A Hero’s Hop
There are so many ways to define a hero. In my vampire romance, HUNGER AROUSED, an executioner wants nothing more than to just do his job. He doesn’t care about being a good guy and certainly doesn’t give a fuck about being a hero. But after Corin starts falling in love with Jasmine, things change….
Their captors knew what they were about this morning. By the time Corin reacted to the sound of footsteps rushing to and then through the bedroom door, he still wasn’t fast enough to keep them from posing a dangerous threat.
One of the men grabbed Jasmine, still nude and drowsy from the attention Corin had paid her through the wee hours of the early morning, and hauled her to his chest. Corin roared, a distinct sound of fury, and vaulted toward them. No fucking way was he letting this male touch his woman and live long enough to regret it.
Ignoring the tangle of sheets, he barreled into the man. Together they slammed against one of the walls. Instinct taking over, he threw a punch into the man’s tender belly before crushing his throat beneath a chop that held the weight of his anger. Satisfaction warmed through him as he listened to the man’s gurgling gasps for breath, attempts that would prove futile through his crushed windpipe.
He didn’t have long to gloat. There were more of Sijourn’s men in the room, and Jas was still not nearly close enough to him. His clothes and therefore his blade were on the opposite side of the bed, also away from Jasmine. Too far away to be of any use. If he hadn’t been sleeping so heavily, if he’d been more alert to their approach…
“Idiots,” one of the men grumbled. He raised a gun to Corin’s head, walking forward with bold strides.
“Give it to her, and let’s get this over with.”
Corin watched one of the men toss a cloth bundle to Jasmine. She shook out an oversized shirt, while a women’s pair of sweat pants dropped to the floor. She shot Corin a puzzled expression. He gave her a curt nod, still assessing their situation and grudgingly grateful for the clothing. Watching the men ogle her would prove one less distraction. There were four guns trained on him; they commanded his attention.
“Corinius, we have instruction to use extreme prejudice when dealing with you. Don’t do anything—” he glanced at the dying man crumpled against the floor, “—else stupid.”
“What do you want?” As if he didn’t know. He needed another few seconds to think though.
“Just her.” He nodded toward Jasmine. “You’ll stay here.”
“Not a fucking chance.” His incisors grew to match his agitation.
“That’s not your choice.” He moved forward, his expression calm, until the barrel of the gun pressed to Corin’s forehead. “How long do you think it’ll take you to recover from a headshot? By the time you do, we’ll have taken her anyway, and all you’ll have for your problems is one hell of a headache.”
He’d take that chance.
“Corin, please.” The worry in Jasmine’s voice punched him. “Please. I’ll be back. Sijourn isn’t going to hurt me.”
He knew that intellectually, but to let her go, to not at least put up some sort of fight went against everything he’d become. He was an executioner, a vampire, her lover.
She must have seen his struggle. “I can’t do this if you’re not safe, Corin. Please.”
At this distance, he had the opportunity to scrutinize old acne scars on their captor’s face. Corin breathed in his expensive cologne, studied a small patch of stubble he’d missed while shaving. He looked into his dead eyes, not caring how they studied him back. A small step forward made the man tense, but Corin’s emotions had gone flat, as well. “One hair out of place when she returns, and I will hold you personally responsible.”
HUNGER AROUSED is available now [Amz|B&N|Pub]. The sequel, HUNGER AWAKENED, will release from Carina Press in Spring 2013.
For more heroes, click on the pic to get back to the blog hop. To be entered into a drawing for the grand prize swag pack, please post a comment which contains your email address. I will randomly pick one winner to get a free ebook copy of HUNGER AROUSED on August 1, 8pm EST.
Thank you for stopping by.

Great excerpt!
Diana
bookofsecrets(at)yahoo(dot)com
The book sounds fantastic..
ronnkelly3@aol.com
Definitely a great teaser. Corin sounds intriguing!
That was a great excerpt! I want to read more about Corin! Thanks for the giveaway!
suz2(at)cox(dot)net
Great excerpt! Sounds really good!
andieleah78@gmail.com
Thanks for the chance to win!
sqwalker2@hotmail.com
Another new-to-me author. Excerpt is great, has me placing this book
on my TBR list. Got to know what happens! Thanks for the chance to
win the giveaway. Good luck to all!!
Pat Cochran
p-cochran@juno.com
Thanks for the excerpt. I love the title–Hunger Aroused. YUM.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Colin is a great hero…one who is willing to die for his woman!
books4me67 at ymail dot com
HAHA this is a awesome giveaway
Thanks
lasherjodi@yahoo.com
Jeesh, tease why don’t ya 🙂
Thank you for the opportunity 🙂 Loving all the stories about Heroes!!!
brunettelibrarian AT gmAil . c0m
The Brunette Librarian Blog
Thanks for the contest. i would like to learn more about Corin.
kathleenyohanna(at)hotmail.com
Great excerpt!
paulamartinromances(at) gmail.com
been forever since i read a vampire romance so now i have something to try
i keep forgetting
marybkabui@gmail.com
Corin sounds bad ass. I would hate to get on his bad side. Can’t wait to read what happens next!!
tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
wow, sounds great:) thank you for the chance to win
elliott2668(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love it when the hero has an epiphany once
he meets the heroine.
bituin76 AT hotmail DOT com
Very good. I can’t wait to read the book now. I love a good vampire.
damianbloodstone@gmail.com
great blurb. i hope i win a copy it sounds great. anthonycrawford_77@yahoo.com
Oh. Love that. Thanks 🙂
acade29@gmail.com
Intense — I loved it!
ilike the kitty it cute and then your site is great thanks for giving some one the look at the site and then the chance to win the book
desi the blonde at msn dot com
Awesome excerpt. Looks like I will be adding you to my tbr list 🙂
DawnSullivan88@verizon.net
Thanks for the awesome excerpt! Got my attention!
Mel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com
I would love to read Hunger Aroused. Thanks for being a part of this FUN Blog Hop.
jmesparza821(at)gmail(dot)com
Ur series looks amazing
valerie.mcqueen@yahoo.com
Can’t wait to read this one pics4_65@yahoo.com
Sounds great! 🙂 Thanks for the fun hop and the awesome giveaway! Ya all rock!! 🙂
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
thanks for the chance!!
yankeedragon4@gmail.com
Thanks for sharing a piece here with us!
feathermaye at gmail dot com
Loved the excerpt! I am adding it to my TBR pile. Corin sounds yummy. 😉
Is this part of a series? Is Illicit Hunger the first one?
Thank you for the chance to read it.
trb0917 at gmail.com
Loved the excerpt! Thanks for the giveaway and for being part of the blog hop!
flava_sava_chick@yahoo.com
The book sounds good.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com