Mona Lisa Eclipsing
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
EPILOGUE
PRAISE FOR THE “DARK AND SEXY”* NOVELS OF SUNNY
MONA LISA DARKENING
Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award Nominee for Best Erotic Fiction
CAPA Award Finalist for Best Fantasy Erotic Romance
“A spectacular continuation of the Children of the Moon series.”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Stunning addition to this erotic paranormal series . . . Pulls you in at once and holds you in its claws to the very end. A good read.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Sunny raises the bar with this latest installment of her series, which is quickly becoming a guilty addiction.”
—Romantic Times
“Strap yourselves in for one hell of a joyride . . . A must-read for any fan of the paranormal.”
—Romance Junkies
“Supremely excellent.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Sunny’s new and amazing installment in the Monère saga . . . is going to blow your minds! I was riveted . . . Literally could not tear myself away from the pages.”
—Dark Angel Reviews
“Sunny’s Monère series is always beautifully written and leaves her fans craving more.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
“Erotic . . . Fresh and original . . . Sunny will enchant fans new and old.”
—Night Time Romance Reviews
“With a fine eye on detail, Sunny transports readers to another realm right along with her characters . . . A wonderful series.”
—*Darque Reviews
“Erotic fantasy at its best.”
—Bitten by Books
MONA LISA CRAVING
“Suspenseful twists promise more heart-throbbing surprises in the next installment of this haunting erotic fantasy series.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Unique, captivating, and sexy . . . Everything you’ve come to expect from Sunny and more . . . Another remarkable addition to Mona Lisa’s saga.”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“The latest chapter in the Monère series is a pulse-pounding erotic adventure . . . narrated in first person by the heroine in a strong yet emotional voice. Sunny creates a fascinating world that’s violent and sexual.”
—Romantic Times
“Fans of this erotic fantasy saga will appreciate this powerful entry . . . Once again it is the secondary characters that provide strong support to the plot which makes this an endearing tale . . . Another winner.”
—Midwest Book Review
MONA LISA BLOSSOMING
“For those of you who have been following Sunny’s Monère series, run to your bookstore and buy Mona Lisa Blossoming!”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“Tantalizingly erotic, Sunny’s Mona Lisa Blossoming seduces readers into the powerfully imaginative world of the Monère.”
—L.A. Banks, New York Times bestselling author of
the Vampire Huntress Legend series
“Sunny is blossoming into a star well worth reading.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Sunny’s fascinating story has interesting characters and a rather unusual origin. There are shape-shifters, blood drinkers, a heroine who’s an unexpected unique queen, some bloody violence, and a fair amount of sex.”
—Romantic Times
MONA LISA AWAKENING
“Darkly erotic, wickedly clever, and very original!”
—Bertrice Small, New York Times bestselling author
“A terrific debut sure to appeal to fans of Anne Bishop or Laurell K. Hamilton . . . Sunny’s characters stayed with me long after I finished the book.”
—Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A spellbinding tale full of erotic sensuality and deliciously fascinating characters.”
—Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author
“A refreshing, contemporary urban erotic horror thriller that grips the audience.”
—The Best Reviews
“A lively writer . . . Erotica fantasy that is fresh, engaging, and a damn fun read . . . Sizzling sex scenes.”
—Sensual Romance Reviews
LUCINDA, DARKLY
Book One of the Demon Princess Chronicles
“An awesome story populated with endearing and sexy characters. This unabashedly sensual gothic story will feed your need for something new and fresh. Readers will be loath to put the book down until the final page is read . . . The ending will leave you hungry for more.”
—Romantic Times
“An emotionally intense, sexually charged, gothic romance . . . If you’re in the mood for a different kind of paranormal read that is superbly written, marvelously told, and extremely sensuous, look no further.”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“[A] superb fast-paced urban fantasy in the tradition of Laurell K. Hamilton.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Full of paranormal passion, Sunny’s fast-paced first in a new erotic fantasy series, the Demon Princess Chronicles, introduces Lucinda, a six-hundred-year-old demon princess who’s getting bored with her long unlife.”
