M.A. Church's Blog, page 99

Blog tour for Death Mask by Lexi Ander and a giveaway

Title: Death Mask
Series: Black Harbingers MC
Author(s): Lexi Ander
Cover Artist: Kirby Crow
Categories: Gay, Urban Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Roughhouse Raiders
Length: 43,000 words
Release Date: November 9, 2016








Blurb:Grim Misery, the President of the Black Harbinger Motorcycle Club, discovers a wounded warlock and four werepups aboard the club's LSD shipment. And the news kept getting better and better. Not only is the warlock sitting on the edge of death, he's illegally bonded to the werepups, which could trigger a war with the werewolves—and he turns out to be Misery's estranged husband.

Years ago, Griffin turned Misery away to be with another warlock by the name of Marcheso Aldo. Misery left everything behind, even his family, but couldn't shake the heartbreak Griffin caused. With Griffin thrust back into Misery's life, he discovers things aren't as they seem... and everything is about to get much, much worse.
Buy Links: LT3 Press | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | All Romance | Bookstrand | iTunes |


Excerpt:
Chapter One
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." ~Norman Cousins

"Prez, you're gonna want to take a look at this." Nightingale, Sergeant in Arms of the Black Harbingers MC, called to me from the tail end of the box truck that recently arrived from the docks. The products the vehicle carried included the much-awaited shipment of LSD for the city's elder vampires. The goods were late by one week, and I had some agitated parasites on my hands. If someone so much as fucked with the shite, they would be in a world of hurt, because I had no qualms feeding the arseholes to the bloodsuckers.
The clubhouse for the MC was a repurposed three-story library. The block had been slated for demolition after World War II to make way for a strip mall or some such. I loved the building, with its Grecian columns, marble floors, and the liberal use of dark woods. She had character, and after I greased a few palms, she became our clubhouse, our home.
On the ground floor, to the rear of the building, were two bay doors. Semis could back up to one of them, allowing people to walk into the bed without using a ramp. The second bay, vehicles drove directly onto the dock. Granted, unloading the boxes was harder, but we didn't have to worry about prying eyes and for this shipment, we needed complete privacy.
By the tone of Night's voice, I wouldn't like what I'd see. One of the prospects had been sent to retrieve the truck from the docks. Not quite members of the MC, prospects were initiates working through the probationary period. Simply put, they were the club's gofers. They did anything and everything the brothers asked of them. They guarded the bikes in public places, manned the doors at the parties, and made sure no one unauthorized entered the clubhouse. If a brother's old lady needed to go somewhere, a prospect escorted them. The list of shitty duties was endless. At the end of the probation period, the brothers voted the prospect in or out, but until then, the prospect did what they were told, without complaint. Our newest prospect, Tinman, who'd picked up the box truck, stood off to the side looking concerned, but not afraid.
"The truck was where you'd said it'd be, Misery. There weren't any problems and no one followed me," he said, without prompting.
When I rounded the rear of the non-descript vehicle, the door was rolled up, exposing the back of the compartment, stacked with boxes. Nightingale stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his cut hidden by the muscular bulk of his arms. At one time, he'd been a Noble Fae. From which court, I'd never asked. When most preternaturals came looking to join the Black Harbingers, they left behind who they once were. The brothers only cared about the here and now, content to leave whatever hell they'd escaped in the past. We all carried secrets best left undisturbed, and we let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak.
Those who didn't know of Nightingale's origins wouldn't have believed he belonged to that waif-like race. He'd shed his litheness, becoming a motherfucking powerhouse of strength and muscle. Even his unnaturally-white hair, which many people assumed the poor bastard had gone gray early, didn't soften his appearance. Most bikers didn't have facial piercings because they stumbled into too many fistfights, but not Night. He wore a ring in the right nostril and two in his bottom lip that he fiddled with when something bothered him, like now. When he met my gaze, his green eyes were troubled. Then the scent hit me.
Blood.
When I went to ask what the fuck he was waiting for, Night placed a pale finger over his lips, biding me to listen. The sound was faint, but the soft whines of some kind of dog or… Well, fuck me sideways.
"Someone find Hog and Lalios." My request was made in a low voice, but the brothers jumped to it as if I'd yelled. Perhaps they felt my tension or they, too, scented the blood wafting from the back of the truck, now that the door had been raised.
More than one person drew a weapon. Grabbing the handrail on the side of the door, I readied to climb into the back.
"Misery," Night called to me softly, but I ignored him.
Even if werewolves had hidden in the truck, I didn't worry about my safety. The sound of the pitiful, tiny snarls and growls intensified when my heavy boots struck the bed. Pausing to listen, I couldn't hear an adult voice among the pups. With the scent of blood heavier in the confines of the cabin, I surmised the parent was severely injured. A werewolf in pain was a dangerous creature, more animal than man. Blinded by the agony, instinct would take over, and he, or she, would attack first to protect their young. If that were to happen, then I was the one equipped to handle the werewolf. Sure, I could be hurt like anyone else, but I was hard to kill. Living for almost two hundred years had proven that.
Listening intently, I heard three, perhaps four distinct voices, which was surprising. Nowadays, werewolves lived longer than they did five hundred years ago. When they became the stuff of folklore, people stopped hunting them. Since they lived a more peaceful existence, the number of litters they birthed dropped off to where pups were now born singly to couples every hundred years or so. The young were precious to the packs and there being four here made my skin crawl with foreboding. The day kept getting better and better.


Giveaway
The giveaway will run through midnight on November 25th.Must be 18 or order to participate.Giving Away Two (2) Signed Paperbacks of Death Mask

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio
Lexi has always been an avid reader, and at a young age started reading (secretly) her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her eighty-pound puppies named after vacuum cleaners.
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Blog Tour Stops
November 14 – Alicia Nordwell, Jamie Lynn Miller,  November 15 – MA Church November 16 – LM BrownNovember 17 – Crystals Many Reviewers, Prism Book Alliance,November 18 – Tali Spencer, Sharita Lira

Midnight Mist & Moondust - Chapter seven

Beginning is here



Look for the flash to post every Monday. Fair warning: there are some scenes of dubious consent. If you've read any of my books, you know I don't do rape, but this *is* a Halloween flash. It *is* going to be a bit on the dark side. I *am* going to push the boundaries.

And it's not been edited since I waited to the last moment (again) to write the chapter lol. It's Sunday and football! I'm in front of the TV all day. ;)



