Eternal

By Crissy Smith

Jo Black went in search of a vampire...and finding one is going to rock her world.

Immortal Nic Lucian has finally met his bond-mate only to have her try to kill him. As he tries to introduce her to his world and reunite her with her sister who is now an immortal, he gets a lesson in modern women and how stubborn they can be.

Jo's world had been turned upside down. The death of her sister introduced her to the world of vampire hunting. Now she learns the hard way that crosses, stakes, holy water, and sunlight don't work. And you better protect your heart and body, because when an immortal wants you, he gets you - one way or another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Dec 21, 2009
• ISBN: 9781907280696

Crissy Smith

Crissy Smith lives in Texas with her husband, daughter, and three Labrador retrievers. The three dogs love to curl up under her computer desk and nap while she writes. It doesn't leave a lot of room for her but what's a woman to do? When not writing or reading, she enjoys hunting, camping and shooting. But she has a girly side too and is addicted to pedicures and coffee. She has been writing since she was a teenager and still loves everything to do with the paranormal. Her stories and characters all have a place in her heart. She loves the alpha male, the dominant werewolf, or the Master vampire which find their way in most of her books. Learn more about the characters she has created at her website where they have their very own page. It will be updated from time to time to let you know what's going on with them. You can also find out who will be in the next book.

Book preview

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Eternal

ISBN # 978-1-907280-69-6

©Copyright Crissy Smith 2009

Cover Art by Natalie Winters ©Copyright December 2009

Edited by Jess Bimberg

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2009 by Total-E-Bound Publishing 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.

ETERNAL

Crissy Smith

Chapter One

Jo Black pulled into the barely lit parking lot of the club Eternal. It was just shy of midnight, and she had already hit two other clubs. She was on a mission that had yet to be fulfilled. She knew she couldn’t go home until it was.

She’d spent weeks preparing for tonight—what she would wear, how she would talk, and how she’d get him to leave with her. Her whole life came down to this one night, and she had to be ready. She could not fail in this mission.

Slowly, she walked towards the front door. Her black knee-high boots crunched on the gravel, making more noise than she’d expected. She stopped and took in her surroundings. A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she felt like she was being watched. She turned in a complete circle but saw no one and nothing moved. Shaking her head, she continued to the door.

She wore a short black skirt that didn’t come anywhere near her knees and red silk shirt that was cut low and tight, teasing with the flash of flesh when she moved. Her long brown hair was left loose, falling in silky strands down past the middle of her back. She would turn heads when she walked in, as she had when she’d entered the other two clubs earlier. But she knew what she wanted and would wait for him. Only he would do.

Opening the door, she blinked several times to adjust to the low light. The music wasn’t as loud as the other clubs she’d visited but it immediately caught her attention with its low tone and soft, inviting feel. It had a jazzy feel to it. She wasn’t sure what she was listening to, but she liked it. Someone cleared their throat to her left and she realised she had been staring into the club. The woman behind the stand smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Invitation please, she said, holding out her hand.

Jo slid her hand down her leg to her boot and took out the black and silver invitation Roger had given her earlier that night. She handed it to the woman without saying a word. She wasn’t sure how Roger had gotten the invitation; she just hoped it worked and got her in.

The woman took her time, looking at the invitation, then at her. Nodding her head, she told Jo, Go ahead.

That was it. She was in.

This was one of the most exclusive clubs in town and Jo Black had just gotten through the door. A quick jolt of thrill went through her. This was it, she could feel it.

She nodded and smiled at the bouncer who stood next to the stand. She hadn’t noticed him before. He seemed to have shifted out of the shadows.

As he let her pass, she realised the club was far nicer than she expected. There were no strobe lights like there were in most clubs. This club was dark, very dark, with only a few lamps on the walls around the booths. She could see the outline of bodies sitting at tables or booths close to one another.

As she walked closer into the middle of the club, she watched the dance floor where people swayed slowly against one another. This wasn’t what she was used to. She swallowed hard, knowing that, if this was the place, she was way out of her league.

Ignoring the feeling of dread and fear that curled in her stomach, she headed to the bar. She took a seat on one of the empty bar stools and glanced around. There were only five other stools occupied, all men and all looking at her. She didn’t smile at them, didn’t bat her eyes, or give a flirty look. Roger had told her to sit. Sit and wait, and he would find her.

She had asked what to do if no one approached her, but Roger was convinced it would be less than an hour. She was afraid she wouldn’t recognise him and an innocent would get hurt, but Roger just waved that off.

He’ll come to you, Jo. He won’t be able to resist, Roger had told her.

