It's been a crazy few weeks with my daughter going back to school and the release of The Sinner and The Damned (The Vampire Wars, Book Two. I haven't had much time to browse for new books. Well, I finally had some time to shop and these are a few of my newest purchases.

Today I'd like to share another excerpt from The Sinner and The Damned. This one is pretty hot so be warned!

It was late afternoon when I made my way through the alley, looking over my shoulder again and again to make sure Hope was not following me. All day she seemed to be there anytime I was about to slip away as if she somehow knew, and we would argue again about things that didn’t even matter.

I came to the iron gate of the churchyard. I looked over my shoulder once more making sure I was still undetected, and pushed the gate open. I heard the scraping sound it made in the bare dirt trench of its path. I stepped inside the garden and closed the gate behind myself.

Sure that I was safe now, I let out the breath I had been holding. I walked along the grass path slowly until I saw movement through the branches of a clump of birch trees.

There was Cassius, wearing only a t-shirt and dark pants, shoveling mulch from a bright yellow wheelbarrow. I could see his coat and collar hanging from one of the handles.

I didn’t make a sound. I watched him move, his skin gleaming with sweat. I licked my lips as his biceps flexed with each movement. For some reason, I wondered if his skin would taste salty if I kissed him again.

“Cassius?”

At the sound of his name, he turned to me. He squinted in the sun, but smiled widely.

Damn...

“Faith...”

My breath caught at the sound of my name on his lips. Why did it sound so good? I could feel my legs trembling, I had to look away to keep from throwing myself against him.

I barely knew this man. How could he have this effect on me?

“Can we talk?” I asked, “Is it safe?”

“Yeah,” he said as he knelt to pick up the garden hose. He opened the nozzle and washed the dirt from his hands, bringing it up so that it ran over his head and neck. “Father Thomas is visiting the hospital.”

I bit my lip, watching the drops of water trail down his near transparent shirt. I blushed and looked away again.

This man is going to be the death of me...

“Well,” I stammered, struggling to concentrate with his wet shirt clinging to his abs the way it was. “I just wanted to apologize for last night.”

He nodded and looked away, “What exactly was going on between you and your sister? It sounded like a warzone over there.”

“We were fighting about the vampires, the possibility of a war, and who should take over as head of the family...You can guess who won that argument--”

“Vampires?”

I stopped myself from going on. I had to remind myself that he wasn’t part of the gifted community. He didn’t know about any of this and to me it was something that was always there, like political talk in the homes of normals.

“This must all sound crazy,” I said with a shake of my head. “Vampires...An impending war. I just wanted to explain why I did what I did. I was upset and you were there, being so nice...I’m just embarrassed.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said as he stepped closer to me. He reached out and pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And yes, it does sound crazy, but no more so than a talking snake or someone turning water into wine.”

He was only inches away from me; I could smell the delicious musk of his sweat. I blushed and looked down at my feet, trying not to think about what he would look like naked. “Well, I just wanted to apologize.”

An awkward silence fell between us. I was painfully aware of how close he was, when I allowed myself to look up, I was staring directly into his handsome face.

“Come with me,” he whispered as he took my hand. I felt my chest seize the moment we touched and I was helpless to keep from following.

He led me around to the back of the chapel and to a narrow door in the bricks. He opened it to reveal a staircase going up. I stuck my head inside and looked up, but all I could see were the underside of the stairs.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s the bell tower,” he said with a smile. “Do you want to go to the top?”

I nodded without saying anything. I let go of his hand and stepped inside. I climbed the twisting stairs, keeping one hand on the dusty banister. When I reached the top, I stepped out under an arched doorway into the clear evening air.

Stepping around the ancient bronze bell, I went to the rail and looked out over the rooftops of Corydon.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I whirled around to see Cassius standing under the arch. I nodded dumbly and turned to look back out over the town.

I didn’t turn, but I heard him as he came closer. There was a rustling noise that I assumed was him taking off his wet shirt. The damp scent of his skin intensified even though I forced myself to keep looking out over the city.

