Fallen
Shadows of Regia,
#1
by Tenaya Jayne
Date of
Publication: September 29th 2017
Publisher:
Cold Fire Publishing LLC
Cover
Artist: Tenaya Jayne
Genre: PNR
Tagline: Destiny is a heartless bitch.
BLURB
Half vampire and wealthy playboy,
Maddox lives his life in the public eye and thoroughly enjoys his bad
reputation. But what most people believe of him is not who he really is. Life
has always been easy for Maddox, but now a dark figure moves through the
shadows slaughtering innocent young women, and the evidence points at him as
his exes start turning up dead with his name carved into their skin.
Erin hates everything Maddox
stands for and when her best friend becomes the most recent in the line of
mysterious killings, she has no doubt the rich lothario is responsible. Torn by
grief, Erin decides to take matters into her own hands and she will stop at
nothing to make Maddox pay.
But when the two rivals finally
come head to head, neither is prepared for the sparks that fly or the eternal
bond that destiny weaves between their souls. Maddox is desperate to keep Erin
by his side and prove to her his innocence. Erin would rather die than
submit to being his destined life mate… And her death is just what the killer
has in mind.
Buy Link: Amazon
Excerpt
“You
want to hurt me, don’t you? You want revenge?”
“Yes.”
She breathed.
“I
see.”
“I’m
going to reject you, Maddox. I can’t see any other way.”
“My
gosh…” He put his head in his hands. “You’re serious.”
“Completely.”
He
opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head. “Why haven’t you done it
then?” His tone turned harder.
“I’m
not finished hurting you. I haven’t even started.”
“So
we’re enemies then?”
“Unequivocally.”
He
smiled, catching her off guard, and causing her disquiet.
“Why
are you smiling?”
His
smile grew. “Was I?”
She
got her feet. “See? This is why I hate you. You’re terrible.”
“Are
you leaving then? Is your pain manageable?”
She
hesitated. He stood and reached for her before she could think, taking her
forearms in his hands. The pain was shoved back. She caught her lip between her
teeth and fought to not moan. The only defense she had was to close her eyes
and not look at him.
“You
can hurt me, but I won’t hurt you. I’ve done enough of that already. I’m sorry
about Selena. I did treat her badly. I wish I could take it back… But you don’t
know me. You don’t know my family…I believe in us, Erin. I have hope.”
Her
eyes snapped open. “I didn’t think you a fool, but you are. Why would you say
that?”
“I
trust destiny doesn’t make mistakes. So you go ahead and strike at me. I
deserve it. I won’t dodge my guilt, and I won’t retaliate.”
“What
about Melina?”
“It’s
not quite as it appears…like a few other things you’re so sure of. There.” He
released her and stepped back. “Same time tomorrow?”
“Fine.”
She glared.
“I
have something for you.”
“I’m
not interested in gifts from the likes of you.”
“Sure.
You’ve made yourself clear how you feel. And it’s not so much a gift as…a
necessity I think. Hold on.”
She
sighed and held still as he walked into the other room. He was back in a
second, holding a small box and a watch.
“This
is for you,” he wrapped the watch around her wrist. She was so taken with it
she didn’t even think to object. The band felt like a second skin and snaked
around her wrist like a flowering vine. The surface of the face trembled and
the words Hello, Erin swirled in the
middle. She touched it, scrolled through it.
“I’ve
never seen tech like this.”
“It
hasn’t hit the market yet. I had Tesla make it for you today. It’s connected to
mine, in case you actually need me sometime. And you can’t delete or block me,
so forget those thoughts. I can see you were already plotting.”
“Okay.
I’ll keep it. Now I can at least respond with venom when you drunk dial me,
like earlier.”
“I
wasn’t drunk. Not from lack of trying. Getting burned repeatedly has a sobering
effect.”
He
handed her the box. “Don’t open it until you’re home. It’s a portal. It will
connect your room to mine. Wait!” he grabbed her hand as she was about to throw
the box. “You can close it on your end. I won’t be able to come through it
unless you open it on your side. Even then, I won’t unless you ask me. My side
will always be open to you.”
“This
is pointless.”
“Oh?
I thought it would make things more convenient for you. I can go where I want
when I want. This way you don’t have to come on foot for our next appointment, since you’ve made it clear
you don’t want me at your house…Just take it with you. You can think about it.”
“I’ll
take it, but it will be a cold day in hell when I open it.”
He
shrugged. “It’s yours. You decide what to do with it.”
She
narrowed her eyes. “I meant everything I said. I’m going to hurt you. It’s not
a game.”
“Oh
no? Sounds like a game. And just because I said I won’t hurt you, doesn’t mean
I won’t be making moves to achieve what I want. And here’s my first move.”
“What,
the watch?”
“No,”
he wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her closer. “If I was the
person you’ve accused me of being, I would take you right now.”
Her
eyes widened. “You wouldn’t…I’d fight.”
“You
think so?” He moved in, his voice dropping. “I have the connection on my side.
You’re already lit up for me. You can’t hide it, Erin. I feel it. Your body
will tell me the truth, even when your mouth lies. If I was that person, I’d
kiss you. I’d put my hands on you. You might fight, but I’d take you under in
seconds, and you’d surrender. You’d fight me to give you more, like you did the
first time.”
She
trembled, trying to hold herself strong. He was right. “You’ve made it all
about you. Your choice. Your power. You can’t ever have me like that.”
“No.
I won’t ever have you like that. It’s
not that I can’t.” He let go and stepped
back from her.
She
headed to the door and stopped. “Bad move, Maddox.”
“Go
home.” His voice was cold and he turned his back on her.
She
closed the door behind her, but she didn’t leave immediately. Fury slid molten
under her skin. Was she in over her head with him? She faced the house again.
“I
hate you!” she shouted at the door.
“Yeah,
yeah,” he called back from the other side. “You’re mine.”
Oh!
She wanted to kick things. She marched home, burning in more than one way. She
would make him pay for that tomorrow.
Buy Link: Amazon
Author info
Reading my bio, huh?
Real life sucks. I bet you feel like that
sometimes, maybe even right now. That’s why I write fantasy. I need to escape
depression, bitterness, bills, illness…I could go on, but you get it. In the
pages of fiction, I can slay the dragons, triumph over the bad guys, be
immortal, and never struggle with love handles. For a short time, I can let it
all go, and be everything I can’t be in real life. Maybe you’re hurting right
now. Maybe you’re in the waiting room of the hospital, or just stuck in
traffic. I’ve brought a portal. Come with me…Let’s ditch this crappy popsicle
stand and go somewhere great, where we can forget all this, at least for a
while.
That’s why I write. I’m not an author, I’m an
escape artist.
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