Before Dawn

Before Dawn
Ann Bruce
ebook
Published April 2nd 2008 by Ellora's Cave
ISBN 9781419915000

Mercy Jansen's dreams are filled with erotic interludes with a man whose face she never sees — and she always awakens before the scraping of sharp teeth along her skin turns into something more dangerous.

While uneasy about her subconscious mind, Mercy goes on with her daily life, which includes organizing a costumed fundraiser at the museum where she works. The event attracts more people than she'd expected, including a man who makes her knees go weak — and proceeds to turn her preconceived notions of reality upside-down and inside-out by pulling her into a shadowy, violent world where her erotic dreams threaten to become an all-too-real nightmare.

Did you read that blurb? Did you think vampire lover? I certainly did. And I was so very wrong.

And in this instance, I like being wrong!

The romance here is between Mercy and Ryan McGinnis, a man that has been watching over her for months while a vampire has hunted her through dreams. At last the monster strikes, leaving his bite in her breast. Ryan wisks her to safety and soon Mercy awakes, still sensing the presence of the predator. Seeing him. Feeling him.

She clings to Ryan, urging him to free her from her thoughts. She begs for the distraction in the form of a kiss. Ten minutes, and a hot quickie later, she's out the window and Ryan is naked, tackling her in the grass. Much to the amusement of one Nate Savage.

From there, the pages are tangled with plots of reuniting with a lost love and betrayal by a dearly trusted ally. All of which happens in one incredibly short night. I definitely felt Ryan's transition in his feelings for Mercy but hers, not so much. There wasn't an incredibly logical reason for her wanting to make a life with Ryan. And what made her fall in love I'll never know. 3 out of 5 stars.

"Don't make me out to be the bad guy"
     "I-"
     "But I'm no fucking hero either. I could've stopped you, but I didn't want to. I wanted you." His voice lowered, turned husky, as he closed the gap between their bodies. His teeth sank into a corner of her bottom lip but she was unable to bite back the soft moan. "I still want you."
     Her lashes lowered, veiling her gleaming eyes, and the fingers of her captured hand curled into a fist.
     "I saw you with Dopey," he said between gritted teeth. Even now the memory made him want to take something-someone-apart.
     "Dopey?" she echoed wonderingly.
     "Roberts."
     "Oh."
     "Every time you brought him home, I wanted to kill him."
     She blinked, coming out of her daze. "He was a mistake from the beginning."
     Ryan bent down until his mouth brushed her temple. "Am I?" he asked roughly, forcing the words through constricted vocal cords.
     She went still, not even daring to breathe.
     "Mercy?"
     Her chest moved. "I-I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't know you."
     His lips touched the delicate rim of her ear, the merest brush of skin on skin, yet she inhaled sharply. "You know enough," he said, and rocked his hips forward.
     Her eyes went to half-mast. "Lust," she breathed, turning her head, her parted lips seeking his.
     "I can work with that."