting her, he hadnâ€™t stopped desiring her. His lust for her blood was strong, so much so that he had dreamed of her and nothing else. She had been in his embrace, bare breasts against his chest and her arms around him, holding him close as he kissed and licked her throat. He had drunk from her, sinking his fangs deep into her neck and marking her as eternally his. He knew that was what he had been doing. He hadnâ€™t intended to kill her. He had wanted to make her a vampire like him. He had wanted to keep her.

Which was insane.

But her blood had tasted so good even in his dreams.

Kearn struggled for control as the memory of it assaulted him, sending an echo of the buzz he had felt through his body and fogging his mind. Something deep within him cried out for more, for another taste, another fix.

The club started to heat up as people moved and the smell of her blood grew stronger. It was a divine smellâ€”sweet and fragrant. The voice at the back of his mind whispered that it could be his, just as it had been in his dreams.

He touched his neck again, pulled at the collar of his shirt when it felt as though it was strangling him, and frowned. He couldnâ€™t remember a time when he had felt so hungry.

â€œAre you okay?â€ Amberâ€™s voice startled him. â€œYou donâ€™t look so good.â€

His eyes leapt to hers and then fell to her neck. His temperature increased the moment his gaze landed on the black choker wrapped around it. Her blood was delicious. She was delicious. His throat ached at the sight of hers, his hunger rising. He tightened his hold on his neck and tried to get a grip on himself. It wasnâ€™t just her blood doing this to him. It couldnâ€™t be. There was something deeper at work.

He forced his eyes up, until they met her wide ones. She stepped closer and her scent grew stronger, overwhelming him. He stood and took a step back, trying to distance himself and keep control.

â€œI am a little thirsty.â€ That was an understatement. He was parched, gasping for the smooth slide of her blood down his throat and the giddy rush of it in his veins.

Like an addict.

â€œCome on.â€ She grabbed his arm.

He looked at her hand on him, slender but strong. She walked away, luring him along the length of the bar to where she had been sitting, and he followed her blindly.

Kearnâ€™s eyes stuck like glue to the back of her neck, catching teasing glimpses of the nape of it and the black velvet choker through her dark hair. He longed to part the brown waves and kiss there, to run his tongue over her skin and taste her, and feel her shiver in pleasure. He wanted to ease his fangs in deep and slow, claiming her and her blood as his and his alone. Nothing compared to biting someone, to the incredible rush from the connection and the intense intoxicating feel of their blood in your veins. It was what he had been born to doâ€”to take life from the blood of humans like a thief.

Like a beast.

And right now, he wanted to take all of Amber. He wanted to strip away the mask and show her just what he was underneathâ€”a creature lost in her, thirsting for her body and blood.

For her love.

He tore his eyes away from her neck, horrified by his last thought and the realisation that his hunger for her went beyond physical need to an emotional one.

She stopped by her stool and flagged down the bartender, giving him a wide smile.

Kearn stared at the man, remembering what he had said. Lonely. The hand around his throat dropped to his chest and he focused there. Did it really show? Had Amber seen it? He had been on his guard around her but there had been times when he had felt as though she had looked right down into his heart and seen the man beneath the armour.

Amber put a tall glass of icy dark liquid into Kearnâ€™s hand, bringing his attention back to her. She held a similar glass. He sniffed his. Sweet and bubbly. Some sort of soft drink. It was cold against his hand but would do nothing to satisfy his thirst.

Amber only made it worse.

She tilted her head back, her profile to him, and drank her drink. He couldnâ€™t stop himself from staring at her throat. It was unbearable to see it so exposed, so clean and soft and smooth, crying out for him to mark it. He wanted to tear off her choker and sink his teeth into her, to pull her close and feel her heart pound against his, beating as one.

Kearn clamped his mouth shut against the strong urge to bite her. His fangs extended enough to catch his lower lip. He licked the blood but it wasnâ€™t enough. It had to be her blood. Only that would satisfy his craving. The voice at the back of his mind, deep in his heart, commanded him to bite her.

She lowered the glass from her lips and looked at him with beautiful round eyes, tempting him with her innocence.

His fangs receded with only a little resistance.

