Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
As a bloodline vampire, Lizzie has never had a problem taking what she wants, and right now what she wants are the family heirlooms that were stolen from her and a portal home. Too bad even that short list is impossible to accomplish on her own—and her allies have bigger things to worry about.
When they rescue a selkie from captivity, it’s the perfect solution to her problem. Lizzie needs a guide through Threshold and the selkie needs someone to help her get her skin back. Maeve didn’t choose to give up her skin—it was stolen from her. Now she’s in an uneasy partnership with a dangerous woman who seems more apt to kill than to share a kind word. It’s terrifying…and a bit alluring. Even though she knows it will end in heartbreak, Maeve can’t help being drawn to Lizzie and her all-too-pleasurable vampire bite.
Unfortunately, the danger to Maeve’s heart is the least of her worries. The ship Lizzie’s chasing belongs to the Cŵn Annwn, and they don’t take kindly to people who steal from them. Not even Lizzie’s viciousness or Maeve’s selkie strength will be enough to save them if the Cŵn Annwn seek retribution…
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
For fans of Pirates of the Caribbean who wished that there were more lady characters and that those lady characters kissed a bunch
chapter 1
Lizzie
In nearly two hundred years, I’ve never once wondered how long it takes a vampire to drown.
Now it’s all I can think about.
We might be damn near immortal, but we’re not unkillable. It would take me longer to succumb to the lack of air than my human counterparts, but I couldn’t hold out indefinitely. Eventually the cold sea would rush in and drag me to the depths for good.
Dark thoughts. Morbid thoughts. Impossible to escape while sailing on what amounts to a thimble in an Olympic pool. Everywhere I look, I see water stretching out to the horizon in all directions. Even in my cabin, protected by some kind of pocket dimension magic, I swear I can feel the dip and sway of each wave we crest.
Fixating on drowning, on the feeling I’m experiencing that certainly isn’t fear, is still preferable to contemplating the sequence of events that led me to Threshold—more specifically to end up sailing on the Audacity with my ex and the new love of her life.
Only a few months ago, Evelyn was in my bed and making eyes at me. Now it seems like all she can see is that giant of a man who glowers at everyone who comes close. I can’t even find fault with his battle prowess; Bowen is a powerful telekinetic and doesn’t shy away from using his magic to defend Evelyn and the crew. Taking a hit from him felt like being rammed by a semitruck. I don’t crave a repeat experience.
But every time I turn around, I find myself staring at them, analyzing all the ways they’re so obviously in love. Comparing it to the way Evelyn and I were . . . and finding the past lacking. She never looked at me like that. I didn’t even know I wanted her to, and then the possibility was gone before I realized what I’d lost.
It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. I’m destined to marry another bloodline vampire within our extended family, all the better to create progeny to build power and ensure we don’t fall behind the other bloodlines. There’s little risk of that at this point, but my mother didn’t become one of the most powerful vampires in our realm by resting on her laurels. She’d never be content for me to settle with a woman, let alone a human woman. If she knew I was dabbling with Evelyn, she would have killed her on the spot.
“Sickening, isn’t it?”
I don’t glance over at Nox where they lounge against the helm. They always seem to be lounging, draping their lean body over the nearest available surface. They’re captain of the Audacity, and a royal pain in my ass. They see too much and delight in poking and prodding at sore spots. They jerk their chin, and I follow the motion to find Evelyn leaning against Bowen’s chest and staring up into his eyes.
The tightness in my chest that never quite goes away squeezes harder. “Fuck off, Nox.”
“Lizzie, my darling, at some point you’re going to have to make your peace with the fact that you’re second best. You could always fall tragically into my bed. The best way to get over an ex is to get under a new one.”
Nox is beautiful in a near alien kind of way. Gray eyes, pale skin, white-blond hair cut short on the sides and slightly longer on top, the kind of bone structure to make the angels weep, if they ever existed. They’re also one giant complication, and I’ve had enough of those to last me several lifetimes. “Pass.”