Lily Harlem's Blog, page 242

High-Sticked Review.

I'm thrilled that High-Sticked has just had a wonderful review on one of my favourite erotica websites, Erotica For All.

REVIEW...
High-Sticked is book five in Lily Harlem’s Hot Ice series, about hockey players. It’s also her first m/m title.
This is the story of Todd ‘Pretty’ Carty, who we’ve heard a little about in Teamwork, the previous book in this series. He’s moved to New York City and a new hockey team, and things are going great. He’s doing a shoot for Armani to help promote their latest fragrance for men, and he’s working with a top-notch photographer.
That photographer is British Matthew Foster, a gay man who’s fancied Todd since he first laid eyes on him. But he doesn’t think any more of it. Todd’s a notorious womaniser, so he certainly wouldn’t look at another guy… or would he? The story that follows is about how the two men eventually come together, and how that impacts them, their lives, their friends and family, and, inevitably, the media. It’s a really hard time for Todd, who’s coming to terms with his sexuality and his feelings for Matthew all at once.
Although this book, and all the others in the Hot Ice series are standalones, in my opinion, it’s much better if you read them all in order. As well as Todd, other characters from Teamwork appear in High-Sticked and you’ll have much more context and a richer experience if you know the full story. Plus if you adore the characters as much as I do, you’ll be really pleased to see them again and see what’s happened to them since the last book.
To me, it didn’t make the slightest difference that this is the first m/m in the series. I love Lily Harlem’s storytelling, the way she develops her characters, her plots, her writing style and her incredibly hot sex scenes. This was another excellent book in a fantastic series and I can’t wait to see which character from this “world” that she’s going to write about next. Highly recommended.

High-Sticked on Pinterest

If you enjoy Pinterest and fancy sampling hot pictures and steamy quotes from High-Sticked click on the hotties below and be magically transported!

Teamwork, book #4 in Hot Ice series - steamy excerpt!

I'm sharing a steamy menage scene from my Hot Ice novel, Teamwork, over on When One Is Not Enough - head on over if you want the temperature cranked up!

New from Karen Stivali, Decadence the first in the hot new Spice Rack series.

When word gets out about the Spice Rack, a new adult novelty item that’s guaranteed to spice up your love life, retailers can barely keep them on the shelves. Each jar holds a suggestion on how to add some zip in the bedroom. Or the kitchen. Or wherever passion strikes. Couples everywhere clamor to get their hands on a rack and see what happens. Whether they try one jar or try them all, one thing’s for sure—with the Spice Rack around, sex will never be bland again.



In eight years of marriage, Eric Carlson has never forgotten to kiss his wife Jessica goodbye—until this morning. As Jessica runs her errands, all she can think about is the missing kiss. When Eric calls to tell her he thinks he left the toaster oven on, she rushes home, annoyed and afraid their house may be burning down. Instead of smoke and flames she finds Eric, looking hot and sexy as hell as he prepares fresh waffles.
Eric knows he and Jessica have been drifting apart. He’s bought the hot new product everyone’s talking about—the Spice Rack, guaranteed to spice up your love life. The jar he opens advises them to “Spend a decadent day indulging all your senses.” With the whole day ahead of them, a fridge full of tempting treats and the house to themselves for a change, that’s exactly what Eric intends to do—in the kitchen, on the washing machine, wherever the mood strikes. And Jessica’s got a super-steamy surprise for him too.
A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Buy Link


