DARK DREAM by Christine Feehan - After millennia of hunting evil, Falcon prepares to go home to die before darkness overtakes his soul and he becomes what he hates most -- a vampire. Almost on the eve of his departure he meets Sara, who changes his life, cleanses his soul and makes him whole again -- his lifemate. Sara has spent years running from a powerful vampire who will claim her as his own if he is able. Falcon will battle hell itself for the woman who's his salvation as much as he is hers.

Hot, hot, hot. This Carpathian male beguiles and seduces us with his tortured soul, strong arms and warm heart. Feehan is on point with this novella (originally published in the AFTER TWILIGHT anthology), a part of her popular Dark series.

A DREAM STONE & SHADOW by Marjorie M. Liu -- As a pre- cog working for Dirk & Steele, Aggie Durand often finds herself in the line of fire. She expects it. Lives for it. Will die for it if she has to, and eventually she knows she'll have to. After a particularly rough case, Aggie is ordered off the streets and on vacation by her boss. But before she can take a much-needed rest, she gets a distress call from what she first believes is a ghost. What she finds is something very different from anything she's ever dealt with before. Something from legend. A myth come to life. Charlie has been held captive by "the witch" for so long, he can't remember what freedom feels like. His only release is through frequent death when the witch releases his soul to wander. It's during one of these escapes that Charlie finds Aggie and enlists her to save a kidnapped child. The two make an unlikely team and an even more unlikely couple. Not only do they not live on the same continent, they don't even occupy the same astral plain. And then there's the death-dealing witch. The one who carries a big knife and is not a fan of true love...or easy death.

Liu is never afraid to introduce something new into her Dirk & Steele universe. An interesting and engaging author, it's no mystery why this series is a big hit with readers.