Emma's Dilemma

By Donna Hatch

Horrors! Emma's favorite Gothic novel seems to have come true...but reality is not as fun as fiction. The only man she's ever loved is home from war, but he has changed in a terrifying way. Unless Emma's wild imagination is wrong, the love of her life is a vampire! Now she must decide if she can love a creature of darkness, or reveal his secret and lose him forever.

This tongue-in-check novella plays with themes of paranormal fiction, but stays in the realm of clean and wholesome romance while exploring the power of trust and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Donna Hatch
• Release date: Oct 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301752010

Donna Hatch

Donna Hatch is the award-winning author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series” and more than 25 published titles. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8. She juggles writing, freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and speaking at workshops and conferences. Both natives of Arizona, she and her husband of over thirty years have raised 6 children together and are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

Book preview

Emma’s Dilemma,

a Gothic Vampire Romance

by

Donna Hatch

Copyright 2012 Donna Hatch

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9871301752010

This ebook, Emma’s Dilemma, is licensed for your personal enjoyment, and to help get the word out about my books. If you want to recommend this book to your friends, please refer them to the Smashwords website where they can download their own free copies.

Chapter 1

London, 1816

A bolt of nervous energy shot through Emma as the creature who once was Bennett Ashton glided with the grace of a panther into the crowded ballroom. Darkness clung to him as if the night couldn’t release one of its own. Bennett. He was here. With the same horrified fascination one watches a carriage accident, Emma held her breath, unable to tear her gaze away from him. Dear Bennett, her one love, so cruelly snatched from her by the forces of darkness and transformed into a vampire!

Nearby musicians played their instruments with skill and passion. Guests danced, laughed, and flirted. Overhead, cherubs painted on the gilded ceiling flitted through clouds in blissful ignorance. Servants threaded through revelers with trays of champagne. All remained oblivious to Bennett’s dark new existence and their own danger. If only Emma could return to such happy ignorance.

Wearing a tailored black superfine, the dark, new Bennett slipped between the guests, occasionally murmuring a greeting. Hundreds of candle-lit chandeliers illuminated his midnight hair. His unnaturally pale skin was almost as white as his crisp shirt and cravat.

Emma’s heart raced, and his magnetic pull nearly propelled her toward him. She locked her legs and bit her lip. No. She must not give into temptation. He was no longer her Bennett. Regardless of her love for the man he once was, she couldn’t fall prey to this monster.

She ran a trembling hand over her ivory silk ball gown. What to do, now?

Standing next to Emma, Millie caught her breath and whispered, He’s here.

I know. Emma fought back her tears and tugged on the pearls at her throat which seemed to strangle her. My soul felt his touch the moment he entered the room.

Millie touched her arm, her mouth turned down in sympathy. "You’re just like Winifred in Miss Vernon and the Vampire."

Emma nodded. She’d identified with Winifred in that gothic novel so many ways. And yet, she’d never dreamed she’d experience the same tragic loss. If only Emma could return home, throw herself onto her bed, and weep. But she had a decision to make or lives may be lost.

Glaring at Bennett, Millie shook her head, her ostrich feathers shaking. He has a lot of nerve coming here like he belongs.

Emma made no comment. She still couldn’t believe Bennett had become a creature of darkness. Emptiness drove a ragged hole through her heart. He’d betrayed her. The man to whom she’d promised her heart four years ago had turned into something dark and horrible.

When could it have happened? Nothing in his letters suggested he’d changed that dramatically. The early missives he’d sent after he’d arrived on the peninsula had been full of youthful expectation to crush Napoleon’s forces. Later, they’d become bleak, filled with horror at the human suffering he’d found on the battlefield. But he’d still remained the same Bennett she’d known, if only a more sober, more disillusioned version of himself.

His letters had abruptly stopped after the one mentioning an illness. Emma’s heart turned cold as another thought hit her; the illness could actually have been a transformation from human to monster. After that letter, weeks had gone by without word. She learned from his mother that he’d returned home and was convalescing in the country. Still, he never wrote. How long did it take to turn into a vampire? Had it been painful? She choked at the image of Bennett writhing in agony.

No. She’d remember him as she once knew him; with laughter tugging at his lips, the time they’d thrown more strawberries at each other than they’d eaten, the long walks they’d taken along the