EXCERPT (over 18, please!)
Following her up the stairs, he watched as her curvaceous ass swayed with each step. “You should wear those pants all the time.”
Giggles purred out of her. “If I’d have known you were going to seduce me I’d have worn something sexier than yoga pants.”
“There’s nothing sexier than the way your ass looks right now.”
He ushered her into their bedroom and pressed her against the wall. A shudder ran through her and he knew she was as filled with anticipation as he was. She stroked the back of his neck then trailed her hands to his chest. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
Eric wasted no time shucking his t-shirt and stepping out of his jeans and boxers. His cock bobbed, eager for Jessica’s attention. “I believe you’re the one wearing too many clothes. But I can fix that.”
He inched her shirt up making sure to rub against both nipples as he eased it past her full breasts. Stiff peaks rose through the thin pink fabric of her bra.
Tossing the garment aside, he kissed his way down her chest and reached around back to unhook the clasp. She gasped when he took one firm dark nipple in his mouth, twirling his tongue gently before sucking. The sigh that escaped her sent tingles down his spine. “So fucking sexy.”
She answered with another shudder. Her eyes were closed, head pressed back against the wall.
He knelt and slipped his hands inside the waistband of her pants, teasing the delicate skin just along her hip bones before he slid the fabric down. Her warm sweet scent filled his nostrils as he breathed her in. “God, I want you.” He kissed his way back up the length of her body until he reached her mouth.
Her lips met his, hungry with desire, as she wrapped her hand around his cock. She stroked, slowly, her touch so light it felt like silk. He dragged his lips to the soft spot below her ear, licking and nipping until she moaned.
She whispered in his ear. “I have a confession to make. The other morning, when you went to work late, I came upstairs to put away some laundry and I saw you.”
Saw me? Eric’s cheeks heated and he swallowed hard. He pulled away enough to look at her. “What do you mean?”
Jessica averted her eyes as she traced a lazy path down his chest. Her fingertips, smooth and dainty, left a trail of fire in their wake as they journeyed southward. The satiny skin of her palm smoothed over his shaft, circling his swollen head before sliding down to cup his balls. “Doing this.” Curling her other hand around him she stroked, long and slow, up from the base, her index finger slicking the bead of moisture from his tip before heading down again.
Christ, she saw me. In twenty-some years of jerking off he’d never, to the best of his knowledge, been caught by anyone. His heart pounded, his discomfort only partially muted by the mesmerizing rhythm of her hand. Up and down. Swiveling over the head. Jesus. She really did see me, she’s never, moved her hands like that---that’s how I do it. His cheeks burned hotter as the pressure in his groin grew. His own stroke applied by her hands was driving him wild. Still, what must she have thought? How long did she watch?
Jessica leaned closer and kissed the base of his throat, just above the center of his collarbone. He was certain she could feel his pulse against her lips and it beat double time in response to her movement. “I didn’t intend to spy. I was bringing towels up from downstairs. You looked so incredibly hot I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
Hot? She thought it was hot? His cock twitched in response and she paused, squeezing just hard enough that he groaned. Words still weren’t possible.
“I watched the whole time.”
She pressed his erection flat against his abs, tracing her thumb back and forth against the sensitive ridge. His breath hissed out. He’d always thought being caught would be humiliating. A nightmarish combination of shame and explanations. Jessica shifted so she was straddling his thigh. Her hips gyrated, rubbing her wetness against him. His throat was so parched his voice rasped. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want you to get mad or feel embarrassed.”
Fair enough. “How did you feel?”
A sly smile lifted one side of her lovely mouth. “Excited.”Her hips made another enticing circle against his leg.
“How excited?” He pressed his thigh harder against her crotch, loving the sensation of her grinding on his bare skin.
Soft lips skimmed his collarbone sending a shiver up his spine as her hand kept its leisurely pace along the underside of his cock. Her silence intrigued him.
Pulling back to try to look her in the eyes, he repeated the question. “How turned on?”
Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink. “On a scale of one to ten?”
“Sure.”
“Twelve.”
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KAREN STIVALI AND ALL HER AWESOME BOOKS ON HER WEBSITE

* * * * *
Look out for my addition to the Spice Rack series, Joy Ride, coming soon!

Weekend Writing Warriors #WeWrWa

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. This week, 8 from The Virgin a novel due out in a few weeks time. It's the first in the Sexy as Hell Trilogy - erotic, dark, BDSM - and is taken from chapter one when Zara has just met Victor and taken him back to her apartment, if only she know how much would happen from this point onwards...

“You…you didn’t seem this type when we met,” he said,  lifting one hand and running his fingers through his floppy brown hair. Sprinkles of silver weaved through his sideburns and the wispy, longer hairs at his temple.“And what type is that?” I was enjoying myself, playing with men had always proved so satisfying. Though if I wasn’t careful I’d lose this one. He may still be dangling on my hook, but with enough flapping about he could get himself loose and swim away. I wasn’t sure I wanted that to happen. There was something about him that piqued my interest more than the others had.

