Standalone - Boys of Winter #11
Release - October 11, 2022
Genre - Sports Romance / brother's friend / forced proximity
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 3 out of 5 / a couple of semi-descriptive scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 181 pages
Publisher - Indie

My Two Cents

About the Author

Check out https://www.srgrey.com for more information

──────　♔　──────

Playing for Keeps by R.L. Mathewson

Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to be sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just what the bad boy next door is capable of.

The last thing Jason expected was for his little shy neighbor to go Rambo on him over some ruined flowers. After he decides to take her under his wing he can't help but that notice that she fits very nicely in his life. Now the only thing left is to convince her that this is anything but a game.



Reading this story again was like reading it for the first time. I loved it years ago and I've realized I love it even more now!

Haley and Jason were amazing together. Hilarious, sweet, sexy, and fun, they were a joy to read.

He was a neighbor from Hell before he became the best friend Haley could ever ask for. And then... he became so much more. He was reluctant to love, but when he did, he did it well. I loved the way these characters loved each other.


The drama Haley created was expected. I didn't like it but it did give me a heck of a lot of laughs. Jason was just as stubborn as she was and knew they belonged together. And when he gave up the fight and she took up the battle, I swooned. I love when the both characters can make me into a sappy mess.

All jokes about the food and Jason's never-ending stomach aside, this story was super sexy and sweet. I've already read so much of this series and I can't wait to read them again!


New York Times Bestselling author, R.L. Mathewson was born in Massachusetts. She’s known for her humor, quick wit and ability to write relatable characters. She currently has several paranormal and contemporary romance series published including the Neighbor from Hell series.

Growing up, R.L. Mathewson was a painfully shy bookworm. After high school she attended college, worked as a bellhop, fast food cook, and a museum worker until she decided to take an EMT course. Working as an EMT helped her get over her shyness as well as left her with some fond memories and some rather disturbing ones that from time to time show up in one of her books.

Today, R.L. Mathewson is the single mother of two children that keep her on her toes. She has a bit of a romance novel addiction as well as a major hot chocolate addiction and on a perfect day, she combines the two.

I won't sleep as long as I know she's not safe.
My own safety is only worthwhile as long as I can protect her.

Standalone - Corsairs #0.5
Release - May 7, 2017
Genre - SciFi Romance / prison trope
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5 / no intercourse until the end, but plenty of sexy times
Format/Source - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 135 pages
Publisher - Indie

Goodreads * Amazon (FREE with KU)

My Two Cents

Quick Peek

About the Author

For more on this author, visit http://www.rubydixon.com/

Standalone - The Court of the Underworld #4
Release - June 14, 2020
Genre - Paranormal Romance / mythological legend retelling
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5 / a couple of descriptive scenes
Format/Source - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Length - 212 pages
Publisher - Thornstar Publishing Pty Ltd

Goodreads * Amazon (Free with KU)

My Two Cents

About the Author

Find out more about this author at https://alessathornauthor.com/

Standalone - Immortals After Dark #4
Release - April 29, 2008
Genre - Paranormal Romance / vamps, demons, valkyries, witches, ghost
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5 / a few scenes
Format/Source - ebook borrowed from the library
Length - 401 pages
Publisher - Pocket Books

My Two Cents

Excerpt

You can find the prologue here: https://kresleycole.com/books/dark-needs-at-nights-edge/

About the Author

Visit http://www.kresleycole.com for more information

For the first time in forever, he was stunned to silence. Not by her words, but by the tenderness in her hands, the worry in her eyes. He was an archangel. He’d been wounded far, far worse and shrugged it off. But then, there had been no woman with sun kissed by the sunset and eyes of storm gray to tear into him for daring to get himself hurt.

Guild Hunter #3
Release - January 25, 2011
Genre - Paranormal Romance / angels, vamps, hunters
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5 / several scenes
Format/Source - ebook from the library / I own the paperback
Length - 377 pages
Publisher - Berkley

My Two Cents

Excerpt

You can read Chapter One here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/guild-hunter-series/archangels-consort/

About the Author

Visit http://www.nalinisingh.com/ for more information

He'd kill for her, destroy for her, savage anyone who dared attempt to take her from him.
And he would never let her go...even if she begged for her freedom.