Chapter Seven“A lot of fucking good praying is going to do,” Caleb whined as he flopped back into his chair. “Or running.”“Shit, shit, shit.” Raleigh tugged at his hair. “Okay, give me a second to think.” Raleigh paced up and down the kitchen. It was so silent Caleb could hear the hum of the refrigerator. The low buzz tempted him towards sleep. He blinked his eyes several times, but they continued to water. God, he was so tired. He rubbed the wetness away with a closed fist.Raleigh continued stalking around the kitchen mumbling under his breath.Caleb rested his chin on his fist and watched his best friend…. who was a werewolf. His mind wandered. What would it be like to shift into another form? Into an animal? How many of the animals he saw on a daily basis were actually animal? Oh God. What about the squirrel that committed suicide by running out in front of him a couple days ago? It didn’t bear thinking about. Surely people like Raleigh still maintain some semblance of themselves. He sincerely hoped they’d have enough sense not to run out front of a moving vehicle.Raleigh suddenly stopped pacing and looked at Caleb. “Where did the pendant come from?”“It came with the spell. I just didn’t tell you about it.”Raleigh kicked one of the kitchen cabinets. “I really wish you would’ve had.”“Stop beating up on inanimate objects or we’ll never get our deposit back.” Caleb blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. “And believe me, I wish I’d told you too.”“So you bought the spell and got the pendant. And what? Tell me what happened next.”“I… well, I rented the cabin and went out to the woods. Once I was there, I did the spell and—”“Wait a minute. Backup just a moment. When exactly did you put the pendant on?”“Not long after I bought the spell.” Caleb shrugged. “It was kinda cool in a goth sort of way, and I liked it. I remember thinking it would probably look better on you than me since you wear stuff like that.” Caleb waved his hand at Raleigh.Even though Raleigh hadn’t been up long, he wore several leather bracelets and a couple o of chains. His long black hair was loose and flowing down his back. All Raleigh wore was a pair of black night pants. Huh. Caleb stared at the tattoos on Raleigh’s body. “You have tattoos.”Raleigh blinked. “Yeah, so?”“If you change into a wolf, how do you keep the tattoos? Wouldn’t they—I don’t know—like disappear or something when you change forms?”Raleigh blinked several more times. “Not exactly the question I was expecting, but okay. Let’s go with that. The tattoos are permanent. So even though my body can shift from one form to the other, the tattoos are always there. The reason why you can’t see them in my wolf form is because I have fur then.”“That’s cool.”Raleigh sat back at the kitchen table. “Cool, he says.” Raleigh shook his head. “Let’s focus more on what’s going on with you right now, okay?”Caleb yawned again. “Yeah, sorry.”“So? The pendant…”“There’s not really much to tell. I got it when I got the spell, I liked it, and I put it on. It was as simple as that. I took the spell and went to the cabin.”“And left me a voicemail while I was at work when you knew I couldn’t answer.”Caleb scowled. “I already apologized for that. You want me to tell you what happened or are you going to ride my ass?”“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Continue.”“As I was saying, that night, under the full moon, I recited the spell. I waited and waited, but nothing happened. When nothing continued to happen, I finally had to admit I was an idiot. I was also a hungry idiot, so I went into town to eat. I came back to the cabin and went to bed. That was the first time I had a weird dream.”“Wait, what kind dream?”“It’s kind of fuzzy but it had something to do with mist and someone making love to me.”“Didn’t you think that was strange considering what you had just done?”“If you keep interrupting I’m never going to get this told. Besides, I thought it was a fucking dream. The second time the mist thing happened I finally figured out it wasn’t just a mist. Now, again, as I was saying… I came back home. Remember that night you and I went to the movies?”“Yes.”“Well, I went to the bathroom, and do you remember how shook up I was when I came back?”Raleigh closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them and looked at Caleb. “Did he appear to you in the bathroom?”“Yeah. It was the weirdest thing too. It’s like he froze time, except for it didn’t apply to us. He… touched me, just like he did that night the cabin.”“What you mean he touched you?”Caleb’s face heated. “What do you mean what do I mean? He… he… Jesus. He jacked me off, okay?”“And?”“And I hate you.”“Now’s not the time to be coy.”“I’ve never been coy in my life either. He bit me that night, and I came so hard it’s a miracle I didn’t sprang my dick.”“Now that’s an image.”“Shut up. But then it was like he took a step back. Some time passed and nothing happened… until last night. He showed up, told me to invite him in, and the next thing I know, we’re having sex… and he’s bitten me yet again. He also told me there was nowhere I could run and that I couldn’t take the pendant off. That he could always find me because of it.”“Shit. Is there anything else?”“Isn’t that enough?”Raleigh scowled. “Oh, oh, yeah, there is. I forgot this. After the first bite, I started having dreams. Sometimes they were erotic, but more often than not it was almost like I was seeing flashes of his life.” “Shit.”“You said that already. Sometimes Brone was in a kilt, sometimes it was a elaborate suit with a with a top hat…. One time he had a fancy white wig on. Another time I saw him walking down a dark street with a cell phone stuck to his ear. Only, it wasn’t like the cell phones we have today. This thing was as big as a brick.”“He’s tying himself to you. I’m almost sure those are memories of his you’re seeing.”“So what do I do?”“I… let me talk to my dad.”“Are you going to get into trouble for telling me what you are?”“Well…” Raleigh huffed. “The good thing is dad knows you and likes you. He’s not going to be happy, no. But when I tell him why I said something, he’ll understand. Maybe he can help. We had a medicine woman in our pack. Maybe she has some advice or ideas.”As Caleb listened to Raleigh speak, the sinking feeling of being unable to avoid the the inevitable outcome over him. “This isn’t looking too good, is it?”Raleigh stared at Caleb. “You want the truth or do you want me to blow smoke up your ass?”“The truth.”“Well, then, no. As far as I know there’s no way to stop this. And from the sounds of it, this vampire is very old, especially if you’re seeing flashes of him in a kilt. The older a vampire is, the stronger they are. And I’ll be honest with you, there aren’t too many paranormal’s who are willing to take on a vampire.”“So basically I’m screwed.”“I didn’t say that.” Raleigh reached across the table and took Caleb’s hand. “I’ll help you, if that’s what you truly want.”Raleigh’s words startled him. “You don’t think it is?”“Well, you’re the one who’s been wanting to be a vampire for as long as I can remember. Now you have a chance to be what you’ve always wanted.” “God, that’s frightening.” Caleb scrubbed his hands across his face. “You said it sounds like he wants me for a mate. What does that mean?”“Keep in mind, I’m not a vampire, so I really don’t know that much about them. But what little but I do know is taking a mate is a serious thing. For some reason this vampire—what was his name again?”“Brone.”“Brone has decided there’s something about you that would make the perfect mate. Let me see that pendant again.”Caleb lifted the pendant so Raleigh could see it. Raleigh leaned over the table, frowning. “I’m not really sure what the stone is, but it’s got black veins in it. And all those…. Are those bats that make up the setting? Right. Because that’s not morbid at all.”“Hey, if he’s a vampire, it kind of fits.”Raleigh sat down. “Have you noticed if he wore any other jewelry?”“No, not really. I’ve had other things occupying my mind when he’d been around.” Like his hand on my dick or his cock up my ass.“Yeah, I bet. I’m willing to bet that this pendant is very important to him. I’m guessing that stone has some sort of meaning. Think of it like a wedding band. Kinda.”“A wedding band. Jesus. Apparently it’s a permanent one.” Caleb yawned again.“Why don’t you go lay back down? You look like you’re about to fall asleep at the table.”“I am really tired.” Dying will do that to a body.“Go take a nap. I’ll call my dad and see what I can find out. I’ll wake you up in a little while.”“Before nightfall would probably be good.”Raleigh nodded soberly. “Yeah, there is that.”Caleb dragged his tired ass from the kitchen back to his bedroom. Oddly enough, his mind was numb. He didn’t know if this was the calm before the storm—meaning that it hadn’t really sank in yet that he was dying—or…. Or he really wasn’t scared. But how could that be? According to Raleigh, he was dying. Dying. What person in their right mind wouldn’t be afraid of that? But death was only the beginning. So tired he could barely keep his eyes open, he stripped and, naked, climbed into bed. He pulled the sheets up to his chin and closed his eyes. “I’m scared.”As he fell asleep, Caleb couldn’t say to whom he was speaking but the sentence ‘death was only the beginning’ kept circling and his mind.* * * *“Caleb. Caleb. Come on, buddy. I need you to wake up.”Caleb moaned helplessly. He didn’t want to wake up, dammit.“Look, I know you’re tired, but I talk to my dad, and I need you to wake up.”Caleb’s eyes flipped open. “W-what? Your dad? Huh?”“Yeah, I talked to my dad.”“Okay, okay. Jeez. How long as I sleep?”“Only about an hour.”“Well, I feel like I’ve been asleep a hell of a lot longer than that.” Caleb struggled to sit up. He made sure the sheets were tucked around his waist then shoved his hair out of his eyes. He looked at Raleigh. “Well?”“Dad wants me to bring you to him. Let me tell you, that’s something which doesn’t happen very often. He wants our medicine woman to take a look at you and that damn pendant.”“Okay, why is it such a big deal? I’ve met your parents several times. I’ve even eaten at your house on more than one occasion, remember?”“Because dad isn’t meeting you as my dad. He’s meeting you as my Alpha. I’m taking you to a sacred stone temple on our pack lands. It’s where we worship our gods. Tell me, Caleb, do you believe in magic?”Caleb blinked. After everything he’d learned lately, Raleigh really had to ask that question? “Yes. You better believe I do.”“Good. Because you’re going to see things you’ve never believed possible.”
Caleb snorted. He was one slippery step away from being dead and his best friend was a werewolf.

Love Wins Anthology is up for pre-order

The Love Wins Anthology is up for pre-order! My story, Cats and Christmas Trees: Trouble Waiting to Happen is part of it. This short is from Trouble Comes in Threes and has Kirk, Tal, and Dolf in it!



Pre-order: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/love-wins-7898-b



What’s a half human to do when Christmas rolls around? Well, he tries ignores it, but his shifter mates, being the sneaky kitties that they are, persist in finding out what’s troubling him. Kirk doesn’t want to admit he’s down in the dumps because Christmas is approaching and werecats don’t celebrate that holiday.

But Kirk’s mates, Dolf and Tal, surprise him. They might not worship the human god, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make the holiday work for the three of them. Tal comes up with the idea of having a party the night before Christmas, but only inviting the betas and their Alpha. Remi, Heller, Aidric, Brier, and Alpha Armonty all take part in Secret Santa. Laughter abounds as they play the game. And of course, no werecat gathering is complete without lots and lots of food.
After the party is over, and the cleanup is done, the real fun starts when Dolf and Tal finally give in to their kitty natures, shift… and target the tree Kirk put up. Fortunately Kirk had the foresight not to buy anything breakable. There’s nothing funnier than watching a cat in a Christmas tree, except for maybe two. So how does Kirk go about getting his mates out of the tree? Well, he may not be natural born shifter, but this half human knows how to deal with his feline mates. 
Cats aren’t the only sneaky ones in this triad. ;)

Finicky Friday - Apple Pecan Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

Apple Pecan Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

Hey everyone, I thought it would be spooky good fun to post some recipes I had found online for Halloween. I’m going to *try* to do some of these beforehand, but I’m sure there’ll be times I won't. I'm going to call this Finicky Friday. :)


Prep time - 15 minsCook time - 35 minsTotal time - 50 mins
Author: AlyssaRecipe type: DessertServes: 12

Ingredients:
4 cups Granny Smith Apples, chopped and peeled into small pieces
2 cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 cup pecans roughly chopped


Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup butter, softened
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup golden brown sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine apples and sugar. Stir in oil, eggs, and vanilla.
In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the apple mixture. Add milk and stir until just combined. Add chopped pecans.Pour into prepared 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

~To make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and continue to beat until smooth scraping down sides when needed. Add vanilla and brown sugar. Beat for 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved. Spread evenly on top of the cake. Refrigerate after frosting.

http://therecipecritic.com/2015/08/apple-pecan-spice-cake-with-brown-sugar-cream-cheese-frosting/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheRecipeCritic+(The+Recipe+Critic)

A Country Boy at Heart released today from Dreamspinner!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Country-Boy-Heart-States-Love-ebook/dp/B01M67FK5Z/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-acountryboyatheart-2158136-149.html




Blurb:
Hot damn, what more could a country boy want? Bass Pro Shop is finally opening in Tennessee. Nick plans to check out all twelve indoor acres chock-full of hunting, fishing, and boating in the Memphis Pyramid on the Mississippi River.

