There are may kinds of embraces -- tender ones, passionate ones, even deadly ones. Amanda Ashley writes of all three in

her paranormal romances, in which

vampires, cursed creatures of darkness, seek the warmth of human love. Analisa is young, lovely, innocent...and very alive. The day before she lay at death's door. Now, after an evening visit from a mysterious stranger, she is fully recovered -- and in possession of an invitation from the reclusive Lord Alesandro de Avallone to take up residence at Blackbriar Hall. Alone and penniless, with nowhere else to go, she accepts, little knowing that while her mysterious

benefactor saved her life, the cost may yet prove to be

terribly high. Midnight Embrace is the story of an

ancient vampire, lost in loneliness, and the woman whose freely given love could be a light in the cold shadows

of his existence.

He Will Not Lose Her Again

When artist Tracy Warner purchases the rambling seaside house built above Dominic St. John's hidden lair, he recognizes in her spirit the woman he has loved countless times over the centuries. Drawing her into the fascinating, seductive world of the vampire, he aches to believe that this time she will not refuse his Dark Gift. But when Dominic's ancient rival appears in Sea Cliff, hungry for territory and power, Tracy becomes a pawn in a deadly game. To save her—and the passion that burns between them—Dominic must offer...A Whisper of Eternity.

Descended from ancient shapeshifters, Hardane could take on wolf form to stalk the darkness. But as a man he had long, sinfully black hair and a body to entice any woman.

He appeared to Kylene in her dreams, then rescued her from certain death at the executioner’s hand. He was promised to another, his marriage destined to end the brutal warfare between their two peoples. But no matter what the danger, no matter who tried to stop them, he would spirit her into the night and tempt her with a love like no other…

Everlasting Desire (Everlasting #2)

Desire Burns Forever

The clientele at Shore's clothing store includes some of L.A.'s sexiest bachelors. But none of them affects Megan DeLacey as deeply as the dark-eyed stranger who strides into her boutique one evening - and keeps returning, night after night. Megan is drawn to Rhys Costain even as she fears him. Because his reason for being there is clear - he wants Megan, with an intensity that's both tempting and terrifying.

For almost five centuries, Rhys has lived alone, using women as it pleased him and never wanting more. As Master of the West Coast vampires, it's his duty to eliminate the ancient vampire who's draining humans on his turf, putting all of their kind at risk. But Megan's lush beauty and vibrant warmth is blinding him to a danger that will soon engulf them both - and tear him from the only woman who can satisfy his darkest hunger.

Relieved from deadly toil in the mines, a slave is brought to his master's household to work and there encounters a new form of torture in a seductive young woman who he is forbidden to have. Original.

In Sunlight, handsome alien Micah is trapped on Earth after he crash lands and falls in love with beautiful woman, while in Moonlight, the vampire Navarre seeks for a woman brave enough to enter his world.

A creature doomed to wander the earth in eternal darkness, he searches the ages for someone to share the endless night of his existence, for that one woman who will recognize the man within the monster. An angel of purity and sunlight, she fears the mysterious stranger whose eyes promise endless ecstasy even as he whispers dark secrets she dares not believe. They are two people longing for fulfillment, braving the danger of a love like no other. Alone, they face desolation and despair; together, they will share undying passion, defy eternity, and embrace the night.

Townsfolk of Moulton Bay said there was something otherworldly about Alexander Claybourne. Some people whispered that with his dark, arresting features and mesmerising eyes, the seductive stranger looked every inch a vampire. They never guessed how near the truth they were-or that after more than two hundred years of resisting temptation, Claybourne had found a woman he had to possess.

Never one to be scared off by superstitious lore, Kara Crawford laughed at the local talk of creatures lurking in the dark. What harm could come of befriending the handsome stranger with the haunted look in his midnight eyes? No matter what shadowy secrets Alexander hid, Kara felt drawn to him, compelled to join him beneath the silver light of the moon, where they would share a love...

In four hundred years, Rayven has never met a woman like Rhianna McLeod. She is a vision of light, of warmth, of everything he is not—nor can ever be. Doomed to live forever in darkness and solitude, he knows all too well the risk of getting close to her, yet he hungers for her with a fierce passion he's sworn he'll never allow himself to feel.

Rhianna's father sells her to Rayven to put food on the table—so she has no choice but to go with the dark stranger. To her surprise, he gives her everything she wants—the finest clothes, education, and the run of the castle—everything, that is, except his touch. For although she senses danger beneath his soft-spoken manner, although even Rayven himself warns her away, she is drawn to this creature of the night, and loves him as she can no other.

Shades of Gray (Vampire Trilogy #1)

Bound by chains, the vampire had slept for 100 years, locked in pain and hunger, until the scent of one woman's blood recalled him to life. Lost in darkness, Grigori finds new sustenance in the light of Marisa's love, and new purpose in his life. Only he can protect her from the evil that stalks the night. Grigori vows to show Marisa that not all the undead are monsters, and that somewhere between the black and white of damnation and desire lay infinite shades of gray.