Eden's Hell (I:The First)

6th Place

Best Erotic Novel by the Readers Poll of Preditor's & Editor's

In this first book of a new series by Dawné Dominique, she takes us back to the beginning of man and the first vampires. The love that grows between Addison and Eva is a powerful love that will endure some hard tests. I cannot wait for book two.

Reviewed by Annette Stone
Posted October 16, 2009

(read the full review here...click on PRN icon)

Check out Coffee Time Romance's review:

Love is the key....although the story has an erotic flavor, the leading element is love and sacrifice. I thought the eternal ex-wife was an inspirational element to a paranormal story. It takes the bad divorces between humans and elevates them to a whole new level. I enjoyed this story and found the vampire characters realistic and enjoyable.

Delane
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance and More

(read the entire review here...click on Coffee Time icon)

They arrived at the premiere of Holier Ground, an action thriller movie, in the midst of flashing cameras and paparazzi. Eva went to open the car door, but Addison placed a hand on hers, a hand that felt warmer than usual.

“Our driver would be most insulted if you do that.”

He threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her closer to his side of the vehicle, her heart lurching at the intimate touch. The door opened, and Eva blinked against the flashing bright lights and the masses of people trying to vie for a closer look at anyone arriving in limousines. They had parked at the side lane of the theatre, but she saw the red carpet just around the corner of the brick, neon lighted building. Addison guided her to an inconspicuous metal door where they slipped through unnoticed.

She felt like a child attending her first amusement park. There were so many beautiful people, movie and television stars, sports celebrities, even a famous governor. In an effort not to gawk, she kept her eyes glued to the floor. Addison held her arm, introducing her to an array of people. She didn’t want to embarrass him by sounding like a blubbering idiot, so she only nodded a shy hello and said nothing.

He proudly paraded her on his arm, introduced her immediately to guests, and pushed a path for them when the crowds thickened. His eloquent manners made her feel like nobility, and people treated him like that as well. This was far better than Cinderella’s ball.

The night was magical. When the premiere ended, they walked, hand in hand, toward the private exit. If someone had asked her what the movie was about, she’d be lost. All she remembered was Addison sitting beside her and holding her hand throughout the entire film. Even now, with his palm pressed against hers, she felt safe, wanted and respected. Several feet from the door, something brushed across her shoulder. Eva turned and screamed, thankful she hadn’t fainted.

Heads turned and stared.

Satrina smiled, frigid and calculating. Her black gown looked glued to her body, concealing only the necessary parts that wouldn’t get her arrested for indecent exposure. The back was lower than Eva’s, revealing the top crack and arch of a perfectly shaped ass. The black of the material against her pale skin was breathtaking.

Addison didn’t look impressed. He pushed Eva behind him. “I thought these events bored you, Satrina?” he mocked. His fingers tightened around hers.
     The vampiress sneered, and it was directed right at Eva. “There seems to be a lot you don’t know about me, Addison, my love.” A thin, black eyebrow rose. “And sharing my bed all those years, I’d thought you’d have learned a thing or two. Hell knows, I taught you.” She leaned to the side and peered at her. “Nice to see you again, Eva, my dear. You look good enough to eat this evening."
       When she flashed those pearly-whites, Eva drew back, squeezing her eyes closed.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Satrina’s mock sweetness stung like vinegar in a cut.

“Your answer is to be delivered to me no later than the eve of tomorrow, not now. So, until that time, you will stay away from Eva, and that includes your pets!” Addison growled and again, several more heads turned their way.

Eva heard whispered snickers and bit back her revulsion. A flash of Satrina’s emerald eyes revealed something cold and deadly, but also something else; something that stunned her. She tried to shrink into Addison’s back. Oh, my God. She’s still in love with him!

“I challenge you, Addison, my love,” Satrina whispered, sensually running her blood-red nails down his cheek. “I’ll notify the Elders Creed. Tomorrow evening it is.” She sauntered away without a backward glance, the blond boy-toy she’d brought as a date clinging to her arm like a well-trained Kewpie doll.

Addison continued to growl like a dog, low and menacing. The demonic sound made Eva shiver, but realization at what just happened felt far worse.

He remained quiet on the ride back to the beach house. She, too, had little to say, but her brain wouldn’t stop. This is all because of me. Me! Addison will be punished for trying to save my life. She faltered. But I’ll be dead, too. Satrina wants me six feet under. Eva snuck a sideways glance at Addison.

He stared out the window, his face as expressionless as ever, but she noticed the tiny lines surrounding his eyes had deepened and his lips were thinner, paler.

“I’m sorry, Addison,” she mumbled. Although it sounded lame, she’d never felt more contrite as she did now.

Roused from his thoughts, he looked at her, confused. “So, it’s your turn to begin apologizing?”

She stared down at her hands, praying she wouldn’t cry. “If you hadn’t found me on the bea—”

“Then you’d be living in a cage until you submitted to her…or she killed you.”

He took her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. Reluctantly, she did, trying not to break down.

“I’ve lived a very long time, Eva,” he began, “but I’ve been dead to everything around me. I’ve existed for one thing, my thirst, content in my hell until now.”

She drew back, not understanding.

Addison’s shoulders rolled with an indifferent shrug. “If there is punishment, the Elders Creed will decide. As I explained, if, and I reiterate if Satrina wins, she will get to choose my punishment in accordance with the Alluminatae, but it will not be death. There are worse things than that,” he added under his breath.

“Addison—”

“Let me finish, Eva.” His eyes took on a stranger glow, an effulgence that made her chest tighten. “In this short time that I’ve known you, I’ve never felt more alive.”

She went to speak, but his steely stare silenced her.

“I am a creature of the night, a monster, and I promise that you will not suffer the same fate.” He paused with a sad smile. “Eva, there is such goodness in you, it blinds me. Its power is absolute. This world needs you. I don’t fear death—only yours. It’s been so long since I’ve felt anything. My soul has been dead for an eternity. I’ve lived this long for entirely selfish reasons. At first, I thought that if I followed the Alluminatae perhaps I could change things, be repented, something.” He trailed off, his voice subdued. “When I realized I was a fool to believe that, the thirst…” Pain swathed deep lines of sorrow across his face, and he cleared his throat. “A stronger man would have destroyed himself by now, but me, the succulent taste of blood and a beating heart, not from fodder, but from my own heart, is what has kept me here. To feel alive, something mortals take for granted.”

Addison placed her hand against his chest, his pec hard and chiseled beneath his shirt. “This beats only after I’ve fed, and the ice of my skin warms just a little, but I’m alive, Eva, alive! My curse is an addiction. It’s what has kept me in this world. I crave life, to feel human, and only appeasing my thirst achieves it. Yet…”

He dropped her hand and leaned back into his seat. Stoic, he stared out the tinted window. “You give me the same joy without the necessity of digesting blood. The thirst is there, always, but its torment is more bearable because of you.”

His confession rendered her speechless. Eva felt like someone had dropped her down a dark hole, but she hadn’t fallen; she floated instead.

“Satrina wants you because she sees what you do to me. And she can’t, and won’t allow me such happiness,” he added, his voice barely an audible whisper. His hand sought hers again, and he gave it a gentle squeeze. “You are a pawn in all this, Eva. And Satrina does this for spite. She’s very good at that, let me assure you. She cares nothing about life except what she can take from it.” He sighed. “You have opened eyes that have been blinded for centuries.”

Flabbergasted, Eva clung to his hand. Stifling silence filled the backseat. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and forced the words out. “She’s still in love with you, Addison.”

He humphed and gurgled a cruel chuckle. “Evil does not know how to love, Eva. It covets and then takes what it wants.”