City boy Sandy wonders yet again how he let himself get talked into attending a grand opening for a hick hunting store. His geeky heart prefers the energy of the city. Little does he know all that is going to change due to a freakishly tall glass elevator—and Nick, the high-school crush who’s suddenly taking a second look at him.

A moment of panic while trapped in the elevator leads to a spark neither expected. Getting out is the least of the challenges they’ll face if they want to try to put their differences aside and find out if love is possible between a city boy and a country boy.


States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Excerpt: AHHHHH WHHAAAAAHH whahhh whhhhaaaa!“Oh my God, is that a woman screaming?”Nick barely resisted rolling his eyes. Could the wedding guests not tell the sound came from the giant bird currently displaying his magnificent feathers as he strutted? The peacock did a little dance, squawked again, and then stopped.Oh. Oh damn, that’s not good. It turned its head, almost as if searching for him. He swore he saw an evil gleam in its eyes. Okay, now what? He tried to sidle farther back out of the way, but the tiny woman who stood at five feet nothing even in those lethally spiked heels clamped onto his elbow.He winced. Jesus, she’s got a grip on her. He wasn’t sure which of the two—her or the ornate wall mount—concerned him most. Yeah, right. Nick eyed the ornery bird. Mister Peacock and he had been in an ongoing battle for supremacy for the last several years.Damn. What was the menace on two legs doing now? Oh fuck, it spotted me. It made a funny sound, then shook its body. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn it smiled when it spotted him. It certainly tossed its head as it… oh, shit.Literally.The wedding coordinator grabbed the back of Nick’s shirt and yanked, hard. What the hell did she eat for breakfast? He stumbled backward, and only sheer luck kept him from going down on his ass. The peacock squawked again—only this time it sounded like laughter.“Your peacock just shit all over the runner! The runner that leads to the trellis! That’s where the pastor is going to marry them!” she whispered furiously.While he thought that lovely shade of fire-engine red was an interesting color for her, he was a little concerned. He didn’t have time for yet another apocalyptic temper tantrum.As tempted as he was to cover his ears, he was afraid that would get them boxed by Mrs. Big City Wedding Planner. Why didn’t the lady comprehend wild animals were wild and tended to shit whenever the urge hit? Although he did wonder if it did that just to spite him.“Both Rob and I tried to explain to you that could happen, Mrs. Smith,” Nick whispered fiercely back to her. “Several times over, as a matter of fact, and in several different ways.”Fat lot of good it did. The woman refused to budge. The bride’s colors were the same beautiful iridescent blues and greens that were in the peacock feathers, and she just had to have a peacock walking down the runner before her.Rob, or Robert Gatlin, was actually the owner’s son. Dr. Ernie Gatlin had recently retired from his medical practice, and he and the missus planned to do some traveling, so he’d turned operations of the farm completely over to Robert.Nick scratched his head as he stared at the steaming pile of shit on the stark white runner, as did several horrified wedding guests who’d already been seated. “What do you want me to do?”“Go get it!” Mrs. Smith exclaimed as quietly as she could.“Um, okay. The shi… I mean the poop, right? Ah….” Nick took a step back from the wedding planner, whose eyes were bulging. “Do you have anything I can use to—”The sound that came out of the tiny woman next to him made his hair stand up. Which was quite a feat, considering his hair was short. Man, even the peacock hadn’t sounded that deranged.“O-oh, okay, then. Wow.” He assumed she meant for him to get the poop, but now he wasn’t so sure. “Ah, guess not. I’m open to suggestions, just in case, you know, you got any.”Mrs. Smith fanned her face, her eyes promising death, as she hysterically tapped the headphones she wore. “Art? Art? Are you there? Come in. Come in. Oh my God, sweetie, please answer.”Seeing an opportunity to escape, he edged away from the wedding planner.Mrs. Smith grabbed Nick by his shirt again and jerked him down to her level. “You listen to me, young man. Go get that runner out of there right now. That bride’s wedding gown cost ten thousand dollars, and I am not having her walk across bird shit just to get to the altar. Ten thousand dollars. Do you understand that?”Nick gulped. Ten thousand? Who the hell spent that kind of money on a dress? Was the bride insane along with her wedding planner? No, he didn’t understand that. Not for clothing. Now, for a four-wheeler? Oh yeah, he’d drop that kind of cash on a four-wheeler in a heartbeat.Once Mrs. Smith released him, Nick raced out there and shooed the bird out of the way. He quickly removed the runner, hissing only slightly when Mister Peacock pecked him on the ass. Damn pain-in-the-ass bird. He was going to pluck the bastard clean one day. He stood, and the peacock pranced out of his way.Smart bird.Art, the guy Mrs. Smith had been harping at on her headset, magically appeared right behind Nick, laying down a new runner. This runner wasn’t as spiffy as the first one, but it was missing a very important element in its design—peacock poop.Nick pulled Mister Peacock’s favorite treat out of his pocket and held it out. Luck was on Nick’s side. The birdbrain followed Nick back to its pen. He threw the treat inside, and Mister Peacock followed after it, no problem. Of course. It preened, looking entirely too pleased with itself. Stupid bird was going to be the death of him, if he didn’t kill it first. Okay, he was joking. Sort of. Maybe.“Blasted pain-in-the-ass bird,” he muttered as the first sounds of the wedding march drifted to him.“Ahhhhh whhaaaaahh whahhh whhhhaaaa!”“Right back at you, you overgrown dust buster.” Nick sincerely hoped no more birds shit on this damn event.Springtime was their busy time for weddings. The dogwoods were in bloom all over the farm, the weather hadn’t turned melt-your-face-off hot yet, and the air carried the fragrant scent of flowers. Even though it was just the end of April, he was still sweating buckets.The standing joke was that if you didn’t like Memphis weather, just wait thirty minutes and it would change. They’d already had a few days with the temperature pushing ninety degrees. The humidity wasn’t bad yet, but it was coming. By August the humidity would be as thick as his aunt Sally’s soup and just as deadly.

