Double Exerpt Day!

In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day and the CAPA Awards today is a Double Excerpt Friday!

Today’s excerpts are from two stories in the upcoming NCP Anthology Immortal Lovers. This vampire trilogy contains Fresh Blood, second in my own vampire series, Never A Sunset, by Annalee Blysse and Eternity, by Marie Morin.

Never A Sunset is a 4-cupper at Coffee Time Romance "Victrina and Michael are wonderful characters. He is a sexy vampire who really tripped my trigger. She is a strong woman who knows what she wants. Their relationship progresses at a believable pace. The sex scenes are hot and steamy... Ms. Blysse has penned a story of vampires, lust, and love that I am sure many will enjoy. Never a Sunset is a keeper."
~ Susan White, Coffee Time Romance

Fresh Blood is a Recommended Read at Fallen Angel Reviews
5 Angels for FRESH BLOOD! … The sex scenes are sizzling with just the right touch of romance. … Another perfect addition to the New Concepts Publishing Catalogue. – Anita, Fallen Angel Reviews

* * *

NEVER A SUNSET

The haze of twilight lit the clouds. The rain had just stopped, so the air was heavy with moisture. Victrina took a deep breath as she stepped out of her apartment, thinking how much she’d miss this place when she left.

The truth was, Victrina loved all seasons in Boston, simply because they existed. The city was wrapped up in a long, drawn out spring that made an impression. A far cry from Barrow, Alaska. On the northern tundra, spring passed in the blink of an eye and summer dragged on for months on end. Where she’d grown up, the environment wasn’t conducive to going for a walk any time of year. Boston was almost always perfect.

Noting the quiet streets, she smiled as she started walking. Then again, most Bostonians hadn’t grown up on the North Slope. What was perfect to her was considered a miserable day down here.

New York City wouldn’t be that different. Hopefully. In less than one month, she’d be moving. She’d already accepted a job offer on Wall Street and she was in for years of hard work. But she wanted to prove that a girl from the village could make good. More than that, she wanted to prove to her father that her scholarship to Harvard had been well deserved, and not just money thrown at an Eskimo so they could make their quotas. She wanted to earn insane amounts of money and show him what she was really made of.

If asked, she told people why she wanted to live so differently from her life back home. A town that small couldn’t keep her happy. There was no way she was ever going to settle down and become a brood mare for a man who didn’t respect her, who didn’t think she was good enough, who didn’t feel her goals and accomplishments amounted to anything. What she kept private was the violence that had been part of her childhood home. She didn’t want anyone to pity her.

She heard boots clicking on the cement behind her, heard distinct splashes through puddles that she’d avoided. Victrina turned, her eyes met with a tall man dressed all in black.

He nodded slightly, “Victrina Mechnikoff?”

Confused that he knew her name, Victrina confronted him, “What do you want?”
He grinned at her. His long hair was as dark as her own, and it shone beneath the streetlights. “You,” he said, his voice low and husky and very seductive.

His black shirt hugged his chest, outlining sculpted muscles and sharply delineated abs. His jeans were fresh-from-the-rack black, and molded to his incredible legs and cock.

Electric blue eyes captured her senses, digging into her soul. Any anger she felt was replaced by a desire that consumed her body and mind. Her mouth watered and moisture pooled between her thighs. Her senses rang with excitement over the unknown. His clothes. His hair. The whole effect was very sexual, yet very dark. Foreboding.

And you can have me. But fear made her hesitate.

He waved his hand at a coffee shop on a nearby corner. “Can I buy you an espresso?”

Victrina was immediately relieved. Her body might be crying out for him to take her to the nearest hotel and make good on the sensual promise in his eyes, in his voice. She might want him to make love to him all night. But, the offer of an espresso was much easier to deal with.

She took him up on his offer and was soon seated across from him, sipping hot mocha, thinking ... who are you?

“Michael Levine,” he said, staring deeply into her, as if he could see right through her.

“Pleased to meet you,” she replied.

She couldn’t understand the hold he had over her senses. She was as progressive as the next woman, but she’d never fantasized about jumping into the sack with a complete stranger. And she was having a difficult time keeping her mind off anything but sex around this man.

“I know,” he said, angling his head slightly, licking his lower lip.

Victrina couldn’t take her eyes off his face. His response was honest more than arrogant. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Her whole body vibrated with the sensuality of the moment. Michael’s facial features were strong, yet as photogenically perfect as James Dean. You are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.

“How do you know who I am?” she asked. “We haven’t met before.”

“I keep my eyes open. You have a promising career ahead of you.” He waited for a moment, and when she didn’t respond he continued, “I am looking for someone with your ... abilities. I’m here to offer you a position working for me.”

Strange. The way he said “abilities” made it seem as if he alluded to something other than the fact that she was one of the top students in her class. Yet he had slightly toned down his flirting. Employers had been recruiting around the campus, so it was conceivable that he was really going to offer a position working for a company. A damn shame. She was still thinking of positions in the Kama Sutra.

“Work for you? Doing what?”

“I need a personal assistant.”

Victrina thought for a moment. “In what capacity?”

“In every capacity....”

* * *

FRESH BLOOD

“Max!” Standing before the bathroom door, she yelled once as loudly as possible, which only made the throbbing pain in her head resume with a vengeance. When Max didn’t answer, she pounded on the door. “Get out here, now!”

She waited a beat and stepped back when the bathroom door flew open. He wore only a towel, draped around his neck.

Their eyes locked for a moment, and Erica managed to hold her comments in check while he slid the towel off his shoulders and wrapped it around his waist.

“I see you’re up.” He greeted her with a raised eyebrow.

“You, too.” She smirked and for a moment, the self-conscious look on his face made her forget her anger. Only for a moment. “What the hell did you do to me last night?”

His eyes darkened and he tilted his head. “Not half as much as I wanted to.”
Erica swallowed. She felt flushed and she was suddenly aware of the fact that she wore nothing beneath her thin cotton robe.

“What was in my drink last night?” she demanded stepping back as he left the bathroom. He headed for the living room and she followed him, clutching her robe around her.

“Some vampires use a combination of herbs to relax their feeders. Normally it isn’t that potent but you must have gotten an extra large dose. You’re lucky I got back to you when I did.”

“You shouldn’t have left me alone.”

“I didn’t have a choice. Benton Carlisle is a powerful vampire. I had to go with him. And while I was gone you were supposed to be following the other rules.”

“Well, I tried.”

“Not very hard by the looks of it.”

Erica crossed her arms over her breasts and watched him while he rooted around her living room gathering his clothes. A blanket from her linen closet lay over the couch attesting to where he’d spent the night.

“You wandered off and left me alone at a vampire orgy, where I got drugged and groped by another woman and--”

“And kissed. Don’t forget kissed.” He leveled a sardonic gaze at her.

Erica gaped. That memory came back, too. It hadn’t been a dream. Vera had been all over her. “And I’m to blame?”

“You were supposed to be obedient.”

“You told me to be disobedient. Didn’t you? Or did I misinterpret one of your many mixed signals?”

“What mixed signals?” He spread his arms wide leaving his towel unattended and hanging precariously.

“Oh let’s see--every one. I don’t know what to make of you, Max. Before we left here, you were acting like you wanted to ...”

“Like I wanted to what?”

Erica flushed hot. She couldn’t say the words. “Then you apparently brought me home, undressed me, and dumped me in bed ... alone.”

To find out more about Never a Sunset and Fresh Blood go to:
http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/paranormalvampires.htm