Mortal Bite

The Golden Vampires of Tuscany #2

Published: February 10, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Print Length: 257 Pages

Formats: Print, Ebook, Audio

Book Summary

Golden Vampire Paolo Monteleone begins raising a son he did not know he fathered, after the murder of the boy's mother. He meets a beautiful human college professor, Carabella Sampson, at a Halloween costume ball. She is an expert on vampire lore, but doesn’t quite believe in their existence. Paolo dresses up as himself: a vampire.

A dark coven leader has targeted her for elimination, before she can reveal secrets of the Golden Vampire lineage she's obtained from an ancient book. Can there be a happily ever after if either his lover or his young son has to pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Golden Vampire race? And how in the world will Paolo be able to choose which one to save?

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Excerpt

“Your food, Carabella,” Paolo said as he leaned very close and whispered in her ear. The feel of his warm breath on the side of her face brought her gently out of her trance. One hand rested on her shoulder, and the other offered a plate of crisp romaine covered in slices of chicken breast and grated Romano cheese.He sat across from her and raised his wineglass. She raised her iced tea and sipped, dropping her eyes. But he did not.“You aren’t eating?” she said.“My schedule’s been hectic. I ate something earlier. Sorry.”

She shrugged her shoulders and breathed in deeply to gather herself. She picked up her fork and began to dig into the salad. He was leaning back, tipping the wooden chair, and smiling right at her.

“Have we met before?” she asked between bites.

Whatever are you doing? Where did that come from?

“No. I think I would have remembered.” After a brief pause, he added, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just the way you…I don’t know. You act like you know me. Like there’s some joke I’m not privy to.”

His face dropped the smile and he adopted a serious tone. “I’m not joking with you. And I’m sorry if I make you feel…uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s just me. I spook easily.”

“No doubt due to the dark creatures you study all the time.”

Cara had to agree he was right. “My friends say I find conspiracies behind every corner, mysteries everywhere. Drives them crazy sometimes.”

“But it’s what you love.”

It was a strange thing to say, but again he was right.

He leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table, and continued. “Studying mythology and symbolism makes you seek out and notice the unexpected, and things that can’t be explained easily.”

“Like vampires.”

“Exactly.”

“But you don’t believe they exist.”

“God, no.” Her hunger evaporated. “I’m going to take this home and have it for dinner.” She got up and requested a take-home box. After the server left she transferred most of her salad to the cardboard carton. “I’m more thirsty than hungry right now for some reason.”

He nodded.

Cara drank some of her iced tea and crunched on the ice chips. Placing the box and her plate to the side, she leaned onto the table and asked him, “So, what did you think of the ball?”

“It was wonderful. The first one I’ve been to in many years. I’ve missed them. The costumes were…over the top.”

Cara laughed, thinking about some of the outfits. “I’d say you have a fondness for little green faeries.”

“I admit to it,” he said with his hand to his heart. He leaned toward her. “But my fondness for angels is unequaled.”

Cara could feel the blush coming on, and suspected the top of her chest was covered with blotchy red marks. The centers of his eyes took on an iridescent coppery glow, as if small bonfires resided there. He dropped his eyes to her heaving chest and she allowed herself to be admired. When their eyes connected again, something was understood between them.

What is this?

“I’d like to hear about your studies, Cara. May I call you Cara?”

“Please. Well, I became interested in the myth of the vampire because of the symbolism. They represent the ultimate alpha male figure. Strong. All-powerful. Dominant and controlling. Immortal. The ultimate bad boy you wouldn’t want to bring home to meet your mother.”

“Interesting. Go on.”

“Women read romance novels today because they are looking for the hero in their fantasy life they would never find in real life.”

“And you think that’s wrong?”

“Of course not. I read romance novels all the time, especially paranormal romance, with vampire heroes.”

“For pleasure?”

“Yes.”

“And so you began studying them?”

“Well, no. I am new to reading romance. Probably a good thing, too, or I would have never made it through college. Hard to tear me away from my favorites.”

“You like your alpha males.”

“Love them.”

“And do you have alpha males in your real life?”

It was a very personal question and it brought her up short. She grabbed for her iced tea, swallowed heavily and averted her eyes. With her forefinger, she traced the beads of vapor on the outside of her glass of tea. He was very still, awaiting an answer.

“I think the answer to that would be no,” she said to the top of her glass.

He squirmed in his chair, recrossing his long legs, tilting slightly back again. “Tell me more.”

“About my studies or about alpha males?”

“Whatever you want to tell me. Tell me something I wouldn’t think to ask you.”

