Trickster (Angelbound Lincoln Book 3)
Page 24
This is so awesome, I can hardly stand it.
For weeks, I’ve been practicing conjuring my Scala robes into different forms. At the same time, I’ve also been hoarding up the whole weapons fashion show idea as the perfect Get Out Of Jail Free card for the right opportunity.
And today’s when opportunity knocks. Yeah.
Lincoln slides onto a black velvet bench. He wears his medieval best, which means chain mail and a tunic. Setting his silver crown onto a nearby table, my guy fixes me with a stare that’s can only be described as seriously hot.
“Show me,” he commands.
The words rumble with just the right level of growl. My inner lust demon wakes up, big time.
Closing my eyes, I picture my Scala robes in a new shape. The threads instantly realign around my body, changing from a white sheath dress into pale body armor. Hefty boots now cover my feet, replacing the sandals I usually wear.
Lincoln gives me the barest of nods. “Good.”
There’s an unspoken challenge in that word, though. Why? I change into this particular vintage of body armor all the time. Lincoln is waiting for a new creation.
Have I ever got something for him.
This brings me to the tricky part of my Scala robe situation. My garment can take different forms, but I can’t eliminate the number of threads in the final creation. For instance, when I tried to create some hefty knightly armor, it cut off around my thighs. That was awkward.
“Here’s the thing,” I say in my own version of a growl. “There are multiple ways to go to war.”
Closing my eyes, I ask the robes to take the form of a human style gown with a plunging neckline, no sleeves, and a long train behind me.
That’s precisely what happens.
Lincoln sizes me up for a long moment before speaking again. “Turn around.”
Good call. No self-respecting fashion exists without a catwalk. I step in a slow circle. “Well?”
Lincoln rises. “Dangerous weaponry, indeed.”
He stalks toward me, every line of his body taught with focus. My blood rushes while my tail flicks behind me in a predatory rhythm. Lincoln pauses once we’re almost—but not quite—touching. With slow movements, he pulls off his tunic and chain mail, exposing his bare chest.
Mmm-mmm. My guy is ripped. Even better, he’s got a series of battle scars across his skin that are just so lickable, it isn’t even funny. My inner lust demon roars her approval. Lifting my hand, I slowly run my fingertip over the trio of silvery scars that mark his shoulder. Lincoln shivers at my touch. My core tightens, seeing how I affect him.
Clasping my wrist, Lincoln pulls my hand to his lips, where he places a gentle kiss on my palm. The touch of his mouth sends a jolt of desire through my body.
Things get a little crazy from here. In short order, we’re kissing each other’s faces off. My legs wrap around Lincoln’s waist while he presses my back against the wall. Somehow my gown gets half-removed. The garment now pools around my waist while Lincoln’s rough hands do positively eye-crossing things to my nipples.
It’s official. I love warrior fashion show.
As we kiss, I run my hands across the shifting muscles of Lincoln’s back. The experience is mind numbing. I barely register the low hum in the room. Well, not beyond a single thought.
Fuck that noise.
Lincoln drives me harder against the wall. Our bare chests press together while his hands grip my thighs just a little too harshly.
All of a sudden, a familiar voice echoes through the room.
“Oh, no.”
My stomach sinks. I know that super-deep tone.
Walker is here.
In a single swift movement, Lincoln flips to face Walker while placing me behind him. I quickly order my Scala robes to back into their regular full sheath shape. Scooching closer to Lincoln, I peep over my guy’s shoulder. Facing Class A demons in battle? Not a problem. Thinking my honorary older brother just saw my boobs? I’d really like to find a place to hide for about a thousand years, minimum.
Walker stands in the center of the room. I’d say all the blood drained from his body, but as a ghoul he’s already deadly pale. Still there’s no denying the way Walker sets his palms against his eyes. The guy is freaked.
“Ow, my retinas,” moans Walker. “That was more than I needed to see.”
Unlike us, Walker’s dressed casually, meaning jeans, a black T-shirt, and hefty boots. Behind my honorary older brother, a large door-shaped hole blinks out of existence. Unbelievable. Walker opened a freaking ghoul portal into the very chamber where I was having sexy time.
When Lincoln next speaks, his voice is ice. “Then don’t barge into places where you’ve been specifically forbidden.”
Walker sighs. “Like I’d let Igor stop me.”
Lincoln glances over his shoulder. When my guy addresses me, his voice softens. “Are you all set now?”
“Yup, fine.” Unless you count the layers of humiliation encircling my soul.
“My sincere apologies,” says Walker.
“It’s totally cool,” I lie.
