Desiring the Darkness is the second book in my Darkness series.
Even before Seducing the Darkness was finished, I
had the idea for Desiring. I began writing it while editing Seducing the
Darkness. I just knew Dante needed his story told.
Blurb:
With the cloak of darkness
surrounding Jacob’s Cove, Dante Vega must work to protect the humans from the
blood-thirsty vampires trying to take over the human race. When a half-naked
young woman races into his arms begging him to protect her, he is compelled to
help despite the fact that she is a vampire.
Before all hell broke loose, Gypsy Dawn was an
average woman carrying on with her ordinary life…until she’s turned into a
vampire. With no family and no where to go, she clings to Dante. Aside from his
dark, mysterious, good looks, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. And
when his life is threatened she discovers just how protective she has become.
Trying to bring back the sun is not easy,
especially when the creature responsible, has gone into hiding. With Dante’s
long lost brother working with the enemy, one friend is killed and another is
taken hostage.
Will Dante be able to save him before it’s too
late?
Excerpt:
“Remind me again why I have to be the bait?”
Dante heard Jonah’s voice in his ear as he hid
behind the dumpster. Lowering his voice, he replied, “Because I was bait last
time.”
“Right. You’ll tell Ariel I love her if I don’t
make it?”
“You’ll be just fine, Jonah. I’ve got you covered
and Basil is lurking about, ready to jump in and snatch the bastards. Just stay
calm.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say. Oh shit! Bloodsucker,
eight o’clock.”
Dante swiveled in his spot behind the garbage bin,
looking in the direction Jonah instructed. He saw the chubby guy heading
Jonah’s way and prepared himself for the attack. The vampire’s ugly yellow eyes
caught sight of Jonah and Dante could imagine what was going through his mind.
Fresh meat.
Not this time.
“Get ready.”
“I’m ready.” Pulling the tranquilizer gun from his
belt, Dante aimed it at the vampire and waited. Because Jonah had the
microphone pinned beneath his jacket, Dante could hear everything, including
the vampire’s comments.
“Well, looky here. What have we got? Oh, and I
smell lots of fear. Gonna be a nice snack for me.”
“You don’t want to drink me. I’m anemic. I won’t
satisfy you much,” Jonah added with a great deal of quiver in his voice.
“Oh, I’m betting you’ll be just what I need.”
He heard the growl, heard Jonah scream, and took
his shot. The dart hit the vamp right in his backside and as
Dante stood up, he saw the vamp pull back in shock.
He didn’t waste any time and took another shot. This time he hit the vampire in
the arm. The vamp looked up, searching for where the shot had come from as
Dante raced towards him.
“Took your time. He was about to bite me.” Jonah
took a couple steps away from the vamp.
“I had to make sure I got a good shot.” The vampire
hissed as he approached, then his knees gave out and he went down. “Damn, I was
hoping to knock him around a bit first.”
“You’ll get your chance later.”
“Jesus Christ, Basil! I hate when you do that.” His
heart pounding, Dante aimed a steely glare at Basil. The guy loved to make an
entrance, but did he have to appear out of nowhere without warning and scare
the living shit out of him?
“Good shot,” Basil stated as he lowered down to the
vampires body. “But next time, aim higher. If you can get the neck or near the
heart, he’ll go down with one shot.”
“Yeah, thanks for the advice.” He’d only known
Basil a few short days and was still on the fence about him. The guy was the
last of the true vampires and had several advantages over the rest of the
vamps. For one, he could materialize at the blink of an eye and transport
himself anywhere. Two, he could transform into any creature and blend in
everywhere. And anyone that didn’t know him personally would think he was your
typical average human being. Until he bore his fangs and his icy blue eyes
began to glow. Only the truest vampires had the icy blue eyes, all the others
were yellow.
A sign of their impurity.
“He one of Chaos’ men?” Dante asked, looking down
at the unconscious vampire.
“Won’t know until he wakes up and talks. Let’s call
it a night for now and get some rest.” Basil hoisted the vamp over his
shoulder. “You can ride with me, Jonah, and make sure this guy doesn’t wake up
before we get to the castle.”
“Gee, thanks, boss.”
“You can follow us in your car, Dante.”
While the sun was nonexistent they had all agreed
to stay at Basil’s castle. It was a smart idea, keeping them all under one
roof, but Dante was feeling the crunch of hanging around the same people day
and night. He needed a bit of a break now and then, and though Basil’s place
was huge, he still managed to run into someone often enough. He was used to
living on his own, having no one around but himself.
He missed his privacy.
But he climbed into his car, ready to follow them
anyway. Glancing in his rear view mirror, he watched them pull away and saw
what looked like a woman, running towards him. He turned around to get a better
look, then hustled out of the car. It had been a woman running towards him,
clad in only a bra and panties.
And two burly men were right behind her.
“You’ve got to help me. Please, help me,” she
screamed as she ran.
Running towards her he pulled out his revolver.
“Get behind me,” he ordered to her and took aim. It utterly shocked him when
the two men halted then spun around and took off in the opposite direction.
“Fuck!” He turned to the woman who was shivering in the cold air. “Get in the
car and lock the doors. I’m going after them.”
“No, no, please, don’t leave me.”
She grabbed hold of his arm and pressed her body so
tightly to his he could feel the curve of her breasts through the thickness of
the suede jacket he wore. “I have to go after them.”
“No, please, just let them go. I don’t want to be
alone.”
She clung to him even tighter.
What was he going to do, shake her off of him and drag
her to his car? Not likely. So the only chance he had was to stick by her.
“Okay. I won’t go after them. You can give a description of them to the cops—”
“NO! No police. Please, don’t take me to the cops.”
He didn’t know what her deal was but she sure was
adamant about not involving the cops. And that worried him some. “You have to
tell them you were attacked.”
“I don’t want to follow up on this. Please, don’t
make me. I don’t trust the cops,” she sighed, still clinging to him.
He could feel her body tremble and he wasn't sure
if it was entirely from the chill in the air, or from fear. “Okay, I won’t take
you to the cops. You’re cold. Let me give you my jacket.” When she didn’t
release him, he patted her arms. “I need you to let me go so I can take off my
jacket.”
“Oh, okay.” She released him and wrapped her arms
around her chest.
He striped from his jacket then held it out to her.
“Here, put this on before you catch a cold.”
She took the jacket and hurriedly slipped into it.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. So why don’t you tell me where you
live and I’ll give you a ride home.”
“I don’t have a home.” Dante’s brow lifted and she
continued. “I was evicted a few days ago.”
He heard glass breaking in the distance and assumed
someone was breaking into yet another building. “This isn’t the safest place to
be right now. Why don’t I take you to my place and we can figure out what we’re
going to do next.”
He held his hand out to his car then walked with
her to it, holding the passenger side door for her. After she’d settled in, he
hurried to his side and climbed behind the wheel. He got them rolling and was
damn glad they were only three blocks from his office/apartment.
“My name is Dante, Dante Vega.”
“Gypsy Dawn.”
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