Ari McKay visit to chat more about paranormal romance, Quenched in Blood (Asheville Arcana #3)! Check out the exclusive excerpt below!
Hello, everyone! I’m the McKay half of Ari McKay, and I’d like to thank Boy Meets Boy for letting me stop by as part of our launch tour for Quenched in Blood.
Quenched in Blood is the third and final book in our Asheville Arcana trilogy, which focuses on members of the paranormal community in Asheville, NC, and their battle against a demonic invasion.
I’d like to share an exclusive excerpt from Quenched in Blood. I hope you enjoy it!
“Are demon hunters immortal?” Thomas asked.
“No.” Julian looked pained as he made the admission. “You’re longer-lived than most mortals, of course. Perhaps the first few generations after the angel were, but as the bloodlines were thinned with humans, it lessened the lifespans. My sire, Frederick, knew some of the old demon hunter families in Europe, and he said they would live three hundred years, perhaps more. Assuming, of course, they didn’t die in the commission of their duties. As you know from the fate of your grandfather, demon hunting is a dangerous business. And your parents dying in an accident is certainly tragic. They were young even for humans, and as demon hunters, they probably had more than a century of life ahead of them.”
“All the more reason why I shouldn’t put things off, I suppose,” Thomas said, glancing sidelong at Julian. He wasn’t sure why Julian was keeping his distance, especially not after that kiss, but he didn’t intend to let it continue.
Julian frowned slightly. “I don’t think you have to rush into anything you’re not ready for. I’m going to make certain you’re trained first and able to handle yourself. You’re not facing anything alone either. I’m here for you, and so are Arden and Whimsy and the others.”
Thomas pushed his plate away and swiveled on the stool to face Julian, letting out a little exasperated huff. “I’m not talking about demon hunting, Julian. I’m talking about us.”
“Us?” Julian’s frown became a scowl, but there was also a flash of something that wasn’t quite panic in his eyes. “If you mean the kiss, I’ll apologize for that. It was wrong of me to take advantage of you.”
“I don’t want an apology,” Thomas said, leaning forward and resting his hand on Julian’s thigh. “I want another kiss.”
“Thomas, I….” There was no mistaking it. Calm, cool, rational Julian looked ready to bolt. “Now that you’re out from under Micah’s thumb you’re discovering lots of things about the world and about yourself. You’re curious about sex, I understand that. But you should be with someone closer to your own age. I’d be taking advantage of you.”
“Why do you think I need someone my own age?” Thomas asked, sliding his hand higher up Julian’s thigh.
“Because you’re a virgin, and you’re nearly three hundred years younger than I am!” Julian swallowed hard. “Plus I knew your parents, and your grandfather, and… hell, I even had a fling with one of your great-great-great uncles about the time George Vanderbilt was building his house. You need someone normal who can introduce you to all the things you’ve missed.”
“It seems to me that someone who’s got plenty of experience is the perfect one to introduce me to everything I’ve missed,” Thomas said, giving Julian’s leg a gentle squeeze. “Any other arguments you want to try to make?”
Suddenly Thomas found himself lifted up off the stool. Then Julian spun him and pressed him up against the wall. Julian’s body was hard against his, and Julian had moved with such blinding speed Thomas wasn’t even sure how Julian had managed to capture his wrists, but now they were pinned above his head in an iron-hard grip. There was something dark and dangerous in Julian’s expression, and Thomas caught the flash of fangs as Julian snarled. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. You don’t know what it means. You don’t know me. What I’m capable of. What I’m guilty of. This is a game to you, and I’m not playing it.”
Arousal zinged through Thomas at Julian’s show of strength, and he found himself instinctively tipping his chin up to bare his throat. “This isn’t a game,” he said. “You’re forgetting what I am. I may not be able to see auras yet, but I can read you well enough. Demon hunters might not forge mating bonds, but since the moment we met, everything in me has been saying you’re mine.”
Julian’s eyes grew wide. It was obvious he had expected Thomas to back down, perhaps even to become frightened of him. They were so close that Thomas could feel the way Julian’s heart was pounding. Julian’s gaze moved downward, stopping at Thomas’s throat. A battle seemed to rage within him; he clenched his jaw, but his fangs grew longer. With a sound that was half snarl, half moan, Julian parted his lips, fastening his mouth on the side of Thomas’s neck. His fangs pierced Thomas’s skin, and he began to suck.
Thomas’s eyes flew open wide at the unexpected surge of pleasure that coursed through him, and then he sagged against the wall as he tilted his head, offering complete surrender. The sting of Julian’s fangs piercing his skin faded quickly, replaced by a pleasure that Julian seemed to be pulling from deep within him. His skin prickled with the heat of his desire, and he couldn’t hold back a heartfelt moan.
Thomas’s reaction made Julian growl, a distinctly satisfied sound that rumbled in his chest and that Thomas could feel as much as hear. They were close in height, and the hard length of Julian’s cock was evident even through their clothes as Julian rocked against him. Julian’s mouth grew hot against his skin, and it was as though Julian’s body was imprinted on his, every point of contact suddenly throbbing. Julian rocked again, and this time he groaned as though he, too, were drowning in pleasure.
Thomas hooked his leg around Julian’s hips and sought to match Julian’s rhythm, wanting to ease the aching need building within him. He wanted to hold out, wanted to drive Julian to the breaking point as well, but he couldn’t keep control. Whether it was due to a lifetime of celibacy or the power of a vampire’s bite—or both—Thomas was overwhelmed by ecstasy, and he cried out as he shattered in Julian’s arms.
Julian rocked against him again, and then again, before lifting his mouth away from Thomas’s throat. Then he, too, cried out, going still against Thomas as his panting breaths ghosted over Thomas’s neck. Thomas nuzzled his cheek against Julian’s, humming softly with satisfaction. This wasn’t how he’d envisioned their first time going, but he had no complaints, and he wasn’t about to let Julian walk away from him now.
BLURB:
Will love mean rebirth… or death?
Vampire Julian Schaden has been warning the Asheville Paranormal Council of an impending demonic incursion for more than two decades. Over the past two years, he and his friends have fought as hard as they can with little help, since Micah Carter, the demon hunter who should have led them, shirked his responsibility and then perished.
Desperate for anything that might aid the fight, Julian enters the Carter property and finds something he never dared hope for: young Thomas Carter, the heir to a long line of demon hunters.
Thomas knows nothing about the supernatural world. But the prospect of a real life, outside the sheltered, isolated farm where he grew up, calls to him, and the idea of fighting the Unholy feels right.
Julian agrees to train Thomas, but he struggles against an unexpected, unwanted attraction. Thomas is too young and innocent to get involved with Julian, but opposites attract, and this is one battle Julian seems fated to lose. But a prophecy from a dying mage comes with a bleak warning: the upcoming battle will claim Thomas’s life. To keep his home and friends safe, Julian may have to sacrifice the only love he’s ever known.
BUY LINKS:
Dreamspinner Press:
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/quenched-in-blood-by-ari-mckay-9984-b
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HNPVS5P
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quenched-in-blood-ari-mckay/1129437341?ean=9781640809444
BIO:
Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
CONTACTS:
Website:
http://arimckay.wordpress.com
Facebook author page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ari-Mckay/266185570179748
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ari.mckay.7
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AriMcKay1
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6153630.Ari_McKay
Amazon:
http://amazon.com/author/arimckay
