Meet Marie Lavender and learn about the
I Love Romance Blog!
The I Love Romance Blog is a place to talk about the topic of love and any romance novels we’re interested in.
My name is Marie Lavender. I am a multi-genre author of 24 books. I have written and published in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy, romantic suspense, science fiction, dramatic fiction, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. The list of genres/subgenres just goes on, as you can see on my ‘Projects and Writing’ page on my official author site. I also write love poems now and then for ILRB. Romance is a weakness of mine as both reader and writer. My author website is http://marielavender.com/.
I run two other blogs, Marie Lavender’s Books! and Writing in the Modern Age.
Desiree Edwards has a problem. She’s been attacked, kidnapped and forced to get along with a vampire of all things. It’s something right out of the story books she reads, or her worst nightmare. But, sometimes he’s not the monster he appears to be. He seems so humanlike that she can’t help it when her emotions betray her, when her body betrays her. To make matters worse, she finds out more about herself than she ever wanted to know.
She was unlike any other…
Alec has a problem. The animal in him wants Desiree. But, so does the man. The more he learns about her, the harder it is to deny what he wants. But, he’s a freak, and she’s just a human. The two species don’t mix that way. Then an old enemy surfaces and Alec is forced to make a choice. His life or hers.
Can Alec’s soul be saved by this unique human? Or will it be far too late?
What if you found out that you weren’t exactly…human?
Myah Sullivan is suddenly living that nightmare. There are Others in the world, dangerous, supernatural creatures that make her mind spin and cause her to question the reality she’s always known.
Oliver King is her savior, a vampire who tries to show her the way. Through her journey she learns far more than she ever thought she would about herself, and about the past. Soon, she discovers that there is so much more to meeting Oliver than mere happenstance.
Can Myah accept her new reality, or will she retreat into that normal, safe world she once thought was her own?
From out of nowhere, a dark figure materialized at the foot of the bed. For a moment, it grasped the iron rail with black claws. At least, she thought they were. The shadow was tall and through the darkness, she could detect a pale gaze.
Impossible.
She shut her eyes tight, sure it was her imagination screwing with her head. Or at least a dream’s remnants. When she opened them once more, the figure was gone. Like it had never been.
Her breath whooshed out in a relieved half-laugh. “Been hitting the vodka again, Myah?”
A masculine chuckle nearby made her body freeze.
She gasped, scrambling back against the headboard. Scanning the room, she couldn’t see the intruder. “Wha…who are you? What do you want?”
Duh, Myah. What else could a man want if he broke into her apartment? Money or use of her body, willing or unwilling.
Then she saw him again, the dark figure closer, standing beside the bed.
She opened her mouth to scream, but was tackled across the mattress. Before her mind could track the motion, a hand clamped over her lips. He’d moved so fast. Terror propelled her movements and she bucked, trying to throw him off. Only it was impossible. He was too strong, and a corner of her mind informed her it wasn’t just because he was a man.
“Shh. Relax, darling. Don’t scream. I won’t harm you.”
Yeah, right. Let me take your word on that one.
I swear I won’t hurt you, a low, masculine tone echoed in her brain.
Even in the darkness, his eyes seemed to burn into hers. “I mean it, you know. I can’t hurt you.” Though her chest rose and fell beneath him with panicked breaths as he pinned her, she heard his grave vow. “If I move my hand away, do you promise you won’t yell?”
Maybe, but I won’t promise not to bite.
Her teeth ached, and she dismissed it as the fact that his hand was fastened across her mouth. She managed a tight nod in reply.
The intruder eased his hand off her. With legs split open beneath him, his hard weight registered. His scent was unusual, like an orange and spices, and when his solid form urged up against her, she shook her head. Deep inside her was a strange quiver. In fact, her entire body was tingling like some internal warning system. She knew no matter what happened tonight, she might not escape this alive.
“I really won’t hurt you, Myah Sullivan.”
“I can’t be sure of that,” she rasped. “Perhaps you’ll murder me and no one will ever know.”
She saw the shadow as his head shook. “I cannot harm you. You have my vow and the pain it causes me to even imagine it.” His voice was deep, yet it had an achy pitch, and she couldn’t help wanting to believe him.
Stop it, she scolded herself. There was no way to know what he intended.
Myah wet her suddenly dry lips. Keep him talking and don’t piss him off. That was the smarter move here. “H-how do you know me?”
He shrugged and his mouth caressed her cheek.
Had he been stalking her for a while? Her breaths sped up – a combination of what he was doing to her as well as the thought that he’d planned this for a reason other than theft. When his lips brushed her throat and the cold air he released through his nose whispered over her ear, she wanted to moan. His tongue traced the soft depression beneath her lobe, then his lips traveled the curve of her neck. Her body warmed. Mouth agape, it took a second to recognize she wasn’t repulsed. Far from it. Little by little, she realized her fight-or-flight response had turned to desire.
