I dropped my champagne flute.
In a flash of movement that didn"t register on me, Stephanie"s hand shot out and caught the gla.s.s before it fell to the carpet.
Those words, spoken in a deep, throaty voice, sounded not aloud but in my head.
"Oh my G.o.d," I was still whispering.
"Yes, honey, tracking you." Stephanie"s voice sounded amused and I tore my eyes from Lucien and looked at her. The minute I did she smiled. "Oh, Leah, it"s good. When I say that, I mean it"s good. The Buchanan women have been aiming for Lucien for centuries. Everyone aims for him. The only catch that comes close is Cosmo and your mother had him," she paused then grinned a cheeky grin, "and, of course, me." She chuckled then said, "You don"t have to look so scared."
"He just...Stephanie, he just..."I stammered then heard more words in my head.
No, Leah. Don"t tell her.
My mouth snapped shut. I didn"t snap it shut; it just did what it was told.
Oh my G.o.d, I repeated in my head, panic overwhelming me.
Relax, my pet. He spoke again, also in my head.
Leave me alone! I shouted, yes, yet again, in my head.
I heard his laughter not with my ears. It was even more beautiful than Stephanie"s. It was so beautiful, it was enthralling. And it wasn"t just amused laughter, it sounded slightly surprised, slightly expectant, even, I could sense, slightly aroused.
What in the h.e.l.l?
"I can hear it," Stephanie said softly, tearing me with a start from my nonverbal conversation. "And see it," she went on and I stared at her. "He"s marked your every movement. Even the slightest movement you"ve made, Leah, he"s marked it. His heart is beating in tandem with yours exactly. Everyone knows, every vampire here that is, they can all hear it, see it, sense it." Her voice went softer, turning reverential. "n.o.body can do that like Lucien. It"s beautiful."
She wasn"t talking about him speaking in my head. She was explaining what tracking meant.
Still, I was stuck on another point.
"His heart is beating?" I asked her.
She nodded on another smile. "You"ve got lots to learn, honey."
I was so shocked at this news I forgot that a vampire across a crowded room was speaking in my head.
"Vampires" hearts don"t beat," I told Stephanie stupidly, since she was one, she should know.
"Oh yes they do. You"ll see," she sing-songed, grabbing my hand, and moved me around, heading in the direction of Lucien. "I don"t know what he"s playing at but enough"s enough. I"m hungry."
She was moving us toward Lucien.
No. Really, really, no.
I dragged my feet and hissed, "What are you doing?"
She didn"t answer my question, instead she said, "I figure he"s showing you off. It"s his way which is normally quite interesting but right now it"s annoying. I"m tired of playing bodyguard. Again, no offense but I want to get to Reed tonight." Her fingers gave my arm an affectionate squeeze and her strength didn"t allow me to drag my feet, powering me ever forward.
I tugged at my arm. Her fingers gave me another squeeze, this one different, telling me I would not get away.
I tried something different. "Listen, Stephanie, I don"t want to be selected tonight."
"No chance of that," she told me happily as she drew me ever closer.
I stopped talking when I looked at Lucien. His eyes were again locked on me, marking me, as Stephanie said, and finally I got it.
They were possessive, declaring ownership, bottom line, I was his. I could see this even from a distance.
I could even sense it.
Others watched, swinging their gazes between him and me.
My heart started beating even faster as the people he was standing with noticed our approach and stepped aside, clearing a path to him.
No! No, no, no, no! My mind shouted, my eyes again locked on his.
Yes, he said in my head.
Seriously, stop doing that! My brain yelled at him.
I heard another chuckle in my head.
I scowled at him.
He burst out laughing, this time not in my head, but out loud.
This was, to all those around him, for no apparent reason and they stared at him, stunned. But I knew the reason.
My scowl was joined by my nose wrinkling in irritation.
He shook his head, a smile still tugging at his beautiful mouth.
Stephanie brought me to a halt right in front of him.
He was taller than he seemed from a distance, bigger, more powerful, completely overwhelming. He made me feel small.
I wasn"t small, not by any stretch of the imagination. I was five foot nine, over six foot in my blood red shoes. I wore a C-cup bra. My a.s.s was my nemesis, it always had been. It was completely impervious to every diet known to man.
Your normal, average, every day guy couldn"t pick me up, not for more than a couple of seconds anyway.
This man, even if he wasn"t a vampire, could have done it. No doubt.
I felt fragile in the face of him. Breakable. Delicate.
All conversation in the room had again died.
The entire room was silent. Everyone was watching.
I opened my mouth to say something, likely something foolish, when Stephanie spoke.
