Hello, my lovelies! We're still celebrating the week with author Doris O'Connor! Read on ahead to learn more about her latest story and remember that she's holding another giveaway! *wink*
Nightmares – real or imagined?
Have you ever had a nightmare? And I don't
mean the absurd, can't possibly be real type. No, I mean the heart pounding,
sweat inducing, wake up terrified, and check your loved ones, type of
nightmare, that leaves you so disoriented you're not sure if it was a dream or
if those terrifying events really happened.
Thankfully they happen to me only rarely.
And when they do, it takes me days to shake them off.
But imagine, if they were to happen night
after night. Each one more terrifying and disturbing than the one before, and
involving the people you love. Such is my heroine's reality. Every year in the
run up to Halloween she has the most disturbing nightmares and this year—the
year of the blood moon—they are more terrifying and real than ever.
Suzanna hates Halloween with a passion only
rivaled by her sister's Ayala's love for the festival of All Hallow's Eve. But
then the beautiful Ayala does not have to contend with Suzanna's nightmares.
When Suzanna moves into her own, isolated place to get the privacy she craves,
the nightmares return with a vengeance.
Will her new, mysterious neighbor, Drake,
prove to be her salvation, or her doom?
I am giving away one copy of this
anthology. Just leave a comment and tell me if you have nightmares :-)
Blurb:
When the blood moon coincides with
Halloween, the forces of darkness unite to wreak their evil spells. Will this
All Hallows Eve bring joy or sorrow? Curses abound and destiny calls, as a
vampire watches over his human. Devils atone to the moon, and shifters hunt
their mate on land protected by a powerful white witch. An angel takes human
shape to protect the gypsy girl he loves, and a black widow hunts her prey in
human form.
In these five chilling and sexy tales, is
love enough to break the cycle? Or is all lost under the orange glow of the
menacing sphere in the sky?
Excerpt:
"Invite me in, now!"
The deep commanding voice broke
through the pain filled haze of her consciousness and she obeyed the steely
command instinctively.
"Co—come in."
A manic screech rang in her ears
following that barely audible whisper, and the vise hold on her body ceased.
She collapsed against the hard, tall frame of her neighbor with a sob.
"Easy, there, I've got you.
Can you stand?"
"I … I think so. Am I still
dreaming?"
His chuckle vibrated through her,
and she screwed her eyes shut again, this time in embarrassment. Here she was
clad in nothing but her bunny, flannel pajamas, having had a sleep walking
induced nightmare, and her hunk of a neighbor had to come to her rescue. She
locked her knees and put her still shaking hands on his bare chest. A jolt of
awareness shot through her system at the simple contact, and heat stained her
cheeks. Oh good God, he was wearing nothing but low slung jeans, the hard ridges
and valleys of his abdomen clearly visible in the bright light of the
approaching super moon. Already the almost full orb hung much lower in the sky.
Two days from now, at Halloween, it would be red, and full, and so close you
could touch it. The world would go a little bit crazy, and if she lived through
the night the nightmares would finally stop.
Where did that thought
come from. If you live? Melodramatic, much?
Ayala's fancy stories were getting
to her, and the man still holding her in a protective stance was, too. Her
nipples beaded against the flannel of her top, and arousal pooled low in her
belly, as his clean, dry scent suffused her. It stirred something achingly
familiar deep inside her soul, and she risked a quick peek up at him. Suzanna
lost herself in the hypnotic quality of his azure gaze, its depths shimmering
with concern and unmistakable male interest. She sucked in a breath, and
hastily stepped away, crossing her arms over her boobs, lest he noticed how he
affected her. The whole situation was embarrassing enough without her body
betraying her lecherous intentions towards her neighbor. So what if he was six
foot five of drop your sopping panties male perfection? That didn't mean she
had to give in to her baser urges, or that he would even be interested in her.
Men always preferred Ayala's obvious beauty and outgoing nature to Suzanna's
own shy, reserved response. She had lived in Ayala's shadow all her life, her
sister's light complexion and platinum locks a direct contrast to the raven mass
of Suzanna's long tresses, which resembled the darkness residing in her soul. A
darkness that seemed intent on destroying her this year once and for all.
Suzanna shivered, and instantly her
savior rubbed his hands up and down her arms. The friction created by those
long fingered hands sent another tingle of awareness along her frozen skin down
to her core. She clamped her thighs together to relieve the resulting ache in
her pussy, and her voice was far huskier than she would have liked, when she
tried to make light of the situation.
"I'm sorry. You must think me
a right lunatic. I sleepwalk, you see, and somehow I spooked my cat, and … Oh
God. … I screamed, didn't I, and—"
Her voice trailed off, and her eyes
widened as she took in the devastation to her kitchen door. Clean busted off
its hinges it lay in a mangled heap on the floor. How on earth could he have
done that? They were supposed to be fire doors—at least that’s what the estate
agent had stressed they were when she'd rented the place. Security had been
important to her.
"You did scream. I was
concerned, and I fear your door has borne the brunt of that. Forgive me for my
heavy handedness. I don't normally bust down a lady's door, when I haven't even
had a chance to introduce myself. The name is Drake."
He took a little bow and flashed
that incredible smile of his. It lit up his face, and Suzanna couldn't help but
smile back. What a ridiculous pair they must make. She in her pajamas, he in
just his jeans, grinning at each other in the moonlight like besotted
teenagers.
Drake extended his hand with
another little bow, and she took the proffered hand without hesitation. Another
jolt of recognition hit her, and her smile faded. He tightened his hold on her
hand for a second, before he released her and shrugged his huge shoulders.
"I am sorry about the
door. I will fix that for you, but I am not sorry about finally getting a
chance to speak to you."
"Oh?" She cursed herself
inwardly for her seeming inability to string a coherent sentence together when
he was around.
"Yes, I have been meaning to
introduce myself, but I keep odd hours, and you seem to get little enough sleep
as it is."
A fresh wave of heat stained her
cheeks. Had he been watching her? Otherwise how would he know that?
"I didn't want to intrude on
your privacy, and for my part I am sorry if my being awake at night has
contributed to your sleep problems."
"Oh no, that's quite all
right, really. It's been quite comforting to know someone else is close by
actually. It gets lonely here."
The isolation had spoken to Suzanna
when she had first seen the place. Set at the end of a long road there were
only two houses this far out of the village. The peace and quiet had been
soothing, until the nightmares started again. But there was no way she could have
stayed at Ayala's place for one minute longer than necessary. Suzanna had
needed her own space, away from Ayala's picture perfect life and the string of
boyfriends she'd paraded in front of her. The offer of a pity fuck to shake her
out of her miseries, as Ayala's latest boy-toy had called it, had been the
final straw. Suzanna might not be God's gift to mankind, but she would die a
virgin before she took on Ayala's leftovers.
"A penny for them."
Drake's deep voice shook her out of her musings, and she forced a smile on her
lips.
"They're not worth even that,
I can assure you."
She sucked in her breath when he
leaned closer and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Why don't you let me be the
judge of that, Suzanna?"
BUY links:
