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The Immaculate
by Kate Hill
Series: Ancient Blood
Format(s): Ebook
Heat Level: Steamy
Pairing(s): M/F
Genre/Themes: Paranormal, Vampires
Length: Novel
Cover art created at Canva.com
Purchase Links: Ebook: Amazon Paperback: Amazon Hardcover: Amazon
Scarred in mind and body after a brutal attack, Mara travels to Spain in pursuit of an explanation for flashbacks that hint at supernatural evil. There she meets Adam, a gorgeous vampire fighting demons of his own. Bound by mutual attraction and suffering, it seems they can heal each other, until their romantic relationship turns potentially deadly for one of them.
Note: The Immaculate was previously published. This re-edited version contains additional scenes. The Immaculate contains scenes with sex and violence. The story refers to past rape, past child abuse, and a past suicide attempt.
Excerpt:
The following evening, Mara stood in the library restroom. Her heart thumped furiously, and she gripped the edge of the white porcelain sink while staring at her reflection. She’d worn her hair down, lined her eyes with black pencil, and applied red lipstick. She still couldn’t figure out why.
“You’re a fool, Mara.” She wadded up paper towels and roughly dragged them over her lips, removing all traces of color. Too bad she hadn’t brought an elastic with her. She wished for scissors to chop off her long, black hair.
“Get a grip.” She glared into the glass and straightened her spine. Pushing open the door, she strode to the reference desk with feigned confidence and asked the librarian for the book Adam was translating for her.
“The young man took it.” The librarian pointed to the reading room where Adam and Mara had met.
Drawing a cleansing breath, Mara walked to the table where Adam sat, his gaze cast down to the pages of the Lords of the Moon. She imagined resting her head against his chest and feeling his arms wrapped snugly around her. Her heartbeat quickened.
“Hello, Mara.” He turned to her with a smile.
She sat beside him. “Thanks for coming…again.”
“I’m afraid you won’t learn much more from this book.”
“Why not?”
“Here,” he pointed to the page, “the editor of this edition notes that an entire section is missing. The rest is just typical vampire myth.”
“I wonder what’s missing?” Mara squinted at the writing. “Hold on, I understand those words. Doesn’t that say First Father or something like that?”
Adam looked again. “So it does. I’m sure it was interesting. Too bad it’s not here.”
“First Father.” Mara unconsciously placed a hand to her throat and rubbed.
“Did that happen when you were attacked?”
Her startled gaze flew to his. “What?”
He motioned toward her neck where two faint scars marked her flesh.
“Oh.” She covered the pinpricks with her hand. “Yes. How did you know about that?”
“You told the librarian the other night, remember?”
“Yes.” Sickening memories flooded her mind.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You’d think I’d be over it by now. It happened a year ago.”
“That’s not very long, Mara. Something like that stays with you forever, I’d imagine.”
They sat in silence for several moments. If only she could forget what happened or completely remember. The bits and pieces were driving her mad. How much fear and curiosity could a person endure before she lost control of her entire life?
The last thing she needed was to fall apart in front of Adam. “If there’s nothing else to translate, I guess there’s nothing more for us to do here.”
“Good. Now we can go to dinner.”
“What I meant was there’s nothing left for me to bother you with. It was nice meeting you, Adam.”
“I bored you yesterday. I’m sorry.”
“That’s not it.” She sighed. If she told him she wasn’t ready to date, she’d sound presumptuous, but what if he wanted more than friendship?
“I just thought it would be nice to spend some time together, seeing how we’re both strangers in Spain.”
She giggled. “That sounds like the title of a bad movie.”
“I’d really like you to have dinner with me again, but it’s up to you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“I just don’t want to be bad company.” Mara folded her arms across her chest and rubbed her arms. A year ago, she would have been thrilled by the chance to spend time with a nice, good-looking guy like Adam. Deep inside, she wanted to enjoy an evening with him, but anxiety choked off her desires. Still, having dinner with him couldn’t hurt.
“Impossible. I’m sure you could never be bad company.”
The man was too charming.
Before she could stop herself, Mara was again strolling alongside Adam to the mall across the street.
Interview with Adam
Are you comfortable talking about yourself?
Reasonably. Go ahead and ask questions. I’ll let you know if any cross my boundaries.
What is your favorite weapon to train with?
Sai. Something about how they feel in my hands.
Are you religious?
Yes, though some might argue that I’m unconventional.
What attracted you to Mara?
Well, she’s seriously cute! But on a deeper level, something about her reminded me of myself. We’re both lonely and we have disturbing secrets.
Tell me about your family.
I was adopted by a reverend from New York City when I was very young. Honestly, there are things about growing up that I’d rather not remember and I’m not ready to talk about.
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