I finally found The Asp Bar in the seedier part of Las Vegas. If not for this interview, I would have turned around and headed back as fast as my cowardly ass-end could go. Several blocks away from the Fremont Experience, the neighborhood in which the small bar sat was run down. Homes stood vacant with foreclosure stickers stuck to the doors and only a few were occupied, if all the old broken down cars littering the driveways and sidewalks were any indication. On one side stood an empty lot, chained and padlocked, filled with overgrown weeds and dirt, everything about this place was just as I wrote it.
Very surreal and a part of me wished I could take a moment more to investigate my surroundings further. Fortunately I’m smart enough to know how stupid that would be. Besides I had an interview to do which I was already late for.
I parked and locked my car, praying it would still be untouched when I came back out and hurried inside the bar. Again I was hit by a strong sense of Déjà vu. The bar was nearly empty, but then again the hour of day had a lot to do with that. Most of The Asp clientele were night dwellers, though I was surprised to find Mari behind the bar, her newly braided hair clinking with the swaying of her beaded hair. Her smile was warm, brown eyes lighting up with genuine pleasure as she moved toward me, leaving the bar. Now I’m short, standing at five foot three and rounded with lots of curves, yet next to this ancient vampire, I felt like a lumbering bull moose. Small boned, she stood the same height as I, but her body was leaner and more toned than mine could ever be.
Nope, I wasn’t jealous, really. Oh, hell maybe a little.
Without a word she led me to where Tegan waited with a scowl on his face. Even with the dark look the man was a walking sex ad. Could anyone be sexier? His gaze swept over me, bringing goose bumps up my whole body, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt very few females could refuse him anything.
As breathtaking as a fallen angel, his dark hair fell in dark waves past his broad shoulders framing his chiseled face. Green eyes snapped with irritation and I found myself swallowing nervously. With a weak smile, I slid into the booth and pulled out my pad and pen, feeling his gaze boring holes in me as I prepared for our interview.
Mari asked if we needed anything and I piped up with an Ice Tea, immediately regretting my decision as they both gave me a look that spoke volumes. Wimp, yeah, that’s me. Mari left us with a laugh and a shake of her head. Beads clattering off in the distance, guess that Ice Tea was a no-go.
“Um, sorry to be late, there is the usual traffic jam on the I-15,” I explained.
“There’s always a traffic snarl on I-15. You wanted this meet, so what do you want to know that I haven’t already given you?” Tegan got right to the point.
“Look, Tegan, just a few questions in your own words and I’ll be out of your hair, I promise.”
He studied me for a seconded before nodding his head in agreement. “Fine, let’s just be quick about this. Want to get back to Kyra and still have to prepare for patrol tonight.”
“How are Kyra and you doing?”
His whole body relaxed and a smile played over those sensual lips of his. Kyra was one lucky girl. “Great, couldn’t be happier except for the few times when I need to leave her at HQ, then I’m not quite so amiable.”
Oookay, moving on with the questions then. I looked down at my list and chose the next one. “How are you and your step-father getting along these days?”
“We’re getting there. I spent a long time hating the man so it’s going to take time to get past it all. Nicolai is a very patient and tenacious man, so we will get there.”
“What do you think of Marcus as the new Consortium’s leader?”
That brought a full out smile to his lips, transforming his already handsome face into a masterpiece of lethal beauty. “Out of everyone I have ever had the pleasure to serve under, Marcus Valerian was made for this position and I stand by him in this endeavor one hundred percent.”
“What part do you think you’ll play in the new world order?”
“As little as possible, if I have my way. Let’s face it, I’m not the kind of guy who is good at all the diplomacy crap. I’m more the guy who kicks ass and takes names.”
I bit back a chuckle. Knowing Tegan as well as I did, I could never see him being politically correct about anything. So yeah, he would be best behind the scenes, otherwise he may just cause an international incident.
“With Marcus and Tambra expecting twins do you ever think about having children?”
“Hell yeah, Kyra and I are practicing every day, sometimes three to four times a day.” His grin turned sinfully wicked and my mind turned to silk sheets and dark chocolate. Oh, shit, that was just wrong. After all, I am happily married, but damn, the things I can imagine.
With effort I steered my thoughts back on course. “I’m doing Zeke’s story next. Is there anything you want to share about him?”
“Nope, but maybe you can share with me something about the guy.”
I found myself more than a little curious as to what Tegan could possibly want to know about his best friend. “What can I possibly learn about him that you don’t already know?”
He leaned in conspiratorially across the booth. “Why the hell does he wear those shades? He even sleeps with them on. I’ve never seen what his eyes look like and in fact wondered if he was blind at first, but nawh, he wouldn’t be able to fight like he does if he couldn’t see.”
Humm, that was a good question, and one that I knew would be difficult to get out of Zeke. In fact, it seemed there was a lot Zeke didn’t share with himself, even with his best friend.
“Before I wrap this up, is there anything you would like the readers to know about you?”
“Yeah, just this, if you run into me in a dark alley, turn around and run like hell, cause if I’m there, sure as shit I’m with something much nastier than a mugger.”
Well, with that said, I thanked Tegan. He just nodded and I got the hint it was time for me to get my ass back to the safer side of the city and get ready for my interview with the enigmatic Atlantean Enforcer Zeke.
Passion's Flight is the second in Shannan's Dark Breeds series and is pretty hot stuff. If you like vampires and were-creatures, this is a wonderful introduction to the dark side of Las Vegas. You can find it at the following vendors:
All Romance Ebooks
Amazon
BookstrandEvernight Publishing
Smashwords
If you'd like to get read the first story in this series, please look of Dark Passion Rising at the same places, and also at:
Manic Readers
Barnes&Noble
If you'd like to find out more about Shannan Albright, you can find her at:
Goodreads
Romance You Can Sink Your Fangs Into
Website
Thanks for stopping by and leave a comment if you're interested. Shannan loves to talk to fans. Happy reading!
Thanks for having my interview with Tegan on your blog. I'm sure Tegan will read it, Kyra will make sure so you just may be getting a comment from them.
ReplyDelete