Authors: Phil Partington and Anastasia Rabiyah
Cover Artist: Anastasia Rabiyah
Genre: Fantasy/Sensual Romance
Length: Novella 36,468 words, 112 pages PDF
Heat Level: Sensual. Violence.
ISBN: 978-1-936165-49-0
Released: 07-07-2010

Love comes in many shades of darkness…and light. 

Rumor has it that a woman in white waits for the unsuspecting men of Lott’s Vale and ensnares them in a web of lust and control. Matthew isn’t sure if he believes it or not, but when he encounters the beauty and falls prey to her whims, his simple life is soon turned upside down, his perceptions twisted into a sensual reality of pain and pleasure. Will he free Deshay of the woods from her curse, or will he be another of her slaves, forever bound to her cruel will?

EXCERPT:

“Hello, Matty.”

Matthew grew dizzy as he first looked upon the girl he had once called his love. As truth would have it, he still loved her, though he didn’t realize it until now. Time had aged her to womanhood, as it’s apt to do, but her eyes still sparkled with the youth of the girl he remembered. He recognized the dimples that folded just so at the corners of her smile and the smooth, curly streams of ebony hair that cascaded from the top of her head.

“Alex?”

Her nervous smile widened. She kept silent for the moment, but the smile was all that was needed as far as Matthew was concerned. It spoke a thousand words at once, and he thought he may need to lie down to fully process what was said with that smile. He ran to her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, nose, then lips; perhaps too forward, but how could he hold back his passion? It seemed appropriate, too, since she accepted his embrace and returned his kiss with her own.

Countless questions of how she’d spent the past eight years, why she’d left without saying goodbye and what she was doing there now all got pushed aside and out of mind. All that mattered now was that she was here. She was really here.

He held her for a moment longer and then unlocked the shop. They entered together—he’d keep the store closed today and, keep the shades closed too—he kissed her again. “Alex.” The word sounded strange, yet delicate spoken aloud, and he smiled as it tickled his lips.

“Yes?”

“Alex…” he said again.

“Yes?”

“Just that,” Matthew said. “Just you.”

She smiled up at him, her brown eyes searching. "I was afraid you had forgotten about me."

He shook his head and bowed to kiss her lips again. He couldn't kiss her enough times. That she let him do it, melding to his body when he drew her close, showed him she felt the same as he did. It was a primal drive within him. He knew they ought to take things slower, but he couldn't help himself. And neither could she. Her soft curves enticed him, her firm breasts, hidden by her dress, pushed to his chest. He rubbed slow circles against her back. Her lips parted. She moaned in his mouth and he pulled back. "How could I forget you, Alex?"

She blushed and followed when he backed into the room where he kept his bed. There they could have privacy in case anyone came to knock, not that he thought anyone would. She was like a waking dream, too good to be true. "You're so beautiful," he told her, when he sat on his small bed. She seated herself beside him and clasped his hand.

“You've grown up,” she said. “Taller...so handsome." She bit at her bottom lip, releasing it slowly, moist and glistening. He wanted to taste her, push her down into his mattress and kiss her all over. He knew the day would be wasted, but Matthew wondered if it was really such a waste. His body tingled with excitement, and he couldn’t stop his heart from pounding.