Executive Decision

Excerpt from Executive Decision by Mandy M Roth

I bent over to catch my breath for a minute. I pulled my skintight, boy cut running shorts down a bit and adjusted my sports bra. Glancing down, I just stared at the ground for a minute. It was odd to see green grass. I was so used to sidewalks that I couldn’t help but reach out and touch it. I’d gotten in late last night and still couldn’t believe I was really home.

“Liz, are you petting the grass?”

People seemed to be asking me petting questions a lot lately.

“No, I’m not, Cindy. I just don’t get to see a lot of it unless I’m in Central Park. It’s not everywhere like it is here in Ohio.” I stood slowly and gave her an evil fake stare.

She put her hands in the air and laughed. “As scary as ever I see.”

Adjusting my baseball cap, I winked at her and moved my legs around a bit. “Do you want to go the rest of the way with me or is this just like old times?”

Cindy smoothed a piece of sweat soaked dark red hair back from her pale face and rolled her blue eyes before putting her cap back on. “I have no desire to kill myself, especially since we’re going out tonight to meet up with everyone. You’re going to be dead tired if you go anymore. We’ve been running for almost an hour as it is.”

I coughed slightly and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Where the hell is Sara? Didn’t she say she’d meet us?”

“She’s still chronically late. If you would have given us a heads up that you wanted to do this, I’d have made sure she was ready to go. You flew in, hugged everyone at home and tossed a pair of running shoes on. I’d say that spells issues that you don’t want to deal with. Like the Dale guy you were telling me about. But what do I know? I’ve only been your friend since we were four.”

Reaching down, I grabbed a handful of grass and tossed it at her. She immediately went for the nearest maple tree and started jumping in the air to get leaves from a low branch. At five foot three, she wasn’t getting them anytime soon.

I walked over and pulled the branch down closer to her. “Here.”

“Show off!”

“It’s not my fault you’re vertically challenged.”

Cindy tore several deep green leaves from the tree and tried to fling them at me. They blew away in the slight breeze. “Damn. I may be short but at least I’m not relationship challenged.”

“We can’t all be perfect.” I nodded towards Main Street and smiled. “Come on, I’ll jog you home.”

“Aren’t you sweet?”

We set out for the road. It was a doublewide street that had maple trees lining both sides of it. The entire town looked as though it was caught in a bizarre time warp. It was still safe to leave your doors unlocked at night and everyone knew everyone.

Cindy pointed towards town square, a large square the size of a city block that had a gazebo, several circular white picnic tables and a large fountain. Since the town celebrated anything and everything, the place was used a lot. It also held a lot of good memories for me.

A big red Ford-150 drove past blaring classic rock. The occupant rolled his window down and began to whistle. “Who is the hot set of legs with you, Caros?”

Cindy shook her head. “Zachary never quits. Though, I’m guessing he doesn’t recognize you. He hasn’t seen you since you were sixteen. He joined the service then.”

I almost fell when I realized the sexy, onyx haired stud in the truck was her brother. “What happened to him?”

Cindy laughed and grabbed my arm. “Don’t fall over. Zach just grew up, that’s all.”

“A picture would have been nice.”

Preferably a naked one. He was exactly Megan’s type of guy. She’d have loved me forever.

“Spill it, Red. Legs like that aren’t from around here!” Zach called out.

“If I tell him who I am, is he going to do it?” I cringed, thinking about Zach’s routine.

“Has he ever not?”

“Ugg.”

Cindy laughed so hard that she had to stop running altogether. Zach put his truck in reverse and began to go with us. Zach, Cindy’s older brother was well known for his outrageous antics. Driving backwards down the middle of Main Street didn’t even register on his radar of wrong.

“Hey baby,” he said with a wink. His hair was longer now than it had once been and his face had filled out. Apparently so had the rest of him. He was all muscle and all male. Cindy had told me that Zach was now the town’s Sheriff, but I still had trouble believing that.

“Damn,” he said.

Cindy started to jog again. “It’s sick that the man charged with keeping us safe is hitting on women while driving in reverse.”

Glancing ahead, I noticed a black convertible coming towards us. Fairfield didn’t see many of those so it caught my eye. It kept coming and Zach kept driving in reverse.

“Car,” Cindy shouted, sounding as if we were all ten and playing street hockey again.

“Who’s got a black mustang around here?” Zach called out.

“Apparently, that man,” I yelled back.

“Ooo, sexy and sassy. If I say stacked, will that put me up for harassment charges?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. The mustang swerved into the left lane and never missed a beat. It came to a screeching halt next to us and this time I did stumble and stop when I saw the driver.

Dale turned his head towards us. I couldn’t see his eyes under his dark black Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses. The black cotton, long sleeve shirt he had on was unbuttoned to mid-chest as usual and cuffed to just below his elbow. I pushed my sunglasses up and waited for him to say something.

“Excuse me, but would either of you happen to know where I can find the Rogers’ farm?”

“Why?” Cindy asked.

I bit my lip and waited for him to address me.

“I’m trying to find my girlfriend, Elizabeth Rogers.”

His girlfriend?

I coughed so hard that Cindy had to pat me on the back a few times.

“Is she okay?” Dale asked.

“Hell boy, she’s more than okay. Get a look at those legs,” Zach called out.

Dale looked to his right and nodded at Zach. “I’ll agree with that.”

Cindy put her ear to my ear and whispered softly, “Care to tell me what’s going on? Is he your boyfriend or what?”

“Hey, the Rogers’ place is back the other way. You can follow me there if you want. I need to drop some things off to Mrs. Rogers but you aren’t going to find Elizabeth there. She lives in New York now,” Zach said.

“Thanks.” Dale looked over at us and smiled. “You ladies have a nice day.”

“Goddamn, Cindy, who is your friend. I need a name to go with the legs when I think about her later tonight.”

Dale froze and turned back to us. “Are you Cindy Caros?”

Cindy snickered and nodded. Dale pulled his sunglasses down his nose a bit and stared at me with wide green eyes. I smiled from under the rim of my hat.

“Told you I ran.”

“You can run that fine ass past me anytime you want,” Zach said, hanging out his truck window. “And if you should happen to want me to run anything past it, I can oblige.”

Dale jaw tightened. He took a deep breath in and my guess was he’d blow in about a minute. Deciding to head off an ugly situation, I took matters into my own hands.

“Hey, Zach.” I stood straight up, handed my sunglasses to Cindy and smiled at him.

“She knows my name?” he asked, sounding shocked.

I put my middle finger up and smiled. “She also knows that you’re scared of snakes, used to wet your bed until you were six and that you had a crush on Jenny Tuck when you were twelve. I also know who the first girl you ever kissed is.”

Zach’s brows drew in. “Who … ? How do you know who my…?” His eyes widened.

“’Cause I was the first girl you kissed,” I said smiling even wider.

Cindy elbowed me. “He’s gonna do it.”

“He’s going to do what?” Dale asked, his voice deep and his face hard.

“I’ll be damned!” Zach tossed his truck door open and hopped out. He had really filled out in all the right places.

“When in the hell did he become buff?” I asked, leaning towards Cindy.

Zach smiled wide and Cindy pushed me. “Probably the same time you got breasts. I’d run if I was you.”

I looked down at Dale. “I’ll be right back.” Turning, I took off running in the other direction.

“You know the rules!” Zach shouted.

Glancing back, I saw him running after me. I faced forward and hopped over Mrs. Springer’s flowerbed as I ran for the Church. Zachary headed me off and shook his head.

“I can’t believe I hit on you.”

I grinned. “What did you say about my ass?”

He lunged for me and I ran back towards Dale and Cindy. Dale was now out of the convertible, looking like he wanted to kick someone’s ass. I ran past him. “It’s okay! I promise.”

“They do this all the time,” Cindy said.

I looked back and found Zach on my heels. I stopped and crouched low. “It’s not happening, Zach. My shoes are expensive and this is a designer top.”

“It’s a bra that’s barely holding those suckers in. And as for the shoes, I suggest you take them off.” He winked at me. “You still got it or will I hurt you?”

“She’s still got it!” Cindy called out.

I was just thrilled that she had confidence in me.

“It’s been a long time, Zach.”

He smiled wide, looking like a rugged angel. “I’ll go easy on you. Aiming for head first.”

I nodded and took a deep breath in. “Ready.”

Zach lunged at me and threw his arm out. I ducked to the side fast. If he’d have wanted to hit me, he would have. He did it again and I ducked out of his reach.

“What in the hell…?” I saw Dale running at us out of the corner of my eye and I saw Cindy trying to stop him.

I grinned at Zach and spun in a circle, tossing my leg in the air as I went. He ducked back fast as my foot whizzed past his chin. He stared at me with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I think I’m taller now.”

Zach stared down at my legs and got a weird look on his face. “I’d say so.”

Dale put himself in front of me and faced Zach. “What in hell do you think you’re doing?”

Tapping his shoulder gently, I waited for him to tip back towards me before I kissed his cheek lightly. “It’s okay. Zach won’t hurt me.”

“He just took two swings at your head.”

“I know.” I looked at Zach and shook my head. “Are you that old that you can only get two swings out?”

He made a move for me and I ducked behind Dale and peeked out the other side. I smiled wide and batted my eyes innocently. “Was it something I said?”

“Liz?” Dale put his arm over me protectively.

Zach nodded and flashed him a smile before staring down at me. “I seem to remember this scrawny lil’ thing with dark brown hair that hung to her nothing of a butt begging me to teach her to defend herself. I then spent six years teaching her every day only to find her grown and hiding under a man’s arm now.”

I wiggled closer to Dale and wagged my eyebrows. “In my own defense, you were scrawny too and now you’re as big as he is.” I nudged Dale. “And I’d never try it with him. He’d break my neck. Don’t let the thousand-dollar outfit fool you. I’ve seen him pissed.”

“’Bout done makin’ up excuses?” Zach asked, tipping his head slightly.

“I think so. But I’d like to take this moment to point out,” I stood and put my chin on Dale’s shoulder, “that before you knew it was me, you thought I was hot. Would you ever really do what you’re planning on doing to a hot chick?”

Zack beamed and tossed his cap on the ground. He pulled his dark green polo over his head, exposing his chiseled dark brown chest as he went. Sliding his belt off, he worked on his boots while he stared at me.

“What the fuck is going on?” Dale asked.

Quickly, I slipped my shoes off and gave them to Dale. “Hold these for me.” Pulling my hat off, I handed it to him as well. “This too.”

Dale seized hold of me and pulled me around to face him. “Care to tell me why you and this man are stripping in the middle of the town, in broad daylight?”

Zach chuckled. “Want us to wait until it’s dark? I should warn you that we only did that once, okay maybe twice.”

The look on Dale’s face was anything but friendly. Before I could comment, I was yanked off my feet and tossed in the air. I grabbed for Zach’s back to hold onto something.

“In all the years I’ve been doing this to you, I’ve never dropped you once.” Zach smacked my butt hard and laughed. “Well, except that one time but that was because … err … you remember.”

Dale folded his arms over his chest and glared at me. I hit Zachary in the back and pinched him hard. “Stop making everything sound sexual! You’re pissing Dale off.” I glanced at Dale and smiled. “Honey, he’s just saying that to make you mad. He’s like that. It’s your own fault. You shouldn’t have said I was your … ahhhh!” I screamed out as Zach hopped into the ice cold base of the fountain with me. Instantly, I was submersed under two feet of freezing water.

Pushing off the cement bottom, I got to my knees. Zach stood, dripping water everywhere and offered me his hand. I took it and yanked as hard as I could. He tumbled under the water next to me.

I climbed out of the huge grey fountain and hopped up and down. “Ha! It took me almost thirty years but I dunked your ass!”

Zach stood tall and shook his head, laughing. “Somebody’s gotten stronger. What the hell have you been doing? You aren’t still beating on that heavy bag I got you, are you?”

I grinned. “Yep. My friend Seth hung it in the basement of our building and even hooked me up with all kinds of other neat, related gadgets.”

“How the hell do you hit a punching bag with those fingernails?” He arched a brow and stared down at my hands.

“Very, very carefully.”

Dale cleared his throat and I flashed Zach a look warning him not to be cute or funny. He smiled and put his hand out to Dale. “Zach Caros, long time friend to Liz. Sorry about giving you a scare. If it was the other way around, I’d have been pissed too. But Liz is right. I’d never hurt her.”

I turned and looked at Dale, afraid of what I’d see. He put his pleasant face on and walked up to us. I noticed that he stood extremely close to me as he reached his hand out to Zach. “Nice to meet you, Zach. I’m Dale Corbin, long time … uhh….”

Hearing him struggle over what to call himself, I decided to cut him some slack and help out. “Dale and I have been living together for eight years. He doesn’t exactly have a label. Beyond friend but other than that I’m lost.”

Zach let go of Dale’s hand and laughed. “You can wipe the jealous look off your face, Dale.”

My jaw dropped. I moved towards Zach to shut him up.

“Calm down, Liz. I was just going to tell him that if he’s managed to live under the same roof as you for eight years and still have you get that dreamy look on your face when you introduce him to someone, then he’s safe. You aren’t going anywhere. It’s pretty damn obvious you love him.”

That was rather unexpected. Apparently, Dale agreed with me because he laughed and slid his hand down my wet back. Running it over my butt, he stopped and inched his finger under the edge of my shorts. He adjusted them, moving them to cover my cheek completely. Guess they must have ridden up during the water thing.

“I’ve got to admit, Zach, when I saw the way you two ran around here and seemed to know exactly what the other was going to do, I thought there might be something between the two of you.” He glanced back at me with questioning eyes.

I tried not to laugh. But the very idea of sleeping with Zach didn’t make my stomach curl. It made it flip inside out. “Dale, remember how we discussed you not feeling like a brother regardless how close we are?” He nodded. “Yeah, well, Zach feels like a brother and he always has.”

“But you said he was your first kiss?”

“No, I said I was his first kiss. Cindy was my first kiss. We were like six and pecked each other on the lips fast and thought we’d just done the same things adults do.”

Cindy’s hysterical laughter reminded me she was still there. I motioned for her to join us. She looked Dale over rather obviously and put her thumbs up. Rolling my eyes, I just laughed.

