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Cleopatra's Men
Available for purchase at:
Genre: Vampire/Paranormal/Multi Partner Romance
Heat Level: Super Hot (18+ MFM)
Length: 31,800(Novella)
ISBN: 978-1-60088-627-0
MSRP: $4.99
One former Egyptian queen plus two vampires equals a threesome with lots of bite.
I’ve paid my dues in Hell for my mistakes, but Satan thinks I’m too dangerous to keep around so he’s kicked me out into the modern world for a second chance.
Ambushed by a pest from my past, I’m rescued by a seriously hot vamp.
I vowed to not allow men to use me anymore, a pledge forgotten with Michael’s first kiss.
And when Julius, my first love, shows up bitter and angry, I can’t help but want him too.
Maybe I do deserve the nickname Whore Queen, for I’ve decided I shall keep them both—naked in bed.
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Excerpt: (PG)
Prologue
Cleopatra ran, the silken material of her robe tangling between her legs. Her sandaled feet slapped against the paving stones as she desperately tried to recall the layout of the lower passages in the palace. Even below ground the sound of screams and the clash of swords reached her as Octavian’s army invaded her refuge in Alexandria. I can’t believe he still hates me for the love his uncle Julius bore me. Rational or not, he was determined to drag her down. Panting, she stopped to orient herself and heard the sound of feet pounding as they raced to catch her. I need to hide.
Self-preservation made her move even though her muscles protested the vigorous exercise. She slipped into a room whose door lay ajar and looked around for a place to hide but the room was barren with only cobwebs and dust adorning it.
It was too late anyway. Feet scuffed on the floor behind her and she whirled to face her pursuer—and most likely death. Cleopatra almost sighed in relief when she saw Marc Antony, a relief that was short-lived, for the smile on his face when he saw her sent a chill down her spine. That and the fact he stalked toward her swinging his gleaming short sword.
Maybe it’s simply one of his sick games. It would be like him to try and frighten me even in the midst of this calamity.
“What are we going to do, Marc?” she asked, licking her lips, unable to look away from the hypnotic sway of the blade.
“We are doing nothing.” He stopped right in front of her, the fabric of his toga brushing the silk of her robe.
Trepidation made her want to shake, but as Queen of Egypt, she couldn’t give in to her baser instincts. Live or die, almost a family motto, it had governed all of her choices thus far in life. The weak, also known as the opposition and, more sadly, her siblings, had never grasped that simple life lesson. She had, and the bloody consequences came back to haunt her now and then.
“Nothing? But Octavian draws near. Now is not the time to give up. There is still time to escape. I have a place, a hidden place where we will be safe.” In truth, she would prefer to flee alone. Marc had long ago lost his appeal—not that he’d offered much to begin with—or ever given her a choice, for that matter. In her quest to survive, she’d given up her body and pretended love, for no one would ever replace Julius in her heart. Not to mention, Marc’s brutal ways were shocking even to one such as her. She sported many a bruise both now and in the past that attested to his easily roused anger.
“Flee like a coward? No. I tire of running. And I have no interest in hiding.” He spat the words. “I am Marc Antony, decorated Roman general and husband to Octavia. You remember my wife, don’t you?”
“You mean the one you divorced so you could marry me. I don’t think Octavian will forgive what you did to his sister.” Part of the reason Octavian was now attacking—other than Cleopatra dallying with his married uncle—was because of the dishonor done to his family by Marc Antony.
Marc grinned jovially, which contrasted with the cold expression on his face. “Octavian will not dare harm me, not when I shall offer him a prize he cannot refuse.”
“Wh-what prize do you speak of?” Cleopatra couldn’t help the shiver of fear at the crazed gleam in his eyes, a look she’d seen countless times before. It never boded well and usually resulted in puddles of blood.
“I shall give him the biggest prize in all of Egypt—your head. He will forgive me much when I hand him on a silver platter his victory over the Whore Queen.”
Cleopatra wanted to scream and tell him it was because of him and Julius that people called her whore. Bedding her and boasting of it publicly while never mentioning her lack of choice in the matter—at least she’d loved Julius. Marc she’d borne, for had she not, he would have killed her. For one liberating moment, she thought to tell Marc when he grunted and heaved over her body, she thought of another, one who fulfilled her sexual needs. However, given his current state of mind, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
She waited too long to speak. Marc bared his teeth at her and raised his sword.
Dread stroked its way down her spine and raised goose bumps on her flesh. “Wait,” she cried, her mind scrambling for a way to escape. “I thought you loved me.”