You can find out more about the trilogy by clicking below...



Weekend Writing Warriors

Saturday Spankings #SatSpanks

Welcome Spankers! This week a snappy few from That Filthy Book a novel I co-wrote with Natalie Dae. You can find out more about our joint work under the name Harlem Dae on my website.



“Ah, ah,” I panted, absorbing the heat that bloomed across my skin and settled deep in my pelvis. The pain was like another living, breathing part of me, and I began to feel floaty as endorphins were released into my system. The world dropped away; I was drifting on a sea of sensation.A sudden gust of breeze lifted my hair from my shoulders, and I flung my head back, relaxed my knees and allowed the ropes to hold my weight. The wind rustled around the branches and whipped over the leaf-littered floor. To my left the trees darkened, and I guessed one of the candles had blown out.Jacob smoothed his hands over my arse, as if caressing the pains he’d inflicted. My clit was engorged. Moisture had seeped from my pussy and dampened the inside of my legs. I needed him to touch me again. I needed him to touch my clit and fuck my cunt.“Soon,” he said as if reading my hazy thoughts. “Soon.”
You can read the 5* reviews for That Filthy Book on Amazon.com though be warned, this is a book that lives up to its name and certainly pushes boundaries.

When Sparks Fly Blog Hop

A huge welcome to everyone joining me on the When Sparks Fly Blog Hop.


Since the mood is celebratory, I thought I'd share with you some facts about my m/m/f novel The Glass Knot. It's been one of my most popular books to date, with a whole heap of 5* reviews, and I have to say, I do have a real soft spot for these characters. Here's the gossip...


The Glass Knot is a story that came to me slowly to start with but then as the plot unfolded in my mind, became a whirlwind, a rush of need to get it written down.
If I'm ever having a low day I read the reviews on Amazon for Josh, Nick and Laura's story and it always makes me feel better. They were great characters to hang out with even though their sexy journey was a difficult one. The fact that people enjoyed me telling their tale makes the hard days of being a writer worth it and I thank readers with all my heart for leaving reviews.
Little facts about The Glass Knot...
1. The Glass Knot sat on a Harlequin editor's table for eight months, they wanted to publish it but ultimately didn't think their readers were quite ready for the heavy m/m and m/m/f sex scenes.
2. The village, Little Mickleton, where Josh and Nick live, is a real place in the Cotswolds that I've been to many times with Mr H. I love it!


3. I enjoyed the male sex scenes and the m/m aspect of writing this story so much that it gave me the confidence to write High-Sticked, the fifth book in my Hot Ice series. Unlike my other hockey stories which are m/f this one is about two men and the problems one of them faces with coming out as a gay athlete. It's out now at Ellora's Cave.


4. I wrote the majority of The Glass Knot sitting in my back garden. We had a nice run of weather and I set up a parasol, a little table and chair and wrote and wrote and wrote. I had a citronella candle burning at my side to keep away the flies and when the sweetpeas came into bloom, I had a small jug filled to the brim on my desk.


5. Josh's character is based on a man I used to date. His looks, his easy-going ways and his profession. He wasn't gay or bi though like Josh is, he very much liked women!


6. The Peniche Hotel in Marbella, where the theesome meet at the beginning of The Glass Knot, is a fabric of my imagination though I did loosely style it on Don Carlos, a really lovely 5* hotel that Mr H took me to as a treat one weekend a few summers ago.

7. The cover was created by Posh Gosh and I adore the detail at the bottom which shows a hazy Cotswold skyline.



8. I picked cars for Josh and Nick that I hoped reflected their personalities. Nick has a Bentley and Josh a Subaru. Laura has a beaten up old VW Beetle she calls Dumbo. (I had this exact car many moons ago.)