"Lucien-" she began, her voice impatient.
He cut her off. Eyes locked on mine, he didn"t lead into it, he didn"t even say "h.e.l.lo."
Instead, his deep, strong, throaty voice announced loudly, "I declare my intentions."
Oh s.h.i.t.
"Thank you, G.o.d," my mother breathed happily from behind me.
Until the Sun Falls From the Sky and the entirety of The Three Series is currently available in eBook and print.
You can learn all about The Three series on Kristen"s website: www.KristenAshley.net ******
Have you tried Kristen"s Ghosts & Reincarnation Series?.
If you haven"t here"s what you"re missing...
Sommersgate House.
Douglas Ashton is the cold and unfeeling owner of the sprawling, gothic Victorian Mansion Sommersgate House. Julia Fairfax is his stubborn American sister-in-law. After tragedy strikes, Douglas and Julia are forced to live together at Sommersgate and raise their newly-orphaned nieces and nephew.
Douglas has no desire to raise his dead sister"s children nor does he want the distraction of the tempting Julia living under his roof. Julia is struggling with grief and trying to make a go in a new country without much help from impossibly handsome but even more impossibly remote Douglas. Not to mention, she has to deal with the active hostility of Douglas"s frosty, Attila-the-Hun-in-a-skirt mother, Monique.
Douglas decides the best way to give the children what they need, get his mother to behave and give himself what he wants is to marry Julia. When he tells her (yes, tells her) she will be his wife, Julia thinks Douglas is (probably) insane. And anyway, she"s decided if she ever has another husband (since the last one wasn"t so great), he was going to be short, balding, have a paunch and worship the ground she walks on (none of these characteristics define Douglas in the slightest).
One more thing, Sommersgate House is haunted by the ghosts of the man who built it and the woman who was the love of his life. They both died mysteriously at Sommersgate months after it was finished. When they did, a curse settled on the house making it seem strangely alive. And the only way for the beautiful but frightening house to rid itself of this curse is for its owner to find true love.
Lacybourne Manor In 1522, the very night they were wed, Royce Morgan and his new bride, Beatrice G.o.dwin, were murdered on their way home to Lacybourne Manor. After the cruel deed was done, a local witch came across their bodies, witnessing firsthand the tragedy of star-crossed lovers. Vowing that Royce and Beatrice would someday uncross those stars, using magic mixed with murder as well as true love, she linked their spirits together with hers (because someone had to protect them) forever...or until their reincarnated souls find happily ever after.
Now arrogant, forbidding Colin Morgan lives at Lacybourne. He knows from lore (as well as the portraits of Royce and Beatrice that hang in Lacybourne"s hall and the small fact that he looks exactly like Royce Morgan) that he"s the reincarnated soul of his ancestor.
One stormy night, flighty, free-spirited, scarily-kind-hearted Sibyl G.o.dwin comes to Lacybourne and it doesn"t escape Colin"s notice that Sibyl is the spitting image of Beatrice. However murder, magic, a warrior"s heart beating in a modern man"s chest, a woman bent on doing good deeds even if they get her into loads of trouble, a good witch whose family has vowed throughout the centuries to protect true love, distrust and revenge make a volatile c.o.c.ktail.
This means the path to happily ever after is paved with tranquilizer darts, pensioners on a rampage, Sibyl"s bad morning moods, heartbreaking misunderstandings and all kinds of magic, good...and bad.
Penmort Castle Cash Fraser is planning revenge and to get it he needs the perfect woman.
So he hires her.
Abigail Butler has lost nearly everything in her life and she"s about to lose the home she loves.
Cash meets Abby, who"s posing as a paid escort, and the minute he does he knows he"s willing to pay for more than Abby being his pretend girlfriend. A lot more. Abby needs the money or the last thing that links her to her dead family and husband will be gone.
The deal is struck but both Cash and Abby get more than they bargained for.
Cash realizes very quickly that Abby isn"t what she seems. And while he changes strategies, Abby finds out that Cash"s legacy, Penmort Castle, is like all the tales say-very, very haunted. Making matters worse, the ghost in residence wants her dead.
Abby"s found herself in the battle of her life (literally) so she enlists Mrs. Truman, her nosy neighbor, Jenny, her no-nonsense friend, Ca.s.sandra McNabb, white witch and clairvoyant with a penchant for wearing scarves (and lots of them) and Angus McPherson, dyed-in-the-wool Scot (which means he hunts ghosts in a kilt) to fight the vicious ghost who has vowed that she will rest at nothing to kill the true, abiding love of the master of Penmort.
