One more sleep...

The relaunch of Ardeur is tomorrow. As my kids would say... One more sleep!

My first novel is coming back with a new cover, a  new series title and has been edited by a pro. Isn't it pretty?

I'm blogging today to let you know Ardeur is going up for sale tomorrow. For a limited time, it's being offered at the friendship rate of 99 cents, and that certainly applies to all of my loyal fans and followers.

The print edition won't be out for another two weeks (and if you prefer a print copy, please let me know), but you can find the eBook at Barnes &Noble and Amazon right now. 

Please feel free to pass this friendship deal on to any Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance fans you know, the more the merrier. In any endeavor in life, it's all in who you know!

And now for a bit of fun... I thought you might like to see the people I pictured while writing Ardeur. 

Channing Tatum as Brody Mason Callaghan

Ex-Military (Captain), Werewolf

Brown hair, hazel eyes

Six feet, three inches tall

I know Channing isn't every woman's fantasy but, dayum... he does it for me. Rar. 

Amanda Seyfried as Ardeur Blaise Lisle

Necromancer, Killer for Hire

Blonde hair, blue eyes

Five feet, four inches tall

She's got the sultry but sweet look I envisioned for Ardy down pat. 

Azrael

Angel of Death

Black hair, blue eyes

Six feet, four inches tall 

I have no idea who this guy is. I saw him on another author's blog and... yeah,  perfect.  You'll see why in Cassiela. 

I hope you've all enjoyed this quick peek into the world of Ardeur. I'll be over at Mind Reader on Monday with a giveaway. Hint: the answer is in this blog post.

Have a great weekend everyone and run, don't walk, to get your copy of Ardeur tomorrow!

Danielle 

Launch me baby, one more time...

Yes, I went there.

Now that I've got your attention let me tell you why. I'm re-releasing my first book, Ardeur, on August 19th, 2011 through Red Hot Publishing. Just two short weeks away.  Exciting times!

Anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows I've been hard at work with my editor getting the book polished to within an inch of its life. With that goes a huge thank you to Shontrell Wade of Wade-Staten Services. You rock!

I took some time off from the craziness of formatting and editing (for others) to work on the new cover yesterday. You may be familiar with the old/current cover:

While cute, I'm not in love with it and decided that - with a fresh new face on the inside - there should be one of the outside as well. I posted the new covers on Facebook last night, but I'll put them here too.

Here's the eBook cover: 

And here's the print cover:

It came to my attention during edits that a glossary of terms and characters would be handy, and so... I'm going to include one. Seems not everyone knows what a Nephilim or Dhampyre is.... Who knew?

I'm hoping to have all of the technical stuff done by the weekend so that I can turn my focus toward setting up reviews, guest blogs, etc... My wonderful publisher, Red Hot Publishing, is working on scheduling a book blog tour and I've got my fingers crossed that it goes well.

We'll see. 

Some of you may be wondering about the sequel, Cassiela. I've put it aside for the time being. The book needs a massive rewrite and I've got a few other projects that need completing before I can get back to it. My plate is a little full and, with surgery scheduled for mid-October, I need to clear off as much as I can before I'm laid up for two weeks. 

Two novellas and a revision on a full length novel in two months? Sure, I can do it! LOL, I have to.

On that note, back to work I go.

Danielle

Hooked

Part  I of the Tarnished Tiaras Anthology

The antique ormolu clock on the mantel chimed quarter passed the hour. Its delicate ding nearly drowned out by the activities going on upstairs.  Feminine giggles and sighs interspersed with male groans and the rhythmic thumping of someone’s headboard against the wall blended into the usual soundtrack of my days.

Dust motes floated through the hazy sunshine that shone in through the lace curtained windows. My eyes followed a particularly large spec as it wound down to the floor. The front door flew open and a cool breeze kicked the object of my attention back up into the air.

I followed its trajectory and my eyes settled on the dark outline of the man framed by the bright, sunny day outside. His features were in shadow but I didn’t need to see them to know the face of the man who was standing in our vestibule. He came for me every morning at ten fifteen sharp. Warmth pooled in the bottom of my stomach, a precursor to the heat that would come soon enough.

