A woman's
memory returns when she falls in love with the monster who took it from her.
Calli tattoos her skin to fill the holes in her memory, thanks to an accident that left her mind damaged and empty. But a nasty encounter with a fired employee leaves her in the arms of her unlikely savior: Nycholas, a predatory, serpentine Vesper on the run from his brutal master.
Nycholas’ clandestine world holds the secrets to mankind’s origin and survival… but he only wants one thing before his time is up: a few colorful nights with Calli, the fragile, tattooed, human woman he pursued and saved.
The more Calli learns about Nycholas, the more her own darkened memories return to her. Despite her haunted past, she loses herself to passion and desire with her immortal captor.
Now, Calli must overcome the demons of her past, or allow Nycholas to kiss her memories away and spare her the trauma of loving a doomed immortal. But each choice comes with dire consequences – some that endanger not only herself, but her family as well.
Calli tattoos her skin to fill the holes in her memory, thanks to an accident that left her mind damaged and empty. But a nasty encounter with a fired employee leaves her in the arms of her unlikely savior: Nycholas, a predatory, serpentine Vesper on the run from his brutal master.
Nycholas’ clandestine world holds the secrets to mankind’s origin and survival… but he only wants one thing before his time is up: a few colorful nights with Calli, the fragile, tattooed, human woman he pursued and saved.
The more Calli learns about Nycholas, the more her own darkened memories return to her. Despite her haunted past, she loses herself to passion and desire with her immortal captor.
Now, Calli must overcome the demons of her past, or allow Nycholas to kiss her memories away and spare her the trauma of loving a doomed immortal. But each choice comes with dire consequences – some that endanger not only herself, but her family as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nola
is a mother, wife, writer, and giggle-a-holic, living in Canada and raising a
pack of kids. In her spare time she can be found geocaching, guzzling coffee,
or tending to her garden. Her VESPER series is on submission by her agent to
publishers, along with WILD HYACINTHE, a paranormal romance co-authored with
Emily Faith.
EXCERPT
“I startled you.” His voice
was dark and smooth, and reminded me of wine. He stood a few inches taller than
me in a long, worn-out brown leather coat that swung near the backs of his
knees.
He kept his head down,
long, blond hair spilling over his shoulders in a way that reminded me of
dreadlocks, though the hair shone of cleanliness, like cords of solid gold, or
yellow steel, or…
Stranger in my shop. Focus. No gold or wine.
“Um, sorry, we’re closed.”
My voice rang with the high-pitched curl of panic on the ends of my words, and
I thought about stooping to pick up my cash but didn’t dare take my eyes off
the stranger. Something about his stillness, the unnatural bend of his head,
eyes on the floor… it left me with a chill on my flesh. His broad shoulders heaved
once as he blew out a sigh.
“Pity.”
I waited for a moment,
glancing about. “You wanna make an appointment? I’m booked tomorrow, but
sometimes we have walk-in space…” I trailed off, that damn breathy tone to my
offer again. Big, broad, and seriously long hair.
I might not have a type,
but if I had one, it would look something like that stranger in my shop. At
least, that’s what I thought… until he raised his head and I realized this
gorgeous man was not human.
My jaw dropped and my heart
slammed against my ribcage, pounding my lungs down into submission… I couldn’t
breathe. Holy fuck! Not good! Not good!
I sucked in a breath to
scream, but a leather-gloved hand – that same, worn, brown leather over a palm
so thick I could hardly see around it – clamped over my face. My scream rang
more in my own chest than in the shop: a muffled squeal no one outside could
have heard.
I hadn’t even seen him move
before he was upon me.
Boring into my gaze were
eyes of solid black, no whites behind the irises; just a glimmer of silver in
the center left the impression of a pupil. His skin was bleached pale, and
something black inked across his eyebrows and temples, running down the sides
of his face and wrapping behind his ears.
He wore an angry snarl on
his lips - pale lips in a sharply-angled jaw peeled back over pearl white teeth
that glinted with an odd fluorescence, like the lights flickering above my head
or the neon sign on the door. I stared at his mouth, unable to scream for the
hand wrapped over my face, and stilled with horror when I realized the bright
teeth nestled behind those pale lips were fangs.
Fangs. Long, pointed, and deadly.
I wanted to scream again. I
wanted to bite his hand and kick him in the groin and run away, but he raised
his chin and glared down at me along his nose, and took a breath to speak.
I didn’t hear his words. My
heartbeat swelled in my ears, ringing with a heady cacophony, and I tried to
make fists, to stay upright, anything… but my vision fell away from me,
distant, tumbling down a sewer drain like a dropped coin, and everything around
me vanished.
For a moment, all I felt
was something smooth along my cheek - the silk of my pillowcase, perhaps. So tired. I blinked but there was
nothing to see, so I closed my eyes again and let rest have me.
It felt like morning when I
opened them again, and the silk was gone, replaced by unforgiving air. Cold.
Was I outside? No, air conditioner. Energy surged through my fingers and toes
and I wanted to sit up, but something weighed me down. I blinked a couple times
and rolled my head to the side, gazing at my shoulder… a brown leather blanket
draped over my exhausted bones, and memory rekindled my fight or flight
response.
Worn brown leather.
Stranger in my shop. I fainted!
I shot upright and gasped,
and then let out a scream with every speck of air my lungs held. I tried to
look around me but my vision blurred… I ran out of air and screamed again,
scrambling backward, kicking off the coat and trying to get my knees under
myself… stand up, Calli, dammit, stand
up!
My legs obeyed, and I
launched myself to my feet and stumbled forward. I slammed my hand into the
sharp corner of the cash register, caught myself and heard a masculine breath
rush out behind me. I didn’t need to see him to know it was him.
The stranger. The monster. I shoved away from
the desk and ran on vacant feet, my heart pounding and my head buzzing angrily
like I had a tattoo machine between my teeth. I swiped the back of my hand over
my eyes to shed the tears from my lashes and try to clear up my vision. The
street looked blacker than usual – shit,
still nighttime! - and the air chilled me so bone-deep it hurt my skull.
MY REVIEW
This was not my normal choice of reading material however I'm not disappointed.
This is a paranormal story but it's not a Vampire, Werewolf, Witch or Fairy. It's a Vesper. Up until this book, I had never heard of a Vesper so this was a nice change of pace. It's also not your average ending however, I see there being more to it in the future that unveils .
A fresh change of pace that keeps you intrigued to know more about this species.
A fresh change of pace that keeps you intrigued to know more about this species.
Calli and Nycholas , both a different type of personality. One an independent person, trying to figure out why her life feels empty no matter what is done and the other whom is unable to read or write anymore due to circumstances that were unavoidable.
Both, find love in each other. Completing what feels lost between them. But, how long will it last?
Do you love so much that you'd give your life to keep them safe?
*Shrugs* Guess you have to read it to find out because my lips are sealed (Well, my fingers are in this case I guess)
The only complaint I think I have on this book is I feel Nycholas's whole character seems to change dramatically between the beginning and the end. It almost felt as if they were two different people. In the beginning he seems to speak as a curious child would (You understand the reason he speaks this way half way into the book) and then later he seems stronger, more adult. This is just my personal thought though and I would not say it's not a good enough reason to skip this book over!
Honestly, you SHOULD take the time to read this. Even if it's just for the fact of how different it actually is!
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