Eternal Hearts will not be releasing on Halloween as expected.
There, I did it fast. Hopefully it hurt less, but something tells me probably not. However, the good news is that I’m making great progress on the REWRITE of Eternal Hearts. Yeah, I know, I said rewrite not revision. And to be honest, I am completely rewriting the story. I didn’t intend to, I swear. It just kinda happened as I worked on revising. But I have to say that although I’m disappointed EH won’t release on Halloween, I love this new version of the story even better. Kerestyan and Logan made for an awesome and very nontraditional couple, but I think Drake and Toni are going to steal the show now!! :D
At this moment, I’m not setting a new release date for EH. I’m shooting for the end of the year but right now I can’t promise anything…and here’s why: Chad, my loving husband, and the man who already works a standard 50 hour week, decided 2 days after I announced the last release date move back in August, to become one class shy of a FULL TIME college student. Needless to say, that decision kinda threw my household and writing schedule into a tizzy. ;)
We all seem to be adjusting okay, but my writing time has been cut in half. And with the Heathen struggling with a few subjects this year already, I spend more time helping with homework and doing housework than writing at the moment. But there was no way I could tell the hubby not to pursue the career he’s always wanted…especially with the way he stood by me while I worked on Eternal Seduction. And under no circumstances can I ignore the Heathen’s pleas for help with math and social studies - mostly because her mute button is broken and she can easily turn into a CD on skip. :D
So, in ending the bad news, while I’m sad to say Eternal Hearts will be late again, this time I feel a little more justified for the reasoning. I hope everyone can understand and will stick with me for a few more months while I figure out the right balance of writing time and family/household responsibilities.
And to show you all that I still love you, and that Eternal Hearts really is coming along well, I give to you one of my favorite *unedited* excerpts:
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Toni jerked awake to the sound of the hotel phone screaming at her just as the last sliver of light faded from the sky. She sat up and cast a quick glance over the suite then frowned. A rather nice fixture of the room was missing. But the lights were on, so maybe he hadn’t gone far.
She rubbed her eyes when the phone screeched again. Who would be calling her so early in the night? She rolled over to the nightstand and picked up the receiver. “Yeah?”
“Good Morning, Miss Tutoro,” a cheery, English voice greeted her.
She smiled. “Hi, Robert, how are you?”
“I’m fine Miss, and yourself?
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m good, but you can call me Toni, Robert. Miss Tutoro makes me feel old and stiff.”
“Very well, Toni. I shall do my best to remember that.”
“So, what’s up?”
“I’m actually phoning to inform you that your meeting with Lord Locke has been postponed until tomorrow evening. Unfortunately, some business has come up which requires his immediate attention.”
She frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry Miss…Toni. I’m not at liberty to discuss city affairs with you at this time. I do hope you understand.”
“I understand,” she said as she twisted her index finger into the spirals of the phone cord. “I guess I’ll just show up at his office tomorrow night then.”
“That would be perfect. In the interim, Christian says that if you’d like to venture outside the confines of your suite, you may do so, but only if you are accompanied by Drake. Since a final decision hasn’t been made with regard to the duration of your stay, he wishes there to be no trouble. Do you find his terms acceptable?”
A slow smile tugged at her mouth. “Yeah, that works for me.”
“Excellent. Do you require anything else for your room?”
She looked around again. “Unless you can tell me where Drake went, I’m all good up here.”
Robert’s warm laughter filled her ear. “Check the bathroom, my dear. He has more use for it than most.”
She eyed the closed bathroom door. More use for it than most? What the hell did that mean? “Uh…okay. Was that all you needed to tell me?”
“Yes, Miss. I won’t keep you any longer.”
“Well, if you need me, you know where I am. Have a nice night, Rob.”
“Thank you, Toni. You have a good night, too.”
Toni sighed as set the phone back on its base. Robert was smiling when he told her to have a good night; she could feel it through the phone, which felt wonderful since she couldn’t remember the last time she woke up and heard a happy voice.
Maybe coming home had been a good idea after all.
She sat up and threw her arms into the air, intending to stretch out her tight muscles, but paused when the bathroom door swung open and her missing fixture sauntered out.
Drake didn’t have a stitch of clothing on, save the small white towel wrapped around his waist. And if that wasn’t enough to get her heart pumping again, his hair and his spectacular body were still dripping wet.
He wasn’t defined…he was chiseled from the finest bronzed stone she’d ever seen. Lightly dappled with dark hair, his sculpted chest tapered into a set of rock hard abs that she could probably do her laundry on for the rest of her immortal life. And just below his belly button, sandwiched between the deep cuts of his hips, was a thin trail of hair that tauntingly disappeared under his towel, practically begging for her to get off the bed and come see where it went.
