Guest Post: Stolen Innocence by Vivi Dumas

Welcome Vivi!!! I'm excited to have you with us today!!! 

First, I want to thank Viviana for allowing to come chat up the lovelies who frequent her blog. Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite topics, who do we love more? Bad boys or Boy Scouts?

We love to show the two sides of supernatural angst whether it’s in our books or our movies and television shows. One of my first encounter with this phenomenon in the supernatural realm was in Interview with a Vampire. Louis’s desperate need to be good balanced the darkness brooding inside Lestat. They were counter opposites morally, but they needed one another to survive.

The easiest way to show the power struggle of good and bad is with siblings. Where are my TVD fans? Damon is the bad boy vamp who Elana could only truly love when she herself becomes a vampire and let go of some of her humanity. Stephan, on the other hand, is entrenched in the quest to be good (well most of the time at least). Human Elana had an undying love for Stephan. She grounded him to his humanity. Both brothers offer Elana a different kind of love.

I too use this contrast throughout my Dueling with the Devil series. I have Jacque and Xavier, two brothers who are polar opposites when it comes to good and evil. Jacque, while still a demon, tries his best to do the right thing. Xavier, raised in the slums of Hell and had to fight for survival, makes his living as a contract killer, cutting off his emotions except anger and resentment. Book one and two in the series highlight the story of Jacque and Angel and Xavier and Bell. These two couples show two very different approaches to life and love.

Stolen Innocence shows how good and bad can exist in the same person but how the decisions we make builds us into the person we are. Damon and Charity both struggle with their family bloodlines. Charity’s family is cursed and Damon is the son of Lucifer. Both can’t avoid the impact of who they are and where they come from, but learn they can make a new future.

So, as you think about the bad boys and Boy Scouts in your real or fictional worlds, which do you prefer and why?

Thanks so much for hanging with me today!

Thanks again Vivi for hanging out with us today!!
All, check out "Stolen Innocence" blurb, an excerpt below and enter the giveaway! 

Stolen Innocence 

(Dueling With the Devil #3)

by Vivi Dumas

Blurb: 

They say ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to love and mating, Charity Lovell wished someone had schooled her on the ins and outs. She fell hard when she saw the beautiful face of the fair-haired demon as he lay broken in Lucifer’s dungeon. Her body ached for him. Her heart cried for him. This had to be her mate, right? Who else could make her trade her soul to the Devil to save someone she didn’t know? Someone should’ve told her love wasn’t quite as straight forward as that.

Damon lived an uncomplicated life, even as the alpha of the Lake Charles pack and the son of Lucifer. He should’ve taken a mate years ago, but held on to the hope of love. Only one female came close to making him believe he still had a chance for happiness. Yet, her heart belonged to someone else. Once again, the feeling is back, stronger than ever. And again, his female has pledged herself to another. Damn demons were ruining his love life. This time Damon plans to fight for what was his and win his rightful mate.

Release Date: 

November 11, 2013

Excerpt

"I didn't fucking ask her to serve herself up for me," Laurent barked at the massive wolf sitting across from him. "I was passed the fuck out. Haven't even spoken two words to her."

Damon jumped out of his seat, catching the lunging wolf midair. "I think we all need to calm down."

A feral growl escaped Ty, the Alpha of the New Orleans pack. He shoved Damon away from him. "This is your fault Boudreaux. You came to us for help. We trusted you. And you vouched for them." The wolf jerked his thumb towards Laurent and his friends.

Laurent's sister, Bell, stood with her hand on her hip, blue eyes ablaze. "That chick was off. She went all Twilight-Wolf on us. Like she imprinted on Laurent. I told everyone something was wrong with her."

"We don't imprint!" a pretty she-wolf growled from the back of the room.

 Bell inhaled to begin another rant, but her brother cut her off.

"Bell, sit down and be quiet," Laurent grumbled. Bell muttered something under her breath. "You're not helping. Sit!" Laurent snapped.

Stepping in the middle of the eclectic crowd of supernaturals, Damon ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "This is no one's fault. Charity is an adult. She made a choice, albeit stupid, but one she made on her own. She believes Laurent is her mate. When we rescued him from Lucifer's dungeon, she definitely had some kind of attraction to him. Wouldn't leave his side. We can't change any of that now. We have to work together to figure out how to get her back."