Another strange question. His proximity made it so she couldn’t respond to the alarm bell sounding somewhere. It was like her body wanted to, but couldn’t for some reason.

“I’ve recently discovered some books by a 19th century Scottish theologian and scholar. He claims to have located the first written recordings of vampire myth. He found evidence of stories of raising the dead, giving life. Sort of like what we read about in novels about a turning.”

“Vampires turning humans. Into vampires.”

“Yes. Only this clergyman claims there was a group of people who worshiped and studied these myths shortly after the time of Christ. He wrote that there were people who practiced these black arts, but also practiced what he calls the Divine Coupling. Like there’s some blood mating ritual.”

The smile had erased from Paolo’s face. Cara knew she’d lost him again.

“I’m sorry. You asked me to tell you something I wouldn’t have normally, and I can see this was a mistake.”

He was watching her fingers move up and down her iced tea tumbler. “Couldn’t these texts be explained away as just a healthy curiosity in sex? It has been something men and women have worshiped and studied for centuries,” he finished.

“No. Well, maybe for others, but that’s not why I’m interested in it. If it’s true, he may have stumbled on the secret to immortality.  I don’t think it was about the sex. It was about living forever, and dealing with living forever. What does one do when one lives forever?”

“He drinks port?”

She smiled, glad he wasn’t taking her seriously. It didn’t hurt her feelings in the slightest. “I keep wondering what sex would be like after having a thousand years of it. Maybe the temples were built, the religion of the divine coupling was created, to fill the needs of a bored society. Maybe some of them didn’t want to live forever, and that was a problem for them.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I think they lost their immortality. On purpose. Chose to be mortal. That’s why they and most of the evidence of their civilization disappeared.”

 

Radio Interviews with Arial Burnz

Sharon Hamilton and JD Hart Speak with Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-jd-hart-giveaways/

Sharon Hamilton Speaks With Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-viola-rivard-giveaways/

Heavenly Lover

Guardian Angel #1

Published December 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Book Length: 279 Pages

Format: Ebook, Print

Book Summary: 

Claire, an unconventional Guardian angel sent to save a sexy Brazilian-born painter from killing himself, discovers Daniel has been preyed upon by a powerful dark angel posing as his best friend and agent. Although successful in saving Daniel’s life, Claire is in danger of losing her own when attraction to her handsome charge blooms into a forbidden love.

The dark angel offers her what she’s only dared to dream about—an eternity with Daniel. Will she sacrifice her soul, or sacrifice a lifetime with a man she knows she was created to love?

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Book Excerpt

Daniel nodded and closed the door. He turned off the lights but left the mess in the living room. He stared at the scene one last time, then shook his head as he climbed the stairs. Claire followed several steps behind, yellow bag over her shoulder. Daniel sighed heavily. He unbuttoned his top while climbing and was bare-chested by the time he approached the last step.

She was startled by a noise downstairs and turned around to see Josh emerging through the front door without opening it. Claire froze. Josh looked first in the corner where she’d been hiding, then around the room, landing his gaze at the bottom of the stairs, ensuring Daniel was out of sight. Josh bowed to the room, looking around afterwards. It was obvious he could not see her.

“Round One goes to the challenger.” He delivered the statement with a smile and disappeared back through the door the way he had come. The thin trail of grey smoke left in his wake smelled faintly of cloves.

Her heart pounded. Everything else was eerily silent.

She focused on the temporary save, pushing away any lingering fear. I told Mother he wouldn’t die tonight.

Anticipation coiled in her stomach and tingled down her spine. She was alone with him now. Time to start her job.

Daniel changed into navy silk pajama bottoms he wore low on his hips, but remained shirtless. He got into bed.

Claire loved the smell of a man’s bedroom when he lived alone—soap, cologne—the personal stuff of a man’s life. This is just the best job in the whole universe.

He lay on his back at first, right arm bent over his head. His long fingers were curled in the palm of his outstretched hand as if he were holding something delicate. A raised blue vein extended from mid forearm all the way to his elbow, snaking across the muscles underneath. He closed his eyes and drifted off to light sleep.

Claire likened these first dream encounters to how an inexperienced young human bride would feel on her wedding night. It was private, this intimate look inside a man’s thoughts to see the secrets of his soul. She never got over the miracle of being inside a dream, exploring the parts of his life. “Rest well, Daniel. I’m here now to help you,” she whispered. “Show yourself to me.”

Startled, she saw a smile on his lips. It soon faded.

He was a delicate balance of beauty and strength, she thought. The moonlight made the well-developed muscles of his shoulders and forearms look like marble. He took good care of his body. She lay down to watch him from the side in the quiet of the night.