“Welcome to Fae’s.” Our burly, ear ringed and tattooed security guard Ashvin reached out and pushed the door closed with the hook that replaced his right hand. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Piskie. Belle is waiting for you in the living room. Her room is prepared, as usual.”

Chocolate brown eyes turned nearly black with intensity fixated on me. “Thank you."

My bare feet slid to the carpet as he entered the room. The pale green silk nightgown whispered and tumbled to brush over my ankles as I stood to greet him.

“Good morning, Belle.”

His voice was rich, warm and held the promise of hours of pleasure to come. I knew the nuances of Peter Piskie well. The soft hush of whispered endearments as his palm smacked the round globes of my bottom and the harsh abrasion of commands tempered by kisses and caresses. Peter paid for the best and I prided myself on being exactly that for him.

“Peter. Can I get you a drink before we go upstairs?”

Strong fingers, roughened by hard won calluses, brushed up the smooth, perfumed skin of my arm. A sharp tug undid the ribbon that held my nightgown closed over my shoulder and I glanced down to watch the filmy material droop.

“You have the most beautiful tits.”

One of my eyebrows rose in question as I looked up at him. He returned the expression, with the hint of a smile, and pulled the other ribbon so that the leaf green garment sagged around my waist.

“Spectacular.”

My mouth opened to question him but he silenced me with a look and a raised hand. His hands closed around my waist and held me against him as Peter walked towards the sideboard and sat me on it.

Strong, tanned fingers undid the golden buckle of his belt and the button on his pants slid from its hole. The ripping sound of a zipper being torn open riveted my attention on Peter’s crotch and I bit my lip with anticipation as he released eight inches of thick, marble hard manhood.

I drew my fingers in lazy circles around the dusky rose peaks of my breasts, thighs spread and eager for his invasion. His mood, and the brusque way he’d handled me so far indicated I was in for one hell of a ride. It wasn’t my job to like what he did to me, but I did. I liked it one hell of a lot when he took me hard and fast.

Peter had never taken me in the parlour before and the thrill of possible discovery added an edge to the excitement that had me sopping wet in seconds. The walls of my vagina clenched as he bunched my gown around my waist and stepped closer.

“Peter, please.”

His thumb found the sensitive bundle of nerves between my thighs and tweaked it so hard that I forgot about my nipples and fisted the material of his shirt to pull him closer. The tip of his cock brushed the inside of my left thigh and my hips tilted in automatic invitation.

“No talking Belle.” The pad of his thumb ground against my clit with each word. “I’ve been dreaming of fucking you like this and I will not have us interrupted.”

His left hand wrapped around his shaft at the root and guided the purple head between the glistening wet folds. I watched, fixated, as he fed inch after inch into my aching cleft.

The slow, teasing way he pushed inside misled me into thinking, disappointedly, that Peter was going to do the opposite of what I’d anticipated. I closed my eyes, leaned back against the mirror and prepared to put on my best show of faking it until he pulled back and shoved in so hard we both grunted from the impact.

“Yes.”

Peter’s mouth came down on mine in a harsh clashing of teeth, lips and tongue designed to silence and possess. I pulled the edges of his shirt apart, mindless of the buttons that ripped off and flew around us as my fingers found their way beneath the thin cotton. My nails dug into the hard slabs of his pecs and drew a lusty groan from him that I swallowed with another kiss.

Crystal glasses and china rattled inside the sideboard creating a soft, tinkling music to accompany the wet, sucking sounds our bodies made as Peter fucked me harder than he had ever done.

Our bodies pounded together, every thrust slammed Peter’s thumb into my clit and each whimper that he pulled from my throat grew as the pressure intensified. I wasn’t a screamer but I could feel one building as an intense orgasm took seed and waited, poised on the brink for that one final push that would set it, and me, free.

The unforgiving frame of the mirror biting into my shoulders and the hard twist of my nipple between Peter’s fingers put the perfect edge of pain on the pleasure to send me rocketing over the brink.

A small change in the angle of his thrust and the pinch of Peter’s other hand as it gripped my backside sent me screaming into ecstasy. My heels dug into the hard rounds of his ass and held him deep inside as he groaned hard and filled every bit of my core with thick, creamy jets of his own orgasm.

The door to the parlour flew open and we both looked up, wide-eyed with surprise as my employer, Fae, spotted us.

