Snip of a WIP - CHARM OF LIGHT (Allie Corrigan's story)

As promised, here is a short excerpt from my work in progress - Charm of Light.  If you've read the Elemental Magic books, then you may be familiar with Allaina Corrigan (Allie), Ryan's daughter. Allie was magically gifted and trained to use her magic by Devin. Light takes place in the near future. Now thirty-three, Allie is a successful author like her Aunt Liv. Keep in mind this is a sneak peek, a very raw excerpt.

And Light shall bring forth the gateway...


Charm of Light (Book 1)

The heroine:  Allaina (Allie) Corrigan

Trained in sorcery  from a young age by her powerful cousin Devin, erotic romance author Allaina Corrigan is no stranger to magic.   But in  a future where  technology rules, those with power  take great care to hide it.  Hoping to keep her family out of danger after a vicious attack,  Allie seeks out the last man she wants to run to for help, vampire Kail McKenna.  She lost her heart to him once, almost gave up her mortality but out of her element, she knows Kail may be the only one who can save her.  

The hero:  Kail McKenna

In the fourteen hundred years since the last Seven were destroyed and his lover Cailin the Light turned him, Kail has seen more than his share of death and destruction.  When Allie walks back into his life with the Charm of Light as living proof  the Seven are returning, he has no choice but to honor his charge as Guardian and turn against his kind.  For her, he would sacrifice all.

The story:  Death stalks Allie and craves not only her blood but her power.  Thrice the Seven have returned.  With only Allaina the Light left to battle the darkness, will she be able to save Kail and his soul?  

Excerpt:

Something sticky trickled down the side of her throat. Allie reached up, touching her neck hesitantly; fingers shaking as her hands came away wet and red. Panic begged to take control. She’d been safe in the daylight, knew the vampire who stalked her couldn’t search for her under the killing sun. Savior sun. 

Allaina felt the deep tearing wounds beneath the bandage seeing them in her mind’s eye. The fading remnants of her attacker were dark and rippling through her blood. Fight it. Imagining a wash of white light surrounding her body, Allie tried to remain calm. The change would take time. Time and Kail were on her side. She would survive. 

She had managed to dust the vampire who had tried to kill her while she slept. Fishing her cell phone out of her jacket pocket, she hit redial and tried Kail’s cell again.  He wasn’t answering his mobile and when she’d called the bookstore she’d had been politely told the boss was out. Damn, him.  What other choice did she have but to venture into the dark death of moonlight and seek Kail’s help. 

            The cab came to a screeching halt.  “Why did we stop?”  She really didn’t want to walk the next block in the dark.

            “Traffic accident, miss.”

            “Can’t you go around or something?  I have an appointment and I can’t be late.”  She lied.

            “Sorry, miss.” As much as she hated being out in the open, she wasn’t about to stay put like a sitting duck either. Allie  handed him a twenty for the fare, climbed out of the cab and stepped out into the night.

            Her boot heels clicked on the sidewalk, splashing in the puddles of muddy water left from that afternoon’s thunderstorms as she began to walked last blocks to "Timeless". As a woman who often traveled alone, she took care to be aware of her surroundings, but her nerves were even more on edge with that thing stalking her. How could I have written all those novels with sexy vampire heroes? Vampires kill. Turn. Destroy.  Had she been out of her mind? Not all. Not Kail. He's different. He will know what to do.

            She walked quickly, almost ran the last half of the block to Kail's vintage book store.  The sights and sounds of city life around her only just registered through her fear. She fingered the silver cross in her pocket. Superstition? Maybe, but they existed for a reason.  Kail had hated the thing. That had to prove something. She wanted to cry with relief when she  heard the tinkling of the old iron door bell as she opened the door. Kail lounged behind the counter, waiting. The devil she knew it would have to be.

~

            Kail watched Allie walk across the room and wondered what had brought Allaina Corrigan back into his world. He took note of the shadows under her green eyes. She wore her long dark hair up. For confidence? He wasn’t sure she needed any extra. All she had to do was walk through the door and every eye turned. Was it her magic or natural sex appeal set his inner vampire on full alert?   

They’d met before, when she had come into Timeless to find a rare book for her cousin. He had asked her to dinner, and they had spent the rest of the night in Allaina’s hotel room bed, his body deep inside hers, his fangs buried in her throat. Allie had been an amazing three months, but when things started leaning toward “I do” she’d ran.  He hadn’t seen her for at least a month, maybe more. Kail licked his lips, one white point almost peeking out around his tongue as he remembered her taste.

Leaning against the counter, he waited. His body tensed as she came closer, the scent of her blood teased him. He remembered her new book on his nightstand. The hero, a vampire pining for a lost love, had hit just a little too close to home. Allie had burned every page to a cinder with her scorching tale of reunited lovers. He had seen her in the heroine. Craved that reunion. Every written vision of lust tormented his body, teased his senses into fevered imagination and had him wishing he could plunge into her, bury his fangs in her throat. Now here she was, walking back into his life. 

~

           She imagined their meeting a thousand ways. Coffee. A planned dinner. Her belly quivered, slipping into his apartment and sliding between the cool sheets while he slept had a certain appeal, though she had better sense than to try it. Kail’s first rule; never surprise a vampire, unless you want to die. Her fingers clutched the silver cross at her throat. He was the only one who could help her. 

            Almost there, come on Allie. Lord he was sexy, lounging against the counter like he didn’t give a damn about anything in the world-He probably didn’t. She’d just have to convince him. His hair fell like dark rain to his shoulders, and as the last time she’d seen him, he wore black head to toe. Remembering, she reached up and touched her neck where the vampire's wounds still gaped and shuddered. She watched his blue eyes grow darker, the corner of his mouth tilted into a frown. Could she do this? She had no choice, by morning she wouldn't be mortal any longer. She put her hand in his offered one and unconsciously licked her lips. “Hello, Kail.”