Zach took his shirt from Cindy and put it back on. “I was too young to appreciate two women making out in front of me. If I only knew. And as for the rest of that. I was just trying to get Liz riled up.” He tucked his shirt in and kept his eyes on Dale. “See, when you pulled up and she didn’t cuss you up one side and down the other I figured she liked you. I couldn’t stop myself. But, you’ve got nothing to worry about. In fact, I’m most likely going to be unable to perform for some time because I’ll be mentally replaying everything I said to her while she was running with Cindy.”

“Wait until I tell Nathan you said I was stacked!”

“Fine, but you should know that I’ll arrest his ass if he beats the shit out me like he did that college kid who blew into town trying to get you, at age fourteen, to go out with him. I’m still not sure why Nathan bothered to kick his ass. You already had the guy lying flat on the ground holding his nose and groin when we found you.”

Dale looked down at me, smiling slightly and looking at me like he didn’t know me. “Why was he like that?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Cause he tried to put one hand up my skirt and the other up my blouse. Zach, Nathan and Scott had drilled into my head what boys and girls do.” I cast Zack a wry grin. “I did exactly what they told me to do when a boy touched me where he was trying to touch me. Turns out, you really aren’t supposed to grab that spot every man loves and twist until you can’t twist anymore. They tend not to like that.”

Dale and Zach made moves to cover their groins.

“He screamed so loud that he sounded like a woman. It scared me so I punched him. He shut up then. I never got a chance to thank you for completely re-writing the birds and the bees did I?”

Zach shrugged. “It was Nathan’s idea. He said we couldn’t watch you and Cindy all the time. It worked. No need to discuss safe sex when the guy you’re with doesn’t have working equipment.” His gaze flickered downward on Dale.

Dale flinched. “I … uhh … thankfully she outgrew that.” He put his face close to mine and locked eyes with me. “You did outgrow it, right?”

I let my mouth fall open a bit and cocked my jaw to the right. “That all depends. Are we done fighting all the time? It’s all we do anymore.”

Dale’s gaze darted towards Zach and then towards Cindy as if to remind me that other people were around. I folded my arms and pushed a hip out. I knew I looked like a bitch. I was aiming for that look.

“I want witnesses, Dale. Are you done throwing a fit every time something doesn’t go exactly the way you want it to?”

“Honey,” he said between tight lips. “Now’s not really the time.”

“When is a good time, Dale? We’ve established that nightclubs don’t work. My apartment doesn’t work. I’m sorry that Charles showed up. In twenty-four hours you have flipped my entire life upside down. One minute you’re my best friend. The next we’re lovers….”

Dale smiled, his face red and nodded at Zach.

I grabbed his chin and made him look at me. “Don’t you dare be embarrassed when I’m talking to you. I said lovers not ‘fucking my brains out on the bedroom floor because we couldn’t make it to the bed.’” I stopped a minute and looked at Cindy.

“We get the picture. Zach’s turning white so I’m thinking he really got the picture. Hopefully, he’ll face the other way before he throws up.”

Putting my focus back on Dale, I found him standing there with his mouth open. I pushed his jaw shut. “I can’t do this rollercoaster thing with you. Friends for eight years, more than that for one night and then slamming doors and taking keys back from each other. So, until you’re ready to make a choice, I’m not sure if I outgrew the knee jerk reaction to keep twisting.”

Zach coughed. “Now, that right there is why I never even thought of laying a hand on her. She’s scary.”

I glared at him and he backed away with his hands up. When I looked back at Dale he laughed softly.

“He’s right, you are scary. You did chase two interns away.”

Huffing, I went to walk away.

Dale grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. “Hey, before you went off on your tangent, did you stop and think that I’m standing here, before you, in Ohio. Clearly, I ran to you, Liz. Not from you.”

Great, he would point out something obvious and huge.

He moved his lips down towards mine and someone pulled me backwards.

“Hey.”

Zach ignored me. “Now, I’m trying to let the floor comment go but I’m not going to watch you kiss someone.”

“Then go,” I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Hurry up. I might use my tongue.”

Zach batted his arm as he turned and ran towards his truck. “We’re causing a traffic jam!”

Dale and I turned to see a line of cars on both sides of the road. Taking Dale’s hand in mine, I pulled him towards the car, laughing as I went.

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Somber Resplendence

Excerpt from Somber Resplendence by Mandy M. Roth

Aland Werner walked through the darkened halls of the hospital, wondering how it was he could have missed Sidney’s signal, missed she was so very close to him all these years. Literally within his precinct. He still marveled at how destiny had seemingly laid her out before him. Had Aland not been aiding Sirius, in concerns with his mate Phoebe, he’d have never known Sidney was his, and so very close. Had a renegade warrior from his own race not tipped his hand, revealing he’d been in contact with Sidney, he would have never seen his mate’s face frozen on a television screen on a dance studio in the Zodiac Zone. He’d have never known she’d been in danger.

Anger welled inside him once more. A slow, calculated grin slipped over his face as he thought of the painful way in which the renegade had met his death. Aland wanted to summon the man back from the afterlife and torture him for eternity for daring to terrify his mate. Already he chanced too much, tempting the fates by killing the man when he should have sent him forth to be tried in the king’s courts. Aland had to keep his nose clean and his power off the radar for a while, just until he was certain no one would notice the death of a renegade. As strict as their king was with traitors, he respected and abided by the rules of the realm, expecting those who served as his head guards and Gatekeepers to do the same.

Aland shook his head, trying to will the thoughts from it. He was too close to finally coming face-to-face with his mate to let anything, even fear of his king, interfere.

How many times had he and his partner driven past this very hospital? How many times had he responded to calls generating from the emergency room on the lowest level? Here she was, under his nose even though she’d seemed so far away. In truth, she’d seemed more like a figment of his imagination or even wishful thinking on his part.

When he was but a boy his father had talked of true mates, women destined for the men of their race from birth. He thought the stories to be just that—fairy tale. He was wrong. He could still see the happiness in his father’s eyes as he spoke to Aland of women from Earth who were said to be fated to wed warriors of their kind. It was as if the man knew something of Aland’s future that he did not. Like he knew one day Aland would find his slice of happiness among humans. Since the female population in his home realm of Constellaziogēn was low—only one female to every twenty men—he’d always assumed the stories were created to give young warriors hope of one day finding happiness. He never dreamed the fates had aligned and selected that one person to complete him. And his one person was here, locked away from other humans, treated as a second-rate citizen, her rights stripped away, all because she knew too much.

The hospital environment was sterile, smelling heavily of disinfectant and lacking anything noteworthy. No matter where he looked, all Aland found was shades of gray and white. Devoid of color and emotion. He wondered how anyone could survive staring at the same setting, day in and day out. It had to be mind-numbing.

Exactly the way it was intended to be.

The night security guard sat with his feet propped on the counter behind unbreakable glass, watching various screens. The man switched ankles, lifting one and crossing the other. His keys jingled on his side. It was the only noise to be heard.

Aland walked right past him, knowing he would not be seen unless he willed it. Humans were almost too easy to manipulate. They presented next to no challenge for him. Long ago he’d learned the only real threat to the Gates between his realm and the human one came from his own kind. He’d never heard of a human accidently stumbling through one or being able to open a portal at all. Though he had heard of them being dragged through by renegade warriors of his race.

He sighed. Where once portals being opened let off a certain energy signature, the enemy was becoming crafty. Already they’d found ways to shield their activities, hiding their movements between realms.

He let his power trickle out and over the hospital level in search of the woman who had captured his attention—the woman he knew to be his mate. She’d been locked away for years, believed to be insane when all along she was gifted beyond the humans’ limited comprehension. She had at least bits of his people’s powers. Somewhere in her family history there had to be a Constellaziogēn. Since his kind had been among humans for many centuries, the ancestor could be further back than even Sidney’s family could trace. All Aland was sure of was Sidney had been able to draw upon enough power to open a portal when she was just a child. That was saying something.

Aland sensed her there and, for the first time in centuries, a feeling of completion came over him. She was in the room at the end of the corridor. Her signature was unmistakable. It thrummed the air, beckoning him closer. He quickened his pace, the need to see her to freedom too great to dismiss.

As he approached her large metal door, he felt something brush past him, going toward the room. Raw and pure animal lust raced through his veins, seeming to center in his groin, wrenching a moan from him. His cock stood at attention, almost as ready as he to find what had caused such a reaction in him.

Aland stalled, glancing around, positive someone or something had touched him. He found nothing. He wasn’t human and his powers were greater than normal while on Earth. For something to make it past him, unseen, it had to be very powerful.

Powerful and able to make my dick hard.

As a Constellaziogēn, an immortal Gatekeeper sent forth hundreds of years ago to guard the portals on Earth, his mission was to protect against unmonitored passage between realms. A task easier said than done since their presence was a closely guarded secret for good reason—their powers, normal in their own realm, were the thing of fantasy on Earth, and there was a risk he and his kind would be revered as gods by humans, or pandemonium would result should the public learn of their presence.

So Aland hid among humans, assuming the same day-to-day lifestyle as they did. His position as a police detective afforded Aland the chance to enforce laws, as he was accustomed to doing, and to receive firsthand information in the event something was to go wrong with the portals, as had been the case recently.

When Aland had seen Sidney’s frozen image on that television screen, he’d known deep down who she was to him. At the time, forced to help Sirius protect Phoebe, Aland had struggled between aiding another or going to his mate, locked away from the world in an institution. He’d done what was required of him at the time, but it was time to seek Sidney out and protect her. With the band of renegades broken up, Aland felt secure she was safe from them, but still, risking losing her wasn’t an option. If nothing else, he needed to simply be near her, even for a little bit until he could devise a plan to get her released through the proper channels.

He continued down the hall, coming to a stop just outside of the door to her room. Putting his palm to the cool metal, Aland let additional power rise from deep within him, scanning the room. He found her there, lying in the bed. Desperate to finally see her, he utilized his power and walked directly through the door, materializing on the other side. The moment his gaze landed on the tall, slender frame in the bed, Aland froze.

Sidney had sacrificed herself to ensure her baby sister and cousin lived as normal lives as they could considering they were destined to mate with powerful Constellaziogēn warriors—a fact their father apparently was well aware of and had tried to stress upon the girls.

Long, silky black hair hung in waves over the edge of the bed. One pale white shoulder showed and he visually traced a line down the length of her body. She was thin. Thinner than she should be and that only served to infuriate Aland more. He should have sensed her need of him and not left her to rot slowly in a mental institution. He’d never bought into the idea of having a special someone and had been content with sating his baser needs with random woman when his cock required attention. It wasn’t until Sidney’s presence was made known to him that nature seemed to take its course—demanding he go to her.

She lay perfectly still as he took a step closer. He reached out tentatively, needing to make contact with her. Something struck Aland, knocking him back into the cinder brick wall with a thud. He blinked, shocked he’d not sensed anyone with him, and stared around the room. Other than the female he’d come for, he was completely alone. His cock once again stiffened at the feel of the energy around him.

He felt it then, something brushing past him once more. It headed straight for her and his insides tightened. “Sidney, wake up!”

She didn’t stir. Instead, whatever power had passed by him, struck her sleeping body and she jerked. Aland cried out and reached for her, knowing then there was no mistake—he’d sacrifice all for her.

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Radar Deception snippet

Excerpt from Radar Deception by Mandy M Roth (Immortal Ops 3)

Two and a half weeks later….

“Brava, this is Alpha Dog Two, do you have a lock on the target? I repeat—do you have a lock?” The sound of Roi Major’s voice filled Green’s earpiece as he swiveled around in his chair to check the secondary computer monitors. The liquid crystal display and drop-down ability certainly cleaned up much needed counter area in the surveillance van. The days of turning and accidentally putting his elbow through a monitor that was as big—if not bigger than—some televisions were long gone. Now, with his supernatural strength, he only put his elbow through the machines when not paying attention.

Much better.

The interior of the van was still cramped for a man of his size but he was used to it so he didn’t complain. The line feeding into the monitors was from the inner dwellings of the nearest known hotspot for the enemy. It was a lab specializing in genetic research and development. In the grander scale of things, the lab was a small one but it needed to be destroyed all the same.

Gisbert Krauss, the team’s main focus of the moment, had been funneling money throughout Europe and Asia for the last thirty years. His fascination with the idea of immortality and power put the scientist in the forefront of genetic research. Publications in the area of genetics claimed that Krauss was on the verge of some sort of genetic breakthrough. Intel gathered on him proved that he wasn’t just on the threshold of something big, he’d already succeeded and had been conducting research on humans for decades. He’d even been daring enough to have an underground paranormal website talking about DNA alterations and the making of super humans with the potential to be used as weapons for the highest paying governments. A paper trail connected Krauss with Pierre Molyneux, a master vampire who was legendary throughout the supernatural community as a man with means and a wicked bad side. With Molyneux’s connections, Krauss could transport just about anything between countries under the guise of it being art. In the case of Krauss, he was no doubt transporting human cargo and who knew what else.

Green knew after having been briefed by Colonel Brooks on Intel’s latest findings that Krauss had been behind assembling a large group of women in Asia from around the world, impregnating and experimenting on their children in utero. The mothers of the children disappeared once they were born. The more likely explanation was that the mothers were murdered. Apparently, the enemy had aborted their project, or rather hid their testing better because I-Ops got a little too close to discovering them.

The enemy spread the surviving children out to orphanages in various countries. Most were third-world, but from the data Green had read, some were dumped in the United States as well. The majority of their experiments on fetuses and newborns took place between twenty to thirty years ago. The Asia Project was massive. Green had initially assumed the children would not have survived, that they would have died when their bodies attempted a shift or that they’d have gone insane long ago. He’d been wrong. Records indicated that all of them had indeed made it to adulthood. He couldn’t fathom how they coped with having enhanced abilities and turning into an animal or a vampire without warning. It had to leave some sort of lasting damage.

The main issue at hand was that Krauss’ people were sacrificing innocent lives in the name of science and attempting to round up the children from the Asia Project. Green didn’t want to think about what would happen should Krauss get his hands on the people who had once been subjected to testing unwillingly. The very fact that these children managed to grow to be adults spoke volumes about their will to live. Krauss had to know that and he’d exploit it for all it was worth. If that wasn’t enough, information was trickling in that Krauss may have aligned with a powerful Fae.

Shuddering at the thought, Green rubbed his temple. Almost instantly, images of Melanie, a Fae and sister to Eadan, the newest member of the I-Ops team, flooded his mind. She was still clueless as to whom they were and their relationship to one another—thinking her friends were merely girlfriends to I-Ops members when in reality they were now lifemates, spouses.

