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Title: The Fallen King
Author:
T.A. Grey
Series:
The Bellum (#4)
Genre:
Paranormal Erotic
Publisher:
Self Published
Release
Date: December 28, 2012
Book
Blurb/Synopsis:
Life couldn't have possibly
gotten worse for the demon king Alrik. But it did. He lost the love of his
life. Days spent clouded in black and gray were brightened only with the lovely
Arianna near. Her light kept the darkness at bay if only for a few moments.
And now she's gone leaving him alone. Now he has
nobody. But he has purpose. A purpose—steely determination—for revenge against
the one who cursed him. His mother. She's out there in the rift, gathering
forces, for what, he's unsure.
A mere human witch by the name
Abbigail Krenshaw is the key to saving himself and killing his mother--or so a
little old seer tells him under sword point. Small, fragile, and breakable
Abbigail almost reminds him of his lost love, yet she's different. Strong,
charming, always pushing him in ways that Arianna wouldn’t dare. He can feel
her worming her way into his battered, blackened heart and can't decide whether
he wants to close her inside forever, or lock her out.
He needs Abbigail. He needs the human witch to
sacrifice herself in order to save his tortured soul. He's more than willing to
sacrifice her for his purpose, but the more he's around her the more difficult
it becomes to uphold the decision. Can he really use her to save himself and
let her die? His heart screams no but his mind says yes.
Book Excerpts:
Excerpt #1
The
human mumbled to herself, her head lolling left and right. Something tightened
in his gut as he looked at her. He didn’t like it. Gazing upon her stirred
something deep inside of him.
Alrik
cursed.
Who
was she to try to compete with his Arianna? She was no Arianna. Arianna was a
goddess. Beautiful, shining, dark black hair fell down to her slender waist and
a graceful figure and demeanor that could only be obtained with the best of haute, aristocratic blood in her veins.
This human looked nothing like his Arianna. She had hair the color of wet dirt.
It looked thin and not heavy like Arianna’s hair. She had wide hips and more
curves than Arianna, but Arianna didn’t need blatant curves. Her graceful
figure brought about attention alone.
Simply
put, she wasn’t his Arianna.
Then
why did his gut clench just looking at her?
Too
long without a woman, maybe. His gaze trailed over her form once more taking in
the slight span of her waist and the flare of her hips. The sight stirred
something hot buried deep inside him. He wondered how she’d feel pressed tight
against him…bare skin to bare skin.
His
cock hardened like steel.
Enough!
Alrik
charged into the dark cave. He didn’t need his sight in his place; he knew it
like the edge of his sword. He went far back into the cave, sidestepping the
fire pit he’d made before he’d left to find the human. Then he dropped the
human to the ground. He wasn’t gentle about it and she gave him the response
he’d been looking for. Her eyes shot open, mouth forming a big circle as pain
pinched her features. She let out a low, husky groan that did nothing to
alleviate the pressure in his groin.
“What
the hell,” she groaned, turning on her side to rub her back.
“We
will talk now.”
She
hadn’t been aware of him, he realized. Now she was. Slowly her head fell back,
her eyes turned up to meet his. Recognition dawned slowly. Her eyes darted
wildly around the cave filling with panic and fear. She stood in a rush then
wobbled on her feet. Panic had her in its grip. She swung her arms out, found
the wet cave wall with a hand, and then leaned towards it to steady herself,
pressing both hands against it.
“What
the hell’s going on? Oh my god, where am I?”
“Be
quiet. I will talk and you will listen. Do you understand?” He hadn’t met a
human in years. In his previous experience, some were smart and others not so
much. He hoped his salvation didn’t lie in a daft girl who looked entirely too
young to have the amount of power the seer spoke of.
She
turned and glared at him. The spark of anger was good, and the cleverness he
spotted in her eyes even better. Good, she wouldn’t be daft.
“Excuse
me? How about you tell me who you are, demon,
where I am, why I’m here, and what you want with me?” She crossed her arms and
set her light green eyes on him.
Alrik
had the distinct urge to stalk over to her and tower over her just to see her
quiver in fear. She will learn her place soon enough. Her attitude would go
even quicker. He was a king, and some lowly human would not treat him like a
servant.
Excerpt #2
“You
are not done working, Abbigail.” He sounded pained to say her name as if he
couldn’t say it without yelling it. “Get back up there or I swear I’ll--”
Oooh!