“Tinkerbelle.”

Peter chuckled as he kissed my cheek. “I always knew you looked good in green for a reason.”

The Erotic Adventures of Sidony Tassen - Part III

Part III

Rain battered and spat on the window of the cozy B&B where Michael had stopped for the night. The storm sounds blended with the shush of the shower and frenetic sighs of the man beneath the rush of water.

Michael’s lavender eyes gazed out the mullioned, rain drenched window. The mist rolled over the emerald carpet of the hills. It ran over the dips and rises, a secret lover fleeing the angry droplets of a jilted spouse come home too soon.

He saw none of it.

Every thought was focused on the scene playing out in his mind’s eye. Glimpses of chestnut curls, voluptuous breasts and creamy, silken skin. She had been on his mind and in Michael’s dreams forever.

“Sidony.”

Michael sighed as his hand worked up the length of his shaft. The smooth skin of his palm covered the velvety tip and squeezed lightly before it resumed with a downward stroke.

The icy water from the shower slid over his flesh but did nothing to cool the burning heat in Michael’s veins. Their latest dream rendezvous had been cut off again and left him molten with need.

His fist pumped furiously up and down the granite length of his cock as he pictured the way Sidony had writhed for him. She’d been poised on the edge, every cry and whimper gliding over his senses and pulling him along with her. He understood the demands of her career but the frequent interruptions were trying his patience. Michael needed to get to her, and soon.

Thoughts focused on Sidony, Michael worked his turgid flesh. Each glide of his hand a reminder of where he needed, wanted, to be – balls deep inside of the woman he was destined to be with.

Several more sweat and shower slick strokes brought on the muscle tightness and tingling at the base of Michael’s spine that heralded his release – and another night alone. The hand on his shaft moved quickly while the other kneaded and rolled the contents of his sack. His forehead pressed against the cool tile. His cry resonated through the small bathroom as thick, creamy jets of cum streamed from his erection to coat the walls.

Michael waited until the tremor in his muscles settled before rinsing off the evidence of his activity and leaving the shower. He wrapped a thick towel around his waist and padded out to sit on the end of the antique poster bed.

He sighed heavily and flopped back on the mattress.

“Sidony,” he whispered. “I can feel you near. Fall asleep and let me in again.”

She had opened up to him every night in the two weeks since their first encounter. After their failed attempt earlier, her resistance to let him in now puzzled Michael.

Their multiple contacts had opened a telepathic channel between them and he tested it in order to draw her out.

“Sidony. Stop fighting.”

“Why?”

Michael’s mind projected her image beside him on the bed and he blinked when she appeared. Her arms were crossed beneath the delicious curves of her breasts. Even fully dressed, she was exquisite and his cock twitched at the sight of her.

“You won’t tell me who you are or how I can find you. This little charade was fun at first but I’m getting tired of it. You’ve said you can free me from this curse. Come get me. Prove it.”

He rolled to his stomach and grimaced when his face connected with the soaked comforter. She was right, and he knew full well that he could go to her anytime he wished.

“Unlock your door. Trust me, sweetheart. You’ll have me tonight. I promise.”

∞

Sidony opened her eyes and blinked at the ceiling. He was coming. Whoever her dream lover was, he was coming tonight, and she would be free. The curse would be gone and sex would once again be something enjoyable.

Her feet hit the floor and Sidony set about preparing the room she was staying in. The B&B was decorated in typical old English inn style. Flowery patterned wall paper, furniture in shades of pastel pinks, greens and blue and miles of lace. 

Thunder boomed outside. The rain slashed against the window panes in a furious onslaught that hadn’t let up since it had started just before noon.

Sidony pushed aside the curtains that covered her French doors and watched the mist ghost across her small patio. It was an eerie night, almost perfect for breaking curses. Releasing the fall of lace, she turned back to the room to find the landlady’s supply of candles. With a storm raging outside, the candles would provide ambiance and prevent the lights from blazing on at an inopportune moment.

A few moments later the room was lit by a soft glow and Sidony was dressed in a black silk dressing gown. She checked her appearance in the mirror above the dresser and sat on the edge of the bed to wait.

