Extasy's Collective Mind - Sanguinary Seductions

Sanguinary Seductions

An Anthology by

eXtasyùs Collective Mind

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Sanguinary Seductions Copyright ¤ 2008 eXtasy’s Collective Mind ISBN: 978-1-55487-136-0 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.extasybooks.com

Content 1 - Before Morning - A.J. Llewellyn 2 - Betrayed by a Kiss - Astrid Cooper 3 - Blood of the Alizarene - Evelyn Starr 4 - Der Wolf - K.B. Forest 5 - Devil Woman - AP Miller 6 - Dexter - Marc Jarrod 7 - Draining Jayne - Viola Grace 8 - Erotic Ramblings of a Vampire - D.J. Manly 9 - Erotic Ramblings of a Werewolf - D.J. Manly 10 - Hunted - Laura Tolomei 11 - I’m a Vampire…in the Line of Garlic - Jackie Rose 12 - Initiation - Jade Marqueen 13 - Midnight at Morning’s - A.J. Llewellyn 14 - The Reluctant Incubus - Stephani Hecht 15 - Revenant - German Bradley 16 - Samantha’s Seduction - Tianna Xander 17 - Sandi’s Crimson Knights - Bonnie Rose Leigh 18 - Sins of an Angel - Stephani Hecht 19 - A Stone’s Throw: Addi - C.R. Moss 20 - A Tale of Opposites - Lynn Crain 21 - Through the Red Door Starkly - KA M’Lady 22 - The Vamp - Kira Chase

To our faithful readers…

Before Morning A.J. Llewellyn December 13, 1707, Mount Fuji, Japan. n the shadow of the great volcano, Askemua heard the stories of Kano, the fabled samurai, the fearless leader who abandoned the code of bushido, the way of the warrior, walking into the mountains one day, never to be seen again. For Askemua, the story was no myth. He’d known Kano, whose name meant masculine power, when the magnificent samurai ruled their village in the heart of the five lakes district at the foot of Mount Fuji. As others feared the predicted eruption from the impatient volcanic cone, Askemua’s attention was on Kano’s physical beauty and power. Struggling with his growing attraction for the samurai, second leader only to the mighty Shogun, Askemua feared the gods punished his unnatural desires by leaving him orphaned after famine. However, Kano was gentle and kind, giving him a small cottage and a small plot of land. “Make of it what you will, little man.” And he had. Askemua had been there the day the samurai was discovered in a compromising position with Yori, one of his own farm workers.

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind The peasants all claimed it was a sign of a coming eruption. Askemua eyed the twelve-thousand-foot ice-capped peak framed by ice-blue skies and thought them wrong. He tried to visualize roiling, red lava frothing from its dome, imagining it to be a thing of beauty as well as destruction. Whether the dire predictions were correct or not, Kano took the honorable path. He left with the clothes on his back, walking toward Aokigahara Jukai, the Sea of Trees. They said this forest was haunted. They said it housed monstrous creatures both living and dead. Whether it was the treacherous switchback trails or these alleged demons that killed people, Kano was the talk of the village every day. At night, Askemua dreamed of him as if in trance. He dreamed of their fierce and impassioned lovemaking, yet he had no experience of sex. He felt the samurai’s gingery breath on his skin, heard his sighs in dreams awash with colors of fire and unearthly brightness. He would awaken, drenched with sweat, his cock rigid and go about his daily chores feeling unsettled by his nighttime desires. There were women for the taking, but his wandering gaze was never on them, it was always men. On the night of Askemua’s nineteenth birthday, there was a commotion when Kano returned, hoping to take his lover into exile with him. Not only did he discover that Yori had taken another, but it was a woman he planned to marry. His black hair long now, Kano seemed to have a superior strength, a quickness that left the villagers breathless as they watched the two former lovers fight like enemies in a taro patch in the dead of night. Kano could easily have killed Yori, despite being unarmed. Yori came at him with fire-lit branches and even a sword, yet Kano prevailed. Beside his crumpled opponent, he stamped out the fire, handing the sword to Yori’s wife and, with a glance at Askemua once again, Kano left. And never came back. For five years now, stories of the samurai’s feats were like fairytales in a harsh environment where everybody worked and nobody had money. 2

Sanguinary Seductions There was no meat for anybody except the Shogun and severe weather often killed crops so the people fed their minds on dreams. Kano’s was an astonishing tale for he was the only known survivor to the forest they called the house of death because few who entered the Sea of Trees returned. Most took their own lives, driven insane by the disorienting power of the stones. Those who lived, told wondrous tales of volcanic rocks so huge and so potent, it confused them. “I saw Kano,” one man panted, returning to the village barefoot and shaky. Weary of debts and taxes, the farmer had hoped to find a better life and almost found death instead. He encountered dead bodies, other journeymen who’d taken their own lives, driven insane by the black forest. He said that Kano found him and saved him. “He offered me fruit and showed me the way home.” There were conflicting stories. Some said he saved their lives, some said he tried to kill them. “He’s crazy,” another man claimed. “He lives in a cave and he came out like a wild cat, attacking me.” But all those who survived the strange, hypnotic danger of the Sea of Trees acknowledged one thing. Kano controlled the forest, thriving on its mysterious life force. For Askemua, the seduction of the legendary warrior, to experience life outside his village above Edo, became an obsession. He sought sexual experience from Yori, the man Kano had once loved. Rebuffed at first, Askemua soon found that the farmer, one of the few elite to own land parceled out by the samurai before his departure, married his woman for appearance’s sake, but still craved men. One inexplicably warm morning, as he performed his chores, Askemua sensed a presence and turned to find Yori watching him. “Meet me at midnight at the shrine of the inari kitsune, the spirit fox.” The older man disappeared through a grove of bamboo trees, leaving Askemua tingling with anticipation. He sipped his hot green tea, a small reward for his morning’s toil, allowing his mind to drift. 3

eXtasy’s Collective Mind It wasn’t that he was attracted to Yori. He wanted to be with a man who knew what he was doing. At midnight, he removed his wooden Geta shoes for fear of making too much noise, making his way up the north western slope, away from the village, to the shrine hidden in a bamboo hut. The path felt smooth and warm under his bare toes. The night was still humid and as he progressed up the mountain, wildly lush and wet. The green of the trees seemed almost blood red in the dark night, the scent of mountain peaches tangy on the breeze. Yori was waiting for him. At age thirty-three, he was ten years older than Askemua, but looked much older. His life of deprivation, both physical and spiritual, had depleted Yori of his essence. Askemua wanted to ask, Do you miss him? What was he like? Do you still love him? But Yori’s need was urgent as he studied the younger, equally hungry man standing before him. “Am I your first?” Yori was licking his lips. Askemua nodded, suddenly terrified. “I won’t hurt you,” the dark eyes that held his echoed the promise of the rushed words. Yori drew him closer, inhaling his youthful scent, fumbling with the buttons of his cotton hakama pants. Askemua felt the warm breath on his exposed cock. Nobody had touched his private parts since he was a baby and his legs trembled as he felt rough hands fondling him, examining him. He was afraid to look down, yet deeply curious. Yori was studying his uncut cock, a small, secretive smile, then a kiss on the tip, sending ripples of happiness through Askemua’s body. Yori stroked the virgin manhood to life, taking pride in its increasing hardness. “I can’t wait anymore,” he moaned, plunging it into his salivating mouth. Askemua sank to his knees as back and forth, over and over his hardening cock, Yori’s searching mouth gave and took much joy. Then he stopped. His eyes were heavy lidded as his tongue and two fingers peeled back the foreskin to reveal the glistening head. 4

Sanguinary Seductions This new sensation of lips closing over his most private place as Yori pushed and pulled on him produced a euphoric feeling as Askemua’s cock plundered Yori’s experienced throat. With a dizzying cry, he came in the older man’s mouth. He felt the way the tongue swirled over the head of his eruption, the mouth teasing every last drop of life-force from him. Askemua’s entire body relaxed. “Very nice.” Yori let go of him now. “You liked it?” “Oh, yes.” Askemua wanted to reciprocate. “Please let me suck you, Yori.” “Not tonight. Meet me here again tomorrow and we will explore one another…at leisure. Now I must leave.” For the first time, he gave the younger man a kiss and Askemua could taste his own come on Yori’s tongue. He was surprised how sweet his juices were. “That’s because we are not eating meat,” Yori told him. “Meat turns the seed bitter.” He left Askemua alone with his thoughts, his racing pulse and his heightened awareness that he was one step closer to leaving the village in search of the man he was convinced he loved. He’d never tasted come before, anyone’s come, and now his body burned even more brightly for Kano. The thought that he would be with Yori tonight made it easier for him to get through the day. Again, he made his way up the mountain, but this time he arrived with an unyielding cock that made Yori laugh when his fingers reached for it. “Eh, you missed me, boy?” Yori suckled him to a fast and frantic orgasm, and this time, Askemua slid to the floor, Yori scrambling over him, his own cock begging for release. It was long and surprisingly thick. He’d seen his father’s a couple of times, caught one brother naked and, in his mind, imagined Kano to possess such a weapon between his thighs so he was pleased to find a large cock to practice on right here in the hut. Yori showed Askemua how to pleasure him, how to bring bliss to a man, to avoid teeth grazing the fragile skin and all the while, as his mouth and tongue brought new delights to the tired farmer, he dreamed he was with Kano…always Kano, who 5

eXtasy’s Collective Mind was waiting for him in his cave in the Sea of Trees. Yori was an impatient lover, eager to come and then go home. There were no shared moments of elation beyond his physical release. Askemua loved the taste of come and Yori chuckled as the younger man’s mouth lingered over his spent cock, trying to revive it. “Tomorrow.” He rose from the floor where they rolled in their indelicate embrace, promising more satisfaction tomorrow. For several nights, the new lovers met, bringing each other to increasingly intense fulfillment in their secret hideaway. Yori was ecstatic with the arrangement, Askemua frustrated. He longed for nakedness, for a slow exploration of the man he was beginning to treasure. “I have never allowed anyone to touch me in another way since Kano left.” Yori wept when he said this very late one night after his languor left him at the mercy of the younger man who pried secrets from him like root vegetables out of the stubborn earth. “Do you miss him?” Askemua finally asked the question that kept eluding him, stabbing at him, night after night. “I hardly remember him. He left my dreams long ago.” Askemua thought he could never forget a man like Kano. Then the young man he’d taught so much, wanted to bring him more pleasure still and Yori relented, giving into the tearful entreaties for closer contact, for the touch of skin against skin. He allowed Askemua to remove his hakama, parting his cottonmix kimono to reveal the lean and muscular body underneath it. Askemua stared at the balls and ass beneath the twitching tool in his hands. “These are like kintama, the golden balls of heaven,” Askemua’s unexpected words surprised both of them. “Please let me kiss them.” His dark head buried itself with assured swiftness between Yori’s relenting thighs. His face streaked with tears as Askemua’s probing tongue flicked at his ass, tentative at first, then becoming braver, moving up and over Yori’s balls and plunging back to the head 6

Sanguinary Seductions of his leaking cock, then zeroing in on his tremulous ass again. “Oh, no…no,” he rasped, clutching at Askemua’s head, desperate to keep him there. His ass rose and fell on the hardpacked earth as the younger man kept up his assault. “Hamete chodai! Fuck me!” Yori urged, his head tossing back and forth, his strong, muscular thighs spreading like an eager whore for him. Askemua couldn’t think straight. This was new territory for him, but he badly wanted to fuck and Yori grabbed his cock, placing it right at his ass hole. “Fuck me!” The virgin took the mighty warrior’s former lover, who flailed beneath his hard body. Askemua took what he wanted, giving equal delirium in the act he imagined, but never dreamed could be as good as it actually was. The orgasm he experienced fucking his lover was ten thousand times more intoxicating than just being sucked. “Fukaku hamekonde chodai! Fuck me hard!” Yori shrieked. Oh my God. As he pounded into the man begging for his prick, Askemua felt an astonishing fire lighting within him and he came at the same second he felt Yori exploding all over his chest and belly moaning, “Iku! Iku! I’m coming! I’m coming!” Askemua felt his chokyo, his sexual training was complete. Yori laughed when it was all over. “You fuck me like a man who is on a mission to own me, to dominate me.” The look he gave Askemua was almost hopeful and the younger man knew it would be easy to stay, easier not to leave, but he had already chosen the mate he wanted. This time, he was the one to give his lover a gentle kiss, the one to leave the hut first and return home. However, he didn’t sleep. He packed a few belongings and gathered the offerings he planned to take Kano. He prayed to the Goddess Kwan Yin at his family shrine, asking for guidance and strength. Leaving a note bequeathing his land and home to Yori, in the ripening morning, the Goddess of Fortune gave him the sign that he was right to leave now. The Shogun ordered one of his prize cows to be killed to feed his hungry, disgruntled workers and, when he received his portion, Askemua salted the beef, slicing and wrapping it in ti7

eXtasy’s Collective Mind leaf to keep it fresh. Dressing in his thickest kimono and his sturdiest hakama, rush-matting zori slippers on his feet, he left his quiet village. Nobody would be paying attention. They would think he was searching for fruit. As he swept one last look over the village below him, he felt no regrets, only excitement and, as he looked up at Mount Fuji, he thought he saw wisps of smoke. Oh yes, an eruption, all kinds of eruptions were possible. He climbed for almost a full day, snatching fruit from cherry and peach trees, adding choice pieces to Kano’s bundle. On the first night as he edged toward the forest, he felt his first moment of panic. It was cold and very wet in this Sea of Trees. He glimpsed his first patches of volcanic rock and, for one second, contemplated returning home, but urged himself forward. It was as if the voice of his father spoke to him—when we walk into the future, we go empty handed. Do not be afraid. He wondered if his father would encourage him to proceed on his journey. Who was up there, whispering to him? He decided not to question but press forward in his search of the man who shadowed all his days. The knowledge that he had finally done it, that he was one step closer, gave him the little shove he needed. He stepped into a peaceful mangrove, spreading the thick hemp cloth he spent weeks hand weaving and, after rolling his weary body into it, slept. **** He awoke before dawn to the tune of forest birds. It was an unusual sound since he’d never heard it before. The closest he had ever come to morning song was when traders from the big city of Edo arrived in the village singing, “Let’s trade, let’s trade!” They brought candles and candies in exchange for night waste, human excrement, which they took to factories in Edo that sold it as fertilizer. Asekmua smiled to himself. He’d saved a traded candle as an offering to Kano. Bundling up his belongings again, he tried to get his bearings, plunging fearlessly with the first pearly 8

Sanguinary Seductions gleams of gray morning light into the almost impenetrable Sea of Trees. Feeling like he’d walked for days, he lost all sense of day and night. He hungered, yet refused to open his bundle for fear of wolfing down the very last morsel of food. The ground was dense and the earth had a strong metallic smell. As his eyes became used to the darkness, he saw the huge exposed roots of trees that could trip him. A moment later, he saw a tree with berries dangling before him, his for the picking. He’d never seen their like. He took one, hoping it wasn’t poisonous, and ate it. It had a slightly tart taste, but was otherwise good. He ate and ate, planning to pack some in his bundle until he saw his fingers were stained red, like blood. He thanked the tree for its gift and moved forward almost colliding with the body of a man hanging from another tree. The shock of its discovery was enough to send him scurrying forward and then he saw it. The most glorious image he’d ever seen in his life. He parted a copse of trees to get a closer look at what he hoped was not a mirage. He saw the lake now, a faint, silky thread of pink, orange and red outlining the dark horizon. In seconds, the molten sun was swelling over the lip of earth, waking up the sleeping water, lapping gently over chunks of ice floating in the almost frozen lake. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” He swung his head to the right and almost wept. It was him. Clad head to foot in black. Kano. The two men stared at one another as the sun continued to rise. Kano’s smile was for the dazzling display of nature, not the man beside him, but then his gaze traversed back to him. Whether he knew exactly who he was, Askemua wasn’t sure. He only knew in that moment that Kano recognized him and it was enough. “You’re a long way from home.” “I brought you gifts.” Askemua’s trembling hands held up the bundle and an odd look crossed Kano’s face. “I never accept favors.” 9

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “They’re not favors. They are gifts. I brought them for you.” Kano looked back over the horizon, beckoning Askemua to follow him. He led him along narrow switchbacks through green-black trees to a cave. “You may visit…but I prefer visitors to stay in their own cave up the trail. Is that understood?” Askemua nodded. Kano looked amazingly fit and well, his clothing spotless, his body strong looking. He was here, he was finally here. “And when I ask to be left alone, you will obey, understood?” “Understood.” And finally, Kano gave him a kind smile, to soothe away the anger in his eyes as they entered his cave. It was surprisingly clean and roomy, about eight feet high in the dark recesses, a small alcove housing the samurai’s sleeping quarters. There were baskets lining one wall that also held a neat grill made of stones and pieces of iron. “Show me what temptations you bring,” the samurai was all smiles now, the gracious host. He delighted over the package of rice, the salted beef, which he clearly hungered for, and the cakes Askemua had baked of edamame soy beans and poppy seed. He took a long appreciative sniff of the candle, thanking him for the fruit, but stiffening at the sight of the sword wrapped in hemp cloth. “I have no need of weapons.” He laid it against the far wall of the cave, the two men looking at each other. Afterward, Kano looked angry again. “I wish to be alone now. Let me show you to your cave.” Askemua stumbled out into daylight, Kano following him, instructing him which way to turn. He followed the haphazard trail, turning to thank the warrior at the opening to the cave, only to find he was alone. He walked in, wishing he’d kept the candle now, but found the cave quite pleasant. Not as big as the first one, it was clean with rush matting on the floor. He dropped his bundle to one side, heading back out to look 10

Sanguinary Seductions around. For a long time, he sat, just being at peace with his presence there. He watched birds in the sky, looked at the trees, praying Kano would grace him with a visit. He had almost given up when the sun began to dip its wings into afternoon again and Kano came looking for him. “Let me show you around.” He led the way through stunning paths of enormous trees and a waterfall, over which giant white birds, with tipped black feet and heads, soared and plummeted, catching small fish in their beaks. “You want to bathe?” Kano asked over his shoulder, taking him to a large flat rock where the water beneath their feet lapped bright blue. Stripping quickly, Kano’s body was welldefined muscle under skin the color of sand. He was as majestic as Askemua remembered. He feared removing his own clothing because he had a huge erection, but stole the moment Kano jumped into the water to strip and enter the freezing flickers of salt spray. He caught a glimpse of Kano’s cock and it was massive. He was glad now for the practice he had with Yori, but this dick was bigger still. Maybe he should have stayed and practiced more? The two men frolicked in the water, a deepening awareness of one another’s bodies remaining unspoken. Despite the coldness of the water, Askemua still had a painful erection that was noticed by the warrior who climbed out of the water, holding out a hand to pull him up to the rock. “What is it you came here for exactly?” The two men were very close now, the tip of Askemua’s cock touching the sumurai’s thigh. Kano’s gaze held his even when he whispered, “I came here for you.” “What is your name?” “Askemua.” “Ah, I remember you now.” It was as if a fire had extinguished between them. Kano turned his face away, looking at the setting sun. “I never eat with others, but I believe you have given me all your food and I am eager to hear of the village. When I tell you to leave, you will obey, understood?” 11

eXtasy’s Collective Mind If and when those strange instructions came again, he wouldn’t care. At last they would talk. Both men walked back to Kano’s cave naked, and he was surprised when their bodies dried off by the time they arrived. The warrior dressed, hiding that splendid body underneath his kimono. He hadn’t touched a bite of food in all the time he was alone. He’d been cooking. He handed him a stone bowl with warm sweet potatoes and some of the rice Askemua had brought. He asked many questions and Askemua answered them, declining the beef, because he wanted Kano to enjoy it. The warrior asked about everyone in the village, except Yori. When it was very late, his voice took on a chill. “I wish to be alone now.” Askemua retreated quickly to his own cave, wanting desperately to be in Kano’s arms. How hideous to be so close, yet so far. If he went back to Kano, what would happen? He stepped outside, nerves restraining him. He heard an enormous roar and almost screamed when he felt the ground shaking under his feet. What was happening? He fled back to his cave, closing his eyes to the strange sounds of the forest, for the first time thinking, what have I done coming here? **** Only minutes passed before Kano appeared at the entrance of his cave, silhouetted by a strange glow. “Follow me.” Askemua would follow him anywhere and was stunned when he saw the blood of the earth, lava spewing out of Fujisan’s fiery belly. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Kano was radiant as heat flushed their faces, red firelight whooshing up into the sky and down to the ground again. Ribbon after ribbon of liquid fire slithered to the earth, none close enough to them to be of harm, but Kano’s face turned grave. “You should go back. I have no idea what the eruption will do to the trails. You won’t find your way back for weeks.” “I have no intention of going back. I left my home to Yori.” Saying his name seemed to inflict a stinging slap on Kano’s soul. 12

Sanguinary Seductions He flinched. Turning his eyes back to the power play on the mountain, Askemua wondered how the folks back home felt about the eruption now. “Then let’s go bathe.” Kano’s words were so odd in the midst of the natural drama surrounding them that Askemua almost laughed until he realized, he aroused the warrior from his self-imposed priesthood. Then Kano took a step toward him. “Are you Yori’s lover?” “I was. I wanted experience before I came to you.” “Did you fuck him?” “Yes.” There was a sigh from Kano. Those words undoubtedly hurt him. Askemua wanted the cock hidden under the camouflage of the black hakama pants and Kano did not resist when he knelt before him, liberating that huge, smooth cock from its lonely exile. He tasted sweet even before he could gobble any of the liquid threatening to erupt as Fujisan was right now. “Are you always in such a rush?” Kano asked, but his voice was warm, his hands stroking Askemua’s hair away from his face. When Askemua did not respond with words but a renewed, intent purpose of bringing oral pleasure to the object of all his fantasies, Kano removed his clothing, easing Askemua back long enough to remove his pants. When Askemua glanced up, the great warrior looked like a falcon with his kimono hanging around his arms, his hands holding the eager, suckling head to his body. Askemua taunted and tasted, sucked and licked, testing the warrior’s size and strength, taking more and more of that gargantuan prize into his mouth. “Oh, your koibito, your lover, taught you well.” The two men’s gazes met, volcanic fire reflecting off the samurai’s lustglazed eyes and he came with a bellow equal to Fujisan’s constant explosions, filling Askemua’s mouth and throat with hot, sweet juices. He did not let go of the huge cock in his mouth and took delight in seeing the kimono fall off his 13

eXtasy’s Collective Mind warrior’s arms in his moment of pure ecstasy. Kano’s eyes opened slowly. “Did…did Yori fuck you?” Looking up, Askemua saw old, seismic pain smoldering just below the surface. Releasing Kano from his mouth, he whispered, “Of course not. I couldn’t give him what doesn’t belong to me.” “You…you have another lover?” Askemua laughed as the ground rumbled, the samurai’s body tensing. Throwing himself over Askemua, he covered him in a protective way. “No, there is no lover other than you. My shiri, my ass, belongs to you.” Askemua reached for the samurai’s face and saw the lust illuminated by savage fire dance. “You…you are sure you want this?” Askemua nodded, the samurai bending down with surprising tenderness, placing hot kisses over his closed eyes. It seemed to him that he must have entered Paradise because Kano was licking and kissing every inch of his skin, bringing him to fulfillment over and over again. When at last the samurai wanted to take him, Askemua was crying, screaming into the hot, acrid air, sulphur stinging his eyes, filling his nostrils. All he wanted was that cock inside him. “Do you have any idea who I am?” Kano asked him, poised between being a fantasy and the man who possessed him completely. Askemua just looked at him, completely incapable of begging the samurai to fuck him anymore. He’d lost his voice through screaming Kano’s name as the samurai coaxed one orgasm after another out of him. Fearing those hateful words, I wish to be alone now, he wept in silence. Kano softened, trying to reassure him with kisses. “Sweet Askemua. Do you even know who you are?” Askemua felt the hot, hard cock pressing against his opening and knew his whole life was about to change, just as Mount Fuji and all of Japan was being transformed. “Do you even know what your name means?” Kano asked 14

Sanguinary Seductions as the foreskin of his cock slid back and Askemua saw the moist head disappear into his very tight opening, making them both groan. “No…I don’t…know what it means.” The agony of being taken swamped his mind as a new feeling…something…else, invaded his body and his senses. My God, it was the dream he’d seen in trance night after night. “Your name means Before Morning, my love. I have always known we were supposed to be together, but if you do not wish to be mine forever, you need to leave now, never to return.” “I want you, I want you,” Askemua sobbed. “Please don’t make me leave.” And then he saw the teeth, the great vampire’s teeth he dreamed of, only now he was not so sure he had been dreaming. Pain turned into a river of joy as Kano took the life force from him, taking his thriving blood, and just when he thought he was dying, Kano raised his face, his eyes aflame with unearthly power. “Take of me what you will, little man.” Kano entered him fully with one more thrust and Askemua, feeling the change in his body’s chemistry, screamed for more, more…and then Kano’s bloody wrist was at his mouth. Askemua fed on him the way he had for so many years, in sleep and in snatched daytime memories. I came back to the village for you that night, not for him, but he fought me. I knew you would find me. Kano’s voice filled his head. In the shadow of that great volcano, a new love took root, a new legend to be told. Askemua sighed when he glimpsed the sword by his lover’s side. Kano had used it, not as a weapon, but to join them. He let go of Kano’s wrist when he felt his lover’s heartbeat falter. “I’ve dreamed of you for so long.” “My love, I know.” Kano took his hand away, sealing the gaping wound shut with his tongue. “I know.” He fucked Askemua the way the young man dreamed and, when at last they came together, Kano whispered, “I wish never to be alone 15

eXtasy’s Collective Mind again.” Askemua sighed as the earth erupted, sparks and fire floating over them. Kano carried him to their cave and, with great tenderness, they made love, feeding on each other all they could. United, as their dreams foretold, before morning came again.

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Betrayed by a Kiss Astrid Cooper ou’re leaving me, just like that?” Deeanne asked, her heart slamming against her ribs. Denying it, denying his words, she drew the silk sheet protectively to her chin, watching him. He stood immobile as a statue looking through the holowindow, silhouetted by the purple moonlight. A contradiction of shadows and light, this man, who was no man, but a monster. An alien monster. “Yes,” he said. “I must.” The rich timbre of his voice caressed, making her shiver with its honey and its menace. Tonight was no exception. But now she also trembled with fear. She hadn’t been afraid for a very long time. “But why must you go?” He turned to her then, his gaze upon her, purple-tinged. He de-activated the hologram with a sweep of his hand. Where moments before the image behind him had been of the night on his homeworld, now there was only the bare, cream wall of their London apartment. “Don’t cry, Dee!” He took one step toward her and halted, spreading his hands. “I told you this day would come, when we first became lovers. You bit me then. I would much rather you bite me again, than weep.” His smile was tentative. “I have been with you for seven years, faithful to you. For a vampire

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind that is extraordinary.” “I should be grateful?” She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. “I don’t want your gratitude. We’ve enjoyed ourselves, now it’s time to part. Men of the Blood are fickle. You knew one day I would leave you for another.” “And you’ve found this other woman?” Anger replaced the fear; she trembled with it. Her skin flushed, her temples pounded, but rage fuelled the lust. Her secret women’s flesh betrayed her, craving him, even in his moment of treachery. She tore the silk sheet with her nails. She would have much preferred to rend his flesh. He laughed gently. “I smell your sex. Your body knows, but your intellect rejects. Let me love you again. Take your mind from what will be, Deeanne.” She drew in her breath. He rarely used her full name, only in moments of pleasure or anger did he call her thus, much preferring the shortened version of Dee. What was his mood? He gave no hint, his wine-dark eyes were unfathomable—she had learnt to understand him, his mercurial spirit, but now he was a stranger. Even their mindlink was denied her. That betrayal hurt the most. A vampire and his woman forged a psychic bond through blood and flesh and time. It could never be sundered. Whatever other lies existed between them, the link would remain constant. He had said that and she believed him. Was this yet another lie to win her love, her loyalty? She would not play the victim, no matter what. She swallowed down hard and lifted her chin. “Where will you go? What will you do?” The light flared in his eyes. “Ah, Dee! It will be a long time before I find another woman with your strength.” “So why go looking?” “I’m a vampire. My blood stirs.” “And that explains it all?” “It should.” She flung herself up from the bed and padded across the 18

Sanguinary Seductions marble floor, halting before him. Her taut nipples touched his rib cage. His erection pressed out to sear her stomach. She reached up and ran a finger through his jet hair, flicking a long strand back over his ear, smoothing it down his back, her nail scraping his skin. Deliberately drawing blood. Laughing, he captured her hand, bringing it to his palm and gently licked, then bit, then licked again. “Where will you go?” she whispered. “Home.” “To Cordoba? There’s nothing for you there, only a ruined castle!” “I will rebuild it. I must do this.” His words were hollow, but she heard the nuance of deceit. The bastard was hiding something from her…something, or someone! “Alone?” He inclined his head. “What aren’t you telling me?” He smiled gently. “A man must always have secrets from his woman.” “By your own admission, I am no longer your woman.” She paused. “Cristóbal…” He put a finger to her lips. “Don’t. When you speak my name, I’m powerless.” “Then I’ll hold you prisoner. Come here.” She tugged him and they fell onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. He plunged into her, a sudden and deep fuck, of need. Flesh taken and being taken—no gentle lover’s caress. No, this was for possession, to each claim the other. To bring pleasure amid the pain. Even as she kissed and fondled him, hers a desperate loving, the resolve hardened within her. She would show this bastard what he was rejecting. He had taught her so much, but now the student would become the teacher. He had entered her life as master, demanding, making the rules, but she knew his game, knew how to make her own rules, play her own game, make him suffer. “On your back, Cristóbal.” 19

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “When you take that tone with me, it is so exquisite!” Laughing gently, he acquiesced and lay with his arms and thighs widespread, his hair fanning around him like a black silk cape. “I aim for beyond exquisite.” She knelt between his legs and lay over him. “Ah…Madre Dios!” She nipped his sensitive flesh, scrolling her tongue around his navel. A gentle kiss above his pubic bone, then deeper, her teeth grazing. She rubbed her cheek against his cock, feeling his heat, smelling the pungent scent of spice and man, and vampire. His redolence intoxicated. She flicked the cock tip with her tongue, teasing into the slit and went to take him into her mouth. “No!” He reared up and flipped her onto her back, gazing down as he loomed over her, his knees and hands holding his weight. He shook his head and his hair swept across her face. She caught his hair between her teeth, sucked the strands, tasting, smelling the exotic perfume—male musk, vampirespice, cloying. Utterly addictive. She burned. She trembled. Her heart raced, her blood surging through her veins, reaching a terrible aching apex at her thighs. He lowered down into her, again possessing her with a deep commanding thrust. His mouth fastened on her breast, traveling inexorably upward. His teeth probed, tongue scraping across her jaw. He poised at her throat, to heighten the drama, the moment and bit. The pressure was intense, the pleasure unbearable. She groaned, she wept. The blood slowed in her veins, heavy like molasses as he drank deeper, faster. His hardness within her anchored her as she writhed beneath him, biting him in return. “Ah, my Deeanne,” he whispered, moving against her. She grasped his hair and pulled his head back. “Damn you! I’m tired of being bitten.” His face hardened, his eyes turned cold. “You want me to stop?” 20

Sanguinary Seductions “Yes.” “A lie I think,” he purred. “Your body…your scent tells me otherwise.” “If you continue, it is against my will.” The lie flowed easily from her lips. “I have never raped.” “You are now.” “You bitch.” “You bastard.” Cristóbal rolled away and flung himself from the bed. He glared down at her as she raised herself on her elbows. His heated gaze lingered upon her body. She tossed her head, flicking back her hair. This is what you leave…she mindchallenged him. “Is this how it ends, querida?” he demanded. “Yes.” On my terms. For once. “Then farewell.” He bowed theatrically and left her—god damn him—without so much as a backward glance. She swallowed her tears. Cristóbal had made her strong and she would survive. Because revenge was a dish best served cold. **** Cristóbal was seven days gone. Dee had always appreciated the extent of their apartment. It allowed each of them to pursue their own interests, but now its size was oppressive, weighing down upon her. As silent as a vampire’s tomb. Where was he? For a week, her tentative mind-probes had remained unanswered. There had not even been a vibration of him, no matter how long and hard she sought his ether-spirit. He had probably left the country, or perhaps gone to Sanctuary—the created home, a limbo between dimensions when the world of humans became too much to bear for one of the Blood. Or was he with his new love, the new virgin-initiate 21

eXtasy’s Collective Mind introduced to his ways? Deeanne broke the mirror in the bedroom. The glass shattered along with her memories and her hopes. She collapsed on the bed and cried until exhaustion carried her to oblivion. When she awakened, she felt his mind-touch, the faintest whisper. Cara? He was nearby, that much she could tell. They had often argued, and one or the other occasionally departed the house, to lick wounds, but the link was always there—a teasing touch they used to entice and to punish. She often wondered if Cristóbal regretted showing her how to use that psychic bond as a means to torment. Come to me! Dee summoned him, loud, clear and sharp. So sharp it was like a dagger piercing her mind. Cristóbal. You are expected. Tonight. She sent an image of his reward, what she would do to him if he obeyed and what she would do to him if he did not. Cristóbal’s perverse nature might see him decline her invitation, to have her inflict more hurt, until he returned of his own accord. She spiced her summons with her scent: the redolence and the promise, an irresistible bait to lure her vampire. **** Dee sat at the candlelit table dressed in a strapless red silk gown that defied gravity solely by her curves. Around her neck was a black ribbon decorated with a single ruby. Her hair was freshly hennaed and piled upon her crown and held in place by a ruby and diamond clasp. She drummed her fingers on the mahogany table, absently studying her long red nails, the ruby and diamond ring on her small finger. It caught the light, and her memories stirred. Memories long forgotten, of a lifetime ago… Then she was a homeless runaway whom he had found in 22

Sanguinary Seductions the backstreets, eking out a living, through thieving, not prostitution—she had not been that desperate. She, with the others, had watched him enter their domain from the shattered tenement, their home. They had stalked him, a stranger obviously lost, his Armani suit and Ray Bands acting as a magnet to every lowlife in the neighborhood. He had eluded them all, a shadow slipping away into the night. He returned the next night and the night thereafter. She followed and cornered him in the alley, her knife at his gut. He had laughed at her. Laughed. She had lunged and he had deflected her blade with a swipe of his hand and brought her protesting, cursing into his embrace. His first kiss ensnared her. He bid her follow and she obeyed. The street had vanished, her world left far behind as he brought her to his Sanctuary. His Sanctuary, but her prison, this place between dimensions where those of his kind made their homes on a world that was not their own, when they did not want to assume a human persona. When they had an initiate to school to their tastes, their needs. She was then sixteen years of age, illiterate, a spitting wildcat virgin, eventually tamed, but not bedded until she was ripe, ready. In four years, he had made her ripe, ready, eager for him, his ways and then he fucked her and that had truly been her end and her beginning. In that first bedding, he had revealed to her what he was, but by that time she did not care. She wanted him, had to have him, or go mad. He gave her the vampire’s kiss, biting her and she bit him back, scratching him, blooding him. He had merely laughed and bedded her again and again, taking her in all ways imaginable, and unimaginable, such was the vampire’s way. Over time she had learnt to become her own mistress, to shrug aside his summons, his demands, but no matter what was said or done, their bed was always a place to assuage mutual need, to forget pain, never a place to inflict hurt. Until tonight. Dee felt his presence and it drew her back to the present, to 23

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the thudding of the blood in her veins, the pounding of her secret woman’s flesh. “Good evening, cara.” Cristóbal bowed. “You smell delicious; you look good enough to eat. And I will.” “In my good time.” “Of course.” “Will you sit and dine?” “I would rather bed and dine.” “Later.” She waved him to the chair at the opposite end of the antique table, watching him. He wore a black suit and crisp white shirt, an intricately tied black silk cravat, with a single ruby pin at its center. His long hair was held back in a neat, severe tail and at his lobe a single ruby glittered. Alike…so alike; so attune, the thought made her heart ache. They ate in silence, their gazes feasting. Dee drank the burgundy, running her tongue over the rim of the crystal goblet, taking another sip, carefully swirling it around her mouth, before swallowing. He watched her amused. He sampled his own wine, mimicking her actions. She saw the violet tinge in his eyes—he was ripe for the picking. Pushing up from the chair, she strode from the room without a backward glance. Moments later he joined her in the bedroom. She saw him take in the transformation, the bed hung with black curtains, the black sheets covered with red rose petals. Seven black candles set in a silver candelabrum sat in the center of the chamber. One candle for each year she had been with him. He smiled at her. “You are a Goth at heart.” “I have to be, wouldn’t I, to live with a vampire?” “Will you forgive me?” “You have to earn redemption, Cristóbal.” “Too late for that, cara—centuries late! Too much blood has been spilt for me to be saved.” “Insufferable melancholy!” she hissed. “You are so Spanish!” “Thank you for the compliment.” “Oh,” she said, “how clumsy of me. I meant to accuse.” 24

Sanguinary Seductions He laughed and reached out a finger to stroke the swell of her breasts. “Cara—” She stepped back. “Strip, Cristóbal. Go to the bed. Now.” “I enjoy your games.” “You mightn’t enjoy this one.” He quirked a brow, then slowly, deliberately, like an exotic stripper, removed every item of clothing, pausing as he stood before her dressed only in his black silk shorts. He put his fingers to the waistband and halted. Moved it a fraction lower. Her gaze followed and she ran a tongue over her dry lips, savoring the spectacle of the taut plain of his stomach covered with the dark hair and lower, the darker curls, then the tip of his cock. He paused, allowing her to enjoy the moment, the glimpse, until all was revealed. He dropped the shorts to the floor, letting them pool around his ankles. He lifted the silk, kicking it and it flew past her, like a fluttering bird, caressing her bare shoulder. He held his arms akimbo. “Well?” “The bed.” Laughing, he lay down upon the silk and his weight crushed the rose petals, his warmth releasing their perfume. Rose and vampire musk…intoxicating, irresistible. But she had to resist, for her sake. For her life. For her revenge. She stepped forward and halted at the edge of the bed, bending over so that she was certain he would see her cleavage. She took his ankles and flung his legs apart. “You want it rough tonight, cara?” he asked. She slapped his thigh. “Speak only when I command. You must remain silent, or else redemption will elude you. Put your hands behind your head. Remain so until I grant you permission to move.” “Dios!” She slapped him again and he watched her with heavy eyes, somnolent, but she was not deceived. He was lurking, ready to pounce, if she allowed it. “Now, lie still. Be a good boy.” 25

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “You know I have never been a good boy!” She climbed upon him, her gown bunched around her waist. She took him inside her, all the while her gaze holding his. They watched one another, felt one another as they danced a dance that was older than time. Their scents mingled, spice and rose and the cloying vampire musk invaded her awareness. She wet her lips with her tongue, her heart shivering in her chest as her flesh shivered and wept and shuddered over him, around him. He groaned. “Did I give you permission to speak?” His eyes blazed furiously, anger and passion combined. “You learn. Here is your reward.” She varied the speed and the depth of his penetration until it was he who thrashed upon the bed in sex-delirium, when so often, it was she. Tonight, she was mistress. His torment would continue. She pulled away. Please! His mind touched hers. She slapped his thigh. “You aren’t to speak.” Sweet love, my mouth did not. “No speaking whatsoever—mind or mouth.” “Fuck you,” he snarled, baring his fangs. “Rather I thought I’d fuck you.” She slapped his cheek. “Be quiet, querido, or do you want more punishment?” He remained silent, but she saw the hunter in his eyes, stalking her. He was wise enough to know that if he waited long enough, all would be his—punishment and pleasure—but in what order? Tonight it would be Dee to dictate the sequence and the severity. She allowed him to kiss her from head to toe. She held her pleasure, holding desire, holding release as she had learned— the lessons from the Indus, the art of Tantra. The ripple grew into a deluge until she rocked against him, bathing him with her release. “Forgive me, my one, my only love.” She leaned over him, hiding her intent, and dragged the heavy, cold gun from beneath the pillow. “Now we won’t be parted.” 26

Sanguinary Seductions And fired into his temple. Deeeeee! His mind-scream was the last thing he gave her as he died. She hadn’t expected so much blood; the horror-sight of his shattered face… Blood and flesh spattered across the bed, across her. Even in death, he clung to her. Dee staggered away, her gut heaving. The Colt pistol, she had been assured, would blow out his brains. She needed that certainty, to kill a vampire. She didn’t want to maim. He had to die from the first and only bullet in the gun. The pistol tore at her fingers. She dropped the weapon and it thudded against the floor, the only sound amid her sobs. Dee wept until she was ill and then dragging herself forward, a tottering step at a time, she returned to him and gently straightened the body, smoothing out limbs, trying not to look at the mangled flesh, trying to remember him how he was… She lay beside him and, with swift strokes of her knife, slit her own wrists. Her betrayal of him, a throbbing hurt inside, made her immune to other pain, she didn’t feel the cuts. The blood flowed from her and she smiled, pressing her cheek against his now still breast. Seven years together in life, now together in death for eternity. She smiled and closed her eyes. She remembered a history lesson from the many lessons Cris had taught her. The Romans made a ceremony of suicide, inviting friends to a sumptuous feast and entertainments, reading a statement as they severed their arteries. They died to the sound of music. She would have no such rite of passage. She would die in silence, in the utter knowledge of love’s betrayal. His. Hers. Knowing that to live alone was worse than death. Time passed and her body drained. Her heart slowed. How difficult it was to breathe. Darkness descended. Then she saw the light. Wait a moment! Light? One who was a murderer and a suicide didn’t go toward the 27

eXtasy’s Collective Mind light…no, she was destined for darkness, hell in another name. “Hell, my dearest love? There’s no such place, except of our own making.” Dee opened her eyelids, her gaze at first refusing to focus. She was so tired, but beneath the exhaustion was a life, an energy ready to burst forth. Her skin pulsed with it. Cristóbal was naked, draped in a chair, his cheek resting on his palm. His casual repose was at odds with the intensity of his wine-dark gaze, the tight line of his lips. She studied him, then the room. Built of stone, she had the impression of age, height, but beyond the boundary of the candelabra on the bedside table and on the table next to him, all was darkness. She lay upon a massive four-poster bed, hung with diaphanous red silk curtains. The furniture was sparse, she smelt rosewood and cedar. How could she identify the wood from their scents? What was this place? It was not his Sanctuary. It did not bear his spirit. It was not a hologram, because the stones whispered, possessed of a primal essence. What is this place? “Welcome back,” he said, standing. “Where am I?” “My home.” He bent down to the small round table beside his chair and lifted a crystal carafe, pouring the wine into a long stemmed flute. He strode to her side. “Here, you must drink. You’ve had a long journey, querida.” The bed lurched as he sat beside her. As she struggled to sit up, he shoved the glass toward her. She reached out and only then saw the bandages around her wrists and felt the dull ache of her wounds. “Oh!” “Drink. It will revive you. Then I will revive you as a vampire may.” “But I’m dead! And…and that means. Oh. Oh, my God.” “No god has anything to do with this, darling. Please, drink. Take it all in one gulp, its taste is foul.” He paused. “Trust me.” “What is it?” 28

Sanguinary Seductions “You wouldn’t want to know.” Dee drank and coughed. An understatement—the concoction was vile! He took the glass away and hurled it across the room. “For good luck. That’s what the Greeks believe.” He clasped her hands between his. “But I killed you,” she said, drawing away. “You killed my illusion.” “It was an illusion? The body was so—” “Even after so long living with me, you forget that one of the Blood must be, by necessity, a master of deception.” He smiled gently. “And when his woman plans to kill him, a vampire has to be doubly careful, to ensure that the chimera of death is absolute.” “You knew?” “Ah, cara! I hoped.” He cupped her cheek. “But, Cris…” She put her hand to her mouth, remembering. “Look at me, querida.” She felt the touch of his mind to hers, the gentle caress, taking away the pain, the horror of what she had done and seen. “You are too forgiving, Cristóbal.” “My death was a fantasy, nothing more. Now forget!” She shook her head. “You said you were leaving me.” “I will always be part of you, but I would have walked away, for your own sake. You had to choose between life and death and the other existence with me. A human must transform, to become blood immortal. The exchange must be made at point of death, for life to endure.” “You could have explained.” “To join with me, you had to choose to die without hope of redemption. To die for love. This is the strength and the curse of the vampire.” “Damn you.” She hit him and he lifted from the bed, sprawling across the floor. She stared. She never had the strength to do that before, always he was a rock, immovable, unless he desired it. “Now we’re equals, Deeanne. At last!” Laughing, he pushed 29

eXtasy’s Collective Mind himself to his feet and returned to the bed. He stroked her legs. “I would rather we fucked together, now, as equals.” She shook her head. “What is this place? It smells different. The stones sing to me. I can see energy currents swirling in a pattern over the walls.” Deeanne narrowed her gaze. She felt the warmth of his smile in her mind. Welcome to my home, Deeanne. This is Cazador. “But that’s the name of your world!” “Yes.” “You said that world was denied you.” “So it was, because of my choice of lover. Only bloodbonded are allowed to live on Cazador.” “You remained on earth, a willing exile, because of me?” “Naturally.” He smiled. “For the love of my woman, I will do much. Sacrifice much.” While Dee studied him, his mind touched hers. Knowledge, foreign to her previous existence, flowed into her. “I understand. You have to return to the homeworld to mate.” “I was born on your world, darling. I am Spanish, but also the alien, the vampire. I am a creature who walks in both the light and the shadow of the silver moon and the purple. I need the energy currents of both worlds to replenish my spirit.” He took her hand, raising it to his cheek. “This is but one world we can explore because we of the Blood can twist space-time and travel the energy currents of the universe, in the blink of an eye, the beat of a vampire’s heart. Many worlds, cara. But first I think I would like to return to Cordoba, where I was born and rebuild my castle.” “All this…I can’t take it in. But if I hadn’t…hadn’t killed you, killed myself, what…what…” At her words, tears flooded his eyes. Never had he wept before her and her throat constricted at the sight. “I would have left you. Ah, could I have left you?” he asked as if to himself. “No. To live without love is not a life. I have had seven hundred years to know. I would have chosen death. You would have lived because I would have given you the mercy of forgetting me, but I couldn’t be so kind to myself.” 30

Sanguinary Seductions “I would have remembered you. No matter what you said or did to me.” He shrugged, dismissing her words. “You would have been well cared for, an anonymous benefactor leaving more wealth than you could have possibly spent on your world in one lifetime.” “I would rather be dead.” She paused. “Was I dead?” “For a moment, before I brought you back. I sang for you. Didn’t you hear me? I put my blood and my essence into you, loving you as you slept.” “I slept through the whole thing?” “You died through the whole thing.” “You bastard. You could’ve told me.” “I explained that I could not.” “Don’t give me that love’s betrayed shit, Don Cristóbal Carlos Eduardo de Marquez!” “Bloody hell, Deeanne! If you’re going to use my full name and title, do me the courtesy of correct pronunciation. Your mouth…” He paused, then laughed. “Actually, there are better things to put your mouth to than correct pronunciation.” “How long ago did I die?” “Your fixation with time, cara, ever it is your greatest weakness. Time has no relevance for you now.” “I need to know. I won’t do a goddamn thing to you, with you, until you explain.” “Dios!” He sighed. “Very well. The transformation began five days ago.” “Five days!” “It takes time.” “And time is a lot we now have? How much time?” “Centuries.” “And there’s to be no talk of leaving? No seven-year itch?” “Perhaps seven hundred year itch, for you.” He took her hand and fastened it around his straining erection. “You may take a lover, or lovers, as you wish. I cannot deny this, since your tastes are now heightened.” “You don’t think you’re vampire enough to satisfy me? You 31

eXtasy’s Collective Mind think you’re going to go off with some other bitch, do you?” Try it, you bastard and see what happens! “I’ll kill you good and proper if you think that.” “The thought of you with another, makes my blood run cold.” “Your blood runs cold, you’re a vampire, remember.” “My blood never runs cold and I will prove it.” “Yeah, right. But before you do I have a question—one you’ve always refused to answer. Why did you come to the slum, why did you take me? You could have had your choice of rich, cultured women, not some hellcat from the backstreets.” He laughed. “Ah, cara, but I love the hellcat.” She lifted her gaze to his. It was the first time he had said he loved her. “Don’t distract me. Answer the question.” “Vampires are hunters by nature, Deeanne. We enjoy the challenge, the danger. We live for the thrill of the chase, and sometimes die because of it. I sensed the lives within the slum, and one burned the brighter. You. I wanted you from the moment I touched your life-force. I threw out the bait and you came to me. Willingly.” “I did not.” Cristóbal quirked one dark brow at her, his eyes sparking purple. “You wanted me, else you could not have followed my trail, the sensory lure I left.” “You arrogant bastard.” His eyes turned dark, tempestuous. “Be careful, cara. I will indulge you in most things, but do not call me a bastard, ever again! My pedigree can be traced back two thousand years.” She snorted her contempt. “Bloodlines are for horses or dogs.” “And vampires.” He smiled and pressed her down to the bed, covering her with his body. Raising her arms above her head, he laced his fingers with hers. “We dance, querida, in the oldest dance. Open yourself to me. I want to feel you sheathe me, hold me tight and dance with me from inside to out.” Cristóbal lifted and plunged into her, his length burning 32

Sanguinary Seductions her, possessing, claiming. Devastating. She drew her legs around him, crossing her ankles at the small of his back. He moved against her, she lifted into him. His mind touched hers and her thoughts merged with his. Was she the one taken, or the taker? Both. Unexpectedly, he broke away from her and edged down the bed, coming to rest between her thighs. Dee held her breath. Was he… Never had he loved her there with his mouth and she had assumed it was a taboo. An irony when he took her in ways no human dared. “This is special,” he whispered against her heated flesh, his tongue teasing aside the folds. “This is my vampire’s kiss.” He lathed her unmercifully, interspersing kisses with the gentlest bites, fangs scraping over her clit. Electricity flew through her veins. She curled her toes against the delicious pleasure-pain, as he zapped her again. His tongue delved and his mouth lathed. He slipped his hands under her buttocks, holding her, lifting her to his feasting. He moved his head from side to side, the silk of his hair teasing her thighs, tormenting. She grasped his head, knotting her fingers in his hair. “Cris!” “That is my name, querida.” He raised his head to look along her length, their gazes locking. “I love you,” she said. “I love you,” he whispered and exhaled over her heated flesh as he returned to his feasting. She writhed beneath his touch. His hair, his fingers teased her, his teeth nipping, his tongue seducing. Her body shuddered and she tried to hold the climax, to prolong it, but Cris must have sensed the orgasm and he intensified his licking, the gentle bites. She shivered, screamed, writhing against the bed, tearing the silk coverlet. The warmth of his smile, mind to mind, melted her bones. His cry of triumph raced through her. You are mine, Deeanne. Mine. Now. Forever. Always, Cristóbal. And you are mine. Now. Forever. 33

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Always. His mouth seduced her inner thigh and he bit her gently. My mark is upon you. This is the true kiss of the vampire. May I kiss you there? Later, cara. One more kiss and he raised himself, stretching full length upon her. Taste yourself. Taste me. He kissed her, his tongue sliding over her lips, to probe her mouth, to take her tongue with his. Be the vampire, Cris. Let me give you my blood, my life, my love. He sighed, the deep sigh of a man whose soul was finally assuaged. His mouth fastened at her throat and she waited, with thudding heart for the fangs to sever her skin. He paused a moment, an eternal moment. She screamed as he bit her, such bone-melting pleasure that her life flowed into him. She felt it race through his every cell, engulfing. But now, her blood to his, her mind to his, linked as never before, she shared his feeding. And with the transformation, she knew she could give him much more than blood to live. She could now gift him with the sex-energy, the sustenance of the exchange. She bit him and he screamed. Yes, querida. Bite me again, harder. Take my life’s blood into you. As they drank one from the other, the energy, the life swirled through their bodies. They shared the climax, screaming the release with minds and mouths. A release that had been years in the making. Purple light pulsed between them, through each cell, energizing each nerve ending. This, the vampire’s gift, this was her gift, now. Dee opened her eyes and pushed back the strands of hair from his face. She locked her legs around him, her nail teasing down his back, to his ass. “I betrayed with a kiss, I will never do so again.” “Betrayed by a kiss, darling. What sweeter way can there be?” he whispered into her mouth. “This,” she said and surged upward into him, and then 34

Sanguinary Seductions retreated, her mouth feasting at his throat. “Ah! Cara, please! Again, betray me with your kiss.”

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Blood of the Alizarene Evelyn Starr resh blood steamed hot and crimson-scarlet. Strewed in nearly random patterns, it marred the new-fallen, still falling snow with sharp-edged scallops and spangles and streaks, illuminating the stark perfection of approaching night with ghastly brilliance. Drucilla Delisle’s arm sagged. The Luger slipped from fingers gone lifeless and nearly numb, and her heart began to trip-hammer wildly, threatening to explode with every beat as more darkness encroached upon the edges of her vision. She had killed him. The enemy…the Alizarene. Pick up the gun, something roared urgently inside her head in spiraling tones, potentially deadly tones. Echoes of her shot still bounced and echoed through miles and miles of empty forest, and when she tried to obey, she discovered she couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but breathe, struggling harder and harder to stay on her feet and alert as every attempt lodged tighter and tighter in the center of her chest. Mindless of soil or stain that might transfer to her white Trigere coat, possessed by a new and much more inexplicable internal spiraling, Drucilla leaned heavily against the nearest wet-black tree trunk. Licking her lips, perplexed by the sudden internal awakening, she flexed her fingers and gulped painfully.

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Sanguinary Seductions “Holy Mother of God.” Peter Granatum brushed past her. Headlong, rushing like she’d never seen him rush before, he reached the figure sprawled across the snow and stooped over it. Drucilla couldn’t look at him. She doubted she would be able to see him even if she could. Her world had darkened and narrowed ominously. Leaving only a single, flickering pinpoint centered mostly, entirely, upon the Picasso-rich splashes of color and the sprawled figure from which they still flowed. The sight of it fascinated her. Awakened fresh hunger in her, and a fierce tingling she did not understand and felt powerless to explain. Because she didn’t want to explain? Licking her lips again, Drucilla swallowed harder. The new hunger, the pervasive tingle of it, had reached her heart. Had left it feeling simultaneously overexcited and sluggish, and threatened to stop it dead in its tracks in another moment. Peter turned to her, so slowly that the air seemed to rip with the subtle force of his movement. He said something to her, but there was no making it out…no understanding a syllable of it. His voice had slowed. His voice dragged. Like the world might drag if, when, it decided to spin eternally to a stop. This tingle was similar, nearly identical, to the one she felt whenever Peter was nearby. Whenever he looked at her and especially, immutably, whenever the course of their professional association led him to touch her or brush against her. No matter how lightly. No matter how unintentionally. And that wasn’t good for an agent. Drucilla knew it wasn’t. And it was doubly not good for a student when all those tingles and urges and the precipitously ricocheting desires they ignited, centered around the man assigned to teach her. How to pass through the world unnoticed. How to infiltrate and investigate. And yes, how to kill with impunity. The way she’d just killed. And a hundred-thousand other things that would 37

eXtasy’s Collective Mind ensure her long life and success at her chosen profession. Now, with her gorge rising rapidly to fill her constricting throat, with lips and fingertips and even toe-tips come alive with the strangest form of lightning yet and the new internal fire reaching the outskirts of her consciousness, she wished…prayed… Arash Farahani lay face down. Partially face down, his head turned a little to the side. Just enough that she could see the look of stunned surprise still stamped across his heavy, fleshy features. Just enough that if through some bizarre miracle, some spark of life still clung inside his sprawled body, he would be able to breathe around the crusting of snow at his nostrils. He’d been a big man, Farahani. The biggest. Bigger and more fearsome by far than any man or any Alizarene she’d encountered before. Standing a good two hundred some odd pounds at six foot six, he’d been solid muscle. Towering over her as he’d uttered his final words, he’d been so much more powerful than her, so much more focused and intense with his small eyes that seemed to see right through her and his unrelenting expression that she’d nearly turned and run. And yet there he was. The meanest possible operative of an enemy organization famed for its meanness, its heartlessness, its mercilessness. Sprawled awkwardly amidst the escaping scarlet of the life she’d taken. The life she’d… The realization, the accompanying flood of inexplicable wetness that chilled her thighs and all the regions between, made her sag. Again. More heavily. Made her breath rasp in the snow-lit twilight as if she was the one who lay dying. As if she, relying nearly entirely now upon the wet black of her tree trunk for support, was the one who’d already died. “D-dear G-God.” Her voice smoked in the frigid air. Too loud, explosively loud. Much too tingly-excited and not the least bit steady. Peter bent over Farahani for another moment. A very, very long one. Reaching, careful to keep the hem of his gray overcoat from trailing in the visceral mess, he pressed the tips 38

Sanguinary Seductions of his fingers to the fallen enemy’s throat. Then he picked up Farahani’s gun and Drucilla’s. He straightened, pocketing both. And flashed one of his rare smiles. One of his most dazzling ones. “Nice shot,” was all he said. “Bl…bl…” Blood. So unspeakably much blood! Tingling more, harder, Drucilla licked her lips again. “I mean…is h…he…” Her lips were rough. Chapped. Dead? She couldn’t say it. Though she knew he had to be. No man could lose so much shimmering-red blood, no man could lie so motionless and still…especially not a man as dangerous as Arash Farahani…unless he was… “Dead.” Peter’s voice was almost conversational. “Very.” His smile grew wider. More brilliant. More shockingly, stunningly enticing. “Dear God. I’ve n-n-nev…” Drucilla couldn’t finish. Now that she’d started licking her lips, she could only do it over and over and over again. Repeatedly. Staring. In danger of complete collapse, not just because of what she’d done, but because of the searing currents of new and ecstatic sensation coursing through every awakening part of her. Not to mention because of the error…terrible, terrible error…that had made her bring down Farahani prematurely. Before…before… “Easy.” Peter stepped between her and the body on the snow. He blocked her view and that should have made it easier. That should have allowed her to return her focus to the here and the now, and the assignment she’d hopelessly bungled by shooting Farahani and ensuring it could never be completed. Never be resolved, with the possibility of dire impact upon the country and the world for years…decades…to come. “Peter, I’m…I’m…” Her voice thickened, though not with horror. Quivering and quavering, her voice carried every echo of the strangely enlightening tingle that had not stopped 39

eXtasy’s Collective Mind soaring and spiraling inside her. Blood lust? Blood hunger? Was that what made it nearly impossible for her to choke out the words she needed to choke out? Was that why she found it all but impossible to draw in the breath she needed to draw if she ever hoped to choke them out? “F-F-F…he ppulled his gun. He pointed it at m-me, and when…he s-ss…when he said…” “Easy, Dru.” Through a dim, reddening haze that was hard at work obliterating her vision, Drucilla saw Peter take a step toward her. She saw concern wipe away his earlier expression as he reached for her. Sweet heaven, how she wished she could retreat from the possibility of his touch! How she wished she could step away from it, thereby avoiding the simmering heat of it! How she needed to tell him things. Explain things…what had made her pull the trigger out of sheer instinct. Out of urgent need awakened by the sudden clang of alarm bells inside her head. “He said they were on to him,” she whispered hoarsely, struggling to square her shoulders and unable to succeed. Struggling to stand erect, away from her tree trunk and get control of herself by vanquishing once and for all the danger of those ongoing tingles and sparkles of unadulterated bloodlusting excitement. And unable to do any of those things either. Somehow, she managed to meet Peter’s gaze head-on. “He said they demanded he eliminate us. As a show of his dedication. His loyalty. So they wouldn’t el-liminate him. And then he l-laughed. He said he n-never gave us anything of any v-v-value. And now we had to be p-put down.” Her voice had lost nearly all volume. Nearly all strength. “Because w-we were g-g-god…less. And…” “Breathe, Dru.” Peter was too near. He was much too near. Reaching for her. Close to her. “Breathe deep and try not to think about it.” 40

Sanguinary Seductions Not think? Drucilla shuddered. How could she do that? All her training demanded she think. Every bit of it demanded she report every minute detail of what had just happened and begin to plan for what would happen next. And it demanded she remain calm. Detached. Aloof, and distant, and cold. And then the tingles reached her brain. Before Peter touched her, she felt alive. Precipitously alive with the taste of fresh-spilled blood tart upon her tongue. The imagined taste of it sizzling upon her tongue. “His finger t-twitched. Farah-hani’s finger. He pointed his g-g-gun, and then it t-twitched. I saw it, Peter! I…” “Shhh, Dru.” His hand dropped all but unnoticed to her arm. “I know. You did what you had to do. You…” She licked her lips. Compulsively now. “His f-finger twitched, and then I was st-standing over him. My gun was vib-brating in my hand, and…” Blood. “Sweet God!” Orgasm shook her. Hottest orgasm, sudden and precipitous, intense orgasm ached inside her. Underscoring her shaken terror…the near fatality of her shaken terror. She’d never expected so much blood…never expected the fascination of fresh-spilt vermilion, or to react this way to it. Never expected to grow sweetly, shiveringly wet between her legs. More aroused than even her fevered, lusting dreams of Peter Granatum had aroused her to steaming. To streaming. Shuddering again, she glanced around. Trying to think. Wilderness surrounded them. Deep emptiness and returned silence of the far-north, remote Minnesota woods surrounded them on every side. “Farah-hani’s op-peratives,” Her voice halted. Broke. Grew ever more unsteady. “They m-m-might…we need to…” She looked. Searched for someplace to go. Somewhere to hide. Peter smiled again. A slow and easy, satisfied smile. And more shimmering currents of orgasm slipped from the flesh 41

eXtasy’s Collective Mind between her legs. Flesh she’d left deliberately bared the way she had from the first day she’d met Peter and begun to hunger for him. Because it was titillating to know she was ready…titillating to feel the sinuous stroking of cold air across her heated ridges and aroused swellings, titillating to know the nakedness, the sexual preparedness, was her own secret. Titillating, too, to feel the inflammatory scoring of her own flesh against itself and the resulting moisture that stroked searing paths down the insides of her thighs. “There are no operatives, Dru. You know that. You know Farahani worked alone.” Of course she did. No Alizarene professing to function as a double agent would risk having operatives. No Alizarene would ever risk being suspected of double-dealing. Knowing exactly what would happen if he was found out. Knowing he would be killed without compunction. She knew. But she couldn’t think clearly enough to rationalize. Couldn’t function on any reasonable level. Couldn’t make any sense of things that should make unquestioned sense, inarguable sense. “We need to get you inside,” Peter said simply. His fingers tightened around her arm and Drucilla glanced down at them. Stared down at them. When had he put his hand there? How had she not noticed it was there? “We need to get you to someplace warm. Before you go into shock.” She glanced around again. Was there such a place? “P-Peter, I’m not…not…” When she looked up into the smooth gray depth of Peter’s bottomless eyes, she couldn’t finish. He could see it. Had to be able to see everything that was going on inside her. “It happens sometimes,” he murmured, smiling again slightly. Scintillatingly. His gaze reflected his faintly mocking 42

Sanguinary Seductions awareness of what was happening to her. Inside her. And then he turned her the smallest bit. To face another stretch of seemingly unbroken woods, seemingly inhospitable wilderness obliterated by a thickening curtain of falling snow. “What you’re feeling is not that unusual. It’s not that uncommon, and you need to…” Not uncommon? She doubted that! Shivering, she lacked the strength of will and the freedom of movement to pull free of his grip. Too long pent, the endless streams of escaping essence would not stop. Would not slow down or ease. They only debilitated her. Entirely. Leaving her vulnerable and barely able to walk, stumbling over nothing as Peter began to lead her in no direction she could determine. “Sh-shouldn’t we hide the…Farahani? Just in case…you know…” Every instinct she possessed, and every bit of training she’d absorbed, told her they should. Immediately. But he was the senior agent, the instructing agent, and when he murmured the snow will do it almost absently, stepping aside, she went along with it. Silent, silken, deadly, the snow was coming down in increasingly thick waves. The expected mid-winter blizzard was already sweeping in and she felt a momentary panic. They would be inundated. This remote woodland would be choked and buried, cooling red bloodspill and all. Pure whiteness would take over the world and they would…would… “Peter?” The cold had intensified. The cold reached the numbing stage, leaving her mouth sluggish, her lips thick and stupid in their inability to form coherent words. And the rest of her? What about the weakened, insatiable rest? What about the headlong rush of warmth Peter’s touch sent straight through her…straight to her marrow and all the way to the roiling, awakened center of her? 43

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Stumbling, she complied when he began to lead her toward nowhere. Quivering beneath the force of whatever had taken her over and now entirely possessed her, she shook violently as she followed without protest, barely able to stand even with his help. Or maybe that was especially with his help. Peter’s smile had turned dangerous. It had become the smoothly practiced expression of the accomplished seducer she knew him to be. Because even agents talked. Female agents who’d known him and marveled at his prowess. Female agents who’d ignored every rule in the book at his insistent urging and expertise and allowed themselves to grow besotted with him. Beleaguered by the memories of him that were all he left in his destructive wake. Female agents who’d reported in urgently rising whispers the desperation they’d felt…still felt…after being seduced by him and left by him. Female agents who’d awakened every bit of Drucilla’s curiosity and her detestably virginal longings with their sighed insistence that they’d do it all again…gladly do every bit of it again, if only he would look at them one more time. Give them the chance again. Because there were things he knew how to do to a woman. Things he would do with very little urging if he chose…tortures he would exact that were in their way far more potent and diabolical than the unendurable tortures he knew how to inflict upon his enemies. And now he was looking at Drucilla that way. The way the other women had described. The way she’d never imagined he would look at her. Torture? Shivering, she stared into his eyes. She had become the student again. And he was about to become the teacher. He was about to present her with all new lessons that must be endured and must be learned. Followed by all new examinations that she would be expected to repeat and repeat and repeat until she mastered every last concept they questioned. And these lessons, these examinations, would have nothing at all to do with operations as an agent. “This way, Dru.” His pressure upon her arm increased. 44

Sanguinary Seductions Significantly increased. Mesmerized, gazing up into his eyes, she nodded. Fascinated by the promise in his gaze that what he was about to do to her would be the equal of anything she’d inflicted upon Farahani and its effects would be even more astonishing, she gave her wordless permission. For things she couldn’t imagine, much less understand. With her body shaking in its every fiber, about to be consumed by increasing agues of eagerness mixed with need. Her mind tore itself in half. And then the halves began to wheel and stutter. Separately as well as in tandem. “There’s a cabin.” The sound of Peter’s voice, firm and sure with the knowledge of what he’d awakened inside her, sent new heated tingle-thrills through her. You’ll like me, his gaze said. And you say that to all the girls, she thought back at him. You’re a killer now, he responded silently, urging her into quicker motion. And you can never go back. Never be anything else again. She surged. Spreading her legs wide, increasingly unable to walk with the layers of her exposed and swollen, much too vibrantly sensitized flesh brushing against each other, she surged and shuddered. Knowing the beginning…only the beginning, barely the beginning, of sensual, sexual torture. Intolerable torture. Walk. She had to concentrate intently, had to focus every bit of her shivering, shimmering self upon that once simple exercise. Had to blot out all else, everything else, just to remain on her feet and in motion at his smiling, almost cruel urging. How much farther? a dazed and dazzled, barely coherent part of her mind thought to question. God in heaven, how much farther? She wanted to touch the moist-aching ridges and folds between her legs. Needed desperately to touch them the way she did every night and early morning in the long hours between awake and asleep when she thrashed restlessly atop the tangled ruin of her bed. She needed so urgently to stroke 45

eXtasy’s Collective Mind them with shaken hands that tried in vain to calm…needed to know the soft and then less soft pressure of her own fingers delving as deep as they dared into her flesh. Probing at the misting folds in uncertain search of ways to ease the hardened clustering of desire and need that lay too far buried for her to reach it or assuage it. Much less relieve it. Peter watched with the smallest of completely knowing smiles. Gauging the increasing unsteadiness of her steps. Monitoring her increased staggering and her legs-spread swagger as she struggled in vain to avoid inciting herself to further swollen wetness. Unbearable wetness. “Here we are.” Nearly blinded by inner turmoil and the night that encroached from within as well as without, Drucilla barely saw the cabin when he led her right up to it. It was small. Ramshackle and rough-looking, a dark log structure rendered nearly invisible by busy swirls of flakes dropping from a milky-dark sky and the swaying arms of surrounding pines. “I’ve used it before,” Peter said, helping her to step across a decrepit porch to the roughhewn door. His mouth shimmered so close to her ear that his lips stroked fiery, fatal strokes along its outer ridges. She stared up at him. But isn’t that…dangerous? Flakes rimmed ebony-dark hair shadowed with the onset of night. And light lit his eyes…cold light, hard light. Blood hungry light. This was dangerous, all right. In every possible way, this was dangerous…this onrushing liaison in this place he admitted using before. Very probably often before. Every agent knew that was never to be done. Even the most inexperienced agent…Drucilla …knew any habit was dangerous and potentially fatal. Any moment of predictability could be the last and should never be countenanced, never be allowed. Peter was being careless about this. He’d been careless several times already on this endless, blood-stained afternoon. 46

Sanguinary Seductions He’d been careless when he’d left her alone with the Alizarene agent. Careless when he’d minimized the risk Farahani represented, careless when he’d disputed the need to cover their tracks, cover her killing. And now, almost criminally careless in his habitual use of a place Farahani had very likely known about. And maybe others as well. This was exceedingly dangerous. He was going to get himself killed one of these days. Maybe her, too. And she should refuse. Should insist they turn around and get away from here. Now. And yet…and yet… “I don’t th-think…” Physically, she couldn’t hold back. Peter had caught her in his trap. Had used her own lust and the bloodthirsty metallic taste of blood hot upon her tongue to pull her forward and down, into this. “You don’t need to think.” Pressing so insistently against her that, for a heart-stopped instant, she thought he meant to kiss her the way he had in every one of her sweat-strangled dreams, Peter bent to insert an ancient key into the lock. To turn it and then draw her into his cabin…his lair. Draw her to him. Always radiating the irresistible attraction of a magnet at work upon steel. A pull stronger than any she’d ever been prepared to resist. A pull that was and always had been hot. Sensual. Sexual. “Blood lust,” was all he said, all he had time to say, before his mouth found hers. And then, “It’s going to be hours,” as he reached for the throat of her coat. “Before the blizzard ends.” His fingers worked quickly. Deftly. Releasing the two large buttons that held her coat closed, he kept up his light, insanely enervating and constantly brushing pressure. He caressed her lips. Endlessly. He stroked lightly, swaying his entire body from side to side with a motion that barely qualified as motion…a motion that resembled the sweet lightness of breeze attempting to soothe the swollen, throbbing mound of her lower lip. Peter tantalized. He promised in his own inimical, intolerable way so many more things that might or might not 47

eXtasy’s Collective Mind actually be granted. Drucilla groaned softly. And Peter laughed. Now that he’d unfastened her coat, he slid it backward. He slid it away from trembling shoulders with a quick flick of hands that instantly, unerringly returned to her throat. Large, large hands that surrounded its base with shivering warmth. Her coat dropped, forgotten. Nothing more than a pale blur in danger of being ruined, if it hadn’t been already, by accumulated dust and grit on the unswept floor. Certain to be ruined, had Peter not caught it with another deft move and tossed it across the back of a squat sofa. Then, a moment of silence. Intense silence, pulsing at the same rate and in the same tone as the heavy pulse that ripped and tore at all the important parts of her body. Peter ran his tongue across Drucilla’s lips. Searching for something, he seemed not to find it. “Beautiful,” he murmured, catching his breath as he took a single step backward and away from her. Looking down at her, he ran his gaze slowly over her. Surveying her in the darkening gloom…surveying her pale dress that blazed like backlit fire, a perfect match for the discarded coat because it had been made to match. “Trigere,” she replied upon a quick and shaky laugh, her voice illuminated from within by the same strange gleam that seemed to infuse every soft, white fiber of her dress. And illuminated by the slightest of quavers as well. The most nervous of quavers, verging dangerously close to a lilt. “What?” Depositing his overcoat beside hers, Peter never left her entirely. He shrugged free of it with more of that same easy, effortless expertise that said he’d done this dozens of times before. Perhaps hundreds. “High fashion,” she said. Peter laughed as if he understood. And why shouldn’t he? It was Agency policy, after all. One he himself had been charged with enforcing to the letter when he’d been assigned to train her…an ofttimes nonsensical policy that required them 48

Sanguinary Seductions to dress like high-fashion models at all times. Even when they were about to venture into the deepest depths of some godforsaken wilderness. In the deepest depths of godforsaken Northwood winter. That was one of the reasons, perhaps the primary one, for the rebellion Drucilla concealed beneath her prim and proper, London couture, Paris-inspired designer exterior. One of the very biggest reasons, Peter notwithstanding, for her choice of decidedly eccentric undergarments and… Suddenly, remembering, she blushed. Furiously. Her undergarments! Dear, sweet heaven, she couldn’t allow him to… But already Peter was leading her. A door stood partially ajar on a side wall and he was guiding her with light and burning pressure once again exerted upon her arm. He guided her to it. Through it. Into a smaller room, a dustier one that held a sagging double bed, and not much else. Shedding his shoulder holster, he relieved her of hers and placed them together on a table next to the bed. His Luger gleamed in its place, deadly-ready, but hers was nowhere in sight. Hers was still in his pocket, out in the other room. So long gone and forgotten that she might as well have never possessed it at all. She didn’t care. She had other concerns at the moment. Other urgencies. “Wait…” she protested weakly when his hands returned to their purposeful exploration. Slipping down and down, leaving her pulsing throat quickly behind, they smoothed the fine wool of her dress. He smiled a little again. In the way that had every ability to light up the dusty darkness and lock breath tight in her throat. The way that made it all but impossible to resist or oppose any action he might choose to take. And, smiling, he returned to graze her lips with his again. And again, and again, awakening ever rising columns of sheer fire in the heart that pounded hard enough, almost, to be heard. Hard enough to kill if its agony and its turmoil weren’t addressed soon. And eased 49

eXtasy’s Collective Mind sooner. “Allow me,” he growled softly, stepping closer. Without hesitation, his hands drifted in much the same way that his lips did. His hands sought the smooth line of her zipper. “Let me help you out of your lovely, lovely, virgin’s dress.” “I…no…” Blushing more deeply, Drucilla tried to back away a step or two. “Peter, wait! I have to…” Once again it was no use. Her protest fell upon ears that showed no sign of hearing. Her protest was drowned in the continued stroking of searching lips, and hands, and now masculine hips that surged forward to meet hers. Her protest vanished beneath the sudden insistence of the male hardness he ground softly but persistently back and forth, back and forth, across the softest parts of her. The most yielding parts. In rhythms so suggestive, so unmistakable, that another form of heat immediately joined the one he’d already set to swelling with the first brush of his smooth-confident mouth against hers. “Are you a virgin, my darling Drucilla?” he asked with another easy laugh, backing her into a corner from which there would be no escape. Because no escape was desired. Still, she crossed her arms in front of her chest…tried to cross them and, with burning-alive awareness, to lift them through the close space, the nearly nonexistent space, that remained between them. Between her throbbing, moistening, aching body and the promising…in all ways…hardness of his. “You must be a virgin.” A new note crept into his voice. Making it clear he’d noticed her long ago. “In your white dress. With your arms lifted so demurely to protect yourself.” Maybe he’d even dreamed of her. In just one of the ways she’d given herself over to sultry dreams of him. “You know there is no protection for you, don’t you?” Slowly, slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, Peter shed his tie. Its sleek charcoal silk disappeared instantly into the gloom of the lower reaches of the room. Followed by his shirt, pure and summery blue that disappeared just as completely. Just as mysteriously. 50

Sanguinary Seductions Drucilla groaned. Revealed, barely glimpsed, he was… Bared, his chest gleamed hard and pale, touched lightly by an almost delicate sprinkling of dark hair that lined its sculpted center. Hair that narrowed inexorably to a single enticing line, a line that… He was gorgeous. Magnificent. Six foot three, the trained part of her mind chimed in. Used to reading dossiers and, thanks to the prodigious memory that had stood her in very good stead throughout her brief career as an agent of the most secret branches of the government, accustomed to storing away every bit of information she viewed, Drucilla knew his particulars as well as she knew her own. Six foot three. One seventy-five or one-eighty, give or take a pound. Dark chestnut hair, smoke colored eyes. Small mole on his upper left arm. Expert in seven forms of martial arts and known to have killed two men with his bare hands. And taken down quite a few more with gun, knife and half a dozen other far more esoteric weapons. Eyes the color of sinuous smoke, another part of her whirling mind chimed in. Less trained yet in its way far more observant, that part had a lot to add. Solid muscle, from the feel of him, and smells like wind on the mountains, like warmest summer wind on the mountains. And…. Bronzed. Broad-shouldered. With that deliciously sinful furring of dark, dark hair that raised her blood pressure in that one instant while they stood apart, staring at each other in the gathering, dusky gloom. She knew everything about him. All his pertinent facts. And yet…yet… She knew nothing at all about him. And that raised her blood pressure even more. Just as she’d so often imagined, to critical levels. That made her hands twitch and begin to lift by themselves, more anxious than she had ever imagined to stroke hair turned to the shade of midnight darkness. And get to know intimately the fit tautness of the chest beneath. Tremulous, her hands twitched in their extreme need to trace 51

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the path of that narrowing ribbon of hair to the place where it disappeared. Beneath the waistband of his trousers. Before, inevitably, it would widen again, into the most desirable patch of silken delight of all. The most desirable she would ever know. “Your dress is ridiculously inappropriate,” he observed, his hands never stopping. This time when Drucilla shivered, it was silently. Enchantedly. A stray glimmering of light, of rising moonlight, reflected off snow outside the room’s one window and penetrated the thickness of overhanging pine branches. Weakened by its fight to reach his face and touch it, but not canceled, never canceled, a silver shimmer of moonlight caressed it. Bright enough to illumine the look of amusement upon it…the look of a tight smolder ruthlessly contained. And greedy heat rigidly directed. Peter advanced upon her. “Oh, God, Peter. I can’t…don’t…I mean…” “Are you saying no to me, Drucilla?” He was too large. Too solid to be resisted. He began again to touch her. Running his hands over her, caressing her. She quaked. Wildly. Besotted, ready and softened, in her anticipation. “It’s the only dress you have, sweet Drucilla.” He murmured the words in the softest of tones. Appreciating as much with it as with his touch. “You will have to wear it again after I finish with you.” Finish. Don’t…let… “Wait.” This time Drucilla’s attempt to protect herself with uplifted arms was pathetic. Paltry. Doomed to absolute failure even before he caught at her hands and pulled them, unresisting, away from her body. “Peter, it’s my…” Lingerie. She felt her blush deepen. Spread. Sear. It was fantasy lingerie. Bought for him and worn in secret 52