9. This is the one book of mine that Mr H has never read.
10. This is one of my favourite scenes... it's hot!


Josh was already getting busy. “Oh, yeah, you’re so wet,” he said, sliding the tip of his cock into my entrance.
As always I willed my pussy to relax. His wide glans stretching tight flesh as it rode in was an enticing mixture of pain and pleasure. “Ah, ah, ah…” I panted, gripping his shoulders and drawing my knees up high. I needed to make myself as open as possible.
“Take me,” Josh said breathily. “Take all of me.”
I shut my eyes and relished the sensation of his thick cock riding over my G-spot—the hard, flared head stimulated it just right, bring it to life. As I let out a long, juddering breath he reached maximum depth.
“Oh, yeah,” Josh groaned, locking his arms and staring down at our joined bodies. “That’s so hot to see you taking all of me.”
“Tell me about it,” Nick said from behind Josh. He was between our legs, bending over Josh’s back. I saw his jeans flying off to the side and then heard them landing on the floor. “I had so many images in my head of you two together, but nothing as amazing as this.” He smoothed his hand over Josh’s shoulder.
Josh twisted to kiss him, a real wet tongue affair with lots of appreciative moans.
I’ve died and gone to heaven.
Being penetrated and watching them kiss at the same time was off-the-scale sexy. I tweaked my breasts and ground my clit against Josh. “You two are so fucking sexy when you kiss,” I groaned.
Josh broke his connection with Nick and stared down at me, as though fascinated by my statement.
I thrust my hips up. “So fucking sexy when you kiss,” I repeated breathlessly.
He dropped over me, and chased for my tongue with his. He tasted a little different now, of Nick, a new enticing flavor lacing his.
He began to rock, pulling in and out just a little, rubbing my G-spot and grinding against my clit. Pressure grew; a lovely warm build-up of sensation that would soon have to be released.
Suddenly Josh ceased all movement. He twisted to look at Nick.
“Just relax,” Nick murmured.
“Oh, God,” Josh groaned, his eyes glazing and his jaw hanging slack. “Really, now?”
“What?” I panted, also stilling.
"Yes,” Nick said in a darkly low voice.
“Oh, oh…” Josh groaned. Beneath my palms his arms tensed to rock, but there was a slight tremble in them.
I shifted to peer over Josh’s shoulder. Nick had his head bent, his fingers busy. I didn’t have to see to know he was fingering Josh’s anus.
Nick lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were on fire with desire, his face alive with want. In that moment he was more handsome than I’d ever seen him. More real and more open than he’d ever allowed himself to be in front of me. “Laura,” he said, near desperation on his face. “I want…”
“Yes,” I said, “Yes, do it.” What could be hotter than both of us fucking Josh? What would make him come harder than that? We both loved him, we both wanted him. We could both have him. At the same time.






Thanks for reading, you can grab your copy of The Glass Knot from Amazon US or Amazon UK and check out all the great reviews there too.

And, I'm giving away a copy of my latest release High-Sticked to one lucky winner, just leave me a comment with your email address to be in with a chance to win.

Lily x

PS - Another similar story, The Silk Tie, is starting to rumble around my psyche so watch this space!


Return to the When Sparks Fly Blog Hop

Hump Day Hook

Welcome to Hump Day Hook, which is basically where authors post a paragraph from a WIP or a published work to show it off to the world. 
Without further ado, here is a few lines from High-Sticked, my latest Hot Ice novel. (m/m 18+). Todd has just got down on his knees in the kitchen and shown Matthew exactly how much he adores him...
* * * * *
I stooped and rubbed my hands over his trembling shoulders. He was being racked with the spasms and shakes that I’d been subjected to moments ago. “Todd,” I whispered. “Todd, you okay?”
“Oh fuck, yeah,” he said, allowing me to help him to his feet.
“You sure?” I looked at his flushed cheeks and his dazed expression.
“Yeah, shit, never better.” He grinned suddenly and pressed his lips to mine. He tasted of me—salty and with a hint of my minty shower gel.
“I’m sorry, was I too rough?” I murmured, running my hands down his back and delighting in being able to grab the orbs of his ass and pull him close.
“No, perfect. You’re perfect.” He looked me in the eyes. “It’s just been fucking years since I’ve come in my pants.”



Blurb
Dating Todd “Pretty” Carty was a trailblazing, headline-grabbing ride that shocked and divided a team, a sport and a nation. While controversy ruled, our feelings exploded and we couldn’t deny the desire that sizzled between us. Nothing, however, was easy outside the bedroom. Not when my world-class, fearless athlete wanted to shout from Everest that he was in love with another man.

