by K D Grace
“Susan! Now! I mean it!” The demon’s voice was loud enough to drown out the gorgeous sound of Flame still wafting from the stage, where the siren kept herself well and truly disguised behind the piano.
But even the Guardian’s voice couldn’t drown out the soft whisper of Prince Scary-ass, all but making love to her ear. “Tonight I’m here for the entertainment, scouting new acts,” he nodded to the stage. “Sadly business before pleasure, but there’ll be another time.” He folded a card in her hand, his fingers lingering longer than necessary. And suddenly she was no longer certain if he meant there would be another time to listen to Flame or another time to talk to her.
Before she could contemplate further, before she could think what to do, she found herself jerked from the chair, stumbling and twitching toward the door like a marionette with a drunken puppeteer.
“What are you doing? What the hell are you doing?” It might have begun as a silent conversation, but it became quite vocal as panic exploded inside her when she recalled the last time the demon had used her this way. She elicited several glares from the audience members closest to her, and the bartender gave her the evil eye. “What the bloody hell are you doing?” She spoke between gritted teeth. “You told me you couldn’t control me. You told me that you were mine to command. Stop it! You’re drawing attention to us.”
“You’re the one drawing attention to us, Susan,” the voice inside her spoke again. “Just do as I tell you and all will be made clear once we’re safe.”
That got her full attention. “Now then, that’s better. Listen to me, walk back to the subway and get on the train. Then get off at the next stop.”
As she calmed enough to relax the tiniest bit, she found herself once again in control of her arms and legs, and the Guardian spoke again. “Now then, that man in there, the one who sat down next to you—Darian Fox, I believe his card says.”
“That’s right,” she said, forgetting that she didn’t need to speak out loud. It didn’t matter, though. This was New York City. No one really paid too much attention when someone talked to themselves. People just assumed they either had a Bluetooth or they were a little loopy, and that was all right too as long as they kept their loopiness to themselves. “Do you know who he is?” This time she spoke only in her head.
“I know he means us no good, and I fear he would mean our little siren even less good, if he knew of her existence. Fortunately his main interest, as with most of the males of your species, is for the beautiful one who sings and what she can do for his cock. As long as he looks to serve his libido, and our little siren continues to keep a low profile, she should be all right. You, however, or should I say us. He was more than a little intrigued by us. We don’t need that kind of attention, Susan. He could hurt us. He could hurt the people we love.”
What’s going on? What the hell’s going on? Susan?Are you all right? Talk to me.
Are you all right? What about Samantha Black? Is she the siren?
My darling girl, I felt your distress. What has happened?
The three texts were repeated, with minor variations multiple times by Michael, Magda-bloody-Gardener, who as always, was all business, and by Alonso Darlington. Alonso was the vampire who had made her. His deep connection to her had caused strife between him and his mortal lover, Reese Chambers, and between him and Michael.
Magda would suffer no such tension among members of her Consortium, so she sent Susan to New York City where she could learn to be a grown-up vampire under the testosterone-free tutelage of Desiree Fielding. Desiree, a vampire who was much older than Alonso, owed Magda a favor. Didn’t everybody? Christ, Susan owed Magda a debt she could never repay, and now she was busy doing detective work for both Magda and Desiree. Up until tonight, her assignment had been easy and the experience of living in New York and being trained by a scary-powerful vampire had not been difficult. But up until now, the Guardian, the demon who was imprisoned in some nebulous place inside Susan, had kept His word to not make His presence known unless she called Him, and she hadn’t. She hadn’t! And the fact that He’d exerted enough control over her that He had for all practical purposes possessed her was more than disturbing.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Susan,” came his voice from inside her once she had followed his instructions and was safely on the Q line with no destination in mind. “Did I not tell you that I would always keep myself safe, even when that means keeping my prison safe? Surely you could tell that man was neither human, nor did he mean to do you good.”
“I’m a fucking vampire,” she blurted out, “I think I can take care of myself.” The only other two people in their carriage, an elderly African American couple, gave her what she referred to affectionately as the NYC eye-slide. It was a way New Yorkers could glance at a total nutter while appearing not to notice.
Inside her chest, the Guardian was giving her the disembodied version of an exasperated sigh. “Surely you are not yet so full of your tutor’s arrogance as to believe that your undead state renders you invulnerable. Do you really think I would have bothered if this... monster was no threat to us? Really, my darling scribe, if you are entertaining the idea that I did what I did out of jealousy, well then I must counter that you can hardly expect me to be jealous when our intimacy is so complete and so permanent. Neither your angel nor your maker can boast such closeness.”
She gave the Guardian the mental version of the finger, and He might have chuckled. That in all the time He’d been in residence He’d not once exerted his power until tonight made her more than a little nervous. Still, she had nightmares about what had happened in Manchester at Chapel House, what He had done to her friend, Annie, what He would have done to her and what it had nearly cost Michael. Surely He was a fine one to talk about who was dangerous. The one thing she knew from experience about the Guardian was that he couldn’t be trusted. She cut him off mid-chuckle. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will personally stake us both—”
“A vampire can’t stake herself,” he interjected.
