Author: Anastasia Rabiyah
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance/Vampire
Length: Novella, 17,743 words. 59 Pages PDF
Heat Level: Erotic

Valentine’s Day brings Faith into a nightclub—the last place she wants to be. When she catches the eye of the handsome bartender who offers her a drink, her caution slips away. She can’t take her eyes off him or say no when he asks her to a private dance. When his kisses turn dangerous, she asks to go home, but being bound by a creature of the night is not an easy snare to escape, and escape might be the last thing she wants to do.

EXCERPT:

He stared right at her, his brown eyes deep and perplexing. Just looking at the bartender filled Faith with urges she didn’t want to face. She imagined him crushed against her, his hot mouth testing her lips, savoring her cheek, her neck. But Faith’s last relationship had failed, doomed by her inability to let go, to be, to have fun. Her ex had told her as much, and rather than argue, she had agreed. It was true. Life was a series of dangerous chances that she much preferred to avoid by staying within her tight boundaries. Home, work, home again, nothing else, nothing more, no stepping past the lines into the unknown. She lived by the motto, nothing ventured, nothing lost. The bartender represented a dangerous chance, just how dangerous, she didn’t know—yet.

Her best friend, Matilda, jabbed Faith in the ribs. “He’s hot.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t give me that ‘huh’. You’re looking, too. I see you gawking at him.” Matilda shook her head, a knowing grin on her oval-shaped face. “That guy’s to die for.”

A chill ran down her spine. To die for. Great expression. Not what I would say. Faith looked the other way and watched the throng of people dancing to the beat on the packed floor. Strobes flashed. Bodies gyrated. “I can’t believe you tricked me into coming here.”

“You need to get out more. You’re twenty-three, not ninety-three. I’m surprised you don’t have six cats and a crochet basket by your rocking chair.”

Faith was used to comments like that. She half-smiled and stole another glance at the bartender. He really was good-looking, but she didn’t want to get involved with another guy who would hate her for her inhibitions.

He smiled.

She swallowed, nervous.

“Robby’s here!” Matilda shouted. “I’m gonna go dance. You should too. It’s Valentine’s Day. Don’t be alone tonight.”

Faith shook her head. “I don’t dance.”

“Then go order a drink, at least. There’s a someone there watching you right now.”

“A drink?” she peeped, ignoring her friend’s hints. “At the bar?”

“Yeah. Get something with alcohol in it. Loosen up, Faith.” She flashed a conspiratorial grin. “That’s why I tricked you into coming here.”

Matilda shimmied away to the dance floor. She bumped and grinded her way to the object of her office obsession, Robert Colt from level three, a high up accountant who knew how to shake it with the best of them.

Faith sighed. She watched everyone moving to the beat, some in perfect time like a music video, and others, much worse off. Valentine’s Day and she didn’t have a date, and didn’t think she wanted one either. Resigned to either gaping at the dancers or hiding by the bar, she opted for the latter.

The heels she wore hurt, and had not been her choice. They belonged to Matilda, and she was lucky they weren’t a set of stilettos. Even the cocktail dress she had on wasn’t hers. The shiny black beads drew attention. The skirt rode high above her knees, and the bodice cut between her cleavage to show off her breasts. The dress was not the kind of thing she’d want to be seen in at a public place.

She reached the bar with its wolf of a man behind it and settled in at the last seat, far away from anyone who might want to talk to her or ask her to dance. The bartender moved down the row, stealing a glance at her every few minutes and in between mixing drinks. Beer bottles chinked on the wood. Men picked up women, and Faith looked at herself in the mirror behind the bar, wishing she were back in the safety of her home.

Matilda had done Faith’s hair, letting it down after pinning it all in hot curlers for a while. Garish red lipstick made her mouth stand out. Dark eyeliner and vibrant shadow gave her eyes a striking appearance. Well, I look sexy, she thought. But she didn’t really want to draw attention to herself.

“What can I get you?” He blocked her view, stepping before her.

“Um…”

The bartender smiled at her, his brown eyes mesmerizing. He waited there patiently while she tried to think of something to order, something with alcohol in it so she wouldn’t look like an idiot.

“Sex on the Beach?” He chuckled.

Her mouth dropped open. “Um, I uh…

“Fuzzy navel?” he suggested.

She nodded. “Okay.”

“You’ve never had one, have you?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never been to a bar in my life.”

He crinkled his brow, his smile growing. “Stay here by me, and I’ll keep you safe.” One of his hands came across, reaching out to her. “I’m Tristan.”

She took his fingers in hers and squeezed, politely shaking to return the common courtesy. He was warm, but she didn’t feel safe with him at all. “I’m Faith.”

“So, what made you come to a bar for the first time tonight?”

She nodded to the dance floor. “My friend tricked me.”

His hand slipped away. “Thank your friend for me later.”

Heat crept across her neck and face. Tristan dodged the other way to prepare her drink. Faith stared at his backside, thinking he filled out his jeans nicely. As he poured in the orange juice, she looked down at her hands to find them shaking from nervousness.

The glass touched down on the polished wood. “My shift is over for the night. Enjoy.”

She lifted her chin, disappointed, and even relieved.

“After you finish your drink, if you want to dance…” He winked at her.

“I-I don’t dance.”

“Never?”

