Ad Librum Aeternam

Hey, folks!

Today is blog tour day for Blood Pact by Courtney Maguire on Ad Librum Aeternam, yay!

I was fortunate enough to be offered review copies of Bloodlaced and Blood Pact, the first two books in the Youkai Bloodlines series. Stay on the lookout for my upcoming reviews. You can now find my review of Bloodlaced here.

Meanwhile, have fun reading the excerpt exclusive to my blog and you, my dear readers, and make sure to read until the end for the giveaway!

Publisher: City Owl Press (May 4, 2021)
Releases on: May 4, 2021
Genre: LGBTQIA Dark Historical Paranormal Romance
Language: English
ASIN: B091V1P3FT
ISBN: 9781648980831

Amazon: http://mybook.to/BloodPact 
B&N: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2BN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2Kobo
City Owl: https://smarturl.it/Youkai2CO
Add it on Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/3b3jec53 

Panic clenched in my chest as he turned away from me again. “Bakayarou!” I flung the curse at his back like a stone, and he flinched as it struck between his shoulder blades. “You act like you care about me. You treat me gently and help me when it’s convenient and easy for you. But when it matters, you’re just like the rest of them.”
My hurt poured down my face in fat drops. My heart pounded in slow, painful beats as if my blood had turned to sludge. I realized then that I was wrong, that I’d believed my own fantasy and let it blur and mix too much with reality.  I’d been waiting, wanting, yearning for the confession I’d heard from so many others and he’d never give me. I was just a geisha, a beautiful thing to push back against the ugliness, and now I was wasting what could be my mother’s last moments begging for something that was never mine to have.
Tension rippled through Sakurai-han’s back, and he whipped around on me again. He covered the distance between us in two long strides. Before I could react, he took my face in his hands and crashed his lips into mine, hard and possessive. He walked me backward until my back was against the wall, the entire length of his body pressed against mine.
My mind went blank, aware only of the solidness of his chest and the scrape of his teeth. Little fires ignited under my skin. A whine slipped past my lips as he pushed deeper, and I gave in, first in increments and then in one great rush that left me weak and boneless.
He backed away just enough to allow me to breathe, and his eyes filled my vision, those eyes that so enthralled me, pupils blown wide and rimmed in white. Desire spiraled through me, hot and desperate. A few ragged breaths, and I pulled him in again, fingers tangled in his long hair. I drank him down in deep gulps that only left me wanting more. I could have ended there, existing only on his lips and in his arms.
He grabbed my wrists and pressed them against the wall over my head to force some distance. He stared at me, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. Strands of his hair still clung to my fingers like spiderwebs, like we could never come apart no matter how hard we tried.
“There’s no going back,” he said, face stern though his voice shook. “I will be a part of you.”
My eyes burned, and I blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. “I have nothing to go back to.”
“It feels like dying.”
“It’s only a matter of time before Yamaguchi comes for me.” I swallowed down a sliver of fear, and it caught in my throat like splintered glass. “I’d rather die in your hands than his.”
He took a deep breath but didn’t move. His heart tapped a fast rhythm against my chest. I leaned forward just enough to brush my lips against his. He made a low sound like a purr, and I strained against his hold as he deepened the kiss, a momentary tease of teeth and tongue before moving down my jaw. My breath caught as he nipped at the tender place just below my ear and flicked his tongue over the vein beneath it.
“Do you want it?” he whispered against my skin.
I could barely get the word out between gasps as he trailed featherlight kisses down the line of my neck. “Yes.”
“Tell me again.” His voice shook. “Tell me you’ll stay with me forever.”
“Yes, yes. Please. I want it.” His breath against my damp skin sent a spiky heat cascading through my body, and it gathered low in my belly. I arched toward him and dropped my head back. I almost forgot what I was there for. Man or monster didn’t matter anymore—I only wanted him. I allowed myself to give into the fantasy, and it bloomed with delirious joy.
He tugged me even closer until there was no space left between us, his lips pressed to the column of my throat. My toes curled as he traced the vein with his tongue, followed by the graze of teeth and a sharp sting. A fiery sensation started at his lips and cut through my very core. Not quite pain, not quite pleasure. My head swam as something was sucked, dragged, pulled out of me.
Another sensation, this one slower, softer, started at his hands and flowed over me like a warm rain. My muscles relaxed. My mind went soft. Any fear I had dissolved and washed away, replaced with peace and complete trust. I would give him everything, my heart, my life, my soul. It didn’t matter if I died because I would be with him, a part of him. I wept, not from sadness, but from release.
He let go of my wrists and hooked one arm around my waist as my strength waned and my knees gave out. He cradled my head with his other hand as he lowered me to the ground. It was almost tender, the way he brushed my hair away from my face and wiped the tears from my cheeks. His features blurred as my consciousness wavered. I thought briefly of the girl I’d seen him with earlier, how she crumpled at his feet. Did she feel this, too? This complete and total surrender to his power?
“Drink, Hiro.” He teased my lips open with his thumb and sealed his over them. Thick, coppery liquid filled my mouth. Blood. I choked on it at first, my body convulsing reflexively beneath him.
The first swallow was like a burst of light. All the pleasure, all the heat of our passionate embrace returned and redoubled. My vision instantly cleared. My muscles came alive once again, and I wrapped my fingers in his hair, hooked my leg around his waist. My ears rang with the sound of our hearts, and I took in everything he gave me, my tongue fighting his for every last drop.
Finally, he released me, and I lay gasping on the ground. My skin lit up. My body burned as if every cell was turning itself inside out. It wasn't pain or pleasure, but something entirely new. I writhed as my body remade itself, screaming as this new sensation coursed through me. I fell into darkness deep as a well, wondering if I had made a terrible mistake.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Courtney Maguire is a University of Texas graduate from Corpus Christi, Texas.
Drawn to Austin by a voracious appetite for music, she spent most of her young adult life in dark, divey venues nursing a love for the sublimely weird. A self-proclaimed fangirl with a press pass, she combined her love of music and writing as the primary contributor for Japanese music and culture blog, Project: Lixx, interviewing Japanese rock and roll icons and providing live event coverage for appearances across the country.
Her first novel, WOUNDED MARTYR, is a 2019 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist in the Contemporary Romance: Short Category.

