Samhain’s spell had deposited him directly back in his living room that night. Not thirty seconds later, the first trick-or-treater had banged loudly on his door. It was a family neighborhood, and trick-or-treating was always a big deal.
Dietrich had barely had time to realize where he was and that he was no longer a goblin, before he was thanking the gods that he’d had the foresight to purchase his bags of candy weeks in advance. He’d placed them beside the front door, and he was grateful for that as well. When the kids knocked a second time, Dietrich picked the bags up, ripped them open, and allowed the kids to pull as much out as they wanted.
Seven large bags, and he’d run out at five minutes to eleven. Then he’d gone directly to his bed and passed out.
It had been a long five days since then. And now it was nearly midnight, and as far as he was concerned, far too late for visitors.
He was exhausted. He had a lot on his mind.
He had just poured himself a drink.
The knock came again, and Dietrich ran a frustrated hand over his face. He got up from the dining room table and opened the front door.
“Hello,” came a familiar voice.
Hugh Draper stood on Dietrich’s threshold, a hat in his hands, his expression utterly lost.
Their eyes met. Shared experiences passed back and forth in the space between them. Dietrich released the door handle and said, “I was just pouring myself a drink and wondering what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
Hugh Draper digested Dietrich’s words without missing a beat. “I’ve been trying to accept the rather shocking revelation that I’m not actually a wizard but a Roman soldier sent traveling through time because I was caught up as a sacrifice in a witch’s spell. I have no magic abilities at all whatsoever,” he said. “In fact, it took me five days to figure out where you lived.”
Dietrich, in turn, digested Draper’s words.
And then he stepped back and gestured for Draper to come inside. “Come in. I’ll pour you a drink too.”
As he closed the door on the outside world, an idea occurred to him. “You think you might ever consider teaching high school history?”
The End.
*Author’s Note: This may not be exactly how it all happened. But I do know this for certain. I’ve got half a century left... give or take.
Also from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Killough-Walden…
Third time’s the charm.
In the steamy aftermath of a Baton Rouge day, in the depths of a king's luxurious mansion, a man with blue eyes dreams of a woman….
Emma Rose Nekoda is a girl with a painful past who relies on the love of her last living relative, her brother, and the joy of her work as a photographer to get her from day to day. But her memories have scarred her deeper than she admits, and her past is more dangerous than she knows. As she travels to the mist-filled streets of New Orleans for the opening of her first gallery showing, she is completely unaware that she has been ear marked for something greater - and more terrifying - than most people could have imagined.
Dorian Adalard has lived several lifetimes, but the moment the woman appears in his dreams will forever be marked in his memory. The faint sadness in her beautiful smile haunts Dorian's night and follows him into the daylight, chasing his heels like a beast, no matter how hard he pushes his bike, no matter how many laws he breaks on his way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
It only gets worse when later that day, he looks up to find his dream girl watching him from the sidewalk of a busy New Orleans street. A nymph in blue jeans with wild hair and big eyes, she fills Dorian with an inexplicable and unshakable desire – to protect… and to devour.
And he knows who she is. For she is unique; there has never been another born like her. But she is not meant for him. She is the foretold queen meant for his brother – the beautiful, sadistic, and all too powerful vampire king.
Forever a changed man, Dorian finds himself breaking tradition, bucking vampire law, and going up against a veritable army and its ruthless master to save the woman he loves from the man he loathes – taking Emma along for the pulse-pounding, life-altering ride.
This new open-ended vampire romance series by New York Times best selling romance author, Heather Killough-Walden is unlike any published before. Delve into the supernatural darkness of a Louisiana night, and learn that for a Harley-riding vampire with eyes like ice and blood like fire, there is nothing quite so alluring as the woman your brother wants.
The Third Kiss: Dorian’s Dream by Heather Killough-Walden
(Read on for a delicious teaser!)
Teaser for The Third Kiss: Dorian’s Dream, by Heather Killough-Walden
“Twenty friggin’ dollars for one friggin’ hour….” she mumbled as she rubbed her left butt cheek and then her right. Halfway out of the dark cement building, she paused, lifted her leg behind her in a yoga-esque quad stretch, and then did the same on the other side. She was sore and tired and extremely hungry. Her hair was frizzy and flat at the same time, and any makeup she’d applied eleven hours ago had long since evaporated into the interior of her car. She wanted a long, hot shower, a filling meal, and a soft bed. Her brother had better have a plan for tonight.
As she reached the entrance to the garage, she forced a friendly smile for the attendant, who nodded in her direction. Then she was out in the New Orleans night, her feet pounding the pavement at a quick pace. The French Quarter was not a place for a woman to roam alone after dusk, but luckily, her brother’s gallery was just around the corner.
She kept her head up and her shoulders back and peered into every shadow as she passed by the alleyways, giving them wide berth and keeping as much to the lamplight as possible. Finally, she came to the intersection and turned the corner just as a Harley roared to life across the street.
Because she was always subconsciously hoping for that gorgeous hunk of a biker, she turned in that direction to see who had started the engine.