Lincoln doesn’t move an inch. Normally, I’d appreciate the ongoing gun show, but this is getting awkward. “Why are you here, Walker?”
“I just returned from my trip and wanted to chat about the new orphan home I’m designing for Nat. I think it will perfectly suit all the freed orphans, but I want your ideas.”
When Walker’s really freaked, he babbles. Right now is shaping up to be a classic example.
“Oh,” continues Walker. “I also wish to show you pictures from the cruise. The buffet was amazing.”
“Walker,” says Lincoln.
“I took snapshots of all my drinks, too. The cough syrup cocktails were—”
“Walker!” Okay, my voice came out on the loud side that time. Sorry not sorry.
“Fine,” says Walker quickly. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Another hum sounds. Walker opens a fresh ghoul portal, steps through the door-shaped hole, and vanishes.
Boo. What a mood killer.
I frown. “Maybe we should go to the conclave.”
“Not a chance,” says Lincoln. “Someone made me promises.”
“I did?”
Lincoln turns until we’re chest to chest once more. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me close against him.
“Promises,” I say slowly. “I like where this is going.”
3
Lincoln
Myla runs her fingertips down my bare chest. “Tell me about these promises… in a minute.” She lightly scratches my six pack.
“Here I am, wanting to talk.” I mock-sigh. “Yet to you, I’m merely one big slice of man cake.”
Myla lifts her hands. “Not true. I’m so done with obsessing about your abs.”
“Really.”
“I’ve moved on to your super personality.”
“And?”
“Maybe your glutes.”
“To refresh your memory, you promised to give me details about BAEJS.”
“Oh, that.” Myla worries her lower lip with her teeth. “I don’t know what to say.”
“How about I kick things off, then?” I gently rub my nose along the length of hers. “I’ll share the things I like about you first.”
“Oh, I love this idea.”
“To begin with, I worship your curves.” To accent this point, I brush my fingertips over Myla’s breasts. She lets out a low moan and Heaven help me, I crave that sound. I glide my hands lower. “I adore your responsiveness.” Myla’s moans turn even deeper. “And then, there are your lips.” I gently kiss the corner of her mouth. “You make me crazy, Myla Lewis.”
She looks up at me through her lashes. “My turn, I guess.” Her irises flash crimson.
“Your eyes are sparking again.”
“They only do that for you, Lincoln.”
“And those may be the sexiest words you’ve ever spoken. Consider your promise kept.”
The End
The adventure continues with BACULUM (Angelbound Lincoln Book #3). Order today!
BACULUM
Lincoln’s adventures continue with BACULUM (Angelbound Lincoln Book #3). Order today!
Also By Christina Bauer
ANGELBOUND
Revisit ANGELBOUND, the kick-ass paranormal romance with more than 1 million copies sold!
OFFSPRING
The next generation takes on Heaven, Hell, and everything in between with MAXON!
FAIRY TALES OF THE MAGICORUM
A modern fairy tale that USA Today calls a ‘must-read!’ Check out WOLVES AND ROSES!
DIMENSION DRIFT
A kick-ass heroine + a swoon-worthy prince + an all-girl heist = the DIMENSION DRIFT series!
BEHOLDER
Medieval mages… Slow-burn love… And heart-pounding action! Check out the BEHOLDER series!
PIXIELAND DIARIES
PIXIELAND DIARIES tells the story of sassy pixie Calla and ‘her’ elf prince, Dare.
Appendix
If You Enjoyed This Book…
…Please consider leaving a review, even if it’s just a line or two. Every bit truly helps, especially for those of us who don’t write by the numbers, if you know what I mean.
Plus I have it on good authority that every time you review an indie author, somewhere an angel gets a mocha latte. For reals.
And angels need their caffeine, too.
Acknowledgments
If you’re reading my freaking acknowledgements, chances are, I should thank you for something. So, for the record: you are awesome, dear reader.
That said, huge and heartfelt thanks must go out to my husband and son for their rock-solid support. Being an author means a lot of early mornings, late nights, long weekends, and never-ending patience. You two are the best guys in the universe, period.
After that, I must thank the extensive network of reviewers, friends and colleagues who helped me build my writing chops in general. Gracias.
Finally, deep affection goes out to my late, much loved, and dearly missed Aunt Sandy and Uncle Henry. You saw the writer in me, always. Thank you, first and last.