“Do you come up here often?” I asked in a whisper, unable to think of anything else to ask or say.

“Yes. I like how peaceful it is.”

I jumped as he came up behind me and gestured into the distance; the closeness of him was actually intoxicating me and making me dizzy.

“See those dark trees in the distance,” he said as he pointed, “On the other side is Indian Creek. Sometimes if it’s real quiet you can hear the water on the rocks.”

I blushed as I felt his steamy breath on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of him.

He tilted his head down next to mine, “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

I couldn’t answer him. My silence drew his attention even more. He reached out and took my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look back at him.

 “Am I making you uncomfortable?” He repeated.

“No,” I lied.

“Good,” Cassius said as he moved even closer up behind me.

He dropped his hand from my chin, but remained behind me. I could feel his body heat radiating across my back and shoulders. Suddenly, every nerve in my body awakened as if anticipating his touch.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” He whispered in my ear as he pulled me back against him. I melted back against his bare chest, closing my eyes and relishing the moment.

Is it wrong to want you so bad?

I trembled as he slid the straps of my sundress off my shoulders and down my arms. I could feel the hot evening air on my skin as the dress fell to my feet. I gasped as he reached his hand around to caress my breast while the other moved lower between my legs.

Yes...Yes...

“I can see the flush of your skin,” he whispered as his fingers probed my opening, his thumb rubbing against my pubis. His every movement brought all my nerve endings to life. His fingers slid in and out of me, drawing my wetness out, and smearing it on the outer folds before slipping back inside of me. My legs were going weak, parting on their own until it was only him that was holding me up.

I could feel my insides swelling with wetness and his fingers were causing spasms that made my legs quiver. I wanted him to stop, but I wanted him to go on.

Cassius...Cassius...

Just as I was feeling the urge to cry out, he pulled away. I fell against the rail, looking down at the garden below. I turned just in time to see him removing his pants, his impressive manhood ready for pleasure.

He stepped up and turned me back to face the rail. He guided my trembling legs apart. I anticipated his fingers again, tilting my hips toward him.

Suddenly I felt his hardness at my entrance, he reached around and placed my hands on the rail and held them there. I cried out as he thrust the full length of his hardness inside of me.

Oh God...

He moved slowly, in and out of me, each movement sending a wave of pleasure through my body. I exploded only to come back again and again.

“I love you,” he mumbled into my hair, “I love you.”

There was one last thrust and he fell across my back, almost making me fall. As I stood there, with his naked body still pressed against mine, I knew we were both lost.

And I don’t care...I want to be lost...I want to be lost in you...

I can't wait for you to meet the characters from The Sinner and The Damned! Because I'm impatient, I've decided to release a few little glimpses ahead of the August 11th release date! You can pre-order it now on Amazon!

In the backyard, I stood for a moment unsure of what to do with myself. My eyes fell on my mother’s old potting bench against the far side of the house. I went over to it and ran my hands across the cracked terracotta pots, the rusted hand tools, and the wood of the bench even though it was so rotted it was soft in places.

It was somewhat sad that Dad was never able to get rid of all this stuff, but instead left it out here to rot slowly. I was sure he couldn’t stomach the thought of just throwing it all out, but how was that better?

Dad...I didn’t want to think about him yet.

My mind went back to Hope, making me grind my teeth.

I should remind her that technically I’m the oldest...It’s not her place to tell me what to do...If anything it was the other way around...She’d probably just smile at me in that annoying way of hers...

“Damn it!” I swore and threw the hand shovel as hard as I could. I watched it sail through the air and over the garden wall, feeling only slightly better.

I turned back to the potting bench, looking for something else to take my frustrations out on. I picked up one of the chipped flowerpots, feeling the weight of it in my hand.

“Okay, I surrender!” A voice called from the side garden gate.

I dropped the pot and turned just as Cassius came through the gate twirling my discarded hand shovel between his fingers

“Did you lose something?” He asked with his eyes twinkling.

I took the shovel and blushed, feeling the heat coming to my cheeks as I returned it to the bench. “Sorry.”

