Veiled
Stacey Rourke
Publication date: November 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Political propaganda would have us believe vampires are our friends. Fanged teddy bears misunderstood thanks to archaic lore. Activists picket for them to be welcomed into our society.
They claim vamps don’t kill.
They preach we are safe.
They … are dead wrong.
One year ago a hive slaughtered my family and left me for dead. Found by a team of scientists with their own agenda, I was forged into an unstoppable weapon.
I possess their strength, with none of their weaknesses.
I can move among them free from their crippling hunger.
I am their greatest threat.
Armed with this arsenal, vengeance will feed my desire to penetrate the seedy underbelly of their fetishized lifestyle and expose them for the monsters they truly are.
EXCERPT
“Yes, I’m well aware he can’t vote, Finn. I’m not a complete moron. He is, however, the face of this bill. When people go to the polls, Rau needs to make an appearance. I’ll wait until just before sunset, slather him in SPF one million, and get him there to shake hands with voters. And while I’m doing that, you can do me a personal favor by crawling up your own ass.” Pausing, I barely listened to the colorful insult he threw back. “Yeah, right back at ya.”Ending the “check-in” call with the first person on earth I deemed worthy of the title of my archnemesis, I yanked off my blue tooth headset and tossed it on the desk. The room I sat in, tucked in the back corner of the house, had once been my father’s study. Now, freshly furnished with a cherry stained desk and matching bookshelves, it had become my fortress of necessity to maintain my deep cover.
“It seems you and Finn have found a palpable level of loathing that allows you to work together without bloodshed.” Hovering outside the office’s French doors, Carter leaned against the door jamb with his hands in his pockets. “Is that what the future holds for us?”
Wisps of blond hair fell across his forehead as his intense stare fixed on the curve of my lips.
“I don’t hate you, Carter.” Unable to maintain eye contact with him, my gaze flicked to the slew of papers decorating my desk.
Pushing off his perch, he braved the risk of crossing my threshold. “You aren’t exactly pleased with me either. Which probably has a large part to do with the fact that I’ve never said I’m sorry. And I am, truly. I agreed to help you, because I thought it would get me back in the fold so I could find Coraline. That said, I need you to know that somewhere along the line, it stopped being about that. I should have told you the truth, but—”
I halted his long-winded ramble with one raised finger. “I understand, Carter. Really. You don’t need to explain.”
Especially after what I witnessed from Rawling earlier that same night.
He dragged his hands through his hair, causing flaxen strands to dart off his head in messy spikes. “You say that, yet I really feel like I do. I was weak, I got caught up, and that’s not me. Actually, in some ways it is totally me, and I hate that. I don’t want to be that guy.”
Realizing this purging of conscious was unavoidable, I leaned back in my leather chair and turned into the spin. “Close the door.”
When he turned to oblige, I thumbed open the top three buttons of my blouse, allowing the lace camisole beneath to peek out. Spinning back around, Carter flinched in surprise, a blush of color warming his cheeks and neck.
Rising from my chair, I prowled around the desk with feline grace. “I mean it, Carter. I understand your situation. It’s all science. Right now, you’re experiencing vasodilation, or increased blood flow to your more sensitive regions. Your balls are tightening, dick twitching with primal impulse.”
“Vinx, what are you doing?” Carter asked, his voice husky with a confusing blend of desire and uncertainty.
I closed the space between us, and the rise of my breasts brushed his chest. Tipping my head back to give him a grand glimpse of the money shot, I dropped fang.
Body rigid with desire, the breath caught in his throat. “Vincenza,” he murmured, stare locked on the curve of my mouth.
“Now, the chronic beast of addiction is rearing its ugly head,” I explained, mouth teasing over his. “What you feel is bigger than want. It’s a compulsion. One that makes any potential consequences seem insignificant. With a vamp’s legs wrapped around your waist, you’re touching death. The thrill of it entices you to push farther, to delve deeper for that next fix. Personal limits mean nothing. Not a thing on earth can touch you when you’re riding that high.” Pressing into him, I pinned his back against the wall. The tip of my nose nudged his pulse point, urging his head back with a throaty moan. “Had you not got out when you did, you would have kept pushing that line until you
ended up dead.” Pulling back, my stare locked with his. “Like I said, I understand what you were going through and acknowledge it as the sickness it is.”
“Th-thank you,” Carter stammered, fingers curling into the bottom hem of my blouse.
“That said,” I wove my fingers into his hair, wrenching his head back hard enough to illicit a yelp, and words tumbled from my lips in a menacing hiss, “I wasn’t ready for any of this. I plunged into this snake pit to save your stupid ass. We thought you were being tortured, or worse. Instead, you were in treatment to stop yourself from boning your way into an early grave. Micah having to be changed? That’s on you. We charged in, and shit went south. And all the while, your head was on swivel, looking for your undead booty call. So, yes, in scientific terms, I get it. But don’t, for one second, confuse that with us being okay.”
Author Bio:
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015
Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.
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