Sanguinary Seductions for him, with no real expectation or intention that he would ever actually see it. Bought at a very special, very elegantly discreet shop in Georgetown shortly after she’d first set eyes on Peter Granatum and fallen under his glamorous spell, it was made of leather. Seductive in its oneness, its chased silver buckles and garters, its high boots without which the ensemble amounted to nothing at all. Nothing special. It was black. The middle of the night color of satin onyx. Peter slipped his hands steadily inward from their last resting place upon the curves of her hips, and her flesh burned. He stroked very deliberately the slight swelling at the juncture of her thighs, and that flesh steamed as well. Palms flattened, his hands lingered for barely a fraction of a second. But that was enough. The soft but sturdy wool of her dress seemed to evaporate, like gossamer mist. Ignited, a shimmering, sweating flame leapt to life wherever he touched. Coursing rivulets of glistening moisture replaced instantly the never-ceased mistings that had so far merely slicked the thighs and other regions left bare by the sensuous design of her undergarments. Drucilla caught her breath. Willing her newly stuttering heart to be still, she drew in that breath with full intent of saying something. Perhaps to explain or more likely merely to beg him to continue and never stop. To plead with him to go on. To the next step. To do something that would stem and quench the scalding currents of moisture that streamed from her bared and seething flesh. Peter swept his hands up. Cupping the rounds of her breasts, he lifted them experimentally, and smiled again when very little lifting could be accomplished. When the perfect fit and tight lacing of the leather corset that bound them defied him, holding him cruelly aloof, he stroked his thumbs across the points of her breasts anyway. He stroked in brisk circles that had no need to work to erect the bound and concealed peaks of her nipples. They already stood erect. Painfully erect, straining hot and hard against the unyielding thickness beneath which she’d 53

eXtasy’s Collective Mind constrained them. He made a small sound. A surprisingly desperate one. Reaching around to her back, he found the miniscule fabriccovered tab of her zipper and slid it down. Smoothly, but impatiently. Heat scorched Drucilla’s face as he brushed white wool back and down, revealing her shoulders and the tight layer of leather that covered her breasts completely. Lifting and smoothing, leather that concealed nothing at all while concealing everything completely. Entirely. His expression registered as much surprise as his voice in that first instant. But no longer. “Sweet Pomegranate,” he murmured, his equanimity regained and his smile returning. Even so, his hands shook. Minutely, as he strove with returning coolness to slip the dress past her hips, to her knees. And then lower, as all the time he took in every detail of what she wore beneath…of the ruthless concealment of the brassiere that was more like a corset and the trunklike yet crotchless garter belt and tall, tall boots, all fastened together with exquisitely secure leather straps and chased-silver buckles. “Why do you call me that?” Her voice shook badly. Audibly. “Why do you call me P-P-omegranate?” Peter’s hands dipped down. Following the dress initially, but then stopping when they reached the exposed and terribly vulnerable, streaming place between her legs. She stepped free of the fallen dress. “Did you know in advance that this would turn me on?” he demanded, reaching with unerring fingers to brush almost idly across that place. Crying out wordlessly, mindlessly, Drucilla jumped. A little. She jumped as the lightness of his fingers began to strum gently, burningly, exactly as she’d dreamed they one day might, across those weeping folds. And she was too weak to resist. She was already so far gone in her ecstatic surgings and wantings that she would do anything to feel more. Endure more. Besotted, enchanted, enticed, she was too weak to 54

Sanguinary Seductions remain on her feet without the assistance he gave roughly, demandingly, with his one free hand…too weak to do anything but step her feet farther apart, pleading silently with her gaze for more. For everything. Peter brushed her secret, never before touched whorls and ridges slightly. He touched them teasingly, stepping forward as he did so. As if he sensed her growing weakness and need for support and reveled in it. He pinned her against the rough wood wall. With a subtly secure pressure she could not hope to resist. If she could hope for anything at all. Peter pressed against her, held her, and returning his second hand to her, eased her compliant folds apart with the thumbs and fingers of both. And there he stopped. Leaving her opened but unsoothed. Unsettled and utterly unsatisfied. Shuddering audibly, Drucilla caught her lower lip between her teeth and fought to quell a sudden aching, lethal pressure at the center of her chest. “P-P-P…” She made scarcely a sound. Scarcely a shiver of air stirred by the exhalation that passed for sound. He toyed very deliberately, very diabolically with the outermost layers of her. “Did you have any idea what you would make me want to do to you when you dressed yourself up like this?” Twitching his fingers lightly across the dripping edges and contours of her, he barely gave them ease. Gave them nothing at all but more ache, more pain, more and more and more suffering. Yes. Oh, yes. Still no sound would come. But something thrust within her. Not Peter’s fingers, for those remained as they had been, as they might always be. Lingering torturously around the opening she strained wide for him, flexing every muscle to open it…herself…for him. To make it easy for him. This thrusting was something else. It was part and parcel of the thing she’d worked so hard to suppress during the long nights she’d lain alone in her virginal bed, dreaming of the unattainable. Of handsome Peter. Remembering and taking 55

eXtasy’s Collective Mind remote delight in the whispers of things other women, shaken women, said he’d done to them. For them. Dreaming that one day she would find a way to convince him to do them for her and to her. Drucilla shivered at the force of that entirely self-generated thrusting. Allowing it to slice through her, powerless to stop it from slicing through her and ultimately cutting her bodily in half, she shivered while he laughed as softly as ever and flicked endlessly at the aggravated outer rims of her. “Pomegranate,” he said again. So softly that, for the fleeting shadow of a shaken instant, she wondered if she actually heard or only imagined. “Wh-why…” Fully aroused, fully sensitized, she throbbed. Along her entire inner length she throbbed, alive with need so perilous and so pervasive that it was about to render her insane. Or at the very least so insensate and so insensible that she would no longer be capable of caring about anything, but the tiny millimeters of dripping, dazed flesh upon which her life and his fleeting touch centered. Upon the staggering completeness with which it and they centered. Why do you keep calling me Pomegranate? As if he heard the steady roil of her thoughts, Peter softened his smile. But not, never, the hard gleam of anticipation that had settled in his eyes the instant his fingers and thumbs began their demonic work upon the center…only the outermost part of the center…of her. “Pomegranate,” he whispered. “It’s an exotic fruit.” “I kn-know…” She had to pause. To catch her breath as something about the way he touched her, something about the angle and the intensity with which he touched her, changed. As it grew more potent and far, far more devilishly promising. “That. I just don’t kn-ow why you want to c-c-call me…that.” “The most exotic of fruits,” he continued in his mesmeric, silken tone. “From places like Afghanistan. Pakistan. Iran. Places where men know the purpose of women and women know how they are expected to behave. Places where women obey. Where they surrender implicitly because that is their 56

Sanguinary Seductions purpose. To serve and service. To seethe on command the way I make you seethe right now, my crimson, seeded little Pomegranate. The way you will continue to seethe obediently until you give me what I want. Until you pour out the sweet grenadine syrup of your pomegranate flesh for me, and I tell you it is time for you to stop seething. Are you prepared to obey me without question in all of this, my sweet and submissive Pomegranate?” Yes. Yes, yes, yes! “B-but…what does it mean?” Drucilla’s voice lifted steadily toward a scream as she tried to duck and reach with hips, legs, everything but the hands she could not convince to cooperate in any way. To reach for anything. As she tried to grasp and grab with the female flesh he tormented so expertly, so that she could pull him in. So that she could satisfy him in all the ways she would never think of denying him. He resisted. Kept up his diabolical stroking, and now added to it the slightest screwing of thumbs and fingers. The slightest stretching and widening of the opening she so anxiously offered him. “They call it the seeded apple,” he murmured in his low and slow, slow and steady voice. Thrusting a little. Thrusting into her with fingers…no telling how many. Spreading those fingers wide. Like tines. Drucilla’s body jerked. Several times, and quickly. Desperate to collapse mindless and watery at his feet, if only he would give her room. If only he would ease the pressure of the partially clad body with which he held her motionless, tightly restrained against the roughness of the cabin’s wall. Thrusting again, he spread his fingers wider. Lifting at the same time, so that the weight of Drucilla’s impaled body drove her down and down. Forcing her to accept even more of his touch. Forcing her to grant every bit of the entrance she made no effort to deny. Slipping them farther, deeper, into eagerly aching flesh that parted willingly as he used the diabolical strength of his thumbs to deny it the release of flowing back into its previous place around them, he stretched her flesh wider than it had ever been meant to stretch. He forced it to 57

eXtasy’s Collective Mind pull and strain, perhaps even to begin to tear in the face of the brutal treatment he expected it to endure. Drucilla shuddered, caught off guard and uncertain how to react. And he paid her no mind. Wandering deeper, his fingers jammed themselves tightly between folds of flesh so readied, so softened by their nonstop seeping and weeping of most fundamental moisture, that he easily located the nub…the incredibly special small tag of flesh and essence she had only recently discovered for herself. The one where everything centered. Drucilla bit back a cry that, breathless, would not have had substance of any noticeable kind even if it had been granted escape. The cry caught tight in her throat. It lodged there, about to strangle her. And she could do nothing about it. Nothing to ease the instant, insufferable pain of it. Gasping, she hung helpless, barely touching the floor as he pushed again determinedly. Almost ruthlessly. Catching her nub with seeking fingertips that began at once to wreak havoc and utter punishment with every careless touch and ruthless caress. “Not only is the pomegranate deep and rich and seeded red,” he advised upon exertion of even more pressure with the tip of one finger…pressure that brought stars to her vision and then almost at once darkened it as, newly lifeless beneath crimson tides of awakened exigency, she tried again to sag to the floor. “It’s delicious as well. Rich and berry-like, shaped like the richness of a woman’s womb. And crimson as the memory of her sin.” Laughing softly, he rotated his inserted fingers. Tugged more, harder at the tag of flesh he had captured, inflicting torments of a kind even the most selfsatisfied and jaded middle-eastern potentate would not know how to inflict. “As crimson as the memory of all her sins, Drucilla. My perfect Pomegranate.” Her legs would have buckled then, for sure. Maybe they did buckle, though there was no way she could tell. Peter jammed himself tight against her. With fingers still 58

Sanguinary Seductions imprisoned within her and inflicting their will upon her, he jammed the full length of himself, the swollen hardness of the not-yet-revealed ridge she craved with every centimeter and scintilla of her being, hard against her. Keeping her in her place with a new kind of pressure, a new kind of cruelty that had her pleading desperately in her mind. Please. More. Please, please. More. Give more. Take…more. “Crimson,” he marveled, caught in some strange reverie of his own…inducing in Drucilla a reverie nearly as mindnumbing with the repetitiousness of his touches and thrusts against what, sensitized and fully awakened now, seemed almost incapable of feeling more. Almost incapable of registering more and understanding more. Hypnotizing her with the steady drone of words that had no outward meaning yet invested themselves with indecipherable layers upon layers of meaning simply through the richness of their sound. “And lusciously seeded. Purpled with seeds, ready to explode with seeds. Like the ripest woman’s womb.” Convulsing silently, Drucilla saw stars. Thrusting upward ever sharply and more than ever steadily, Peter pinched and plundered. He moved thumb and fingers to strike and stroke the miraculous nub. So expertly that he wrenched from her a cry so hoarse, so low-timbered and wanton with need that, surprised, she could not recognize it as her own. “The flowers of the pomegranate are red,” he murmured. “Brightest red. Whore’s red. And the fruit is tart. Thick. Dripping its richness when bitten.” Laughing softly, he twisted his fingers inside her. “Are you tart, my lovely Drucilla? When I press my mouth to you and bite you, will my tongue feel the sting of your tartness?” When, when? When? Eyes closed, shivering, her palms sweat-slicked and barely capable of feeling the splintery roughness of the wall against which she pressed them hard enough almost to crush the sturdy logs to powder, Drucilla tried to concentrate upon the word. That one small word, and the concept behind the word. 59

eXtasy’s Collective Mind When. Did that mean, could that possibly mean… Warmth brushed her neck. The side and the quivering small hollow at the base of her straining throat. His lips again. Nuzzling. Stroking and exploring exactly as he explored other regions with the punishing insistence of fingers that would not stop, would not stop, would not stop! Peter kissed. He sucked and stroked and sampled. Endlessly. Infinitely. Intimately. Making her breath lurch and her heart hammer. Making her pulse pound and thunder inside veins weakened to the point of collapse as her every muscle stiffened beneath a debilitating chaos of agues and tremors that seized them. Muscles that then, at once, softened to nothing. To mists of nothing when he allowed the driven agues and tremors to stop momentarily. Tauntingly. “Will you taste tart like the Pomegranate for me, my love?” Flinging her hands up, Drucilla stretched her arms full length. And rotated her wrists so that she could scrabble at the wide planks of rough wood far, far above her head. Embroiled in a ceaseless life or death struggle to find something, anything, with which she could console herself. Sobbing all the while beneath her breath. Sobbing out barely heard, throbbing beats of sheer anguish. Her back arched profoundly, and she thrust her still covered, forever confined breasts forward. Instantly Peter pressed his face to them. He pressed his face against the leather that covered them. “Or will I drink grenadine instead, Drucilla? Will you bleed sweet for me, from somewhere deeper inside? Will I have the sweet-slick distillation of your seeded purple womb?” “I…Peter…you’ve got to…g-got…to…” His breath burned harsh against her breasts’ covering. “Will you seek to deny me, Pomegranate?” “No. I…I mean, I…” “I usually demand my women strip naked.” His tone grew so sultry it threatened to turn chilly air to sheets of fire. Lifting his hands a little more, he forced Drucilla all the way to tiptoe. Forced her gasping to tiptoe. “I like to make them display themselves for me. For my enjoyment. But in your case, seeing 60

Sanguinary Seductions as how you’ve gone to so much trouble to lace yourself in, I believe I’ll make an exception. I believe I’ll…” If she had hoped to accommodate what he demanded of her, those hopes were dashed immediately. Though she rose as high as she could, with arches and ankles and calves tightened to their limit, the relentless pressure of his fingers met and quickly exceeded every one of those efforts. No matter how she tried to lift herself away from it, no matter how she struggled to free herself of it, his touch was already the center of her existence. Its entire focus, and the one thing that seemed essential above all others if she wanted life to continue. Peter shoved until she hung suspended, even the groping tips of her toes unable to find the floor and give herself balance against it. And then he stepped away from the wall. Without warning, he forced her to a new and even more desperate torture. He made her teeter upon the precarious, brutally pressurized perch that was all he offered her. Drucilla groped blindly. Her sight was gone now. As completely gone as all but the most basic and instinctive of her senses. Seeking some means of support, she struggled to right herself with sweat-slick hands that slipped and slid uselessly when she tried to press them against his shoulders and grasp their sculpted smoothness. “Peter…” “Of course, Pomegranate is the name of a very special torture device as well,” he advised, turning slowly…oh, too terribly slowly, toward the sagging and now impossibly distant bed. “A very infamous one dating from medieval times. Or maybe earlier. No one really knows. Devices made of gold, or silver, and studded with the rarest gems. The most shimmering of gems, cut with sharp edges so that they will exert their own form of discomfort, their own gleaming daggers of torment.” “T…t…torment.” Drucilla parroted the word automatically. Not understanding anything but her own urgent, exigent need to find his shoulders and curl her weakened fingers into piercing claws that would dig deep, deep into the meat around and beneath his collar bones. 61

eXtasy’s Collective Mind If Peter noticed, he gave no sign. Outwardly, he remained serene. Confident. Unruffled and absolutely, positively unhurried in any discernable way at all. “Such devices are reportedly still in use, my sweet and delirious Pomegranate. By sultans and potentates who cherish them for the way they can be used upon the inmates of their harems. Those whom they suspect of harlotry, or those they simply wish to reduce to pain-riddled submission. And oh, how I should like to use such a device upon you! How I should like to watch your face as you feel the metal pressing into you. As you feel the screws locking it to the folds of you so that it cannot be removed and cannot be dislodged. As you feel other screws at work. Widening the device inside you. Widening it until you scream. Until you plead and beg, swearing you can take no more. Endure no more.” The sound of Peter’s voice, the content of his words and the way he illustrated them with the widening pressure of hands that might in another instant rip her to weeping, ruined shreds, made Drucilla twist inside. Made her stomach harden to an anxious knot and her lungs all but cease to function in any way even resembling normal. “Please, P-Pet-er.” She was nearly mindless. Utterly helpless as the man who had become her tormentor continued his slow-searing swing around. Moving her through air turned increasingly to steam. Digging in, Drucilla sought balance. Any balance, even the smallest bit of elusive balance. Acting…reacting…entirely upon blood-borne instinct of fear, and excitement, and thrilled yearning, she lifted her voice in an anguished spiral of sound that, like everything else she’d done and tried to do within recent memory, had no effect. He only lifted her higher. More precipitously. Disengaging one of his hands from her, he took an instant to unfasten the smooth dark wool of his trousers and let them drop. Blind as she was, and insensate…insensible…she retained enough awareness to know that he wore nothing beneath. That he reared forward and upward, magnificent, prepared, eager. 62

Sanguinary Seductions If he would love her. If he would let her… “They call it the Nur in those parts of the world, Drucilla.” “N-n…” She’d lost track of the conversation. Not that it had ever been a conversation. She’d lost track of everything except the aching, drained and debilitated part of herself, where increasingly pain centered. And alongside it, the most inimical and inseparable part of it…the delight. “Nur. Pomegranate.” He accompanied this with a new twisting as he stepped again toward the waiting bed. Eyes opened again somehow, without her conscious knowledge or consent, Drucilla licked her swollen lips for the first time in eons, and fastened her gaze upon it. The bed. She fastened her entire self upon the waiting relief and further punishment inherent in the well worn sag at the center of it. And then she screamed. Her voice rose in expressions of the true understanding of anguish when Peter closed his fingers. She dropped precipitously along the suddenly narrowed and infinitely more deadly narrowness of the pointed dagger he made of them. The tip of that dagger, the hard-boned tips of his gouging fingers, plunged deep into the softest, most misted and softened depth of her, and her voice soared. Thin, warbling, it still possessed power enough to reach and echo endlessly among the room’s exposed, rough rafters. “Please! Oh, God, Peter. Please! I don’t know if I can…I need…” “Scream all you like.” Laughing softly with a full fever of seduction quivering to life in every uttered rumble, he held her dangling next to the bed and almost above it. For a moment he held her and she clung tightly enough, surely, to crack bone. Clung and poured increasingly incalculable quantities of wet and overheated desire over the hand that held her so inescapably. “I imagine this is the way the sultans’ harlots scream when they are helpless with pain, when they are forced to wear the nur inside their pulpy wombs for hours upon hours as they dance ceaselessly for their masters. Or as they stand bound with their arms high above their heads and their feet on a 63

eXtasy’s Collective Mind specially designed floor that moves and shifts even as they breathe. That never gives them an instant’s rest as the device they wear urges them to consider the sins of their bleeding harlot’s flesh.” Brushing Drucilla’s hands from his shoulders, Peter held her so that she teetered dangerously. Just as helplessly suspended and dependent upon him for mercy. She screamed again. Louder. “There is no one to hear you, Drucilla. No one out there but a dead man. No one to come for you, to rescue you.” And then she was flying. Abandoned by the fingers that had held her forever, she felt the briefest instant of air, superheated air, strumming the ruined folds of her. And then, flung without warning, with no time to prepare herself, she landed with a crash that shook the cabin and dislodged blizzards of agitated dust motes into equally agitated air. She landed on her back. With her shaking legs spread. Ready for him to move toward her. The landing would have hurt had she not rehearsed such moves a thousand times during her Agency training. Had she not been carefully taught how to handle her weight so that she could direct it to her own advantage. So it would survive such blows and be ready to reciprocate at an instant’s notice. Already prepared for whatever came next. Whatever her opponent… She made no move to reciprocate this time. “We’re absolutely alone here,” Peter said, and then he was upon her…inside her. In an instant, less than an instant, silkensheathed and as dangerous as she’d sensed, he slipped the entirely human hardness of his shaft into her. Unerring in its instinct for finding all the depths he’d only just abandoned. “We’re alone in these woods, Drucilla.” Sweet God. “So alone. So that I can finish training you. In all the ways I’ve wanted to train you from the moment I first saw you.” Shivering shimmers swept her. They swept every part of her, the invaded as well as the yet untouched. The pleasurably 64

Sanguinary Seductions violated as well as the shattered, remaining bits of dreaming virgin. And in their wake, rivulets of silky essence released. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, Drucilla.” Peter ground down. Deeper. Using the full length of himself, he struck unerringly deep and unerringly straight at the very last reaches of her sanity. “I’ve seen the way you want me. To do the things I enjoy doing. But for the moment…” For the moment. This time Drucilla whimpered. Unfinished, Peter’s promise grated and rumbled within her long after the real vibrato of his voice faded. Long after it vanished altogether. Vibrato. That would describe perfectly the way he plied himself to her. The way he plunged to his full extent, his maximum length, possessing her with hardness that would not be refused, would not be resisted. Her next scream soared. Higher. Faster. Driven by waves of escalating moisture. Responding to the friction of his flesh rasping forward and then backward, into and out of the center of her. “It’s true, isn’t it, Drucilla?” “I…t-true?” She had no idea. No clue to an idea. “You’ve wanted me to fuck you. From the first.” “I…” As if he read her thoughts, as if he knew how she would have to answer, Peter smiled down at her. Grinding his full and fabulous length all the way into her, he lifted a hand away from her and found the clips that held her hair in its sleek updo. And released them. Platinum waterfalls of living, curling, engulfing flame closed around them. It was a silken cocoon…the most silken, made up partly of heat, partly of swirling spirals of desires awakened, and entirely of gilt-hued hair. Her hair, surging ruthlessly in cascades of 65

eXtasy’s Collective Mind freed fire that struck wondrously at the bared rounds of her shoulders and made her shiver more, even than the deepstriking things Peter was doing to the rest of her. Inside the rest of her. He held himself utterly still. “Haven’t you, Drucilla?” Hadn’t she what? She didn’t know. “Yes. Yes. Oh, God, Peter. You…” She writhed around him. “You were right, and I…I…” Pinned to the floor by his weight and his fully inserted length, helpless to resist the automatic softening of a body gone so far beyond control that it would never return, she swayed her hips. She moved them from side to side as much as his nearness would allow, and stroked every bit of herself…her inner self…against the length he offered. It wasn’t enough. Arms out flung exactly as they’d been since the instant of her landing, she felt her hands begin to open and close, open and close. Uselessly, and far beyond her ability to control or direct their motion. There was no need to control. None at all to direct. Her body knew what it wanted. More. Deeper. And it was fully prepared to act on its own to get it. All of it. “You want satisfaction,” Peter declared in his calm and cool tone that had much more effect than if he’d shouted and raged the way, she realized with a sharp stabbing of stunned amazement, she herself had never stopped shouting and raging. What he’d said hadn’t been a question. It didn’t require an answer…didn’t solicit one. But Drucilla gave it anyway. “Pp…” And when her voice failed, she gave him all she had with an unhesitating surging of her deepest moisture. Torrents of it. Tornadoes and torpedoes of it, all telling him as she was unable to tell him with words that she looked forward to that satisfaction. Looked forward to anything he might choose to give her. Peter pulled back slowly. Ultra slowly. His reversal of 66

Sanguinary Seductions motion carried him nearly, perilously, to the point where he would abandon her. Where she would be reduced to emptiness and doomed to return to cold longing. Peter backed away. But he still clung to her. Barely between the aching layers of her. Drucilla groped for him. Clawed, her fingers fell upon the thin heat of dusty air somewhere beyond and behind his shoulder. Hooking themselves tighter, they dragged at that air in repeated, useless attempts to find something to grip. Something to cling to and derive needed steadiness from. Peter towered above her. Over her. A distant shadow in winter-lit dimness. Gazing impassively, he watched her struggle. Watched her veer ever closer to drowning in secret puddles of her own misted, unmet yearning. He watched her writhe. Watched as she cried out, struggling to help herself. Her cry was a choked sound. A low one fraught with meanings of all kinds and all varieties, some of them never meant for open expression. Never meant to be revealed and made available to anyone else. Least of all to her tormentor, her punisher, her desire. Drucilla cried out in full desperation. Freed, more free than she’d been since her life began, she thrust eagerly with her hips. Following his every movement. Straining once again with her hidden muscles, raw and aching muscles, to keep him. Hold him. Savor him. Stopped with only the most extreme tip of his shaft penetrating and brushing gently against folds that flexed and fumed in their efforts to hold him, he held her where she was and as she was. “It was inevitable,” he murmured after the longest of times, entering her with that same exquisite, torturous slowness he’d displayed upon leaving. And with far more deliberation than before. “Wh-wha…” She quavered. Roiling columns of heated steam surged inside her, leaving her all but senseless. Opening wider than it had ever been meant to open, her body rippled delightfully. Ready for his attention. Deliciously eager to 67

eXtasy’s Collective Mind receive it. “What was inev-vitable?” Pushing harder, Peter rotated his shaft. Stroking his hips rapidly, insistently from side to side, he pushed all the way into the final depth of her. Hard enough to force her backward across the sturdy, dusty floor. Ancient splinters tore at the exposed areas of her arms, the small of her back, the backs of her quivering, spread-wide thighs. Drucilla didn’t care. She couldn’t care. Shivering in the face of a tsunami of smolder-steaming mist Peter extracted from her as surely as he knew how to extract every secret from his enemies, Drucilla tried to close her eyes. She couldn’t do that either. Endlessly wide and probing, her gaze found his face. Her gaze locked upon it. Taking in every handsome, impossibly undisturbed feature of it. “What?” she asked again, fascinated by the look of him…by the expression on his smoothly rough face. It was a look of ecstasy. Unmistakably a sheen of ecstasy found and much more anticipated. Incipient ecstasy about to blossom into something hotter. Something more virulently crimson even than the fresh spill of blood with which she’d so recently brightened the deep-woods snow. “It was inevitable,” he repeated, laughing very, very softly. Laughter rumbled inside his body. And thanks to the endlessness of his joining with her, thanks to his shivering, shimmering intrusion into her, it rumbled sinuously through hers as well. “One way or another we were destined to find ourselves in this position, my little Pomegranate. Alone. With nothing to do but fuck, and experiment, and find new ways of tantalizing each other.” Alone, because that’s the way you set it up. That’s the way you… If there was more to her thoughts…she thought there was more…it never registered. Her thoughts faded into a kind of deep, snow-choked dream. Of surrealism. Some distant distance from which Peter would never allow her to return. 68

Sanguinary Seductions With every sense heightened to the breaking point, Drucilla became aware of the floor growing harder beneath her. She became acutely aware of stirred dust and splinters that grew more devious about finding vulnerable flesh and twisting their way into it. For a time, accompanied only by the sound of harsh-rasped breathing and a soft ticking as wind wracked the outermost walls of their cabin and snow settled with increasingly heavy weight upon its ancient roof, he did what she’d dreamed of him doing. He fucked her. Never made love, because it was clear from his every glance, his every expert movement, that he did this entirely for his own enjoyment. That he was a man who knew his way around a woman’s body, around every tender and vulnerable part of it, and that was his primary concern. His only real concern. To explore for the sheer pleasure it afforded him. The thoughtless enjoyment of performing sex. And the woman…she…mattered little in his scheme of things. She was the vessel, and giving pleasure in equal amounts to what he received meant little to him. Nothing to him. And success or failure in returning it would neither stop him nor change the outcome. Peter Granatum had sex with her because he could. Because he was skilled in the exercise, and because she had no desire at all to stop him. “We will discover so many ways of releasing the sweet syrup you hold so jealously inside yourself,” he promised, leaning forward to nuzzle the side of her throat just above the confinement of black leather. “And then, after a while…” He nuzzled endlessly the quaking flesh of her throat. Caught up a long and twilight-silvered strand of her hair and stroked her throat with its burning tips. Stroked her throat with demonically slow deliberation. “After a while?” Her voice shook violently. It almost reverberated with the force of its shaking. After a while? 69

eXtasy’s Collective Mind He didn’t answer. And that didn’t matter either. “Peter…” She was ready. Her hands scrabbled helplessly, palms flattened…heels, too…against the floor. “P-please, Peter. Please…” She was willing to plead. More than willing. As she was willing to strain mightily, shoving with the back of her head and lifting her hips as much as she could toward him. She would be glad to plead, glad to do anything she could. If she could only find a way to make pleas reality and reality sublime. Instead, she gasped. Wordless. Breathless. Weighted down by the onslaught of the enormity pressed into the depth of her. “I know you need,” Peter said with smoke-hued huskiness, his voice just one more provocation designed to make her struggle anew to lift herself into his downward grinding. “I feel you needing.” Then again he pulled back. Just for a second or two, then once again stabbed forward. He pulled, plunged, pulled, rammed. Pulled and re-took in a sudden, mad and maddening blur of possessive motion. Drucilla’s only reply was a groan. One long and quavered ripple of anxiety that expressed utterly the true breadth and depth of her need. All around her, the air simmered. And shimmered. The air became a softened haze of moist mist and heated hazes of desire. The air shimmered endlessly as columns of searing moisture rose to fill her. To inundate her and ultimately, inescapably, consume her. The air shimmered in rainbow quavers made up of dissociated colors and formless shapes. Colors and shapes that changed at random, at their own will and leisure. Colors and shapes that had little to do, nothing to do, with what had moments before been a dimly lit rustic cabin locked in the grip of cruel and colorless winter. Colors and shapes that had transmuted themselves magically somehow. Because Peter was there. Peter had awakened the same transformation inside her. Now, suddenly, the air became summer. The world became summer, alive and alight with a million, billion, trillion shades of green-gold-azure-rose. The air grew warm with summer. 70

Sanguinary Seductions Moist with exhaled essences of her body as Peter drove it stark, raving wild. The air grew redolent with the scent, heady with the scent, of Drucilla’s own anguished sexual pleading. If she could not plead with her voice or with words, she could with her body. And she did. With steaming effluences, she swirled for him and streaked higher and higher toward him. Farther and farther out of control. And through it all, Peter held her down. Pressed hard into the softest places, the most intimate and weeping places she possessed, he held her to the dusty-rough planked floor, seeming to want to press her through it. Into whatever dusty, disused space lay beneath. The earth, perhaps. Or some hidden, unsuspected torture chamber filled with sinister wonders that would eclipse and ultimately put to shame even the infamous torture device he’d taken such delight in describing to her. Along with all the legendary, assorted sufferings it could inflict when used by expert hands. Merciless hands. Thinking of it, wondering at the possibilities of it, she had to pause. Had to gasp and cry out, gripping Peter’s shoulders harder, with palms so sweaty and slick with sweat that they could barely grip at all. But was she trying to pull him closer? Or was she trying to shove him away? Was she trying to gain for herself some small amount of control and some minute, desperately needed, bit of breathing space in which she could regroup and regain at least a little of her sensibility? Or was she trying simultaneously to do both as he continued to pummel her? As he continued to arouse more and ever more steaming currents of the misted moisture her body seemed powerless to stem. As he then set fire to each and every one of those aroused clouds and slowly, surely, certainly, urged her body to consume itself from within. And then, once the consumption began, urging it to escalate rapidly and exponentially. With no bounds, no limits, no restraints, the consumption quickly became the most extreme imaginable example of lifedraining, life-giving hunger for everything. Anything. Including 71

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the overheated mouth that swept down and down along the shivering length of her. The mouth that stopped any infinite number of times, with all exquisite deliberation, to taste and sample nearly every iota of the wasted flesh it encountered. To stroke with long and laving lashes of a tongue so soft, so steaming, it might not have been real at all. Inciting her. Seducing from her more releases, in greater quantities than ever, of the storming-sweet grenadine he’d promised once…about a thousand years before…to coax from flesh so deluged and drained that no further storming seemed possible. Seducing from her immeasurable quantities of that sweetest of pomegranate-born syrups that his mouth, greedy when it closed around and over the weeping flesh between her legs, began to drink with full eagerness. As if he was a man who’d been starving. As if he’d only now found the liquor he needed to sustain himself. As if the promised sweet grenadine was all he’d ever needed.

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Der Werwolf K.B. Forrest sha pushed up her heavy glasses and made another entry into the ledger. Her dull pencil made thick lines as she took notes—level number five, sector eight. Anthropology—the study of man. She sighed. She knew about man, but only as far as her academic study took her. Days of teaching, bad teacher reviews and faculty meetings were the stuff of her boring life, but this was her true love. It was research that took her to far off places, and in this case, to a castle deep in Germany’s Black Forest. It was a place still almost uninhabited, despite the crowded German cities. People avoided the awful dark place with its dangerous secrets and few were successful in attempting to settle in the inhospitable area. It was solitary work, but a true respite from life as a university professor. It was only day seven of her long-awaited first sabbatical. She’d have a glorious year to delve into the secrets she had dedicated her life to, much to the amusement of her colleagues, who thought her to be a quack. They were satisfied dealing with safe, worn out old topics. Anything as long as no eyebrows were raised. The damn cowards! She had been lucky enough to somehow get tenure. Perhaps it wasn’t just luck, for her father had been a professor of great renown in that backwater, cow-town state university. He still had many backers, even after his sudden death. This

U

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind research would vindicate her and her father both. She had planned carefully, and to add to her delight, she’d been offered a place to stay with a distant relative who still owned a castle in the midst of the area she wanted to study. It was a dream come true. Every day she set off to the castle, where she could work in the tomb-like quiet, away from the noisy students, prying colleagues, the damn Internet and email. She believed that werewolves had a place not only in the rich German folklore, but also in reality. There were entirely too many accounts, all very similar, to dismiss it as fantasy. Her research had convinced her that werewolves had a perfectly logical explanation. Usha was certainly pragmatic and considered herself a scientist grounded in the strictest of scientific method. Just because something was part of folklore, did not automatically make it false. There was a scientific explanation for everything—of this, she was certain. Werewolves weren’t supernatural, rather, they were very natural. The variation in the human gene pool was the real source of this so-called myth. The principle was quite simple. First of all, it was well known by this time, that some individuals had faulty gene strings. Actually, it was quite common. All it took was a broken strand of chromosomes that naturally sought for segments of DNA to fill the gaps. It was under these conditions that some sort of mysterious transformation in the replication of genes actually coded for the latent ailment. It was hard to prove, especially without the corroboration of researchers from the Center for DNA Research, a government center, which was part of her university. Usha had given several talks there, and at first had gotten some interesting feedback, only to find that those hypocrites were laughing at her theories behind her back. Although they had to admit that her theories were at least highly plausible, just the word werewolf was enough to cause them to snigger. Basically, she contended that the myth behind the bite of a werewolf was the key to the gene coding. A string of aggressive DNA introduced into a person who had a certain anomaly in 74

Sanguinary Seductions their genes, could cause the person with the broken gene set to incorporate the alien DNA. The fact that a wolf had been the creature to contribute the DNA was not so astonishing. Wolves were the first animals to be domesticated, but in that process, many a human had been bitten. The strain of human with the receptive DNA had been limited indeed, but almost surely, they were ancestors of the people who now lived in the area we call the Black Forest. It was most likely here that the affliction first showed up, but a few outcasts may have spread their genes to other areas. This was, however, the site of its genesis. Werewolves remained a living myth in the area. People still claimed that some poor souls living on the periphery of society were in fact, werewolves. Quite often cattle and sheep were found mangled, and not too infrequently, people disappeared, although the authorities attributed that to runaways and the like. Why and how did a ninety-nine year old run away? Well, maybe she wandered off and died in the woods. Surely, the real wolves would have eaten her body and scattered the bones. It was always easier to shrug off other possibilities. This was a normal human reaction to the unexplained or unusual, but only visionaries dared look into other possibilities. People laughed at the descriptions Herodotus, the fifth century Greek historian, gave of the bizarre Scythian royal burials. He wrote that upon the death of a Scythian king, they would kill the king’s personal entourage, along with their horses and then set them up in a sort of diorama. All the warriors would be mounted on horseback, skewered through the dead horses’ bodies so that they appeared to be walking along after the king, who was similarly positioned. This was dismissed as utter nonsense until the day that such burial mounds were discovered, exactly as he had described them. Strange things were not necessarily impossible things. In the past, people living near the Black Forest feared the roaming packs of wolves, but it was the werewolf, der Werwolf, that people really dreaded. This was a creature too close to being human, for it was human. A human with a rare, but very 75

eXtasy’s Collective Mind human disorder. Most of the other myths had a grain of truth to them, although some were Hollywood-produced. Wolfbane, for example, was irritating to any wolf or dog because of its smell, almost undetectable to humans. It wouldn’t really stop a werewolf. The silver bullet thing was nonsense, but the full moon as catalyst for the change might be tied to the monthly female cycle. Now dog bitches have two receptive cycles per year, while wolves have only one. The combination of the wolf and human genes did not cause the human with the alien wolf genes to become less receptive, rather, on a monthly cycle tied to the moon, the female would ovulate in the human fashion. This would touch off the chemistry necessary for her change into the form of a werewolf. Any human male affected by the gene combination, upon reaching puberty, would be susceptible to the change in preparation for the mating ritual, if his keen senses smelled the ovulating female. These traits were all subject to the normal rules of genetics where some traits were dominant and some recessive. In this case, the human ties with the moon were the dominant trait. The association of the wolf with the full moon was only an accidental coincidence. These remain unproven hypotheses, but tenable in any case. Thus, the bite of a werewolf was not only an interesting myth, but also a clue to solving the puzzle. If a susceptible person were bitten by a person carrying the alien DNA, they could indeed be infected. Even sex with such a person could introduce the genes, if skin were broken. She took notes on some of the bones, setting aside the ones that seemed most irregular, while she mulled these things over. There was nothing quite like the thrill of hands-on research. Usha was collecting bones from ancient, still guarded graves of reputed werewolves. The castle graveyard was perfect as it housed the remains of many an alleged werewolf. Some of these dated from before the building of the castle by a famous werewolf, Arshak von Baron. If she could collect sufficient DNA samples, the project might be successful. Even if this 76

Sanguinary Seductions project kept her from having a social life and made her lose the respect of her colleagues, it was fulfilling. As a half-German whose father boasted of having a werewolf heritage, she had been looking for answers her entire life—especially after he had been found naked and dead aside a mangled beef cow in a neighbor’s pasture. The neighbor complained that he heard a commotion, the baying of a wolf and had aimed in desperation at the big dog or coyote attacking his herd. The mystery remained unsolved. The castle was enormous and creepy in many ways, but the thrill of being in such a place of history made up for its dank cold. She had set up a minimum of tables, which held her many collection bottles. Part of the work would entail collecting folklore, so as soon as she was introduced to locals willing to talk, that part of her research could begin. Many of the old families had volunteered already, but some were leery of American researchers and careful about disclosing secrets, but they might be convinced about her sincerity when they found out that she, too, had ties to their world. Her senses seemed alive with the buzz of her research. She set down the ledger and picked up an open box holding bones out of sector nine. She suddenly felt uneasy, as if she could sense a presence. She strained to hear and the hollow sound of steps made her freeze. The damn castle was cold enough, but she hadn’t expected Holbeker, her host, to show up yet. Her sudden fear felt ridiculous, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding. “H-hello? Who’s there?” Her voice was tremulous. No— she was sure there were two sets of footsteps now coming toward her. She felt her legs turn rubbery and an irrational terror washed over her. It was preternaturally quiet, save for the hollow sound of feet approaching. There was silence and then two big men entered the vaulted room. Usha sighed. Probably wandering tourists—but why are they in costume? “Can I help you? This is private property,” she said in English, then in German. 77

eXtasy’s Collective Mind They looked at each other and shook their heads in confusion. They wore wolf skins draped over their rough, medieval-looking garments. The weapons they carried were awesome replicas as well. Are they staging some sort of reenactment? Had they asked permission? If so, why wasn’t I informed? What a waste of time! Usha repeated her question and finally the stockier of the two, a black-haired fellow answered. She fell back against the wall when she heard his speech—authentic Old High German! She knew it well because she was one of the few in the world who knew it well enough to converse, however awkwardly, in that august lost tongue. “We do not understand your strange tongue. Who are you, mistress? Why are you in our castle?” His sharp glance took her in and she felt his gaze traveling shamelessly over her body. His clothing was mostly leather as was that of his companion. He was handsome in a vicious sort of way. Usha felt her knees go weak under his gaze. Her jaws worked at mustering an answer, but shock caused her only to stare foolishly. The other one, a strong-looking blond-haired man, tapped the speaker’s shoulder and sniffed the air. He spoke in whispers to his companion, his thick hair falling over his face as he nodded. She noticed that they had perfect replicas of the tattoos, which the old German tribes used to sport on all of their visible skin. They really do know their stuff! He finally said, “Welcome. You must come from a far off land. You are a foreigner?” Usha shook off her shock and answered in modern German, “Cut it out guys, I know you may be in the thick of some kind of fantasy reenactment, but I really don’t have the time. I admit that you are really good and you must have done some careful research on the period, but this is private property, and I am busy.” They were intriguing and good looking, too, but she didn’t have the time to play with them. They again looked at each other, and began to converse easily in the ancient tongue. “It is a female creature. Where could she have come from? Is she a dangerous outsider or 78

Sanguinary Seductions could she be part of the old pack? Why does she wear such odd clothing?” Usha felt a chill run down her spine. Their speech was too easy to be contrived. It carried an accent that seemed authentic and their pronunciation was unlike the stuff they learned in the classroom—linguistic approximations of sounds no longer known. Besides this, the men seemed genuinely convinced of their roles, unlike actors, or worse yet, re-enactors. She decided to play along with them. If they wanted to roleplay, she was the queen of cosplay. She’d stun them. A nerd like her had no boyfriends, hell—no friends at all. She was a stodgy professor, but her only release was going to those anime conventions where she could dress up and act like somebody she wasn’t. Last year she’d gone as a vampire from the anime series Blood Lust. She could be a German frau, too. No, a German princess or duchess! Usha drew herself up and said in her best Old High German, “I am the duchess of this castle. Pray tell me your business. My servants are all away and I do not usually deal with lowborn hunters.” This time they looked befuddled. “You are the mistress? When did you arrive? We have been here for five hundred years and have never seen you!” Usha was getting into their game. “Why, only five hundred years? Oh yes, I have been on a small voyage that took that long. My, you are young pups! I have lived here for a mere thousand years before my journey to the wild-lands of the west.” Now they appeared truly interested. They really were serious about their cosplay! “Lady, are you the mate of Artaxias the Silver-mane? Are you the one he awaits?” the black-haired one asked respectfully. “Oh him. Well, I am no bitch of his. If he wants me, then he will have to beg,” she sniffed. “You see, I am greater than any other woman in the world. A woman of my beauty and high birth can have any sixteen-year-old I want.” 79

eXtasy’s Collective Mind They fell back in shock. The blond man regained his composure and now looked enraged. “You would desire a sixteen-year-old?” She decided that this was starting to scare her. These men were too serious about their roles. The black-haired man stood tall and looked affronted. “You dare refer to my lord in that way? You must indeed be an imposter. Are you a puny human? We will see.” He tapped the blond, who must have been his subordinate, and pointed at her. The blond approached, falling to his knees and boldly sniffing her crotch. She shrieked and pulled back. “How dare you?” They had the upper hand again, Usha realized, but they both jumped and backed away at her reaction. Apparently, they were doing some bluffing of their own. “Are you no better than dogs?” she asked angrily. They seemed to be frightened again. “Why are you here?” the black-haired one demanded as he rubbed his fierce cudgel. They stared at her brazenly. The blond man had thick hair past his wide shoulders. He moved it back as he tried to peer at Usha. His sharp blue eyes took her in hungrily. She had to admit that he was stunningly handsome, but his black-haired companion was equally well endowed. He had his hair tied in a ponytail with a leather band, but it was quite curly. His eyes were a hazel, almost golden color. Beads and strips of leather were woven into their hair and parts of their furs were decorated with bear claws and what appeared to be small bunches of human hair of all colors and lengths tied with fine strips of leather. Their tattoos gave them an even fiercer aspect and, when they bared their strong white teeth, looking like predators, Usha was reminded of the stories of the fierce warrior tribes of pre-Christian Germany. She’d never seen such authentic costumes. Usha was almost too confused to continue her ruse, but she asked, “By whose order do you come into my territory?” “I…we…are…this is our territory, my lady,” the beefy blond stuttered. He drooled visibly as he looked her over. He 80

Sanguinary Seductions absently scratched at the bulge in his crude pants. “Who are you? Why are you here? Who sent you? Do you change by the moon? Who is your goddess?” The black-haired man was more demanding. He held his weapon as if ready to strike. The torrent of questions terrified her. More frightening was the look on their faces. “Wha…” She gave up her act and began to back away from them. What had she gotten herself into? Was she going to end up dead at the hands of these mad cosplaying bastards? She looked toward the winding stone steps, but knew they led only to a dangerous parapet. They stood before the crude door arch, whose door had long since crumbled. Behind her was another arch leading into yet another room. She quickly plotted. They were looking at her hungrily now, their features changing entirely. They seemed to sense her fear, and like dogs, they were intrigued. She was trembling now, the terror of the situation and the dank cold combining forces against her. She glanced at the spiraling stone steps and started to dash in that direction, but turned sharply toward the next room. She could hear them speaking as she ran, but her legs refused to move as quickly as she willed them to, so great was her terror. The black-haired man spoke with hunger in his voice, “We shall have our way with her and then eat her sweet, terrified flesh, brother. She is a mortal, a mere human! She almost deceived us!” The other growled. The sound of their heavy weapons clashed to the floor as if they would no longer need them. Usha turned and looked at them, but dread made her movements slow as if she were wading through deep water. She saw them whip her specimens off the makeshift table and onto the ground. She heard a heavy foot crushing the delicate pieces, and somehow her mind registered a picture of how they would find her—a renown, but lonely anthropologist, murdered and found among her beloved specimens. All of her enemies among the faculty would attend her funeral and speak in hushed tones about how the crazy woman had gotten what 81

eXtasy’s Collective Mind she deserved. She tried to cry out, but only a thin wail escaped her. The blond man lunged at her and grabbed her ankles. She fell to the floor and writhed against him, but he stuck his face in her crotch, sniffing and nipping at her like a big dog. The other man tore at her blouse and she felt her bra being wrenched off. His face was buried in her full breasts and he sucked hard at one of her nipples. She beat at him ineffectually as the other man pulled her jeans off and tore her flimsy panties into shreds. He roughly jammed his face in and lapped at her, his tongue exploring deeply as her choked screams mingled with his lusty grunts. She bit the ear of the man at her breast and he sunk his teeth into her nipple. The pain that shot through her made her quake violently. The men must have been frightened by her agonized screech, because they stopped, jumped away from her and stared incredulously. The pain began to change as her body convulsed. It first became liquid agony and then slowly her body lit up with the erotic thrill it caused. She shuddered and quaked as her loins contracted against the orgasm that shook her. She took a breast in each hand and squeezed tightly, not caring for their astonished and now panicky looks. Her legs kicked as another orgasm made her scream high and brokenly. Usha rolled back and forth as they backed away. She rubbed her body on the stone floors, on the walls, anything to relieve the aching desire that came over her again and again. Then she looked over at them. Both had loosened their clothing. Their swollen cocks were visible and she was hungry for them—hungry in a way she’d never experienced before. She looked at them with animal lust, and by the looks on their faces, they were both frightened and out of their minds with yearning of their own. Their tongues lolled out of their mouths as they watched her rubbing her naked body against the stone. They moved jerkily as if trying to anticipate her next move. “Take off your clothes,” she said in a rough, growling voice. 82

Sanguinary Seductions They whimpered like scared puppies as she ordered them again. They complied with shaking hands. Usha approached the blond and struck him with a big, hairy paw. He hit the wall with a loud smack and began to writhe as he took his real form as a werewolf. He screamed and convulsed as the massive muscles and fur became visible. The final change came to his handsome face, but she was surprised at the attractiveness of the result. His eyes sparkled with lust. They were lined with a black color that appeared almost painted on, making him look strangely like a pharaoh. His whiskers stood out as he pulled back his lips in a snarl that revealed long white teeth. The canines were curved and sharp. Usha looked at his tawny fur ticked with white and was pleased. He opened his drooling mouth and exposed sharp teeth in a wolfish smile. He stood on his haunches, but as she reached for him, he fell to the ground and rolled over, showing his stomach like a submissive dog. Urine trickled from the sheath where his penis still hid. She bent over his whining body and licked him until he was fully exposed and trembling with both desire and fear. She could smell it. She turned toward the black-haired man, but he had already transformed. His rich black fur contrasted with his yellow eyes. He looked down in submission. She lifted a mighty paw and he fell without being hit, and like his comrade, submitted his pissing belly. Usha approached and put a paw over it. His cock quivered, but obligingly came out. She licked at it and he grunted deeply. The tawny wolf approached meekly and offered himself. She lapped them both until their full, enormous cocks were exposed. They were hungry for her and she was ravenous. She roared and her slavering jaws smacked. A full-throated howl escaped her and the two males joined her in a howling chorus. She slapped the large black male to the ground and pushed the other over to him. The black male huddled with the tawny one and looked up at her. She was aroused by the manner in which their cocks bobbed when she slapped them. They, too, were slowing losing their fear as their lust possessed 83

eXtasy’s Collective Mind them. Each of them vied for her attention, snarling and growling when the other received it. The blond got up and rubbed against Usha’s rump. She felt his heavy cock against her thigh and she wanted it. She growled and wrestled him down. When she had him on his back, she rubbed at his cock with her massive paw, making him thrust madly. She sat on him and he went wild in an attempt to penetrate her. She rode him, but didn’t allow entrance. The black werewolf hovered over them, stepping from one clawed foot to the other, producing a loud clicking sound in rhythm with the tawny wolf’s thrusts, and when she released the blond, he fell upon him and they struggled in a roaring, biting tangle. She roared her disapproval, but they continued to fight. Finally, she stopped their fight by swiping a mighty claw at them and they circled her. The blond again attempted to rub against Usha and she finally fell onto all fours to receive him. He bit her neck and held on as he fumbled, thrusting madly until finally he found her swollen pussy. He lunged in again and again, until he finally strained against her and was unable to move. His penis, like that of any wolf, had swollen and was unable to escape the tightness of her cavity. Usha was paralyzed by the sensation. She was caught up in an orgasm that seemed to go on forever. She howled and they joined her. Then, she felt added pressure that threatened to increase her already frantic orgasm to the point of insanity. The blackhaired werewolf mounted the blond and began to thrust into him. Her mind sought a connection and soon she found herself in the mind of the blond wolf so that she felt it as the black one pushed his way in. He thrust and thrust until the tawny wolf’s body was lit up with a quaking as the other’s cock came into contact with the hot spot in the blond’s ass. He rocked with the other’s orgasm so that she felt both of them. Now, the black werewolf had his cock firmly lodged in the blond’s ass and it swelled so that they were all quiet now, except for their panting, desperate breaths. To others, if anyone had dared watch, they would have appeared quiet, but Usha felt the blinding waves of her orgasm 84

Sanguinary Seductions drown her over and over again. A human would have died of such pleasure. They stayed like this for over an hour, each caught up in his or her pleasure until suddenly they all came to a quaking, final climax and separated. The two males fell onto all fours and stood with slightly hunched backs in surrender. Usha considered them for a moment. She was horny just watching their submission and she noticed that they, too, wanted more. They silently dry humped and their legs shuddered. Her swollen pussy convulsed at the sight, but when she smelled the night air, it called to her. Her sensitive nostrils picked up the deep aroma of the forest, the scent of her pack. They turned and began to run on all fours, Usha leading them. Somehow, she knew she was the alpha female. Is there an alpha male? She couldn’t remember. The full moon over them made an icy shine on their fur as they ran into the black of the forest. They came to a clearing and she sensed more wolves, but they were smaller. They were the massive European wolf species, much larger than their American counterparts, but dwarves compared to the great werewolves. The wolf pack acknowledged their presence and the alpha male approached Usha. They sniffed and he indicated his desire to mate with her. The two male werewolves snarled their displeasure and the wolf pack dissolved into the night. They ran on, their massive paws almost soundless on the bed of fallen leaves. Running made Usha feel free. She was running to something she had missed. Suddenly, the scent of something powerful and ominous stopped them. Usha cautiously poked her nose through the foliage and saw them. The pack was not the ordinary wolf—these were werewolves. They were mostly all a wild wolf color, but some were reddish, blond and brown. They broke into the clearing and growls seemed to surround them. She wondered for a moment if they would be attacked and killed, but the other werewolves seemed wary of them, even through their aggressive stances. Perhaps it was not them whom the others feared, she realized, when she caught sight of him. She looked at the 85

eXtasy’s Collective Mind center of the band and he stood there, half-man still. His powerful chest and thighs were covered with dense, whitesilver wolf fur. She was astonished at the power that radiated from him. His icy blue eyes, even as a wolf, made her male companions roll in submission. She just stared at him. He stood stiffly, but as she watched, his sheath swelled and his cock began to emerge. It was wet and very red against his silvery white fur. Although she had mated with the other males, this one scared her. His body size was imposing, but the size of his cock was frightening. The pack circled them and watched with interest. She felt a mix of anger and lust as the alpha male approached her. The other wolves snuffed and some pushed others to get a better view. The silvery white male was massive, yet dignified. His tongue hung out of his mouth hungrily and his cock bobbed as he walked. She refused to back away for she was the alpha female. He may be bigger, but she knew that she was his prize. His hungry look affirmed that. She stared into his luminous blue eyes and saw something timeless and infinitely more terrifying than she had seen in the other wolves. She looked around at the others who watched with jealous growls in their throats. She could hear the eerie sound of halfhuman speech as both males and females whispered about the outcome. “Would they fight? Would they mate? Where was his mate?” She could hear the deep growl building in her own throat as well. The other werewolves appeared to be wary of her now. Every time she moved, they backed away a little more. Suddenly the attention was no longer on her. The foliage parted and a giant werewolf walking on his hind legs appeared. He was a grey wolf with the agouti colored fur so typical for ordinary wolves. His golden eyes shone with fury and his teeth were bared for a fight. His thick cock stood exposed and red against the grey fur of his belly. The silver male howled angrily and prepared to fight the interloper, but the grey wolf spoke to Usha instead. “You are not welcome here. Artaxias the Silver-mane is my mate for life. 86

Sanguinary Seductions No mere female, however alpha she is, can take the man I love. I have awaited your arrival, but you have been away for so long that he is now mine! Do you hear me, bitch? You will not stain my lover’s beautiful silver coat with your filth!” “I do not want him. Why would someone as lovely as I seek to mate with a dirty thing like that,” she said unwisely. She wondered at her brazen stupidity. “You dare call my lovely mate dirty?” the grey wolf growled. “You, who smells of human? You, who has mated already with the lowly members of the pack? I smell it on you, woman!” “I have no desire to mate with either of you!” she cried in an attempt to smooth over her mistake. “Then why does your swollen pussy drip with lust for his manhood? Why do your loins tremble at the sight of my engorged member? Liar! I shall kill you and devour your sweet flesh!” The grey wolf mocked a smile at her, but his face was very serious. Usha debated turning and running into the forest, but something in her refused. As the alpha female, she could not do such a shameful thing, besides, she did desire them—both of these magnificent creatures. She was drawn to their incredible male bodies so much that she cared not if she died. “You are fooling yourselves. I do not desire you, for I have mates far more desirable than you,” she added rashly. Her two companions of before, the tawny and black werewolves, still smelling of their previous mating, slunk off into the blackness of the forest. She heard their rapid retreat and knew that she was alone in this fight. “Oh, is that so?” the grey wolf asked. “Tigran the Grey, please let her go,” the great silvery male pleaded. “I only wanted to taste female flesh once, but you are my only true love.” The grey wolf looked even more enraged. He made a spitting growl and roared an incoherent oath. “I know your mind Artaxias, the Silver-mane! How could you desire her over me? And you claim to love me? I should beat you after I kill 87

eXtasy’s Collective Mind her. I will beat you into submission! Artaxias, you are a slut!” She only heard the angry roar as the grey wolf was on her, biting and slashing. The pain of his bites was punctuated by orgasmic waves as their blood mingled. He tore at her, trying to find a way to slash her belly. She attacked his neck and nothing he did could dislodge her, so he roared in anguish. His size was greater than hers, but she fought well. The will to stay alive took over and they rolled in a fury of deadly claws and blazing, angry teeth. Every time he bit her, she was shocked with the erotic pleasure it gave her. She blinked when, in a flash, the silver wolf entered the fray, fighting against the grey male. Soon the fight was between the two males and they tore at each other. It became obvious that the grey wolf was the stronger of the two. He beat the silver wolf to the ground and mounted him. He began to thrust and the other raised his rump to receive him. Usha watched as the two became joined and pleasure washed over their furious eyes. They were magnificent beasts, joined in a frenzy of passion. She then caught the silver wolf’s look. He was a huge wolf and, as he stood on all fours, his cock jerked. She was willing to risk her life for what he offered so she ran under him and raised her rump despite the growled warning of the grey wolf. The silver wolf began to thrust and his movements seemed to increase the grey wolf’s pleasure as he groaned deeply and ceased to complain. He entered her and she cried out in pleasure as his huge cock burned her insides. She heard the two males growling in pleasure and the grey wolf now matched the silver’s thrusts with his own until all three of them howled in passion causing the onlookers to howl in chorus with them. The night filled with the sounds of their explosive union and the pack echoed their cries of passion as if it were their own. For two hours, their mating continued with the rising and release as they remained joined as three in their combined rapture. Finally, they released their hold and fell apart. The night was silent now as the breathless spectators sat motionless on their haunches. Usha watched as the two giant werewolves 88

Sanguinary Seductions began to return to a human form. She also felt the change and began to scream. **** They woke up alone in a copse littered with flowers and mushrooms. Usha slept between the two naked men, one with a peaceful, youthful face, despite his shocking silver hair and the other gorgeous hunk with black hair. She kissed them both and they woke. Artaxias the Silver-mane, smiled. “How was it?” Tigran, the black-haired male looked at her mischievously. “Just like our first time together? Was it just as good for you?” Usha nodded. “Thank you both. We have to do this every year from now on to celebrate. There is nothing like the first time for a girl and my first time with you two, so many years ago, was awesome. I am so happy that we were able to relive it!” Tigran the Grey smiled and stretched luxuriantly. “I’m hungry after all of that. I say we kill a steer.” Usha laughed, but her belly felt empty, too. She would be in heat for another week and they planned the reenactment for every night for it had been such fun. After that, they would return to the castle to continue their research. Usha rolled over on top of Artaxias and he growled a welcome, despite his human form. “I wonder what my colleagues are doing now?” Usha asked. “Silly,” Tigran the Grey said. “They have all been dead for the past twenty years. Nobody lives as long as us wolves. And remember my dear, how many of them were killed in that accident ten years ago when they came to check on you. Interesting, but I must say, the flesh was exceedingly stringy.” She felt the urge come over her again, and by the look of the swollen cocks of her two mates, she knew that they felt the same.

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Devil Woman AP Miller eing a duke had its advantages. Parties, brothels, pubs. Being able to travel from his mansion in England to his estate in France as the seasons changed, and being able to do as he pleased, was the life of any wealthy, single man. But not so, for eighteen year old Drake De Savoy, who sat down by the mill pond pulling petals off of a Black Eyed Susan and chanting the silly phrase, “She loves me. She loves me not.” Who was he kidding? She was interested in gifts and parties and, well…men. Sarah Lewis was out of his league, he knew, but still his perusal of her charms always failed to lure her into his embrace. Her idea of a real man was someone tall, dark and handsome. A filthy rich titled man, or…a real highwayman. He bent down once more over the water and still couldn’t see his reflection change into what she wanted. He would always be the thin, plain looking, gangly young man, that no woman would want. Sighing, he tipped backward on his heels, stood and walked at a slow pace back to the mansion. His father would be expecting him as well, to continue more of his teachings, and getting him ready to travel back to France, and more training in fencing. He was actually looking forward to it. This warm season he had spent the entire time wallowing in self pity over Sarah—watching her from far away manipulate the men who surrounded her in such a way that

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Sanguinary Seductions they would do all of her bidding. He wanted desperately to become one of those men. If only she had noticed him once, looked in his direction. That alone, would have lasted him a lifetime. Mattie, the head servant, was in the scullery kitchen just adding more wood to the fireplace when he walked in. “Oh, there ye are, laddie! Be a good boy and lift that kettle over the fire for me?” He felt Mattie’s gaze on him, watching him worriedly. “Poor lad, what’s wrong?” Drake shook his head as if to say nothing was wrong, but he realized she knew better. “Don’t be late for dinner, dear, I am makin’ yer favorite—roast goose with cranberry. Should be ready in three hours time.” He smiled. “Thank you.” Mattie had practically raised him from infancy and probably knew him better than his own parents. He glanced out the open scullery door and for a moment watched Albert plucking the goose. While he lifted the heavy cauldron filled with water and placed it over the fire, he thought about his mother, busy entertaining the guests, one of them his future wife. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of her, and not one of desire. Once he was done he began to walk toward his rooms on the other side of the house. Using the scullery entrance wasn’t proper for the masters of the house, but Drake knew what awaited him in the parlor where his mother was entertaining his future bride and her own mother, so he defied rules and used the entrance to escape being seen by his mother and the guests. He needed just a little more time to scrape his confidence together before joining them. **** Anastasie La Fontaine sat quietly, and extremely bored, sipping tea, trying so desperately not to hear the conversation at hand. She wanted to scream at her mother for doing this to her, for forcing her to wed a young man she had never met. 91

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Raised in a prim and proper home, she knew this would be her destiny, as it was with all young ladies of good birth. Gone would be the debutante balls, the masques, and all the traveling she did with her family to France. She would forever be forced into a life of servitude for one man, a man she didn’t love. She had asked her parents, “But what of love?” Bah! That made no difference according to her father. “You will learn to love him, my dear.” Her mother’s statement broke Anastasie’s trance. She placed the empty tea cup back onto the tray on the table, then folded her small gloved hands back in her lap. This would never do! She would have to run away! But where would she go? Surely her father would send out the entire militia to locate her. Duchess De Savoy waved for the servant to bring in the cakes and more tea. “Oh where is that son of mine?” The heat was unbearable and she slapped her fan open in a huff and waved it in front of her flushed cheeks. “It is quite all right, Duchess. Anastasie and I have time to wait. I am sure he will arrive soon,” Lady La Fontaine replied matter of fact in her heavy French accent. She glanced about the room, openly admiring the lovely Burgundy damask drapery, and the Victorian style furniture. The Persian carpets caught her attention, which continued the flow of the conversation. Anastasie stood and walked to the window. She sat on the edge and watched the horses out in the pasture, thinking about how dull her life would be if she had to live outside of the confines of the beautiful estate in France. She noticed the house on the far hill just near the top. What a strange structure, very unlike the other buildings here. The sun was beginning to set just beyond the mountains. She watched the yellow orange hues turn to grayish purple wisps, before the sky turned to total darkness. Anastasie saw a glow in one of the windows of the house on the hill. She peered harder and noticed the flickering flame of one lone candle on the windowsill. Strange as it seemed the glow in the room was quite bright just for one candle. She 92

Sanguinary Seductions wondered who lived there. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mattie announcing dinner, and the thought of that made her quite famished all of a sudden. “Come, shall we dine?” Duchess De Savoy led her company into the large dining room. The scent of freshly cooked goose wafted up Anastasie’s nostrils. It looked like the Duchess had chosen her very best china for the table setting. Silver candelabras shone, evidently polished to the hilt, and the china gleamed so that one could almost see their reflection in the plates. The table was laden with various fruits and freshly baked bread, the enticing aroma entering her nostrils. The women were seated, wine was poured, and they had just begun to eat the first course when Drake stumbled in, her future husband. He was a bit ruffled and tucked his shirt tails in apologetically. Anastasie saw his mother give him a look of warning. Instead of arguing with her, he used diplomacy by remaining silent, and sat down in his father’s chair since the duke was away on royal business and wasn’t expected back until the month’s end. Anastasie knew Drake was now in charge. **** Drake woke up in a sweat. His body sprung upward and he shrugged off the sheets. He ran splayed fingers through his dark hair. A dream…it was only a dream… With the flames still steady and high in the fireplace bathing his room in soft, flickering light, he was able to gaze around his bedchamber. Everything was normal yet the dream seemed so real. He looked at the pillow next to him, fearful that he’d find Anastasie next to him, but she wasn’t there. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, then put on his robe. He fetched the candle from the table in his room and lit it. Taking it with him, he walked out into the hallway. He looked left then right. The moon was full this particular night and he felt as if something was wrong but couldn’t figure it out. It was a gut wrenching 93

eXtasy’s Collective Mind feeling that had woken him from a sound slumber. Was something wrong with Mother? She was not so young anymore and had not felt well of late. He often worried about her. He walked down the second hallway to his mother’s rooms, knocked lightly, but no answer. Slowly he cracked the door open, it creaked a bit and he stopped. Closing his eyes tightly at the sound, hoping not to wake anyone he crept into her room. The light from the flame illuminated his mother while she slept peacefully. Relieved, he quietly left and went back out into the hall again to his own room. A loud crack of thunder startled him and it began to rain. Lightning lit up the night sky. He turned and walked toward the window. A tree branch was scratching against the shutters, causing them to fly open. Cold rain sprayed him, the heavy wind pushed him back but he managed to fight it and made his way to the window to close it. Just as he reached out to pull the shutters back into place he spied someone standing on the lawn below. The rain was pounding Drake’s face and his visibility was poor. Another clap of thunder, followed by lightning, and this time the figure was at the top of his window. Drake quickly moved back. He was speechless and in shock. The looming figure cloaked in a dark cape floated down to the floor with a cynical laugh. Drake tried to flee, but the sight of the figure and an unknown force held him still. She raised her hand and pulled back the hood of the cape. Drake stared hard, “Who are you?” he demanded. “And how did you get up to that window?” He knew there wasn’t anything outside for her to climb up, and questions rattled his mind, trying to figure out what he was actually seeing. Was this a test? Another dream? Because if it wasn’t, then he didn’t want to go back to sleep. She walked toward him and stood in front of him. She met his gaze. “Green.” “What?” “Your eyes…they are green. I had never noticed them before” Her voice was cold and almost apologetic. Raising her hand, she pushed back the wet hair from his 94

Sanguinary Seductions face. “Do you not know who I am?” Her voice was a whisper. Unable to move all but his head, he said, “No.” “Look more carefully, Drake.” The words stung like a hive of bees. But he just could not place her. Her eyes glowed orange, which was the first thing he noticed, other then her simple beauty. She arched one eyebrow in question. He stared more closely, his eyes narrowing. All his attention focused on her, even though all he wanted to do was run. He felt there was danger within her, but was paralyzed to the very spot where he stood. Her raven hair hung long and flowing down her back. She wasn’t a tall woman, but average. He easily towered above her. His mind felt as if she were intruding…and she was… “Sarah…” She breathed slow, steady breaths. Drake’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. “But…how?” She laughed harshly. ‘“You don’t know? You above all else should know the answer, Drake. Think real hard. Do you honestly believe my parents left me their home up on that hill because they died a peaceful death?” He closed his eyes. He remembered the day she had disappeared, never to be found again. Rumors throughout the ton surfaced that she had run away to the Americas to secretly wed. Then her parents died, first her mother, then her father. It was said that her young sister went to stay with a family member in the city. He remembered… “Alexander Worthington…” “Yes…” she whispered into the darkness. He was my maker. We lived in the cellar of that house all these years. She walked away from him for a brief moment, then turned on her heel and looked him in his eyes, the very eyes that now shone with terror. “Come with me, Drake…come with me and you can live forever. We are the lords of darkness.” she laughed again. “You have no power against me…why fight this? You have wanted me since you were a young man. What’s stopping you 95

eXtasy’s Collective Mind from that now?” She released the hold she had on him and he stumbled backward, falling to the floor. He wanted to yell for someone to help him. This is not real, he thought. He couldn’t stop the warning signals running through his mind. He had to get away, save his family, the servants…Sarah opened her lips. They curled back and Drake watched in horror as two pointed teeth protruded through the gums of her mouth. Slowly she floated towards him. He raised himself back to standing position and began to run, but she caught him. She was much stronger than him, and he found it difficult to resist, even though he made an overt effort to get away. His screams would be silenced the minute he opened his mouth. To resist would be futile, he knew. She could easily destroy him with one snap of his neck. Sarah bit into the flesh of his throat. Drake cried out from the brief pain, then passed out… **** Drake woke in a different place. The drapes around the bed he slept in were unfamiliar. He felt very weak, near death. She stood just beyond the bed, waiting like a panther seeking its prey. Bile built within his throat and threatened to expel, but he had no strength. He couldn’t even raise his head. She came towards him, donned in a long ruby-red gown. Her dark hair flowing down her back…he seemed to view her in slow motion. His eyes weren’t fully focused, and the pain in the left side of his neck was throbbing, hurting more the closer she got. “I can give you life eternal…all you have to do is say the word. Should you deny this gift I will let you die. I have nearly drained your blood, all but a pint. You are very weak and will die in a matter of hours. Or, you could say the word and live.” Sarah sat next to him on the bed and took his hand in hers. “You know, Alexander never gave me a choice. He said if he 96

Sanguinary Seductions could not have me, then no one could. That night he came for me, took me from my bedchamber in the middle of the night, and no one knew I was missing until the morning, but by then it was too late.” “Please, call the doctor, Sarah.” Drake managed to whisper. She stroked the side of his cheek with her free hand. “Now, you know I cannot do that. I would have to kill him also. I have not fed yet, and your final pint will keep me full for the duration of the night. My stomach grows weak for the taste of you.” “What are you, Sarah?” She paused for a moment, thoughtfully, as if looking for the right words. “I am undead, a vampire, creature of the night. I am nothing now but a monster.” Drake stared at her. His eyelids involuntarily closed, he had no more strength, but still, he did not want to die. “Tell me about what you are first.” “I survive on the blood of humans. I sleep during daylight and rise from the darkness when the sun sets. I just survive. I have no reason. I just exist. As long as I follow the rules, I can live forever. I offer you this gift, Drake, and if you do not accept you will perish. “ **** Inside a cold, damp crypt, Sarah awoke. Turning to the man lying next to her, she watched him for a moment. His skin now as pale as hers, his hair still damp from the previous night, she drank in the sight of his handsome features. “Wake, my love.” She kissed his cold mouth. Drake’s green eyes opened, even brighter than they had been when he was in his human form. He rose, and she led him outside. For the first time, he saw the world around him through clear vision, his ears were as sharp as a lion’s. He could hear the faintest whisper of a leaf, even the scurrying of an insect. He turned to Sarah. “I don’t regret this. I have always 97

eXtasy’s Collective Mind wanted to be with you, and if this means a life eternal, then I am yours, and this was meant to be. He lowered her down to the grass, then slowly removed each piece of her clothing. Her skin was albino, silky, and beautiful. His mouth kissed every part of her exposed flesh down to her creamy thighs, where he lingered. He opened her inner thighs and licked a trail to her wet, wanting pussy. He examined it for a brief moment, before he took one long taste. “Beautiful.” he whispered. “Like the wings of a butterfly.” Her hands stroked his hair, her body moving in motion with his. Their touches were intense, rough, animalistic. They clawed at each other’s flesh and Drake watched as the wounds she had created healed within a few seconds. Her talons ripped at his shoulders, blood spilled, and his body healed itself. Never before had he experienced anything like this. All of his senses were heightened. No more would he have to dwell in depression, of feeling worthless, to think about death because now he could control his own destiny, and this time not so alone. Sarah pushed Drake from her and rolled him onto his back. With a wicked grin she said, “My turn.” Then she mounted his hard cock. She rode him fast and rough while he held her hips in place. They exploded together under the full moon, and for the first time in years, Drake felt like a real man. He smothered Sarah with kisses and said, “Time for breakfast, my dear devil woman.” He lifted her to him and took her small hand in his. So if this is what it feels like to be immortal, I will never want to turn back. He embraced her, then together they floated off into a cloud of dust.

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Dexter Prequel to One Dangerous Woman

Marc Jarrod o! No! Please, don’t send me down there! Please! Please! Noooo! I’m sorry. I really, truly am sorry!” Dexter Dewitt hated this part of his job—escorting souls to Hell. Souls who led an evil life on earth and now suddenly were sorry for their sins? These damned souls—and they are truly damned souls—give a new meaning to the adage there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. Though a demon, Dexter would rather be an angel escorting souls to heaven. What greater feeling to be able to send someone home to Paradise instead of dispatching a soonto-be tormented soul to damnation for eternity. He envied those winged creatures because they could leave and enter Nirvana as they pleased. He was aware there was nothing but love and happiness in that Paradise. Where Dexter resided now…to say the environment and atmosphere was the exact opposite of Heaven would be an understatement. In Hell, there was nothing but evil, pain, suffering and hatred toward one another. Ever since he accidentally shot a store clerk in a botched robbery, which resulted in him residing in Hell, Satan had assigned Dexter to escort evil souls to this unholy place just as a demon escorted him to the evilest of evil places. Now eighty years later, thinking about it—he definitely had a lot of time to

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind think, in a morbid sense of reasoning—Dexter rationalized what he was doing wasn’t really that bad. I mean, if a murderer dies, sending or escorting the poor sap to Hades is pretty much a nobrainer. His present quarry was a perfect example. If there ever was a spirit more deserving to be plunged into Hell, it has to be the man he was presently escorting. George Smith killed his wife and children for insurance money. When the authorities found him, rather than the police taking him into custody, he decided to kill himself. Killing or murdering—especially members of your family, for profit—was definitely a ticket to Hell. Committing suicide was simply driving the final proverbial nail into his coffin. On his way down to the fiery pits, Dexter could only shake his head on George’s pleas for mercy by responding as a father who is about to spank his son for doing something so foolish, “So, you say you’re sorry? Maybe you should have thought of this before you killed your family for insurance money.” There was definitely sarcasm in his voice when he made this statement because he knew George could have avoided his fate by not committing the crime in the first place. When Dexter literally threw the man into Hell, the beleaguered, anguished soul heard the screaming and wails of the immortals that already made their home there. As George drew closer to the fiery pits, the appeals from him increased a thousand fold. “No! No! Please! Noooooo!” Dexter shrugged. He has heard those prayers hundreds of thousands of times. That poor shmuck could plea for all eternity and it wouldn’t do any good. George looked around him and saw a multitude of souls about to suffer the same fate. There were many of them escorted by a demon while others had made the trek by themselves. For all mortals, there was one constant—they were all making anguished petitions for mercy. Rather than entering Hell himself, Dexter proceeded to his next assignment As he looked for his next earthly body, he thought about 100

Sanguinary Seductions his job. Though he didn’t necessarily mind escorting souls to Hell, it was the living creatures teetering on whether to commit a deadly sin such as murder, rape, selling drugs and terrorism, among other serious crimes, he agonized over. He felt this way because Satan had just given him this additional requirement to his escorting job. Dexter must now try to cajole—mentally—sinners into committing these crimes. He dreaded this because well, subconsciously this demon had a conscience. He felt man should have a choice or at least be allowed to make a choice on his own. If the would-be criminal did it on his own accord, then so be it. If anything, he felt it was the angel’s responsibility to try to talk the criminal into not doing the act. While he continued searching for his next soul—and there was definitely no shortage of evil mortals out there—he heard the words of Satan in his head. Satan, also known as The Dark One, informed him of a character about to commit suicide. Go there now. His guardian angel is already there trying to talk him out of it. Dexter sensed Satan’s tone was frantic. The Dark One gave him the address and, as the demon headed in that direction, he couldn’t help shake his head. This is what he feared. If this idiot was about to kill himself, he hoped it was because he did something like kill someone, like George Smith did. Then again, if this were the case, Satan wouldn’t have sounded so anxious in his request. Great. Just fucking great. When Dexter arrived at his destination, he saw a man hovered over a desk with a pistol aimed at his head. He also noticed an angel to his right just as Satan had said there would be one present. He or she—contrary to belief, angels are not hermaphrodite—already had an arm wrapped around this man’s back, obviously comforting him in hopes of trying to convince the man into not killing himself. The angel, in addition to her arm, had its wing wrapped around the living soul as if it were a blanket. Dexter shook his head and rolled his eyes. He has seen this scene hundreds—more like thousands of times from his 101

eXtasy’s Collective Mind window in Hades. Though he never participated in trying to coax a mortal into committing a crime, he had witnessed other demons fulfill this mission. Apparently, much to his chagrin, Satan had decided this would be his first attempt. The angel had her head buried in the mortal’s shoulders where Dexter couldn’t see the cherub’s face. He dropped his head in dismay. It was obvious to him this angel was fervently trying to do everything possible in trying to fulfill this mission. He understood his own job was to do the opposite of what the angel was trying to accomplish. If he succeeded, Dexter knew there was no surer way to gain a ticket to Hell than to commit suicide. Even if this man led a saintly life, it would be irrelevant. Finally, the seraphim with the huge wings lifted her face. Her face was of magnificent beauty. Dexter was mesmerized. She had piercing emerald eyes, her face shined like porcelain, her hair glowed like satin. Her body, even with her robe, showed a statuesque form. Her breasts looked firm and buxom. Yet, despite these features, this angel’s face was a mask of sorrow. He sensed the angel, along with the grief was pleading earnestly. Dexter had seen angels in this state before and had seen his fellow demons have many conflicts and arguments with their counterparts. This angel, like all of the angels he had seen, was beautiful in contrast to his hideous features, which included dark wings, pointed nose, a forked tongue, and a foul stench emanating from his mouth to complete his description. Dexter noticed, for whatever reason, this particular angel stood above the rest. Being a demon, he heard many stories by his fellow demons on how they always experienced lust. They always imagined themselves making ravaging, malicious sex to the angels, imbedding their long cocks in their holy holes and the angels sucking deliriously on the demon’s phallus. Many times, the demon would actually proposition the angel. Come on. Let me stick my ten-inch cock up your holier-than-thou hole, you fucking cunt. Dexter would just shake his head and walk away. He had 102

Sanguinary Seductions seen more than one demon actually jump an angel and try to molest her. It always ended when the demon saw a blinding light and another angel with a huge expanse of wings appeared, sword in hand, ready to strike like a rattlesnake. The demon, seeing this would actually cry out in fright—yes fright. The angel, disregarding the demon’s pleas, would then make a wave with his sword and violently catapult the demon back to Hell. Though Dexter had never attempted an assault on an angel, he knew, if he so inclined, he could have his pick of the litter from the damned souls entering the Black Gates of Hell. He had never taken the opportunity to do so, perhaps because he knew he could have any spirit he wanted. It simply was not a challenge. Now, looking at this most beautiful angel, he definitely would love to have made love, not sex or rape to this cherub. He had never experienced this throughout the eighty years as a demon in Hell. When Dexter broke out of his trance, the angel confirmed his suspicions on the seraphim’s emotions. She said with her arms outstretched from her sides, “Please, not this one. He is a good man. His name is Thomas Mitchell and he has had a rough couple of years. His wife left him and now has sole custody of his children, which he adores more than life itself. His business is faltering and, with his divorce settlement along with the child support and alimony, it is going to cost him a fortune. He would gladly give his wife what she wants if he could at least have partial custody of his children.” Dexter barely heard her words because the angel’s voice sounded like velvet. Any other demon would have told the angel to fuck-off, this soul was his for the taking once the pull of the trigger completed the job. Moreover, if Dexter were any other demon, he would simply approach the distressed mortal and put thoughts in his mind by murmuring, Come on, and pull trigger. You can do it. Just think. If you pull the trigger, everything will be fine. No more worries. I promise you won’t feel a thing. Come on do it and get it over with. He realized he could never be successful in fulfilling this part of his mission. 103

eXtasy’s Collective Mind The angel continued with pleading eyes. “My name is Rochelle.” Dexter still stood in a stupor. Even her name was beautiful. Her beauty was so enthralling, it impaired his judgment. He was aware if this poor creature was so wrought with grief, then he, too, was definitely not thinking straight. Just a few words from a dark voice would send the soul over the edge. All he had to say was two words. Do it, and the being would have pulled the trigger. Then Dexter would simply grab the now immortal and escort him to Hell. That’s all he had to do. He didn’t. The beautiful Rochelle, once again put her arm around the grieving human. Thomas still had the gun in his hand and now actually put the muzzle to his temple. Dexter watched as Rochelle wrapped her wing more tightly and, to his astonishment, saw her body start quivering. Oh my G-G— Dexter closed his eyes on the frustration he couldn’t say the word God, but also because Rochelle was crying. Thomas put the gun on the desk and both living soul and immortal now wept openly. Rochelle stroked the man’s hair lightly. Thomas also stroked his hair, not realizing he was feeling Rochelle’s caresses. Dexter walked toward them and Rochelle lifted her head. Her face was shiny, not from her porcelain-like skin, but due to the wetness from the tears she shed. Rochelle shook her head emphatically, again pleading. Thomas raised his head, wiped the tears on his shirtsleeve, stared at the gun for a moment, picked it up and trained the muzzle on his temple as if determined to complete the task of killing himself. Rochelle once again dipped her head to Thomas’s shoulder. Dexter put his head on the other side of the living soul’s shoulder and, at the same time, wrapped his arm around the man’s back just as Rochelle did. He dipped his scaly green arm underneath Rochelle’s massive wing, touching her silky arm, feeling the soft velvety texture of her robe. Rochelle, didn’t retract in horror, but simply kept it there. 104

Sanguinary Seductions Dexter sensed because she was so involved in talking to her ward, she simply hadn’t notice it. Much to his utter shock, Rochelle actually entwined her arm with his and started caressing it. They both stayed in this position for a about a minute when Dexter, going completely against what a demon stood for, whispered in Thomas’s ear, Don’t do it. Listen to your Guardian Angel. It will be all right. After a brief pause, Thomas abruptly raised his head and placed the gun back on the desk. He put his hands on his face, resting his elbows on the desk and exclaimed aloud, “What am I doing? What am I doing!” He looked upward, clenching his hands in prayer, his voice grateful, “God, thank you for sending your guardian angel and protecting me from doing something so foolish and to comfort me. Please give me the strength to get through this ordeal.” He then rose from his seat, released a deep breath, picked up the gun and removed the cartridge-filled bullets from its casing. Finally, he left the room. Both immortals looked at each other. Rochelle gave a huge smile of satisfaction. “Thank you.” She walked toward him, placed a hand on his scaly face and stated, “You’re a good man Dexter Dewitt. Even though you’re a demon, I sense a good side of you. No other demon would have ever considered for a second, what you just did.” She then stepped back. Dexter nodded and responded, “You’re welcome, Rochelle.” He then frowned and asked, “How did you know my name?” Rochelle stepped close again, put a lily-white hand on each of his scaly cheeks and first kissed his forehead, then the bridge of his nose and finally placed a light kiss on his lips. She took two steps back, stared at him and then proclaimed, “I can’t believe what I am about to do but may my God forgive me.” “Forgive you for wh—” “This,” she responded and, at the same time, ran into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, actually driving her tongue into his mouth. 105

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Shocked beyond belief of this turn of events, Dexter gladly accepted her honey-nectar tongue into his own mouth. The kiss lasted for a long time and Dexter felt his hormones go into overdrive. His cock morphed from flaccid skin to a jackhammer. He wanted so much to make love to this beautiful angel, he was fighting every instinct he had to rip her gown from her body, drop her to the floor and insert his huge erection into her sopping pussy until it came out of her mouth. That is what any other demon would have done. It was simply his instinct. That is…if Dexter was any other demon. Then again, Dexter was not just any other demon. He had a conscience which many times deprived him of taking advantage of female souls God plundered into Hell. Aside from their hideous features, Dexter was also conscious that demons also had foul-smelling breath. He was shocked this didn’t repel Rochelle from kissing him. And speaking of kissing, this had never ever happened to him in all the years he had confronted his counterpart. He had seen demons lose to Guardian Angels and the demon would be livid on such a loss to the heavenly creature. In contrast, if the demon succeeded in winning a human, he would cackle to the angel with defiant glee. Some would even suggest, Why don’t you join me in Hell, so I can fuck your brains out in celebration. After the kiss, Rochelle stepped back once again. “I’m…sorry, Dexter. I was so grateful for you talking this poor soul into not killing himself, I just had to show you somehow, my appreciation. You see, this is my first assignment in trying to save a mortal and it was so important to me. I have just joined the choir of angels. We are the ninth in the hierarchy of angels. We are looked over by a rank of angels called Dominions. They make sure we are doing our job.” She lowered her head. “I…don’t want to know what my Dominion is going to think of what I just did since she had to have seen this.” Dexter responded, “I wouldn’t worry about it, Rochelle. The main thing is you succeeded. That is all matters and I am 106

Sanguinary Seductions sure your Dominion will consider your situation. “Yes, I succeeded—thanks to you. I am more worried on what Satan will do to you.” Dexter responded sadly, “Thank you, Rochelle. Yeah, Satan won’t be, too, happy, but hey, I’ll worry about it when I face him. By the way, you are right. I am a good person. I led a good life while on earth, but unfortunately, I killed a man in an armed robbery. I was punished for my crime and I wound up in Hell.” He shrugged. “It was an accident, but your boss, JeJe—” Realizing he couldn’t say His name, he finished with a fatalistic smile, “Your boss, the man upstairs, didn’t see it that way and so sent me down here.” Rochelle put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, Dexter, I am so sorry to hear.” Dexter gave a slight nod. “Thanks.” “Listen Dexter, Perhaps I—” She wasn’t able to finish her statement because her angelic form was dissipating before his eyes. Rochelle said quickly, “My Dominion is calling me back. I hope to see you again. I know it goes against everything you stand for, but perhaps we can work together again in saving another mortal. Even if we don’t meet again, I will never forget you, Dexter.” She then disappeared completely. Dexter closed his eyes and murmured, “I will never forget you either, Rochelle.” I wonder what she was trying to say when she said, Perhaps? Perhaps what? He didn’t have time to pursue it when suddenly he felt a tugging as if being sucked in through a vacuum cleaner. No one had to tell him what it meant. Satan was summoning him back just as Rochelle’s Dominion was calling her home. Yes, Dexter, too, was going home—to Hell and he knew Satan was not going to be happy. In fact, he was facing the utmost dread—dread beyond disbelief on what awaited him for not fulfilling his mission. **** When Rochelle went back to Heaven, she immediately 107

eXtasy’s Collective Mind appeared before her Dominion. A Dominion is a member of the second triad of the hierarchy of angels. They are protectors, but also oversee Guardian Angels. They handle the minute details of cosmic life and existence, designating tasks to the lower order of angels. Rochelle stood before her Dominion, awaiting the expected chastisement she would be receiving. Though she has just become an angel, she envied the traits of her superior. The Dominion wore gold and green wings, spanned as wide as an eagle’s wings. On her desk were the sword and the scepter— symbols of her power and rank. The Dominion named Arcadia started speaking gently. “Rochelle, you were sent to try to save the soul of Thomas Mitchell who was about to commit suicide. I understand this was your first mission since you received your wings. Nevertheless…after you succeeded in your mission, you kissed the demon whose own job was to talk Thomas into killing himself so he can grab the spirit and escort it to Hell.” She paused staring at Rochelle intently before continuing her speech. “Rochelle, you kissed a demon? Are you kidding me? A demon is the epitome of evil.” Her voice rose as if chastising her daughter, “What drove you to do such a thing?” Rochelle dropped her head with shame and responded, “I’m…sorry Arcadia. However there is something you should know.” She raised her head and looked at the Dominion, staring into her eyes. “You see Dexter, the demon—I’m not sure how to put this and I’m not sure if it is even possible, but he is actually a good demon.” Arcadia raised and then furrowed her eyebrows, not believing what she just heard. Her tone settling down, responded, “My dear, Rochelle. There is no such thing as a good demon. Don’t you see, he was just using you and your emotions. Demons are notorious for that. They will lie, cheat, deceive and will say anything to make you believe them. Now, I will say this, it is a good thing Thomas changed his mind on not killing himself. He must have heard your pleas, so no harm done. I can only shudder to think what would have happened 108

Sanguinary Seductions if you had lost the poor body to the demon and his boss, Satan. Considering Thomas was a good man in general, Satan would have relished this conquest.” “Well, the thing is Arcadia…” Rochelle took a deep breath as if to drum up her courage. “It was Dexter who talked Thomas out of killing himself…not me.” Arcadia’s jaw dropped. When she regained her composure, she responded with, “Are you serious?” **** Rochelle said, “Dexter specifically told Thomas, Don’t do it. It will be all right. Thomas got up from his chair and removed the bullets from the gun.” Rochelle paused. “Oh, Thomas also thanked me. I wanted to return the thanks, but obviously couldn’t, mainly because I didn’t deserve it.” She paused again. “You know what was so ironic, though Thomas was thanking me, what he didn’t realize he was actually thanking Dexter…not me. Rochelle took another deep breath and finished with, “Arcadia, Dexter Dewitt—that is—Dexter the demon is a good man, or say should I say a good demon.” She put her tongue firmly in cheek and said, “How is that for an oxymoron, huh?” She said this in hopes of lightening up her present situation. It seemed to have been working when she noticed Arcadia was trying to stifle a snicker and was having a hard time doing so. This made Rochelle feel a little better, that maybe she was not in too serious of trouble. “Anyway, no demon would have ever considered doing what Dexter did.” Rochelle paused staring at Arcadia intently, drilling a hole into her eyes. Arcadia stated, “What?” Without preamble, Rochelle said, stating slowly, making sure, she didn’t stumble over her words. “Arcadia, I think…perhaps…the good Lord should look into this and…reconsider His decision on sending Dexter to Hades in the first place.” There she said it and now braced herself for 109

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Arcadia’s answer. The Dominion didn’t say a word and this unnerved Rochelle to the hilt. She asked this request, hoping against hope maybe Arcadia had the rank and power to make the suggestion to God. Arcadia continued her silence as if contemplating Rochelle’s request. Finally, she simply nodded. “Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it. I have never heard of God promoting a demon to heaven. But…there is always a first time, isn’t there?” Rochelle nodded her head rigorously. “Yes, there is Arcadia. Yes, there definitely is.” Arcadia said, “You may leave now. You can wander around here for now until I inform you where and when your next assignment will be.” Rochelle bowed respectively and left elated not only that she wasn’t in any trouble, but also there might be hope for Dexter. **** When Dexter appeared before Satan, the Dark One had his hand over his face, shaking his head. He studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking, as fire raged not only behind Satan, but also to his right and left. At the sight of the inferno, Dexter understood what this meant. Satan was, to say the least, not happy with him. He had been living in Hell long enough to know when he saw fire around Satan, the fire was in proportion to The Dark One’s anger. And the blaze was raging like a forest fire out of control. Behind him, he heard wails, moans and constant screaming coming out of the caves and caverns. The screams sounded more like banshees in the jungle. As he looked around, he noticed souls crawling on walls and ceilings like cockroaches. Many of the demons had wolf heads with glowing eyes and normal lower bodies. Others had normal demon heads and hooves for arms and legs. He waited patiently, but with the utmost trepidation for Satan to speak. He was petrified for 110

Sanguinary Seductions good reason. This was his first assignment and he knew he blew it. Finally, Satan lowered his hand and his face was a mask of fury. “It was a simple assignment. All you had to do was whisper in his ear and just murmur two words, Do it. I mean the mortal was this close to going over and pushing the trigger. But no!” Satan roared. “Instead, you not only talk him out of it, but then you kiss the angel. Are you fucking kidding me?” His voice grew louder with rage “What kind of fucking demon are you, anyway?” Dexter bowed his head in respect. “Look, my Dark One, the man was mentally unstable. His wife left him and—” Satan roared like a thousand lions. “I don’t give a fuck what his mental state was, you fucking idiot.” Dexter had heard that roar hundreds of times before, but this was the worst it had ever been. He was just choleric with rage. “Do you realize what I could—will do to you for not fulfilling my wishes?” He once again put his hand over his face, shaking his head with disgust. “I mean a man who had never done a dishonest thing in his life. He then commits suicide because his wife asks him for a divorce. You should have—” “Satan.” Dexter realized a demon should never interrupt a creature of this caliber, but he had to see this through. “Satan. This is why I let the angel have him. He goes to church every day. He was a good family man. I truly believe The White One would have let this Thomas enter Heaven even if he did commit suicide. It wasn’t his fault his wife left him.” “Wrong,” Satan roared. Dexter’s master was past livid because the fires around him almost reached the high ceiling where it left a huge barrier between him and the Dark One. “You know how the man upstairs works. It doesn’t matter what kind of life this man had led. If the White One feels the idiot can’t take a few minutes to ask Him for help, then He has no use for him and sends the being down here. Do you have any idea what kind of coup this would have been for me? 111

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Taking a supposedly saintly person and have him banished to this place due to your persuasion.” Satan stared at his ward once again. “Instead you let the angel’s beauty, not to mention your lust, get in the way, interfering with your judgment. You had to have realized the fucking angel was just using you. Angels are very much like demons. They will do anything to beat us to win a soul, no matter what it takes.” Satan paused, trying to catch his breath. The fires finally started to ebb where the master and Dexter where once again facing each other. “All right. That’s it.” Satan made a wave of his hand. Dexter dropped his head in dismay. This was it. Satan was going to send him to the deepest pits of hell where he once heard the Dark One say that part of Hell even made him shudder. He closed his eyes as he felt the suction of himself sinking into the dirt. As he was sinking, he thought, At least I will have the memory of a beautiful angel to get me through this. He smiled as he reflected on the moment of a kiss. The kiss he could still feel on his lips. When Dexter opened his eyes, he was astonished to see he was in his own room. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering, Is Satan playing a cruel joke on me? That wouldn’t surprise him. That bastard wrote the book on trickery and deceit. Perhaps, the Dark One is doing this to make me think about what I did and the punishment awaited me. Dexter remembered his parents used to do the same thing to him when he was younger. “Now go to your room and wait, and more importantly, think about what you did. In the mean time, your father and I will contemplate what your punishment will be.” Usually, the punishment would be grounding for a week. Dexter thought ruefully, Yeah, I could only hope Satan would be that lenient on me. As he waited for his fate, he looked out the window, which led to the mortal world. It was this window that gave demons access to the outside world, which allowed them to keep an eye on evil mortals who were about to die. Once the human died, a demon would pluck him as if he were 112

Sanguinary Seductions picking a peach from a tree. Dexter saw many mortals, which included, murderers, rapists, drug dealers and terrorists throughout the world. He had a feeling his job as an escort had ended considering the stunt he pulled with the angel, Rochelle. Finally, his eyes focused on a female with a rifle, lying prone on a rooftop. She had her weapon pointed down, trained on an apparent target. However, Dexter wasn’t interested in the target but rather, he was transfixed on the assassin. She had shoulder length long hair, a turned up nose and what looked to be a nice body. For some reason he simply couldn’t take his gaze off her. His trance was broken when he heard the blast of the rifle. Dexter looked toward where the assassin shot and saw a man lying on the ground. People gathered around the body, others were scampering in all directions. Dexter saw the same female, exiting a building from where she had just shot her quarry. The female assassin, seeing the chaos, put her hand to her mouth as if in horror. She started talking to people in her vicinity. Dexter smiled. He understood what she was doing. She was blending in with the crowd. Smart. Very Smart. Finally, she broke away from the crowd, and entered a cab. The cab started moving, but from his window, Dexter was able to keep an eye on them. He saw the female pull out a cell phone and muttered, “Yeah, it’s Charlie. Charlie Jackson. Package delivered. See you at the pound.” So, her name is Charlie. Charlie Jackson. I am definitely going to keep my eye on her. Though he had never taken any advantage of a female demon, and knowing Charlie would surely end up in Hell for her crimes, he just might make an exception.

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Draining Jayne Viola Grace ayne Simmons was having a bad day. She and her partner, Denel Arius of Azon, had been caught by the fugitive they were tracking. A stupid move for a pair of Alliance Hunters. Jayne was currently listening to the rambling monologue of the Dhemon that she had tracked to this outpost, slowly bleeding from wounds inflicted on her bound wrists and ankles. The words were the worst part of the torture. Wouldn’t the woman just shut up and kill them? A smirk filled the face of her captor, belying the words that followed. “I am afraid that you have left us no choice, hunter. You will die here, and it will be by your partner’s hand.” The angry snarl from across the room gave credence to the assumption that he would kill her. When she was whole and hearty, she would trust him with her life, but when she was tied down and bleeding, she was a lot less certain of her survival odds. Denel had a lot of predators and blood drinkers in his bloodline. Would his urbane sense of self kick in before he saw her as prey? “Thirty minutes after I leave this room his manacles will unlock and he will be free to destroy you. The Alliance will never be able to connect me to your demise. It will have been carried out by one of their own.”

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Sanguinary Seductions Revva smirked again and ran one fine boned hand across her skull. The horns that were part and parcel of her species stuck out against the shaved expanse. The shaved head was a blatant defiance of her cultural heritage and her obligations. The idiot had simply run from a trade agreement and a mild assault case. Now she would have to face murder charges. Jayne was proud to be a member of the Alliance’s newest planet affiliate, Terra, and she was in line to be a casualty in very short order. “Just to make sure that he has your scent.” That was all the warning she got as Revva dug her fingers into the open wounds on her wrist and prodded until blood flowed rapidly. Her assailant crossed the room and did something to Denel that had him snapping at the air. For such an urbane and calm guy, he moved into a killing frenzy rapidly. She had seen it in the three months that they had been together. Now she would get to find out how it felt first hand. Fantastic. The metallic click of the manacles releasing made Jayne jump in her bonds. She was limp with lack of energy and blood loss. If it was going to happen, it was going to happen now. “Hey, Denel. How are you doing?” Her voice was breathless. Her chest was so tight she could barely speak. A snarl greeted her. His silhouette moved into her field of vision. The stain of her blood was still across half of his face and he sniffed hard at the air as he grew closer. Her feet and the open punctures were treated to his examination. His head drew closer to her and she held her breath as his mouth opened slightly over the wound on her left ankle. The feel of his tongue shocked her to her core. Instead of pain, a warmth and tingling energy began to radiate up her leg and pool between her thighs. “Denel, are you all right? I mean, did they hurt you?” Usually he was unwilling to talk about himself, but she was frantic to distract him. The rough texture of his tongue was now apparent as the pain of her wound was completely gone 115

eXtasy’s Collective Mind on the left side. He didn’t respond to her with anything other than one of those snarls and shifted to her right ankle, lapping and swiping at her, the same radiating pleasure began in her right leg that had run up her left. She had no idea what was motivating him, but it didn’t seem to be homicide on his mind. Well, not unless he was planning to lick her to death. She craned her neck and braced herself to look at the bloody mess that used to be her skin, only to see the skin healed over and bright pink. Denel was licking her wounds clean. Tears began to run from her eyes and she leaned back on the table, relaxing into his ministrations. If he was seeing her as prey, it was the most messed-up hunting reflex she had seen to date. No wonder most Azon were scholars. When he finished with her ankles, he moved up to her right wrist and she gasped and shivered at the slow and delicate care he took with her raw flesh. By this point, her body was starting to warm with arousal, her blood flowed more freely and she worried about the possibility of blacking out. She needn’t have worried. She was out in a matter of seconds. She was moving, her head was against a hard surface, but the scent around her was comforting and disturbing at the same time. Someone was carrying her and it smelled like Denel, only wilder. She opened her eyes and was staring up at the interior of a cave that had only lichen for illumination. “Denel? Where are we?” “Safe. Your beacon went off, so we will be found in a day or so.” The set of his jaw was grim and she shuddered at what he must have gone through. Each Hunter wore a beacon that went off in case of near death or death. It was implanted under the skin and was wired into the nervous system. If she had almost died, then it was no wonder that Denel was upset. If she had died, then she had no idea what he had done to resuscitate her. “How long have I 116

Sanguinary Seductions been out?” “Three hours. We are approximately five kilometres from the base where Revva left us. I have found these tunnels and they are uninhabited,” he paused for a moment, “now.” “Did you kick out a bear?” “Similar. But I am unaware of its designation.” He carefully set her down on a rocky shelf inside an open cavern. The lichen was really quite eerie. It cast everything with a sinister glow. Including her partner. “Uh-huh. I didn’t know that you could close wounds like that.” She was talking to his back as he was working to create a small fire on the floor of the cave. He had two leather bags hooked into his belt and a pack on his back. He seemed prepared for anything. “It is not a skill that we advertise. It is saved for our partners.” He turned to look at her and his eyes were lit from within for some reason that she didn’t want to investigate. Partner had more than two meanings in a thousand languages. The one that he seemed to be using went beyond their assignment and into personal attachment territory. “Great. Well, aside from being feeble, I feel like a million credits. What else happened?” There was something he wasn’t telling her. “You had lost too much blood. I was forced to give you some of mine. By the most direct method possible.” “Ah. I see. And what was that?” “Intravenous. But I had to remove your blood first.” He seemed almost embarrassed. “You had to drain me?” “Or the antibodies in your system would reject the blood I gave you. You will still require medical care, but you will live.” “So, what is it that you aren’t telling me? You are hiding something.” He took a deep breath and finally turned all the way to kneel at her feet. “I am going into rut. I have been for the last two months. I should have told you and had a new partner 117

eXtasy’s Collective Mind assigned to you, but I didn’t. If I hadn’t been so selfish, we would not have been caught by Revva and her followers.” “So, your hormones are wild, you want to fuck something, you have weakened your self-control by giving me a blood transfusion and we are sitting in a dark cavern?” She couldn’t help herself and slapped him, hard. “And apparently your hormones are now zipping around in my bloodstream. Sorry.” He had rocked back on his heels, but didn’t react at her attack. Well, he didn’t move. She could feel his body come to alert, every muscle waiting. She mirrored him, the tension of her body almost making her shake. His sudden lunge was not a surprise, but she did jump. His kiss was a surprise, and not the reaction to being slapped in the face that was shared by most human males. The heat that had flared up when he closed her wounds now raged into a conflagration that she had to answer. She dug her fingers into the sides of his head and held him for her own kiss. A harsh growl broke the air and she jerked free as she realized that it came from her. “No. Not like this.” She clumsily rolled out of his reach. “I don’t want our first time to be like this.” She held her right hand up to ward him off, but he was sitting back on his haunches, panting softly. He cocked his head and his eyes gleamed in the dim light. “If my body isn’t satisfied, it will take what it needs. So, what do you suggest?” “I accept that, and won’t even pretend that I haven’t been watching you since we partnered up, but I want it to be slow. Frankly, in my current physical state, even slow might be too much.” Honesty was the best policy, and one she tried to live by, no matter how embarrassing it was. He nodded and crawled toward her on his hands and knees. He peeled her clothing off with the care and cadence she had requested, and she responded. As his calloused fingers moved her red ship suit off her shoulders, her nipples rose to attention and a fine wave of sensation rippled across her body from that one little touch. Maybe going slow wasn’t such a good idea. 118

Sanguinary Seductions His fingers trailed heat across her flesh as more and more of her was exposed. She was quivering with sensation by the time she was naked and her torn suit was thrown into the fire. What? “Hey! What are you doing? I will need that!” “The blood soaking the fabric is distracting and waking the instincts that we want to avoid. So it is burn it, or I will go a little crazy. I made a choice.” He looked up at her with eyes that smoked with heat, “You can borrow my tunic.” His chin was near the juncture of her thighs and he blew a stream of warm air across her light furring of hair. She groaned at the sensation. “That’s cheating.” “No. That is what you Terrans call foreplay.” He was smiling as he began to run his rough fingertips up her legs from her ankle to the point where her thighs met. Each time they trailed down, she relaxed only to step an inch or so apart to allow his fingers higher between her thighs with each pass. The moisture within her body was making its way out with each circuit as she shifted her stance. Jayne felt her body blush from head to toe. She could smell her own heat, so he definitely could. There was also a sharp snag from Denel’s claws as his own self control was teetering. Azon claws came out when they were angry or excited. She hoped it was excitement. Anger would be bad when she was naked. As she pondered his mental state, he had finally, gently, eased her thighs apart and buried his mouth against her moist heat. A sharp yelp of surprise escaped her as his dexterous tongue parted her lips to spread her moisture from her opening to her clit. He repeated the action and, on the third stroke, her legs gave way and she literally fell into his hands. Now it was his turn to disrobe. He removed his tunic, exposing the slabs of muscle underneath and his leather trousers. Revva must have removed his boots earlier, possibly when she was taking a break from cutting holes in Jayne. Inconsiderate bitch. The smooth short fur that covered his chest, tickled her breasts as he took up the missionary position, or whatever the 119

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Azon called it. “I would rather have you on your knees or above me, but you don’t have the strength for that.” She reached up to cup his shoulders as he settled himself with the blunt head of his cock pressing against her. She breathed deep as he thrust forward, her slick heat wrapped around him and reluctantly let him go as he backed up to thrust again. Fractions of an inch were conquered by his steady beat and she was sweating profusely by the time he was fully seated within her. His arms shook with the effort that his control was costing him. She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders ceaselessly, soothing, touching, enjoying the feel of his body against hers. When she gathered herself to give him permission to move, she wrapped her legs around his hips tightly and asked, “What are you waiting for?” It was more encouragement than he needed as he began to pound into her with savage intensity. When he leaned down to bite the side of her neck she knew he was almost there, and before she could reach down herself, his fingers teased her clit with a serious purpose. She screamed weakly and let the spots of light dancing in front of her eyes dance her into the darkness. She was warm, a little sore and satisfied. Jayne blearily raised her head to meet Denel’s eyes and smiled sheepishly, “Sorry about that. I guess I was weaker than I thought.” “It’s all right, I went over the edge with you when you passed out.” He shifted under her and she held on until he settled. “I hope you don’t mind, but the rock was a little hard on your back, so I shifted you.” “No. It’s fine, you are warmer than the floor anyway.” She put her head back down and stroked the fine velvet of his skin. He was lumpier than the mattress she used to have, but he smelled way better. “My body has settled, the heat has left. You have nothing more to fear from me until we are back on a ship and you are in better health.” 120

Sanguinary Seductions “And what will happen then?” Jayne was warm and comfortable, drifting off to sleep again when another voice broke the companionable silence. “We will get your ass into a medical bay and have you gone over with a fine-tooth comb.” The crisp pronunciation of the Alliance Common had Jayne wincing at the inevitable conclusion that it was another Terran. Simone Lafey to be precise. She was one of the other Hunters on the Alliance payroll and had obviously been sent out on retrieval duty for Denel and herself. Jayne started to rise, but was stopped by Denel’s hands. “We need a moment of privacy, please. We will be with you in a moment.” “Fine, but no funny stuff. I think you have had your fill for this trip.” Simone chuckled and shoved her partner out of the cavern into the tunnel outside. Low voices exchanged information with more of Simone’s dark chuckling. Denel sat up slowly, carrying her with him. He dressed her in his tunic and then put on his own trousers. He lifted her into his arms and joined the couple at the opening to the cavern. “Shall we leave? I have tired of this place.” “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Simone led the way with a small flashlight. Her partner seemed to be either Azon or Wyoran, Jayne couldn’t tell from her position against Denel’s chest. He followed the other team through the caves and right into the emergency shuttle that was immediately outside the caves. He kept her in his arms when they sat in the shuttle and held her as they docked. It seemed he would not release her to any but the Medical team. So, their first stop was Medical. “What have you been up to, Jayne? You never seem to come back in one piece anymore.” Dr. Cahsin moved swiftly around the chamber, collecting the items he would need for treatment. “I was drained by our target and Denel gave me a transfusion to keep me up and running.” “The Hunters who found you indicated that you were 121

eXtasy’s Collective Mind intimate at the time of discovery.” Denel filled in, rather defensively. “It was my time to mate. We didn’t have the luxury of hunting for approved partners.” The doctor turned to him, “That was not my concern. Jayne has been cycling faster and faster in the last three months. Either she is in heat, or she is doing a remarkable impression of it.” Jayne flushed. She had spoken to the doc about this before they were sent after Revva, he hadn’t thought that it would be a problem. “So, based on the basic run through, how pregnant am I?” “About twelve hours worth. It is really something to watch.” Denel was looking frantically from her to the doctor and back. Finally he gave in and fainted. “Clean up, aisle three.” The human joke was lost on the attendants, but they lifted him onto the exam bed nearest her and started a basic workup. “Don’t forget, I have half of his blood as well as his DNA.” “We are adding all necessary supplements to him. Don’t worry.” Dr. Cahsin flipped through her history, went back to her current results and then stared at her belly. “Usually, when a massive unmatched transfusion occurs, we have to administer anti-bodies and suppressants to keep your body from rejecting it. Since you are bleeding for two, we will have to make do with plasma. The antibodies would kill your child.” He kept shuffling around her, adding the plasma to the kit that was dripping into her body. “Apparently, you and Denel Arius are a perfect match. Your body would not have rejected his blood regardless. You may have felt a little odd as you adjusted, but you are definitely suited for a cross matched pair.” “Do you think he will wake up when he believes this was all a dream?” “It’s possible. Or he could simply recover the mass of his blood and sit up to listen to everything we are saying.” Jayne looked over and it was as the doc had said. Denel was 122

Sanguinary Seductions looking over at her and listening to their conversation most closely. “You feeling okay, Denel?” “Still shaken. You are pregnant?” “Yep.” “What do you plan to do?” He was trying to keep his voice flat, but failed. She felt her expression soften as she thought about the future. “Retire. Buy a small cottage on a peaceful world and raise my baby.” “Our baby.” His hesitation was palpable. “Would Azon count as a peaceful world? We have plenty of space and a receding population.” “It’s a good idea. It would certainly make finding children for it to play with easier.” She smiled over at him and he visibly relaxed. For warriors in the sack, they were really timid in certain situations. Her rooms on the ship were unchanged and the blue-grey walls gave her a measure of comfort. Quietly, she let her tears slide one after another down her face. She was single and pregnant, and there was no way to go home. She would live her life with her child alone amongst the stars. Denel hadn’t even had the guts to ask her to stay with him. Idiot. She began to rock back and forth, and in the silence of her room the wail from her throat echoed in her small metal room. **** “How stupid are you, Denel?” Dr. Cahsin removed all the apparatuses that they had applied to get him into tiptop shape. “What do you mean?” He was pulling a ship suit onto his legs and looked up. “She was anxious, upset, terrified and shaking with trepidation, and you didn’t offer her anything for bearing your 123

eXtasy’s Collective Mind young.” A cold feeling ran through his body. He wanted to have a grand entrance for her as his mate, but until he could get the authorizations and the arrangements made, he didn’t want to say anything. “What are you referring to? She seemed fine.” “The instruments were going crazy while you were speaking. Whatever you said disappointed her.” “But the humans don’t mate for life.” “See, Denel, this is your problem. Some of them do.” Cahsin put his instruments away. “All of the Hunter Class Terrans are the type to mate for life. It is what makes them good trackers.” “So, when I asked her what she was planning to do…” “You told her she was on her own.” “Fuck.” “Precisely.” **** The ship was taking them directly to Azon. Apparently Denel missed his home. With some dark muttering and a wince and the tiny bundle that comprised her clothing, she made her way to the shuttle bay. Denel was waiting for her. She had managed to avoid him for the entire trip, preferring time talking to the Navigator to the Captain’s mess. Jayne had endured three more trips to the Medical Bay and was finally in the full bloom of health. “I am glad you made it, we are getting ready to drop.” He smiled and took her arm, her mind was so blown away by his touch that she didn’t process the word drop until she was in her seat. “This is a drop ship? We aren’t going to fly down?” “No. The continent I live on is technology controlled as is half the planet. Drop ships are preferred. There is only one spaceport on the planet and you need authorization from a Representative or a Councillor to use it.” “I don’t care about that, but I hate drop ships.” She closed 124

Sanguinary Seductions her eyes tightly and reached out to grab his hand as the drop ship shuddered and started its route. Gratefully, she felt his hand close around hers as the ship jerked and rocked its way to the planet surface. She fainted. “Jayne? Jayne? Are you all right?” A human woman was patting her hand and looking at her in a very concerned manner. “Um. Yes. I am. Who might you be?” Sitting up was difficult, but a strong arm supported her. A grinning Azon male was holding her up, and it wasn’t Denel. “Kyra. This is Tiergar. He is a Councillor for Azon. And my husband. Denel Arius left you with us until he can prepare for your joining.” “What joining? Wait, you are the first Champion of Terra.” “Yup, but not the last. Now, as your surrogate family, Tiergar and I am going to be running the show as far as the bride’s side of the family goes. Now, I know Denel didn’t ask you, but you are knocked up and it is his, so his society expects it of you. As for you, I know that you want nothing more than to be with him, but it has to be his choice. It is. He contacted us right after you were removed from that hell-hole.” Kyra was helping her to her feet and in short order had her out of the bed and into a dressing room filled with clothing. “Who’s dresses and robes are these? Yours?” She couldn’t stop herself. She had to touch the richly embroidered fabrics. Tiergar closed the door and a small Azon woman appeared with a group of assistants from a door at the rear of the room. Kyra’s face twisted with mirth at Jayne’s shock when she said, “No, these are yours. It is a small expression of your family’s joy at your impending nuptials. Darven is here to fit them to you.” “Come this way, my lady. I have been told that you are pregnant so I am building in adjustable panels.” Darven held her hand out and completely bemused, Jayne took it. Hours of pinching and poking followed. Jayne looked fantastic, but was completely bruised by the time all the 125

eXtasy’s Collective Mind clothing had been fitted. Kyra was laughing her head off as the layers of Azon casual and formal wear were applied and removed. Jayne felt less angry when Kyra announced, “It reminds me of my first days here. Everything was so strange, the customs so formal, but once I learned the hows and whys it all made sense to me. Give yourself some time.” “Plus, you have to admit that the clothing looks fantastic.” Kyra stood to show off her clothing and Jayne had to admit that the sleeveless split knee length tunic over full silky trousers did look great. “And now, dinner is served.” Tiergar was waiting for them in the dining room, with one other Azon female. She was beautiful, graceful and she had her father’s eyes. She squealed when she saw her mother and came running. “Jayne, this is Alsa. She is our firstborn. Her grandmother is doting over her little brother at this moment. He is six months old and with the amount of adults around, she grabbed at the excuse to borrow him. We don’t normally have children at our ceremonies. However, Kyra mentioned that a flower girl was appropriate to Terran rituals.” Tiergar was explaining as his daughter covered her mother with sticky kisses. It was official. She was in hell. Throughout dinner they discussed wedding arrangements, timing and the formalities. They sent Jayne to bed and it started up the next morning. It took five days to set up the ceremony, just in time for the morning sickness to kick in. So, it was a green and exhausted bride who wandered to meet her fiancée on that morning. Tea was the first ritual and they knelt side by side to watch the dawn come up. Jayne took a deep breath as they sat together and finally something in her loosened. She turned to Denel and blurted into the silence, “I love you. I have loved you since the moment I first caught your scent.” He took her hands in his and smiled, dropping a delicate kiss on her forehead. “It was the same for me. I had met you once at the training centre and the instant I caught your scent, I knew. The next three years were spent trying to get assigned to you. My fiendish plan worked.” 126

Sanguinary Seductions Jayne smiled, then laughed. A dam within her broke and she flung herself into his arms. Her mouth sought his and her hands fought his clothing. She leaned back for a moment. “How long do we have before the next ritual?” His lips took hers savagely before he answered, “We have an hour.” “Then get me out of this dress and get inside me.” They snarled, rolled and tore at each other’s clothing. The tea was long forgotten in the heat of their passion. When his cock finally parted her, she sighed in relief. The relief was short lived as he thrust brutally into her welcoming heat. She squealed as he repositioned her by lifting her to her knees to take her from behind and, as he cupped her breasts and pounded into her, her orgasm hit her without warning. She was limp, and he continued to thrust as he lifted her to hold her against him while he shuddered into her. They slowly collapsed together on the remains of their clothing and the cool tile floor. Sated and exhausted, they held each other as the dawn made its full appearance. Denel began to purr as he relaxed onto her body. “Denel?” “Yes, my love.” “How long until we are alone at the next ritual?” “Two hours.” Jayne smiled and held his arms tightly against her, her desire for him rising again. “Then we had better get dressed and ready. I intend to have you remove every one of the fancy gowns that Kyra purchased for me. You have a long day ahead of you.” He squeezed her tightly. “I can’t wait.” **** Laughter was heard emanating from the solemn chamber of dawn. Kyra and Tiergar held each other in the glow of happiness that was spreading throughout their home. Another Terran-Azon match with a half-breed on the way for the 127

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Alliance, and for the space-bound Terrans. Life went on, they just couldn’t control what form it would take.

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Erotic Ramblings of a Vampire D.J. Manly am a vampire. Believe me, or not. It is of no consequence. I have a lot of time on my hands, a lot more disposable hours than the average mortal. I have no children to feed or to take to ballet classes, no job to go to everyday, no mate to cater to. I am vampire. I had one main preoccupation until quite recently, and that was to feed, to drink blood in order to survive. I am predator. I am a blood drinking immortal who very easily can walk among his victims, and take my time in selecting whose life I shall sacrifice in order to preserve my own. I make no apology for this. And as I say, until quite recently, this was my sole preoccupation. Before I go on, I feel it’s advisable to warn you about something. If you are reading this, and have certain sensibilities, regarding sexual practises or blood drinking, I strongly suggest you put this aside immediately, and go bowling or something… Oh, did I just write that? You know, as I read it over, I feel I should apologise for that last sentence. Although you may well appreciate the witticism, it was just a tad impertinent of me. On second thought, impertinence is my middle name, the first one being, Damion. My name comes from the Ancient Greek world, and was originally Damionos, meaning to kill. Trust me, it’s appropriate, but far too complicated for this modern age. You may be inclined to ask why a formidable creature like

I

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind myself, would take the time to pen this expose. Obviously, I have better things to do with my time, n’est pas? Well, not really. As I previously stated, I have a lot of disposable hours and I felt that it was my responsibility, my duty even, to bring the curious up close to someone such as myself. The question is—how up close do you really want to come? Did that last sentence send a chill down your spine? Good. My main preoccupation, that of drinking blood, was quite recently challenged, and it is this challenge I intend to write about here. But again, fair warning, I am not inclined to write in code or purple prose. I have no inhibitions and no shame. You see, unlike you, I am not bound by society’s idiosyncratic conventions and I won’t suddenly decide to impose restraints of convention upon my writings, although I am inclined to use restraints…but I am getting ahead of myself here. I now fancy myself, and I say fancy because some individual who will remain nameless for the time being, accuses me…Moi…of being frivolous…anyway, I apparently fancy myself to be a kindred spirit to the Marquis De Sade who was completely misunderstood, by the way. I believe the Marquis was a brave soul who stripped naked the desires of many who would have preferred those desires kept clothed. Do you follow? And for that, he was punished. Yes, I have a lot in common with the Marquis, although I never quite understood just how much until I met Christopher. Christopher was curious, and I mean that as both an adjective and a verb. It took only a few weeks after I’d moved into the neighbourhood for him to come poking around. I spotted him one evening as I stood in front of the upstairs window, watching the curtains blowing gently in the breeze. I was just about to go out. Then, I thought, why bother? This time, the prey had come to me. I moved closer to the window and stared down at him, allowing him to see me. He took a step back and raised his hand hesitantly. I nodded at him and made my way down the stairs. He was standing at the door when I opened it. “Good evening,” I said. “May I help you with something?” 130

Sanguinary Seductions “I’m, ah…Christopher Alto,” he said, holding out his hand. I took it briefly in mine. It was oh so warm. “Damion, Damion Balock.” “I, ah…don’t want to disturb you, Mr. Balock, but—” “Damion, please. And it’s quite all right.” “I live next door.” He pointed to the modern brick bungalow, which sat a yard away from my house, close to the street. “This house hasn’t been lived in since the Markam family, that was years ago, and I noticed the porch is in a bad state of repair. I stopped by a few times around supper time, but I keep missing you.” “Yes,” I said, letting my gaze travel the length of him. I liked what I saw. I liked it a lot. It had been awhile since a mortal had aroused this kind of desire in me. It was worth taking a closer look. “I’m rarely home and I’m afraid I’ve been rather negligent when it comes to repairs. Are you offering to fix my porch, Christopher?” I stepped out onto the subject of our discussion and gave him a charming smile. His pulse quickened a bit. I could hear his heart thudding in his chest. Very convenient that I can do those kinds of things. Apparently, he wanted to do far more than just fix my porch. “Well, I…yes, I could. I’m a university student. I could use the money. I wouldn’t charge much and I—” “I’d want to be fair,” I said. “You are welcome to work in the late afternoons, but I don’t arrive until evening.” “That’s fine.” “Would you like to come in, Christopher, discuss the terms? You will need materials of course.” “All right,” he said. I walked back into the entrance and down the long carpeted hallway. We entered the living room. Now at this point, I should tell you what Christopher looked like, and what I look like as well. I won’t pretend that the following descriptions aren’t intended to arouse you. It would be unmerciful of me to tease you, so I won’t. I will give it all to you, the way I gave it all to Christopher. You’re probably asking yourself what Christopher Alto was 131

eXtasy’s Collective Mind doing hanging around this creepy old run down house I’d recently made my crypt. Well, let’s be brash. I’m six foot four, solid muscle, jet black hair, which is extraordinary thick and glossy, hanging to my shoulders. My eyes are black as well, and exceptionally hypnotic. To the human eye, I am no more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old. And I am aware how seductive and magnetic I can be to mortals. It is possible he’d caught a glimpse of me coming out of the house after the sun went down. He was what one would call these days definitely hot to trot. Christopher was a little shorter than I was, with a welltoned body, which screamed of regular trips to the gym. His hair was collar length and gingery brown. His eyes were almost the same colour as his hair and he had the face of an angel. I knew his sexual proclivities immediately. He was…what was the modern word now days…gay? A rather ridiculous word really, but one must keep up with the times. Now, back to the curious aspect. Christopher and I spoke together for most of the evening. He told me about his university courses and how he hated living with his folks, as he called them. When I asked him what he did about satisfying his sexual desires…he gave me a slow smile, mixed with a blush. It’s amazing how mortal’s blush. It’s not unattractive in the right circumstances. It reminds me that mortals are filled with luscious, red blood. I could smell it. “You don’t mince words, do you, Mr—” “Damion, and no, I’m not strong on conventions I’m afraid.” “Are you…European?” “Greek, actually.” “Ah.” That intrigued him. He knew something about the ancient Greeks it seemed. An image of a Greek gladiator whipping a naked male slave came to his head. Nice. I hovered by the fireplace, gave him a slow smile. “Aren’t you going to ask me?” “Ask you…ah, what?” Christopher’s pulse raced now. My gaze focussed on the 132

Sanguinary Seductions vein that was throbbing in his neck, then traveled down to the bulge between his legs in his faded jeans. I could imagine a dark blue vein running down the length of his cock, and suddenly I wanted to taste him. “Don’t you want to know if I like to fuck men?” He swallowed. “I…well…it’s rather…a…” I laughed. So sweet, so innocent or so he seemed, although, he imagined himself worldly. “I enjoy candid talk, Christopher. When you’re ready to tell me what you really came here for, come back.” He looked startled. He stood up rather awkwardly. “The porch…the—” “By all means,” I raised my hand. “Fix my porch. Get the supplies and give me the bill. I shall pay you generously for the job.” “Can we…talk like this…tomorrow night?” I inclined my head. “I shall have wine. Are you a wine drinker, Christopher?” “Yes,” he smiled. “I like red.” “Red is the only kind I drink,” I told him, escorting him to the door. “Tomorrow night.” He met my gaze. I felt his desire in my mouth. He whispered, “Goodnight,” and was gone. Marquis De Sade was a master, not only of sadism, but of the human psyche. He was able to dig deep and uncover the depravity of his lover thereby satisfying their actual desires rather than their socially constructed ones. The difference between what one consciously admits to needing sexually and what, at the core they actually want, is the gap between the genuine and the perceived, as it relates to sexual satiation. I had an advantage over the Marquis, I could read thoughts—and moreover, I could sense each physiological reaction, hear the heart racing, the pulse pounding and even watch the tiny hairs standing up on the skin. So, why was I going to make Christopher tell me in detail what he wanted? Because I had many disposable hours…and I intended to postpone the 133

eXtasy’s Collective Mind pleasure for as long as I could. That evening, I went hunting, making him wait until I returned. I drank enough to content me because when I was famished, I got anxious. I planned to enjoy tonight. He was standing on the doorstep when I arrived. He looked scrumptious, good enough to eat…sorry, couldn’t resist. I wonder what particular creature of the night had invented that expression. I knew Christopher had taken great care with his appearance, although he was acting quite nonchalant about being in his best shirt, which he left open at the neck, and extra tight designer jeans, all of which he would be without soon enough. I couldn’t wait to get him naked. I listened patiently as he discussed modern politics, refilled his glass several times with the red elixir, and observed the effect that liquor was having on his conversation. Delightful. He began to slouch on the sofa, his thighs hanging open now, his smiles becoming more dangerous and the look in his eyes shining with raw lust. “That said,” I interjected from where I sat in a huge chair close by, “now it’s time for you to tell me what you came here for.” He glanced at me through hooded eyes and licked his lips. I felt the tips of my sharp incisors elongate inside my mouth. I imagined them slicing into the flesh of his throat. He wiggled a little in his chair, trying to discretely adjust his cock, which now felt unfairly confined. “The moment I saw you, I knew you could give me what I wanted.” “And what is that exactly?” “I’m tired of vanilla sex. I’m tired of tender, romantic hogwash. I want a man, a man who can dominate me sexually, one who can…” He stopped, as if suddenly he had heard his own voice and was shocked by it. I stood up. “Are you sure?” He stood up as well and cleared his throat. “Yes. I’ve tried the dungeons. I’ve tried the most brutal masters. It’s child’s play to me.” He moved closer, then lifted up his hand to slowly stroke my face. “You’re beautiful.” 134

Sanguinary Seductions “Yes, but beauty sometimes carries with it a cost, a terrible cost. What makes you think I can do better than all those masters you speak about?” “There’s something about you,” He breathed, searching my eyes. “You’re not like other men.” Christopher had good senses. “Come with me, Christopher. Everything you want is waiting for you below.” He let out what sounded like a little whimper and I smiled. I led Christopher down into the basement, a basement I had prepared especially for him. It was dimly lit, but I, of course, could see everything clearly. I stood aside, allowed him to explore the environment a little and gave him his last few minutes of liberty. When he turned around, I was ready to do what I’d been waiting to do from the moment I saw him. I circled him, like a wolf hunting his prey, then reached around from the back and began to slowly unbutton his shirt. He leaned against me, already surrendering. When his shirt was open, I let my hands explore his chest, pausing at one nipple, then the other. With both hands, I worked his nipples, pinching and tugging until he ground his hips back against my groin. I moved his hair aside and lowered my mouth to his throat. I ran my tongue along the flesh, continuing to work his nipples. His breath was coming fast and hard. I slid my hand down to the zipper on his pants and undid it. I pushed him away. He stumbled forward, turned and looked at me. I could see the marks on his chest where I’d brutalized his nipples, now stiff and throbbing. “Take off your pants and your underwear.” He hastily did as asked. “Stand still,” I told him. I wanted to look at him. His body was beautiful, toned like I said, and his ass was a delight. He was quite succulently hung. I held his gaze, allowing my eyes to change gradually from black to red. A surge of fear suddenly shuddered through him. I smiled. “Go to the box over there and take out the items.” I watched him walk naked across the 135

eXtasy’s Collective Mind room. I swallowed my desire. I could taste his blood in my mouth, feel my cock compressed in his anal passage, throbbing, thrusting. He laid the items on the table. “Pinch your left nipple, play with it, tug on it, then when I tell you to, clamp it tight.” He glanced at me. He wasn’t used to doing this to himself. Some leather-clad master always clamped his nipples for him. “At the same time, slap your cock, make it hard. Get used to the pain.” Christopher began to pull and tug on his nipple, slapping at his cock at the same time. “Harder,” I insisted. Tears came to his eyes as he brutalized his own cock, but oh, it was hard, it was standing up, begging for more. He loved it. There was a dazed smile on his face through the tears. “Now, the other nipple. Flick your finger over it, tease it, make it stand erect like your cock.” He gave it his complete attention, letting his head go back, tongue darting out over his lips, moaning slightly. His cock was aching now, pulsing. I could see the beads of come sliding over the head. “Clamp it now. Tighter.” He winced. “It hurts. It’s so tight. Um, God, it feels…” “Yes,” I whispered. “It feels so good, the pain mingling with the pleasure.” Christopher was a wanton whore, and mine, all mine. I planned to use his body, to give him all the sensuous torture he longed for. He was a boy after my own heart. “Now, the cock ring-butt plug harness,” I said, moving closer. He took it in his hand. He had no problem wrapping the strap around his penis and balls. I stepped forward now and tightened it. He gasped. The Butt plug well…he made several attempts in vain. I took some lube out of the box. I slapped his ass hard. “You need some of this.” I roughly pushed him over the table and slapped his delightful ass a second time. “Spread your legs wide.” 136

Sanguinary Seductions He complied. I inserted my lubricated middle finger up his ass hole and began to fuck him with it. He whimpered, squirming around, and I fucked him a little harder. Then withdrawing my finger, I pulled the harness through his legs and inserted the plug deep inside of him. “Oooh, it’s big,” he moaned. He loved it. I pushed it deeper. “Ahhh.” I reached into the box now and took out a ball gag. “Open wide,” I said. I put it in place and tied it behind his head. Delicious. Then I took out the studded collar with the long silver chain attached. “Turn around,” I told him. I wrapped the collar around his neck and fastened it. I held the chain, reached my hand over to pull on the nipple clamps, then slapped at his bound genitals. I yanked on the chain. He stumbled, but followed me to the contraption I had put together just for him. “Now, the real fun begins,” I murmured. His eyes widened a little. There was terror there and his balls tightened noticeably, but the terror fuelled through his balls and his cock, making them throb with need. “I’ll help you into it,” I said, then lifted him with one hand, like one would a rag doll, ripping his thighs far apart. I wrapped cords around his ankles, then stretched his arms over his head and secured his wrists into place. His back rested on one wide band, his body in fluid motion, every inch of it exposed to me. I was seriously hard now, and just to let you know, it takes something quite extraordinary to spur a vampire’s erection. It wasn’t only Christopher’s pose, the way his legs were spread, the plug protruding from his stretched anus or the way his cock and balls, swollen and dripping, were scrumptiously bound, although that didn’t hurt. It was his complete submission. He was in a state of intoxicating terror mixed with a heightened sense of extreme sexual tension. I could smell these emotions when I picked up the whip and ran it through my fingers. I could feel them, as if it was me bound and 137

eXtasy’s Collective Mind gagged. I began to undress. When I was totally naked and was sure Christopher could see my state of undress, I cracked the whip on the floor. His entire body jolted. Come dripped on the floor. I let the whip trail over the nipple clamps, down his belly, across his bound cock. He moaned through the gag. I cracked it again. Between his thighs now, I leaned down and let my tongue lave his balls, his cock head. I reached underneath and moved that butt plug around in a slow dance inside of his ass while leaning over and pulling on one of the nipple clamps with my teeth, hard. Christopher let out a muffled plea through his ball gag. I cracked the whip, letting it fall on his bound genitals, once, then twice. I unclamped one nipple and trailed the whip over it, then gently slapped it over the nipple, not hard enough to draw blood, but just enough so that it smarted. Christopher’s body undulated in the swing. Should I tell you what that was doing to me? I stood back watching him squirm, absorbing his need. I unhooked his ankles. His feet touched the floor, his arms still stretched over his head. I removed the other clamp from his nipple. I let my tongue wash over one, then the other. “Your nipples are so hard,” I told him, “so sensitive, hard nubs…peaks of delight.” I let my fingers engage in the sensation of manipulating them, playing with them. After all, they were mine to do what I wanted with, and they were performing, standing at attention. I roughly fondled his bound cock and balls, then, undid the strap. His cock was hard and leaking, in desperate need. I snapped the whip, then let it lace over his genitals. He let his head go back. I whipped him again, his cock, balls, his nipples, then I moved around back. He was moaning, and even though you, at this moment, may be cringing, believe me, he was enjoying every minute. I pulled out the butt plug and removed the gag. He moaned, thrusting his hips forward. I didn’t touch his cock although he was practically begging me to in his mind. I knew his anus was dilated, but before I took care of that, I whipped his fine ass until it was red. I 138

Sanguinary Seductions didn’t draw blood. I didn’t want to waste any of it. My hunger grew. My cock was hungry and so was I. I walked over to the closet and took out an oversized, oiled sex toy that I was sure Christopher was going to enjoy. It was huge, much bigger than the butt plug, and it would fill him like nothing else. I showed it to him just to increase the fear, increase the sexual need and trailed it across his lips. He let his tongue dart out and he tasted it. I pulled hard on his nipple and kissed his mouth deeply, biting down on his tongue and tasting his blood. When I backed away, a trail of it ran out of the corner of his mouth. I left it there, a real aphrodisiac to a fiend such as myself. He screamed, “Fuck me, impale me.” And that’s what I did. I forced his legs apart, reached under and gazed his balls with my sharp nails, then began to violate his ass with the contraption. His moaning, the way he rocked his hips, the way his mind screamed with joy, well…I lost control. I rammed the plastic cock deeper inside of him then bit down into his shoulder from behind. I let the blood flow, watching as it slid over his shoulder, down his back, over the luscious curves of his firm, white ass, where it dripped onto the plastic toy. I licked the drips, then began to fuck him hard and fast with the incredibly large toy. My other hand moved around to torment his cock and constantly tease his nipples, pinching them hard between my fingers. When I pulled out the toy, I replaced it with my own cock, taking the restraints off Christopher’s wrists and forcing him onto his hands and knees. Doggie style, isn’t that what you call it? The ultimate position in submission. I yanked his collar back, fucked him harder, then undid it and threw it aside, biting him again, this time deep in the jugular, letting the warm blood float over my teeth and down my throat. He wanted more. He screamed to me in his mind, to fuck him harder, to use him. I took him around the waist and plunged my cock deeper into him, as deep as was possible. His entire body trembled violently as he came, then I realised something. As much blood 139

eXtasy’s Collective Mind as I had taken from him, he wasn’t weakened by it. I yanked him back to his feet, secured his wrists again to the cuffs over head. I re-clamped his brutalized nipples and bound his cock and balls again. I liked the way he looked, languishing in that state somewhere between pleasure and pain. As I stood back, admiring his naked male form, Christopher picked up his head and looked at me. There was something in his eyes, something unfamiliar. He didn’t speak. “I plan to drain you slowly,” I told him. “I am very impressed by your stamina. It surprises me. Most mortals would be dead now. Did I give you what you wanted?” “Oh yes,” he said with a smile. “My beautiful vampire. You are everything I’ve ever wanted.” “And you don’t mind dying for it?” He didn’t answer. He just looked directly at me. I moved closer, tightening the nipple clamps, casually handling his cock. “The plug. Would you like it?” “That,” he said, glancing at the big plastic toy on the floor. “Put it back in.” He licked his lips. I quickly obliged, then I leaned my head to his chest and bit him deep above his left nipple. I watched the blood drip onto it. So sexy. I inclined my head, picked up my clothes and left him for a little while. Perhaps if I’d been less entranced by him, I might have realised that Christopher was not at all what he seemed. I was much too preoccupied. I’m sure you understand what I mean. Have you ever been presented with a beautiful naked body, bound and clamped and plugged and just dying…forgive the pun…to be used? Well, if you have, or you’ve ever wanted to be in that situation yourself, you would soon understand the meaning of preoccupation. As the dawn approached, I decided to visit my friend downstairs before I retired. I guess I was curious to see if he was still alive, and secretly, I hoped so. But when I walked into the room, I saw the handcuffs swinging over head, empty. The sex toys lay scattered around on the floor. Christopher was gone. I smiled, literally. See, I’m not as bad as you think. 140

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I was to see Christopher again, sooner than I expected. I had just finished hunting one night. I made my way through some desolate woods not more than a few miles from my house, alert for every sound. When I first heard it, I froze. It was the cry of a wolf, deep, plaintive. There were no wolves in these parts that I knew of. A vampire? Vampires could shift shapes. I myself could become a wolf if I tried, although it was damn inconvenient. The cry came again. I followed it. Then I saw it. It was a great silver wolf standing on the edge of the woods. It was so beautiful. It took my breath away. It waited for me. When I got close to it, it started to run. I followed, taking to the air at one point so that I wouldn’t lose it. It headed straight for my house. I knew that this was no ordinary wolf. When I landed on my yet to be repaired porch, I knew what ever it was, was in my house. I cautiously entered, my fangs bared, prepared for attack. I knew about the werewolves, although we vamps had an understanding with them. One wouldn’t dare come to my lair. I walked into the living room. The wolf sat silently watching me from the corner of the room. We stared at each other, waiting, then suddenly, the wolf began to change. Within minutes, Christopher stood there. “Hello, Damion,” he said. “Christopher,” I replied, relaxing, my fangs retreating. “Was there something you forgot to tell me?” I wasn’t that surprised really. For some reason, this made sense. He smiled. “I’ve missed you.” “Um. And I, you.” He walked over to me, and began to undo the buttons on my shirt. “I want you, naked.” I smiled. How could I not? “Is that so? Aren’t you scared?” I mocked. We both knew that he wasn’t. He laughed, his eyes shining. My shirt was tossed on the sofa. He reached for my pants, yanking me up against him as he unzipped them without fan fair. “The other night, you so 141

eXtasy’s Collective Mind enjoyed my thoughts, the sensations you were stirring in my body, I’ve come back tonight to return the favour.” “How kind of you,” I licked my lips. He placed his hand in my hair and drew my mouth to his. He allowed me to bite his tongue, taste the blood there. His hand moved down to cup my balls, roughly handle my cock, which was already hard. “I love you,” he whispered, grabbing my hair and brutally pulling my head back. He ran his palm over my nipples. “Get on your knees, vampire, and suck my cock.” I laughed, sinking down onto the floor. “My beautiful Christopher,” I breathed, “my wolf.” I sunk my teeth into the large blue vein running down his rock hard cock. The blood surged into my mouth and I used it to slide my lips up and down his shaft. He caressed my hair. “You’re a fiend,” he grunted his pleasure. And that’s what I am really, a fiend. Only now, I have two obsessions. One is the blood, always the blood, and the other one is Christopher, my wolf, who can give as well as he gets. It was a bond forged in paradise, or in hell, depending on your point of view of course. So remember, there is a little bit of the dominant and the submissive in all of us, and as I hang here handcuffed, my cock bound, my nipples clamped, with Christopher mercilessly using my ass, I can’t help feel sorry for the Marquis. As a mortal, he would have never been able to push the boundaries the way Christopher and I can. So now you know where I live. It’s the dark old house with the broken down porch. Christopher has yet to fix it. Between you and me, I don’t think he knows how to fix it. Drop by sometime after sunset. I have a lot of time on my hands. We both do.

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Erotic Ramblings of a Werewolf D.J. Manly kay, Damion had his turn. Now, it’s mine. That’s only fair, isn’t it? First off, what is all this shit about the Marquis de Sade? Damion is no Marquis de Sade, believe me. He’s a vampire, and okay, he’s a hot, sexy, hunk of a vampire, but he’s not and I repeat, some sort of disciple of the Marquis. Honestly! And get a load of the way he writes, so damn stuffy! Well, thank the stars, and the moon, he has me around to modernize him. Oh yeah, by the way, my name is Christopher. I’m a werewolf…a lou garou in French. I like it in French…it’s so much sexier, n’est pas? Okay, I’m making fun of him. I know. You did read his story, didn’t you? I loved the title, so I stole it. Is that considered plagiarism? It’s not word for word. So, sue me! Anyway, I could spend my time making fun of Damion’s erotic ramblings, and quoting him all over the place, but I won’t, God, I am obsessed enough with him already. Actually, I was told to stay away from him in no uncertain terms by the leader of my pack. Now, don’t go singing that stupid song by The Shangri La’s in your head. I know you want to. How does it go—oh yeah…she met him at the candy store…and that’s when she fell for the leader of the pack. Something like that. Anyway, I

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind digress. Back to Damion. So, let me tell you the story of how I lusted over a vampire, and what happened to me before we met. You already know what happened when Damion finally got his hands on me, and me on him. Yum. More about that later, I promise. So, I’m Christopher. I was bitten at a full moon by a pack leader called, you ready…Alfa Wolf. I guess you’ve figured out already that that’s not his real name, but for the life of me, I can’t get him to tell me, so, I call him Alf…if you want. But don’t let him know I called him that. He won’t be impressed. Want to know more about Alf? Well, he’s tall, great body, sexy, but he’s not…I repeat, he’s not Damion. Damion would make you melt to look at him. Alf can get you hot, but it takes time because he’s surly and his dominating arrogance can be a real turn off, to some people. He doesn’t have Damion’s charm. But. He’s a fantastic lover—shush, now don’t go telling that to Damion, because Damion would go all vampirish on me. Damion and Alf are now enemies. Of course, that’s because of me, but personally, I love it. Who in hell wouldn’t love two hunks fighting over them? And as long as Damion wins the battle eventually, it’s good fun. It keeps things hot and interesting. I love Damion. Did I mention that? I really do and I tend to get all gooey and stuff over him. Sincerely, I’d die without him and that scares me a little. I never expected to be in love like this. Hell, I just wanted to fuck him. And thus begins my story. I was just an average guy, young, fairly good looking, I guess, and gay. Yes, I love cock. There is no denying that. And from the time I was old enough to appreciate cock, I had it…in my mouth, in my ass, everywhere. On the night of my eighteenth birthday, there was a full moon. I shit you not. And that’s when all the werewolves prowl around. Now, contrary to what you might have heard, werewolves do not, and I repeat, do not, go kooky and howl at the moon whenever it makes an appearance. They also do not change into a wolf against their will. 144

Sanguinary Seductions Come on, people. Give us a little more credit than that. The change is voluntary and prowling the night is done when the mood strikes. There is something, however, about a full moon. It affects everyone. People do crazy things when the moon is full. The night of my birthday, I was sloshed. I had myself quite a sexual feast in the backroom of Appetizer, which is a gay bar with attitude, although I wouldn’t exactly call it rough trade. I walked out of that bar, drunk, but happy. Several men tried to pick me up on my way out, but I ignored them. I truly wanted to be alone. The moon was beautiful and the stars were bright. I was to start university in a week and I was in one of my, let’s-contemplate-where-I-want-to-be-in-five-years kind of mood. Now, what was I thinking when I came face to face with Alf? I was thinking about the art program at the university. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but my mother wasn’t well and she wanted me to stay close by. Go figure, and no, I’m not a mama’s boy. Alf—God I wish he’d just tell me what his real name is…I hate calling him that—anyway, he has dark brown hair hanging to the middle of his back and eyes to match. He has a great body, and in spite of all my determination to spend the last few hours of my birthday in solitude, I did a double— no, triple take when I saw him. He smiled at me, or sneered, depending on one’s perspective. We were in the parking lot. I had, in all my wisdom, parked my vehicle near the woods. Don’t ask! “So,” he said, “wanna’ fuck?” That was Alf, all charm, liked to get right down to the basics. So I said, “Yeah.” All muscle, and his cock, well, fully loaded and ready to fire. And remember, although I didn’t know it at the time, this guy is an alpha werewolf. There is something about them…so male…so dominant. Face it, there’s a little something in all of us deep down that enjoys the thought of being sexually dominated. And if you read Damion’s so-called memoirs, ramblings—or whatever in hell he calls it—you know I have no shame when it comes to a little role play. 145

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Alf dragged me into the woods—not far, just far enough to hide us from the road. We stood in a clearing. “Take ‘em off,” he growled. Yes, he actually growled…deep, raunchy. I’m getting hard now remembering. It was sexy. I took off my clothes slowly, not to tease him so much, but because I couldn’t take my gaze off his sculptured abs, not to mention the substantial bulge in his pants. I wondered if it would hurt…ooh yes, it was going to hurt like hell. Yum. Anyway, I wasn’t going fast enough for him because he grabbed me and ripped the shirt off my back. He would have torn my pants to shreds as well if I hadn’t of protested. Those pants had cost me an arm and a leg and I was just a little pissed about the shirt, or I would have been, had he not been such a dish. I took down my pants, gave him a seductive look, then, all hell broke loose. I’m telling you this, and no one else, I practically pissed myself when he began to change. His eyes changed first, from brown to amber, then amber rimmed with red. I think I might have said, what the hell, but who knows. Then the hair—fur—sprouted on his hands and up his arms. The shirt his wore ripped to pieces as his chest expanded and his arms doubled in size. I noticed he had kicked off his shoes—something he taught me to do later on unless I wanted to be buying a new pair of shoes every month. He was naked, I guess with hair everywhere—then the nails, long and sharp—claws—and finally his face transformed into that of—not a wolf exactly, but…a—yeah…a wolf…but huge, savage looking. I saw his jaw open. He was salivating. His teeth were razor sharp and headed directly for me. He yanked me around and held me fast. I couldn’t move in part because I was frozen with fear. He entered me without hesitation, and yes, it probably hurt like hell, but I couldn’t feel it because at the same time, huge, sharp dripping teeth clamped down on my shoulder. I felt the bite ripping into my flesh, then blackness. When I opened my eyes, I was in some kind of a basement. It smelled damp, like the sewer. I was naked and cold. A huge crater-like hole replaced where my arm used to be. It was 146

Sanguinary Seductions nasty. I just about puked looking at it. I stressed right out. Part of me thought I’d drunk too much and imagined it all, but that didn’t explain where the hole came from. I fell asleep again, exhausted and then someone, or something, woke me. I looked up into that face and I went nuts. Fear and anger mingled into some unholy mix, causing me to lose it completely. I wanted to kill him and, at that point, I didn’t even know the worst of it. He laughed at me. I punched and kicked him. He just stood there, laughing at me. I beat on him until I slipped down to the floor, drained of energy. I placed a hand on my bloody pulp of a shoulder and sighed. “Are you a madman? Do you mean to kill me now? What the fuck are you exactly?” “The wound will heal quicker than you think,” he said nonchalantly. “And you will soon find out what I am. Last night, I made you in my image.” “What?” I blinked. “I am a werewolf and soon you will be, too. When the moon rises tonight…” I began to laugh. “Sure, and I met a vampire just the other night.” “Perhaps you did. It’s possible.” “Well, I didn’t.” I forced myself to my feet. “You’re insane. How long do you intend on keeping me here?” “I don’t.” He shrugged. “You’re free to go.” He opened the door for me and I left, running until I could run no more. He never warned me of what was to come. Of course, I wouldn’t of believed him if he had. I was completely unprepared when the sun went down. I didn’t know how to control it, you see. It gripped me, this transformation, and wouldn’t let me go. I became werewolf, and hunted, thirsting for blood, but I didn’t hurt anyone. I fought it. I felt like a drunk—shaking, needy, finally hiding deep in the woods until it passed. I must have fallen asleep and when I woke up, there was a littering of dead animal corpses all around me. Then, I went looking for Alf. I found him the next night, or rather, he found me. He put me up against the wall in a dark alley and laughed at me again. 147

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “What did you do to me?” I demanded. I struggled, finally hanging there against the wall, my feet kicking out. He held me with one hand. “I told you, you’re like me, a werewolf.” He let me fall to the ground and then began to walk. I followed anxiously. “Make it go away.” “I can’t.” “Why?” The tears came to my eyes. “Why me?” “I wanted you in my pack.” He met my eyes. “Come home with me tonight, Christopher. I will teach you how to control it.” What else could I do? So I did. I went home with him. Now, I’m sure you’re curious about what it’s like to be with a werewolf—especially an Alfa male who is truly convinced that once he bites you, he owns you. I always had fantasies about being truly dominated by some hunk of man, but my fantasies were nothing like this. His apartment or den if you like, was very fancy, a penthouse high in the sky, overlooking the city. When I followed him inside, he dimmed the lights and poured me a drink, which I regarded suspiciously for a few seconds before tasting. He watched me with those eyes of his from the corner of the room—much like a wolf watches their prey before pouncing. But I was no longer his prey. “Take off your shirt,” he said. “I’ll take care of your shoulder.” “Do you have some special—” “Yeah,” his mouth twisted. “It’s special. You’re already feeling it, aren’t you?” ‘What?” I paused in removing my shirt. “The change. Already, you’re feeling it.” I shuddered. He was right. It was like twinges in my legs, my arms, even behind my eyes. “How do I—” “Take that bandage off your shoulder. Lie down on the sofa on your stomach and close your eyes.” I laid my shirt aside and did as he suggested. I had a hard time keeping my eyes closed though because I really wanted to see what he was up to. There was fear, but of course, that fear 148

Sanguinary Seductions heightened my sexual arousal. By the time he was close enough to touch me, I was hard as rock. A rough, wet tongue lapped over my shoulder. I jumped. A hand pressed me back down to the sofa. I felt it lap me again. “The saliva has healing properties,” he said. It felt good, damn good. The tongue moved downward. “To control the change, you have to concentrate. Picture yourself the way you are normally each time you feel it. Eventually you’ll get better at it.” A hand reached under my hips and began to undo my pants. I stiffened. Within seconds, the pants and underwear were removed. That tongue lapped over my ass cheeks, then trailed down between my crack. It teased me a moment, then I felt hands spreading my cheeks and that tongue delving down into me. Long, pointed, rough, it wasn’t a human tongue. It was God damned sensational. He teased me awhile, then, began to tongue fuck my anus. Um. Gave a completely new meaning to rimming. I was going nuts and when I felt a hand, covered with fur and tipped with long dangerous nails, lightly scrap down the length of my cock, I panicked, and tried to get away. One hand held me down. That tongue continued thrusting and my cock was handled and I mean handled. I was turned onto my back and then I saw his face. It was still human, but the eyes—the eyes were amber, the eyes of a predator. He moved his tongue down my chest and swept it across my nipples, then he captured my cock and my testicles in his mouth. I could feel his sharp teeth lightly graze my cockand balls as he sucked, licked and swallowed. Suddenly, my legs were hoisted over my head and his cock nudged my opening. “Lube, condoms?” “Not necessary. You’re a wolf now.” He lifted his head and howled as he rammed my ass with his gigantic cock. And you know, I didn’t feel pain. I felt only pleasure and I didn’t even realise until I was down on all fours on the floor, that I had become wolf. I was distracted. What do you want! We fucked like animals, pardon the pun, and when I 149

eXtasy’s Collective Mind lay spent on the expensive carpet, he walked around me, once again, in his human form. He said simply, “you’re mine now, Christopher. Your cock, your ass. You are not to fuck anyone else without my consent. Is that clear?” I nodded. What else could I do? I lay there, a werewolf, totally fucked, in more ways than one. Then I was introduced to the others and it became tolerable, even exciting. I got better at controlling the shifting the more I practised. Sex was certainly fantastic becoming more and more feral, but Alf got a little territorial, so to speak, and I was beginning to feel smothered. I liked Alf—not always, but overall. But I didn’t like him enough to want to be with him all the time. And he didn’t play fair. He was allowed to fuck anyone he chose, but we and the others in his pack, weren’t. Also, I was getting beat up often. I was his favourite, although I was told constantly that was only temporary. It caused a lot of jealously among the other males whose only sexual release was available through Alf himself. That’s another story I could tell you about sometime, about how us wolves fucked each other and often when Alf was gone. Then, I saw Damion—my Damion. The first time I saw him was by the light of the moon. He had moved into that creepy old house next door, the one with the broken down porch. He only came out at night. I assumed he worked the night shift. What drew me to him were his looks. He was absolutely beautiful and his beauty was the kind you didn’t see in this day. He looked as if he just stepped out of an oil painting and I couldn’t get enough looking at him. It became a waiting game, waiting for him to come out of that house, holding my breath as he stood outside, hoping he wouldn’t disappear from view immediately. My greatest times were when he would stand there looking around the property for a few minutes, or up at the moon. My mouth would become dry and I’d have to touch myself just because my cock would be hard as rock and leaking. 150

Sanguinary Seductions I racked my brain to find an excuse to go over there, and finally, I noticed the porch. I offered to fix it, when truly, I know next to nothing about repairing porches. Damion is correct for that. Anyway, if you read Damion’s ramblings, you know what happened. I went there. I wanted to be his and he didn’t disappoint, although he teased me for a bit. He is a tease. Damion honestly didn’t know I was a werewolf until I showed up the second time and revealed myself. He was surprised, but not frightened. It takes a lot to frighten Damion. Let me tell you about that meeting and about what’s happening with us now. Damion hinted at it at the end of his tale. Quite nonchalantly, I may add. A bit of blah, blah about him hanging there, nipples clamped and cock bound—hah! As if it’s easy to subdue a vampire. Then he goes into this spooky bit at the end. I’ll let you read it, see what you think. And what is it with the Marquis de Sade again? I swear Damion thinks more about that dead Frenchman than he does about me. So, back to the story. The second time we met—or was it the third—well, it was the second time we met for sex. I invited my vampire downstairs into his little fun room. This is where the handcuffs and the sex toys were abound. I told him, “It’s my turn.” He smiled at me, that smile that reveals nothing and yet makes me his slave, and lifted his eyebrow. I watched him as he leaned against the wall, trying to picture him naked and begging. I let my gaze trail over him, um. “You think so?” “I know so.” “Why didn’t you tell me what you were?” “Would it have been as fun?” “Probably not.” “You were going to bleed me, weren’t you?” “Eventually.” “Blood sucking fiend.” “Yes,” he drawled, “but now it seems that I’m not the only one with an appetite for blood.” 151

eXtasy’s Collective Mind I smiled at him. “You’ve bitten me. Will I become like you?” “I doubt it. You haven’t tasted my blood.” “But I’d like to.” I licked my lips deliberately. He shook his head. “Mixed species don’t work.” I laughed at his joke. I wanted him. I wanted to dominate him, to make him mine and I wasn’t going to be able to do that in my human form. He was far too strong—do you want to know a secret, he still was, even when I shifted. He allowed me to chain him up, even helped me a little because I’ll tell you, long nails are not practical when it comes to precision work. Although Damion swears up hill and down that I overpowered him, don’t believe him. He says that just because he likes the thought of it. He doesn’t have to accept responsibilities for his own desires that way. Don’t worry. I’m not saying anything he hasn’t heard already. It’s a constant source of disagreement between us, but the sex is…wow! So, we—note the pronoun—caught his wrists up in the handcuffs over his head and forced his legs apart, chaining them to the floor. He pretended to struggle. He called me names, spat at me and, oh yeah, the teeth, he flashed those vampire fangs. What a turn on. I love it when he does that. His eyes glow red with anger…and lust, too—lust makes them glow blood red. Anyway, I apologise. I’m getting carried away. I was still in my wolf form and I was really salivating. I hate that, but when I get horny, I can’t seem to control it, and you should have seen Damion, even totally dressed. The image he made chained like that was scrumptious. I pictured my human body and moved back into it. He had calmed down some, but he didn’t appear to be a happy camper. I took my time finding a knife. “Now, my beauty,” I said, “I’m going to cut off those clothes. You’d look so hot in black leather pants and a white tank. These clothes are not for you.” I began with the jacket, slicing up both sleeves, then across the chest. It fell away. The white shirt he wore came next. I simply ripped that off. Don’t you love the sound of ripping material? He was officially half naked. 152

Sanguinary Seductions I moved around to the back of him, pulled the tie off his hair and let it swing loose—um, black, glossy, long. Ever seen a vampire’s hair? It’s like silk and so thick. I swear you could light a room with it the way it shone. I played with it for awhile, kissing it, then moved one hand around his chest to tease a nipple. Did I mention that Damion was beautiful? Well, not just his face. His entire body. Where Alf is muscular girth, Damion is sleek muscular tone. His body is hairless and pale as ivory. He looks like a Greek statue made from marble, my Adonis. When I heard a soft sound come out of him, I tweaked his nipple again. He liked it. He liked it a lot. I stayed behind him, my face buried in his hair, and brought my hands around to play with both nipples. I was none too gentle. He could take it. He could take anything. I continued pulling and tugging his nipples with one hand and moved the other over the wave of his abdominal muscles. I flirted with the buttons on his black trousers, brushing my knuckles over his cock, which was threatening to burst out at any minute. That, with the attention I paid to his nipples—now two stiff peaks of need—caused him to push his ass into my groin…quite aggressively I might add. Did I love it? Yes. He began to move like a wanton whore, and it was all my fault. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I whipped open the buttons on his fly, and shoved his pants over his hips. No underwear. Um. Who was he expecting? I didn’t pursue that thought because I didn’t want to imagine anyone but me touching him. His ass. His naked ass caused me to shove my fist into my mouth and bite it. I kid you not. Alf’s ass was nice—a bubble butt—but if I had to choose, Damion would win hands down. Not only was his ass perfectly round and hard as rock, he had these cute little indentations on each side—hollows—that at this moment were begging for my lips. So I fell on my knees and paid homage to his ass. This position of course raised a new set of possibilities. His legs were spread remember, so his cock and his balls were extremely accessible while I was kissing and tonguing his ass. 153

eXtasy’s Collective Mind My only regret was that I couldn’t torment his tits at the same time, but I had a solution to that. Reluctantly, I got up off my knees and walked over to the toy box. I caressed his naked cock with my gaze as I brought over the toys I needed. His head was back. “You’re so hard,” I whispered. “What a beautiful cock.” That was no lie. Again, maybe Alf was a bit bigger, but Damion’s cock was thicker and the shape of the head…well…a masterpiece. I think he swore at me then, called me a son of a bitch maybe. Heh, heh, heh. That was okay. “I need to make sure your tits aren’t lonely,” I whispered, letting my tongue taste both his nipples before I clamped them. “These are such lovely clamps.” He hissed, those fangs flashing at me. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, sneaking a deep kiss before he could protest. “Um. Delicious. Are they tight?” I asked, pulling on the chain which linked them. The response was a groan. That satisfied me. I looked down at his cock. “Big. Hard.” I handled it, squeezing, pulling, then massaging his balls. While I let him taste that, I reached between his legs underneath and felt for his anus. He was moving his body again. A wanton whore. Don’t you love that expression? I kissed his chest, pulled the chain on the clamps with my teeth, then licked his cock, which was close to exploding. I walked around back and slapped his ass, which earned me another obscenity. I laughed. I had a special toy for his ass. I couldn’t wait to watch his body react. I also was reaching the end of my endurance. My cock was as hard as his. I wanted to fuck him. I needed to fuck him. But I had to wait just a little longer. I started the vibrating fuck toy that was big, curved and thick. I knew it would hit the spot. I didn’t wait. I didn’t warn him. I just spread his gorgeous ass and shoved it up there. I left it in, letting it do its job and came around front to watch him. I came. Right there. I came and I was damn irritated with myself because I wanted to come inside of him. It’s just if you would have seen him, his beautiful face all tormented and twisted, his tongue wandering around his lips and his cock. Sensational. 154

Sanguinary Seductions I staggered against the wall when I came. It was so unexpected and the impact of it hit me like a cyclone. My beautiful Damion laughed softly. Yes, yes. I’d lost this one, but it didn’t matter. I smiled at him and, through his torture, his aching desire, he smiled back. I wrapped my arms around him. He whispered, “Please.” I turned my ass to his cock and helped guide him into me. God, that was the best fuck. I eventually released his hands and he grabbed my hips and bucked into me like there was no tomorrow. Um. Yes, yum. I still have the bite marks…almost. Now, my baby talks about his obsession with me. He’s not nearly as obsessed with me as I am with him and you see, damn, that’s a problem. Alf told me I wasn’t to fuck anyone else and, by the time I ran into Alf again, which was only a few days later, I’d already had Damion…and often. In fact, I’d had Damion as often as I could. I fucked him. He fucked me. We fucked all night long and then as soon as he rose the following day at sunset, we fucked again. I can’t get enough. It looks as if he can’t either. Now, I never imagined Alf would find out, but you see, he could smell Damion on me, smell a vampire. I should have known. Now, it’s not that werewolves and vampires are natural enemies. Usually they avoid each other, respect each other’s territory, but let me tell you what happened when Alf and I met again. I was wandering around one night, minding my own business. I decided to spend a few hours away from Damion, but the entire time I was anticipating, envisioning his lithe body, feeling his cock in my ass. I took a dark path through the woods, fantasizing that my beautiful vampire was stalking me. In fact, I was convinced that Damion was stalking me so much so that I said aloud, “And what do you plan to do with me once you catch me, Damion?” I was in wolf form when I saw him. He stood watching me with sinister eyes. We communicated without talking. I said his name. “Who is Damion?” he demanded. He didn’t give me time 155

eXtasy’s Collective Mind to answer. He pounced. I heard myself yelp in pain, crying like a wounded dog. “Why is his stink all over you? A vampire!” As I returned to human form, I realised that there was a great tear in my side. I held onto it, the blood running like a tap. “I don’t know what—” You are mine, he told me with his mind, then howled angrily. “This vampire is not your sire. Do you love him?” “No.” He began to change. I watched with terrified eyes. “You lie. This vampire must die.” “No!” I shouted. “Don’t you touch him.” “You do love him.” Yes, damn it, I loved him. My first instinct was to warn Damion, but I dared not lead Alf to him. I decided to stay close to Alf for awhile. I didn’t want to make him any more pissed off than he already was so I stayed with some of the others in the den, quietly licking my wounds. I had no idea how little fear Damion had or what a damn fool he was. Either way, brave, or naïve, when I didn’t go to him, he came looking for me. I was wounded, scared, keeping a low profile while the others secretly celebrated my falling out of favour with Alf when one night Damion just walked right in to the lair. Now, keep in mind, a vampire invading the territory of a werewolf is unheard of. The minute I saw my beautiful vampire stroll into the room, I realised that all hell was going to break loose, and I mean…hell. All three wolves in the place froze. They just looked at Damion, knowing what he was. They actually looked afraid. They snarled, but no one moved. “Christopher,” he said. “Are you hurt?” “What are you doing here?” I managed, glancing around nervously. “You are hurt.” He looked at me. Yep. I was melting. He touched my side. I winced. “That bastard. I’ll kill him.” “You can’t stay here. If he comes back and sees you…” Several of the wolves began to come closer. I could sense 156

Sanguinary Seductions they wanted to change. I imagined my wolf shape, and with one hard swipe of my hand, I pushed Damion behind me. I was wolf. I reared up on my hind legs and growled ferociously. I would protect him to the death. Damion wasn’t pleased, as you can guess. He could more than handle his own. He flew in the air over me and tackled the largest of the three. He had already changed, the other two were in transition. I took on the one closest, knocking him unconscious before he had the opportunity to make the transition. I heard the whining pain of the one Damion had between his teeth, then silence. He lay dead at Damion’s feet. The third wolf who had witnessed the carnage went lopping out the door. I changed back. “Fuck,” I said, standing there naked. “You…killed him.” “It was either me or him.” Damion shrugged, looking at me. “I’ve missed you.” He glanced at my cock. “Damion, you don’t understand,” I sputtered. I missed him, too, but now wasn’t the time. “When Alf finds out you killed a member of his pack…there will be war. You’ve started an all out war.” “He’s right,” a voice announced. I swallowed. “Alf,” I managed. “It’s not what it looks like.” Alf wasn’t paying any attention to me. His gaze was riveted to Damion. “So, this is he, your vampire?” Damion was barring his fangs, hissing, ready for a fight. “Beautiful,” he said. “Too bad he’s a blood sucker. I’d make him part of my pack.” He looked down at the dead wolf at Damion’s feet and shook his head. “He was a good hunter.” “Yes, well,” Damion smacked his lips, giving Alf a dazzling smile, “he was also a good midnight snack.” I winced inwardly, noticing the change in Alf’s expression. “Christopher belongs to me,” Alf took a step in Damion’s direction. “I made him. I don’t try and steal your fledglings.” “I don’t have any,” Damion shrugged. Alf took a menacing step in Damion’s direction. It had begun. I tried to intervene. I threw myself between them. I begged Alf, promised him things I never intended to follow 157

eXtasy’s Collective Mind through on. There was nothing I could do. They went at it and I don’t mean in a good way. Alf changed and I saw his shadow on the wall hovering over Damion. Damion was prepared. They went for each other’s throats, snarling and biting. There was blood and the struggle seemed to go on and on until I thought I wouldn’t be able to take it anymore. I couldn’t interfere. These two were far too powerful for me and I saw that power. I felt that power. When it was over, Alf stalked off, bleeding, howling, and Damion lay stunned in the corner of the room. There had been no winner. I ran to Damion and lifted his head. He’d lost a lot of blood. “I need to feed,” he said. I immediately offered my arm. He took it and kissed it gently. “No. I need far more than you can give me. I’ll go.” He struggled to his feet. “Come to me tonight,” he whispered. “Don’t stay with him. He doesn’t love you. He wants to own you. Don’t be afraid of him, Christopher. I’ll protect you.” I smiled at him and nodded. I was waiting for him at his house when he arrived. He had fed. He looked good as if nothing had ever happened. I got up from the sofa, ran to him and kissed him. “I love you.” “Yeah? Prove it.” I ran back to the sofa and handed him a large bag. “What’s that?” “Open it. I bought them for you a while ago, as a surprise.” Damion lifted out a pair of black leather pants and a white tank top. He smiled. “I suppose you want me to wear these?” “Oh yeah.” I licked my lips in anticipation. “Nothing else. No underwear.” He quirked an eyebrow. He is so damn sweet when he does that. “Okay.” He disappeared with the bag. I waited. I knew this time between us wasn’t forever. I wanted to make the most of it. Alf would recover from his wounds and he’d be back. When Damion walked out into the living room in the tight black leather, topped with a tank two sizes too small—I did 158

Sanguinary Seductions that on purpose—I practically creamed my jeans. I forgot everything. All I could see was him, that body, that beautiful face. “What do you think?” “I think,” I managed, standing up, “I want you to fuck me.” I went into his arms. He kissed me deeply, in a way only a vampire could, his blood and mine mingling together in our mouths. He stripped off my jeans, didn’t bother removing my shirt, and right there, he took me to my knees, pushed me to my elbows. I heard that zipper come down on those leather pants and I bit my lip. “Oh God, yes, go,” I said. He came down behind me, dragging my head back, kissing me again as his cock made contact with my anus. I moaned deeply into his mouth, looked into those vampire eyes and I…melted. What do you want? He’s my baby. I love him, and Alf—well…we’ll just have to deal with that big brute when the time comes. But for now, as you’ve seen, I’ve got better things to do. And as for you stopping by, well, I know that Damion invited you. He is so hospitable. Can you fix a porch? We really do need to get that porch fixed. If you want to see a gorgeous vampire who knows how to wear a pair of leather pants—well, we’re at home now, but ah…ahhhh…um…yeah… give us an hour…or two…or—not right now… come by later on, okay?