No one would ever know about the chaos that occurred this evening, or how close he came to spending eternity in the underworld, his soul lost forever. It made her cold to think of the many files on Mother’s desk. Daniel’s file could have been one of them.

He must be saved. He touches me with magic.

The moon had a crazy effect on humans. It was good they were asleep during its reign. Perhaps it was for protection. Like most Guardians, she preferred the purity and warmth of the sun.

Why not level with these people, tell them Father didn’t run things alone? He was the creator and organizer, but angels were the technicians.

Guardians fix things that are broken.

So the job before her was to inspire Daniel. Her specialty was landscapes screaming with color. She’d done some large purple buildings, turquoise sand and pink snow that looked liked cotton candy. What a delight that he was a painter.

She gently stroked the length of his injured arm, tracing the shallow cuts that crossed a deep blue vein down into the palm of his hand, which suddenly squeezed shut as if to capture her fingers.

Claire sat up at full attention, noticing Daniel stirring. She checked her invisibility. He became fully awake, staring at the ceiling. She cocked her head to the side and watched his sparkling eyes in the moonlight, waiting.

***

Daniel still felt sick to his stomach. How close he’d come to killing himself, to ending the pain. How stupid he’d been. Yeah, Audray had done a number on him, and his career had crashed, but had that been reason enough to give up on life? He mentally thanked the messed-up alarm system, Josh, and the cops who’d stopped him from self-destructing completely.

Yeah, his life was still messed up, but he’d been given a second chance to fix things. He could let that chance go and finish the job he'd started, or he could continue wallowing in self-pity. Or he could pull himself up by the bootstraps and figure out how to get himself out of this nasty mess. Easier said than done. But maybe the only choice. He thought about how far he'd fallen and how fast the ride had been.

He couldn’t get the picture out of his head: Audray being pumped and pleasured on his green couch by some guy with a really hairy ass. After he’d caught them, he’d been left alone with the painting she loved to look at while being f***ed silly. His painting. Her favorite. He’d had to kill that painting.

As his eyes got heavy, he felt his life unravel before him. It all began the day he met her. He used to call it his lucky day. But now he saw there had always been an edge to her. Something otherworldly. Something dangerous. She was different than all the other women he’d ever loved. He was addicted to her presence. His cock was in a continual state of arousal, harder and fatter than it ever had been. That woman pulled him into doing things way outside his comfort zone. Not that he was afraid of life and its sensual side, but Audray demanded he push past his limits. She was always more than he could afford, emotionally, causing some element of pain along with the pleasure. He was powerless to do anything about it until it was too late. She had him in her claws with every ministration, every sensual pleasure she extracted from him.

Daniel allowed the sleep to overtake him and closed his eyes.

Radio Interviews with Arial Burnz

Sharon Hamilton and JD Hart Speak with Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-jd-hart-giveaways/

Sharon Hamilton Speaks With Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-viola-rivard-giveaways/

Friday the 13th

What do you do on Friday the 13th? Avoid ladders, black cats? Do you curl up with a good vampire book or watch a vintage movie on TV? Do any of you remember Creature Feature?

Vampires have become the new alpha male dangerous super hero, replacing the rebel motorcycle gang types of Marlon Brando fame. Yes, those guys were dangerous, and weren't the ones your mama wanted you to date, but you couldn't help but love them anyway. Because they had a heart underneath that rough exterior.

Same for vampires. Except now with the vampiric characters, they are not only sexy and dangerous, but they hold the power of life after death. Authors have written them dozens of ways, from brooding and melancholy, to overly confident and reckless. We love how they have to be careful of their human mates, when they have them. We enjoy reading how they are tamed by mortals, out of love, honor, obligation to do the right thing. How they fight against their animalistic vampiric abilities to adjust to humans. How they pretend to be human.

What do you love about vampires this Friday the 13th? Do you have a particular one you'd like to cuddle up with? One lucky commenter who joins this site will receive a Kindle or Nook version of my new novel, Honeymoon Bite. Learn about my breed of Golden Vampires of Tuscany. Be sure to leave your email address and ebook preference when you make your comment.

And to complete the blog hop stop for a chance to win a free Kindle, please proceed with caution to:

Vampires!

Don't go away just yet! I promise I won't bore you with vampire lore, if you're not a fan, or have gotten tired of them. I think they will be here to stay. Fact is, we've been writing about them since 300 AD. I understand early Hindu writings incorporated vampire lore. They lived in trees, caused mysterious deaths, especially to unsuspecting children and non-believers. Don't know about you, but that's more chilling to me than the ones that are dark and sexy, that heal quickly, are the strongest things on the planet (just about), and have a libido that most humans would envy.

