Favorite Quote Friday #96

Happy Friday!  I have quite a lot to share with you!

For a limited time, you can purchase Darkness Dawns on Kindle for just $1.99!  If you haven't tried my series yet, now is an excellent time to see how it all began.  I don't know how long the price promotion will last, so order yours today!

Darkness Rises (October 1, 2013) hit #1 on Amazon's Hot New Paranormal Vampire Releases this week!  Woohoo!  I'm so excited!  Thank you, everyone who has pre-ordered it and who has helped me get the word out about its upcoming release!  You're the best!!!

Darkness Rises also won Second Place in Affaire de Coeur's Hot Guyz Patrol Cover Art Contest!  Thank you so much, everyone who voted!

I'll also be launching another contest over on facebook today to give away a signed ARC of Darkness Rises + Immortal Guardians swag.  International entries are welcome.   :-)  You can find my page HERE.

Thank you, everyone who participated in my Ask the Immortal Guardians Contest!  I loved your questions and will pass them along to my Immortal Guardians and Seconds.  ;-)  The winner of a Darkness Rises ARC + swag is:

Wendy!

Congratulations!

Don't forget to email me — dianne [at] dianneduvall [dot] com — your mailing address!

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Since Darkness Dawns is on sale, I thought I would give you an excerpt from it today.  This is taken from early in the novel.  Sarah, the heroine, has just rescued Roland, the hero.  (If you like strong heroines, my series is for you!)  They now stand in her tiny kitchen, Roland wearing only a towel secured at his waist:

Heart pounding, Sarah held his earnest gaze.  His touch, his nearness, was beginning to stir her in a wholly unexpected way.  He stood before her, his gorgeous body riddled with severe wounds, and suddenly all she could think about was what it would feel like if he kissed her.

What was wrong with her?

Something dark flared in his eyes.  One of his thumbs slid down her cheek to caress the corner of her lips.

His head dipped.  Her breath stopped.  Anticipation rose.

His tempting lips were a hair away from hers when Sarah heard a rustling sound followed by a soft thump.  She glanced down, then swiftly up again when she realized the towel wrapped around his waist had fallen to the floor.

Emitting a sigh, Roland lowered his hands.  “It’s going to be one of those days,” he said with a look of such pained chagrin that Sarah had to smile.

As he bent over to retrieve the towel, he listed to one side and would have fallen had he not reached for her.  The moment his hand made rough contact with her shoulder, he cried out and yanked it back.  His balance faltered.

Gasping, Sarah threw her arms around him and tried to steady him.

He staggered.  She staggered with him.

Jeeze, he weighed a ton!  Six foot one or two, maybe two hundred pounds of muscle.  There was no way she’d be able to get him up off the floor if he fainted!

It was a lot harder to support him when he reeled away from her, so she drew his upper body toward her, took two steps back and leaned all of her weight into him to prop him up.

Success!  They were both still on their feet.

When Roland’s arms closed around her, he was careful this time not to touch her with his hands.  “Sarah,” he rasped.

“Yes?”

He was blinking hard and staring over her shoulder, his gaze unfocused.  “If I pass out and you can’t wake me up—”

Oh crap.

“—wait until an hour before sunset, then call Marcus.”

“Shouldn’t we call him now?”

“No, he won’t . . .”  Roland’s dark eyes started to roll back in his head.

“No, no, no!  Don’t pass out on me!  We have to get you to the futon!”

He blinked sluggishly when she shook him.

Hurriedly maneuvering them so her back was to the futon, she began shuffling toward it, dragging him with her.

He took one step, two, then his knees buckled and his weight sank down on her, pulling her toward the floor.

Swearing, unable to keep him upright, she twisted and shoved him away from her as hard as she could.

The not-very-controlled fall that resulted landed him on his back on the futon with most of his legs hanging over the metal arm closest to her.

Whew!

That had been pure dumb luck.

“Roland?”

Rounding the futon, she leaned over him and patted one stubbled cheek.  “Roland?”

Nothing.

He was definitely out for the count.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne