This is an EROTIC/VAMPIRE
historical..... it's set in Ancient Pompeii, mostly, and moves into modern
time..... it contains a great deal of sexual content, and historical accuracy
about the decadence of the Romans of that era. It was fascinating to write, and
as you can see, the cover is a stunner..... I hope your curiosity will be
piqued, and you'll consider adding this one to your collection - the reviews
are amazing... and I think you'll find it a satisfying read! I’ve also just put
the book into print, it’s economically priced, and looks wonderful!
WHOM GODS HAVE FAVOURED
Pompeii lies complacent and decadent in
the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, the populace thriving on their depravity and
their hunger for blood and Games. Within the elite aristocracy, games of
another type are being played, deadly secrets are a threat to more than status,
and conspiracy is a way of life for those who are unhappy.
Lucius has long been exalted as a
warrior without peer. Adored and covetted by men and women alike, he is blind
to the plots that are thickening around him. While total control is his on the
bloody fields of war, on the battlefield of the heart, as he is about to discover,
even the strongest man can be deceived by his ignorance.
Watching over it all is the majesty of
Vesuvius, sputtering smoke, promising retribution. In the midst of the looming
destruction, an ancient evil emerges, and will claim not only a celebrated general
of Rome, but the slave girl he has slowly grown to love and cherish. A girl who
will follow him into hell itself?
Excerpt:
Pompeii—Under the rule of the Emperor
Vespasian
“The Emperor is most pleased with
your progress, General,” Proconsul Flavius noted as he strolled the market
streets with Pompeii’s illustrious hero. They proceeded without impediment as
the people of the busy city cleared a path for them.
The general, Lucius, smiled, pleased
by the undercurrent of fear that marked his passage. He enjoyed the power his
position gave him, and the recognition of it came in various forms. Even the
proconsul wasn’t entirely at ease with him.
“And well he should be, Proconsul.
Resistance is crumbling. Another victory and Gaul will truly be defeated.”
They had reached the slave market,
and Lucius stopped as a scream rose above the usual noises of the area. He felt
an unwelcome empathy for the terror he heard in the voice, and was annoyed by
the surprising emotion.
The slave-dealer’s bellow rang out
and drowned the girl’s frightened shrieks. Unconsciously, Lucius turned to look
at the raised platform that displayed the slaves being auctioned off to the
highest bidders. The dealer slapped the girl across the face and silenced her
before he turned his attention to the gathered buyers.
“…I’m
told her name is Xina,” the dealer called out. “Not part of my shipment, good
gentlemen, but a last minute addition. Seems she knifed a soldier last night
when he refused to pay a fair price for her.” He laughed lewdly and hauled the
girl forward so the crowd could look more closely at her.
Despite her obvious desire to remain
immune to what was happening to her, her cheeks flamed scarlet when the slaver
tore open her gown and left her nakedness displayed for the eager bidders.
Almost immediately voices rose and purses were offered. Lucius watched as she
closed her eyes and tears spilled from the corners.
“She is a beauty,” the proconsul
observed with a laugh. “And a dangerous one, at that.”
Lucius laughed with the shorter man,
but his gaze was drawn back to the girl. She couldn’t have been more than
sixteen or seventeen, if she was that old. The trader knotted his fingers in
long waves of light brown hair and pulled the concealing mass away from her
body so the view was unobstructed. Her eyes stayed closed, but her chin lifted
and she stood with proud defiance as the raucous bids and laughs continued.
A slow, indolent sweep of her body
stirred more than curiosity within the general. His gaze caressed golden flesh,
noted the smooth swell of full, brown tipped breasts, the small waist that
flared into sensuously rounded hips. Firm, curved thighs were topped by an
enticing triangle of sand-colored curls, and the ties of the sandals she wore
twined around well-shaped calves like serpents lazing in the sun. Slender arms
were tensed, muscles quivering with the effort to mask her fury, and her small
hands tangled in the folds of her shredded gown where it hung limply from her
shoulders.
“Who is she?” Lucius asked, surprised
by his own interest when the proconsul stared up at him, clearly startled by
the query.
“You don’t want that one, Lucius,”
he advised. “Nydia would destroy her overnight.”
The general smiled again, but let
his expression grow icy. The glitter of carefully controlled, lethal rage
created a distinct shudder of terror within the Proconsul of Pompeii.
“You haven’t answered my question,
Proconsul,” he whispered, his tone cool.
“Xina is the daughter of one of
Boudica’s whores,” the other man supplied after a moment’s thought. “She’s been
in the brothel since the day of her birth.”
Lucius raised an eyebrow and waited
for the official to finish his narrative.
“Her brother, Plautus, is the
current champion of Pompeii. Her mother died recently, while Plautus was away
from the city, and Boudica decided it was time for the girl to earn her keep
until her brother’s return.”
“That woman should be fed to the
crowd during games,” Lucius muttered grimly. It was quite clear that Xina was
not a common whore, despite her background. Not that it mattered, he mused.
Before he was through with her she’d be well versed in a great number of arts
necessary to a whore’s survival.
Without warning, Lucius strode into
the crowd and headed toward the auction block. He yanked a purse from his belt,
threw it toward the dealer, and continued onto the platform. The crowd rumbled
with subdued irritation, but none dared defy Pompeii’s most renowned general as
he took the girl by the arm and led her from the marketplace.