His cock hardened and his pulse raced. Melanie had worked her way under his defenses and left her imprint. Already he’d spent many a night stroking himself to peak, guided by thoughts of her. Her blue eyes. Her long, white-blonde hair. Her seemingly endless legs. Her scent—distinctly feminine and familiar to him. He needed to touch her and soon or risk going insane. Or developing carpal tunnel from excessive masturbation.

“Bravo Dog One, do we have a go?” Roi asked, drawing Green from his thoughts of Melanie.

Green punched in the sequence of numbers needed to access the facility’s computer system and waited for confirmation that he was indeed in. It had been a bit trickier than he’d assumed it would be to hack into Krauss’ facility but he was confident of his skills.

When a map of the building’s blueprints popped up and an analysis of the security system displayed, he smiled. “Alpha Dog Two, you have a ‘go’ to enter. Once in, you will find two, I repeat, two, tangos. There is a four-second window until my hacks will open the main gate from there. If you attempt to force it, you will set off secondary alarms. Do you read?”

“Copy that. Get antsy and bad things will happen,” Roi said, being his normal sardonic self. He was also famous for simplifying things. As usual, he held true to expectations. “We’ll kill ‘em quietly and then wait for the ‘magik doors’ to open. Do we have to say ‘open sesame’ or do you think your mega brain got the calculations right?”

Captain Lukian Vlakhusha sighed into his headset, clearly annoyed with Roi. It was normal, so no one commented. Besides, they were like brothers. If Roi got too obnoxious, Lukian would just slap him. Arching a brow, Green hoped Lukian might actually haul off and hit Roi. Then again, it could damage the equipment Roi had on. Green had always been partial to technology, though Roi wasn’t too bad either.

Decisions. Decisions.

Green watched the other monitors—there were six in all. Each displayed images of the team members. The cameras were mounted to their headgear. Each soldier was equipped with a small flip visor that when in place, covered one of their eyes. If on, the person could see what a selected team member was viewing. While disengaged, they merely looked through a slightly tinted eye-piece. Green, on the other hand, was able to view what each one of them was currently seeing. It was a little like being a god, at least according to Roi.

Lukian, his captain, was with Roi waiting to enter through the west entrance. Wilson and Eadan were near the south end of the facility, awaiting orders to move in and assist if need be. Jon, the team sniper, was stationed on the north tower, having already taken out the two guards with the hope for more kills. His location was perfect to provide cover should things go awry. The other two monitors provided visuals from Peren, Lukian’s wife and lifemate, and Missy, Roi’s wife and lifemate.

The women were in a secure location three miles up the road in another van, watching the feed from Green’s van. Missy had only just found out she was expecting a child and no one wanted her to go in with the men, regardless of how qualified she was. Missy was a level-one agent with Paranormal Security and Intelligence (PSI). PSI was basically the CIA of the supernatural community. Since humans weren’t permitted to have the knowledge that supernaturals existed, the government denied any and all knowledge of PSI’s existence. Since Missy had also been experimented on in the Asia Project, she had a personal stake in the matter at hand.

Green hated Krauss for playing God but even he had to admire the man’s genius. Krauss had managed to introduce small quantities of supernatural DNA into the bloodstream of an adult human without killing them. That was all but unheard of. Somehow, Green and the men he’d originally worked for had gotten lucky enough to do something similar during the Immortal Ops inception. Each man, with the exception of Green and Lukian, had been injected with DNA to alter their own. They survived. No others had. The good guys stopped trying to play God after that. The bad guys took it as a cue to what was possible and as a sign to proceed.

Krauss’ strands of DNA and his testing increased a person’s physical strength but did not permit them to be able to shift forms or be immortal. That did set his experiments and those subjected to them apart from the I-Ops, who could indeed fully shift and were technically immortal.

Krauss had found a way to enhance those who were already supernatural. This eluded I-Ops. Basically, Krauss had managed to introduce other aspects of supernaturals into a pre-existing one. Meaning, he could, theoretically, give a vampire similar traits as a werewolf. All and all, Krauss could and would be powerful enough to take down even the I-Ops at the rate he was going. He was a new kind of evil. One who would stop at nothing to rule the world.

Green twisted in his seat once more, keying in the coordinates to the satellite above. It took a second but it synced up and began systematically zooming in as per his instructions, generating 3-D images of the area as it went. The images showed the facility, his van, the second van containing Peren and Missy, and the surrounding area. The moment he spotted vehicles that weren’t supposed to be there, he let out a long breath.

Of course. Nothing can be easy.

Glancing at the screen for Jon, Green estimated their “guests” arrival time. “Bravo Tiger Two, we’ve got a convoy of vehicles moving in from the north. ETA, two minutes.”

“Copy that,” Jon said, no doubt positioning himself to watch through his scope as the convoy approached. “I have a visual.”

That didn’t surprise Green. Jon was part were-tiger and had amazing eyesight to begin with. Add in the use of a scope and it was damn hard to fall out of his line of sight, making Green very happy they were on the same side considering how accurate Jon was within 4000 meters. Anything above that and Jon had to fight the limits of technology. He didn’t have to fight his eyesight.

Green noted that Roi and Lukian had taken out the enemies within the entrance to the facility just in time for his hacks to begin to take effect. The gate opened a second after the Trojan horse Green had loaded into the system a few days prior began to work its magic, taking down the alarms in alternate locations to avoid raising suspicions.

“How are our boys doing?” Peren asked, over her intercom link to Green.

It was easy to pick up how nervous she was and Green was thankful he’d thought to keep the girls off the team’s main line of communication. He didn’t need Lukian or Roi getting distracted by their mates’ concerns. The women could hear the men just fine but until Green flipped another switch, only he could hear the women.

“Alpha Team, proceed to level two,” he said, watching the facility’s sensors for signs of life forms but finding none in the stairwell. “On your left will be the cryogenics room. On the right you’ll find a mini-lab. From there, you’ll see an operating room and according to PSI Intel, a room used to cage animals and humans. I’m not detecting any life forms at present. Proceed with caution.”

“Alpha Team is a go,” Lukian said.

Green watched silently as Lukian entered the room and planted charges. They would not allow any frozen embryos or other DNA material collected by Krauss’ people to survive. As much as they all needed to fully understand DNA splicing and manipulation better, it wasn’t worth the risk of it falling into enemy hands once more. Besides, I-Ops and PSI would never enter back into experiments that could cost lives. They’d learned their lesson long ago and had no intentions of allowing history to repeat itself.

Spinning in his chair, Green spotted another problem. “Shit!”

“Aww, I hate it when he says that,” Wilson, resident smart ass and were-rat extraordinaire, said wryly.

Green ignored him, focusing instead on the three red dots moving down the corridor closest to Wilson and Eadan. “Bravo Rat Three, prepare to engage hostiles in three … two … one.” The door nearest them opened and Green watched with bated breath as Wilson snapped one man’s neck while Eadan, a full-blooded Fae, used his power to silently kill the other two.

Wilson stared at Eadan, his face filling the viewing screen before Green. “Ya think you could give us a bit more warning next time, Mr. Science Geek?”

Green rolled his eyes. “Cut the chatter, Rat.”

Wilson flipped Green off. Green returned the favor even though he knew Wilson couldn’t see it. He smiled. “You’re lucky Eadan is with you or I’d have let you figure out on your own that the enemy was coming.”

Eadan chuckled. “I appreciate that, Green. More than you know.”

Wilson mumbled something about the fucking faerie getting more respect than him and then shut up. Green couldn’t help but laugh. Double checking the satellite feed, he grunted. “Bravo Tiger Two, report.”

“Tell me when they’re done,” Jon said quietly, always a sign he was concentrating on the target. His normally slight southern drawl always seemed to intensify when he stopped thinking about it. He also had a habit of asking his “momma” to forgive him every time he took a man out by way of sniper rifle. Green wasn’t even sure Jon realized he did it, but all in all, it seemed to keep Jon real. The threat of losing touch with humanity was a danger for the I-Ops, one they hoped they’d never succumb to.

“Charges are in place,” Lukian reported. “We need to move, now!”

Green nodded. “Alpha and Bravo Teams, pull out. I repeat, pull out. Charges are set.”

A round of acknowledgements followed as Green kept his eyes on the monitors. He mentally began calculating the amount of time it would take each operative to make it back to the van and then how far they needed to be from the facility to assure a clear, safe distance before detonating the charges.

Lukian and Roi were the first ones to make it back to the van. Roi took the driver’s seat and Lukian rode shotgun. Green thrust the back door open just in time for Jon to hop in. Glancing back at the monitors, Green spotted six red dots moving in on Wilson and Eadan’s location.

“Bravo Rat Three, you’ve got company. Consider my warning an early Christmas present. Roi was planning on buying you cheese. See, my gift is better.”

Wilson snorted and mumbled under his breath, “Asshole.”

“How many?” Eadan asked as he ran next to Wilson. The view, projected out from tiny cameras attached near the bands wrapped around the back of their heads, shook. It was nauseating but Green had grown accustomed to it over the years. Jon looked away, clearly not as conditioned to watching the image shake.

“If you’re planning on being sick, do me the courtesy of doing it outside of the van,” Green said, smiling as Jon’s face paled.

Jon nodded and then hopped out of the van. Green did his best to ignore the retching sound and concentrated on Wilson and Eadan’s progress. Finding it halted, he shot a glance at Lukian. “Captain, they’re pinned in.”

“Jon!” Lukian yelled. “Get your ass in here. Roi, get us to that side of the building, now!”

“Yes, sir.”

The van lurched forward, causing Green to fall against the control panel. He had a half a second to wonder what he might have turned on or off accidentally before he reacted. Green grabbed Jon just in time to pull him in before he’d have been left behind, and then exhaled loudly. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jon said, his voice a bit off kilter. He patted himself once for good measure obviously not as confident in his answer as he’d have liked all to believe.

“Green, is everyone alive?” Missy asked, reminding him she was up the road waiting. “Are they okay? God, please tell me that Roi didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Hey! I heard that. And I’ll have you know, dear wife, I never do anything stupid while on a mission.” Roi chuckled as he took the van off road and through a six-foot metal fence. “Hot damn!”

It was then Green realized he must have opened the lines of communication to the women when he fell onto the control panel. Now wasn’t the time to worry about it though. The van lifted off the ground again and slammed down, rocking its occupants violently. Equipment that was technically secure scattered about. Their weapons slid away only to be replaced by others.

Lukian smacked Roi upside the back of the head and growled. “Brother, you’re going to get us killed!”

“Technically,” Green said, leaning forward. “We’re immortal, so unless you end up decapitated or something pierces your heart, you should live. Granted, there is always the chance I’m wrong.”

Lukian arched a black brow and stared back at him. It was the one bearing a tiny scar he’d gotten when he was just a boy. Somehow, it had always made him seem more real to Green. “Not helping here, Green. Really.”

“Sorry, Captain.”

“Don’t apologize. Just don’t remind me how losing my head is a bad thing. At least not when I’m about to stick my neck on the line—literally.” Laughing, Lukian leaned out of the window, his M4 Carbine in hand as he laid down cover fire. Wilson and Eadan were still pinned in. They wouldn’t make it out in time with the convoy of men dispersing on the other side of the facility. Green grabbed a M203 Grenade Launcher from the weapons chest to his left, thankful it wasn’t bouncing around the van as well, and handed it to Jon. “Open the back door and fire at the second level, fourth window in from the right.” He glanced at Roi. “Roi, spin in a circle, now!”

“Yeehaw!” Roi yelled, taking his daredevil ways to a new level as he came close to overturning the van. It tipped, lifted off the wheels on one side before slamming back down and bouncing.

“Goddamnit, Major!” Jon snarled, still looking a bit pale.

“Roi, if you get yourself killed, I am never having sex with you again,” Missy bit out over the headsets.

It was illogical but effective. Roi immediately began to behave himself. “Sorry, doll baby.”

Jon thrust the back door open and aimed the weapon higher than need be to aid in the trajectory.

“Eadan, throw power around Wilson and yourself, now,” Green said, calmly into his microphone, knowing the Fae could handle the request. “And I suggest you run now. Trust me when I say a bullet is better than a building falling on you.”

“Tell him the head and heart story,” Roi said, laughing under his breath. “That should make him feel much better about his odds.”

A semi-growl like noise came from Missy.

“Shutting up now, dear,” Roi whispered.

“Oh, shit!” Wilson and Eadan ran full force toward the van. Green grabbed an M-16 and immediately began laying down cover fire for them. Lukian leaned out his window and did the same. Jon hit his mark, as Green knew he would, and the grenade exploded. Eadan dove into the van, careful to stay under Green’s line of fire. Wilson followed suit as something close to a sonic boom followed. Jon grabbed one door and Green grabbed the other, pulling them closed.

“Get us out of here, now!” Lukian shouted.

Roi chuckled “Oh, now you want my Andretti skills.”

“Do not make me shoot you.” The fake snarl from Lukian told them all he was joking.

Eadan lay on his back, laughing as they sped away. Flames engulfed the building, shooting out in all directions. Jon glanced down at Eadan. “Did you snap or do you always laugh when you come close to dying?”

It was Missy who answered. “He always does that. Give him about ten minutes. He’ll snap out of it. I went from one hot dog to another.” She would know how Eadan normally behaved. She’d been married to him years ago. Roi and Eadan had worked out their differences and had come to an understanding.

Roi huffed. “I am not a hot dog. More like a great big, I’m talking huge … mongo even, sausage.”

Everyone laughed. After dangerous missions when everyone made it out relatively unharmed, the men tended to rely on humor to keep their wits and their ties to something non-violent. For too many years they’d been the silent operatives, going in and eliminating targets the world wasn’t even aware it had. It tended to wear on the human side of them while feeding their beasts.

Wilson tapped Green’s leg. “Do me a favor and pull out the bullet in my shoulder I don’t think it’s in deep. I can probably have it healed by morning.”

“Dare I guess how many bullets you’ll take when we get to South America? You seem like a magnet.”

Jon grinned. “I could use him for target practice now so he’s good and conditioned.”

“I want to help,” Roi said, chuckling.

Lukian ignored their banter, pulling a chart out and flicking on his mini-flashlight instead. He was anal about the reports they filed with Colonel Brooks. Green had no doubt that Lukian would have the paperwork needed for the briefing done by the time the rest of them were home and showered.

