I want to share a sneak peek at my friend Voirey Linger's newest release! Voirey's writing is the kind I love to savor--scorching sexual tension, high emotion, and enough gritty realism to her characters to make them completely unforgettable. Take a look!

Voirey Linger writes stories designed to ruffle your feathers. Her second angel book, Forsaking Eternity releases February 25th from Ellora's Cave Publishing, and this summer she will be launching a new series of erotic shorts called The Mansion series. She's also the founder of The Summer Reading Trail, a collection of free reads from authors of all genres. For more information about Voirey's stories or the Summer Reading Trail, please visit her Website at www.voireylinger.com.

Sequel to Risking Eternity.

There are some things an angel shouldn’t do…

Renatus is a legalist and knows the rules better than most. But knowing the Law doesn’t stop him from imagining the press of a hard male body against his, or remembering one forbidden kiss that left him hungry for more. He leaves Heaven to mingle with mankind, hoping that satisfying curiosity will quell desire. He finds Adam, a college professor who has given up on love.

Adam once dreamed of finding the perfect man and settling down. His dreams and trust were shattered when he found out the truth about his ex. Meeting Renatus seduces Adam into taking another chance on love. But Ren is keeping secrets, and the only promise he will make is that he will leave.

Now the Most High has commanded Renatus to retrieve the Law of Men and Angels, and a vengeful demon is circling, waiting for her opportunity to strike. Staying is impossible, leaving unbearable, and Ren wants to succumb to temptation, forsaking eternity for a life on Earth with Adam.

Excerpt:

An Excerpt From: FORSAKING ETERNITY

Copyright © VOIREY LINGER, 2011

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

“Do you work nearby, Adam?”

“Fairly. I’m a professor at the university. I’m farther away than most of the lunch crowd but still close enough to walk. And you?”

“I do not work nearby.” That line of questioning used up his conversational repertoire. Ren picked up his coffee mug and took a nervous sip.

The hot brew hit his mouth and Ren’s eyes watered. Merciful Heavens, it was vile. The heat of it singed his mouth and the bitter taste made him recoil. Even the packets of sugar he had used did nothing to improve the flavor. His eyes watered and he forced himself to swallow. How could Maggie drink this? From her blissful reaction to a simple cup of coffee, he’d expected it to taste, well…good.

“What’s wrong? Too hot?”

Ren gasped and cleared his throat before speaking. “The taste was not what I was expecting.”

“Are you one of the connoisseurs who likes their coffee to be just so? I have to admit to being underwhelmed by all the special blends. To me, coffee is just coffee.”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t believe I like coffee at all, actually.” Could this trip have possibly been a bigger failure? No doubt he looked like a fool.

“Ah, ordered the wrong thing then. What did you want? Hot chocolate maybe?” He turned to flag down a waiter.

“Please, do not be concerned. I do not need anything.” He reached across the table and placed his hand on Adam’s arm to stop him. His fingers tingled where they touched the tweed of the jacket. The power flowing through their bodies shifted, aligned once more. Never before, in all the eons of his existence, had he ever experienced anything of the like.

Adam’s hand eased back down and he stared at Ren’s fingers on his sleeve. His lips parted, his breath caught for one brief moment before he drew a shuddering gasp.

Adam felt it, too.

The knowledge went to Ren’s head in a giddy rush. Flustered, he pulled away. Clutching his coffee for dear life, he stared into the faint wisp of steam escaping it and tried to make sense of what just happened.

Was this attraction? Something more? The beginnings of…what, exactly?

“Adam?” Another man stopped by the table, claiming the human’s attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to go or we’ll be late.”

Adam checked his watch and grimaced. “Head back without me. I’ll be right behind you.”

“He is a friend?” Ren asked as the man walked away.

“Tom is a longtime friend and colleague. And I’m afraid he’s right. I have a lecture and need to get back to campus.”

Adam gave Ren a thoughtful look before standing. “Do you have anywhere you need to be? If you have time I’d like it if you would walk to my office with me.”

Ren examined the small brown bubbles floating in his coffee cup, flustered. His face felt unaccountably hot and he didn’t know where to look. “I am available and would like to accompany you.”

Ren braved a glance at Adam’s face and was struck by the pleasure the human radiated. Had he done that, made Adam so incredibly happy just by agreeing to walk with him? The other man’s happiness seemed to spark an answering joy deep in Ren, a joy he hadn’t felt in seven thousand years.

He stood, leaving his coffee on the table, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Adam gestured in the general direction of the campus and the two of them started down the sidewalk.

“You are an educator. Do you have many students?” he asked Adam as they walked.

“Not really. The college is a small one, and ancient language studies aren’t very popular. Students take my classes because they need them, not because the subject interests them. I enjoy teaching, but translation work is more interesting to me.”

“Translation?”

“We’re sometimes sent old texts. Oftentimes it’s something that’s been translated before and we’ve been asked to confirm the interpretation. Other times it’s a new find. We’ve had a few partial texts to handle and identify but those usually go to larger universities.”

“That sounds like interesting work.”

“It is. What about you?”

“I am not from here.”

Adam chuckled, and the sound sparked a warm glow of what might have been happiness in Ren.

“Yeah, I did notice that.”

Ren stopped, confused. “How did you know?”

“The vaguely European accent, formal speech patterns, some of your word choices.” Adam smiled indulgently. “Your American accent is good but not perfect.”

“I’ll have to work on that.”

“No. Don’t. I like it. Come on, we’re almost there.” They began walking again, but this time there was a companionable silence, the simple satisfaction of being close to each other. How odd to have such comfortable familiarity when they’d only just met. He didn’t feel this at ease with beings he’d known since before time.

They reached the college and Adam took him on a slow tour of the grounds, pointing out various buildings and bits of architecture. At almost two hundred years, the campus was old by American standards. Well-maintained lawns were framed by cobbled walkways and neat shrubberies graced beds laid to rest in anticipation of the coming winter. Trees, thick with the vibrant shades of autumn, overlooked red brick buildings which displayed a level of craftsmanship long dead.

They reached the language studies building and Adam led Ren inside. Adam’s office held the same quaint charm and timeless appeal as the grounds. Dark wood floors squeaked under their feet as they entered. Two large windows dominated the wall opposite the door, stretching from knee-high to a handsbreadth of the high ceiling. Wooden shelves, their stain nearly black with age, lined the walls on either side of the room and matching wainscoting graced the bare walls. The plaster was a plain white which gleamed in the midday light streaming through the glass.

“Is it too bright for you? I can close the blinds if you’d like.” Adam took a stack of books from a battered chair and set them on his overfilled desk. He began shuffling papers, straightening the desk. “I like the light so I keep the blinds up most of the time. Natural light is much better for working, at least it is for me, but if you don’t like it…”

Adam stood still as a statue for a hesitant second. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Perhaps a little.” Ren ducked his head and smiled.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. I don’t have much time, unfortunately.”

Ren didn’t move. He couldn’t. His feet were firmly planted on those aging boards, held captive by this man, this simple human. After an eternity of living among wonders beyond this or any man’s comprehension, how was it that Adam, in all his base humanity, could fascinate him so?

“I don’t really wish to sit.” He peeked up at Adam and his gaze caught on the expression on the human’s face.

Adam slowly circled the desk once more until he stood close in front of Ren, closer than socially acceptable, closer than comfortable. Something deep in Ren’s chest responded. It pulled at him, tugged him toward Adam until he swayed.

“Why did you come, Renatus?” The words were a whisper, their speaker so close Ren could feel them ghosting over his own lips.

“I wanted to be with you, if only for a few more moments.”

Ren couldn’t say which one of them moved, or if maybe they both had. He just knew that in the next moment his jacket brushed against the tweed of Adam’s, the near-contact of their bodies so overwhelming that he could feel every fiber as they caught and clung. Adam’s breath fell hot and fast against his face. Ren’s lids grew heavy, his head tilted and he began to lean in.

Forsaking Eternity by Voirey Linger

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 2:24 PM  

Labels: authors, book recs