Here's an (unedited) excerpt from Copper Kiss, my upcoming release from Liquid Silver Books:

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A shiver rippled down Reina's spine, a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room, and spread icy fingers up the back of her neck. All thoughts of sleep fled. Slowly, she sat up and reached her empathic senses out, searching for the disturbance.

What she found was a void, an absence where there should have been her own residuals, and Brett's, and Adri's fading ones, still lingering about. But just beyond her door there was nothing, only a cavernous emptiness that made terror run through her veins.

She felt out for the wards she had set around her room the first day she and Adri moved in, reached empathic fingers up to the ceiling and down into the floorboards. And in the doorway, just before the void, she found a tiny opening, a paper-thin slice made with surgical precision, just big enough for a man to slip through without anyone the wiser.

If she hadn't woken, if she'd slept through the tiny shiver of reaction that the breach had sent through her...

She reached blindly for her nightstand, and the cross she always placed there when she removed it for the night. Her fingers grasped metal that burned like ice. She drew it close against her chest and reached out again, found the small, solid weight of her cell phone.

Quiet, she eased the flip phone open and thanked any gods who were listening that she had thought to program Logan's number into her speed dial. Two buttons--one for the number, one to send--and help would be on its way.

She pressed the first, gripped her cross tightly, and hoped she'd be able to last until it arrived.

And, reaching for the second, the button that would connect the call and bring in the cavalry, a slow, sibilant voice whispered, "Oh, little girl. I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

She froze, while every fiber of her being screamed for action. Froze in fear and panic and indecision, and the sudden overwhelming certainty that if she just held absolutely still, if she didn't make a sound, he might forget about her and go in search of other prey.

Flight was impossible, trapped in her room where the only exit led directly into danger, and to fight was sure suicide. Anyone who left an empathic void like that was a vampire, and not a newly-fledged one. Anyone who could slice through her wards with such neat elegance had psychic skills beyond her comprehension.

A low chuckle slid down her spine like razors. "Put the phone down, child, and let's talk."

She lowered the phone to the nightstand, let the plastic case click audibly against the wood. Her bedroom door swung open on hinges that she was sure had never been so quiet for her.

All she could make out was a shadow darker than the benighted hall behind him. He stepped into the room with a slow, purposeful stride, the calculated stalk of a predator who knows his prey is cornered and all that's left is to wait for the proper moment to strike. She curled her hand around the edge of the nightstand and fought the insane urge to run.

"Fine," she said in a voice that somehow managed to sound strong and steady. "Let's talk."

A flash of smile in the darkness, starlight reflecting off of pointed teeth. "You're an empath of some skill." A twist of shadow suggested a head tilting back as he inspected... what? The posters on her walls? "I could use your talents."

"You break into my apartment, cut through my wards, and you're trying to recruit me?" Her voice rose to a shrill pitch that belied her terror. He laughed quietly. "Your pitch sucks."

"Does it?" He laughed at her. "Well then, how about this for incentive. If you do not offer me your aid, I shall tear your throat out and drink your blood as from a fountain."

Bile rose in her throat. She forced it down and locked her knees against the faintness that threatened her. Lily's uncertain words echoed through her memory.

There was a man. Adri didn't say much about him, just that he was harassing her. He wanted her to do something for him.

"Oh God," she whispered.

His smile flashed through the darkness.

Her finger twitched toward the phone. He held up a hand. "I really wouldn't."

"Why? You'll rip my throat out?" Her voice was tight with fear, but anger was beginning a slow burn deep in her chest. "Better get on with it, then."

"You won't help me?" He laughed. He sounded delighted. "Whyever not?"

Slowly, she inched her hand toward the phone. And focused on keeping the other very, very still. "I'm starting to suspect you killed my best friend. That doesn't put you very high on my to-do list."

"Oh, tut." He made a moue of disappointment. "That's such a petty reason. I could give you eternity, child."

"Eternity as one of your relatives? I think I'll pass." With a flick of her wrist, she slapped her hand onto the phone and pressed the button to connect the call. Almost immediately, an iron-cold grip circled her forearm and pulled her away. He was a tall, solid presence before her, still cloaked in shadows. His fingers bit deep into her arm, at odds with the pleasantry of his tone.

"Well, my dear, that is unfortunate." He pushed her back against the bed, bent over her throat. "Are you sure I can't convince you? We're kin of a different sort, you know. Campbells, both of us. Magic always did run strong in our line."

"If you're going to start giving me a 'blood is thicker than water' speech, you can save it."

He slid a finger along her throat. The tenderness of his touch was even more revolting than the blatant hunger in his gaze. "Are you sure? Think hard. I won't ask again."

"Oh, I'm sure all right," she said. And when he leaned in, fangs bared, she twisted the arm he'd pinned between them and shoved her cross against the vulnerable skin beneath his chin.

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You can find the full list of participants here, or follow some of the links below:

Kirsten Saell, Erotic Romance/Fantasy (NC-17)

RF Long, Fantasy (PG)

Gina Ardito, Historical Paranormal (PG)

Alina Morgan, Urban Fantasy (PG 13)

Inez Kelley, Rom Com (R)

Labels: ExcerptMonday