About the Author.
A life-long martial arts enthusiast, Bianca enjoys a number of hobbies and interests that keep her busy and entertained such as playing the guitar, shopping, painting, shopping, skiing, shopping, road trips, and did we say...um...shopping? A bargain hunter through and through, Bianca loves the thrill of the hunt for that excellent price on quality items, though she"s hardly a fashionista. She likes nothing better than curling up by the fire with a good book, or better yet, by the computer, writing a good book.
To learn more about Bianca D"Arc, please visit www.biancadarc.com. Send an email to Bianca at Look for these t.i.tles by Bianca D"Arc Now Available:
Dragon Knight Series Maiden Flight Border Lair Ladies of the Lair The Ice Dragon Prince of Spies FireDrake
Tales of the Were Lords of the Were
Caught by Cupid Anthology Forever Valentine
I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1 Wings of Change
Resonance Mates Hara"s Legacy Davin"s Quest Jaci"s Experiment
One and Only Sweeter Than Wine
Coming Soon:
Brotherhood of the Blood Phantom Desires A deadly crash changes the fate of one lonely vampire.
One and Only 2008 Bianca D"Arc
A Brotherhood of the Blood Story.
Vampire enforcer Atticus Maxwell stands at the edge of his own oblivion...until the faint heartbeat of a desperately wounded mortal woman calls him back. The terrible crash that almost took both their lives has brought him a charming, intriguing woman who just might give him a reason to live again.
Lissa was headed for a conference at a resort in a last-ditch attempt to find a job. Instead, on a rain-slick mountain road that almost killed her, she finds the love of her life. A love with the most eligible, reclusive vineyard owner in Napa Valley-one that isn"t quite human.
No barrier-not even breaking the news to Lissa"s friends-seems too great to hold back their blossoming love. Until they learn the accident that brought them together wasn"t an accident at all, but a murder attempt by an unknown enemy. Atticus saved Lissa once. Can he keep her that way in the face of a renewed threat?
Enjoy the following excerpt for One and Only: When Lissa Adams woke, darkness engulfed her. Straining to see in the absence of light, her breath accelerated as she panicked. Her apprehension only grew when she realized another person lay beside her. A soft dripping sound echoed through what she supposed was some kind of underground chamber or cave. That"s what it sounded like-and smelled like. She felt rough rock and scattered grains of sandy dirt beneath her palms.
She knew the mountains were dotted with such places, but she couldn"t remember how she"d gotten here. Or why she was so groggy.
She tried to sit up, but the effort it required nearly blacked her out again. The being beside her stirred at her movement, and she felt more than saw the person rise to lean over her.
"Where are we?"
"I moved us to shelter."
Rich and warm, his voice bathed her senses in a dark and dangerous way.
s.e.xy, she thought. She"d heard that voice before.
It was accompanied by flashing eyes and chiseled features. A man"s face flickered through her mind. She"d been fascinated by him and instantly captivated. She remembered thinking he was quite possibly the most striking man she"d ever seen.
"You stepped on my foot."
He chuckled at her innocent observation, setting her insides aflame.
"Indeed. But that was more than twenty-four hours ago."
He stroked a gentle finger down her cheek and she shivered, not in fear, but in surprising arousal. If just the brush of his finger could elicit this response, she wondered what he could do if he really tried.
That thought stopped her cold. Men like this one didn"t usually go for women like her. Better to focus on the peculiar situation she found herself in than daydream about her rescuer.
"What happened? I remember the bus swerving..."
"Ah, yes. Just before we rolled down the side of the mountain. You hit your head very hard, I"m afraid. That"s probably why you"re still a bit fuzzy."
"Where"s everyone else?"
He paused only slightly. "Dead."
Her breath caught in shock as her mind raced. "How did we...?"
"Relax, sweetheart." He moved closer. "I pulled you from the wreckage and found shelter, but I was badly damaged in the accident as well. I"m sorry for it, but I need your essence to speed my healing."
"My what?" Hot breath bathed her ear as he settled closer to her side. His strong arms enveloped her shoulders as his mouth stroked over the line of her jaw and lower.
"Don"t be afraid. I won"t hurt you, but I need your blood, and I"m too weak to cloud your mind. You"ll have to trust me." His words whispered against her shivering skin. He dragged sharp teeth back and forth over her jugular as if savoring the moment before the feast.
