Midnight Craving: Midnight Vice, Book 1 (10 page)
muscled back. She loved the feeling of him in her arms and wished he’d never have to move. But
eventually he did.
Jace cradled her against his chest. Silent and pensive, they cuddled for quite some time. Finally, Jace
spoke. “It won’t be easy.”
Isla lifted her head from his chest so she could look at him. “What?”
He gestured between them. “This. Us. It’s not exactly encouraged.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.” Her thoughts drifted to the secret society of archangels and
nephilim elders policing his kind. A quiver of fear pierced her belly. “I won’t let them hurt you, Jace. I’ll
disappear forever before I put you in that situation.”
His arms tightened around her. “Don’t even think like that, Isla. I won’t let them keep me from you.”
Isla sat up and gazed down into his gorgeous blue eyes. She lovingly caressed his cheek. “They’ll strip
you of your powers, Jace. They’ll never allow us to be together. The risk—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “I’ve checked, Isla. There’s never been a proven case of the mingling of
demonic and angelic lines creating soulless or uncontrollable children. It’s all just myth and legend and
what-ifs.”
“But the covenants,” she protested.
“Can go to hell.” His strident reply set her afire. “I’m not about to let arbitrary rules based on nothing
but worst-case scenarios keep us apart.”
Isla gulped at his fierce vow. “What are we going to do?”
“I have a hearing with the elders in a few days. They’ll rule one way or the other after I’ve plead my
case.” Jace pulled her down into his arms, tucking her cheek against his chest. “Lots of relationships have
obstacles, Isla. We’re not unique in that aspect.”
Isla inhaled deeply as she considered his point. Her parents had been complete opposites, her mother a
full-blooded succubus and her father a warlock with extraordinary healing abilities. They’d made a fairly
successful go of it with a wonderful marriage and healthy, happy kids. Only a blood feud between
vampires and demons had come between them. In Isla and Jace’s line of work, anything was possible but
she preferred to look toward the positive.
She snuggled closer and kissed his jaw. “I have a feeling we’re in for some rough days ahead.”
Jace tightened his hug. “In my experience, the things worth having don’t come easy.”
“Am I one of those things?”
Smiling, Jace kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ve already risked my life for you once and I’d do it again in a
heartbeat.”
Isla basked in the warmth of his limitless and undying love. “You know,” she laughed, “I could almost
kiss that bloodsucking hag for throwing us together.”
Jace shuddered. “New rule in bed: no mention of you-know-who.”
Isla giggled and moved closer. “Any other rules I should know about?”
“Just one,” Jace said in between kisses. “You always come first…”
About the Author
While browsing bookstore shelves as a teenager, Lo discovered the erotic writings of Anaïs Nin and
A.N. Roquelaure. Certain her mother would not approve, Lo smuggled the books home and squirreled
them away in the most likely of places: under her bed. Late at night, she delved into the sensual worlds both
writers created.
As a coed studying biochemistry and genetics at Texas A&M University, Lo dabbled in creating naughty
tales to entertain her friends. Study for a midterm or pen a deliciously dirty story to delight her small band
of fans? Not surprisingly, Lo is now on an extended sabbatical from college.
Luckily Lo stumbled onto the world of erotic romance publishers. She realized there were other readers
who loved and craved breathtaking romance with the spiciest of love scenes. She took a chance and
submitted her first novella. The rest is history.
Lo lives in Texas with her family and beloved Great Dane, Bosley.
To learn more about Lolita Lopez, please visit
www.lolitalopez.com
. Send an email to Lo at
It’s never a good idea to date your prey…
Feral Passion
© 2009 Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
Xandra had a thing about vampires—like not dating one. Ever. But now that she’s on the hunt for the
mastermind behind a newly formed vampire army, she’s sucking it up and dating every vamp in her little
black book. Her prime suspect: Dante. Cop, vampire—and drop-dead gorgeous.
As the police force’s vampire liaison officer, Dante is no stranger to crime. Feral vampires are attacking
in droves, and he’s hell-bent on finding out who’s responsible before the backlash robs them all of their
hard-won rights. His number one suspect: Xandra. Hunter, smartass—and sexy as sin.
No one is more surprised than Xandra when Dante shows up as her date. Her cover is not all that’s
blown during their mutual interrogation. Sparks of attraction fly—right before an attack leaves her gravely
injured. With no choice but to inoculate her with his blood, Dante has more questions than ever before.
Like who wants her silenced.
As they race to uncover a long-buried secret, Xandra realizes she can trust no one. Not even Dante.
Especially since his blood is giving her unpredictable side effects…
Warning: Contains violence and hot and heavy vampire action.
Enjoy the following excerpt for
Feral Passion:
“I think—” she started to say. “I need—”
And then the world slipped away from her.
Dante cursed in the darkness. Motion stopped. With his arm slung across her shoulder, he walked
across uneven gravel. He leaned her against a brick wall and ordered her to remain standing. The brick was
still warm from the sun and comforting somehow. She couldn’t stop shaking. It seemed inevitable that she
would be sick.
She protested weakly when Dante moved her away from the warm brick. Keys jingled in his hand. The
smell of mildew and disinfectant assaulted her senses.
She tried to warn Dante about her nausea, but he herded her across the floor and lowered her to a
lumpy bed. It creaked ominously as he lay down beside her.
Xandra turned toward his warmth, the only comfort in the misery she couldn’t escape.
“It’s going to be okay, Xandra,” he whispered.
His breath ruffled her hair. She heard another sound, something wet and tearing.
“Here.” Dante’s voice sounded disproportionately loud above the ventilation system.
