A Dark Collection Read online

  "Nope."I grinned. "Spill the beans."

  He frowned. "Spill the ... oh, you mean tell all. No. I won't."

  I sat back and crossed my arms, feeling smug. "It must have happened more than once or you'd have said it was a one off."

  "Would I?" he murmured. "Perhaps."

  "Oh come on. Tell me what happened.” I demanded. “Please, please, inquiring minds want to know."

  He laughed out loud, the sound warming me to my toes. "Gods, you women! I wish, above all things that I had known before Océane turned up what the thought of the two of us together does to you. When I think ..." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. “Anyway, that aside, I told you it is not something I’m going to share.” There was amusement in those golden eyes and I wondered what the hell I was playing at. It really felt like I was talking to the real deal, like he meant every word. But he wasn’t really Corin. He was an actor.

  Damn he was good.

  “Aren’t you going to take your kiss then?” I tried to sound sarcastic but somehow it came out rather too breathy for that.

  Those eyes never left mine. “Of course, but I am going to save it for later, after the questions. It will give me something to look forward too.” He sipped his drink. “Anticipation sweetens most things, I find.”

  There was a rumble of thunder outside as a summer storm began to roll over. I looked out of the window to see the sky darken.

  “Not me.” He grinned. “Not my realm.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and tried to focus.

  Do you like Romantic poetry? If so what is your favourite poem?

  “Of course I do, what kind of romantic would I be if I didn’t have the words to seduce my lady?”

  “Oh, God.” I put my head in my hands. “You are so full of it.” I looked up to see his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “You are very annoying,” I grumbled. I looked away from him, irritated, only to look back again as he began to speak. His words were soft, his lyrical voice raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

  Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,

  Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,

  Sylvan historian, who canst thus express

  A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

  What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape

  Of deities or mortals, or of both,

  In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?

  What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?

  What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?

  What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

  Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

  Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;

  Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,

  Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:

  Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave

  Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;

  Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,

  Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;

  She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,

  For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

  Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed

  Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;

  And, happy melodist, unwearièd,

  For ever piping songs for ever new;

  More happy love! more happy, happy love!

  For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,

  For ever panting, and for ever young;

  All breathing human passion far above,

  That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,

  A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

  He stopped and the words seemed to have a form and weight in the room around us. I fought the desire to launch myself at him. I had never heard poetry spoken like that before.

  He gave me a smile, clearly well aware of the effect he'd had on me.“It goes on rather longer of course but that is a favourite.”

  I silently thanked God that he had stopped when he had, before I had become a puddle at his feet, only slightly before mind. “What was it?” I asked.

  “Ode upon a Grecian Urn, by Keats,” he said. “You see it goes back to what I was saying about anticipation of the moment. Keats knew what he was about, the figures on the urn are frozen in time, the lover will never kiss his lady but Keats instructs him not to mourn. For you see he is frozen in that perfect moment before their lips touch. 'For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd, forever panting, and forever young, all breathing human passion far above,' he paused his eyes on mine, unblinking. “Next question?” he suggested.

  I dragged my eyes from his unwillingly and back to the question sheet.

  What is your favourite human invention?

  “That is actually rather tricky,” he replied. “Hmmmm, well, I should not admit it as they do such damage to the world but I do love to drive, so cars perhaps. But then I like films and television too and music, your music is far better than ours which I find very dull.”

  I grinned at him, amused. “What do you like to watch?”

  He pursed his lips, thinking. "I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy." He grinned at me, those eyes twinkling with mischief. "Grossly inaccurate of course but fun to watch. I like old films very much, Casablanca, Bringing up Baby, I'm rather a fan of Clark Gable." He gave me a stern look. Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.”

  I looked at him for a moment before roaring with laughter. "That was terrible!"

  He gave me wounded expression in return. "Truly? I thought it was rather good." He pouted at me and I wiped away tears of laughter. He really was quite wonderful. I stopped in my tracks as I realised the truth of this. Looking up at him I saw his eyes were serious now and felt my heart start to thud in earnest.

  Outside the rain had begun to hammer down and the room was growing dark as the clouds stole the light away. I shivered as the downpour cooled the temperature and he noticed as I ran my hands over my bare arms to sooth the goose bumps away.

  He waved his hand negligently and the table lamp beside me lit as a blaze erupted in the fire place.

  I screamed and leaped out of my seat, backing away from him and looking at the flames in horror.

  "What the f...!" How did you do that?" I demanded.

  He looked up at me in surprise and pointed at himself. "Fae Prince ... remember?"

  I gasped as the truth came home to me. Oh shit.

