Thirsting for More

by Claire Cray

Cal's seven years as a vampire haven't been so bad. After being turned by a horny immortal he never saw again, he got used to things pretty quick. The aphrodisiac venom has been an unexpected perk, keeping him supplied with beautiful boys who double as meals. There's just one thorn in his for this entire seven years, Cal has suffered a painful unrequited crush on the vampire Ira. Cool, narcissistic, and loudly straight, Ira drifts in and out of his life as he pleases, soaking up Cal's attention when he's around and then leaving him alone with his hopeless desires.After Ira's latest departure, Cal has decided to get over him for good. But now Ira's back with a shocking proposition that threatens to change their dynamic forever...Also by Claire Merrick (Novel)William (Novel)Backwoods Beast (Short Read)

Genres: Vampires, M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Short Stories, Fantasy, LGBT

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2012

About the author

Claire Cray writes M/M Romance featuring hot, complicated men in weird situations. Offbeat and character-driven with a Gothic bent, her work is often described as atmospheric and a little strange.

Born and raised in the rural Pacific Northwest, Claire takes inspiration from its wild, moody vibes. Her stories often combine vivid natural settings with steamy sensuality and psychological drama.

Claire lives, writes, and independently publishes in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Reviews

[ivy]

Vampire boys doing vampire things
Too short to rate - see highlights

[Macky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just read and enjoyed 'Merrick' by Claire Cray I decided to try this short story about two vamps and again was pleasantly surprised. In this tale we meet Cal a fairly new, gay vampire who has carried a torch for another vamp Ira since his own turning but Ira is straight and when we first meet him pretty unlikeable because of his slightly homophobic attitude and arrogance BUT he surprises Cal with a request that turns their relationship upside down ! There are misunderstanding and crossed lines between these two from the moment they meet so their relationship is spasmodic - Ira disappears for months but always finds Cal who pines for him in between visits. The love scenes are sexy and steamy and generate great ST. Very well protrayed.

This is only a short story but I felt I got my moneys worth and thoroughly enjoyed it. Claire's vamps kill to survive and make no apologies for it but deep down this is still a romantic love story and I enjoyed every word up to its HEA. Nice easy writing style and a sexy little interlude that satisfied this reader. Good stuff!

[Adrienne -kocham czytać- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in January, 2014 and just found my review from then on Amazon:

It was perfect. If it had been longer it would have dragged on, so it was a perfect length, had a range of emotion and information, drew you right in, and had great characters that you liked. They were both unsure of each others' feelings and I loved that it had taken them so long to broach the subject. I liked the confusion, the passion, the ultimatum, the reunion, the reveal, all of it. Brilliant work, and for so cheap, totally worth it!

Update:

It's now August, 2014 and I'm still getting little flashes of the plot and scenes randomly showing up in my head. I remember how much I liked this and am going to have to reread soon. Highly recommended :)

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I broke my own rule again to read a short short, but it was worth it. Cray does a great job, again, of presenting two distinctly different characters through mannerisms, voice and demeanor - her strength.

[Jane Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3.5 of 5 stars **
This was a nice little erotic vampire read, but I didn't care much for the miscommunication/misunderstanding aspect of it.

[Nikyta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this story and how Cal finally wants to put an end to Ira in his life. However, I felt like the story was focused too much on the 'horny' aspect of vampires. Ira's 'proposition' annoyed me at first until it escalated into something else but I enjoyed the fact that Cal made demands of his own to Ira, which is actually sad.

The resolution had me smiling but I really wished this story had been much longer because I felt like the characters and the plot were very shallow. More than that, I wish the ending had been longer and deeper so we could see Ira and Cal after they realize they've both been oblivious.

Overall, not a bad story and I quite liked it but too short for the content and too much sex for my tastes.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining short read about unrequited love and miscommunication between two vamps - Cal and Ira. I enjoyed the quirky tale, enough to spark an interest and well worth the little time it took to read it.

[Leanne Crabtree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the plotline (gay vampires in a stupid misunderstanding), though it all seemed rather predictable in the end.

This is my second book by the author and I liked this more than the other.

[Selena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it's hot gay vampire sex, but there's also something so sweet here. I agree with some other fans that I would like these to be a bit longer.

[peanut•m&ms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likeable short, full of miscommunication, misunderstanding and desire.

[Heather York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirsting for More is a great little short story. What it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. I will say that I would have loved to have seen more of Cal and Ira's history as a novella or novel length tale but as a short story it's just the right blend of paranormal, lust, drama, love, and friendship. Oh, and did I mention the heat? There's the want to bang their heads together and shout "TALK!" but where would the fun be in that? If you're looking for a short read that will get the heart pumping in a multitude of ways than Claire Cray's Thirsting for More is a must.

