Hi everyone!
You've been hearing me talk about it, and the day is here!
Fated for Sacrifice, the 5th book in Inherited Damnation, releases today.
Fated for Sacrifice
When Reese Hamilton is abandoned in the snow-laden woods, she must find her way to Dáire McLaine’s cabin—a friend she’s known for years, and the man who makes her pulse triple. Little does she know that a cozy night in the woods will lead to passion they both have been longing to explore. But with the new change in their relationship comes something darker and more terrifying, and Reese must confront danger, even death, before she can be free to love.
Dáire McLaine will do anything to escape his demonic blood and attain mortality, even if that means defying nature’s laws and manipulating Reese’s thoughts for his own means. But when he delves into her hidden secrets, the staggering emotion he encounters makes it impossible to deny the forbidden longings of his own heart. He’s yearned for Reese over the years. Yet to love Reese will demand the ultimate sacrifice—his life.
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EXCERPT
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EXCERPT
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“You’re better off without him.” The observation slipped free before he realized it had even registered in his mind.
“I know,” she answered quietly.
He shrugged a shoulder. Might as well delve deep. “What took you so long to figure it out?”
Reese’s hands stilled, gauze hovering over the slice on the backside of the coyote’s paw. She blew out a breath that stirred her uneven bangs, and gave a soft chuckle. Then, taking up her task once more, answered, “I guess I didn’t want to admit failure. He was ashamed of me from the beginning. Never introduced me to family if he could get around it, never left me alone with family when he couldn’t. Talked for me as often as possible.”
Every word she uttered drew Dáire’s gut into a tighter knot. He’d witnessed some of what she mentioned, but that had been at political get togethers, campaign meetings, and interviews with the press. He hadn’t realized Tom’s domineering ways extended into their life beyond the public eye. Damn him. The man deserved a good beating. One that he wouldn’t soon forget.
Dáire reached to help her with the tape. Their fingers brushed as she wound it around the animal’s leg, and a spark sizzled all the way to his shoulder. His gaze caught hers. “But why’d you stay when you could have had something…else?”
She looked away, back down to her fluttering hands. “You mean someone else?”
“Yeah.” He swallowed, his throat as dry as the gauze beneath her fingertips. Though he’d terminated the link with her subconscious, he felt her spirit as keenly as if she’d touched him. This thing whatever it was, hovered between them, snapping and crackling until his nerves stood on end and his very skin tingled. All he wanted to do was touch her. "Tom’s a damned fool. You’re a prize, Reese.”
A slow smile spread across her face as she tipped her head to the side and met his gaze. “And you’re a charmer, Dáire.” She let the coyote’s paw slide from her hands and rocked back onto her knees, distancing herself. Her voice dropped so low he had to strain to hear her. “Tom would have us for breakfast, lunch and dinner, if we let this go any further.”
At that moment, Dáire didn’t care what Tom Martin would do—he had to touch Reese. Had to kiss her again. Taste that sweetness that Tom was too blind to see.
With the briefest glance at the coyote to insure his mental influence remained intact, Dáire caught Reese’s hand. His gaze held hers steadily, daring her to embrace the desire that they’d unleashed. “Tom doesn’t have to know.”
Her brittle laugh caught him off guard, and he gave her a frown. “What?”
“That’s a very Tom-ish thing to say.” Still chuckling, Reese pulled her hand free and tucked it into her lap. “I think I’m done with being hidden away.”
Hidden away? Had she lost her damned mind? He’d show her off to the entire world, if he could be certain she wouldn’t suffer the backlash for it. Driven by a force he couldn’t define, he leaned forward and cupped her face between his palms. A hard edge crept into his voice. “I’m not Tom.”
Before he could rationalize his reaction, he followed sheer instinct and lowered his mouth to hers. Denying her the opportunity to consider things, he nudged her lips apart. His tongue stroked hers, and with the heavy thud of his heart, desire arced through his body. This was what he wanted, what he’d spent centuries chasing but could never find. The headiness of a kiss, the erratic clang of his heart. The utter helplessness of knowing he couldn’t stop, no matter time, place, or reason. The completion that came with such a total loss of control.
Reese’s hands tangled in his hair, holding him in place as she returned his kiss with equal hunger. Her body sank into his, soft breasts molding against his chest, full hips brushing his as she sought the connection he yearned for. He slid one hand down her delicate spine, curved his palm around her buttock, and compressed her against his swelling cock.
Tearing his mouth from hers, Dáire pulled in air and feathered his mouth along her jaw line to the lobe of her ear. He took it between his teeth, suckled for a heartbeat, before he let it slide free. “Don’t say no, Reese,” he whispered huskily.
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YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM FATED FOR SACRIFICE
YOU HAVE JUST READ AN EXCERPT FROM FATED FOR SACRIFICE
~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com
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Yay!!! Congrats.