For some women it takes a life time to find someone who loves you and you love them back. Rarely do we get more than one guy vying for our attentions.
But in the case of my lead character, Sabrina Strong, in the Sabrina Strong series, seems like you can throw a rock and hit a guy who is after her.
The fourth book Vampire Caprice, which is coming out this year, her problems just multiply by four. She's married to Vasyl, but they've had some arguments lately, and Mr. Tremayne is lending a hand in trying to keep the two apart. (for another excerpt from the book hop on over to Lorelei's Muse, but read this one first)
Here two of them are arguing over who had dibs on her. If you've read the first 3 books, you know who Dante and Vasyl are. Let's take a peek, shall we?
A
millisecond later, I felt the molecules around us disperse and then a
dark form appeared at the foot of my bed. It was Dante dressed all in
black—black pants, black tee and boots. Almost like he had always
dressed while alive, only right now he seemed to be more powerful,
more lethal and more feral than he had been in life. Odd that I had
not noticed this before. But then, we had been alone—except for the
time he first appeared and saved me from the vampires in Targoviste
Castle—and possibly he needed to be this way as he stood in the
same room with a powerful vampire.
Straightening,
Vasyl became ridged. “You invade, shifter,” he said in a deadly
tone.
“I
killed two tonight,” Dante reported. “But one got away.”
“Nikki,”
I said.
“Thank
you for your report. You may leave us,” Vasyl said to him.
“I
love her as much as you,” Dante snarled.
“Sacrebleu!”
Vasyl
swore. “My love has suffered and endured nearly two thousand years!
You have known her for only a month or so, thus you have no right to
claim her. Besides, we are married.”
My
head and eyes snapped up to take him in. Images of that night when
I'd halted the wedding came to me. The minister had pronounced us man
and wife. I had a ring on my left hand and couldn't help but look
down at it.
“We
are married, right?” I asked.
“You
signed the document, before the ceremony, and we were pronounced man
and wife before you ran out of the hall,” Vasyl reminded me.
“I
wasn't sure,” I said wincing apologetically.
“I
didn't know this,” Dante said, throwing me an accusing glare.
“I
just sort of forgot?” I coughed, my hand clutching my side from a
sudden stitch. I wasn't acting, but it suited the moment and changed
the subject dramatically.
“I
can heal her,” Dante offered.
Vasyl
glared at him. “You?”
“I
am—or was—a shaman in life. In my spirit form I can heal her much
faster and easier than a human doctor can.” He spoke quietly, and
he didn't sound boastful.
“I
have given her my blood. She is healing now,” Vasyl claimed.
“That
will help quicken it. Let me check her.”
Vasyl
stood in the way.
“Oh,
for God's sakes let Dante check me out. My ribs might be broken.”
The pain was lessening by small degrees even as I spoke.
Vasyl
stepped aside, but wasn't happy. I could tell. He crossed his arms
and went into his defiant stance like always.
Dante
moved gracefully around the bed and came up beside me. His hair in
that odd, loose braid he wore before.
I now saw his hair was held by bands of gold. Looking down at
me, his hand moved toward my side. His gaze seemed to cover every
inch of me, as though they could see inside my skin.
“You
have pain here?” The ends of his long fingers touched my side very
lightly.
I
nodded. “But it seems to be going away.”
Vasyl
made a sniff.
Holding
his hands over my side, not touching me, he then closed his eyes,
breathed in and then out, seeming to concentrate for several
heartbeats.
Shoulders
relaxed, his hand moved away and he opened his eyes. “The ribs were
only cracked. They are healing, now. You must rest.” He glanced up
at Vasyl. “She must not be moved from this bed for at least the
next six hours. Your blood is healing her, as is her werewolf blood.
After the pain is gone, she can move or be moved. I suggest she stay
here for twenty-four hours.”
