Felicity Heaton - Kissed by a Dark Prince
• Pub Date: November 30, 2013
• Publisher: Felicity Heaton
• Format: Paperback/Ebook, 218 pages
• Age Range: Adult
Olivia thinks it's her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He's her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for...
Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.
One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed... or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.
To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.
But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others--his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince's kiss?
Excerpt from Kissed by a Dark Prince
by Felicity Heaton
It’s great to be here at I’m a Book Shark today as part of the Kissed by a Dark Prince Book Tour celebrating the release of the first book in my new Eternal Mates series of paranormal romance novels.
Today, I’m going to be sharing an excerpt from the book.
But before we get to the main event, I want to introduce myself. I’m a British paranormal romance author and a USA Today best-seller. I have been writing since 2005, and went indie in 2006. I love to write big worlds, populated by vampires, shifters, demons, fae and angels, and I have several series. This tour is about the Eternal Mates series, which is actually a spin-off from my Vampire Erotic Theatre series. That series focused on a family of vampires at one theatre in London but it had glimpses into the wider world outside the theatre. It’s that world of fae, dark elves, demons, witches, shifters, and other incredible species that the Eternal Mates focuses on.
Now, on with the show…
Kissed by a Dark Prince – Excerpt
Olivia had never seen anything like the male specimen on the inspection table in front of her.Her heart raced. She hadn’t experienced this explosive combination of uncertainty, anticipation and enthusiasm in a long time, ever since her superiors had stripped her of her rank and sent her to this satellite facility in London, taking away her high-level privileges and forcing her to work on studying demon and fae species already extensively researched. It still felt as though they had shoved her out of sight, burying her in the Archangel equivalent of a basement to punish her for her mistake. She had lost all hope of removing the taint it had left on her name in the organisation.
Until now.
The specimen lying right in front of her was her chance to prove herself again, a gift that some higher power had literally dumped on her doorstep.
Blood stained his neck and splashed across his jaw, and pooled at the left corner of his mouth too, luring Olivia’s gaze to firm sensual lips that had her staring blankly, lost in their perfection. She blinked herself out of her trance. Time was of the essence. She needed to get her study underway before her guest woke up or one of the other doctors belonging to the facility barged in and tried to take over.
She shook her hands to steady them, pulled her digital recorder from the pocket of her white coat, and turned it on. She set it on the silver trolley filled with all the equipment she thought she might need to complete her inspection of their unconscious guest.
Olivia tugged on a pair of latex gloves and ran her fingers over the scalpels and tools, and settled on a pair of shears. It had been a long time since she had been able to work on a live specimen and she wanted to start by getting his vitals monitored.
She picked up the shears and cut down the middle of his long black tunic style jacket. Red stained her cream gloves.
“Specimen appears to have suffered severe injuries, worse than at first thought, resulting in a high level of blood loss.” She reached the end of his jacket and peeled the two sides back. She paused, her eyes widening at the impressive display of taut honed muscles under tight bloodstained and bruised skin. “Specimen also isn’t wearing anything under his coat.”
Completely unprofessional of her but she had expected at least some sort of undershirt, and she certainly hadn’t anticipated a body like this. She drew in a shaky breath, mentally told herself to get it together, and cut upwards along each of his sleeves. She peeled the two sides of his ruined jacket away from his body and set them down on the tray.
“Multiple lacerations and abrasions on his torso and arms. Many appear to be claw marks. Possible demon attack. Subject wears matching black and silver metal bands on each wrist.” Olivia spread her fingers and stroked along the lines of four long slashes over his left deltoid. She gasped. “Specimen has markings on his body that hadn’t been visible prior to interaction with him.”
Olivia tracked the symbols with her fingertips, following them as they formed a curl over his deltoid to his shoulder. Whenever she moved along the line, more symbols appeared, luring her fingers. The colourful swirls and glyphs shimmered through the blood staining him. They swept over his shoulder and under his collarbone, and suddenly she was caressing his left pectoral, chasing them as they followed the shape of his muscle downwards over his heart and around across his torso, and then curled under his nipple to end in a point there.
She had never seen anything like this. It fascinated her. The ones that curled around his deltoid were already fading, disappearing into his skin.
She had made it her business to study the written languages of the fae and demons, because many non-humans bore markings like this and it made it easier to identify the species of the owner. Incubi were born with lines of symbols on their skin that not only changed colour to show their mood, but also detailed their lineage, proudly displaying their heritage in the paternal line. The symbols inked on this male’s skin weren’t that of the common fae language though. They were new to her.
“Specimen’s markings seem limited to his upper torso.” She leaned over him and swept a single finger across his right pectoral, and sure enough, markings appeared there too, perfectly mirroring the design she had followed. Olivia used the shears to cut through the waist of his black trousers and froze when more markings shimmered over his hipbone. “Correction. Specimen’s markings continue on his lower body, notably his hips.”
Olivia flicked a glance at the front of his trousers. If this lean, unusual male didn’t wear an undershirt, what were the chances he wasn’t wearing underwear too?
She curled her fingers into fists and stifled the blush that crept onto her cheeks. She had seen plenty of nude men during her years as a doctor and in her personal life too. He was just a specimen. Her gaze roamed to his handsome face, taking in its sculpted perfection. A very gorgeous specimen.
