DARK
STRONGHOLD #1
ERIN M. LEAF
Greyson Dark doesn’t like strangers
in his territory.
Eva Waverley
doesn’t like being told to keep out.
After her
father's suicide, hiking is the only thing that makes the bullying in Eva's new
school bearable. When Greyson rescues her from a tumble, she falls for him
despite his autocratic demeanor. She's leaving for college soon—what does it
matter if she crushes on a man everyone else fears?
Greyson
suspects Eva is his true mate, but duty demands he remain aloof. She doesn’t
know he's a long-lived Sentry, sworn to protect Earth from an ancient alien
menace. When she leaves for college, he's relieved, but four years later she
comes back, all grown up and more gorgeous than ever.
Greyson
can't afford to care for a mortal woman, no matter how compelling. Hackers are
attacking Stronghold, the Sentries' net, and Spiders are swarming beyond the
moon, but when Eva is attacked, he discovers he can't just let her die…
Buy Links: Evernight – Amazon - BookStrand - ARe – Smashwords
Excerpt:
“Eva,
don’t,” Greyson said gently. His fingers touched her temple.
She refused
to take his comfort. “I’ll do it,” she said, turning her face away from his
hand. Anger rushed through her. Damn John. And damn Greyson, for being
a Sentry.
“I already
told my brothers no.” He pulled her close.
Eva didn’t
have the strength to fight him off again. Her lips hit his damp shirt and she
let her head fall into his shoulder. He tasted like rain and dust.
“I would
never use you as bait,” he murmured.
She bit her
lip, hard. If she let herself think about it too much, she’d lose it. “You have
to. It’s the only way.” At least he believed she was innocent. Small
favors, she told herself grimly.
“I’ll find
another way,” he murmured, kissing her hair.
He was being
so gentle. The strangeness of it undermined her best intentions. Dammit.
I can’t do this alone anymore. Eva blinked back tears, and hurriedly
wiped them away. Screw it. I’ll do what I have to, but I want to live a
little first. She grabbed onto him, twining her fingers in his shirt.
“I don’t want to die, Greyson.”
“God,” he
muttered harshly.
The next
thing she knew, he’d lifted her up in his arms. “Greyson, stop,” she cried,
hanging on for dear life.
“Shh,” he
admonished her, heading for the stairs.
She shoved
her face in his chest. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“I do,” he
said, kicking open the door to his room with his foot. The bed was lit with red
and gold light as the sun set over the valley.
Eva trembled
as he lowered her down. “I thought you couldn’t get close to anyone. You said
you had to remain aloof, as a Sentry.”
He growled
as he took off his shirt, tossing the wet fabric to the floor. “I changed my
mind.”
She stared
at his chest. Muscles played over his torso as he popped the buttons on his
jeans. She knew he was strong. He’d picked her up like she weighed nothing at all,
but she hadn’t realized until right now just how much his clothing hid. He
unlatched the metal clasps of his boots and kicked them off, padding barefoot
to the bed. Her eyes went to a rip in his jeans as her whole body went
hot. Whoa, she thought, overwhelmed. Is this really
happening? She’d been dreaming about this moment for years and had all
but given up on being with Greyson intimately.
“Don’t be
afraid,” he said, tugging at the arms she’d self-consciously wrapped around her
chest.
“I’m sorry,”
she said, voice cracking. “I’m not perfect and thin and strong—”
“Shh.” He
cut her off. “You don’t see yourself the way I do.”
She frowned
at him, but he picked up her hands and put them on his shoulders. His
skin is so hot. She kneaded the warm muscles beneath her palms, trying
to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming.
When he
closed his eyes and shuddered, she bit her lip. “I’m sorry,” she said again,
unable to help herself, but then he moved in and kissed her. The shock of his
lips moving against hers destroyed her ability to think. All she could do was
hang on and trust him.
****
Greyson
released the control he held over his empathic power and let himself sink into
her emotions. He didn’t understand why she thought she was so unattractive—Eva
was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever known, not just in body, but in
strength of character. She’d been through so much and come out the other side a
survivor. She eroded his self-control until he couldn’t fight himself any more.
He hadn’t let a woman get close to him in two hundred years, but this slip of a
girl destroyed all his good intentions. He nibbled on her delectable lower lip.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, hands on her hips. No way was he going to stop
now. He’d committed to this, Bruno and his suspicions be damned.
She gasped,
opening to him perfectly. He kissed her again, savoring her taste. Her hands
clutched at his arms and he kissed down her jaw, reveling in the softness of
her skin. “You’re strong,” he said, unbuttoning her blouse and pushing it over
her shoulders. His breath caught when he saw his ring nestled between her
breasts.
“I’m not,”
she argued, but he kissed her a third time, cutting off her protests.
“Gorgeous,”
he whispered when he let her up for air. He peeled the fabric from her body.
Her generous breasts strained against the black satin of her bra and he wasted
no time in nuzzling against them. She slid her hands into his hair as he tugged
at the cup, popping a nipple out over the top. He sucked it in, playing at it
with his tongue until it pebbled.
“Oh God,
Greyson,” she gasped, fisting his hair.
He grinned
against her skin and undid the clasps, sliding the bra away. He licked at her
other nipple, plying the first one with his thumb. His senses were wide open
and he could feel just how much she liked this. When he bit down, she arched
her back. The tiny bit of pain shot her arousal higher. Greyson groaned as the
echo of it funneled through him. His dick hurt where it was trapped in his
jeans. He bit down again, then undid her pants. He paused and looked up her
body. Her fair skin flushed under his gaze.
“There’s no
going back from this,” he said, wanting her to be certain. He reached up and
snagged a lock of her gorgeous hair between his fingers. “Be sure.”
Author
Details:
Erin M. Leaf
is a romance novel devotee, the steamier the better, with a specialty in edgy
erotic tension. She also writes romance as Marie E. Blossom.
website: http://erinmleaf.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/erinmleaf
Twitter:
@erinmleaf
Giveaway : $25 Amazon Gift Card!
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