Rosalie Stanton's Lost Wages of Sin Has Arrived!!

As you all know, I am close friends and crit partners with author Rosalie Stanton. After I read her first book, Firsts, I was in love. She creates characters that breathe life into the page. Yes, I'm a fan. But more than that I love being her CP because I get all of her stuff before everyone else. I can honestly say that Lost Wages of Sin "almost" knocked Firsts (and Thorn, yummy!) from the top of my favorites lists.

This book is fantastic. The writing is sharp, the story is one I wished I'd thought of, and I couldn't put it down. The book releases today at Liquid Silver Books. Be sure to check it out! In another week or so, I'm having Rosalie by. Give her book a shot, you won't be disappointed!

Lost Wages of Sin Blurb:

Sin's work is never done...

Ava should know. For nearly two thousand years, she’s worked for Lucifer himself, infecting the heart of man with greed wherever she goes. She wasn't prepared to fall in love, certainly not with an angel. And she definitely wasn't ready to experience her first broken heart after her angel breaks things off in the form of a Dear Jane letter.

Now Ava has a problem. Lucifer believes she might have shared some of Hell’s secrets with her former lover, and her siblings face the possibility of being out of a job due to her indiscretion. Ava flees to the American South, hoping to slip off the radar and is met by a longtime friend, a vampire named Dante. Granted, Ava doesn’t know Dante has been in love with her for centuries, and doesn’t understand why he won’t leave her alone no matter what comes after her.

With Hell on her trail, Ava’s running short on friends. Meanwhile, she can’t ignore the suggestive looks Dante keeps sending her way. Something tells her it doesn’t take Hell to get things hot…

Lost Wages of Sin Excerpt:

The cigarette smoke fogging the bar was part of the permanent décor as was the pulsing music and constant stream of chatter. It had character Dante could appreciate, though his already vivid imagination had them somewhere else--somewhere dark and secluded. Somewhere he could finally own up to centuries of pussyfooting. As it was, his gaze hadn’t moved off Ava since she’d licked a drop of beer off her soft, luscious lips.

God, the things the woman did to him.

Dante shook his head. It had been this way as long as he could remember. Ever since she popped into his life--perfect and confident, and without any indication as to who she was, or from where she drew her unusual powers--he’d been on her leash. Like most demons he encountered, he’d thought her human until seeing her in action. She blazed with brilliance when she fought, and he did all he could to get a front row seat for every scuffle.

Yet he’d never seen her like this. Dejected, depressed, her dark amber eyes burdened and heavy. Her pristine skin almost always burned with rouge, but tonight it was pale as the moon. Tendrils of auburn hair framed her face, bringing to light emptiness he would never have associated with a being of such strength and importance. He knew what had happened. Most everyone who knew Ava had been approached after she went missing, and though he’d known it was the truth a large part of him hadn’t believed it until tonight.

Ava in love with an angel. Ava in love with anyone who wasn’t him.

The possessive beast in his chest roared with anger, but Dante washed it back with a mouthful of beer. It wasn’t as though he had any claim on her. He never had, despite the few attempts he’d made over the years to charm her into bed. Ava had simply never shown interest in sex--or any other basic part of the human experience--and since Dante wasn’t one to start spouting sonnets, he’d shoved his feelings deep into the recesses of never-going-to-happen and focused on being there for her when he could.

He hadn’t lacked female companionship, either. It was one of the nightlife’s best perks. He needed to eat, and the women he chose as blood donors were always warm and receptive, and likewise left his bed a satisfied customer. He hadn’t bothered developing a lasting relationship--hadn’t taken the steps those of his kind took in order to ensure the path to eternity wasn’t a lonely one.

The only woman he wanted for keeps was unavailable, and currently sat across the table with a face so haunted he had a good mind to hitch the next ride skyward and give a certain angel a piece of his mind. “How long are we gonna sit here?”

Ava’s eyebrow arched. “Thought you wanted a drink.”

“Got one.”

“Then stop complaining.”

Dante licked his lips. “This was your idea, you know.”

“None of this was my idea.”

“The drinks?”

“No, assface.” She gestured emphatically. “This. With you. With anyone. Here. At all.”

His jaw tightened at that. True enough. She hadn’t sought him out at all, and he’d torn the world apart in search of her. It stung more than it should. After all these years, he’d assumed--foolishly--he was someone to whom she could turn during a moment of need. Besides enjoying each other’s company--Dante to the tune of loving her from a distance--they joked and laughed and had a decently normal working relationship. Perhaps they weren’t friends, but damn it, they were something.

Why she ran remained a mystery, but the burden weighing her down spoke volumes of what she could not. He had to know about the angel--about the only man who had known Ava’s lips and felt her body. He had to know about the man who wasn’t him.
Yet he didn’t exactly know how to broach the subject. Throwing a wrench into a centuries-long friendship sure as fuck seemed easier on paper. The most he could come up with was, “Wanna spill, precious?”

Ava’s attention, which had seemingly wandered off onto some train of thought, snapped back to his. “What?”

“About your celestial honey? The one who rushed back to the Pearly Gates with his wings between his legs?”

She slammed her drink against the table, her mask of the sadness exploding into anger. “Bite me.”

“Tempting.”

“Yeah. If you have a death wish.”

“Baby, I’m a living death wish, if you pardon the expression.” Dante waggled his eyebrows and blew her a kiss.

*****

Interested? Redirect to Liquid Silver Books by clicking the book art above to purchase a copy! They go one sale at 7pm EST. Trust me, you're going to love this story. I'm buying a print copy myself. ;-)