She barely had time to take in his words before he struck. A piercing pain registered only for a flash, followed by the greatest bliss she had ever experienced. Intensely s.e.xual, it engulfed her in a way she"d never known. He sucked at her neck, licking at the essence of her, swallowing like a thirsty man in the desert. Yet reverence and gentleness communicated through his tender handling of her bruised and battered body.
Oddly, she didn"t object. She knew she should be afraid, but an intense arousal overwhelmed her. She didn"t have the strength to voice even the faintest protest.
He drank for what seemed a long time, his hands moving over her body, molding her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and stroking her skin. Only then did she realize she was naked. She gasped as his long fingers stroked down between her legs, angling inward, invading her most intimate places as his mouth caressed the tender skin of her throat.
He knew his way around a woman"s body. Those skilled fingers knew just where to stroke, just where to pinch to drive her excitement to the highest possible point. She teetered on the precipice as his fingers slid in the arousal he drew from her body. His mouth sucked at her neck, his breath feathering through her hair, his pleasing masculine scent teasing her senses. And the feel of him. He was hot and heavy against her, hard as only a man could be and muscular in a way she hadn"t expected.
One hand cupped her breast, teasing her nipple as his fingers finally pierced the imaginary boundary, sliding inside her, where few men had ever been. But this man-though she"d known him only a few minutes, really-was like no other man she"d ever encountered. He fired her senses like no other, sending slick, hot arousal to her core. Even the thought that he was some sort of dark creature out of legend couldn"t stop the most intense s.e.xual experience of her life.
That one tantalizing finger pumped into her, stretching her. He added a second digit as she whimpered in need. She hadn"t had s.e.x in a long time. She was tight, but her body remembered pleasure, and this man-this vampire!-proved himself a master at manipulating her responses. He owned her pleasure.
Two long fingers stroked within, his thumb teased higher, rubbing in perfect counterpoint. She came with a wrenching jerk of hips that threatened to dislodge him, but his great strength kept her easily in his clutches. He continued the stimulation, extending her o.r.g.a.s.m for long, intense moments while his upper body covered hers, his lips feeding hungrily from the small incisions he"d made in her neck. The pleasure washed over her in the most intense waves she"d ever known and right then she didn"t care if he was a vampire, werewolf or Indian chief. All she knew was his mastery. And she already knew she wanted more.
"I will always love you." Not just a figure of speech when you"re undead.
Big Girls Don"t Die 2009 Crystal Jordan
In the Heat of the Night, Book Two Six months ago, Andre St. James committed the ultimate one-night-stand party foul by turning Cynthiana into the sp.a.w.n of Satan...also known as a vampire. He insisted he knew they were meant to be together forever and ever, so why wait for her to be on the same page with him to suck the life out of her?
What. Ever. The only thing the two of them share is chemistry that blasts off the charts. So she drop kicked him out of her life and told him to never come back. He listened. Until now.
Andre knows Cyn has trouble dealing with his take-no-prisoners approach to life, and that turning her against her will was a mistake. But he"s got patience born of centuries of immortality, and he"ll do whatever it takes to get back into her good graces and stay there forever. Including wait until she has no choice but to turn to him.
After all, no one understands forever like a vampire. He"s loved her from the moment he saw her...and he always will.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Big Girls Don"t Die: My hands clenched on the steering wheel. I had to get to my cousin. That"s all I could think. Please, please let Desi be okay. I loved that little girl so much. I was going crazy right now. Worry gnawed at me like a hungry werewolf. One quick look at the speedometer told me that I was about ten miles over the speed limit. They wouldn"t pull me over for that, would they? I pushed my convertible Mini Cooper a little faster.
Flicking a glance down while I punched the speed-dial, I tried to get Misty on the phone for a progress report on Desi. It was a few hours to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, but if I hurried I could be inside the hospital before dawn. Something else to get p.i.s.sed at Andre for. No reflection, no sunlight.
My stomach rumbled. Oh, yeah. Cravings for blood. Another lovely side effect. When was the last time I had fed? I meant to have something substantial before I went to Eclipse, but Andre had sort of interrupted that plan. I "d barely taken any blood from him, so my stomach felt as if it was digesting itself right now.