“Oh no. You have got to be kidding me,” she muttered under her breath. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Emma actually came to a standstill when the man gracefully leaned into the bike and straightened it out, kicking the stand up with his motorcycle boot.
She didn’t normally fall for blonds. She preferred the tall-dark-and-handsomes that every other red-blooded American female in existence fell for. But something about this guy grabbed her attention and held tight. As she watched the muscles of his long, strong legs flex beneath his tight jeans, a little voice inside her head gently reminded her that she looked like crap and probably didn’t smell all that great either.
She ignored the voice and kept staring. His hair fell to his shoulders in careless waves, and as he gripped the handlebars of his Harley Night Train, his biceps and triceps bulged against his tight, black T-shirt. Offhand, she wondered what it would feel like to be held down by those arms, to be wrapped up in them, to have those long legs between her—
The man looked up, as if he could sense he was being watched, and their eyes met. His were a piercing ice-blue, and even from this distance, their stark, intense color made her gasp.
She tried to blink and couldn’t. She tried to look away, to pretend she hadn’t noticed him, but like an idiot, she continued to stand there, continued to stare, and vaguely, as if in a dream, she realized that her mouth was hanging open.
The man slowly stood to his full, impressive height. His long, muscled legs straddled the bike as he pinned her with a gaze that said he had damn well noticed her and that there was no way in hell she could pretend to not have noticed him too.
For what seemed like a full minute, the two of them stared at one another. Him with his bike idling in that delicious, low rumble, her with the New Orleans breeze blowing her wild, unkempt hair about her face like a golden halo.
Finally, as if he had all the time in the world, the man eased himself back down onto the bike, never taking his eyes off her. He revved the engine a fe
w times and began to pull away from the parking space and into the street. Still, he watched her.
He wasn’t wearing a helmet and didn’t seem to have one attached anywhere on the bike. Stupid man, Emma thought. Stupid, gorgeous hunk of a man.
And then he smiled.
Emma stopped breathing. It was a stunning smile. He had the most sensual lips that were curved by that smile into a line both enticing—and a little cruel.
As the man at last turned away from her to pay attention to the road and cars ahead, she realized that it had been far from a mere friendly smile.
There had been promise in that smile. And lots of it.
- The Third Kiss: Dorian’s Dream by Heather Killough-Walden
Monsters
a brand new gritty-sexy MC Paranormal Romance Series by Heather Killough-Walden…
Monsters, book one: The Good, The Bad, The Cursed
Angela Clemens, “Angel,” has no love for vampires. She’s second-in-command of her warden clan, and wardens are employed by the sovereigns to police the supernatural realms. So she’s met her fair share of vampires and can certainly deal with them on a professional basis. But fifteen years ago a vampire took something precious from her, turning her life upside down. Vampires are the reason she’s a warden in the first place. To say the least, she doesn’t trust them. And she definitely wouldn’t consider dating one. Especially given the blood in her veins is the blood of a healer, the rarest in the world.
But Jacob Crow of the Monsters MC warden clan sets his green eyes on Angel during an important meeting with the sovereigns. The Native American vampire is called to the meeting along with four other wardens for a priority job. And in that very moment, Angel unwittingly consumes his mind, his heart, and his very sanity. She’s under his skin; he wants her like he’s never wanted anything in his long life. But Jake learns about her past and what his kind did to her. To make matters worse, he learns she’s a healer. Powerful and dangerous men are tirelessly hunting her, and she’s forced to fight those who would otherwise ensnare her.
And he knows she’ll fight him too.
But Jake is a former soldier who has lived through the devil’s nightmares. He’s never been one to back down from a challenge. He doesn’t mind a good fight.
One way or another he’ll break through the healer’s walls – and make Angel give herself to him, body and soul.
“Monsters” is a brand new PNR series by NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Killough-Walden. Monsters takes place in the same universe as The Kings, The Big Bad Wolf, and The Lost Angels series.
Monsters, Book One: The Good, The Bad, The Cursed is available now.
Monsters, Book Two is coming very soon…
(Read on for a wicked delicious teaser!)
Monsters, Book One by Heather Killough-Walden
(teaser)
Cain was quiet while Jake filled his own gas tank. Human motorcycle riders would do well to remain silent while fueling so they could listen carefully and be certain not to over-fill the tank. But Jake wasn’t human, and neither was Cain, and they didn’t need to remain quiet to hear the fuel in the tank just fine. Cain was thinking. And Jake had the sinking feeling he knew what about.
He could feel Cain’s eyes on him. It was unnerving to be scrutinized by such a perceptive man, even after half a century and despite the fact they were best friends. “She knows what we are?” Cain finally asked point blank.
Jake didn’t have to reply. Cain knew damn well Angel had found out about their true nature. The man could probably smell her on Jake, and the entire fucking clan apparently knew they’d done the deed. Jake wouldn’t have done so without being honest with Angel first. She meant too much to him.