  He frowned, watching my face and then smiled as he realised my mistake. "You didn't believe I was real." He got his feet and I took a step back. "What did you think ... I was an actor, playing a part?" He chuckled. "Of course, the contact lenses, now I see.” He nodded and took another step. “I am afraid they are quite real, darling - as am I."

  "But ... But ..."

  "No buts." He took another step closer as I took yet another back. "There is no need to be afraid, Evie, I promise you I won't bite ...” He paused and gave a sly grin. “Unless you want me to," he added.

  Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

  He kept moving forward as I moved back and seeing as it was quite a small room I quickly found myself backed into a corner. Literally.

  "I think I will have that kiss now," he said.

  "Ummmm." I searched around for a good reason why I should renege on our agreement and then wondered why the hell I would do something quite so idiotic. "Errr, right you are then ..." I murmured, light-headed with the unreality of it.

  He moved closer, one hand slipping around my waist, the other dropping to my hip and I was pulled hard up against him. Completely breathless, I looked up at those golden eyes, they really were quite extraordinary. Close up I could make out flecks of amber, copper and bronze, they seemed to blaze - as though he was on fire on the inside. He lowered his head and I felt warm lips trace the curve of my neck. Putting my arms around him I sank one hand into that thick long hair, tangling in the soft warmth. I turned my face towards him, breathing in his scent, fresh and clean, like cut grass
and apples and ... spring. He smelt like life.

  He raised his head and my eyes met his once more and I finally understood. I knew I would never see him again but ... But ...

  He kissed me and nothing else mattered.

  ***

  There was a phone ringing. I raised my head, too lazy to actually move and saw the mobile beside the bed buzzing like a deranged wasp. Who on earth was calling on a Sunday afternoon, I thought as my dreamy lay in was rudely interrupted. I reached over and picked it up, checking the caller ID. Damn. Well, I guess I had to speak to her sooner or later.

  "Hello." I said, cautious, and listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "Well of course he's gone. The interview was yesterday."

  I pouted as the next question was put to me with a clearly sarcastic tone. "Ummmm." I sighed, may as well fess up now. "Oh OK, he left about an hour ago." I held the phone away from my ear as yelling came from the other end. "No, no! Don't do that. Honestly, I'm fine ... better than fine." I flopped back against the pillows grinning madly. "Oh bloody hell, so much better." I sighed and the stern voice began again. "No! Don't be cross with him ... He ... well he really can't help himself."

  There was a heavy sigh from the other end of the phone as the speaker was clearly pouting and finally admitted defeat.

  I chuckled contentedly remembering the events of the previous, day, night and err ... morning. "Huh? What? Yes of course I'm listening to you." I lied. "Yes I did get the interview before ...” I coughed. “Yeah, I got the interview.” I nodded. “OK. I'll email you. Yeah, OK speak soon... Oh, Em, hang on. You ... er,.. you aren't planning on interviewing Laen any time soon are you?"

  The series behind A Dark Collection! Want More Corin?

  Check out Emma’s exciting fantasy series with hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “An enchanting fantasy with a likable heroine, romantic intrigue, and clever narrative flourishes.”

  The Dark Prince

  The French Fae Legend Book 1

  Two Fae Princes

  One Human Woman

  And a world ready to tear them all apart

  Laen Braed is Prince of the Dark fae, with a temper and reputation to match his black eyes, and a heart that despises the human race. When he is sent back through the forbidden gates between realms to retrieve an ancient fae artifact, he returns home with far more than he bargained for.

  Corin Albrecht, the most powerful Elven Prince ever born. His golden eyes are rumoured to be a gift from the gods, and destiny is calling him. With a love for the human world that runs deep, his friendship with Laen is being torn apart by his prejudices.

  Océane DeBeauvoir is an artist and bookbinder who has always relied on her lively imagination to get her through an unhappy and uneventful life. A jewelled dagger put on display at a nearby museum hits the headlines with speculation of another race, the Fae. But the discovery also inspires Océane to create an extraordinary piece of art that cannot be confined to the pages of a book.

  With two powerful men vying for her attention and their friendship stretched to the breaking point, the only question that remains...who is truly The Dark Prince.

  The man of your dreams is coming...or is it your nightmares he visits? Find out in Book One of The French Fae Legend.

  Available now to read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

  The Dark Prince

  Want more Emma?

  If you enjoyed this book, please support this indie author and take a moment to leave a few words in a review. Thank you!

  To be kept informed of special offers and free deals (which I do regularly) follow me on https://www.bookbub.com/authors/emma-v-leech

  To find out more and to get news and sneak peeks of the first chapter of upcoming works, go to my website and sign up for the newsletter.

  http://www.emmavleech.com/

  Come and join the fans in my Facebook group for news, info and exciting discussion...