She wasn’t sure what that meant exactly but she had to trust that Roger knew what he was talking about. She had come this far and it was too late to back out now.

Jo jumped when the bartender suddenly appeared in front of her. The people who worked around here kept managing to surprise her as if they appeared from nowhere. Which played into everything she knew about the undead. She wondered if they did it on purpose.

He smiled, showing perfectly white, straight, even teeth, and she relaxed. "So sorry, chére, didn’t mean to give you a start. Name’s Logan and what can I get you?"

It took her a minute to put together everything he said through his thick southern accent, but once she did, it made her smile.

Hello. May I have a glass of Chardonnay please?

Smiling down at her, he winked. Coming right up.

Jo watched as he poured her drink. He was young, probably in his mid-twenties, with blond hair and blue eyes. His southern accent had been thick and sweet, and she liked him almost immediately but decided to be cautious. Roger had told her that the undead could put glamour on themselves and her, making her do their bidding. Somehow she knew deep down that Logan wasn’t one of the monsters. It was a feeling she had to trust. Most of her life, she had been able to read others well. Her sister had even joked that it was a gift. Jo shook her head to dissolve any thoughts of her sister. She couldn’t dwell on that. She had a job to do.

He set her drink down and leant against the bar. Anything else?

She took a drink and glanced around. No…no, thank you. I’m meeting someone here.

Hope you don’t have to wait too long, Logan told her as he wiped the bar and gave her another stunning smile.

She laughed—she just couldn’t help it. The soft sound of her laughter floated through the room and eyes turned towards her. Jo quickly averted her eyes from those around her. She didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself. Just enough to get this over with. I’m sure he’ll be here soon, she said.

Shaking his head, he started down the bar. Let’s hope so, darling.

Not sure what that meant, she opened her mouth to ask and was interrupted by someone sitting close on the next stool. She glanced to her right and sized up the man. He was older than she was, with brown hair that was slicked back. He could be the one she was waiting on. The only problem was she didn’t know how to tell. Roger had told her she would just know, but once again, she worried that she would make a deadly mistake.

It is a shame to see a woman drinking alone, he said, smiling and leaning close.

She smiled, just in case this was the man. Hmm, you don’t say?

He nodded Yes, a shame. You are a very beautiful woman and I would like to share a drink with you. Come and sit with me in my booth.

Jo was trying to place his accent, and it took her a moment to answer. Although the way he was holding her arm, his words felt more like a command then a request. Jo shook him

Reviews for Eternal

[jrlibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eternal is apparently set in the same world as Smith's previous novel, Tantalize, but since I haven't read that one, i can't comment on the setting. Eternal is not a sequel however, and works perfectly on its own. Having said that - I enjoyed the book, but would perhaps have enjoyed it more had I not been flooded with vampire novels recently. I did enjoy the dual perspective provided by the voices of Melissa, the teen turned vampire princess, and Zachary, the fallen, but still determined to save Melissa, guardian angel. I found the ending a bit too convenient, and I found Melissa's character made the decisions she made so quickly in the end of the book that they were hard to believe. There were other things that prevented me from ranking the book higher, but I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.

[callmecayce · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved Tantalize and was excited to see that Smith had a new novel. But when I read the description, I wasn't so sure I was going to like it. Turns out I was wrong. Really, really wrong. Set in the same world as Tantalize, Eternal is the story of a girl (Miranda), her guardian angel (Zachary) and the underworld of vampires, werewolves and other creatures. Miranda is kidnapped in a graveyard one night, much to the chagrin of Zachary, who is supposed to look out for her, though not necessarily interfere. It's at this point that Smith could have done things different and created a mediocre novel about angels and vampires, but she doesn't. Instead, she draws us into the strange world she's created and takes us on a ride as now-fallen angel Zachary must try to find Miranda, who has changed in ways he'd never imagined. Highly, highly recommended.