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Hunted Laura Tolomei he body lay in a pool of blood. The smell pierced his nostrils and he inhaled it deeply. The predator had left visible marks all over the mangled flesh, ripped skin and torn muscles strewn around like scattered toys left behind by a naughty child. Kendryck narrowed his gaze on the deathly scene, annoyed with the scarce light that did not allow a thorough examination. As usual, the forest keeps its secrets in darkness, he mused, although he had no trouble determining the cause of death. The same predator had struck again, the third killing in just over a month. So much for the Chief’s team’s effort, he sneered silently. “To defeat these killers, we need efficient team work,” the Chief had announced. “I have assembled a group that will patrol the forest.” Since the predator’s first appearance, things had changed dramatically. Set in a peaceful farming area, the village relied on its crops and livestock. People lived happily, a well-adjusted community that grew steadily each year. The forest had been their peaceful neighbor from the start, until overpowering human needs upset the balance and stole its territory to make room for the village’s increasing necessities. True, animals and vegetation hung on to the untamed land, but their number was dwindling fast, along with the available space. Anyway, the

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Sanguinary Seductions balance had held…at least until recently. Kendryck shook his head. The mangled body did not seem to fit inside the balance and neither did the indiscriminate cattle killings that had plagued the village, beginning just a few months before. People were sure to know who, or rather what, to blame, but Kendryck had serious doubts. Unlike everyone else, he had field experience that told him predators seldom left the forest’s concealment. Undeniably however, they had tried their luck on the humans’ open farming space. Or rather, one particularly vicious killer had the nerve to leave its compound to seek better food elsewhere. And the village was right on its tracks. “I’m sure our common efforts will catch them,” the Chief went on. Kendryck, the only experienced hunter, felt sure there was only one killer at large. Each predator left a unique signature on the battered remains, which he had learned to decode. All the killings he had seen so far evidenced the same pattern whether it was cows, sheep or horses. The beast had already consumed many of the village’s precious resources, but when it acquired a taste for human flesh, the situation became critical. Unfortunately, no one had seen the predator and lived to tell. Kendryck imagined it looked like a feline, sleek and powerful, though why it lived in the forest was a matter of speculation that certainly did not help the dead body in front of him. The victim was young. Kendryck bent on his, knees to examine the ground around the body, detecting bloody paw prints leaving the scene. He looked at the wounds. After seeing many similar deaths, there was no doubt in his mind that the same killer was responsible for this death as well. An avoidable one, Kendryck thought sadly, if only the man had experience as a hunter. The Chief had been desperate to find a solution so he had chosen a team of makeshift hunters. But Kendryck knew you did not become a killer by choice. 161

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “I’m glad you joined us,” the Chief concluded, shaking his hand. A loner, though never lonely, Kendryck had restlessly roamed the countryside, changing one town after another in an attempt to find…actually, he did not know himself. Nothing seemed to satisfy him except perhaps life in the wild. He inhaled deeply once again, smelling the blood now mixed with the vegetation’s murky odor. It was a combination of dead and fresh leaves, of stale water, of dark places that received little or no light. Humidity enveloped the forest and he loved the feel of the cool air on his skin. The forest appealed to his taste, the animals’ soundtrack a welcome relief from the humans’ distorted voices. And sounds were only the beginning of the hunter’s long list of grievances. As a rule, he did not like the human race or their hectic settlements. Messy and noisy, people lacked nature’s balanced beauty. He tried to keep away from them as much as possible and nothing worked better than what he loved to do. Kendryck had become a hunter by choice, one he made in early childhood. Living alone with his mother, aloof from other children, he had developed morbid tastes, which definitely set him apart. Somehow, he knew he was different, maybe because he spent long hours alone, fantasizing about death and killings. He still recalled the childish shiver of pleasure running down his spine just imagining blood gushing out from torn flesh. To be honest, he did not stop at fantasies. His mother used to scold him for cutting his arms on purpose to suck the blood avidly. He loved the taste, the smell and even the feel of the slippery red liquid. As a hunter, he enjoyed the close kills. In fact, using a sharp knife to drain his victim still gave him a shiver of pleasure as he felt life ebbing out from the blood he spilled. Women inspired him the most. He dreamed of their bloody deaths after indescribable sexual tortures. He yearned to try his knife on their soft flesh, red blood staining their white naked skins as he finished them off with a clean slit of the throat. Just seeing the brilliantly colored picture in his head aroused 162

Sanguinary Seductions Kendryck sexually, but he had never dared transform them into reality. Reality was cruel enough as it was. Oddly enough, a bloody trail seemed to follow and eventually catch up with him, no matter where he went. Villages, apparently peaceful before his arrival, experienced violent deaths, usually blamed on a predator of some kind that had suddenly awakened its taste for human flesh. This last village was no exception. Kendryck had settled in a couple of months before, just around the time of the first killings. These coincidences did not escape his notice, of course, but he had no clue as to their connection with each other or to him in particular. Kendryck sighed. These thoughts did not help catch the killer. Having finished his analysis, he gathered some rocks to protect the body. He could not carry it alone the entire way. Instead, he would leave it there and run back to the village to seek help. When he was just about done, he heard a cry. “Help!” Kendryck ran in the voice’s direction. The forest was oddly quiet as he sped through the tall trees, their thickness not allowing a clear view. Luckily, he now knew the territory by heart so placing the sound was no particular effort. The voice called from an opening just a short distance away from the body. “Help,” the cry rang out again. The rest of nature was deathly silent—no bird song, no tiny feet scurrying away disturbing the stillness. Coming behind the trees, Kendryck saw the back of a slim figure, all dressed in black. The youth’s shoulders moved back just as the hunter saw the flick of a black tail disappearing inside the vegetation. So the feline really exists, Kendryck thought, looking at the last of the long tail. “Hey,” he called out to the young man. “Are you all right?” The man turned and flashed a pair of luminous green eyes on the hunter. He looked young, though something of his expression did not quite match the apparent age. Dark haired, 163

eXtasy’s Collective Mind he was tall and very slim. His face was interesting, though triangular in shape. In fact, he almost resembled a feline more than a human and Kendryck wondered briefly whether he was the predator’s relative. “Thank you,” the youth said, moving toward him. “Without your intervention, the beast would have eaten me.” He moved elegantly, Kendryck noticed, swaying slightly from side to side in a seductive way that he found intriguing. When he reached the hunter, the boy flashed a bright smile. “How can I thank you?” Kendryck was taken aback. Usually victims from near death experiences at close range with predators did not react like casual tourist on a relaxing visit at the forest grounds. “Weren’t you afraid?” he asked, rather than answer the question. The young man shrugged. “I live in the forest so it wasn’t the first encounter of the kind. I’ve learned to dominate my fear. It usually never helps in times of crisis.” Again, the boy struck him as much older than he looked. “I guess you’re right,” Kendryck agreed. “Anyway, you have nothing to thank me for. The beast had already left by the time I got here.” “She left because she heard you coming,” the youth objected. Then, before Kendryck could deny any further responsibilities, he extended his hand. “By the way, I’m Therry.” “Nice to meet you,” the older man said, surprised he really meant it. “I’m Kendryck and I’m one of the hunters who should find the beast.” “Oh, she won’t let you find her that easily,” Therry assured. “Did you get a good look at it? Our problem is that we don’t even know what it looks like.” “She’s like a big black cat. That’s all I saw. As I said, when she heard you come, she left in a hurry.” “How do you know it’s a female?” Kendryck asked interested. Therry shrugged. “She looks female,” was the cryptic answer as the youth moved away from him, heading inside the 164

Sanguinary Seductions trees. Disappointed to see him leave so soon, Kendryck followed. “Where are you going?” “Home.” “So, you really do live in the forest,” Kendryck observed, knowing the village lay behind them. “Of course I do,” Therry confirmed, without stopping. Kendryck reached him. “Maybe I should accompany you…just in case the beast returns.” “As you like.” They walked in silence for a while. Therry picked his way carefully, seemingly unafraid. Kendryck followed closely, checking each bush for a sign of the predator. But the way was clear and thankfully the forest was back to normal again. With a lighter pace, he felt the odd stillness slipping away just as birds chirped their melodious songs a little louder. Soon they came to a deserted little hut in a clearing. Therry opened the door and Kendryck followed inside. “Do you live alone?” he enquired. “No, I live with my woman.” “But why have you settled so far away from the village?” Kendryck wondered aloud. Therry went to a makeshift fireplace, built with stones. Over the bright flames, a metallic structure held a pail of water. The youth took down the pail and checked the water. “Would you like some herb infusion?” he asked, replacing the pot over the burning fire. Kendryck was tempted to refuse. Usually he disliked encouraging any form of social acquaintance, particularly with strangers. Yet, the youth intrigued him, his unconventional ways attracting more than a fair share of the hunter's attention. “All right,” he agreed at last. “Please sit.” The youth gestured at comfortable leather skins lying against the wall in front of the fireplace, roughly forming an L-shape. Kendryck obeyed. Therry checked the water again, then took some herbs from a nearby table and placed them inside 165

eXtasy’s Collective Mind two cups. He poured the hot water, then brought the infusion to the hunter, settling next to him. “Tamara and I don’t like people much,” Therry admitted, sipping slowly his hot drink and answering Kendryck’s earlier question. “We like to live in seclusion.” His green eyes stared at the hunter. “In fact, we just don’t like people enough to live next to their messy settlements.” Kendryck wanted to agree, but he had the feeling Therry already knew about his own distaste so he merely sipped his hot liquid without saying anything. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the atmosphere. There was no need for words and neither felt embarrassed by the lack of conversation. Therry, curled on himself, eyes fixed on the flames, resembled more a cat than before. Kendryck studied him, taking in the dark long hair and the pale triangular face lit by the dazzling green eyes. The youth did not object to the scrutiny, quietly subjecting to it. When Kendryck looked outside, the light had dimmed considerably. Fast approaching darkness would soon make the forest more impervious and dangerous as wild beasts would regain control of it. Of course, it did not worry Kendryck, although…in a flash, he remembered about the body. “I have to go,” he told Therry, scrambling to his feet and hurrying away. Therry simply nodded, watching Kendryck leave, an odd smile lighting his face. **** That night, the dream returned. Many times before, Kendryck had tried to stop it, but his efforts had failed miserably. Sometimes weeks went by without the haunting nightmare. Other times a flash or the wrong image unleashed the repetitive sequence. He still ignored what triggered it though he knew the script by heart by now. He would find himself in a village, one of the many he had known in his roaming. Peering through the night, he swept the 166

Sanguinary Seductions dark and deserted streets until he spotted her. Why a woman would be out alone at that time of night, Kendryck had never asked. She roamed the streets just like him and their meeting did not seem casual at all. Kendryck had a taste for round women, the well-shaped ones with abundant curves that displayed all the feminine guiles. He liked fleshy parts he could squeeze without incurring rib cages or pelvic bones. The one in his dream fitted his profile to a tee, down to the hair color. He usually preferred blondes, a trait he probably inherited from his mother. The woman would look at him from a distance, then steer her walk to run right into him. He observed the maneuvers, unwavering from his path. When they came against one another, they needed no words. He simply took the woman’s hand and led her to a deserted hut that the villagers used to store their tools. Night enveloped them, its dark cloak hiding their direction. But there was no need for concealment as their feet made no sound on the soft grass while approaching the intended destination. Inside, moonlight filtered from an opening and, to Kendryck’s needs, it was more than enough. He pushed the woman against the wall, his hands squeezing her breasts hard. She moaned, her body reeling back at him. He unfastened the dress, his hands seeking the naked flesh. She had big breasts with round nipples that were already hard. He bent his head and bit them. She arched her back to get closer to him, but he had other plans. With a quick move, he laid her on a low table in the center of the cabin, her head hanging down. He unbuttoned his pants. His hard bulge slid inside her open mouth, moving frantically inside. He pushed deeply, his length choking her. She gasped and he pulled back only to force another entry. He moved rhythmically, getting as deep as he could, always reaching her point of near suffocation before pulling back. But again, this was not his game. Moving fast, he flipped the woman onto her stomach and grabbed the rope. Kendryck tied her wrists first, then her legs. 167

eXtasy’s Collective Mind He also pushed a round metallic object under her stomach that raised her ass. The view required a moment’s pause, so he admired it for a second. It was just as he liked it, round and huge. The woman wriggled frantically, trying to get free. Afraid she would scream, he gagged her. By then, she would think something was awfully wrong, but it was too late to turn back. He anxiously awaited the moment of awareness when icy cold fear dripped inside her blood stream, enjoying the look of terror that glazed her eyes. It felt so exciting he had to spend a few minutes tasting her bitter sweat, hearing the increased heartbeat as blood rushed to her ear and panic grew exponentially. He tested the gag, then returned to her ass. With all her movements, her buttocks shook beautifully, increasing only his desire. He grabbed her hips and held them steady as he pushed his way inside the tight opening. She tensed, her scream of pain lost inside the gag. Uncaring about her feelings, he kept pushing, soon breaking through the narrow space. Her flesh closed around him, holding him tightly in place. He slid in and out, accelerating the rhythm with each push. She was deep in pain by now, but he really did not give a damn. He loved the ass squeeze and moved faster to enjoy it more. But of course, it was not enough. He knew exactly what he needed to feel real pleasure. Without wasting any more time, he grabbed her hair, knife tight in his hand. Another push, then he raised her head. The knife had an easy time on her throat, biting deep in her neck. With a single stroke, he slit her throat, a precise cut from one ear to the other. The gurgling sound was all he needed to spill his semen inside her ass, the final pleasure so much sweeter when her muscles first tensed, then suddenly collapsed because of death. By this point, he inevitably woke up in a sweat, his stomach wet and sticky. He glanced around the tiny room, immersed in utter darkness, trying to calm his wildly racing heart that pumped blood at an accelerated rate. As usual, he was alone in 168

Sanguinary Seductions the room. The dream faded just as rapidly as it had come, but invariably left a longing that was impossible to fulfill. **** The Chief had been sad at Kendryck’s news of the man’s death. He had called on the remaining team members, begging them to take action fast. “…because our village can’t stand any more losses,” he complained, afraid the next one might be him. The other men tried to reassure him, arguing that the victim was one of the lesser experienced hunters. The Chief was afraid the beast would become bolder if it killed more human beings, soon stopping at nothing. So far, the predator had spared the villagers because it was probably scared of people. Now, there was no telling what it was capable of doing. Kendryck had not said a word. The Chief’s fears seemed unreasonable, but there was no arguing fear. His instinct told him that the predator was after something else entirely, which did not include random killing of humans. Still, the Chief was too scared to listen, much less understand. The hunter knew the feline was only trying to protect its territory and would kill anyone it perceived as a threat…except him, of course. He used his killer instinct to think like the beast. He was the only one who could find it and bring it to justice. But do I want to? he asked, listening to the Chief’s plan. To be honest, he felt more sympathetic with the predator than the humans. Still, he had a job to do and conscience never conflicted with duty. Days passed without another trace of the predator as if the last killing had finally satisfied its bloody thirst. Even the other animals were safe from its hungry fangs for a period. Tensions eased and the team relaxed its patrols. Almost imperceptibly, work slowed down for the hunters, though idleness was never a good policy, especially for Kendryck. Most people turned to family when times were slower. The hunter, instead, furrowed inside his inner world made of bloody images and violent scenes. As the nightmares became more frequent, he feared to lose control, giving in to the 169

eXtasy’s Collective Mind blonde women's challenge to go beyond mere fantasies. She wanted him to do something real, but he sternly resisted. Through it all, Therry’s image became his only fragment of sanity. Still wary of human relations, particularly the ones that grew silently on a person, Kendryck tried to remove the youth from his mind. He did not need friends, of course. Women were his only fixation when he was in a particular mood. The hunter liked to watch them in the streets, their hips swaying from side to side. He had no interest in knowing them, just became excited wondering how they would react if bound and gagged. Men, on the other hand, never excited his imagination or his sex. Yet, Therry had left an impalpable trace inside. Kendryck passed by his hut often during his scouting rounds, his eyes searching the premises for signs of life. He never saw him, but just to look at the place where Therry lived made him feel better. Too bad the feeling did not last long. As time dragged on, the need to be physically close to the youth grew unbearably until one day, his wish came true quite by chance. Kendryck scouted the forest daily in search of fresh tracks, but the predator was too smart and left no visible traces of his passage, even ignoring the hunter's rudimentary traps. Strategically positioned, Kendryck hoped they would catch the beast during its weaker moments, yet no matter how many times he checked, they were always empty. Damn, he cursed under his breath, uncovering the hidden trap, I just can't seem able to fool this blasted beast. Looking dejectedly around, he noticed he was near the hut, so decided to check that area as well. The place seemed empty as usual. The hunter was just about to leave, when he spotted Therry walking up from the forest. Dressed in black, he moved stealthily, hardly making a sound. Again, he reminded Kendryck of a weary feline, just escaped from the hunter’s clutches. “Hello there,” Therry called. “Care for something to drink?” “I sure would,” Kendryck replied, glad to see the young 170

Sanguinary Seductions man. Once inside, Therry first checked the water, then set the fire and prepared the herbs in the cups. Fascinated, Kendryck watched him from the leather skins, his gestures almost ritual. They had only met once, yet Therry acted as if he had prepared the brew a million times before in Kendryck’s presence or rather as if they had shared more than just a cup of tea. Kendryck shook his head to remove those thoughts. The youth meant nothing to him. As a matter of fact, he did not want to start any lasting relationship with someone whom he did not even know. Besides, having chosen to live far away from humans, Therry himself obviously did not wish close proximities except with the mysterious Tamara of which Kendryck had found no trace despite his frequent visits. “Oh, she’s around here somewhere,” Therry contradicted, taking the pail off the fire. Confused, Kendryck's blank gaze followed Therry's movements. “Who?” “Tamara. She doesn’t like staying at home.” Kendryck did not enquire further. He accepted the infusion and made space for Therry. “Things have been quiet lately,” he said, sipping the brew slowly. “I know. Your men have kept away.” “Actually, the predator keeps me away. Have you seen it again?” Therry shook his head. “I haven’t had the pleasure.” “I wonder where it hides. A big animal like him—” “I told you it’s a she,” Therry cut in, annoyed. Then he continued more gently. “The forest is a big place. There are plenty of places to hide.” “Probably, but it also hasn’t eaten lately.” “How can you tell?” “Well, we haven’t found any carcasses lately.” “The forest is a big place,” Therry repeated. “They could be hidden anywhere.” Kendryck shrugged. “You seem to know your way inside this big place. Have you got something to hide as well?” 171

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Looking intently at the fire, Therry did not reply. The hunter watched his profile lit by the flames and the question popped out unbidden. “And how can you stand living here? Alone, I mean.” He had talked without thinking, but now it was too late to take it back. Therry’s green eyes blazed. “That’s a funny question, coming from you.” “Why?” “I believe, you’re no lover of the human race. either” “That may be, but I never thought of cutting my link with it.” “What’s the use of keeping a link when you’re really not interested?” “That’s no reason to cut off the connection with your own kind.” “My kind? I find animals closer to me than humans ever will be…with a few exceptions,” he added softly before turning to him. “I find them boring and shallow. Most of all, they don’t understand about what really matters in life.” “But you do?” the hunter challenged. The green gaze burned into Kendryck. Almost in a trance, he explained, “Physical life and death are the only things that matter. Blood tells me if I’m in or out of life. When I feel it pumping inside, I know I’m alive. When I spill it, then life is in danger and death may set in at any time.” His green eyes did not waver. “You’ve learned this lesson all too well and your killer instinct never allows you to forget it.” Kendryck’s blood ran cold. A shiver traveled down his back, while for a moment, the world stopped spinning. “What do you mean?” he asked coldly. “I know you, Kendryck the hunter. You pretend to be human, but you’re really a predator in disguise. Your blood runs hot and wild, demanding immediate satisfaction…and not just to your thirst. You turn your preys into a sexual game before killing them in a surge of violent pleasure. You love to see fear in your victim’s eyes, relish in their pain, feel stronger by their violent death. Yet, your human conscience can’t stand 172

Sanguinary Seductions this animal side and chastises it at every turn. But is it a dream or is it real?” Kendryck turned into ice. How this mere boy knew about his horrible nightmares was a mystery. “You’re completely off track, boy,” he sneered angrily, scrambling to his feet. “I’m not the animal you describe.” Without another word, he turned coldly away and left the hut. **** That night, the dream seemed even more real. He met the girl on the village’s outskirts, a different one this time. She was slimmer than the other one, with a dark head. But he did not much care for hair color. She was walking alone, hurrying back home it seemed, when he stopped her. “Excuse me, lady. I’m looking for the Chief’s residence. I have an important message to deliver.” “Look, it’s right this way in the center of the village. If you follow me, I’ll take you there.” “Thank you. You’re most kind.” He had followed her, but when she crossed a dark corner, he had pushed her off the main road. Before she could scream, he gagged her. She struggled, trying to get free, but he tied her hands and feet. He took her to the edge of the forest, her lightweight hardly an inconvenience. The forest was very quiet in the moonless night, cold and very dark. It looked like the perfect time to satisfy his uncontrollable urge. With a sigh of satisfaction, he used his knife to rip off her clothes, relishing the sight of the violent goose bumps that traveled through her skin. She tried to scream again, but only a muffled sound escaped. Her fear only increased his excitement for the bloody ritual, while her pain matched the size of his pleasure. But Therry’s words kept intruding, despite his efforts to shut them out. So in a fit of rage, his knife cut through her warm flesh, while still pushing inside her ass. Blood spurted everywhere, staining her white skin and falling on him as well. He hurt the 173

eXtasy’s Collective Mind girl on purpose, unable to stop, enjoying every red slash. In fact, the more blood he drew, the more he wanted to spill. Just like all the other dreams, this, too, ended all too quickly in a dark empty room, sweat on the bed, bloody taste still in his mouth, stomach wet and sticky. **** “The beast struck again last night,” the Chief informed his team, “and very close to home.” “Where, Chief?” one man enquired. “Right outside the village. A farmer found her mangled body, her poor remains all chewed up.” “Are you sure they were chewed?” Kendryck asked, afraid of the answer. Images from last night’s dream were still clear in his mind, especially how he had struck out with his knife. “I mean—” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Our predator has been quiet these past days, so why should it strike now?” “Kendryck, although inexperienced, we know the difference between a man’s and an animal killing. Our predator assaulted her. There’s no doubt. Now, get out there and find this beast. I can’t take this pressure anymore.” They left the village together, vowing to bring back the culprit, though they did not feel so optimistic. Kendryck was confused. Still unsure whether he had dreamt the incident or not, he could not honestly blame the predator for the bloody death. Yet, if it had been real, then the beast must have watched him from a distance, moving on the woman right after he had finished with her. But if that were true, why spare me? he wondered. “Are you sure the predator killed the woman?” Kendryck insisted with another team member. “Sure, I saw her. No man could have done…that to her.” Kendryck was not convinced. With a thumping in his heart and blood rushing to his ears, he ran inside the forest. An awful doubt was too loud to shut out. He had to find a straight 174

Sanguinary Seductions answer and only one place had it. He ran like a madman through the trees, his lungs bursting from lack of air, his muscles burning from the effort. Finally, he reached his destination. The hut seemed empty, but Kendryck did not stop at the front door. With a shove, he broke through. Therry sat on the leather skins, waiting for him. “What have you done to me?” Kendryck shouted, running to him. “Answer me!” But when he came up to the youth, he lost his impetus and fell down on his knees. “Why?” he asked instead. Therry reached for a knife, laying by his side, and slid the sharp blade on his arm. A thin red line appeared, dripping on the leather skin. Therry looked at it for a second, then turned it to Kendryck. The smell of fresh blood drove the hunter wild. Without thinking, he grabbed Therry’s arm and sucked the wound, his tongue avidly tracing its edge. This was the signal Therry had been waiting. He pushed Kendryck down, his hand closing on his cock. He felt it move, rising to the increasing pressure. Still holding his arm in the hunter’s face, Therry bent down and his mouth replaced his fingers. At the warmth, Kendryck’s bulging head pressed against his trousers. Therry unbuttoned them. His tongue wrapped around the rising length, then slid down to the base and went back up, sucking all the way. Kendryck had no time to think. Desire enflamed every pore and he only wanted an explosive release, which was not long in coming. Therry’s expert tongue circled the bursting head, then he swallowed him whole. His hands followed the same movement and for Kendryck, it was the finishing line. Heaving, he flooded Therry’s mouth with a powerful jet. Therry sucked avidly all the fluid, but his mouth refused to quit and his tongue traveled anew on the shriveled length. Kendryck responded immediately. Soon he became hard again. Therry grabbed Kendryck’s hand and placed it over his own growing desire. The hunter at first was surprised. He had never been with a 175

eXtasy’s Collective Mind man. But Therry pulled out the hard cock and Kendryck’s hand automatically closed on it. Therry moaned with pleasure, his mouth busy once again. Neither could last much longer. “Take me, hunter,” the youth pleaded. “I want to feel you inside.” The request felt dangerous to Kendryck and he wondered briefly if his morbid tastes would get the better of him just like in his dreams. “Don’t worry, hunter,” Therry reassured, reading his mind again. “I’m used to treating beasts.” At these words, Kendryck felt a wave of pleasure wash over him. His cock had never felt harder nor did Therry’s tight opening seem more inviting. Slipping inside was easy, the youth more than ready for him. He moved, sliding inside out, increasing the rhythm, losing himself in it. Yet, this time he had no bloody fantasy. Unlike the women, Therry obviously enjoyed the frantic movement, responding thrust to thrust, pushing back hard against the hunter. This made all the difference and Kendryck got caught in the wild movement until he felt Therry tense, his flesh closing around the hard cock, sucking it deeper inside, then releasing it suddenly before tightening once more. The waves followed one another with a rapid intensity that pulled Kendryck further inside and finally depleted him of any fluid. Exhausted, they stopped moving together. Kendryck could not believe what had just happened. This was his first time with a man and he had enjoyed it like never before with a woman. “Don’t worry,” Therry assured. “It’s natural.” Natural doesn’t even begin to describe it, Kendryck thought. “Actually, Therry, it was extraordinary. For the first time I really liked it and I didn’t get nasty thoughts about—” “I know, hunter. You didn’t think about killing.” How Therry knew so much about him was a question Kendryck preferred not to ask. It was obvious he had experience with his sort. He saw it carved on the youth’s flesh, in the tiny wounds that crossed his chest and shoulders. 176

Sanguinary Seductions Kendryck did not want to know about them or anything else, for that matter, wishing he could walk out of the hut and pretend nothing had happened. But it was already too late. Against the hunter’s better judgment, Therry drew him into an enchanted world, full of silence, looks and physical love. Uncaring about the feline still at large, Kendryck seemed unable to keep away from the youth, running to him every day, hoping to find him available…and he always was. They spent hot afternoons rolling on top of one other, blood from Therry’s wounds sprayed on both their bodies. Kendryck never had enough of the bloody taste. He sucked it deeply, enjoying the feel of his tongue on the uneven edges of the wound. Therry seemed to find it absolutely acceptable. He tempted Kendryck by flashing his wrists during their herbal tea ritual, then when he cut the flesh, sometimes he postponed the pleasurable moment. The hunter could not remember anyone who had raised his desire to such a fever pitch with movements apparently unconnected to sex. “You are the one linking blood to sex,” Therry pointed out one day. “Most people make a different connection with blood altogether.” “Most people think blood is death when in reality it’s life.” Therry’s hand slipped down Kendryck’s chest, heading to his stomach. “True, blood is usually associated with death rather than life. But you choose to see it differently. Then again, you feel blood like few ever do.” The hand reached its intended destination and their dance began again. There was little space for talk. Both loners, they felt more comfortable with physical expressions, rather than playing the mind’s games. The nightmares also disappeared thanks to Therry. His daily ritual kept the night demons away…for a time. As usual, things were just too good to last. **** 177

eXtasy’s Collective Mind One day, as he headed to Therry’s cabin, Kendryck heard a noise beyond a row of trees. Carefully threading his way, the hunter crept closer, hiding behind a tree. He was not alone. In the clearing beyond, a black panther feasted on a slaughtered sheep, which the predator had carried from the fields. The beast seemed unaware of the hunter, so Kendryck watched fascinated as its fangs worked their way into the bloody pulp. Its paws held the body still, while sharp teeth ripped through the flesh, tearing and pulling at pieces of meat. Blood dripped from every cut and a pool of red liquid was forming under the carcass. Kendryck watched a while longer before raising his bow and arrow. He would serve justice, finally, in honor of all the dead and redeem the blood spilled. Afraid to breathe, he aimed at the black body in front of him. He was about to shoot, when Therry came out behind the panther and walked straight at it. At first, Kendryck could not believe his eyes. As the youth got closer to the predator, he wanted to shout to turn back, though it was impossible Therry did not see the big feline. The hunter closed his mouth and watched the scene. Without any fear or hesitation, Therry walked next to the panther. The black feline did not even turn to acknowledge his presence. Instead, it kept eating as if no one was there. When Therry reached it, he knelt next to it and bit in the carcass. Kendryck was even more amazed. The scene seemed unreal. The man next to the beast acting just like the predator itself was an unlikely sight. Yet, Therry was really eating from the panther’s same plate. And, even more incredible, the beast did not seem to mind. After a few more bites, the predator turned to its side, as if only then it became aware of the man. Its tongue lashed out and licked Therry on his neck, practically covering half his head. He turned to the beast. “You’re tickling me,” he said playfully. The predator insisted, this time accompanying the tongue with a paw. The caress was gentle, claws retracted. Therry laughed and he rolled over just as the feline came almost on 178

Sanguinary Seductions top of him. Together they tumbled, the predator always careful not to crush Therry under its weight. Watching their twists and turns, Kendryck saw the incredible transformation with his own eyes. The elegant beast first shrank, shortening its long length to a human size. Away went the tail and the pointed ears, while arms and legs replaced paws. The muzzle lost its animal traits, adapting to the new body. In a matter of seconds, the beast was gone. In its place, stood a slender woman with long dark hair, her naked body twisted under Therry’s firm grasp. When the transformation was complete, the youth laid her on her stomach, then covered her, biting deeply between neck and shoulder. She raised her ass, pushing against him. He kept biting, blood seeping from the tender flesh, while she moved faster, sliding sideways. Therry did not wait any longer. Kendryck saw his cock hard and ready. With a swift move, the youth shoved into her. They were in a frenzy now, focused only on their frantic movements and on pleasure. Kendryck watched fascinated, bow and arrows abandoned at his side. He had no doubt it was a celebration to invoke life’s renewal, a reassurance that blood had not spilled in vain. This awareness made them move faster to a quick release just like cats making love. When she screamed and shook, Kendryck knew it was over. They laid still, their tensions gone. Shaken more than he cared to admit, Kendryck felt weak. His legs trembled when he threaded his way back to the village, confused and scared for the first time in his life. In the next three days, he did not dare leave his tiny house. On the one hand, he wanted desperately to talk to Therry, to receive some sort of plausible explanation. On the other, he wanted to vanish off the face of the earth. Something about the scene he had witnessed scored close to home…too close for his taste. Animals that turned into human beings sounded more like a fairytale mothers told their children to scare them away from doing the wrong thing. It did not seem possible in the real world. Yet, an insistent inner voice vouched to the contrary as 179

eXtasy’s Collective Mind if he not only had to believe what he saw, but even that it might be related to him…somehow. Frightened of this thought, Kendryck was on the verge of leaving the village. More than once, during those agonizing three days, he went to the door, resolved to leave the world behind forever. More than once, during those agonizing three days, he retraced his footsteps, falling on the bed in a stupor. Yet, sleep escaped him, his mind too busy reviewing the flashing images. He tried to stop them, pretending not to see the panther turn into a woman, a tiny one at that. And Therry had known all along. Perhaps this hurt most of all. The man who had shown him a different side of life had betrayed him in the end. Better yet, he had played the hunter since the beginning. Everything had been a lie, starting from the pitiful cry for help up to the last unbelievable transformation scene. How could he use me like that? Kendryck wondered dejectedly. Silly me, I even thought we were sharing something special. He needed to confront him. Killing him was also a good solution, though in his heart he knew it would be his last option. In spite of the situation, he missed the love they had shared, the intense physical closeness, even the tea ritual. After those experiences, loneliness was heavy, almost unbearable. His footsteps automatically led to Therry’s hut. The place looked deserted, but Kendryck had learned to distrust the solitary appearance that Therry maintained on purpose. So, He did not even knock and went inside. The fire blazed. In the half-light, Kendryck’s eyes swept the empty room. The leather skins looked forlorn, almost as lonely as he felt. But he was not alone. From the second room, one Kendryck seldom saw, he heard noises. He smelled sex. The scent was unmistakable, heavy on the sour side and stale. Kendryck turned. Therry stood on the threshold, naked body gleaming in the firelight. “I’m glad you came,” he said softly, not at all embarrassed. “Yeah…well,” Kendryck took a step back, “maybe it was a mistake.” “No, hunter, please don’t go.” Therry stretched his arm. 180

Sanguinary Seductions “We need to explain.” “We?” The woman came out behind Therry. Her long black hair partly covered her naked body. Kendryck took another step back, but the woman was on him faster than light. She did not seem dangerous, but the hunter trembled at the thought of what she really was. With a gleam in her eyes, she smelled him slowly, taking her time, running her nose over his body’s length. “You were right, love,” she said at last, turning to Therry. “He’s one of us.” “I told you, Tammy.” Kendryck raised his voice in anger. “I’m not one of you.” He waved his knife in front of her face. “And I’m definitely nothing like you.” Unimpressed by his show, Tamara looked coldly at him. “You don’t even know who you are,” she spat, while returning to Therry. Kendryck took another step back, undecided on what to do next. The youth looked at him, green gaze searching his face. “Hunter, I really think you should talk to us,” he grabbed Tamara and caressed her back, “for your own good.” Kendryck watched them for a second, images flashing wildly in his mind. She was a wild beast that only Therry had the power to tame. And his training was purely physical and had been for the past three days. Yet, despite his efforts, the beast was still hungry. Kendryck had smelled her sexual hunger. Now, prey to his own tensions, he felt tempted to go along with the situation, just as Therry suggested. Slowly, he moved to the leather skins, brushing against them on his way. When Kendryck sat down, Therry set Tamara on the other end, then went to the makeshift fireplace and began his ritual. As usual, he first checked the fire, then the water and after it boiled, he handed them two scalding cups of freshly brewed tea. Finally, taking his own cup, sat between them. 181

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “All right, hunter,” he started slowly. “You know about Tamara now.” “How could you hide something like this from me?” Kendryck asked, hurt by the betrayal. “Had I told you, what would you have done, hunter?” “I would have done justice. That’s my job.” “Justice? What kind of justice? The human kind?” “What other justice is there?” Therry sighed. “Human justice is a hollow word, hunter. I’m surprised you haven’t learned it by now. Tamara was only trying to protect her space from human invasion. That’s why she killed the members of your team.” “And what about the animals she ate, animals raised by humans?” “Nature’s way commands that you feed on other animals in order to survive. She was only obeying it.” “What is she exactly?” Therry turned to Tamara. With his free hand, he ran down her head, curved around her breast, partly hidden by hair, then down to her stomach. “She feels like my sister, not because we share any blood relation or heritage, but because of our species,” he said softly, “my lover, my mate.” Tamara curled against him like a cat. “But you don’t—” “No, hunter, I don’t turn into an animal like she does. But I’m the only one she recognizes when she’s in that altered state.” “How is it possible?” “I don’t know,” she answered. “I—” She stopped, searching for words. “I…feel the need first. Then, I taste blood in my mouth and the craving increases until I have to satisfy it. It’s like a…blood lust and when it becomes irresistible, I change.” “Blood is what drives the transformation. When she doesn’t feel bloodthirsty, she’s normal. Otherwise, she roams the countryside as my beautiful black panther.” His hand slipped under her and rubbed her skin. She sat up, opened her 182

Sanguinary Seductions legs wider and brushed against him with her own movement. Kendryck could not help feeling a growing arousal. Therry and Tamara acted naturally and like true animals, they felt neither shame nor embarrassment. The limitations imposed by human conventions did not apply to them. And Kendryck liked their game. He cleared his throat. “But we have to stop her,” he objected. “She can’t go around and kill innocent lives just because she’s thirsty.” Therry pulled Tamara closer. “I told you,” he said, looking at him, but focusing his efforts on her, “she killed only to protect herself.” “The poor woman mangled the other night was hardly a threat.” Silence fell in the room, broken only by the fire’s crackle. No one moved for a while. “I didn’t kill that woman,” Tamara finally said. “Then what…who…did?” Kendryck’s voice faltered. Tamara raised her eyes, fixing a cold stare on him. “I think you know who did.” Cold sweat broke on Kendryck’s forehead. A shiver ran down his back, while his heart skipped a beat. “I—” “Hush, hunter.” Therry moved closer. His mouth bit Kendryck’s neck, his teeth sinking in, breaking through the skin and drawing blood. Time stopped as Kendryck first fought, then surrendered to an unavoidable truth. Angry blood rushed to the hunter’s head, his senses spun, his stomach tightened. Heat replaced the coldness. His need increased as his limbs tensed, feeling more powerful than ever before. “I want her,” he whispered in Therry’s ear. “Thought you’d never ask, hunter.” Therry grabbed Tamara and shoved her to Kendryck. “She’s all yours.” The hunter pushed her down on the leather skins. Her ass, round and tight, was enough of a temptation, but Kendryck did not really care where he would take her. He wanted to possess her, be inside her tight flesh, to use her body to get in touch with his own. With a sigh, he shoved into her, then bent on her neck. His teeth bit into the soft flesh, the taste of blood 183

eXtasy’s Collective Mind exploding in his mouth. He felt her become wetter and warmer the more blood he drew, his cock drowning in her softness. She raised her ass and moved to get him further inside, accelerating their rhythm. Her mouth was also busy, Therry’s bursting bulge sliding inside out. It was all over too fast. Kendryck slammed faster into her before literally spilling his entire being when he felt her contract in pleasure spasm and saw her mouth filled to capacity. Spent, he collapsed on top of Tamara, drowning in his own satisfaction, feeling finally at home. **** He woke up in darkness, whiskers tickling his face. Come on, let’s go. I’m hungry, the voice sounded in his head, clear as if it had spoken. He obeyed and followed her. He stretched, eager to try his new shape, and jumped outside. The front paws hit the ground first, soon reached by the hind ones. He coiled on himself for a second, gathering energy for his next jump, then broke into a wild chase across the forest, free at last. Therry watched the panthers disappear in the bushes and smiled.

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Iùm a Vampireïin the Line of Garlic Jackie Rose till half asleep, she felt his long, strong fingers caressing her bosom through the soft, sensuous Egyptian cotton sheets. Covered with calluses from his years of splitting rails, those hard, rough hands awakened… Splitting rails? President O’Neill had never split a rail in his life. Splitting hairs in a political debate, certainly, but rails? That sounded like another chief executive entirely. Wide awake now, Evelyn O’Neill sat bolt upright and pushed back the blonde hair that had fallen over her high forehead. Clutching the sheets to cover her bosom, which rose and fell with agitation beneath the lacy nightgown, she exclaimed, “Mr. Lincoln!” Jumping up from the bed where he had been lounging beside her, he threw his long, lanky frame into the padded rocking chair, his craggy face twisted in consternation. It was not an unattractive face, she realized, then hastily reminded herself that his wife was her best friend. “Dang it, I thought you were my Mary a-lyin’ there,” he explained as he dragged on his trousers and pulled the suspenders back over his shirt. “Sorry for the mistake. If you can just throw my boots to me, I’ll be on my way.”

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind Still holding up the sheet with one hand, she reached down with the other and tossed him the objects in question. “Well, I surely am sorry,” he mumbled, his head lowered as he hastily pulled them on. “But you were all alone there and I thought you were Mary, fixin’ to surprise me. No offense meant.” “None taken,” she assured him. “We all know that this is the Lincoln Bedroom and many other people have seen you here, since…well, you know. I should have been prepared.” “And I should have pulled the sheet off your face before goin’ for you.” The fact that some people might faint dead away at being awakened to find Abe Lincoln’s ghost tugging their sheets down obviously did not occur to him. It aroused her curiosity, however, about a happening that was well known to her sister witches. “If you don’t mind my asking, sir…well, it was a famous event…is this why Queen Wilhelmina fainted when she saw you here?” “Oh, no, she just opened the door and saw me in the hallway,” he quickly assured her. “But she should not have been so surprised. This is the Lincoln Bedroom and, just like you were sayin’, lots of people have seen me here. Funny that you never did.” “I have spoken to Mrs. Lincoln often, of course,” she replied, in a rather defensive tone, glancing up at her predecessor’s portrait in its gilded frame. “But I am sorry that she is not here tonight.” As a First Lady, she was used to being tactful. If Mary Todd Lincoln had been waiting in her customary place behind the frame, she would have picked up the bronze Abe Lincoln figurine from the marble-topped bedside table and thrown it at him. She had been known for fits of jealousy even before they died, and with much less reason. Considering that, Evelyn did not regret Mary’s absence at all. They were close friends and she wanted to keep it that way. Death might not have divided them, but the eternal triangle 186

Sanguinary Seductions certainly could. **** The room became even more crowded when her two Secret Service guards ran into the room, guns drawn. The female led her partner, having been alerted by the super-sensitive hearing. “Oh, you are that Mr. Lincoln,” she said, hastily holstering her weapon and extending her hand. “It is a great honor to meet you, sir. I am Ylenia Vyrdelek, the First Lady’s bodyguard. This is Matt Mader, my partner.” He stared at them dubiously before offering his own long hand in return. “You aren’t going to faint dead away?” he asked. “Why should I?” she answered, with a shrug. “Well, I am what you might call a spirit.” “And I am a vampire.” To Evelyn’s surprise, it was Honest Abe who drew back in fear. “That foul German species,” he muttered and ran his long fingers nervously through his coarse black hair. “Transylvanian,” Ylenia corrected him, in an accent that was, indeed, closer to Russian than German. “And that was all Charlotte Bronte knew about it when she wrote Jane Eyre in 1847. But lots of other books were written about us later. Even Bram Stoker’s version of Dracula was much more flattering, even if that gave us plenty of grounds for a libel suit.” She smiled in a way that made him hold his hand out happily again. “You look more like a charming elf,” he told her, bending awkwardly over her slim fingers. Secretly, he thought that she looked like a little boy, with her dark hair chopped into wisps around her heart-shaped white face, which seemed to be half covered by her immense black eyes. Her navy suit with its mannish white silk shirt only emphasized her very girlish appeal. “And you are…also a vampire, or perhaps a werewolf from 187

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Transylvania, Mr. Mader?” he asked, as he extended his hand toward the male. “No, I’m just an ordinary Secret Service agent, from Milwaukee,” Matt answered. “I’m not one of the first female agents, let alone the first vampire.” His brown crew cut and ever-watchful pale grey eyes helped convince the late president that he was speaking the truth. Making him even more imposing, the man loomed over his partner as, indeed, he probably towered over everyone, Mr. Lincoln himself excepted. His partner’s head barely reached his American flag lapel pin. “Well, I admit, in my day all of my bodyguards were mortal males,” Honest Abe said. The mortal male who was currently guarding the First Lady nodded ruefully, obviously feeling that those were the good old days. The two women glowered at him in silent, but furious disagreement. “But this is the modern age,” Mr. Lincoln reminded them hastily. “I helped to create it, if I must say so myself. And you know that a female bodyguard could not do any worse than my male army officers who were supposed to guard me. This one is a whole lot prettier than they were anyway.” He bent again over Ylenia’s hand again. The vampire lowered her eyes and obviously would have blushed if she had had any blood to do it with. Her partner, on the other hand, looked even more irritated than before. “I believe that your lady is in the East Room, Mr. Lincoln,” Mrs. O’Neill said, hastily changing the subject. “She is helping plan Miss O’Neill’s wedding.” The late president’s smile faded as he remembered that he had lain there in state. Seeing his expression, the First Lady tactfully cast about for yet another topic. “Our Ylenia will be in charge of the music,” she said cheerfully. “But I thought you were a bodyguard.” “I am now,” the vampire explained proudly. “But I trained as a dancer and until last year I even ran a dance exercise 188

Sanguinary Seductions program called Vamper-cize. Then when I heard about the Secret Service affirmative action program for vampires, I naturally wanted to join. My dance background helped me with the martial arts training, so here I am now. At night, of course.” Tactful as always, the First Lady refrained from saying that the cut-rate imitators had all but driven a stake through the original Vampire-cize program, with names like Vamper-dance or even Dancing Vampires. One could not, alas, copyright an idea, or Bram Stoker’s estate would be richer than Bill Gates’s. “And having a lady guarding another lady is so much more suitable,” Mr. Lincoln assured her. Some of the light seemed to fade from her eyes. “I hope so,” she said hesitantly. “But?” he asked, fixing her with his strong, sad gaze. “But…” under the influence of Honest Abe, she could not stop herself. “But I often wonder if I could take a bullet for the First Lady, as much as I love and admire her. Not a bullet, of course, because that would not be much of a problem for me, but a wooden stake. Or a cross. Or a vial of holy water. Or even a clove of garlic. “I know that George Zagorsky took a stake for the president, when he was still a candidate. That’s how George became our first vampiric congressman and the president’s future son-in-law. But I still wonder if I could do the same.” “I am sure you could, or else you would not be here,” her charge interrupted firmly. “But we should not keep Mr. Lincoln from finding his wife. You will probably run into my daughter, so I must tell you that she is a banshee. And you were a famous warrior, so she is bound to wail for you.” “Well,” he assured her, with a sigh. “I have heard wailing before.” “Not from a banshee.” **** Beneath its three cut-glass chandeliers…so huge and elaborate, 189

eXtasy’s Collective Mind they had their own servant to clean them…the East Room smelled of harsh lye soap. It always did when Abigail Adams was carrying in her laundry as she had been doing since she first moved into the White House, 250 years earlier. The chamber had been unfinished then, but old habits died hard. So, obviously, did First Ladies. She almost dropped her soggy burden onto the oak parquet floor when Maeve O’Neill took one look at Mr. Lincoln and started shrieking “Ochone ochone ochone!” “That means woe, woe, woe! in Gaelic,” her mother translated helpfully. “It is the banshee lament for a great fallen warrior.” “I surely do appreciate it,” the Great Liberator answered faintly as he glanced anxiously toward the full-length windows. The First Daughter had shattered them so often however, that they had long since been replaced by layers of bullet- and banshee-proof glass. Long years of political courtesy stopped him from putting his hands over his ears. “And who deserves it more than you?” Mrs. Lincoln demanded, staring up at him from her five feet and two inches of height. “This young lady does appreciate the niceties.” “But right now, dear, we must talk about the wedding,” Dolley Madison put in hastily, thus earning Honest Abe’s literally everlasting gratitude by diverting the banshee’s attention. “It will be the social event of the season…a president’s daughter marrying a congressman.” “Especially when she is a banshee and he is a vampire,” Abigail muttered. “That means an evening wedding, of course,” the current First Lady put in smoothly. “We’ll have the ceremony in the Rose Garden, with dinner and dancing in the East Room. Alice Roosevelt and Lynda Bird Johnson were both married here, so it is quite a tradition.” “Dolley is checking out the rose garden right now,” the banshee bride added, in more normal tones. “I know she will have it looking just perfect.” “And if it isn’t, she will scare the living daylights out of the 190

Sanguinary Seductions gardener again,” Mrs. Adams murmured again. **** Dolley Madison did not, however, scare President O’Neill. When he saw a pretty lady with bright blue eyes, lustrous black curls and a gown that lifted, separated and even revealed her ample creamy bosom, it certainly aroused something, but that was not fear. While her husband sometimes showed up as well, he was the wizened little old man he had been when he had lived here. This made him no competition, O’Neill thought smugly, for a man like himself, with blue eyes and black curls as lively as Mrs. Madison’s own. He had, in fact, come out to the Rose Garden when he had glimpsed her from the Oval Office window in the gathering August twilight. She had smiled and waved an obvious invitation to him in return. For a moment he had, indeed, realized that a ghost was beckoning him and had reacted with a superstitious twinge of dismay. Then he remembered that he himself had lured a vampire into his bed, and with no ill effects, quite the contrary. At present, he was sharing it with a witch, although the fact that she was also his own First Lady did take the edge off things. He was planning to put it all in his memoirs, which he was sure would put Bill Clinton’s to shame. Clinton, Kennedy, even Roosevelt…not one of them had ever had sex with a vampire…although a few Republicans might argue about the witch part, where Hillary and Eleanor were concerned. Still, as heavily haunted as the White House was, no one had ever hinted that any of his predecessors might have actually gotten it on with one of the resident ghosts. Considering that Dolley’s competition was limited to Abigail Adams and Mary Todd, she was the clear choice. Even during her lifetime, she had aroused rumors that she was Thomas Jefferson’s mistress, while she was acting as his White House 191

eXtasy’s Collective Mind hostess. That made her an even more likely candidate for a return engagement. Thinking of that, O’Neill walked into the Rose Garden and toward the trees where she was waiting beside the stone wall. “Good evening, Mr. President,” she said as she gazed up at him flirtatiously with her twinkling blue eyes. “And good evening to you, Mrs. Madison,” he answered with his most beguiling grin as he kissed her slim hand. He tried hard to stare at her fingers as he did so, even though it was hard to keep his eyes away from her bodice. As who could blame him, he wondered, when it had been designed to serve as a built-in low-cut push-up bra. Since it was only a bit lighter in shade than the creamy globes it cradled, he could barely tell where one left off and the other began. “I see that you are admiring my dress,” she said with a teasing smile on her rosebud lips. “Isn’t that the same one you are wearing in your lovely Red Room portrait?” “Yes, and I often saw you looking at it,” she said. Moving closer to him, which made her look even further up, she added, “I am glad that you appreciate it.” “And isn’t that the same gold chain you are wearing around your neck?” As he reached out to finger the glittering bauble, he saw her own slim fingers close over it. Accordingly, he pulled his own hand apologetically away. “Yes, indeed, how nice of you to remember,” she said, rapidly batting her eyelashes. “It is a beautiful picture, is it not? I saw that you admired it, so I could not resist meeting you in person.” “But not half as lovely as you are,” he said and bent to kiss her fingers again. As she glanced demurely down in response, he was startled to see her heart-shaped little face frozen in rage. He pulled back in fear, suddenly remembering that she was, indeed, a ghost, and even wondering if she was there to drag him down to some even worse place than New Hampshire at primary time. Then he saw, with great relief, that she was glaring past 192

Sanguinary Seductions him to a rose bush that seemed to be drooping slightly. “Can’t those workmen do anything?” she exclaimed. “I must talk to the head gardener again.” As she vanished, presumably to go in search of the hapless horticulturalist, the president found himself feeling sorry for him. But not sorry enough to avoid another chance to meet the famously charming Dolley Madison…away from the Rose Garden, preferably. Of course, if the word got out while he was still in office, it could be a terrible scandal…if anyone believed it, that was…which no one was likely to do. He smiled to himself again at that thought. **** “Mary Margaret Finnegan and Thomas McCoy, Jr.,” the First Lady said, without much enthusiasm as she tapped her pen against the marble-topped coffee table. Her daughter’s wedding was certainly a family affair, but it was a political opportunity, too. Since those prospective guests were, respectively, a major contributor and Secretary of Defense, they were too important to omit from the guest list for the social event of the season, if not decade. In the same spirit, three months earlier the president had sent the First Daughter to the deathbeds of Mary Margaret’s husband and Secretary McCoy’s father, in her role as banshee. Never mind that the dying warriors in question had been, respectively, a draft dodger and goldbrick. Their next-of-kin were so useful to the administration, those little drawbacks had been easy to overlook. The Ambassador and Ambassadress of Romania would also be invited, naturally. The Countess Vyrdelek was a good friend of the bridegroom, which was a nice way of saying that he had been her vampiric sire, back when she was plain Tiffany Golden. She had then been an even better friend of the president’s, as his wife recalled grimly. There was no nice way of saying what that meant. She felt her thin lips pursing at the 193

eXtasy’s Collective Mind thought. Even more grimly, she pressed her lips yet further together and firmly scratched down the name of Robert E. Lee, the Speaker of the House and her husband’s most likely challenger next year. Combining his Asian-American heritage with his mythically Anglo-American name, Lee would be as formidable an opponent as his namesake had been for… “Ahem AHEM!” Too late, Evelyn realized that, as a witch, she had summoned the spirits just by thinking of them. Now she looked up to see that Mary Todd was indeed, speaking from her gilt-framed portrait beside the carved rosewood bed. “And what about your predecessors as First Lady?” She was not talking about Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Roslyn Carter or even Hillary Clinton, as the incumbent knew perfectly well. The living First Ladies would be invited as a matter of course, along with the living former presidents. Mary Todd was clearly thinking of the other kind. “Well, of course all of you are invited,” the current First lady said in her brightest tone. “There is you and Mr. Lincoln, and Dolley and James Madison, and Abigail Adams and Andrew Jackson, of course. Have I thought of everyone?” “Jim Buchanan.” “Well, I’ve never seen or heard him, but he is invited, naturally.” Briefly, she wondered why the other First Couples had elected not to return. Now, if it had been John Kennedy pulling down her sheet. She shook her head firmly to drive the tempting thought away. “Then I’ll go right down to the Red Room and do it,” she decided, rising from the padded Queen Anne chair. “I’ll write out the invitations and burn them in that marble fireplace. It’s nice to know it’s good for something, even nowadays.” “We should get them immediately that way,” Mary Todd agreed. “We all like to sit around there.” No wonder, the First Witch thought. With the red and gilt upholstery and the crimson satin walls beneath the gilded chandelier, it seemed just the place for a séance. If the ghosts 194

Sanguinary Seductions did not gather there, they should have. Downstairs, facing the marble fireplace, she raised her hands and intoned the incantation as she thrust the invitations one by one into the flames. “But you know, Mary,” she said hesitantly, biting her thin lower lip, to show how reluctant she was to say the words. “Some people are so prejudiced and ignorant…” “…that they might be frightened at the sight of us,” Mary finished for her. “Don’t worry, they will not see us.” In a more cheerful tone, she went on, “We will see each other though, so I will wear the white satin embroidered with the black stripes and purple flowers. It was imported from France, you know.” “The one on display at the Smithsonian? That will be beautiful.” “The newspapers said it cost too much, but I always say, if you buy quality, it lasts,” Mrs. Lincoln answered triumphantly. In her case, Mrs. O’Neill thought, it had certainly done just that. This particular frock had endured for 140 years. And Dolley Madison will have her bosom hanging out as always, she thought, but the living guests won’t see her. “But, Mary,” she said, folding her hands in the gesture of prayer. “I hope that you will convince Abigail not to carry her laundry into the East Room that night.” **** Under the circumstances, a priest could not possibly preside. Despite his Catholic background, not even the president bothered trying to argue that one. The bridegroom had been baptized Catholic, too, but at this point the sight of a cross was likely to make Rep. Zagorsky burst into an asthma attack, if not actual flames. The First Lady would have preferred an Episcopal minister, if only to show that she was a witch, but not a Wiccan, which was a religion unto itself. For the same reason, a Wiccan ceremony was out. As usual, the president quickly found a solution that 195

eXtasy’s Collective Mind included a political advantage. While the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had never been known to say a good word for the president and his liberal cronies, he was still delighted to be chosen for the honor of performing this White House wedding. The bridegroom might be a vampire while the bride was a banshee, but this would still be a night to remember. Few knew at the time, however, that this one would be remembered in about the same sense as the Titanic. As for the bridesmaids, that decision was simpler. Maeve chose her sister banshees as a way of bringing them to the public’s attention in a positive way. Knowing that too many Irish of all descriptions had been leaving his party recently, the president was glad to honor his Hibernian heritage this way. After much searching, his aides had even found banshee who also boasted Black, Jewish, Asian and Hispanic ancestry, respectively. The 15 young ladies were invited to choose their own escorts and had little difficulty doing so. It was, indeed, the social event of the decade. That made it even easier to select the bridesmaids’ dresses. Everyone knew that the banshee wore green gowns and the First Banshee had brought that color into the height of fashion again. For the coming June prom season, in fact, green had been the new black. The bridesmaids’ gowns were emerald satin with wide skirts and puff sleeves. This look did not have to be brought into fashion because it had never gone out, even though other bridesmaids throughout the world must have been hoping that it would. As the literally crowning touch, their hair had been done by Nadia so that it looked as though it had fallen naturally into those masses of curls and waves. That look had taken an hour per customer to achieve and had helped to make this former vampire bride into Washington’s most popular beautician. White roses from the Rose Garden would help make the evening truly memorable. Not, as it turned out, that the occasion would need any help in being remembered. 196

Sanguinary Seductions To show that the bridegroom’s particular ethnic group had not been forgotten, a vampire named Simona was chosen to play the famed grand piano with its gilded American Eagle legs. The menu selection was even easier. Roast beef would be prepared for every guest’s taste with Irish potatoes on the side. The extra rare, not to say blood rare, portions would be especially popular among the groom’s friends. The ceremony started well enough, with the Marine Corp Band playing Here Comes the Bride and the roses filling the air with fragrance. The bridesmaids were just as lovely and the bride was the most beautiful of all with her red-gold hair falling onto her high, round lace collar. To everyone’s great relief, the Chief Justice even refrained from proclaiming the vital importance of the traditional family consisting of one man and one woman as he pronounced them man and wife. If he secretly doubted that the bridegroom was a man…well, he still had some social graces. Those guests who knew the house was haunted kept glancing at the garden in the hopes of seeing Dolley Madison standing over her precious flowers. Since she was so well known to haunt the Rose Garden, few of them were surprised to see her there. She gave the incumbent First Lady a few anxious moments, worrying what would happen if someone disturbed so much as a rose petal. But since everyone carefully avoided Dolley and her flowers, she remained a smiling presence in the shadows. Then the party came through the West Wing and into the East Room. So far, still so good. As usual, Simona was playing the love theme from Titanic, as she always did when hired to perform at weddings, proms, anniversaries, Satanic rituals and other special occasions. It fit in perfectly here…too well, alas, as things turned out. **** Then the guests started milling around the open bar and taking 197

eXtasy’s Collective Mind hors d’oevres from the silver trays. They were heavy on the extra-rare roast beef, of course. For the Russian ambassador, a closed bar might have been a good idea. He was holding his third vodka-with-more-vodka when he went in search of the First Lady’s female bodyguard. “You must be Ylenia Vyrdelek,” he said, beaming as he took her free hand, ignoring her male colleague’s angry glares. She seemed alarmed for a moment, but was obviously reassured by his fatherly round face beneath his wispy white hairs. “I believe we met at a reception given by the Countess Vyrdelek,” he said, without releasing her cold, dry hand from his hot, moist grip. “Of course, Mr. Ambassador,” she replied. “I know she was your sister bride. Or should I say your comrade?” Jerking her hand away from him, she showed him, for an instant, the red-hot glare of the vampire. “I am not a Communist, if that is what you are asking,” she retorted. “The Secret Service cleared me of all suspicion.” “But we know that back in 1936, you were in the Communist Student League at Bucharest University,” he whispered, leaning toward her. “I thought that you might have met Comrade Stalin himself, so you can tell me what the Great Soviet Leader was really like.” “Comrade Stalin was a pig!” she exclaimed. “I know because I dated him…once. I had performed a dance in his honor and he had somehow heard about it and invited me to the Kremlin. You can imagine how flattered I was. Then he threw bread rolls and orange peels at me, right at the table. And then, when he got even drunker, he tried to drag me under it. Believe me, I was no Communist after that.” “Well, we have all denounced Stalin,” he answered uncertainly. “We know he did bad things. But what was his true thinking?” “His true thinking…” she answered, with the vampire’s red glare that would have terrified anyone who was not hell-bent on learning more about the Great Soviet Leader. As it was, he 198

Sanguinary Seductions leaned toward her eagerly as she went on, “His thinking…as far as I could see…was all about finding ways to get girls into bed. By throwing bread rolls at them! I tell you, he was a pig!” “And that is why you joined the decadent aristocracy?” “Gladly!” she all but shouted. “Count Vyrdelek never threw orange peels. And he looked very good to me after the Great Soviet Leader.” It might not have been such a sore subject, she realized, except that it reminded her how Stalin had killed Trotsky. Would I have taken a bullet for him? She wondered…even though she would have had the added incentive of pissing Stalin off. Matt Mader broke into her thoughts by asking sharply, “How well did you know Comrade Stalin anyway?” “None of your business!” she retorted, in an even colder tone. “I have gotten full security clearance and that should be enough for you. It was seventy years ago, Josef Stalin is dead and there is no Soviet Union any more. Not even Congressman Zagorsky would be questioning me about that, and he was a Polish-American. Until he became a Transylvanian-American, of course.” “Maybe someone should be doing just that,” Agent Mader answered, glaring down at her. By now, he was angry enough to add, “It’s bad enough having Secret Service agents who are foreign-born, female vampires, without their having been with Stalin, too.” Left speechless with fury, she finally managed to say, “I have not been with Comrade Stalin, in the way you mean, because he was a vulgar pig and a male chauvinist pig, too. Obviously, he had nothing on you!” And she turned on her high heel and headed for the nearest tray of rare roast beef. **** Heads were turning toward them and their raised voices. Dolley Madison could hear them even in the Rose Garden. Ever the gracious hostess, she was used to breaking up brawls before they started. Of course, she realized that she 199

eXtasy’s Collective Mind might frighten some of the guests merely by appearing…but everyone would be a lot more upset by a screaming match in the East Room. That seemed all too close to happening now as the Countess Vyrdelek started racing to rescue her former sister bride from the guard. Dolley Madison immediately appeared between them. “I believe that Mrs. Lincoln may also have known some Communards,” she said hastily as she shimmered into view. “She was in Europe during the Paris Commune. Shall I ask her to join us?” Just as she had feared, several people screamed and backed away, overturning the shrimp-cocktail sauce onto the pure white linen tablecloths. But the current president was not that easily frightened off. Before the panic could spread, he left the bridal group and strode firmly toward the disturbance, Scotch and soda in hand. “Mrs. Madison, how nice to see you again,” he said, taking her hand. He neglected to give it back again as he stared at her exposed and uplifted bosom. “And it’s always a pleasure to see you, Mr. President,” she replied, lowering her eyes demurely, thus sending her black curls falling enticingly around her shoulders. Did her pink little rosebud lips linger over the word pleasure? She could tell from his sly smile that he hoped so. “I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough, boy!” **** They jumped apart when they saw the unmistakable lantern jaw and white shock of hair that made Andrew Jackson one of the most recognizable presidents, which was mostly due to the new outsized portrait on the twenty-dollar. “It makes me look like a rock star on a poster,” he often grumbled…but his tone made it obvious that he adored looking just that way. The current incumbent glanced anxiously back at the bar, long enough to notice with relief that the boy was Caucasian. 200

Sanguinary Seductions Tennessee’s favorite son could not be expected to show modern sensitivities, where ethnic groups were concerned, especially in his current condition, but the current incumbent had to do so, no matter what his condition was. O’Neill had noticed with a shudder that Old Hickory was drinking straight from the bottle and holding it with one hand as though it had been a jug. He just wished that the Great Liberator would show up soon so the two late presidents could spend the rest of the evening swapping dirty jokes. Old Abe had such an extensive repertoire, they could have stood there all night. Some of his favorites were still told, too… “Tonight, wife, you will sleep with the mayor.” **** Later that evening, after the election returns are in… “Where are you going at this hour, wife?” “To his house.” No matter how often he had heard it, the current president still had to smile at that one. His grin faded as he realized that, in Old Abe’s absence, he would have to handle the problem himself. “President Jackson!” O’Neill exclaimed, almost racing toward the spirit with his hands held out, in the hopes that his predecessor would return the gesture long enough to put the bottle down. Instead, the Hero of New Orleans took another swig, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and demanded, “What in tarnation is she doing here?” “I was talking to President O’Neill,” Mrs. Madison responded, in a defensive tone. “And from what I’ve seen around here in the Lincoln Bedroom, that isn’t all he wants to do with you. Have you heard that dirt about her and Thomas Jefferson?” he demanded, glaring at his successor from under his bushy white brows. “He has heard it and does not believe it,” Dolley answered 201

eXtasy’s Collective Mind firmly. The current president nodded in eager agreement, even though he was starting to hope that the scandalous stories were true. “He’d better not!” Jackson growled. “I shot and killed a man to defend my Rachel’s honor and I’ll do the same for a war heroine. Do you know that she would not leave the burning White House until she had cut Washington’s picture out of its frame?” “I heard about it, yes,” the president answered faintly. “So you know why I will defend Mrs. Madison.” “Isn’t Mr. Madison here, too?” O’Neill asked in his most casual tone. “No one has seen him,” Jackson answered with a shrug. “But as long as I am here, I will defend his lady’s good name.” “Oh, my God, he’s got a gun!” The president sprang back in alarm as he heard his bodyguards’ cry. Indeed, before the president’s eyes, a pistol had indeed suddenly materialized in his predecessor’s fist. His Secret Service agents did not hesitate. Ghost or not, major historical figure or no, Andrew Jackson was a threat to the man they protected. Two of them pushed President O’Neill to the floor and piled on top of him, while the third attempted to do the same to the late President Jackson. “I want to challenge him to a duel, you varmints!” Old Hickory roared. “I would not shoot a man in cold blood. I would even give him the first shot.” When they failed to listen, he vanished from beneath their hands and materialized again beside the grand piano. Rising to the occasion when she saw Andrew Jackson beside her, Simona started pounding out The Battle of New Orleans. As a vampire herself, she could gaze on a disturbed spirit without even missing a note. The ten banshees who had been dancing to the love songs came over to ask why the tempo had changed. Seeing the fallen hero of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Creek War, they burst into shrieking that shattered the glassware, splattering even more cocktail sauce across the 202

Sanguinary Seductions tables and onto the floor. “Ochone, ochone, ochone!” they cried. Wincing at the clamor he had caused, Old Hickory disappeared. The lamenting started to die down until Abe Lincoln approached to see if he could help with Mary trailing behind him. Naturally, that started that ear-splitting tribute all over again. **** The First Banshee, who was also the bride, wailed even more loudly as she lifted her hoop skirts and ran from the room…but for a different reason this time. Ignoring her duty to mourn for the late, great president, she was sobbing that everyone had ruined her wedding. The groom raced after her into the Green Room where she hurled herself onto the greenand-cream striped sofa and buried her face in her hands. Even there, she scented the harsh lye soap odor that was filling the East Room. “Oh, no!” she howled, at such full banshee strength that even her vampire groom pulled back. He even started crossing himself before he remembered his current situation just in time. Going to the door, she saw her worst fears confirmed. Abigail Adams was walking through the East Room, pulling up the soiled linens, apparently without knowing or caring that she was walking straight through the guests while sending the Clinton chinaware crashing to the hardwood floor. The Clintons themselves, with the other former presidents and first ladies, had long since been surrounded by their own Secret Service details. They had rushed them from the room the moment they had heard the fatal word gun! United by the emergency, Mrs. O’Neill’s own bodyguards soon followed. They were practically flying away with her…and they would have been flying literally, if the vampire had not be warned to keep up appearances at all costs. The other guests raced toward the entrance hall, which had become the exit, crashing over the standing lamps as their evening 203

eXtasy’s Collective Mind shoes skidded on the marble floor. Their screams drowned out even the banshee as they saw another spirit racing down the wrought iron stairs. This was the White House’s least friendly ghost…a young British soldier who ran across the marble floor waving his torch and shouting that he would burn the whole place down, so he would, and that bitch Dolley Madison, too, after throwing her to the floor and having his way with her. The last to remain was the Speaker of the House, who was also the only one who seemed to be smiling. **** “Vampires who dated Josef Stalin guarding the First Lady! Witches, ghosts and banshees! That’s who we have in the White House. Now they’ve thrown it into turmoil and the East Room is completely destroyed. If that didn’t tell us that it’s time to call a halt, nothing ever will. That’s why we call our movement Back to Normal.” “The ghosts were seen before we even knew that vampires existed and long before we elected George Zagorsky,” Cassandra Bailey replied mildly. “We don’t know that,” the Speaker of the House responded to her while staring straight at the TV cameras. “They might have been mere rumors until the First Lady raised them…or the First Witch, I should say.” “I think First Lady is more appropriate,” his blonde hostess said reproachfully. “And I think First Witch is just fine,” her partner Buck Patrick snapped back. This might have been startling to anyone but a Dueling Duo fan who watched their TV shout show religiously. He could more aptly have been called her sparring partner. The Dueling Duo’s audience always assumed, based on long experience, that whatever she said, he would say…or shout…the opposite. “Of course, the events at Maeve O’Neill’s wedding were 204

Sanguinary Seductions regrettable,” Cassandra went on, ignoring the fact that not one gentleman or lady of the press regretted the uproar in the least, these two definitely included. “But that does not reflect on all paranormal minorities. Ordinary humans have behaved very badly at weddings, too, even in the White House. Why, at Andrew Jackson’s own inauguration—” “His supporters tore the place apart. We know, we know,” Buck Patrick retorted impatiently, shaking his balding head in scorn. “But they did not cause a panic.” “Well, perhaps people panic because of their prejudices. And who says that the paranormal minorities can’t be as normal as anyone?” Rep. Lee was struck silent for a moment, obviously having failed to anticipate that question. Finally, he said, “Well, if they can be, they didn’t prove it at the White House this week.” “So what should we do about them?” “How about exorcism?” Patrick sneered. He had meant it as a joke and was rather dismayed to see his guest gazing at him thoughtfully. “That might be a good idea,” Rep. Lee said. “Of course, we want to keep Abraham Lincoln with us…and Andrew Jackson, too, of course.” Having this placated both the Northern and Southern regions, he went on in the same measured tone, “But they must be suffering here, being kept from their eternal reward. It may be the greatest gift we can give them…to help them find the peace they want so desperately.” **** “Tarnation!” Andrew Jackson shouted, shaking his fist at the television set that now perched on the Red Room’s marble mantel. “I’ll help that little varmint find peace on the dueling ground. We’ll be a real dueling duo.” “You can’t call him out, Andrew,” Abigail Adams pointed out. “You are a ghost, remember? He can’t kill you…and I’m not even sure you could kill him. Besides, if you did, he might join us.” She shuddered at the thought. 205

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “But exorcism? As though we were some kind of evil spirits? Who in Hell does he think he is!” “Well, if they want to spew me, they have to chew me,” the former railsplitter drawled. Seeing Abigail’s blank stare, he went on, “Excuse me, m’am, that’s frontier talk. It means…” and his gaunt face went grim…”Old Abe here ain’t that easy to get rid of.” **** It would be impossible, if the First Lady had her way. “Jacqueline Kennedy devoted herself to restoring the White House with relics of our history. Now that we have seen and heard and even spoken with its human legacy, are we to throw them out?” she demanded, her well-bred voice trembling with unaccustomed indignation as she spoke to the press. “While I preside over the White House, no exorcist will set foot here.” “The White House is the people’s house,” Rep. Lee said in response. “Every resident must bow to the people’s will.” Both felt sure it would end in a constitutional crisis…but they reckoned without Marlene Lynch. Small, Southern and social, the curly-haired little blonde was already well known as a Washington volunteer. That made her a natural candidate for a post as a White House docent, leading the guided tours. On the application form, she gave the address of her Arlington apartment. She did not mention the 150-year-old house in New Orleans, which was a much more appropriate location for a practicing witch. As Evelyn O’Neill would have felt certain, Ms. Lynch was a pretty wicked one. She certainly was sneaky. And she was absolutely certain that the White House ghosts, like all of those other paranormal minorities, were loyal to the liberals. Her first tour started routinely enough, with her saying, “We are now entering the Red Room, which Mrs. Kennedy refurnished in the empire style of the early 1800s. Notice the richness of the gilded moldings, chandelier and picture frames , 206

Sanguinary Seductions including the one holding Dolley Madison’s portrait. Also notice the chairs and sofas upholstered in red silk with a gilded starburst design. The effect is pure elegance.” The school children listened in respectful silence, until a ten-year-old burst out, “It’s kind of scary, too.” “Indeed it is, young man,” Marlene beamed down. Her voice fell to a dramatic hush as she went on, “No wonder Mary Todd Lincoln held séances here, trying to speak with her dead son. Now, of course, we could hold a séance to contact her.” There was an uncertain spurt of laughter from the students and teachers alike as both looked uncomfortably around. They could not see that the lady in question with her friends was gazing at them with almost equal interest. “Some people, of course, would rather hold an exorcism,” Marlene went on with no change in her high, sweet, Southern tones. “If they did, it would go something like this.” Pulling a vial of holy water spiked with garlic from her floral-printed, quilted-cotton Vera Bradley bag, she shook it into the air while chanting, “Leave this house, spirits, and trouble us no more. Leave this house, spirits, and trouble us no more. Leave this house, spirits, and trouble us no more, youall. And don’t you-all come back quick, now.” Patriotism and good manners had united to stop her from calling them evil spirits, but the effect was the same. While the guests felt only a slight breeze, the residents were whirled around by a windstorm. It would have sent the ladies, at least, into the marble fireplace and straight up the chimney if Lincoln had not grasped his wife’s arm with one hand and Abigail’s with the other while bending over to shield them both. Jackson embraced Dolley with both arms. **** The First Witch heard the commotion, even upstairs in the Lincoln Bedroom, where she was just stepping into her skirt. Barely stopping to pull on her powder-blue cashmere sweater set, she quickly ran to the Red Room and came upon another 207

eXtasy’s Collective Mind witch who was obviously of the wicked persuasion. The problem, of course…which was also the dilemma that her husband faced constantly…was that both sides were convinced that their opponents were the wicked ones. Marlene therefore turned her water pistol toward the First Lady the moment she came through the door. Her bodyguard was flying in behind her, though…literally, this time…and the moment she saw the hostile gesture, Ylenia threw herself in front of the target. The hiss of steam was followed by her scream of agony as the water left an angry red burn spreading across her upper chest as exposed by her low-cut blouse. It soon reached her bare white neck, so naked and vulnerable beneath her shortcropped dark hair. One sniff told the onlookers that the holy water had been mixed with garlic, thus transforming it into a vampire WMD. Of course, it was fresh-squeezed garlic, too, not the powdered kind. Marlene was still a New Orleans cook, after all. “Ylenia!” the First Lady cried as she raced toward her. “What has that woman done to you? That holy water and garlic would not have hurt a witch…only a vampire.” “But it should banish those ghosts, sugar,” Marlene replied. They were not, however, the bodyguard’s concern. She was starting to smile as the First Lady pulled off her cardigan and used it to wipe the paranormally polluted water away. “I did it,” the bodyguard whispered, gazing up from the great black pool of her eyes. “I took a vial of holy water and garlic for the First Lady.” “Indeed you did,” Evelyn O’Neill said, using the same sweater to wipe away her tears. “George Zagorsky would say you were just like Clint Eastwood in In the Line of Fire.” **** Ylenia’s partner charged in right after her. At first he did not even take the time to look her way. Their charge had been threatened and his fellow agent herself had 208

