Excerpt from The Awakening

 

Here's a sneak peek into book 6 from the Bryn and Sinjin Series, coming Sept 10th!

EXCERPT

I walked to a nearby tree which was far enough away from the group to be out of earshot and settled underneath its massive branches, struggling to find a reasonably comfortable spot.

Still, it was good to finally be alone; I’d been with these men constantly for the last few days and, much as I respected them, I needed some me time. I wasn’t used to this sort of persistent kinsmanship and although I loved it, there was a part of me that was exhausted by all the bickering.

Sleep eluded me for a long time. Instead, my thoughts kept returning to the two men fighting for my affection: Dureau and Sinjin, both so different and yet so attractive, each in his own way. It wasn’t a new concern of mine. It had been plaguing me for quite a while now, and the frustrating part was that I never seemed any closer to making a decision. Half the time, I managed to convince myself that I wanted nothing to do with relationships in general. I enjoyed being a warrior and soldier because it was what I knew—what I’d always known. This emotional stuff was new, and it stressed me out.

An image of Dureau dropped into my mind and I had to take a deep breath. I felt warmth spreading throughout my entire body when I thought of him.

We’d only recently met in the flesh, when he arrived from France to help my sister deal with Luce and the threat he represented. In truth, Dureau and I had met much earlier. He’d appeared in my dreams throughout the entirety of my childhood—a childhood spent in one of Luce’s camps, where I’d been groomed to become his best soldier. It was a bleak and miserable time, and Dureau had been my only joy; he’d gotten me through so much and taken me on so many adventures. The undeniable fact was that he was my only happy childhood memory.

But I couldn’t help thinking about how good-looking he was. There was a heat between us, something more than just a lifelong friendship. Our relationship had evolved into something more mature, something more adult. And, try as I might, I couldn’t seem to get those feelings to simmer down.

And then there was Sinjin. I hadn’t always liked him. Even now, there were days when his stubborn will or his candor got on my nerves. But I’d never been able to deny how gorgeous he was. His shoulders, his height, those devilish blue eyes—he was a perfect specimen of a male. I never thought I’d be so physically attracted to a man, especially given my asexual tribe upbringing and the recent trauma I’d been through at the hands of Luce’s soldiers. Being violated so many times had made me believe I’d never want to be touched by a man again.

“Are you in repose?” Sinjin asked from somewhere behind me.

“Am I in repose?” I repeated, shaking my head at the fact that Sinjin seemed to have the perfect timing. Think about him and there he is! “Who says that?”

“I suppose I do?”

“Sometimes I wonder how you live in the same modern world I do—you’d never realize it.”

“I do not follow, my pet.”

“Why haven’t you adapted to the times just like the… times have adapted to themselves?” I demanded with a laugh.

“That sounds quite like a riddle.”

I sighed, long and hard. “You are a riddle.”

“I believe you enjoy that side of me.”

“You think everyone likes every side of you. It’s called narcissism.”

He chuckled. “You failed to respond to my question.”

“If you were asking me if I was asleep…”

“I was.”

“Then I would tell you that I was trying to fall asleep, but you’ve just made that task infinitely harder.” I sat up and watched him step out from the darkness of the trees and into my line of sight. “If I didn’t know better, I would have said your vampirism was returned to you, because you didn’t make a sound.”

“If only such were the case,” he said in a sad tone.

 “Everyone else is sleeping. You should be, too.”

He sighed, and I remembered he’d been having trouble sleeping. It was the only part of his human condition that continued to elude him.

“I wish I could.”

“I understand,” I said quickly.

“Forgive me for interrupting you,” he apologized, starting to turn around. “You need your sleep as much as anyone does.”

“Well, it wasn’t like I was having any success falling asleep, anyway,” I pointed out. “So you should stay.”

“Perhaps I will.”

He sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around his legs, looking up into the night sky. His profile was silhouetted in the moonlight, and I nearly caught my breath at how intoxicatingly handsome he was. He was a creature of the night and, looking at him now, I could understand why. He seemed to blend right in, as if it and he were one and the same.

I didn’t know what prompted me to do it, Before I could catch myself, I watched my hand extend and I brushed my fingers across his jaw, reveling in the feel of his stubble.

A look of confusion spread across his stunning face as he turned to face me. But he didn’t say anything, and neither did I. I looked into his blue eyes and he returned the gaze, staring at me so intently it felt as if he could see into the deepest parts of my being.

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