She twists out of my arms and puts space between us before she whirls around and says, “In my books the main vampire, The Maker, the leader, is Marcus. What is this? How do I know him? How do we—are we—God, how is any of this what it seems?” She dives fingers into her hair. “I’m losing my mind. I’ve been in an accident. I’m in a coma and I’m dreaming all of this. The fiction writer in me is going wild.” She drops her hands. “And I’d say I want to wake up, but you’d be gone. I don’t want you to be gone, Eli. You will, won’t you? You’ll be gone?”
She knows Marcus.
What the hell is going on?
I close the space between me and her and catch her arms again, dragging her to me. “I don’t want to leave you, Ivy. I don’t want to leave you.”
“But you’re going to? Please, don’t.”
When I’d wanted her to say please for all kinds of dirty naked reasons, right now, I want her to stop saying it. “Tell me what you know about Marcus. Have you met him?”
“He’s a fictional character in my books. I imagined him.”
“Describe him.”
“Blond. Long hair. He likes long coats. His eyes are striking and hard to look away from.”
My jaw sets. “He’s not your imagination,” I say, and I know then that she was never going to be able to walk away from this hell I live in. I don’t know why, but Marcus does. “He’s real. And, baby, you are not in a coma or dreaming.”
I sit down on the high-back chair in the corner, dragging her onto my lap to straddle me. My hand closes around the ring around her neck. “Close your eyes. I’m going to show you.”
“Don’t you need to look into my eyes or something like that?”
“Not with this ring in my hand and you on my lap. Close your eyes, Ivy. Trust me. I will never hurt you. Ever.”
“If I can see Marcus, you think I don’t know that? You think I can’t feel that?” she asks, but she doesn’t wait for an answer. She closes her eyes and now it’s time for me to show her everything, including her own murder. But the problem with that is that when I show her the monsters that killed her, I show her who I have become. And I can barely breathe with the idea of what might come from this. I have no way of knowing if she’ll run away from the truth. And from me.
THE END…FOR NOW
Eli and Ivy’s story continues in CLAIM ME! Coming November 2021, that wait isn’t long! You can pre-order and learn more here: https://www.lisareneejones.com/vampire-wardens-resurrection.html
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Turn the page for a look into my next series: THE NECKLACE TRILOGY coming everywhere October 2021! Learn more here: https://www.lisareneejones.com/necklace-trilogy.html
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WHAT’S NEXT FROM ME?
THE NECKLACE TRILOGY
In the vein of her Inside Out series, New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Renee Jones returns with the dark, seductive world of the Necklace Trilogy...
Allison Wright is delivered a package meant for a different Allison—a unique, expensive necklace. Determined to right the confusion, she seeks out the proper recipient, a journey that takes her to the doorstep of Tyler Hawk, a good looking, recluse billionaire who deals with fine collectibles such as the necklace. She also learns that Allison, his employee, quit her job registering and restoring his vast assortment of collectibles. Ironically, Allison is the daughter of a rather famous archeologist who is also employed by a local museum, and her love of such things has her jumping at the opportunity. Soon she is spending her evening and weekends immersed in the job the other Allison left behind.
As Allison begins diving into the job for Tyler, secrets about the other Allison begin to surface that have her concerned for her safety. And as she starts hunting for answers, her path crosses with the enigmatic famous author who has a business endeavor with her boss. Dash Black is a man who is dark and edgy, intense and yet quiet. Funny and yet somehow reserved. He draws her in, sets her pulse racing, and her body on fire. She knows there's a dangerous edge to him, but she can't seem to care. She's addicted to everything he is and she simply can't turn away, no matter what the cost. As Allison is drawn into the life and mystery of the other Allison, a mystery demands answers and passion burns hot. Allison will travel a path that leads to shocking truths and a side of herself she never knew existed.
PRE-ORDER AND LEARN MORE HERE:
https://www.lisareneejones.com/necklace-trilogy.html
EXCERPT FROM THE WALKER SECURITY: ADRIAN TRILOGY
I exit the bathroom and halt to find him standing in the doorway, his hands on either side of the doorframe. “What are you doing?
“This,” he says, and suddenly, his hands are on my waist, and he’s walked me back into the bathroom.
Before I know what’s happening, he’s kicked the door shut, and his fingers are diving into my hair. “Kissing you, because I can’t fucking help myself. And because you might not ever let me do it again. That is unless you object?”
That’s the part that really gets me. The “unless I object,” the way he manages to be all alpha and demanding and still ask. Well, and the part where he can’t fucking help himself.
I press to my toes and the minute my mouth meets his, his crashes over mine, his tongue doing a wicked lick that I feel in every part of me. And I don’t know what I taste like to him, but he is temptation with a hint of tequila, demand, and desire. His hands slide up my back, fingers splayed between my shoulder blades, his hard body pressed to mine, seducing me in every possible way.
I moan with the feel of him and his lips part from mine, lingering there a moment before he says, “Obviously, someone needs to protect you from me,” he says. “Like me.” And then to my shock, he releases me and leaves. The bathroom door is open and closed before I know what’s happened. And once again, I have no idea if or when I will ever see him again.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ADRIAN TRILOGY HERE:
https://www.lisareneejones.com/walker-security-adrians-trilogy.html
THE BRILLIANCE TRILOGY
It all started with a note, just a simple note handwritten by a woman I didn't know, never even met. But in that note is perhaps every answer to every question I've ever had in my life. And because of that note, I look for her but find him. I'm drawn to his passion, his talent, a darkness in him that somehow becomes my light, my life. Kace August is rich, powerful, a rock star of violins, a man who is all tattoos, leather, good looks, and talent. He has a wickedly sweet ability to play the violin, seducing audiences worldwide. Now, he’s seducing me. I know he has secrets. I don't care. Because you see, I have secrets, too.