Guild Hunter #2
Release - February 2, 2010
Genre - Paranormal Romance / angels, vamps, hunters
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5 / several scenes
Format/Source - ebook from the library / I own the paperback
Length - 352 pages
Publisher - Berkley

My Two Cents

Excerpt

You can read Chapter One here: https://nalinisingh.com/books/guild-hunter-series/archangels-kiss/

About the Author

He closed his eyes, dropping his forehead against hers. “You’ll be the death of me, Elena.”
She smiled. “You need a little excitement in that boring old life of yours.

Guild Hunter #1
Release - March 3, 2009
Genre - Paranormal Romance / angels, vampires, hunters
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5 / one real scene
Format/Source - ebook from the library / I own the paperback
Length - 368 pages
Publisher - Berkley

My Two Cents

Excerpt

Elena’s instincts were screaming at her to grab the knife in her boot, do some damage and get the hell out, but she forced herself to stay in place. The truth was, she wouldn’t make it more than two feet before Raphael broke every single bone in her body.

It was exactly what he’d done to a vampire who’d thought to betray him.

That vampire had been found in the centre of Times Square. He’d still been alive. And he’d still been trying to scream—“No! Raphael, no!” But his voice had been a rasp by then, his jaw hanging on by stringlike tendons, his flesh missing in places.

Elena—out of the country on a hunt—had seen the news footage after the event. She knew the vamp had lain there in agony for three hours before being picked up by a pair of angels. Everyone in New York, hell, everyone in the country, had known he was there, but no one had dared help him, not with Raphael’s mark blazing on his forehead. The archangel had wanted the punishment witnessed, wanted to remind people of who and what he was. It had worked. Now the mere mention of his name evoked visceral fear.

But Elena wouldn’t crawl, not for anyone. It was a choice she’d made the night her father had told her to get on her knees and beg, and maybe, maybe, he’d accept her back into the family. Elena hadn’t spoken to her father in a decade.

“You should have a care,” Raphael said into the unnatural silence.

She didn’t collapse in relief—the air continued to hang heavy with the promise of menace. “I don’t like to play games.”

“Learn.” He settled back in his chair. “You will live a very short life if you expect only honesty.”

Sensing the danger had passed—for now—she unclenched her fingers with an effort of will. The force of the blood rushing back into them was painful in its extremity. “I didn’t say I expected honesty. People lie. Vampires lie. Even—” She caught herself.

“Surely you’re not going to practice discretion now?” The amusement was back but it was tempered with an edge that stroked like a razor across her skin.

She looked into that perfect face and knew she’d never met a more deadly being in her life. If she displeased him, Raphael would kill her as easily as she might swat a fly. She’d be smart to remember that, no matter how the knowledge infuriated her. “You said I had to do a test?”

His wings moved slightly at that instant, drawing her attention. They truly were beautiful and she couldn’t help but covet them. To be able to fly…what an amazing gift.

Raphael’s eyes shifted to look at something over her left shoulder. “Less a test than an experiment.”

She didn’t twist around, had no need to. “There’s a vampire behind me.”

“Are you sure?” His expression remained unchanged.

She fought the urge to turn. “Yes.”

He nodded. “Look.”

Wondering which was worse—having her back to an enigmatic and highly unpredictable archangel, or to an unknown vampire—she hesitated. In the end, her curiosity won out. There was a distinctly satisfied expression on Raphael’s face and she wanted to know what had put it there.

Shifting, she turned sideways with her whole body, the position allowing her to keep Raphael in her peripheral vision. Then she looked at the two…creatures who stood behind her. “Jesus.”

“You may go.” Raphael’s voice was a command that awakened absolute terror in the eyes of the one who looked vaguely human. The other scuttled away like the animal it was.

She watched them leave through the glass door and swallowed. “How old was…” She couldn’t call that thing a vampire. Neither had it been human.

“Erik was Made yesterday.”

“I didn’t know they could walk at that age.” It was an attempt to sound professional though she was creeped out to her toes.

“He had a little help.” Raphael’s tone made it clear that that was all the answer she was going to get. “Bernal is…a fraction older.”

She reached for the juice she’d rejected earlier and took a drink, trying to wash away the stink that had seeped into her pores. The older vamps didn’t have that ick factor. They—except for the unusual ones like the doorvamp—simply smelled of vampire, like she smelled human. But the very young ones, they had a certain rotten-cabbage/putrid flesh smell that she always had to scrub three times over to get rid of. It was why she’d begun collecting the body washes and perfumes. After her initial contact with one of the newly Made, she’d thought she’d never get the smell out of her head.