You can find her on social media: Facebook, Twitter or at www.courtneymaguirewrites.com

Love the Youkai Bloodlines Series? Keep an eye out for Blood Bound, coming in Spring 2022.
Worried you might miss it? Join Maguire's Reader Group, Courtney's Coven: https://tinyurl.com/3yuh2vxc or sign up for her newsletter at the bottom of her website: https://www.courtneymaguirewrites.com/about to make sure to keep up to date on your favorite characters.

Giveaway Details!

Now, now, what about that giveaway, Catherine?!

Here it comes!

Dear readers, as a thank-you for being loyal readers of mine, you can enter my very first giveaway in order to win an e-copy of Bloodlaced, book one of the Youkai Bloodlines Series. That's right! 

This would be a perfect introduction into this marvelous Japan-inspired story with vampires!

Okay, but what are the rules, Catherine?!

Well, pretty simple: there are three steps.

1- Follow my Twitter account: @CatGV6

2- Follow my Instagram account: @catherinegv 

3- Send me an email stating your name and account handles (so I can verify you're following me) to catherinegv.writertranslator@gmail.com OR send me a DM on either platform (Twitter or Instagram) and tell me your handles. 🙂

NO UNFOLLOWS ALLOWED! This giveaway is for my readers and followers. Be honest.

Also, if you don't have one or both accounts, no worries, just send me an email stating which post of mine is your favorite and why. 😉 That way, everyone gets a fair chance!

I invite you to follow the author, Courtney Maguire's social medias, too. 🙂

Lastly, the giveaway deadline is on Friday, May 14^th at 9 PM EST.  Plus, I'll use a fair automatic generator to decide who's the winner. No cheating here! The winner will be announced on all my social medias on Saturday, May 15^th.

Oh, and since it's an e-copy, INTERNATIONAL IS OKAY! 😀

Don't forget to follow the rules! I wish you all the best of luck and a HUGE THANK YOU FOR READING ME SO LOYALLY! 

Love y'all.

See you next post. 😉