His wrist pressed against her lips. She tasted the saltiness of his skin and felt his arms tighten around
her, as if he expected it to hurt. Thick, coppery blood seeped into her mouth. Even though her mind
rebelled, her body remembered what to do. She swallowed reflexively.
Dante’s blood flowed into her. Like electricity it rushed outward through her veins, repairing the
damage the vampires had done to her. And for a moment she was content just to drink and be healed. Then
gently, he pulled his wrist away.
She clasped his wrist, desperately trying to bring it back to her mouth, but he firmly disengaged her
fingers. She moaned at the sudden loss.
“Easy,” Dante said. “Trust me, you don’t want to have too much.”
Alarm bells rang in some distant part of her mind. No, she certainly didn’t want to have too much. That
led to the inevitable changes that would make her a vampire. A creature like those hopeless fiends who’d
attacked her.
Her eyes flew open. Panicked, she stared at him.
“Don’t worry,” he said, sensing her alarm. “You only had a little. Only enough to offset the effects of
the virus.”
The nausea had vanished. Pressed against Dante’s warm body, the shivers had ceased. Xandra felt
stronger, clearer headed. She looked into his amber eyes, only inches from hers.
He closed the distance. His mouth covered hers, possessive and demanding. His tongue probed the
recesses of her mouth, seeking the remnants of his blood. It should bother her. A week ago, it would have.
But the way Dante kissed her made her feel wanted and loved. And his blood coursed through her veins,
making her strong.
That strange feeling of being cared for brought a sudden rush of tears to her eyes. She gasped for
breath. He pulled away.
“Xandra?”
“Shh.” She placed a finger against his lips to silence further questions.
He studied her carefully. “If we’re moving too fast for you here—”
She shook her head. “No.” How to explain this strange flood of feeling that touched places she’d kept
hidden since her mother died? She didn’t even think she could summon the words.
Rising, he held her against him while he pulled down the bedspread. She looked around the room,
suddenly taking note of her surroundings.
“Where are we?”
“In a motel off the highway.”
Danger brushed at her senses. She stiffened in his arms. “A motel? Why?”
“I couldn’t run the risk of taking you back to your place. Or mine.”
“Or the hospital?”
“The hospital would only have made things worse. Not to mention they’d probably call your boss.”
Memories of Jeremy’s dressing down rushed to the forefront of her mind. “It’s probably not a good
idea to involve him.” She wondered how Jeremy had gone from a father figure to an enemy in less than a
week. “But I don’t understand. Why does your blood make me better?”
He brushed his lips against hers again, setting off little bursts of pleasure all down her spine. “We’ll talk
about that later,” he whispered. He settled her back against the sheets.
Dante stripped off his jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and
added it to the pile. Then he strode to the bathroom and returned with a wet wad of tissue. “Don’t use the
towels,” he said, pulling up the leg of her pants and wiping the blood from the back of her knee. He tossed
the tissue into the toilet and flushed it. “Not until you’ve showered.”
Xandra nodded. The last thing they wanted to do was to leave DNA evidence in the motel. Evidence
Jeremy could use against her. She unhooked her torque and put it on the night table with her cuffs.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” she protested. “Three times now I’ve been attacked and Jeremy’s
making me feel like I’m a criminal.”
“We need to find out why that is,” Dante said softly. Then he added, “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she agreed.
He reached for her. His callused hands slid down over her arms until his fingers located the hem of her
gore-splattered shirt. Gently, he pulled it over her head and added it to the pile of clothes on the chair.
Then, he lay down beside her again.
She felt strangely vulnerable and exposed in just her bra. She nuzzled against him, burying her nose in
the soft tangle of hairs in the center of his chest.
“Hey,” he teased. Grasping her chin, he raised her head and kissed her again. His hair caressed her
cheek, a contrast against the roughness of his beard. She buried her hands in his silken curls and returned
the kiss. He moaned low in his throat.
Hooking one arm beneath her neck, he lowered her back against the pillows. His body covered hers. His
chest pressed against her breasts, still confined by the lacy material of her bra. She pulled away a little to
peruse him more fully.
Aside from tangle of downy curls, his chest was bare. Blond hair covered his forearms. With his head
of unruly hair framing his face, he looked like a lion at rest. The light caught the earring in his left ear and
the medallion around his neck.
Dante was busy with his own study of her. His gaze centered on the pale peaks of her breasts nestled in
her bra, then continued down the line of her ribcage to her hips. His hands followed in their wake as if he
wanted to memorize her contours.
His free land slipped behind her back and deftly undid the clasp of her bra. She let him pull the material
away. He gazed down at her with those golden eyes and smiled.
He kissed her lightly over the pulse point in her neck. She felt the touch of his lips down to her very
core. He rained little kisses and tiny nips over her collarbone and then took the peak of one breast in his
mouth. Xandra moaned.
Dante raised his head and gave her a smile that promised far more of such pleasure. His even white
teeth gleamed in the dim light. Not a fang in sight, she thought in relief, as he bent his head to taste the
other.
She threaded her hands through his curls again, demanding more of that caress that seemed to touch on
every pleasure center in her body. And Dante complied. He moved lower, painting her ribcage with kisses
and then dipping lower toward her navel and the waistband of her jeans.
What’s a nice girl like me doing with a demon like you?
I Married a Demon
© 2008 Beverly Rae
Jennifer Randall ignored her instincts and rushed into a vacation-fueled romance and quickie marriage
to devilishly handsome Blake Barrington. But as a Level 10 Protector with the super-secret Society, how’s
she supposed to keep the man she adores happy while hunting down gargoyles, zombies and other