Sanguinary Seductions been injured in the line of fire…or in the line of holy water and garlic, in this case, but it amounted to the same thing. He jumped on Marlene, grasping her wrist and spilling the liquid into the carpet. “Ha ha ha, you-all,” she shrieked from the floor. “Do you think any judge would send me to prison for splashing the First Lady?” As he struggled with the assailant, Matt Mader obviously hoped he would, and preferably to the stake after that. Alerted by the sounds of the struggle, five other bodyguards charged into the room. They dragged Marlene Lynch from under Matt Mader and out through the door. “And get the children out of here, too,” the First Lady ordered. Having stood there staring open-mouthed throughout the entire incident, the youngsters now whined in disappointment. This was even more exciting than the Air and Space Museum. As two Secret Service agents led them away, the youngsters glanced back to see the love scene being played out before them. With his mission accomplished, Matt Mader had raced to Ylenia’s side and thrown himself down beside her. Mrs. O’Neill tactfully retreated to the mantel. There Mary Lincoln was sniffling into her lace handkerchief at the sight of the crew-cut agent with tears rolling incongruously down his thin, grim face as he gripped his partner’s hand. “Ylenia!” he wept. “You can’t leave us!” “I’m not going to,” she assured him. “But I don’t want you looking at me…my neck is going to be scarred all the way to my chin.” And she feebly lifted her delicate throat to show him. “Do you think I care?” he demanded. “I’m thanking God that you are a vampire now and that wicked old witch did not kill you.” “He did not mean any offense, Mrs. O’Neill,” Ylenia assured her, raising her head feebly from the floor. “He certainly has nothing against good witches like yourself.” She 209

eXtasy’s Collective Mind would have said white witches, but stopped herself hastily. She had not taken all those hours of sensitivity training for nothing. “I know he does not,” her charge replied. “He has always been the soul of courtesy.” With a thin smile, she added, “If he would insult the First Lady, even without intending to that way, it shows how far he’s been carried away…by his feelings for you.” That made Mrs. Lincoln sob even more loudly. This was better than reading Waverley. **** Once the storm had passed and the living beings had gone, the spirits sank bank into their richly upholstered seats. “Tarnation!” Andrew Jackson exclaimed. “This is war! And I will shoot that little varmint who sent that woman here. Because you know he’s going to try again.” He grasped his pistol for emphasis. “As I told you, I’m not sure you can shoot him,” Dolley Madison reminded him. Then she added, much more slowly, “But I think there is something I can do.” The way her eyelashes batted and her bosom heaved, no one had much doubt what it was. Good Puritan that she still was, Abigail Adams opened her mouth to object, but quickly closed it again. That’s how desperate the situation was. **** Since Mary Todd made her home in the Lincoln Bedroom, she was the natural choice to take their message to the current occupant, Evelyn O’Neill. “It sounds like a good plan to me,” the First Lady said as she unscrewed her pearl earrings. She no longer bothered to look at Mrs. Lincoln’s portrait as she spoke to her, since she was so used to having her around. “But won’t Mr. Lee be suspicious when we invite him here?” 210

Sanguinary Seductions “What if he is?” the portrait answered with a shrug. “No one turns down a White House invitation, no matter how much they hate you. Believe me, I know.” Evelyn did not have to think long before coming up with a way to make sure Rep. Lee did just that. As she wrote out the invitation, her green eyes glittered in a way that resembled Marlene Lynch’s. She was close to purring like the black rescue cat that curled around her ankle. Reminded of Onyx, she reached down to pet her. Onyx was the only one left of the herd that had roamed through the house a few months earlier. Within a week, the White House would be taking in a new shipment and they would probably not stay here much longer. Everyone wanted to adopt one of the First Lady’s protégés, no matter how unpopular black cats had been before. She had brought twin sweater sets, pearls and ponytails back into fashion the same way. The First Lady smiled to herself again. She was certainly in a position to influence people and planned to take full advantage of that privilege. In the meantime, she would make good use of Onyx, too. **** She realized, once again, how great her influence was when she swept into crowded East Room. People still fought for invitations there, even if meant fighting their way out again, past screaming ghosts waving torches. It’s true that the guests glanced anxiously around, but no spirits were in sight. Of course not, the First Lady told herself, with a smile that might have made even Onyx feel uncomfortable. After pausing at the door to let the crowd take in her simple beige gown with its sequined jacket, she glided forward to greet them with her bodyguard in tow. Stopping at Rep. Lee’s table, she leaned over him far enough so that her blonde waves brushed his arm. “If I might see you alone for a moment,” she whispered, “in the Red 211

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Room.” In his eagerness to follow her, he almost knocked over his wine glass into the floral centerpiece, making them both wince at the prospect of Abigail Adams suddenly showing up again to clear the tablecloth away. Instead, Evelyn O’Neill smoothly caught the crystal bud vase just in time. One moment before they entered the parlor, Onyx was sitting on one of the red-and-gold sofas. One instant later, Dolley Madison sat in her place. To the Speaker’s great surprise, she fell to her knees and rubbed her round pink cheeks against his blue serge trouser leg. Her face pressed the fabric upward, exposing his bare skin to her caress. Surprise turned quickly to delight as she kissed and licked it. As she did so, it seemed to him that she was literally purring. She might have been a spirit, he realized, and probably a pretty evil one. He was only a man, though…and she was the ghost of Dolley Madison, which really would be something for his memoirs. Falling to his knees beside her, he pulled her into his arms. Soon he was more surprised than ever when her long, thin, pink tongue entered his open mouth. He had had no idea of how long, thin and pink it was. That same tantalizing tongue flicked in and out of his mouth, then withdrew entirely. He was about to protest when it ran down his chin and onto his chest. Unzipping his trousers, he gently pushed her famous curly head even further down. Now her tongue wound all the way around him, in a way that was more startling yet. As it did, he heard a sound that could only be described as a purr. When he had finished and her lace handkerchief was delicately dabbing at her rosebud lips, he looked hard for something to say. Finally he hit on, “Well, Hello Dolley.” Not surprisingly, she did not recognize the pop cultural reference. “But you want to say Goodbye, Dolley,” she pouted. “You wanted to exorcise me.” “I just didn’t understand the situation,” he quickly assured 212

Sanguinary Seductions her. “I would never want to send away America’s heritage. In fact, I’d like to come back here to enjoy it.” “Whenever you like,” she murmured, in the same soft purr. “But you must go back to your friends now.” “Just for now,” he assured her as he walked toward the door. After closing it behind him, he opened it on impulse. To his disappointment, he saw that the room was now empty, except for a black cat curled up on the sofa, blinking steadily at him. Later that night he did see Dolley again, as he left through the Rose Garden. She was busy making sure no one came too near her rose bushes and did not even seem to recognize him when he smiled and waved. He put that down to her natural discretion and decided to be grateful for it. The charms of Dolley Madison—or a reasonable feline facsimile—were not his only reason for the dramatic reversal he made on the House floor. There were also the piles of mail that were clogging his aides’ desks, answering machines and computers alike, protesting against this wanton destruction of our national heritage. If he wanted to stay in the White House, we should not only make him welcome but beg for his advice. So said constituents from all regions, varying only on whether the “he” in question was Old Abe or Old Hickory. “I am man enough to admit I was wrong,” the Speaker said. “And I was wrong to think that we should drive our good and great past leaders from our midst…especially since we would have had to do it by the unholy practice of witchcraft.” Even in defeat, he managed to take a dig at the First Lady. She was gracious enough in victory to ignore it. **** The following evening, she proved that she could be more gracious yet…or so the president assumed at the time. “You turned the stray cat into Dolley Madison?” he said, with an admiring laugh, as they undressed for bed. Some 213

eXtasy’s Collective Mind people from Mrs. Madison’s own era would have remarked that was not much of a stretch, he thought, but stopped himself from saying it aloud. You never knew who or what was listening and his own First Lady could have justly said that some of her best friends were ghosts. “But what if she turns back again at…well, at just the wrong moment?” he asked. “Well,” Evelyn said, lying back against the headboard, with a smile that was almost feline in itself. “That would be very embarrassing, would it not? He could never explain it to anyone.” “And could you turn your pets into another First Lady?” Her smile faded, but only for a moment, as she sensed the reason for his question. “Of course, dear,” she said. “I could even show her in the prime of her youth.” “Not Rachel Jackson, though. I don’t want Andrew Jackson chasing after me with that pistol again. I’ve never even been in a duel.” “Hardly! He might shoot me, too, because he’d realize I was to blame. And not Mary Todd or any of the people we know.” Glancing up at Mrs. Lincoln’s portrait, he was vaguely disappointed. She would certainly not be boring and even more surely would be something to talk about. Then he looked away quickly, afraid that either Mary or Evelyn would see the glint in his eye. “Not that you aren’t more than enough for me,” he quickly assured the latter as he turned away from the mirror. “But what a thing to put in my memoirs.” “What a thing indeed,” she said. “So if you go to the Red Room tomorrow night, you will find a special treat.” “But it won’t be as great as the one I want right now,” he assured her as he climbed under the sensuous cotton sheet. Reaching through his pajama fly, she said, “You feel pretty great right now.” He was obviously so excited, he did not even take the time 214

Sanguinary Seductions to tie her to the headboard. The thought of sex with another First Lady had aroused him too urgently for that. Once again, she smiled as she put her delicate white arms around his broad brown shoulders and welcomed his weight onto her. The evening would not, she was sure, go as he had planned, but it would certainly be yet another night to remember. **** Edith Wilson? He wondered with his hand on the Red Room door. Martha Washington? George could not have married her for her money alone. Or even, dare he think it, Jackie Kennedy? Many First Ladies had been known for their youthful beauty and he was eager to see if the reports were true. He could hardly wait to see whose image was waiting for him. He was not disappointed. This lady was not beautiful, true, but she was truly charming. Her lips were soft and her eyes were gentle, beneath the brown tresses piled onto her head in a way that challenged a man to pull them down again. That fetching style must have been in fashion around 1900… 1900? Doing the mental arithmetic, and remembering whom she had married in 1905, he pulled back almost in horror. “Eleanor Roosevelt!” he exclaimed. “I can’t have sex with you!” “Why not?” she demanded, with a pout. “I am no Jackie Kennedy, but Franklin did choose to marry me.” “But you are Eleanor Roosevelt,” he repeated helplessly. “The First Lady of the World. And I am a good liberal. I could not take advantage of you that way. It would be like having sex…sorry, I meant making love…with…” “I know, the Virgin Mary,” she said, with a sigh. “Or the Statue of Liberty. Does it matter that I am really a stray cat named Licorice?” “Not really. You still look like Eleanor Roosevelt. So please 215

eXtasy’s Collective Mind excuse me, Madame.” As he fled the room, he wondered if Evelyn could really have imagined that he would have sex with her. He decided it was better not to ask. **** This still left the problem of her two bodyguards. Following the touching moment in the Red Room, the First Lady had felt sure that they would follow her daughter and son-in-law into inter-species wedded bliss, thus providing one more argument in favor of the practice. To her disappointment, the next day they were back to treating each other with cold formality. The only change seemed to be that Ylenia was wearing a turtle-neck jersey to cover her injured throat. The situation was so frustrating, she called Agent Mader aside to ask him about it. “I see that you and Agent Vyrdelek are back on your old footing,” she said. While his pale grey eyes told her clearly that that was none of her business, his words showed his usual cold courtesy. “We were never anything more than professional colleagues,” he said. “I would have been just as concerned for any fellow agent who was injured in the line of duty.” “Of course you would,” she assured him. “But…it did seem to me that your feelings for her were somewhat more personal than that.” “I am sorry that I gave that impression,” he said, through tight, thin lips. “Even if they had been…I am just an ordinary Secret Service agent, as everyone knows. I must seem pretty dull to someone who had dated Josef Stalin.” “Well, of course, that is all your personal business,” the First Lady answered hastily. “I won’t keep you any longer.” As she walked away though, it was to go in search of a male black cat this time. Charcoal was too scruffy, mangy, old and mean to be 216

Sanguinary Seductions adopted. He always bit the hand that fed him and any other one he could find, to the point where she had started wondering why she even kept him around. Now, she felt sure that he was about to earn his Purina Cat Chow and might even warrant a can of Fancy Feast. He was suited perfectly to her purpose. The following evening, his eyes were as piercing as ever, and his hair was still shot with grey. Now, however, it sprouted only on top of his head and above his lower lip, in the luxuriant mass that had won him the nickname of Uncle Moustache. “Would you like anything else to eat, Mr. Chairman?” the First Witch asked, from her chair on the other side of the clawfoot table. Soon there would be nothing left on the silver tray between them, since he was shoving the rolls and oranges through his lips with both of his heavy hands and chasing them with great gulps of vodka. Between his noisy bites and swallows, he puffed on his pipe, enveloping them both in clouds of foul smoke. “Nyet!” he answered, with a nasty smirk that he seemed to regard as an irresistibly charming smile…having formed that opinion at a time when he could have sent anyone to Siberia for merely suggesting otherwise. “I only want for you to come here and sit down beside me,” he added, in a tone that suggested she could still be sent to Siberia for refusing. He patted the chair for emphasis, with a broad wink of his black eyes. “It seems that that old friend of mine is not coming.” “Oh, but she is,” she assured him. “I asked her to be here at 6:30 sharp and it is 6:28 right now.” If I can only hold out for two more minutes, she thought desperately, as her guest reached across the table for her hand. And I only hope that Ylenia will appreciate what I am doing for her. She only took a vial of holy water laced with garlic for me…I am enduring a Soviet dictator who is dead and dead drunk, besides. To her great relief, her agents were as punctual as ever. 217

eXtasy’s Collective Mind They entered the Red Room just as the gilded clock on the mantel was striking the half hour. “Ylenia!” Josef Stalin cried, leaping to his feet and holding out both hands to her, ignoring the capitalist lickspittle lackey who stood glowering angrily beside her. “Let’s have a kiss for your old comrade.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her into a clumsy bear hug. His chestful of unearned medals scratched her face, while his pipe tobacco drove her supersensitive senses close to nausea. “Get your hands off me, you peasant pig!” she cried, punching him in the Order of Lenin, which dangled over his heart. “Even if you were still the Party Chairman, I would not have to put up with that from you!” “Oh, no?” he exclaimed, and planted a heavy kiss on her cheek. If he had expected her to melt into his arms, he was doomed to disappointment. He was also doomed to have the wiry American grab him by his pudgy shoulders and fling him out of the room. When he tried to push back, Ylenia distracted him by throwing orange peels. A moment later, Charcoal the cat was scratching to be let back in. His mistress decided to let him yowl, for fear that he would turn into the late Communist Party Chairman again. “You really don’t want him at all, do you?” Matt demanded. “Want him?” Ylenia cried. “How could I want him? I only agreed to meet him because he was Josef Stalin and I was a loyal Communist at the time. When I saw him here, I realized all over again that he was always just a pig. I just wish he would show up in front of those Russian people who still call him the Great Soviet Leader. They would soon learn better, too.” “But they say that power is sexy.” “But pigs are not. Except to other pigs, maybe.” “Then you would prefer an ordinary man like Agent Mader?” the First Lady murmured. “Ordinary?” she cried. “He faced down a wicked witch for me and fought off one of the world’s most powerful dictators. There is nothing ordinary about him. He is ten times the man 218

Sanguinary Seductions that Stalin ever was.” “Then…do you think you might want to go out with me for dinner tonight?” he asked. Remembering her situation, he added hastily, “For rare roast beef, of course.” For him to say that in front of the First Lady was like any other man declaring his passionate, undying love. Which really could be undying, as Evelyn realized, if his sweetheart had anything to say about it. And even if she didn’t…well, they could still be another model inter-species pair. Mrs. Lincoln obviously agreed. Standing by the mantel, she was sniffling again…this time, happily. It was as good as though Rebecca had gotten to marry Ivanhoe. **** “Of course there are no ghosts in this house,” the First Daughter’s mother assured her. “If there were, I would know it. That’s why you brought me here. Besides, dear, remember you are a banshee. Ghosts are afraid of you. And George, of course,” she added with a nod and smile toward her son-inlaw. “Shucks, ahm just a country boy,” he replied, with a shy grin in return. “Ah can’t scare anyone.” “All our opponents are afraid of you,” the First Witch responded tactfully. “When they are in the voting booth especially.” “And the public loves us,” their Realtor put in, as she unlocked the front door. “We have gone from a foul German species to the hottest sex symbol. Just look at all those erotic ebooks. We have almost caught up with bisexual Highlanders and we are way ahead of AM-FM cowboys.” “That’s BDSM cowboys,” Maeve murmured. “Or maybe AC-DC. Or both.” “And we have also become the model minority.” As a blue-eyed blond from Romania, she would not have been commonly described as a minority person. But as a vampire, she certainly qualified. And, as she quickly told them, 219

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the home seller did, too…an erotic minority, that was. “Do you mean, she is another vampire, like us?” asked the First Lady’s bodyguard. “She is what they call a dominatrix. For that reason, her house has many of the things you need…like a large full basement.” As a sister vampire, she saw no reason to add that it had plenty of room for a coffin. “You also have privacy, with this half-acre lot,” she added, turning toward the bride. Again, she tactfully refrained from mentioning why a banshee needed so much distance from her neighbors…because her mournful shrieking would reach almost that far. “And that will give you security, too,” remarked the First Lady’s bodyguard. Having shared Count Vyrdelek with Crina the Realtor as a sister bride, she was glad to lend her a hand…proving, once again, the importance of contacts in her profession. “It also has just the right image,” Crina said. “That brick Colonial exterior…it simply cries out American Tradition and practically announces that a congressman lives inside. With a member of the president’s family. “Now,” she added as she led them into the entrance hall, “you see the living and dining rooms on either side, so your guests can walk right through the hall. Or glide through, as the case may be.” “And what about the bedrooms?” the bride asked, her fair, freckled skin blushing as she leaned against her husband’s side. “Four of those with three baths and two powder rooms,” the Realtor answered proudly. “Of course they include a master suite, with its own private bath. Including a whirlpool Jacuzzi tub.” Having listened with only polite interest to the listing of other features, George’s eyes lit up at the mention of that whirlpool tub. Obviously, he was imagining himself with his bride there, perhaps straddling him as the warm water whirled around them both. 220

Initiation Jade Marqueen fter she awakened at dusk, a strange compulsion called her to this place. The people gathered under the red glow of the club’s neon sign Sanguine did not protest her advance past them, but their talk died down to whispers. The doorman, wrapped in tight leather, leaned against the wall, glaring at the hopefuls lingering outside. Somewhere inside her, she was still bound by humanity, so she stopped at the edge of the velvet rope. He looked her up and down, taking it slow, making up his mind about her. When his attention returned to her face, she caught a hint of humor in his eyes and a tiny quirk of a smile at the edge of his lips. Uncertain what he found amusing, she crossed her arms and found soft flannel under her finger tips. She harbored a weakness for mortal affectations and wore pajamas to sleep. Now she stood outside one of the city’s hottest clubs in sky blue pajamas printed with fluffy white clouds. His mouth broke into a lazy grin. “You’re welcome in my bed anytime, sweetheart.” He lifted the rope, waving her inside. The yearning that called her into the night eased as she entered the club, drowned out by the heavy bass of the music pumping in her blood. The soft darkness was shot with beams of light from metal stars dangling from chains in the ceiling. A few people clung to the dark corners and sheltered booths,

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind preferring their privacy, but most enjoyed the stage. Several people, both vampire and human, moved together in their own orgiastic dance, tasting flesh, peeling away clothes, caressing limbs and feasting on blood. Camille stopped, enthralled by how the scent of blood blended with the passion echoing in her senses. As if drawn there by her desire, a hand caressed the nape of her neck underneath her curtain of long hair. The touch shot heat and lust down her spine. Wanting more, she leaned back into the embrace of strong arms and tilted her head to catch a glimpse of the face behind her. Black escaped from his pupils until his eyes turned completely dark, a sign of an elder, a centuries old vampire with far greater powers than newly reborn creatures like herself. Trapped by his desire, she lifted her arms up to loop her hands around his neck as he explored her body. His fangs grazed her neck, releasing beads of blood. “Nice pajamas.” He reached around and deftly unbuttoned her shirt while continuing to nibble on her neck. As he ran his fingers in a steady rhythm over her exposed flesh, he introduced himself, “I’m Jacque.” Savoring the sensation of his touch, she barely noticed the attention they were drawing. When his hands cupped her breasts and his thumbs rubbed her nipples, she rose on her toes and arched her head back, trying to reach his neck. “Poor starving girl.” He licked her neck. A soft voice interrupted, “I’d be happy to feed her.” Caught in sensation, Camille had not noticed the beautiful woman approaching, but now that she was there, Camille experienced a slow burst of joy from deep inside her heart at the sight of Aurora. The terrible ache that had driven her out into the night and to this place vanished. Neither the pleasure nor the pain was natural she was learning, but the result of the power a maker wielded over her converts. Aurora walked past her and opened her arms in a welcoming gesture to the crowd. Even those wrestling in the dark abandoned their activities to watch this spectacle. Several 222

Sanguinary Seductions men stepped forward, eager for her attention. Camille sensed the warmth and blood of these men. She couldn’t help squirming against the restraint of her keeper’s arms with growing hunger. Jacque held her back and she watched anxiously as they each knelt before Aurora, kissed her delicate hand and then bowed their heads to the hem of her red velvet skirt. The small woman drifted around them in lazy circles, returning rejected men to the watching crowd with a gentle tap to their heads. She returned to the center of the floor when only three remained. First was a lean man with a bald scalp and skin as black as a vampire’s soul. Next, a man with the flush of youth and hair exploding into spikes tipped in red. Last, a tanned stud wrapped in a black mesh shirt. Aurora turned away from the men to study Camille and her captor. “Tonight she will choose,” she announced. Jacque twitched in resistance but loosened his grip on Camille. She sprang free and left her shirt in his hands. She landed in a crouch in front of the young man with spiked hair. His blue eyes widened, and he lifted his wrist to her. She saw the thin scars marring his soft, sweet skin and understood this was where he preferred her to bite. She hesitated, her true self flickering to the surface past the hold the curse was exerting over her. The man looked so eager, so innocent, so sad. What was it that he hoped she could bring him? All she could do was share her damnation. Awareness was slowly returning to her. She rose and hugged her arms over her bare breasts. Onlookers, both human and vampire, lounged around the edge of the shining steel floor. In this moment of clarity, she understood tonight’s entertainment was to be her. She wished to escape but couldn’t overcome her need. Shame and hunger froze her in place. A whisper of breeze brushed against her skin and Jacque, with his black eyes and hawk face, was at her side. “You must learn to love your nature, mon cherie.” She stared into his eyes, finding his deep voice impossibly reassuring. 223

eXtasy’s Collective Mind He waved at the trio. “They want you.” He grinned at the audience and shouted, “They all want you to feed.” They responded by chanting, “Drink, drink, drink.” She trembled before their demand, feeling her terror return. He wrapped his arm around her waist and his fingers danced along her ribs. “So hungry, mon petit. A new one, are you?” Jacque was right. He reminded her of the hunger tightening under her skin, demanding satisfaction, while his touch chased away her scruples. He led her to the trio. “How can you disappoint them?” Jacque squeezed the hard bicep of the tanned stud in the fishnet shirt. The man tilted his head down and to the side, exposing the thick artery in his neck. Camille stared at the green line in his flesh, smelling the blood pounding through his body. The crowd grew louder, urging her onward. “I’m sorry, mon innocent,” murmured a soft breath against her neck. Aurora joined the embrace. “I really couldn’t let you starve.” As Aurora gave her warning, the Jacque moved away from Camille’s side, leaving her in the inescapable grip of her maker. Camille leaned back against her, inhaling her sweet scent of orange and roses, feeling comforted and destroyed at the same time. Jacque moved behind the youth with the spiky hair and bared his fangs. He lifted the youth’s arm, licked his scarred wrist, but then buried his teeth in his neck. The youth’s blue eyes rolled back inside his head, and his body thrust forward like the string on a bow. With renewed force, the primeval lust returned to Camille’s body, blossoming from her groin. She lunged away from Aurora, who did not try to hold her back, and clawed at the man. As she held on tight, she licked his neck, catching the line of blood dripping down from where the elder was feeding. The blood across her tongue drugged her, overwhelming her senses with its taste of the soul. She had no idea how long she held on stealing sips of the 224

Sanguinary Seductions human, but she protested when he was pulled away from her. Now beyond thinking, when the next man was offered, she eagerly sank her teeth into his dark chocolate skin. Fresh blood pumped into her mouth, reminiscence of the freshly toiled earth, verdant and fruitful. The life flowing into her body aroused her. She pressed herself against the man, feeling the response of his body. Her desire was mindless and so she impatiently ground her body against his in a helpless dry hump. He encouraged her, wrapping his big hands around her and lifting her against him. “Enough, enough,” warned Jacque. When she did not listen, he wound his fist in her long hair and used the knot to force her to release the donor. The man stumbled back into the arms of several eager young women from the audience. The jerk of her head hurt and she turned on Jacque with a hiss. He laughed, hard and bitter, and kissed her, his fangs cutting her lip. The third man came behind her and she felt the knots of his fishnet shirt on the skin of her back. He squeezed her breasts in his large hands. She moaned involuntarily and thrust her hips forward against Jacque. “He knows what you want.” Jacque’s black eyes were mesmerizing. As the man in the fishnet shirt toyed with her, rubbing her hard nipples between his fingers, Jacque slid off her pajama bottoms, his palms heating her skin. Camille’s skin was burning, she did not know how the men could bear to touch her, she dipped her fingers desperately downward into the soft curls between her legs, seeking the moisture to dampen the fire. She was so lost she barely noticed Jacque lifting her legs so that her thighs were braced on either side of his waist. As the man behind her continued to caress her, his heart beat faster and harder in her ears. She accepted that invitation and arched her head back to reach his neck. In this position, her pelvis thrust open in welcome to Jacque and he penetrated her, doubling her pleasure. She continued to feed, sucking blood to the rhythm of his 225

eXtasy’s Collective Mind pumping. He withdrew completely before either of them came and she released the man abruptly, spraying a thin line of blood across Jacque. Jacque slammed into her once more and bit her low on the curve of the neck. His feeding overwhelmed her senses. She could feel the blood spinning through her veins into his dark song. Her fingers clawed into Jacque, drawing blood, as her body convulsed in a terrible climax. With the height of pleasure passed, he remained inside her for a moment as he stopped feeding. He licked her neck, sealing the wound and then kissed her. Her lips opened, eager for any penetration he desired, but instead he released a burst of salty liquid into her mouth, her own blood drawn from her body. She swallowed and shuddered with sudden sickness. With the physical need of hunger and lust satisfied, her mind was clearing. She slid off him, ignoring the ache she felt parting from him. As he arranged himself, pulling up his pants and buckling his belt, she felt her own nakedness. Shame eluded her. She was in too much shock to feel it, especially since the scene she had witnessed when she entered the club had intensified. No one was holding back now. A human woman was draped naked across plush red cushions as a pair of vampires, one male and one female, fed on her. One suckled at her thigh, the other at the more traditional neck. Not every pairing was human to vampire, some played only with their own kind, but everyone was wrapped up in their pursuit of ecstasy. “A delightful benefit you have given them,” commented Jacque, his eyes tender with a concern that seemed at odds with her blood trickling down his chin. Camille studied his hawk face and tousled hair, trying to make sense of what had happened. “The first blooding of a new vampire,” he explained, “generates psychic vibrations of an intensely sexual nature.” Before Camille could begin to comprehend the meaning of this, a soft voice returned thrilling and soothing away her 226

Sanguinary Seductions concerns like an opiate. “Camille, please forgive us all.” Aurora came closer. “If only you hadn’t tried to run, if only you hadn’t tried to escape me, things could have been slower, more gentle.” Set deep in her perfect oval face, Aurora’s dark brown eyes seemed to hold terrible mysteries. Camille wondered if she stared long enough into them if would she understand this night. Aurora’s voice remained low, but gained intensity. “Do you know what happens to rogue vampires? Do you know what could have happened to you?” Camille struggled to make sense of her words, but found herself staring into the beautiful blue eyes of the blonde youth from the first feeding. A woman crawled between his legs to please him, but he kept staring at Camille. “I’m sorry to call you here in this way, but I couldn’t let you die.” Aurora tucked Camille’s blonde hair behind her ears. “Only one more thing, this night,” warned Jacque, standing close, but not touching Camille. Camille heard the catch in his voice, but she didn’t have time to guess what could worry him. The audience was once more abandoning their wanton activities to watch two naked men carrying a fiery brazier across the stainless steel floor. They knelt in front of Aurora, setting the flames down at her feet. Fire was antithesis to the vampire and many shrank back instinctively, even though they were well away from the flames. Camille stared at light and heat, wanting to immerse herself in it, knowing suddenly it was all that could redeem her. Memory was returning to her. An exacting rehearsal that left her muscles aching. A long walk home through the dark night, ended by a violent assault against her. That unmeasured period of fear and pain, ended at last by a miracle. Awakening surrounded by crisp linen and white roses, she believed she had not survived. When Aurora came to the side of the bed, she thought her an angel in her long white dress and cross at her throat. 227

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Instead, she learned of a strange new world belonging to the night and ruled by this woman. Not understanding what she was told and thinking Aurora mad, she fled when she had the chance. It will only hurt for a moment. Jacque’s warning echoed in her head. Unaware of how she knew, she understood the sharing of blood had created a bond between her and the handsome creature. What is happening? All vampires must be initiated into the clan, recognized and made to honor the leader. Aurora lifted a brand from the fire in the brazier. The tip held a symbol identical to the cross around her throat. The traditional lines finished with a flourish of lilies at the tips, a fleur-de-lis cross. She spoke the ritual and was echoed by all those watching. “Reborn from the dark mother, who reminds us all, that what dies, must began anew. Ever shall I honor, her guardian and, live by her law, to preserve the peace.” Kneel before her. Jacque urged Camille. You must show your willingness to honor her. And if I don’t? You will be declared unfit for the gift and destroyed. The sharp pain of his regret hit her. What am I to you? Why do you care? Silence. His withdrawal hurt. Perhaps she could bear the pain of her own death, but she could not refuse the need she sensed in Jacque. She gracefully knelt before Aurora and bent her forehead to the floor. Not a sound could be heard except for Aurora speaking the final lines of the ritual. “This new child of the night, has chosen to serve, and shall bear my mark.” Camille stiffened as Jacque brushed away her hair from her back. He whispered, “Bear this strongly, mon cherie.” He withdrew and gave leave to continue. The brand struck between her shoulder blades and burnt into her flesh. The pain 228

Sanguinary Seductions was intense and she strove to accept it with the physical discipline she learned as a dancer. She pressed her head to the floor as hard as she could and dug her fingernails into her palms. She would not shame herself or her protectors. When the brand was lifted, she breathed a sigh of relief, but it was not over. A fine mist sprayed across her back hurting her burned flesh. The itchy, icy pain sent her thrashing. Past caring what anyone thought, she rubbed her back frantically against the steel floor in a futile attempt to seek relief. The sensation faded fast. She sighed with relief and curled up on the floor with exhaustion. When Jacque knelt at her side, she tensed. “Be glad we don’t use liquid silver anymore.” She didn’t understand and was too tired to ask questions. “The silver keeps the brand in vampiric flesh,” he continued. “Otherwise, our skin would heal and the mark disappears. Once, melted silver was used and poured carefully into the wound. And you dared not move less you ruin the design.” Jacque pulled her to her feet. “Now a spray of liquid colloidal silver does the trick. And barely any pain.” The brazier, along with Aurora, had disappeared while Camille was lost in agony. When those gathered saw her rise with Jacque, many spilled out onto the floor. They gathered around her and him, touching her brand, showing her theirs. She barely noticed them, captured by the intense desire in Jacque’s dark eyes. “Have you a mark then?” she asked softly, trying to escape into his arms. He did not reply and released her to them. Hands carried her away from him, touching her everywhere. Weakened by the struggles of the night, she could not chase so many hands away from her body. In their private language, she begged Jacque, Don’t abandon me. Everywhere hands and mouths moved on her body. Her fingers were nibbled, her elbows caressed and her shoulders kissed. The movements became more intimate, moving up her legs, across her sensitive breasts and into the tangled curls 229

eXtasy’s Collective Mind between her legs. He finally answered her. It’s a reminder you belong to the clan. I’d rather belong to you. She knew it was the truth. Until she wandered into his arms this night, she had been lost. Finally, he could not resist her and came to her through the crowd. The man kneeling between her legs did not wish to yield his place, so Jacque threw him across the room as easily as if he was stuffed with paper instead of flesh and bone. The other hands melted away from her. Jacque made no courtesy and buried his fangs in her thigh. She gasped with the shocked pleasure of this intimate feeding. Lost in the sensation, she drifted in impossible dreams, of the lost sun and of love. Eventually he released her, licked over the wound and then moved up to taste her folds. His tongue savored her entrance and sent new thrills through her body. Her newfound delight in decadence inspired her to laugh in sheer madness at the watching crowd. At last she understood, from this night on, this was her life and nothing else mattered.

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Midnight at Morningùs A.J. Llewellyn e drove us along Kalanianaole Highway, away from our babies, away from our home and although I was excited to be having an actual date night with my husband, we had never left our twins before. I was a shrieking mass of exposed nerve endings with a hideous smile pasted to my face. My inner turmoil was in sharp contrast to the languidly rolling waves of the Pacific, dropping down to our left. “Lopaka, what’s wrong?” I turned my face to stare at the passing scenery on the other side. Cliffs of what looked like dark chocolate in the deepening night. I was hoping I wouldn’t start crying. Kimo sighed. “Baby…it’s just two daddies having a date night. It’s just one evening. Don’t you want to be alone with me?” My head swiveled back to him and I saw his taunting smile as I gulped back surprise and anguish. “Of course I do, Kimo.” He put his hand between my legs as we rounded a bend and his fingers went straight for my cock. “Nice and hard, just how I like it.” His own eyes glowed when my hand sneaked across the seat and fell on his hard, muscular thigh. Mmmm…he was hard, too. “Are we going to stop and have a little quickie?” I asked. “No. I do believe, Lopaka, I’m going to make you wait.” “Wait? You’ve made me wait all day.”

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind “Yes, I know.” He looked very smug. Apart from our usual morning romp before our children descended like demented fleas on our bedroom, Kimo had been awfully stingy with his sexual attentions. It was not like him. Not like him at all. I stared at his profile, trying to read his thoughts. Kimo, the hottest, sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on was a Hawaiian Kahuna, a high priest, and increasingly powerful Keeper of Secrets. We shared a supernatural bond and could reach other’s thoughts, hop into one another’s minds. In the past two days, he’d blocked me. I caught images of us fucking, of a red room…and then his thoughts would clamp shut on me again. He was dressed in tight black pants that hid the huge cock that was my private treasure and he wore a black silk shirt, sleeves rolled up a few inches along his arms, revealing the black tribal tattoos that ran the entire right side of his body. My fingers hovered over the two fresh tattoos at the corner of his right eye. I could feel the heat emanating from them. They still bled out a little, but it had been Kimo’s pride and sacred pleasure to receive this new tap. “Do they hurt, darling?” “Pain is part of the thrill. I feel so…powerful now.” He grinned and I knew he was telling me the truth. The two tiny black triangles signified the birth of our baby twins, Pele and Kamapua’a and they fit into a perfect circle that included two more triangles that represented me and our toddler son, Kimo. My Tutu, my grandma, who had been with us during the tribal tattooing, had remarked—and I observed—that there was room for more babies on his face. Kimo’s face shone at the prospect, whilst I prayed he did not experience too much pain with the application of the new markings. The location of the new tattoos might have been agonizing, but Kimo barely flinched, insisting he loved every second of it. Normally I would have relieved his distress with a monster blow job the second we were alone, but he manfully resisted, revealing his plans for our date. Tutu, his partner in crime, just cackled when I asked her what exactly my beautiful man planned. 232

Sanguinary Seductions Tutu was ecstatic she and her husband Sammy would have our babies to themselves, along with our five year old twin nephews Kamaha and Keli’i, who also lived on our mountaintop property. She and Kimo’s mother competed for time with our kids and Tutu had outdone herself with her evening plans. She and Sammy were going to let the three older children make their own pizzas that Sammy would fire in our new wood burning oven. They’d organized a treasure hunt, had put up a couple of tents among the palm trees and had a whopping bag of marshmallows for spooky campfire tales. Oh, and just for fun, Tutu whipped up a gigantic batch of homemade caramel ice cream and built it into a cake in the shape of a castle, dusted with sugar. The effect was stunning, giving it the appearance of a sandcastle. Our boys had been so impressed when it was unveiled that Kimo chose that moment to sneak away with me. I was hoping Tutu would keep a slice or two for us. “Yeah, I’d love to have some of that ice cream in bed with you, later.” Kimo had unceremoniously invaded my thoughts. I recalled the offhanded way our tiny son had said goodbye. Kimo was laughing. “Is that what’s bothering you?” His gaze flicked to the dashboard clock. “It’s nine o’clock. By now, he’s screaming like a mini banshee.” “You think so?” I was both thrilled and concerned. Boy, did I have parentitis badly. “I’m surprised we haven’t had three hysterical phone calls by now.” His gaze burned lovingly on my face as I ran my hand down the smooth, satin skin of his muscular arm. Add to all his talents, was his part time career as hula dancer and you could say you’d never find a sexier guy anywhere. “Please let me suck your cock, Kimo. Please. You’ve deprived me all day.” My fingers ran down to his crotch again and I was pleased to find a firm response. He moved my hand to a safer place on his thigh. “Lopaka Wilder, you are a bad man.” “Aren’t I, though?” I paused. “Are you serious? I really can’t suck your cock?” 233

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “Not at this time, no. Just think how hot it’s going to be when we—” He shook his head. “No, no…not giving anything away.” We were heading toward Waikiki and the evening was pleasant. It was warm, but the trade winds obliged us with a constant breeze that felt like the gentle lapping of a cool tide pool. We stopped for a red light and Kimo’s gaze was back on my face. “Oh, hell, Lopaka.” “What, darling?” “I need to pull over and lick that chocolate from the corner of your mouth.” “Chocolate? I don’t remember eating chocolate.” “No, but the baby was and he gave you big kisses and…oh, it’s just too…inviting right there on those luscious lips.” “Okay.” I squirmed in my seat with pleasure as Kimo pulled to a screaming stop beside a valet guy who went to open Kimo’s door. “We’re not staying, I just need to kiss my husband.” The guy looked startled, but backed off as Kimo took my face in his hands and licked the corner of my mouth, making my cock leap into an ecstatic, expectant state. His tongue lapped at me and I pulled a sneaky maneuver, parting my lips, turning my head slightly so that his tongue went right into my mouth. Kimo groaned into me and our kisses turned so heated, I almost came in my pants. He backed off instantly. “Oh, no you don’t. There’s plenty of time for that.” His tongue slicked across my mouth one, last agonizing time and Kimo shook his head. “God, Lopaka. You turn me on so much. I could fuck you right here, you know.” We stared at each other, our mutual obsession unabated. “You are my hot little passion flower.” That, I was. His hand gripped the wheel and I felt an extra tug of desire seeing the four wedding rings piled up on the third finger of his left hand. He turned and looked at me. If I made one move toward him, my brand new pants would be in tatters, his huge, hard cock would be inside me and in five 234

Sanguinary Seductions minutes we’d be arrested for public indecency. We lowered our respective windows and laughed. “We could always get a motel room.” I said it in a halfjoking way, but Kimo merged into the flow of traffic, taking my hand in his and he laughed. “Baby, you just have no idea what daddy’s got planned for you. I am so excited about this.” He kissed my hand, put it on his thigh and quickly turned into an unmarked parking lot. I could hear pulsing music from above and my testosterone levels shot into the stratosphere. A club! Music! Dark corners! Oh! I’d back my husband into a corner and rape him if I had to… We descended down to a deep, dark cavern and then a floodlit acre of shiny cars greeted us. Some incredibly hot guys were climbing out of all kinds of vehicles and Kimo opened his door. His cock was still in Hide Me in Lopaka mode and it gave me a proprietary thrill when my majestic man stalked around the SUV to open my door, beating the harried valet guy to it. He pressed himself against me, kissing me and I undid one of his shirt buttons, revealing even more of that perfect torso. I frowned. Not enough. One more button and there was more than hint of that exquisitely cut six pack. Kimo grinned at me. There were some hot guys here, but he stood out. At six feet, four inches, long, gleaming black hair, those tattoos and that perfect, muscular body, he had an audience. And I was the proudest man on the planet. “Just one more.” I popped another button and it left two disappearing into his waistband. “You’re going to have to take my shirt out. I’m as hard as hell for you, baby.” “Yeah, you are, aren’t you?” I took his shirt out and let the soft folds of expensive silk fall over his beautiful, flat belly. I let my hand loiter over that bulky package in his pants and he smirked, giving me one more kiss. The line of cars honked us. We were holding things up. We laughed and Kimo took my hand in his as we blew past the line of guys waiting for the elevators. With his gait a combination of dancer and predatory puma, he drew admiring glances, but he ignored everyone, his 235

eXtasy’s Collective Mind hand on my ass now as he opened the fire exit door. He slammed me against the first wall we could find, his tongue at my throat and I begged him, begged him to fuck me. He tongued around the space between my throat and the buttoned-down, almost transparent vintage white silk dimity shirt. He undid a couple of buttons and my body temperature climbed as his fingers and tongue urged my nipples to erect attention. “Shit.” His fingers struggled to undo more buttons, his frustration apparently mounting when he couldn’t open them fast enough. Those big, bad hands turned the shirt into expensive, vintage ribbons. “You look hot. Look at this hard cock, yearning for papa,” Kimo crooned, bending to suck my nipples again as a group of men entered the stairwell. Kimo kept up his oral assault and we got some applause, some offers of threesomes, foursomes and one couple seemed turned on enough to start making out in the stairwell, too. I felt myself getting lost in Kimo’s vehement embrace and was unprepared for the physical separation when he took my hand again and led me up the stairs. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. I’d never ached so badly for him or been so consistently denied my cock-to-Lopaka resuscitation. We climbed the stairs and on the fifth floor, two men in dinner suits, with the manner of FBI agents greeted us. A few couples were ahead of us, making out as they waited in line. Kimo handed what we quickly realized were security guards a white card and gave me a lingering kiss as they perused a checklist. “Mr. and Mr. Wilder?” Kimo took his mouth from me. “Yes.” “Here are your wrist bands and I see…you’ve booked the red room at midnight.” The security guard’s gaze traveled our bodies and Kimo took the wrist bands and a red key card with one hand, his other hand gripping mine. As we stepped forward, the security guard smiled. “Enjoy your evening at Morning’s. Any problems once you’re inside, you can text me and help will be on its way immediately. He 236

Sanguinary Seductions gave Kimo a small, square white card that turned out to be a business card and I palmed it. Kimo’s hands were full. We moved into a plush, expensively decorated hallway that was filled with wall to wall men. I was shocked that Kimo had even thought to bring us to a gay club and when I saw the poster for the evening’s event, I almost came in my pants a second time. Francesco D’Macho and Damien Crosse, the two top gay porn stars, a newly minted power couple engaged to be married in real life were going to be doing a live sex show together. “They remind me of me,” Kimo whispered and I had to agree. They were both muscular, masculine men, clearly in love with one another. I had bought one of their movies on the internet, playing it to Kimo on our laptop late one night. I made him watch Damien suck his husband’s cock as I sucked my husband’s cock. Kimo had been enthralled that these two, muscular men could fuck in such a public way, calling each other Hooker Bunny and Bunny Raper and now…we were going to see them live. They had become a small part of our fantasy repertoire… “You ready, baby?” Kimo asked me and I nodded enthusiastically. I couldn’t speak I was so excited. The club was infused with a sexy red glow that instantly put you in the mood for some man love madness. On the stage, a huge red throne sat empty and I wished I could push Kimo into it, rip down his pants and pay proper homage to his cock. I picked out velvet booths everywhere, some round, some square, a dance floor with a mirror ball above it, glittering rainbow colors and George Michael’s I Want Your Sex boomed over the sound system. The hypnotic beat, the ambience and the red roses on the tables put you in a mood to sway and Kimo, arms around me from behind, began a slow hula grind and I moved with him to the beat. We moved in this slow, but delicious fashion to a round booth right up front. There was a menu on the table and Kimo slid beside me, his hand right on my crotch. Guys were already making out, the increasing sexual excitement evident as we looked around. We had a cute Asian waiter who came over with our drinks. 237

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “I pre-ordered everything, baby.” Kimo gloated, his hand rubbing my cock through my pants as we picked up our glasses and toasted each other. Kimo had such a command of my body it was both exhilarating and embarrassing. I was beyond putty in his hands…I was…what was it Francesco D’Macho called Damien? His hooker bunny. That was me. Ready to fuck my husband always, like a bunny and I was his hooker for sure. “Here’s to many, many more beautiful dates with you,” Kimo whispered into my mouth and I sipped at the heavenly Mai Tai. “Oh, this is good. I love you, Kimo.” I reached over for a kiss and he closed his eyes as our mouths met again, hungering for each other as they did for no other. Breaking off our kiss first, Kimo took another sip of his drink, holding his glass to my mouth. It never ceased to amaze me that we still acted like love struck, romantic fools after two and a half years together. The heat level, the desire between us was volcanic. But then, we were men of the volcano. “I have no idea how Francesco and Damien can fuck other people, but I’m betting their porn careers are short lived.” “Oh, Kimo, that’s so romantic.” I snuggled into him as his hand unzipped my fly and disappeared inside. “Somebody’s in a hurry,” I grinned. “Just checking my toys are where they’re supposed to be.” The song switched now to T Rex’s Bang a Gong, a song we loved to fuck to and we looked at each other with hopeless lust overtaking us. I kissed Kimo again and for the first time all day wasn’t so unhappy that he was making me wait. He took my cock out, not that anybody seemed to be watching and ran his hand up and down the shaft. Well you’re dirty and sweet, clad in black, don’t look back and I love you…you’re dirty and sweet, oh yeah… He stroked me in time to the rhythm. “This is the sexiest cock in the world, baby.” He was still holding me in his hot grip when the waiter came back with a tray of sushi. He ran through the list of fish cut in arty angles…ahi, snapper, yellow tail…Kimo’s hand curled over my cock head and I almost 238

Sanguinary Seductions came on the spot. I gasped, but Kimo acted nonchalant and I caught the grins on the faces of the guys in the booth next to us. They, too, were playing with each other, their gazes on us as if we fueled their passion. On stage, six naked guys stomped on in black leather boots and performed a wicked dance, cocks swinging in time to the song and then Kimo realized I was panting and quickly tucked me back into my pants. I almost screamed. Two of the guys started making out on the throne, one bouncing all over the other guy. The throne was on some kind of swivel mechanism because as the guy on top started riding the guy’s cock beneath him, we all got a good look as the throne rotated, screens picking up every last minute detail. The guy getting fucked got up from his lover and knelt on the floor, the man he’d abandoned, quickly joining him and burying his cock in his ass again. He came with a scream, withdrawing his spewing cock and shoving it back in. They were introduced and the couple kissed, running off the stage. There were a couple of other live acts and then some guys started drifting to the dance floor. INXS started singing Need You Tonight and Kimo and I, both our shirts now puddles on the floor, got up and took to the dance floor in our trousers, our cocks rubbing against each other as he held me in his arms and kissed me. Being dancers, we had plenty of rhythm, but we were both dangerously aroused and I could see Kimo was quickly entering the I don’t give a fuck, I have to have you now zone. Dancing was difficult when our bodies screamed for horizontal relief and he took my hand, leading me back to the booth. We kept kissing one another and Kimo didn’t resist when I unzipped his pants and that huge cock sprang out looking for the one it loved. I threw myself on his body and Kimo sighed as I guzzled on him. I was frantic. Denied him all day, I could not take my mouth off him and Kimo kept stroking my hair back from my face. I buried my hands into his pants and felt his balls, which were so thrilled to be getting the attention they so richly deserved and then my hand slipped deeper and my fingers 239

eXtasy’s Collective Mind connected with Kimo’s ass. He felt hot and ready and he was panting as I stroked his ass hole, knowing he was about to reward me with his precious seed. He rewarded me plenty and I was still licking the length of his shaft like a cat scraping the bowl for last dregs of fresh cream when our favorite porn stars took to the stage. Kimo kissed me languidly. “I need to be a lone with you now, baby or I am going to fuck you right here in front of everybody.” Kissing him silent, I held his cock, adrenaline mounting. You could feel the energy level shift as Damien Crosse stepped on stage in red silk shorts, a pair of red boxing gloves strewn across his shoulders. His dick was already flying half mast and the men in the audience went mad as he did a slow, sensual dance to I Touch Myself and I kept swabbing Kimo’s exceptional cock with my needy tongue. “Don’t stop,” he whined, but then Francesco D’Macho strode across the stage in a pair of faded jeans that left nothing to the imagination. The lights went down and the music changed and Joan Jett started asking Do You Wanna Touch Me and the chemistry between Francesco and Damien spread from the stage across the room like rising fire and every man in the audience watched them dance. Francesco, standing behind Damien, slipped his hand inside his husband’s red silk shorts. He flipped out that hard, uncut cock, flicking at it, giving it light strokes as Damien moved about in an agitated way. Francesco slid the red shorts down his husband’s thighs, throwing them into the crowd. They landed on our table and Kimo’s face went slack. “We need to leave.” “Leave? But we just got here. I want to watch this.” “I need to fuck you, Lopaka.” On stage, Francesco knelt, sucking Damien’s cock. He turned to us. “My husband and I have been on vacation and he’s been perfecting the art of bottoming,” he told the crowd in his heavy, sexy Italian accent, a delighted grin knowing that we all 240

Sanguinary Seductions loved hearing that. In all his movies, Damien was a top. I could totally relate. Until I met Kimo I was a top, too. Now I was his cock hungry slut bottom and I could not get enough of him. “You want to see how good he learned his new tricks?” The crowd roared and Kimo went mad, picking me up in his arms, his cock bouncing out of the open crotch of his pants. He strode down the hallway with me and flashed the keycard. He stopped to kiss me. “You are gonna get royally fucked, Mr. Wilder.” “I can’t wait, Kimo. Hurry.” In truth I’d wanted to see the show, but our show would be damned hot, too. We went into an elevator and rose several floors. I kept my hand in Kimo’s pants until we arrived and we found a new security guard, not looking surprised to see one man with his hand down another man’s pants. “The red room? This way, Mr. Wilder.” Kimo carried me down the corridor. “Here, let me help you.” The security guard took the key guard, swiped it and our room door swung open. “I need to fuck my husband now. I promise you’ll get a tip when we leave.” Kimo kick shut the door in the guy’s face. I had never known Kimo to be so brazen, but then we’d just covered a lot of ground with his cock bouncing out of his pants. He carried me to the bed and I was delighted to see a big screen TV with all the action from the show downstairs. Francesco sported some impressive tattoos himself. Frankly though, knowing Kimo’s were all powerful talismans did more for me than anything I saw on just about anybody else and I watched Francesco plowing into Damien’s toned, upturned bottom and I turned to Kimo. “Oh, baby, please help me perfect my own art of bottoming.” “With pleasure, baby.” He took my zip down and his mouth engulfed my cock as I lay strewn across the bed and I came with the force of a fifteen foot wave. Kimo stayed with me, stroking my belly as I pulsed down his throat. I shook and shimmered, red spots dancing before my eyes and I saw a tiny 241

eXtasy’s Collective Mind trickle of blood trickling from his tattoo. “That’s Baby Kimo screaming for you.” Kimo’s smile was endearing. “We should call him.” He withdrew his cell phone from his back pocket and as Francesco settled in for a long, hot fuck up against the throne on stage, we called our baby son, Kimo stroking my now ready cock. He handed me the phone and my son’s pitiful little voice tore at my heart. “Mama?” “Oh baby…we’re going to be home very soon. Did you have some ice cream cake?” “Uh-huh. I miss you.” He started crying again. Kimo parted my thighs, licking an insistent path up my inner thigh. The red room had me on fire with frantic desire for the man I loved. I did my best to reassure my little boy that we would be home soon and told him he could snuggle in our bed and wait for us. “Okay, mama!” he slammed the phone down and Kimo and I looked at each other and laughed. “One fire put out. I need you to fuck me, Kimo. I need your cock in my ass right now.” “I want to fuck you the way Francesco’s fucking his hooker bunny. Turn over, baby.” I rolled over and his hands stroked my neck, back and thighs. His tongue put some hot licks onto my ass and he wasted not a second more getting that huge cock into me. Our bodies shook with the impact of shared bliss. He fucked me with malicious intent, matching Francesco’s deep, full-tilt thrusts into Damien’s ass. We’d been in an advanced state or arousal all day and Kimo exploded deep within me and I came at the same moment he did, all over the bed spread. He lifted me up, threw down the covers and put me on my back on the bed. Opening up my thighs, he went down on my ass. Francesco was still giving Damien a full throttle fucking and I floundered on the bed, begging my husband to fuck me. “Turn over, turn over,” he moaned and I couldn’t wait to regain possession of that perfect cock inside me. I loved the 242

Sanguinary Seductions way Kimo fucked me and he stroked and kissed my back, telling me how beautiful I was. I started to meet his thrusts the way Damien rose to his husband’s physical challenge and suddenly, I felt like we were them. We were the porn stars of our own movie. “God, Lopaka, you do fuck me like a porn star, not a married man with kids. Baby, you are the hottest bottom in town. Forget the guy on stage. I got the man whose got bottoming down to a fine art right here.” Kimo’s breath came in short bursts and Francesco’s facial expression changed. He was clearly about to bust a nut and Kimo plunged his cock all the way out of me and back in again. We were matching everything the couple on the big screen was doing. And the weirdest thing happened. Because Kimo was not fucking me the way he normally did, it was an extra thrill. He did everything Francesco did and I knew that Kimo, too, would come and I went berserk when he started to come and pulled out of me, his precious seed spilling across my tail bone. “Put that back in,” I shrieked. “That belongs to me.” Kimo slipped right back in and I felt his cock throb with his release. He moved all the way inside me and he hit my prostate and once again I was coming, with Kimo’s hand squeezing my cock. “Oh, Lopaka.” He stayed in me, but we lay side by side, Kimo holding me tight from behind. “Do you remember the first time we slept like this?” I asked him. For long moments, he was quiet. His mouth rained kisses down my arm, down my side and his cock twitched inside me. “Yes,” I remember,” he mumbled, planting kisses along the side of my face. “Lopaka, please don’t remind me of when we did not belong to each other. It hurts me.” “Oh, Kimo…I only meant—” “I know what you meant. The fever still grips us.”He smiled at me then, giving me his gorgeous mouth to kiss and to love and I felt his anguish. “What’s wrong, Kimo?” 243

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “I want us always to be this way.” On the screen, Damien was on his back now, upended, his legs sprawled while his husband gave him a masterful rim job. “Beautiful.” Kimo’s eyes glowed and he upended me. His ass licking was legendary in our bedroom. He could go for hours rimming me and I could go for hours letting him. I heard a funny sound. “Midnight, baby.” Kimo took his mouth and tongue off my ass to inform me. “Tweak your nipples for me. You know I love to watch you do that.” He reached up to kiss me and I held onto his face. “I will always be your hooker bunny.” “Yeah, I know. I’ve…I’ve seen into the future and I see us loving each other no matter what. I know we will always be like this.” The two men on screen panted and moaned and I wanted my husband’s tongue back on my ass. “You know what else I see?” I stroked his magnificent face, glad to see the tattoos next to eye had finally stopped seeping. “What, baby?” “Caramel ice cream all over our sheets.” “Is that from the baby waiting for us, or what we do when we put him to bed and finish things off with a hot ice cream fuck?” Kimo threw his head back and laughed. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out. Now, would you like me to show you what bunny rapers do to the men they most cherish?” “Yeah, yeah.” I was practically humping his face when he finally, mercifully put his mouth back on me. And I wished midnight would last forever in that red room at Morning’s. 

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The Reluctant Incubus Stephani Hecht hren figured there were two ways he could get killed in the next few minutes and neither one of them were particularly neither macho nor heroic. The incubus quickened his steps as he sized up the first threat, a pair of Hounds from Hell stalking him from the shadows. The second threat was a few feet behind Lucifer’s poodles and a whole lot more mysterious. Small and agile the enigma was enveloped head to toe in a dark cloak and carrying a long bo-staff. While whoever it was, wasn’t making any threatening moves, somehow Thren didn’t think they were stalking him down the alley to discuss the latest hockey game. Thren tried to reach out with his heightened incubus senses to determine who or what the second thing was only to be blocked by the fury and anger from the hound. No that it mattered in the end, he had enemies of both angel and demon kind. A snarl accompanied with a poof of bad breath told him the Hounds were right behind him, so it looked like he would have to deal with them first. “You little fuckers just couldn’t stay away could you?” He cursed softly under his breath as he reached beneath his dark coat to grab the short word he kept there. He whipped it out just as one of the doom doggies launched itself at his back. He spun around and brought the weapon around in a long arch, slicing open the beast’s stomach. It let out a long howl as warm

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind blood sprayed Thren’s face. The metallic smell sent him further down his dark side, as an incubus he needed to drink blood to stay alive and, while demon’s blood wasn’t as tasty as angel’s, it was a close second. A growl rumbled his chest and a few words of demon slipped past his lips. He gave a shake of his head and tried to regain control. Fight this, don’t give over to your urges, you can do it. Despite his inner pep talk, it was hard to tap down the evil bubbling in his heart. The demon in him wanted to prolong the battle and enjoy the Hound’s suffering. It had attacked him first, it had challenged him and for that it deserved to know who the true master was before it drew its last breath. Thren struggled to put a lid on those urges. He had vowed to himself those days were over. Just because he was a demon didn’t mean he was bad. “There’s another one!” a voice shrieked. It was the cloaked figure calling out the warning. Thren let out another demon curse. It was an angel, and a female. Why in the hell was this little one out alone, following him of all creations? By her size, she couldn’t be much more than a teen. He swung his sword around again and sliced the first hound’s neck as the second crouched down to attack. A gunshot rang through the dark night, echoing off the empty Detroit City streets. The second hound let out a howl as it fell to its side. Thren gaped first at the injured demon and then the small angel who was holding a Glock in her outstretched hand. She stood under a streetlight now and she whipped back the cloak so he could finally see her clearly. He saw his fist assumption about her had been mistaken, she might be tiny, but her luscious curves screamed she was a full-grown adult. The underlying muscles and warrior’s stance showed she was one who could handle herself in battle, too. Long dark brown hair framed a heart-shaped face and her doe brown eyes were narrowed angrily at the Hound. “No you don’t, this incubus is mine.” The smile that accompanied her words was just dangerous enough to send a spike of desire through Thren. As a demon, he loved his 246

Sanguinary Seductions females dark and dangerous and this angel here fit that description in spades. He would just love being her incubus. One Hound launched itself at Thren, the other at the female, he had just enough time to see her catch the demon in the gut with her staff before he turned in time to take on his own foe. Since he wanted to solve the mystery of the female warrior, he didn’t play with his prey, instead he swung his sword around and decapitated the dog. Its body flashed back to hell and a loud popping noise behind him told him the female had managed to finish off her own enemy. The distant howls told him there was more Hounds one their way and they were pissed. He grabbed the female’s hand. “We need to move, now.” “Where are we going?” the angel panted. Her small legs worked double time to keep up with his longer ones, but he didn’t dare stop. “We need to get your little angel butt out of here before it becomes dog chow.” “I can handle myself. A few demons don’t scare me.” He turned around, surprised at her naiveté. “Do you have any idea how vicious Hounds from Hell are? Facing a couple of them are one thing, taking out a pack would be a whole different matter.” “Since I’ve spent the past five years fighting demons in the gladiator ring, I think I can say I know a thing or two about them.” Thren winced. Although he’d never attended a match himself, he knew some demons and rogues ran gladiator rings for profit. They were barbaric events that were usually fought to the death and they were gaining in popularity. If she had actually survived that long as a gladiator it would explain how she was able to take out the Hound so quickly. The pitter-pat of claws behind them told Thren the demons were coming closer so he picked up speed. The angel’s hand felt small in his and the urge to protect her weighed on him heavily, despite the fact she would probably kick his ass if she knew he was thinking that way. “Run,” he commanded in a 247

eXtasy’s Collective Mind tight voice. “I am running,” she argued. “Do it faster, my car is less than a block away.” She gave an irritated grunt, but obeyed him and they made it to his black Dodge Charger. He threw her in and ran around to the driver’s seat. As soon as he put the key in the ignition, one of the Hounds jumped on the hood and snarled at him through the windshield. “Fuck, my paint job,” he protested. “Do you want me to shoot it?” she raised her weapon. “And ruin the windshield along with my hood?” He slammed the car in reverse before doing a sharp K-turn. The Hound rolled off the car with a loud yelp. Another one jumped in the middle of the road in their path. Thren accelerated and hit it, wincing when he heard the sound of metal crunching. “My baby.” He knew he was whining, but he loved his Charger. “It’s just a car.” Even in the darkness, he could see her roll her eyes. “Just a car?” he repeated, horrified at her comment. He rubbed a loving hand over the dash. “Don’t listen to the mean angel, baby,” he crooned to the vehicle. “She doesn’t know what she is talking about.” “You’re an idiot.” “I’ve heard that before.” He turned onto the main highway, leaving the city lights of Detroit behind them. “Unfortunately for you, this idiot is expecting some answers.” One delicate shoulder went up in a shrug. “Fine, I have nothing to hide.” Somehow he doubted that. He may not be an empath angel, but he did know she was hiding tons from him. “Let’s start with your name.” “Brenna.” She put the gun in her lap and started to fiddle with something around her neck. “Is that a slave collar?” he asked, dread filled his stomach. It appeared as if at least the part about her being a slave had been true. She looked over at him, the streetlights that whipped by 248

Sanguinary Seductions caused harsh shadows on her face, but he could still see the fear etched there. “You’re not going to turn me in are you?” “No, I won’t turn you in. But you have to tell me why you were following me.” She studied him closely, clearly weighing her options. “Cabian sent me.” At the mention of his long lost friend, Thren almost drove off the road. “Is this some kind of sick joke? Cabian is dead.” “No Thren, he’s not. He’s alive, at least he was when I last saw him. As soon as he, my brother, Tobin, and I managed to escape, we went separate ways.” “Cabian was lost in a demon uprising ten years ago.” “He was captured,” she corrected. “He’s been a gladiator like me ever since.” Thren felt like someone just sucker punched him. Cabian had been alive and fighting for his survival all this time and none of his old friends had known. Even though there had been no way for him to have known, Thren still felt as if he’d let Cabian down. She gave a dry chuckle. “Cabian said you would react that way.” “React what way?” “He told me you always felt guilty when something didn’t go right. Even if you had no way to stop it. He called you the Reluctant Incubus.” A smile quirked at the corners of his mouth. That sounded like something his old buddy would say. “What else did the bastard tell you about me?” She laughed and he was shocked to find himself respond to the sweet sound. He had lived a solitary life for years and it was nice to have a conversation with someone that wasn’t a bartender or a black-arms dealer. He could get used to it if he weren’t careful. “Cabian had plenty to say about you and most of it was good. He said that you were like him, a demon with regrets. That as soon as you renounced your angel warrior vows and turned your back of Heaven, you regretted it. He talked about how you had honor and integrity. Most of all he told me to 249

eXtasy’s Collective Mind trust you.” “Why would you come to a demon at all? Why not go to the angels, your own kind?” God, it hurt to say that. “I wouldn’t trust an angel as far as I could throw them.” She tugged viciously at her slave collar. “They were the ones who killed my father and put my brother and I in these.” Thren gripped the steering wheel tight so he didn’t yell at her for her stupidity. Sure he might look almost normal, the only demon features he had were fangs and his blue eyes that had pupils shaped like a cat’s, but he was still a demon for Lucifer’s sake and she wasn’t going to live long if she turned to just anyone for aide. “Do you know why I was in that bar?” he all but snarled at her. “I was there to buy angel’s blood because I have to drink it in order to keep sane. Is that someone you want to be alone with?” She tilted her chin up and pursed her mouth. He couldn’t help but notice how plump and inviting her lips looked. “Cabian and I have plans for you, so you better get used to having me around. “What type of plans might those be?” “Things got really bad for my Tobin and I around two years ago. We had been captives for three years and we’d both given up hope. My brother had already turned demon by that time and I was about ready to follow his path. We had seen so much death in the gladiator ring and we were weary of it. Then Cabian came and brought us hope.” An unwanted surge of jealously went through him at the loving way she spoke his friend’s name. “So you met Cabian and fell in love with him?” “Not in the way you think.” She gave a wistful smile, like she was lost in some happy memory. “Cabian is like a brother to me. He developed a special kinship with Tobin because they both regretted they had turned against their angel self and became demon.” Thren could relate to that. There wasn’t a day he didn’t curse himself for making the same mistake. “You still haven’t 250

Sanguinary Seductions told me where I figure out in this whole thing.” “The three of us decided we would escape and find a way to help all the other slaves in captivity. We knew we couldn’t do it alone, so we decided to find some allies to help us, other warriors to back us up in battle. Your name was the first one Cabian came up with.” Her full lips curled up in an impish grin. “He thinks the world of you. He wanted to come ask for you help himself, but he’s going to a demon clan that’s in another state to try to recruit them, so he had to send me instead.” “What makes any of you think I would want to take up a lost cause like this? I have my own life.” Her gaze turned knowing and he squirmed under it. “You live alone with no friends, no goals, and nothing to look forward to. What kind of life is that? Cabian told me so much about you it is as if I know you personally. You have a driving need to redeem yourself and you would do anything to make up your betrayal to Michael. I’m giving you a chance. The only question is, are you brave enough to take it?” Thren internally winced as each of her words hit home. Wow, she did have him pegged good. He studied the road ahead of him as he dared to entertain her offer. It would be nice to finally do some good again. Although he could never get his life as an angel warrior back, he could rebuild some honor by helping out others. “I don’t know,” he finally drawled. “I just joined the fruit of the month club and if I leave now, they might not know where to forward the packages.” She beamed at him and her smile felt like a gift. “So does that mean you’ll come with me.” Yes, honey I would just love to come with you, the raunchy incubus in him chanted. He held that comment to himself. “Yes, I’m a sucker for hopeless causes.” “I’m not due to rendezvous with Tobin and Cabian for a few days. We’ll have to stay at your house and lay low until then because those demons we fought were looking for me. My owner was pissed he lost me and slavers often use Hounds 251

eXtasy’s Collective Mind to hunt down captives who escape. I need to hide out until the heat is off. I hope you don’t mind me intruding, you won’t even know I’m there.” Not bloody likely. Only death would stop him from being painfully aware of her presence. He knew he would smell her sweet scent no matter where she was in his house. He breathed deep without meaning to. Vanilla, she smelled liked vanilla and it was so nice. How wonderful it would be to nuzzle her neck, inhale that scent before he sank his fangs in to sample her blood. Get a hold of yourself. She needs your help not your dick. Do this, if for nothing else to prove to yourself that you still have some good in you. Then maybe, just maybe someday you can redeem yourself some in the eyes of Michael and the other angel warriors. “You can stay with me,” he told her. “Thank you so much. Like I said, you won’t even know I’m there. I promise.” He looked grimly at the road. Not know that she was there? Something told him that was going to be impossible. In the span of an hour, this small slip of a female had managed to get under his skin and reawaken emotions he thought had died with his archangel vows. **** Brenna looked over at the incubus out of the corner of her eye so he didn’t see her gawking at him. She knew she should restrain herself, but it was hard. She had never seen anyone as attractive as Thren. An ache built up in her as she took in his dark brown hair and finely chiseled jaw line. Even though he was wearing a long leather duster, she could see his body was strong and muscular, made for fighting and sex. A horrible thought occurred to her, she’d heard most incubi kept a harem of succubi to attend to their needs. “Do you live by yourself?” she blurted. He directed those wickedly exotic eyes her way and his full 252

Sanguinary Seductions lips curled up into a smile. “Why are you having second thoughts about going home with me? Are you worried about what spending the night alone with an incubus would do to your delicate angel reputation?” “No, I just heard that incubi always had several females around to…you know.” A heat came to her face and she ducked her head down so he wouldn’t see. “I just didn’t want to find myself surrounded by a bunch of unhappy succubi.” “Since I only know of a couple of other incubi in existence, I don’t think we can really say what is normal behavior for us.” “But you are a sex demon,” she persisted. “So you must have certain needs.” He let out a sigh. “How in the hell did we get on this subject? If I have needs I just take care of them myself.” “Oh.” Another blush came at his blunt statement. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of him stroking himself. She was no longer the same naïve thing she had been before her capture. In the years as a slave she had lived in close quarters with other angels and demons. She knew a lot about sex and sensuality from witnessing it. A wave of desire slammed into her as she studied Thren from under her lashes. For the first time in her immortal life, she wanted to do more than watch. She wanted to experience the joy of having a male’s hands all over her. She wanted to experience the joy of having his hands all over her. “Stop it,” Thren whispered. He gripped the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles turned white. “Stop what?” She licked her lips as she stared at his mouth. What would it be like kissing him? Would his fangs be sharp? How would they feel under her tongue? “I can smell your arousal,” he confessed. He looked over at her and the desire she saw burning in his eyes sucked all the air from her lungs. She pulled self-consciously at her cloak, suddenly aware of how old and drab it must appear. As a lowly slave, she had always dressed as plain as possible so not to draw attention to herself. She had seen too many times what happened to 253

eXtasy’s Collective Mind beautiful female slaves. The fact Thren was looking at her with such want was surprising and nice. She had the urge to run her fingers through his hair to see if it felt as silky as it looked. To run her tongue along the column of his throat to see if his flesh tasted as warm and spicy as it promised. To touch his lips to see if his kiss would be as thrilling as she expected. “You’re still doing it.” He shifted in his seat and she noticed, for the first time, the huge erection pressed against his black jeans. “I know I am.” She licked her lips again as desire coursed through her. “I’m the last one you should be making doe eyes at.” He curled his lip up and she caught a glimpse of one of his fangs. It should have terrified her, but instead it made her wet between the thighs. “What I should do is find the nearest angel warrior team and drop you off with your own kind.” “I don’t want to be with the angels.” She took a deep steadying breath. “I want to be with you.” There was a large pause and her heart pounded in time with every second that ticked away. What had she been thinking? He was a viral, hot male and she was a mousy, orphaned, slave. Like he would want anything to do with her. “If I take you home, I don’t think I will be able to keep my hands off you. It’s all I can do now not to pull this car over, grab you and kiss you.” Her skin tingled with excitement. “I could think of worse things to do on the side of the road.” A low chuckle rumbled from his chest. It was deep and seductive, like his voice. “We’re almost home. I think we can wait until then.” They went silent as he navigated down several dirt roads. He pulled up to the front of an old farmhouse and turned the car off. He kept his gaze directed straight forward, his hands still gripped the wheel like he was hanging on for dear life. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to in order for me to help you and Cabian. Don’t think you have to sacrifice 254

Sanguinary Seductions yourself. I promise you my sword arm regardless of what happens between us.” Oh wow, this guy could make ice into puddles with words like that. She hesitantly reached out and cupped his cheek. When he didn’t pull back, she felt a small thrill of victory. “I knew as soon as I saw you that you were good. After five years as a slave, I’ve had to learn how to go by my first impressions of others and I knew I was right about you.” He inched his face closer to hers and she tipped her chin up so their lips were mere inches apart. He smelled dark and erotic. “As soon as I became demon, I wanted it back,” he confessed in a ragged voice. “Since that day, I have tried to redeem myself.” “That doesn’t matter to me,” she argued. One hand gripped his forearm, the other had somehow found its way to his knee. “It matters to me that you know I’m not proud of my past actions. I gave into the evil part of me in a moment of weakness. My angel warrior team had been destroyed and I foolishly thought that by becoming demon I could become more powerful and truly avenge them.” “You are neither evil nor weak.” The cat-like irises in his eyes dilated with passion before he moaned and captured her mouth in a scorching kiss. Holy moly, could he kiss, too. His lips were gentle and demanding at the same time and he tasted of taboo desires. His tongue swept into her mouth and she let out a sigh of pleasure before slipping her tongue into his mouth. When she came into contact with his fangs, she couldn’t help but stoke them. His groan of appreciation was her reward. Encouraged by his response, she allowed her hand to travel up his thigh until it was just below his erection. A gasp of surprise burst from her lips when his hand slammed on top of hers. At first she thought he was going to push her away, instead he guided it to his cock and started to guide her fingers in rubbing him through the heavy denim material of his pants. “You’re dangerous, you know that don’t you?” he whispered hotly in her ear before he started to trail kisses down 255

eXtasy’s Collective Mind her neck. She wondered if he was about to bite her, but he just settled for harmless love nibbles instead. He paused at that cursed collar. “I’m sorry.” His breaths came out harsh and she was pleased to see she had that affect on him. “I’m ravishing you and you haven’t even had a chance to change and clean up. You must be starving, too.” She was hungry, but not for food. She gave his cock another generous squeeze and chuckled when he sucked in his breath in response. “I have nothing to change into.” A low growl rumbled from his chest. “I don’t think you being nude is going to be a problem.” He opened the car door. “Let’s get you inside.” She followed him into the old farmhouse. The inside was worn, but homey looking. All the floors were hardwood with throw rugs scattered throughout and the furniture was made for comfort rather than style. “This isn’t what I expected,” she admitted. “What? Did you expect a stone castle for the Reluctant Incubus?” He grinned and waggled his fingers at her. She laughed openly for the first time in years. Thren was so easy to be around he made her feel accepted and safe. Her heart thumped in apprehension. What was she going to do if he decided that he didn’t want to help them after all and she had to part ways with him? Even though she’d just met him, the thought of never seeing him again hurt more than she wanted to admit. “Are you going to show me where the shower is?” she asked. “It’s upstairs and to the left.” He gave her a cheeky grin. “I would take you there myself, but if I get you anywhere near my bedroom, you won’t make it to the shower.” “Oh.” She bit her bottom lip to hold back a grin of her own. The thought of rolling around and getting tangled in the sheets of his bed sounded inviting. “And I suppose that would be a bad thing?” He leaned down until his lips were inches from her ear. His hot breath fluttered against her sensitive flesh and she swayed as a moan slipped from her mouth. “Go take your shower, 256

Sanguinary Seductions angel. I’ll be waiting for you down here.” There was the lightest of touches as he feathered a kiss on the shell of her ear and she shivered in response. Then he turned and walked out of the room. **** Thren put the bowel of hot soup on the tray and tried hard not to think about the fact Brenna was naked, wet and just up the stairs. It was all he could do not to run up there and help her scrub her back, but he wanted to give her some space. He leaned back and thought about the events that had taken place this evening, awed at how quickly his life changed. When he left for the bar earlier, he’d been a lonely, but he still didn’t have a desire to be around anyone. Now he had a female angel in his shower, he was actually cooking for her all the while, trying to figure out a way to convince her to stay with him forever and not as a fellow warrior, but as his lover. “I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed one of your shirts.” The sight of her took his breath away. A pure vision of beauty, clad only in one of his white t-shirts and her slightly damp, curly hair, she was the best thing he’d ever seen in his immortal life. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, one hand on either side of the frame. Light from the hallway silhouetted her body through the thin fabric. He could make out every curve and dip, from the swell of her breasts to the apex of her thighs. “I don’t mind at all.” His voice was harsh with need. “It looks way better on you.” Moving with the grace of a jungle cat, she sashayed over until she was between him and the kitchen counter. The sweet scent of vanilla mixed with desire hit him like a ton of bricks. He still somehow managed to maintain control and not reach for her. She seemed to enjoy leading the game so he would let her do so. For now. “I made you some dinner.” He pointed to the tray. She gently pushed it away, never taking her heated gaze off 257

eXtasy’s Collective Mind him. “It looks yummy, but I want to nibble on something else first.” Oh crap, what had he missed? Maybe some bread, a salad, some cookies? She gave him a soft kiss before she slid down to her knees and zipped open his pants. Oh, that. Some incubus you are, a blatant sexual innuendo and it goes right over your head. “Oh, commando,” she cooed as she released his cock and began to stroke it. “I shouldn’t have expected less from my sex demon.” Before he could fire off a comment of his own, she took him into her mouth. Her plump lips wrapped around his cock as she gently sucked and he hissed in response, sounding like the demon he was. He didn’t give a damn though, because she didn’t give a damn. This sweet angel was loving him despite what he was. He buried one hand in her silky hair and used the other to hold onto the counter top for support. “That’s it, baby, take it all in,” he urged as he pumped his hips forward. She obeyed before pulling back to swirl her tongue around the tip of him. Brenna tortured him when she ran her tongue again over him, once, twice, three times before she took him back into her mouth, the warm heat almost sending him over the edge. “You keep this up and you’re going to end things too soon,” he warned. His balls grew tight and they screamed for release, but he held back. She gave his sensitive underside one long lick. “That’s bull and we both know it. You’re an incubus so as soon as you come you’ll be ready for another round.” “Fuck, Brenna. I want to come inside you.” “And you will.” She pumped his cock with her hand and he jerked with desire. “Later. Now I want you to finish in my mouth. I want to taste you.” After she made that declaration, she started to suck him again and this time he didn’t hold himself back. It took only a few more moments before he shuddered and released himself into her mouth. She took in everything he gave her and he stoked her hair through it all. When he was spent, she looked up from under her dark lashes and licked her moist lips. 258

Sanguinary Seductions With a primitive growl, he grabbed her from under her arms and lifted her onto the counter. A small gasp of surprise slipped past her mouth as he dropped to his knees and spread her thighs apart. When he saw she wasn’t wearing any panties, he let out a low groan of approval. “You’re so beautiful.” He feathered a kiss on the inside of one of her quivering thighs. “Thren.” She arched forward and he could see the dusky outline of her nipples pressed against the fabric of the shirt. “Fingers or mouth?” he asked. “What?” “Do you want me to fuck you with my fingers or my mouth, Brenna?” He licked the succulent flesh of her inner thigh, the urge to bite her was so strong that he couldn’t resist slightly pricking the skin with a fang. One scarlet droplet of blood appeared on her milky flesh. “Can’t I have both? “You’re a greedy little thing, aren’t you?” He pumped one finger in her before he licked the droplet of blood off her. His body sang as soon as the sweet taste of angel’s blood entered it. “When it comes to you, yes.” She gyrated her hips against his hand. He pulled out his finger and replaced it with two, her tight, hot sheath stretching to accommodate him. It was all he could do not to stand up and bury his cock inside her and start pounding, but he wanted to savor this first time with her. Her juices coated his fingers and his mouth watered at the thought of tasting her. “Spread your legs further for me.” She instantly obeyed. The movement caused her plump breasts to thrust further out and Thren growled at the sight. He would taste those too, before the night was out. As soon as his tongue caressed her clit, she let out a shriek of pleasure. So he did it again, all the while he continued to pump his fingers in and out of her. She tasted of honey and peaches and it was the best meal he’d ever had. There was no way he could ever get tired of this. “Thren, don’t stop.” Brenna’s eyes were closed and her 259

eXtasy’s Collective Mind cheeks pink with passion. For as long as he lived, he would cherish that image. “Never,” he surprised himself with the promise. “I’ll never stop loving you.” They both stilled a minute after his slip. He thought she was going to push away from him and run out the door. Instead, she looked down at him, her eyes wet with tears. “I think I would like that.” A thrill of joy went through him and he allowed himself a smile before he returned to her slick folds. Brenna let out a long moan as she grabbed two handfuls of his hair and pulled. The pain brought his own arousal up a spike and his cock grew hard again. Brenna had been right when she’s said incubi had stamina. She wasn’t shy, letting him know with tugs of his hair or gasps of pleasure what she liked and, before long, he’d brought her to orgasm. She screamed out his name as her thighs tightened around his head. He showed her no mercy, sucking, licking and biting until every last bit of pleasure was wrenched from her body. With one last kiss, he stood up and faced her. His stomach lurched when he noticed she still wore the slave collar. “Why haven’t you taken this off?” He frowned as he fingered the black leather collar. There was a metal loop in the front and he grew angry at the thought of them using it to chain her to a wall. Fear marred her perfect features, making her look younger than she really was. “If a slave takes off their collar the punishment is death.” He reached under her hair and unbuckled the wretched thing. “As long as I live, you will never be a slave again.” When he slipped it off her slender neck and threw to the side, he felt a slight tremor go through her body. He gently cupped her chin and gazed into her eyes. She may be a warrior, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need protecting, too. “Nobody will ever hurt you again and live to tell about it. I vow this to you.” “Make love to me, Thren.” Well, that was something that didn’t need to be asked twice. 260

Sanguinary Seductions He scooped her up in his arms and carried her up to his bed. The entire way there, she lightly nuzzled his neck and whispered love words into his ear. Once they got there, he gently tossed her on top of the patchwork quilt that covered his bed and started to shed his clothes. It took him longer than her, since he had to undo his boots, but soon they were both naked and ready. She opened her arms to him. “Make me yours, Thren.” With an alpha growl, he crawled onto the bed and settled his body between her thighs. His cock bumped her entrance, but he didn’t plunge into her moist heat yet. “This is just not sex,” he said. “Tell me you know that.” “Yes, I know.” She lifted her hips up and he sucked in a breath as her wetness touched him. “I won’t let you go after this,” he warned. “What makes you think I’ll let you go,” she challenged back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. With one smooth thrust, he entered her, her body fitting him like a tight glove. Brenna dug her nails into his back and urged him on. “More. Harder.” He bared his fangs with a hiss. “I don’t want you to see that part of me.” She thrust her pelvis, driving him deeper inside her. “Don’t you get it? I want all of you, the good and the bad. Take me.” She tilted her head to the side, offering up the temptation of her neck. “All of me.” A groan slipped out of him. He was fighting a losing battle and they both knew it. He pulled back before he slammed into her again, at the same time leaning down to sink his fangs into her tender flesh. As soon as her sweet blood filled his mouth, it was as if a thousand volts of energy zapped him. He’d denied himself fresh blood for so long, he forgot how good it was. To add to it, it was hers. His angel’s. His mate. His life. He timed his thrusts with the gentle sucks on her throat and soon she screamed his name again. Before she could come, Thren rolled over, taking her with him. Her huge eyes grew 261

eXtasy’s Collective Mind larger when she realized she was now on top and in control. Brenna’s perfect round breast beckoned and he couldn’t resist running his callused thumbs over the berry red nipples. She arched against his touch with a whimper of pleasure. “You’re so beautiful,” he marveled. For some odd reason, she had chosen to give herself to him, too. She started to ride him, slowly at first and then faster and faster as both their desire crested. Her long hair tailed down the elegant slope of her back making for the perfect erotic image. Thren grabbed her ass cheeks and urged her on as sweat made their bodies slick. The only thing that marred her perfection was the twin pinpricks from his fangs. But for the first time ever, the sight of them didn’t upset him because they marked her as his. She threw back her head as a final orgasm claimed her and he joined her, releasing his seed inside her. Wave after wave of pleasure rocked through him and, the entire time, he held her in his arms, her sweet touch making him feel whole again. After it was over, she collapsed onto his chest, like she didn’t have any bones left in her body. He ran his finger up and down her spine as he savored the feeling of her warm flesh against his. “I meant it,” he whispered, once he’d regained his breath. “I’m never going to let you go.” She jerked her head up so they could look at each other and the love he saw in her eyes humbled him. “So you don’t any regrets about what just happened.” “Regrets?” He gave her a tender kiss. “For the first time since I can remember, I don’t have any.”