  Emmas Book Club

  Or Follow me here......

  Emma’s Amazon Author page

  Emma’s Amazon UK Author page

  Emma’s Twitter page

  About Me!

  I started this incredible journey way back in 2010 with The Key to Erebus but didn’t summon the courage to hit publish until October 2012. For anyone who’s done it, you’ll know publishing your first title is a terribly scary thing! I still get butterflies on the morning a new title releases but the terror has subsided at least. Now I just live in dread of the day my daughters are old enough to read them.

  The horror! (On both sides I suspect.)

  2017 marked the year that I made my first foray into Historical Romance and the world of the Regency Romance, and my word what a year! I was delighted by the response to this series and can’t wait to add more titles. Paranormal Romance readers need not despair however as there is much more to come there too. Writing has become an addiction and as soon as one book is over I’m hugely excited to start the next so you can expect plenty more in the future.

  As many of my works reflect I am greatly influenced by the beautiful French countryside in which I live. I’ve been here in the South West for the past twenty years though I was born and raised in England. My three gorgeous girls are all bilingual and the youngest who is only six, is showing signs of following in my footsteps after producing The Lonely Princess all by herself.

  I’m told book two is coming soon ...

  She’s keeping me on my toes, so I’d better get cracking!

  KEEP READING TO DISCOVER MY OTHER BOOKS!

  Other Works by Emma V. Leech

  (For those of you who have read The French Fae Legend series, please remember that chronologically The Heart of Arima precedes The Dark Prince)

  The French Fae Legend

  The Dark Prince

  The Dark Heart

  The Dark Deceit

  The Darkest Night (May 12, 2018)

  Short Stories: A Dark Collection.

  The French Vampire Legend

  The Key to Erebus

  The Heart of Arima

  The Fires of Tartarus

  The Boxset (The Key to Erebus, The Heart of Arima, The Fires of Tartarus)

  The Son of Darkness (2018)

  Stand Alone

  The Book Lover (a paranormal novella)

  Rogues & Gentlemen

  The Rogue

  The Earl’s Temptation

  Scandal’s Daughter

  The Devil May Care

  Nearly Ruining Mr. Russell

  One Wicked Winter

  To Tame a Savage Heart

  The Regency Romance Mysteries

  Dying for a Duke

  A Dog in a Doublet

  The Rum and the Fox

  Lose yourself in Emma’s paranormal world with The French Vampire Legend series….. Book 1 is a FREE download on Amazon….

  The Key to Erebus

  The French Vampire Legend Book 1

  The truth can kill you.

  Taken away as a small child, from a life where vampires, the Fae, and other mythical creatures are real and treacherous, the beautiful young witch, Jéhenne Corbeaux is totally unprepared when she returns to rural France to live with her eccentric Grandmother.

  Thrown headlong into a world she knows nothing about she seeks to learn the truth about herself, uncovering secrets more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined and finding that she is by no means powerless to protect the ones she loves.

  Despite her Gran’s dire warnings, she is inexorably drawn to the dark and terrifying figure of Corvus, an ancient vampire and master of the vast Albinus family.

  Jéhenne is about to find her answers and discover that, not only is Corvus far more dangerous than she could ever imagine, but that he holds much more than the key to her heart …

  FREE download

  The Key to Erebus

  Also check out Emma’s regency romance series, Rogues & Gentlemen. Available now!

  The Rogue

  Rogues & Gentlemen Book 1
<
br />   1815

  Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life, but a means of survival.

  Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading ‘gentlemen’ are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further.

  Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local Militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter, inadvertently giving Henri incriminating information about the man she just helped free.

  When her father gives her hand in marriage to a wealthy and villainous nobleman in return for the payment of his debts, Henri becomes desperate.

  Blackmailing a pirate may be her only hope for freedom.

  FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited:

  The Rogue

  Interested in a Regency Romance with a twist ?

  Dying for a Duke

  The Regency Romance Mysteries Book 1

  Straight-laced, imperious and morally rigid, Benedict Rutland - the darkly handsome Earl of Rothay - gained his title too young. Responsible for a large family of younger siblings that his frivolous parents have brought to bankruptcy, his youth was spent clawing back the family fortunes.

  Now a man in his prime and financially secure he is betrothed to a strict, sensible and cool-headed woman who will never upset the balance of his life or disturb his emotions ...

  But then Miss Skeffington-Fox arrives.

  Brought up solely by her rake of a step-father, Benedict is scandalised by everything about the dashing Miss.