She glanced at the dance floor and noticed Matilda and Robby entangled in an erotic pose beneath the flashing lights. The expression on her friend’s face was one of rapture. Faith sucked in a calming breath before she faced Tristan again. “I’ve never actually tried.” She forced an uncomfortable smile at him. “I know that must sound strange.”

He shrugged. Untying the apron he wore, Tristan said, “There’s a first time for everything, Faith.”

“I guess so.” She placed the straw to her lips and sipped. Orange juice and peach schnapps went down smooth, warming her inside. Is this how it began for my father? One drink and then another until he couldn’t remember how to get home?

Tristan slipped the apron over his head and balled it up. “I have to go clean up in the back, but if you’re still here when I’m done, and you feel up to it, I’ll dance with you.”

Here was the moment she should tell him no and politely extract herself from the situation. She could call a cab and be home in less than half an hour. Matilda might be mad the next day, but so what? There would be no awkward moments the morning after—there would be no morning after. There would be no arguments about why she didn’t want to try new things, and no painful breakup months later.

“Yes. I’ll dance.” Another sip. Another. The drink calmed her burgeoning nerves. His very presence made her feel at ease.

He nodded and started toward the employee service door.

She drank down her drink, afraid of what she had agreed to, her mind envisioning a dark room, his hands on her naked body, his mouth lavishing kisses across her breasts. Tristan paused at the door and stared at her over his shoulder, a lascivious grin on his face.

It’s just a dance, she thought. One dance. Nothing else is going to happen.

Author: Anastasia Rabiyah
Genre: Erotic Romance/ Science Fiction/ Interracial Romance
Length: Novel, 55,925 words. 182 Pages PDF
Heat Level: Erotic
Warnings: Violence

Upon touching the statue of the Unangi God of Desire, Shiemer Alonwei reflects on his life, a span of memories lacking in caring or love. With his wife and daughter dead, and the Kyleena Empire to overthrow, he is a man of purpose with no room for passion until he sees Melia. An envoy from the Empire sent to discover where his loyalties lie, she is much more than she pretends to be. The desire to possess her overwhelms him, threatens his obsession with the Empire, and his very life.

These two enemies are faced with tense attraction and must choose a new future or lose each other. In this sequel to Nimmet, Goddess of Love, Kyleena’s hold on the planets in the outer rim loosen. Enrue Alonwei is offered a chance at redemption for his past mistakes and the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to end his loneliness.

EXCERPT:

“There is no listing of a Cossia Melina Dargon. Dargon isn’t even a true surname. Did you make it up?”

Her mouth twitched. Those eyes narrowed. He knew he’d hit a nerve. “Dargon was not my birth name. I chose it. I fancied the game when I was a teen.”

“Your rank,” he repeated. “If you expect me to meet with you, I must know who you really are.”

“I have a message for you from the Kyleena Empire. That is all you need know.” She tapped at her data sharer, a smirk tightening her pert lips.

Enrue frowned, realizing he liked the shape of her face and more so that very expression. Melia seemed to be a woman who knew what she wanted. She acted sure of herself. “When can you be here?” he asked, ready to play her game now. He knew he could win this one, though he ought not to let her near him.

“Oh?” she stopped tapping at her sharer. “You’ll see me now?” She laughed, a tiny chortle in the back of her throat that lighted her odd eyes. “What has changed between us, Enrue?”

She’d done it again, called him by his first name. He leaned back in his chair, a little puzzled. “If you are not a Cossia, then you must be of some value. Perhaps, I merely want someone to ransom in order to get Kyleena’s attention.” He fingered the edge of his sash and watched her mouth twist in a strange grin. Does she look this good in person? His wandering thoughts irritated him. He clenched his teeth and tried to get his mind under control.

“You think you can hold me long enough to ransom me?” She moved closer, her face filling the screen. He stared into her eyes, put off by her amusement. She sucked in her lower lip and released it slowly, regarding him with a familiar coldness.

Enrue’s skin prickled, a sensation he hadn’t felt for what seemed like ages. Heat flared in his loins. He froze, startled by his growing arousal. Sucking in a deep breath, he glared at her. “When can I expect you to arrive?”

“Mm,” she said, taunting him by lowering her lashes and simply studying him. She didn’t answer. Melia sat back. She glanced away as if something nearby distracted her. Her inattention irritated him. It was…arrogant.

“What’s the matter, Cossia?” he taunted back. “Are my officers knocking at your door?”

She laughed once more and twisted her braid through her fingers when she returned her attention to him. “Your officers.” Hissing, she flipped the braid over her shoulder. “I walked right past them in the Alga Dockport. What a bunch of fools. Do they even know how to search properly? Did you even give them a description of me?” Her pupils became slits.

He ran a hand through his hair. Indeed, they’d found no trace of her on the ships that landed in Alga. He couldn’t fathom it. They’d tracked the ships when they entered the atmosphere. “How did you just walk past them?” he asked, finally.

Melia tapped her chin three times with her forefinger. “That’s for me to know and you never to find out.” She smiled wide this final time, reached forward and waved the same finger in front of the screen. “As to when I will arrive in your presence, the answer is…” She blew him a kiss. “When you least expect it.” The com disconnected, a white circle of light bursting in the midst of his viewscreen and gradually fading.