262

Revenant German Bradley t was pouring in Edinburgh that evening. Giles McKee was standing by the large window of his bedroom, gazing at the silver drops that, one after another, fell on the glass and ran down to finally dissolve on the white window frame. The city looked sad. His coal black beard and moustache on his square-jawed face concealed his grief stacked up on his soul through the years. He turned his head and looked at his unmade bed, but his mind was wandering. Once again, his thoughts travelled to his abiding past.

I

“We’ve got tickets for the show at the theatre, haven’t we?” said Amanda, reminding him of that day’s plans. Giles’s drowsy eyes opened wide when looking at his watch. “Jesus, you’re right. If we hurry we’ll be on time for the show and…a little surprise for you.” Naked and still dizzy with champagne, they rose from the bed, hastening to fetch their clothes, tossed outside on the treads and along the banister of the stairs like a sample of their previous and imperative passion. “Oh, gosh. My head is killing me. Don’t move, honey, don’t move,” he said, reeling toward her. But he lost his footing. In lieu of stretching his dull arms to look for her support, he pushed her down the stairs. It was as quick as a blink. He tried to grasp at her, holding himself fast to the newel, but she slipped away, leaving him aghast at the last step while his 263

eXtasy’s Collective Mind wife lay on her back with a lifeless look in her blue eyes and a thick stream of blood running from her mouth. And there he remained, crouched against the balusters with his head between his hands, shivering in shock, fabricating an alternative scene in his mind in which he saw his wife standing up, laughing at his fear, saying that it all was a mere practical joke in their cotton wedding anniversary day. Tears trickled down Giles’s cheeks as his past refused to give him peace of mind. It was getting dark outside and the rain still dashed against the window of his Georgian house. Giles stepped to his brassframed bed and sat on it, his tearful eyes fixed on the wooden floor of his bedroom. “I’m sorry, Mr. Giles. She broke her neck.” The doctor’s words fell like a hammer on his head and on his sting. Deep within, his soul began to break down like an old unoccupied building, eroded by the weight of his guilt. “You can’t think of Amanda forever. She’s gone.” He knew his friends had been trying to help, but an idée fixe had grown like a lethal infection inside his soul over those years as well—an idea that returned stamina to his spirit by blinding his reasoning, showing him a way to get forgiveness from beyond. “It’s not good to live in the past. It was five years ago,” his friends would say. “How can I forget her if she’s in my dreams every night?” “Just look at yourself. You look homeless.” “I can’t stay at home anymore,” he lied. “There’re so many memories.” “Just sell it all and start a new life.” “I can’t,” he lied again. “There’s no life without her. It’s just crap. Everything’s fucking crap.” 264

Sanguinary Seductions What a pack of lies he told them all that time. Oh, yes. He was full of lies. He remembered how he refused every single invitation, every time they wanted to introduce him to new people, and even that time when they had come to his house with a couple of call girls to spur his almost withering passion. But he’d been a real bastard, a fucking liar afraid of spoiling his secret, keeping himself in the lee of that false melancholy. It was worth being, though. He had achieved happiness again. Giles and Amanda had always been kindred souls. She was the central event of his life. There had always been a preternatural understanding of each other. She was like him in so many respects that their relationship had turned into a magnetic and almost umbilical fascination. He looked out the window again. The rain had stopped washing Kerr Street, leaving just streaks on the window pane. His mind was still in his past when the creaking sound of the bedroom door opening behind him brought his thought back to the present. A soft strawberry perfume flooded the entire room. “Recollecting memories again?” He turned around and his eyes met his wife leaning against the door, glaring up at him with those lovely blue eyes of hers. She looked utterly surreal and sexy, clad in that buckle up leather and chain kitten strap body harness. The same harness she used for his birthday night party six years ago. “I was waiting for you,” he said, looking at the skin-tight leather high boots she shod and the lace-up elbow-length gloves that covered her arms. Her skin and her exposed athletic breasts were as pale as death except for the deep pink colour of her nipples and areolas. “But I can’t help going back to our past.” He remembered quite well she had driven him delirious with lust at that time. He had always enjoyed her lusty games. She just smiled and approached him. Their eyes locked. A polar fire danced inside those mesmeric eyes of hers. Giles knew her eyes could drink his soul and he knew he would 265

eXtasy’s Collective Mind allow himself to be drowned in that fire any time she wished. “I heard your calling, darling,” she said. Her cultured voice had made him blink himself back from the trance. “I know how much you loved it when I dressed in this garb. I need you, darling. I’ve come to ease your sorrows.” He had never been able to know whether the sound of her voice was real or fabricated, but he was sure about one thing, anyway. There was love in her voice, love and concern. She softly pulled him backward, making him lie on the white cotton bedspread. The smell of her perfume was much stronger now, heady. She leaned over him and he felt her cold breath upon his throat. He didn’t even care about that coldness, though. He felt as if he were entranced. And he liked it. Her crimson lips began to kiss his neck as her hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and the zipper of his jeans. Amanda’s soft feather-like kisses seemed to flutter over his neck, throat and chest until her mouth found his. “I would never leave you alone in here,” she whispered and kissed him fully. Their tongues met and interlocked as passion broke over them. Giles’s hands looked for her breasts framed in that body harness of hers and cupped them, softly at first, but then his fingers started to paw them deeply and hard enough to make her scream. “Suck, darling. Suck,” she said, brushing her breasts over his beard, over his face. Her nipples were already erect. His tongue encircled her nipples and drew each of them in turn into his mouth. “There, darling. Suck hard. I like it when you suck hard.” His cheeks hollowed as he drew harder and harder. He was sick with wanting her. “Bite my teats, darling. Bite them.” Amanda’s nipples had turned into stone-solid cherries. He could even feel them pulsing in his mouth. His cock was already pulsating, fully erect in one of her hands, free from the confinement of his jeans zipper. “It’s so beautiful, darling,” she said and pushed herself away 266

Sanguinary Seductions from him, releasing his cock. “Would you just let me admire it?” She sat up in bed by his side and gazed at his circumcised shaft. “I’m glad to see you’re still wearing the cock plug I bought for you in our last wedding anniversary.” Her blue eyes fixated on the snake-like brass cock plug tightly coiled around the ridge where the head joined the shaft. “I love that bulbous head and its jewellery.” “It’s been very stimulating,” said Giles and raised himself on his elbows to look down at the urethral plug imbedded inside his cock. “An agony, indeed, that has become harder and harder for me to prolong. Look, it’s given me such an erotic feeling that I can’t stop leaking precum almost every day.” A clear, honey-like glob of juice had already begun to flow from the opening in the tip of his glans. Giles’s entire cock was glistening with it and so were his hairless balls. “This game is for serious players, darling.” “Come here, baby. Let me show you how serious I am.” Amanda took off his jeans and stood in front of him, her eyes blazing with lust. “I can’t wait to be filled by your cock.” She started to touch herself between her legs. “My juices are flowing as well. Can’t you see?” Giles noticed the pink of her labia was totally exposed. Silver hoops pierced her already stretched labia minora, forming a sort of labia leash attached to her harness. “Don’t you like what you see?” “Oh, yes. Very much. Go for it, baby.” “Lie flat on your back.” She straddled him facing away from him. Her knees rested on the bed as she lowered her pussy onto his cock. It was such a good view of Amanda’s ass and pussy that Giles couldn’t wait any longer. Once again, her presence had managed to excite him to fever pitch. He felt one of her hands easing his cock into her. Unconsciously, his hips started to thrust upward, burying his shaft within her cold but throbbing sheath. But she made him wait as if she were testing his size and girth, wandering what pace to set. She leaned forward and used her 267

eXtasy’s Collective Mind arms to support her weight. She slowly began to use her hips to raise and lower herself on his cock. “Oh, shit.” The sensation the urethral plug was giving him was utterly exquisite and painful. His motion became more and more frenzied. She pumped her bottom cheeks up and down, quicker and quicker, increasing those painful sensations inside him. With every thrust from her, his cock bent one way or the other. “Oh, baby. I love your cock. Oh, it’s so good.” “Oh, shit. Oh, fucking shit.” He closed his eyes, jerking his hips upward. It was good to feel her softness again. “Fuck me, Giles,” she whispered. “Make me yours again. All yours.” He pushed her up and let her drop hard on his cock. In fact, his own balls seemed to be swallowed up inside her pussy. “Fuck me, fuck me.” He heard her scream. “Oh, baby. Fuck me. Don’t stop, please. Don’t stop.” She ground into him. He gripped her sides so that he went deeper and deeper into her as she clawed at the sheets. “Don’t stop, baby. Don’t stop!” She screamed on, fiercely writhing and twisting her body under his pumping. Her pussy had turned into a mouth. It worked on his cock as if it were a mouth, swallowing and sucking. Her muscles were like a tongue, licking and pressing his cock, forcing him to spend. But he couldn’t. Not with her on top at least. She rose from him and crouched on all fours on the bed with her legs slightly spread. Giles knelt behind her, still wearing his shirt. He began to take her with such vigour that she couldn’t prevent herself from screaming. “Oh yes, yes! Bang it into me!” His thrusts were bestial. Their bed squeaked beneath them. He was enjoying the animal that had taken over. However, it wasn’t enough to empty himself inside her. “Give it to me! Give it to me!” Giles had already heard her groan through three or four 268

Sanguinary Seductions orgasms, but he couldn’t come. It didn’t matter how savage or aggressive his thrusts were. There was no way for him to come. He felt close to orgasm anyway. His nerve-endings tingled. Electric currents ran through him, his heart was ready to give out. Although his flesh couldn’t contain all the seed that flowed inside him, he wasn’t able to release it. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” **** Exhausted and panting, Amanda let her legs give way and lay face downward on the bed. Suddenly, a fearsome pain gripped her. Her veins seemed to scream with agony. Her heart stopped, but she continued to live and breathe. “It’s happening again,” she managed to say. “It’s happening again.” Little by little her torture turned to ecstasy and her senses filled with vibrancy. Her soul was pulled to another world, a world she’d been before. A completely new plane of existence crowded with withered and shrunken horrors, shrouded in tatters, depicting desiccated human faces as decorations on their shoulders—the spectres of Undeath. Her soul attracted those spectres. She tried to fend them off as they floated around her, but she wasn’t prepared for such a thing. She was too weak and fragile. “His seed. I need his seed.” She knew Giles’s seed was some sort of drug that would have helped her keep those spectres at bay. It was too late, though. They had already broken through her defences, possessing her unprotected soul. They needed blood to ease their suffering and pain. And so did she, for their pain was hers now. Although she wasn’t looking at Giles she could hear his heart beating fast inside his chest. She could even feel his fear, and that fear stirred up her thirst. She turned around and saw him standing behind her, shaking. His cock was still enlarged. 269

eXtasy’s Collective Mind He moved his mouth to speak, but she heard nothing. She was deaf to anything except the sound of his blood running through his arteries. Actually, the sound drove her crazy. Amanda sat down and hissed. Her nails turned into claws. He stepped backward, but his bare foot tripped over his own jeans and he fell full-length on the wooden floor. She leaped forward and was on top of him in a second, parting his legs, kissing the inside of his thighs and teasing him with the tip of her tongue. His cock was soft now, his juices were still oozing. Her claws took a firm hold of his thighs and sank her fangs into his flesh. New sensations raced through her body as his blood coursed through her veins. The spectres inside her soul grinned with delight, but they wanted more. Amanda needed more. Giles was just a nibble. There were so many people to choose in Edinburgh, so much blood. **** Morning sunlight had already streamed in his bedroom when Giles’s eyes snapped open again. His head was a mess of thoughts and the light coming from his window really annoyed him. His body howled with an inner agony that became more and more familiar to him. He rolled himself in the handmade duvet and covered his face to continue sleeping. A cold and wet sensation on the inside of his legs woke him, bringing his consciousness back in a rush. “It can’t be,” he said and sat on the bed, drawing back the duvet. “It’s happened again. It’s happened again.” He gazed down at his groin and saw fresh stains of blood on the sheets. The previous night’s experience had left two new small wounds on the inside of his left thigh and the brass cock plug still inserted in his meatus. His cock was half-swollen. A fine long string of precum continued draining out of his head. He removed the urethral plug gently, trying not to pay attention to the stimulating sensation the action was giving him. He stepped out of the bed and walked to the window. The 270

Sanguinary Seductions sky above was clear blue. “I’m afraid, Amanda. Is this the penance I’ve got to pay?” The coldness of the room made his body shudder, but he couldn’t cope with his anguish. Deep inside he knew he was sick, sick with love for his long lost wife and afraid of the new creature he’d brought back from the other side as well. Jareth’s persuasive words and his own pang were forcing his memories back in time when he swore an oath with the black magic powers, almost a year ago. “You sure you want her back?” He and Jareth had met at Amanda’s gravesite in Mortonhall Cemetery. It was a bright winter day when the air was crisp and cold. He’d been waiting in front of Amanda’s grey granite headstone where he had read the cut and painted letters of her memorial inscriptions a hundred times at least. In loving memory of AMANDA McKEE Who died 16th April 2008 Aged 34 Beloved wife of GILES McKEE Always remembered “You sure you understand what you’re asking me to do?” Jareth asked while they walked along the gravel path. He had said yes to all her questions. He had abjured his faith. He had even sworn to give his mind, body and soul unreservedly to Hecate, the Queen of the phantom world, so that Jareth, her last surviving priestess, could raise up his beloved wife. “We must call forth the goddess, Giles. The ceremony must be done on an island in the north. We must travel there.” He had paid a fortune for a trip in which he and the priestess had travelled from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, where they took the Northlink Ferries to continue their journey to the Orkney island of Papa Westray. She had just carried a bag and an ancient book she never left behind. On the other hand, his luggage was just a portrait of his wife. 271

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “Have you ever been to this island before?” she’d asked when arriving. “No, never.” “Tonight there will be nobody else here but you and me.” The place was called The Knap of Howar and it was a Neolithic stone-built structure without roof, buried under the sand dunes of the seashore. According to Jareth, Hecate herself had built that place. They waited for the ferry to depart and stayed at the low entrance doorway of the ruins, completely alone and exposed to the full force of the black ocean and the strong wind. It was a mad place, indeed. He was scared to death. “There’s no turning back now, Giles.” Once inside, Jareth nailed and burnt the torches she’d brought with her around the Neolithic structure and put the book on a small stone altar. “Come on in, Giles.” He bent forward and crossed the doorway. Within the stone walls, it wasn’t that windy. “Strip off your clothes and kneel down there,” said Jareth, pointing to the centre of the ruins. “You must look on the goddess in lust and despair.” Shivering with cold and fear, he removed his clothes and knelt down where she had said. She put a black bottle, a dagger and the portrait of his wife in front of him. Then she removed her own clothes as well. She opened her book and began to read it in a strange tongue. Suddenly, the sky changed its colour into dark crimson and purple. Thunder peeled the sky and a loud crash of lightning rang out, breaking her words. The Knap of Howar slowly shrouded in mist. The coldness of that place brought him back to the coldness of his own room. His heart was still beating with fear. He moved away from the window and walked to the bathroom. He’d been seeing Amanda almost every night since that night at the Neolithic ruins. His memories won’t go away, though. On his way to the bathroom, he saw himself again, drinking from that bottle. He could even remember the taste of its liquid—salty and metallic, like the smell of old iron. He saw Jareth cutting his arms, legs and chest with that dagger. The vivid scene and pain he remembered made him touch his 272

Sanguinary Seductions old scars by instinct. He screamed and cried out Amanda’s name. The rain fell in heavy sheets, ceaselessly battering his naked body. The sky opened up just above him as the whole place seemed to envelop in dark energies. The stone walls became alive. A couple of cold hands touched his shoulders from behind. The image of Jareth’s old wrinkled pussy, approaching his lips, forcing him to savour her strong taste… His mind was a complete blank. There were no more images, no more memories. Nothing. He forced his mind to remember something else, but it was useless. Giles entered the bathroom and had a short shower. He stepped from the bath and towelled himself, then pulled on a robe and made his way toward the kitchen downstairs. His trembling hand opened the fridge but there was nothing there to eat. He looked around and realised he hadn’t prepared a meal in months. Then something crossed his mind. Without knowing why, he felt an irresistible impulse to go down to the cellar of his house. Giles couldn’t remember if he had gone down there before, at least not after emptying it a couple of days before his trip to the Orkney island of Papa Westray. It seemed as if Amanda were calling him, as if she needed his company as much as he needed hers in daylight. “You can’t be calling me, can you?” he said, going down the wooden stairs. “You must be resting now.” He stopped and tried to reason himself out of those thoughts. “It’s me, isn’t it? It’s just me.” However, the impulse he felt was stronger. His hidden secret was down there. Giles was all of a tremble, but unlocked the door of the cellar anyway. He turned on the light, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He waited at the threshold. He knew he didn’t have the nerve to deal with what that cold room harboured. “I must get out of here. I need some fresh air.” He was about to turn his back and leave when a loud, heavy thud in front of him forced him to open his eyes. The secret he 273

eXtasy’s Collective Mind had so eagerly protected revealed itself in that bare, subterranean room. There, in the middle of stained, unpainted walls, was a large, open marble coffin, carved in strange symbols. Yielding to curiosity, Giles came closer and walked around the coffin. His eyes scrutinized the details on the stone. The covering slab had fallen aside, showing a huge labyrinth carved in it and a black sun painted in the centre. Giles came even closer and looked inside the coffin. A thrill of terror and genuine satisfaction ran through him on seeing his naked wife laying in repose upon a blue velvet cloth. Her hands rested together on her chest as if in supplication, her body looked fresh and free from decomposition, her skin was soft and natural to his touch, her chest and part of her chin were smeared with dry blood. “Sleep tight, darling.” In spite of his natural fear he felt proud of what he saw, proud of his success. All those years had been like an interminable penance without her. Yet those years had gone. She was there, sleeping. He had brought her back from beyond to ease his sorrows, to satiate his carnal needs. What else could be more important now that he’d managed to make possible the unthinkable? What else after coming into contact with Hecate, the one who holds herself afar and defying death itself? She was no longer in his mind or in his heart, but in the flesh. “I snatched her soul out of your hands!” he said and laughed. “You hear me?” He looked skyward as if he could meet the Maker’s face up there on the ceiling of his cellar. Dark smoke streamed out of the stains on the walls in response to his insult. It swirled around the open coffin, forming a thick mass of black clouds. A grievous stench arose as well, spreading to every corner of the room, increasing and becoming above all measure pestilently noisome. The light went out. “Don’t flatter yourself.” The voice was low, rasping and unpleasant. It seemed to 274

Sanguinary Seductions come from the smoke itself. “I can scarce withhold myself from beating you to death.” “Who…who are you?” uttered Giles and swallowed hard. A supernatural brightness started to glow amidst the black mass of clouds that slowly evolved into a definite female form, a form that little by little became corporeal. It was a tall, fine figure of a woman, undeniably attractive. She had the appearance of a young maiden, her face was as white as alabaster, perfectly bloodless. Her lips were sultry, darkly rouged, but slightly drawn back. Her teeth were glaringly white and fang-like. The colour of her eyes was deep, penetrating black beneath dark-shaded eyelids. Hatred raged in those eyes. Her plaited black tresses flowed around her face. Her skin radiated that supernatural brightness that filtered through the old strips of black fabric that covered her body. “You’re Hecate,” Giles managed to say, kneeling in front of her like a faithful servant. “You must be Hecate.” The perspiration of intense fear stood upon his brow. “Hush, you bastard.” Her breathing was shallow and harsh. “Your soul is utterly useless to me. I got sick and tired of your pathetic fantasies. I thought you’d learn the delights of perversity I gave you. I thought you’d understand the superiority that comes from corruption, but you, you’re just a dull, stupid shell that will never be filled. I just wanted you to seek the evil in others and use it for my own ends. I should have never trusted you. I should have never trusted Amanda either.” Fear paralysed Giles’s limbs and the goddess laughed a guttural noise that seemed to tear his mind in two. “She thought you were a worthy man. She even thought you were a worthy soul.” The goddess’s laughter was louder and louder in his head, but his eyes were fascinated with those black, metallic-looking eyes of hers. He was trembling yet couldn’t withdraw his gaze from hers. Then strong fingers gripped both his testicles and his tender cock in a clinch. Pain forced him to look down at his groin and saw how an invisible hand was rumpling his robe, 275

eXtasy’s Collective Mind squeezing him so fiercely he burst into tears. “I called flesh unto myself to take Amanda’s soul back with me. Back where it really belongs.” The goddess’s right hand pointed to the coffin. “But you promised me I’d…” Then another unseen hand thrust up inside his anus, piercing through. “Hush!” Giles was shocked. It was an impossible pain. “Please…don’t…take her…away,” he implored. The goddess’s jaws opened. Her eyes burnt as red as rubies. Her nose wrinkled, flattening back on itself. With a plunge she seized his neck. Scythe teeth sprouted, poising over his jugular. A hideous sucking noise followed. Giles screamed for help, but didn’t resist. He just let himself go. In his mind he saw Amanda hovering around the ceiling of that subterranean room. He felt her presence. He knew she was there to protect him. He saw her smiling at him, calling him, expecting him with open arms. All of a sudden, he quit breathing. He felt a palpable loss as if the warmth of his veins had been siphoned away, leaving his body leaden and cold. His heart stopped beating. He felt as though he were away from his body, in space by himself. He looked down and saw Hecate feeding upon him. Her bright body was awash with his blood. Actually, she was cutting him into pieces. He saw his throat ripped open, his body torn apart and dismembered. The goddess was eating him. Hecate gazed up at him. Blood slopped from her mouth. “There’s nowhere to go now, but I’m sure you haven’t got the foggiest idea of what is actually happening to you, have you?” Frantic with horror and frustration he tried to grab her neck, but his hands couldn’t touch her. He was incorporeal. “Don’t bother and wait for your Maker to pick up your petty soul. He doesn’t want you by his side and neither do I.” Of course Giles knew he was out of his body, but he couldn’t realise that experience had anything to do with death. 276

Sanguinary Seductions He felt nothing at all but fear and confusion. He could understand what Hecate was doing to his body, but he couldn’t figure out how he was up at the ceiling of the cellar, watching as a spectator, what the goddess had left of his body. There was no way for him to understand how his hands had passed right through Hecate’s neck. Then everything around him vanished from sight. He was floating and tumbling through a dark void. He wasn’t alone, though. He had the feeling there was somebody else there as well. Amanda. He could feel her presence and her vitality. He could even feel her moving, but he couldn’t see her. Be receptive. He had no idea whether he heard her words or sensed her thoughts. Blend your thoughts. Absorb my strength. Just let yourself go and fill yourself with my vitality. Feel it. Let it in. An amazing energy started to break through his soul. Amanda was within him. He felt defenceless, but happy at the same time. Little by little his beloved wife was wrapping him in her glorious vital power, a power that dragged him into sweet oblivion. **** Amanda felt dizzy and disoriented when waking up inside the coffin. A blue-violet sheen emanated from the marble walls of the sarcophagus and from every object that she saw in that subterranean room—the walls, the ceiling, the table next to the coffin and the floor. A powerful energy surrounded her and gave her new strength. The spectres of Undeath were no longer inside her. Their torture was over. Amanda had managed to escape Hecate and her world of abominations. She’d come upon her husband’s soul. There was no other chance for her. Stealing his soul was the only way and she was sure she’ll never give up her hold on it. It hadn’t been that hard for her after all. His sick needs and desires had helped her a lot. Yet she was still helpless against the thirst that overcame her. Amanda made her way upstairs and prepared a hot bath for herself, lying there until the water turned cold and her 277

eXtasy’s Collective Mind fingertips began to resemble prunes. That very night her thirst forced her out to the garden. The grounds in front of her had a funereal atmosphere. The sprawling mass of green was a barely tamed maze of mustiness. A sap-green sheen emanated from those grounds. Her bare feet walked the path of cracked overgrown flags, flanked either side by dense yew trees that reared up, blocking out the moonlight, but her thirst became unbearable and forced her out in the street. She had to touch warm flesh and had to be touched as well. She opened the garden gate. Her eyes looked for the most suitable victims among the passersby. An attractive blue-violet sheen emanated from those living bodies. Her ears detected their hearts beating at a distance. Amanda knew her woman’s body, her soft breasts and thighs would enthral any man, any creature. The whole idea made her shiver. Soon the first victim appeared, a young girl in gaudy attire. Amanda’s teeth tore into the young flesh of her pale neck. Warm blood ran down her throat until her mouth overflowed. The smell was intoxicating. Scarlet fluids cascaded down her chin and between her breasts. But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough now. She dragged the victim inside her garden and dug her fingers until her knuckles disappeared into the wound she had inflicted upon the girl’s neck. More blood poured freely from it and her bloody hands smeared her naked breasts with the fluids. Her appetite grew stronger. Raw flesh had always had that exquisite effect on her.

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Samanthaùs Seduction Tianna Xander amantha knelt behind the marker, her back pressed against the cold stone. Her heart hammered in her chest at the thought that the caretaker could decide he’d forgotten something and come back through the gate and find her. Why didn’t the man just lock the gate and leave? She glanced up at the sun. It moved lower and lower in the sky every second she waited. Her leg muscles trembled as she bore the brunt of her weight on the balls of her feet. She held a five-pound sledgehammer in one hand and two wooden stakes in the other. If she couldn’t take out the damned vampire in her grandparent’s crypt with those, she deserved whatever she got. Reaching up, she swiped her forearm across her brow. It was hot. The sun had been beating down on the other mausoleum where she’d hid all day. She never thought it would be so difficult to hide in a cemetery. It’s not as through there wasn’t plenty of hiding places. It was just that they were all so hot. And the smell was unbearable! She waited for the sound of the caretaker’s vehicle to fade as he drove down the street, then heaved a sigh of relief. Still, she didn’t want anyone to see her so she ran through the maze of headstones, keeping her head low. She’d kill that damned vampire if it was the last thing she’d ever do. Smiling grimly, she tucked one stake in her back pocket and

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind carried the other in her hand as she approached the crypt. The sun was still up so she didn’t have to worry that he’d kill her first. She’d open the crypt, walk up to him and drive the stake through his cold, dead heart before he could blink. A vampire had taken her fiancé’s life and she’d be damned if she would ever suffer one to live if she knew where to find them. Revenge may belong to some higher power, but she didn’t care. The fewer vampires there were on the Earth, the safer everyone would be. Besides, she had a score to settle. She didn’t fall in love every day. The door to the vault was heavy. The sound of cement scraping against cement was loud. Perhaps too loud. She looked around, wondering if cemeteries had night security. There were grave robbers, after all. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she pushed the door open further to utilize what little sunlight remained. She needed to see to do her job properly. Gripping the stake tighter, she crept up on the sleeping vamp and raised her arm. Her eyes narrowed as she grew closer to the man who had the audacity to house himself in her family’s mausoleum. How dare he? The stake fell from her hand when she finally got close enough to see inside the coffin he slept in. This was her first kill? She shook her head, unable to move as she stood and stared at the man lying so still. His face was almost white. It was as though there was no blood at all in his body. He looked dead, yet his body hadn’t decomposed a bit and he didn’t smell. Blue-black hair framed his face. His jaw showed a hint of shadow, like he’d need to shave again in a few hours. His lips were red, too red in such a pale face. Shadows hid a good portion of his features, but she was sure it was him. She’d hoped against hope to find the man who’d killed her fiancé. Never, in her wildest dreams, had she expected to find him here. Samantha swallowed thickly and licked her lips. The hammer followed stake to the floor. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t end the existence of this particular vampire. It didn’t 280

Sanguinary Seductions matter that she’d read everything she could find on how to kill or incapacitate one. This one was different. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon. She had to run, to get out of here before he awoke. Too late! Sitting up, he turned to look at her. “I wondered how long it would take you to find me.” He glanced around the interior of the crypt. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you decided to visit your family.” Where were the long, ugly teeth that ripped and tore at flesh so easily? Samantha backed up a pace, raising her hand to her neck in a defensive gesture. He canted his head. “Are you afraid of me?” He frowned, looking hurt. Nodding, she backed up another pace. What did he expect? He was a vampire! It was the last thing she’d ever expected. She’d been fully prepared to end his existence, but now…now she could no more drive a stake through this vampire’s heart than she could fly. Her hand flew to her mouth to suppress a hysterical giggle. He could probably fly. “You’re afraid of me.” He sighed. “I didn’t plan for this.” “Plan for what, David?” “I never thought you’d be afraid of me. I’m still me. I still love dogs and horses.” He gave her a troubled look. “And I still love you.” He climbed from the coffin and faced her. “How can you love me?” It was crazy but she actually moved closer to him. “You’re an undead monster. You can’t feel something like love anymore.” “Bullshit, Samantha. I can live, love, laugh and cry just like you do.” Filled with anguish, his expression turned bleak. He leaned back against the casket and crossed his arms over his chest. “I should have known you wouldn’t understand. Your world is all black or white. It always has been. There are no shades of gray, are there?” Could it be that easy? Could they just pick up where they left off like nothing happened? Could she trust it—trust him? 281

eXtasy’s Collective Mind She glanced around. No matter what she decided, she wasn’t about to make any type of decision here. Leaving the stake and hammer where they lay, she pulled the second stake from her back pocket and threw it onto the floor. “Let’s get out of here and go where we can talk about it. I’m not staying here any longer and you should be able to go out now.” “I could go out before.” He shrugged. “I just knew that you would assume vampires would have to sleep in coffins during the day and what would outrage you more than to find one living in your family mausoleum?” His grin was almost eerie. She’d never seen his teeth so white, so perfect. “I knew you’d never resist the chance to evict me one way or another. I didn’t have to do anything, but sit back and wait.” Was she really that predictable? Not once had she ever entertained the possibility of getting revenge of any sort before. “How could you guess that I would react in such a way?” She backed out of the burial chamber and waited for him to emerge behind her. “Because,” he smiled, “I would have done the same thing had I thought you’d been murdered. I wouldn’t have rested until I brought your assailant to justice. Whether it be official or otherwise.” “Oh.” She bit her lip and held her hands behind her back. What now? Did she take him home? Were the stories true and he couldn’t enter her house unless she invited him? She wanted to. More than anything she wanted to. “Why don’t we go to your house?” Was he reading her mind? David took her elbow. “I’ve been there several times.” He released her when she tugged. “You were gone. I couldn’t help myself. I had to go in and look at the pictures.” He meant their engagement pictures. All of those pictures she couldn’t bear to get rid of. How many times had she done the same thing? Hell, she couldn’t even bear to put them away somewhere where they wouldn’t be a constant reminder of what should have been. David launched her over the fence at the graveyard with 282

Sanguinary Seductions little more than a flick of his wrist, then jumped it like it was no taller than her knees and landed fast so he caught her. She would have screamed, but there wasn’t time. The drive to her home was quiet. She had a lot to think about and David didn’t seem to want to interrupt her thoughts. Could he really still love her? She’d changed over the last few months. Believing him dead, she’d done her best to study every bit of vampire lore she could find. She thought she knew everything. But, if what David said was true, she may as well know nothing. She’d be better off not knowing they existed if there was nothing she could do to protect herself against them. At least there was a certain comfort in being ignorant. “Have a seat.” She gestured toward the couch when he followed her into the house, uninvited. Wasn’t there anything about the folktales she’d read about vampires that were true? Possibly the garlic? She shook her head. No. Garlic kept everyone away. That wouldn’t necessarily mean anything. David followed her into the bedroom. Couldn’t he leave her alone for just a minute so she could get her bearings? She couldn’t think when he was around. She never could. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down. She could feel him behind her, just as she always had—could feel the heat from his body, smell the spicy scent of his cologne and his own unique musk that always drove her wild. A tear escaped her eye and she swiped it away before he could see it and use it against her. She almost laughed at that. Of all the stories she’d read, the one she had dreaded the most was psychic ability. At least he apparently couldn’t read her mind. That was some comfort at least. Samantha stopped just inside the door and stared at the bed. They’d never once made love there. They’d always been in too much of a hurry. Now, she didn’t know if she’d ever want anyone that much again. But she still wanted David. No matter how much she tried to deny it. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. She could even feel his very nearness. Everything within her cried out to touch him, to take him inside her as she had so many 283

eXtasy’s Collective Mind times before. But could she trust him? Was he really the same man she’d known and loved just a few short months ago? She wanted him to be. Familiar shivers danced up her spine when he made contact with the tips of his fingers, sliding them up the length of her arm. Gooseflesh pebbled on her skin. He always knew she couldn’t resist him. Even now. Turning, she walked into his arms and looked up for his kiss. It was the same as it had always been, yet different somehow. It was more than she expected. A lot more. She didn’t know if it was because he was a vampire or if it was because she believed him dead for so long. So many months she grieved, wishing she had him back. Now that she had him here in her house again, she didn’t know what to do with him. Torn between thinking she should kill him and making love with him, the whole situation was unbelievable. Samantha relaxed in the circle of his arms and reveled in the ability to stand within his embrace once more. As always, he knew exactly what to do to make her melt. Heat pooled low in her middle. She pressed closer and groaned into his mouth. David cupped the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her long hair. With his other hand, he squeezed her rear, dragging her closer as his mouth continued its sensual assault. Giving into her desire, Samantha held nothing back, meeting every parry, every thrust of his tongue with one of her own. Allowing him to crush her to him, she returned his kiss with the same rush of desire, the same hunger, he showed her time and time again. It felt so good to be back in his arms where she belonged. “I’m never letting you go again,” he murmured the words against the side of her neck as he nibbled his way to her ear, suckling the lobe into the heat of his mouth. “Don’t make me let you go.” His words only served to comfort her. By both insisting that he’d never let her go, then begging her to keep him, he gave her the choice she needed. Samantha had been terrified that he’d suddenly become some monster, some 284

Sanguinary Seductions different…thing that would no longer consider her wants or desires. She was glad she’d been wrong. Unbuckling his belt, Samantha tore it from around his waist. She couldn’t wait to feel his skin beneath her fingers. It had been so long, too long, since she felt him inside her. If she had to wait one more minute than necessary, she would scream. Sliding her hands around his hips inside the waistband of his jeans, she cupped his perfect rear and squeezed. All the while, David continued to press one drugging kiss after another against her lips. Backing her against the wall, his hands worked every stitch of clothing from her body. She threw her head back, burying her fingers in his hair as his mouth finally closed around one turgid nipple. Bending, he suckled and laved his way down her body as he knelt before her. His arms may have held her, but it was his eyes that kept her captive. They were a blue so deep, she was sure she’d drown in them if she didn’t close her eyes and allow him to carry her away on this overwhelming tide of emotion. “Tell me you’re mine.” He said the words, his lips pressed against her navel, and pushed the thick material of her blue jeans from her hips. She wriggled out of them, then giggled, both nervous and excited when he tore her silk panties from her in his haste to see her naked. Closing her eyes, she groaned, her legs giving way as his long fingers slipped through the damp folds of her sex. His thumb circled her clit, rubbing the small bundle of nerves as his fingers slid over her slick flesh. Panting, she smiled as her head thrashed back and forth against the wall. No, he hadn’t changed a bit. Not emotionally anyway. He was still the same sexy man who could never wait to get her into a bed before they made love. So taken by desire for her, he still had no control over his emotions. David pressed hot, frantic kisses over her heated flesh. She could feel her body’s cream sliding through her sex, making her wet and ready for his possession. “I have to have you, Samantha. Now.” 285

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “Then what are you waiting for?” Panting, she leaned forward and pulled his earlobe into her mouth for a nibble. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled at his shirt, ripping the buttons free. The small white buttons shot everywhere like little missiles. “You’re overdressed.” He chuckled. “Yes. I guess I am.” “Hey! How’d you do that?” she exclaimed when his clothes suddenly disappeared. Then she grinned. “I like it. No more waiting.” She leaned forward and licked his nipple and he sucked his breath in on a hiss. He cupped her breasts and she arched her back, pressing them more firmly into his hands. He tugged at the rings she’d had put there the day before he was attacked and smiled. “I like these.” Then he frowned. “When did you get them? There isn’t another man…” “Of course not. I got them the day before you were attacked. Remember the surprise I wanted to show you?” Placing her hands over his, she tightened her legs around them, grinding her sex into his hard cock. She wanted him inside her. Now. “Oh.” He grinned. “It’s a great surprise.” “And?” “And I can’t wait to see what all I can do with them. But first…” He buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply. “I just want to feel myself inside you again.” “You never could wait.” She grinned and ground herself down on him again. “Not with you. You’ve always driven me crazy.” “Then let’s do it already. I can’t wait. I’ve missed you so much.” He smiled, pressed his forehead against hers and sighed. “I’ve missed you, too.” He slid his hand down over her buttocks and between her thighs. His fingers brushed through the folds of her sex, as always, to make sure she was ready for him. She was always ready for David. He did something to her no other man ever had. She was more than ready. Samantha let her head fall back against the wall as his 286

Sanguinary Seductions fingers moved in ever tightening circles around her clit, his fingers slick. She arched her back, tightened her legs around his waist and rolled her hips up into his hand. God, she wanted him, had missed him so much. There were no words to express how she felt about this man. Even love seemed a pale comparison. She wanted him, needed him, with her every moment of every day. It had nearly killed her when he was attacked and she thought him dead. Now, though he was no longer human, she still wanted him. Still needed him with everything within her. “These are like you.” His lips brushed against her nipples in turn. “So beautiful it hurts to look at them sometimes.” He pushed them together and laved the tips at the same time. She whimpered, her fingers threading through his hair as she held him to her. The weak light filtering in from the other room kissed their skin and he seemed to glow in the shadowy light. She should have demanded he carry her to the bed. He’d promised they’d make it there the next time they made love, but she was just too damned happy to have him back that she’d take him any way she could get him. Besides, sex between them was always so hot they never seemed to make it more than a few feet before they gave into their passion. It had always been like that between them. His teeth pulled gently on her new nipple ring, his breath brushing her nipple, while he squeezed her clit between his thumb and forefinger. The climax that tore through her was so intense she screamed, her head thrashing against the wall. “I’m going to fuck you now.” David buried his face in her hair. “I have to. I can’t wait any longer. If I do, it will kill me.” “Yes, please!” She couldn’t wait to have him inside her. She’d waited too long already. “I love you.” Her body gave another shudder from the aftermath of her climax. Grasping her hips, he lifted her and lowered her slowly onto him. “God, you’re so big.” She panted as he continued to lower her over his unusually large girth. His cock stretched her to her 287

eXtasy’s Collective Mind limits. She’d never felt him so large before. Was it because he was a vampire now? She pushed the thoughts from her head. She didn’t want to think about it. Not now. Now, she only wanted to feel. David pulled his hips back, his cock dragging over the sensitive nerve endings. She tightened her leg muscles and tried to draw him back. But he was stronger now. He chuckled. “Not so fast, baby. We’re both going to take this slow.” “I don’t want to go slow. I can’t wait…” She wrapped her legs more firmly around his hips and locked her ankles. He thrust into her slowly at first, then even he gave in to the need to pound into her the way she wanted him to. The pictures on the walls rattled and shook as he drove into her. Something on the dresser fell over and onto the floor with a thunk. His cock dragged over her sensitive nerve endings until she was sure the pleasure would kill her. Samantha held his upper arms as he continued to drive into her, each stroke deeper and harder than the one before it. She’d never affected a man the way she did him. It was empowering somehow to know that she could drive this man wild the way she did. The muscles in his arms tightened and his thrusts grew more frantic. Her sex began to tingle and heat up the way it always did just before she climaxed. She did her best to wait. She wanted this time to be perfect like it had always been. David growled deep in his chest, his eyes changing, swirling with some strange iridescent color. Her eyes widened when he opened his mouth to reveal the fangs she knew he’d had hidden. Samantha had little time to think let alone scream before he sank the pointed teeth into her vulnerable neck. Terror gave way to euphoria as she climaxed again. Her channel spasmed, gripping him tighter as she came while the warmth of his come washed through her. She remained surrounded by the same euphoria until he pulled his mouth from her flesh. She was still alive, but barely able to think from the residual ecstasy. David carried her to the bed, his mouth still doing 288

Sanguinary Seductions wonderful things to her. Samantha couldn’t believe it. She’d set out to kill a vampire, not be seduced by one. She couldn’t help but think, if this was the way a vampire made love, she had no business killing them unless they were killers themselves. Who was she to deprive some other lucky girl of such an experience?

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Sandiùs Crimson Knights Bonnie Rose Leigh ollow her. Mark her. Mate her. The two wolves raced through the woods, tracking their ever-elusive prey’s scent on the wind, desperate to reach her now that they knew how close they were to her. For years they shared dreams with her, nurtured their relationship through their sleeping hours, but finally, finally they’d located her. Ned Knight and his twin brother, Nate, ran through the trees, keeping pace with their mate, knowing that she was aware they were following her. It had taken years to learn where she lived. Though it would have been easier if their mate could have told them where to find her, that was against the rules fate created for their kind. Through dreams, she could tell them her name, but that was all. The rest was up to them to learn. It was their duty as her mates to hunt her, find her and ultimately provide for and protect her. Knowing that within minutes they’d finally meet face to face after sharing their dreams with their mate, Sandi for the last five years was almost more than they could handle. Soon, he promised himself as his feet pounded the ground, soon he and his brother would have her right where they wanted her. Her scent grew stronger, the space between them shorter. In the distance, Ned could see lights burning against the night sky. They were closing in on a suburban community and,

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Sanguinary Seductions hopefully, her home where no more time would be wasted before they could lay claim to her. Ned glanced over at his brother, watched the wolf running beside him with a wary eye. Ned was the first to admit that Nate was the more dominant of the two of them, the true Alpha of the pair. He just hoped he didn’t do anything to scare their mate away. Relax, Ned. Even in her dreams, our mate has known we would come for her soon. She knows my personality after all this time. Can’t you smell her arousal on the wind? She’s not running from us. She’s leading us to her den, showing us to her home where we can finally claim her as ours. I hope you’re right, Nate. I think if I had to wait much longer, living only on our nightly visits in her dreams, I’d go stark raving mad. His brother’s deep chuckle filtered through his mind. Well, it won’t come to that. Before this night ends, she’ll belong to us, completely. In the body of the wolf, Ned’s cock grew rigid with thoughts of finally taking his mate. With arousal and need urging him on, he picked up his pace, following his mate’s distinctive scent, a scent rich and thick with her own arousal. **** Nate approached the ranch house with caution. Even knowing his mate awaited them inside, he didn’t know her neighborhood, couldn’t allow others to see him and his brother shift out here in the open. All they knew of their mate was her name—Sandi Wylye and what they’d learned of her personality through the many years they shared dreams with her. Forbidden to share important details of their lives such as occupation, ancestry and the like, they only had the gut feeling to work with in regard to whether they could trust her or not. In his gut, Nate had no doubt their mate loved them. He saw it in her eyes every night when they met up in their dreams, heard it in her passion-rich cries as they made love to her. He tracked her scent to her back door, which stood open in obvious invitation. Nate looked over at his brother, then quickly scanned and scented the neighborhood. Scenting no 291

eXtasy’s Collective Mind one nearby, the two wolves broke cover and loped toward their mate’s back door. Thank the fates, within minutes, he’d be with his mate and he’d never have to wake up alone again. He couldn’t wait. With that in mind, he entered his mate’s home and tracked her to the back of the house, following her scent that perfumed the air with evidence of her arousal. **** Sandi stood in her bedroom doorway, unsure of what she should do. Should she lie on the bed and wait for them? Take a shower to wash off the sweat from her run? Other than her dreams, the only lover she’d taken to her bed were of the plastic variety that only needed batteries to get her off. She didn’t know what to do with a real live man—or men in this case. Deciding to stall for time, she headed into her bathroom and turned the shower on. A quick rinse would do wonders for her self-confidence if nothing else. She didn’t want to come to them smelling of sweat and wet fur. Perhaps by the time she got out, she’d have a plan of action, or they’d have implemented their own. Sandi smiled. One could only hope, anyway. Within minutes, she was freshly washed, her hair and skin smelling of strawberries and cream. What would she find when she entered her bedroom? Would they be in there waiting for her? Would they be dressed or naked? Sandi swallowed past the knot lodged in her throat. The only way she’d know was to actually go out there and find out. After quickly drying off, and deciding to forego a towel, Sandi took a deep breath and stepped into her bedroom. Scanning the room, she was surprised to find only Ned waiting for her. Identical twins, other than the length of their hair, she still had never had trouble telling the difference between them. They each had their own distinctive personalities. Nate was more gruff and dominant than his brother, but both were 292

Sanguinary Seductions equally strong physically. Ned put her more at ease, seemed to laugh and joke more than his brother. Sandi’s breath hitched as her gaze roamed over Ned. He leaned negligently against one of the posts of her bed, his arms and legs crossed, as naked as the day he was born. His green eyes glittered with heat. His black hair brushed his shoulders in a sexy tousle. Nate’s was longer by several inches, hanging to the middle of his back when not tied back. She couldn’t help but look her fill at this mate of hers. This was the first time she’d seen him in person. She thought the twins had looked good in her dreams, but in real life, they could stop traffic. His arms were thickly muscled, his chest broad. His hips were lean and, lord, his cock was huge. Long and thick, his shaft bobbed against his belly, nearly reaching his navel. Her eyes grew wide. She swallowed nervously. “How in the hell do you think that’s going to fit, Ned?” she asked, knowing that had to be the most bizarre first question she could have asked him. No introductions, no questions about why it took them so long to find her, nothing, just freaking out about the size of his cock. Ned chuckled. “It will fit, believe me, love.” “If you say so,” she muttered, still unsure. Inside, her beast pushed against her soul, urging her to mount him, mark him and claim him as hers. Following her wolf’s lead, since she had no clue what to do on her own, Sandi stepped forward and shoved Ned onto his back until he lay on the bed sprawled out awaiting her attention. She couldn’t wait to wrap her lips around his cock, feel it pulse and throb as she licked, sucked and nibbled him to completion. When he started to reach for her as though to pull her into bed with him, she shook her head. She’d waited years to feel them in person, to mate with them outside her dreams. She could hardly wait to make the experience a reality, but there were things she wanted to do, to try with them first. “No. Just lie there and let me pleasure you. I promise you won’t regret it.” As she braced her palms against his thighs, she leaned 293

eXtasy’s Collective Mind down and nuzzled his erection, breathing in his musky scent. Ned growled low in his chest, his wolf reacting to her touch. “Touch me. Take me in your mouth,” he demanded. She smiled against his skin, her wolf feeling triumphant that he would demand her attention, her submission to his needs. In the back of her mind, she wondered what exactly Nate was doing, where he was, but Ned’s scent ensnared her, keeping her attention focused on him. Taking her time, Sandi ran her tongue down the length of Ned’s cock, then up again, circling the sensitive head of his shaft before licking a path back down until she could give his balls the same loving attention as his luscious erection. After sucking first one in her mouth and swirling her tongue around the sac, she released it only to do the same with the other. She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t lavish enough attention on his cock or balls. She wanted to give him everything, pleasure him as no one had ever pleasured him before. After several moments of laving his balls, she moved back to his cock, gripping the base with her hand while running her tongue all around the sensitive head, but never taking it fully into her mouth. When a sharp slap on her ass startled her, she gasped, having forgotten that she and Ned weren’t alone in the room. “Take his cock in your mouth and suck him, mate,” Nate growled, all demand and aggression, his beast obviously riding him hard. She’d been so intent on Ned that she forgot Nate remained nearby, waiting…perhaps, watching…for the right time to join them. As Sandi took the thick head of Ned’s cock between her lips, Nate gripped her hips, keeping her firmly in place. As she stroked her tongue over Ned’s weeping slit, she heard the rasp of a zipper lowering from behind her. Her stomach clenched and her clit swelled as she imagined Nate taking her from behind as she continued to go down on Ned. Slick cream slid down her thighs, evidence of her growing desire, her desperate need for her mates to take her, for them to mark and claim her as theirs. 294

Sanguinary Seductions Lowering her shoulders and lifting her ass, she presented herself to Nate and she continued to stroke Ned’s cock with her lips, teeth and tongue, barely scraping her fangs against his rigid length as she took him to the back of her throat. Nate’s cock was hard and thick against her back, his hands warm and callused as they caressed her ass and she prayed he’d mount her soon. Her body needed. Her soul demanded. Her wolf howled. Soon, she prayed. Soon. “Please,” she begged, unsure how long she could control her own mating instincts, her own need to mount her men and simply take what she wanted if they wouldn’t give her what she needed. “Move up on the bed, Ned, and give me some room.” When Ned lay in the center of the bed, Nate gripped her by the waist and lifted her, forcing her to straddle Ned’s waist. Ned’s weeping cock pulsed against her core and she wanted desperately to take him inside her body. Nate stroked his hand down her spine, cupped her ass, then stepped away from her. “Take Ned into your pussy, mate, but don’t ride him or I’ll have no choice but to punish you,” he ordered, his voice thick and gruff, a rumbling growl that stroked her and her wolf from the inside out. Beneath her, Ned groaned. His hips thrust up toward her, seeking her needy channel. Desperate to be filled, to ease the ache growing inside her, she took Ned’s cock in her hand and rubbed him along her folds before slowly sliding her pussy down his meaty length. They both growled, their wolves so close to the surface, ready to fuck and mark each other—to mark the three as one. Ned gripped her hips and held her against him, preventing her from moving as she heard a drawer open and close to her right. Her thighs quivered, her clit pulsed. She needed to move, was desperate to move, but Ned held firm to her, refusing to let her slide along his cock even an inch. 295

eXtasy’s Collective Mind The bed dipped, then once again she felt Nate kneel behind her as she straddled Ned’s legs. Burying her face against Ned’s neck, Sandi inhaled her mate’s scent and waited for what was to come. She knew that within moments, Nate would sink his cock into her virgin ass. Trepidation and excitement warred within her. Her wolf howled in triumph, eager to show the ultimate submission to her mates by allowing them to take her in such a manner. In all honesty, despite her fear of the unknown, being taken by two men at once, one filling her pussy while another filled her ass, had always been a secret fantasy she never dared dreamed to fulfill. Now she’d get her chance. After pressing her shoulders forward until she lay completely against Ned’s chest, Nate covered her from behind, his cock pressing against her back as his he licked, nipped and sucked at the juncture where her neck and shoulder met. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to feel his teeth sink into her, feel him marking her with his fangs as his cock flooded her with his come thus marking her with his seed. “Now hold still, mate, while I prepare you for me,” he told her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the tube of lubricant in his hand, watched as he poured a generous amount on his fingers. Her heart sped up and her entire body began to shake as he slowly sank one well-lubed finger into her ass. With Ned in her pussy and Nate preparing to take her bottom, her arousal grew higher than ever before. Soon, another finger joined the first, stretching her anus as he made her ready to take his cock. By the time he could easily slide three fingers in and out of her ass, the fullness bordered painful. But she needed this, craved this from him—them. It was pure erotic torture to lie there unmoving with Ned’s cock buried deep in her pussy and Nate working his well-lubed fingers in and out of her ass, but she did her best to remain unmoving atop her mate, knowing that if she moved the love play, the pleasure would end. That she couldn’t handle. “Hurry, Nate,” Sandi implored. “I can’t take much more.” Nate groaned and replaced his fingers with his cock, 296

Sanguinary Seductions pressing firmly against the tiny rosette of her anus until he gained entry, slowly sliding past her sphincter into the hot vice of her ass. As Nate filled her from behind, she could feel Ned trembling beneath her. Sweat beaded upon his brow and his breathing grew harsh and labored. She knew he was holding back, as desperate to fuck her pussy as she was have them fuck her. Only their desire to take her, claim her at the same time prevented him from sliding her up and down his shaft. Feeling stretched almost to the point of pain, Sandi tried to ease Nate’s way, pushing back against his cock while doing her best to ensure Ned remained lodged inside her as well. It was not as easy to accomplish as she always assumed it would be. Finally, he was all the way in and they all managed to stay still for one long moment. She shuddered at the sensation of being so filled with cock. The pleasure-pain overwhelming her now was more than she’d ever imagined and they hadn’t even started to move inside her yet. How would she survive it once they actually began to thrust inside her? As though reading her mind, or perhaps sensing her need, Nate and Ned both held on to her hips and slowly lifted her. “Ride us, love,” groaned Ned, his voice husky with desire. They all sighed with pleasure when she did as instructed, slowly sliding up and down their cocks, taking them deep into her body. Before long, she couldn’t maintain the rhythm, the pace and her mates took over. Nate and Ned began stroking in and out of her in gentle, steady thrusts, filling her at the same time instead of one withdrawing while the other filled her, something she really hadn’t expected. As they repeatedly filled her, then withdrew together, it slowly began driving her crazy, creating a frenzy of need that had her wolf clawing inside her, howling for release. As they filled her over and over, it became too much, then not enough and all she could do to hold on for the ride. Her thighs quivered. Her clit pulsed. Her heart hammered and still the pleasure grew and grew until the pleasure began to burn and rage inside her. Her nails dug into Ned’s shoulders as she rode out the firestorm of desire roaring through her. When she 297

eXtasy’s Collective Mind thought she couldn’t take any more, couldn’t feel any more, her channel clenched down on their cocks as an orgasm the likes of which she never could have imagined tore through her body. Nate and Ned’s thrusts grew harder as they moved faster and drove deeper with every stroke, keeping her on the edge, consumed by pleasure, until she was screaming with each new, more intense wave of orgasm that crashed over and through her. Reaching between their bodies, Ned pressed his thumb against her clit forcing her once again up and over and then they were with her, both men yelling their own release. They flooded her body with creamy jets of hot come, filling her pussy and her ass with their seed, bathing her with their essence. Her body was still clenching their cocks, milking them when they both leaned forward and bit down where her neck and shoulder met, marking her for all to see, claiming her as their mate. No sooner had they released their grip on her shoulder, then her wolf leapt forward, desperate to return their favor. As though sensing her need, Nate leaned over her back, placed his neck next to her cheek. “Go ahead, mate, and bite me.” Wrapping one hand in Ned’s hair to keep him from retreating, she turned to face Nate, then nodded. After slowly licking along his shoulder and laying a tender kiss against his lips, she placed her mouth against his neck and allowed her fangs to slowly ease into her mate’s shoulder, wanting him to remember the moment she claimed him with nothing but pleasure. After taking just a sip of his blood, she eased her fangs from his neck and swiped her tongue over her mark, sealing the wound closed with her saliva. After gently placing a kiss against her mark, she turned and looked down at Ned who practically quivered with excitement beneath her. “Now, it’s my turn, love. Mark me as yours,” Ned demanded. Sandi’s lips quirked up in a smile as she looked down at her 298

Sanguinary Seductions other mate. As she contemplated where to leave her mating mark, Nate slowly pulled his softening cock from her bottom. “While you mark him, I’ll get a couple wash clothes to clean up with,” Nate offered before easing off the bed and walking away. Ned reached forward and drew her dawn until their lips were less than an inch apart. “Kiss me, Sandi, then mark me as yours. Claim me as your mate as we claimed you.” Nodding, Sandi closed the distance between them, her lips caressing his as she poured all the affection her and her wolf felt into the kiss. As their tongues dueled, Ned’s hands stoked her back, her bottom, showing her without words how much he cherished her. Breaking the kiss, Sandi eased up and looked over her mate. Should she mark his neck for all to see or place her mark upon his heart where she hoped she would always be a part of him? She didn’t know. Ned made the decision for her, pulling her up until her lips grazed his neck. “First here, so all will know I’m taken, then you can place as many marks over me as you and your wolf would like until your both satisfied that I truly belong to you.” Something eased inside her chest at his words, allowing her wolf to finally calm, something she hadn’t felt since first scenting her mates on the wind. As gently as she could, she bit down on Ned’s neck, marking him, claiming him as her other mate. Finally, finally, their union was complete. Almost as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she felt the bond between the three of them click into place. She could feel Ned’s contentment below her, Nate’s happiness as he gathered supplies, could feel their overwhelming joy that they’d finally found their third, the one person that would make their lives complete. And she could feel all three wolves, their animalistic satisfaction and desire to mate and mate often. She was still trying to process the aftereffects of the bond when Nate returned. With effortless ease, Ned lifted her off his softening cock and laid her on the center of the bed. She lay there content and drowsy and watched with half-lidded eyes as 299

eXtasy’s Collective Mind her mates slowly cleaned her sweaty and come-soaked body, easing her into sleep with their gentle ministrations. She never heard another sound until the alarm went off the next morning. As the sun filtered through the window, Sandi rolled over, expecting to bump into a large male body—or two. But the bed next to her was cold and empty. Sitting up, Sandi sighed in disgust. “Dammit! Not another dream. I thought for sure last night had been real,” she muttered. Throwing the covers off her body, Sandi sat up along the edge of the bed and winced at the soreness between her legs. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought she’d spent the hours between midnight and dawn making love, but her home—her bed—remained empty. She must have run longer the night before than she’d thought, worked her herself harder. Last night had been a full moon—a mating moon and she’d spent hours running as a wolf, exploring the woods surrounding her home and hunting prey. It saddened her that the rest had only been a dream. “We’re no dream, love.” Sandi squeaked, startled that she hadn’t heard anyone join her, that she hadn’t scented another being in her home. When she realized it was Ned, her mate, standing in the doorway, she didn’t stop to think, just launched herself off her bed and straight into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around her waist, she nuzzled his neck, scented her mark on his skin. “Where is Nate? I didn’t imagine him, right? He was here, too?” Ned chuckled, sending goose bumps down her arms and the hair standing up at the nape of her neck. Just that quickly she was dripping in desire, ready to take him inside her body again, but she needed to know about Nate. “He’s here. He’s in the kitchen making breakfast for you. We intended on serving you breakfast in bed, but didn’t realize that you’d set your alarm or we would have turned it off before you woke. Now you’ve ruined our surprise.” 300

Sanguinary Seductions When she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Nate standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of faded jeans and a naughty smile. With a twinkle in her eye, she looked from one male to the other. Licking her bottom lip, she lowered her lids and whispered, “So, what can I do to make it up to you?” When both males growled low in their throats, her wolf bristled inside, desperate with need for them to take her again, this time in the light of day. As though reading her mind, Ned took a step forward and tossed her back onto the bed, and both her men quickly shucked their jeans, their thick cocks standing erect and begging for attention. Smiling, Sandi raised her arms, beckoning her mates to her, knowing from this day forward, she’d never have to rely on her dreams to find fulfillment. The three of them were now one and she couldn’t wait to start their lives together. They could discuss the particulars of living arrangements later. Much later.

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Sins of an Angel This coming of age story takes place between Captive Angels: Archangel Series Book Two and Rogue Angel: Archangel Series Book Three.

Stephani Hecht ase blamed the damn matchstick for this. If not for that damn sulfur emitting piece of crap that had been smaller than the others, then Joe would be here instead of him. But no, Case had to be the one to draw the short stick so now he was the one sitting on his butt, in his car, outside some black market arms dealer’s headquarters. Meanwhile, his twin was staking out the neutral bar. The neutral bar was nice and warm and probably had some pretty succubus slinking around in it. He felt his cell phone vibrating in his front pants pocket so he pulled it out and flipped it open. He groaned when he saw it was a text message from his baby brother, Bear. What in the heck did that punk ass, Goth freak want now? Wacha doing? Case blinked at the words in disbelief several times. Was he frigging serious? He was on an important stakeout, trying to track down Aris, one of the most dangerous rogues that the angel enforcers had encountered in years and little Bear was playing texty messy? Even as he continued to glare at the offending screen, his phone started to buzz again. R U there?

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Sanguinary Seductions Case threw his arm back, preparing to throw the thing out the window when a sudden thought occurred to him. He really did need his cell phone and, even if he did get rid of it, he would still be stuck with Bear. So it wasn’t really fair to punish the phone when it was Bear that he wanted to chuck. He started to send a message back. He’d watched Bear text a million times and it looked easy enough. Case found out quickly though his thumbs seemed too big for the job and trying to figure out in the dark which letters corresponded with which letter was hard. He was determined so he finally did manage. Go Away. No sooner had he sent the message, then another one came bouncing back at him. How in the hell did Bear manage to write so fast? Crap that kid had way too much time on his hands. Is tht n e way 2 treat ur bro? “What the heck?” Case exclaimed out loud. His lips moved as he tried to sound out what the gibberish was supposed to say. It was useless though as he didn’t understand half of it. It was times like these that he really wished he were an only child. He tackled the keypad again in order to get out Screw you. No sooner had he sent the message, than Bear flashed into the seat next to him. Case jumped a mile at his sudden appearance. As his heart pounded, he cursed the fact that while angels really didn’t have wings, they did have the ability to transport themselves from place to place, simply by willing it. Case took in Bear’s appearance and rolled his eyes in disgust. All eight of the Lehor brothers, yes folks eight, had the same blond hair and baby blue eyes. Bear chose to express his individuality by dying his a different color for each day of the week. Today, the spikes were tipped in green. Completing his look was a black My Chemical Romance shirt and battered jeans. “You’re supposed to use the letter U,” Bear said by way of greeting. Case gave a slight shake of his head, “What?” “When texting you use abbreviations. It takes too long if you type out the whole word. Plus, it makes you look like a 303

eXtasy’s Collective Mind dork.” Case ran his hand through his hair in frustration. While he always kept the back cut regulation length, he let the front grow a bit longer so it tended to fall in his face. He gestured at Bear’s Goth attire. “You’re the dork. Do I even want to know why you’re here?” Bear gave a half shrug. “I was thinking—” “That’s dangerous,” Case cut in sarcastically. Bear went on as if he didn’t hear him, “—that you must be lonely and needed some company.” Case got a real suspicious feeling. “How did you know where to find me?” “Joe told me.” Bear’s grin showed that he knew just how much that little nugget was going to piss off Case. Case gave a strained laugh as he gripped the steering wheel tight, imagining it was his twin’s neck that he was squeezing. “Joe’s at the bar with some succubus on his lap and I get stuck with your scrawny hide?” Bear looked down at his small frame, clearly offended. “Hey, we all can’t be built like you big, bad archangels. I didn’t ask to be born an empath. Besides, you guys would be lost without us. How else would you sniff out the demons?” Bear did have a point. Empaths picked up on the evil vibes demons gave off so they were able to detect if any were nearby. That still didn’t mean Case was happy to have this empath along side for the ride. “Go home,” he ordered. “I’m working and it might get dangerous.” Bear pulled out a small dagger and waved it dramatically. “As Mr. AP said, danger is my middle name.” Case had the sudden desire to start pounding his head on the dash. “I don’t need your help, Bear Danger.” “Oh really?” Bear cocked a brow. “Then you probably don’t need me to tell you there’s a demon in that alley over there.” Case muttered a curse under his breath as he scrambled to get out of the car. He paused long enough to point a finger at the Goth. “You. Stay. Here.” 304

Sanguinary Seductions Bear held up his hands and gave a look of innocence he couldn’t pull off even on his best days. “Hey, don’t worry about me. I’ll just stay here and diddle with myself.” “Don’t be a smartass.” Bear’s eyes grew flat and a grave look came over his face. “I’m serious, I really am going to whack off. Right here, in your nice clean car.” Case grabbed his long sword and was tempted. No, must not smite own brother. He gave one last warning jab of his finger instead. Bear gave him a sarcastic salute before he gave him the finger. Case turned away from him, taking great care not to slam the car door, then made his way toward the alley. He took exactly three steps before a horror filled him so deep his stomach dropped a couple of feet. Surely Bear wouldn’t really jack off in the car. That would be messy and well…gross. Case spun back around to check. Bear flashed that mischievous grin of his and waved. Well at least one of his hands isn’t busy. A look of shock suddenly came over the empath’s face before he started to point and wave more franticly. His eyes were huge and his mouth started to flap like he was yelling something. Case shrugged. “What?” No sooner had the word come out, than he was tackled from behind and taken to the wet concrete. Oh, that’s what. Whatever was on his back grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and pounded his face into the pavement two or three times. Truth was, he really wasn’t sure how many times his kisser met with the ground. He kind of lost count after his ears started to ring and his vision became hazy. He shook it off and used his hands to propel himself off the ground at the same time he brought back his elbow. He heard a small feminine grunt as he made contact with a warm soft body. He shot to his feet to face his opponent. She was across the alley doing the same thing. Case stopped dead as he gaped, actually gaped at the female who had attacked him. She had a mane of dark red hair that reminded him of flames. It was long and so soft looking his fingers itched to bury themselves in it 305

eXtasy’s Collective Mind and hold on. Her eyes were an eerie amber color and the pupils were elongated, reminding him of a jungle cat. She had on red leather from head to toe. The bustier top cupped her full breasts just right while the tight pants highlighted her curves. The look was complete with a pair of high-heeled spiked boots, one of which was heading right his way. He rolled away from her kick and sized her up again. She pulled back her full strawberry kissed lips into a sly smile, showing off fangs while she ruffled her black bat-like wings a bit before she tucked them into her back. Fangs? Cat eyes? Wings? This little lady here was a succubus. In the time it took him to formulate that information, she had brought her foot around again. This time he didn’t have time to dodge and she caught him right in the face, cutting his lip. He jacked his leg out as he went down, taking her feet out from under her. She let out a surprised gasp as she landed heavily onto the street. He crawled over the hard ground until he was on top of her. Once he was there, two things occurred to him. One, her curves felt damn good under him, especially when she wriggled. Two, all of sudden he did not feel like fighting her anymore. “Let me up,” she demanded in voice thick and husky enough to make a phone sex operator jealous. “I’m not the one you’re looking for.” “You attacked me first,” Case reminded her. Her hips brushed up against his cock and it came to attention like the good little soldier it was. “I need to get out of here fast and you’re in my way.” Case couldn’t help but smile at her, even though the movement made his already injured lip split open and bleed even more. “Have you ever heard of saying excuse me?” Her eyes seemed fixated on his injury. “My mother was a demon so teaching me manners wasn’t top on her list.” Case bent down so he could drink in her scent. Patchouli. Now that was interesting, most demons smell like decay. But then most demons didn’t have her porcelain complexion, delicate jaw line, cute button nose or long full lashes either. He 306

Sanguinary Seductions snagged him one hot demon, pun intended. “You’re bleeding,” she breathed. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. Case grew even harder at those words. It was no secret succubi liked angel’s blood, hence their fangs. But it wasn’t just any blood that she was yearning for, it was his. He dipped his head down and she met him halfway. He expected a kiss, but that wasn’t what he got, instead she did something more carnal and taboo. She took his injured bottom lip into her mouth and sucked it, drinking his blood like it was a vintage wine. Even though he didn’t think it was possible, he became more aroused. Grabbing one of her legs, he hooked it around his waist so her apex was grinding harder against his throbbing cock. She didn’t fight him or withdraw. If anything, her sucking grew more frantic and urgent. Her long fingers splayed out to grab his biceps in an almost painful grip as she raised her hips up to thrust against him even harder. She pulled her mouth back and alternated licks with nibbles and he groaned low in his throat. Hell, if they weren’t in the middle of the street, he would have been tempted to strip off her clothes and devour every inch of her succulent skin. The sounds of pounding footsteps and snarls drew him out of his sex stupor. Oh yeah, she is running from something and that something is obviously here. He looked up and saw two huge demon assassins. Bright green in appearance, they looked more snakelike than anything. They had deep-set red eyes above twin slits that served as nostrils. Their forked tongues continuously darted out to sample the air around them. Each one was armed with a whip. Case looked for his sword and saw it a couple of feet over on the ground. Crap, he’d been thinking with his cock and he’d made a rookie mistake. No archangel of worth would lose his sword. Could this day get any worse? Bear’s voice sounded from the left. “Don’t worry, Case. I’ve got your back.” Why yes, it could get worse. Case gave the succubus an apologetic look as he scrambled 307

eXtasy’s Collective Mind off her and rolled to the side. He grabbed his sword and came to a crouching position, preparing himself for the coming battle. The assassin struck out with his whip and Case rolled to avoid getting hit by it. Scooping up his sword and swinging with one long sweep, he cut the demon’s feet out from under it. The monster let out a shriek of pain as it collapsed to the ground. Case sprang to his feet and went over to it. Using both hands, he gripped the hilt of his sword and brought it down, right into the bastard’s heart. The demon disappeared as it flashed back to Hell. He turned, frantic to help Bear. His brother may have a mouth as big as a Winnebago, but he was small compared to these demons. There was no way he could handle himself in a fight with one. He was just in time to catch the other demon flashing out. Damned if he hadn’t underestimated his brother. Bear was bent over catching his breath, but was otherwise unhurt from his tussle with the demon. Case was further stunned to see his brother had a pair of retractable blades on his wrists and they were covered with demon’s blood. Bear gave him a wolfish smile. Case tried to return it, but couldn’t. He never realized his little brother was this deadly in the field. “Why are you looking at me that way?” Bear’s grin disappeared, replaced by a scowl. “Like what?” “Like you can’t believe that I can actually handle myself in a fight. I may be a puny empath, but I’ve had a gazillion years in warrior training.” Case instantly felt guilty. He’d been treating Bear like he was a teen still in training instead of the adult he now was. It was so easy for him to forget the empath was a highly trained warrior because Bear was the baby in the family and the fact Bear acted like he was an idiot most of the time. Bear pulled a cloth out of his back pocket and started to clean his blades. “By the way, your girlfriend rabbited while the fight was going on.” Case looked around and saw he was right. The succubus was nowhere to be seen. A wave of disappointment went 308

Sanguinary Seductions through him. Things had just started to get fun with her, too. “I wonder what she was even doing here in the first place?” he mumbled more to himself than to Bear. The empath still answered, “I think she’s connected somehow to the rogue you’re hunting. Same goes for those demon assassins.” “You’re probably right,” Case conceded, impressed at how quickly Bear put that together. “Aris has been spotted at the neutral bar Joe’s at. They want you to go to his house and search it.” “How do you know that?” Case asked, confused. “Joe called while you were playing with the succubus.” Bear held up Case’s cell phone. “You left this in the car.” Case closed his eyes and groaned. He could just imagine how that conversation went. Bear had probably given Joe blow-by-blow details of his whole make-out session. He was never going to live this down. Bear smirked. “You’ve been losing a lot of things tonight— your phone, your sword, your succubus. You’re not doing too well. No wonder Joe sent me to watch over you.” Case clenched his teeth together so hard they probably heard it all the way to Heaven. “I have to go search that house now. I don’t suppose I could convince you to go home?” Bear flashed a wicked grin, displaying his one dimple. “Hell no. I’m having too much fun.” Of course he was. **** “Fighting makes me so hungry,” Bear mumbled around a mouthful of food. “By the way you’re eating, you must a fought an entire demon battalion,” Case retorted as he looked out of the corner of his eye at Sir Pigs A Lot. “What is that, your third burger?” Bear shrugged. “I lost count.” He then changed subjects so quick it almost confused Case. “So is the reason why you’re in such a bad mood tonight because you’re stuck with me or 309

eXtasy’s Collective Mind because this is your first mission without Joe by your side?” In truth, Case did feel off balance without Joe. They always did everything together since the day they were born. The whole reason why they had become enforcers instead of angel warriors was so they could stay together. It hadn’t been an easy decision either. Angel warriors, who fought Lucifer and his demons, were considered the most elite of Heaven and everybody looked up to them. Enforcers, on the other hand, just fought rogue angels and were looked at as nothing more than glorified police officers. “You’re not that bad to be around,” Case conceded, not quite willing to admit he was lost without his twinsie. It made him feel like they were pansies who were just one step from wearing matching coveralls and acting in gum commercials. Bear’s expression grew sour as he threw down the rest of his burger. “Sure, I’m not bad to be around as long as I stay in the car and keep my mouth shut.” “I’m sorry about that. I just sometimes forget you graduated top of your class in academics and fighting.” “Like I had any choice,” Bear’s voice was laced with bitterness. “It wasn’t easy following in you guys’ footsteps. Now, I’m on my own team and feel like if I don’t do perfect, then I’ll be failing all of you.” “You’ll do just fine. We were all scared when we first went out in the field.” He hedged, trying to find a way to prove to Bear that he didn’t think he was a total fuck up. “Look, I have to go process the inside of the house, why don’t you go through the garage for me?” Bear tried to act nonchalant, but there was no mistaking the pleasure in his eyes. “Sure, it beats being left behind in the car.” They got out and separated. Case was proud of the fact Bear had his blades out and was constantly scanning for danger. He carried himself like a true warrior and not in the usual slouchy way when he was around the house. Case was seriously beginning to suspect there was a lot more to Bear than met the eye. 310

Sanguinary Seductions Directing his attention back to the mission, Case couldn’t help but curl his lip at Aris’s human dwelling. The house was a piece of crap, even when taking into consideration it was in a bad neighborhood. The white paint was faded and peeling and half of the windows were boarded up. A battered screen door hung crookedly on its hinges and the steps leading up to the porch were uneven and warped. It only took Case a few seconds to pick the lock and he was in. He was immediately struck that the inside didn’t match the outside. The décor was tasteful and there were expensive electronics everywhere. His feet sank into plush blue carpet and the air was ripe with the smell of leather from the black sectional that took up most of the living room. One of the first things he learned in enforcer training was to make sure that a house was clear before letting down his guard so Case went room to room, sword drawn , to check them. It was in the second bedroom he found his missing succubus, sitting pretty as you please, perched on a red satin comforter, handcuffed to the bed. She was still fully dressed so she wasn’t chained to the bed for fun and games. No, someone wanted her contained. A glance at her slender ankle further confirmed that. Someone had slipped an angel’s harness around it. It made it impossible for her to flash anywhere. Case’s cell phone started to buzz and somehow he instinctively knew it was Bear. One look at the message confirmed his suspicions. Thr is a demn n thr. No shit, Sherlock. Another message came through. BTW it’s her. Case felt a smile creep onto his face. Yes, it was her and this was really his lucky day. He looked up at her and she gifted him with an irritated glare. When he continued with the silence, she heaved a sigh so deep her breasts almost popped out of her top. “Are you going to stand there all day ogling me or are you going to help me?” she finally demanded, her nostrils flared ever so slightly and her amber eyes darkened. 311

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “I haven’t quite decided yet,” Case tossed back casually. “You seem to have a nasty habit of taking off without saying goodbye.” She let out another breath of irritation and he couldn’t help but be drawn to those twin globes of flesh again. His mouth watered as he imagined himself licking the tops of them before he lowered her clothing enough to bare them so he could really feast. But business came first. “I’ll let you go, but not before you answer some questions.” Case still couldn’t stop looking at her chest. “And you think my boobs are going to answer you?” she asked smartly. He forced himself to look at her face and he could feel a flush coming to his face. “Sorry.” Her lips pressed tightly together, she tilted her chin up. “Just ask your damn questions.” “Let’s start with your name.” “Since when does an archangel care about what my name is?” “This archangel cares, what’s your name?” Their gazes locked and Case was stunned by the sexual energy between them. The hardness on her face softened and her lips parted slightly in surprise. “My name is Myra.” “I’m Case.” “I know, your little friend yelled it out earlier today.” Case moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed, making sure to keep enough distance from her so he didn’t give temptation. There would be time for that after he found out what he needed to know. “Why were you running from Aris earlier today?” he demanded. “I might have taken something of his,” she hedged. He cocked his head to the side. “Might or did?” She nibbled on her bottom lip with her fang. “Did.” “What did you take?” She used her free hand to give a flip of her red hair. “What any good succubus would take, all of his jewelry.” 312

