Tracy St. John's Blog, page 174

Ravenous Virtue Release Week - Excerpt 3

She was alive.
“Holy shit, I’m still here.”  Her voice came out in a hissing croak.  Raven recalled screaming so loud and hard that her voice had nearly given out.  But surely that had been some horrific nightmare?  No one could have survived the shots she remembered taking.
Douglas smiled.  “You mean, among the living?  Yes, you are, though I almost didn’t get you here in time.”  
Raven’s mind worked slowly, as if it was made of moving parts that had been gummed up with sludge.  She was alive, but she shouldn’t be.  Douglas was here, but he didn’t look quite right.  What the fuck was he wearing?  His usual suit and tie were absent, replaced by some bizarre outfit.  It had long sleeves.  More fabric hung from his wrists, and it took Raven a moment to figure out gloves were attached to the end of the sleeves, though Douglas didn’t have them over his hands.  The material looked black as oil, but there were flashes of iridescence too.  The thing was form-fitting, showing off what she could see of Douglas’ deliciously muscled body to advantage.  It was the most bizarre thing she’d ever seen a grown man wear.
Another thing bothered her.  Where were Todd and Kimi?  Raven had no doubt the injuries she’d suffered had to have been horrific.  Surely her boyfriend and bestie should be here too, right?
Slow, measured steps drawing close alerted Raven that someone else was in the room, interrupting her perusal of Douglas Bringer of the General Accounting Office.  So maybe her friends were there after all.  She tried to raise her head to greet whoever had waited at her bedside but couldn’t.  Raven had to content herself with rolling her eyes about.  A glance around herself revealed she lay in a bed in a very white, antiseptic room.  Before she could note anything else about her surroundings, a man stepped into view.  It was most definitely not Todd.
This stranger’s almost metallic-bronze face looked Asian with dark, upturned eyes and high cheekbones.  His lips were incredibly sensual, and Raven had a momentary fantasy of sucking on the lower one.  In contrast to his Oriental bone structure, he had long, sleek, golden blond hair that lay over his shoulders.  His body was massive, well over six feet tall.  The flowing red robe he wore belted at the waist, while full-sleeved, did nothing to disguise the fact that he was well-muscled.  What Raven and Kimi would call an ‘uber-man’.  Yet he moved as fluidly graceful as a man possessing a much leaner physique would.
He wasn’t anyone Raven had expected.  He sure as hell didn’t look like any doctor she had ever seen.  What doctor wore robes?  What was the deal with his metal-sheened skin?
As she gaped, the man moved to the side opposite Douglas and stared down at her.  Raven suddenly noticed that he seemed to have no irises, or that they were as black as his pupils.  Was that even possible?
The man said nothing, just looked at her.  Something in his demeanor made Raven feel small and helpless.  She’d thought of Douglas as having an aura of danger, and he was not alone.  This stranger was like a tiger lying in the grass, not hungry enough yet to take its prey down but marking it for future reference just the same.
He scared the shit out of Raven.
To hide the sudden surge of panic, she snapped at him, “Who are you?”
One thin eyebrow lifted at her question.  Otherwise his expression didn’t change, but Raven sensed amusement coming from him.
Douglas answered for him.  “Raven, this is Supreme Judge Vendeen.  He’s in charge here.”
Vendeen nodded once at her.  “Hello, Raven.  I am glad to have you on board.”
“On board?”  Even as the question left her lips, it occurred to her the title Douglas had given the other man.  Supreme Judge?  Not Supreme Court Judge, or more accurately, Justice.  Besides, the Supreme Court didn’t presently have any sitting blond justices on it anyway.  Certainly not Asian ones with metallic skin.  And Douglas hadn’t called him a superior court judge, which would make some sense.
This man’s voice was the one she’d thought sounded familiar, the one she’d heard when she first woke.  But she knew she’d never seen this Vendeen before.  He wasn’t exactly a man one would forget.
The judge folded his arms over his chest and leveled his inscrutable stare at Douglas.  “Show her.”
Douglas bit his lip.  Had Raven ever seen him look so uncertain?  “She’s only just awakened.  I’m not sure—”  
Vendeen interrupted, his powerful voice clearly saying there was to be no discussion.  “It’s the quickest way to explain.”
Douglas grimaced and then jerked a nod.  He gave Raven a tight smile.  “Don’t be scared, okay?  This is going to be weird.”
She looked at him.  As if things weren’t weird already?  Where was Superintendent Jackson?  Where were Kimi and Todd?  Surely someone who knew and cared about her should be here with her, not the auditor from General Accounting or this bizarre ‘judge’.
Douglas took a deep breath.  The air shimmered around him, like desert heat off blacktop.  Then he changed right before her eyes.
His chameleon hair turned as blond as Vendeen’s.  His golden eyes shaded to brown.  His features sharpened, taking him from the chiseled perfection of Douglas Bringer to that of a thinner, finer-featured man.
Raven couldn’t even summon a gasp.  She stared, trying to decipher what her eyesight was telling her.
Before she could gather her senses to react, Douglas changed again.  His features became rounder and even more delicate.  His eyes turned blue, and his hair lengthened to past his shoulders.  His body curved out until Raven was looking at a woman.  A woman that had been Douglas Bringer.
Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords

Ravenous Virtue Release Week: Excerpt 2

“Raven!  Raven, answer me!”
She didn’t want to, not when going back meant returning to that awful heat and pain.  Yet the voice was like a fishhook snagging her and bringing her mercilessly back to the surface.
The pain did come back, crushing and agonizing.  Raven could barely breathe for the brutality of it.  Even worse was that man-shaped silhouette blocking out the sun once more.  He was still there, still ready to make her hurt more, blasting her into little bits until the gentle void returned.
“Raven.  Can you hear me?”
It wasn’t some homicidal drunk with a gun.  It was Douglas Bringer, he of the chameleon hair and golden eyes.
Raven could feel the coppery-tasting froth spilling from her mouth as she spoke.  “You’ll have to fill in my sheet for me.  From eleven-fifteen to the present, I was shooting and dying.”
Her voice was little more than a wheeze.  Douglas seemed to hear her anyway.  “Do you want to live?”
Raven wished she had the strength to punch him for asking such a stupid question, especially when there was obviously no hope.  What was he doing out here anyway?
Pissed off and unable to do anything about it – which pissed her off even more – Raven sighed, “Gonna make it worth my while?  Do I get a swimming pool and maid service?  You idiot, shut up and let me die in peace.”
“Listen to me, Raven.  Do you want to live?  It means being indentured to another man, a man who needs your protection.”  Douglas grimaced.  “Even when your contract is up, you’ll still belong to him.  There’s no getting around that, I’m afraid.”
Raven couldn’t make head or tails of what the man was blathering about.  Damn it, she just wanted to close her eyes.  Now that she’d had a glimpse of the void beyond and the delicious lack of pain that went with it, dying didn’t scare her at all.  
Tiredly, she mumbled, “Which of us is having an end of life hallucination?”
“You’re almost out of time.  Do you want to live?”
The bastard is insistent, I’ll give him that, Raven thought.  Then she felt warm drops falling on her face.  She blinked up at Douglas, noting how his expression screwed into such terrible tragedy.  Was he crying over her?
His tears helped Raven feel something besides the pain and anger that she’d gotten herself killed so stupidly.  Douglas was only trying to make her feel better as she checked out of this world, trying to ease her suffering by distracting her with nonsense.  
Give the guy a break.  I can play along so maybe he won’t remember how helpless he feels at this moment, the way I would feel if our roles were reversed.
 She dredged up a smile, doing her best to ignore how torturous every little breath and each hesitant heartbeat had become.  “Are we going to your space station?  Where real justice prevails?”
“That’s the place.  Just say the word, and we’ll go.”  He returned the smile, blinking out tears as he did so.
Things were turning gray, taking her back.  This time, Douglas wouldn’t be able to pull her out.   Raven sighed.  “Sure Scotty.  Beam me up and let’s kick the universe’s ass.”
“That will do.”  
Douglas gathered her in his arms.  As he stood and lifted her up, Raven had an instant when she saw his eyes change.  They went from gold to every hue of the rainbow, one color melting into the next, spreading to the whites of his eyes in moving swirls of color.  
Wow, dying is weird.  And pretty, she thought as the world around her turned silvery gray.  Then all went dark again, sending Raven back into the long, cold tunnel where nothing hurt.