Collected Works
Angelbound Lincoln
The Angelbound experience as told by Prince Lincoln
1. Duty Bound
2. Lincoln
3. Trickster
4. Baculum (future)
5. Angelfire (future)
Angelbound Origins
About a quasi (part demon and part human) girl who loves kicking butt in Purgatory's Arena
1. Angelbound
2. Scala
3. Acca
4. Thrax
5. The Dark Lands
6. The Brutal Time
7. Armageddon
8. Quasi Redux (coming 2020)
ALSO: Origins Box Set (Books 1-5)
Angelbound Offspring
The next generation takes on Heaven, Hell, and everything in between
1. Maxon
2. Portia
3. Zinnia
4. Rhodes
5. Kaps (future)
6. Huntress (future)
ALSO: Offspring Box Set (Books 1-3)
Fairy Tales of the Magicorum
Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
1. Wolves and Roses
2. Moonlight and Midtown
3. Shifters and Glyphs
4. Slippers and Thieves
5. Bandits and Ball Gowns (coming 2020)
6. Evil Queens and Goblin Kings (future)
ALSO: Magicorum Box Set (Books 1-3)
Dimension Drift
Dystopian adventures with science, snark, and hot aliens
1. Scythe
2. Umbra
3. Alien Minds
4. ECHO Academy (coming 2020)
5. Drift Warrior (future)
ALSO: Dimension Drift Box Set (Books 1-3)
Pixieland Diaries
Sassy pixie Calla loves elf prince Dare. Too bad he hasn’t noticed her. Yet.
1. Pixieland Diaries (coming 2020)
2. Calla (future)
3. Dare (future)
Beholder
Where a medieval farm girl discovers necromancy and true love
1. Cursed
2. Concealed
3. Cherished
4. Crowned
5. Cradled
ALSO: Beholder Box Set (Books 1-5)
About Christina Bauer
Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too. Christina lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
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@CB_Bauer
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Afterword
Dear Reader,
If you’re still reading at the end of the book, I thought you might enjoy some extra insights on how and why I wrote TRICKSTER.
Before I get into that, I first need to provide some context on how I interpret the hero versus heroine’s journey.
Some Stuff on the Heroine’s Journey
In my interpretation, a hero’s journey can be experienced by a man or a woman. It’s about the underlying energy, not your physical form. In this sense, heroes are about saving the status quo from threat. For instance, think Jack and the Beanstalk or James Bond. The fabric of society doesn’t get rewoven because a giant was killed or Doctor Evil didn’t blow up another atomic bomb.
This isn’t how it works with a heroine’s journey. Heroine’s energy (which again can be expressed by a man or woman) is about re-imagining society. Think Star Wars. Luke learned to to feel his feelings and as a reward—WHAM—he got to wear a dress and upend the evil government! the classic example through time is the story of Isis, but her tale isn’t as popular as Star Wars, so there you go.
Heroine’s journeys are extra tricky because you need an inner change to match with the outer one. In other words, it’s not like James Bond is a different guy at the end of each movie. But Luke Skywalker certainly became a new man by the end of the first trilogy. In my opinion, I think this is because as you change the outside world, it’s a symbol for altering your inner life. So heroine’s journeys need a strong character arc.
The Bitch About Writing TRICKSTER
Now we get to the tricky part. Some of the most fun and engaging character arcs take place when your heroine falls in love. But what about after? Isn’t that where most of life takes place anyway? What about that?
Not gonna lie. There aren’t many new character arcs for committed couples… after they fall in love.
About Test Pilots (Seriously)
Which brings me to test pilots. (Hang in here; I do have a point!) A regular person says, “holy fuck, I’ve got three seconds before this plane crashes!” A test pilot says, “cool, I’ve three seconds to fix this.” I think there’s a similar thing happening in writing. I think there are authors who say, “no one’s writing stories like this? Run!” While another type cries, “No one’s doing this? Count me in!” I happen to fall in this latter category. I
t’s how I got into story telling about kick-ass chicks in the first place.
My Final Point (And I Do Have One)
In TRICKSTER, I wanted to tackle the problem of finding a fresh inner journey for both Myla and Lincoln.
In the end, the arc in TRICKSTER became one where our hero and heroine needed to ignore the world and support each other. And not in the sense of a mother supporting a child, but specifically for a white dude supporting his partner outside of saying let’s fall in love because, dammit, that’s a good story to celebrate.
We all question ourselves sometimes, and having a strong and supportive life partner can help you stay on track. In TRICKSTER, no one’s trying to fix the other person. Both Myla and Lincoln love and protect each other as is.
And that’s a symbol our relationship as well, dear reader. I’m so thankful that folks like you exist. You enjoy reading stories about this kind of love and journey as much as I like writing them. You help me stay on track, too.
See you at the next book!
CB