â€œYouâ€™re not drinking?â€ She frowned at his glass. â€œItâ€™s my treat.â€

She flicked the long dark waves of hair away from her neck and strands of it stuck to her damp skin. He narrowed his eyes on the pulse fluttering on her throat. If it was her treat, he would drink her down in one go.

It took all of his willpower to resist surrendering to the desire to give in to temptation. His blood pounded in his temples, driven to a frenzy by the unquenchable and undeniable hunger he felt for Amber. It wasnâ€™t just her blood. It was everything about herâ€”her smile, her beauty, her body, and how she looked at him sometimes with concern. He had never experienced such need, such intense attraction and desire, for anyone in all his years.

Not even the countess.

His need for Amber, his hunger for her, was raw and uncontrollable. It thundered in his veins and ran deep in his bones. It commanded him. Ruled him.

She smiled and then frowned at his face.

â€œYouâ€™ve cut your lip.â€ She touched it with her delicate fingertip, peering closely. The warm caress enticed him, making his lower lip tingle, and the smell of blood was too strong to fight. He couldnâ€™t take it.

His fangs began to extend again and he almost gave in to the desire to nick her finger with them. He couldnâ€™t do that. He couldnâ€™t make her like him.

Kearn stepped back and covered his mouth as his fangs fully extended, his eyes as wide as hers were.

The flames of desire burnt away the last threads of his restraint and he turned away, sensing that his eyes were about to change against his will too. He didnâ€™t want her to see him. He didnâ€™t want to be himself around her.

â€œIs something wrong?â€ Amber touched his arm.

He shirked her grip and took another step away from her.

â€œI am unwell. Excuse me,â€ he said and rushed into the crowd, heading through the packed club towards the bathroom.

Humans blocked his path, bumping into him and making it hard to get through. The smell of their blood increased his hunger. He kept his hand over his mouth and pushed through, shoving them aside in his haste to reach the relative safety of the bathroom. The room began to brighten. His eyes were changing. He squinted and lowered his head, forcing his way through the hot bodies that stank of wretched blood.

And all the while, he could smell the sweet scent of hers.

His mind filled with visions of Amber. He saw himself taking her into his arms, her warm supple body moulded against the hot hard steel of his, and sinking his fangs deep into her throat. He would drink every drop of her blood without a momentâ€™s regret and it still wouldnâ€™t be enough. He would do it regardless of the fact that he would hate himself in the aftermath.

Kearn hit the bathroom door so hard it slammed into the tiled wall and wouldnâ€™t close automatically. A man standing at one of the white basins lining the left hand wall of the bright room made a quick exit. Kearn grabbed the door and forced it shut. He stumbled to the row of white sinks and ran the water in one until it was freezing, and then splashed it over his face. It didnâ€™t stop the images of Amber from dancing around his mind. He could see everything he had dreamed and swore he could feel her naked body against his.

Kearn doused himself in water again. It did nothing to cool him. He was on fire, sweat beading and running down his skin. Burning for her.

He gripped the edge of the white basin with trembling hands and stared at himself in the long bank of mirrors above the sinks. Red eyes watched him. His other side. The one he didnâ€™t want her to see. Why did he fear it all of a sudden? Being a vampire had never bothered him before. His species were above humans. They were strong and beautiful. Not beasts.

So why did Amber make him feel like an animal?

How did she make him feel so hungry?

He had never felt such thirst. Never. He had tasted forbidden blood before but it hadnâ€™t left him feeling this wayâ€”needing another fix. Needing her.
Water dripped from the ends of his silver hair. The sound of the running tap and his rough breathing filled his ears. He stared hard into his red eyes, struggling against his hunger. After a few long minutes, his irises slowly melted back to green from the pupil outwards.

He took a deep breath and sighed, regaining control.

The bathroom door opened and a human male walked in, nodding at him and then heading into the stalls behind him.

Kearn turned off the tap and left. The music in the club was loud when he opened the bathroom door and walked out into the darker main room, grating in his ears. Even more people were crammed into it now. He made his way back to where he had left Amber at the bar and stared wide-eyed at the empty stool.

She was gone.

He scanned the club for her, trying to keep his cool. Perhaps she had gone to the bathroom too.

Perhaps the vampire had found her while he had been acting like a ridiculous junkie.

No. That couldnâ€™t have happened. He wouldnâ€™t let the man have her.

Amber was his.

He headed down towards the dance floor, methodically searching and taking account of every face, marking each as either human or vampire. He was nearing the back of the club in a quieter spot favoured by Nobles when he saw her.

And he saw who she was with.

Kyran stood beside her, both of them facing away from him, with his hand against her lower back, far enough down it that his fingers were lazily resting on the bottom of her corset, close to her backside. Fire burned through Kearnâ€™s veins. How dare his brother touch her so familiarly? Kyran laughed with his friends and Amber laughed along with them. The sound of it and the sight of her smiling into Kyranâ€™s eyes fuelled the inferno inside him. He wouldnâ€™t let it happen again. His eyes changed and Kyran looked over at him.

Kearn shut his emotions down in an instant, forcing his eyes to switch back.

Kyranâ€™s dark eyebrows rose, his blue eyes cold and empty.

â€œThere you are,â€ he said casually, as though he hadnâ€™t felt the threat Kearn had directed at him.

Amber turned around, broke out of his brotherâ€™s grasp, and came over to him.

â€œAre you feeling better?â€ Concern shone brightly in her eyes.

She reached up with her right hand and touched his face, sweeping the wet strands of hair from his face. Her actions brought the bandage around her hand too close to his nose. The smell of her blood threatened to overpower him. He caught her hand and slowly brought it away from his face, trying not to startle her by reacting as he had wanted to and throwing it aside.

â€œYou look terrible.â€ Kyran stopped beside Amber. His brother placed a hand on Amberâ€™s bare shoulder and looked him over. â€œAmber mentioned that you were unwell. Rough day?â€

Kyranâ€™s gaze slid to Amberâ€™s throat.

â€œYou seem to be struggling.â€ Kyran smiled at him and released Amberâ€™s arm. â€œI thought you of all people would be used to it.â€

Amberâ€™s eyes met his. He didnâ€™t want to answer the question he could see coming. His brother wasnâ€™t talking about his job. He was talking about forbidden blood.

He grabbed Kyranâ€™s arm and dragged him away, leaving Amber with Kyranâ€™s friends. They wouldnâ€™t dare hurt her. A thousand things he wanted to say sprung to the tip of his tongue, all accusations and anger, but he let them go and released Kyranâ€™s arm.

â€œThank you for keeping her safe.â€ It was difficult to say those words when he knew that Kyran had probably only been friendly to Amber to irritate him.

Kyran smiled and, for once, it was genuine. â€œShe looked lost. I approached her and she seemed so relieved to see me. She started babbling about you and how you were sick and thirsty and I knew where you had gone. Are you better now?â€

Kearn nodded. He was back in control at least.

â€œI can get some blood sent overâ€”â€

â€œNo.â€ Kearn cut him off. â€œI do not want you on my list. The hunger will pass.â€

Kyran looked worried. Kearnâ€™s senses said he wasnâ€™t lying.

He forced himself to look at Kyran. A reflection of him, but not the one he had seen just now in the mirror. The dark shorter hair, the blue eyes, the wide charming smile and fine black suit. Kyran was everything he had once been, and everything he wanted to be again. His brotherâ€™s face and his own were torture to him, a constant reminder that no matter what he did, he would never be the man he had once been. He couldnâ€™t change the past, and that meant he could never undo the damage to his relationship with Kyran either.

Kyran smiled. It warmed his eyes and reminded Kearn of better days when they had been young. It was unusual for vampires to be born so close together in age. Their mother had given birth to them only four human years apart, and due to a difficulty in her health, they had been her only children. To a human, they looked the same age, and would have appeared to be twins once.

But not now.

A Venator was different to a vampire, and his appearance now marked that. They were distinguished.

Hated.

None more so than him.