Soft ticking from the clock on the mantle counted the minutes until finally a knock sounded on the thick wooden door. Sidony rose, pulled open the door and gasped at who she found standing on the other side.

“Jason? What is he doing with you?”

The man she recognized from the dreams they had shared stepped forward and, despite her surprise at seeing Jason, heat pooled in Sidony’s abdomen.

“We need him, sweetheart. Jason is part of the key to breaking your curse.”

She looked at the two men as they entered the room. Confusion warred with need and desire as she watched the dark silk of their pants mould to the curves of their backsides when they walked.

They were a truly magnificent sight to behold. The contrast of light and dark between the two of them was a feast to Sidony’s hungry eyes. Michael’s hair was loose and curled above his shoulders in a shinning tangle of waves. Jason’s pants rode his hips in his usual sexy way. 

“But… I thought. The dreams? It was only you and me then.”

Jason cast a glance at the other man and, when he nodded, pulled Sidony towards the French doors. He tucked a curl behind her ear and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Michael explained a few things to me. He’s the one you need to break the curse, and you need me to help get the two of you there.”

Sidony looked over at the man she now knew as Michael and offered him her hand. His warm palm covered hers and she smiled as the three of them moved towards the large bed. They lifted her onto the mattress and she held her breath as they joined her.

Michael reached to undo the sash of her robe and Sidony watched, wide eyed as his fingers tugged on the silk and it came loose. The edges of her robe fell away to reveal the quick rise and fall of her chest beneath the heavy globes of her breasts.

“Relax, Sid. You know us. Me, you know in the flesh and Michael in your dreams. You’ve been waiting for this…for us.”

Jason crooked a finger beneath Sidony’s chin and tilted her face up for a gentle kiss.  His tongue brushed over hers, a tender, familiar tango they’d danced before. He turned her in his arms and pulled the robe off Sidony’s shoulders baring her to Michael’s hungry gaze.

A small golden pot appeared in Michael’s hand. He opened it and pressed a kiss to the valley between Sidony’s breasts as he began to rub scented oil into her skin. Both men began to chant quietly in the ancient tongue of the vampire race as their hands worked their magic on her body.

Each stroke of their oil slicked fingers set Sidony on fire. The press of their lips set shivers down her spine and their breath sent goose bumps parading over her skin. She moaned and writhed as her skin became a living thing under their combined touches.

The silk sheets Sidony had insisted on were a blessing as they would hide the blood that would come later but they were a curse now as they whispered across her sensitized skin. She wanted to scream out her frustration but all that came from Sidony’s lips were Michael and Jason’s names whispered on moans.

Michael pressed kisses up the inside of her thighs and blew gently on her over sensitized skin as Jason cupped her breasts from behind and pulled an earlobe between his teeth.

Sidony’s ass ground into Jason’s groin as she frantically pulled at Michael’s hair to bring his face up to hers. He ran his tongue up her warm cleft and groaned as he slid the hard planes of his body against hers to bring his face up to Sidony’s. 

“Mmm...warm strawberries.  Tell us what you want, love.  What do you need?”

Jason slid the heated length of his silken cock between the warm folds of her core and hissed.  “Is this what you want?  Do you want us inside?” 

He thrust against her and Sidony’s thoughts scrambled as the tip of him bumped her clit. She could do nothing but nod as a whimper escaped her lips.

Michael stretched himself in front of her and pulled Sidony’s left leg over his hip as he slowly thrust deep inside of her. She leaned back and hooked her hand around Jason’s hip to pull him closer as he thrust in rhythm with Michael.

Sidony’s senses swirled and images danced in her mind as she drowned in the scents their bodies released as they neared the point where the men pressing into her body would sink their fangs into her flesh. Michael smelled of spiced vanilla and Jason had the scent of warm sugar.

As her scent mixed in with theirs Sidony felt the sharp piercing of her flesh as they recognized the signal and began marking her. Jason sank his fangs into the flesh of her right shoulder and Michael took the left.

The smell of fresh ripe strawberries filled the room as the speed of their thrusting increased and Sidony felt her body tighten as it poised to climax.

Her cries became frantic with need as they sucked at her skin and increased the speed of their thrusts. She pushed and pulled at them as the urgency built and their breath came in shorter bursts against her skin.