Her heart beat harder and she rolled her shoulders. She had to get a grip. This was her chance. If she had never seen anything like this man, then there was a chance neither had the other scientists employed by Archangel. All those scientists that were currently enjoying a soiree at headquarters, leaving her as the only medical staff in the building. If she could document everything about this male, and figure out what species of demon or fae he was, then her superiors would have to give her some credit, and maybe she could get back to doing what she loved most—studying new species.
So, she had to do this. He was just another subject.
Olivia cut away his trousers, running the shears straight down each long, toned leg. She removed the central part and swallowed as her gaze betrayed her, darting to his groin. No underwear. Her face flushed. Oh my. The man was built like a god with not an ounce of fat on his lithe body. All powerful muscle.
She set the shears down and took another steadying breath before touching the fading marks on his left hip. They brightened again and she followed them.
“Specimen’s markings curl over his hip from behind. Cannot risk moving specimen without harming him to investigate them. They move down past his... groin... and then sweep back around to curl over his hip.” Her heart ran away with her again, her blood rushing through her ears. She hadn’t needed to follow the marks all the way to make the ones that arced around towards his buttocks appear. Her fingers had brushed the ones closest to the dark thatch of curls around his genitals and they had appeared.
His hip twitched beneath her fingertips.
Olivia quickly pulled her hand back and froze. He didn’t move again. The breath she had been holding rushed out of her.
“I am going to proceed with monitoring the specimen’s vitals.” She picked up several of the pads used as contacts for the machines and stuck them to his chest and below his ribs on the left side. If he had a similar physiology to a human as many fae species did, chances were high that she could pick up and monitor his heart rate this way. She connected the wires, switched on the machine, and placed a clip over his index finger. The heart rate monitor beeped slowly but everything else was off the charts. “Specimen shows extremely high levels of oxygen in his blood, beyond normal parameters. What are you?”
She ran her gaze over him. He had taken a severe beating before they had found him unconscious outside the building, as if someone had wanted them to find him.
Sable, her friend and demon hunter extraordinaire, had taken one look at him and her gift had told her that he wasn’t mortal.
The hunters who had helped her bring him in had believed he had crawled to them or had made his own way to their doors. Sable didn’t believe that and neither did Olivia.
No demon or fae in their right mind would place themselves at the mercy of Archangel.
No. Someone had dropped this male on their porch and left him there, wanting Archangel to bring him inside. Why?
It could be a trap and it would be just her luck if it were.
“Specimen appears mortal. Markings on his skin appear fae possibly.” But they hadn’t captured a fae in years and he was nothing like the fae she had read about in the database or seen firsthand. “Specimen is male, estimated six-feet-six, one hundred and eighty to two hundred and twenty pounds. Black hair.”
Olivia inspected his stomach, pressing in to feel his organs. He felt human but something about him, something other than his mysterious markings, told her that he wasn’t. She peered closer at the severe wounds on his stomach and chest.
“Specimen appears to have advanced healing ability. Age of blood around the wounds is indicative of a recent injury, but the wounds in question are already closed and beginning to scab over.” Many demon and fae species had heightened healing. He could be any number of them. Olivia carefully pulled his upper lip back and studied his teeth. “No fangs. Canines appear normal.”
She drew back and something caught her eye. She parted the wild strands of his short black hair and traced the pointed tip of his ear. Was he a demon? They had pointed ears.
Olivia hovered over him, looking down at his handsome bloodstained face. She had never seen a demon as beautiful, mysterious, or deadly as he was.
Deadly.
She could feel it like an aura around him.
He was dangerous.
And waking up.
I hope you enjoyed this brief peek into Kissed by a Dark Prince!
Be sure to follow this fantastic tour to learn more about the passionate heroes and sassy heroines in the Eternal Mates romance series! You can also find yourself in with a chance to WIN a $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Certificate if you follow the tour. More details, including how to enter and a full list of stops, are available at the Kissed by a Dark Prince Virtual Book Tour page.
Kissed by a Dark Prince is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer and a downloadable 6 chapter excerpt here.
Felicity Heaton is a USA TODAY and International Best-Selling Author.
Felicity writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, try the Her Angel series. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you're looking for something a little darker and sexier, why not read her Vampire Erotic Theatre romance series?
Fans of paranormal romance books by authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole and Christine Feehan will love Felicity's books too.
Find Felicity:
I so want to get this book!!!!! Of course I love them all! <3
ReplyDeleteI am still intrigued by the symbols. I love tattoos! Cant wait for the rest of the books in this series.
ReplyDeleteShalene@nandlall
This was such a great book. I love all her series but this book has been my favorite. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me here today as part of the Kissed by a Dark Prince book tour!
ReplyDeleteOf course! <3
Deletei wan this book so badly. looking forward to read this new series :)
ReplyDeleteWhaaattt!!! More!!! wanna read more!!!
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt was very interesting and make me curious with what happen next!
Thanks for sharing :)
I love all of Felicity's books but I have to admit that right now Im really into the Eternal Mates,I totally loved Kissed by a dark prince and read it twice,am eagerly anticipating the next one,and it is hard to wait!!
ReplyDeletegreat Excerpt, thanks. DebP
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great excerpt!
ReplyDeletejmcgaugh (at) semo (dot) edu
I can't believe I'm just now "finding" Felicity! *hanging head* Oh well...I've found her now so she's a new favorite author to me. Cant wait to read them all!
ReplyDelete