“I didn’t think a hunter would be so disturbed at the sight of the just Made.” Raphael’s face appeared oddly shadowed, until she realized he’d raised his wings slightly.

Wondering if that implied focus or anger, she put down the glass. “I’m not, not really.” True enough now that that first, instinctive flash of disgust had passed. “It’s the smell…like a coating of fur on your tongue. No matter how hard you scrape, you can’t get it off.”

Open interest showed on his face. “The feeling is that intense?”

She shivered and looked around the table for something else to take the edge off. When he pushed a cut grapefruit in her direction, she dug into it with relish. “Uh-huh.” The citrus fruit’s acidic juices dampened the reek a little. At least enough that she could think.

“If I asked you to track Erik, could you?”

She shivered at the memory of those almost-dead/not-quite-alive eyes. No wonder people believed those stories about vampires being the walking dead. “No. I think he’s too young.”

“What about Bernal?”

“He’s on the bottom floor of the building right now.” The barely-Made vampire’s odor was so noxious, it permeated the building. “In the lobby.”

Golden tipped wings spread to shadow the table as Raphael put his hands together in a slow clap. “Well done, Elena. Well, done.”

She looked up from the grapefruit, belatedly aware she’d just proven how good she was when she should’ve flubbed it and gotten out of this, whatever “this” was. Shit. But at least he’d given her some idea of the job. “Do you want me to track a rogue?”

He rose from his chair in a sudden, liquid movement. “Wait a moment.”

She watched, transfixed, as he walked to the edge of the roof. He was a being of such incredible splendor that simply seeing him move made her heart squeeze. It didn’t matter that she knew it was a mirage, that he was as deadly as the filleting knife she carried strapped to her thigh. No one, not even she, could deny that Raphael the Archangel was a man made to be admired. To be worshipped.

That utterly wrong thought snapped her out of her dazed state. Pushing back her chair, she stared hard at his back. Had he been messing with her head? Right then, he turned and she met the agonizing blue of his eyes. For a second, she thought he was answering her question. Then he looked away…and walked off the roof.

She jumped up. Only to sit back down, blush reddening her cheeks, when he winged upward to meet an angel she hadn’t seen until that moment. Michaela. The female equivalent of Raphael, her beauty so intense that Elena could feel the force of it even from this distance. She had the startling realization that she was looking at a mid-air meeting between two archangels.

“Sara’s never going to believe this.” She forgot the stench of young vampire for the moment, her attention hijacked. She’d seen photos of Michaela, but they came nowhere close to the reality of her.

The other archangel had skin the color of the most exquisite, fine milk-chocolate and a shining fall of hair that cascaded to her waist in a wild mass. Her body was quintessentially female, slender and curvy at the same time, her wings a delicate bronze that shimmered against the richness of her skin. Her face… “Wow.” Even from this distance, Michaela’s face was perfection given form. Elena fancied she could see her eyes—a bright, impossible green—but knew she had to be imagining it. They were too far away.

It made little difference. The female archangel had a face that would not only stop traffic, it would cause a few pileups in the process.

Elena frowned. Despite her appreciation for Michaela’s looks, she was having no trouble thinking straight. Which meant the damn arrogant blue-eyed bastard had been fucking with her mind. He wanted her to worship him? They’d see about that.

No one, not even an archangel, was going to turn her into a puppet.

As if he’d heard her, Raphael said something to his fellow archangel and winged back down to the roof. His landing was a lot more showy this time. She was sure he paused to display the pattern on the inside surface of his wings. It was as if a brush dipped in gold had started at the top edge of each wing and then stroked downward, fading to white as it neared the bottom. In spite of her fury, she had to face the truth: If the devil—or an archangel—came to her and offered her wings, she might just sell him her soul.

But the angels didn’t Make other angels. They only made blood-drinking vampires. Where angels came from, no one knew. Elena guessed they were born to angelic parents…though, come to think of it, she’d never actually seen a baby angel.

Her thoughts derailed again as she watched the fluid grace of Raphael’s walk, so seductive…so perfect.

Standing up, she sent her chair crashing to the tiles. “Get. Out. Of. My. Head!”

Raphael came to a standstill. “Do you intend to use that knife?” His words were ice. She felt blood scent the air and realized it was her own.

Looking down, she found her hand clenching on the blade of the knife she’d drawn instinctively from the sheath at her ankle. She’d never have made such a mistake. He was forcing her to hurt herself, showing her she was nothing but a toy for him to play with. Instead of fighting, she squeezed harder. “If you want me to do a job for you, fine. But I won’t be manipulated.”

