Married to the Prince and the Duke

The night before her marriage to the beloved Prince Maverick, Lady Maxine, a renowned healer of Beddington, finds herself ensnared in a world of darkness. Captured by mysterious raiders, her life takes an unimaginable turn as she becomes the prisoner of a creature who was supposed to exist only in the pages of horror books – the Duke of Ashbourne, Duke Sullivan, a vampire. Duke Sullivan reveals his plight to Maxine – he has been ailing for a century and has searched relentlessly for a healer to cure him. The catch? Maxine is the key to his salvation, a healer unlike any he has encountered before. But Maxine faces a daunting dilemma. How does she explain to a creature that vampires do not exist outside of tales and in those tales, they cannot fall ill? Trapped in his shadowy domain, her options are stark: heal him or face dire consequences. Maxine's life takes a dizzying turn as she finds herself wed to two powerful men. One is Prince Maverick, her cherished childhood love, who would move heaven and earth to be with her. The other is the enigmatic Duke Sullivan, a creature of darkness, who desires nothing more than her unparalleled healing power. As the days unfold, Maxine uncovers Duke Sullivan's hidden desires, a yearning that transcends the boundaries of their peculiar alliance. Seduction becomes a perilous game, and Maxine teeters on the edge of an impossible choice. However, slowly, Maxine begins to figure out that her two husbands were not what they seemed to be on the outside. They were much darker, even her lovely, caring husband might be worse. _____ A vampire is triggered by an open blood, but Maxine's blood was not a regular one. It had a high level of sweetness, one they could taste already with their sharp noses. Sullivan looked around, ensuring there was no further threat and then he looked at her with pardoning eyes, "Do not be..." "Stay away from me!" Maxine shouted. Her voice became low, scared that she would attract more bloodlust creatures. "Don't... don't even come nearer." However, in a blur of motion, Sullivan scooped Maxine into his arms who immediately hugged him, knowing what he was about to do. And suddenly, Sullivan whisked her away from the scene. They arrived in his chamber, and he gently set her down, his eyes now holding a mix of concern and apology. "It's dangerous to..." Seeing that her blood still dripped from the wound on her neck, Sullivan took a step closer, his fingers trembling as he wiped the blood away with a gentle touch before licking the blood off his thumb. _______