Love Bites UK (Mammoth Book Of Vampire Romance2)
Page 1
Trisha Telep was the romance and fantasy book buyer at Murder One, the UK’s premier crime and romance bookstore. She has recently re-launched this classic bookshop online at www.murderone.co.uk. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she completed the Master of Publishing program at Simon Fraser University before moving to London. She lives in Hackney with her boyfriend, filmmaker Christopher Joseph.
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Constable & Robinson Ltd
3 The Lanchesters
162 Fulham Palace Road
London W6 9ER
www.constablerobinson.com
First published in the UK by Robinson,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson, 2009
Copyright © Trisha Telep, 2009 (unless otherwise indicated)
The right of Trisha Telep to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication
Data is available from the British Library
UK ISBN 978-1-84901-043-6
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
First published in the United States in 2009 by Running Press Book Publishers
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
US Library of Congress number: 2008944141
US ISBN 978-0-7624-3796-2
Running Press Book Publishers
2300 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371
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Printed and bound in the EU
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Paris After Dark
Jordan Summers
Coven of Mercy
Deborah Cooke
Le Cirque de la Nuit
Karen MacInerney
Perdition
Caitlin Kittredge
Deliver Us From Evil
Dina James
Blood and Thyme
Camille Bacon-Smith
Into the Mist For Ever
Rosemary Laurey
Blood Feud
Patti O’Shea
Love Bites
Angie Fox
Flotsam
Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Murder King’s Woman
Jamie Leigh Hansen
Butterfly Kiss
Carole Nelson Douglas
Crimson Kisses
Diane Whiteside
Vampsploitation
Jaye Wells
Trust Me
Stacia Kane
The Scotsman and the Vamp
Jennifer Ashley
I Need More You
Justine Musk
Point of No Return
Jennifer St Giles
With Friends Like These
Dawn Cook
Blood Gothic
Nancy Holder
Eternity Embraced
Larissa Ione
The Ghost of Leadville
Jeanne C. Stein
The Vampire, the Witch and the Yenko
Tiffany Trent
Circle Unbroken
Ann Aguirre
Skein of Sunlight
Devon Monk
Author Biographies
Acknowledgments
“Paris After Dark” © by Jordan Summers. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Coven of Mercy” © by Deborah Cooke. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Le Cirque de la Nuit” © by Karen MacInerney. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Perdition” © by Caitlin Kittredge. Firs
t publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Deliver Us From Evil” © by Dina James. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Blood and Thyme” © by Camille Bacon-Smith. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Into the Mist For Ever” © by Rosemary Laurey. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Blood Feud” © by Patti O’Shea. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Love Bites” © by Angie Fox. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Flotsam” © by Caitlín R. Kiernan. First published in Not One of Us #40, October 2008.
“The Murder King’s Woman” © by Jamie Leigh Hansen. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Butterfly Kiss” © by Carole Nelson Douglas. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Crimson Kisses” © by Diane Whiteside. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Vampsploitation” © by Jaye Wells. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Trust Me” © by Stacia Kane. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Scotsman and the Vamp” © by Jennifer Ashley. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“I Need More You” © by Justine Musk. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Point of No Return” © by Jennifer St Giles. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“With Friends Like These” © by Dawn Cook. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Blood Gothic” © by Nancy Holder. First published in Shadows 8, June 1985.
“Eternity Embraced” © by Larissa Ione. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Ghost of Leadville” © by Jeanne C. Stein. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Vampire, the Witch and the Yenko” © by Tiffany Trent. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Circle Unbroken” © by Ann Aguirre. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Skein of Sunlight” © by Devon Monk. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
Introduction
Urban fantasy is the ultimate milieu for a little vamp action. Vampires can get romantic in some pretty freaky ways. So, although this is The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, don’t go expecting too much gentle foreplay and whispers of sweet nothings. These can be dark, brooding, vicious creatures who like it . . . a little rough. And sometimes they come bearing romance with just the slightest hint of menace. But you’ll also find the lighter side of vamps in here, too. Just be warned: the vampire really does push the boundaries of “romance” – often to its bloodiest limits. You just might have to rework your definition of love once you sink your teeth into many of these tales.
From the get-go, this collection was moving at lightning speed into the dark and dirty waters of urban fantasy. My new co-pilot, YA urban fantasy writer Karen Mahoney (check out her short story in the new YA vamp anthology, The Eternal Kiss) who had started work at Murder One with me, was a definite influence. She has the infectious enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store (or Wonder Woman with a new invisible plane). When I told her that I was compiling Love Bites she immediately put me in contact with urban fantasy writers she knew through Live Journal, Facebook and Twitter. She told me of urban fantasy writers who were going to be in London soon and were keen to come to Murder One for a signing (this is how I met Caitlin Kittredge [think of a goth Sandy in Grease with pink streaks in her hair], Stacia Kane and Jordan Summers (who had a great deal of fun laughing at my prudishness over her friend Cheyenne McCray’s formerly ultra-hot Succubus story in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance). And Devon Monk, Justine Musk and Jaye Wells should basically be in touch with the police after I stalked them mercilessly à la Facebook, with Karen’s gleeful encouragement. I hope you enjoy this dark new collection of vampires and the fantastic writers who write them.