He still held her immobile though. As she resisted, kicking out at him, he slipped into the softness between her hips. A bulge that shouldn’t have been there, pressing into her again. Instead of incapacitating her wrists on the mattress, he held her hands in his. She clutched his larger ones in return and had no idea why she experienced such a response to him. Suddenly, she was willing, felt urgent.
“You want me,” she stated. Why it’d spilled from her mouth, she had no idea. It wasn’t like she had any intention of encouraging him, his impressive erection aside.
His laugh was self-derisive. “But that’s not why I came.” He used his teeth to scrape against her neck gently.
Myah shuddered with a foreign anticipation. “Please,” she whispered. Her entire body grew increasingly warm beneath his ministrations. What on earth was happening? She should be fighting back, or at least bide her time until she could locate a weapon. But the flashlight inside her bedside table wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, it wasn’t like she could reach it with him holding her down. Damn it.
The man groaned when he inhaled hard, his face in her neck. The sensation tickled her skin. Welcome warmth moved through her body. As he nuzzled her, her eyes automatically closed, head tilting in response as if to supply him better access. Part of her, the sensible half, stiffened in horror. No! What was she thinking, letting him do God knew what to her? “Pl-please,” she found herself saying once more.
“Please, what? Please stop or would you like me to continue?”
Her brain seemed to stall out. “I…ah, I don’t know.”
He chuckled. “It appears we’re in the same strange mess.”
She couldn’t manage a reply.
He lifted his head to stare down at her. “I’m going to ask you an important question, Myah. Will you answer me?”
She nodded, returning to her conversational plan. That was best. Probably for both of them if her reaction to him was any indication. “If I can.”
“Fair enough. Do you know what you are, Myah? Who you are?”
“I don’t understand. You know my full name.”
“But do you know what are you? A part of you, somewhere inside, knows you’re different from everyone else. I smell it on you.”
She frowned, tempted to ask what he smelled exactly, other than her perfume. She was meticulous about bathing. Gazing up at him, she felt she was on the precipice of comprehension, something monumental. But his words were foreign. They didn’t make any sense to her addled brain. Especially when combined with the fact that she understood she wanted him closer, much closer. But, she wasn’t sure what he wanted from her. Hell, maybe the guy was crazy.
Just the truth, Myah. I want the truth. You can trust me with it, I vow it now. On my honor, I won’t tell another soul.
There, that odd voice was in her mind once more, as well as a cool impression across her forehead. As she realized she wanted to submit to him, Myah shook her head, fighting the sensation. Oh God, maybe she was insane too.
“Who are you really, female?”
She kicked up her chin in defiance. “What? I am me.”
A devastating smile crossed his face, teeth flashing, perhaps only viewed because of the sliver of moonlight cutting into the room. Also, his hair was light, silvery. Pale and spiky. Maybe it was white or blond, she couldn’t tell. But damn, he didn’t look old enough to have white hair.
“No, Myah. What you are. Where you came from. Your kind. Other.”
“Other?” she echoed the strange word.
“What are you, Myah? You aren’t human.”
Her breath caught. Half of her wanted to believe him. Deep inside, she’d always felt different, disconnected from the world. A freak in a sea of normal.
But reality set in and a laugh escaped her before she could contain it. Despite the danger she faced and the consequences of the potential insult, Myah was only built to tell the truth. “You’re crazy. Of course, I’m human. What else would I be?”
Impossible.
She shut her eyes tight, sure it was her imagination screwing with her head. Or at least a dream’s remnants. When she opened them once more, the figure was gone. Like it had never been.
Her breath whooshed out in a relieved half-laugh. “Been hitting the vodka again, Myah?”
A masculine chuckle nearby made her body freeze.
She gasped, scrambling back against the headboard. Scanning the room, she couldn’t see the intruder. “Wha…who are you? What do you want?”
Duh, Myah. What else could a man want if he broke into her apartment? Money or use of her body, willing or unwilling.
Then she saw him again, the dark figure closer, standing beside the bed.
She opened her mouth to scream, but was tackled across the mattress. Before her mind could track the motion, a hand clamped over her lips. He’d moved so fast. Terror propelled her movements and she bucked, trying to throw him off. Only it was impossible. He was too strong, and a corner of her mind informed her it wasn’t just because he was a man.
“Shh. Relax, darling. Don’t scream. I won’t harm you.”
Yeah, right. Let me take your word on that one.
I swear I won’t hurt you, a low, masculine tone echoed in her brain.
Even in the darkness, his eyes seemed to burn into hers. “I mean it, you know. I can’t hurt you.” Though her chest rose and fell beneath him with panicked breaths as he pinned her, she heard his grave vow. “If I move my hand away, do you promise you won’t yell?”
Maybe, but I won’t promise not to bite.
Her teeth ached, and she dismissed it as the fact that his hand was fastened across her mouth. She managed a tight nod in reply.