His eyes flicked over the blood seeping from her fist. He didn’t have to say anything.

“You might be able to control me,” she said, in response to the silent mockery on his face, “but if that would’ve gotten the job done, you’d have never gone through the farce of hiring me. You need me, Elena Deveraux, not one of your little vampire flunkies.”

Her hand unclenched in a violent spasm as he made her release the blade. It fell to the ground with a thud cushioned to softness by the blood that had pooled below. She didn’t move, didn’t attempt to stem the flow.

And when Raphael walked to stand less than a foot from her, she stood her ground.

“So, you think you have me over a barrel?” The sky was a seamless blue but Elena felt storm winds whip her hair completely out of its coil.

“No.” She let his scent—clean, bright, of the sea—settle over the lingering coat of vampire on her tongue. “I’m ready to walk away without a backward look, return the deposit you paid the Guild.”

“That,” he said, picking up a napkin and wrapping it around her hand, “is not an option.”

Startled by the unexpected act, she closed her hand to help slow the bleeding. “Why not?”

“I want you to do this,” he responded, as if that was reason enough. And for an archangel, it was.

“What’s the job? Retrieval?”

“Yes.”

Relief began to wash through her like the rain she could feel so close. But no, it was his scent, that fresh bite of water. “All I need to start with, is something the vampire wore recently. If you have a general location, even better. If not, I’ll get the Guild’s computer geniuses on tracking public transport and bank records etcetera, while I hunt on the ground.” Her mind was already at work, considering and discarding options.

“You mistake me, Elena. It’s not a vampire I want you to find.”

That halted her in her tracks. “You’re looking for a human? Well, I can do it but I really don’t have any advantage over a good private investigator.”

“Try again.”

Not vampire. Not human. That left…“An angel?” she whispered. “No.”

“No,” he agreed and, once again, she felt the cool brush of relief. It lasted until he said, “An archangel.”

Elena stared at him. “You’re joking.”

His cheekbones stood out starkly against the sun-kissed smoothness of his skin. “No. The Cadre of Ten does not joke.”

Her stomach curdled at the reference to the Cadre—if Raphael was any example of their lethal power, she never wanted to meet that august body. “Why are you tracking an archangel?”

“That, you do not need to know.” His tone was final. “What you do need to know is that if you succeed in finding him, you’ll be rewarded with more money than you can hope to spend in your lifetime.”

Elena glanced at the bloodstained napkin. “And if I fail?”

“Don’t fail, Elena.” His eyes were mild but his smile, it spoke of things better not said aloud. “You intrigue me—I’d hate to have to punish you.”

Her mind flashed to that image of the vampire in Times Square, that broken mess that had once been a person…Raphael’s definition of punishment.

About the Author

Ever since he laid eyes on Eveline Marceau, Ramses wanted to possess her. Inside and out.
He wanted to own every fiber of her being.

──────　♔　──────

Dark Possession by Aja James

Alend Ramses is not who he seems…

The first-ever Dark King, the most powerful vampire ruler in the world, was once the lowest of the low. A slave who became a Consort who became a King…he’s lived long enough to learn from his mistakes and never repeat them.

Or has he?

Eveline Marceau knows a lot…

The Pure Ones’ Seer and Scribe is an intellectual female with hidden depths, which no male across time has come close to uncovering. She is certain that Ramses is no different; she knows what she wants, and he is exactly opposite.

But she doesn’t know everything.

Their paths cross unexpectedly…

Pulled into the Dark Ones’ dizzying world of intrigue, violence and mayhem, the meek little “librarian” shows her steely backbone and holds her own. By all appearances, she is one of the Dark King’s possessions, a symbol and portent for a potential future as tensions between the Dark Ones and their enemies run high.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Can Eveline work with Ramses to steer Destiny in the right direction, or will history once again repeat itself toward a bloody, oppressive end?

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)

Once again, Aja James gave me an honorable, broken hero to sink my teeth into. Had me feeling like fighting Eveline for the privilege!

Matter of fact, Eveline wasn't doing bad herself. I absolutely adored the way she transformed once she met Ramses. Dark Possession a.k.a. The Evolution of Eveline was a sensually frustrating masterpiece.

Honestly, I found so much to love about this book... like the way Eveline was mesmerized by Ramses and his #phallus elephantas.

