Elementum

Professional Reviews

4.5 LIPS: "College professor Silver Ainsley has it in her cocky head that she could do what touted linguists hadn't able to do for decades. Translate the Voynich Manuscript. It was as if the ancient tome were calling to her. She simply had to “borrow” it from the university for the weekend, after which she'd return it, with no one knowing that it had ever left university grounds. Unfortunately, Silver didn't know that by removing it from its protective case, she would loose the tome's magic call. When a tall, handsome Sidhe warrior with glittering blue eyes came for it, so did his enemies, evil forces intent upon taking and using the manuscript to reshape both the Sidhe realm and mankind's world into something that was thing of nightmares. Quaede only wanted what Silver held in her possession – the Elementum – but when she stubbornly would not hand it over, he had no choice but to take both the Elementum and Silver and then to protect them both with his life. Caught between good and evil, Silver found herself drawn into an unimaginable magical world of fairy tale and myth, as well into Quaede's strong arms. Although love never works for the Sidhe, Quaede can't deny his passion and burgeoning affection for Silver. But this is neither the place nor the time for such things. Together, the pair must undertake an epic journey to secure the objects needed to save both the Sidhe and mankind in the approaching battle between good and evil. Taking on that kind of responsibility is something Silver could never have anticipated or even wanted. But then she learns that the Elementum had called to her for a reason and that she's something more than she could have ever imagined. Elementum by Toni L. Meilleur is a contemporary romantic fantasy with oodles of action and nail-biting suspense that gives this book its own specific page-turning, must-find-out-what-happens qualities that keep you from putting it down. An imaginative piece of work, this book delivers on all its early promises, presenting a video game visage in which the lead characters must collect a series of items to thwart the nasties that evil manages to throw in their path. These two very diverse characters virtually leap off the pages with vivid clarity and in spots with some welcome humor. Ms. Meilleur's normally inventive sex scenes – both between the two lead characters and between Silver and two women she meets along the way – are once again present, much to my appreciation. I'm not normally a big fan of female-on-female scenes, but the little bit of it you get of it here is tasteful and not in the least bit offensive to straight female readers. Overall, Ms. Meilleur has provided a world in Elementum that's rich in appealing characters, colorful magic and suspenseful action-adventure. This one's a keeper, hands down." -- Merrylee, TwoLips Reviews

Excerpt

STORY EXCERPT

“Don’t know much about our ways do you?” she chided him. Silver knew she should stop. Instead of arguing with him, she should have been thanking him for saving her life. For saving Jacy’s life. Too much too soon had been piled on her, and she needed to vent.

“You will explain to me what you mean,” he threatened, his hands gripped her shoulders firmly, not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Or what?” Silver heard herself ask.

He paused and before Silver could say “up the creek without a paddle” he kissed her hard. His lips took charge of hers and demanded her response. Quaede pulled her closer until he was pressing her body flush with his. Her hands were trapped in between their bodies. She reveled in the feel of his warm, firm flesh under her hands. Her fingers kneaded the muscles in his chest, and her tongue explored his mouth.

He tasted like nothing she could ever compare. He was like some exotic cocktail that came without a warning label. She could feel his male arousal pulsing between their bodies, and her skin grew hot. His kiss became the very air she breathed. He broke the kiss without warning.

“Or I will not be responsible for what happens next,” he rasped unevenly.

Silver felt her whole world swaying. Her lips cried out in protest at the loss of his pressed against them. Though he broke the kiss, he didn’t move. Silver found her fingernails still lightly pressing into his chest. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. Somehow that kiss drained her of the very energy she needed to expend. “I should be thanking you.”

His chest rumbled as he spoke. “I require no thanks. I understand this must be hard for you.” Silver let her head fall to his chest. She took a deep breath trying to center herself, trying desperately to hold on to her sanity.

“What did you mean by ‘goddess knows what else will find me and kill me’?”

“The satchel I carry the Elementum in dims the magic signal it exerts. You, however, are a beacon. Many creatures of the Unseelie Court, beside the Slaugh, hunt for the Elementum. You draw them like fire in the night.”

“There are creatures worse than the Slaugh hounds? What could possibly be worse?” The moment Silver uttered those words out loud she groaned in regret. The earth beneath their feet began to shake and buck. “What’s happening?” Silver looked down to see the earth splitting in two.”

“We have to run.” Quaede looked worried. “Run, Silver, do not look back!” He grabbed her hand and pulled. His long legs ate up the ground in great strides. Silver couldn’t keep up. He stopped and scooped her into his arms. Quaede ran so fast, Silver couldn’t get a good look at her surroundings. It was almost as if they were flying.

She nestled her head against his neck, but the sound of something large and heavy behind them made chills go down her spine. “Don’t look, Silver,” he pleaded as he ran. His voice was even, like he wasn’t burdened with her weight in the slightest. The sound grew louder and Silver found herself peeking over Quaede’s shoulder.

She wished she hadn’t.

ADULT EXCERPT

He hung his cape on the hook and began to remove his boots and then his belt and pants. “You’re shivering, remove your clothes. I will provide something warm and dry.”

“You know if any other guy used that line on me, I would think they’re full of it.” Quaede looked up to see Silver smiling at him. Her eyes swept his naked body. He forgot to breathe for a second. “But you’re not the type of man women worry about.” She pulled off her boots while Quaede stood there in stony silence. She must have felt his stare because as she was trying to unbutton pants that were inside out she paused and looked at him. “What?”

“What type of man?” Quaede demanded.

“You know what I mean,” Silver commented, finally getting the button loose. She winced when she tried to use both hands to pull the wet jeans down over her hips.

“You do not think I am man enough to bed you?” Quaede walked slowly toward her, so comfortable in his nakedness that he hadn’t given it a second thought.

He watched a bright red flush cover Silver’s cheeks. “I did not realize my competence as a man was in question.” His tone was promising, sexual. “Allow me to dispel whatever nonsense you harbor about me as a man.” Quaede was teetering on dangerous ground, but he felt reckless in her presence.

Silver gasped at the sudden disappearance of her pants and then her shirt. One second they were on her the next, pooled next to her. Quaede smirked as she stood half-naked in front of him at a total loss for words. Her mouth opened and then closed like a fish. “What did you do?” she asked weakly, though she made no effort to cover herself.

“Start.” Quaede answered her. He stood in front of her, one finger already hooked under a bra strap on her shoulder. He pulled it down slow, watching her eyes follow the red strap until it hung about her elbow. He gave the other strap the same personal attention. His warm fingers brushed against her firm flesh as he began to unclasp the hook nestled between her breasts. “A respectable Sidhe uses his or her abilities with care and responsibility. However, when it comes to pleasure...” Quaede paused as he let her bra flutter to the floor.

He gripped the band of her panties and went to his knees as he began to pull the flimsy, wet garment over her hips. Silver stood there for him unmoving. Her eyes were following every move he made. He could smell the womanly scent of her arousal.

When the lacy underwear uncovered her soft, well-manicured patch of hair, his progress halted as he stared in admiration. “Anything and everything is allowed.” He blew upon the wet curls and watched as Silver’s eyes closed from the sensation. He should stop. He knew it. Unless a Sidhe was willing to mate with a human for life, it was not wise. Humans became addicted to sex with a Sidhe. When the Sidhe ended the affair, it was the humans who suffered from the madness of never being satisfied again and craving the sexual magic of the Fay.

Even with these thoughts, he gave in to his desire to taste her. His fingers stilled their progress of removing her underwear as his tongue delved with skill into her soft folds. Silver moaned and stroked the soft, silken strands on top of his head. Her touch spun him deeper into desire.