The intruder eased his hand off her. With legs split open beneath him, his hard weight registered. His scent was unusual, like an orange and spices, and when his solid form urged up against her, she shook her head. Deep inside her was a strange quiver. In fact, her entire body was tingling like some internal warning system. She knew no matter what happened tonight, she might not escape this alive.
“I really won’t hurt you, Myah Sullivan.”
“I can’t be sure of that,” she rasped. “Perhaps you’ll murder me and no one will ever know.”
She saw the shadow as his head shook. “I cannot harm you. You have my vow and the pain it causes me to even imagine it.” His voice was deep, yet it had an achy pitch, and she couldn’t help wanting to believe him.
Stop it, she scolded herself. There was no way to know what he intended.
Myah wet her suddenly dry lips. Keep him talking and don’t piss him off. That was the smarter move here. “H-how do you know me?”
He shrugged and his mouth caressed her cheek.
Had he been stalking her for a while? Her breaths sped up – a combination of what he was doing to her as well as the thought that he’d planned this for a reason other than theft. When his lips brushed her throat and the cold air he released through his nose whispered over her ear, she wanted to moan. His tongue traced the soft depression beneath her lobe, then his lips traveled the curve of her neck. Her body warmed. Mouth agape, it took a second to recognize she wasn’t repulsed. Far from it. Little by little, she realized her fight-or-flight response had turned to desire.
He still held her immobile though. As she resisted, kicking out at him, he slipped into the softness between her hips. A bulge that shouldn’t have been there, pressing into her again. Instead of incapacitating her wrists on the mattress, he held her hands in his. She clutched his larger ones in return and had no idea why she experienced such a response to him. Suddenly, she was willing, felt urgent.
“You want me,” she stated. Why it’d spilled from her mouth, she had no idea. It wasn’t like she had any intention of encouraging him, his impressive erection aside.
His laugh was self-derisive. “But that’s not why I came.” He used his teeth to scrape against her neck gently.
Myah shuddered with a foreign anticipation. “Please,” she whispered. Her entire body grew increasingly warm beneath his ministrations. What on earth was happening? She should be fighting back, or at least bide her time until she could locate a weapon. But the flashlight inside her bedside table wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, it wasn’t like she could reach it with him holding her down. Damn it.
The man groaned when he inhaled hard, his face in her neck. The sensation tickled her skin. Welcome warmth moved through her body. As he nuzzled her, her eyes automatically closed, head tilting in response as if to supply him better access. Part of her, the sensible half, stiffened in horror. No! What was she thinking, letting him do God knew what to her? “Pl-please,” she found herself saying once more.
“Please, what? Please stop or would you like me to continue?”
Her brain seemed to stall out. “I…ah, I don’t know.”
He chuckled. “It appears we’re in the same strange mess.”
She couldn’t manage a reply.
He lifted his head to stare down at her. “I’m going to ask you an important question, Myah. Will you answer me?”
She nodded, returning to her conversational plan. That was best. Probably for both of them if her reaction to him was any indication. “If I can.”
“Fair enough. Do you know what you are, Myah? Who you are?”
“I don’t understand. You know my full name.”
“But do you know what are you? A part of you, somewhere inside, knows you’re different from everyone else. I smell it on you.”
She frowned, tempted to ask what he smelled exactly, other than her perfume. She was meticulous about bathing. Gazing up at him, she felt she was on the precipice of comprehension, something monumental. But his words were foreign. They didn’t make any sense to her addled brain. Especially when combined with the fact that she understood she wanted him closer, much closer. But, she wasn’t sure what he wanted from her. Hell, maybe the guy was crazy.
Just the truth, Myah. I want the truth. You can trust me with it, I vow it now. On my honor, I won’t tell another soul.
There, that odd voice was in her mind once more, as well as a cool impression across her forehead. As she realized she wanted to submit to him, Myah shook her head, fighting the sensation. Oh God, maybe she was insane too.
“Who are you really, female?”
She kicked up her chin in defiance. “What? I am me.”
A devastating smile crossed his face, teeth flashing, perhaps only viewed because of the sliver of moonlight cutting into the room. Also, his hair was light, silvery. Pale and spiky. Maybe it was white or blond, she couldn’t tell. But damn, he didn’t look old enough to have white hair.
“No, Myah. What you are. Where you came from. Your kind. Other.”
“Other?” she echoed the strange word.
“What are you, Myah? You aren’t human.”
Her breath caught. Half of her wanted to believe him. Deep inside, she’d always felt different, disconnected from the world. A freak in a sea of normal.
But reality set in and a laugh escaped her before she could contain it. Despite the danger she faced and the consequences of the potential insult, Myah was only built to tell the truth. “You’re crazy. Of course, I’m human. What else would I be?”
Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for a little over twenty-five years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 24 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, dramatic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. She has also contributed to several anthologies. Her current published series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Eternal Hearts Series, The Magick Series, The Code of Endhivar Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.
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