Eadan nudged Wilson. “If it helps, I have no desire to shoot you—yet.”

“Gee, I feel so much better now.”

Eadan snickered. “Yeah, I thought that would make you feel better. I’m charming like that.”

“Eadan, uhh, umm, never mind,” Green muttered, unsure why thoughts of Melanie’s well-being hit him out of nowhere.

The Fae glanced up at him and gave him a soft look. “Yes, Green. Melanie is still okay. I can sense her through our bond. I’ve never been able to pick up on her activities but when she’s not consciously blocking me, I’m able to read her feelings. I’m guessing she’s resting because its one of the only ways Melanie’s mind relaxes enough not to fight back.”

Exhaling, Green nodded. “Thank you.”

“You know,” Wilson arched a brow, “you could just call her. Ask her out on a date. Read from one of those boring science books. Talk about mating rituals of penguins or whatever else geeks like you enjoy. Anything.”

“I will.” As Green said it, he knew it was a lie. He’d never gather the courage to ask someone like Melanie out. She was so vibrant, so carefree, a woman he couldn’t understand but couldn’t get out of his mind either.

“Mmmhmm.” The look on Wilson’s face said he didn’t believe for a second Green would call. He was right.

“Uhh, not to break up this ‘feel good’ moment,” Jon pointed at the viewing screens, “but is that a guy on the corner of the guard shack with an RPG launcher?”

For a split second, no one said a word. The moment Jon lunged toward the weapons chest, everyone, including Roi, who was driving, reached for one. Lukian smacked him in the back of the head again. “Idiot, watch the road!”

“Oh, right.”

The rest of the men armed themselves with something capable of shooting longer distances and went into action. Eadan sat up, lifted his hands and released his magik. It ran over Green, making the air around him buzz and the hair on his arm stand on end. The doors to the van burst open. Jon and Wilson began firing.

“Take out that RPG!” Lukian yelled as if they needed to be told something so obvious.

Green tapped Jon’s shoulder. “Too high, you’re over shooting.”

“Ha, Mr. Science Geek thinks he can do better.” Wilson fired as much as his mouth ran. That always left him going through ammo quicker than others.

Ignoring his comment, Green held his weapon, aimed, doing his best to mentally calculate the rate at which the vehicle was moving, versus the position of the man about to fire a rocket-propelled grenade at them, and fired. The man dropped as he fired the RPG. All of them watched in horror as a trail of fire seemed to streak towards them.

“Oh shit,” Green whispered.

“See, when he says that,” Wilson glanced at Green, “it’s always bad.”

“Nah.” Roi chuckled, glancing in the review mirror. “That’s going wide. It’ll miss us by a—”

The RPG shot past the van, narrowly missing it and causing it to rock slightly. Roi looked at Lukian. “Umm, by a centimeter or two. See. All is fine. Anyone else impressed Green stepped up and nailed the guy with one shot?”

Putting his hand up, Green let out a soft laugh. “I am.”

“Just another day at the office, buddy.” Jon patted Green on the shoulder. “Nice shot.”

“I’m getting too old for this shit.”

“Aren’t we all?”

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Master of the Hunt

Paranormal Bird Shifter Romance

When the oracle warns Prince Aeson that his future mate is in the human realm and is in great danger, he wastes no time going in search of her. Problem is, he has no idea who he’s looking for. He’s never met her and the oracle couldn’t give him anything more than small clues as to who she is and where she might be.

Sent to one of his favorite hangouts—a sex club—Aeson is stunned when a beauty shows up on the arm of another man, a man void of emotion. He senses trouble surrounding her and something else—something that marks her as his. He doesn’t care if she is or isn’t the woman the oracle told him about, she’s the woman he wants. Anyone who dares to stand in his way will feel his wrath and, before the night is out, she’ll feel exactly what it’s like to be taken by a prince.

WARNING: This book contains hot, explicit sex and violence, dominant alpha bird shifting males who think they’re always right, even when they’re dead wrong and a woman who isn’t about to stand by and let them boss her around.

Snippet from Master of the Hunt (King of Prey Series) by Mandy M. Roth

Accipitridae Realm, Buteos Regalis main castle…

Aeson stepped back, allowing his nephews to run past him, each babbling about something he could not understand. Their father, the king and Aeson’s eldest brother, chased behind them, appearing winded. In the nearly four hundred years he’d known him, Aeson couldn’t recall a time when Kabril looked so unraveled. His duplicate in looks in every way, it was as though Aeson were seeing himself in such a situation.

The sight was sobering indeed.

“Kabril, you are showing your age,” Aeson said, enjoying goading his brother as often as he could.

“I am two minutes older than you,” Kabril replied. He motioned to his triplets, who were pushing the age of three. “I know naught how our father did it. Eight sons.” He looked horrified by the idea. “They are my heart and joy, but brother, they never tire. It is the equivalent to one laying siege to the castle nonstop.”

Chuckling, Aeson nodded. “So I see.”

“Brother, the moons hold great pull over them. When the moons are full, I swear my sons sleep not.”

Aeson laughed. Four moons orbited their planet. One of the moons was large enough to be seen during daylight hours. Often, the moons were attributed when madness, or in this case, too much energy came into play. “I do not believe for a moment they are subject to the moons’ pull. They are merely young boys—fledglings—Kabril. We are old. They are not. It stands to reason they would have more energy than us. It is good to hear the sounds of children in the kingdom. For too long it was void of such noises.”

Kabril motioned to the nanny charged with overseeing the boys before turning to face his brother. “No word of new births among our people has reached me. To date, only Rayna and I, and Sachin and his mate Paige have been successful. You know, Rayna believes we should consult the Oracle on the matter. She thinks it may provide valuable insight into what our next move should be.”

Aeson cringed at the mention of the prophecy giving globe. From an early age he’d learned to both fear and stand in awe of the oracle’s power. It was often consulted on matters associated with the gods or destiny. Kabril, unlike their father, wasn’t superstitious. It made him a better leader in Aeson’s opinion than their father had been, not that he’d been a bad one. “And I say you decree that all your loyal subjects must procreate like mad,” Aeson said.

Kabril rolled his eyes. “Still chasing skirts in the taverns throughout the realm?”

With a sly smile, Aeson rubbed his stubble-covered jaw. “Not in this realm, brother. I’m unsure a maiden exists here that I’ve not bedded. Earth is another matter altogether.”

That caused his brother to stumble over seemingly nothing. “You? The famed lover of women of our kind and hater of all things human, now seeks out the beds of human women?”

“No. Not beds. But I do enjoy chaining them to walls and having my way with them,” he replied. His cock hardened at the very thought of it. He did so enjoy women of all sizes and shapes. And he very much enjoyed taking them in different ways. “Did you know they have taverns or rather sex clubs, as they call them, devoted to that very thing? They rival our torture chambers and the women there line up for it, wanting to be punished by a man’s hand before being thoroughly pleasured.” He motioned with his hands, framing an invisible woman with exaggerated measurements. He then pumped his hips in midair, simulating fucking said woman.

“If my wife hears you speak of such things,” Kabril leaned in, “and of demeaning human women in such a way, she will skin you alive. She may be human but she is something to be feared, brother.”

Aeson tossed his head back and laughed. Rayna certainly was a fiery woman. She kept his brother in line nicely and brought out the best in him. He clasped his brother’s shoulder. “Should I find one such as she, mayhap I would wish to chain her to my bed for I am not foolish enough to think I am immune to all women’s charms.”

“Do you not wish for a family, Aeson?” There was something off in Kabril’s voice. “Do you not wish for love and happiness?”

He glanced in the direction his nephews had run off in. “I do not wish for such a thing.” It was a bold faced lie. One he was sure his brother saw through with ease.

“Because you have no desire for one or because you desire one so much that you fear it might not come true?”

His brother knew him well. Not only did they look much alike—nearly identical to those who didn’t know them well—they tended to think on the same terms too. Though, Kabril had always taken things more seriously than Aeson had. Mainly because Kabril, as firstborn son, had to. Second to the throne in a family that was close-kkknit, Aeson saw no point in worrying over kingly matters when the odds of him ever having the throne were slim. Even Keonae, the youngest of the triplets, saw no need to trouble himself with the day-to-day trials and tribulations of running a kingdom. For reasons too dark to dwell upon, Keonae now resided permanently within the human realm—a place Aeson found himself drawn to more and more as of late.

Kabril entered the Great Hall and Aeson followed closely behind. Chains of gold hung suspended from the high ceilings. Open saucers with floating wicks were upon the ends of each, illuminating the vast room.

Aeson’s brother took a seat on his throne. There was a reflective mixture in a bowl sitting to the left of the throne. Aeson knew it was used to help divine the future, something Kabril rarely did on his own, leaving the seers to do so for him.

Kabril eased back in his chair, his fingers skimming over the carved hawks in the dark wood. “Brother, it was not that long ago I found myself in your position. Wanting to deny what the Oracle had set forth for me.”

“Good thing we have yet to consult it for me then, yes?” A nervous chortle broke free of him.

Pressing his mouth in a thin line, Kabril motioned for one of the attendants. “Bring the Oracle.”

“What?” Aeson paled. “Kabril, no.”

The attendants hurried off, nearly knocking over one of the suspended oil lamps in their haste to please the king.

His brother smiled. “Ah, it would appear you are too late.”

Grunting, Aeson gave his brother a pensive look. “I have no wish to hear talk of things that may not come to pass. Worse yet, it tell me I’m to wed a woman with a hunched back or who is missing her teeth.”

“Think it likely?” Kabril questioned. “We have such an abundance of them? We may not have many females in our realm but none are as you described.”

He took in a deep breath, wanting very much to strangle his eldest brother. As the attendant returned with two of the priests and the globe of the oracle, Aeson crossed his arms over his chest.

The priest on the left bowed first. “Your majesty, you seek the Oracle’s guidance?”

“No, follower of the path of the Epopisdeus,” Kabril said. “My brother seeks its wisdom in regards to a mate.”

The other priest gasped. “Such advice is frowned upon, my lord.”

“Yet none of you hesitated to force my hand in finding a mate in that very fashion,” Kabril reminded them. “You will do so for my brother.”

“But, your majesty, what if the Oracle says he has no mate or that she once was but has perished?”

Aeson stiffened, his gaze locked on the white globe. He steeled his nerves and nodded. “Ask it. I wish to know regardless the outcome.”

“Brother, you are certain?”

“Yes, Kabril. I am certain.”

“Very well.” His brother waved his hand dramatically in the air. “Priest, ask the Oracle.”

The priests bent their heads, each humming and putting their hands over the globe. Aeson had seen it consulted enough to know no actual words were spoken. It was more a telepathic thing. The priests were seers—men able to connect with the oracle mystically.

The priest to the right turned his head towards Aeson. “It is most odd, my lord. The oracle tells us your mate is alive, but she will not be for long should you not find her.”

His breath caught.

Kabril came up and off his throne, the smirk gone from his face. “What else does it say? Where is she? In what village does she reside? What does she look like? Her name?”

The priest to the left slumped his shoulders. “Your majesty, the Oracle responds in much the same way as when we ask it of other seers. It is vague. It is giving us only hints of it all, images, feelings, but they are short and incomplete.”

“But that cannot be,” Kabril said. “There are no female seers within our realm.”

“Yes, there are none within our realm, your majesty, but legend speaks of seers born unto the human realm who are female.”

Aeson still couldn’t pull his mind from the knowledge his mate was alive but not for long.

His brother ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his. “Aeson’s mate is human?”

“Yes. It would appear so,” a priest answered.

The other tipped his head, as if listening to the Oracle. “Sparrow? It is showing us the image of a sparrow. This means something important. It is representative of her.”

“But how is it she can be a shifter and born unto the humans?”

“Your majesty, it does not present the image in that of a shifter form. It is simply a sparrow. No more. No less.”

Aeson grabbed for the priest. “Where do I find her? She needs me.”

“My lord,” the priest said, trying to free himself from Aeson’s clutches. “Please, we know not.”

“Brother.” Kabril broke Aeson’s hold on the priest. “Priests, is there anything more you can offer him?”

“It is strange. The Oracle wishes for him to go to where he has been drawn to so much as of late. We cannot say why.”

Aeson’s eyes widened. “It wishes me to go to the sex dungeon, erm, club in the human realm?”

Kabril rubbed the bridge of his nose and the priests looked horrified at the idea of such a thing existing. “That is all. You may go.”

They rushed off, taking the oracle with them.

“Brother, they are men who have dedicated themselves to the bird gods and who have forsaken carnal pleasures,” Kabril said. “To talk of such a thing before them is unwise and cruel.”

“And my mate is about to die,” he answered. “I’ll take the time to give a damn about the priests’ celibacy when I know she is safe and well.”

“I will gather men to accompany you,” Kabril said.

Aeson shook his head. “This task is for me and me alone. Should I require assistance, I will send for it.”

Kabril knew better than to argue the point. “Be well, brother, and may you find her healthy and eager to accept you.”

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Tags: excerpt

Saturday Snippet- Radar Deception

Paranormal Shifter Military Special Ops Romance

Snippet from Radar Deception: Immortal Ops 3 by Mandy M. Roth

Dr. Thaddeus Green survived a werepanther attack long ago, leaving him immortal and a member of the I-Ops team. He’s dedicated his life to genetics and to serving his country. After his mutated DNA led to the death of his loved ones, he vowed to never let anyone close to his heart again. Try as he might, Green is unable to stop the mystical pull to the tall, leggy blonde with a sharp tongue and an even worse bite. Thinking Melanie is suffering from mating withdraw, Green is prepared to do what he must to assure her survival, even if it means claiming her for himself, regardless of his need to protect his heart. Little does Green know that fate has been preparing him for Melanie Daly all his unnaturally long life.

When ghosts from the past resurface, in ways he never dreamt possible, the normally mild-mannered scientist finds himself drawing on his inner beast and rage to assure his mate and their future are protected. But even Green can’t fight all of Melanie’s battles for her. Some she has no choice but to face on her own. Can their bond stand the test of time?

Rating: Contains graphic violence, explicit sex and strong language.

Melanie woke to the soft sounds of someone playing a piano. She glanced around the large, white room in awe. It was beautiful. The ceiling was vaulted and the windows along the left wall went from the floor up. The bed was bigger than any she’d ever been in and considering the number of beds Melanie had woke to find herself in that was saying a lot. It was still dark out and she wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

She glanced down to find herself wearing one of her favorite nightgowns. The light pink silk gown was slit up the side and had spaghetti straps. It was like wearing nothing and she loved it.