She slowly lowered her arms and folded her hands in her lap. Jagged scars crisscrossed every single inch of his rough skin, but they didn’t detract one bit from the incredible man standing across the room. If anything, each pale line added something new to explore, something new to learn about the man she now had at least one more night with.
A man who made her feel alive again…
The horny teenager trapped deep inside her somewhere wanted nothing more than to rocket off the bed and lick every last bead of water off his hard, sexy body. But the woman she’d become in the last few years, the one who saw the world in a way the teenager never would, wanted nothing less than to kiss each scar and take away the sadness and pain still hidden in his eyes.
“Welcome back to the world sleepy head.”
Toni tore her gaze away from Drake’s body and met his smiling eyes. “Good morning. I almost thought you left.”
“I figured I’d hit the shower while you were sleeping. I didn’t want my stink to scare you away.” He ended his sentence with that lopsided smile she’d become rather fond of.
She tried to mirror the gesture. “Well, thanks for thinking of me.”
The grin on his lips widened for just a fraction of a second before it turned devious at the corners. “You’re welcome,” he drawled as he hooked his thumbs inside the top of his towel and inched it down a little further, baring more tanned skin for her hungry eyes.
The teenager and the woman inside her both sat up and took notice, waiting to see how far that thin trail of hair went as the towel slid even lower down his hips. But just before they got the answer they’d been hoping for, he ripped the damn thing from his waist and clothes suddenly appeared on his body.
Toni shook her head then stared at him again, this time in disbelief. All that gorgeous skin was now covered by a tight black t-shirt, hard leather pants and a pair of boots. How did he do that?
But more importantly…why?
She blew out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Well, if nothing else, at least he looked comfortable.
“What?” his gruff voice scolded. “You were expecting to see Drake Junior?” He clucked his tongue at her. “You haven’t even bought me dinner yet.” Then, much like a little kid, he stuck his nose up in the air and stomped back into the bathroom.
Dinner! She hadn’t bought him dinner? Was he serious?
She rolled up onto her knees and glared at the bathroom door. “I don’t recall you buying me dinner last night before you made me take my shirt off and shoved your tongue in my mouth!” She clamped her hands over her mouth as heat suffused her cheeks.
OH GOD! The words fell out before she even had a chance to stop them. She closed her eyes when the laughter in the bathroom started light but slowly grew until it echoed through the entire suite.
“That wasn’t dinner,” he called. “That was just the appetizer. And from what I could tell, you were more than ready for the next course!”
She threw herself back against the bed then pulled the comforter up over her head. She had to spend the entire night with a man who she’d just thoroughly embarrassed herself in front of, and now it wasn’t because she wanted to. And yes, flaming cheeks and all, she would willingly admit that she wanted to spend more time with him.
But now…now it was because Christian said so.
She punched at the comforter. She hated playing Christian-Says. Not only because the mere thought caused her blood to rebel for some reason, but because no matter what she did she never seemed to win.
“Did you talk to Robert?” The hollow tone of his voice signaled he must still be in the bathroom.
“Yes, I talked to Robert!”
“What?” he boomed right next to her.
Not expecting him to be so close, Toni screamed, jumped and fell off the edge of the bed, landing with a loud and awkward thud. She flung the comforter away from her face only to see Drake standing in front of her.
“Kinda jumpy, aren’t we?”
She clutched a hand to her chest as the heartbeat she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed pounded out of control. “I didn’t even hear you come out of the bathroom. You scared the ever living shit out of me.”
Her cheeks burned hotter as he stared down at her half twisted, half hiked up tank top a little bit longer than he should have.
She straightened her shirt then crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m glad vampires can’t shit,” he finally mumbled.
She shook her head. Where did that come from? Attempting to follow the little bouncing ball, she snapped her fingers. “Why are you glad vampires can’t shit?”
His gaze slowly slid back up to her face before he smiled. “Oh, because that’s the only way you’d have ever living shit.”
She crawled to her feet and flopped across the bed again. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I bet I know what you’re thinking.”
“After that last comment, I don’t even know where to start.”
“You’re thinking about how lucky you are. You’re thinking about how great it is that you have to take me everywhere you want to go tonight, huh?” He leaned across the bed until his lips hovered only inches above hers. “Will you let me buy you dinner? You can order the lobster raw. I swear I won’t say no.”
She swallowed her heart, which felt like it had leaped up into her throat. “Did you just proposition me?”
He stood up and flashed a devilish smile, but his eyes stayed glued to her mouth. “I suppose it depends on what your answer is. If you say yes, then yes, of course I did. If you say no, then you completely misinterpreted what I said. We had a communication breakdown and we should really work on that.”