Available from Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords 

Ravenous Virtue Release Week: Excerpt 1

Douglas Bringer smirked at her as she passed him.  “Congratulations on your return, Super Ranger Raven Virtue.  Or would that be Ravenous Virtue?  Didn’t you eat breakfast this morning?”  He shook his head as she wolfed down the last sweet bite of pastry.
She flushed, both because she was eating like a pig and because she got another whiff of his cologne.  Damn, she was going to associate that musky-spice smell with hot sex for the rest of her life.
Raven said, “Sorry.  These doughnuts are really good.  Don’t tell me where you got them, or I’ll be in the place every chance I get.”
Bringer winked at her and then sobered.  “I heard Wills has vanished.”  He shook his head, managing to look sympathetic and livid all at the same time.  “That a guilty man can go free simply because someone recites a few words incorrectly...”
“Don’t remind me.  It makes me want to quit my job.”  Raven wasn’t kidding about that.  There were so many loopholes in the justice system that even when a law enforcement officer did everything perfectly, criminals still found ways to wriggle out of tough sentences.
Bringer startled her by saying, “You should.  You need to go and find a place where you can do some real good.  A place where the spirit of the law is adhered to and such ridiculous technicalities do not stand in the way.”
Raven laughed.  “What world is that on?”
He returned her grin, his amazing eyes glinting mischievously.  “Actually, it’s aboard the space station I left orbiting in a parallel dimension.”
Raven snickered.  Bringer was full of surprises.  She’d never figured he, with his expensive suits and perfect, exotic looks, would turn out to be a sci-fi geek. 
She told him, “Yeah, well when you head back, take me with you.  I’ll be glad to sign up.”
His eyes narrowed.  “Consider it done.”
It almost sounded like a promise.  Heavens, he probably went to those conventions where everyone wore pointy ears and carried light sabers.  Shaking her head, Raven headed for the motor pool.

Now available at Smashwords and Kindle.  Coming to Nook soon.

Shalia's Diary Monday Post

Set free.  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/

Sunday’s Serving – Clan Beginnings: Clan, Honor, and Empire (WIP)

            The councilman remained friendly looking but gave Rajhir a frank, appraising stare.  “You’re young, but not so young you’d be completely irresponsible.  I take it you’ve just completed your final schooling?”            Rajhir pulled his handheld out of its pouch on his belt.  He switched it on to display his credentials, enlarging the vid transmission so that his would-be employer could easily read it.            He said, “I studied advanced political sciences, economy, and law and received high marks for all subjects.”            The councilman nodded, giving the readout a cursory glance.  “Impressive, Dramok – Rajhir, I believe?  The only child of Clan Gegra?  As in Councilman Gegra?”            Rajhir blinked in surprise.  “My father was a former councilman, sir.  He lost the last election.”            A scowl marred the man’s merry face for an instant.  “Yes, I know.  It was a clear case of the voters selecting style over substance, flash over dignified service.  Your father was robbed, in my opinion.”            Rajhir let suspicion overtake his shock.  “How did you know my name?”            The councilman grinned, the expression more devious than before.  “I make it a point to know as much as possible about the people who make the Empire move, Dramok Rajhir.  Your father Gegra is such a man, and his absence from the council will be temporary.  There’s something about Dramok Ledsin that doesn’t sit right with me, and soon we will all know what that something is.”              He pursed his lips before continuing on.  “Not only are you the son of Dramok Gegra, but you are a distant cousin to the Imperial Clan, are you not?”            “I am,” Rajhir admitted after only a moment’s pause.  This man really did do his research.              The bloodline connection to the Imperial Clan had kept Rajhir in check for much of his life.  It was the reason Gegra’s neverending mantra of ‘honor and Empire’ had been drilled into his head.  It certainly opened doors, but it had also kept him under tight rein.            Maybe his prospective employer sensed that, because he asked, “You seem to have mixed feelings about that, Rajhir.”            “It’s got its good and bad points, Councilman – uh–”             The man chuckled.  “Oh, of course.  I never introduced myself, did I?  I am Dramok Ospar.”  He jerked his head to indicate the man standing behind him.  “And this terrible creature lurking over my shoulder is my Nobek, Jol.”            Rajhir stood to bow respectfully.  As he settled back in his chair, he suddenly remembered where he had seen the pair before.  They had figured prominently in the news feeds some months back.            His eyes widening with real respect and not the expected courtesy of a show, Rajhir said, “Dramok Ospar.  Your parent clan operates all those mines.  There was some altercation several months back with a rival, wasn’t there?”            Ospar sighed and gave him a look of disappointment worthy of Gegra.  “We need to work on your background checking skills, Rajhir.  My uncle owns the mining interests, of which I am the sole heir.  That ‘altercation’ you mentioned happened a few years ago and damned near killed my Imdiko.  You should definitely know any situation you’re walking into, no matter how inconsequential you believe it to be.  You never should have walked into my office without knowing what you might be getting yourself into.”            Jol added, “With Ospar, that would be getting in over your head.”            Ospar’s tone was dry.  “And yet you clanned with me, so that shows your good sense.”            Jol only rolled his eyes.  His brutal mien had eased a touch as the two men sparred.
No release date set.

