When an ethics-bound geneticist discovers an evil plot to wipe the vampire gene from existence, will he expose the generations-old atrocity and risk losing the love of his life?
Erasing the past is the only way to survive the future…
It’s beyond love at first sight the day geneticist Richard Hall spots secretary Eva Fjelstad. They have so much in common—a love of rare steak, red wine and music, and they work for the renowned, yet enigmatic research corporation Sub Rosa.
The beauty of being a bright young geneticist is that Richard has access to cutting-edge technology, including a newly developed soulmate serum. A sip of the serum and a brush of hands confirm Richard and Eva are destined to be together.
But there’s a problem.
Sub Rosa in the swinging sixties isn’t as peace-loving as it seems, and when Richard uncovers corruption at the very core of the company—a secret that goes to the heart of his parents’ disappearance—he’s faced with a decision no man wants to make.
For generations, the Jade and Violet vampire clans have roamed the world, posing little threat to the blissfully ignorant human population. However, it’s Richard who unearths Sub Rosa’s genocidal scheme to eradicate the vampire species from existence.
Should Richard stay true to his moral compass and risk his relationship with Eva to expose the agency’s deep-seated cruelty and deception? Or does he toe the company line, let vampires vanish from the world and keep his soulmate safe, secure and by his side forever?
Publisher's Note: This book is part one of a three-part series.
General Release Date: 27th August 2019
Hobart, May 1965
“I need to know her.”
Richard Hall edged nearer to the beautiful woman waiting at the Sub Rosa Corporation lifts. There was something about her blue-violet eyes—Elizabeth Taylor-like, but bluer. They drew him to her, teased and tugged, until his whole mind, body and spirit tangled together with an insatiable craving.
And it knocked him. Hard.
She turned toward the tinted window, the soft, autumn morning light catching the violet in her spellbinding irises. A magical aura seemed to surround her, like she was a muse and he a nomad, being summoned to her calling.
A Sub Rosa name tag was clipped onto her sexy C-cup chest but her handbag strap obscured her name. He needed to get closer and talk to her. She stood listening to her female friend, her silent yet captivating presence rendering him a wordsmith with no words…except ‘hello’.
Hello. Such a simple, yet powerful foot in the door to start the flow of conversation. He psyched himself up to make a move but the doors opened and the stunning woman and her chatty friend drifted into the male-dominated lift that was too crowded to admit him.
The mesmerizing dark-haired rose disappeared among a pack of very lucky thorns. As the doors closed, he couldn’t miss the check-out-the-foxy-babe-onboard look on his workmates’ faces, the nudging body language between them, alerting each other to the presence of pure beauty.
He had to meet this girl. And he’d find a way. Richard had never had it easy, had never had things given to him, though he usually got them in the end.
It should help shorten his search, seeing as she worked at Sub Rosa too. But in what department? Not research. It brimmed with blokes, the boys’ club beaming a Back Off, Keep Out forcefield.
Women. Exactly what their department needed. It wouldn’t happen, though—not in Australia in 1965, definitely not in Hobart, Tasmania and especially not while he was the outvoted newcomer.
How to find one gorgeous girl in a thirty-story skyscraper of sweaty blokes. Hmmm… She had to work as a Girl Friday or a secretary of some sort. That narrowed down the options, but he’d still be forced to make inquiries. He could just imagine how that conversation would go.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist would ask.
“I’m just trying to find a girl I saw in the lift. She has blue-violet eyes and long, dark brown hair, and I’ve got the hots for her.”
The receptionist would give him a professional, sure-thing smile then press the intercom. “Security…”
Okay, so he couldn’t really chase her around the building…unless he wanted to risk his dream job and get a reputation as a stalker. Luckily, his chances of running into her were good—great even. The situation just called for patience.
Richard yanked the stifling scarf from his neck and stuffed it in his black bag. Me, patient? Ha! When he wanted something, or someone, he couldn’t relax until he had it.
More staff arrived and waited for the elevator. Men, men, men and more men oozed a cloying mix of colognes and spoke in confident, testosterone-laced tones. The tall, short, thin, fat-suited male landscape stretched out around him, with a sprinkling of bob-haircut, mini-skirt-wearing, Mod-style women. But his mind was snagged on his singular, elegant beauty.
Mine.
Richard shook his head, trying to shake some sense back into his two-track mind—them, together as a couple. What has gotten into me? Obsessing over a woman was totally not his thing, especially a woman he hadn’t met.
Lust at first sight was the only explanation—heart-hammering, mind-bending, limb-trembling lust. His cock needed a companion…but so did his heart.
Fire simmered in his stomach. She hadn’t just gotten under his skin. She’d burrowed into his heart, head, soul. How would it be when he actually spoke to her, touched her? Am I twenty-five or fourteen?
He closed his eyes and took a deep, get-some-fucking-control-over-yourself breath.
The lift doors opened, and he glanced at the gold cogs in his skeleton watch—eight-thirty-one. Time to get to work…and do some research.
Sandra Carmel is an own-voices bestselling Australian author of racy, flirty and downright-dirty romance novels, novellas, short stories and poetry, who enjoys stimulating herself and others with words. An obsession with Jane Eyre, and her infatuation with Mr Rochester, were key motivators in commencing her romance writing journey. So far, she has taken the scenic route from steamy paranormal to sci-fi to contemporary, creating provocative stories that delve beneath the surface of desire. She reads and writes a lot, frequently disrupted by her ever-attentive, cheeky cats, and sinfully amorous array of book boyfriends.
You can follow Sandra on Instagram and Bookbub and find her on Amazon.
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