Awakening
In Print part of the Night Whispers Anthology Volume 1ISBN 0-97853-688-6 (Print)
Whispers Publishing
Branlyn Carmichael has been having dreams. Sensual, hot dreams about a stranger with long,blond hair and pale eyes. A stranger yet he is somehow familiar. Nightly he visits, awakening not just her body, but also her memories. Memories of her childhood home and the horrible tragedy she witnessed there.
After fifteen years of running, it is time to go back to face her past. She can no longer deny the events she has seen or her connection to them.
When she returns she finds her dream man waiting for her not in her mind but in her bed. He is flesh and blood claiming to be her protector, sent to shield her from a dark seductive power that wants to possess her body.
The closer Branlyn comes to the truth, the further she races from reality. Soon she is spiraling down into a place of darkness where vampires are real and a battle is raging between two factions of the same world. Caught in the middle, she finds safety and passion in her guardian’s arms. She is drawn to him like no other. It is within him that she discovers the secret to end the war. However, there is a price to unlock it... her soul.
Excerpt
The long, filmy, red curtains billowed out from the open windows fluttering around her naked form like silken wings. Stepping through them, she approached the four-poster bed, draped in white satin sheets, in the center of the empty expansive room.
With each step, her heart hammered painfully in her chest. Sweat trickled down her back and soft flutters of desire began to flicker between her legs.
The dream was the same every time.
The thought of seeing him naked on the bed brought swells of delight surging through her body. Already she was wet with an intense craving that left her breathless.
As she neared the bed, she could see the outline of him lying on the satin covers through the translucent white curtains hanging down from the canopy. With a trembling hand, she lifted the drape from the bed and kneeled onto the mattress.
He was waiting for her, like he did every night. Stretched out across the bed, his head supported by his hand, he looked like a golden angel. His long blond hair was arranged artfully over his shoulders and fanned out around him like spun gold. He had flawless skin the color of alabaster and it only accentuated the ripples of muscle in his arms, chest, stomach, and legs. Everything about him screamed perfection. But it was his eyes that had always drawn her.
Pale as moonlight and just as mysterious, they pulled at her insides. When he looked at her, she was like raw clay in his hands with which he could do anything he wanted.
"I have been waiting for you, my love."
His crisp lilting voice sang in her head reminding her of a bubbling brook, much like the one in the garden of her childhood home. Smiling, she slid onto the bed, nestled her body next to his. His heat penetrated her skin and warmed her blood. When he touched her, she knew nothing but his flavor, his intensity. Here, in his arms, passion was the only thing that existed.
"And I am here." Lifting her head, she pressed her lips to his.
Raising his hand, he buried it into the tangle of her long auburn hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She sighed as his tongue touched hers in a long liquid dance. Ripples of pleasure coursed over her gathering into a tight sizzling ball right at her center. Thinking no longer seemed possible as pulse after throbbing pulse surged up from between her quivering legs.
His palm cupped her cheek. With one last press of his lips, he pulled back and gazed into her eyes.
"It is time, Branlyn."
"Hmm?" She sighed, cuddling into his warmth.
"You have run for long enough."
Closing her eyes against the memories of another time, she shook her head. "It is never long enough."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I know it is painful, but you must return."
"I can't."
"You can and you must." He snuggled into her neck and kissed her gently. "It is time you went home."
4 1/2 Kisses from Romance Divas
"Vivi Anna wrote an awesome paranormal erotica with plot twists and sexy characters combining to form a compelling story that keeps you turning the pages until the very end. The ending of may not be for everyone, as it is not the traditional "happy ever after", but it is satisfying."
- Christina Cross, Romance Divas