"Why the hell would Lucifer trade Laurent's life for hers?" Tact wasn't Bell's strong suit. This time her fiancé, Xavier, nudged her lightly, swinging the ice-blue glare in his direction. "What? It's a valid question."

The five members of the New Orleans pack looked at Ty, waiting for his response. Them and their damn secrets. Damon shook his head.

"She's one of the few members left of our original lineage. Charity's family is the reason there are werewolves. The females of her line are cursed with the inability to shift until they find their mates. It keeps their other powers dormant until they find the one they love." Ty spoke in hushed tones as if Lucifer himself eavesdropped on their conversation.

The whole room remained silent, allowing the gravity of the revelation to settle. Damon paced the length of the purple flowered sofa. The small living room became more constricting. Jacque, a shifter demon and Xavier's brother, rose from his chair. He strolled over to Damon and Ty.

"How did her family start a species?" Jacque questioned.

Ty rubbed the back of his neck. "Her great-great-great-grandmother was promised to Damballa, but she gave herself to another. As punishment, Damballa cursed us to turn to wolves. He was so enraged he killed Ariella and then offed himself. It's told Ariella brokered a deal with Lucifer before she ascended to allow us to maintain our human form except on the full moon. Later we learned to adapt and shift when we needed. Afraid that one of the Lovell females would eventually be able to reverse the curse or become too powerful, Lucifer bound their powers until the found a mate, which only a few did. It's like one of those fucked up Lifetime movies."

"What kind of powers do Charity's people have?" Laurent asked.

Ty shrugged. "We don't really know. None of them has ever used them to my knowledge. That's why it's dormant until they mate. If or when they find the one they belong with, they focus on their partners and not their powers. Only one has left the Ward and might have accessed her powers. We've asked Red to come here today."

"Who names their child Red? Is that like Apple or North?" Bell stopped laughing when Laurent shot her a menacing glare.

"It's a nickname cause she loves the color red. Her real name's Simone," one of the females of the New Orleans pack corrected, rolling her eyes at Bell.

"Someone talking bout me?" A fine, leggy female in a painted-on red dress walked into the small room followed by two equally hot females. Red's thick mahogany tresses fell around her face in long spirals. She crossed the room to Ty and kissed both his cheeks. The other two women repeated the gesture. "Look like y'all started the party without us. What's all the commanding my presence about?"

Ty hesitated before answering. "It's about Charity."

The short honey-toned female crossed her arms. "What the fuck she do now?"

"Jade, don't start," Red chastised before turning back to the Alpha. "What she do, Ty?"

Ty laughed nervously. "It's bad this time. She done turned herself over to Lucifer."

"What the fuck, Ty? You're supposed to keep an eye on her and call us when she gets out of hand," The female in the wife-beater and ball cap fussed. Even with the boyish clothes, she couldn't hide her pretty features.

"Look, that girl's a handful. Dani, you know for yourself. How many times you had to go find her outside of our territory?" Ty aged as the conversation continued. Lines cut deeper in his face from worry and stress.

Damon interrupted to get the conversation back on tract. "Hi, ladies. We were trying to figure out why Charity would be important to Lucifer. Ty seem to think the females in your family has some powers that might attract Luc's attention, but not sure what kind. Do you have any idea?"

Red scanned the faces in the room with a deliberative expression. She met the gaze of the two females who arrived with her. The one they called Dani nodded in encouragement. "We've not spoken of our powers to anyone outside our family. It has brought nothing but unhappiness to the women who have used it."

Jade spoke up. "But you know that's why he wants Charity."  Red released a breath she was holding and plopped into an armchair, covering her face with her hands.

"How bad can it be? It's a freaking power. We all have them," Bell interjected.

Red lifted her head, her pretty face lined with worry. "We're necromancers."

The room went dead silent.  

About the Author 

Although Vivi Dumas grew up an Army brat, she calls Louisiana home, but have endured the hot summers and cold winters of Maryland for the last 16 years. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University with an MBA in Finance and Marketing. Her analytical side has honed a career in the financial industry for almost twenty years. To balance her logical, numerical day job, she unleashes her creativity in her writing.

 Vivi pens multicultural paranormal romance, mixing the two genres she loves. Her steamy paranormal romances indulge in worlds inhabited by demons, werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural beings. She has published works with Decadent Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and Breathless Press.

 You can find Vivi here:

            

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