Her words stopped the sword’s killing descent. “Love?” He sneered. “I loved the power I wielded through you. I loved having a queen submissive to my whims and as a receptacle for my seed and cock. But now that your power is gone, there are prettier girls, younger girls. You will serve me better dead.”
“But—” She searched in vain for something, anything to delay the bite of his steel. “A boon. One last boon before I die.”
“What is it you would ask for?” he asked impatiently.
“A kiss. Please, Marc, kiss me one last time that I might go into the next life with at least the memory of warmth to carry me.” She almost gagged on the words. But she knew Marc wouldn’t resist. It was one of his greatest failings, other than his stupidity and brutality. He could never say no to a willing woman.
A beefy arm snaked around her waist and he drew her up roughly to kiss her, his unshaven jaw scraping across her tender skin, his tongue pushing between her teeth. Cleopatra held her breath and pretended enjoyment. She snaked her arms around his torso and mimed enthusiasm in his sloppy embrace. As she moaned in fake pleasure, she smoothly pulled the dagger from the belt at his waist.
She stabbed him swiftly in the back even as she bit down on his tongue to break the kiss. With a bellow he staggered back, his hands frantically pawing at his back and the knife he couldn’t reach. Blood dribbled down his chin from her bite as he sagged to his knees, his jaw slack and his eyes wide in disbelief.
“Bitch. I shall make you pay for your betrayal.”
Cleopatra wiped her lips and smiled at him coldly. “Good luck with that. You’re dying and will never hurt me or anyone else ever again. Enjoy your stay in Hell.”
“I’ll be seeing you soon, whore.” As Marc spoke his last words, blood bubbled up and frothed from his mouth. He fell forward with a hard thump just as Octavian’s soldiers poured into the room. They surrounded her and gripped her arms tight.
Struggle against these types of numbers was useless, so Cleopatra didn’t bother and held her head imperially high. Octavian had finally caught her, but if he thought to use her like so many men before him, he was sadly mistaken.
I’m done with being used by men who think they can rule me because of the swords between their legs. I’ll kill myself first before it happens again.
After almost a year of imprisonment, she did, going to her death by the poison of an asp smuggled in by her supporters. Her final thought as she lost consciousness: I’ll take my chances in Hell.
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Cleopatra's back for a second chance at life and love--and this time, she's making and breaking all the rules.
On sale now at my publisher Cobblestone Press.
Editor: Lynne Anderson
Cover Artist: Sable Grey - www.sablegrey.net
Cover Model: Jimmy Thomas - www.jimmythomas.com
ISBN: 978-1-60088-627-0
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Four and a Half Raven Review for Jealous And Freakn'
"In Cleopatra’s Men, Ms Langlais wields her mighty writing sword to take the reader through history, incorporating humor, adventures and heart thumping passion. Ms. Langlais intelligently develops her main character, Cleopatra, using the historical background along with a wonderfully wild futuristic imagination to bring Cleo beyond the 21st century.
...The depicted settings throughout Cleoparta’s Men stimulate all of your sensory receptors.The connection between the characters, plot and setting makes Cleopatra’s Men an enjoyable read and I recommend it to readers who enjoy paranormal elements that’s hotter than Hades sexiness and nicely seasoned with humor and wittiness.
"
says
Naunet of Black Raven Reviews
For the full review click here.
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Four Feather Review for Cleopatra's Men
"Cleopatra’s Men was a quick hot dive into the world of a paranormal Ménage a trois with the addition of Julius Caesar, Cleo’s first love into the mix it made for some comical but very hot reading.
...Cleopatra’s Men was another excellent example of Langlais’s incredible writing and has left me wanting even more of her yet again."
says
Story Wings
For the full review click here.
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Four Bookies Review for Cleopatra's Men
"Cleopatra’s Men was a quick hot dive into the world of a paranormal Ménage a trois with the addition of Julius Caesar, Cleo’s first love into the mix it made for some comical but very hot reading.
...Cleopatra’s Men was another excellent example of Langlais’s incredible writing and has left me wanting even more of her yet again."
says
Amanda-Lee of Book Lovers Inc
For the full review click here.
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Five Lip Review for Cleopatra's Men
"It is a humorous alternate history where we finally find out what really happened when Octavius attacked and won Alexandria. I laughed. I chuckled. I smiled. I cringed.
...Cleopatra’s Men is a definite beach read you won’t want to miss this summer! "
says
Sheila of Two Lip Reviews
For the full review click here.
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Cobblestone-Press.com
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