Sneak Peek Sunday - November 17 - Mortal Illusions #SPeekSunday #Vampires #Romance

For a vampire, love means watching someone you care about die.

Sneak Peek Sunday is a weekly excerpt hop where each author shares six paragraphs from a published work or a WIP (work in progress).

My submission for this week is from my 1st book, Mortal Illusions. A vampire romance published by New Concepts Publishing, Mortal Illusions is currently the first in a series of 3 books.  Its sequel, Fatal Desire, is currently under production.

In this excerpt, which is the beginning of the first chapter, Germaine St. Justine has sensed his former lover's pain and visits her in the hospital in an effort to ease her suffering.  After some gentle teasing combined with a soothing back rub, he gently bites her neck and draws out a few seconds worth of blood, then uses a hypodermic needle to withdraw blood from his arm.  When he informs her he is not there to transform her, she asks the man who had been her lover over twenty years before, if he's there then to watch her die

             He injected his blood into the juice and stirred the mixture until the liquid turned the color of summer-ripened strawberries.  "It's Germaine now," he advised, easing her into a sitting position.  With her head propped within the curve of his arm, he held the glass to her lips.  "Drink this first, then we'll discuss my plans for you."

            She made a disgruntled face, but did as he asked--just as he knew she would.  He watched her cheeks regain the bloom of health with every swallow.  Joined as they were, he could feel her heart grow stronger as the heat of her low-grade fever broke.  The pain that had lain in waiting just beneath the surface of her consciousness receded into nothingness, and for a moment she was well again.  Lowering his arm from its supportive hold, he fluffed her pillow and raised the electric bed into a more comfortable position for her.

            "How long will it last?" she asked, her question making it clear she had no misconceptions regarding her recovery.

            Germaine watched her carefully for a moment, wanting to be assured she suffered no ill-effects before he answered her.  She had demanded honesty, so he would be honest.  The words he'd use would be as perfunctory as the swift efficiency with which he put away his supplies, but even proficiency with a task did not negate the regret for its necessity.  And Germaine's response, though honest and direct, was also filled with deep regret.

            "Eighteen hours.  Possibly twenty-four."

            "I don't wish to sound ungrateful, . . . Germaine," Marguerite added, as if his changed name was a meaningless ruse rather than an unfortunate but necessary condition to being immortal.  "But haven't you got anything that lasts a little longer--say twenty years?"

A vampire's blood has many healing properties, and though Germaine can't cure Marguerite, he is able to smooth the pathway she must take for her final journey.

M/F, Contemporary vampire romance in a society based on D/s.

Read the first three chapters at: Mortal Illusions

Buy the book at NCP, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or ARe

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt and want more. Please click the link below to continue your hop Sneak Peek Sunday Wishing you a wonderful journey.