She knew what he was. With what she’d been through at the hands of his kind, he was mystified at how she’d handled the news. She’d neither set him on fire nor chopped off his head. Given she was a warden, he would have considered that alone a win. But then she’d let him make love to her on the hood of his car in the middle of the redwood forest.
Jake braced one arm on the seat of his bike as he filled the tank and memories of the feel of her washed over him. It wasn’t a huge tank; it took all of a minute or two before he was done.
“So, you baptize this union yet?” Cain asked as he took the fuel pump from Jake’s hand and inserted it deep into his own gas tank.
Cain wanted to know if Jake had tasted her. In other words, he wanted to know if he’d bitten her.
Jake felt his body stiffen. He turned and leaned back on the seat of his bike, crossing his arms over his chest and his legs at the ankles. He felt wound tight, ready to snap. “You serious right now?” He looked up, meeting Cain’s piercing blue gaze.
“I’ve met your girl, Jake,” Cain said. He laughed softly, no doubt recalling how he’d helped Angel when she’d run from Santiago, right into Monsters territory.
No need to remind me. Even that made Jake mad with jealousy. He didn’t want another man’s hands on Angel…. But if it had to be anyone else who’d helped her that night, he’d have chosen Cain.
“She’s one in a billion,” Cain continued, “and I’m betting despite the fun you had tonight, she’s under your skin. So if she knows what you are, then what’s the hold up?”
Jake looked at the ground and sighed. “I’m not having this discussion with you.” Though he now realized this was exactly why Cain had asked him to partner with him on this poker run. He’d wanted to have this talk about Angel. Which meant Jake probably wasn’t going to get out of it, no matter how hard he fought.
No one said no to Cain. Sometimes they begged it… but that was different.
Cain replaced the fuel nozzle in its casing at the pump. “Jake, a member of my team is driven to the point of distraction, and I can’t have that.” His voice was steady and calm as always, but stern. “I know you love her. And Angel cares for you, right?”
Jake thought about the words her mind had let loose and tried rapidly to cover up. He’d caught them anyway. She definitely cared for him. He was pretty sure she even loved him back.
“And she wants you,” Cain stated.
Jake felt a twinge in his gums where his fangs were once again reminding him they were there and ready. Yeah, she wanted him. Her mind might have convinced her it was a very bad idea to learn everything a vampire had to teach, but her body disagreed whole-heartedly. Jake recalled her hitching breaths, the hammering of her heart, and the scent of her arousal as he’d pinned her to the shining black paint of his car and scraped his teeth along her throat. That, at least, she couldn’t hide from him. “That isn’t the problem,” he ground out.
“Well, I know you want her. Hell, we all know that much. So, take her already.”
“Damn it, Cain….”
Cain recapped his gas tank. He studied Jake in silence, and finally draped his muscled forearm across the left handlebar of his bike. “I get it. You’re scared shitless.”
Jake said nothing. There was no point in either confirming or denying it. Cain already knew. The bastard knew everything.
“You think you’ll lose control and turn her.”
No, I don’t think I will. I know I will.
“Would that be such a bad thing, Crow?”
If Jake had been drinking, he would have choked. His head snapped up, and his green eyes met irises of powerful blue. “I wouldn’t let her go, Cain.” If he turned her, he would keep her. He would never let her leave his side. She would belong to him body, heart, and soul. Because there was no way in hell he would let her sink her little fangs into another man’s throat. Ever.
“I know,” said Cain.
Jake’s gaze narrowed. “What are you telling me right now?”
Cain regarded him in more enigmatic silence for a moment, then he straightened, coming around his bike to mount it. Once in the seat, he kicked up the stand with the heel of his boot and rolled the bike backward with strong legs until he was parallel to Jake, who hadn’t moved.
/> Cain stopped flush with him and looked him in the eye. “Jake, this isn’t Neverland. Whatever it might look like, boys still grow into men. And men need women.” He nodded at Jake’s bike. “That saddle is big enough for two.”
The leader of the Monsters clan started up his bike. The thunder of a V-twin engine filled the gas station’s lot. But Jake heard his companion’s next words loud and clear anyway.
“And frankly, I’m sick of seeing nothing but your ugly mugs around me all the time.” He revved the engine, making it bellow before adding, “I could use something beautiful to look at for a change.”
Jake watched Cain tear out of the lot. His words worked their way through him like a light switch flicking on, a contract being signed.
Permission granted.
And with a small smile creeping onto his sensuous lips and new purpose fueling his determination, Jacob Crow mounted his own motorcycle. The Vincent Black Shadow’s V-twin engine was so finely tuned, he could cold start it with one-kick, and it vibrated to life beneath him like a dream. Thunder signaled a coming storm as Jake roared out of the lot, following Cain’s tail lights into the mist-filled night.
Heather Killough-Walden Reading List:
I, Android series (a brand new pulse-pounding romantic sci-fi thriller series, up for preorder this month at eBook sellers everywhere):
A Different Model
The Trojan Horse (coming soon)
Other I, Android books TBA
The Big Bad Wolf series:
The Heat
The Strip
The Spell
The October Trilogy Complete Box Set Page 48