—Publishers Weekly
Titles by Sunny
The Monère Novels
MONA LISA AWAKENING
MONA LISA BLOSSOMING
MONA LISA CRAVING
MONA LISA DARKENING
MONA LISA ECLIPSING
The Demon Princess Chronicles
LUCINDA, DARKLY
LUCINDA, DANGEROUSLY
Anthologies
OVER THE MOON
ON THE PROWL
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
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 i
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Copyright © 2011 by DS Studios, Inc.
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PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / April 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sunny, 1965—
Mona Lisa eclipsing / Sunny.—Berkley Sensation trade paperback ed. p. cm.—(Monère, children of the moon ; 7)
eISBN : 978-1-101-47902-5
1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Shapeshifting—Fiction. 3. Louisiana—Fiction. I. Title. PS3619.U564M’.6—dc22
2010051648
http://us.penguingroup.com
To two wonderful fans Janon Swink and Candace Clemons, and my fellow author Mima—the three angels who convinced me to hurry up and write this next part of Mona Lisa’s story.
ONE
THE SWORD WHISTLED toward me in sharp descent, almost too fast for a human to see. But not for a part human, part Monère, and whatever else part thing I was, which was, oh yeah, that’s right—demon dead.
I parried, feinted to the left, then thrust to the right. “Gotcha!” I crowed as I tapped Edmond smartly on the ribs.
My young partner lowered his sword, rubbed his side, and grinned as I did a small victory dance. With protective padding and dulled weapons, he could afford to grin. Practice was much more civilized and far less bloody than real life would have been.
“You didn’t let me score on purpose, did you?” I asked suspiciously.
“No, milady,” Edmond said. “You’ve gotten better than me, sure and true.”
“You hear that?” I said smugly to the big guy watching us, Nolan Morell, our sword master instructor. “I’m better than Edmond now.”
“Progress, indeed, milady,” Nolan agreed blandly. “You can defeat an eighteen-year-old boy.”
“An eighteen-year-old Monère warrior-in-training who has been practicing with the sword since he was ten, whereas I have been swinging a practice blade for only three months,” I corrected.
“And no longer just swinging but thrusting and parrying, attacking and counterattacking,” my stern teacher relented with a brief smile that faded all too quickly. “But your footwork is still sloppy, your crossover too slow—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I dismissed the oncoming lecture with a careless finger wave. “Indulge me for a moment. Let me enjoy my brief glow.”
Both of them waited a couple of seconds as I rested, sucking in deep breaths.
“Enough glow, milady?” The dryness in Nolan’s voice could have rivaled the finest aged wine.
I straightened. “Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Nolan.”
His tone, if anything, became even drier. “I will be sure to take note of that, milady. Now let us continue. En garde!”
We practiced for another twenty minutes concentrating on footwork, then finished up the session with more challenging blade work. Whatever Edmond lacked in skill, he made up for in exuberance as the multiple sore spots where he had tapped me attested. Of course, I’d delivered quite a few whacks myself, I thought with satisfaction.
I saw my progress in swordsmanship much as I did the ruling of my new territory and its many people—much improved. It had been half a year since I had become a Monère Queen, the Queen of Louisiana specifically. It was a mantle that had been awkward at first but now fit more comfortably. I had over four hundred people under me, Monère men, women, and children. I knew almost all their names now and their varied relationships within our insular community.
“I’m going to miss you, Edmond,” I said as we wiped down our equipment and hauled it inside.
“You have only to say the word, milady, and I will be happy to stay with you.”
And here was where the easy camaraderie that we had shared over the past few months became strained. Because what he was really asking was that I take him into my bed. That was what Monère Queens did to fresh and dewy eighteen-year-old virgin Monère boys: take them into their beds and enjoy their harmless, lusty vitality for a handful of years before they tired of them or they grew too strong, too powerful, and were kicked out of their Queen’s bed. Because then it was not mere copulation anymore, an exchange of pleasure that took place, but an exchange of power and sometimes of talents and abilities.
