QSFer R.L. Merrill has a new MM paranormal book out:
In 1860, Nathaniel Bane and his brothers dug deep into the earth on a mission from God, searching for a cache of silver to help fund their new religious civilization. What they found altered them forever and set off a chain of events that changed the course of Nevada’s history.
Nearly twenty years later, the constant hunger and restlessness has made Nathaniel desperate for relief. A chance encounter in the desert and a meeting with an incredibly powerful holy man will set Nathaniel on a path to redemption—a journey filled with love, blood, and revenge.
Will Nathaniel find peace with his soul’s mate, or is he destined to walk the earth alone?
The Banes Of Lake’s Crossing Book 2
Get it On Amazon
Excerpt
The stench of vomit and the rusty scent of sweat mixed with blood invigorated him. The night air was alive with the electricity of a coming storm and it made his hair stand on end. The man before him swayed on his feet as the crowd roared and chanted for Nathaniel to finish off his opponent.
It was never enough.
Nathaniel Bane had been living with his evil urges for nearly two decades now and was running out of ways to blow off steam. There were only so many virgins for him to claim, which gave him a rush almost like the moment when he’d touched the cursed silver in the mine with his brothers. The anticipation of the power surge had become like an addiction, like that of the opium users who found their euphoria for days at the end of a pipe. Only, Nathaniel needed the power for his survival.
He and Lionel had discovered after some time that their powers waned without the regular influx of virgin blood. The act of claiming the innocent sent a wave of lust through the Bane brothers, flooding them with power so intoxicating, the act of lovemaking became secondary in pleasure.
Lionel was on his third wife, having left his first wife and children in Utah, and then Elizabeth died in childbirth with their third child. William and the lovely midwife Penny enjoyed a short-lived romance before her death while pregnant with a child of their own. His resulting rage was ultimately kept tempered by his silversmithing and his work supporting Lionel’s flock in the new church.
And Jonah… Nathaniel would never forgive himself for letting his younger brother leave their new civilization, now the city of Reno, Nevada. It was his greatest loss, and it hurt him more deeply than he’d admit to his remaining brothers, although the fact they never spoke his name revealed that they all had regrets where Jonah was concerned.
Somehow his brothers were sated in their current lives…but not Nathaniel. He could never get enough…of anything. There was no shortage of willing or easily persuaded partners for sex, but virtue was hard to come by in their booming town.
Instead, he pushed himself to his physical limits on a daily basis, either by participating in construction on the growing town; running for hours through the desert while hunting prey with only his skill, intellect and hands as weapons; or his current activity…bareknuckle boxing.
He didn’t need the money. None of the Bane brothers did after finding a cache of silver rivalling the size of the Comstock Lode, but Nathaniel needed to unleash his dark side, and what better way than defeating opponent after opponent, regardless of their skill. He was becoming quite infamous for his battles, a fact that irritated his brothers.
“No good can come from this dalliance, Nathaniel,” Lionel said. “Perhaps it is time for you to settle down—”
“Never.”
How could he? He loved men and women equally and could never see himself tied to one person for the rest of his life. And there was still a miniscule amount of honor in him that refused to live a life of adultery. If he ever found a person he cared for enough to wed, he’d care too much to stray, and he would be miserable. If they hadn’t left Utah, perhaps he would have been satisfied with a plethora of wives…
But then he thought about the many men he’d shared his body with. How different their rough hands and strong muscles felt against his skin, how much he enjoyed the struggle for dominance inevitable in such a pairing. He never wanted to give up that feeling, not even to please his brothers.
So fighting it was, although the pool of men willing to step into the dirt ring with him was dwindling.
The man before him spit out bloody teeth, and a certain element mixed in with the scent of blood stirred something in Nathaniel’s veins.
Virtue.
Taller than Nathaniel by several inches and with arms twice as thick, he still couldn’t escape Nathaniel’s speed and prowess and would soon be on his knees before him. Too bad they had an audience. He’d take his opponent out for a drink to celebrate his bravery, lure him with the special blend the Banes brewed that left him ripe for influence, take him upstairs…and by then there would be a different kind of fight. The kind the man would be so glad he’d lost when Nathaniel made him feel things no ordinary man was capable of.
Author Bio
Once upon a time… A teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ‘n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut from Dreamspinner Press later, with more tucked away in her evil lair, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after.
You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, being a mom-taxi to two brilliant and busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance.