The Sexy & The Undead

by Charity Parkerson

  A smile touched Ella’s lips at the memory of her mother brushing her hair while telling her stories of true love and great warriors.

  “The feeling was mutual. They loved her immediately as well. Freddie’s mother is a Succubus, and she abandoned him as she moved on to her next victim. My parents married in secret, and my mother became Freddie’s mother just as sure as she had given birth to him. Ten years later, I was born, and their love only grew stronger with each passing year.”

  Ella ran the tip of her finger along the glass. “Then, one night, when I was eight and Freddie was nineteen, the other Valkyrie came for us. Our parents had gained confidence in our safety since no one had found them in all their years of hiding.” She stopped to swallow past the pain of that night. Pressing her palm flat against the cool surface, she forced herself to continue.

  “They cut down our father at my feet. I can still feel the hem of my nightgown, soaked in his blood and slapping against my ankles as I tried to run away, and it slowed me down. Freddie tossed me over his shoulder and my mind went blank as I concentrated on trying to breathe. The impact of his quick pace cut off my air. When we reached the edge of the mirror, Maman kissed us both before shoving us through and sealing it from ever being penetrated again.”

  The looking glass blurred before Ella. She knew that she was crying, but she made no attempt to wipe away her tears.

  “Everything I knew was gone in an instant.” Focusing on the spot in the mirror where she knew Samuel to be, she added, “Everything except for Freddie.”

  Appearing behind her, Samuel cradled her head with his chest. Sliding a palm over her abdomen, he quietly sent his love to their child. He sent up a prayer of thanks that she did not pull away, but neither did she welcome his touch. It was no less than he deserved.

  “You accused me of keeping secrets when it came to you, and you’re right,” she admitted. “But you kept secrets too. It’s my fault because I should have pressed. No, I should have wanted to know, but I didn’t. I think a part of me expected that I would lose you, and I did. It was easier not to know what I was losing.”

  Samuel met her gaze in the mirror so that she could see his shame as he confessed. “Where I am from, my kind are kept as slaves. Do you understand what I am saying? Slaves for every purpose,” he emphasized, and Ella sucked in a shuddering breath, but nodded her understanding.

  “I was granted my freedom three thousand years ago, but three thousand years is nothing in the face of eons of service. I have known no other life. There has never been a single thing that was mine alone, until I met you.”

  Pausing in order to gather the strength needed for what he knew he must do, Samuel braced himself against the pain.

  “Tam told me about the baby.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  She looked…destroyed. He hated it. He hated himself.

  “No. You don’t see. I understand what it is like to have nothing, and for a moment, you showed me a different life. I was so scared of losing it, of losing you, that I took away your choices. I could have cured Freddie the first time we met, but I did not. I did not know that he is your brother and I was afraid,” he confessed. “I could see that you loved him and I wanted to keep you. Therefore, I did nothing. In the end, it did not make any difference because I still lost you.”

  Bowing his head, he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain of what he was about to do.

  “I, of all people, should have known better.”

  Meeting her eyes in the mirror, because it was what she deserved from him, he added, “I can live with nothing as long as I know that you have everything.”

  Before he could change his mind, Samuel gently shoved Ella through the speculum and back into the mirror world.

  “What are you doing?”

  Samuel glanced back at the woman sitting on the desk behind him before turning back to the silvery surface.

  “I am not at your service today, Mistress Selena.”

  It was the first time he had ever said those words to her and he didn’t need to be able to see her reflection to know that her eyebrows had shot to her perfectly coiffed hairline.

  “You’re not in my service any day,” she answered, instead of chastising him.

  A chill rippled over her Ella’s body as she unexpectedly found herself moving through the silver. Immediately replacing the cold was the warmth of her mother’s embrace. She knew her touch and face as well as she knew her own and she hugged her mother tighter to her chest.

  “How?” Ella asked. The crystal trees and grass over her mother’s shoulders were a blur through her tears.

  “You can’t stay here,” her mother said into her hair, but she made no move to pull away.

  “I know,” Ella agreed. “But can I not stay a moment longer?”

  Leaning away, her mother smoothed the hair back from Ella’s face before cupping it between her hands. Eyes that were dark as coals stared back at Ella.

  “I’m always here for you, right on the other side, okay? But your place is with Samuel.”

  “But, Maman,” she began, but her mother shushed her.

  “He will bring you back to me, in time, but right now you must look.” Turning her around, her mother forced her attention to the mirror. It had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, explaining why it no longer worked.

  “How?” she asked again before she focused on Samuel’s image on the other side. He looked broken.

  “Look at your warrior,” her mother said against her ear. “I’ve always been here watching and waiting. It was prophesized that a dark angel would bring my children back to me, and he shall, but he needs you. He was created of the night and has no light to guide him.”

  “Become one with the dark,” Ella repeated, recalling the voodoo words.

  Her mother nodded. “You are his savior as much as he is yours, and you carry his child. Yet, he gave you the freedom to choose this world over him.”

  Even more tears filled her eyes at her mother’s words. Samuel really did love her.

  “Let your heart not be torn in two, my sweet girl. I will be here and he will give you the world. Whichever world you so choose.”

  A second figured appeared behind Samuel, and Ella cried out in fear. Selena Smoke, the same witch that cursed Freddie and died before breaking her hex now stood at Samuel’s back.

  She could not allow this devil’s spawn to tear another man from her life. Finding a shard that was large enough for one of her hands, she shoved it through the glass. Samuel’s eyes widened in shock, but he snagged a hold.

  Turning her gaze to her mother’s one last time, she promised, “I will be back for you,” before Samuel towed her out of the mirror land.

  She would choose the mirror land, of that Samuel had no doubts. However, he still stared at the looking glass for longer than he should have while silently saying his goodbyes. He fancied there was no time limit when it came to taking leave of one’s dreams. He did wish that he could have done so without witnesses, but Selena would go and do as she wished.

  “I worked my ass off to give you the life that you wanted and you shoved it into a speculum. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that one.”

  Her words caused his spine to stiffen and his brain ceased to work, but Ella’s hand appeared through the mirror as if searching for a way out. He grasped ahold of it before she could change her mind. Tugging with all his might, she came flying out. In a flurry of limbs and blonde hair, she practically climbed his body until her legs wrapped around his waist. Her body melded itself to his upper torso as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

  “If she’s taking you, then she’s taking me too,” Ella cried.

  Confused but elated, Samuel held her close. “Nobody is taking me anywhere. I told you that I am a free angel.”

  Lifting her head, Ella looked back and forth between him and Selena. With a muddled expression, Ella asked, “Do you know her?”

  “All of my life,” Samuel answered. �
�Do you know her?”

  “That is Selena Smoke. She’s the witch that cursed Freddie, and she is taking me too this time if she thinks to curse you as well.” As if emphasizing her words, and bracing herself for the hex, she held onto him tighter. Ella buried her face in his neck once more.

  A tinkling laugh sounded from the desk, but Samuel ignored her as the full picture came together in his mind. Selena did more with her ass than work it off in order to give him the life that he desired. Meeting Selena’s twinkling blue eyes over Ella’s shoulder, he mouthed “thank you” as he held Ella tighter. Running a hand down Ella’s back, he said quietly into her hair, “Ella, meet Mistress Selena,” pausing he clarified, “Selena the Fate.”

  She lifted her head slowly and met his eyes. “What? What cha mean ‘Fate’?” she asked, sounding exactly like Tam for a moment. “Like an actual Fate?” she added.

  “One of only three, actually,” Selena said dryly, drawing their gaze her way. When she had their attention, she added, “You both are going to be very happy together. I guarantee it.” With that final promise, she disappeared, leaving them alone.

  Turning her shining eyes back to Samuel, Ella whispered, “We’re going to be very happy together, says Fate.”

  “And so we shall,” Samuel promised, never meaning anything more in his life than he did in that moment.

  THE END

  Here’s a short sample of Book 2 of the “Sexy Witches” series: The Pixie & The Prince.

  “Babies are very wet,” Tam mused aloud as she stared into Liam’s huge blue eyes while he gnawed on her forearm.

  “Aww, he’s teething,” Lena explained.

  Brushing her free hand over Liam’s dark curls, Tam added, “He reminds me of Freddie with all this chewing on Tam’s person.”

  She nuzzled his nose and fell into her best baby voice. “Yes, your uncle thought Auntie Tam was delicious too back when he was a sweet zombie. Now he’s just a jackass.”

  Everyone has that one person whose kiss rocked his or her world, and then everyone else fails in comparison. For Tam, that one man would always be Freddie Perry. She wasn’t pining. Nope, she was not.

  “Where is Freddie anyhow?” Lena asked, peering around the room as if expecting that he was hiding in the corner. “And how did y’all end up with Thomas guarding your house?” she asked, indicating the dark-haired angel standing guard by the front door.

  Swallowing past the growing lump in her throat, Tam answered. “Oh, you know Freddie.” Actually, Lena really didn’t know Freddie all that well, but Tam didn’t want to cry so she swiftly grabbed onto Lena’s second question.

  “Thomas was a wedding gift to Samuel and Ella from Mistress Katrina.”

  “That’s awful!” Lena cried. “He’s a person. She can’t just give him away.”

  Said gift was only three feet away and Tam could tell by the set of his jaw that he was trying to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping. Coming in around six-foot-nine, Thomas was taller than most of the dark angels, plus his wide shoulders and defined muscles were proof of all the battles he’d fought.

  Tam shrugged. “Anh, Thomas isn’t a person; he’s even better.”

  The angel did smile then. “Don’t hold back, baby,” she called and he gave up acting as if he’d not been listening.

  “I get to wear pants here,” he said cheerfully, pointing at his crotch.

  Both women automatically stared at the huge bulge in the center of his jeans that ran down one leg.

  “Oh my,” Lena said as she reached over to cover Liam’s eyes. “Those are some nice, hmm…” she trailed off.

  Thomas’ sweet brown eyes shined with happiness. “Truly,” he agreed. “It is a great honor that Mistress Katrina has bestowed upon me.” He snapped his teeth together as if realizing he’d said too much, and he went back to staring straight ahead.

  Lena’s gaze became calculating. She slowly slid her hand inside the neck of her shirt and bra while staring hard at Thomas’ profile. He in turn was watching her out of the corner of his eye. Tam could see the sweat beginning to form on his brow.

  She clutched Liam closer to her chest and stared back and forth between them. “Uh, Lena, don’t tease him. If he gets hard, one of us bound to lose an eye.”

  A look of confusion passed over Lena’s face before she began to blush. Pulling a tiny stack of cards from the inside of her shirt, Lena waved them in the pair’s direction. Thomas’ shoulders sagged in relief.

  “I’m so sorry!” Lena squawked. “Sometimes I forget that other people can see me when I do weird things.”

  “You had all of them in your boob?” Tam asked, feeling a bit impressed and jealous.

  Thomas reached down and readjusted the line in his jeans.

  Catalog of Creatures:

  Dark Angel (Angelus Tenebris): Guardians of The Hall of Gods. Oftentimes, Dark Angels are kept as sexual slaves by Gods and Goddesses.

  Fates: Three women in charge of each individual’s path.

  Mirror People: Magical creatures trapped inside of mirrors. It is believed that they will one day break loose and take over the mortal realm.

  Pixie: Tiny people with butterfly wings that can be unpredictable and change at will.

  Seer: A person who can predict the future. They can be either mortal or immortal.

  Shaman: A person believed to have the magical ability to heal others.

  Valkyrie: Magical Female Warrior that took Norse Warriors to die.

  Voodooist: A person who practices voodoo magic.

  Witch: A person who practices magic.

  Witch doctor: A professional magic maker who works to cure sickness.

  Wizard: A man with magical and wonder-working abilities.

  Zombie (Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus): a voodoo curse that makes a person appear as one of the walking dead.

  AUTHOR BOOKSHELF

  A Secure Heart

  A Splash of Hope

  Ace

  Being his Favorite

  Blue Cheesecake

  Bryant

  Danger Undercover

  Double the Sin

  Lust & Longing

  Of Ghosts and Dreams

  Paul

  Sarah’s Dirty Secret

  The-Adonis

  The Agent

  The Assassin

  The Assignment

  The Danger with Sinners

  The Informant

  The Society of Sinners

  Undefeated

  Walt

  Wicked Sinners

  Sinners of Water & Fire

  The Sexy & The Undead

  The Sinners- The Boxed Set

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Charity Parkerson was born in Tennessee, where she still lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of several books including thirteen Amazon bestsellers. You can like her at http://www.facebook.com/authorCharityParkerson. Be sure to visit her at http://www.charityparkerson.com and you can read her blog at http://charity-thesinners.blogspot.com

  Her “Sinners series” was voted one of the top ten best books by an Indie author in 2011- Paranormal Romance Reads

  Her book “The Danger with Sinners” was named “Best Book of 2012” by Paranormal Reads Reviews and was a finalist in the 2012 Australian Romance Reader’s Awards for Favorite Paranormal Romance.

  She was named as one of the top three Indie authors of 2012- EbookBuilders

  She is a member of The Paranormal Romance Guild, is a Goodreads moderator, a member of Coffee Time Romance, and co-host of The Melissa Craig and Charity Parkerson show.

  She won author of the week in August of 2011, and is a five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath.

  She received two nominations in the eFestival of Words book awards for Best Short Story and Best Erotica of 2013

  You can follow her on Twitter @https://twitter.com/CharityParkerso

  Additional Links:

  Amazon

  Barnes & Noble

  Smashwords

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