â€œYou should take more care of yourself.â€ Kyran touched his shoulder. â€œEspecially now that there is another of you in town.â€

Kyran looked to his left and Kearn followed his gaze. A female Venator stood alone in the corner of the club opposite the one where Amber and Kyranâ€™s friends waited. With her long silver hair flowing over her slender shoulders and her vivid green eyes, she was unmistakable. Her appearance was enough to make every vampire around her cautious, but she was even wearing her black uniform. The silver buttons down the breast and the sky blue detailing on the collar and cuffs of the thigh-length military-style jacket caught the flashing lights of the club. She was new to the job if she was foolish enough to wear her uniform in public.

â€œYou should introduce yourself, shouldnâ€™t you?â€

Kearn nodded. The Venator was watching him, and so was Amber. He sensed her gaze on him, the remnants of her blood in his veins calling to him, and then the feeling was gone. He glanced at her to see her looking at the female Venator.

He was required to introduce himself and greet any Venator in his territory, but this wasnâ€™t a good time. His thirst for Amberâ€™s blood burned strong in his veins and Venators were trained to recognise the effects of forbidden blood on a vampire. The Venator would see what he had done. There was an allowed amount that they could take in the line of duty, but it was still taboo for a Venator to do such a thing.

It wasnâ€™t the only reason he didnâ€™t want to greet her.

Amber was glaring at the woman and he wanted to go to her instead.

â€œGo on,â€ Kyran said. â€œI will make sure that Amber is safe here. I have teased you enough and will not reveal anything to her.â€

He still hesitated.

Kyran pushed him forwards.

Kearn felt Amberâ€™s gaze on him again but walked over to the female Venator. She lowered her head when he reached her.

â€œLord Savernake.â€ She pressed her right hand to her chest. The silver markings on it were different to his. She was shorter than he was, possibly even more so than Amber, and was much weaker. Females that became Venators were never as strong as their male counterparts were. The role passed from father to eldest son. Daughters were only involved when there was no son in the Venator line. He studied her. She wasnâ€™t a Noble either.

â€œVenator. We are above such formalities, are we not?â€ A remnant of his old self, buried deep inside him, said that she was below him. A Lesser Noble. She deserved to scrape and bow at his feet. Weaker blooded, poorer connected, and lower bred. She was beneath him in all ways. The only things worse than her kind were Commoners and humans.

She kept her head bowed.

â€œWelcome to my territory. I hope our meeting is fortuitous and not a sign of something else.â€ He kept his tone warm, trying to tamp down his thoughts. The woman was a Venator. They were equals, and he had no right to judge her by her blood when he was an outcast of his own family.

She raised her eyes now, green irises and wide pupils betraying her shock at his words. Her expression only added to her appearance of youthful innocence. She looked as weak as he sensed her to be. Far too young to deal with their duty. He placed her at no older than two hundred. To the humans around her, she looked like a twenty year old.

â€œYou have noticed, have you not?â€ he said and she glanced towards Amber.

â€œYou are struggling against the effects of blood.â€ Her voice was soft but he could still hear her.

The corners behind the speakers were far quieter than the rest of the club, and Lesser Noble and all Noble vampires desiring to protect their hearing favoured them. It was a good place to discuss business, and afforded them a view of the entire room so they could pick out prey at their leisure without suffering from the ear-bleeding volume of the music.

She gave him a shy look, as though she felt guilty for confirming that she knew he had recently tasted blood from a Source, and then her expression gradually changed back to awe. Had she never met another Venator? How many vampires had she killed and how long ago had she been given her duty?

â€œYou have seen the human with those vampires.â€ He didnâ€™t look their way but he could feel Amberâ€™s eyes on him and the female. â€œA vampire I have been seeking for several years attacked her and fed his blood to her. I tasted her blood to confirm her as a Source Blood and so I could maintain control of her and question her. The human is now bait in my plan to lure out the man and sentence him.â€

â€œI see.â€ The woman peered past him. â€œIt is forgivable then. Did your plan include her leaving?â€

Kearn turned on the spot. Amber was gone.

â€œExcuse me,â€ he said and crossed the dance floor to his brother.

