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A Taste of Dawn

Aubrey Ross

Crimson Carousel, Book Four

While a stand-alone,

A Taste of Dawn

is best enjoyed when read in series order.

Mercedes Sevarus, the illegitimate daughter of an autocratic vampire and an alien,

has been an outcast her entire life. Her only attempt at evading the rules designed to

“protect” her ended disastrously. Now she lives her life as a veritable prisoner, music

her only retreat. Desperate enough to barter her creativity for a few hours of tenderness,

she reaches out to Eric King.

When Eric, the acclaimed songwriter for the rock band Pyrite, gets writer’s block,

someone emails him the first verse of a song. The message is simple. “If you want the

rest, you must spend one night in my bed.” The song is brilliant, achingly poetic, and so

similar in style to Eric’s own work he knows no one will suspect he didn’t write it. But

is he really willing to sleep with a stranger for the song?

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

A Taste of Dawn

ISBN 9781419926617

Edited by Mary Moran

Cover art by Dar Albert

Electronic book publication March 2010

The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in

part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing,

Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of

this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or

print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement

without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and

a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print

editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your

support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales

is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

A T

ASTE OF

AWN

Aubrey Ross

A Taste of Dawn

Prologue

Italy, 1859

Huddled in the corner of the dank, stone room with her knees drawn up to her

chest, Mercedes Sevarus shivered and contemplated death. A lantern occupied the

opposite corner, its wavering light growing dim. The old woman hadn’t come for

several nights. Perhaps she’d never come again. The possibility offered less comfort

than Mercedes expected. If the hag never deactivated the psychic barriers surrounding

the room, then Mercedes would starve. A slow, extremely painful way to end her

pointless existence, but at least it would be over.

If Mercedes smashed the lantern, however, she might be able to catch her

threadbare gown on fire, transforming this hated cell into a tomb. But she didn’t know

if fire had the power to kill her, and she had to succeed this time. It couldn’t go on. She

had to find some relief from this endless misery.

She was an “abomination”, a creature too hideous for words. She’d been locked

away since her father’s death, ignored and neglected. A painful reminder of…

Mercedes didn’t understand why the old woman kept her alive when it was obvious

the hag despised her.

Driven by loneliness and desolation, Mercedes slipped beyond her confinement the

only way she could. She floated on currents of metaphysical energy, searching for a

host, a willing mind with which to meld. Most were too busy, too set in their ways to

hear her whispered plea. She touched mind after mind. Nothing. No one reacted. No

one cared. Scanning and reaching, she tested the limits of her control.

Then a scene came into focus, or more specifically a man. He sat at a box piano

surrounded by sheets of half-finished music. Mercedes’ heart leapt within her breast.

She loved music. Her papa had spent hours teaching her to play the lute, piano and

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