On the Eve of Release Week – To Protect and Service: Ravenous Virtue

Finally!  It feels like I have been working on this book forever.  However, Ravenous Virtue is at long last written, proofed, edited, and formatted.  Can you feel my relief?
Monday I will begin to send it out to the distributors.  Starting on that day, I will post excerpts from the book, to give you a taste of my latest universe and its occupants.  I hope you enjoy.
Thanks as always go to the cover artist Erin Dameron-Hill, who never disappoints.  Big thanks to proofreader/editor extraordinaire Bruce, who usually keeps Kalquor straight for me.  I think he had his hands full with the first of the To Protect and Service trilogy.  Bruce, I couldn’t have done it right without you. 
As I have before, I feel the urge to warn my gentler readers about Ravenous Virtue.  There is nothing pretty about the lives, loves, and lusts in this book.  This one actually crosses into the world of sado-masochism at times.  Captive sex, the kind that wobbles on the verge of questionable consent, is a factor.  While this is all a fantasy and hopefully most of you can let taboos go long enough to see it as such, I understand this will not be to everyone’s tastes.  If you found Alien Embrace or Alien Conquest too much coercion to handle, Ravenous Virtue will definitely overwhelm you.  There are no holds barred with this one.  Read at your own risk.
That being said, I think this is an amazing adventure, one I enjoyed dreaming up.  Heroine Raven Virtue is a nod to my friends in the National Park Service, a breed of amazing law enforcers who have nothing but my respect.  Shape-shifting Daagiis and Gilothean frontier judge Vendeen curl my toes with their barbaric sense of justice.  If you like your men strong, ruthless, and demanding, you will love these two denizens of an alternate dimension. 
Get ready.  Ravenous Virtue is finally on its way.

Weekend Wake-up Call – Netherworld 1: Drop Dead Sexy

He placed my feet on the desk behind him, splaying me wide apart.  His mouth and hands moved up my calves, spent time tickling the backs of my knees, then started a slow but determined path up my inner thighs, pushing up the skirt of my dress as he went.  I trembled as he traveled upwards, the fine tremors growing to near quaking.  He darted a look up at my face, his expression pure deviltry that made my insides knot tight in anticipation.  As he closed in on the apex of my thighs, I couldn’t contain the wavering whimper that fell from my lips.
Tristan pushed the skirt up so that my entire dress wadded at my waist.  He eyed my sex like a gourmand contemplating a particularly tasty dish.
“You’re beautiful, Brandilynn,” he said.  He stroked the soft skin of my hairless mound with one hand while carefully spreading me open with the other.  “Every inch of you is sweeter than the last.”I couldn’t respond.  He’d left me in an agony of desire and anticipation.
He smiled and slowly lowered his face.  His light kiss on my straining clit sent sizzling sparkles through me.  My hands slammed down on the wooden armrests of my chair to clench in white-knuckled response.  For such a light touch to bring me to the brink of climax showed just how adept Tristan was.
The tip of his tongue barely touching, he lightly traced down the lips of my sex.  The pressure was as light as a butterfly’s wing, but it made me writhe.  Down one side, up the other, a quick flick on the sensitive nub to make me squeal, and then doing it all over again.  
Next his wicked flesh ran straight up the center, and my legs involuntarily closed to squeeze his head.  With a chuckle, Tristan flattened his hands against the insides of my thighs, opening me again.  “Hold still, girl, or I’ll have to tie you down.”
“Please, Tristan,” I groaned, fighting to form the words.  
“In a moment.  You taste too good to rush.”
I sighed in surrender as he bent to his work once more.  He fed with languorous strokes, licking and sucking my flesh, making every minute touch exquisite torture.  He avoided my clit though, and I was desperate for him to touch me there.  Tristan only snickered at my efforts to draw his mouth to that distended nub.
“So swollen and red.  You’re looking very needy, my girl.”
“Dang you,” I grated between clenched teeth.
“Hmm.  Rather ungrateful for all the attention I’m paying you.  Should I stop?”
I wailed in response to the threat.  My hips thrust towards his face.
Instead of returning to his sensuous feasting, Tristan stood.  He was naked, and I reached greedily for the jutting organ with the idea I’d torture him for awhile.  
Tristan slapped my hands away, then bent and gripped me about the waist.  Picking me up from the chair, he swung me around to perch me on the desktop.  I had a moment to be amazed at his strength before he situated my buttocks at the edge of the surface and made ready to thrust into me.
After the long lead up, I was more than ready to be taken hard and fast.  Instead, he crept into me so slowly that I squalled in protest.  Wrapping my legs around his buttocks, I tried to pull him in, demanding he quench the burning need eating me up.  His hand twisted painfully in my hair, and he pulled my head back to meet his gaze.  
“You will stop now,” he said, his voice deep with command.
I whined, but under that stern gaze a switch flipped and I immediately submitted.  He grabbed the back of my knees, forcing them up and tilting my hips.  The position forced me to brace myself on my hands.
Watching Tristan slowly enveloped himself in me made me shudder with need.  Had I ever known such an overwhelming urge to be possessed?  If I had, I sure couldn’t remember it now.  And he drove me crazy with the slow impaling, making me feel every tiny increment of his gradual progression.  Feeling him creep deeper and deeper, his thick penetration stretching me wonderfully, I hovered so close to the pinnacle of ecstasy.  It wouldn’t take much to carry me over, and I think Tristan knew that.  I could complain and whine all I wanted, but it was up to him to allow me the explosion my body begged for.  For now, he chose to torment me.
He was careful to not let his groin meet mine, denying that tantalizing brush of his body with my clit that would shoot me into paradise.  With exquisite precision, Tristan rocked his hips back and forth, coming so close until his crinkly pubic hair came in the lightest contact with my straining bud, and then backed away again.  His lovemaking was slow and gentle.  He used it to show what a sadistic brute he truly was.
“Please,” I whined.
He smiled down at me.  “I love hearing you beg.  Tell me how much you want me.”
“I do, Tristan.  I want you so bad.  I want you to take me, make me come.  Please, let me come.”
He thrust harder but still too careful to accomplish what I needed.  “More.  Really beg me, Brandilynn.”
“Please, Sir.  I want it.  I want it so bad it hurts.  Please, I’ll do anything you want, just please, please let me come.”
I nearly sobbed with agony.  He drew it out, the selfish pig, enjoying my torment.  It almost made me want to curse him with all kinds of filthy profanities.  If he’d just do it…
“Pleeeease…”
Tristan grasped the backs of my hips and rammed himself in as far as he could.  Again.  And again.  The explosion bloomed, a thousand thermonuclear devices detonating all at once, mushroom clouds billowing to decimate every cell of my being, leaving me a wasteland.  White hot pulses ignited over and over, rupturing all in their path, ripping my world wide open.
Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords

Shalia's Diary Thursday Post

Nang:  Round 2.  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/

WIP Wednesday – Ravenous Virtue

As they returned to Vendeen’s quarters, Raven caught herself scanning all around her surroundings, evaluating the people that they passed as potential enemies.  She frowned.
“Daagiis?”
He shot her a quick glance over his shoulder.  Once more he was in the lead, with Vendeen between them.  “Yes?”
“Did you download a program before I woke up?  Something that makes me automatically protect Vendeen?”
The face-changer chuckled.  “Discovered yourself on guard, did you?  Yes, you do have a protector program in place.”
Vendeen snorted.  “And here I thought you were instantly in love with me.”
“Dream on, oh lord and master.”
Vendeen shot her his half-grin.  “Lord and master.  I like that.  Feel free to call me that anytime you wish.”
Raven rolled her eyes.  “Typical male.”
They entered a lift.  “My office,” Vendeen commanded.
“So you do more than fuck and fight?” Raven said.  “Nice to know you’re slightly above the beasts.”
“Fucking and fighting are all you’re required to do however,” Vendeen purred.  “So does that put you on the level of a beast?”
Jerk.  Raven had the urge to punch him a few more times.
They reached Vendeen’s workspace a few minutes later.  Two desks sat in the middle of the room facing each other.  Each one had a chair, which Vendeen and Daagiis immediately appropriated.   Raven frowned.  She did not want to kneel at Vendeen’s feet.  She settled for standing between the desks and the closed door, trying to look like hired muscle while she had a look around.  
The room was remarkably bare.  In fact, besides the desks and chairs, there was only one framed picture hanging on the middle of the buff-colored wall opposite Raven.  She squinted to see a picture of Vendeen, a scowl sitting on his face, standing next to an older man who beamed enough happiness for the two of them.  The man had the same bronze colored skin as Vendeen, but his long hair was silvery-white instead of her master’s golden shade.  Raven didn’t miss the stiff set of Vendeen’s shoulders in the photo despite the other man’s arm slung about it.
“Computer on,” both Vendeen and Daagiis chorused.  They gave each other amused looks.
Raven gaped as their desk surfaces suddenly illuminated.  Screens with start-up menus appeared, along with keyboards and commands.  “Wow,” she said, impressed.  “The whole desk surface is a computer screen?  Awesome.  When do I get one?”
“We don’t play solitaire here,” Daagiis teased.  “You won’t find Angry Birds on these computers.”
Releasing next week.

Shalia's Diary Monday Post

Fatherly advice.  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/