* * *
Contest time!
As some of you might know, I used to buy the romance and fantasy for the amazing, fantastic, totally unique Murder One bookshop in London’s Charing Cross Road, which was basically the only bookstore in the UK, likely Europe, to stock an exhaustive list of US romance alongside a phenomenal selection of crime titles. Incredibly, the bookshop closed at the end of January after twenty-one years. We have managed, however, to keep it up and running as an online bookstore and mail order business (some consolation to readers, I hope!). We are ecstatic to be keeping Murder One alive and look forward to a bigger and brighter future. So, in light of our relaunch, and because we are overjoyed still to be in the business of selling great books to great customers, I thought it might be a good time to give away some free books to celebrate Murder One’s phoenix-like rising from the dead!
Here’s what you have to do: a real honest-to-goodness historical figure appears, totally by coincidence, in two stories in this collection. The first five readers who can give me the name of this historical figure, plus the titles of the two stories, as well as the names of the authors, will receive a free, mass-market paperback of their choice – it can be anything: your wish is our command! – posted to you anywhere in the world.
Please send your answers to me at: trisha@murderone.co.uk and check out our website at www.murderone.co.uk
Murder One is back!
Let the ghoulish games begin!
Paris After Dark
Jordan Summers
One
Rachel Chang pinched the cigarette between her lips and reached into her pocket for her lighter. Five years of being nicotine free was about to go up in smoke, if she could just get this damn thing to light. She flicked the Zippo and inhaled, then proceeded to choke. Eyes watering, Rachel flicked the cigarette onto the cobblestone as a high-pitched scream pierced the night.
One hand moved to where her weapon should be, while the other automatically reached for the St Michael medal around her neck. For a moment Rachel saw her partner lying in a puddle of blood. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the panic attack eased. This wasn’t New York. The vision wasn’t real. And this wasn’t her problem. Let someone else clean up the mess for a change.
A second scream followed the first, then ended abruptly. Rachel remained immobile, while her conscience called her every foul name in the book. Unfortunately, the voice in her head wasn’t loud enough to drown out the struggle she could hear taking place on the dimly lit road off Boulevard Raspail.
“You have no authority here. You don’t even speak French. Let the Parisian police handle it,” she muttered under her breath as she came upon a man grappling with a woman. The woman’s arms were flailing as she beat at the man’s broad shoulders with her clenched fists.
The dark-haired man wasn’t striking her back, but he was holding her tight to deflect her blows. It looked like a typical domestic dispute. Only a fool got in the middle of those. Rachel had been foolish once and it had cost her dearly. Never again. She shoved her hands in her pockets and kept walking.
Rachel saw a sign for the Cimetière du Montparnasse affixed to a high, grey brick wall. She glanced at the sky. “Trying to tell me something, partner?” Of course Paul Veretti didn’t answer. No one did. Like the residents of the fancy French cemetery, he was dead. All that was left of him was her memories and the St Mich
ael medal around her neck.
The patron saint must have been on a coffee break the day her partner caught a bullet in the chest – a bullet that was meant for her. It was Rachel’s idea to answer the domestic battery call on the drive home. It wasn’t even part of their job. She should’ve been the one to stay in the house and try to calm the battered wife, not Paul. But he’d insisted she escort the husband outside and wait for a patrol car to pick him up. Rachel had barely made it to the porch, when the shot rang out. There was a shocked cry and a loud thump. She knew without looking what had happened. She felt like that bullet had been chasing her ever since.
Rachel glanced at the cemetery once more, then asked herself what Paul would do. The answer was obvious. She cursed, then tromped back to the mouth of the street. This was a bad idea. Her gun and NYPD badge currently resided an ocean away inside her captain’s desk. She’d have to count on the man fleeing when she confronted him. Rachel ran the odds of that happening in her head and let out a string of expletives.
The woman had stopped struggling and now hung loosely in the man’s arms. Had he struck her after Rachel left? She hated bullies. Hated people who thought their size gave them free rein to do as they pleased. The man stood in the shadows with his back to her, but Rachel could tell he outweighed her and the woman by a good fifty pounds. This was such a bad idea.
“Hey buddy,” she shouted.
The dark-haired man didn’t acknowledge her, but Rachel saw his broad shoulders tense.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. Parlez-vous . . . anglais? Let the woman go,” she said in frustration, wishing she’d paid attention to the French CDs she’d checked out of the library.
He slowly turned. Rachel caught a glimpse of shimmering green eyes, the colour so unnatural it couldn’t possibly be found outside the animal kingdom. Had to be contact lenses. But it wasn’t his eyes that held her in place. It was his teeth – his long, very bloody teeth.
Rachel watched the blood drip down his chin onto his dark suit before he stepped back into the shadows. What in the hell had he been doing? When she’d walked by earlier it had looked like the woman was the aggressor. She’d been wrong . . . again. How many people had to die for her to get it right?