[ this is some kind of paranormal romance novel titled "Midnight Seduction." On the cover, a gothically-dressed Sekhmet grips the shoulders of Serenity, who looks resolute in her policewoman's garb. ]

“I’ll have to think about it,” said Serenity, looking down at her hands. She knew this was the time a heroine would be bold and seize the opportunity—after all, she’d been looking for a change, but this? This was a lot. “But I trust you, Sekhmet.”

“You trust me?” Sekhmet looked taken aback for a moment, and then stood, her rich blue skirts swirling around her ankles as she crossed the room. A wide, toothy smile spread across her face, and she dipped her head to lean down, cupping Serenity’s face in her hands. “A lovely creature such as you… improbable. I would have thought impossible… and yet. You are truly a treasure among mortals.”

Serenity couldn’t help but tilt her chin up to see Sekhmet more clearly—almost hypnotized by the bright blue of her eyes, like jewels in the dark. “Of course I trust you,” she said, her eyes half-lidded. “You’re offering me the world.”

“Of course. But it will come at a cost to you. My beautiful morsel, you must trust me in every way… let me know you intimately. I have many hungers, and I want your blood, your sex, and your devotion…”

And in that moment, Serenity, enraptured, couldn’t form any words but yes.

***

Serenity would be the first one to tell you that police work involves a lot of paper-pushing—but that suits her just fine. Maybe the rest of the office overlooks her for being slightly mousy-looking in her work hours and being mostly known for her paperwork efficiency. No one knows she was her academy graduating class’s restraint hold speed champion—and probably they never will, since she’s also just good at talking people down. Still, a part of her wishes that something a little exciting would happen…

She gets her wish in the unlikeliest of ways when she attempts to break up what looks like a mugging in progress and turns out to be a vampire attack. Suddenly out of her depth, she’s saved by another petite stranger—a woman with crimson hair and bright blue eyes that offset her tan skin, striking like she’s never seen before in the twilight. The mysterious woman says her name is Sekhmet, and spirits her away to her hideaway—as she is a vampire, too, and now that Serenity has discovered their hidden world, there will be some who insist that she must be inducted into it or die.

Sekhmet, whose own induction into the world of vampires was a brutal one, offers to make her one of them and to teach her all she needs to know as a gentle mistress—who would share with her all of herself, body, mind and soul—or to help her flee, if she desires. But before Serenity can make her decision, a sudden crime in the midst of the vampire court changes everything… and only Serenity can help set things right.