[kperry_64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Did you read TANTALIZE and love it? Maybe you haven’t even heard of it. Either way it doesn’t matter. ETERNAL is set in the same world as TANTALIZE, but takes place earlier in the timeline. Completely different characters grace the pages of ETERNAL that you will grow to love. Reading TANTALIZE first isn’t necessary, so in February when ETERNAL hits the shelves run to the bookstore and get your copy.Miranda is a quiet and shy typical teenage girl. Zachary is her Guardian Angel (GA).Miranda has no idea Zachary exists.Over the years of keeping watch over Miranda, Zachary has fallen in love with her.Their status quo interaction completely changes one night in a creepy cemetery. Miranda’s best friend Lucy drags her to the cemetery to meet some guys for an exciting night out. Miranda doesn’t want to be there in the first place and lags behind until she is lost. As Zachary watches Miranda stumble through the darkness, he sees she is about to step into an abandoned open grave. Knowing she’ll probably fall and break her neck, Zachary does the first thing that comes to mind in order to save her - he reveals himself by yelling for her to stop and illuminating himself using his angel light so she can see where she is walking.Two things happen simultaneously.1) Michael, the arch angel, appears and strips Zachary of his wings and his ability to become ethereal for breaking the rules and revealing himself to humans.2) Miranda is attacked by a vampire and taken away to be the current Dracula’s princess heir.With Zachary stuck wandering the mortal world and Miranda a vampire princess how in the world is he going to protect her now?ETERNAL was a fast and enjoyable read. The pages fly by and getting to the end comes too soon. The third book in this series is called BLESSED and the characters from both TANTALIZE and ETERNAL will cross over and I for one can’t wait to see what happens when they meet.

[christianr_899499 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zachary is Miranda's Guardian Angel, but he falls from grace when he reveals himself to her to save her from a dangerous fall. Instead, she is taken by the head of the vampire world and turned into a vampire herself. Interesting premise, but it falls flat. The characters are not fully developed and the emotions are poorly expressed.

[bluesalamanders · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

We meet Zachery, a guardian angel with a crush on his charge. And we meet Miranda, Zachery's charge, a high school girl who is about to be turned into a vampire. Can Zachery save her soul after he fails to save her life?Eternal was a quick read that switches perspectives between those two characters, neither of which has a particularly strong or exciting voice. The plot was not very interesting and the world was not explained or described enough to be especially believable. Overall, a mediocre book.

[thelittlebookworm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eternal is the next book from Smith in this series. It is not a direct sequel but it seems that the following book will tie everything together. It is another dark book but the ending may surprise you.Miranda is a shy girl who wants to be in the school play. Zachary is her guardian angel who somehow has fallen in love with her. When Miranda's friend brings her the graveyard to meet a guy, Zachary tries to keep her safe. But the worst possible thing happens and Miranda becomes a vampire princess. It's up to the tarnished guardian angel to save her soul and save himself.

[ohioyalibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one's a bit gory, but if you don't mind that it should keep you entertained. Miranda's guardian angel, Zachary, goes against the eternal rules and tries to save Miranda's life. Instead of saving her life, he falls from grace for his mistake and Miranda, whose soul would have entered Heaven had he not intervened, not only dies but gets turned into a vampire. Now her soul is in danger of being eternally damned. Zachary gets one more chance help set things straight, but his involves his having to deal with the mightiest most evil vampire of all! Will he suceed? Don't wonder eternally, read the book!

[sarielle-2 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

One of the worse books I've ever read. No plot, no character development, no background. It looks like few notes made by author to write a book. Boring and annoying.

[wwe_fan_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this author's storytelling is choppy, it wasn't a total disaster. It was an ok book but definitely not a book that I'll go out of my way to buy. I enjoyed reading Zachary's point of view.

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zachary the guardian angel screws up and now Miranda is a vampire - well on her way to losing her soul. Zac throws himself into fallen angel despair, until he gets a hint that he still might be able to save her. Miranda is adapting well to her mew life as a vampire princess, until a new PA starts bringing back her human feelings.Told in alternating points of view, this was funnier than Tantalize (and there are no overlapping characters.)