â€œShe wanted to go.â€ Kyran shrugged. â€œWe tried to make her stay and wait, but it seemed the little thing did not like seeing you with another woman.â€

Kearn glared at him and then hurried through the club. Had Amber really left because he had been speaking to the Venator, or was Kyran lying? The thought that she might be jealous warmed his chest but he didnâ€™t allow himself to believe it. He had given Amber no reason to feel that way and he had no reason to feel anything in response to it.

What was he getting himself into?

He pushed through the throng, growling under his breath about the way people were hindering his progress and the growing awareness of his feelings towards Amber.

She was bait. It was just her blood making him act this way. And that was just a lie.

It ran deeper than blood. She had entranced him even before he had tasted her. It had been difficult to keep his eyes off her in the street when he had fought to protect her from the man, and in his car as he drove her to his apartment. He had been under her spell since the moment he had met her.

Amber meant something to him.

But she was human. She was beneath him, fit only to serve his kind.

Kearn broke through the crowd and out into the night.

He wished he could bring himself to believe that but he couldnâ€™t. She didnâ€™t feel as though she was beneath him. She felt above him, beyond his grasp.

Human or not, he wanted her to be his.

He couldnâ€™t see her in the street. He searched all of the side roads that branched off the main road outside the club and then got into his car and drove around. The remnant of her blood in his veins wasnâ€™t enough for him to track her. Searching for her so randomly didnâ€™t have a great chance of success, but he had to find her. The vampire might have been at the club tonight and might have seen her leave. Without him, she was in danger.

He couldnâ€™t allow that.

He would keep his promise, no matter what.

He wouldnâ€™t let anything happen to her.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood

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Posted in forbidden blood, paranormal romance, Teaseday, vampire romance, Vampire Venators, vampires | Comments Off

Vampire romance books galore and romance trading cards

Posted on 18th September 2011 by Felicity Heaton

I’ve had a blast these past two weeks finally writing Masquerade, the tenth book in my popular Vampires Realm series. It was hard going because so many characters from previous stories in the series make appearances or play a role in this one due to the fact that it’s set around a Creator Day masquerade, but it was also fun because I got to catch up with them all and write them again.

Sophis and Vivek are the heroine and hero, both Venia bloodline guards, but Tynan is back as he’s now the commander of the guard. We learn more about the Venia bloodline and the current affairs of the vampires, including contraversial happenings with the werewolves and some of the bloodlines. Marise and Jascha also make a return, along with three other Law Keepers. Among the main cast are Hyperion and Winter of the Validus bloodline, along with Valentine, Venturi and Prophecy, and also Lilith and Lincoln. There’s lots happening in this book. It was hard to write so many vampires from the series so I just went with getting it all down on paper and I’ll tackle things like adding in more description and stuff in the second draft.

I managed to get the book finished in first draft last Wednesday, and it’s currently 83000 words but I think it will end up around 90000 when I’m done with it. I do need to beef up some of the fight scenes and layer in the description to bring it to life. It’s all stuff that requires me to think hard about stuff and I didn’t want to slow down my writing during the first draft so I was happy to get in as much as possible and leave the fine details for the edits.

I hope Vampires Realm readers will be excited by the fact that we’re back at a Creator Day ball again and that so many old faces are going to be there. There will be some new faces too, and some monumental changes for some of characters. It’s also setting up the vampire hunters side of things in the series a little more and that’s something I’ll be exploring more in later stories.

I did spend most of the week writing, but I also managed to get sketches done for the Her Angel series trading cards that I want to produce. To give them a unique angle, I’ve decided to do my own original art for them and also a very special design style for the cards that I think everyone will like.

I’ve done the cover of Apollyon’s card so far and I’m working on Serenity’s. To put things into perspective for everyone, the original pencil sketch for each character takes around 1 hour, and then colouring them in Photoshop takes around 7 hours, so each card is a lot of work for me, but I really love drawing and this is a great excuse for me to do more of it.

I’m proofing Heart of Darkness this week, which is a stand alone vampire romance book. Heart of Darkness is out on October 22nd 2011, so there isn’t long to wait for this one now. I think you’ll all love it! Once I’ve proofed the book, I’ll be writing the first book in my new Vampire Erotic Theatre series which will come out next year.

It’s going to be another busy week!