A Diamond at Midnight--excerpt!

Today I thought I'd post an excerpt from my upcoming vampire romance, A Diamond at Midnight. It'll be released August 6th with The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:

Diamonique’s life is changed forever when she stumbles across Cain Reed on a dark, lonely New York street. With a single bite, she’s given immortality and shown unimaginable pleasure. But before she can explore eternal love his betrayal tears them apart.

One hundred years later, Cain is back to save her from a dark enemy. Rafael, the depraved leader of The Dominion, will stop at nothing to settle an ancient score between him and Cain. Caught in the middle, Diamonique will need to swallow her pride and rely on Cain if she’s to survive. But is she handing her trust over to the right immortal or is she merely trading one evil for another?

Excerpt:

The music changed once again, the tempo faster, the romantic tune gone, but the mood was still there. She was still as edgy, still as ready, and the stranger was still standing in front of her, staring at her, waiting for her to surrender.

Diamonique glided a step closer, bringing their bodies into contact. She could smell his natural masculine scent. For the first time, she realized what it was about a man that made women lose their heads. That smell, that all too enthralling maleness. It made her long to run her tongue over his beautiful full lips.

Rising up on her tiptoes, she took a taste. Initiating the first contact gave her a sense of feminine power. He kept his hands at his sides, as if not sure how to respond. As her fingers went to his hair, his arms closed around her in a tight embrace. Diamonique grabbed handfuls of dark silk and pressed her lips to his, she was eager to taste him. She coaxed his lips apart with her tongue and delved inside. She angled her head, deepening the kiss and felt the sudden change in him. He’d had enough of standing and doing nothing. When she was ready to pull back, the room spun. She’d gone too long without blood. Her cells were shriveling with each second that passed, her mind turned to mush, as she tried to concentrate on the male in her arms. She wanted to kick herself for using her power of flight when she was already so weak. It made her vulnerable. Not since Cain had she felt this way.

Diamonique longed to feel this man succumb to her lips at his throat. She used her voice like a weapon, softly luring him outside, away from the revelry. To her shock, he smiled and took her by the hand as if unaffected by the hypnotic notes. Suddenly, he was the one in control as he steered her down the alley behind the nightclub, beyond the eyes of the curious.

She tuned out the smells, the stench of the trash that hugged every crevice and seemed to cling to her skin like a sickening glove. She frowned as she tried to concentrate, but all she received for her efforts was a headache and no answer as to why she was letting him take the lead.

Shaking off her lethargy, Diamonique moved in front of him and let him look his fill, allowed his eyes to travel the length of her body. His gaze took in the flow of the silky dress, breasts that threatened to spill out of the scoop neckline, and the black spiked heels encrusted with the diamonds that were her namesake. He watched as she moved her legs apart and let the silk fall away from one calf, the slit reaching clear to her waistline. His eyes heated instantly. His heart beat loud in her ears, his blood pumping hard.

Beckoning her to drink.

Pleading for Diamonique to sate herself with this stranger.

She lifted her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down, then silently slipped inside his mind, reading his thoughts easily. He was a flurry of sexual lust. He ached to sink his heavy length inside her body. Nothing seemed to matter to him except the swell of hip that protruded from the open dress.

Diamonique felt his hands there, even as her teeth scored his soft skin. His musky male scent bombarded her senses, as she tasted his sweet blood. Only once before had she tasted such nectar. Before she could explore the remembrance, his strong capable hands massaged the junction of her thighs. Her tongue continued to tease the blood from his willing veins, each in their own way fulfilling their lust. She let the moment drag out, longer than ever before. She loved his strong, capable hands massaging where she needed him the most. Even as her tongue continued to lap sweet sustenance, Diamonique felt her own climax mounting.

Then he spoke.

“My beautiful, Diamond, I thought I’d lost you forever.”

That voice! Warm velvet skimmed the length of Diamonique’s body. Every muscle went rigid with disbelief.

It was Cain!

The one who’d turned her into this monster of the dark.

She wrenched out of his arms.

“You were projecting false thoughts,” she accused, “so I wouldn’t know it was you.”

She readied herself for battle. But he only stood there, eyes full of laughter as if mocking her. His grin triggered Diamonique’s rage as his gaze traveled over her body with a possessiveness he had no right to.

Her blood craving withered.

Well, what'd you think???