[millett23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good book. I loved Zachary and how he called Miranda "his girl." It was a little confusioning at the first of the book, and I little hard to get into, but once you get into it was a good book.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Miranda is taken from a grave yard and turned into a vampire by the reigning Dracula. Her guardian angel Zachary is indirectly the cause of this mistake, leading to him being kicked out of heaven. This novel is very character driven. The inner monologues are what make this worth reading.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well--I never read book 1 and didn't even know there was a book 1 until I came onto Goodreads. I think this book can be read as a stand alone.It seems to be a somewhat Christian answer to Vampire fiction (though there are some werewolf/werebear aspects to the story too). A guardian angel selfishly wants to save his teenage charge from death so instead of being in heaven, Miranda ends up a vampire princess and her guardian angel ends up confined to earth without many of his angelic attributes. The story looks at free will and salvation. Each being must choose for him or herself. Even the guardian angel can't force Miranda to choose the right path. In the end, God chooses to accept her soul. I've always felt that God is the only one who can truly decide where someone stands for eternity. The rest of us are just guessing. My concern though is that it almost seems like Miranda (and maybe Zachary too) thinks that what she does (or doesn't do) is what makes up for her sins. That's not the case. Belief in God and Jesus is the path to salvation--not good works (though yes, we should strive to do good works too, it's just that our salvation is not dependent on whether we do them). Zachary (the guardian angel) too learns a lesson. He learns that when he's selfishly focusing on his wants, he may not be doing God's will. In the end, though he'd prefer to live on earth with Miranda, he accedes to her wishes and uses his angelic radiance to destroy her vampiric (they prefer the term "eternal" in this book) form. Before that happens, Miranda charges him with trying to redeem those of the vampires/eternals that he can. He correctly points out that he can try, but that each of them will have to choose for themselves (free will). Overall, I found the story compelling. I read the first half turning pages to see what happened next until it got late and I needed to sleep before work the next day. When I picked it up again after work, it took a bit of time to get back into the story. I didn't notice any glaring grammatical issues or editing issues that pulled me out of the story and the plot seemed rather tight. I also liked that the author drew on Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities", Stoker's "Dracula" and other works, Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet", and many other literary and entertainment references. I see influences from "Twilight" (though I don't think the author mentions that) and J. K. Rowling (whom she does).

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

My first time through Eternal I was really disappointed, since I'd really enjoyed Tantalize. Now, though, coming in with somewhat lowered expectations I was, largely, pleasantly surprised. This is not to say that I now think this is the best book ever, but I did think it was an interesting read.

Actually, there definitely was quite a lot frustrating about this book and pretty much all of it can be summed up in one word: Miranda. I hate just about everything about her. After she's turned into a vampire princess against her will, she just rolls with it. She happily eats people and calls the creepy, power-mad vampire who turned her Father, because that helps him fulfill his delusion. Miranda is entirely vapid, conceited and selfish.

Smith tries to set her up as an object of pity by showing her friend Lucy's devotion to her, by showing Zachary's love for her, and by suggesting she had a rough home life. The only one of these that's working for me is Lucy. Miranda's fate doesn't sadden me, but her best friend's does, desperately hoping that her friend has not died because of her desire to flirt. Zachary I actually find to be a somewhat interesting character, but his love for her is both creepy (what with the whole guardian angel, watching her grow from a child to a teen, watching her sleep thing) and ridiculous (she sucks [punned!], so why love her?). And, as for her rough home life, her parents got a divorce. Not to say that that is not painful, but her mother still loves her, and her dad, though distant, buys her awesome presents (now who's selfish? haha).

If you like Maggie Stiefvater's books, you may want to give Cynthia Leitich Smith a try. They have a lot of commonalities, I feel. Both have really clever ideas for paranormal YA romances and both write incredibly obnoxious female main characters. With both books I've read so far, I feel like the stories would have been so much more interesting had they focused on the male characters more.

[kewpie83 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I can't say the story ever felt like it came together for me. The characters felt flat and the plot and romance never felt realistic (as much as a romance between an angel and vampire can be realistic). The writing dragged and I really had to push myself to finish the novel. I expected more because, though Tantalize isn't a huge favorite of mine, it was a good title. Eternal fell short.

[pither_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My favourite part? Michael's memo: "please find Yahoo map attached."

[yaaddict · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So when I was at the library I read the premise for Eternal and it caught my interest. Vampires and Fallen Angels in one story? I wanted to know more. What I liked about this story was it different from other books in the same genre right now. For starters, vampires were portayed the way they used to be, evil. They see themselves at the top of the food chain and view killing humans no different than humans killing animals. This made for a more gruesome story at times, but that actually made me enjoy it more. It's also different because the main character, Miranda, is "evil". She doesn't fit your usual mold.The alternating point of views made the story fun. I liked Miranda, but she was confusing at times. She went from shy normal girl wishing to be an actress, to a princess vampire a year later that was perfectly fine with drinking human's blood. The story does mention how she went through "soul sickness" the first few months where she feels guilty for her actions, but you don't get see that. I would have liked to see more emotion from Miranda. I did enjoy watching as she slowly started grasping her humanity back as Zachary influenced her, even a times when she didn't notice. Zachary however, I loved him him throughout. He was such a sweet guy that really cared for Miranda. But he was also the rebel angel, so he had that bad boy appeal. I think the lack of emotions is what kept me from loving this story. I just kept feeling like it was missing something. I didn't really feel any true emotions until the ending. In general the story was just good, but the ending was great. It was not the ending I expected. Just a beautiful way to end the story. I applaud Ms. Smith for this. Eternal was a fun and entertaining quick read that I recommend to fans of the supernatural genre.

