She laughed as they left the lounge and headed toward the area sporting the crew’s sleeping quarters.
Janwar’s heartbeat increased when Simone took his hand in hers and squeezed it.
“This has been such an amazing day,” she said, “that I admit I’m sad to see it end.”
He was, too. “You must be tired, though, after the big battle.”
She tilted her head first one way, then the other, considering it. “Maybe a little.”
Their steps slowed as they turned onto the corridor their respective rooms were on.
“Do you know what my favorite part was?” she asked.
“Of the day or the battle?”
“The day.”
“The battle,” he answered with a grin.
“Nope. Guess again.”
Hmm. “The stroll in the park?”
“Nope, but that was a close second. Guess again.”
He’d thought for sure it would be one of those two. “Visiting a bar full of aliens on an alien planet?”
“Nope. But damn, I had a big day today, didn’t I?”
He laughed as they halted outside her door. “Very big. What was your favorite part?”
She stepped closer, tilting her head back to smile up at him. “The good-luck kiss you gave me.”
Surprise swept through him, followed closely by desire as he recalled the feel and taste of her. “What?”
“I’m not used to being the aggressor,” she confessed softly. “There aren’t many female Immortal Guardians on Earth. And breaking up with someone you know you’ll run into over and over again for hundreds or thousands of years afterward can be awkward, so we females tend to be very careful not to do anything that would invite amorous attention.” She inched closer. “I haven’t… dated in a very long time, Janwar. I’m out of practice, behind the times, and honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
She was setting him on fire. That’s what she was doing.
His heart began to batter his ribs. “What do you know?”
Amber light flared to life in her alluring brown eyes. “That I want another kiss.”
Srul, yes. Dipping his head, he pressed his lips to hers. Not with the desperation he’d felt the first time he’d kissed her, but with the same wonder he’d seen on her face in the park.
Simone—the remarkable woman he already cherished as a friend and whose company he constantly craved—wanted him.
Him.
Her lips were soft and warm beneath his, the kiss they shared gentle and full of affection.
He drew back just enough to break the tantalizing contact and stared down at her.
“Magnificent,” she whispered.
He chuckled, amused by the description he’d applied to himself earlier to make her laugh.
“I am so drawn to you,” she said with a smile.
What those words did to him.
Aldebarian Alliance Series:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dianne's books have all appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and/or Kobo Bestseller lists. The first book in Dianne's The Gifted Ones series, A Sorceress of His Own, is a prequel of sorts to Darkness Dawns. A USA Today bestseller, A Sorceress of His Own is a medieval romance with paranormal elements that was awarded the AudioFile Earphones Award for Excellence and was an Audie Finalist. The second book in the series, Rendezvous With Yesterday, is a time travel romance that won the GraveTells Readers' Choice Award for Best Historical Romance.
In addition to writing romance, Dianne has completed a one-act play (comedy) and teamed up with an award-winning screenwriter to write a spec script for a new situation comedy. Several of her poems have also been published in anthologies.
When she isn't writing, Dianne is very active in the independent film industry and has even appeared on-screen, crawling out of a moonlit grave and wielding a machete like some of the psychotic vampires she creates in her books.
For the latest news on upcoming releases, contests, and more, please visit DianneDuvall.com or sign up for her Newsletter. You can also find Dianne online . . .
Um... Yes, please! Can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteI’m ready.
ReplyDeleteso excited for this book to come out
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited!! My favorite series ever!
ReplyDelete1 and counting! Eekk
ReplyDeleteI can't wait!
ReplyDeleteSo ready foe this book! ❤️
ReplyDeleteSo excited !! Reading now !!!
ReplyDeleteCindy Foreman
Can’t wait!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing, Vicki! I hope that your readers enjoy this peek into The Akseli - available now π https://amzn.to/3ECOvtl! <3 :)
ReplyDeleteI have read every single one of Diane Devol’s books! This book had me laughing out loud with Simone’s antics. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to her next one.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
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