Climbing out of the bed, Melanie listened to the sound of the music playing and smiled. She didn’t need to be told whose bedroom she was in. She vividly remembered Eadan threatening to put a sleep spell on her. She also remembered his threat—she’d wake up married to Green. The thought had terrified her when he said it. Now, as she headed for the door, all she could think about was being near Green.

She opened the door and stepped out into the large hallway. The sound of music filtered in from the other end so she headed in that direction. The hallway seemed to go on forever, making her wonder how many people lived in the house. The sound of the piano being played grew louder as she approached a large, half-circular staircase. As she headed down it, she spotted Green in what looked to be a formal living room, sitting with his back to her while he played. The room was amazing but nothing compared to the sight of him.

Her breath caught as she stared at him. It was the first time she’d seen him without a shirt on and it hit her just how muscular he was. He looked as though he were chiseled from the same marble of the floor beneath the area he sat in. Perfection. Plain and simple. The dark black wood of the piano he sat at only added to the sleek, streamlined, sensual look Green put out.

The black silk pajama bottoms he wore, rode low in the back, showing that he had dimples just above his ass cheeks. The urge to rush forward and run her hands over him was great. She managed to control it, only slightly as she walked slowly toward him. His head dipped slightly as he played, indicating just how into it he was.

She wasn’t familiar with the piece he was playing but she knew enough to know it was full of emotion. Raw. Powerful, like him. Melanie slid her hands over his shoulders and rubbed gently. The feel of his warm skin beneath her fingertips left her drawing in a deep breath, fighting to keep her breathing even.

Green stopped playing and stiffened. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I’ll….”

Her nipples hardened to pebble-like peaks as they grazed against his back. Melanie put her lips to his ear and kissed it. The urge to bite it was great so she gave in and nipped playfully at it. “Don’t stop, please.”

His breathing grew shallow and he refused to look at her. “I can’t be by you if you’re in that and I’m only in….”

Run away. Don’t fall for him.

Ignoring her inner voice, Melanie slipped the straps of her nightgown down her shoulders and let it fall to the floor in a silken puddle. She lifted it with her foot and plucked it from her toe. She let out a sultry laugh as she dropped it in Green’s lap.

“There. Problem one out of the way. You take yours off and we’ll have everything worked out.”

Green stared down at the nightgown and put his hands out on the piano top. He bowed his head and it was easy to see him straining. The fact his knuckles were turning white only added to the matter. “Melanie, I can’t fight the beast in me forever. It wants to claim you for its own. I want to claim you, too.”

“Well, I’ve never heard a man refer to the urge to fuck me quite that way but I’m game if you are, Thad.”

He shook his head. “No. You don’t understand. Hell, I don’t even understand it. I controlled the beast easily when we were together before. Never once did I have to push you away to keep from marking you, from sinking my teeth into your smooth skin as I sank my cock deep within you. I was able to keep that side of myself from you. Why now? Why can’t I control it around you now?”

Her brow furrowed as she slid her hands into his dark red hair. “Honey, I think the sight of you makes my brain fuzzy because you’re not making any sense to me. I keep fighting this nagging voice in my head that’s telling me to run. To avoid you at all costs. You scare me, yet when I woke to find myself in your bedroom, I was upset you weren’t there with me.”

“Melanie, I won’t tie you to me. You don’t really want that. There is no way I can be with you and keep the beast caged. Please put your clothes back on and give me some time to be alone.”

“How long was I asleep?” she asked, biting back tears as he rejected her.

“About two hours, why?”

Two hours? That meant it was still technically her birthday. Barely, but it counted. The irony wasn’t lost on her. “You were my bright spot on this day, too,” she whispered, low enough a human couldn’t hear her. “Okay, I’m going to go lay back down for awhile. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Reaching out, she went to grab the nightgown and yelped when Green caught her wrist. He drew her into his arms and onto his lap before she could even blink. “Thad?”

His eye seemed to flicker with varying shades of emerald. “Don’t be afraid of me, Melanie. I can’t control it around you.”

She knew she should be terrified of what she was seeing but the feel of his hands on her body left her hissing out as she tipped her head back. “I want you inside me.”

“Melanie.”

She shifted on his lap, and swung one leg around so she was left straddling him. The feel of his hard erection just beneath the surface of his pajama bottoms spurred her onward. Green closed his eyes and moved his hands off her.

“I can’t do this. I can’t be gentle with you. It’s been over fifty years since I’ve had sex and even then I didn’t have to fight the urge to claim you on a supernatural level.”

Fifty years? Supernatural level?

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Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Snippet from Adam’s Angel (League of the Unnatural) by Mandy M. Roth

Tori swirled her tongue around Adam’s lazily. Her nipples were like diamonds against her thin shirt, digging at his chest. She made no effort to hide what he was doing to her, even though it was outside her normal behavior. She bit lightly at his lower lip and growled playfully. “Mmm, this is different.”

“Good different or bad different?” he asked.

“Very good.”

A sonic boom went off at the other end of the club, cutting off their kiss in midstream. Screams filled the air along with a plume of smoke as the wall to the club crumbled, crushing patrons in the process. The enemy poured into the club, cutting through the humans as they went. It was easy to know they weren’t on the side of good. Aside from the fact they had a rather dramatic entrance, they radiated evil.

Lars, Adam, Adira and Pike ran headfirst at the enemy. There were too many for them to stop. The enemy spilled forth onto the dance floor. Mass pandemonium broke out. Screams and fear filled the smoke-riddled air. Tori spun around wildly, getting her bearings.

One of the men grabbed Roxy and Tori struck out fast, drawing on the strength she kept hidden from everyone in her life. She knocked the shifter clear of Roxy and stepped in front of her friend as the man extended claws from his fingertips.

He snarled, sniffing the air. “I found her! The one who put our leader in prison!” His shouts drew the attention of the enemy. They looked at Tori and in the blink of an eye were charging her.

There was a quick popping noise and suddenly Adam was there, putting his hands up and tossing power around them. He made a protective bubble of sorts. The bad guys slammed into it and bounced off.

Adam glanced back at her. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Tori caught a glimpse of something flashing behind Adam and had a half a second to register what it was—the sword of Kanjana—a weapon capable of passing through any barrier, magikal or man-made.

“Adam, no!” She pushed in front of Adam as the sword pierced his power and lodged into her chest. Pain seized hold of her and she staggered. Strong arms wrapped around her.

“Tori! Oh, gods, hon, no.” Adam stared wide-eyed at the sword sticking out of her chest. “It was meant for me, Tori.”

She touched his lips, silencing him as she fought to take a breath.

“Ding dong, the bitch is dead,” a feminine voice said. “That should teach the humans not to interfere in our lives. They’re nothing in the scope of things. Little ants to be squashed under our shoe when they get in our way.”

Adam’s blue gaze locked on Tori. His lips trembled as he put his hand on her chest. “I can try to heal this, Tori. I can try to—”

“Pull it out,” she whispered.

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Saturday Snippet-Tracks of My Tears

Contemporary Romance

Sometimes, it’s possible to forgive but never forget. Can true love conquer all?

Devan Seward is in the process of starting over—moving to the big city and doing her best to move on from an ugly past. When she waylays “Mr. Right” in the stairwell of her new apartment building, she feels an instant connection to him. There is something about the tall, dark and handsome man that leaves her feeling as if she’s known him all her life. Devan no longer trusts blindly, a hard lesson learned but can’t seem to stop herself from confessing things better left behind.

Chef Kurt Holland is like a rock god in the culinary world. Cooking is his passion. His restaurant, E&E, caters only to the rich and famous. When a sexy blast from the past literally falls into his lap, he refuses to retreat like he did last time. No. Seizing the moment and Devan’s heart becomes his ultimate passion.

Sometimes, it’s possible to forgive but never forget and the web of hurt reaches out further than most realize. Second chances at first loves and shocking revelations leave Devan and Kurt fighting not only their true nature, but outside influences as well to be together, hoping love truly can conquer all.

EXCERPT

Must be 18 years and older to read. If not, please leave the site.

Simmering Seductions

By

Mandy M. Roth

Note to Readers:

This story deals with sensitive subjects such as domestic violence, drug abuse and deception. It has explicit sex, strong language and violence against the heroine (not by hero). It also deals with issues of abuser rehabilitation, second chances at redemption, forgiveness and the fact that life is not always black and white. In many cases, it is not possible to forgive or forget. In other’s it is possible to forgive but never forget. Author cautions that this book is not for all and that it is merely the creation of a character that needed to tell her story.

Chapter One

“You’re going to need to move that sexy ass or I’m going to toss it onto this sofa and carry it up four floors before having my way with it.”

Turning, I saw only the green leaves of the oversized fern plant I carried. Unfortunately, I knew the voice and knew its owner, Jake, would actually do exactly what he threatened to do. “Let me go first so I don’t have to play ‘follow dink and dork’ up the stairs.”

“I’m dork,” Jake called out, chuckling from his end of the sofa. “Your brother can be dink.”

“What’s a dink?” Gideon, my brother, asked.

Jake and I laughed. I did my best to find the door handle. Although covering my eyes and finding a needle in a haystack might have been more productive. “Nothing. It’s a good thing, really.”

“Uh-huh. Why am I not believing you?”

Jake snorted. “Probably because you’ve known her for over thirty years. Now, as for you, Devan, you need to get your ass up those stairs. This thing isn’t getting any lighter. I’ve already lifted more things in one morning than I have in ten years.”

“Hey, be nice or I’ll do it.”

Gideon groaned. “If she breaks into song again I’m kicking your ass, Jake. Then I’m leaving. I thought she stopped all that. Now, I’m afraid to turn my television on for fear of seeing her dancing and singing with some guy in black leather.”

“Hey, your little sister is a gem. Back off,” Jake said, laughing. “But if you do leave, can I keep her?”

“I’d like to see you try,” I said, rushing through the door. I broke out into an interesting rendition of Do Wah Diddy replacing the she’s with he’s and hurried through the door. I knew the staircase was directly in front of the door so I lifted the fern high in the air to watch for the first step and began to jog up them.

“Watch where you’re—”

“Nope. Not stopping until you both sing along and tell me that you will miss me horribly when you leave. Next up on the jukebox is an eighties song. I’m feeling very Madonnaish. Consider yourselves warned.” I went right back into Do Wah Diddy.

I made it up about six steps before I slammed into something that felt like the equivalent of a brick wall. I went backwards instantly. When two large arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me forward instead of back, I realized the brick wall was actually a person.

Before I knew it, I was being twisted around and suddenly on said person’s lap and we ended up sitting on the stairs. The massive fern blocked my view of him but if the size of the arms were any indication—the person was male, definitely. I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.

Parting the fern, I peeked through to find a pair of emerald green eyes staring back at me. The squared face they were set in made my breath catch. This was no ordinary man. No. This man was amazing. He had a pronounced jaw and forehead, giving him that dark brooding look I liked so much. His black hair was cut in one of those stylishly messy ways. It stood about two inches off the top of his head but was cut close on the sides and back.

Taking a deep breath in, I caught the familiar scent of figwood and fruits. It was something I hadn’t smelled in years and the memories it brought back made my insides flutter. Sighing was an option I was more than willing to take. As my gaze traveled over his thick, corded neck I laughed harder. “Only I would make an ass of myself in front of a living god. I am so sorry. Are you hurt?”

I leaned through the fern more and glanced down. The snug fitting short sleeved Roberto Cavalli shirt he wore drew attention to his steely upper body. I gulped as I looked down at his dirt covered groin. The flat front kakis he had on did little to hide the bulge growing quickly beneath them. “Looks really fine,” I sang softly.

“Your eyes are…”

My gaze went to his as I soaked in the sound of his deep voice. It was the kind of voice I could get used to hearing whispering sweet nothings to me in the wee hours of the night. “Disturbing? Two different colors? Yeah, I know one is blue and one is brown. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He shook his head. “They’re beautiful.”

I blushed and did the only thing I could think of, I laughed. The man’s eyes widened more before he too began to laugh. There was something about him that was so familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Do I know you?”

He stopped laughing and tipped his head a bit, seeming to study me. Something moved over his face that looked to be shock. “You can’t be her.”

“Her who?” I asked between chuckles. “To be perfectly honest, since I’ve already made an absolute fool of myself, you make me think of The Clash. Why is that? You aren’t planning on rocking any Casbah are you?”

His green eyes widened. I fought the urge to trace a line with my thumb over his full lips. It was hard. Somehow, I managed.

“So, should I stay or should I go?” I asked, giving him a smile I hoped appeared to be sexy while I continued my Clash skit.

“Stay.” He shook his head slightly and smiled back. His smile was for sure sexy. “How?”

“How?” I cleared my throat. “How am I me? Or how am I her? Are all sexy New Yorkers this odd? Do you feel like you know me, too?”

The slight, stunned nod was the only answer I got out of him.

“My guess is we’ve crossed paths. You don’t play a professional sport, do you?”

“No,” he said, staring at me with an odd fascination. “Is that a prerequisite?”

Liking the man more than I should, I shook my head. “No. My list of must haves isn’t too long. Not playing a professional sport is at the top.”

Jake snorted. “If you can pick up a phone and order a pizza she’s yours. If you can actually make one yourself, you may never get rid of her. If you’re able to make anything above that you just met your future wife.”

“Why thank you, Jake.” I shot him a dirty look. He grinned like a schoolboy. “I always love it when my friends try to push me off on men who could be married, in a serious relationship, or not ones to pick women over men.”

“If you would spend less time trying not to drool and more time looking at the guy, you’d see he’s staring at you like it’s taking everything in him not to touch you and I don’t see any rings on his fingers.”

I snorted. “Oh, like that means anything. How many times did other women have at you know who?”

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

The man touched my cheek lightly and I drew in a sharp breath as familiar feelings washed over me. Closing my eyes I savored the moment.

“Devan, get off the nice man and move. This thing is heavy,” Gideon said, sounding annoyed.

The man’s eyes lit. “Devan?”

“Right.” I nodded and stood slowly. Lifting the fern off him, I gasped. “Ohmygod, you’re covered in dirt now. I’m so sorry. Here, give me those and I’ll take them to the cleaners.” I set the fern down on the stair and turned to face him. “Wait, umm, I didn’t mean to just ask you to get naked. But I’d honestly be okay with that.”

