The Reckoning Dark Dangerous by Kimberly Van Meter

Isabella Beckett is a top-level scientist on a mission - to study and destroy vampires. So when Julien de Valsan falls into her clutches, she wastes little time in taking him apart. Fueled by a need for vengeance due to the death of family at the hands of vampires, she refuses to feel anything for the wickedly beautiful man in her power. But she doesn't count on Julien escaping and taking her with him.
Julien wants Isabella and he's going to exact his retribution on her lovely body until she's writhing, begging for his touch.
His plans do not include falling for the brainy beauty. But then, there's that saying about the best laid plans...
Together, they discover revenge isn't always sweet...it's dangerous.

Bio:Kimberly Van Meter wrote her first book at 16 and finally achieved publication in December 2006. She writes for Harlequin Superromance and Silhouette Romantic Suspense.
She and her husband of 20 years have three children, three cats, one dog and always a houseful of friends, family, and fun.

What will readers like about your book?
It's a sexy, very hot romance with a 400-year-old vampire who is out for revenge against a brainy scientist. I think readers will enjoy the sensual attack the vampire launches on the heroine, and conversely the heroine's struggle to maintain her hatred of the vampire.

Why did you self publish?
Although I'm traditionally published with Harlequin, I wanted to try something a little outside of the lines. A friend of mine, who is also traditionally published, had started Kindle publishing and was having a lot of fun with it, so I decided to take the plunge. It's been awesome thus far.

What is your writing process?
Write, write, write. Pausing only for small breaks to eat. LOL...just kidding. Well, sort of.

How long does it take you to write your first draft?
Depends on what I'm writing. Usually about two to three months.

What inspired you to write this particular story?
I have had a secret crush on vampires since I was a teenager but I started my writing career with contemporary romance. I wanted to jump into the fray on my own and see how I held up under the scrutiny. So far I'm loving it and I'm hooked.

Excerpt

In an instant he was on her, ripping the damp towel from her body and yanking her against him, her frantic struggles as she beat his chest and kicked with her bare feet did little to loosen his grip. If anything, her attempts at violence seemed to spark a hunger that had less to do with sustenance and more to do with sex and dominance. His face so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her cheek, could see the irregular black spirals in his pale blue iris that gave away his alien nature. Yet, as horrific as it was, there was a hypnotic beauty that sucked at her, seduced her with its difference. Noooo, she wouldn’t succumb to die at his leisure. She ceased her useless flailing to conserve her strength and lifted her chin to stare into those deep, fathomless eyes, daring him to kill her now or forfeit his chance. “Likely a platoon of heavily armed Marines are canvassing this house this very minute,” she said with a calm that was only surface deep. Inside something quivered and shook, but not entirely from fear. She pushed aside the obscenity, not willing to examine it more closely. “If you wish to live, you will leave me and go. You have only a few minutes before the sun rises. We’ve watched you long enough to know that you cannot withstand the sun.”

He ignored her statement for the moment and chose instead to inhale deeply at the junction where her shoulders met her neck. She couldn’t quite quell the shiver that followed. “I could kill you and be gone within seconds,” he murmured, his lips touching her bare skin with the softest touch until something sharp grazed and she realized with a shudder he’d raked her flesh with his canines. “The question is…do I slake my hunger now with little preamble or finesse, or do I take you with me to savor for many nights to come?”

Take her with him? She stiffened in horror. “I would never be your plaything. I would kill myself first,” she hissed, wishing for something sharp and deadly to plunge through his black heart. “I swear I’d die before letting you touch me in anyway.”

He chuckled as if her spitting fury amused him but when he drew away, she saw nothing of mirth or merriment in his strange eyes. In fact, she saw deadly promise. “Oh my pet, you will die. Be assured of that. But when you gasp your last breath, it will be I who hastens your end and none else.” Isabella gasped as his grip tightened, hating his touch and the traitorous flutters in the pit of her belly as he snarled softly, revealing the tips of his sharp canines, “I’ve made my decision. You come.”

She opened her mouth to scream but within seconds all was black and she knew of nothing else.

Links:

The Reckoning (Dark & Dangerous)