[4sarad_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

One good thing about this book is that I had no idea where it was going. Ever since the first scene in the cemetery, I had no idea what to expect... so it wasn't just like every other teen book I've ever read. However, the good basically stops there. I thought the writing was cheesy at times and full of tired cliches. The characters weren't that interesting and the relationship between the main two just didn't seem real or exciting. The big fight scene at the end was a bore and Dracula died WAY too easily. I was quite disappointed by this book.

[missbonjourgirl · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Eternal was an easy to read, fast paced vampire novel full of forbidden love, (sound familiar?) heartbreak and deception. Although harrowing all of these genres, it wasn't what I would call a love story. I had no clue what to expect when I began reading. The beginning wasn't the strong point of the novel as I felt it was very rushed, incoherent with no further explanation of the events until nearer the end of the book. Many things happened but nothing really happened. The book made light of what should have been crucial moments so it lost its effect on the reader not just for that but for the entire duration of the novel. Even when things began to pick up, you had no hopes that it would fulfill your expectations. It seemed like a quite an ammature novel at first before the storyline began to evolve. This was, by no means the love story that I thought it would be. You never really became engrossed in the relationship between Miranda and Zachary and I think that this was the main fault of the writing. The writing was what I would call vampire slapstick. Some parts were almost comical because you tried to identify with the characters but couldn't because of some of the things they came out and said. It would be an overstatement to say that the writing wasn't the best that I had read. As mentioned before, I would've enjoyed this novel a lot more if I could have identified with Miranda. She seemed to take being turned into an evil, bloodsucking vampire like taking a walk in the park. She seemed to have no real emotion and some of the events that took place at her fault where amazingly unbelievable. I know that an average girl would act differently from a vampire princess but when you behead someone and don't even batter an eyelid, it isn't the best way to go. Especially if your an animal loving dream child before. To put it simply I didn't enjoy this book. The ending wasn't what I would call an ending, the characterization was poor and the writing wasn't exactly Shakespeare. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this.

[novelgoddess · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Miranda gets abducted by the reigning King of the Vampires and is turned into an “Eternal” and becomes his “Princess”. Miranda’s Guardian Angel, Zachary, is kind of the reason Miranda gets abducted. And for his error…Zachary is earth-bound. With the help of another Guardian Angel, Zachary finds Miranda and becomes her Personal Assistant. Together Zachary and Miranda discover that they are not beyond redemption.I have to say going in that this book confused me because it had NOTHING to do with the previous book and there were NO references to the previous book either. I thought that was kind of strange for a series. By the time I finished Eternal, I could see where the author was probably going to go with the third book.I was surprised by how easily Miranda gave up on her human connections for her new vampire life. Her human life was “normal” but she felt it was boring. She seemed rather shallow and obnoxious for most of the book and only seemed to think about her humanity once Zachary was on the scene and pretty much forced her to.Zachary was lacking depth as well. I get it that a guardian angel’s charge is their whole reason for being…but I guess I expected more from him.These are not “kinder, gentler” vampires of “twilight”…these vampires are bloody and will suck you dry, with a definite good versus evil theme. If those are the kind of vampires you prefer than this is the series for you. Personally, I liked the first book much more than this one and have started the third and thankfully we are back with Quincie and Sanguini’s. The series, thus far, is becoming predictable, but it’s still enjoyable.

[whybehave2002 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book can be read as a standalone as that is what I did. I read the entire thing and only saw that it was book 2 when I went online to do my review. My thought is that if I had read the first book I might have rated this one higher. It's a moot point now. This is a short young adult book with the classic triangle of love between the life of good and the life of bad. A day-to-day struggle for everyone but pushed up a notch with vampires and angels.

[gmomaj · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cynthia is a Texas, young adult author and a major resource to Authors and librarians. I've had the pleasure of meeting her and working with her, she is amazing. Additionally, I love the cover of this book!Classified Ads - Wanted: Personal assistant to Her Royal Highness. Duties: Whatever asked without hesitation, including but not limited to secretarial/administrative, household, defense, blood donation, driving, companionship, prey disposal, and love slavery.At last, Miranda is the life of the party: All she had to do was die. Elevated and adopted by none other than the reigning King of the Mantle of Dracul, Miranda goes from high-school theater wannabe to glamorous royal fiend overnight. Her reckless and adoring guardian angel, meanwhile - fighting in human guise as the princess’s personal assistant - has his work cut out for him with the Master’s Death Day gala fast approaching. Can Zachary save his girl’s soul and redeem himself before all hell arrives, quite literally, on their doorstep?