HOURS LATER the wedding party left. All that remained was to clean up the barn that had been converted into a reception area for weddings. He’d been at the farm since seven o’clock that morning, just like every morning.Now it was seven o’clock in the evening, and he was past ready to leave. It was Saturday too, so he didn’t have to work tomorrow. After dumping the last of the trash, he clocked out and hurried to his truck. So help him God, if someone called his name he was totally pretending he couldn’t hear them.He took the back roads home, lost in thought. That guy Art really shook him up and brought back a lot of memories he hadn’t expected. Art was a little below average in height, on the slender side, ridiculously geeky, and had set Nick’s gaydar off. It was pinging all over the place. He didn’t have a problem with Art being gay. Quite the opposite, in fact.Unfortunately it had taken him all through high school to figure out that he not only liked boys but to accept it. Being captain of the football team hadn’t exactly been conducive to his sexuality either. When he came out, there’d been a backlash. The only good thing was his parents didn’t freak out or act like he was going to hell.Nick dragged his mind out of the past as he pulled into his driveway. His black Lab, Rosco, leaped happily around his truck, barking madly. What more could a guy ask for? He had a good job he loved, was renting-to-own his home, and had an overly energetic puppy greeting him before he could get out of the vehicle. Life was good.So why did he often catch himself wishing there was an overly energetic boyfriend standing in the door waiting to greet him? Not just any guy, but a guy named Sandy. Unfortunately that boat sailed long ago, and he had nobody to blame but himself.He spent an hour playing in the backyard with Rosco until the puppy’s tongue was dragging on the ground. Satisfied he’d worn the little ball of energy out, they went inside. Rosco made a beeline toward his water dish. After drinking all he could and splashing the rest all over the kitchen floor, he flopped down in the den and passed out.Nick tossed his keys onto the kitchen table, cleaned up the water, and refilled the water dish. After drinking all that water, Rosco would need to go back outside and potty before he left. Not that putting the little scamp in the backyard meant he’d stay there.No matter what Nick did, somehow Rosco managed to get out whenever he pleased. Pausing as he walked through the den, he turned on a lamp. Rosco whimpered happily as he twitched and batted one of those huge paws in the air, making Nick chuckle.He wondered what Rosco was dreaming. Sighing, he glanced at the couch. What he wouldn’t give to plop down and mindlessly surf through the channels. God, he was tired. Maybe a hot shower would make him feel better—or knock him out completely. After dragging his tired ass to the bathroom, he stripped, tossed his dirty clothes in the hamper, and trudged into the shower.He’d just stepped onto the bathmat when the smoky voice of his favorite country singer wailed from the bedroom. “Dammit.”Wrapping the towel around his waist, he hurried out of the bathroom. That was his best friend’s ringtone. Snatching the cell off his desk, he answered. “Hey, man, what’s up?”“Hey! You just get off work?” Houston asked.“Actually about an hour ago. There was a wedding out at the farm, and things ran a little later than we thought.”“Well, that sucks. Is this the wedding with that wedding planner who insisted on having that crazy-ass peacock—”“Oh my God, yes, and let me tell you what that crazy-ass peacock did. It shit on the runner. Do you hear me, man? He took a big dump right there. I swear, he did it just to get me in trouble with that equally insane wedding planner.”“I’ll never understand why you think that bird is out to get you.”Nick huffed. “That’s all part of its evil plan, don’t you see? Why does nobody else see this? One day that bird’s going to take over the world and you guys are going to wish you listened.”“Uh-huh.”“Anyway, I have to admit watching Miss Big City Wedding Planner turn red was funny.”“I don’t get you. I saw that chick, and she was hot.”“If you say so.” Nick wasn’t going to argue the point. “Most of the times I saw her, her eyes were bulging and she was red in the face. I’m all for a bulge, but I prefer it a little lower.”“Oh, that was bad.” Houston chuckled. “Really bad. Your jokes aren’t usually that lame.”“I’m tired.”Houston was one friend who’d stuck with him through all the bad times after Nick outed himself. He’d said more than once he didn’t understand Nick’s attraction to dick, but he was cool with it since that left more girls for him.“I can tell. Actually, that’s why I called. I was checking to see if we’re still on for tonight,” Houston said.“Yeah. I should be at the Rack by nine.”“Sounds good. I’ll see you there.”Nick disconnected the call and tossed his cell back onto the desk. Since he was dripping all over the floor, he hurried back to the bathroom and toweled off. Then he dried the little pools of water he’d left on his nicely refurbished hardwood floors.He grabbed a pair of underwear from the dresser, slipped them on, then started searching through his closet for his favorite pair of Levi’s. Both knees were frayed and busted, and other places were so worn they were white. Plus they fit his ass like a glove, not that it mattered.He wouldn’t be getting lucky tonight—not where they were going—but the jeans were comfortable. The Rack was actually called Mack’s Racks and was a bar with several pool tables and big-screen TVs. They served appetizers too.Houston’s name was Edward Houston, but he went by his last name. They’d been best friends since middle school. In some ways Houston reminded him of his dog, Rosco: all arms and legs, black hair, and big brown puppy dog eyes. He also had more energy than he knew what to do with. Sometimes Nick envied Houston.After spending all day working at the farm and then dealing with weddings since it was spring, the last thing he felt like doing was going out. But it was hard to say no to Houston once he got something in his head.Houston would get this ridiculously sad look in his eyes, pout, and then do this drooping shoulder thing and… yeah. Rosco did that too, and he fell for it every time, just like he did with Houston. Maybe he should just put Houston in the backyard too. Now there was a thought.Instead he pulled on a tight black knit polo and his fancy black cowboy boots. Since his hair was cut short, it had dried already. After brushing his teeth, he ran his fingers over his jaw. He needed to shave, but he liked the scruffy look, so he decided to leave it. He stopped by the kitchen and chugged an energy drink. Hopefully that would help him keep his eyes open for the next several hours. Once he got to the Rack, he’d eat.He put Rosco outside. “You know, if I actually found you in the backyard when I get home tonight that would make me really happy. I’m pretty sure that could result in a treat, even. So how about you be a good boy and stay where I put you for once?”Rosco barked, wagged his tail furiously, and dashed off across the backyard.“I’m going to take that as agreement!” Nick yelled after the puppy.All he got in return was another bark.He grinned as he went back inside and picked his keys up   from the kitchen table. Even though the sun had set and it had cooled off, he didn’t need a jacket. A quick check of the time as he walked to his truck showed it was only eight thirty. Perfect. He should get to the Rack with plenty of time to spare.He started his truck and just sat for a moment listening to the deep purr of his pipes. That always gave him a little thrill. He’d bought it used last year and was proud of it. It was a jacked-up black 2008 Chevy Silverado with KCs mounted on a roll cage bar in the back of the truck. The interior was tan leather, but he’d put camo seat covers on so the leather would last.He needed to wash it, but that was kind of pointless. The road to the farm was gravel. Some parts of the farm had nothing more than dirt roads, so keeping the truck clean was impossible.He turned the radio on as he left the house, and a commercial touting all the benefits of having a wedding at Lake View Farms played. That got him to thinking about the wedding he’d just left, which of course made him think of the wedding planner’s helper, Art, again. He knew why the guy kept coming to mind. He reminded him of Sandy.Lord, Sandy had had a huge crush on Nick all through high school. Oh, he was very subtle about it, but Nick had known. It was hard to miss those big, adorable brown eyes that followed him relentlessly.Then, in the tenth grade, Sandy had been assigned by the English teacher to help tutor Nick. Sandy was one of the cutest, sweetest geeks Nick had ever seen. Sandy flipped every switch he had, but he buried those feelings. At the time he’d been terrified to examine what he felt, so he ignored it.They didn’t hang out, since he was a jock and Sandy was a geek, but Nick made it a point to speak to Sandy in the hallways and other places. His actions made it clear Sandy was off limits. Word spread quickly that if anyone messed with Sandy, they answered to Nick.It was because of Sandy that Nick finally ended up coming out. They were seniors, football season was over, and they were celebrating their last day of school. One of his jock buddies had slammed Sandy into a row of metal rockers, and Nick saw the whole thing.Nick snapped when he heard Sandy cry out in pain. He confronted Keith, words turned into slurs, and things blew up when Keith demanded to know why Nick was defending the fag. Somehow Nick went from defending the fag to admitting he was gay too.He and Keith ended up in a brawl in the school parking lot by the field house with half the senior class watching. Fortunately Coach broke it up. Sandy tried to thank Nick right after the fight ended, but Nick was still furious, hurting from a couple of hard right hooks, and quite frankly horrified by what he had just done.He’d snapped at Sandy, and the hurt on Sandy’s face only added to the brew of unpleasantness that was boiling in Nick. Sandy stiffly turned away and never spoke to Nick again—and it was all his fault. But to be fair, he had just turned his life upside down and wasn’t dealing well with the fact. The principal had threatened not to let them walk at graduation, but nothing came of it.That had been five years ago. Since then he’d worked like a dog until he was the second most important person at Lake View Farms. Robert depended on him to pretty much run the place. Nick enjoyed the responsibility and had absolutely no trouble telling people older than him what to do.Over the years he’d learned so many things, like how to build a deck, how to care for horses, how to deal with distributors for whatever they needed at the farm, how to oversee and operate special events. He was kept busy, so much so he didn’t have much of a social life. Living in a small rural town didn’t help.If he wanted to hook up, he had to go to Memphis, which he hated. There was too much traffic, nothing but concrete everywhere, and a crime rate that made him glad he lived in a small town. Give him acres of woodlands to the concrete jungle any day. He got in, and he got out—kind of like his hookups.Occasionally he saw Sandy around town when Sandy came home to visit his parents, but it was always at a distance. From what he heard, Sandy had moved to Memphis and was a manager at one of the major electronic chain stores. He shuddered. That was the very definition of hell to him. He couldn’t imagine having to dress up and work inside all day.Rumor was Sandy worked on computers on the side and was actually quite good at repairing them. That didn’t surprise Nick. Even in high school, Sandy had earned the reputation of being magic with computers.Nick took the turnoff to the Rack and parked. It was almost nine and the place was packed. He sighed as he got out and locked his truck. Even from the parking lot, he heard the country music blaring from the speakers. He’d play a couple games of pool, shoot the breeze for a little while, and then take his tired ass back home. He was only twenty-three. When had he gotten old?He walked inside. It didn’t take long to spot Houston, even in the crowd. Houston was sitting at a little round table off to the side watching one of the big-screen TVs and drinking a beer. Nick made his way over and sat down.“Packed tonight, isn’t it?”“Yeah, it is. I didn’t see you come in,” Houston said.A waitress appeared and took Nick’s order. He asked for a beer and an extra-large order of barbecue nachos.“Played any yet?” Nick nodded at the pool table.“A game or two. Nobody here really as good as you.”They talked for a little while until the waitress brought his appetizer and beer.“By the way, got any plans tomorrow?”“Outside of sleeping in? Nope,” Nick said. “Why?”“The new Bass Pro is opening in the Memphis Pyramid tomorrow.”“I vaguely remember hearing something about that.” Nick bit into a chip covered in cheese and barbecued chicken. “This week’s been a nightmare, and I forgot about it. So it opens tomorrow, huh?”“Yep. You want to go? They got this really cool glass elevator, a couple of restaurants, a bowling alley, and even a place to spend the night. It’s some sort of fancy hotel in the upper part of the Pyramid. I think it’s called Big Cypress Lodge.”“You know restaurants usually suck the first couple of days after they open, right? They haven’t had the time to get the bugs worked out yet.”“You got anything else going on?” Houston helped himself to a chip. “If you don’t want to go Sunday, we can go Monday.”“I’m sure one day’s going to be enough time to work all the bugs out.” Nick sipped his beer. His off days were usually Sunday and Monday.“Come on, man.”“You’re going to nag me until I give in, aren’t you?”“Of course.”“Fine. Fine, we’ll go,” Nick said. “We’re taking my truck too. Yours always looks like a homeless man’s been living in it.“Funny. Pick me up around noon. I can…. Hold that thought. Shit, that’s Cherie. When did she get back in town? I… my God, she’s even hotter than I remember. I’ll be right back.”Nick sighed as he ate. So much for sleeping late tomorrow.