But laying my heart on the line and having my picture dominating the papers was worth it. Everything about Todd turned me on. His bold hockey skills, his courageous attitude and the way he melted in my arms when I kissed him. I melted too, because he knew how to press my buttons, remind me of the man I used to be and take me to those places where ecstasy ruled.

The world might have trouble accepting us, but we’d committed to each other, mind, body and soul, and nothing could change that.



Check out High-Sticked on Pinterest, and get back to Hump Day.

Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent

Blurb:
I never intended to pick up a naked hitchhiker wearing nothing but a guitar. A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop - you stop.
And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal.
Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed.But he did.
When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn. 
What do you do, though, when maybe - just maybe - you don't have to choose?
As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated."
Available from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo
Bookstrand
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords
* * * * * *
Random Acts of Crazy is a standalone, full-length novel (300+ pages, 85,000 words) featuring Darla Jo(sephine) Jennings, the 22-year-old niece of Josie Mendham from the Her Two Billionaires series. It has, like many New Adult novels, an exploration of sexuality for the three main characters, doesn't shy away from mature content, and Darla has a sailor's mouth.
******
USA Today Bestseller! 346 pages

Top 20 ebook in the entire Nook store -- Top 5 New Adult book on Amazon --Top 5 Romantic Comedy on Amazon -- All Romance eBook bookstore Best Seller

"It was funny and irreverant like Wallbanger, but deep and moving like Barbara Elsbourg's Strangers. That is a tough mix to pull off. I should warn you though, this book should come with a surgeon general's warning: 'Do not start this book if you have any where to be, anything to do or need to pretend to be remotely interested in conversations with breathing human beings that are not currently also reading this book.' Enjoy!" -- Amazon reader review

"Random Acts of Crazy one of the best if not the best books I've read in a long time. Could not put it down. I laugh so hard my side hurt. Thank God I didn't pee myself!! Congratulations on such an awesome read." -- Goodreads reader review

"Be warned, this is not your mother's romance. It's hard and gritty and smacks you in the face like that burst of heat when you first open an oven door, which is exactly what makes it a  refreshing change from a typical sticky sweet love story." -- Featured Staff Pick from Cat at All Romance eBooks



Bio: 
Julia Kent turned to writing romance novels after learning that she could not work as a fighter pilot because her fear of flying disqualified her. Turning to her second love, she became a dog groomer, but had to abandon that job after adopting too many strays. Writing about very real, very flawed people is a natural extension of her life and, well, her. She lives on the east coast with her partner, two small children, seventeen dogs that weigh less than fifteen pounds each, and a monthly consumption of Nutella, brie and french bread that makes cardiologists cringe.She is originally from Ohio.
She loves to hear from her readers by email at jkentauthor@gmail.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/julia.kent.100. Visit her blog at http://jkentauthor.blogspot.com

Sexy as Hell - coming soon

Natalie Dae and I are pleased to announce that the Sexy as Hell trilogy will be coming soon. Here is the official blurb for the set of three novels which we are publishing under the name Harlem Dae.

Sexy as Hell: an erotic trilogy that will submerge you into the black heart of a world of bondage and discipline, Dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.
Dare to take this twisting journey with Victor and you’ll learn the ropes with him, experience every carnal sensation and fall into a dark and dangerous love that grips like a fist and binds like a collar.
Get to know Zara, his sultry teacher, and you’ll gasp when she doles out her sinful instructions but then delight in the stunning results she not only demands but achieves. It seems Heaven and Hell are not so far apart when she holds the reins.
Victor has his layers peeled back, but when he does the same to try to get to his Vixen’s core, a revelation appears. Because Zara is a woman whose vast sexual experience is both her strength and her weakness; she can inflict pain and pleasure, make lusty demands and instruct, but she needs so much more, she needs…
Yes, the time has come to for her to admit to her needs and confess to the repairing her soul hungers for. A sea of memories, a lifetime of control requires an acknowledgement that will cut through her barriers, and there’s only one man up for the job—her virgin, her student, her newly trained monster, Victor Partridge.

Individual Book Information...