Awkwardness fell as the ticktock of life intruded on us. The summer solstice was coming up, and in several months Edmond would leave his home, all that he had ever known, to seek service in another territory with another Queen, one who was willing to make him her lover—our Monère version of going out into the big, bad world. It made worry flutter in my stomach like any mother sending a kid off to college would feel, but to keep him here safe with me would be even crueler because I had no intentions of taking him into my bed. It was much too crowded already.
“Ah, Edmond,” I said, sighing. “I would be doing you a grave disservice if I asked you to stay. Find another Queen who will appreciate the gift of your Virgin Claiming. Me? I’ve got too many lovers as it is.”
“Not enough, milady, and half of those are not even with you regularly.”
He was referring to Amber, the Warrior Lord who ruled the adjacent slice of Mississippi territory, a portion of my own domain that I had induced the High Queen’s Court to officially split off and deed to him. I’d upgraded Amber’s status and downgraded his time with me. Gryphon, my other Warrior Lord, my first love, had died and become demon dead. He resided in Hell now, but that wasn’t a barrier for me. I could visit him, was the only Monère who could, actually, thanks to that quarter human part of me: my blood was warmer than a Full Blood Monère, allowing me to survive Hell’s scorching heat. Of course, the fact that I was out of sorts with Halcyon, the High Prince and ruler of Hell, who not only happened to be my demon mate but also the sponsor of my newly dead first love . . . well, that made visiting Gryphon a bit awkward. My other lover, Dante, was missing. Of course, I’d sort of kicked him out, but I’d had a change of mind and heart. Only problem was he didn’t know that. He hadn’t come back.
“Only Dontaine is here with you now,” Edmond noted.
Dontaine—my breathlessly handsome master at arms. He had stuck despite my best efforts to push him away. I seemed to be my own worst enemy.
“The others might be absent but they still count,” I said firmly.
“Still, that is only five men.”
“Only.” I rolled my eyes, my humor returning. How could it not at such an outlook. “Only five men. If I had it in me, I would blush, but my human upbringing seems to be fading more and more each day I spend with you guys.”
“And they are all old,” Edmond complained. “You should try someone younger and more tender.”
“Yuck,” I grimaced. “You make yourself sound like a piece of steak.”
A smile widened his lips. “Juicy and succulent, prime and untouched—”
“Stop, just stop. You’re turning me off steak, and if you do, I’ll never forgive you.”
The two of us shared a laugh, then in a more serious vein because I had become fond of my young practice partner, I told him with honest regret, “I cannot give you what you need and deserve, Edmond. I’m weird that way. I happen to like older guys, especially the ones I’ve chosen. And I know I may be fucked up, because I was the one to push them away, but I’m waiting for them to come back to me.”
Edmond gave me a gentle smile. “Then they surely will, milady, for I cannot see any resisting you.”
“How about forgiving me?” I asked wryly.
“That, too,” he said with an earnest kindness that allowed a glimpse of the strong and wonderful warrior he had the potential of maturing into . . . if the Queens whose beds he passed through in the next few decades of his life weren’t totally fucked-up bitches—which, unfortunately, most of them were.
“After you’ve enjoyed your time with as many Queens as you can glut yourself on, Edmond, when it becomes too dangerous for you . . . you know that you can always come back here, right?” Young and dewy fresh though Edmond was now, he had only fifty years or less to play paramour to a Queen, a century at most after that to serve as guard. Then would come the grim fate of death or desertion. Because most Queens ended up killing their oldest and most powerful warriors, who became not only threats to the Queen’s authority but also potential competitors for a territory of their own should they gain enough power to attain Warrior Lord status. Either they were killed or they fled and went rogue. They were never invited back to the territory of their birth, offered a promise of safety and shelter, as I was now offering Edmond.
My words clearly stunned him.
“That is very generous, milady,” Edmond said, greatly moved. Kneeling, he kissed my hand.
“Please don’t forget,” I said, fondly tugging his hair. “You have a place to come back to, okay?”
“Yes, milady.” Bowing, he took his leave, tossing over his shoulder as he walked away, “And I’ll be older then. Just the way you like!”
Impudent boy. I was still grinning when I left the locker room. Nolan was still at his desk, jotting down notes in the lesson book he kept on my progress.