Midnight Mist & Moondust Chapter Six

Beginning is here





Look for the flash to post every Monday. Fair warning: there are some scenes of dubious consent. If you've read any of my books, you know I don't do rape, but this *is* a Halloween flash. It *is* going to be a bit on the dark side. I *am* going to push the boundaries. 
And it's not been edited since I waited to the last moment to write the chapter lol. It's Sunday and football! I'm in front of the TV all day. ;)


Chapter Six

Caleb set up in the bed, gasping. Oh God, oh God why was it so bright in there? He jerked himself from the bed and yanked the curtain closed. Jesus, his eyes were watering they stung so badly. He fell back on the bed and grunted. What was wrong with him? His body ached, ached in a way it had never before. Was he getting sick? He rolled over and jumped. His ass tingled and… holy shit. Everything came flooding back. Scrambling out of bed, he rushed into the bathroom and flipped on the light. “Arrgh!” Caleb yelled, slapping his hand over his eyes. Holy shit, had Raleigh put new bulbs in there? Panting, he removed his hand and opened his eyes again. Yup, the light was as bright as before. Squinting, he stared in shock at his reflection. His hair stuck up in every direction, and there were deep shadows under his eyes. The boxers he didn’t remember putting on last night hung low in his hips. Leaning closer, he stared intently into the mirror. Was he already losing his tan? He most definitely looked pale. Haggard. Tired. Hell, who was he kidding? He looked half dead. And he felt it too. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep.But the two holes in his neck demanded every shred of attention he had. They looked bigger this time, redder. Slowly, almost in a trance, he raised his hand and ever so gently run the tip of his finger over them. They tingled, and he shivered.Brone had fed from him. Again. There were so many vampire myths, it was hard to tell which ones were accurate, but one thing he knew for sure—this time Brone took more blood. A lot more. God, if Brone drank from him again like this, he wasn’t sure he’d survive. The thought struck fresh terror into his heart. One myth was a vampire had to feed three times, and on the third time the vampire drained the victim. After the last heartbeat, a vampire had minutes to feed the human his blood so he could turn him. Caleb had no idea if there was truth in that myth are not, but there was no escaping the fact Brone had fed from him twice… and the second time he took much, much more. That meant there was only one time left then… he would die. Die.If he believed the myth, after he took Brone’s blood, he would rise. He’d be a vampire. And dead.. A killer. Suddenly the glamour that surrounded the mythology of vampirism Immortal faded. He’d have to take a life to ensure his continued. Actually, if there was any truth to this the particular mythology, as a fledgling he wouldn’t be able to control his hunger. There would be more than one life lost in order for him to live. Caleb braced his hands against the counter top and glared at his image in the mirror. Why had he never stop to consider that? All he ever thought about was how sexy vampires were, how mysterious, how cool it would be to have power and live forever. Caleb never once thought about the price.He damn sure was thinking about it now. What have I done? Shoulders slumping, he turned from the mirror and flipped off the lights. Darkness surrounded him, and his eyes stopped hurting. Caleb staggered out the bathroom but paused in the hallway. He wasn’t hungry, but he hadn’t eaten last night. Then there was the blood loss. He probably needed to eat something so he could…. He leaned against the hallway wall and closed his eyes. Brone planned to kill him, and he was worried about eating?“God, what am I going to do?” Well, he wasn’t he going to do anything until he had coffee. Opening his eyes he turned and walked to the kitchen.Caleb got the coffee maker going, and leaning against the counter, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. There was a stack of mail left next to him so while he waited, he went through that. It was mostly junk mail so he tossed it in the trash can. He didn’t remember seeing that last night, so Raleigh probably checked the mail when he came in. A quick glanced at the microwave told him it was midmorning, but he wasn’t surprised Raleigh wasn’t up yet considering he didn’t get off until midnight last night. When the coffee was done, he fixed a cup and sat at the kitchen table. Sipping it, he shuddered as its warmth filled him. He hadn’t realized he was so cold. Frowning, he glanced up. A moment later Raleigh shuffled into the kitchen, yawning. He made a beeline to the coffeemaker. “Hey, man.”“Hey.”Raleigh fix a cup and turned around, taking a sip. His eyes widened as he glanced at Caleb. “Holy shit, man. You look half dead.”Caleb sputtered. If only Raleigh knew how accurate that description actually was. He looked at Raleigh. “Are you sick again? I—oh, fuck me.” Raleigh dropped his coffee cup on the counter and stalked to Caleb. Caleb blinked and tension rose in the kitchen. Why did Raleigh suddenly looked so… menacing? Raleigh grabbed Caleb’s chin and forced Caleb to turn so that he fully faced Raleigh.“What the hell have you done, Caleb?”Caleb batted at Raleigh’s hand. “What the fuck, man?” He had enough problems this morning without Raleigh acting like an ass. “Let go, moron.” “Be still.” Raleigh growled.Caleb stilled. He gulped as his heart skipped then began to pound. The hair on the back to his neck stood up. Every instinct he had screamed at him to run. To flee. But even he had enough sense to know not to run from a predator.Suddenly that’s what his best friend had become. A predator.Raleigh growled—honest-to-god growled. Like a dog. Or a… wolf. It was low, and mean… and frightening. He shivered. It was a sound he’d never heard Raleigh make. Ever. It was damn sure one he never wanted to hear again.Caleb sat frozen as Raleigh tilted his head. He didn’t move when Raleigh leaned down and sniffed his neck. Sniffed him. He didn’t so much as twitch when Raleigh’s long fingers suddenly sprouted claws. His heart pounded like it was trying to beat of his chest. Little dots of blinking light danced before his eyes. His breath exploded from his lungs. He’d been holding his breath and hadn’t realized it.“P-please don’t hurt me,” Caleb whispered, afraid to move. Everything he thought he knew had turned into one big lie. “Please.” Raleigh sighed and released Caleb’s chin. “Oh, Caleb.” Turning, Raleigh picked up his coffee and sat at the kitchen table. And just like that the tension dissipated. Caleb sat at the kitchen table and stared at his best friend. The claws he knew he felt were no longer in evidence, but there was no mistaking the slitted pupils Raleigh was now sporting. Nor the amber color of his eyes… eyes didn’t come in that color was all he could think. Not human eyes. He always thought because of his looks Raleigh would have been the perfect vampire. Funny how he’d had the wrong paranormal. “What-what are you?”Raleigh ran a hand through his hair. “Werewolf. Look, I’m not going to hurt you.”An irresistible need to giggle hysterically wormed up his throat. Caleb clamped his lips closed. He was deathly afraid if he gave in to the urge, he’d laugh himself silly. Or scream endlessly. How had his life turned into this? Right. Spell that would turn me into a vampire. Can’t forget that. “Werewolf?” Caleb squeaked. “Like… werewolf?”Raleigh sipped his coffee, calm as could be. “Yes, werewolf. I can shift into my animal anytime I wish, but at the full moon I have no choice but to change.”What? Just how blind was he? He’d been living with a werewolf for how long now? “My God, I can’t believe I never noticed.”“I took steps to make sure you didn’t.”Caleb’s rapidly beating heart began to slow. “You… you’re not going to hurt me?”Raleigh rolled his eyes and thankfully Caleb noticed they’d turned back to normal. “Have I ever hurt you? Ever?”“Well… no.” Caleb thought about for second. “Okay. No, you haven’t.” “Seriously? You actually had to think about your answer?”“Hey, give me a break, will you? It’s been a shit couple of weeks.”Raleigh had never done anything that would make Caleb question Raleigh’s humanity. There’d been no hint to what he was. None. And Caleb had never been uncomfortable around Raleigh. In fact, it was right the opposite. Raleigh was the one person he felt truly comfortable with.His best friend was a werewolf.  “I’m fully coherent in my other form too. And before you ask, no, it doesn’t hurt to shift. Yes, I was born this way. And yes, I can bite a human and turn them. We all can, but we don’t run around randomly turning folks.”“Holy shit. We’ve been friends for a long fucking time. How did I never know this?” Caleb demanded. He couldn’t believe Raleigh had kept such a secret from him. Even more frustrating was the fact he never noticed anything even remotely off about Raleigh. Had he been living in his own little world his entire life?Raleigh tilted his head, staring at Caleb. “I have to say you’re taken this much better than I thought.”Hysteria threatened to rise again. “If you say so. Tell me why you hid this from me.” Focusing on this kept his mind off of the panic of what was happening to him. “Please?”Raleigh sighed. “The reason I didn’t tell you was because we don’t generally tell humans what we are. Not safe, you know.”That made sense, as much as anything else did right now. “Why are you telling me now then?”“Because your ass is in serious trouble.” Raleigh pointed at Caleb’s neck. “You’ve been bitten by a vampire.Caleb clenched the table as wave after wave indignation rose. “How did you—oh, my God. You knew? You knew there were such things and you never told me?”How could Raleigh not have told him? He knew Caleb was obsessed, and apparently, he knew Caleb was playing with fire.“Hey! I’m one of those ‘things’!” Raleigh threw his hands in the air. “And I couldn’t. Didn’t you hear me just say I couldn’t tell you they existed without telling you we existed. And that’s a huge no-no in the paranormal community. My Alpha would’ve been within his right to kick me out of his pack for doing so.”Caleb rested his head in his hands. “Werewolves. Alphas. Packs. I feel like I’m in another world.”“I couldn’t come right out and tell you, but I tried to hint. Often. And heavily. But you never listen.”Caleb only shook his head. “A werewolf. My best friend, whom I’ve known forever, is a were—Holy shit! You said you were born. Does that mean your parents are werewolves too?”“Yes, my dad is the Alpha.”“Fuck. I really need to hit the redo button. I can’t wrap my head around any of this. You said I was in serious trouble. What did you mean?”“I—God. There’s no way to pretty it up, so I’ll just say it. You’re dying.”Caleb gulped. His body went numb. Hearing it put so inelegantly frightened him clear down to his toes. He set his coffee off to the side, afraid what little bit he’d already managed to get down was going to come back up. “I am?”“Yes.”“How can you tell?”“Come on, Caleb. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror yet? The bites are fading, but you’re pale. Too pale. Your skin is beginning to get that waxy look, and you have dark circles under your eyes. You’re eating and drinking less. You’re sleeping more, but when you’re up all you do is complain about how tired you are.”“Jesus, I never… I hadn’t realized.”“I hadn’t neither.” A flash of remorse crossed Raleigh’s face. “And I should have. No, what I should’ve done was put an end to your obsession with them.”“And how could you have done that?” Raleigh’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”Caleb let out a breath. That summed it up nicely, didn’t it? Raleigh couldn’t have saved him—nobody could. “I don’t think it’s possible to save someone from their selves.”Raleigh reached across the table. “Do you know who the vampire is?”“Yes.” Caleb clasped Raleigh’s hand. “It’s the owner of Midnight Mist and Moondust. You remember me telling you about that shop?”“Vaguely.” Raleigh scowled. “I didn’t realize a vampire owned it—if I had, you never would have stepped foot in there. I’m going to have to relay that information to my Alpha.”“That’s where I bought the spell from.”“If I had known it was more than just a harmless little shop I… I would’ve ripped that damn spell up.”Caleb blinked as a wave of exhaustion tore through him. “I don’t think it would have done any good.”“Guess we’ll never know now, will we? So, you know the vampire’s name?”“Yes. His name is Brone O’Carroll.”“And how many times has he bit you?”“Last night was twice.”Raleigh snatched his hand way and jumped up. “Oh fuck me running, did you invite him in?”Miserable, Caleb glanced them. “Yes. I-I think he compelled me.”“Then this place is no longer safe. Come on,” Caleb rushed around the table and grasped Caleb by the shoulders. “We’ll packed. You can’t stay here now that he has been invited him.”Yawning, Caleb stood. “But, both of our are names on the rental agreement. Can’t you revoke the invitation?”“It won’t do any good. He’ll just compel you to re-issue the invite.”Caleb’s weight slightly and rested his hand against the kitchen table to steady him. “Raleigh, running won’t do any good.” Caleb fished the pendant out from underneath his shirt so Raleigh could see it. “I didn’t tell you about this.”“What the hell is that?”“Brone told me I couldn’t remove it—that once I accepted the pendant and put it on I accepted him. He also said that as long as I wore he’d be able to find me anywhere I went.”Raleigh took a step back to Caleb. “Shit. He means to claim you as his mate.”“Yeah, I think so. So, what do I do?” 
          “Pray.”