I laugh whenever I hear the comments, "Vampires are out." Just like I laugh whenever I hear, "Angels are too controversial."

I wrote Honeymoon Bite because I had a crit partner who was writing vampires, and I decided to try it. I'd read all of Anne Rice's books, and loved them. Found them very sexy. Except their plumbing didn't work, and I just knew Anne would write some raging love scenes if she hadn't written herself and her characters into a box. Talk about unfulfilled! I learned later on that she wrote erotica under a pen name.

But what she did was bring the dark, brooding vampiric characters to life in memorable ways, and without her, I doubt the Sookies and Bellas would have been created. And now as I read Kressley Cole, Nailini Singh and Larissa Ione, their characters have become a hybrid of several species, even brothers, as in Larissa Ione's Underworld General stories, with different species, depending on their parentage. I like that about paranormal. There are so many things you can do. I have a fallen angel who was a vampire, turned into an angel by accident in the 4th book I'm working on. Why not? It gives us a good basis for why he's got a chip on his shoulder.

I'm itching to get back to the edits on this book so I can send it to my agent. But I have to finish my contemporary first, from a request.

Indulge me. Read my first few paragraphs, and ask yourself if you like this story, would you keep turning the pages, and then go ahead and post your reactions. You're not going to get a nasty comment back, even if it isn't your cup of tea...

Anne looked down on the sleeping form of her new husband and, God help her, he looked like the first man she would murder. Nestled into his arms was the naked body of her Maid of Honor.

It was the second time today the bride had caught them. First was at the reception. In the bathroom.

Monika’s dress and his tux were splayed over the chair and floor, trampled, along with a spilled bottle of champagne, cream satin shoes, a long taffeta slip, a hot pink pushup bra and Robert’s new black socks.

“Not exactly what a bride wants to see on her wedding day.” Anne spoke the chilling words in soft lilting tones, like she had recited her wedding vows that afternoon. It caused the reaction she hoped for. Monika bolted up, her eyes crossed but wide, clutching a sheet to her chest. Robert was scrambling to the floor.

“Don’t bother to put your pants on.”

“Honey—Anne—,” he said in his I’m-so-sorry-I-got-caught voice. His tanned face used to melt her insides, like when he smiled and the sun came out from behind the clouds. But today it wasn’t going to work. Everyone knew it. The bride had murder on her mind.

“I’m so glad you’re all right. We were…” Robert began.

“I’m fine. I can see how worried you were. Touching.” Amidst rustling taffeda and satin, Anne reached down to the handle of her wardrobe roller, stuffed to bursting with brand new clothes for her honeymoon, most with tags still on them. She made sure her money, passport and airline tickets were still zipped into the top pocket.

“Your dress, Anne,” Her former best friend pointed to the red stains down the front. “Is that blood?”

“Catsup.” Anne saw them both flinch. “Not blood. Not yet.”

“Now wait just a minute.” Robert climbed back into the bed and put his arms around Monika, but his body was tucked safely behind hers.

“I’m sorry about all this, Anne. I’ve been a fool.”

Monika turned around and looked at him in a drunken gaze. Maybe she was wising up already.

“No. It wasn’t going to work, you asshole. Don’t you think your timing sucked? Couldn’t you have done it before we did all this?” Anne lifted her skirts as if to curtsy. Robert relaxed and hung his head on Monika’s bare shoulder.

Anne grabbed a black rain slicker and rolled her trousseau out to the hallway. Whispers came from her bedroom. Unzipping her bag, she extracted the red and black outfit she had planned to wear on the plane—the one with the plunging neckline. Locking herself in the bathroom, she shimmied out of her bridal gown and slipped into her new things. Her feet found a comfortable home in her favorite pair of black crocs, the ones decorated by her bachelorette buddies with little bride and groom charms surrounded by red hearts.

No way.

She grabbed Robert’s toenail nippers from the vanity and snipped off both the bride and groom, but left the red hearts there. Romance wasn’t dead. But her marriage sure was.

Robert stood in the hallway in his shorts. “Where are you going?”

“On my honeymoon. I planned it. I paid for it. I’m going.”

She descended to the ground floor of her apartment building and realized her wedding gown was still draped over her left arm. A convenient row of black plastic garbage cans, out at the curb for an early morning pickup, became the gown’s final resting place. The nuclear tufts of stained and shredded white organza looked like tissue paper stuffing for a tall wedding present.

My heroine's luck goes from bad to worse, because she does get bitten on her honeymoon. And her life changes forever.

Do you like vampires? Do you like humor in those stories? Characters that find themselves in impossible situations? What do you like about vampires? Or dislike?