CHAPTER ONE

Present Day

Outskirts of London

October 24

Marrok

My nightmare has returned.

Beside a picturesque pond, a woman with hair like a raven’s wing beckons me with a graceful sweep of her fingers and a come-hither smile. My breath catches. Never have I encountered this beauty. Never have I seen her face.

But for half an eternity, her violet eyes have haunted me.

One glance, and I burn.

London rises behind her, now towering with glass-and-chrome blights on the skyline that loom above its classic architecture. But the city holds not my attention. She does, all naked and gleaming, mist caressing her like the mystical fog of legend.

Her glossy hair cascades over her shoulders, contrasting with her winter-pale skin. Her inky curls shroud all but fleeting glimpses of her tempting rosy nipples. My rapt gaze drops to her nipped waist, hourglass hips, and the tender cunt glistening between her thighs.

She is alluring, a seductress.

She taunts me with the satisfaction she has denied me for centuries. She makes me crave what I dare not want.

Her stunning eyes and the telltale birthmark between her lush breasts make hiding from me impossible. I know her. Intimately. It matters not that she no longer possesses the platinum tresses into which I shoved my hands as I thrust into her body an eon ago. Or that her delicate face now entices me with high cheekbones, a pert nose, and pillowy pink lips. She cannot fool me.

After searching for over a millennium for the Le Fey bitch who destroyed my life to satisfy her whim and soothe her ego, I have found her.

“Morgana…”

My hatred does naught to cool my lust. ’Tis a bitter pill. A glimpse of her, and my blood catches fire. My cock stiffens. My heart roars.

If I am fool enough to touch her, she will be my demise.

Why has she suddenly appeared, seeking to pass herself off as another? No doubt her reasons suit Morgana alone. Whatever she seeks, I cannot be weak. I will not capitulate. I refuse to follow the she-devil to sin.

Once was one time too many.

But when I summon the fortitude to look away, her pull is stronger than my will. She’s never been more captivating. ’Tis not merely her spellbinding face or her seductive body, but something more compelling. Something Morgana has never shown.

Vulnerability.

Her uncertain expression, her timid smile, her trembling pose… All call to the knight in me, just as the despair in her eyes rouses the protector.

I must resist.

At my rebuff, her fragility evaporates, replaced by a smirk that slithers across her face. Morgana is aware of my many struggles, and they delight her.

I fume with unchecked rage when she crooks her finger, luring me closer. The curl of her lips challenges me to walk away.

I can do neither.

Morgana bewitches me far more than she did during our wind-drenched night of passion. For the mistake of succumbing to temptation and swiving her senseless, I have paid dearly.

With the last fifteen centuries.

Today, society possesses clinical terms for my obsession. I care not. Getting the treacherous witch to release me from this endless hell… Naught else matters.

But with another curl of her fingers, she summons me, her eyes dark with longing. A fresh rush of desire slams me.

Want is a luxury; this woman I need. The feeling is as new as a baby’s first breath…and as welcome as the plague.

’Tis also likely another of Morgana’s tricks.

With a delicate wave, she produces the ornate book that means the difference between my life and death, clutching it as she begins to back away.

Nay!

I launch myself at her. We fall to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, of harsh breaths and pent-up passion. The book tumbles beside me, its maddening lock still shut tight.

As I grasp for the tome, she latches slender arms around my neck and trails kisses like fire up my neck, arching beneath me seductively. She singes me. My clothes melt away. More of her sorcery at play?

“Love me,” she whispers in my ear.

Despite the fact I know there is no loving this woman, her plea spikes my fever.

I burn to conquer her. I pine to possess her. I perish to own her.

I cannot give in.

“Release me,” I demand.

“Never.” She clings, writhing against the erection I am unable to banish.

God’s blood, my body is ablaze. I cling to restraint, refusing to ignore her treachery and succumb to temptation.

But I want to.

I fist her hair and press my face to hers. “Open the book!”

She looks hurt. “Don’t you want me?”

“I do.” Denying the truth is a waste of time and breath.

Under me, she wriggles again, silently begging me to fuck her. Lightning chases across my skin as I pry her thighs wider and grind against her. “If you tempt me thus, you will take all I give you. As much as I give you.”

“Anything you desire.”

Her answer makes me sweat. I lift her thighs into the crooks of my arms and bury my face in her soft neck. I should not give in…but her scent makes me dizzy. This ache for her makes me weak.

I am lost.

Beyond caring, I poise myself at her entrance. I swore never to touch this witch again—a promise I have never questioned—but resisting is impossible. I must be inside her now.

“Everything you desire,” she whispers.

Even knowing I’m dooming myself to eternal hell, I thrust forward.

But Morgana dissipates and re-forms just beyond my reach, once again clutching the hellish book.

As I lurch up to snatch it, she waves her pale hand and unlocks the volume. The cover falls open, revealing a flash of its pages. Her smug smile returns as she begins to fade away.

“Release me, damn you!”

But I’m shouting at fog. She—and the book—are gone.

As ever, I am cursed.

Desolation slashes me. My soul bleeds, yet my anguish makes little sense. Loss of the book, aye. But I could never mourn Morgana. I would, in fact, spit on her grave a thousand times if she had one.

“I am the key,” she whispers with the breeze. “Find me.”

’Tis the last thing I want. Her lure has grown too strong. But if I refuse, my torment will never end. So to London I must go and defeat the seductive witch once and for all.

A rattling noise rends my quiet. I jackknife up, panting and wrapping one hand around my battle sword as I scan my surroundings. White walls, bed carved by my hand. I am not in a mist-draped clearing, but in my cottage, in my room, tangled in my rumpled sheets. No Morgana in sight.

’Twas but a dream.

Or was it a message?

Though centuries have passed, Morgana once enjoyed taunting me in sleep. This episode warns me that she’s returned to the mortal realm as an ethereal brunette. Though she is intent upon stealing back her tome, I must let her touch it. Who else can unlock the book? Or did she use her sorcery to reach through my dream and abscond with it?

I whip around, but the leather-bound tool of my never-ending torment still rests on my bedside table. Unfortunately, the heavy, etched bronze lock affixed to each cover and secured over the pages remains tightly sealed.

Grumbling, I rise. If Morgana is the key, I must find her in her new disguise. Shadow and torment her I will until she grants me what I crave most in life.

Death.

Another impatient rap against the front window startles me. Since I have not welcomed a visitor for over a decade, any guest now is likely to be an enemy.

I slide the accursed book into the safe hidden beneath the floorboards under my bed, then grasp my sword and stalk down the hall. Anticipation of impending battle surges. Morning light seeps through my window, illuminating dust motes and casting a human shadow across the gleaming wooden floor.

If someone has come to steal the book from me, I will greet them with carnage and bloodshed.

5 stars! “WOW! This book hit the floor running. It is a very fast paced story that it full of twists and turns mixed with magic and immortality.” – Goodreads Reviewer

5 stars! “I loved this book and couldn’t put it down.” – Goodreads Reviewer

5 stars! “…one hell of a ride full of high chemistry, which was all-consuming, and such a delight and addictive  read. …action-packed story that will keep you second-guessing everything to the very end! AMAZING. This book was INCREDIBLE! I highly recommend it!” – The Sassy Nerd Blog

5 stars!  “Wow. Just wow. I am not a fan of PNR romances, but this book made me rethink my preferences. Between the wonderfully written characters and a storyline that will make the reader not be able to put it down, this was an epic tale…that sucks you in from the beginning. The reader will devour each and every chapter and will be waiting not so patiently for the next book in the series – because YES – it is that good.”  – The Overflowing Bookcase