A scream burst from Sidony’s lips and her body arched back as she came, hard. She forgot who was where and even where she was for a moment as Sidony gave herself over to the violent tumult of the orgasm.

The second orgasm slammed into her so hard that Sidony screamed her release as her body arched and writhed. She bucked between them like a bronco held too long in the chute and it was all they could do to keep her between them.

Sidony moaned incoherently as both men gave one final thrust and spilled their own orgasms into her quivering sheath.

Her body gave one last shudder and a dark purple glow spilled out over Michael’s face as she looked into his glowing lavender eyes. He pushed a strand of damp hair out of her eyes and gasped, “You’re eyes. Jason, look at her eyes.”

Jason rolled Sidony onto her back and the glow flooded the room. She turned to look into the soft blue glow of his eyes and he grinned triumphantly.

“Cool.  You’re eyes are purple.”

Sidony’s eyes widened.  “What does that mean?”

Michael traced his fingers over the mark on her shoulder and whispered, “It means we did it right. The curse is broken and you’re free.”

The Erotic Adventures of Sidony Tassen - Part II

Part II

“Jason. Oh, gods.”

Sidony’s hips lifted and ground against the thick cock that filled her. Jason’s warm tongue teased at her own as she writhed beneath him. Slick skin slid over dampened silk sheets. Pillows slithered to the floor with a soft hiss and thump that went unnoticed beneath the echoes of moans and flesh meeting flesh.

“Almost…there. I can…feel it.”

Jason sighed and rolled away to look over at her. His blue eyes took in the concave dip of her belly, the up thrust globes of her full breasts and lips slightly parted as she panted.

“No, you can’t.” He kissed her glistening shoulder and rolled over to give Sidony a kiss filled with the lingering taste of her own musky juices. “You’re not even close.”

“I never will be if you keep stopping like that.”

She turned her body towards his, a lithe thigh sliding over his muscular one. Her hips tilted against Jason as she sought to take him back inside.

“Sid, no.” Jason kissed the tip of her nose and pulled back. “We’ve been at it for three hours now. I’ve come more times than I can count and you – haven’t come close even once. We have to stop, Sidony.”

Unwilling to give up, Sidony reached for him and growled when her fingers grasped nothing but musky, vanilla scented air. “I…but…we…”

She looked up from the bed as he slipped dark blue silk boxers over his hips. The desperation in her voice, her expression, was a large pink elephant in the middle of the bed - difficult to ignore, yet there all the same.

“Face it. I’m not the one Sidony.”

“You have to be. The armor fits you.” Sidony sat up and pulled the sheet over her breasts. “You even said so yourself.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed heavily as he buttoned up the fly on his jeans. “It almost fit. Almost. I have to go. Pete and I have an early flight in the morning.”

Sidony sat, dumbfounded, as she watched him pick up his shirt and quietly leave her hotel room.

“Jason, wait.”

Her call came a moment too late as the door closed. Silence fell around her, deafening in its finality and she fell back against the mattress. She blinked at the ceiling once, twice and then closed her eyes as the first tears slid into the dark masses of her hair.

Sleep tugged at her and Sidony gave in to the undertow of fatigue as it pulled her under into the currents of a dream.

“Sidony.” A warm hand slid up the inside of her thigh. The sheets bunched around her hips as the questing touch neared her core. “Open your eyes and look at me. Watch me take you, push you over the edge you’ve been craving.”

Her eyes fluttered open and gazed down at the violet ones hidden behind a black domino. His face, framed by short, dark curls hovered near her navel. Lush lips curved in a cocky smile to match the wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Who are you?”

“Not important.” His tongue darted out and licked around the circumference of Sidony’s navel before dipping in. The soft, pink tip fluttered inside, mimicking what it would do were it a few inches lower.

Sidony moaned. Her fingers dug into his ebony curls as her hips tilted invitingly towards the fingers that traced the crease of her thigh.

“Open for me Sidony. Let me taste the delicious heaven I know is in there.”

The heat of his breath on her sensitive flesh as she opened for him aroused Sidony more than she’d been in decades. Her mind wanted to stop and analyze why she was so responsive to the masked stranger; but her body, it wanted to slap a muzzle on her brain and enjoy the ride.