“Oh, yeah?” She sat up as fast as her body would allow and whipped a pillow it at him. “Should we work on that too?”
He jumped back as if he’d been anticipating the assault the entire time, turned sideways, caught the pillow behind his back then brought it over his head and threw it back at her. She couldn’t help but giggle when the thing bounced off her head and flew across the room.
She rolled over onto her side and smiled at him. “I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again, you’re just not right.”
“If making you laugh is wrong,” he said, lowering his already deep voice, “then maybe I don’t wanna be right.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and draped a perfectly sculpted arm over her hip. “So what would you like to do tonight? Do you want to stay in or would prefer to go out?”
She took a moment to consider his question. While the teenager wanted to stay locked in the room with him all night hoping that something naughty happened, the woman who’d missed Chicago and everyone in it had a much different idea.
Toni brushed her hand over the scars littering Drake’s forearm. “I’d really like to go down to Grey’s, if that’s okay with you.”
“Grey’s Coffeehouse?” When she nodded, he cocked his head and arched a brow. “Are you some kind of closet caffeine junkie? Like a little jolt with your blood, do ya?”
“No. I…I have a friend who used to spend a lot of time down there. Well, three actually, but one’s a little more…he’s kinda like a surrogate Sire. I haven’t really talked to him since I got kicked out. I was hoping maybe he’d be there. But if you don’t wanna go I understand. It’s not like I expect you to take me around so I can see all my old friends.”
He smiled as his warm fingers drew slow circles against the small of her back. “I have no problem taking you to see Clint.”
She ignored the tingles fluttering under her skin and narrowed her eyes on him. “How did you know who I wanted to see? Are you using your Jedi mind tricks on me?”
He looked absolutely appalled. “I’ll have you know that Martin Grey gives me free beer whenever I visit one of his fine establishments. And I also happen to know that aside from him, only two people go to Grey’s so much that the couch cushions are permanently ass grooved to fit them perfectly.” He ticked off his fingers. “Clint and Jacob. And since Clint’s an old Warrior and Jacob’s an old Paladin, it only made sense.”
She blew out a relieved breath. Okay, maybe she was being a little jumpy. “I didn’t know Grey’s served beer.”
“Grey’s doesn’t serve beer, but The Underground does.”
She scrunched up her face. The Underground was a dark, rave style dance club in the basement of Grey’s. And for some reason, she just couldn’t picture Drake on the crowded dance floor. “You go to The Underground? Really?”
He gasped as he surged to his feet. “Hell yes I do.” He clapped his hands together as if struck with the most brilliant of brilliant ideas. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you to Grey’s, but you have to come down to The Underground with me afterwards so we can get our dance on.”
Toni could barely keep her mouth closed as Drake swiveled his hips in a wide, erratic circle while he pumped his arms. Nearly everything about the man was attractive, but that…that wasn’t.
She closed her eyes and tried to erase the sight from her memory. “I’ll go to The Underground with you, but you have to promise me that you will never, and I mean never, do that again.”
“What? You don’t like my moves?”
Afraid he might still be doing the broken robot dance, she opened her eyes just enough to peek between her lashes. Luckily, he wasn’t. “I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but some people just shouldn’t dance…and you’re one of them.”
“Oh, really?” He held his hand out. “Stand up.”
She did as he asked but hesitated as she reached for his hand. “You’re not going to hold me captive while you do that…whatever it was you did before, are you?”
He laughed and wiggled his fingers. “Take my hand and find out. Unless, of course, you’re gonna chicken out on me again, which reminds me, you still owe me fifty bucks.”
She rested her hand in his. “I don’t even have fifty bucks.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to work off your debt.”
She’d no more than opened her mouth to respond when he spun her away from him then expertly twirled her back, tango style. He even ended the fluid motion with her dipped back, one hand flattened between her shoulder blades and the other cradling her bent knee against his hip.
She shivered as he leaned forward and pressed his moist lips to her ear. “You’re not the only one with Spanish blood in you.” He gently stood her up then beamed an accomplished smile. “Now, why don’t you go get dressed so we can leave.”
She stared up into his eyes while every nerve in her body flared to life, wildly clapping for an encore. “Okay.” The word came out a little more breathy than she’d intended.
He cracked a grin. “I take it you like those moves better?”
Tell him you want a naked encore. She shook the traitorous teenager from her mind. “I think I should go get dressed now.”
It wasn’t until after she’d picked up her boots from the side of the bed then closed the bathroom door behind her that she blew out the dreamy sigh she’d been holding. If she hadn’t even been awake for a full thirty minutes and was already swooning over the man, where the hell would she be by the end of the night?
