And so to Day 3 of the Contest! Remember you can still enter Parts 1and 2 if you wish. The more entries you have, the greater your chance of winning :).
Below is a third excerpt from Blood Guilt, followed by details of how to enter the contest for a $20 Amazon gift card.
BLOOD GUILT: Blood Hunters, Book 1
By MARIE TREANOR
The first of a vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.
Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.
The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.
*
He lay perfectly still, watching her every move. Despite his tattered, modern clothes, he looked like some decadent, talented Renaissance youth. Which he probably had been.
Mihaela sank onto the bed beside him, and, willing her hand not to shake, she placed the point of the stake over his heart. Still, he didn’t move. It was possible that he couldn’t.
“I’ve killed many vampires,” she warned him, and wished her voice didn’t sound so husky.
A spark of humor, so faint as to be almost indistinguishable, lightened his pain-wracked eyes. “Then you have another advantage. I’ve never killed a hunter.”
Watching him for any sign of sudden attack, she leaned slowly over him, angling her head to offer him her throat. As his face disappeared from her vision, her tingling skin seemed to grow tighter. Since he had no breath, there was no warning before he touched her throat. She couldn’t suppress her gasp or her jerk of surprise. But still he didn’t move, just waited for her to settle and return to the same position. Again, his cool lips touched her neck. Shards of fear sprayed outward to every nerve-ending she possessed. At least she called it fear, because even that was easier to bear.
Tensing even further, she curled her fingers into a fist, around the air, around the stake, and waited for the pain of his bite.
Concentrate on the stake. It’s all that could save your life. Her neck prickled with sensation. It was his tongue, licking over her vein.
Oh Jesus Christ, help me…
“It will numb the pain,” he said unexpectedly, and the movement of his lips against her skin made her shudder. She managed to nod, and then his lips closed more strongly, like a lover’s kiss. It was hard to keep still, to ignore the damp heat forming between her thighs. His teeth grazed her vein, and bit.
Her mouth opened without permission, but at least her cry was silent. There wasn’t even pain to speak of, just the shock of his teeth sinking into her, and then the faint, strangely sensual pull of his mouth against her skin, scattering novel sensations through her entire body. Her vein seemed to contract; she could feel the blood being drawn out of her and into him. It was weird, cold, intriguing…and achingly pleasurable. His lips moved on her skin, his tongue lapped, his suck deepened and strengthened; and everything inside her, her very womb, seemed to pulse under the insistent tug of his mouth.
A tiny sound gurgled deep in her throat. She clung on to the stake, as if to sanity, while her free hand clutched at the quilt and then at his shirt for support. And then, it seemed, it was over.
The draw of blood stopped; his teeth detached from her throat, and he raised his head to examine her. His face seemed cloudy; his gray eyes had darkened and yet somehow blazed almost silver with a lust that drove straight between her legs.
“Hunter blood is sweet,” he whispered. “You taste…good.”
Without warning, he pushed her down onto the pillow and loomed over her. Panting, she tried to reposition the stake, but he was too close, and he gave her no time.
“More,” he said huskily and returned to her throbbing throat.
Since he half lay across her, heart to heart, there was little she could do. Her stake lay on its side between them, useless until she could draw it free and plunge it into his back. Except, God help her, she didn’t want to.
The slow, delicious pull of his mouth on her throat began again, but stronger this time and more rhythmic. It couldn’t have been more different from the act of violence she’d witnessed earlier when he’d killed a vampire almost instantly with his bite. The strong, slow, beats of his undead heart vibrated through her chest, as if speaking to her own, galloping pulse. Cords of pleasure seemed to have formed between his mouth and her sensitized breasts, squashed beneath the hardness of his chest, and all other pleasure points of her body. Between her legs was throbbing, aching lust. She began to move under his mouth, rubbing her breasts against him, circling her hips in search of the comfort she needed deep inside her.
My God, I’m going to orgasm from his bite. This isn’t possible. Oh God, he’s killing me, and I love it.
She couldn’t just give in to this urge to do nothing, to reach for more. It wasn’t in her nature to surrender, but she had never imagined it would be this hard to resist being slaughtered. Forcing herself, she dragged her hand and stake free from between their bodies. She found his back, and through his T-shirt, counted his vertebrae with her fingertips until she found the position of his heart.
His back, his whole body moved, undulating with the passage of her fingers, as if he welcomed her attentions as caresses. Delicately, she placed the pointed end of the stake...
To enter Part 3 of the contest, complete both steps below!
Step 1. Answer the following question in the Comments section of this post: What do you think happens next? (Feel free to be as serious, funny or imaginative as you like :)).
Step 2. Go to my Facebook page, "Like" it, if you haven't already done so, and post a comment there about this excerpt or about the book in general - you'll see a post there about this contest.
When you've done that, you have one entry to the contest!
All four parts of the contest will end at midnight EST Friday night/Saturday morning, so you must have all your entries in by then! You may enter as few or as many parts as you like.
Watch out for the fourth and final part of the Contest tomorrow!
Good luck!
Marie
Natural
enemies, deadly attraction:
Awwww - knowing you Marie, she's gonna drop the stake and they make mad passionate love for hours -
ReplyDeletekk
:) Maybe, maybe not, kk! Only one way to find out :).
DeleteMarie
What KK said. She might give him a tiny bit o' stake to remind him to shift his attention elsewhere. He'll get the hint. My, that is hot. Very, very hot.
ReplyDeleteHello, Kate! Good idea :). And I'm very glad to hear it :).
DeleteMarie
She won't stab him with the stake, she will probably have a little bit of fun with him. lol.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe she deserves a bit if fun, Amy :). Only one way to find out!
DeleteMarie
Awesome scene Marie with her offering her neck! Loved you shared this part of the book! It made me shudder reading it, more like goosebumps! I know what I would love to see happen next, for her to change her mind and surrender!. I think he'll probably turn the places around once that blood gave him his strength back and take her by surprise!
ReplyDeletecathiecaffey @ gmail . com
Thanks, Cathie, and you're welcome! And good guess, but I'm not saying it's right :).
DeleteMarie
Hi i think she stood her grounds and he got his feelings hurt but didn't let her know that and didn't get anywhere's with her. Thanks for the giveaway i need the Gc so i can buy all these books thanks joannie jscddmj {at]aol[dot] com
ReplyDeleteFB name is joannie sparks
Different idea, Joannie - you're partly right, although I won't spoil the story by telling you which part :).
DeleteSounds like an excellent use of a gift card to me! Good luck :).
(Oh, and I can't see any post of yours on my Facebook page - you need to go there to complete Step 2 of the Contest...).
Marie