She
spun around and let all the frustration and anger that had been building
throughout the long day fly from her mouth. “Or you’ll what? Magically force me
to cast a damn spell? Sorry, but I don’t think even you can do something so
ridiculous. I think I did good today. I started not even able to make the
stupid little branch move a hair. Now I’ve made it fall over twice, and you
know what? I’m wiped. Totally freaking wiped. I’m hot and sweaty, my skin feels
sticky, and all I want to do is wipe the dirt and grime off me. And nothing you
can do, I mean nothing, will stop me
from doing just that, you got me?”
To
prove her point she grabbed the hem of her shirt and whipped it over her head.
It had to be the emotions riding her that made her wad the shirt into a ball
and throw it at him. It didn’t come near hitting him but he didn’t seem to
care. His eyes were locked on her chest. She had a moment of panic before anger
overtook that too.
She
propped her hands on her hips. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so cocky if she
didn’t have a bra on, but right now she felt like she could command an army.
“Are you gonna stand there and watch me bathe too?”
Something
changed in the air. Energy crackled. His eyes turned hungry. That’s the only
way she could describe it. His gaze darkened, eyes smoldered and devoured her
body as if seeing her as anything other than “the witch” for the first time. He
had the look of a man that wanted to eat her up. She could almost feel his gaze
caressing her breasts. Her breasts pulled tight at the predatory look—the look
of assessing a female.
Her
breath caught. “Alrik?” she said hesitantly. Something about his stiff stance,
the way his eyes glowed brighter, made him look as if he was fighting some
inner war with himself.
His
eyes flicked up to hers. His voice sounded thick, heavy, and slow. “Yes.”
Breathing
became difficult, as if all the oxygen around them had disappeared. “Yes what?”
He
blinked. “Yes, I’ll watch.”
She
swallowed over the knot in her throat. Oh.
Excerpt #3
Alrik
couldn’t move. He was rooted in place not by a spell but by a human woman.
Abbigail. Surely, life couldn’t be so cruel as to send a woman like her to him.
She was seductively formed, small waisted with hips made for a man to hold on
to while he thrust inside of her, and breasts that made his palms itch to hold.
She
turned her back to him and waded into the water like a brave enchantress. The
sight of her shapely backside and the sexy dip of her lower back nearly sent
him after her. Her legs were strong, with just enough muscle that they rippled
as she stepped into the lapping water.
Was
she testing him? Trying to taunt him with something he couldn’t have or
wouldn’t take?
Wait.
He’d take it. Yes, he’d take it and so much more if she offered her young lithe
body to him. After all the horrible deeds he’d committed in the past, using her
body would hardly fare against them. He’d taken several steps towards her
retreating back before he stopped himself.
No,
he couldn’t touch her. They both needed to stay focused. He’d had and lost his
love.
He
could not turn so easily to another woman with Arianna’s death still lingering
on his hands.
But it’s been a year
since she died, a voice in his
head taunted.
Abbigail
ducked into the water and came up with a splash that glistened from her hair
and bare shoulders. His mouth watered at the sight of naked skin, and his cock
throbbed and hardened to a painful point.
Breathing
hard, he stepped away from her, away from the temptation. She wouldn’t welcome
him. He could make her but the thought of that didn’t sit well in his gut. If
he touched her, something terrible might happen—he might begin to care. No, he
couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t risk gaining any feelings towards her lest he be
unable to go through with his plans. He needed her to die to save him. He
finally had a chance to become the man he’d once been and he wouldn’t lose that
chance no matter what.
He’d
already lost one woman he cared about, he wouldn’t put himself in the same
situation twice. No matter how the light glinted off her body. She cupped
handfuls of water and scrubbed her face. She turned just enough so that he
caught a glimpse of the side of her breast. He groaned low in his throat. He
ached to know how she’d feel in his hand—heavy and full or light and firm? His
cock became a heavy, throbbing mass.
He
couldn’t do this. Not for him and not for Arianna.
Alrik
made one of the hardest decisions of his life then and turned around.
Author Social Links
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Author Bio
I love to write the kind of stories that will
keep you up late at night and make your heart pound. It’s my goal in writing to
make each new book better, more exciting, more action-packed, not only to test
myself as a writer but to keep thrilling you. I’m always trying to push the
boundaries with my imagination, and yours, to create something new and
different.
If you’re a fan of paranormal romance novels
then you’ll love my Bellum Sisters Trilogy. This isn’t your typical romance
story, so be prepared for a kick of heat and tons of action. The Bellum Sisters
Trilogy has received excellent reviews from paranormal bloggers and two of the
three books are Top Picks from Night Owl Reviews.
Now, if you like shorter books with quite a bit
of heat, humor, and action then I’d recommend the Kategan Alphas series. This
erotic series features the sexy Kategan family and all the lucky men and women
who get to meet them and complete their lives.
Visit my website to learn more about me and my
books at www.tagrey.com.
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