“Devan,” Gideon growled out. “I get you’re an adult. All I’m asking is to not be reminded of that—ever.”

“Jake, do you still have my wallet?” I glanced at Gideon. “Just so you know, I’m ignoring you.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, what do you need?”

“Five hundred dollars to replace the nice man’s clothing. I’m guessing he doesn’t want to take a check from a lady he just met in the stairwell. The Cavalli alone is three. It’s in this season which tells me the guy pays attention to fashion. I’d get into the jeans but Gideon would demand to have his eyes gouged out and I’d enjoy it too much.”

Gideon coughed, not bothering to hide his shock. “People here wear five hundred dollar outfits? I was with you when you bought a dress for a dollar at a thrift store, Devan.”

“The one that’s brown with obnoxious orange flowers on it?” Jake asked, knowing full well it was that one.

“Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a Betsy Johnson. I saved a few hundred dollars. And how can you think brown and orange is obnoxious, Jake?” I rolled my eyes. “Ooo, I really liked the avocado green sweater I got that day, too.”

Gideon sighed. “What was that? A Lou Reed?”

Flipping him off, I smiled at the sexy man and did my best to avoid touching him. It was hard. “I feel like singing Little Orphan Annie songs. Who’s up for a night of that?”

“Put the sofa down. I’m going to tape her mouth shut and hide her wallet. She does not need to be spending money.”

Jake laughed hard. “Stop being over protective. If the girl wants to hand the man money to replace his clothes then let her, Gideon. Don’t you think she’s had enough issues with having control of her own life? Stop making her out to be on the verge of poverty. She’s worked her ass off to have what she does and I, for one, am damn happy to know that she doesn’t need to worry about money. You know, she still hasn’t accepted a penny of the, umm, other stuff.”

I wanted to throw my shoe at Jake. His code words for alimony were ridiculous. Instead, I glared at my brother, already anticipating the coming argument. “And I’m not going to, Gideon, so don’t try to make me.”

“Milk the bastard dry, Devan. You earned the right.”

“Gideon.”

“Hey, you’re entitled to half,” my brother said, his gaze narrowed and locked on me. “Ask Jake.”

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. We’d had this talk more times than I could count and I was beyond tired of it. That didn’t mean he’d stop. He’d chirp about me taking my ex to the cleaners until I was dead. Of that, I was sure. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that.”

Gideon growled. “Fine, whatever.” He nodded towards the stranger before me. “Give the guy the money and get him off the step. This isn’t getting any lighter. Tell me again why I didn’t let movers do this for her?”

“Because you have a guilt complex that won’t quit and the very idea of your baby sister being so far away from you is killing you on the inside. And you keep running various ways to get her to come home, or move your practice up here, through your head.”

I snorted. “Jake, he pushed me through the living room window when I was five. I don’t think that’s it. Try again.”

“I did not push you. You were spinning around pretending to be a princess ballerina and hit my model car,” Gideon bit out. “I just moved you away from it.”

“Yeah, and right through the screen. That bush had so many wasps in it that my ass hurt for weeks. It did get me out of a few annoying recitals. Thanks for that.” I glanced down at the sexy man on the step. “For reference, wasps don’t take kindly to people invading their area.” I rubbed my butt for effect and winked.

He just stared up at me, looking as though he was both shocked and pleased. I hoped he was both. It wasn’t every day that I felt I wowed someone.

Jake laughed so hard he sounded like a seal barking. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“You did,” Gideon said. “Remember the month I refused to come… err… couldn’t come out and play? It was because of that.”

“Mom did not ground you. She didn’t have to. You were a mess. You grounded yourself. Uncle Robert talked to you for like twenty minutes about how you only have one sister.” I put my hand out and started to impersonate my very Italian uncle. “Gideon, look at her. She hurts but is worried about your toy. She is a gift, a dove sent to bring us all joy and happiness. Treat her as such for you do not know when they will ask for her to return home.”

“Holy shit, that’s why you were on your porch crying your eyes out. You were upset you hurt her.” Jake’s laughter wrapped around me and was infectious.

“Worse than that,” I blew Gideon a kiss, “he kept sneaking into my room at night to make sure I wasn’t dead. Uncle Robert convinced him that angels would show up at any minute and snatch me up. Tell him what you did, Gideon.”

“No.” His grunt was heard round the world. The tiniest of blushes stained my brother’s cheeks and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Jake grinned and gave me a ‘spill it’ look.

“Gideon found a spool of ribbon from one of those overdone dresses Mom used to put me in and tied my ankle to my bed. I woke up with it wrapped around me so tight that dad had to cut it off and then point out that if Gideon did it again I could lose my leg. That only made him worse. How he became a doctor is beyond me.”

“See he loves you.” Jake laughed. “He dedicated his life to understanding how not to kill you.”

Gideon growled again. “I would like to get this to the fourth floor and then beat the living hell out of you, Jake.”

“I’ll sue you,” Jake offered with a flippant gesture that only Jake could pull off with such flare and style.

The muscles in Gideon’s neck worked overtime. I knew if he could get his hands on Jake, he really would strangle him for a good few seconds before they were laughing and carrying on again. “And I’ll fuck up the meds I prescribe you next time you’re sick. How’s a little birth control sound? Having issues with feminine itch? Oh, what? You have flames shooting out of your dick?”

Rolling my eyes, I put my hand out to the sexy man staring at me on the step and offered him a smile. “I’m sorry. This is what happens when you take a doctor and a lawyer too far from home. If you give us a minute to get the sofa upstairs, I’ll get you what you need to replace the outfit and I’ll still have this one cleaned for you.”

He shook his head, taking my hand and standing slowly. Warmth spread up my arm from his touch and my nipples hardened almost instantly. “No. It’s fine.”

Yes, you are.

“Wonderful, can we please get this up the stairs?” Gideon smiled at me and glanced at the sofa. “You would buy this before you moved. Couldn’t you buy it once you got here?”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me but you bought that for me. You and your shadow,” I pointed at Jake, “insisted on it.”

“In our defense, Devan, we did break your other ones,” Jake said, running his hands through his shaggy hair.

“The idea of three grown men going at it like school boys had to be a sight to see. And for the record, you three trashed my entire lower level.”

Jake glanced at Gideon nervously. “Yeah, school boys.”

“Gideon, tell me you didn’t go all Bruce Lee on him. You’re thirty-four. You could hurt yourself.” I let out a soft laugh. “You already had Jake helping you out. What more did you need?”

Jake cleared his throat. “Umm, Devan, I was actually trying get Gideon under control. I wasn’t helping beat the crap out of anyone. I didn’t think you wanted to have to visit your brother in prison or see his career get flushed down the shitter. I can get him off of just about any charge. Murder isn’t one of them.”

I glanced at the sexy man. “One second.” I ran down the stairs, kicked my slip-on white tennis shoes off, hopped onto the sofa and walked across it to get to Gideon. Tossing my arms around his thick neck, I hugged him tight as I kissed his cheek. “I love you even though you made my ass hurt for a week.”

As I pulled back, I found his eye glistening. He nodded and kissed my forehead. “Promise you’ll call every day, Devan. Twice a day even. Maybe I should get you a cell phone that you can leave on all the time. Yeah, that might work. Like an intercom or something.”

Drawing back, I knew he was fighting tears and Gideon was a big guy who didn’t cry. I wagged my brows as I looked him up and down. “Hey, Jake.”

“Yeah.”

“Picture Gideon in a prison uniform. He’d no longer need me to buy all of his clothes so he matches. Plus, he’d land a boyfriend in about two seconds.” I instantly launched into Jailhouse Rock doing my best Elvis. I rotated my hips and curled my lip not caring who saw me do it.

Gideon put his hand over my mouth. I continued to sing into it, sounding muffled and still not caring. He shook his head and laughed. “Jake, get the tape. She’s back with a vengeance. If she starts laughing so hard she can’t breathe I’m going down to the corner bar and grabbing a beer. I might need two. No fear. She’ll still be laughing when I get back.”

My cell phone rang. I put my hand out to Jake who had my phone on his hip. “Devan, that ring means work, so don’t panic. It’s not an emergency.”

“You don’t say. Gee, it’s only my cell phone. The one I programmed the rings into.” I kept shaking my hips as I took the phone from him. I opened it. “Devan Charter.”

Gideon growled. “It’s Devan Seward now.”

“Everyone there knows her as Charter. It’s easier for her to let it stay that way,” Jake said, in a hushed tone.

“Fuck easier. She is divorced,” my brother snapped. “I’ll put it on a billboard for her.”

I pointed at him. He shut up.

“Ah, Devan, I’m glad I caught you.”

The sound of Chas Martins’ voice made my eyes roll. “Mr. Martins, I didn’t realize we were on a first name basis now.”

Jake poked my arm lightly and smiled. “Is that dickhead? Dev, if it is you have to put the guy on speakerphone. Gideon never believes me when I tell him about the lounge lizard who keeps trying to get you to work for him.” He clasped his hands together and dropped to his knees. “Please, it’s funny as hell. Plus, Gideon never gets to hear you be a bitch for real. The man thinks you have no spine. Show him.”

My eyes bulged as I stared down at Jake. I nodded. “Mr. Martins, I’m currently knee deep in Open to Buy reports so I need to put you on speaker phone.”

“Certainly, I understand how that is.”

I hit the button and held the phone out. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“You can start by calling me Chas. We’ve known one another for over five years. It’s safe to say we can be on a first name basis, Devan. I consider you a friend and friends tend to share many things, including casual conversation.”

Jake grinned.

I bit back a laugh. “I’m well aware of what friends share. What I’m not sure of is the reasoning behind your call. If you are implying this is casual then I should remind you I’m on company time here.” I crossed my fingers and shoved them in Jake’s face. He laughed, planted a tiny kiss on them and stood quickly.

Chas sighed. “You do like to make it difficult for me. That is exactly the attitude I want my consultants to have, Devan.”

“Hmm, calling competitor’s top executives while they are working, to attempt to persuade them to join the team, is the absolute last sort of practice I want the company I’m with participating in. It sort of screams unprofessional. And we are all professionals here, right, Mr. Martins?”

I’d built an empire, being a Jill-of-all-trades in matters of marketing consultations. If someone had a business problem, I generally had a solution. Martins operated the same way. He provided marketing and business consultations, often placing someone in-house with the company in question.

“Call me Chas. And, Devan, you’re not thinking clearly right now. This is a trying time for you coming off a messy divorce and I’d like to help ease the burden. I know we started off on the wrong foot and I’d like to correct that. I’ve been told you’re relocating to New York. This would give us the perfect opportunity to get to know one another better. I’d hate for you to be alone. This is a big city. I can more than keep you company. I think you know what I’m talking about.”

I grabbed Jake’s arm and laughed hard without making any noise. It took a second but I got myself together and stood tall. “As kind as that offer is, I’d prefer to go it alone. And when I say go it alone, that covers all areas. I do not currently have a red light above my office door nor do I want one. I would strongly suggest you focus on your client’s needs and not your own. As lovely as our conversations always are, I really must be going. I’m meeting with my lawyer soon. He has some rather weighty issues he’d like to get moved forward.” I winked at Jake.

Chas made a noise that sounded animalistic, like one would make during intercourse. I jerked back and held the phone towards Jake who covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Devan, you are the only woman I know who dares to talk to me the way you do. You know that I’m more than willing to offer you the world. I’m in a position to do it. You just won’t accept it. I am huge.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you think so.” I snickered. “Oh, wait. You were talking size in relevance to your position. Sorry, I got a little confused on where this conversation was headed. It seemed as though it was headed south so naturally I assumed something else. I really need to be going now.”

“Name your price, Devan,” Chas said fast. “Everyone can be bought. Everyone.”

“I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “Well, at least we’ve moved to the point you’re sorry for turning me down.”

I let out a soft laugh. “No, I’m not sorry for that in the least. I’m sorry that somewhere along the line you actually came to believe that to be true. Not everyone has a price. Money isn’t the answer to everything. In fact, in the end, it means nothing. Have a good weekend, Mr. Martins.” I shut my phone and handed it to Jake. “Why do you enjoy hearing that scum bag’s spiel? Does anyone else feel like they need a shower to get his voice off you? I think my phone has been violated. It needs a bath, too.”

Jake looked proud. Gideon looked like he was about to blow. “Devan Jazz Seward, men try to buy you while you’re working? Hell, anytime?”

“I’d hardly call Chas Martins a man,” I said, hopping off the sofa and laughing. “He’s more like a good looking, walking lounge lizard. He makes my skin crawl. But, I will say, he’s a looker. He knows it, too.”

Gideon tried to come for me but the sofa was in the way. “Did this just start?”

“What? Men trying to own me or lounge lizards,” I smiled at Jake letting him know that I loved his name for Chas, “trying to bribe me to ‘work’ for them? Come on, women want to date you all the time. When they find out you’re a doctor they flip out and start talking marriage. Dork,” I pointed at Jake, “has the same problem.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah, Dink. Leave her alone. She’s not given an inch when it comes to this. Trust me, he’s been nipping at her heels from the word go. Hell, she was very married when he started it all.”

“What the hell is a dink?” Gideon asked again.

I smiled as I slipped my shoes back on. “It’s a good thing. Trust me.” Turning, I ran up the stairs and ran directly into the sexy man again. He grabbed me fast to keep me from falling. I held tight to him and stared into his emerald green eyes. “Thanks. You’re really coming in handy.”

“My pleasure.”

I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his green eyes. They were gorgeous and the same exact color as Brody’s. “I know I’m going to sound like a broken record but you look so familiar. This is going to bug me. I’m positive I know you from somewhere.”

Jake went to take his spot at the end of the sofa. “You know, I normally do my best to encourage only half of your insanity but you’re right the guy does look familiar.”

Mr. Sexy smiled. “Would you like some help moving in?”

“No, we’ll be—”

“Yes,” Gideon and Jake said, cutting me off.

The sexy man winked at me and I damn near fell over. “I’ll run up, change and come back to help.” He turned to head up the stairs. “Oh, I almost forgot. I’m Kurt Holland.”

“Hi, Kurt. Nice to dump a plant on you. I’m Devan Seward.”

The grin that spread over his face warmed me. “Well, Devan, it was my pleasure.”