Finicky Friday - Autumn Apple Salad II

Autumn Apple Salad IIBy: daisy"A sweet, tart, crunchy side dish that is especially nice in the fall."
Hey everyone, I thought it would be cool to post some recipes I had found online. I’m going to *try* to do some of these beforehand, but I’m sure there’ll be times I won't. I'm going to call this Finicky Friday. :)
10 m 4 servings 202 cals


Ingredients
4 tart green apples, cored and chopped
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1 (8 ounce) container vanilla yogurt

Directions
Prep: 10 m
Ready In: 10 m
In a medium bowl, stir together the apples, almonds, cranberries, cherries and yogurt until evenly coated.


~Note: This is ease and quick to make. It may not be the most pleasing to look at, but it does taste good. Raisins can be used in place of the slivered almonds--use pecans in place of them.
 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/24832/autumn-apple-salad-ii/?internalSource=rotd&referringId=17230&referringContentType=recipe%20hub&clickId=cardslot%201

Release of Riding the Tide and buy links

Yay! Riding the Tide has released!!
I’m often asked how challenging was it too write Riding the Tide. Fantasy isn’t something I often explore in my stories, but I’ve been drawn to the mermaid/man mythology for a long time. I decided to tackle it and treat it like I do my paranormal and science fiction stories. That meant the very first thing I had to do was research.And research.And research.LOL. Good thing that’s something I’m familiar with. After taking a couple pages of notes and talking with my beta reader, Alicia Nordwell, I had a basis. But, to be honest, I already had an idea of what I wanted to do. Several years ago I saw this “fake documentary” called The Body Found and The New Evidence on Animal Planet. The ideal for a mermen story took root. It took me a couple years to get to it, but Beneath the Surface, was born. Not long after that, Riding the Tide came along, lol.I guess the hardest thing writing this was trying to explain how my two mermen changed back and forth from human to their mer form. It’s kind of like writing shifters—we authors just have to wing it. I chose to make the process painful for them. To me that seems more realistic, especially since Nisha and Marcus are not magical creatures. They’re actually humans who’ve evolved in a different way than us. They took to the water while we stayed on land. Some of this came from that fake documentary I mentioned earlier.Even though it’s not real, it does seem plausible, and that’s something that’s very important to me in this type of story. Another hurtle I had to tackle was when the human mates were changed and opened their gills for the first time to breathe underwater. And back to researching I went, lol.
I guess the best thing about these two stories is I didn’t go into it with preconceived ideas. The idea from my mermen may not follow what’s already been written, but that’s okay. *grin* I like putting a twist on things!
Blurb:
Caught between two worlds—what’s a merman to do?
Marcus Krill, a creature of the sea, is a perfectly content bachelor. Mating someone? No thank you. Living anywhere but in the ocean? Ha! Not happening. Spending more than the barest necessity of time on land? Nope. Not this merman. And humans? They’re perfectly fine as a diversion, but that’s all. They might be interesting, but complications follow them like a hungry shark during a feeding frenzy. So what if he’s a little lonely, a little tired of one-night stands? That doesn’t mean he’s ready to mate.
Blair Estes, a creature of land, is perfectly happy with his nomadic lifestyle. No strings keep him tied to any one place long. Adventure is his lover and adrenaline his master. He loves to travel, and the things he’s seen defy description. Now his wandering has brought him to the Seychelles and a mysterious merman who’s going to take him on the journey of a lifetime.  Once again merfolk and human culture collide in an explosion of passion and… fear.


Excerpt:
Brett sighed, taking a sip of his water. “I did warn Nisha. Granted, it was after the fact, but still. Even went on to tell him how badly I reacted when Brooke did the same thing to me.”
Brooke patted Brett’s hand. “Nisha should’ve told him before now.”
Marcus picked up one of the chilled shrimp appetizers and bit into it. Personally he thought they were better uncooked, but that was just him. “Why? He didn’t harm him.”
Brett sighed even louder. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and typed something into it. A few seconds later he turned the screen around so Marcus could see it.
“Oh, funny,” Marcus snapped as he stared at the definition of “consent” on the cell phone’s screen.
“Here’s a thought. Try reading the damn definition.” Brett glanced back over his shoulder at Nisha and Kannon.
Marcus shrugged his shoulder as he watched Nisha grabbed Kannon and try to kiss him senseless. Well, that was one way of ending an argument.
“You know, maybe if you guys would, a bunch of shit could be avoided later,” Brett said.
“Hmm? Would what?” Marcus asked, distracted by Kannon and Nisha. Kannon struggled for a minute then gave in, but Marcus wasn’t fooled. He’d gotten to know Kannon well enough to know Kannon didn’t give up easily when he wanted something—which was probably an apology and an acknowledgment that Nisha was wrong.
“Good grief, what’s up with you lately?” Brett asked. “I said if you guys tried reading the definition of consent then a bunch of shit could be avoided later.”
“Oh.” Marcus nodded. “I suppose so, but I’m not planning on mating a human—or anyone else—so it’s irrelevant.”
“Famous last words.” Brooke snickered.

Buy links:ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ridingthetide-2150532-143.htmlAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Tide-Deep-Blue-Book-ebook/dp/B01MFA3H4H

Midnight Mist & Moondust - Chapter Five

Beginning is here

Happy Halloween, guys! I *had* planned to wrap this up today, but these two had more to say than I thought, lol. So, we're going to keep going until they're done. ;)~M




