Welcome to week four of ALL OF COURT'S MEN
Our apologies for being so late with this week's hunk. Lost internet connections have kept me from posting on the blog, grrr!!!
This week is dedicated to The Moonstone Saga and the gorgeous Brennan
Synopsis
Question: When
your mother is a powerful witch and your father is a soul-sucking vampire, what
does that make you?
Answer: Cursed.
With all the beauty and charm of a Siren, but cursed as a blood-sucking succubus, Empusa longs for love and a normal life. Neither of these can ever be hers, because the only thing she brings to anyone she loves is death.
Em lingers in the mortal world, hiding from her father and existing in a lonely life. Until she meets Brennan. With golden hair and a radiant smile, he captures her heart and awakens it from slumber.
But Brennan is more than he seems. And in a relationship where life itself hangs in the balance, is love ever really enough?
Soul Kissed is book one in the Moonstone Saga. It is followed by Soul Bound (available now) and Princess of the Night (Coming soon).
Answer: Cursed.
With all the beauty and charm of a Siren, but cursed as a blood-sucking succubus, Empusa longs for love and a normal life. Neither of these can ever be hers, because the only thing she brings to anyone she loves is death.
Em lingers in the mortal world, hiding from her father and existing in a lonely life. Until she meets Brennan. With golden hair and a radiant smile, he captures her heart and awakens it from slumber.
But Brennan is more than he seems. And in a relationship where life itself hangs in the balance, is love ever really enough?
Soul Kissed is book one in the Moonstone Saga. It is followed by Soul Bound (available now) and Princess of the Night (Coming soon).
For this week ONLY Soul Kissed is on sale for .99c/77p!!
EXCERPT
“The world is
not going to end,” I insisted slowly, taking in the desperation on Brennan’s
stricken face. “Why would you think so? I was wrong when I said it would,
Brennan. We can prevent my visions. We can do anything we set our minds
to.”
Brennan turned
to me, his expression slightly calmer than it had been a scant moment ago. I
reached out to grab his hand, but he backed away, causing my heart to race. He
stepped out of the tent and I trailed behind him quickly.
“What is it?” I
whispered. “What did you see, Brennan?”
His eyes were
pain-filled and stark when he answered. “I saw flames and floods and a lot of
blood. There was so much blood. I saw the same things that you did, Empusa.
And if we both see it, I think it is likely to happen.”
“It won’t!” I
cried, gritting my teeth and throwing myself at him. Clutching at him, I
gripped his shoulders, trying to make him touch me. Yet he still shirked away
from my fingers, like I had a sickness. It was alarming.
“Why are you
moving away from me?” I asked helplessly, trying to ignore the cold pit growing
in my belly. “I didn’t cause your visions, Brennan. I wish nothing more than to
protect you from any ugliness in the world.”
“I know,” he
admitted softly. “But I also know that this isn’t going to work.”
His voice was
like gravel, painfully scraping the surface of my heart with every husky
syllable. “I can’t be with you,” he repeated.
He was so
casual, so perfunctory, as though we were simply talking about a Cubs game or
the weather. I stared at him, at his flecked hazel eyes that gleamed in the
sunlight and my chest literally constricted at the thought of even one day
without him.
“Yes, you can.
You’re perfect for me,” I answered uncertainly, reaching for him, trying to pull
him close. If he could just feel my heart pressed against his, I knew that he
might bend, if only just enough to listen. But he would have none of it and
backed away, leaning against the rocks behind us. He knew the danger within my
touch.
“Brennan,” I
tried again, stepping forward. The way that the sun bathed him in backlit glory
was breath-taking and I had to re-focus. It was difficult not to concentrate on
his handsome, rugged face and the way his mouth moved as he spoke.
“Em,” he
continued, as if I’d never even spoken. “I’m not…I’m not strong enough for this
yet. I won’t be able to control my abilities. I just saw it. I can’t
jeopardize the entire mortal world simply because I can’t master my power. And
Circes… she said that you would risk everything for me. I can’t allow that,
Empusa. I can’t be the one who extinguishes your light. That won’t be me.”
He pushed
away from the rocks and strode down the ledge with his distinctive lope. He
paused just once on the edge, before he bounded, landing gracefully on his feet
far below me. He didn’t look back, he simply walked away from me. I stood
still, frozen by his words, astounded by their meaning. Until I realized that
if I didn’t do something right now I would never see him again.