The Virgin – Book One in the Sexy as Hell Trilogy (An erotic BDSM novel)
London – one meeting, one month of lessons and a landslide of depraved new desires.
My journey to hell started with a decaff coffee. Nothing more than a grey mug full of dull-brown liquid devoid of its most useful ingredient.
One sip, one smile, one touch of her hand and it was soon clear my life wasn’t destined to stay dull. Oh, no, suddenly I had a month of bedroom education planned by a sultry vixen who intended to broaden my horizons beyond my usual peach-pink palette. 
She wanted to take me to deep purples and navy blues and the pitch blackness that was pure sin. And on the other side of that blackness was a place that might look like Hell, with debauchery and wantonness, people playing devil’s advocate, luring innocents into the hotter, steamier corners of the world.
Her world.
Oh, yes, she promised each night to take me there and paint me an orange-and-red picture that would come alive, flickering like flames, enticing me, holding me spellbound and eager to learn more. To touch, explore, drown in coming.
And drown I would. I was no match for her tricks and taunts. My only chance of survival was to show her that I was no vanilla virgin. I had a rainbow of mastery up my sleeve, too, and if she just opened her eyes, she might be dazzled enough to stay—stay and take ‘my’ lessons. If she didn’t kill me first, that was, with pleasure.


The Player – Book Two in the Sexy as Hell Trilogy (An erotic BDSM novel)
Tuscany – New lovers, new lessons and an eruption of uncontrollable lust.
The real world was working for me, its pastel shades and straight-and-narrow route a familiar path to tread. It suited me, this normality; it was good for me too. Or so I thought, because the new light in my life, Catherine, was not quite fulfilling my needs. Her lack of colour, the weak whispers of her kisses were not touching my soul the way I’d become accustomed to. I needed more.
More of everything in my darkly addictive rainbow; the wicked wantonness of sin, the depraved pleasure of seedy seduction and the prism of delight I took in being struck…and of doing the striking. I missed the fireworks, the brilliant displays of Technicolor ecstasy that strung me out and bared me to my bones. I wanted to go there again, and take Catherine, too, see if I could have that pyrotechnic display with her. Did she have a riot of vibrant shades beneath her skin or was she magnolia to the core?
My teacher, Zara, told me I could discover her palette. That all I needed to do was show Catherine my world, my new world, the one I’d never inhabited alone. Zara couldn’t come with me this time, she had a new student now. I was on my own, it was down to me. Or was it?
It seemed my teacher had other ideas after all, and when she sashayed back into my life with her rules and murmurs of encouragement, I had no choice but to listen to her, take her advice, follow her lead, even though I knew nothing ever ended well with her. But resistance was futile, my protests fell on deaf ears. But that suited my plans, didn’t it?


The Vixen – Book Three in the Sexy as Hell Trilogy (An erotic BDSM novel)
Venice – Two people, a shed load of baggage and a way forward that takes extreme to new limits.
In an explosion of clarity, the mist cleared and I understood what my lascivious teacher, Zara, really was beneath the surface. I couldn’t see her beautiful core. Like a dank fog warning off poor unfortunates who wandered her way, she wouldn’t let the darkness lift, refused to light the way. But she gave me a key. It was small, stiff, and I was afraid of what I’d find if I turned it. But I did. I couldn’t resist. She did that to me.
In a tumble of truths, I understood her bleak voids and why she filled them with sharp slicing reds and hostile bruising purples. What had happened, what they’d done had bled her of colour and created a woman who needed so much more and always would—for all of time. But I could give her back that vibrancy, I was sure I could; my colours complimented hers and I had plenty of them. My needs could switch to take her to those grey places she needed to visit again in order to obliterate the memories that caused her pain. In the space they’d occupied, I’d create a pile of shimmering, perfectly cut-diamond memories, a rainbow cloud of sugar mist to replace that dankness. I could do it; I would help her become more beautiful than anything I’d seen before.
And within that new, delicate ‘thing’ was us. Victor and Zara. Unconventional, extreme, romantic, we spanned every shimmering stroke of the rainbow and all the coal-black shadows on the way down to Hell. But together we could fight demons. I would be her knight in shining armour even if it pushed me to the very limits of what I ever believed I could do to a woman. And what thrilled me, was if I bared my soul, found the courage to be a monster as well as an angel, I had a very real chance of making her mine—or did I? Because the only thing predictable about Zara, was that she was completely unpredictable.