Forever
and a Night
by
Lana Campbell
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Nathan
Davenport is being stalked by Isabella Ravini, the feral vampire who
stole his human
life over a hundred and sixty years ago. She made him her fledging, a
slave for
her
dark, evil purposes—hunting humans. After a few years she released
him, and
Nathan
reluctantly learned to accept the cursed life she’d foisted upon
him.
Over
time he amassed a great fortune, which today has made him
famous
worldwide.
Isabella decides she wants to be a part of this world of fame and
fortune
Nathan
created for himself. She’s determined to marry him, and love has
nothing to do
with
it. His money is her primary target, and the fame and prestige
attached to being
the
wife of one of the richest men in the world wouldn’t be so bad
either.
In
an effort to evade her until he can figure out how to stop her, he
hides at a safe
house
he owns in New Orleans. One Saturday evening in NOLA, he decides to
have
dinner
in the city. He chooses a quiet little Italian bistro, never
imagining this night
will
change his life forever. The human woman who delivers his order isn’t
a server,
but
the restaurant’s sous chef, a beautiful ethnic woman possessing the
most delicious
blood
scent he’s ever encountered.
The
moment Mia Peebles arrives at his table with his plate, tasting her
becomes
an
obsession. Mia wants nothing to do with him because of Nathan’s
reputation as a
playboy.
So Nathan enchants her, feeds from her, but his lusts for her blood
and body
play
havoc with his thinking.
Nathan
finds a way to bring her into his life as his personal chef and
quickly falls
in
love with her. The trouble is Mia has no idea he’s a vampire
because during the
enchanting
episodes, Nathan blocked her memories of those sensual
encounters.
How
will Nathan tell her the truth without losing her and keep Isabella
from
finding
him? Or worst yet, will Isabella discover how much Mia has come to
mean
to
him?
“You’re
having a very late dinner.” Mia’s head shot up, her gaze slashing toward her
right. The speaker was that drop-dead-gorgeous man she’d delivered the one top
order to earlier, and he was standing beside her holding a glass of wine. She
swallowed the bite in her mouth and said, “This tends to be my normal dinner
hour. How was your dinner?” She was surprised to still find him here but not
unusual she supposed. Tavania’s was one of the tamer establishments here on
Bourbon Street. Guests, whether single or in a group, often came here to eat,
hook up to Wi-Fi and work, or just hang out in a nonparty atmosphere. “Amazing,
actually. You’re a talented chef.” He took up residence on the stool next to
her and sat his glass on the bar. Forever and a Night 13 Mia noticed him
studying her. His eyes, the most beguiling she’d ever seen, held intrigue. She
felt a little unnerved by his perusal, but she chalked it up to a customer
desiring to speak to the chef. It happened all the time. Mostly with Joe
because he was head chef. Happy guests often asked to speak to him. She had a
roll to play. So play it she would. Mia pushed aside her plate and smiled. “I’m
Mia Peebles. Is this your first time at Tavania’s?” She extended her hand. He
gave it a cordial shake. “Yes. I drove by tonight and decided it might be a
quiet place to do some work. Not so much, but I managed to accomplish what I
needed to. I’m Nathan Davenport.” Mia laughed. “Yes, it was a bit crazy
tonight. It’s good to meet you, Nath—” She broke off and glared at him. Her
heart did a little trip over in her chest when her brain cells began to fire
and comprehend the name the man had given her. “Oh my god,” she breathed.
Suddenly, his features began to morph with the memories of numerous news and
other TV show interviews she’d witnessed over the last ten years or so. Nathan
Davenport was a real estate mogul and currently the richest man in the United
States and possibly worldwide. Also the most sought-after bachelor on the
planet. A playboy. He had a different supermodel or Hollywood starlet on his
arm every other picture or interview taken of him. Lana Campbell 14 He looked
amused. “I guess you know who I am.” “Duh.” She laughed, picked up her glass of
wine, and sipped. “My biggest question is, how did you end up here? I thought
you lived in New York.” “I do primarily, but I have a number of homes, and one
of my favorites is here in New Orleans in the heart of one of the historical
districts. Circumstances have brought me to the city. Unfortunately, I don’t
have a private chef here, just a housekeeper, so I went out for the evening.”
Mia blinked at him. A private chef ? Wow! Of course a man like him would have
all sort of household and personal staff. Her background was redneck, Missouri
rural. Just having food on the table every day for her ex-husband and children
had been a miracle of God for many years. That kind of wealth stymied her. In
her four years with Joe, she’d had many encounters with well-to-do folk and had
learned to accept and accommodate their eccentricities. Not every wealthy
patron she’d met were all up in their stuff, but she suspected Nathan Davenport
about as spoiled as a rich person could get. “What?” he demanded, grinning at
her. “Nothing. Just glad you happened by tonight and enjoyed your meal. And truly,
I hope you’ll visit Tavania’s again.” She tried for a kind smile then stood,
intending to take her half-eaten plate and wine glass to the dish pit. He laid
a hand on her arm, halting her. “Are you finished for the evening?” Forever and
a Night 15 Mia’s smile faded. There was a hungry look in his eyes, which had
nothing to do with food, and she didn’t like the implications. “No. I’m closing
tonight and have another hour or so ahead of me. Why?” “I was going to ask you
if you’d like to have a drink with me when you’re finished. I’d be happy to
wait.” His expression seemed polite enough. Maybe her thinking was a little
harsh. He’d been completely cordial, but Mia was forty-two years old and wise
enough to recognize a player when she saw one. “That’s very kind of you, but
no. It’s been an extremely long day, and I’m beat, but I appreciate the
invite.” He appeared disappointed, but Mia didn’t care. She hadn’t dated since
her divorce. Hadn’t had time and certainly tonight, she had no time for a guy
like Davenport. The man would have been a temptation for a nun. She’d lived
like one for the last five years because work left her no time for a social
life. However, she wasn’t thinking very sisterly thoughts at the moment, which
solidified her refusal. That and the fact he was Nathan Davenport. Dating
required commonalities. She couldn’t think of one they might share. She’d taken
several steps away from the bar when she heard him speak. Mia, look at me. His
voice had taken on a deep hypnotic tone, which seemed to echo in her head. In
fact, it seemed to only be in her head, not audible. The strangeness of that
reality should Lana Campbell 16 have been terrifying, yet something compelled
her to turn and face him. She sat her dishes on the bar. “Come with me.” He gave
her a kind, reassuring smile. She opened her mouth to say, Hell, no, but the
word that came out instead was, “Okay.” Her heart tumbled over in her chest.