Swooning under him? Unwilling to even consider the thought, Toni went about her normal morning routine. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then dressed in a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Once she’d laced up her boots, she headed back into the main room to find Drake sitting on the couch with his eyes closed.
She walked over and stood in front of him. “Are you ready to go?”
He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t answer. He just sat there with a weird, almost goofy smile on his face.
She leaned in a little closer. “Are you ready to go?” When he didn’t answer again, she reached out and tugged hard on his hair. “Hello?”
His eyes shot open and he flashed an even bigger smile before he met her gaze. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something. I didn’t realize you were out of the bathroom already. Usually women take longer in there.”
“Oh…well, I’m ready to go whenever you are.”
“Just give me a minute.” He lowered his eyes then frowned. “My knee is bothering me again.” He winced as he leaned back, straightened his left leg out then bent it again. “Old injuries, ya know?”
“I didn’t know it was bothering you before.” She looked down at his leg, but it didn’t take her long to realize it wasn’t his knee that was swollen. She forced her eyes away from his impressive bulge and focused back on his face. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Uh, well, no. I think it’s just stiff from falling asleep on the couch with my legs stretched across the coffee table.”
Yeah, it’s stiff all right. She cleared her throat. “Maybe the walk to the elevator will help stretch it out.” She bit at the inside of her lips as she finished the sentence. There was absolutely nothing she could say right now that didn’t have some kind of innuendo attached to it. “Come on,” she said as she held out her hand. “Stand up and I’ll ride you…err…uh…walk you, I’ll walk you to the door.”
He laughed then flashed a knowing smile. “The jig is up, isn’t it?”
She curled her fingers around his thumb and pulled him to his feet. Even though she felt like she’d just stuck her face in a bonfire, if he could hint at the obvious, so could she. “Well, it’s certainly not down at the moment, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You know,” he drawled as he tugged the tight leather away from his upper thighs, “you didn’t exactly do me any good when you asked if you could help. And offering to ride me to the door…that was just cruel.”
Eyes pinned to the floor, she swallowed the huge knot in her throat. “Ready to go now?”
“You don’t know what to say right now, do you?”
She fanned her face. “No, I really don’t. I mean, if I did something to…not that I’m saying it was for me, you could’ve been thinking about anyone. It’s just that…” She drew a deep breath and tried to order her thoughts as way too many different emotions smashed together inside her. “Did you ever think you want something…but then when it starts to happen you get scared? And then you can’t breathe, because you know you’ll mess it up somehow? Because you know you’re not the person someone thinks you are? But you get so caught up in feeling good for the first time in so long that you convince yourself that you deserve something you really don’t? But then you can’t even run away because you don’t have anywhere to go?”
He didn’t say anything in response; he just snatched up her hand and led her out of the room then down the hallway towards the elevator. He didn’t pull her, didn’t drag her, but he moved at a brisk enough pace that she had to jog to keep up with his long strides.
She didn’t get the sense that he was angry or upset, but she couldn’t really tell what he was thinking because she wasn’t in a position to see anything but the back of his head.
Once they were inside the elevator, he smacked the button for the lobby then finally turned to face her. He stared down at her, his dark eyes glowing with all the sadness and pain she’d seen before, plus at least a dozen other emotions she couldn’t even begin to place.
Panic squeezed icy fingers around her already aching heart. Had she done something wrong? Had she said something she shouldn’t have?
Oh God, had she hurt him without even realizing it?
She froze as he reached up and brushed his warm fingertips across her cheek. “In two minutes we’ll be in the lobby.” His voice was quiet and calm, but not at all steady. “There’s no bed in here. No threat that we’ll do something we can’t take back. Just two minutes we’ll probably never have again…two minutes where we can both stop pretending the scars we see are the only ones we have.”
When he slowly leaned down and claimed her lips with a soft, soul stealing kiss that sent tears streaming down her cheeks, she tilted her head and gave him full access to her mouth.
And she did so, because she’d never wanted a man more.
She kissed him back with everything she had, every shred of pain, every sliver of regret, and every ounce of hope that someday she’d find a way to be more than she was now. That someday the wounds still festering deep inside her would heal as well as the ones on her skin, and that maybe then she’d truly deserve to be in the arms of a man like him.
He matched each of her emotions as his tongue caressed hers. He told her a silent story of loss, of betrayal, and of self hatred in ways she never thought possible. And he showed her with every gentle graze of his lips that he understood, more than anything, what it was to want for something you knew you could never have again.
Together, for just the briefest of moments, they were lost in the same shadowy place - but neither knew how to find the other or how to escape.
Hello! I know I've been seriously absent over the past few months, but I wanted to poke my head up from the rewrites of Eternal Hearts to have some fun! I feel like giving away PDF copies of Eternal Seduction for the holidays, so here be the rules: