Alexandra Anthony is the guest author today with her hot new release, Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1)



I’d like to thank Elodie for hosting me once again on her blog with the release of my newest release, Odyssey.  This book is a Companion to the series…and is told from my hero, Stefan Lifsten’s POV as to how he viewed the occurrences of Fated and Illusion.  It’s not a simple rewrite…it features Stefan’s human death, his early life as a vampire and missing scenes from the first two books of The Vampire Destiny Series.


And in honor of this book release, I’m giving away a 6” Kindle with all 6 of my eBooks!  If you go to www.alexandra-anthony.com, you can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway!







 

Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1)
 

In this first Companion Piece to The Vampire Destiny Series, we follow our hero, Stefan Lifsten, from the time of his human death, through his early years as a vampire until he meets Josephine Anderson, his fated mate.

We'll travel along with him during his initial struggles to accept his immortality, his betrayals by friends and foes, and experience his joy of meeting the woman from his vision...experiencing Fated and Illusion through his eyes.

This book is a Companion to The Vampire Destiny Series and will feature missing scenes and character information. While this book can be read as a stand-alone, it is highly recommended that you read Fated and Illusion to fully experience this book.

*This book contains sexy vampires, graphic language and highly erotic scenes that are not for those 18 and under or are of the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.*



Excerpt from Odyssey



***

“Stefan, I’m sorry.  I…”

Shaking my head, I held up my hand to stop her words.  “Vackra, I only wanted to turn one other person in my life.  You.”  I let out a resigned sigh.  “Plans change.  Anna will have to adjust to this life and she may not be happy if and when she awakes.  You must prepare yourself for that.”

Rubbing her forehead with her palm, she rested her head against her hand.  “So she’ll hate me for begging you to change her.  And then she’ll hate you for doing it.”

I crouched down beside of her and my expression softened.  “Do not be sorry and you cannot worry about the what-if’s now.  You love your friend and wanted to save her.  I understand.  We will deal with the consequences of this together.”

I stood, offering her my outstretched hand.  “Come with me, vackra.  I started the shower for us.”

“Should I stay with her?”  Josephine asked.  She wanted to go with me, but she was hesitant to leave her friend unattended.

 “Josephine, she is fine.  We still have a plane to catch.  We just have an extra passenger now,” I uttered softly.  “Shower with me.”

Letting go of Anna’s hand, she reached for mine.  She followed me into the bathroom and watched as I tore my bloody, ruined clothing from my body.  When I was finished, I faced her and my eyes peered into hers.

“I want to see you,” I murmured.  I stepped closer and took her arms in my hand, inspecting the angry, red marks that still encircled her wrists.  My eyes closed for a moment and I inhaled a shaky, unnecessary breath as my fingers gingerly traced the welts on her skin.  I wanted to torture Derek all over again for hurting her.  I should have never let her come here alone.

My eyes reopened and I swallowed unevenly. Gathering my resolve, I licked my lips and nodded, my hand releasing her arms.  I raised my hand to brush my thumb over the bruise that was forming on her cheekbone, letting the backs of my fingers trail down the side of her face.

“Stefan, sweetheart.  It’s over.”  She cupped her hand against my rough cheek.  “You can’t kill him again.” 

I swallowed again and pressed my face against her hand.  I said nothing, my eyes unblinking.

“Stefan?  You have to talk to me,” she said softly.

I shook my head and my jaw clenched.  I stood taller and simply stared down into her eyes.  How could she love me after everything she had seen?  I had killed a creature in front of her eyes without any remorse or second thought.

“If you won’t let me see what you’re thinking you have to tell me.”

The corner of my lip flinched.  When I finally spoke, my voice was deep and filled with bitterness.  “You saw what and who I am today.  I want him to meet a thousand deaths for what he did to you.  I longed to torture him for days, punishing him for touching you.  Is that what you wished to hear me say?”

“What you did today isn’t you.  It’s only part of who you are,” she retorted softly.  “Will holding on to this change what he did, Stefan?”

“No.”  I grunted and my eyes traced along her discolored cheekbone.  “However, it would satisfy the selfish part of me that wants vengeance.”

Her hand lowered from my face to rest against my silent chest, placing her hand over where my heart would be beating if I were still alive.  “You have to let this go, Stefan.  Let this go for you, for me.  For us.  He’s dead and you saved me.”

“You watched as I savagely killed a creature in front of you.  I tell you how I wanted him to suffer more and it is you that soothes me.  You have to see the absurdity in this,” I marveled.  I gathered up her shirt and ripped it up the middle, dropping the scraps of material to the bathroom floor.  I made short work of removing her jeans, tossing them to join the growing pile of destroyed clothing.

I lifted her into the shower with me and the spray of hot water ran over us, the water dripping red trails down my chest as it ran over my tangled, bloody hair.

“Sit down.  Let me wash your hair.”  She pointed to the seat in the corner.

I wordlessly obeyed and sat on the small bench, my large frame filling the entire corner of the shower.  I closed my eyes as she lathered my hair with shampoo, and a purring sound grumbled in my chest as her nails scratched over my scalp.  Grabbing the handheld attachment, she rinsed my hair and watched as the pink suds disappeared, revealing my clean hair.  Reaching for the bar of soap, she washed me, her slick, bubbly hands running over every curve and muscle of my body.  When she finished, she lowered her lips to my mouth.  Her hand gripped the back of my neck, pulling my lips to hers.  Her tongue slipped between my lips, seeking out mine.  When they met, I moaned into her mouth, my fingers running through her hair.

I dragged her onto my lap, our embrace never breaking.  She only raised her lips from mine for a moment to catch her breath and I buried my head between her breasts, leaving her to wrap her arms around me and hold me as I breathed in deeply against her wet skin.

“You saw me at my darkest moment, yet somehow you still manage to love me.”

She pressed her cheek against my damp hair.  “I’ll always love all of you.  Everything was wrong until you made it right.”

My shoulders shook in response to her words.  All she could do was hold me to her and let me have this moment while the shower rained down on us.



***
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About Alexandra Anthony

Alexandra Anthony is the independent author of two romantic, erotic book series:

The Vampire Destiny Series and The Dark Hart Chronicles.  Both feature sexy vampires to die for, steamy love scenes and follow the twists and turns of her character’s many adventures.  Her books are not for the faint of heart.



She was most recently featured in USA Today in an article by Joyce Lamb titled, “It’s time to put some Paranormal Activity into your Reading” and was featured under Self-Published/Indie Authors for the release of Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book 4).  Her paranormal, erotic romance Tempted (The Dark Hart Chronicles Book 1) was nominated for Best Erotica in the 2013 Orangeberry Hall of Fame Contest.



Ms. Anthony is from the Midwest (Ohio to be precise) and was bitten by the lure of the vampire at an early age.  She chose to take up writing and put her own twist on these mysterious immortal creatures…making them day-walkers that could easily blend in with their human counterparts.  She also enjoys weaving Old Norse and Greek Mythology into her stories, adding a bit of realism into escapism.



Coming up on the horizon for Alexandra will be the second book in The Dark Hart Chronicles, Rapture.  It is slated for a late fall/early winter release.



You can find out more information about me on my website, http://www.alexandra-anthony.com


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