Blood Moon completion and an excerpt!

It's with profound excitement to announce that Blood Moon, the second installment in the Mythic series has been complete and submitted to my editor. The cover is currently being created with an amazingly talented artist and I can't wait to share the cover with all of you. Stay tuned for site updates and the official release date.

In the meantime, I leave you with an excerpt:

Blood Moon:

At once, Gianna straightened at an approaching fragrance. Hints of musk and Artemisia oil were the notes of the preferred cologne worn by one person…Dante. And he was close. With little expectation, she turned and faced his rousing grin. For a moment, she considered his purpose, but his loose posture suggested he meant to engage in casual conversation. He extended his arm and offered her a glass of vodka and tonic water with a twist of lime. Damn, he paid attention to detail and knew the cocktail was her personal favorite. Awkward.

“I thought you could use this,” he said with an almost innocent smile. The golden rings on his two outer fingers gleamed as he cupped a hand over the glass, preventing spillage.

“Thanks.” She accepted the gesture and returned to her position over the rail while she sipped her drink. She heard the clang of the empty champagne flute against a hard surface as Dante placed it on a side table. Then he joined her.

He relaxed beside her in an identical position, a comfortable distance away. In her peripheral vision, she noticed he looked out onto the crowd then turned his head in her direction. “We haven’t had a chance to speak much these past few weeks,” he said.

She focused on the lower level of the club where the unsuspecting crowd danced the night away. “There hasn’t been much time for anything since our return, Dante. Just business as usual, I suppose.” She took a long swig of her drink.

He snickered. “Well, I wouldn’t go as far as saying there hasn’t been time for anything.  I mean, you and Mattias have grown awful close.”

There was one unrelenting constant about Dante; he never wasted time dancing around the point. She had no idea what angle he tried to work, but it couldn’t be good. “Distance has a tendency to make the heart grow fonder. But you don’t need me to tell you that. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying before,” she offered a friendly smile.

Dante cocked an eyebrow in the most seductive matter she’d ever seen. “Distance, is that all?”

Patience wore thin. She retreated from the rail and placed her back against the solid bar. “What are you getting at, Dante? If you mean to say something, just say it,” she snapped.

An appreciative growl rumbled in his chest and a smile splayed across his lips with a slight revelation of fangs, a blatant reminder of the difference between them. He inched closer, reached for a loose piece of her hair, and curled the lock between his fingers. His intense concentration was as though he counted each strand while they glided across his flesh.  “I think you know exactly what I want, but you don’t need me to tell you that,” he said.

She released an exhausted sigh. “Dante, you know I care about you. You also know why we could never be together. I apologize for my impulsive behavior that may have misled you, but there can never be anything more. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can all move on.”

     He considered her for a moment. “You know, that almost sounded convincing. How long have you practiced that line, recited it in the dark so it sounded as good as you’d hoped? How many times have you whispered those words to the air, all the while imagining my mouth against yours in protest?”

“Ugh, why can’t we speak as friends? Things would be far easier if you’d accept my disinterest,” she said, turning her head away.

“Sometimes I think you forget what I am, but you only know the half of it. You see, I don’t accept your disinterest, because I can hear your rapid heartbeat. I can smell the rich notes of your blood because your body temperature rose by an entire degree. You may be able to speak the words, Gianna, but your body doesn’t lie.”

Just as he spoke the last words, she snapped with such disgust, the force broke the grip on her drink, sending it spilling over the balcony. Fear lasted but a second when Dante’s arm shot out before her, catching the glass before it escaped his reach. Good thing for quick vampire reflexes.

She turned quickly, but when she locked his gaze he stood so close, a single sheet of paper could barely slide between the available space. His breath fluttered her hair. The aroma of the cologne mixed with his natural scent was more than most could handle, but she willed herself to remain calm. He ran his tongue over his upper lip and she couldn’t stop staring. Who could? Calm the fuck down.

Yeah, she had enough problems and didn’t want to make Dante a bigger one. But if she stood there another second, the next act could trigger an all out war. Instead, he smirked, daring her to make the next move.

She shifted her weight and snatched the glass from his hand, “Thanks for the save,” she said, then turned on her heel and left him in the wake of her rejection.

Something bigger than their dysfunctional relationship brewed. She closed her eyes tight and prayed she was wrong.