by Celeste Hall
Lady Silence by Celeste Hall
Let sleeping evils lie…
Vel. Trapped in darkness. Locked away for all eternity. His only companions are the rats and creatures of night; which feed upon the death of old buildings as the worms would devour a putrid body of flesh. His sanity splintering away, rotting and collapsing like the walls that have held him captive for so long.
Stefie is a feisty young reporter that goes looking into a town’s darkest secrets and learns that cutting into old scars can bring more than blood to the surface. Now she’s racing to learn why people started dying the day her new lover was freed.
Lady Silence by Celeste Hall
A note from the author:
Lady Silence is more than just an erotic tale of girl meets boy. For one thing, Vel is a lot more than just your average guy. But this story is about a place, a massive ruin of a mansion that claims a very dark and sordid history. They call her the Silence Manor, because she holds her secrets so close to her heart.
When Stefie finds Vel imprisoned within the dark soul of the estate, she is first amazed and than terrified. As much as she craves his embrace, she can’t overlook the bodies that begin turning up after she welcomes him into her bed.
Lady Silence is currently available in digital or paperback from most major bookstores. It can also be downloaded in .pdf or .rtf (Word doc) to read on your home computer, by visiting Smashwords, the first link below.
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An Excerpt from Lady Silence
Warning: This excerpt contains spoilers!
“Who are you, Vel?”
There was silence from the wall of heat and muscle at her back, and for a moment Stefie wondered if he had actually fallen asleep. When he did finally speak, she immediately wished that he hadn’t.
“I was a resident of the third heaven. Now I am only half of what I was, and I am trapped here until I can be made whole.”
The Third heaven? Stefie’s inner atheist cringed, How many of them could there be?
Her parents had not been very religious when Stefie was a child, but she was pretty sure that everything she’d ever heard about the Bible attested to a Heaven and a Hell – and that was it.
The guy was obviously insane, although she couldn’t really blame him. She’d probably be half crazy after just one day of being locked up in that pitch black dungeon, and for all she knew he could have been in there for much, much longer.
“What do you know about the Old House?”
He didn’t answer for several moments.
“Why do you ask?”
Stefie shifted again. She would rather be having this conversation standing up, and without the distraction of Vel’s powerful chest pressed against her back.
She hadn’t shared her bed with anyone since she was in grade school and still having slumber parties.
Thank god it was too dark for him to see the flush that was still tainting her skin. She’d just have to pray that he didn’t notice how fast her heart was still beating.
“I want to write a story about it. The house, I mean. My uncle owns the newspaper. He’s been like a father to me ever since my parents died. I’ve been trying to convince him to give me a job as a reporter, but he keeps telling me that he’d rather I went to school and become a doctor or a lawyer.”
Stefie wasn’t sure exactly why she was telling him so much, but now that she’d started she couldn’t seem to shut up.
It was a lot easier to keep talking than to sit there in silence, with a naked man holding her prisoner – in her own bed.
“I started writing short stories for him to publish while I was still in high school, and they got a lot of attention from our readers. I’m not afraid to tell people what’s really going on, and they seemed to appreciate that. But my uncle still wouldn’t give me the job.”
She sighed.
“He pays for this house, my food, schooling…everything. But I don’t want to be a burden to him anymore. I want to make a life for myself. I want to make my own way in the world. So I tried to find the one story that nobody has ever been able to get. The real story behind the Old House.
“That’s why I was there last night. I was looking for my big break – the story that will make my career.”
“And you found me.”
Stefie shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes.”
He hummed thoughtfully, a low rumble that emanated from deep within his chest. The sound sent a little shiver of pleasure racing through her body, despite her instant attempt to squelch it.
Why was he having this affect on her?
She should be terrified of him. The man thought he was a god – or something akin to one. He was crazy!
Yet she could feel heat and moisture pooling in her underwear as he moved to draw the covers up closer around their firmly connected bodies.
“Tell me, Stefanie Torovic,” the tone of his voice deepened somewhat, drifting across her cheek as softly as a whisper of silk. “What would you be willing to give for such a story?”
Her heart skidded into her ribs and she scarcely managed to keep herself from lashing out once more, in a desperate attempt at escape.
Yet she rallied her courage quickly, reminding herself that she was no match for his strength. Besides, if he’d wanted to hurt her, he could easily have done so already.
It was her turn to hesitate before answering, and when she did, it was to steer the subject back to safer territory.
“You keep calling me Stefanie Torovic,” she pointed out, trying to make her voice sound stronger than she felt, “please stop. Everyone calls me Stefie. When you call me by my full name it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Stefie,” he murmured with a hint of amused reproach, “you didn’t answer my question.”
She mentally squirmed.
“Well, apparently, I’m willing to risk breaking my neck for it. Wandering around in a pitch black house, infested by rats and god only knows what else. I suppose that has to count for something, right?”
All at once his breath was against her neck, shocking her with heat and filling her body with a flood of unfamiliar desires.
“Would you give yourself to me, body and soul, if I gave you the answers you are looking for?”
This was madness, but her body was instantly vibrating at the thought of it.
She closed her eyes and reined in her abruptly raging hormones.
“Hah! No story would be worth that.”
His chest vibrated against her back.
Was he laughing?
His answer held just the hint of humor in it.
“You only say that because you have never had a man make love to you. If you change your mind, I will give you a story that will never be forgotten. A story that would terrify you and those that read of it. I can promise you that.”
Stefie knew it was probably true, but she wasn’t about to let him blackmail her into something she wasn’t ready for.
“How about this,” she countered, “you can stay with me and work on whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish, and in exchange you will tell me about the Old House.”
“Silence.”
“What?”
“Her name is Silence.”
“Who’s name?”
“The manor you keep referring to. During the time she was completed, all great estates were given names. Her name was Silence. I suspect it was a joke on the part of her mistress. Ephonae built that house to hold all of her secrets, and often told those of her acquaintance that the Lady Silence was the only creature she would ever trust. A house. An object with no voice to tell of the horrors that went on within her heart.”
Stefie felt herself shiver slightly.
“It sounds like Ephonae wasn’t entirely sane.”
He made a sound of agreement.
“Lady Silence,” Stefie murmured in a deeply thoughtful tone, “I think I will make that the title of my story. The Secrets of Lady Silence. Mmmm…”
Tagged as: paranormal erotic romance, paranormal erotic suspense