I watched as Kurt jogged up the stairs. A small sigh escaped me. “I could get used to looking at that every day.”

Gideon began to chuckle. I glanced back at him as he stood in the doorway holding one end of the sofa up while the other lay on the floor. “Didn’t Uncle Robert tell you that when one door closes another opens?”

Before we’d left Ohio, I’d finalized my divorce and said goodbye to my family. They all knew how painful the divorce was for me and my uncle did his best to cheer me up. “Yep, he sure did.”

“Ha, I bet he didn’t think you’d waylay Mr. Right before he even got to the door.”

He and Jake laughed so hard that I knew they’d be at it a while. I gave up and headed up the stairs to my new home.

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Say Anything

Snippet from Ambient Light by Mandy M. Roth

Yates Colyer rolled onto his side, disgusted with himself as he heard the front door close. The woman leaving meant nothing to him. In fact, he hadn’t even bothered to get her name. What he wanted her for had little to do with needing it so he passed. As a creature of the night, he required blood once every two months or so. At his age, blood wasn’t something he was day-to-day dependent on anymore. There was a time, back when he was newly sired that he needed blood several times a day. Fortunately for him, his father had been in a position of power, giving Yates unlimited access to the town, its resources and more importantly, its warm bodies. Beggars and peasants overpopulated the area and he used to think he was doing his part to thin their numbers. They were rarely missed and on the off chance they were, no one with any kind of power paid them any heed.

Over the centuries, he learned to curb his hunger and take blood without killing the victim or donor, depending upon where and how he got it. He was a different man now, no longer killing to sate the demon within. He liked to think he had more control and more finesse. Like everything, he had to change with the times. It mattered not that he was technically still a Comte. He’d reinvented himself so many times over the course of his immortally long life that Yates no longer paid much mind to the politics of it. Throughout it all something had been missing.

It still was. What, he wasn’t sure.

With his blood hunger satisfied, he thought about what else he depended upon to survive. Sex. He needed it almost daily. He craved it as much as he craved seeing the sunrise. At least with sex, he could actually obtain the goal. The sunrise would never again be. He had vague memories of his last sunset, though at the time he wasn’t aware it would be his final one. He hadn’t asked to be brought over as a creature of the night, another form of the many demons that inhabited the earth and beyond. He’d been sired against his will and had to learn to make the best of it.

I am far from making the best of it.

All had been well until he had found her. The mysterious woman in the magazine. The one with haunting lavender eyes and a mouth that begged to be wrapped around his cock. She haunted his every moment—awake and asleep.

Yates growled as he went onto his back, hitting his bed with his fist as he thought of how his daily sexual escapades had died almost instantly since he had seen the mystery woman’s face in the magazine. Sure, he’d found beautiful women more than willing to lie with him and please him until sunrise but his cock wouldn’t cooperate. It had its sights set on one woman and one woman only. She was a stranger to him. Unfortunately, Yates knew nothing more than that she was a model.

In his line of work, he met with models nonstop. Many all but beat down his door, wanting him to photograph them because he was the best. The one who had just walked out on Yates had practically thrown herself at him, offering him free rein of her body. He had tried to take advantage of the offer but his cock refused to rise to the occasion, opting instead to lie dormant as the demon within demanded to be free. If the demon couldn’t fuck it or suck it, it seemed to think killing it would suffice. Thankfully, Yates had more than enough control to stop his demon from doing anything of the sort. He did, however, seem to lack the ability to kick-start his cock.

Sighing, he rolled out of bed and went to the magazine featuring the pictures of his mystery woman. It sat on a two-person table, positioned near the far end of his bedroom. He took a step toward it and scowled as he stepped on an open book. He liked his home tidy, everything in its place, and he valued his book collection greatly. The woman who had just left had insisted on leafing through various books then discarding them over her shoulder. He should have known then his dick wouldn’t want to be in her. Anyone who couldn’t appreciate a good read wasn’t worth fucking.

He sighed.

Yates ran his hand over the edge of the circular table. It was a piece he had acquired during his time in his homeland—France. Its flame mahogany veneer had caught his eye and the tapered, fluted legs kept it. He had an eye for detail and for fine things. That was part of the reason the woman from the magazine had held his attention. The magazine was already open to the pages she graced. As his gaze skimmed over the alluring raven-haired goddess, a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach began. She was so beautiful, unearthly so. Never before had a woman called to him as this one did. Those lavender eyes—he wanted to see them staring up at him while he rammed his body into hers.

She’s my mate.

The thought nearly knocked him over. For four centuries he had lived in darkness, refusing to believe any such person existed. Could it be that by merely opening a magazine, he had finally located her?

There is only one way to find out.

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Freaks come out at Night (bad boys of the night)

Snippet from Gypsy Nights by Mandy M Roth

Gitana divided the mint rhizomes out carefully on the countertop. She glanced at the parent plant and bent down to take in a deep breath. The scent of peppermint never got old. She concentrated on cutting the runners into the sizes needed to replant them. She was just about to make another snip when the bell dinged, signaling a customer was in the shop. Dusting her hands off, she exhaled and gave them a quick swipe across her smock before reaching up to adjust her falling hair.

Hours had been dedicated to trying to unlock the secrets of keeping her unruly hair up, but after twenty-nine years it was still a mystery. It was hard to fight the gift Mother Nature had given her—hair that seemed to grow faster than a weed. She shrugged and gave up.

Oh well, you can’t flaunt what you don’t have.

Leaving the greenhouse, she headed into her tiny herb shop. It provided her with enough income to pay her bills and she enjoyed it. “Be right with you,” she called out, hurrying to hang her smock on a hook and adjust her hair—again.

“Take your time,” a deep male voice replied, rolling over her, through her, before finally settling in the apex of her thighs. Never before had a man’s voice caused such a reaction in her. It caught her by surprise to say the least.

Gitana glanced up and drew in a deep breath. Every now and then she’d get a health-conscious hot guy who wanted to jump on the homeopathic bandwagon, but never had she had a man as stunning as this one walk in before. The tall stranger stood smiling at her just inside the doorway. His onyx hair hung in loose curls over his shoulders and blended in with his black leather jacket.

He slid a pair of leather gloves off his pale hands. His long fingers seemed to caress the shell they’d been enclosed in. Whoever he was, he’d managed to turn the simple task of removing a glove into an erotic moment. She’d never wished to be a pair of Italian gloves before in her life, but now she did. The thought of having his long fingers sheathed inside her was almost too much. Her pussy practically ached at the imagery.

“Umm, hello? Is there anything I can do to you—I mean, for you? Can I help you?” Gitana rolled her eyes, slightly embarrassed by her slip of the tongue. A slow, devilish smile crept onto his handsome face and she reddened.

Great, blush a little more, why don’t you?

He took a step toward her. “Oui, I was told you were the woman to see if I wanted to start my own herb garden.” His voice was laced with a heavy French accent that seemed very fitting to him. There was a certain aristocratic edge about him, as if he descended from a long line of powerful, influential men.

She gave him a sideways glance. He didn’t seem like the gardening type. No, he seemed more like the millionaire, international-playboy type. Jet-setting and yachts came to mind when looking at him—not herb gardens. But if he really wanted one, she’d help.

“Sure, what size garden do you have in mind…?” She didn’t have a name to address him by, so she let her question just fade away.

“Je m’appelle,” he said, stopping and shaking his head slightly. “Pardon, I did not mean to be rude. My name is Sebastian Rolle. I purchased the house across the way.” He pointed out toward the woods. “I am thinking of having several gardens put in.”

Yep, just as she thought, he wasn’t the gardening type. He probably already had a crew of twenty men waiting for him to tell them where to dig. “You can have your landscaper call me. I’d be happy to help him out with what he needs.”

His brow furrowed. “Je ne comprends pas—I do not understand. I have no landscaper. I will be handling all of this on my own.”

She let out a tiny laugh and covered her mouth, hoping he wouldn’t notice. Much to her dismay, he did. “Do you find that amusing, Madame…?”

“Gitana,” she corrected, walking out from behind her counter and extending her hand to him. “Sorry, no, I don’t find it funny. It’s just that you don’t strike me as the type who’d want to get dirty.”

“Getting dirty is one of my many specialties.” He slid his cool hand over hers and cupped it gently. For having had gloves on, Sebastian’s hands were like ice. She knew just the place to warm them but refrained from commenting. Already it was difficult not to let on what effect he was having on her. Acting a fool over men who visited her shop wasn’t something she was prone to, yet Sebastian seemed to bring that out in her.

Her gaze remained glued on him, memorizing his pale skin, the ridges in his body and the way his ink-black hair looked against his shirt collar. The man was delicious and out of her league. He’d make for something good to think about later, when she ran her fingers over her clit, trying to bring pleasure back into her absentee sex life. It would be easy to picture him above her as his hard body rode her. Her nipples ached for his touch, to know what it would be like to truly have those hands skimming her body, those fingers dipping into her tight cunt. Goddess, she wanted him in ways she’d not remembered wanting another man. Even just thinking of him in such a manner embarrassed her. She wasn’t a woman to fantasize about men she didn’t know. Okay, any man for that matter. Mostly, she just did what needed to be done in order to give herself an orgasm and then was done with it. No muss. No fuss.

It took her a moment to focus, her thoughts still running wild with a vision of the newcomer sliding his fingers into her before making room to dip his cock in. Pulling away slowly, she noticed she’d left dirt on his hand. She waited for him to try to find a place on his designer shirt to wipe it but he just glanced down and smiled.

“Looks like I am well on my way to being an avid gardener,” he offered, his lips curving up just enough to show only the faintest hint of pearly white teeth. Men weren’t supposed to come like him. No. They weren’t supposed to be walking temptation.

Not only had he been built that way, he was, apparently, her new neighbor. “You bought the old McGregor estate?”

Sebastian nodded. “Oui, it needs quite a bit of work but what can I say? I fell in love with it.” He brushed his hair back and exposed the most striking pair of celestial blue eyes she’d ever seen. Long, thick lashes that had been kissed by midnight framed them, holding her attention. He winked at her and made her jump. A nervous laugh escaped her. “Would you mind if I use your restroom? They will not have my water on for some time yet. I attempted to find other accommodations for the night, however, it seems this quaint little town has none.”

“Sure, umm, you’ll have to use the one in my house. The one here in the shop has been acting up for weeks now. I’ve been meaning to call someone. With spring just around the corner, I’ve been too busy.” Gitana led him into her home, thinking it odd the way he hesitated before passing the threshold, waiting for her to invite him in. He came and she showed him to the restroom, leaving and giving him privacy as she headed to the kitchen.

It was strange having a man in her home again. Since her divorce, men frequented her shop, but none had been in her home. And no man had caught her attention the way Sebastian had. The urge to head toward the bathroom door was great but she resisted, concentrating instead on preparing hot water for tea for her guest.

When he emerged, he nearly scared the daylights out of her because of how quiet his entrance had been. She’d never heard a peep. One second she was alone in the kitchen and the next, Sebastian was there.

Her fingers danced over her collarbone as her heart beat madly in her chest. “Some tea?”

“Merci,” he responded, taking a seat at the table. He seemed too big for it, which was surprising since it wasn’t exactly small. Then again, Sebastian Rolle was a large man. Everything about him demanded attention.

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We Got the Beat (party/club scene)

Snippet from Daughter of Darkness by Mandy M. Roth

We arrived at The Raven almost an hour later. Traffic was terrible, but the ride over was worse. I had assumed that when Pallo said we’d take his car, it would be a car. I was wrong. We ended up riding in the back of a long black limo. The three of us sat there, staring at each other, afraid to say a word. The only time the silence was broken was when the window came down between the driver and us. He wanted to let Pallo know that an important call had come in for him.

The ride took forever. I had never been so happy to get out of a car in my life. The Raven was a huge warehouse that had been converted into a dance club that catered to the supernatural element. I had never actually been there, but I’d heard plenty about it. Apparently everyone else in the city had, too. There was a line that stretched down the block and around the corner. I stood there with my mouth open. Most of the people in line appeared to be in their mid-twenties. Some looked like circus freaks. One man had his hair sprayed green and it stood at least three feet off his head. Around his neck was a dog collar and a chain ran from it to his nose. Yes, he had a chain hooked to his nose. He nodded at me when I looked in his direction. I nodded back.

Ken stepped out of the limo and came to stand behind me. He bent down and whispered to me, “I’ll be seeing most of these people in the courtroom soon.”

I knew he made a joke, but I didn’t particularly like the fact that there was truth behind what he said.

Pallo had walked ahead of us to the main door. He talked to a large man guarding the entrance. He motioned for us to come over. I looked at Ken and he shrugged.

“Looks like the dead have good connections,” he said.

“Shut up.”

We walked to meet Pallo. He took my arm when I got next to him, and I didn’t fight it. The man standing at the door was at least three hundred pounds. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he stood seven feet tall. His skin was rich, dark, beautiful. He was mammoth. He wore a black tee shirt that had a picture of a raven on it, and a pair of blue jeans that barely contained his stomach. I noticed that he wore sunglasses. It was almost pitch black out—the glasses were overkill.

“Master Pallo, your table is ready,” he said. His voice rocked my body from the bass in it.

“Thank you, Makonnen,” Pallo said as he walked through the open doors.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him when we went past. I thought he smiled back, but I wasn’t sure.

Ken followed close behind us. The place was awesome. Strobe lights flashed all around us. Blue, red, and yellow light beams swirled before my eyes. They seemed to correspond to the music, which pumped through the sound system so loudly it shook my body. A long, black bar ran along the left side. Shirtless men wearing leather pants were busy pouring people drinks. Every barstool was occupied, and the open spaces for the waitresses were crowded with people, too.

One girl pushed to get through the mob. She had a round tray in her hand. She was average height and weight, but had an enormous pair of breasts. They were a little hard to miss, since all she had on them was two tiny pasties with tassels on the ends. She wore a pair of boy-cut silver shorts that let the corner of her butt hang out, and a pair of matching silver go-go boots. Pink frizzy hair puffed out from her head in all directions. Pallo pulled on my arm, and we continued onward.

In the center of the old warehouse was a dance floor. The thing was at least three times the size of my apartment, and looked like it needed to be bigger. People were herded together, bumping and grinding to the music. A large DJ booth was set up directly behind the dance floor. A cage stood on either side of it. Girls in leather string bikinis were dancing in each cage, rubbing themselves against the bars. I shook my head and kept walking.

