21-year old Scarlett is a rising star at the academy where she teaches. Her students love her and there’s always a waiting list for her classes. But every night she goes home to an empty mansion with dark rooms and even darker secrets. Being the only surviving member of her family is lonely. So when Scarlett crosses paths with Devon—tall, dark and looking like her favorite fantasy—she’s immediately infatuated.It turns out Devon is more than just a pretty face. He’s enigmatic, worldly, and surprisingly well-read. In fact, he can quote Scarlett’s favorite book word for word. He's everything Scarlett has always dreamed of… literally. And this is troubling. The more Devon pursues Scarlett, the more she thinks she knows him from her past. But why can’t she remember? And why does Devon insist they’ve never met before? Does he protest too much?Devon is aware that Scarlett is hiding secrets but he doubts they concern him. That is, until Scarlett discovers something about Devon, something even he doesn’t know, something that will change everything.As Devon and Scarlett delve deeper into what happened to Devon, the two find themselves falling down a rabbit hole of desire and mystery.Meanwhile, the hand of fate has turned and a portal has opened, a portal to a dangerous underworld of fallen angels… also known as vampires…Warning: May contain triggers. Mature content.
From the Inside Flap
Excerpt: Printed with permission from the publisher under Federal Copyright Act. PrologueTen Years AgoZadie swam as if her life depended on it, though she had no life. Not yet. It was like before when she was swallowed by the lake. Only this time she was coming up, and up, her inhumanly strong legs kicking, her powerful arms pulling through the dark water. Nausea hit as soon as she gulped air. Such a terrible sickness, cured only by a warm human body, she remembered. The volcanic lake and its strip of white sand, the clouded sky overhead, was so timeless, she couldn't tell if she'd gone backward or forward in time. Fat raindrops pelted the water around her. Mist swirled. It must be evening, she thought. The beach was deserted, except for a couple running toward the shelter of trees that once hid thatched roof casas and a tiki bar. Her clothes were in tatters and she had kicked off her slippers light years away. Of course she had no idea how far she'd traveled. She crossed the sand, holding her arms over her exposed breasts, shivering and trying to think past the throbbing pain and cold raindrops. The path was familiar and rough and there ahead were the casas, as if no time had passed at all. Hope surged inside her, a raw human emotion kept alive by a love she couldn't forget. Light came from a window and she slid into the shadows, too weak to make herself invisible.She kept going, her bare feet scraping over rocks and thorny tree roots. She stopped to rest and peered through the trees. One casa caught her eye. It was set back from the others. It had a purple door, red trim. An orange sarong hung over the porch railing along with a black string bikini and men's swim shorts. She stared, wondering: Could this be it? Where she had held him in her arms for the last time?The clothes weren't hers and yet they were the type of thing she would have worn. Her fingers twitched. She was like a cat, a jungle predator, silent and graceful, even while ravaged by fever and weak with hunger. Her actions were instinctual. She peeled off what was left of her clothes and snatched the sarong to wrap around her long body. Her hair was a white flame in the bruised twilight. She threw open the door. He was the first person she saw; his bare back, tawny skin, broad shoulders, the curl of dark hair at the nape of his neck. His Bermuda shorts had slipped low on his hips. Devon...Her memory of him was carnal, more lust and possession than love, but she didn't know the difference. Anymore. And then her gaze landed on the girl who gaped at her. "What?" the girl's voice was light and fluttery, nervous. "Who are you?" They had been embracing, she realized, before she entered and ruined the moment. A smile curved at her lips. But when the man spun around, it wasn't Devon. This man was crudely made by comparison. "Whoa, hey," he said, a twist of humor in his voice, as if it was funny. "Wrong casa." Like he thought she was high. Or stupid. Pain scalded her vision. She advanced. The girl screamed and the sound hurt Zadie's ears. She lashed out, sending the girl careening across the room. The girl's head smashed into the edge of the table. There was a thunk. And then beautiful quiet. The man lunged at Zadie. His breath was tinged with beer. The scent of terror wafted from his pores. He tried to pin her arms but even in her weakened state, she was too strong. She slammed him against the wall. And then she was on him, kissing his neck, and his mouth. Her hands moved down his body, inside his shorts. In a burst of ecstasy, she bit his neck. He whimpered. God, he was sweet. It was too bad about the girl. She would have to hightail it off the island before the authorities got involved. She wore the man's clothes because the girl was a tiny thing. His jeans were loose but the right length. She knotted a red T-shirt at her waist and slid her feet into a pair of flip-flops that were only slightly too large. Before leaving, she bent down and checked the man's pulse. He was still alive. They'd probably blame him for the girl. Contents of a money belt spilled out on the table. Zadie grabbed a wad of cash; cordobas and a few US dollars. It wasn't much but she didn't need much. She could already feel her powers growing, straining at the seams. It was an easy walk into the village. As quickly as it had come, the rain had ceased. Whenever a car went by, she hid or made herself invisible. She would have to lie low until she could get off the island. When she got to town, it was dark and the streets were lit by shaky streetlamps. The first thing she did was steal a newspaper. Her heart hammered, as if she was human. She stared at the date. Oh God, oh God, oh God.She would never forget the last time she'd seen her sire, Inka. The date was carved into her memory. She'd made it her mantra, the one thing she had to remember. She shook the newspaper, disbelieving. Could she be so unbelievably, stupidly lucky? Barely a year had passed since she'd been caught, tangled up in that poisonous net. Inka was the fish who got away. She glanced around, looking for the dark shadow of Angel wings. She even went into the tienda and pointed at the date on the paper. Though she spoke atrocious Spanish, "Es hoy... today?" the woman understood. "Si, si!" she answered, with a beatific smile. It was good to be back. She sat on the damp sidewalk and pored over current events. She understood a few words in Spanish and proper names. The gist of what was going on in the world was evident in the photos; Senator Passwater caught with another bimbo, nuclear waste running amok, go figure, uprisings in the middle-east. Same shit, different day. She was intoxicated by her heightened senses, the smell of ink on the pages of the newspaper and rain moistened earth, the cheap sugary sundries lining the shelves of the tienda. Around her, nightlife began to stir. Two young girls, arm in arm, walked past, giggling over some shared secret. Many blocks over, on the edge of town, a bottle shattered in the street. The sound pierced her eardrums. She cast the paper aside and stood up. Her powers needed tuning, but another feeding and she'd be as agile and powerful as ever. She headed down to the dock. Taco meat sizzled on a grill. The scent was glorious. Music thrummed from a nearby bar. She reveled in the familiar sensations as she walked. Hands in the pockets of her jeans, she gazed at the ferry schedule and saw there was a midnight boat to Granada. Imagine. The stars were aligning for her. Centuries could have passed. Or turned back. But they hadn't. When she boarded the ferry, she didn't have a ticket. All it took was her smile; wide and lovely and bewitching. She didn't feel gratitude though. Humility was too human. Too pathetic. She was a lion among lambs...