"Hi, this is Misty and Desiree, leave us a message-"
"d.a.m.n it." I huffed out a breath and tossed my cell phone on the pa.s.senger seat.
My gaze swept the barren landscape along I-15. There wasn"t anything for as far as I could see except dirt and stars and a few ragged Joshua trees. When I glanced back at the road, a large white jackrabbit hopped in front of my car.
"s.h.i.t." I jerked the wheel and swerved to miss it, but the crunch of bone sounded as it bounced against the underside of my car. "Oh, that is just nasty."
And then my tire blew up. Rubber popped. The Mini Cooper"s back end spun out. My heart stuttered as my pretty little car made grinding noises when the metal of my tire rim hit pavement.
"s.h.i.t, p.i.s.s, motherf.u.c.ker. Oh G.o.d. Oh G.o.d."
Skidding off onto the soft shoulder of the road, the car finally came to a stop. I sat there and panted while my heart rate galloped. My knuckles showed white on the wheel, and I had to force myself to relax my grip and reach down to shift into park.
My hands shook on the door handle when I hauled myself out to go look at my tire. I walked around the car to the pa.s.senger side and kept an eye out for crazy-a.s.s drivers who might be too blind or stupid to see the emergency flashers on my car and hit me. Oh, yeah. That was the flattest tire I"d ever seen. Little bits of rubber hung off it and flopped on the ground.
"Spare tire, Cyn. Put it on and get the h.e.l.l to Vegas." Popping my trunk, I-What the h.e.l.l?-Where were the jack and tire iron? I had forgotten to check for them in this car when I bought it from the used car dealership last week. Now that I needed "em, they were nowhere to be found. Fan-d.a.m.n-tastic. Time to call in reinforcements.
I opened the pa.s.senger door and fished around for my cell phone. Please, please, please let me have cell phone service. I was in the middle of b.u.mf.u.c.k nowhere. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, not daring to look. My breath whooshed out when I saw I had full bars. I pulled in a deep breath while I dialed my roadside a.s.sistance number. The number was programmed into my phone, just in case. You never knew when a Rambo-wannabe jackrabbit would hang on to your b.u.mper and use his last breath to shred your tire. f.u.c.king bunny.
I punched in all the appropriate numbers and listened to a recorded voice tell me to call 911 if it was a life threatening emergency. Well, duh. "h.e.l.lo? I have a flat tire, and I need someone to come put on my spare-"
The woman dispatcher"s professionally concerned voice cut me off. "Okay, ma"am. Are you in a safe area?"
I looked around at the miles and miles of dirt. "I"m kind of in the middle of nowhere, but I guess I"m safe."
"Good. Now where are you exactly?"
"I"m not sure. I"m eastbound on I-15 about a hundred miles west of Las Vegas. I don"t see a call box or any mile markers."
"So, you"re east of Las Vegas-"
"No, I"m west of Vegas going east toward Vegas." I rolled my eyes.
"What city did you just pa.s.s?"
Did I just speak English? I swear I"d told this woman I had no idea where I was. I was worried about Desi, not about where I might pop a tire. "I"m not sure. I know I"m about a hundred miles west of Vegas."
"All right, ma"am. We"ll dispatch someone, and they should be there in about twenty to thirty minutes."
"Thank you!" I could be with Desi soon, then. I shivered as the cold desert night air hit my bare shoulders and legs. Hurrying back to the driver"s side, I slid into my seat.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. Oh, good. Must be the tow truck driver.
"h.e.l.lo?"
An older female voice responded, "Hi, Ms. Trent. I"m sorry, but we won"t be able to dispatch anyone until we know your location. Can you tell me exactly where you are?"
I blinked. "Um. I already told the last lady I talked to."
"Can you tell me again?"
Okay, stay calm. I"d only been on the side of the road for about half an hour. Everything was fine. "Sure. I"m not one hundred percent sure of where I am, but I"m eastbound on I-15 about a hundred miles west of Las Vegas."
"Are there any mile makers nearby?"
"No." And I sure as h.e.l.l wouldn"t wander around in the frigid a.s.s desert to look for one.
She was silent for a long moment. "Um. All right, ma"am. We"ll dispatch someone, and they should be there in about twenty to thirty minutes."
"Sounds good." I sighed and dropped the phone on my lap.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rang.