We reached the back of the club and Pallo guided me into the booth in the far, back right corner. It was L-shaped, and looked like it could seat at least ten people comfortably. I didn’t realize until I sat that the tables weren’t actually black, they were dark glowing and green, like the booth seat. I found myself sitting between Ken and Pallo. They still hadn’t spoken a word to each other since we left my apartment, and I was pretty tired of them acting like babies. Before I could say anything, the waitress with the frizzy pink hair came to our table.

“Pallo.” She said his name like she wanted to have sex with it. I stared at him and wondered if he was a regular here. The guy had his own table, for crying out loud.

“Good evening, Angela,” Pallo said to her.

Ken looked like he would burst if he didn’t say something snide, so I kicked him under the table.

Angela leaned forward and her breasts rubbed on the table next to Pallo. I got a good look at her and was shocked. She had long, fake pink eyelashes on both her top and bottom eyelids. She had big silver eyes. I wasn’t sure if they were contacts or her real eye color. From the way she acted around Pallo, I bet he knew.

I tried my best to ignore her, but she was having none of that.

“Pallo, you haven’t introduced me to your friends,” she said, tracing a finger around her lips as she spoke.

Pallo took a deep breath in, then spoke. “This is my Gwyneth, and her friend Ken.” I noticed the emphasis he put on the word ‘my’.

Ken quirked an eyebrow. “His Gwyneth?”

I rolled my eyes. Angela took this opportunity to lean in closer to Pallo. One of her tassels touched his face. Her little scene made me nauseous.

“Gee, Pallo, I hate to interrupt the two of you, but do you think we could eat now?” I let my annoyance show.

“No, really, its fine. I kind of like the show,” Ken said. I kicked his leg again and he let out a grunt.

“Yes, by all means.” Pallo looked at me to order. It took Angela a minute to give up the menu, but she finally did. I decided on a cheeseburger, fries and a soda, and Ken ordered a salad and a glass of water. He was always watching what he ate. When we were engaged he had gotten all preachy on me about my bad food choices. He would go on and on about clogged arteries and high blood pressure.

“Why didn’t you get anything?” I asked, looking at Pallo.

He smiled. “My Gwyneth, some things I cannot explain without looking like a monster.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot.” The fact that the man survived off human blood had totally left my mind. I reached out to touch his arm.

His other hand came and rested on mine. “It is good to know you can see past some things.”

“Couldn’t we just order you a raw steak or something? We could all sit around and watch you suck it dry,” Ken said. I wanted to crawl under the table. He did everything in his power to be the biggest jerk possible.

To my surprise, Pallo seemed amused with him. He smiled and tipped his head. The annoying waitress headed back in our direction, carrying a tray of drinks. She bent over, laid her body on the table, and gave Ken his water. She just about dropped my soda in my lap. I caught it before it toppled off the table. Then she turned and handed Pallo a large wine goblet. It was full to the brim with the thickest red wine I’d ever seen.

“I brought a little something special for you too, my love,” Angela said, handing him his drink.

Pallo actually looked uncomfortable. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and took the drink from her hands. She made sure to let her fingers slide over his a little too long. She turned and walked slowly away, sashaying the entire way.

Ken leaned over me and looked at Pallo. “When the hell did they start serving blood in here?”

“When they received their liquor license, the state considered their ‘special’ circumstance and included that, as well,” Pallo shot back at him.

“Well, I’m going to have to look into that.” He acted like a child who just had to have the last word.

After the day I’d been having, I thought I should have ordered a rum and Coke, but I wasn’t sure I could hold my liquor tonight. Angela finally came with our food and more drinks. I hadn’t had a full meal in days and was starved. Ken and Pallo both sat and watched me eat.

“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

“That stuff’s going to kill you,” Ken said, his voice loud.

“I doubt that I will go by way of cheeseburger, but concern duly noted,” I said, finishing up the last few bites of my meal.

Pallo gave me an odd look. “Do you always eat like this?”

I turned as I wiped the corners of my mouth with my napkin. “I eat when I’m hungry, and I eat what I want. Why?”

“I was just wondering where you put it all. There is nothing to you.”

I smiled, and heard Ken cough.

Angela kept popping in with refills for us all. During one of her little passes, she conveniently dropped a napkin into Pallo’s lap and reached down to pick it up. Her hand rubbed against his pants between his legs. She had enough nerve to cup her hand around him on the way up. I had had enough of their little petting show. I stood up.

“Move, Ken, I’m going to go dance.”

Ken looked at me for a minute, then slid out of the booth. I walked out and felt a little light headed. I put my hand on Ken’s for support.

“Hey, you better sit down,” he said, and eased me back around him.

“I’m fine, just stood up too fast.”

“Gwyneth, wait, I will join you,” Pallo said.

Angela practically threw herself on him. His face was buried in her big fake chest. Ken sprayed water out of his nose laughing.

I searched for the snippiest voice I could muster and said, “Well, Pallo, you look a little busy. No, really, don’t bother to get up.”

That’s me, always to the point and forever the sweetheart.

As I walked away, I could feel Angela glaring at me. I didn’t care. I pushed my way to the center of the dance floor. It had taken me almost five minutes due to the crowd. I knew Ken wouldn’t come out and join me—he couldn’t dance. I figured that Pallo was still busy getting felt up by little Miss Pink, so I went it alone.

I moved with the music. It was techno, and I wasn’t used to dancing to it, but I managed to get by. Closing my eyes, I let the rhythm dictate how I moved my hips and body. I let myself become one with the music.

Sharon asked me to teach her to dance when we were younger. Whenever we went out to clubs, she would pull me off the floor when I really got into it. She said that I pulled the men out of the woodwork.

After a few minutes, I was lost in music. My mind raced. The music beat so fast I began feeling disoriented. I thought of Pallo’s body. I wanted it next to mine. I was actually jealous of the pink frizz getting all of his attention. I wanted him to myself—she could find her own vampire. I called to him in my mind.

Cool hands slid onto my waist from behind. He had come out after all. I’d secretly hoped that he would. He moved his large hands around me so that the front of his body rubbed the back of mine. We moved together with the music. The rhythm got faster and faster and his hips rocked with mine.

His large hands slid up and under my shirt. I shifted my arms and he moved his hands around to my stomach and slid upwards. Reaching around, I grabbed a handful of leather pants and pulled him tighter against my body. I could feel something long and hard hiding in those pants, rubbing against my lower back. Funny, I didn’t remember Pallo wearing leather. It didn’t matter what he had on, I wanted him. As the music got faster so did we.

My breathing sounded more like panting now, and my face grew hot. He slid his hands up and around my neck. Pulling my hair aside, he kissed me with his cool lips. I felt the tiniest bit of pressure and his teeth sink into my skin. There was no pain. He was so gentle.

When I opened my eyes, I tried to focus. Men and women were dancing all around me. They hung on each other. Some were going at each other’s mouths with fury. Tongues were caressing tongues. I thought I saw a man sliding himself into the back of a woman, fucking her not more than four feet from us, but my head was cloudy. I couldn’t be sure.

Lips ran over my neck again. I moaned, pulled at the back of his pants. I wanted Pallo now. I wanted our bodies to become one. I needed to have him. My head felt light, airy and my heart beat wildly as he unzipped the back of my skirt, and slid his hand down it. The dance floor was so crowded I was sure that no one would notice the two of us.

“Pallo,” I whispered, softly.

He said nothing. He only moved his body with mine. He let his hands continue to feel around and explore my body. My eyes opened and closed as I kept my back pushed tightly against the front of his body. His rigid cock dug into my lower back and wondered what it would feel like to have it in me. He groaned in my ear. My thighs tightened with an anticipated orgasm. My God, the guy was going to bring me by just dancing with me. He was a rare find indeed.

“Pallo,” I whispered again, lightheaded. He gripped me tighter, kissing my neck. I looked sleepily ahead of me. The sea of dancing bodies had parted, and I saw Pallo coming for me.

“Pallo?” I tried to keep my head up. He pulled something behind him. I steadied myself and looked harder. A man clung tight to Pallo as he walked, bear-hugging him, trying to keep him from coming to me.

I turned around quickly, and the room spun. I managed to catch a glimpse of a pair of dark, almost black eyes and straight, long, silky black hair. I staggered in an attempt to be free, but the man held me tight to him.

“Grazie, bella mia.” I heard the sweet words as I drifted in and out.

“Pallo!” I wasn’t sure if I yelled aloud or just in my head. My eyes opened to a room full of ravenous vampires crouched around us, fangs flaring, snarling in my direction. I screamed and tried to lift my head to find Pallo, but it suddenly seemed too heavy.

“They are my children, and this is my establishment. They will not harm you, bella,” the man said, his accent thick—thicker than Pallo’s. I’d heard that voice before, in the farmhouse, after I’d awoken.

“Who are you?” My eyes closed briefly. When I opened them, some of the circling vampires were being tossed into the air. The dull sensation of a powerful energy came towards me. Pallo’s energy hit me with such a force that I felt sick to my stomach. I pushed a thought out to him. I didn’t ask for his help, I asked for his forgiveness.

Be still now, Pallo said softly in my head. I let my body go limp in the man’s arms.

“It is pointless. She is mine!” The man holding me shouted out into the room. “Oh, Pallo, you should’ve known I would sense her presence once she was near you.”

A gunshot went off. People screamed and ran in all directions. Pallo stood a few feet from me now. I couldn’t get my body to move. I wanted to raise my head and look at him. I wanted to reach out my hand to him, but I couldn’t.

“Giovanni!” Pallo’s voice boomed. “Give her to me.”

“Ah, it has been awhile,” the man holding me said. He slid his hand over my throat and let it come to a rest.

“Do not come any closer, Pallo. I would hate to have to put a mark on such a beautiful face,” he said, caressing my neck and chin slowly. “She is just as beautiful the second time around, wouldn’t you agree?”

Pallo took a step towards us and Giovanni squeezed my chin. I raised my face up enough to look at his. He was amazing. He looked like he had just walked off the cover of GQ. His jaw was not too wide and not too narrow. His lips were a pale cherry color. He wore a dark, short sleeved mesh top that showed off his upper body. He was not as muscular as Pallo, but he was toned.

Giovanni met my gaze. Fear gripped me and I began to sweat. I wanted to get away from him. I knew he was evil, but his eyes, they called to me, pulled me.

He didn’t want to hurt me. I sensed the struggle within him. I could feel how much he cared for me, and his desperation not to let me go. He glanced down at me, and I begged him to stop with my eyes, tears running down my cheeks.

Two more gunshots rang out. The remainder of the crowd opened wide, and I could see Ken pointing his gun at the ceiling. He held his right arm close to his body.

Pallo moved closer to me. Fingers squeezed my throat, and I moaned in pain. Giovanni bent and kissed my lips before letting go. “I shall see you soon, bella mia,” he said, and threw me high into the air.

My body was limp and I couldn’t get it to respond to my commands. I tumbled down, and prepared to crash into the floor. Two strong arms caught me and pulled me close. I smelled vanilla and Hugo Boss and knew it was Pallo. I concentrated on his face and pushed my thoughts into his head. I wanted him to know that I was sorry, that I thought it was him, and that I knew that was no excuse for my behavior. I wanted him to know so much. I pushed it all at him as he carried me past the remaining vampires.

I heard Angela’s voice next to me. “Now you are back where you belong.”

Pallo growled at her and she backed away, smiling at me. I knew she had something to do with this. I also knew I wanted her dead.

Ken came beside me. He clutched his arm to his body. Blood soaked the front of his shirt.

Pallo and Ken loaded me into the back of the limo. Pallo sat and lifted my head onto his lap. Ken sat on the seat facing us, still holding his arm. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but I couldn’t seem to speak.

“She wants to know if you are all right,” Pallo said, watching Ken and stroking the hair from my face.

Ken’s eyes widened. “She hasn’t said a word. Look at her, she’s practically catatonic.”

I knew Pallo had read my mind, and for once I was okay with it. He said nothing, but continued to pull my hair back from my face, away from my neck. He gasped.

Ken looked up. “Shit, he bit her. We need to get her to the hospital.”

“No!” Pallo interjected. “No, she will not be safe at a hospital.”

“I’ll get her police protection. She needs to go. Look at her, something’s wrong with her.”

“The police cannot protect her from Giovanni and his people. He will come for her, and when he does humans will learn firsthand that vampires and demons exist among them. And I think we both know that there is not a cleanup crew in the world big enough to hide a massive supernatural strike.” Pallo continued to run his fingers through my hair.

“Then we’ll take her somewhere far away from here. Somewhere this Giovanni prick can’t find her.” Ken leaned towards me and I thought I saw tears in his big brown eyes.

“He has put his teeth into her skin during passion. He can find her anywhere. He will be able to pull her to him. She will not be able to stop herself.”

“Bullshit! I can’t accept that,” Ken said.

“It took her many years to break his hold on her. I do not know if she is strong enough to do it twice.”

Ken looked at Pallo. “What the hell are you talking about? Gwen doesn’t know that guy.”

“Yes, she does. Her mind may not remember him, but her body does.” There was a bitter sound to Pallo’s voice.

“In English, please.”

“Do you love her?”

Ken sat there and looked at him. The thought of Ken loving anyone was so funny. He glanced at Pallo and answered him. “Yes, I love her.”

“I will do my best to protect her from him, but you will have to trust my judgment. Do you understand?”

“Do you go out of your way to not make sense?” Ken asked. “When you told me to get Gwen, how did you know something was wrong?”

“When I realized that our drinks contained something a little extra special,” Pallo said.

“How’d you know?”

He chuckled, lightly. “Angela looked attractive to me,” Pallo said. “I have known her for over a hundred years and in that time she has never once appealed to me.”

“I don’t think they could have sneaked anything into my water.” Ken leaned back against the seat, taking this all in.

“Do you normally go about the city shooting yourself in the arm?” Pallo asked, voice barely above a whisper.

I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. Ken shot himself in the arm? Impossible. The man went to the shooting range twice a week and was an expert marksman as far I knew. He lived and breathed guns.

“No. No, I don’t.” Ken sighed. “You’re right. When will hers wear off?”

“I do not know.”

A cool breeze tickled the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.

“You may rest now. I will come soon.” Giovanni’s voice filled my head. Tonight marks a new beginning for us, bella.

Pallo slipped his arm around me tightly and I passed out.

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