The Essentiants 2, Breaking Heaven is now available!
A soul for your
thoughts…
Dresdan Mati thrives on
the souls of humans and he possesses the strength to heal. He can conquer the
pain of a thousand deaths, but he can’t overcome his desire to bed a virgin,
one who is tethered to God. To have and hold her he must show her what he really
is—a minion of pure evil responsible for stealing the last breath of the
living.
Rosalind Graves leads an
austere life helping others. She realizes Dresdan Mati is different the moment
they meet. She even knows he’s a murderer who will live forever, yet Ros finds
herself inexplicably drawn to the man. Afraid of the desire he elicits from her
mind and body, Rosalind is torn between loving God, and loving Dresdan who
might break her bond with Heaven.
Excerpt:
Life
had a way of punching you in the gut when you least expected it. Or worse.
Dresdan Mati felt as if God had hurled a thunderbolt into his heart when the
woman turned to look at him. Her hazel eyes opened wide in dismay as she stared
in his direction. He recognized her loneliness instantly.
Dres
had lived with the feeling for over a thousand years.
He
had flown to Philly with his friend Ion Toso and followed him to the church.
Standing, Dres strode to the front and stopped at her pew. “I’m Dresdan Mati.”
“I
know who and what you are.”
“Wonderful,
we can eliminate the bullshit.” Dres wasn’t looking for much—he merely sought a
diversion.
“I
think you’ve made a terrible mistake.”
“The
only mistake I could make would be to walk away without getting to know you
better.”
After
driving to Boston for a medical conference, Dres had returned to the City of
Brotherly Love to wait while Ion decided what to do about Sandy Brittingham, a
woman who was leading Ion on a merry chase around Philadelphia while she came
to terms with the creature he was.
“Mr.
Mati—”
“Call
me Dres.” He reached for her hand, drew it to his mouth, and sucked her middle
finger.
Air
puffed through full, unpainted lips. “You’re the devil incarnate!”
“No,
sweetheart, much worse.” She tried to tug her hand away, but he held it firmly.
“I’m Essentiant. “But you already know that.” He had waited for Ion and Sandy
to leave before making his move.
“You…you…”
Keeping
the light from his eyes took every ounce of energy he possessed. Dres had no
intention of bending or mesmerizing her mind. What he desired she must give
willingly. “It’s not your soul I’m after.”
“You’ll
suffer in hell.”
“I
fear nothing there.” This time he placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. Her
pulse quickened beneath his lips. Staring into her eyes, Dresdan said, “And I
will allow nothing in that or this realm to harm you.”
He
survived on souls, most of them damned. He stripped essence from rapists,
murderers, and dying derelicts who struggled to let go of life. Dresdan used
their energy to control the minds of the living and to sustain his own life. He
was good at what he did, had existed for centuries drinking evil from God’s
castoffs. Never had he wanted anything as much as he wanted this woman.
Watching the pulse beat in her neck made him wish he were vampire, for he would
have bitten her and tasted each day of her life as her blood seeped into his
body. That wasn’t going to happen, but damn if he didn’t intend to take
everything else.
Dresdan
Mati vowed to make the beautiful, ethereal woman his.
Already,
visions of her long, thick chestnut hair curtaining him as she sat astride his
hips taking his cock deep brought him to a semi-hard state of readiness. And
her skin—Christ, he wanted to touch it, lick it, see if it tasted velvety sweet
like the dark honey it resembled.
“Your
name?”
“I
must go.” She stood and trembled. Dres moved his hand to her waist to steady
her.
“I
can make you tell me.” No need to let her know he’d already sworn to himself
never to touch her mind.
“Rosalind
Graves. Now, please, I have to leave.”
“How
well do you know Miss Brittingham?”
“Well
enough to know what you and your friend are.” This time she glared at him with
fire. He liked it. “I know what you do.”
It
was because he had followed Ion and Sandy that he stood in this church. “If
she’s told you about us, you also know I bring no harm to innocents.”
Rosalind
cast her eyes to the floor. “She’s only told me that you take people’s souls.”
“I’m
telling you I’ve never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.” Grasping her chin,
making her look at him, he finished. “My eyes will never dance with lights of
death before you.”
“But
you will continue on this path of destroying what is God’s?”
“Rosalind,
I’m far too old to be taught Bible verses. I am Essentiant, will always be, and
yes, to survive I will do whatever I find necessary.”
“You’re
pure evil.”
His
lips curled. “I’m pure nothing. Don’t
ever make that mistake.” He released her. “When you kneel to pray tonight, ask
your God why he sent me here.” Turning, he strode toward the church’s vestibule
until her voice stopped him.
“He
would forgive you if you asked.”
Pivoting,
Dresdan gazed at her. Her back was straight, shoulders held high in a regal
pose. Rosalind was tall with small breasts. Jeans encased narrow hips, and lean
thighs topped long, slender legs. The total opposite of what he desired in a
woman. His mind said walk away forever because so much goodness surrounded her
he damn near smelled it. Dres’s cock prodded him in a different direction.
“No need to ask.” He felt heat build in
his eyes and fought the urge to demonstrate his power. Who was she to judge
him? No one saw the things he had witnessed. No one tasted the evil he’d drawn
into his own soul more than a million times. “I have forgiven myself.”
A soul is a terrible thing to waste...
Healing Hell, The
Essentiants 1, also available now at most ebook stores.
J Hali Steele
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast
out.