“Shut up! Just shut up! The last time you pulled a stunt like that I thought you were going to rape me. Shut up!” she said again when she felt him about to argue the semantics of his thwarted ‘seduction.’ “I don’t care what you call it, I know what it was, and let’s not forget you deceived me into damn near sentencing my best friend to death. I suppose that wasn’t rape either, what you did to her. No! No, I almost forgot, that was attempted murder.”
“The only one who committed murder, my dear scribe, was you when you convinced your vampire to do what he did. You are not the only one who has suffered. I have suffered double, I have suffered treble with the loss of three that I love.”
His words felt like a gut punch. Surely He didn’t mourn His losses other than the unpleasant fact that He was now a prisoner and could not continue His fun and games. But she found herself trembling and too close to tears to carry the conversation farther. “I need you to be quiet now.” She felt the weight of His loss as though it were her own and, with an ache sharp as a knife wound, she realized that it was her own loss she felt.
Unintentional or otherwise, he had deftly brought it to her attention, and she wished he hadn’t. Being who she was, being what she was, had separated her from Michael and from Alonso, had separated her from the life she had known, from her best friend, from her home. At the same time, it had bonded her in a strange way she still didn’t understand to Magda Gardener, who terrified her far more than this Darian Fox person, even as she found herself admiring the woman.
It was a brave new world, and while she put on the British stiff upper lip most of the time, the occasional reminder of her lost life made her feel like she had just jumped off into a bottomless abyss and was plummeting toward the bottom with no idea of what would happen next.
The Guardian kept silent after that. She answered her texts and found, to her surprise, when she got off the subway, both Magda and Desiree were waiting for her. She didn’t even know Magda was
in New York.
To her surprise, the woman took her into her arms, and she felt the Guardian flinch inside her. He didn’t like Magda at all, and Magda sure as hell didn’t like Him. He had nearly cost her the life of her angel—twice.
While Susan didn’t flinch, when Magda pulled away and held her face in her hands as though she were examining her for damage, she had the slight feeling of vertigo she always had when Magda Gardener looked at her. Even through the dark designer glasses the woman was forced to wear, her gaze was unsettling and her touch was always somewhere between a minor electrical shock and a buzz of pleasure. Uncomfortable didn’t begin to describe how a person felt when she was the center of Magda Gardener’s attention. Susan wondered if she’d ever get used to it.
“Are you all right, my darling?” Magda asked. “You had me scared half to death.” Susan had not seen that look of genuine fear and concern on the woman’s face since she feared she’d lose Michael to the Guardian. “Darian Fox is not to be trifled with, and his is attention you don’t want.”
“You know him then?” Susan asked.
“I know of him. My people in Las Vegas have been keeping an eye on him, trying to figure out just exactly what he’s up to. What they do know for certain is that he’s very dangerous, and you are to stay completely away from him in the future. I’m glad you had the common sense to realize that he was something other than human and to get out as quickly as you could.” She shot a quick glance in Desiree’s direction and even the older vampire flinched, but then, Susan reminded herself, no matter how old Desiree was, she was nowhere nearly as old as Magda. “Sometimes your kind can be arrogant and overconfident in their powers—especially when they’re only newly made as you are. You can’t afford arrogance, Susan, nor overconfidence, even with our demon in residence sworn to protect you.”
Susan told no one about the Guardian’s intervention in her unexpected, and rather ungraceful, exit from the Dark Side. She wasn’t sure why she’d kept silent. Perhaps it was her vampire arrogance that she didn’t want anyone to know how easily the Guardian had overpowered her and forced the issue. She didn’t want to know herself, but now she would be forced to engage with that fact and figure out how much control he actually could assert on her.
Three weeks later, Flame left New York City for Las Vegas to perform at Illusions, Darian Fox’s club. It was no small gig. The club was a big deal. It didn’t take much for Susan to learn that it was the glorious blonde who had forced the issue. Samantha Black, the piano player, had not wanted to go. But then the blonde was only human. She couldn’t see that Fox was a predator. She couldn’t see past the stars in her eyes—that and Fox was fucking her. To her surprise, Magda didn’t send Susan to Las Vegas to continue observing the siren. She said Susan had done her job and she wasn’t willing to risk her prize scribe to Fox. She was adamant, so Susan was left to complete her training with Desiree and to do her bidding. After that it was a long time before she spoke with the Guardian again.
About the Author
Voted ETO Best Erotic Author of 2014, and a proud member of The Brit Babes, K D Grace believes Freud was right. In the end, it really IS all about sex, well sex and love. And nobody’s happier about that than she is, otherwise, what would she write about?
