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Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance
Description: "Shadows Over Sea View:" Victoria moves into Sea View expecting to find the ghost her grandmother always told her about. Soon her nights are haunted by sensual dreams of a man named Quentin, but then she finds him in her bed one night and discovers that he is flesh and blood--and a vampire. Unsure whether she can trust him or not but unable to fight her feelings for him, she agrees to help him end his curse, hoping it will all end with him in her arms, not the grave. "Midnight in his Garden:" Emily is sick of her feuding family and wishes she could escape, but she didn't expect the king of goblins and faeries to wander into her front yard and grant this wish. Garren does everything in his power to convince her she really belongs with him. She discovers that she was a changeling and that she really belongs in Haven. The Fates have given her a second chance, and her heart and her head will have to work things out by midnight, when he will ask her the question that could change everything. Two sensual and sexy stories from the incomparable Susan M Sailors!
eBook Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press, 2006
eBookwise Release Date: December 2006

8 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [73 KB]
Words: 15599
Reading time: 44-62 min.

"This is a fantastic book with fascinating characters and very clever plots. Set at a fast pace, both stories adds their own special spice, creating a very interesting read."--Wateena, Coffee TIme Romance

SHADOWS OVER SEA VIEW

by

Susan M. Sailors

Victoria stood motionless in the foyer of the great Gothic mansion. She'd only seen such high ceilings in churches. George Patterson, her grandmother's lawyer, continued to walk ahead of her, but turned when he noticed she didn't follow.

"Pretty crazy, isn't it?" he said. "I couldn't have rattled around here all by myself--I'd have gone nuts."

"It's very beautiful though," Victoria said.

"And dusty," George said. He looked up at the chandelier. "It's a pain to change those light bulbs, too. I can't imagine that thing lit up all by candles."

Victoria smiled at the image. She imagined candles everywhere, giving the room a soft, romantic glow.

"Office is through here," George said, resuming his walk to a door by the grand staircase.

The ceilings of the office were not quite as high, yet still very impressive. Most of the books looked old, but a few shelves by the door contained more contemporary volumes.

Victoria sat down at the desk. George laid out all kinds of papers before her and explained what each one was and where it was kept in the enormous desk.

"You've got accountants and me to take care of most of this, but it's good for you to know what everything is and where it is, too," he said.

Victoria nodded. "Does anyone work here? Any staff?" she asked.

"There was a maid, but she retired about six months ago, and Mrs. Macleod never did hire anyone else," he said. "Only the north wing is open now, so it's really not that much to take care of."

"Which wing is the haunted one?" she asked.

George sighed. "Well, if you're interested in all that palaver, it's the east one," he said. "Ask any local kid and each one will tell you a different story."

"Is the ghost a member of the family?" she asked, unable to resist. She remembered hints from her grandmother, and some rumors that had floated around town, but she'd never been told the whole story.

"That'll depend on who you ask," he said. "I don't know anything about it myself."

"My grandmother believed it though?" she asked hopefully. "Didn't she?"

George considered his answer for a moment. "She never came right out and said so, but I rather think she did," he said. "She could be funny about things concerning this place sometimes."

Victoria saw she wasn't going to get much from him, so she asked, "What's it called again? The house, I mean."

"Sea View," he replied.

"Sea View," she repeated. "That's lovely. And you can see the water from here, can't you?"

She stood up and looked out the window behind her. About fifty feet from the back of the house, there was a sharp drop-off into the sea. She could hear the waves from where she stood, even with the window closed. A sharp clank caught her attention and she turned around.

"Those are all the keys," George said. "I've got to get back for a meeting, but I'll take your bags up to the guestroom in the north wing."

"Thank you," she said.

"Will you be needing anything else today?" he asked.

Victoria shook her head. "I don't think so. I'll drive into town later and get some dinner and pick up a few things," she said.

George nodded. "The people in town are real nice. Some of them will tease you with old stories about this place, but don't let that bother you," he said.

"I won't," she said. "I might just go looking for them." Now that she'd inherited Sea View, she wanted to find out all its secrets. She'd never had any kind of ghostly encounter before, but she thought that her own family home would be the most likely place for something so exciting to happen.

George laughed as he left the room. "Suit yourself, Miss Macleod," he said. "I'll see you around."

"Goodbye," she said. Victoria turned back to the window and opened it. It didn't stick at all and she imagined her grandmother sitting at her desk with it open to let in the breeze from the sea. She closed her eyes as the wind caressed her face and fluttered through her black hair. As she stood there, she felt more relaxed than she had in months. She suddenly snapped out of her revelry and whirled around, touching her neck. She was certain that someone's fingers had touched the back of her neck, just at the nape, working up into hair. But there was no one there. As soon as she caught her breath, she smiled.

"You're doing it already," she said to herself. "Kathryn said you would."

At the thought of her friend, she picked up the phone and dialed her at work.