“Are you alright?”

I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach as he moved closer. I twisted my hands together uselessly, “I’m fine...I just sort of hate my life right now.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, kindness and concern puckering his brow.

I looked away, glancing around to the porch and back door.

“I’m not supposed to be talking to you at all,” I confessed.

He tilted his head, “Really?”

I nodded, “My sister said it was too dangerous.”

The soft rumbling of his muffled laughter seemed to reach out and vibrate up through me.

“Do I look dangerous?” He asked.

I looked Cassius up and down, settling on his bright blue eyes.

“No,” I mumbled.

“You seem to be struggling,” Cassius explained. “And that is my calling...To help my fellow man.”

I shook my head, “But I don’t believe the things you do.”

“I’m not asking you to, but I think you need to talk to someone.”

I looked around, feeling an almost guilty pleasure in disobeying.

“Okay,” I agreed. “But not here.”

“Okay,” he said with a warm smile. “Come over to the church.”

“I couldn’t. Like I said, I don’t believe what you do.”

“I told you that don’t matter, but we can go wherever you want.”

I glanced back around to the porch even though I knew Hope was occupied with the lawyer and would be for hours.

“It has to be somewhere no one will see me talking to you,” I explained, even though part of me wanted to be caught.

Cassius nodded, “How about the churchyard? It’s just on the other side of the wall and the shrubs are so high no one will see you.”

“You don’t think it’s disrespectful?”

“If you’re not part of the church, then it’s just a yard.”

“Okay.”

I followed him out of my own gate and out into the alley that ran to the side of my home and behind his church. He led me through a plain iron gate and into the dark shade of a privet hedge. He guided me into a nook where a small concrete bench stood surrounded by statues of what I assumed where saints.

“Please sit,” Cassius said as he sat down on the bench and patted the space beside him. “Tell me what troubles you.”

I sat down, careful not to let our legs or shoulders touch. I twisted my hands in my lap, “Well, everything is just different. Dad is gone and Hope is just being impossible.”

“Hope is your sister?”

“Yes.”

Cassius nodded, “What are you...Twenty-two, Twenty-three?”

“Twenty-two.”

“Why don’t you move out on your own?”

I looked up at him shocked, but then remembered he didn’t know anything about the gifted or our ways.

“I can’t,” I replied.

“Why not?”

“It’s not our way...It’s not safe.”

Cassius narrowed his eyes, “I don’t understand.”

I took a deep breath and reached for his hand, my heart pounding so loudly I almost forgot what I was doing. It took a moment for the visions to come, flashes of what his life had been before he came to Corydon.

“You were sent here as a punishment...There is an old man in a church...He liked you...But he died...Then you came here...You saw me and hope at the funeral...And flowers...You were bringing flowers to an old woman’s grave...”

Cassius sat silent, still holding my hand. I could feel him trembling.

“See, that’s what I can do,” I explained. “I can see into a person’s past and Hope can see into a person’s future. All our lives we’ve been told that the only way we can be safe is if we stay with our own kind.”

“Your kind?”

“Yes,” I mumbled. “Our kind. You know, others that are like us.”

He nodded, continuing to stare down at his hand in mine. I tried to release his, but he held tight. Finally, he took a deep breath and sighed.

“God has given you an amazing gift,” he said. “But it’s making you a prisoner.”

I nodded and slipped my hand from his. It felt so awkward now, him knowing my secret and being what he was. Could I really trust him?

I lifted my head and looked out over the yard to the brilliant pink roses growing at the feet of a vacant eyed saint.

“Your roses are beautiful,” I mumbled, regretting even coming here.

He turned to me, about to say something when a voice called out from the other side of the wall.

“Faith? Are you out here?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to know what it was he was going to say next. “I have to go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said as I stood, “But it was nice to have someone to talk to Cassius—Or do I have to call you Father now?”

“Cassius is fine and we can talk anytime,” he said smiling up at me.

I walked toward the gate, looking back at him once I was safely on the outside. He sat on the bench, still looking after me.