Chapter FiveCaleb spent the next week glancing over his shoulder. Nothing happened while he was on the job, thank God, but it was also daylight. He delivered his packages, talked to his customers, and went about his daily routine. The small holes where he’d been bitten quickly faded. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought they were nothing more than mosquito bites. In fact, the bite mark was gone within forty-eight hours. The first day or two after Brone took his blood, Caleb did feel tired. He had shadows under his eyes and not much of an appetite. It wasn’t hard to convince Raleigh he had a twenty-four-hour stomach bug. The downside of that was the apartment smelled like Lysol for several days. Raleigh disinfected everything Caleb came in contact with. God, the stench was awful. During the day, he didn’t feel Brone’s presence at all. Nights were a different matter. The first couple nights after Brone accosted him in the movie theater’s restroom, Caleb’s dreams were… informative. He had flashes, that was the best way to describe what he’d seen. But they were flashes of a lifetime not his own. He’d seen a long-haired brawny warrior, wrapped in tartan, and what looked a bit like a modern flak jacket that was lined with metal plates. He assumed it was Brone. He was holding some crude sword in his hands. Other nights Caleb saw the warrior dressed in what Caleb guessed was Victorian age-type clothing. That’s when he was able to see the dark auburn of Brone’s hair. He never could see his Brone’s face clearly, but that auburn hair stood out in his mind once he woke up. He saw who he assumed was Brone again and again, and was able to identify the time based on the clothing. The bell bottom jeans had cracked Caleb up. The last clear vision he had was of Brone holding a god-awful clunky cell phone to his ear and dressed in clothes Caleb was more familiar with. After a little research, he figured out that was probably somewhere in the 90s. Jesus, just how old was Brone?Then the dreams became erotic. He’d had wet dreams as a teenager, but nothing quite like this. Even his gay vampire porn couldn’t hold a candle to what he could remember from those dreams. The two of them were wrapped together, twisting and turning on black sheets. Candle light caressed their bodies through an open window at night. Always at night. Brone’s talented hands drove him to madness. In the dreams he stood off to the side watching his dream self and Brone fucking. It was intense.Caleb parked his vehicle and hurried toward the apartment. His route had taken longer than normal and he hadn’t gotten back to the hub until almost dark. He clocked out and hurried home. Once inside, and double checking to make sure the door was locked, he wandered into the kitchen to find something for dinner. Raleigh didn’t get off until midnight, so he was on his own for the next several hours—a prospect he certainly didn’t relish. Maybe it was selfish, but he felt safer with Raleigh there. He had no idea why and was in actuality probably the farthest thing from the truth. He’d tormented himself with scenarios where Brone hurt Raleigh, and he couldn’t live with himself if that happen. Would Brone? Caleb didn’t know, that was the problem. He seriously considered selling everything he owned, quitting his job, and running… which was easier said than done. Caleb helped himself to some of the roast and potatoes Raleigh made in the crockpot yesterday. While his dinner warmed, he fixed a soda. He stared out the window. Darkness had blanketed the land. While he waited for the microwave to finish, his mind circled back around to running, which he knew wouldn’t work.As soon as he told Raleigh what he planned to do, Raleigh would want to know why. He wouldn’t believe the truth, so what would Caleb tell him? Plus, Brone had made it quite clear he was watching Caleb. There was a good chance he wouldn’t even get out of town before Brone would hunt him down. He was sure tempted to try, though. Then there was the option of just walking away with nothing but the cash from his checking account. Just get up as soon as the sun rose and start driving. The problem with that was that night would eventually fall and would most likely bring with it a pissed off vampire. Brone was intimidating enough when he was being seductive. Caleb didn’t want to deal with him mad. So what should he do? Just sit here until Brone decided to claim him? Caleb was ready to lose his mind. The microwave dinged. He removed his plate and sat at the kitchen table, picking at the food. Lately his appetite had been off. It took less to tell him up and he was always thirsting. As he picked at his food his mind relentlessly pursued the topic of Brone. It had gotten to the point that Caleb refused to go out at night, not that it mattered. Even locked up tight in the apartment, he knew Brone was nearby. And he yearned. That frightened him almost more than anything else. He choked down the roast. What he felt in Brone’s arms…. He couldn’t compare it to any other relationship he’d ever had because nothing else he’d felt came close. There was also the inescapable feeling that his time was running out. Halloween loomed around the corner. So… what to do? Wait? Or… what?                                     Then he remembered the pendant. Brone told him he couldn’t remove the pendant, that by accepting it he’d accepted Brone. It would’ve been nice to know that beforehe put the damn thing on. And speaking of the pendant… He pulled it out from underneath his shirt. Using his cell phone, he snapped a picture of it. He needed to research the thing. * * * *Two hours later he had nothing to show for his time and his dinner was cold. He couldn’t find anything that even remotely resembled the pendant. Most of the forums concerning vampires were bullshit. In desperation he typed the spell into Google. No one was more shocked than him when it had actually been translated. Hell, maybe he should have thought about that before going on to the dark web. The spell was exactly what he was told it was, but it certainly wasn’t one of a kind. Everything had to hinge on that pendant. What had Brone told him? That by accepting it he’d accepted him. Okay then, that was something to go on. Another two hours later he found an obscure reference to something similar. From what he could tell, the pendant was some sort of beacon. Lovely. No wonder he couldn’t get the damn thing off.He returned to the kitchen and warmed his dinner, not that he really wanted it. While he waited, he pulled the pendant out from underneath his shirt and wrapped his hand around it. Nothing happened. Trouble started when he tried to pull it over his head. His breathing would increase to the point he was panting. Dizziness followed hot on the heels of that. The harder he tried to lift the pendant over his head, the heavier his arm became. No matter how hard he struggled, he simply couldn’t make himself take it off. The last time he tried almost resulted in him passing out. The microwave and he removed his dinner and sat back down at the table. So obviously the pendant wasn’t coming off unless Brone removed it. Aggravated, he gave up eating. He stood and paced in the kitchen. There had to be a way to stop this. He just had to find it.Caleb.Caleb jerked to a stop. What the hell was that? It sounded… it almost sounded like someone whispering his name. But that was impossible. There was no one there but him.Caleb.The hair stood up on the back of his neck and Caleb grabbed the counter to steady himself as his body responded to the softly spoken words. Pleasure washed over him, and his cock hardened. Panting, he closed his eyes as he struggled with the feelings invading him. His nipples hardened beneath his shirt as another wave of desire crashed through him. His body lit up. A craving started deep inside him and spread out. Sweat beaded at his hairline even though he shivered continuously. Caleb.Holy fuck, he was close to coming just from a whisper. A scratching sound caught his attention and he opened his eyes, staring at the window in the kitchen. Red eyes stared back at him.Open the window.Helpless to resist Caleb lurched across the kitchen to the window. Every instinct he had screamed for him to stop. To turn away. To not do what he damn well knew he was going to do. But even though his mind shouted at him to stop, his body wasn’t his to command any longer. He moved to the window and unlocked it. Still unable to resist, he slowly raised it. Before he could blink, the screen disappeared.Invite me in.Some part of his brain that was still functioning pointed out the rumors about vampires having to be invited in must be true. That same part of his brain desperately pointed out he really needed to keep his mouth fucking mouth shut.“Come in.” Shit, so much for keeping his mouth shut. Caleb couldn’t believe what just came out of his mouth. But now he had other worries. He backed away from the window as a mist crept through and poured onto the floor. As he watched, it spun and writhed as a body slowly formed. Caleb blinked, unable to believe what he was seeing. There, in his kitchen, stood the sexiest man he’d ever laid eyes on. But he’d thought that the first time he saw him at Midnight Mist and Moondust, the very shop where he bought the spell that was supposed to turn him into a vampire. Any doubt he had of who had been stalking him disappeared. That long, flowing auburn hair he’d seen recently in his dreams. But now he noticed all the different colors in it. His fingers itched to touch but he remained frozen to the spot where he stood. Brone’s pale, pale skin glowed in the moonlight. Jesus, Caleb would kill for skin that perfect. Brone was long and lean, power obvious packed into that wiry body. Dark jeans hugged his thighs and showed every curve. A black shirt clung to Brone’s muscular shoulders. The only thing that kept him from completely fading into the darkness was that bright hair. Caleb swallowed, his mouth suddenly drier than the desert. His gaze traced the creature from the top of his gorgeous hair to the black boots he wore on his feet. He was sinfully attractive.And deadly.“Hello, Caleb.”Whatever hold Brone had on him suddenly snapped, the sound echoing loudly in his head. Fear flooded Caleb, replacing the desire thumping through his body. His feet unfroze from the floor, and he stumbled away.“Shit!” Oh God, what had he done? What had he been thinking? He fucking invited that thing inside his home, so now it could come and go as it pleased. Caleb stumbled into the kitchen table. How the hell he managed to get himself entangled with one of the chairs he couldn’t say, but he finally managed to extricate himself. He grabbed one of the chairs to keep himself upright and looked back at Brone. His pounding heart skipped a beat as Brone stared back at him, a slight smirk on his face and his eyes as red as sin. Even from here Caleb could see the tips of Brone’s fangs. Another wave of fear washed over him, but this time it was tampered with something else—desire. His cock, which had softened earlier, twitched with interest. What was wrong with him? He swung the chair out of his way and, running on adrenaline, bolted out of the kitchen. But even as he ran, a small part of him demanded that he return to where he left Brone. A soft chuckle trailed behind him.“There is no place you can run. Surely you know this by now.” Brone prowled behind Caleb.Caleb stumbled to a stop in the den and swung around to face Brone. “I… I…. What do you want?”Brone raised a perfectly shaped red eyebrow. “You know what I want.”Caleb shook his head desperately. “I don’t want this!”Brone crossed his arms and stared at Caleb. “You have dreamed and fantasized about this the majority of your life, so do not tell me you do not want it. You have actively sought the darkness and now the darkness has answered. I am offering you the one thing you have always wanted.”“But—”“You have investigated us, researched us, looked for us. I am not the only one who has noticed either, but I am the one who will claim you.” Brone shook his head. “You humans are endlessly fascinating with your quirks and contradictions. You want what I offer, but you let fear stand in your way.”“I…. This can’t be real!” There was a blur of movement as Brone suddenly stood in front of him. Caleb jumped, his eyes unable to track Brone when he moved with such speed. Caleb flinched as Brone grabbed him by the shoulders. As soon as Brone touched him, Caleb’s body lit up. Fear was still there, but desire warred with it… and was winning. Right. Vampire speed. Another check in the column of what they could do. “Denial will do you no good. I am as real as you.”Caleb’s head fell back, and he moaned. “H-how do you do this to me?”“My lovely little human, I am doing nothing to you. Your body knows what it wants, and that is me. We are compatible, that is why you react the way you do. You want me, but your silly human morals and fears stand in your way.”Caleb gulped as he fought his body. “I-I don’t even know w-what that means.”“Yes, you do. Some part of you—a part you have repressed—knows exactly what I mean. You are mine, Caleb.”Brone flashed him a quick grin and picked him up. Caleb closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. His stomach dropped as air rushed past him. Seconds later he was resting against something soft and opened his eyes. They were on his bed with him flat on his back. Brone sat next to him. “How the hell do you—” Caleb moaned helplessly as he watched Brone’s nails lengthen into claws. Fear spiked again even as his cock pressed against his jeans. With one swipe of those lethal claws, Caleb’s shirt was torn open with deadly precision.  The tattered edges fell apart, exposing his chest. Caleb gasped but didn’t move. His shirt was destroyed but Brone was careful not to even nick him. His chest rose and fell with each heaving breath, but he lay still on the bed. Trying to scramble away never crossed his mind.Brone laid a hand on Caleb’s chest. “Such warmth. Such beauty.” He licked his lips. “Such life.”Caleb shivered. Brone’s hand was cool against his skin. Abnormally cool. Brone stood and moved to the end the bed. Brone untied Caleb’s tennis shoes and slipped them off his feet. They fell, hitting the floor, and the noise echoed through his bedroom. The only other sound he heard was his rapid breathing. Brone lifted each foot and peeled off Caleb’s socks. Caleb wiggled on his toes. He had the ability to move but he laid passively on the bed.“Unbutton your jeans.”Caleb found himself following Brone’s instructions. Once they were unbuttoned, he raised his hips slipping them down along with his underwear. The redness of Brone’s eyes deepened as he took over and pulled the clothing off completely. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed them across the room.“You are simply exquisite,” Brone whispered. He was simply insane, that’s what he was. Why else would he be lying there as if he had nothing to fear? Instead of fighting for all that he was worth, Caleb lay there waiting for Brone to fuck him. Fear still oozed through his veins, but it wasn’t fear of Brone. It was his fear of the unknown. Brone was right. Caleb had wanted this his entire life—wanted it, but never really thought it was possible. And now a vampire—no, his vampire—stood in front of him offering Caleb everything he ever wanted. It was scary.It was thrilling.He’d been attracted to Brone from the moment he had laid eyes on him. Some secret part of him had known the danger and his need, but the knowledge was more than he could handle, so he buried it. Maybe he had known all along it wouldn’t stay buried.With hooded eyes he watched as Brone stretched. His body wasn’t bulky with muscles, but was toned and ripped. His chest was smooth but there was an auburn trail leading down to… Caleb swallowed. Well, if there was any question of Brone being a true ginger, the nicely trimmed bush around his cock answered that. Brone was most certainly a redhead. And well-endowed. Caleb caught himself licking his lips. He was burning up and the cool sheet against his hot skin distracted him. He shivered. Restless, he rubbed his legs against the sheet. He yearned.Brone crawled up on the bed with him, his cool body pressed against Caleb’s side. Resting on his elbow, Brone stared down at Caleb, his gorgeous hair enveloping them. Caleb opened his legs and Brone looped one of his legs over Caleb’s. Caleb’s lips parted, the invitation clear. Inches apart, their breath mingled. Brone rested his claws against Caleb’s throat, gently encircling it. Desire exploded inside Caleb. His toes curled as he strained against Brone. A moan of pure need escaped him. A satisfied smile curved Brone’s lips as he leaned closer. The first kiss was nothing more than a brush of lips. Caleb whined, wanting more. His hardness brushed against Brone. And answering hardness told him he wasn’t the only one desperate for more.“Please,” Caleb groaned. “I want…. I like it rough.”Brone nipped Caleb’s lip then lapped at them. “You have no idea what it is you ask for.”The sharp burst of pain quickly faded. It took a second, but Caleb finally figured out Brone had actually broke the skin and had tasted his blood. It excited him. “I’m not made of glass.”Brone leaned back so he can meet Caleb’s eyes. “Do you have any idea how easily humans break?”Okay, yes, that was a little terrifying. “Are you going to break me?”“Only in the very best of ways.”Those words left him leaking precome. Then Brone gave him what he wanted. His mouth slanted across Caleb’s, the kiss hot and aggressive. Every nerve in Caleb’s body tingled. Helpless, he couldn’t do anything but hang on. Brone buried one of his hands in Caleb’s hair, holding his head still while Brone plundered his mouth. This time the kiss was harder, hotter, and much more aggressive. It was exactly what he wanted. He moaned and twisted on the bed, Brone’s tongue battling with his. Brone pressed closer, his weight pressing Caleb into the bedding. Restless with the need, Caleb rubbed his foot up and down Brone’s leg. Time lost all meaning as Brone ruled him through the passionate kiss. Finally Brone lifted his head and released Caleb’s lips. Caleb signed with disappointment.Brone grinned. “You glow with desire, setting me on fire. Burn for me, my lovely one.”“I… oh, God!” Caleb arched in surprise as Brone’s fingers, minus the claws, teased his stomach, working their way up. “I am going to have to break you of that habit, I see. The human god has no place here.”But all Caleb could focus on was how Brone rolled both of his nipples. Brone teased both of them, playing his body like a violin. Every time Brone touched nipples, his cock jumped against his belly, spreading more precome. Brone captured his mouth again as he worked his nipples and took completely over. Eventually the kiss ended. With lazy grace Brone moved to the end of the bed. Desire thrummed through his body as Caleb watched Brone.Brone sat near Caleb’s feet. “Lube?”Caleb rolled to his side, opened the nightstand, and grabbed the lube. He set up and tossed it to Brone.Brone opened it and spread some on his fingers. He glanced back at Caleb. “Show me what I want to see.”Take a deep breath, Caleb willed his body to relax. He lay back down, and with his feet flat on the bed, he let his knees fall open, exposing him utterly to Brone’s hot gaze.Brone, sitting between Caleb spread knees, warmed the lube. Caleb bit his lip as Brone leisurely stroked his cock. Those talented fingers were driving him crazy, and he opened his legs wider hoping to entice Brone into doing more. Chuckling softly Brone slid a finger down to tease Caleb’s hot, hungry hole. He played there, working Caleb up until finally Brone eased a finger inside.Caleb tensed from the entry, a flash of pain crossing his features, his ring unyielding.“Relax and let me in. I will not hurt you.”Caleb struggled to relax the guardian muscle. Brone pulled his finger out, added more lube, then worked his finger back inside. Caleb grunted, and Brone stilled until Caleb eased the stranglehold he had on Brone’s fingers.“Better?”“Oh, yes.” Now that he had finally relaxed, it felt so much better. Caleb moaned and thrust back, wanting more. Needing more. “So tight,” Brone hissed. Brone fingered at him, working him open. Caleb barely had time to catch his breath before Brone entered him with another finger, then twisted, hunting for his hot spot. Caleb arched, his hands clawing at the sheet under him. His head thrashed on the bed. “Perfection,” Brone said. Sharp sparks of desire slammed into Caleb, spreading throughout his body. Brone mercilessly rubbed Caleb’s hot spot while jacking him, sending him closer to the edge.“Not like this. Please.” Caleb shook from the pleasure overwhelming him. “Don’t make me come like this. I want you in me.”Brone used the lube on his hand to slick his cock. Caleb, still on his back, waited. He was loose and relaxed… and not afraid. But he needed to see Brone’s face as he entered him. Caleb pulled his knees up to his chest, offering his body. Brone paused, a look of longing on his face. He swallowed then placed the head of his cock at Caleb’s entrance. Caleb moaned softly as Brone rubbed his shaft across Caleb’s hole, teasing him and spreading the lube. Frantic little moans burst forth from Caleb as Brone entered him. Oh God, Brone was long and thick. He was perfect. Caleb writhed under him, urging him on. Brone continued to push, using a little more pressure, until he sank all the way inside. Brone pushed in, then pulled out, only to press in farther the next time. His cockhead stretched Caleb as it eased deeper inside. Then Brone shifted his hips and pressed against Caleb’s hot spot. Pleasure exploded, dimming Caleb’s mind.“Brone, fuck me.” Caleb moaned.Caleb moaned again when Brone raised his legs up onto his shoulders, changing the angle of penetration. Each thrust nailed his hot spot. The faster Brone thrust into Caleb and the closer Caleb got, the wilder he became, his hands scratching at Brone. When Caleb edged closer to losing it, Brone slowed down, the thrusts becoming gentler and shorter. Once Caleb backed off from the edge, Brone started those long, hard thrusts again, throwing Caleb back to the precipice. The sounds Caleb made were animalistic.“Please, please, finish me off, please.”Brone suddenly bent over Caleb, his eyes glowing red. Caleb didn’t have time to panic before Brone sank his fangs into Caleb’s neck. Caleb screamed at the sudden burst of pain. Desire quickly overcame the sudden shock and, losing control, Caleb came. Heart pounding, he wrapped his arms around Brone as he felt him feed. The pulls against his vein as Brone drank were pleasant, not painful. Brone thrust harder as he hammered Caleb several more times, then froze, buried balls deep. Brone groaned as he came, his orgasm ripping through him as he drank. They stayed like that, locked together, until Brone softened and slipped out. Finally he removed his fangs.He pressed his lips again Caleb’s one last time. “Soon, my lovely one. Soon.” 

