Read A Night at Tears of Crimson Online
Authors: Michelle Hughes
A Night at Tears of Crimson
A Night at
Tears of Crimson
Michelle Hughes
A Night at
Tears of Crimson
Michelle Hughes
© United States 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
©2010 by Michelle Hughes, Inc.
Second Edition 2012
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 13: 978-1461012290
ISBN 10: 1461012295
Donovan, Cara Faith, 1969-
A Night at Tears of Crimson: a novel by Michelle Hughes
Summary:
Cara Donovan found the Tears of Crimson club by chance but it seems her entire destiny would be found in one night there. Rafe has spent hundreds of years taking what he wanted and devouring everything in his path. The demon in him longed to devour her, what was left of his humanity demanded that he protect her. He was a forbidden desire that awoke her passion. She was an innocent temptation that he couldn’t resist.
A Night at Tears of Crimson
Michelle Hughes
A Writer’s Pad Approved Novel
in association with
http://www.thebooksdebut.com/
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated in memory of
Mary Louise Hall
. There is not a day that passes when I don’t remember the love that you showered on my life. May the angels count their blessings each time they look upon your beautiful face. And a special dedication to the victims and survivors of the Alabama tornadoes that swept through our beautiful state in April 2011.
Path of Tears
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I cannot even begin to say how much I appreciate all the help and support that has been forthcoming since I started this venture into writing. There are hundreds of people that I wish to thank, but since there is only room for a few, I hope everyone knows just how much I appreciate them. Tracy Moore and Angela Mendoca for their tireless efforts of reading and rereading the many different ideas and helping me sort through them. The entire city of New Orleans, with a special thanks to Camille and Marita at the Boutique Du Vampyre for inspiration, Candace LeRae for being so incredibly agreeable to allowing me to paste her image all over the social media outlets I use. Many thanks to Sarah Snyder for her help with bringing the characters to life in role-play. My wonderful family for being so patient as I took the time to make a dream come true. My heart-felt thanks to
J Bryden Lloyd for the re-edit, without his help this book would never have been all I hoped it could be.
1
Tears of Sorrow
The smell of stale beer permeated the sidewalk as she made her way down Toulouse Street. Even after six months the scent still bothered her somewhat, but as she walked further, she knew the smell of fresh beignets and lucky dogs would soon fill the humid Louisiana air. As the afternoon wore on, the streets came to life with a myriad of entertainers and artists who always drew out the crowds. Adjusting the strap on her worn guitar, she continued to walk until arriving at Jackson Square. Several of the talented artists were already setting up their goods and she glanced over the bright colorful paintings, her lips turning up into a smile. The garden was in full bloom and competed against the brilliant colors of the artwork that seemed to reach as long as the iron wrought gate. So much talent filled this small little area and it felt like she was just another small town girl trying to find a dream among them.
She moved to New Orleans with such high expectations. Singing in the church choir had given her a love for music even if she no longer felt the same way about religion. She never realized until moving here how many people had that same dream, but somehow it just felt this was the place she was supposed to be. In her small town in Alabama, many people had told her she needed to be singing professionally. It was that encouragement that gave her the push she needed to pursue her dreams. This place was definitely a world away from her small backwater town.
Her little hometown had a population of only a little over 500 people. Most of her life she'd lived in a sheltered little box that rarely touched the outside world. Where she was from, it was so safe you could leave your windows wide open and doors unlocked without ever worrying about someone breaking in. Life was great and simple and she still missed some things about it, others not so much. Her life hadn’t been an easy one growing up but after being exposed to the outside world here, she could easily see how it could have been worse.
Allowing her memories to take her back in time she thought about her mother, and the hard life she had led. Her mom went through men like she went through flavors of ice cream, and in Cara's opinion, she really enjoyed that dairy delight. Her mom just couldn't seem to find a decent one she liked that treated her well, so that left her spending most of her time with her Granny Louise. If it hadn't been for her Granny, she would have felt orphaned, because her mom rarely had time to spend taking care of the burden she considered her to be. For reasons she still didn't understand, she and her mother were like oil and water. Maybe it was because her mom had only been fifteen when she had her, Cara thought. Between her age and being single, she could only guess that she held some deep resentment against her for being born. Shaking away the negative thought she knew it was a subject she'd probably never understand.
At least she had her granny, she thought back in fondness. Granny Louise was her angel, always stepping in between her mom’s tirades when she would kick her out because she wasn't living up to her standards. Her standards! What standards? She was a straight “A” student, had never been in trouble, and had NEVER even been on a date, much less kissed a boy! It still made her blood boil to think of how little her mom thought about her. She knew that her mother was convinced she was just one breath away from being a complete juvenile delinquent. When she married her last flavor of the month, she convinced her that they would have a better chance at their marriage if she allowed her to move in with her grandmother. Her mother had been so agreeable with the idea, that she even helped her pack up to leave.
