Saturday, 24 December 2022

Cover reveal - Inferno - Coming January 2023

The all new 10 year anniversary second edition of Inferno is:

* Re-edited

* Rewritten

* Brand new cover

* More than 15k extra words - all these words are in scenes between the two MCs

*more angst, more feelings, more psychological dissection, more heat


BLURB


In Inferno, passion burns hotter than hell…

 

“I wept not, so to stone within I grew.” – Dante Alighieri

 

Step inside Inferno and meet Dante Jardine, six feet four of satanic beauty indulging every vice at his disposal.

An ex-cop, injured on the job, Dante has buried all the grief and torment of his dark life in fire and ice. He lives in a twilight world of sordid encounters that leave him cold.

When a notorious rent boy is murdered in his nightclub, Dante finds his hellish world pried open by in-the-closet Moonlight Cove cop Zack Stewart and his partner Angela Keaton, his carefully constructed façade ripped away.

Zack loathes the arrogant nightclub owner from the moment he sets eyes on him. Dante is obstructive, disdainful and, he is sure, frozen all the way to the core. As he investigates, all roads lead back to Dante and he becomes Zack’s chief suspect.

You don’t want to see what sort of man I am in the dead of night when I’m all alone.”

Soon it becomes apparent the cops are looking for a serial killer targeting gay men and Zack’s priorities become more muddled the longer he is around Dante. He finds himself walking a dangerous road between being a good cop and giving in to his growing desire…

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Detective Stewart. You’re a thorn in my side but I’m not sure I want to try and dig you out.”

Possible Spoilers:

Themes: enemies-to-lovers, guilt, love at first sight, drama, angst, crime/suspense

Genre: Dark and gritty contemporary crime romance

Warning: Scenes of violence and murder. Historical child abuse. Drug abuse. STIs. Strong language and sexual scenes.

Inferno is a book very close to my heart. When I originally wrote it, I was so immersed in the world and characters I had created that I once wrote 8k+ words in one day, which is a major achievement. I am now so immersed once more after rewriting, that I am considering a sequel, this time with POV from Dante. There is still much more to explore and unravel with Dante, who is one of my favourite characters I have ever written. He needs his own story.


A SNIPPET FROM CHAPTER SEVEN WHERE COP ZACK ARRESTS HIS PRIME SUSPECT FOR THE FIRST TIME.


Zack pulled his cell out of his pocket and connected to the precinct, asking for backup to take two suspects downtown. As he finished the call, he was already on his way up the stairs, heart pounding in his chest, his breath coming in rasps.

The third floor balcony was empty. He barged into Dante’s office without knocking.

Dante looked up from his desk in astonishment, his eyes narrowing when he saw Zack.

“Detective Stewart, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Stand up.”

“What?”

“I said stand up, you murdering son of a bitch. Don’t make this hard.”

Dante shoved his chair back, his face cold as ice and limped around his desk. “Why not? I thought you liked it when I made it hard?” Those violet eyes mocked him. Zack flushed.

“Turn around.”

“You’re making a big mistake, Detective.”

“I don’t think so.” Zack grabbed Dante’s arm and pulled him around. He twisted it up as hard as he could, feeling foolish that he had nothing to cuff his suspect with.

Dante grunted but didn’t resist. “Careful, Detective, I’m delicate. Let’s not add assault to your sexual harassment.”

Zack yanked Dante’s arm so far up his back he fully expected to hear the shoulder dislocate. Dante’s legs bowed. His free hand gripped his desk.

“What did you say, you bastard?”

“You heard me. Last night when you shoved me against the wall with your cock hard. There’s a law against that, isn’t there?”

Zack growled. He threw Dante face down over the desk, scattering papers and knocking a laptop to the floor. He held him there by his arm and one hand on the back of his neck, panting for breath, his fury uncontained. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Corey Breton.”

“You like me like this don’t you, Detective? Gives you some thrill of power you clearly don’t get in the bedroom.”

“Shut up! You have the right to remain silent…”

“I know my rights, you jumped-up little prick.”

Zack stared down a moment at the back of Dante’s dark, shiny head, his chest heaving. He couldn’t think for the anger swarming through his veins. God, how he longed to pull Dante’s arm just an inch farther and see what happened.

His gaze darted away as a uniformed cop appeared in the doorway. “Detective Stewart?”

Zack let go of Dante. He staggered back, clutching his head. “Read him his rights.”

The cop reached for his cuffs. He pulled an unresisting Dante upright and cuffed him with far less brutality than Zack had shown. Dante shot him a glare. His pale skin was flushed, his perfect hair dishevelled. The cop led Dante out of the office and Zack sank into the still warm chair at the desk and felt endless shame.



 


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