Mia realized she was seriously losing it because she allowed him to escort her
out the front door of the restaurant without a peep. As hard as she tried to
get her feet to obey her mind’s order to run back inside the restaurant, they
were useless. They just kept taking her the direction he led them. Her voice
was useless too. Her jaws felt locked.
Dark
Experiments
Forever
and a Night Book 2
Christian
is the exception to Tiffany’s rule that all males are louses. For
years Tiffany has lusted after Christian and of late she can’t help
but wonder what it might be like to have a brief fling with him. The
opportunity to explore her secret fantasy appears when Christian
offers her a job as the IT person for his practice, the V clinic. She
knows if he gives her the green light, she’s going to have a romp
with her sexy vampire. When the night finally arrives and she and
Christian have sex, the experience is so overwhelmingly powerful,
Tiffany backpedals and tries to turn down the heat between them.
She’s human. He’s a vampire. She can’t afford to fall in love
with him.
Christian
has other ideas. During their sexual encounter, he discovers Tiffany
is his life mate and he vows to change her thinking. His intentions
are put on hold when he gets caught up in an angel of death’s
vicious plan to chemically terminate V clinic patients’
pregnancies. Tiffany herself falls victim to a lethal dose of arsenic
and Christian can only save her by turning her into a vampire. She’s
furious when she wakes from her turning and discovers what Christian
has done. She wants nothing to do with him ever again, but when she’s
kidnapped by this angel of death and used as a guinea pig for deadly
experiments she only has Christian to turn to save her life.
Nathan’s men rushed inside, Christian at their
heels. He flipped up his sunglasses and looked about the inky darkness of a
huge garage, plenty luminous for vampire eyes. Another standard door led to the
belly of the building in the far right corner. He headed toward it, behind
Nathan’s six men. Asa, Dominic and Nathan took up the rear, single file behind
him.
At this point most
everyone inside had surely heard the door come down. Christian needed to alert
Tiffany and make her ready for whatever transpired once they emerged into the
building’s interior.
Yeah, I’m still alone and tied
down to this damned bed. My heart is about to beat out of my chest. That’s my
only tell, but no one except a vampire could here it.
Two of Nathan’s men took
the battering ram to the interior door. Once it was relieved of it’s hinges,
Christian rushed inside behind four of Nathan’s men. He expected to be met by
the very least the brother armed to defend his turf, but instead two young thin
vampire girls with hideously gray skin and gaunt features stood in a long hall
just out a doorway to his right. The scent of chili wafted from the room, and
Christian assumed it to be a kitchen.
The two girls appeared
terrified, frozen in place, eyes wide and flitting from one armed man to
another.
Christian raised the
barrel of his gun toward the ceiling. These poor little things were no threat.
“Are you here by choice?” he asked them.
Just then a man walked
out the doorway, hands in the air. Christian saw a holstered gun on his hip.
The others must have too. Every man took aim on him with their weapons.
He did their bidding
without a word. Seconds later he was swarmed by three humans, stripped of his
gun and handcuffed.
Christian glanced at Asa
who stared at the two frightened vampire girls with pity. He felt the same
emotion himself, but he needed them to lead him to Tiffany and the others.
The one closest to them
finally answered. “D-down this hallway, take a left and you’ll find them in the
curtained cubicles.”
Christian wanted to bolt
in the direction they’d indicated, but he held back, glanced at Asa then behind
him at Nathan, Dominic and Dimitri. They all wore an expression similar to what
was on his mind. This was just too damned easy.
“Are you Terry, Charla’s brother?” Christian asked, stepping up to the
head of the prone man who craned his head to glare up at him with equal doses
of hate and spite.
“Never mind that. Get up and lead us to the women.” Christian yanked him
up and onto his feet so fast, he’d probably dislocated his shoulder. A harsh
grunt of pain said he was correct, but he didn’t care. This man was part of
this kidnapping and drugging ring. He deserved a bullet between the eyes, but
right now he’d serve just fine as a hostage.
The young sickly girls
did not deserve such treatment. “Dominic, Dimitri, could you escort these young
ladies out of the building? That is if you want to leave. We’ll make sure you
get home, back to your lives, families, whatever.”
Both shook their heads
adamantly and the two men corralled them around the small posse in the entryway
then out of the building.
Terry, craned his head back
and gave him a look of disgust. “I’ll lead you right to them, vampire, but it
won’t do you any good. By now they’re all on their way out. I’m sorry about
that. I really am. I liked that one with the mouth.”
Hi.
I'm Lana Campbell author of Forever and a Night, a paranormal,
vampire romance. I love writing and reading paranormal books. I live
in Avoca, AR with a husband and a cat. Love cats too!
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the tour HERE
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