She had the almost irresistible urge to rub her face in his inviting crotch.

Could crotches be inviting? Apparently, Ramses’ was.

Unconsciously, Eveline licked her dry lips at the sight.

She was so, so starved.

“Thirsty?” He asked solicitously in that sinful, dark chocolate voice.

She swallowed with an audible gulp.

His chest seemed to shake, and if Eveline was paying attention to anything above his waistline, she would have seen that it was shaking with barely suppressed amusement.

“Hungry?”

He was taunting her. Some self-preserving part of her brain just knew that he was.

Right on cue, his penis bobbed and pulsed again, squeezing out more clear fluid, the fat, juicy head with its winking slit looking directly at her. (If penises could look, that was).

As if to say, come take a good long suck. Eat my cream until you’re full to bursting. I’ll satisfy all of your most wanton and depraved appetites.

Can these two be more delicious together?!

I loved that although this book heavily featured Ramses and Eveline, there was still something about their story that fed into the subplot that has been building throughout this entire series. For example, I need more information about The Eagle King. I was hoping that he and Ramses would finally have the conversation that seemed to be so necessary, but no. I want them to confront Ramses' regret over their first encounter when he turned his back on his own kind. I wanted the Eagle to share their origins and their bond. I want all of these beings to finally unite so that Medusa and Wan'er don't stand a chance.

If I didn't already not care a dang lick about Queen Ashlu before, this book... getting Ramses story... seeing how she used, abused, and manipulated him... I definitely hate her now.

When he was smaller, she used to sift her fingers through his ebony curls while she hugged him to her bosom as a loving mother would. She doted on him and carved time out of every day to spend with him. Playing, dreaming, making him laugh, feeding him food and drink from her own hands.

Was it any wonder that he loved her unconditionally? His beautiful, magical Dark Queen.

He never suspected that it was all pretense.

Good thing she's dead.

I did think that it took far too long for Ramses to wise up to who Queen Ashlu truly was. At times, I thought it made him pathetic. But then I remembered she had him since he was a baby. So it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he would have a blindspot when it came to her. However, to die at the age of 11 as a Pure One because he gave himself to her when she didn't love him back (thanks Decline), to be reborn as a Dark One and rededicate himself to the same person who didn't love him... He took to long to walk away.

Although Ramses was disgusted and repulsed by having sex in order to expedite negotations between the houses, I'm so glad that Eveline quickly stepped up to sabotage his efforts. That entire scene where she cursed one of the vampire queens was hilarious. Like her, I didn't understand why he put himself through it all. He was a fearless leader. Feared and respected. It just wasn't necessary and it was gross and I'm just thrilled that I didn't have to go through seeing anything yucky.

After all these millennia, Eveline found him.

Though she, too, hadn’t been searching.

They’d found each other.

They’d come home.

I don't know what the mating of Eveline and Ramses means for the two houses. Will the Cove and the Shield finally operate as one unit? It would be smart, no? Will Ramses and The Eagle King have 'the talk'? Will The Eagle King feature in a big way in the story to come? And when the heck will Medusa and Wan'er finally die? They will die, right?!

I'm full of questions and curiosity and the only solution is to keep reading and falling in love with all of these characters, the author's writing, and the beautiful story that is too quickly coming to an end.

Oh, and what does this prophecy mean?

A queen becomes Queen

A slave becomes Mate

A King falls in flames

A winner loses in games

A queen gives way

A Mate displaced

A Champion reborn

A King transformed

A stone heart in fire

A soul dances higher

When True Love reveals

And old wounds heal.

Check out the previous books:

“Which part of me do you want to possess the most?” he rasped into her ear, softly biting the tender lobe.

“Which part of me do you hunger for the most?”

Her busy little hands gave his buttocks a hard, thorough squeeze before curving around his hips to grasp his manhood through his trousers in one fist while the other took a firm hold of his balls.

He shuddered against her and ground into her grip, fucking her hand in short bursts until his pre-cum leaked profusely from the head, wetting her palm even through the confining fabric.

“This?”

He knew without a doubt that she craved his sex, but he still wanted to hear her say it.

“Yes,” she breathed, squeezing him tightly with both hands, making him see stars.

At the same time, he was afraid. Females the world over wanted him. It was the primal maleness of him, the elemental strength and power. Ashlu had wanted him for the same reason, and he’d used her sexual desire to bind her to him.

