Scarlet

TRUE BLOOD meets INDIANA JONES in this edge of your seat, sexy vampire romance!


I'm Dr. Sarah Shepard, and I'm on a mission with nothing to lose. I will travel to the edges of the earth to bring down the despicable scientist who unleashed a pandemic on the vampire world.

Besides, this mission is all I have left after becoming one myself...

A vampire....

My insatiable thirst has ruined my marriage, taken my children, and plagued me at every turn.

But I don't want to think about that... I have a job to do, and I won't be alone. Hunky soldier Karsten Ingvar has been assigned to me by my boss. This Viking of a man claims he can cure my blood lust...can he?

Along this journey of twists and turns, I'll have to make some unthinkable choices and do some despicable things....but that's okay if it's all for the greater good, right?

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The books in the Shades of Red series are all stand-alone but they are best enjoyed in this reading order:
CRIMSON - Secrets and Lies of a Living Vampire
SCARLET - Taming the Thirst
RUBY - Blood is Thicker Than Water
CARMINE - Blood and Thunder

www. TLChristianson.com

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Excerpt - Chapter 1

Ahead, I could smell someone. Metallic blood and tangy sweat filled my nose. I licked my lips in anticipation. I liked runners and I jogged to close the distance. From a few meters, I knew he heard me. The runner's speed increased as I neared. His instincts were right, he should run.

The street lamp up ahead flickered and then died. My breath hitched in excitement, yearning to find my fix.

When the runner entered the unlit section, I called out, "Hey! Hi."

Turning, he hesitated. I knew what he saw. Innocence.

My runner slowed and came to a stop, absentmindedly stretching. He took in a breath of relief, a smile beginning to curve the corners of his mouth. I approached, amused and biting my lip hesitantly. He took one step, then two. His heartbeat slowing from his lack of movement.

I neared, his hoodie within my grasp. The smell of his blood mingling with the woodsy cologne of his flesh lured me in another step. Then, I flew at him, my arms locking tightly around his torso making it impossible for him to escape. The blood beneath his skin sang to me, and my fangs slid out, slipping noiselessly into the surface of his skin. I sighed as his scarlet magic filled my mouth. When my saliva hit his bloodstream like a shot of morphine, the runner embraced me like a lover. His fingers tangled in my hair adding to the excitement. There would be no need to use compulsion on him; his memory would be hazy.

Warmth flooded my senses as I devoured my fill. My mind calmed and soothed with the euphoric high from his blood. My pulse slowed, and relief began to inundate my body.

As a real vampire, a Moroi, I wasn't undead like the myths. I was alive, unaged and in perfect physical condition. I have a pulse and body heat too, which makes it incredibly difficult for a human to identify us.

Absentmindedly, I stroked his dark hair as I drank, vaguely aware of time passing, knowing I should stop, but unable to obey that little voice in the back of my mind.

The runner's body slumped against me. Too much of his blood had passed my lips, gulp after lovely gulp, but I didn't stop. I couldn't care. More and more, and more, unable to let this feeling of ecstasy stop...

Suddenly, I was yanked off my feet. I gasped, and the warm liquid ran out of the corner of my mouth and down my chin. Blinking, I tried to free myself from my stupor. When my eyes focused, I yelled out, "What the heck?" In front of me stood a Viking god of a man with his hands on his hips and an exas