“Very
well. I will stay with her for the duration.” He looked around the
room. “There are no windows here, so I will stay with her.” Vasyl
remained in that defiant stance of his and lifted his head at Dante.
“I know that you were lovers, in life. You have also been with her
intimately as an Undead. I will not allow that any longer,” Vasyl
said from the other side of my bed.
“It
is true. We have been together,” Dante said, looking down at me.
His lips bent just a little in a slight smile.
“No
more will you be with her in that way,” Vasyl said. “I forbid
it.”
“I
think it's up to her. Isn't it?” Dante argued.
I
tried to mount a protest as the argument above me grew in volume.
“I
spent half my human life and all of my vampire life in a quest to
find her. Do you think for one second I would allow an Undead to
touch her?”
“Already
have.” Dante lifted his eyes to him and the smirk told the whole
story.
“I
know I can do nothing to you, but she will refuse you, if I must
thrall her into doing so,” Vasyl said more defiantly.
“Stop!
Stop it now!” I growled, and then my teeth gripped my lower lip
from the pain. Whenever I took a breath it hurt. Then the pain
subsided and I spoke. “For your information, I love Dante,” I
said to Vasyl.
Dante
smirked.
“And
I can't help it but I feel just as strongly toward Vasyl. I'm married
to him. So, I have to stay true to him now.”
Dante's
face grew somber.
“I
think you're both being a little ridiculous,” I chastised. “It's
like you're arguing over a thing. I'm not a possession!” I
reminded, and looked at both of them. “But Vasyl has been in my
life longer. He found and protected me when I was a child. I know
that he loves me. And, because you never even told me you loved me
while you are alive—” A stitch made me stop short as I grimaced.
“Cherie,”
Vasyl said softly. “Rest.”
“No.
Listen to me, the both of you. You are both going to simply put up
with each other because I'm not about to decide who I love more, nor
will I tell Dante to never come and visit me again. That's like
asking me which arm I like better, and to cut the other one off.
That's how ridiculous this is!”
Dante
hung his head, and his black tresses hung like a curtain over his
face. Then he drew his head up and looked at me. “I am, as always,
and will be, in love with you, Sabrina. You will never be able to
change that.”
“No.
I just wished you would have told me when you were alive. At least
you could have gone on to your reward.”
“We
can never go back in time. So, I will honor you, now, my lady”—he
bowed deeply—“as your servant. You are now my priestess and I
will obey your command; whatever you wish, it is my will to obey.”
“I
actually do need something,” I said. “You're the only one who can
go and find it, probably.”
“Tell
me.”
“My
backpack. It's still at the park. It's brown leather.” It had
everything in it that I needed. “The Dagger is in it, so you're the
only one who can go and get it.” That and a few more important
things. Like
my birth control.
He
paused, and the look he gave me was indescribable.
“Oh,
and find out if Chris is alright,” I added with a wince.
Then
he bowed again, stepped backward two steps turned, and was gone.
A
moment later, a weariness fell over me and I closed my eyes. Vasyl's
blood was working on me, and I drifted off. I dreamt. But these were
not my dreams... they were Vasyl's.
Hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day. I've had a nibble from my heart box already!
8 comments:
I'll have to check out those stories. Very intriguing
Oh my! This vampire soiree is serving up plenty of potent, intoxicating stuff. Fabulous, Lorelei!
A wonderful offering, and a fine bit of prose. Thanks for letting me pass through for a peek!
So much sensual titillation & temptation :) & BTW LOVE your header banner as well as your post too!
OOow! Loves me some Vamp on Wolf action :D XXX
~Thanks, Kestril!
~Hey, Emma, I think you're right!
~Thank you, Narrator, stop by any time!
~Well thank you, Sunshineshelle!
~Gina, you got it!
Such a wonderful excerpt, the perfect addition to a Vampire's Day soiree :)
I love the names you've used, they really add to the atmosphere. It shows a real talent to tell a story and show action through dialogue. Thank you for sharing.
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