I lunged from
the ledge, landing roughly in the packed sand below before I raced along behind
him. Even employing supernatural speed, I didn’t catch up with him for a mile.
He had mastered speed himself, it seemed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw
a flash of black and I knew that my mother was close, watching us, but it didn’t
sway me.
I pushed Brennan
against a nearby red stone rock mound, shoving him hard and he stumbled, staring
at me in shock as his back collided with the stone. He had never seen me lose
my temper. No one had. I always had to be so careful, so controlled.
“You think it’s
only up to you?” I shouted. The wind whipped my hair around my face and I
ignored it as I stared directly into the mesmerizing eyes of the only man I had
ever loved.
“I have a say in
this, too,” I insisted. “You think you can just throw everything away with a
handful of cliches? Newsflash: The old it’s not you, it’s me line isn’t
effective. If you don’t want to be with me, just be man enough to tell me why.
Don’t tell me that it is because of the visions. We can overcome them. I know
it. If there is something else, tell me right now.”
My face was
barely an inch from his. I was close enough to feel his heart beat through his
shirt, to feel the heat from his skin pulse through and bleed into my own skin.
I was close enough to inhale his very breath. I knew what my nearness would do
to him, but I didn’t care. I closed my eyes and leaned into him… instantly
absorbing what he felt; the jagged pain, the overwhelming uncertainty, but
mostly, his unbridled need for me. It filled him up and spilled into me.
“Tell me,” I
murmured against his lips.
He groaned and
pulled me against him, his large hands flattening against my back as he smashed
me to his chest and ravaged my lips with his own. He kissed me like the world
was ending. And I knew, with every breath in me, that if he left, my world
would end.
His body was
rock hard and he smelled like the sun. I inhaled him as I grasped his hair and
pulled him closer to me, as close as I could possibly get. Even in the heat of
this moment, though, I had to keep a corner of my consciousness carefully
focused, making sure I didn’t absorb too much of his strength. But I still
allowed myself to taste it, to enjoy it.
He was
delicious. Everything about him.
His tongue
rammed into my mouth, swirling with mine and he tasted like honey as his very
life flowed into me, wispy and transparent, but pulsing hard. He was so
vital.
It made me wild
and I couldn’t control myself. I ripped at his shirt, breaking the buttons as I
frantically pushed it off of his shoulders. I knew it was expensive, but I
didn’t care. My only thought was consuming all of him, every bit and I needed
him inside of me to do that. It was the only way. My focus faltered and then
was obliterated. Nothing else mattered now but my need for him.
I began seeing
things in blurs of color, tasting the scents in the air and feeling the textures
beneath my hands as everything else faded away. His breathing was ragged, his
heart beat stuttering and racing as we fumbled with clothing. Our skin was hot
and sticky as we pressed together. I felt his heart beat join with mine,
synching perfectly, as the process began. My fingers pulsed and my vision
unfocused. It was happening. I would only need a moment longer.
Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw the beautiful field of pink flowers explode into flame,
too close to withstand my energy as it flared into an uncontrollable storm. They
burned impotently against the sandy horizon as our very own fire burned within
us. A loud boom exploded somewhere nearby and I saw chunks of earth scatter,
falling around us from the sky. I had no idea where it had come from and I
didn’t care at this point.
Brennan yanked
at the button on his pants and I reached to help him, desperate to continue, to
finish, but somehow sanity returned to me as I thought of that very word.
Finish.
If we completed
this act, if I made love to this man- the man that I loved with every ounce of
my being, it would finish him. He could die because we hadn’t learned to master
our power.
I froze.
He reached for
me, but I held out my hand.
“Don’t,” I
rasped uncomfortably. “Give me a minute.”
Synopsis
Empusa is the daughter of the goddess of witchcraft and the moon. As a child of the moon, she has all of the ethereal lunar powers that come with it. She is beautiful, vulnerable and strong. But since she is cursed by her father to drink souls and mortal blood, her powers will come back to haunt her…
Brennan is the son of Apollo, the god of the sun. As a child of the sun, he is handsome, golden, brave and strong. He’s just learning to harness his own immortal powers, only there isn’t much time…
In this second book of the Moonstone Saga, there’s an ugly, twisted storm brewing on Olympus and Brennan and Em are in the center of it. Their powers are conflicting, polar opposites. If they can’t learn to handle their abilities without killing each other, they will kill everyone in the mortal world, as well. Time is ticking and the gods are watching. Who will rise, who will fall and who will be left standing?
ABOUT COURTNEY COLE
Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.
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