When she’s not writing, K D is veg gardening. When she’s not gardening, she’s walking. She walks her stories, and she’s serious about it. She and her husband have walked Coast to Coast across England, along with several other long-distance routes. For her, inspiration is directly proportionate to how quickly she wears out a pair of walking boots. She also enjoys martial arts, reading, watching the birds and anything that gets her outdoors.
K D has erotica published with SourceBooks, Xcite Books, Harper Collins Mischief Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Black Lace, Sweetmeats Press and others.
K D’s critically acclaimed erotic romance novels include, The Initiation of Ms Holly, Fulfilling the Contract, To Rome with Lust, and The Pet Shop. Her paranormal erotic novel, Body Temperature and Rising, the first book of her Lakeland Witches trilogy, was listed as honorable mention on Violet Blue’s Top 12 Sex Books for 2011. Books two and three, Riding the Ether, and Elemental Fire, are now also available.
K D Grace also writes hot romance as Grace Marshall. An Executive Decision, Identity Crisis, The Exhibition, Interviewing Wade are all available.
Find K D Here:
Websites: http://kdgrace.co.uk/
http://www.thebritbabes.co.uk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KDGraceAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KD_Grace
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kdgraceauthor/
If You Enjoyed In the Flesh
If you enjoyed In the Flesh, you may also enjoy the following titles:
Lakeland Witches Book 1: Body Temperature and Rising
American transplant to the Lake District, MARIE WARREN, didn’t know she could unleash demons and enflesh ghosts until a voyeuristic encounter on the fells ends in sex with the charming ghost, ANDERSON, and night visits from a demon. To help her cope with her embarrassing and dangerous new abilities, Anderson brings her to the ELEMENTALS, a coven of witches who practice rare sex magic that temporarily allows needy ghosts access to the pleasures of the flesh.
DEACON, the demon Marie has unleashed, holds an ancient grudge against TARA STONE, coven high priestess, and will stop at nothing to destroy all she holds dear. Marie and her landlord, the reluctant young farmer, TIM MERIWETHER, are at the top of his list. Marie and Tim must learn to wield coven magic and the numinous power of their lust to stop Deacon’s bloody rampage before the coven is torn apart and more innocent people die.
More information and buy links.
Lakeland Witches Book 2: Riding the Ether
Cassandra Larkin keeps her ravenous and dangerous sexual appetite secret until she seduces Anderson in the mysterious void of the Ether. Anderson is the sexy, insatiable ghost who can give her exactly what she needs.
But sex is dangerous in a place like the Ether…
When the treacherous demon, Deacon, discovers the truth about the origin of Cassandra’s powerful lust, he plots to use her sex magic for revenge on Tara Stone and the Elemental Coven, who practice their own brand of sex magic.
Cassandra must embrace the lust and sexuality she fears and learn to use its power. Will she stand with Anderson, Tara, and the Elemental Coven against Deacon’s wrath or suffer the loss of friendship, magic and love?
More information and buy links.
Lakeland Witches Book 3: Elemental Fire
Obsessed with revenge, KENNET LUCIAN makes a deal with a demon, a deal he comes to regret when he meets TARA STONE, head of the Elemental Coven, and a powerful witch with a desire for revenge at least as great as his. Even though the attraction between the two is magnetic and the lust combustive, Kennet must betray her to accomplish his goal, which is ultimately her goal as well; to put a final end to the demon, Deacon’s, reign of terror. But can Tara trust the man who has wormed his way into her heart and the heart of the Elemental Coven? Can she trust LUCIA, the demon with whom Kennet is allied, a demon with her own agenda. The path to Deacon’s destruction is far from clear, and the price that must be paid to be free of him forever may be too high, even for Tara Stone.
More information and buy links.
Demon Interrupted: A Lakeland Witches Serial
What secrets does a man have that would cause him to chooses to live under a spell that magically erased his past? When that spell is broken Ferris Ryder must choose to remember all that he was, all that he has done and all that drove him to willingly forget. If he chooses not to remember, the consequences will be dire for himself and the Elemental Coven, who are now his family.
Is the mysterious Elaine, who both fears and desires Ferris, a ghost with a past all her own, or merely a figment of his fevered dreams as he struggles against time to remember the past he fears or destroy the very people for whom he chose to forget.
More information and buy links.
Brit Boys: With Toys
From coast to coast and city to country Brit boys enjoy playing with each other and their toys. Not any old toys, though; guitars, rope, plugs and Moleskine journals all prove to be enormous fun. Throw in a shop that’s wall to wall with kinky ideas, a journalist on the lookout for the next big thing, and Dominants who insist on obedience and there’s sure to be something to cater for everyone’s taste.
Whether it’s a quickie or a slow indulgence, Brit boys know how to hit the spot and they aim to please every time. So take a ride, fly high, come enjoy these sexy boys and their toys.
Brit Boys: With Toys is an anthology of M/M stories written by British authors, featuring British characters in British locations. If this steamy set of stories has whet your appetite for more don’t miss Brit Boys: On Boys.
More information and buy links.
