What makes paranormal romance so sexy? For author Rhyannon Byrd, it’s all in the bite. Read more from Rhyannon as she blogs about the first two novels in her new Primal Instinct series, Edge of Hunger and Edge of Danger…
by Rhyannon Byrd, author of Edge of Craving, Edge of Hunger, and Edge of Danger
She cried out, stiffening beneath him, but he couldn’t stop. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathed a damp patch of lust against her throat, and greedily sank his teeth into her. Molly screamed, jerking beneath him, and he bit deeper, the ecstasy and bliss instantaneous, hot and thick and sinful.
The warm, rich spill of her blood filled his mouth in a smooth rush, flowing down his throat, and he swallowed hungrily, growling as he pulled against the wound in her neck, dizzy with pleasure at the lusty taste of her. More. He needed more. Working his jaws, he pulled tighter against her, feeding from the small punctures, every inch of his body aware of her…
(EDGE OF HUNGER, April ’09)
The bite… The sensual act of strong fangs sinking into soft, succulent flesh. The primal, erotic intimacy of feeding from another’s blood. Without a doubt, this is one of the most compelling aspects of many paranormal romances, and one of my favorite scenes to write when I’m working on a story. But what makes it such a fascination for us? Is it the fantasy-the idea that instead of pain, it can bring shocking, breathtaking pleasure? Or is it the sheer intimacy of the act itself? A combination of both? Whatever the answer, the fact remains that we lovers of paranormal romance can’t get enough of THE BITE. A little odd, maybe, when you think about the fact that in the real world, having our throats chomped on would probably bring a few choice words to our lips, or even have us screaming bloody murder. And yet, in these dark, sensual worlds of paranormal romance, we can take the primal act of being bitten and make it something that becomes not only lushly erotic, but an emotional bonding that transcends all others. We can manipulate reality, and turn it from an act of horror, into something that we crave. What’s more, we have the freedom to create the “rules” which our characters not only live by…but the ones they bite by as well.
In my new Primal Instinct series with HQN, I loved creating the lore that surrounds the sensual act of feeding for the Buchanan siblings as they find themselves becoming something that is so much more than human. And it isn’t only the dark, sexy heroes in the series who get to sink their teeth in for a little fun. I had a blast working with Saige Buchanan, the heroine in Book 2, EDGE OF DANGER, who finds that feeding from Michael Quinn, the mouthwatering shape-shifter who’s been sent to protect her, is just about the tastiest thing that could ever happen to a girl.
Lifting her gaze, she was ready to beg…to plead, when the heat in her gums turned to a molten flame, and with her next breath, the Merrick’s fangs suddenly burst into her mouth, heavy and sharp. Driven by a feral, instinctual need to taste him, she lifted her head and scraped their pointed tips over the strong column of his throat, breaking the skin. The hot, intoxicating taste of his blood slid over her tongue, smooth and delicious, and with her lips against his warm skin, she whispered, “Quinn?”
“Your Merrick,” he gasped, his voice nothing more than a hoarse, ragged scrape of sound as he shuddered above her. “It needs to feed.”
(EDGE OF DANGER, May ’09)
If you have a chance to pick up the Primal Instinct series, I hope you’ll come to love this dark, seductive world of passion and danger as much as I do…and that you’ll get a kick out of just what the Buchanans can do with those pearly whites of theirs. I’m already hard at work on the second trilogy in the series, and I’m thrilled to say that these shape-shifting heroes are nibblers, too. As Aiden Shrader, the hero in book 4, TOUCH OF SEDUCTION, will tell you, there’s nothing quite like getting nipped by a tiger. 
Happy reading!
Rhy