         Exhaustion overcame Caleb and he slipped off to sleep.

Finicky Friday - Spiderweb Cake

Spiderweb Cake
BY LINDSAY FUNSTON

Hey everyone, I thought it would be spooky good fun to post some recipes I had found online for Halloween. I’m going to *try* to do some of these beforehand, but I’m sure there’ll be times I won't. I'm going to call this Finicky Friday. :)


Nothing is going to come between us and chocolate cake. Not even spiders.


TOTAL TIME: 0:55PREP: 0:25LEVEL: EASYSERVES: 6-8 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS
1 box chocolate cake, plus ingredients called for
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. confectioners' sugar
7½ oz. jar marshmallow crème
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tube store-bought vanilla icing


DIRECTIONS
Butter and flour two 9” cake pans. Prepare cake batter according to package instructions.
Bake according to package instructions and let cool.
Once cool, place first cake on a platter.
Make frosting: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, marshmallow crème, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until fluffy and combined.
Top with second cake.
Make ganache: In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream just until it bubbles. Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and pour over heavy cream. Let stand 2 minutes, then whisk until chocolate is completely combined.
Pour ganache over cake. Frost a spiral of frosting on top of ganache and use a toothpick to draw cobwebs.


Recipe: http://www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/halloween/recipes/a49352/spiderweb-cake-recipe/