An abused woman has the power to unite werefolk, fey and vampire against an evil that would see them all dead—if she can learn to love again.

Christy lies near death after a brutal beating by her estranged husband. Her preternatural friends reach a desperate conclusion: The only way to save her is to turn her. Sebastian steps forward to take on the burden of being her Maker.

For him it's no burden at all. She draws him as no other woman has for centuries. With the help of a werecougar friend, Sebastian teaches Christy about her new life and abilities, making certain she is as strong as he can make her. Only then can she face her abusive ex-husband and put her old life behind her. But Christy's ex-husband is involved in something more dangerous than any of them had guessed.

Vampire, were, and even a fey knight must work together to put an end to the threatening evil. To overcome her past, help keep the darkness at bay, and fight for a new life with Sebastian, Christy must draw on all of her new-found strength.

Will it be enough?

Warning: this title contains explicit sex, graphic language, ménage a trois, hot neck biting and werecougar stroking.

An UNEDITED excerpt from Sweeter Than Wine.

"I've adjusted the paperwork and removed any evidence from her file." Jena's familiar voice comforted Christy as she drifted up out of the darkness of unconsciousness.

"Thank you, doctor."

The second voice was deep and richly masculine. Christy didn't quite understand her reaction to it. Hearing that particular male voice felt like a caress in her mind. In a split second of recognition, she knew to whom it belonged.

But why would he be here?

Her heart thrilled at the idea of seeing him again. Tall, dark and mysterious, he'd been in her mind since she first saw him at Lissa's wedding. They'd shared a single dance at that meeting, and one other at Kelly's wedding a few months later. He'd swept her around both ballrooms like a dream, and his embrace had felt divine. He'd fired her imagination for months afterward, though she knew those dances were moments out of time, never to be repeated.

"She wakes." The bed at her side dipped as if someone sat down. Christy struggled to open eyes that felt glued shut. As her blurry vision cleared, she saw his face.

Sebastian.

He looked so good, his mere presence comforted her starved senses. She felt like she'd conjured him from a dream. In reality, they'd only met twice and had barely spoken. Christy had been too afraid of her husband, Jeff, watching every move she made for later, painful commentary. Sebastian had no reason to be at her bedside with such a heart-stopping expression on his handsome face.

"Am I dreaming?" Her weak voice sounded thin, but overall she felt better than she'd expected to feel.

"Does this feel like a dream?" Sebastian grasped her hand and squeezed with gentle pressure, but she didn't have the strength to squeeze back and her entire body hurt.

"Do you remember what happened?" Jena asked from her other side. Christy looked up at her friend, noting the circles under Jena's kind eyes and the lines of worry on her face.

"I remember. At least until I blacked out. Jeff's in jail, right? I saw him being handcuffed and then I remember seeing the grass zooming up at me. I guess I fainted."

Jena clutched her other hand. "You passed out. The ambulance brought you here and one of the emergency room staff called me." Tears gathered in Jena's eyes. It struck Christy as odd because Jena was always so strong. She never showed this much emotion. "Christy, you nearly died."

"I did?" She took quick stock of her body. She felt almost good, though sore all over. The initial ache was fading. "I feel okay now. Just bruised." She remembered the wrenching pain in her side when Jeff had kicked her. "He broke ribs, didn't he?"

Jena nodded. "And punctured a lung."

"Then you must have me doped up pretty good. I don't feel it." She smiled at her friend, but Jena's eyes clouded.

"Uh, Christy, there's something you should know."

"Thank you, doctor. She is my responsibility now." Sebastian's voice was filled with quiet authority, respectful but firm.

"But she should hear this from one of her friends."

"She will, in due time, but it's enough for her to know that you support her, regardless of her state. You have done that already and I thank you."

"What's going on?" She grew concerned over the obvious battle of wills between Sebastian and Jena. If she was any judge, even Jena couldn't win such a fight with this formidable man.

"It will be well, Christina. Jena was part of what we did to save your life, though she does not fully understand it." Sebastian's fingers stroked her hand with reassuring pressure.

"We? Who's we?"

"Christy, you need to know that Lissa and Kelly were present when the decision was made. They are like you are now."

"That's enough, doctor. I'll take it from here."

"But she needs to know—-"

"She will, soon enough." He motioned toward the door. It was a clear command. "Thank you for your assistance."

Jena left with a doubtful expression. Christy was still out of it, but she instinctively trusted Sebastian. There was no real reason why he could claim so much of her trust when most men scared her, she just knew on some intrinsic level that he was okay. More than okay, actually. He was totally hot!

Sebastian turned his gorgeous eyes back her way after Jena closed the door. Christy felt his penetrating stare as he lifted her hand to his lips in an old world gesture of respect that touched her heart.

"You will no doubt be surprised by much of what I have to tell you, but it must be said and you must believe." His gaze caught hers, and held. "You wouldn't have lived the night through had we not intervened. Your friends Kelly and Lissa petitioned for your conversion and their mates agreed. I claimed the right and responsibility of converting you and I want you to know I'll live up to the duty I assumed when I gave you my blood."

"You donated blood?"

His sexy lips quirked in a semblance of a smile. "You're probably thinking of transfusions and other medical intervention when what I did was much more primitive. No, dear Christina, you drank my blood and now you are as I am. Immortal."

Copyright (c) 2007 by Bianca D'Arc. All Rights Reserved.