Monday, July 5, 2010

Eternity and a Day Excerpt #2


Tomorrow is the big day! I'm so excited.  Eternity and a Day is a story that took an extremely long time to write.  I spent a couple of months researching Greek mythology, creating races and languages, and making a timeline for all the stories I have planned in the series.  I hope that those who give it a read enjoy it.  While the Desires of the Otherworld series can be described as fantasy, I would also classify the stories as paranormal romances.  You get shifters, fae, daemons, vampires, werewolves -- the list goes on and on.

Eternity and a Day Excerpt #2

“What punishment do you intend for the girl?” Eric asked, wanting her to know what fate awaited her here, carefully gauging her reaction.

“She will spend a tide servicing the entire court, rotated between us as we deem fit. She will be allowed to return to her realm at the next Samhain.”

Her breathtaking violet eyes fluttered to his, and the large pupils shifted from side to side, as if she was absorbing the gravity of the situation.

It couldn’t be. Was she excited at the prospect of being made a whore?

He damned himself for forgetting what she was. Of course she would be excited! She was a fucking sidhe fae! She would become nothing more than a receptacle for their lust, an empty object to be pillaged at their blood-letting sexual orgies -- left broken and soiled. Even the most masochistic fae rarely survived a tide in the Dark Court. Of course, the souls that passed into the next life arrived in the arms of the gods happily.

Just as she would.

His other half erupted in fury at the thought, and his vision shifted again, allowing him to perceive things in total clarity. He could hear the possessive propensity inside his head, unyielding and uncompromising -- shelter, protect, nurture, claim -- and he ground his teeth together.

“Please.” Her unexpected appeal was featherlight.

“Please?” he growled, angry at her for being what she was, for bringing these unstable urges from within him.

For rejecting him.

A sidhe telling a Draigen no.

“Don’t leave me here.”

He shifted toward her, and she didn’t move away, remaining perfectly still. He extended his hands, and she stayed compliant and passive, allowing him to encase her wrists with his fingers. A surge of unbridled hunger racked his body. Perhaps she did prefer him, and pride prevented her from speaking out. It was a known fact that sidhe were curious about the Draigen because no Draigen would dare touch or accept a sidhe into their bed.

A violent trembling radiated from her delicate wrists, and his chin shot up. He peered into her face, stunned by the sight that greeted him. The luminescence in her alabaster skin was absent, her violet-colored irises dark and unseeing, the golden centers dull.

She was in shock? No, this was more than shock.

She was completely fucking petrified.

He spoke in a husky timbre so there was no mistaking his purpose. “A tide spent with me is the boon I request, Runaeska. The very same they would take from you. You can stay with your people or come with me. Choose quickly. The king grows impatient.”

A tide was the perfect solution. If he was experiencing nothing more than an intense lust, he would enjoy the girl for a year and return her to the mortal realm after he was sated. If she was something more, he had time to consider his options.

“A tide?” she gasped in horror, face going ashen. “B-but, I can’t stay here --”

She started to argue, mumbling incoherently. His sensitive ears distinguished the sound of the fae king’s approaching footsteps, and a renewed fury distorted Eric’s vision. Even without her consent, he couldn’t leave her here. Christ, he wouldn’t leave her here. Not with succubi and incubi blood drinkers.

Even if she was one herself.

For fuck’s sake!

He swiveled around, growing increasingly agitated as well as unmistakably protective. A deep growl rumbled in his chest as his vocal cords rippled, and his skin began to prickle and itch.

He’d rip out the king’s throat and kill the entire worthless lot of them if it was necessary to keep her with him. He would face the fury and judgment of the Erinyes afterward.

“Wait! Don’t go!”

Her sharp plea brought his focus back to her pensive face, and he realized she regarded his turning away as recognition of her previous denial instead of a display of protection. Believing he’d dismissed her.

“You,” she whispered. Her panicked violet eyes met his, and her chin trembled as she lifted her face. “I choose you.”

Eternity and a Day releases tomorrow at Loose Id.

4 comments:

Cari Quinn said...

So excited about Eternity's release! Wow, the amount of work that went into the world building of this story is incredible. Can't wait to read it...the excerpts have been amazing. :)

Shelley Munro said...

Sounds like an interesting book, Jaime. Congrats on tomorrow's release!

Jacqueline Paige said...

I'm excited too! I can't wait to read it.
Congrats on yet another release, Jaime!!!

April Vine said...

Congrats, Jaime!! What an enticing excerpt, can't wait to read this next!