
Blind Date After Dark 1
Mr. Right
Lonely Melisa agrees to meet a blind date at a Halloween party.
An unexpectedly delicious, masked vampire greets her at the door. Once
into the party, David whisks her upstairs after she trips and tends to her
skinned knee.
Has she finally met Mr. Right?
David hasn't made time for the "right" kind of woman in his life until an
unwanted blind date falls into his arms on All Hallows Eve.
Is she the one he's been waiting for to share his life?
Sensuality Rating: SIZZLING/SCORCHING
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Length: 12,000 words
"Have you ever been on a blind date? Chicken that I am, I never
once chanced dating anyone unfamiliar who was “chosen for me” by friends or
family. Therefore, I now explore the concept of blind dates and their
infinite possibilities in my writing. I hope you all enjoy my very vivid
imagination in the Blind Date After Dark series."
~ Lara ~ |
Larger Cover
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Cover Art by
Siren-BookStrand, Inc.
MR. RIGHT
Blind Date After Dark 1
ISBN: 1-60601-201-0
E-book $2.50
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The excerpt
or excerpts
below contain
explicit adult language and sexual content.
By
reading any further, you are stating that you are at
least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of
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___________________________________________
Copyright © 2008
All rights reserved, Siren Publishing, Inc. Cannot be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without expressly permitted to do so in writing from the
publisher.
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EXCERPT
Melisa Berrand brushed imaginary lint off of her
costume, took a breath for courage, but paused before pressing
the doorbell. The spooky party house, decorated elaborately for
Halloween, awaited her. She wasn’t trick or treating tonight,
unless of course trolling for a man counted.
A shiver of apprehension raced down her spine as
she faced the ornately carved gothic door. Was someone watching
her? Was there some spook or ghoul also attending the party
tonight hot on her trail?
She glanced over one shoulder at the dark
sidewalk behind her. The dimmed streetlight didn’t even cast
enough of a glow to reach the road below.
She patted a hand over her loose curls. Nothing
was out of place, except the hair bristling on the back of her
neck. The well-manicured yard looked empty. She pushed out a
long breath. Get a grip. No one is even out there, let
alone paying any attention to you.
Glancing down at her medieval wench costume, she
wondered if her attire said, “Sexy party outfit,” or “Desperate
single female on the make.” Did she really need a date that
badly? Perhaps not a date, but she wanted a man in her
life, even if only temporarily.
The mere suggestion of going home alone to hand
out candy to the few kids in her apartment building made the
decision for her. Blind date nerves trumped loneliness every
time.
She was sick of being solo during holidays. Did
Halloween even count as a holiday? It didn’t matter.
Thanksgiving, followed closely by Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and
Valentine’s Day loomed closer and if she didn’t find a steady
date soon, Melisa fearfully imagined she was headed for
permanent spinsterhood.
Lonely libido kicking her in the core, she
resolved to make tonight’s blind date work, no matter what it
took. Thinking back to the past couple of abhorrent men she’d
gone out with, she hoped tonight’s blind date was at least
tolerable in the short term.
She sighed and rang the doorbell. The eerie
creaking sound registered seconds before the huge door opened
all by itself.
A self opening door? Really?
Head tilted to one side, she leaned forward to
peek into the entryway. The lemon scent of well-conditioned hard
wood and the waxy smell of burning candles greeted her. The
sliver of space she could see was empty.
The door continued to open slowly. A sinister
laugh pealed when it reached halfway. Another riotous tingle
swept down her spine. Not for the first time, Melisa wondered if
meeting a complete stranger at a Halloween party was the best
idea.
An acquaintance, or rather Bill, the boyfriend of
the new girl in the office, had set up this auspicious blind
date. He insisted that the “vampire” she would meet tonight
would change her life.
Melisa wasn’t looking for a life change so much
as a steady boyfriend to keep from sitting home alone during the
coming aforementioned romantic holidays. Although, if he were
a vampire, she would miss out on so many cool daytime
activities.
Given the beastly behavior of her last boyfriend,
foregoing the daylight seemed a small price to pay if this guy
would simply not be a bastard. Chiding herself for even the
momentary belief in vampires, Melisa gathered her strength.
There was no such thing as blood-sucking dead people roaming the
earth.
“Enter if you dare!” the sinister voice from
within the house bellowed. The entry challenge was followed by
maniacal laughter.
Taking a deep breath for courage, she lifted her
long wench skirt and stepped across the threshold. A tall man in
a mask and a long black cape appeared out of nowhere, startling
her. Melisa promptly tripped over her feet. Arms flailing, she
landed hard against the man’s body grabbing onto his
outstretched arms to keep from falling to the floor.
The caped man slid his hands beneath her arms,
clutched her torso gently and steadied her on her feet. The
movement brought her face first into his chest. Cheek resting
against a firm unmovable body, Melisa looked up and found she
embraced a fabulously luscious man.
Her palms slid from his muscular biceps to his
solid forearms. His hands remained firmly attached to her torso,
which was not a hardship. Having a man’s hands gracing her body
after so long without intimate contact made her long for more
touching.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She sucked in a breath to answer and with it came
his delectable male scent. Wrapped in his strong arms, she
inhaled another lungful of delicious man before responding.
“I’m fine. Thanks for catching me.”
“No problem. Sorry you tripped. The wires for the
sound effects run under the step. I told my bone-headed friends
not to put them there.”
“It’s all right. I don’t think it was the wires.
My serving wench shoes are hard to walk in. I’m not sure why
Dutch clogs belong with medieval serving wench’s attire, but
they came with the costume.”
Melisa took a reluctant half step away from him
without releasing his arms and lifted her foot to show him her
clog. He didn’t let her go, either. As he glanced at her foot,
she snagged a better look at the man holding her.
Dark, glossy hair framed a tanned, square-jawed
face beneath the black mask hiding everything from eyebrows to
cheekbones. A lock of straight, dark hair graced his forehead
and rested above one eyebrow. His eyes, currently focused on her
foot, were a sharp vivid blue and she decided he was incredibly
easy to look at even with the mask. In fact, he was gorgeous. He
lifted his gaze and studied her face intently with his vibrant
sapphire eyes. When he grinned, she saw fangs.
Was this man her date? Oh, please.
“If you’re Count Dracula and looking for a blind
date, I’m it.”
SIREN SEX Rating
| |
SENSUAL:
Traditional romance, suitable for the general
audience (BookStrand) |
| |
STEAMY:
Heavy sexual tension; graphic details; may contain
coarse language (BookStrand) |
| |
SIZZLING:
Erotic, graphic sex; explicit sexual language; may offend delicate
readers (SIREN) |
| |
SCORCHING:
Erotica romance; contains many sexual encounters; may contain unconventional
sex; will offend delicate readers (SIREN) |
| |
SEXTREME:
Excessive or non-exclusive sex; many instances of unconventional sex; may be hardcore; not for the faint-hearted
(SIREN) |
SIREN BOOK LENGTH
| |
NOVELLA:
15,000-25,000
words |
| |
NOVEL:
25,000-55,000
words |
| |
FULL
NOVEL: 55,000-80,000
words |
| |
PLUS
NOVEL:
80,000-100,000
words |
| |
SUPER
PLUS
NOVEL:
100,000-140,000
words |
| |
HUMONGOUS
NOVEL:
140,000+
words |
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