Sanguinary Seductions Case couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are you trying to tell me this rogue got so mad at you he hired demon assassins to capture you all because of some trinkets?” “There was quite a few diamonds. One was this big.” She used her finger and thumb to indicate a measurement of a couple of inches. “So how did you end up here and like this?” He pointed to her bound hand. “He sent out another group of assassins and I didn’t have my big sexy archangel there to protect me.” She looked up at him from under her heavy lashes. “They captured me and took me here. Aris told me that once he goes to my house and gets the jewels back, then he’ll let me go.” Case didn’t tell her there was no chance in hell Aris would be coming back because Joe probably had him arrested and fitted with his own angel harness. He looked around for the key and saw Aris had set it on the dresser, right in Myra’s sight, but too far away for her to reach. He grabbed it and crawled up the bed. Since the mattress was pressed up against the wall, the only way to her wrist was over her body. Not that he was complaining much, her body was just as soft and inviting as he remembered. His cock jumped to attention like it was remembering, too. He deliberately stretched his long frame out so he was touching even more of her. She didn’t stiffen up or pull away. Instead, she parted her legs so he sunk even deeper into her. Their lips were only a whisper away. Each time she took a breath, he could feel it fluttering softly against his flesh. Case was torn, he really wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t want to take advantage of her since she was handcuffed and defenseless. She took matters out of his hands when she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Slipping his tongue in, he explored the inside of her sweet tasting mouth, pausing long enough to stroke his tongue experimentally over her fangs several times. She arched her back like a cat and let out a hiss that sounded feline, too, as she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him even closer. 313

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “Are you going to unlock the handcuffs?” she asked between kisses. He shook his head as he slid the key into his front pocket. “Not yet, I’ll do it later.” “Promise?” “I swear it to you on my honor as an archangel.” She slid her hand down his chest, over his stomach and to his waist. At first, he thought that she didn’t believe him and was going to fetch the key herself. Instead, she reached lower until her hand was over his cock. She squeezed it lightly before she unzipped his pants and reached in for a more intimate touch. When her fingers started to do an erotic dance up and down him, he had to bite his lip to keep back a moan. “Tell me, sweet angel,” she cooed as she gave him another squeeze, this one not as gentle, “have you ever been fucked?” “A time or two.” He jacked his hips forward so she could get a better grip. “Do you want to now?” Her tongue darted out and licked his neck, her touch leaving behind a fiery path. “Are you kidding me?” He shivered when her tongue caressed him again. “Has there ever been a male who told you no to that question?” She laughed against his flesh. “Not that I can remember.” Case stiffened when he felt her scrape her fang against his skin. “You’re not going to bite me, are you? I don’t think…” Moving with lightning quick speed, she sank her fangs into his flesh. It should have hurt, but instead it felt so good, he almost came on the spot. Her greedy lips worked against his throat as she sucked in his blood and his heart beat in time with her pulls. He cupped the back of her head with one of his palms and held her tighter to him, wanting more even though he should have pushed her away. When she pulled back, it was all he could do not to jerk her back and demand another bite. Her lips were wet and red from his blood. He groaned at the sight before he captured her mouth into a kiss. He wasn’t gentle, instead he claimed her like he planned on screwing her, hard and primal. The metallic 314

Sanguinary Seductions taste of his blood mixed in with the honey sweetness of her and he felt his last bit of control snap. “Take your top off,” he commanded in a harsh voice. She obeyed him, even though she had to struggle a bit because her one hand was still cuffed. He sucked in a breath as soon as she bared herself to him. Her breasts were full, rosy tipped and perfectly formed. He took one nipple in his mouth, running his tongue over it before lightly sucking on it. He let out a small chuckle of satisfaction when she moaned long and slow as she arched against him. “Lose your jacket,” she panted. Never taking his mouth from her breast, he obeyed her. As he tossed his leather coat to the side, he dimly hoped Bear didn’t wander in. The last thing he needed was his brother to catch him with his coat off, pants undone, cock hanging out and face buried in Myra’s happy pillows The bite marks on his neck were still dripping, the blood running down in twin rivulets and soaking into the collar of his black tee shirt. She ran her fingers up, gathered some of the liquid, then brought them to her mouth and licked them clean. Never breaking eye contact with her, he started to trail kisses down her stomach. “Oh please tell you me you’re going to do what I think you are,” she breathed. “Since you tasted me, I only think that it’s fair that I taste you.” He undid her tight pants and peeled them off. She wasn’t wearing any panties so he didn’t have to waste time getting those off her. She spread her knees apart, giving him a better view. “I would love for you to.” “I enjoy going down on female angels, they taste so sweet.” He slipped one finger inside her, delighting in the way she tightened up around him. “I’ve always wondered what a demon would be like.” “Oh yes, please, please.” Her black wings fanned out, almost touching the edges of the bed. Her white skin stood out in stark contrast to their darkness. Adding more color to the 315

eXtasy’s Collective Mind erotic mix was her blood red hair spread out over the pillow. Case gave her one more appreciative look, before he put his head between her soft thighs. He groaned at the taste of her. She tasted of dark spices and sex and it was the best thing he ever sampled. He ran his tongue up the entire length of her before he took her clit between his teeth and sucked it lightly into his mouth. She screamed out his name as she bucked her hips up. “How did you get so good at this?” She tugged at his hair. “Lots of practice.” He speared his tongue inside her. “Oh, don’t stop. If you do, I’ll cut your heart out.” Case was only too happy to comply with her demands. Using his tongue, teeth and lips, he brought her to orgasm twice before he finally pulled back. She tugged at his shirt and he helped her remove it. As soon as it was gone, she ran her lips over his chest, stopping at his nipple so she could swirl her tongue around it. He tensed, hoping she would sink those sweet fangs of hers into him again. He knew he was turning into one sick puppy, but damned if he cared. “You want me to bite you again, don’t you?” she cooed, reading his mind. He dumbly nodded his head. He was so overcome with lust and need, only part of his brain was functioning. She jerked at the handcuffs. “Undo these then and take of the rest of your clothes.” He quickly obeyed her, freeing her arm and taking his pants off in record time. Once he was naked, he waited at the foot of the bed for her next command. He was amazed at how quickly the tables turned. A few minutes ago, he had her at his mercy, now she had total control of him. If she asked, he would have gone down on his knees and kissed her feet. She crooked her finger at him and he quickly climbed on the bed and settled himself back between her thighs. He leaned down to kiss her again, but she stopped him by putting two fingers on his lips. “Take me now, hard.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him into her. 316

Sanguinary Seductions He plunged into her moist heat with one hard thrust, and at the same time, she bit him on the right shoulder. He tried to take it slow, but she scored her claws down his back and bit him even harder. He gave into her silent demands and pounded into her hard and fast. She screamed out his name as she came and he joined her. Her passage tightened around his cock, milking it until it had nothing more to give. “Hey, Case, Joe just called me and told me that… Whoa Nelly!” Bear rounded the corner and came into the room, a look of shock and horror on his face. Case jumped off Myra and grabbed the covers and tried to cover up as quickly as possible. The succubus didn’t seem to mind so much. She just gave a bored yawn as she lazily got out of the bed and started to gather up her scattered clothes. Bear’s gaze went to Case, to Myra, to Case, to Myra’s chest, to the set of handcuffs that were still on the bed, to Myra’s chest, to the bite marks on Case, back to Myra’s chest. “You could have at least called me in so I could watch,” Bear said in a strangled voice. Case opened his mouth to tell him off, then realized Bear was actually serious. The empath’s eyes were dark with desire and he licked his lips as he continued to watch Myra move around the room. Case snorted as he grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. When he turned back, he saw Myra had Bear pinned to the wall, her naked body pressed to his fully clothed one. Her clothes were in a puddle at her feet, discarded as she turned her attention to the empath. “Are you a virgin, little one?” she asked as she ran her hands up and down his chest. “Kind of,” Bear hedged, before shooting an embarrassed look over at Case. “I’ve done some stuff though.” “Stuff,” she echoed with a husky laugh. “Have you ever pinned a female down and buried your cock inside of her? Screwed someone until you could barely walk straight for a day?” Bear opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, 317

eXtasy’s Collective Mind obviously struck dumb by her bluntness. Case couldn’t help but chuckle, it wasn’t everyday someone actually managed to shut Bear up. It was clear the empath had never heard a succubus talk dirty before. There was a reason why they were also known as sex demons. That was the only thing that they craved more than blood. The empath finally gave a slight shake of his head as a red heat came over his cheeks. She licked him down the length of his throat. “Do you want to do that to me now, little virgin?” Bear looked over her shoulder, one of his brows cocked, clearly asking for permission. Case just shrugged one shoulder and sank into a nearby chair. He shared females with Joe in the past, so why should it be any different with Bear? The empath brought his arms around her and put them on her back. His movements were hesitant and timid, like he was terrified of doing something wrong. Case decided it was his duty to show his little brother the ropes. “Kiss her,” he ordered. Bear jerked his head in Case’s direction, his eyes wide. He was obviously shocked that not only was his older brother willing to play this game, he was going to lead it. The empath’s lips curled into a wicked smile. Case returned it before mouthing, Kiss her, now. Bear gave a little nod, before he obeyed, slanting his lips down to capture her in a hard kiss. “Grab her by the ass and pull her to your cock. Feel her heat rubbing against you through your pants,” Case commanded in clipped tones. Never breaking away from the kiss, Bear slid his hands down her back until they were over her bottom. Gripping the plump white flesh with his fingers, he jerked her forward. The empath groaned before he rocked her against him again. Case chuckled. “Careful or else you’ll end things before they’ve had a chance to really begin. Kiss her breasts next.” Bear pulled back enough so he could gaze down at Mrya’s chest. The look he gave her was so full of worship, Case half expected him to get down on his hands and knees and bow down to her. Bear started to feather soft kisses on her breasts, 318

Sanguinary Seductions giving each one equal time. She cocked a leg as she arched against him, using two handfuls of his hair as anchors. “You’re learning fast, little one,” Myra moaned. “That feels so good.” There was no mistaking the satisfied smirk that passed over the empath’s face. Case smiled himself before issuing the next direction, “Put one of your fingers inside her.” Case didn’t have the best view, but he knew Bear had followed orders when the succubus jerked and let out a keening wail of pleasure. “What does she feel like?” Case asked. “Fab-fricking-tabulous. Can I put two fingers inside her?” “Yes, but make sure that you use your thumb to rub her clit. They like it when you do that.” Bear’s arm shifted as he followed Case’s instructions. Myra let out a long moan as she stood up on tiptoe so she could start riding his hand. Again and again, she undulated her hips, going faster as she got closer to the brink. Bear returned to her breasts, taking one of the nipples into his mouth and sucking. Mrya’s lips were parted, her cheeks flushed with passion as she let out little pants of pleasure. She shifted her hands down to the empath’s shoulders and Case could see her claws digging into his skin. It must have hurt like hell, but Bear didn’t utter one complaint. “That’s it,” she moaned. “You’re making me come.” Case knew that she reached her climax when she arched her back even more as she let out a hoarse sob. Bear met his eye over the female’s shoulder and Case gave him an admiring look. “What was that like?” he asked the empath. “Great, she’s so hot and wet,” came the strangled reply. Sweat beaded at the temples of Bear’s strained face. “Wet for you,” Myra purred as she grabbed him by the front of the shirt and led him to the edge of the bed. She turned and pointed a finger at him. “Now strip.” Bear didn’t waste a second, scrambling out of his clothes in record speed. As soon as he was done, she gave him a push on 319

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the chest tipping him onto the bed. Climbing up after him, she gave Case a spectacular view of her ass. Once she was on top of Bear, she started to lick his chest like a hungry kitten. Case hardened as he remembered the way it felt when she sank her fangs into his. Bear was in for a treat. Case tensed as he waited with baited breath, wondering if Bear’s reaction would be as intense as his had been. After what seemed like an eternity, there was a flash of fangs as she latched onto the empath’s flesh. “Oh, wow,” Bear yelled out as he buried his hands in her hair. Never taking her mouth away, she lifted her hips just enough to impale herself on his shaft. Bear didn’t need any more directions as natural instinct seemed to take over. He moved his hands down to her hips so he could guide her thrusts, arching his hips up to meet her halfway. Once she was done feeding, she looked over her shoulder at Case. Her weird cat eyes locked with his in a heated gaze as she licked the last bit of Bear’s blood off her bottom lip. Turning her attention back to Bear, she rode the empath for several minutes before she threw back her head as she came. Bear stiffened up under her as he let out his own groan of pleasure. Case thought that would be it for Bear, but his brother proved him wrong when he rolled Myra over so he was on top. Grabbing one of her long legs, he hooked it around his waist as he plunged into her again. Case gave a slight shake of his head as he felt both disbelief and admiration build up in him. Damn, Bear had the stamina of a bunny rabbit. Deciding that he’d seen enough, Case slipped out to give them some privacy. He immediately tried to call his twin. First, because he needed to check up on his side of the mission to make sure the arrest had gone off without a hitch, and second, to tell him about Bear. When Joe didn’t answer, Case was annoyed, but not overly concerned. He had a strong mental link to his twin so he knew Joe wasn’t in any real danger. He started looking around the 320

Sanguinary Seductions house for more information about Aris and his dealings because that was what he had been there to do before he had gotten distracted. He was halfway through souring the living room when his cell finally went off. Looking at the caller ID, he saw it was Joe. Case smiled to himself as he thought about what his twin’s reaction was going to be when he heard about all the fun Bear was having. As soon as he answered, Joe barked out, “Where are you?” Confused by his twin’s attitude, Case stammered, “At the rogue’s house, why?” “Is there a succubus there with you?” “Maybe,” Case hedged as an uneasy feeling started to crawl down his spine. “Where’s Bear?” “He’s…interrogating the succubus.” “Get him out of there now. We just found the rogue. He’s dead, something ripped him apart and I’m pretty sure it was her.” Case dropped the phone and ran to the bedroom. Bear was alone with her and she was a murderer. He flung the door and walked straight into the barrel of a gun. Myra was dressed again, this time in black leather and it matched the Glock she had pointed at his head. He looked around franticly for Bear, but didn’t see him anywhere. “I wasn’t the one that killed Aris,” her voice had an almost frantic edge to it. “He was already destroyed when I found him.” He took a step toward her, only to draw back when she jerked the gun determinedly in his direction. He glanced around the room, but still didn’t see Bear. Fear clawed at his insides as he thought about what the demon might have done to the empath. “If you hurt my brother, I’ll—” “He’s in the bathroom getting dressed,” she cut him off. “I haven’t hurt him. I swear to you.” I can’t believe that I left him alone with a demon. “What kind of game are you playing?” he snarled. “Why did you make me 321

eXtasy’s Collective Mind think the rogue had captured you and locked you up?” “I needed you to let your guard down and, if I know one thing about you angels, it’s that you’re a sucker for a damsel in distress.” Case made sure the disgust he felt for her showed on his face. “All this for some jewels?” “It was never about the jewels. In fact, I don’t even have them in my possession any more. I was just hoping to get them so he would trade me for something of mine that he has.” “What could possibly interest a succubus more than some shiny trinkets?” “Aris didn’t work alone, he had a partner. A demon named Gaap. This demon has my sister and he’s holding her captive.” “But you said you lost the jewels. So what good would it be bringing us into it?” “Lucifer has put a pretty hefty bounty on you and your brothers’ heads. I’m going to turn you in and collect. The money I make from that will make up for the lost diamonds.” “You’re one sadistic bitch.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m a demon. What did you expect, me to sing lullabies and do good deeds?” Case took a step closer and she shook the gun. “Don’t move another inch,” she commanded. “These bullets are infused with demon’s blood.” Case froze in his tracks. Demon’s blood was poisonous to angels. With archangel’s like him, it made them sicker than a dog, but to an empath, like Bear, it was deadly. He needed to get Bear out of harm’s way, but Myra was standing between him and the bathroom door blocking his way. All of the sudden, the bathroom door burst open. Bear came hauling out, a gun in his hand. Before Myra had a chance to react, Bear fired off a round, clipping her in the wing. She let out a scream as she swung around her gun. Case kicked her hand, making her drop the weapon. Bear leveled the gun to her temple and she stilled. Holding both her hands up in the air, her amber eyes grew wide and frantically looked at first one brother, then the other. 322

Sanguinary Seductions “Please,” she begged in a hoarse voice. “I’m only trying to protect my sister. Wouldn’t you two do the same for each other?” Case let out a breath of frustration. Of course he would do the same for his family. His guts were still churning from those few moments he had thought Bear was in danger. He thought back to the time when demons had his other younger brother Cam captive. He would have done anything to get Cam back then. Anything. Case gave Bear a shrug. “This is your call. You’re the angel warrior. All us enforcers do is deal with rogues, demons are your specialty.” Bear lowered his gun, but the hard lines stayed on his face. “You can go, Myra, but you will leave this city tonight and never come back.” “I can’t leave my sister,” she protested. Bear’s jaw got a tick in it. “You’re sister is just fine. Gaap is being very good to her. He loves her.” Myra’s jaw dropped. “But Aris…” “Was playing you for a fool,” Bear finished flatly. “He knew you would do anything if you thought your sister was in danger.” She hesitated, doubt clearly on her face. “Are you telling me the truth?” “I swear it to you as an angel warrior. Now get out of here before I remember I’m supposed to be destroying demons, not making nice with them.” She nodded once, before she flashed out, proving the angel harness that she’d been wearing earlier had been as fake as her story. Case gave a slight shake of his head, amazed at the way the evening had progressed. He turned to look at Bear with newfound respect. It wasn’t because Bear had lost his so called cherry either. It was because his brother had handled himself damn good during this mission. Not only had he single-handedly taken out a demon assassin in the alley, but he’d found a diplomatic way to deal with Myra. Most other angel warriors would have killed the 323

eXtasy’s Collective Mind succubus and not given a care if she claimed she was innocent or not. But Bear had taken the time to hear her out and he’d been willing to believe she actually had a reason for her sins. Something was still nagging him though. He narrowed his eyes at Bear. “How did you know Myra had a gun on me and how did you know about her sister?” Bear shuffled his feet and nibbled on his thumbnail. It was something the empath did whenever he was nervous or about ready to tell a lie. “Maybe I heard it through the bathroom door.” Case looked over at the bathroom. It was all the way across the bedroom and the door was heavy, but maybe Bear had been able to hear their conversation. That still didn’t explain everything though. “You knew more than just that. How did you know that Gaap is in love with her sister?” When Bear kept up with the mute act and looked down at is feet, Case cursed under his breath. “You had a vision, didn’t you?” The whole reason why Case’s entire family had a bounty on their head was the fact that some of them had powerful telepathic gifts. Bear had just never shown any abilities before today. Bear finally looked up, his face looked older because it was lined with worry. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell the rest of the family I had a vision. This was the first time and we don’t even know that I’ll get anymore. It would just make them all worry even more about me and I don’t want that.” Case only had to think a second. He really couldn’t fault Bear. If their older brothers found out, they would never let Bear serve as an angel warrior and that would kill the empath. He’d trained all his life for the honor and he deserved to have a shot. “I think there’s a lot that happened tonight we’ll just keep to ourselves,” Case finally said. Bear looked up, relief on his face. “I guess so, huh? Let’s get out of here. I’m starved.” “Of course you are.” Case gave him a playful shove toward the door. “This time, you’re buying.” 324

A Stoneùs Throw: Addi C.R. Moss t’s him. Addi gasped a mouthful of the dry, hot desert air and her heart tapped against her chest, a momentary flutter, as a spurt of adrenaline raced through her system. Her eyes slammed shut on the unbelievable storefront display. Edom. Here in Vegas? I hope not. Slowly she raised her eyelids, praying what she had seen was an illusion, a trick of the mind from being out in the afternoon heat. No such luck. The black and white picture in the window was still there. Ages upon ages had passed since she last had contact with him, but it seemed like only yesterday she held his lean, muscular body in her arms, his cock filling her pussy. Her gaze bore into the photograph’s eyes, trying to read the thoughts behind the roguish grin. How she had loved those midnight blue eyes, so dark they almost appeared black. Years may have passed, but her remembrance of him was acute—how his long, silken, sable locks meshed between her fingers as his soft, wonderful lips caressed her cheek, his teeth nibbling at her ear, at her… “Do you think they could be twins, Addi? Their resemblance is so close.” Her friend’s, Emma, voice was small and distant in her mind. The growing warmth puddling in her lower abdomen

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind and trickling out to moisten her panties distracted her from any semblance of conversation. Even when Emma tugged on her arm she only absentmindedly glanced and smiled at her. Within seconds she was tripping over her own two feet as Emma dragged her into the boutique, telling her to look at scarves, to let the calming properties of the store envelope her. Addi, bringing forth her affectation, her shroud of indifference to the world about her, chuckled then shrugged. “I can’t believe there’s no one around,” she said with a hint of indignation, adding to her ruse, and headed toward the scarves. “There should be someone out on the floor to watch the merchandise and greet customers as they come in.” She glanced over a rack of the garments at her friend who already appeared lost in the atmosphere of the shop, which was more than all right with her. Everyone, including herself, had quirks. She fingered an eggplant colored cashmere sash, delighting in its downiness. The long, colorful pieces of cloth were her fetish. She adored the accessory and, if they were around, they attracted her like a magnet. Pulling the soft, woolen scarf from the stand, she wondered how she never put two and two together, that Miss Q and Emma were friends and that Edom was associated to Miss Q. She shook her head. She must be losing her touch. She could only hope Edom didn’t know who she was. Then again, with how much time had passed, Edom probably wouldn’t recognize her, especially today. Totally Gothed out for her band’s gig later, her white powdered face, black painted lips and violet cosmetic contact lenses hid her pale, freckled face and sea green eyes. The temporary black color dye in her medium length, shagged hair, which she had also spiked and tipped with red and blue temporary spray colors, masked its normal copper red color. Plus, the black leather, spandex and spikes galore clothing she was decked out in was a far cry from her usual free flowing blouses and long skirts. But that’s the price I have to pay to reinvent myself. “Let’s go take a look at your sick plant,” Emma said. Addi’s head shot around and she caught the backs of 326

Sanguinary Seductions Emma and some tall, blonde dude heading toward the back. She hurried over to the area they had vacated and attempted to see who her friend had headed off with, but didn’t make it in time. Shit. She better know what she’s doing, she thought as the couple disappeared from view into a back room. Emma was a sucker for anything in need…human, animal or plant. Unfortunately, when she helped the distressed people, they would flourish and, no longer needing her services, they would split. Poor Emma’s heart had been broken so many times. Even she tried to be careful that she didn’t take advantage of Emma’s good nature, since it was Emma’s care and nurturing, which kept her sane in this crazy world. She toyed with the purple and green rocks Emma had been perusing earlier. She let out a long, wistful sigh, wishing she could perceive what her friend sensed from the stones, but she hadn’t been able to feel anything in such a long time. Feelings and time. What a hoot. Edom and his brother, Joha, had ruined those commodities for her, which was why she continually feigned indifference in front of others and pretended not to care about anything. Joha… The blonde… He was… “See anything you fancy?” A man, who suddenly appeared beside her, inquired. After her initial start at Edom’s presence and once her pulse calmed, she realized her whole being vibrated to his deep voice. He stood not more than a foot away and she fought the instinct to lean against him, to have his arms enfold her, to have him whisper in her ear like he had many times in the past. She took a small, almost imperceptible, step away. Too many times she had let that voice wash over her, lull her into an impression of security, let her believe she was loved. She had to keep her cool, couldn’t let him guess who she was since she wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. She glanced at Edom, then back at the shelves. “Nope, not really,” she replied sang-froid. “You know at A Stone’s Throw—” “Yeah,” she interrupted him with a satiric smile. “You’re 327

eXtasy’s Collective Mind only a stone’s throw away from your heart’s desire. I overheard your buddy use that line on my friend.” “My, but you’re a vixen.” “Excuse me? Do I know you?” she questioned tersely and with a smidge of distrust, expecting her act and disguise to keep him off guard and not waiting for his answer, she went over to a rack of crystals near the register. On the top shelf on a piece of black velvet lay a beautiful polished stone looking like a tiny pool of blood red ink. Enthralled with the gem, her eyes widened and a corner of her mouth lifted. The fervor enflaming her body over the gem was as good as the high she got from buying scarves. She had to have it. “It’s fire agate. It’s a stone of protection, supposed to aid in improving sexual activity, stimulate vitality and assist in overcoming destructive desires. And, unfortunately for you it looks like, this piece, which is my special favorite, isn’t for sale,” he whispered the last part near her ear as he stood behind her. She turned to look at him, her butt and low back pressed against the counter, and became caught in his gaze. Aww, damn, her mind reeled as she stood rooted by his mesmerizing stare. “I’m Ed, new co-owner of this fine establishment.” Staring at him, she sensed heat welling in her cheeks and her mouth went numb. He was like those scarves she couldn’t resist. The amativeness flooding her system was like the last time she was in this position with him and had lost her resolve. Except that time her back was up against a tree and his hot, thick fingers were in her pussy, probing the canal, letting the wet juices trail down her legs. His tongue had snaked in and out of her mouth and played with her ear as she had stroked his cock. They had been having a grand playtime until his father had strolled by and interrupted their interlude. Stop staring at him. You’ll give yourself away, her mind interjected and she blinked. “I’m Adelyte,” she finally managed to offer once the staring contest had been broken. She checked her peripheral vision for an escape if needed. “What an interesting name,” he drawled, with a faint almost 328

Sanguinary Seductions closed lip smile. “Yeah, my hippie parents slapped that name on me at birth,” she said, the lie she had created years ago tumbling out of her mouth without thought as she endeavored not to meet his eyes again. Her eyes focused on his shirt. He was dressed in all black. God, how she loved it when men dressed in all black. In her opinion it was an outfit even non-hunks could look sexy in. “My parents named me that because when I came out I was drenched in blood. My father, a medieval history professor at the time, said I had good humour and called me Adelyte. The name stuck.” Truth was she heard the name one night in a tavern in Germany and had looked up its meaning. Humour, once related to blood, seemed to be a fitting tribute to her, but since she couldn’t well go around being called Humour she stayed with Addi. “That must have been a sight to see at your birth.” His tongue darted out and wet his lips. “Yeah, a gross sight, I’m sure,” she said, remembering the night she stumbled from his house and, right before dawn, finding herself soaked with blood. “Not all blood is bad,” he murmured and leaned toward her, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her, his full, kissable lips a mere couple of inches from hers. “The ancients believed blood was the seat of the emotions. My parents believed that, too, and my full name, Edom, reflects that belief. Red, earthy, of blood.” His face sensually circled in front of hers as if breathing in and tasting her spirit. Before she had a chance to respond, his lips feathered hers and, as she prepared for him to kiss her, Emma called from the back. Addi blinked in stupefied astonishment. One moment he was in front of her and the next he was behind the register, behind her, counting money. Damn, the man was still fast and still the consummate charmer. She turned to Emma who was skipping up to her. “Sorry, I’ve been gone so long. I hope we didn’t miss your 329

eXtasy’s Collective Mind performance.” Addi narrowed her eyes at her friend. “What are you talking about? You’ve been gone not even three minutes.” “I’ve been gone for hours,” Emma balked. “Umm, no,” Addi replied, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder and giving her a squeeze. “You went in the back, Ed came out, he and I had a brief chat and here you are.” Appearing to be perplexed, Emma shrugged her shoulders. “We need to get going. I have to get ready for my date with Joe tonight.” “You gonna tell me what went on back there?” “Yeah, later,” Emma replied with a giddy, childlike smile on her face. “Let me say bye to Joe and I’ll tell you on the way to the club.” She skipped back off to the offices. “Don’t you think it’s weird your friend is so smitten with my business partner after only knowing him a matter of minutes?” Edom asked when Emma was out of earshot. “I’ve been privy to a lot of bizarre things in my life,” she replied, waving a hand up and down in front of herself to indicate she’s one of them. “So, no, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.” “You’re such a romantic.” “Hell no,” Addi said with a hardy laugh. “The last guy I dated pulled such a number on me I gave up on love.” “That’s a shame. Pretty little thing like you…” A trill from the back broke Edom’s comment. “It’s our private line. Excuse me for a moment, will you?” She nodded and watched him stroll to the back and disappear behind a door. The red stone’s a favorite piece, eh? With a quick flick of the wrist and movements borne of years of practice, she snatched his prized possession from its resting place and hurried from the store. **** “You seem a little off tonight, Addi.” She groggily looked up at her male bassist from the chair 330

Sanguinary Seductions she had collapsed onto the moment she arrived backstage for the break. “I am. I had to get up earlier than normal to help out a friend and I haven’t had a chance to eat yet.” “You want some fries or something? I can go up to the bar and get some for you.” “Nah, I’ll be okay until we leave. Thanks though.” The bassist started to walk away and then turned back. “Oh, did you see the hot dude in the audience? Come, let me show you.” He took her hand and led her to the gap in the curtains on the side of the stage. She peeked out and zoned in on the area he pointed to. Her breath hitched. Edom. Of course he tagged along with Emma and Joe to see her band. Hell, she’d have to hightail out after the show was over. Last thing she needed was Edom confronting her before she had a chance to eat. Once the reverberation of the last chord died out in the air, Addi flew off the stage and out the back door of the club. She hated having to avoid her friend and her entourage, but she had to find food. As she fumbled her car keys in her rush to get into the vehicle, the smells of meat from the nearby steak house made her mouth water. Not good. Not good, her mind recited as dizziness set in. Through her haze of lightheadedness she picked up on small animalistic scratching, followed by the patter of little feet. Her eyes honed in on the area of the noise. Next to the building a rat poked around in stray garbage. Her world went black. The next evening as she roused from her coma like sleep, she marveled at how deep she had been under. Then again the night before had been harrowing, up a few hours earlier than her normal time, dragged out into the sweltering desert sun, running into Edom. Edom. She stretched in the bed, or at least tried to stretch, discovering her arms and legs were extended from her body and tied down. Her eyes flew open. She gawked at the 331

eXtasy’s Collective Mind burgundy colored canopy above her, then at the scarves which restrained her wrists and ankles to the posts of the bed. Burgundy and black striped satin sheets lined the mattress beneath her. How the hell did she get here? Where was here anyway? Last thing she knew she had left the bar in her attempt to avoid Emma and company. Her eyes rapidly moved side to side, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings—the matching burgundy curtains on either side of a long picture window with a distant view of the strip, the dark wood paneling on the lower half of the walls below a dark green upper half—and the man standing in the corner fingering the red rock she had lifted from the store. “It’s about time you finally woke,” Edom said, pushing away from the wall and strolling toward her. He placed the stone on a tall, thin table with a deep green top. “How dare you do this to me,” she grated and craned her neck to look down her naked length to where he stood at the foot of the bed. “How did you get me here? Release me at once,” she commanded, jerking on the restraints. “Your friend Emma was more than happy to point me in the right direction once I made her believe I had an interest in you,” he replied, his eyes hooded, viewing her exposed form. “Granted, she thought it was a romantic attraction. I didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise. And, I don’t think I’ll release you. I quite like you this way.” He sat on the edge of the bed and raked his fingers along her foot, up her ankle and along her calf. She squirmed beneath his touch, her body involuntarily reacting to his caress out of habit. No, not again. She couldn’t succumb to his charm, his false love. Of course at any time she could break the ropes that bound her, but the feat would give her away. “Please. Just let me go,” she pleaded, jerking her leg from his lips, which had replaced his hand, but since she could only move a matter of inches, his mouth reclaimed its position near her knee. “Let me go. You have your rock back so why keep me?” 332

Sanguinary Seductions “Because you intrigue me.” He trailed his tongue up her thigh, stopping short of where her legs met. “You’re different than most women. Usually I can get the sense of a person. You are a closed book, a book I want to crack open and read…and to savor.” His tongue darted in and lapped the fissure of her labia. Her hips rose off the bed and he chuckled, his breath drifted over her pubes. A delightful shudder racked her body. He chortled again and rested his chin on her lower abdomen right above the border of her pubic hair. “Mmmm, sweet,” he said in a deep, sultry voice. “As for why I’m going to keep you. Well, you’re going to stay here until you tell me why you took my favorite stone.” “What if I don’t have a reason?” she asked, sucking in her breath as he flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue. Juices leaked out from between her folds and moistened the sheet near her ass. “I’m sure that’s not the case,” he replied. He repositioned himself and slipped a finger into her, stroking her inside, and worked her clit with the ball of his thumb. “There’s a motive locked away in that head of yours, an explanation as to why you absconded with the stone my true love gave me.” True love? Must have been that chit I saw him with the night I left Stirling Glen. “Granted, the stone was much larger at the time,” he continued, not only with his story but with kneading her crotch and slipping his finger in and out of her vagina. “The outer shell was lighter, too, more of an orange red color. Like her hair. We were supposed to get married, but she disappeared and, when I found out she had left, I broke the stone. I have the pieces in various locations, but that particular fragment means the most to me. It’s the heart of the stone, a reminder that my dear Rhiamon still has my heart.” Addi wanted to cry, coming to remember it was she who had given him the gift, a symbol of the fire of the love she had for him. It had been a beautiful, large rock and now he was saying he still loved her. 333

eXtasy’s Collective Mind But why had he been with that other woman, exchanging blood with her, the afternoon of their wedding? “Then you came along,” he said, slowly crawling up her body like a predator stalking its prey. “And stole my heart. Now I’m going to steal yours.” He unzipped his pants and freed his cock from the confines of his clothes. His mouth latched onto the hardened nub of her breast and she automatically arched in response to him. Unwelcome waves of liquid fire coursed through her as his tongue teased the tip of her areola and the restraints bit into her flesh. The titillating rope experience, a new game for her, sent flashes of electric stimulations throughout her body. If she let him continue, he’d have a moment of pleasure, where as she’d be allowing him to tear her soul to shreds…again. A moan of desperation slipped by her lips and he slid his penis into her wet cavity. In a momentary lapse of reason, her hips rose and sank him further into her, his cock filled and throbbed within her. Oh, dear lord, I’ve missed him so. “Edom, I want to hold you.” “If you tell me why you took my stone, I’ll untie you,” he offered as he rotated his hips and glared down at her. “But I can’t,” she muttered breathlessly as his cock circled within her, firing off her nerve endings again. In response to her answer, he drove in and out of her with a vengeance. She supposed she deserved his wrath and, though he pounded her furiously as if he attempted to purge his own demons of the past with the harsh fuck, her heart went out to him. As he continued to slide in and out of her, her breath quickened until her torso bucked up and off the bed as waves of an orgasm racked her body. “Tell me why,” he demanded again, once her body stilled beneath him. She shook her head and immediately he hardened inside her. Once more he pummeled her until she came. Sweat matted her hair to her forehead and cheeks. A bead of moisture trickled into her eye and stung the sensitive membrane. Water formed and dripped out. 334

Sanguinary Seductions “See your guilt is getting the better of you,” he stated above her as he paused in his presumed punishment. “You might as well tell me the truth.” “The truth? That’s a good one,” she said with a bitter laugh. “You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you on the ass.” A fierce expression lit his face and, as he growled, his fangs came down. Before she could think twice, his teeth sank into the flesh of her breast. She waited patiently for him to realize he wasn’t going to obtain anything from her…neither mortal blood nor information. When he finished, pulled his penis from her and sat up, it was with a perplexed, surprised expression on his face. “Problem?” she asked as if bored with the whole situation. “You’re an immortal,” he replied in quiet shock. “Yep, ‘bout time you noticed.” She broke the material holding her to the posts of the bed and sat up. “Now it’s time for a little game of truth or truth. I’ll go first. I took the stone to hurt you. I took the stone because I knew it meant something to you and I wanted to cause you pain.” “But why? You don’t even know me.” He moved to the edge of the bed. “Oh, I know you all right, Edom, or at least I thought I knew you until I saw you with that woman with your teeth in her neck.” She shook her head sadly, the pain of the memory tearing through her. Water welled in her eyes and she swiped the moisture away. “You can’t steal my heart because you’ve already broken it. You stole it and broke it and I don’t think I can ever forgive you.” “Rhi?” “Yes. It’s your dear sweet Rhiamon you had tied to your bed. Where is your wife by the way?” “Wife?” “Yeah, that woman you deserted me for. The one you were all over the day of our wedding.” He rose from the bed and resituated himself into his clothes. “I never married her. I found out my father wanted me to marry her the morning we were supposed to be wed. He 335

eXtasy’s Collective Mind had a gambling debt due to her father and he thought he could pay it with me. That morning he forced me to say the vows and exchange with her, but after the vows, instead of trading our blood, I fed off her. I killed her that day because I didn’t want to be with her. I wanted you. But I guess you didn’t stick around long enough to learn all the details, did you? Now, if you don’t mind, I want you out of here. I will call for my car and my driver will take you home.” He shambled from the room, head down, shoulders hunched. Confounded, she gripped the sheets to her body. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he loved her. But back then, in her infancy of immortality, she was still steeped in her humanity and all the hang ups that came with it, especially when it came to her not so admirable traits of jealously and possessiveness. She rubbed her fingers along her cheekbones and rested her head in her hands. She was such a twit. Foolish or not, she had to find out if she could rectify the situation between them. She had to make amends. She couldn’t live without him anymore, especially now that he was in the same city as her. She pulled her hands from her face. They were coated with the white face powder. Realizing she must look positively frightful and hoping he wouldn’t begrudge her a shower before she left, she found her way to the adjoining bathroom to wash. Clean and showered, her copper hair hung wet from her head framing her bisque colored, freckled face. Her Goth clothes looked completely out of place on her without the dark hair coloring and white skin, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, unless she rode back into the city limits nude and that wasn’t an idea she was too comfortable with. She left the room where Edom had held her captive and navigated her way through the house, viewing portraits of his relatives hanging on the halls’ walls, most of whom she recognized. On a credenza beneath a painting of Edom’s father sat miniature oil paintings and hidden amongst them in the back was one of her. She picked it up with a sad smile, her eyes 336

Sanguinary Seductions in the picture reflecting happier times. She remembered poising for the artist and having a blacksmith make the bronze frame for it as a wedding gift. She replaced it in its spot and continued on her journey out of the house. “It’s about time you’re leaving,” Edom’s voice stated from a room she had just passed. She backtracked and peered in. Firelight flickered on his profile as he sat at his desk rolling the agate through his fingers. “I’m sorry. I took a shower,” she replied and leaned against the door jam. “I didn’t think you’d mind.” “No, I guess I don’t mi…” His words trailed off as he turned to her, his eyes widening. “Rhi? It really is you, isn’t it?” “Yep, it’s really me. And, I’m sorry about running off on you all those years ago. When Joha told me you had another intended who would be at the ceremony in my place and then when I saw you with her, I lost it. I couldn’t see past my anger, my humiliation, my jealousy. I retreated into the woods where I felt safe and hid from you and the world. For years I tried to bleed myself to death, but it was of no use. The survival instincts, which came with the immortality you bestowed upon me, were too great. I’d blackout and feed. I still lose consciousness when I suckle blood from creatures, but that’s neither here nor there.” She hesitantly stepped into the room and, when he made no notice, she continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe in your love for me.” She walked toward him. “I’m sorry I believed Joha and let the time we were supposed to have together be stolen from us.” She laid a hand upon his shoulder. “I’m sorry I took your stone, and I’m sorry I said I would never forgive you. You’re not the one who needs forgiveness. I do. I love you, always have. Will you excuse my stupidity?” Edom took hold of her hand and brought the back of her fingers to his cheek and held them there. “Oh, my Rhiamon,” he lilted. “I wish I could have spared you your pain and my own. I had thought to take care of my father’s matter without you being the wiser. Leave it to Joha to interfere, but there’s 337

eXtasy’s Collective Mind not much to be done about it now. I’ll pardon your faults if you’ll pardon mine.” He kissed the back of her hand and gazed up into her eyes. “I love you, Rhi, and I never want to lose you again.” Her gaze bore into his, knowing his thoughts and words were true. He loved her and she him. She adored those midnight blue eyes, so dark they almost appeared black. Years may have passed, but that didn’t matter now. She bit her lower lip and a bead of crimson liquid appeared. She bent down and, in the traditional fashion of one immortal forgiving another, kissed him, letting the blood seal their bond and love.

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A Tale of Opposites Lynn Crain Part 1 - A Wanted Man

could smell her the moment she started following me. No one’s aroma could be that innocent without me noticing them. This girl was pure…the purest one that I had sniffed in centuries of dealing with people…and this one I had just recently come across. Why the innocents came to me I would never know. But come they did and it was harder and harder to resist them with their pure thoughts and virgin bodies. I quickly rounded a corner, then halted in a doorway just out of the light. I needed to see the one that followed me, to know what she was like before I decided just how to handle the situation. I halted my breathing down to the bare minimum of allowable and watched as an angel entered the light. She hesitated just briefly before coming up the dark alley way. I could tell by her determination there would be nothing which would put her off. She had a mission and something told me I was her mission. “What are you following me for?” I questioned quietly as I stepped out of the shadows. I knew exactly how I looked all in black with two black streaks in my otherwise white hair and my coat flaring around me. But my young follower cared naught for how I looked. It was evident on her face. “You do not scare me,” she answered, even though her

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eXtasy’s Collective Mind voice quavered in response. “I do not?” I questioned yet again and slowly circled her like an animal with its prey. Some would call me an animal, but those who really know understand that I am the least of their worries. There is another more evil than I who walks these streets and this world. “You do not.” She stood tall and did not move. She knew that I was assessing her and her strengths. Even mere humans have strengths. I circled her more slowly this time, taking in every detail of her petite frame and the heavy pack she had set on the ground next to her. I towered over her, but still she did not back down and stood tall during my slow inspection of her. Breathing in her clean scent, I picked up her hair and felt its silkiness slide through my fingers. It was amazing that I still loved the feel and smell of a woman. And this one was extra special, I could tell. “I need to know why you are following me.” I came to stand in front of her and raised her face to look into her eyes. They were violet. I dropped her like a hot coal. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen and one that could lead to my downfall. I could not let this one get to me as I had to accomplish one last thing before I let the blessed sleep claim me forever. “I need you to turn me.” I turned away from her yet her gentle touch pulled me back to her reality. “Please.” “Why?” I gazed down at her and for once did not use my power of persuasion on the woman. She shrugged. “Why not?” I could tell she tried to be flip, but she could not quite pull it off. “What is your name, girl?” I kept my voice on an even keel as I did not want to make her tell me anything. I needed her to want to give me the information herself without my persuasion. “Clarise…my name is Clarise Norman…of the Tangore 340

Sanguinary Seductions Normans.” My eyes narrowed. I remembered this place well. “Your castle was recently destroyed, was it not?” Clarise sighed heavily. “What does that have to do with anything?” “Are you that daft, girl?” My voice boomed. “It means everything.” I turned and started to walk out of the alley, but she drew me back yet again. “Please…please…you must do this.” I looked down at her once again. “Why?” Something crossed her face and she raised her hand against me. “To kill you,” she cried and tried to slap me. Grabbing her hand, I made sure that it would not find its mark. “You have it all wrong.” I pulled her close and took a good whiff of her scent this time, enough to peel back the layers of my very soul. This could only end badly for both of us no matter what the reason. “You know nothing.” I shoved her away from me, watching her as she fell on the pack next to her. I could not let myself be distracted by a little girl…by someone who wanted vengeance…by someone who thought she knew what comprised the whole of my very world. Standing over her, I felt my body swell. This was not the time for my body to betray me. I clinched my fists and tried not to want her. “Again, I ask…why?” She hid her face in her hands, then and cried. “Only a sister is left…only one out of so, so many…can you understand what you have done?” “What I have done? Just where is this sister?” I stood over her once again and watched her tears stream down her cheeks. “You have no idea what you are talking about.” I turned to leave when I felt her hand on my leg. “You killed my family…you made me who I am…do you understand that?” I looked at her beautiful form once more and hunkered down to look at her full in the face. “Look at my face real good, girl. Tell me what you see.” I narrowed my eyes at her, watching her look me over. It took only moments for her eyes 341

eXtasy’s Collective Mind show fear and her face go white. “Now you understand.” I stood once again. I could hear her harsh breathing and feel her quite sobs. “Do you have anywhere to go?” I could feel her shake her head. “All right. Get up and come with me.” She just sat there sobbing. Frustrated, I reached down and pulled her up. Light as a feather, I nearly tossed her up in the air without trying. “We need to go,” I said more gently and pulled her close, willing some of my strength to invade her body. Sometimes it was good to have the strength of a dozen men and the power of suggestion, sometimes not so much. Picking up her pack, I reached for her hand. Slowly, we began the short trek to my room in the local inn. It was not much, but it was a roof over our head and would give us both some much needed rest. If what I felt was any indication of Clarise’s state of mind and body, I knew she needed more than rest. I was not sure if I could provide just what this woman would need to make her get over this reckless task she had set out for herself. Pushing open the door to the inn, we were assaulted with the sights and sounds of so called civilization. Sizing up the room, I realized quickly that no one would challenge me whatsoever. Taking out a coin, I tossed it to the innkeep as I passed. “Please send your best meal and ale to my room as soon as you can.” The man nodded and continued to pour ale for those at the bar, all the while yelling at the barmaid to prepare a tray. Quickly, we stood at the bottom of the stair. Leaning in closely, I whispered to my companion, “Can you make it up the stairs, Clarise?” When I received no answer, I swung her up in my arms, pack and all, taking the stairs two at a time. Once in my room, I sat her down gently on the bed and removed her cloak while leaving her pack by the door. The haunted look in her eyes said it all. Damn him, I swore under my breath. Turning toward me, her eyes welled up with tears. “If not you, who killed my family?” Thankful for the knock on the door, I rose and opened it. The aroma of a hearty stew filled the room. The maid brought 342

Sanguinary Seductions the heavy tray inside and placed it on the small table. Eyeing Clarise then me, I knew she wondered just where I found her as the girl on my bed seemed more of a waif instead of a harlot. Forcing her to meet my gaze, I gently suggested to her to forget everything she had seen here. Bobbing, she quickly vacated the room with a m’lord as she shut the door. Sighing, I shed my leather duster, tossing it on the end of the bed. “Are you hungry?” Clarise glanced up at me before nodding. God only knew when she had last had any real food. “There appears to be a stew and I know that the ale is cold and hearty. Why do you not eat first?” “What about you?” she questioned softly. “I will satisfy my needs later.” I went to the fireplace, started a fire and retreated to the shadows. I could not let her see that my need was for her. And in more ways than one. After a few bites, she looked my way. “Explain to me why I thought you were the man who killed my family.” Crossing my arms, I watched her a few moments before answering. “Does it really matter?” Putting another piece of bread in her mouth, she blinked at me. “It matters to me.” Sighing deeply, I gazed at the fire. “He is my brother.” Frowning, she scowled at me. “Your brother? I did not know anyone of your kind had siblings.” Now it was my turn to frown. “At one point, I was human just like you. Just like you I had a family and brothers and sisters as well.” “What happened to them?” she asked around the food that captured her attention. I had suddenly lost my patience with this woman and stepped from the shadows to be immediately at her side. “What does it matter? They are gone. Except one, just like in your family.” Her sharp intake of breathe was enough to make me realize my mistake. Reaching for the ale, I stepped back into the shadows. While my need for food was not the same as her, my need for liquids had not diminished at all and I felt happy I 343

eXtasy’s Collective Mind could still imbibe good ale whenever I wanted. Flopping into the chair next to the fire, I turned my back to her. I did not need any whiny woman to make my task any harder. Still, it broke my heart to know that my brother had not stopped his murderous ways. I took in another drink of ale and rested my head against the back of my chair trying to remember what it had been like before. Suddenly, I was brought away by gentle hands on my shoulders, rubbing away the tension. “What are you doing?” Even though I asked, I really did not care. Human touch was rare for my kind as it usually ended only one way. Still, I wanted to rub up against her, let her know that I was not as immune to her touch as I wanted to be. “What do you want me to be doing, m’lord?” Her gentle voice sluiced over me like a lover’s touch making me remember another time, another woman. I tried hard to not remember, but could not. Life had been good then, very good until everything changed, turning brother against brother. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into my lap. She might as well know fully for what she asked as my body swelled. I gazed into her violet eyes, trying hard not to get lost when all I wanted was to thrust into her, making her and myself forget everything waiting for us tomorrow. “How did you find me? Were you not devastated by the destruction of your family?” When she lowered her head, I pushed her chin up to look into her eyes once again. “Well?” “Of course it pains me, but if truth be told, m’lord, I have heard about you and your kind for years. It was a well known myth in the castle.” She gazed at my face for a few minutes before continuing. “I just never thought I would ever get this close to your kind.” “My kind? And just what do you think are my kind?” I watched her expressions. I knew what she saw on my face—a hard angular face with scars and no perceivable empathy for the humans who had to walk this world with me. I could ill afford the emotions that came with becoming close to people who did not want us around. Still, there was something about 344

Sanguinary Seductions this girl that could not be denied, something worth exploring. “You are a nightwalker, preferring the night to the day, always in shadow when you can, thinking no one can see you. All anyone need do is to look for you and they will find you.” I breathed heavily. This girl knew more about me than it seemed I knew about myself. “What else have you heard?” I finally managed to get out. “That you need this.” Leaning in, her mouth captured mine, her tongue running over my bottom lip before nipping it. If I had not known she was innocent, this kiss would have me thinking otherwise. I pulled back from her once more. “Do you really understand that for which you ask?” A lazy smile crossed her face. “I do…I really do.” I did not understand this turnabout and was not sure I really wanted to do so. A man has to take what he can in this heathen world. “I have to ask…you understand that I may not be able to help myself and may bite you…and you truly understand this?” She nodded, eyes shining. “I truly do, m’lord.” Now I was confused, but not so much that I could not accept the gift she gave me. Sometimes the sexual energy could feed me more than anything else a woman had to offer and this one would be no exception. Still, something told me that she may be my downfall, but at this very moment, I did not care. My confusion would have to wait to be satisfied. “I do not want to turn you into another of my kind. I would not give that fate to any human, man or woman.” She nodded. “I understand. I am sure it is a heavy burden and a lonely path you tread.” Sliding my hand behind her head, I pulled her to me. “As you wish, m’lady.” I leaned in and kissed her again, my tongue sliding into her mouth, warring with hers, knowing I would win in this tiny battle of wills. Slowly, I slid my hand over her gown, clasping her taunt breast, rubbing in slow circles to feel her nipple peak against the fabric. Moving my hand to relax on her belly, my cock resting against her backside continued to 345

eXtasy’s Collective Mind feel the heat from her body. “Have you ever done this before?” “Mmmm…done what?” “Made love to a man.” I stopped and nipped her ear, knowing the answer before she ever uttered a word. She breathed deeply. “Does it make a difference?” she questioned, tight lipped. “Only to you.” I licked her ear and moved my other hand to her breast. “I promise to make this good for you. You will have no regrets. Virgins have a distinct taste and smell.” I felt her body shiver a little before she answered. “Do not worry. For some reason, as odd as it may sound, I trust you with my life.” Reaching around, I gently undid her laces, which were meant to hold her bodice in place over her curvaceous body. “Your bodice is that of a serving girl yet I know you are a lady of the castle,” I murmured. “I burned it to the ground,” she answered, her voice breathless. “There was nothing left, but the dead and dying there. I took what little was available for me to take. Everything which was important to me had already been taken.” “I am sorry, so sorry,” I whispered, remorse heavy on my voice. I knew what I had become yet I still had sympathy for the human condition. I could go on, but they had only one life to live. Pushing herself away from me, she turned to look at me. “Let us not talk of it any more. It will serve no purpose now, maybe later.” Placing both hands on the side of my face, she pulled me once more to her waiting lips. Kissing me gently, she traced my scar from the tip of my eyebrow to the corner of my mouth, the warmth of her fingers erasing some deep remnants of the pain previously felt. “So much pain, so much hurt.” I ducked my head. The scar had been my only reminder of my humanity, received in a long ago righteous battle and long before I had ever been turned. Never had a human woman sympathized with my past hurts before. This was almost more than I could take. “Why should you care about my pain?” 346

Sanguinary Seductions She looked at me sadly. “How can I not? We are more alike, you and I, than you would like to admit.” Her lips touched my scar and followed it all the way down to my lips. Once again, she kissed me, nibbling first on one lip, then another, the simple erotic gesture making me want to take her and throw her on the bed, pounding myself in her again and again. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself, allowing her to give me more of her gentle ministrations, rubbing my shoulders, then my chest, feeling her hands on my stomach. I closed my eyes. If I did not get our clothes off soon, they would not survive the night and if truth be told, I did not want to have to purchase more. While money was not a problem, it would not do to bandy my monetary status around as it could only invite more trouble than this mere girl had already caused me. Moving her off me, I pulled her bodice over her head the moment I could. I needed to feel bare skin to bare skin. Unbuttoning her skirt, I pushed it to lie in a pool of fabric at her feet. “Undress me,” I ordered, seeing her body in the firelight through the gossamer shift. Slowly, she turned and slid down the length of my body to sit between my knees, forcing me down into the chair behind me. Lifting her hands, she undid my belt buckle and unfastened each button in a torturous manner that had my cock growing by the moment. What could this virgin teach me that I did not already know? She looked up at me with half closed eyes, tugging down the front of my trews. I needed to make sure that my more animalistic urges were held down as I did not want to terrify the first virgin I had had in nearly a hundred years. Exposing my cock, she did not seem surprised by its size and tongued the whole length of me, making sure she took special notice of my cock’s head. I heard a sound and soon realized it was me, moaning in pleasure. Never had someone paid so much attention to my needs and desires unless they had been spellbound by me. The only other reason would be… “I hope you do not fancy yourself in love with me.” I groaned again and arched into her mouth. For a castle lady and 347

eXtasy’s Collective Mind an obvious virgin, she had certainly been taught the art of pleasing a man by someone. “Now why, m’lord, would I ever open myself to that much heartache?” Her violet eyes seemed to bore into mine, wanting to know my secrets yet refusing to share her own. Sucking on me once again, I knew that I would not last long at this rate. “Stop,” I muttered and pushed her mouth off me. “This needs to stop. I need to be the one doing the seducing here.” Standing, I pulled her with me and kissed her fiercely before tracing her lips lightly with my tongue. Raining kisses on her face, I eventually got to her neck and felt her pulse just below the surface of her fine porcelain skin, tantalizing me with its closeness. Ignoring what my instinct told me to do, I continued to rain kisses on her face and neck, avoiding her rapidly fluttering pulse. Moving my hands down the front of her chemise, I pulled the ribbons apart and turned her away from me to gain better access to the whole of her supple body. Pulling her even closer, I ran my tongue along her shoulder, chuckling when she shuddered from the feather-like touch. Taking her nipples between my fingers, I pinched them ever so gently, doing slow circles over the dusky flesh. Eliciting a small moan from her, I whispered, “It will only get better.” Taking one hand, I reached down and traced her thigh under the lightweight fabric. Soon I was at the vee of her legs, the portal to her very womanhood and it thrilled me to no end that no man had ever touched this part of her before. Pushing my fingers along her now wet slit, I gently opened her to my touch, rubbing very tenderly up and down. I was not surprised that she arched into me and moaned. “M’lord, you do make me feel…so…wicked,” she whispered and reached up to caress my face. “An apt choice of words, m’lady, considering what I am.” I licked her neck once again and guided her toward the bed. Turning her around, I continued to kiss her neck, tracing slow circles with my tongue, resisting yet again the very call of 348

Sanguinary Seductions her pulse. Pushing her down to the soft mattress, I moved my fingers over her ample breasts and gently squeezed her nipples, making them peak in anticipation of what I might do next. Tracing her hips with my hands, I leisurely moved down her body, stopping briefly to bestow more kisses on her taut nipples. “If you do not want your shift ruined, I suggest you take it off.” She blushed slightly. “I have never been unclothed before a man I do not know.” “Another man has seen your body?” My heart did something strange when I heard this piece of rabble. She swallowed hard. “Not in the way you mean, m’lord.” I pulled away from her slightly. “Just how do you think I mean, Clarise?” “It was only my father and brothers. They caught me swimming in the pond before.” I smiled. “And what did they say when they saw you?” “They did not say much at all. They just got angry at me for showing myself.” She hung her head. “I did not understand then. I do now.” I moved up and brushed her hair away from her damp face. “I am sorry that you were not allowed to live out your youth in peace. The world is an unfair place.” She nodded. “Do you know of any reason your brother might have had to attack us without regard?” “From what I can see, my brother has turned into a merciless killer.” I caressed her face. “But tonight is not about him. Tonight is about us. No more talk of things we cannot change. Not yet.” I leaned down and took her lips in one more tender kiss, continuing on my way down her luscious body. Leaning her up, I pulled the shift from her and gasp at her beauty in the firelight. “What is wrong, m’lord?” “You are exquisite,” I finally managed to say as I watched her alabaster skin glow in the reddish light. “I cannot wait to 349

eXtasy’s Collective Mind make you mine.” Placing light kisses below her breasts, I continued to her naval, using my tongue to lave wet circles around her little indention. Unhurriedly, I went even lower. Right before I reached my goal, I felt a tug on my hair. “M’lady, be still, you will enjoy what I do.” She moaned, then and arched into me, letting down her last bit of reserve. Nudging her thighs apart, I slid my tongue up the inside, stopping just short of her womanhood. Breathing in her tantalizing smell, I knew that she would taste even better. Dipping my tongue between her lower lips, I flicked her clitoris once with my tongue before circling the tight nub. I was right, she was like a fine summer wine with just the right amount of fruit and tanginess in her juices. Groaning, her body rose slowly. “M’lord—what are you doing to me? It feels truly magnificent…” Pleasurable sounds continued from her, as I moved back slightly and I reached my fingers up to part her nether lips, licking her deeper than I had ever before. Her reaction was instantaneous as she bucked into my face. Pulling back, I gently inserted one finger. “This might hurt, but please know that is not my intention at all.” “The feelings are too—too intense…is it supposed to feel this way?” “Yes…you should always feel this way when a man makes love to you.” She stopped her movements. “Is that what you are doing to me—Lucien—making love?” I startled a bit at her using my given name, but if what she said were true, that she and her sister had been studying us for a long time, she just might know who I was—or rather—had been. “Yes, Clarise, that is exactly what I am doing. Making love. Every woman’s first time should be very special.” I continued my ministrations, pulling my fingers in and out of her wetness. Pressing my thumb on her clit, she moved as if suddenly on fire, coming ever closer to her fulfillment. Yet, I could not let her fall over the edge. Not yet. I moved to lie on 350

Sanguinary Seductions my side next to her, my hand still in her crotch. Putting my hand under her, I began to knead her ass. “Clarise, can I assume that you know exactly what a man does to a woman when he beds her?” Panting, she nodded. “Yes, m’lord,” she answered, breathing heavily. “It was explained to me years ago. I just never met a man I wanted to give myself to—that is—until you.” I kissed her deeply one more time before standing and shedding my body of clothes. Reaching me up, she stopped me briefly to caress me before I pushed her down and covered her succulent offering with my muscular form. “Is that what I taste like? All fruity and tangy at once?” she questioned lightly. “It is indeed, my beautiful lady, but we are not done with the main course.” Spreading her legs yet again, I ran my fingers along her slit, pulling her juices with them. Gently inserting my fingers one more time, I realized it would not matter just how much I stretched her, it would hurt her for a few moments. She was that small and I was that big. “Spread your legs, Clarise, I need to be in you. Now.” The head of my cock waited at her entrance. Pushing my cock head in slightly, I felt her clench. “My sweet girl. Please do not be afraid of what is about to happen.” “I am not…at least I do not think so. It is just—so—so— new to me. Please have some patience, kind sir.” Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply. I had never been a patient man. There had been a time when I might have killed the poor girl to get what I wanted. It was more memories of past transgressions that I did not want to have. “Clarise…I am not a patient man. Suffice it to say, you will never be ready. I am just going to…” Without warning, I plunged into her pliant body, hearing her cry and feeling her flesh quiver around me. Moving her legs further apart, I went deep into her and stayed within her folds, not moving. When her breathing slowed and I knew she was in control, I pulled out almost all the way and slowly 351

eXtasy’s Collective Mind pushed back inside. “That is the only time it will hurt. The others will be nothing but pleasurable.” Smiling tentatively, I could see the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Tha mi duilich, àilleagan,” I crooned softly. “The hard part will be over very quickly.” Embedding myself to the hilt, I again pulled out of her. Shuddering to maintain my control over the situation, I stretched her body to accommodate mine in its full glory, knowing I would still grow larger. Slowly passion began to build in a way I had never felt before. Something in me connected to this woman under me, something held us together in its bond. Something that would never let me go. Suddenly, I pumped into her forcefully as the wave of pleasure bore me to a place I thought I would never find again. Her whispered encouragement spurred me on as I paced myself going in and out of her tight, slick body. I could feel her body tighten around me as I reached for her core again and again, touching it briefly as her body kept pace with mine. I closed my eyes, letting the whirlwind take me to great heights before we both came crashing down in flail of arms and legs as we pounded each other. Holding back my orgasm, I waited until I could feel her body start to convulse around me. Leaning down, I nipped at her neck, determined to hold off on a full feed until I knew I could trust this girl. “Lucien!” she cried as her body convulsed around me one final time as my fangs sank into her. Immediately, I felt the rush of orgasm as I licked her to stem her wounds. My orgasm lasted longer than I had expected because of the virgin body and the virgin blood. I continued to hear her little moans of pleasure as we both reached total fulfillment within moments of each other. Rolling off her, I pulled her close to me, pulling up the blanket to cover us. “I hope I have pleased you, m’lord,” she said timidly. I smelled the freshness of her virgin blood, knowing that she had spoken the truth—she had been sullied by no man. “Immensely, darling. And I promise, we will do this as many times as you want. Tonight we will sleep as we need to journey 352

Sanguinary Seductions far tomorrow.” Snuggling closer to me, it seemed only moments before I heard her breathing even out. Lulled into a sense of security not felt in a long time, I realized I finally was completely sated and this woman actually completed me. What a scary thought for an immortal. Drifting off to sleep, I wondered just what the world would have in store for me on the morrow. I knew whatever happened, this woman would be by my side for a very, very long time.

Part 2 - To Love A Vampire

He had been dragging me along with him like a little tart for almost three weeks now. In any other circumstance, I would have rebelled. But not with this man for rebellion could bring death. I had thought my sister crazy for her plan, but I could see the right of it. This man, or beast as some called him, ran from something destined to catch him. Still, a shield maiden called no man master. Then again, this was no man as I noted time and time again in our travels. Clarise had a brilliant plan to stop this lord of darkness. Too bad it had not been in time to save our own home. She had apparently watched the man for years, tracked his every move until he was upon us, too late to enable our plan. She must be going mad, knowing I had been taken, knowing she may not get to me in time. Still, my time with him had shown me that he was not at all what she thought either. As usual, I would be left to my own judgment, a thing I had grown to trust over the years. This time I was angry though and, while I should have kept my mouth shut, I could not. “Look, you might be able to go for days on end, but I cannot. So either kill me or let me go.” I hoped that the choice he would make would be to seriously consider letting me go. How wrong can one woman be? He was by my side immediately, taking in my scent from 353

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the top of my head to bottom of my feet in one swift movement. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly as I had not even seen him move. I had expected him to smell like death, but he did not. He smelled of the woods and fire and the heather, a very strange combination I thought as this man supposedly was a bringer of death. “Are you complaining?” His voice washed over me in a harsh, but not unpleasant way. I looked at him with his unwavering dark blue eyes. No matter how hard he tried, I would not flinch. “No, but I am telling you I am tired and need to rest.” He tugged hard on my arms, making them hurt even more. I closed my eyes so he would not see my pain. Besides, who was I trying to fool? This man could best me with his little finger and could kill me with a snap of his wrist. Who was I to make him do anything he did not want? “I will say when we stop.” “Fine. But I will not be useful to you when I am dead.” His blue eyes turned almost midnight and pondered me for a moment before shoving me down to the ground. “We camp here. And you better hope no one is following us.” Tossing his large pack down, I hoped I would be losing mine as well. Swallowing hard, I nodded. This was going nothing like Clarise and I had planned, but then again, it would not be the first time that we had come up with a fool’s plan. “No one has followed the whole time we have been running. I would know if they had. Still, if you untie me, I can help with making camp.” “What? And have you escape? I think not.” He stood over me, his white hair flaring around his head as the two dark streaks looked like wings on some evil bird. I snorted. “Who are you kidding? Have you really looked at this place?” “That was a very unlady like sound.” His dark eyes practically bored a hole in me. “I never said I was a lady.” I chuckled when I saw his eyes narrow. “You are not the first to make that mistake.” 354

Sanguinary Seductions Walking over to me, he gazed at me a moment before untying me. “I will kill you if you try to escape.” “You can try.” “I do believe you would fight me to the end.” He stood there, looking down at me, contemplating just what I would do. “Who would not after what you did to my home?” My gaze did not falter at his almost feral smile. If there ever was a wild human beast, then he would be it. He came close to me again and drunk in my aroma once more as if to imbed me into his mind so he would never forget. “For one who has lost everything, you are bold.” “As only a shield maiden can be.” The moment he finished with the rope, I lifted my arms to try and relieve their numbness as the pack slid to the ground. It would take more than a few moments and stretches to make the feeling return. “You were a shield maiden? A warrior woman?” I smiled wryly as I continued moving my arms and rolling my shoulders. “Not very good if I got captured by the likes of you, obviously.” I then saw a flash of respect in his eyes. “You must be a very strong woman to even want that life. Did you have no husband? No children?” I shook my head. “My father had too many daughters and not enough sons. Someone had to fill the role of liege knight. It was as close as a woman would ever get to that position.” “The sword was yours.” A matter of fact statement that nearly had me undone. My grandfather’s sword was the only possession I had in the world. The hilt was jewel encrusted and I suppose would have taken the place of a dowry should any man want me. But no man did as I had been a gangly creature during my youth, towering a head over many of the local men. Not this man though, I thought as I again looked up into that chiseled face, handsome in a way that would make any woman’s heart flutter. “The sword was mine.” Walking over to his pack, I saw him draw something from it. Turning to me, my beautiful weapon lay across his palms. 355

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “If you prove yourself worthy, I will return this to you one day.” “Worthy…what do you mean worthy?” He shook his head. “Not everything is as it seems. Some things remain in shadow and cannot be explained until the right time. Some things you will have to take on…faith.” His voice became very low and almost haunting as its smoothness buried itself into my very soul. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs, knowing it would not take much to ensnare me in his trap. “You talk in riddles. What things must this shield maiden take on faith?” He replaced the sword in his pack. “At the moment, it does not matter. We have not reached our final destination. We will in the next day or two.” I looked around and realized we had reached the mountains of the highlands. It would be hard to track someone through these. And I knew my sister would be tracking me. She would use every means available to her to find me, to find this man. But if she had the true right of it, she would have found another, this man’s total opposite in almost every way. But watching him, there was something that did not match what she had told me about this one. While this man had some evil habits, he was not truly evil. He did not go out of his way to kill people. It was more as if they got in his way, then challenged him to a battle that could only result in death. Theirs. There was just something about him that put people on edge, vowing to defend themselves to the death even if they had been the ones doing the transgression. Not once did he raise his hand in anger, just a bitter knowledge of things which had to be removed from his path. In some places, where it was obvious that his prey had been, he would destroy everything the taint had touched. It was as if he were lancing a boil, but deep at its roots, to make it so it would never rise again. While I did not get all of this from him, I got enough pieced together to come to my own conclusion. Warrior to warrior, I could admire what he was doing. On a person to 356

Sanguinary Seductions person level, I could see where everyone would see him as the harbinger of evil. I understood now why Clarise had said he might need to be killed if things did not work out. It had passed the time when I would let her do it because there was something more to this man and I intended to find out just what drove him on. Sighing, I knew I was going to have to tell him the truth sometime. He had trusted me enough to untie me, maybe he was right. Maybe it did take a little faith. “I have a sister.” He turned to look at me. “And what does that have to do with me?” “I know that she will be following us as soon as she can. Only the two of us are left and she thinks that you killed everyone else. I can sense her when she is near. That is why I know she is not following us. Yet.” Instantly by my side, I could feel the breeze off his movements. “Good thing for your sister. And you do not think I kill for pleasure?” Swallowing hard, I turned to look at him. “Look—you have been dragging me around for almost three weeks now and not once have I seen you take a life without provocation. Everyone you have killed would have killed you if they had a chance. Then there is the fact…” I trailed off not knowing if this would be a good or bad thing to say. “Why do you not just say it? I would rather know what you are thinking than have to kill you in the night in self defense.” I smiled then. There would be no secrets between us. “Again, I am not stupid. It would serve no purpose for me to try and kill you. It would result in my death.” “And?” He stood there waiting patiently. I had never seen this man have patience in any form. “I have yet to see you feed.” His rapid intake of breath scared me and he tilted my head back to look into my eyes. “I have never seen anyone with violet eyes. Yours are quite unique and quite observant. I do not kill to feed and do not feed to kill. There are other ways to get what I require.” 357

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Suddenly, my heart beat rapidly in my chest, his nearness touching me in ways I could not fathom. Glancing at him sideways, I realized I had an attraction for him. It was something new, something I had not had in a very long time. There was something in the way he looked at me, the way he touched me that felt wicked and right. I shook my head slightly. Clarise had told me that he could put me under a spell of sorts, but I had been with him almost all the time and he had never done anything questionable. “And that would be?” I asked a little breathless. Suddenly, I found myself thrust against the length of his body in a very predatory way. This man could snap me in two and all I wanted was to feel him against me, skin to skin. I just knew my heart would leap from my chest any moment. “Do you really want to find out, little one? Or would you just be content to gaze at me from afar?” His face dipped even closer to mine. “Or would you rather I take you right here, right now?” My eyes opened wide and I could feel the betrayal of my body. I might not be a lady, but surely anyone could have a tight reign over their feelings. “I truly think that the decision would be yours, m’lord.” “Aaargh…I have never been a lord…nor will I ever be.” “If truth be told, sir, I have heard you were a very fine lord at one time.” Slowly, he pushed himself away from me, making sure I could feel his body as he went. “That, my dear girl, was a very, very long time ago.” He then went back to setting up camp and eventually turned back to me. “Just what have you heard they called me.” Swallowing hard, I knew I must take the next step. “You were called Duncan Munro, but you were the Lord of Castle Dounna in the north. You ruled the place with your brother until something terrible happened.” I could tell by the look on his face I had opened an old wound. He turned away from me and, if I had not known the man, I would swear he cried for things lost. “Yes…something 358

Sanguinary Seductions terrible happened.” Quickly I moved to his side. “Let me help make it right then.” Turning back to me, he looked at me, judging me. “Do you know what you ask?” “I think so.” “Huh…what if it can never be made right? What if we can never fix what we have wrought?” I placed my hand on his arm. “At least you would have tried.” “Tried? I would have tried? What is it, girl, that you think I have been doing all this time?” His voice took on a very sultry tone, wrapping me up in its heat. “Playing tiddles?” I stepped back. “No, m’lord. But I do know that you have done nothing to save your reputation, your honor.” “Where is the honor to see one’s family killed and not be able to do a thing?” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly. “Where is the honor in having the one person you need by your side think you are a monster and wants to kill you? Where is the honor there, girl?” His voice boomed at the end. I did the only thing I could think of and leaned in, touching his chin with my lips. “Shush, do not listen to what I said. You need to explain it to me someday. Maybe now is not quite the right time.” Lifting my chin, he swept down on me like a bird of prey, his strong hands holding me to his hot body. I could either deny the feelings that rushed through me like a rapidly moving river, or I could act on them. His mouth covered mine and nibbled on my lower lip. Soon he invaded the inner recesses of my mouth, his tongue warring with mine in a battle he seemed to know he would win. His caresses became more bold as he moved one hand down my back to press me the full length of his body. I knew what happened between a man and a woman. I had just never been privileged enough to be in a situation that warranted such an act. I could feel the hard bulge between his 359

eXtasy’s Collective Mind legs come more alive as his other hand rubbed over my breast to pinch the nipple beneath my bodice. “Has anyone ever told you that women wear too many clothes?” I chuckled wryly. “I would not know, m’lord. I have never had the privilege of having my clothes off when with a man nor being loved by one either.” He sucked in a quick breath. “You are a virgin.” It was a statement of fact, not an accusation. “Is that not in the definition of being a shield maiden?” When I could see no answer forthcoming, I continued. “Remember, I told you I had more sisters than brothers? It was either I become a shield maiden or they would send me to a convent.” Duncan laughed long and hard then. “You? In a convent? That would be the day.” I pushed him slightly. “That was not something to laugh at. It was serious. And a decision I had to make on my own. I was very young when I had to choose. My father would not allow anyone to give me advice. Not even my priest.” Brows knitted, he looked at me for a few more moments. “Why did he think you would make a good shield maiden?” I smiled wryly. “Because he always found me at the blacksmith’s, helping with the sword making. I was better at it any of my brothers by the time I was eleven, even besting the older ones. He made me chose at twelve when he realized no one had given him an offer for my hand. There would be no money exchange for me. But then again, I was taller than most of the men.” I sighed and hugged my arms to my chest. Grabbing my arms, he forced me to look at him. “Do not ever feel inferior to anyone. Do you understand, lass?” I nodded as his head swooped toward me again. It was as if we were the only two people in the land as he caressed, nibbled and kissed me. My heart beat faster as I realized I had been made for this man. I fit to him like a hand to a glove. I quivered as I wrapped my arms around him and returned kiss for savage kiss. Soon he pushed me away a little. 360

Sanguinary Seductions “Be very sure this is what you want as there will be no going back.” “I am sure…this is what I want…this is what I need.” Turning, he lead me to a blanket not far from the fire ring. He had obviously put it out when my attention was elsewhere. “I do believe we need to get a fire going first.” He snapped his fingers and the flame leaped in the pit. This was more than my sister even knew. “How will we be protected, m’lord?” He smiled slyly then. “Protection wards. I know you did not know that. Very few people know what I can really do.” He chuckled and sat on the thick blanket, then reached his hand to me. I hesitated just a fraction longer than I should. “Is there a problem?” I shook my head. “Not really, you are just such a fascinating man. How could I have not seen it before?” He chuckled. “You cannot see something you are not meant to see.” I looked at him confused, letting him pull me down to him. “What are you talking about?” “I will be honest. I do not know how you knew I was there. The only other who knows about me is my brother. He thinks that I bring death to everyone I meet.” “Siblings can have the wrong opinion of us at times.” “I think we have both had that experience, have we not?” He flashed a brilliant smile, then and I saw that women would flock to him if he gave them half a chance. Yet, here he was, lying on a blanket in the middle of the woods with me, a lowly shield maiden. Running his hand up my arm, the featherlike touch jolted me to an awareness of my body unlike any I had before. Reaching up to my bodice laces, he hesitated. “Do you mind?” He watched me and waited. I looked deep into his eyes and my stomach fluttered with excitement. Not wanting to spoil the moment, I shook my head and watched his hands expertly undo them in record time. Spreading the bodice open, his hands gently cupped my 361

eXtasy’s Collective Mind breasts in my shirt. Muttering to himself, he pulled my shirt out of my skirt and encountered my shift. I chuckled because I had forgotten that I had dressed with armor in mind. “I am afraid we will have to stand to get out of our clothes.” “Sorry, m’lord, I dressed as if I were preparing for battle.” He grabbed me around my neck, forcing me to look at him. “I guess we all were in some way.” Leaning in, he captured my mouth again, kissing me deeply and my crotch trembled with awareness. Slowly he stood and pulled me up with him, tearing off my bodice and dropping it next to the blanket. “Lift your arms,” he commanded and I did as I was told. Dragging it so far, he made it so I could not see as he plundered my chest with his hands and mouth. “Stop,” I murmured. “I have not other clothes if something happens to these.” I could almost feel his chuckle on my skin even though the thin fabric of my chemise separated the two. “What if I said I think I would like you better without them?” Gasping, I begin to struggle slightly then. “M’lord!” “Patience, girl.” He stopped my movements and moved the shirt the rest of the way from me. Untying my skirt, he let it pool around my feet. “Step out, please.” “Flora…my name is Flora Norman.” He ran his hands up my arm yet again to cup my cheek. For a man bent upon mayhem and murder, he certainly was gentle to me. “I like it.” Breathing in deeply, I tentatively touched him back. “It was my grandmother’s. She and grandfather always called me Florrie.” “It is a pleasure to meet you, Florrie Norman.” He leaned in and kissed me again. Pushing him away slightly, I reached for his buttons. “Not yet,” I murmured, unfastening his leather jerkin as fast as I could. “And you say women have a lot of clothes.” I hesitated a moment before I reached for the tie of his trews. Of course, I had seen men before, but never one up close as maidens of any kind were 362

Sanguinary Seductions denied contact with anyone not their betrothed and even then there was no contact really until the wedding night. Swallowing hard, I pulled on the leather of his trews, making it gap slightly. Pulling his shirt out of his breeches, I brushed against his bare skin and was surprised with his reaction. “What are you doing to me, lass?” “Taking off your clothes.” “I think we need to lie down. We can finish it there.” Forcing me under him, I felt his hand go under my shift and up my thighs, caressing the tender skin. Thankful that I was no longer required to wear a chastity belt, I pushed myself into him, loving the feel of his calloused fingers as they rounded my body to squeeze my backside. Moaning, I felt the bulge in his breeches get even bigger and ran my hand boldly down his body. Groaning, he, too, pushed himself more into contact with my hand. But I wanted more, I wanted to touch him, to feel that part which would soon be in me. Putting my hand down the back of his trews, I was surprised at how soft yet muscular he was. He grunted as I moved my hand around to the front where I encountered a mass of hair not unlike that which was on my own body. Pushing my hand even further into his clothes, I managed to free him and was surprised to feel the softness of this part of his body. Mother had always said it was hard and harsh. But then again, she had had a loveless marriage. Pulling myself back, I realized where my thoughts were taking me. Did I love this man…this creature of the night? Soon, I could not think as his hands reached the vee of my legs, pushing into the now slick folds of my body. Arching up into him, I moaned, knowing that nothing would ever eclipse this moment, this man. Rubbing his thumb on my hard nub, I almost came undone with one stroke. “Duncan…Duncan…” I muttered. “Please…” “We have only just began your lessons, lass. This will be the first of many. Remember, I made sure you understood. From the moment we are joined, we will never be apart again.” Nodding, I turned my head from side to side and each 363

eXtasy’s Collective Mind stroke brought me closer to some place I had never been before, some place that only he could take me. “And here is your first lesson. I am going to kiss and lick every inch of your body. I will expect you to return the favor.” “Yes, m’lord,” I said breathlessly. The feelings were so strange and new…and just like I had predicted…wicked. Reaching down for the bottom of my shift, he pulled it over my head as the cool evening air nipped at my body. His eyes burned with what I could only guess was desire. Leaning in, he nipped at my collarbone and moved down to my breasts. Laving each nipple to a peak made me want to scream as he pinched one, then the other. It was as if they were connected to that place between my legs, the one deep inside me, which waited to be discovered by a lover as skilled as this one was. Moving down even further, he continued to caress my breasts with his hands while his tongue moved on to my navel and even lower. I grabbed his hair. “M’lord, I do not think…” “That is the problem with you women. Do not think, just feel the rightness of what I do.” Laving my lower stomach, he continued on down until he hovered over my crotch. I could feel his hot breath on my body and it was driving me wild. Soon he moved a hand down, spread the lips of my nether region and blew gently on me as I gasped a response. His mouth followed his breath and I knew in that moment what heaven must be like. Swirling his tongue around my hot nub of pleasure, he stayed clear for a few moments. When he touched me, I exploded in a million pieces of fractured light. This was heaven, this was what it meant to be loved by a man. “We are not done, lass,” he murmured and pushed a finger inside me. I stiffened at this first invasion of my body. “Relax, girl, it will bring you even more pleasure.” This time, he rubbed me with his tongue and hand, but stopped just short of the explosion. Gasping, my body continued to impale itself on his hand. “What do I need to do?” 364

Sanguinary Seductions “The same.” Pushing him over, I rolled on top of him and kissed him deeply. I tasted myself on his lips and, if I had still been that righteous girl of twelve, I would have been appalled. But not now, not here. The woman I was had to embrace life with all its foibles, good and bad. And now was a definite good time. Pushing his shirt out the way, I saw that his chest was smooth with a smattering of dark hair and a few scars. Tracing one with my tongue, I smiled at his reaction. Wondering if pinching his nipples would produce the same effect, I rolled them between my fingers, satisfied with his moan. Sliding down his body, I saw now that his cock came almost to his naval and I licked the portion I could see. Leaning down, he pushed me away and removed his trews quickly to lay back down in all his glory now standing erect. I slowly inspected him as I had never seen a man close up. His ball sack had shrunk a little, probably from the breeze, but his cock seemed not to share the ill effects. “Like what you see, lass?” he softly questioned. I looked up at him and realized that this man was just as vulnerable as the next. “Very much so, m’lord.” Leaning in, I licked the full length of his cock, rolling the head into my mouth. It had a salty, but not unpleasant taste to it. “Rub your hand up and down the shaft as you put your mouth over me. Use your tongue that was given you.” Taking his instructions, I placed my hand on him and was surprised that it did not go all the way around. Placing my lips on him, I swirled my tongue around the bulbous head, surprised when it grew even bigger. Moving my hand up and down as I licked brought moans of delight. Grabbing my head, he pushed into me even deeper and I strained to take him. Bouncing up and down on him a few more times, I was surprised when he pulled me off him. “I cannot wait any more.” Spreading my legs wide, he moved his cock up and down my now slick folds while I moved to get him inside me. Reaching down, he once again parted my folders to find the 365

eXtasy’s Collective Mind hard nub hidden there. Rubbing his thumb over me, he brought me close to that delightful place. Slowly, he moved to enter me and pushed in a little which made me gasp. Placing his hands on my face, he forced me to look at him. “This first time will hurt a lot, I will not lie to you. But every other time, no matter how I take you, it will be wonderful.” I nodded, knowing what he had said was true. My sister and I had been part of many conversations where the women talked about their first time. Very few of them enjoyed it yet I had a feeling I would. “It will be all right. I know what I want,” I said again, making sure he was very clear about my desire. Stroking up my slit one more time with the tip of his cock, he pushed all the way inside me and waited. Gasping, I tried to move myself away. “Be still…it is almost over…” Stopping my movements, it did not take me long to realize the truth of what he said. Soon my body was a quivering mass of feeling and something more. Pulling out ever so gently, he pushed back in again this time fully. I gasped at the sheer size of his cock as I tightened around him. Soon I was bucking against him as I was searching for something I had never felt before. Each stroke reached deeper until every one was a torture as it rubbed against some inner spot that push me toward fulfillment. “Duncan…please…please…” I gasped, nearly breathless. “Just a moment more…just a moment…” he answered. Going in and out of me, he reached down and pinched my hard nub. Crying out, I bucked into him fiercely, tumbling headlong in to an abyss of desire and emotion. Lifting my legs to his shoulders, he pushed into me even deeper, taking my fluids and rubbing them around the tight rosette of my ass. My body jerked again when his thumb invaded me there, but again the wicked feelings rose and I was pounding him back as the molten fire tumbled around me, leaving me in its glow. Holding me tight, Duncan thrust into me a couple more times and bent down to take my mouth in a savage kiss. I could hear his breathing as he stayed beside me. I did not 366

Sanguinary Seductions know what to say. It had been the most incredible experience in my life and I hated the fact it had ended. But something told me it had not quite been completed. I do not know how long we lay there entwined together, but it was not long before he leaned over me once again. Rubbing my body, he gently rolled me over on my stomach and went to sit between my legs. “I am not done with you my sweet, Florrie. I have to claim you completely.” “What? I do not understand.” Looking back over my shoulder, I saw no meanness there, just a statement of fact. “You have to bite me, do you not?” “Yes…I do…I have to bite you during the act of making love in order to claim you totally as my own.” I swallowed. “But this time it will be different, will it not?” “Yes.” He sighed. “I will try hard to keep the beast in me contained, but sometimes it has been known to erupt. And if it does, just let me do what I will.” I nodded, not trusting my voice. “Raise your ass in the air and lean on your arms.” Doing as he requested, I knew I was totally exposed to him, totally vulnerable. It had been years since anyone had me in a position like this one while fully clothed and it was something that was very hard to maintain. Running his hands over my tight rosette, he drew the fluid of our mating out and rubbed it over my ass once again. Gently, he pressed a finger in, then another. While not exactly pleasant, it was not unpleasant either. “Push back on my fingers, lass. I have to get all the way in you or when I take you there it will hurt.” Swallowing hard, I nodded and immediately understood what he meant. The pressure was intensive when he popped into that orifice. I dared not move since I did not know what I was supposed to do. Moving his fingers in and out, Duncan soon added another one, making it even tighter. Leaning over me, he grabbed my breast rubbing the nipple almost harshly. Moving down even further, he rubbed my crotch for a minute 367

eXtasy’s Collective Mind and stopped. “This will hurt you yet again, but as with the last time, it will bring you immense pleasure once the deed is done.” I nodded and braced myself for what would come next. Rubbing a little more liquid in me, he pressed his large cock against my arse and slowly began to push. Once he inside, he waited and I listened to his harsh breathing as my body stretched to take in his. He leaned over slightly and again stroked my hard nub, making me want to lean into him even more. “That is it, lass, push into me and meet me.” His breathing was quite ragged now and I did my best not to move as the pressure was becoming almost too much to bear. And then he touched me again and the pleasure exploded throughout my body, making me push fully onto him. “Your arse is very, very tight and I can anticipate many pleasurable nights taking my fill.” He let out a guttural cry and pulled out slightly, only to plunge in once again. As if sensing my discomfort, he leaned over me. “Just a few more moments, lass, just a few more.” He sank into me all the way, leaning on me, stroking my breasts and the hard nub between my legs. In no time I felt like a quivering mess, close to the edge of some tall cliff, waiting to jump. Somehow, I managed to match him stroke for stroke, hearing his groans match mine. “Let yourself go for me. I will be your world, your universe.” Moving so that his fingers were inside me and his thumb over my hard nub, I felt what seemed like thousands of feelings rush over me, making me feel more pleased than ever before. Everything blended together as he pushed in and pulled out of my body, pain and pleasure mixed into one. And then it came. The thing that would bind me to this man body and soul for the rest of eternity. I felt his fangs sink into my shoulder and my world shattered into a thousand pieces as the emotional and physical bond were complete. His cock continued to pound me as his hands rubbed me and this time when the rush came, my body felt split asunder as my cry 368

Sanguinary Seductions rent the fabric of space and time with pleasure.