[Lora Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

No character development, so readers have no idea what either Cal or Ira were like before they were turned. Not really much of a sense of time and place, but it's obviously 21st century. Pretty decent writing, except that once it hits about 50%, the editing mistakes begin and get worse as the book goes on. The story would've been better had it been longer, because not only do we not see much of the 2 together to see a relationship develop, but there really wasn't enough time to make Ira's conversion for homophobic to homosexual - or just GFY - believable.

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was definitely rough around the edges. But! It was a fun read. I loved that Cal called Ira on his homophobic bull shit. I also really liked the angsty, unrequited love/mutual pining, misunderstanding that leads to them actually getting together. That hit a bunch of my favorite tropes all in one short story! Thirsting for More is getting a solid three stars. I would definitely love to see more of them.

[空 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like In Strange Woods so much, I’m willing to try anything Cray writes. Let me make things clear: Cray’s writing is still very good. But the story itself didn’t work for me — because of its length, Cray has to leave out a lot of things, and I simply ended up annoyed by Cal and Ira. I don’t really see “why” Cal would love Ira, as Ira comes across as a jerk, and on that I’m meh on their whole “development”.

[Bellbomb Bellbomb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but also quite forgettable. That happens when one has read many short stories with more depth in less number of pages.

[Ru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, hot short read

[Callie Kajj · Rating 5 out of 5]

R u kidding me this was so good.

[she's in the RAEn]

I wish this would have been longer, it had potential, but because it was so short, I don't feel like I can accurately rate it :/

[Trix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short little story about misunderstandings and secret feelings.

The storyline was rather predictible as well as the means by which the 2 main characters came together. And yet it was nice readinga bout them. Sharing Cal's angst, longing, sorrow and hurt as he went on believing Ira totally disregarded him. And even after hearing his confession, Cal thought himself unworthy of Ira's affections and couldn't bring himself to accept he had been the center of attention for Ira for years.

It was easier for the outside reader to understand that Ira's ploys were means to getting Cal's attention. And interesting to see that from Cal's pov, Ira was the unattainable one, when things were completely opposite from Ira's pov.

Quite a relaxing story. Not enough to make me fall in love but well suited for a leisure afternoon reading.

[Shelley Chastagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting short story and a worthwhile read. Cal's pain of loving someone who doesn't love him back but is also indifferent to him comes through loud and clear. He's finally willing to cut ties when Ira traipses back into his life again. Bringing all of Cal's desires and longing to the surface again. Ira is a supreme dick, wounding Cal with a request that Cal teach him how to please another man. I liked that Cal had the strength to walk away when it was over, but his pain is such that he is living the same life that he so hated in Ira. It takes a while for Ira to find Cal and actually be honest about his feelings and deceptions. I liked the hope I felt for these two when the story ended.
Adult read

[Shelley Chastagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting short story and a worthwhile read. Cal's pain of loving someone who doesn't love him back but is also indifferent to him comes through loud and clear. He's finally willing to cut ties when Ira traipses back into his life again. Bringing all of Cal's desires and longing to the surface again. Ira is a supreme dick, wounding Cal with a request that Cal teach him how to please another man. I liked that Cal had the strength to walk away when it was over, but his pain is such that he is living the same life that he so hated in Ira. It takes a while for Ira to find Cal and actually be honest about his feelings and deceptions. I liked the hope I felt for these two when the story ended.
Adult read

[Tamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love my vampire stories and this one was a suprise. The calm, almost thoughtless way that Cal fed, even thinking that at least he let the victim die with a smile on his face, was so strange coming from someone who was heart broken over his love for Ira.

I figured that yeah, after a few decades taking a life might have gotten blaze', but Cal was a newbie, only seven years undead.

Enjoyable read. Recommended.
===================================
1st read - May 10, 2013
2nd read - Mar 7, 2016

[Sarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick enjoyable read featuring vampires. In this short story you have Ira and Cal, vampires who have known each other for the past 7 years. Ira's the type who is constantly leaving, however, only seemingly coming back to find Cal when he's bored. Finally tired of this, however, Cal and Ira make a deal which changes everything. I liked both MCs in this one, especially how things turned out to be different than I had been expecting. I wouldn't be averse to reading more about these two but I'm satisfied with where the story ended; I'll read it again.

[Kendra T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short story, so it was expected to pack either a ton into a few pages, or miss out on a lot of big details. It did an OK job of getting us to understand Cal and his feelings towards Ira, but we didn't get to really know Ira until the end. I was glad to see Cal stand up for himself, but I wish Ira would've spoken honestly instead of talk in circles. I didn't love it.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free, short, kind of blah.

I didn't really care about the characters at all, and the connection between them didn't pull me in. Free, and I didn't waste too much time on it, so I'm not overly bothered.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore misunderstandings in my romance and this (very) short story is nothing but. Highly recommended if you're looking for a quick read.

[Hpstrangelove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute vampire short story.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been better if there hadn't been so many grammatical errors. Otherwise it was sweet.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short steamy vampire romance.
Well written and flowed nicely.
If you like hot M/M sex, have a look.