Fairytale Come Alive In Isabella Austin Evangelista"s life miracles never happen...she knows she"s destined to be the princess who"s stuck in the middle of a fairytale where there will be no happily ever after.
Once upon a time, Prentice Cameron loved Isabella Austin. Until he discovered she was a spoiled rich girl who spent her summers toying with his heart.
Life led Prentice to his own fairytale, the love of the full-of-life Fiona Sawyer. That being so, that fairytale was torn away when Fiona died leaving Prentice with a house to keep clean, piles of laundry to be done, a business to run and two children who were getting tired of takeaway.
But Isabella comes back to Prentice"s tiny fishing town and she sweeps into his children"s lives like a beautiful, well-dressed fairy G.o.dmother who bakes exquisite chocolate cakes and gives the perfect manicure to six-year-old girls. Then Prentice finds out Isabella"s soul-destroying secrets, secrets that explain why she left him so many years ago.
Fiona, stuck in her village and forced to haunt her family and watch Prentice and Isabella"s crazy dance, finds the impossible happening. She"s cheering for Bella and Prentice to rekindle their love. Then she finds out why she"s caught in her heartbreaking haunting and discovers she must embrace her magic and keep Bella safe or Bella"s fairytale will never come true.
Lucky Stars Belle Abbott is pathologically shy. Because of this, she"s living a nightmare due to the fact that she"s also a national treasure hounded by the media. James Bennett is known the world over as the perfect catch, handsome, wealthy and the owner of an intimidating castle on a Cornish Cliff, Chy An Als Point.
Belle and James meet and in one night, they fall in love. The problem is, Belle"s dating James"s brother.
As quickly as they fall together, Belle and James are torn apart. Not long after, circ.u.mstances throw them back into each other"s lives and they find they were right that first romantic night. They were meant to be.
Even if their families want them together, James"s brother Miles does not. Dogged by a rabid media who are fascinated by their love triangle, as well as Belle"s hidden demons, James and Belle find they have yet another problem to solve. The Point is haunted by the ghosts of two children murdered in the castle. And their murderer will stop at nothing to keep their souls tethered to The Point instead of letting them live eternity with their mother and father.
Belle is determined to find her courage and help them. To do this, she enlists her loopy mother, loopier grandmother, James"s even loopier ex-girlfriend and the dubious (but talented) team of rock "n" roll witch Ca.s.sandra McNabb and Scottish ghost-hunter extraordinaire Angus McPherson to help the children find their way back home.
Kristen"s Ghosts & Reincarnation series is available in eBook with print editions coming out in 2016.
You can find buy links for these t.i.tles at Kristen"s website: www.KristenAshley.net *****
Glossary of Parallel Universe.
Places, seas, regions in the Kristen Ashley"s Fantasyland Series.
Bellebryn-(place) Small, peaceful, city-sized princedom located in the Northlands and fully within the boundaries of Hawkvale and the Green Sea (west) Fleuridia-(place) Somewhat advanced, peaceful nation located in the Northlands; boundaries to Hawkvale (north and west) and the Marhac Sea (south) Green Sea-(body of water) Ocean-like body of water with coastlines ab.u.t.ting Bellebryn, Hawkvale, Lunwyn and Middleland Hawkvale-(place) Somewhat advanced, peaceful nation located in the Northlands; boundaries with Middleland (north), Fleuridia (south and east) and the Green Sea (west) and Marhac Sea (south) Keenhak-(place) Primitive, warring nation located in the Southlands; boundaries with Korwahk (north) and Maroo (west).
Korwahk-(place) Primitive, warring nation located in the Southlands; boundaries with the Marhac Sea (north) and the nations of Keenhak (southeast) and Maroo (southwest) Korwahn-(place) Large capital city of Korwahk Lunwyn-(place) Somewhat advanced, peaceful nation in the farthest reaches of the Northlands; boundaries to Middleland (south), the Green Sea (west) and the Winter Sea (north) Marhac Sea-(large body of water) Separates Korwahk and Hawkvale and Fleuridia Maroo-(place) Primitive, warring nation located in the Southlands; boundaries to Korwahk (north) and Keenhak (east).
Middleland-(place) Somewhat advanced nation with tyrant king located in the Northlands; boundaries to Hawkvale (south), Fleuridia (south), Lunwyn (north) and the Green Sea (west) [The] Northlands-(region) The region north of the equator on the alternate earth [The] Southlands-(region) The region south of the equator on the alternate earth.
Winter Sea-(large body of water) Arctic body of water that forms the northern coast of Lunwyn, filled with large glaciers.