Part 3 - Journeyùs End

“They are coming.” Florrie turned to look at Duncan and pulled her cloak tighter around you. “I think you should let me talk to my sister first.” He stared back at her. “I am not sure that my brother would ever let that happen.” Coming to his side, she slid her hand up his arm and pulled him down to meet her lips. “The man will not have a choice.” “I am not…” He was silenced by her finger on his lips. “It will turn out right. You will see. We have planned for this a very long time.” Looking out over the valley, they stood and waiting at the top of the mountain where ancient gods had once stood. It was not long until they both could see the ones that they waited for. “I had not realized.” Florrie looked into Duncan’s handsome face. “I do not even think that my sister understood your bond. You complete each other in the fight against good and evil. Both of you being what you are, there can be no other reason for it.” He smiled wryly at her. “I was always a little bit better than Lucien, being the elder, but we will just keep that between us.” She smiled back. “There is one thing you must give me.” His eyebrow arched. “What is it?” “I need my grandfather’s sword.” He thought a moment then nodded. Reaching into the pack at his feet, he pulled the blade from its sheath. “This will not help you should Lucien decide to attack.” “You might just be surprised.” It was not long until their siblings were near the top and Duncan pulled them away. Turning to Florrie, he pulled her to him, taking her face between his hands. “If this all goes badly, I 369

eXtasy’s Collective Mind need to let you know that I love you. You are my soul mate, for which I am destined.” She nodded. “I know.” Standing side by side, she was thrilled with the appearance of her sister who turned to look at the man beside her. “Are you well, Clarise?” she asked and waited patiently. Clarise turned to look at the man beside her and back at her much beloved sister. “I am. And yourself?” “Exactly as expected, sister.” “It is done then?” “It is done.” Clarise turned to Lucien. “I could not tell you this before, but now I can. I have loved you since the moment I knew about you. You were my destiny, just like your brother Duncan was my sister’s.” “Just what are you saying, Clarise?” Lucien looked deep into her eyes. “That your journey is over. That your new life is just beginning.” His head flipped around and he was confronted with his brother, for the first time in a hundred years. “I will kill you.” Florrie stepped in front of him, tapping her sword in her hand. “I cannot let you do that.” She looked at her sister. “He does not know?” She was not surprised when Clarise shook her head. “It was never your brother doing all those unforgiveable things, but you were too pigheaded to see it.” Clarise laughed then. “Is that not the truth?” She grabbed Lucien’s hand when he tried to lunge. “And he is too angry to see it yet. I take it Duncan knows?” The man in question looked at one woman, then the other. “I do believe he has knowledge of most of it,” Florrie finally answered. “Well, why do you not tell me?” Lucien roared and again tried to lunge for his brother only to be brought short by the gentle hand of his lover. “Would you please stop, you are only going to hurt yourself. Do you have any food? We ran out yesterday.” 370

Sanguinary Seductions Florrie looked askance to Duncan as they had replenished their supplies before coming to the top of the mountain. At his nod, she handed him the sword and raced to her sister, hugging her fiercely. “I was afraid that you would never catch us.” “Is this sword supposed to be doing this?” Duncan held it high, as it quivered and gleamed in the sunlight. Florrie nodded. “It gets better. But I guess for now, you should give it back.” With sword in one hand, she put her arm around Clarise’s shoulders and led her toward the supplies. “I think we should let them talk for a moment, do you not?” Clarise looked over her shoulder as they moved away. “I do. Maybe they will see the error of their ways. Or at least maybe Lucien will as I do believe Duncan has less of a temper.” Lucien could not believe his eyes and ears. Walking warily around his brother, he watched him. “You know I have to kill you.” Duncan watched him just as well, turning to face him at every angle. “I know you think you must. But I am not the one you seek.” Lucien rushed forward and grabbed his brother by the collar. “There can be no one else.” “You have always been so stubborn, even as a child.” They both were caught short by the gentle tone of a woman. “Boys, please play nice.” Duncan pulled his brother off him. “Besides, I would not try it if I were you.” “Give me one good reason.” Lucien’s face was full of rage. He glanced over to where the women now sat on the rocks. “They have made it so we cannot hurt each other.” “What are you talking about?” As if to show his point, Lucien pulled back his fist to smash it into his brother’s face. He was amazed when he missed again and again. “Argghhh,” he screamed. “What have you done to me?” He looked toward the woman he arrived with only to see her smile and pat the rock next to her. 371

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Duncan shook his head and sighed. “I cannot believe you have roamed this earth for over three hundred years and never encountered anyone like them.” Spinning back to his brother, he stared at him. “What are you talking about?” “I think it is time you came over here to talk with us,” Clarise called to both of them. Duncan quickly made his way to Florrie’s side while Lucien took a while longer. He was like a reluctant child, knowing he was about to get a whipping. “You might as well sit down, this will take a while.” Clarise again patted the hard surface next to her. “I believe that I will stand.” She eyed him for a moment. “Have it your way. You will get tired.” Duncan laughed at him and plopped himself at Florrie’s feet. “Still that same arrogant young man. You will learn, boy.” “Who from? You?” Lucien sneered. “You two better be quiet or she might just do it for you.” Florrie laughed at the expression on both their faces. “Is that really how long you two have walked the earth…trying to find each other? A hundred years and living over three hundred?” “Aye, lass, it is.” Duncan reached up and caressed her hand. “It was a horrible existence, but the only one we had. A hundred years is way too long for anyone to carry vengeance in the heart and three hundred way too long to live.” Lucien crossed his arms and planted his feet. “At least we agree on one thing.” “I am not sure which is really worse. Living and dying over and over or just living while searching for something you do not understand.” “And this time we were lucky. We only had to wait twenty some years for you to pass through our part of the world.” “This time?” Duncan gave them a skeptical look. “We have lived and died three separate times each time coming closer and closer to our goal of finding you.” Duncan nodded. “That would explain how you could bind 372

Sanguinary Seductions us.” Clarise shook her head. “I am not sure it explains a thing. But I do know this…you both realize that you complement each other perfectly? That one’s strengths are the other’s weaknesses?” Lucien stared at his brother as if truly seeing him for the first time, noting the hair and eyes, which Florrie had pointed out to Clarise. “We certainly do not look the same as we did when we were children nor the last time together.” “No, we do not,” Duncan agreed. “It is the same with Florrie and myself. Our strengths are the other weakness. We complement exactly and we have only one purpose.” Lucien finally sat down at her feet. “I thought your purpose was to love me, my precious.” She smiled at him and gave him her hand. “That is just one of the things we had to do.” “And the others?” Duncan asked absentmindedly chewing on a blade of grass, caressing Florrie’s leg. “To become hunters of those like you who turn rogue.” Lucien sat up. “Rogue? What do you mean rogue?” Florrie looked at him. “You have seen the results in every ransacked village you came to…throats ripped out…every one dead or dying. Even the children. You just had the wrong person.” Duncan rolled his eyes. “Except for a couple of times.” Three voices spoke in unison. “What?” Throwing up his hands, he sighed. “It is not what you think.” “And just who are you to know what I think?” Lucien glared. “Look, twice I came up on nobles who had given their own people up to live. They sacrificed everyone, including their own children, just to stay alive. I could not abide by that at all.” Lucien nodded. “I can see your point on that. Were there others?” Duncan hung his head. “Once. When I first became what I 373

eXtasy’s Collective Mind am. The bloodlust over took me and I drank the blood of a dying man on a battlefield. I have never forgiven myself because I cannot have known if he were savable or not.” “I know.” Florrie looked at him. “If you were rogue, you would have continued to do kill. The very fact you feel remorse is a sign that you control the bloodlust. Why do you think I allowed you to take me?” He narrowed his eyes and looked up at her. “And just how do you and your sister know all of this?” “I would like to know that myself, Clarise.” Lucien gave her a hard look. Clarise eyed her sister. “Florrie first discovered it.” “I did.” She held up her sword to the light, making it gleam. “Look at the sword closely. Notice how the runes dance along the blade? Notice how they almost cover the blade?” She held out the blade to the brothers and saw them nod. “The first time we walked the earth, the writing was down the middle, the second we added more around that as we did the third time. Along with the grimore that Clarise has, we figured out what we were supposed to do, how we were supposed to find you and exactly what was needed to bind us together forever. Each time it was a call for action, much like those taken in a crusade, but our crusade is different than anyone else’s.” “You are a witch?” Duncan gazed at Clarise. Clarise sat up straighter. “I would prefer the term, sorceress if you do not mind.” “And you…what are you?” Florrie smiled. “My task has always been simple. I have been the keeper of the histories and truly a shield maiden. I know more about swords than anyone in this world.” “Do you know why we are this way?” Lucien asked. “I know what the histories say. Who knows what really happened to start it all? All we know is how we started, where we began.” They were surprised by Duncan laughing long and deep. “I knew something was up. I have never been found when I had a protection spell going.” 374

Sanguinary Seductions “I know…I almost missed you a couple of times,” Clarise retorted. “Whoa…I still do not understand everything.” Clarise sighed and looked at Lucien, then Duncan. “He does not know how to make a leap of faith, does he?” “That is why he is the younger brother.” Laughter again filled the air. “That is hardly fair. I cannot help it that you were born before me. But it still does not explain what is going on.” “Our task was written down for us before we were born. The four of us will be the foundation for a group of immortals tasked to protect all humans from the rogue factions of our kind,” Florrie stated. “What…I am not sure what you mean.” “I think I might.” He turned to Clarise. “Until we bit you, loved you and made you part of our world, we were like feathers in the wind, blowing around with no real purpose.” Clarise and Florrie smiled then, nodding. “We could have gone on forever like we were until we found you. What would have happened if we never met?” “The same thing that happened before. We would live our lives alone and childless, dying to be reborn and sent on our task yet again. It is really very strange, our grandmothers gave us the same things every time we lived. The grimore and the sword. Sometimes we were old when we understood what we needed to do, others much younger. And this time, we were full grown women, seeing the world as it was meant to be seen.” Lucien shook his head. “It sounds pretty awful to me. When did you realize we would finally be together?” Clarise smiled again. “The moment I saw you storm into the castle. Florrie and I had somehow managed to hide in the catacombs under our home. This time it was really scary because I do think they knew we were there. But then you came and all hell broke loose.” Duncan nodded. “I have to admit I was really angry. It was the third time in a month that I had missed them by minutes.” 375

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Lucien put up his hand. “If you were not doing this, why was it you the people always described?” “Because I was always the first they would see after an attack. The rogues were really good at hiding their tracks and how they really looked. It was one of the reasons I learned magic. I needed it to ease the villagers’ pain and see if they would open up more.” “So for all those years, I have been chasing you when I should have been chasing something else.” Duncan slapped him on the shoulder. “We all make mistakes, little brother.” He looked at the women. “So what is next?” Florrie shook her head. “We are not sure. We do know that someday the tale will be told of two rogue hunters, a witch and a shield maiden, all bound together by a destiny to save mankind. Other than that, our fate is not written.” Duncan jumped up. “I think that is our clue to get some much needed rest and learn everything we can. Surely there will be places we can do that.” He reached down and grabbed his pack. “Hurry up you three, time is a wasting and we have a world to save.” Slowly, everyone got to their feet and grabbed the gear. “Until then?” Lucien asked. “Until then I know a little tavern down the road next to a church. I do not know about you, but I want to make this a permanent situation.” “You do?” Florrie questioned and moved into his arms. “We are already bound forever according to the grimore and histories. You do not need to marry me.” “You are right, I do not need to, I want to.” He kissed her gently. “Say yes.” “Yes,” she answered and eyed her sister. “Since you are my only relative, do we have your permission?” “Sure. As long as you give me yours?” “Only one thing with us,” Lucien stated. “We were married yesterday.” “Leave it to you to do something first.” Duncan smiled and 376

Sanguinary Seductions led the way down the mountain toward their future.

377

Through The Red Door Starkly K.A. MùLady ust beyond the slant of the creaking staircase, past the turnbuckle and the cast iron stove in the cove, five paces west to where the glow of afternoon light holds the whisper of dust bunnies in shafts of golden sunshine you’ll round the angled corner as you precariously sneak past the old painted armoire with the chipped and weathered face of the watching knight—there you’ll find the secret entrance to Knell, Beyond the Red Door Starkly. Tucked away, like a secret rarely shared, in Nannette Bing’s attic. I never understood what Beyond the Red Door Starkly meant all those years ago as I would languish on the front porch rocker, the afternoon sun warming my skin and sipping lemon tea with just the right amounts of sugar and chilled cubes to ease the ninety-eight degrees of a Midwest summer in rural Illinois. The humidity was so heavy you felt as though you were walking through wet fields of cotton linen hanging on the lines. Nannette Bing certainly knew how to ease a child’s voracious appetite for whimsical stories and soothe a steady thirst as the summer temps skyrocketed. She would fill my memories with tales of Goblins and Fairies, Werewolves and yes, Vampires. I especially loved the Vampires. The ones that lived in the world just beyond that secret red door at the top of the stairs and around the corners, tucked away within the old dusty walls of her little used attic.

J

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Sanguinary Seductions She would tell of the dashing Lord Nicolosia Voltaire, the Master Vampire who had lived eight hundred years seeking his eternal bride among the peasants of Ukraine, Russia, Paris and London. How he traveled the world searching for his one true love. She’d whisper of how he lived, and died, first a great Lord in a castle in some little known country in what is now a part of Soviet Russia and then how he rose again. She would fill my mind with the world of the Vampire— the lust, the need, the hunger. How Voltaire would kill to survive all those centuries as his insatiable needs and hunger for blood bid him to do throughout the long centuries in order for him to survive. She wove her stories with magic and mayhem, beauty and betrayal telling me how time itself became both his friend and enemy. It had brought him across the great ocean to the Americas, a new land so much different than his own. Here there were many of his kind who fled the Witch Hunts, the Inquisition of Europe, where thousands of his kind and Other World creatures, were slaughtered at the hands of the humans in their fear. Only to have that fear spread here as well. They were forced to go underground—the Vampires and the Werewolves, the Goblins and the Fey. All of the creatures of the Other World hiding in the Darkness, hiding from mankind so they could survive. But Nannette Bing would also fill my head with stories of beautiful Fairies with their wings of gold and magic dust. Helpful Fairies who would cast spells of love and the evil Fairies, spells of madness. I would fall asleep at night and dream of magical forests filled with startling white Unicorns grazing in lush fields of green. Only to be hunted down by great loping Werewolves who would chase them through the darkness, slashing and tearing their beautiful flesh until the earth would run red with their blood. I would dream of great Fairy Balls, me in gowns of every color dancing the night away with glorious creatures of the 379

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Realm. I would waltz with the Fairy King and a Goblin Soldier. I would tango with an Orc and mamba with a Werewolf. Until one night I dreamt of one unforgettable ball in particular—me in a gown as black as the endless night, a crown of sparkling crystals glistening in the light of flames as it lay perched atop my perfectly coifed curls of iced blonde hair. My partner, the dashing Lord Voltaire would sweep me around the floor until my head was spinning, glee a flutter in my belly as mirth and delight danced in my soul. He would whisper sweet words in my ear as we’d spin across the dance floor and the night would wear on. No one dare interrupting the Dark Lord and his beautiful Princess. As the night slowly waned, he would lean in for his kiss, the violins echoing softly in the background. My heart pulsing in anticipation of the moment. Carefully, so not to startle me, he would pull me closer. I’d be lost in the moment, in his lush blue eyes, my mind adrift on the possibilities as his warm, lush lips just reaching the thundering pulse of my throat. Then the pain would come. The knifing pain and the dream would shatter as my blood would flow in a crimson tide down the paleness of my throat. I would wake in a tangle of sheets, my scream somewhere at the end of my lips, visions of flowing blood lingering everywhere. Dripping from my walls, flowing in a font as though a waterfall from my curtains. My floor would be an ocean of rocking waves, sloshing and crimson until I would blink again and the image would fade. I’d then realize where I was, safe in my room at Nannette Bing’s. I’d laugh at my silliness for letting my mind play its tricks on me from one of her stories. I let go of her stories and the dreams the day Nanette died when I was fourteen. The casket was closed and I never saw her again. The house was closed up not long after and I’ve never been back, even though she willed it and all of its secrets to me. Not once since her passing have I ever went up those stairs and past that turnbuckle. I’ve not gone beyond the cove with 380

Sanguinary Seductions the stove or snuck past the armoire with crackling painted face of the knight to see what really lies Beyond the Red Door Starkly. Because now, I’m afraid that I already know. **** It was four-fifteen in the morning, Friday—I think, though after this many hours on the job who can really say. I’d been on my feet for forty-six hours straight. The Paramedics had just rushed another one into my exam room, their faces whiter than the curtains the hospital had hung separating each of the spaces. The victim, supposedly a male, in his mid-twenties—but with all of the blood I wasn’t sure they could even tell he was human. They said he’d been mauled by some sort of dog. Looked more like a fucking bear had chewed him up and spit him back out. “Jesus!” This came from one of the E.R. nurses that rushed in to assist. “Let’s keep our opinions to ourselves, Sandy,” I said as I rounded the cart. I wasn’t even certain myself where to begin. I was just an Intern, the real Doctor on call had his head over the sink and was puking his guts out. Yeah, it was that bad. “He’s gotta pulse, Jeannie. You might want to at least try.” This came from Randy my Medic. I blinked a couple times as his words began to register. “Okay, let’s get him an I.V. in here. I want some vitals taken and let’s see if we can get him cleaned up and find out who he is,” I told the entire room. Four blank faces looked back at me with the same pale look of shocked disbelief. “Move it people,” I ordered in my best commander in charge voice. Someone had to keep a head on their shoulders. Sure as shit didn’t know why it was me. I carefully crept over to Dr. Higgins and whispered over his ear, “You want me to get this, Dave?” “Huh?” he said, his face a distinct shade of green to match his pale hazel eyes. “Yeah, maybe you should.” He splashed 381

eXtasy’s Collective Mind cool water on his face, grabbed a towel and I walked him out of the exam room. Dave had been on shift four hours longer than I had. It’d been a really long day. Or would that be night? I don’t think I really wanted to know. The next three minutes were a blur of activity—sutures, an I.V., medication pumped in for pain, for stabilizing his heart rate. His blood was taken for labs to check for drugs, HIV and every other disease known to man. The blood was cleaned up from his face, neck, arms and chest. He had slashes, gashes and puncture wounds everywhere. And every time we cleaned up the blood, more blood would begin to flow. He had a gaping hole in his throat as though something had taken a chunk out of it. We couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. There was nothing to stitch since the skin was just ripped away altogether. The Medics had searched him for some sort of identification, but found nothing. No name, no pictures, not even a video card. There wasn’t dollar one on him, no keys, not even bus change. “Who the hell are you?” I whispered as I was bent over him, sopping up yet even more blood from a wound behind his left ear. At that instant his eyes flashed open, dark and empty and filled with burning fire. It was so unexpected, it startled the hell out of me and I jumped, my heart feeling as though it actually stopped for an instant. For the first time in sixteen years, as I stared at those fathomless dark eyes, I thought of my Nannette Bing and an eerie chill snaked up my spine, my skin broke out in goose bumps. My victim’s whole body shuddered and then his arms were just lunging for my shoulders, his long dexterous fingers latching on to me. I screamed, so shocked from his sudden movement that it just exploded from within me. People in passing, exam rooms and the nurse’s station could be heard yelling, footsteps running. In a groan filled with agony, he growled, “Through the red door.” Then his fingers were piercing into my shoulders, the flesh 382

Sanguinary Seductions breaking as though from claws digging into my skin, the heat of my blood pooling around each small wound. He forcefully pulled me forward toward him, my feet no longer touching the floor and, as I was screaming for my life, he sank his teeth into my throat. In flashes of strange glowing light, I saw images of a man, tall and refined, his long dark hair flowing behind him in the glow of a street lamp. He wore a dark suit and an overcoat, at his feet a body, a woman, her limbs at odd angles. She was clearly dead. The man looked up at me as though I were a voyeur intruding. I could see the flash of anger in his pale blue eyes, even across the distance that separated us. But there was something about this man. Something that I had seen before or was somehow known to me. Something strange and familiar. He cocked his head, looking at me, searching. Peering at me across the distance that separated us. I felt myself shiver. He smiled, a slow, soft grin and then disappeared. **** I dreamt that night of a Fairy Ball. The King and his Queen were there with their golden wings and magic dust. Even the Goblin Soldier that I’d danced with as a child had come and we danced a waltz and drank some champagne spritzer beneath the light of the moon as he walked me through the garden maze. He told me of his life since I’d left my childhood stories behind. It seemed he’d married, had three children and a lovely wife—though she passed on a few years before. The Goblin’s name was Darwin and it appeared he had a soft spot for me— always had. He was glad to see me return to the Realm. It was all a rather strange dream. I remember waking, thinking, Where are you, Lord Voltaire? Where was my waltz in the moonlight with you? I had eight stitches in my neck and a lovely new necklace of bruises. Our victim broke out of the emergency room as soon 383

eXtasy’s Collective Mind as the orderlies were able to pry me away from him. It took six of them to get him to release me. I don’t remember any of it except the vision of the man in the darkened street and the strange whispered words of the victim right before he attacked me. Apparently, I’d been out of commission for the past two days. More than likely exhaustion of a forty-plus hour shift and then the attack, blood loss and system shock. Dr. Higgins was my on-call physician. He figured it was the least he could do. Damn straight! I thought. It should have been him getting his throat ripped out instead of me. But maybe I was just being pissy. “So, how’s my patient?” Speak of the devil in a white smock coat, I thought dryly. “I’m actually feeling much better, Dave. Thank you.” “You gave us quite a scare back there you know,” he said, his pale green eyes looking everywhere but me. Dave was sixtwo and had dusty blond hair. Basically, he was as big as a house and had the spine of a jelly-fish. Big, burly and as mean as a kitten. I think he’d be scared by his own shadow in a darkened hallway. Sad, but true. “Scared the hell out of me, too,” I said as I gave him my best blank face. What did he want me to say? Gee, Dave, knew ol’ boy was going to go for my throat? Had a hell of a good time? Please. “Cops have been here twice. They want to get a statement from you if you’re up to it?” “They’re here now?” I asked, reaching for my hair. I’d been out for two days and felt like I’d been run over by a truck. I was certain I looked it, too. “Yeah,” he laughed. “Relax you look fine.” “Fine my ass. I’m quite certain I don’t look any better than I feel. So how am I anyway?” “Seem to be okay. Blood work all checks out. Vitals are good. Just a few stitches. Seems to be more shock and exhaustion than anything. As long as you’re not mentally 384

Sanguinary Seductions fatigued by all this, I’d say you can go home whenever you’re ready. The hospital wants you to take a few days off just to be safe though.” “Oh, okay then. Are the cops here right now?” I asked. “Yeah, they’ve had someone watching your room since their perp got away.” “Well stall them until I can at least get cleaned up would you? I feel like I’ve been dragged through the mud.” “Sure,” he said with a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “What? What is it you’re not saying, Dave?” He was acting a little weird, even for him. I mean, Dave was usually skittish to begin with. Don’t ask me how he came to be an E.R. doctor and dealt with all the blood, wounds and occasional death. I would have loved to see how he did through med school when he had to work on cadavers. “Well, I overheard one of the cops in the hall on my way in here say that they found that guy about an hour ago in some alley off of Ninth and Cromwell. Seems whatever had tried to rip his throat out the other night finished the job, Jeannie. So whatever you do when you leave here. Just be damn careful.” With that, he took my chart and left the room. I was left sitting there trying to process all of this unbelievable shit that had somehow, in the last seventy-two hours or so, become my reality. I wanted to go home. The shower didn’t make me feel any better. I stood in the steam-filled bathroom staring blankly at the pale, battered and somber creature peering wide-eyed back at me. My long, straight blonde hair and pale features emphasized the purple, blue and black of the bruises around my neck, along with the six or so puncture wounds in my shoulders. I wanted to collapse into tears. But I knew the tears wouldn’t change the course of events. They sure as shit weren’t going to make the pain lancing through my neck stop. Or the images of the man that kept flashing through my mind like a brain cramp at odd moments go away. It seemed that every time I would close my eyes I would see 385

eXtasy’s Collective Mind the outline of his face—long dark hair etched in the glow of the street lamp, vibrant blue eyes watching me across the night. I swear, I could almost feel his breath on the nape of my neck and then the sharp, stabbing pain in my throat where the other man had tried to rip it out would make reality come crashing back in pain-filled waves. My morning ended with me putting on some clean scrubs one of the nurses brought up for me while I sat waiting for the paperwork to be drawn up so I could ditch my own hospital. All the while, an officer questioned me about the incident that had started this whole nightmare. “Tell me again, Dr. Hollister, what the perp said to you just before he tried to rip your throat out.” I was staring out the window repeating my story for Officer-I-don’t-understand-fucking-English for about the fifth time when it suddenly hit me like a sledge hammer upside the head. The fucking red door! I must have made some involuntary movement because he reached over and laid his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Dr. Hollister. He’s dead now. He can’t hurt you anymore. They found his body down on Cromwell by some club. Weird thing is,” he began to say as I turned to glance at him, “the back alley has some underground club with a red door. Just like he said to you.” “That’ll be enough, Officer Spitz.” The deep timber of the voice that accompanied the command was dark, demanding and filled with so much authority that even I sat up straighter. “Yes…yes, sir.” Officer Spitz closed his little notepad on our conversation, tucked it in his pocket and scurried from the room. “You’ll have to forgive Spitz, he tends to blather on about things that aren’t quite verified as fact. We’re still checking out the details on that.” “Right,” I said as I took in the appearance of the apparent man in charge. “Grimes,” he said by way of introduction. “Inspector Eric Grimes. I’m in charge of this homicide.” 386

Sanguinary Seductions “So it’s true then? The man is dead?” “Quite dead I’m afraid.” Funny thing about Grimes, he didn’t look like he’d be afraid of anything. He was bigger than a house for one thing. Bigger than even Dave, which had to put him at least six-five, six-six. He had short-cropped black hair done with the perfect amount of gel so that each spike was pointed in just the right direction over a wide brow. His eyes were a deep shade of caramel and his chin was square, sturdy and even. It looked like he’d just shaved—so clean cut was his appearance. “So, Jeannie. What exactly did my perp say to you before he took a bite out of you?” The nonchalance of his demeanor and the use of my first name were a bit more personal than I was willing to be with Inspector Grimes. Something about him just rubbed me the wrong way. For one thing, why run off Spitz like that? And why ask me again? Spitz already had my story, so why not just ask him? “It’s Dr. Hollister,” I said, standing when my nurse came in with my release papers. “And if you don’t mind, Inspector, it’s been a really long weekend for me. I’d like to get out of here.” “Oh. Certainly, Doctor. I’ll just get your comments from Spitz. Just thought I’d hear what you had to say myself. Always better to get the victim’s statements first hand, you know.” He shrugged off my comments like it was no big deal and that was rather strange as well. Shouldn’t he have pushed just a little more? Forced me to answer his questions? Given me the You really need to cooperate with this investigation, Doctor. Rather than being so complacent with my request that he shove off for now? My brain was starting to hurt with this line of thinking. I needed to get out of here. The nurse made me sign a slew of papers and I all but shoved Grimes out the door, promising I’d call him later to discuss whatever additional questions he might have after reading Officer Spitz’s report. It seemed to be enough for him and he said he’d be in touch. I certainly hoped not. The guy was creeping me out. Tall and dark is not always handsome. 387

eXtasy’s Collective Mind There was just something eerily familiar about him like mums for a grave. **** I see now why so many of my patients request Vicadin or some derivative thereof for the pain. Talk about a miracle pill. I took two the minute I got home and don’t remember much after about twenty minutes when my head hit the pillow. At least I had made it home, managed to scarf down a peanut butter sandwich, check my voice mail and take the pills. I felt like I was going to die all over again just from that small feat of trivialities. As my drug induced sleep sucked me under, I could already hear the violins begin and I smiled as their sweet melodic lilt carried me off to my Fairy Dreamland. “Hello, Jeannie.” “Ah, Darwin. So nice to see you again,” I said as I settled myself on the small divan in one of the parlor rooms of the Fairy King’s castle. “You look a little tired, dear. Are you unwell?” There was real concern in his gruff voice as he easily, almost beautifully, settled his seven foot frame in the chair across from me. For such a large, burly creature, he moved with such fragile grace. “I am a little, Darwin,” I told him honestly. “I’ve seemed to have had a very disturbing and rather rough last few days.” “How so, sweetling?” I smiled at the endearment that flowed so smoothly from his lips. Darwin had known me from childhood. Had visited me often, danced at numerous balls with me. I shared many secrets from my childhood with him. So why stop now? I held great trust for this Goblin. “Well,” I started. “I was attacked at the hospital where I work the other night.” “That is dreadful,” he said, leaning forward to take my hand in his. “That’s not the half of it. The man tried to rip my throat 388

Sanguinary Seductions out—with his teeth! And what’s even stranger is that I’m quite certain he wasn’t just a man.” “What do you think he was?” Darwin asked, his eyes serious. His brow creased with what appeared to be worry. “I’m not quite sure. But I think he was trying to tell me something, right before he bit me. Though what it is I’m not quite sure of either.” “Well, what did he say?” “Through the red door.” “That’s it?” he asked, clearly surprised and yet somehow annoyed. “Yes. All he said was, Through the red door.” “And where is this red door?” Darwin asked with an expression reflecting silly child smeared across his face. I pulled my hand from his and stood in a rush, my heart thundering and sweat breaking out all over my body. “No! No, Darwin. I will not go. You cannot make me go there.” I said as I realized the ploy. “No one is going to make you, Jeannie. But maybe all of your answers are there. All of your answers from then until now. Don’t you want to know? Haven’t you ever wondered what happened to Nannette Bing?” He said her name and a piece of my shattered, wounded child’s heart quivered. Tears threatened to erupt and never stop. My frozen limbs quaked and quivered and I felt, once again fourteen years old. No one spoke her name since that fatal night all those years ago. The night filled with thunder and rain, lightning and darkness. Nannette sent me off to bed with one final story, one final Fairy dance with the Fairy King and his court. I danced with Darwin that night and we ran through the maze, laughing, dodging raindrops. He told me he loved me… But Nannette died that night and I never came back. I never came back as my world shattered. All of my dreams and stories stolen, right along with Nannette’s life. I looked at Darwin for the first time in years. Really looked at him and saw what my childhood foolishness had done to 389

eXtasy’s Collective Mind him. I had broken his heart all those years ago. “Oh, Darwin. I am so sorry,” I said, my eyes welling with tears. “I know, sweetling. You were but a child and I, a Goblin with fanciful dreams. When you left and Nannette was killed, she was taken from all of us. It killed a little piece of all of us.” Darwin pulled me into the strength of his large muscled arms and let me weep out my sorrows. Sorrows for a time long gone, for a woman whose love I would never know again. For a childhood long spent and a first love that I would never know again. When my tears were no more than an empty ache in the pit of my stomach, he released me. “You must return, Jeannie. You must find it and willingly walk through the red door, starkly. You must put an end to this. Not only for those of us who wander this Realm, but for all of those who believe in it. You must bring us justice and bring our Nanette peace.” **** The old house was just as I remembered it—a cottage style Tudor with sweeping coils of foliage spreading their long arms up beyond the rafters toward the heavens. A spiral of vines, some with flowers in blues, reds and violet wrapped the façade in a blanket of colorful greens. The exterior of the house was badly grown over, but the lawn was kept and the door and windows cleared away of rubbish. Strangely enough, the old skeleton key I found stashed in one of my dresser drawers still fit the lock. With trembling fingers and shaky legs, I forced myself to turn that key and listened for the tumblers to fall in the lock as I opened the door on a world I had walked away from so many years ago. Sheets and coverlets wrapped all of Nannette’s furniture in a wealth of white and dust from years of lonely keeping. The floors and walls echoed with each footfall, the house almost pleading for someone’s presence to return and fill it with 390

Sanguinary Seductions happy voices and a return to whimsical stories. I swore I could almost hear her lilting voice as I crossed the front parlor where we’d have our tea time and she’d delight in teaching me the proper deportment of a Ladies Afternoon Tea. It was here I’d learn all of the gossip of the neighborhood and we’d laugh on and on about Old Lady Wimbaugtom and her array of silly hats. As I crossed the hall and headed for the back staircase, my mind froze as the image of the man swept through me like a cold chill on a winter evening as though I’d just gone out without my coat, bone deep and shuddering. I closed my eyes and could smell the lingering scent of his cologne, spicy and hypnotic. I could see the dark waves of his hair glinting beneath that lamplight, his stark blue eyes watching me. I knew the dead girl would be at his feet, twisted and mangled. I’d seen her there before. Since the beginning of this nightmare. The poor, poor girl. Her life snuffed out at the hands of her beautiful lover. My brain hitched at that moment, paused on the thought. Was she his lover? Had he killed his own beloved? I looked deeper into the image as it played through my mind, watching him stare at me from across the darkness. I could almost feel his anger that I’d caught him. Stumbled upon his secret, caught him at the end of his murderous act. So who was his victim? Who was his lover? My heart began to race as all of the possibilities of this horrible, wretched nightmare tore me up and thrashed me to the ground like a tornado in a trailer park. My feet began moving, almost running. Closer and closer to him. To her. Nannette, I whispered. His stunning blue eyes slanted in anger, his long dark hair so familiar. The dead girl at his feet. My Nannette at his feet. I found myself at the top of the turnbuckle, beyond the staircase, past the cove with the stove. I didn’t do any sneaking past the armoire with the flaking paint of the knight. My hand clutched so tightly on the handle to the red door, I was quite certain it was going to bust off in my hand. 391

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Without another moment’s hesitation, I twisted the knob, the old door creaking as if no one had oiled its hinges in a hundred years. In a rush, I flung it open and stormed through it, certain I would find the rest of my answers and kill him myself with my bare hands. Only the room was utterly and completely empty, save for the antique mahogany desk tucked in the corner. There was a candelabrum on its end, wax burned down to its ends and covered in cobwebs. Cautiously, I walked to the desk, disgust, anger and regret coiling in my gut like a viper. Beneath the candle on a single piece of parchment lay a note in the most beautiful script I had ever seen. The writing simply stated, Beyond the Red Door Starkly awaits my immortal love. ~ Nicolosia My heart skipped. I turned to go back. To run through the door. To leave Nannette’s. Too late. I was far too late. I turned into his arms. The strong steady arms of my perpetrator, my murderer and my thief. “I’ve been waiting a very long time for you, Jeannie,” he whispered, his eyes great dark pools of blue. He took me in his arms, pulled me close, running his strong, agile fingers through my hair, exposing my throat. “A very long time,” he said as he leaned in. In the very next instant Voltaire was just suddenly gone. Thrown into the nearest wall by a seven foot pissed off Goblin with an ax as big as my leg, swinging for his head. The vampire hissed and flew straight for his throat. Darwin ducked and swung again. It was parry and thrust for a good three minutes until Voltaire caught a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye. Darwin followed the look and the Vampire pulled a blade from his boot, stabbing him in the gut with it. “No!” I screamed as Darwin stumbled. Voltaire took the advantage, was on me. He slammed me against the floor, pressing my head so he could come in for the strike. “You will be mine, Jeannie. Born to be mine and you will die to be mine,” he said, certainty filling his words with 392

Sanguinary Seductions conviction. “Not like Nannette. It was never she. You were meant to be my immortal.” I screamed again, struggling to get out of his hold, kicking and flailing for all the good it did. “Darwin!” I bellowed. “Darwin, can you hear me?” But Darwin couldn’t hear me. And he couldn’t help me. Voltaire had me pinned to the floor and was coming in for the kill when my body suddenly spasmed. Heat raced through my spine like a lightning bolt and all I could smell was earth. Without warning, a growl to match the most feral of beasts ripped from my lungs as claws burst from my fingers. A gift, from a Werewolf who somehow knew Voltaire’s secret. Voltaire looked at me for the first time with fear. “No!” he groaned. “No, I’ll not have this. You were mine!” With every ounce of anger, frustration and heartache of loss for my Nannette that I possessed from knowing that Voltaire had killed her, for it was her body on the ground on that darkened street, twisted and mutilated, I shoved my hands through Voltaire’s chest and tore out his beating heart. He lay there and screamed, writhing on the floor as his life blood filled the floorboards. I finally stood feeling nothing as I watched. When Darwin handed me his ax I willingly took it and chopped off Voltaire’s screaming head, silencing the madness and the Darkness that had lived eight hundred years too long. **** If you ever hear Fairy stories or tales of Goblin Soldiers and you wonder if it’s true that the Werewolves and the Vampire hunt and haunt the night. Or, if you perchance find a secret doorway tucked away in your Grandmother’s attic and you want to know what is Beyond the Red Door, Starkly—make certain that you are not too afraid yourself to wander through the door. Because we all know that Magic and Mysticism are the doorway to belief. 393

The Vamp Kira Chase abriella sat sipping a glass of wine, hoping she was inconspicuous as she watched a slim, but curvy young blonde’s body writhing to the music blaring from the jukebox. The blonde caught her eye and Gabriella quickly looked away, pretending she was looking at something above the blonde’s head before scanning the rest of the room. Gabriella pushed back a long strand of dark, almost purplecolored hair, which fell in front of her shoulder. She examined the rest of the young bodies. Any of them would do, she thought, but her brother Eric would probably prefer the blonde. The blonde’s beauty was unspoiled and refreshing. No, Gabriella wouldn’t bring her to him. She spent weeks watching the blonde and longed desperately to get to know her better. The blonde stirred a much different emotion in her, an emotion she hadn’t felt since Roberto. She would choose another for Eric. Eric was becoming insatiable with his power. He’d taken over for Roberto when one night Roberto didn’t return to the house they owned on the outskirts of town. It was located on a road rarely traveled with no other houses visible for miles. In fact, Gabriella doubted any one really knew the road or house existed except for the taxman. Now just Eric and Gabriella occupied the old farmhouse. They’d waited night after night for Roberto to return. He took care of them for years and they came to depend on him to take

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Sanguinary Seductions care of their needs and provide modern conveniences as the years went by. He talked many times throughout those years about leaving the country, but had he done that without so much as even a goodbye? Yes, that’s exactly what he did. He left without them. Roberto came to them one night when Gabriella was only a child and Eric a handsome strapping teenager. They were living with their mother, struggling to keep the small farm going after their father’s death the year before. The year had been 1865. Gabriella would never forget that date because that’s when their lives changed forever. She sighed forlornly as memories of that night over one hundred and forty years ago came flooding back. The night was dark and stormy and Gabriella’s mother took Roberto’s cloak and hung it on the hook while he warmed himself by the fire. No one seemed to think to question him about how he stumbled upon their house or why he was out on such a bone-chilling night. She saw the light come into her mother’s eyes at the sight of this handsome broad-shouldered stranger and realized for the first time how lonely her mother was. Gabriella herself didn’t know that loneliness as her days were spent playing in the fields or helping Eric with chores while her mother kept food on the table and the house spotless. Roberto was even more handsome than her father and he talked for hours about all the places he went and of his fantastic adventures. She never was sure what Roberto’s profession was and, looking at her mother’s face, knew that she didn’t care. When Eric and she were ushered upstairs to bed, she sensed Roberto was staying. She lay awake, listening to the soft voices of her mother and Roberto and, when her mother’s voice turned to ear shattering shrieks, she bolted out of bed, ran to her brother’s room and begged him to go downstairs. Red-faced, Eric explained to her that their mother wasn’t in danger and insisted she go back to bed. She did, but slept 395

eXtasy’s Collective Mind fitfully and, at dawn, crept silently down the stairs. The house was still…too still. Her mother wasn’t at the stove preparing breakfast. Gabriella silently walked to her mother’s bedroom door and pushed it open a crack. The heavy drapes were pulled, blocking out the rising sun. She saw two shadowy forms lying on the bed. Why was Roberto sleeping where her father once had? She stole to her mother’s side of the bed. “Mama,” she whispered. It was difficult to see in the dim light. She touched her mother’s hand. It was as cold as ice. She screamed and couldn’t stop. The next thing she remembered was Eric’s strong arm encircling her, protecting her, pulling her away from the bed. “Don’t look, Gabby,” he warned in a broken voice as he moved the lit candle he held in his other hand slowly around the room. She heard his sharp intake of air and a small animallike sound escape from his throat. She broke free from the arm that held her captive and ran back to the bed. From the light of the candle Eric held, she saw Roberto slowly sit up. “Why?” Eric screamed. Roberto smiled. His sharp jagged teeth coated with blood. “She’s at peace now. She wasn’t happy, Eric.” “Yes, she was! She had Gabby and me. Now what’s to become of us?” “I’ll take care of you.” “No!” Eric screamed again. “You’ll be hanged for what you’ve done…you’re a murderer!” With a flash, Roberto was out of bed and standing in front of Eric while Gabriella trembled in fear by the side of the bed. “I can give you new life, boy. You can live forever,” he said in a booming voice. “What about my mother? Bring her back then.” “No. She didn’t want eternal life.” He reached out a hand. “Stay away from me!” Eric demanded. “Run, Gabby! Get out of here!” Gabriella looked at her brother, but fear kept her rooted to the spot. She watched Roberto’s sharp teeth sink into her 396

Sanguinary Seductions brother’s neck. Eric slumped to the floor, but his hand still held the bed cover in a death grip. Her eyes widened in fear as Roberto inched toward her. Eric’s fresh blood covering his sinister looking mouth frightened and sickened her. The smell of death permeated the room and assaulted her nostrils. His eyes locked with hers and changed from evil to tenderness as he gazed at her. His eyes mesmerized her as he drew closer. She found herself willingly placing her small hand into his large outstretched hand. “Is he dead, too?” she timidly asked in a small voice. “No,” he softly replied. “Eric will live forever. You will live forever, too.” She emphatically shook her head. “No, I want to go to heaven with mama and father.” He smiled. “You’ll learn to trust me.” Roberto picked Eric up and laid him on a cot near the fire. “Will he be all right?” “He’ll be fine. Tonight you’ll help me bury your mother’s body.” She numbly nodded as a tear slid down her cheek. That night after they buried her mother’s body, Roberto gave her eternal life. As she drank his blood, she stared at him adoringly, no longer afraid. Her thirst for blood soon matched that of Eric and Roberto. She never seemed to be able to get enough and Roberto often scolded her for her sloppiness. He patiently taught her how to lick the wound after she fed to conceal what she did. When all of the animals on the small farm were slaughtered, Roberto searched the countryside night after night to bring nourishment to them. Most of those he brought home were runaways looking for shelter and food, never suspecting that they were destined to be the main course. A year later, Roberto began bringing whores home for Eric’s and his sexual pleasure before feeding on the helpless women. She would listen as they seduced the women and heard the sounds of passion even though she wasn’t quite sure what all of those sounds meant. She patiently waited until she 397

eXtasy’s Collective Mind was summoned and then the three of them would thirstily drink until all life was drained from the bodies. The fields were littered with the buried corpses of the victims and animals. She never questioned why Roberto refused to give any of them eternal life and she wasn’t sure she knew how to do it herself. She was lonely and wished for another child to play with, but Roberto adamantly refused. On her eighteenth birthday, Roberto came to her, telling her that it was time for her to finally enjoy the sexual side of her existence. At first, she was frightened, but as he caressed her naked flesh, unfamiliar desires emerged. When he massaged her dark mound and gently parted her lips, she tightly wrapped her arms and legs around his strong body as he pushed his cock deep inside of her. Her nails dug into his flesh as she climaxed repeatedly. At that moment, she quit looking at him as her provider and thought of him as her lover. Her love encompassed her, causing fits of jealousy when she peered into his bedroom and saw some whore from town with her legs wrapped tightly around him. At times, her rage couldn’t be controlled and she snatched at the woman, clawing at the flesh until the woman’s battered, bloodied body lay lifeless, then drank her fill. Roberto would lie on the bed with an amused look on his face, which only further infuriated her. She tried to tell him several times how her love for him caused her uncontrollable rage, but he just laughed. He started bringing young men to her, but none of them satisfied her the way he had. In time, she realized that Roberto would never belong only to her. He would never belong to anyone. The years seemed to fly by and, on the rare occasions she accompanied Roberto and Eric into town, she was shocked at how the world changed. But she hadn’t. She would always stay eternally young. When Roberto left, Eric forced her to go out with him in search of women. Roberto’s departure brought new problems. He always took care of their expenses. Now Eric and she had to find a way to pay the immediate expenses, which included the property taxes on the small farm. 398

Sanguinary Seductions They thought about doing away with the middle-aged man who appeared on their doorstep several years ago, but Eric told her suspicions would be aroused and they’d just send another one out. If all the taxmen who came to the farm went missing, the finger would eventually point to them. And if the law started snooping around, all the corpses in the yard and fields might be unveiled. The only solution was for Gabriella to seek employment in the city, which suited her and gave her a chance to be away from Eric for a while. Since she had no formal training and couldn’t be out in the daylight, a bar was the perfect opportunity. Eric had purchased a car and she spent hours driving around the fields, up and down the lonely unpaved road, until she mastered it. He managed to secure a phony license and ID for her from the Internet. The Cove was a friendly place to work and the bartender, who was also the owner, was a pleasant middle-aged widower. Gabriella soon became familiar with the regulars who came in after unloading their fishing boats. She never seduced any of them. Instead, she kept her eyes peeled for strangers or tourists just passing through. She only chose those who wouldn’t be traced back to this town. She worked most nights, sometimes even taking over shifts for the other girls who wanted a night off. If she couldn’t find a lonely soul who was more than willing to come home with her, she drove around the deserted darkened streets until she came across a hooker, a homeless woman or even a solitary woman walking by herself, promising a wild party of drugs and booze. If she didn’t, Eric would rant and rave like a wild man. It dawned on her one day that he truly had gone mad. She remembered Roberto’s kindness, but Eric wasn’t like that. He became evil and self-centered, only caring about his own needs, but not caring whether she was fed or not. Sometimes she grew weak and had to feed on the woman she intended to bring home to him, later telling him that she didn’t find anyone. He never believed her. He forced open her mouth to smell the blood on her breath. 399

eXtasy’s Collective Mind She vividly recalled the day several years ago when she realized that only another woman could quench her voracious sexual appetite. She picked up a friendly late-twenties woman and she barely started the car when the woman slipped a hand under her skirt and into her panties before placing her long slender fingers inside of Gabriella’s cunt. Gabriella almost lost control of the car as irrepressible urges of desire and need surged through her veins, setting her on fire. She quickly pulled to the side of the road where she and the woman hurriedly shed their clothing and jumped in the backseat. When the woman’s soft pink tongue touched Gabriella’s throbbing clit, it dawned on her that making passionate love with this woman gave her a sense of satisfaction she was never able to achieve with any of the multitude of men she’d been with. She wrapped her arms and legs tighter around the woman, never wanting to let her go. As they lay together later, Gabriella caressed the woman’s soft sweet flesh as she rested her head against Gabriella’s large breasts. “Lie back,” Gabriella said as she shifted her body and gazed down at the woman. She nuzzled her neck and, when she kissed the large throbbing vein, she couldn’t control her urge to feed. Before she could stop herself, her teeth slowly sank in. “Not so rough!” the woman angrily said as she tried to sit up. Before she could utter another word, Gabriella sank her teeth deep into the vein and drank her fill. Since that night, Gabriella rarely brought men home. Sometimes if she was lucky, she persuaded a couple of young women looking for a party to come home with her. Eric would take one of them to his room and she would take the other to hers. Later, they would dispose of the bodies in the field. Over the years though, Gabriella had become dissatisfied with her life. Night after night she yearned for a normal existence as she watched couples happily sharing a kiss or talking quietly at a cozy table. She silently watched those she knew grow old and die, only to be replaced by their offspring. 400

Sanguinary Seductions She wanted to fall in love and grow old with her lover. Gabriella sighed. That had been so long ago. She looked again at the blonde. This time though, Gabriella didn’t look away when the blonde caught her eye. The woman smiled, then said something to the woman she was dancing with. A few minutes later, the blonde came over to Gabriella’s table. She smiled and Gabriella noted how white and perfectly straight her teeth were. Her full lips and deep blue eyes fit her delicate-looking face perfectly. She extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Jordan.” Gabriella returned the smile as she took Jordan’s hand in hers. It was small and soft. “I’m Gabriella.” “May I sit down?” “Of course, please forgive my rudeness.” She motioned to the empty chair. “I’ve seen you in here several times. I tend bar.” “I know.” Jordan flashed another bright smile. “It’s a nice place. I’m staying for the summer with some friends who live here. They wanted to get away from Boston and one day packed up and came here. Of course, they have the money to do anything they want. And right now they want to get back to nature.” She shrugged her slender shoulders. “It was quite a shock to my system to see how isolated it is here. It’s like being on another planet.” Gabriella laughed softly. “We don’t have all of the glitter of the big city, but we do have peace. Can I buy you a drink?” “I’ll have whatever you’re drinking.” Gabriella motioned to the bartender. He brought two glasses of wine and set them on the table, then hurried back to the bar. “Do you like working here?” Jordan asked. Gabriella nodded. “I meet a lot of interesting people.” “I’ll be going back to Boston this fall for my second year at the university.” Jordan picked up her glass. Gabriella watched her as she sipped her wine. Everything about Jordan mesmerized her. When Jordan set her glass down, a droplet of red wine was visible on her bottom lip. 401

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Gabriella’s heart lurched, she was hungry. She gripped her glass. “Is something wrong?” She looked in Jordan’s beautiful eyes. “No, but I need to be upfront with you.” “About what?” She cleared her throat. “I like women.” Jordan grinned, then reached out and patted Gabriella’s hand. “I do, too. I’m a lesbian. See my friends over there?” Gabriella looked to where Jordan was pointing. Two women, one of them was the woman Jordan had been dancing with, were sitting close together laughing. “Well, I’m glad we got that out of the way,” she said with a smile. She never met anyone though, who even remotely captured her heart until Jordan. But she couldn’t have her. There was no hope. Even if Jordan understood and wanted eternal life, she would never wish this on another. Then there was Eric. He would laugh at her and probably take Jordan for his own. He seemed perfectly content living alone, but she doubted he was happy. How could he be? No, he went completely insane and nothing mattered to him anymore except having his own selfish needs met. “Where did you go? You’re awfully quiet,” Jordan finally said. Gabriella laughed softly. “Oh, I was just thinking about something…nothing interesting.” She watched Jordan’s bright eyes cloud. “Actually, if you want the truth, I was thinking how beautiful you are.” She paused. “I’d really like to get to know you better.” The sparkle came back into Jordan’s eyes. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She gazed into Gabriella’s eyes. “Maybe this summer won’t be so boring after all.” She reached out and patted Jordan’s hand. Her heart fluttered with desire. Her gaze shifted to the pulsating vein in Jordan’s neck and she quickly looked away. Could she hold herself back and love this woman without draining the life from her or worse send her to the same fate she had to 402

Sanguinary Seductions endure? She must keep her guard up at all times. “So…if you don’t have to work tomorrow night, would you like to go out?” Jordan asked. “It’s getting late and I think my friends are getting ready to leave.” “I’d love to go out. Why don’t you tell your friends that I’ll drive you home?” **** Gabriella drove below the speed limit, wanting to savor her time with Jordan. When the sign came into view for the street Jordan’s friends lived on, she was pleasantly surprised when Jordan placed a warm hand on her knee. She placed her own hand over Jordan’s and gave it a little squeeze. “Here’s the house,” Jordan said. Gabriella pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. “Would you like me to pick you up here tomorrow night?” “Okay. About seven? Maybe we can have dinner first.” “That would be nice, but I can’t come until about nine.” “Okay.” Jordan leaned over and gently brushed her lips against Gabriella’s. Gabriella’s breath caught in her throat and she felt the heat between her legs build. Her hand trembled as she brought it to Jordan’s soft cheek, drawing her into a deep passionate kiss. She could kiss these luscious lips forever. Jordan’s slender arms immediately went around her neck as her moist lips clung to Gabriella’s. A soft moan escaped from her lips. Gabriella’s pussy was dripping and she knew she had to stop herself before things got out of hand. She desperately wanted Jordan, but fear held her back. What if in the heat of passion she couldn’t stop herself and began feeding on her love? Could she control herself? She couldn’t bear to lose Jordan. The closest she had come to feeling so much intensity for another since Roberto, was the woman who introduced her to this kind of love. What she felt for Jordan though, went way beyond just sex. It touched something deep inside and that’s 403

eXtasy’s Collective Mind what frightened her the most. She couldn’t risk losing this beautiful woman. Gabriella broke the kiss, then held Jordan close to her heart. She stroked the beautiful hair and breathed in the light lilac scent of her perfume. Jordan’s hand briefly rested on her thigh, then slipped under Gabriella’s short dress and found her mound where she quickly slipped a finger inside. Gabriella shifted in the seat as Jordan’s finger explored her. “No,” she hoarsely whispered. “Not yet.” “Did I do something wrong?” Jordan asked. “I…I’m not usually this forward, but there’s something about you that makes me want you.” Her face reddened. “I feel such an uncontrollable intensity with you.” She slowly removed her finger. “Believe me, I love what you’re doing, but when we make love for the first time, I want it to be special…somewhere we can have the entire night together. Not in my car.” She caught Jordan’s face between her hands and peered into her eyes for a second before kissing her. “Tomorrow night we’ll have a beautiful time together. I promise.” “I can’t wait,” Jordan said as she exited the car. Gabriella watched as Jordan made her way up the shadowy driveway, then slowly backed out of the driveway. She was weak, but knew that it wasn’t only from the need to be fed, but from the emotions Jordan had evoked in her. She clamped her thighs together and drove down the deserted road to her house. She gripped the steering wheel. Eric would be angry when he realized she hadn’t brought a woman home for him. **** Gabriella quietly closed the door and peered into the darkened living room. A faint light came from the kitchen. When she entered, Eric was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. She pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. 404

Sanguinary Seductions He looked up, then turned his head as though he expected to see someone with her. He brought his eyes level with hers. “I couldn’t find anyone, Eric.” He slammed a heavy fist down on the table. “Damn it, Gabby! Quit lying to me! Must I do everything? You know it’s a risk for me to go out.” How well she remembered. He was careless and was caught in the act, barely escaping when the woman he accosted in town screamed and fought him off. The next day’s newspapers gave an almost perfect description of him. “I don’t even remember when that was now,” he mumbled. “Maybe enough time has passed and no one will remember.” She emphatically shook her head. “No, Eric. Someone might still remember. You were sloppy.” “Well, then you’d better feed me,” he demanded. “I will. I’ll go out and find someone, but first I want to talk to you about something.” His dark eyes slanted. “Eric, have you ever been in love?” His lips curled into a nasty smile. “Have you gone mad?” “No, Eric. I…I’ve met someone.” “Then bring him here and let me meet him,” he said with an evil glint in his eye. “It’s a woman,” she quietly replied. “Well, I’ll be damned. I suppose it should come as no surprise to me since I’ve watched the way you make love to them before feeding.” Her face flushed. “What about you and the men? Surely you—” He laughed. “I only feed on men…I don’t fuck them. But since you prefer women, it should be easier for you to gather them.” “Eric, haven’t you ever been in love? Surely before Roberto came to us there must have been someone.” His brow creased. “That was so long ago.” “You used to spend a lot of time with Rosanna. I remember her well. You met her at school before you quit 405

eXtasy’s Collective Mind going.” His jaw twitched. “Yes, Rosanna. I went to her one night.” He lowered his eyes. “I couldn’t control myself. Roberto hadn’t taught me how.” A tear slid from his eye. “Then you do know.” “When I realized what I’d done to her, I wanted to die.” His thin lips trembled. “Roberto didn’t tell me until Rosanna was already dead how I could have given her eternal life. She could have been with me now.” “But would you have wanted her to live this way, Eric? What kind of life did Roberto leave us to?” “Yes, I would have done anything to keep her with me.” “Maybe we can find others like us. They have to be out there somewhere.” He shook his head. “I’ve looked some up on the Internet. Imposters!” “Is there any way to find Roberto?” “No. Roberto grew weary of us. I thought he might have stayed around for you, but he confided to me once that you lacked the passion he desired.” Her face flushed again. “He was the only man I ever loved that way and I gave all the passion I possessed to him.” “And if he came back now?” She shook her head. “No. I crave the touch of a woman now.” “A special woman.” “Yes.” “What are you going to do, Gabby? You either give her eternal life or lose her. Even if you don’t kill her, eventually she’ll grow old while you’ll still be forever young.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know what I’ll do, Eric. All I know is that I can’t deny what’s in my heart.” “Poor, Gabby.” She was annoyed with the mocking tone of his voice. “I hate Roberto for doing this to us!” “But we’ll never die unless—” “That’s my point,” she snapped. “Sometimes I wish 406

Sanguinary Seductions someone would drive a stake through my fucking heart and put me out of this misery!” Eric laughed mockingly as he pushed his chair back and stood. “Maybe we should turn some others. Would you like that, Gabby?” “We discussed that before. We’d have even less to feed on. And what about power? Roberto warned us that sometimes others become very greedy.” He shook his head. “There’s no pleasing you, Gabby. I need to feed tonight! Are you going to get someone or do I go out?” She got to her feet. “I’ll go.” **** The summer passed much too quickly and Gabriella’s love deepened with each passing night as she held Jordan, tenderly kissing her until their passion ignited and she had to quell it before it got out of control. Eric continued to taunt and tease her about her new love and then became violent when she stayed out all night, coming in just before dawn without anyone for him. He threatened to expose her to Jordan and she knew by his declining mental state he eventually would. She had to stall him for just awhile longer. Jordan would be leaving soon. She’d never know the truth and Gabriella would slip back into the same lonely life she existed in before she met Jordan. If Jordan thought it odd that she never saw her during the day, she never questioned her, but seemed as eager for the nights as Gabriella was. She met Jordan’s friends and enjoyed the nighttime barbeques and parties they often had. She would miss all of them. Gabriella planned a special night for their last night together. Heartbroken, she had to set Jordan free. She wiped the tears from her cheeks as she pulled into the driveway and waited for Jordan. She barely slept today. She tossed and turned with her conflicting mind, trying to find a way to keep 407

eXtasy’s Collective Mind Jordan with her forever. But in the end, she knew there was no way. This night would be the last joy her miserable life afforded her. She would relish her lover’s body, then set her free. She watched Jordan as she walked to the car, her hips swaying seductively. A bright smile broke over her face when she saw Gabriella. After she had settled into the passenger’s seat, Gabriella leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” “Me, too.” Gabriella started the car. “Where are we going?” “You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” “I love surprises,” Jordan said. “I hope it includes the entire night making love with you.” “It does, my love.” She grabbed Jordan’s hand and brought it to her lips. “We’ll have a night to remember.” **** The joy in Jordan’s eyes as they finished dinner touched Gabriella. She managed to make reservations at The Edge, a cozy inn on the outskirts of town, for dinner and a room for the night. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” “You deserve only the best,” Gabriella replied as she held Jordan’s hand across the table. Tears sprang up in Jordan’s eyes. She desperately wanted her. Her eyes met Jordan’s. As though the woman could read her mind, she nodded. Once inside the intimate room, Gabriella dimmed the lights, then pulled Jordan to her, savoring the touch and smell of this woman who stole her heart. She took her time removing Jordan’s clothes and then stood back, her breath catching in her throat as she admired Jordan’s naked body. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in Jordan’s soft mound, then gently parted her lips as her tongue sought the treasure that awaited her. Jordan shivered and dug her fingers into Gabriella’s firm 408

Sanguinary Seductions shoulders. Gabriella wouldn’t take her yet. She needed to taste every inch of her first. She slowly got to her feet and took off her clothes, watching Jordan’s eyes smolder with need. Jordan affectionately massaged Gabriella’s large breasts as their lips met in a lingering kiss. “I’ve wanted you for so long.” “Tonight will be worth the wait, my love.” Gabriella tenderly eased their entwined bodies to the bed. She lay on her back and pulled Jordan on top of her. She cupped Jordan’s small ass and shifted her body, feeling the heat from Jordan’s pussy as it gently rubbed against hers. Jordan’s sweet breath was on her neck, kissing her so tenderly that Gabriella thought she’d explode with desire. She wrapped her legs around Jordan and sought her luscious lips. Her tongue found Jordan’s and a tingle shot through her pussy. Jordan must have had the same sensation because she suddenly reached down, slightly raised her body and spread her lips until her clit found Gabriella’s pulsating one. As their clits touched, Gabriella moaned. “Fuck me, my love,” she whispered. “I want to taste you,” Jordan hoarsely replied as she slid off Gabriella. “I’ve been waiting so long, too.” She took her time massaging and softly licking Gabriella’s breasts before running a fingertip over her hardened pink nipples. “You’re so beautiful,” she murmured. Gabriella placed her hands over Jordan’s smooth back as Jordan slowly eased her body down with her mouth, trailing kisses on its way to its intended target. She spread her legs wide and gripped the bed cover as Jordan’s tongue finally entered her, sending spasms of tantalizing pleasure through her. She tried to hold back, wanting to savor the wonderful sensations, but much too soon she erupted like a volcano and her hot juices spewed forth. Jordan unhurriedly lapped them up and then rested her sweet mouth on Gabriella’s damp, dark mound for a few minutes before easing her body back up beside Gabriella’s. Gabriella brushed the back of her hand across Jordan’s cheek. “That was beautiful,” she murmured as her other hand cupped one of Jordan’s breasts. 409

eXtasy’s Collective Mind “I’ve fallen in love with you,” Jordan whispered. Gabriella’s heart seized. Jordan loves me. How I’ve wanted to hear those words. Tears filled her eyes. “What’s wrong?” Jordan peered into her eyes. “I thought that would make you happy.” “It does, baby.” She kissed her, then held her close to her heart. “I love you so much. Don’t ever forget that.” She kissed her again. Jordan shuddered. “Make love to me,” she pleaded as she took Gabriella’s hand and placed it on her dripping cunt. “Yes, my love.” She slipped a finger inside, feeling her lover’s treasure and watched Jordan’s changing expressions as she brought her to a climax. She enclosed her in her arms. “I’m going to make love to you all night long,” she promised. Jordan responded with a fervent kiss. **** Gabriella looked at the clock. In another hour, it would be dawn. Jordan lay in her arms, fast asleep. She didn’t want to leave her. Her eyes welled with tears as she gently disentangled herself, then kissed Jordan’s lips. Jordan stirred but didn’t awaken. Gabriella would forever treasure the hours they spent making sweet tender love. Several times she suppressed the desire to sink her teeth into Jordan’s beautiful neck, but her love for Jordan gave her the power to overcome her need for blood. Now she hoped Jordan would take those memories and treasure them deep in her heart as she always would. She quietly slipped out of bed, quickly dressed and removed an envelope from her pocket and set it on the bedside table. Tears spilled from her eyes as she left the room. **** Eric was waiting for her when she arrived home. Before he could utter a word, she held up a hand, palm out. “Don’t say a word,” she cried, wiping the tears from her eyes. 410

Sanguinary Seductions “Gabby, you know you can’t continue to see this woman unless—” “Don’t you think I know that?” she shrieked. “I won’t do that to her. I love her too much to damn her to this life of hell!” “Calm yourself, Gabby. Just stay low for a while. In twenty or thirty years, you’ll wonder what you ever saw in her when you’re still young and beautiful and she’s old and wrinkled.” “Damn you, Eric! Shut up! I want to grow old with her. I’d do anything to be like everyone else. Damn Roberto for doing this to us!” “Ah, but would you really want to give all of this up? Look at all the changes in the world we get to witness knowing that we will still be here as each new generation grows up.” “And your point is? What good is it when you can’t be with the one you love or if you are fortunate enough to be able to, you either turn her or watch her grow old and die?” She emphatically shook her head back and forth. “It never ends…day after day and year after year.” He shrugged. “It sure beats the alternative.” He made fists and pounded them on top of one another toward his chest. “Fuck you, Eric!” He laughed shrilly. “Forget about her. I’ve got a surprise for you…come!” He led her to his bedroom. “I snagged a couple of whores. Seems they were discarded and somehow wandered down the road. What luck! They came knocking on the door about an hour ago. They should be waking soon.” He rubbed his hands together. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved!” She glanced distastefully at the two women sprawled on his bed, their heavily made-up faces smeared. They were thin and, from their physical appearance, unattractive. Gabriella’s stomach churned. Any usual sexual needs quickly dissipated as Jordan’s image flashed through her mind. “Well?” Eric asked. “I’ll let you pick the one you want.” She shook her head. “I’m just going to feed.” She moved to the bed. One of the women began to stir. She opened her eyes in time to see Gabriella’s sharp teeth moving toward her. A 411

eXtasy’s Collective Mind shrill scream erupted from her throat as Gabriella sank her teeth into her neck. When she was finished, she looked at Eric. “I’ll help you take care of the bodies when you’re done.” He mumbled something incoherent as his naked body crawled on top of the other still unconscious woman. Gabriella walked to the kitchen. “Please know that I do love you, Jordan, but I can’t condemn you to this life,” she mournfully whispered as she wiped the still-dripping blood from her lips. **** Gabriella’s gaze swept the nearly empty room. Mondays were always slow. She took a week off because she couldn’t bear facing Jordan. Her boss told her that Jordan had been in several times looking for her, but the past two nights she hadn’t shown. Would she come tonight? If she did, would she lash out at Gabriella in anger or would she cry, further shredding Gabriella’s already tortured heart. Maybe she already went back to Boston. She wiped down the bar and glanced at the TV. A special bulletin flashed across the screen announcing the disappearance of two women a week ago Saturday night. They flashed the photos and Gabriella recognized them as the women Eric said had come to the house. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” Startled, Gabriella’s heart pounded at the sound of Jordan’s voice. Her eyes misted as she turned around and looked into Jordan’s pale face. Faint circles were visible under her eyes. “Please…just for a minute,” she pleaded. Gabriella swallowed hard. “I’m sorry if I hurt you…I never meant to.” She struggled to keep her voice under control. It broke her heart to see the tears brimming in Jordan’s eyes. She moved to the front of the bar, took Jordan’s elbow and led her to a secluded table. After they sat, Jordan’s tears trickled from her eyes. “Why?” she whispered in a broken voice. “Is there someone else?” 412

Sanguinary Seductions Gabriella grabbed her hands. “No, please believe me. It’s not you…it’s me. I love you so much, but it’s not fair of me to ask you to be with me. I should have never let it start. We’ll never be able to be together.” She rapidly blinked, fighting to keep her own emotions in check. “If only things were different I’d spend the rest of my life with you.” “Are you sick?” Jordan painfully asked. Gabriella was quiet for a minute. “Yes, but it’s a sickness that I can’t explain. I have no right to put you through it.” “What is it? Cancer… Aids? It doesn’t matter. I love you and I’ll take care of you,” she sobbed. Gabriella’s heart ached as she listened to her. How easy it would be to take her forever. She fought the urge. “It’s better this way,” she said in a trembling voice as she struggled to keep her own tears at bay. “Just forget you ever met me. It’s for the best.” She quickly got up and hurried toward the bar before Jordan could see the tears that were falling from her eyes. She waited a few minutes and then glanced at the table where she had left Jordan. It was empty. Her heart shattered. **** Gabriella sat in the living room, but she long ago quit listening to Eric’s complaints about her lack of concern for him because she refused to go out and find a woman for him. “Then go, Eric! Let them catch you! Let them drive a stake through your miserable black heart!” she finally yelled in exasperation. “I don’t care anymore.” He laughed a long evil laugh. “Come now, Gabby, I’ve been doing some research. No one in this day and age truly believes that the living dead dwell among them.” “There will always be someone out there who believes.” “Nonsense!” She was about to make a rebuttal when a knock sounded on the door. She looked curiously at her brother. He gleefully clapped his hands. “Just like the other night. How lucky is that?” 413

eXtasy’s Collective Mind She opened the door a crack, then stood speechless. “How did you find me?” “I convinced my friends to follow you home the other night, but I was too afraid to come to the door. Tonight, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. They dropped me off a few minutes ago and I sent them on their way.” She shrugged. “You’re stuck with me. Please, Gabriella, don’t turn me away.” Her lips trembled. “I love you.” Gabriella wanted to pull her into her arms and feel her soft flesh against her own. No. She had to send her away before Eric saw her. “Let me get my keys and I’ll drive you home.” “No! I’m staying with you, Gabriella. I love you!” she cried. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” “I love you, too, Jordan,” she hoarsely replied. She ran a hand through her hair. “God, I wish things were different, but they’re not. We can’t be together now or ever.” “Well, well, well,” Eric said as he walked up behind Gabriella and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Who do we have here? Won’t you please come in?” “Thank you,” Jordan said as she walked inside past Gabriella. Gabriella closed the door, then turned and glared at Eric, seeing the hunger in his eyes as they swept over Jordan. His hunger was raw. He’d have his way with her, then drain the blood from her body, leaving her to die. She couldn’t let that happen. “Leave now, Jordan!” she demanded. “Just go! Forget you ever knew me.” “Please forgive my sister’s rudeness. She hasn’t been herself lately. I’m Eric.” He offered his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Eric,” she replied, extending a hand. “I’m Jordan.” Gabriella watched the heat in her brother’s eyes mount as he touched Jordan’s hand. “Eric, I need to speak to you privately…in the kitchen.” She glanced at Jordan. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Once inside the kitchen, she whirled on her brother. “Stay away from her! I mean it, Eric!” she hissed. 414

Sanguinary Seductions He warily eyed her. “You haven’t brought me anyone for two days. I’m growing weak.” He leaned against the counter, staring thoughtfully at her. “Wait a minute! This is the woman you’ve fallen in love with, isn’t it?” He grinned. “I have to hand it to you, Gabby, you do have good taste. But you know, my dear sister, you can’t have her forever unless you turn her.” “No! I refuse to make her live like this!” He threw his hands up. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve been very selfish and now I intend to have her for myself.” “Stay away from her!” Gabriella shrieked. He pushed her aside and headed for the kitchen door. She grabbed a knife from the knife rack and stood behind him. “Eric, stop! I’m warning you!” “You’re warning me?” he mocked as he turned around to face her. Before he could say another word, she plunged the knife deep into his heart, then quickly pulled it out. He screamed as he slumped to the floor. “Why?” he moaned. He tried to get up, but she kicked at him. Weak, he laid back. “This is wrong, Gabby,” he groaned. She smashed a chair and grabbed one of the wooden legs. She looked down into his tortured face and plunged it into his heart. For a brief moment, she saw the old Eric, the brother from long ago she had loved so much before Roberto destroyed their lives. She dropped to the floor next to his body. “I’m sorry, Eric,” she sobbed as she picked up the knife and slashed at his neck until she decapitated him. The house shook as his life energy left him, releasing him to his final death. Screaming hysterically, Jordan rushed into the kitchen. She froze as her hand flew to her mouth. “Gabriella…” Gabriella saw the horror in her eyes. She stood up. “I had to do it, my love. You shouldn’t have come here. He was going to kill you.” Jordan’s body shook convulsively. “I don’t understand.” Tears streamed down Gabriella’s cheeks. “This is why we can’t be together. Just walk out the door now and forget that 415

eXtasy’s Collective Mind you ever knew me.” “No…God, just tell me what’s going on!” Jordan shrieked. “This doesn’t make sense! You just murdered your brother!” Gabriella looked at Jordan’s horror-struck face. “We can’t be together because of this!” She opened her mouth. Her long fangs were razor sharp. Jordan gasped. “You mean—” “Yes, to be with me, you would have to become immortal. I won’t do that to you. I can’t live without you either. Please go so I can end my miserable existence.” She pointed the knife at her chest. “No!” Jordan screamed. “I want to be with you! I don’t want to live without you. Please make me immortal…if you take your life, then I’ll do the same. Don’t do it, Gabriella,” she begged. “Please remember the love we shared.” Gabriella peered into Jordan’s eyes. “It’s not an easy, glamorous life like the movies would have you believe.” “I don’t care. Just being with you forever is all I want. Please, Gabriella. If you truly love me, you’ll do it. You’ll never be alone again. We’ll always be together.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please.” Gabriella peered into her eyes and saw the love in them for her. She shuddered as she lowered the knife and quickly made a small cut on her hand. “Drink from my blood.” Jordan smiled at her as she moved to her and gently took Gabriella’s hand, bringing it to her lips. When she finished, Gabriella enclosed her in her arms and kissed her deeply. “Together forever, my love.” She pushed Jordan’s hair back and hungrily stared at the throbbing vein, then sank her teeth in. 

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