But with Eveline, he wanted her to want more from him. To want him the way he wanted her.

Loved her.

He bit back a helpless groan at the truth of it. He loved her completely. Utterly.

He loved the way she stood up to him, since the first moment they met. She always held her ground, not giving him an inch. He loved the way she focused on her work, how she truly enjoyed and was inspired by her role amongst the immortals.

He loved the way she became doggedly obsessed when she wanted something, how despite being an imminently logical, intellectual female, she also had a fiery, implacable temper, a possessive, jealous streak as wide as the Nile. He even loved the quirky nicknames she thought up to call him in retaliation for his calling her “little sprite.”

Most of all, he loved her passionate heart, her courage and loyalty, how she didn’t hesitate to go after him, and to try to help a complete stranger in the eagle king, even after he abducted her.

This depth of feeling obliterated everything he thought he knew. The closest he’d felt to this before was merely obsession.

This…

This was irrevocable, permanent possession. His body stilled against her, though tremors of a different kind racked him. Doubt. Vulnerability. Surrender.

And undiluted, all-consuming love.

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Standalone - a Demonica novella/1001 Dark Nights
Release - August 24, 2021
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/a few of scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the publisher
Page Count - approx. 200
Publisher - 1001 Dark Nights Press

Purchase Links

My Two Cents

About the Author

Pure/Dark Ones #7
Release - January 1, 2019
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5
Format/Source - Kindle purchase
Page Count - 239
Publisher - Indie

“I want you.”

She stated the words as if she were throwing down a gauntlet.

He looked back at her intently, searching those intense blue eyes for some depth of feeling beyond superficial lust.

But he couldn’t see inside of her. She was, and always had been, closed off to him.

One of Seth’s Gifts was the ability to detect the desires of others, the better to negotiate and mediate. All he’d ever felt from Jade was sexual aggression and hunger for pleasure. He could never tell whether these were the only things she wanted, or that these were the only things she allowed herself to want.

“My blood,” Seth clarified.

“Yes.”

“My body.”

“Yessss.”

“That is all?”

She narrowed her eyes.

What did he want her to say? She didn’t have patience for guessing games.

“That is plenty,” she said. “I want to renegotiate our deal. What do you want for your blood and body? Unlimited access. Sole ownership. Name your price.”

A sharp, splintering pain exploded within Seth’s heart.

“You want me to be your Blood Slave,” he rasped out, his eyes boring into hers.

Her gaze flickered slightly as if she knew she’d hurt him with her demand, but wasn’t sure why.

“We don’t have to call it that,” she coaxed. “We don’t need to formalize the ritual. You would simply give me your word that you’re mine. Only mine.”

“I cannot be owned that way,” he stated quietly.

“Everyone and everything can be had for a price,” she resolutely refuted. “It is how I built this Hive, the strongest vampire Hive in the world.”

The look in her eyes gentled slightly as she considered him.

“I would treat you well, Pure One,” she promised softly. “I would only take my pleasure with you, if that’s what you want. I would forsake all other males, and keep you always by my side.”

“Like a pet.”

Jade sat back as the waitress came to take their plates away and put the check on the table.

She was nonplussed.

She was offering him carte blanche access to her Hive, her resources, her power and influence, in return for mutual pleasure and gratification. Yet he was obviously extremely put out, if the muscle ticking in his jaw were any indication.

Perhaps she should have thought through her strategy better.

But this was their last day together. She wanted more days like this.

Infinitely more.

She was desperate to possess him totally, elated to know that no one ever truly had.

She wanted to mark him, claim him, own him before Destiny decided to loan him to any other female.

He was hers.

She needed to make him hers.

Mine, the primitive beast inside of her growled.

“We should go,” he said and stood, after paying the bill, his ever calm and polite mask once more encasing his face.

She took his arm as they walked out of the dessert shop together, the better to lean in and ask, “You’ll consider it?”

“No.”

“But—”

He turned to face her on the sidewalk and clutched her close so that their conversation couldn’t be overheard by humans going about their day.

“I will not be your whore.”

“That’s not—”

“I cannot be bought.”

“You—”

He held her shoulders and shook her a little, finally losing some of his cool.

"Don't," he ground out.

"Don't," he repeated when she opened her mouth to speak.

I do not f*ck on command. I am not built that way. I will never give anyone the power to reduce me into a collection of flesh and bones and blood. I am more than that. And if you wanted to pretend that you are my wife, you would know that. You would respect who I am."