His thumbs parted her folds and cool air rushed over Sidony’s skin before the heat of his mouth closed over her clit. The firm brush of his tongue seared the blood in her veins and she lifted her hips against his mouth.

“More. Gods, please…more.”

A soft hum of satisfaction vibrated against her skin and Sidony’s head dropped back into the pillows. Her back arched up off the bed as she pulled his hair to keep her dream lover from removing his mouth and ending the pleasure she craved desperately.

Every muscle was on high alert, tensed and poised to experience the one thing that had eluded Sidony for a hundred years – a blissful, mind-numbing orgasm.

Thick fingers pushed inside of her eager flesh that gripped tight in hungry needful contractions and pulled them in further.

“Yes, please, please, yes.”

He began a slow, languorous series of thrusts despite the frantic grinding against his hand and mouth. The gently curved tips of his fingers brushed over the anterior wall of Sidony’s vagina, each entry and retreat pushing her that tiny bit closer to the edge.

Sidony dug her nails into her lover’s scalp, a scream ready to rip from her throat as the next thrust, the next lick promised to send her over the edge.

The shrill ring of the telephone on the bedside table snapped Sidony out of her dream. Blood pumped madly through every inch of her body, her muscles throbbed with unreleased energy and her breath pushed passed her lips in short, frustrated pants.

She reached over and yanked the receiver from the cradle.

“What?”

“Good morning, Miss Tassen. This is your four a.m. wake up call, as requested. Your car will be here at six sharp.”

“Thank you.” Sidony dropped the phone back onto the table and rolled to her stomach. Face down in the mattress she punched it and screamed into the best Sealy Posturepedic had to offer.

∞

Astrid dropped into the seat next to Sidony and slipped her seat belt on before turning to assess her friend. Dark hair tied back in a ponytail, sunglasses, jeans, t-shirt and a distinct lack of makeup told her something was up.

“Spill it. You’ve been in a bitch since you came down and if I’ve got to endure the crabby assed routine all the way back home; you’re going to damn well tell me why.”

Pushing the shades up to sit on top of her head, Sidony pinned Astrid with an annoyed look. She gave her a brief rundown of the failed mattress marathon with Jason and the promising dream that had been cut short just as she’d been about to come, hard.

“Ohmygod, dude. That’s one hella harsh night.”

“I know. I have to find him, Astrid. He’s out there somewhere and if he can get me that close in a dream… I have to find him. Period.”

“We will.” Astrid patted her arm. “I have a feeling we’ll find him, and it will be in the last place we expected.”

∞

“You’ll make sure to put it somewhere she can’t fail to see it?”

The courier nodded and tucked the thick, vellum envelope beneath his arm. “Yes, sir. It will be in plain sight for Ms. Tassen when she gets home.”

Michael tucked an ebony curl behind his ear and nodded. “Good. Thank you.”

“No problem, sir.”

“Michael.” A shrill voice called behind him and Michael turned his gaze away from the man dressed in the brown uniform to face his mother. “What are you doing?”

“Sending a package. What does it look like I’m doing?”

Ingrid Mongovian reached her son’s side and glared after the courier as he cleared the main doors and attained freedom. “I wasn’t aware that we had anything going out today.”

“We didn’t. I did.”

“Who was the package destined for?”

“None of your business, mother.” Michael moved to pass her but Ingrid gripped his arm. He looked up at her with what he hoped was ice in his violet eyes and she let go. “It’s time someone set Sidony free from the curse Aunt Amy put on her. It was stupid and vindictive.”

“She slept with the King. That little baggage deserves to suffer for disgracing the Queen.”

Michael growled. “The Queen died fifty years ago and the King has long since forgotten the likes of Sidony Tassen.”

“Clearly, you haven’t.” Ingrid huffed and twitched away an invisible spec of lint on her pristine business suit. “I could kill my sister for tying you into that stupid curse.”

“She did, and whether you like it or not, I am going to release her from it, Mother.” He turned his back on her and headed toward the elevators, and his office. “I’ve already given her a taste of what I can do for her. Now that she knows I’m out there, you can bet your ass she’ll come looking for me with a vengeance.”

The elevator dinged to announce its arrival and Michael grinned at his mother’s cry of outrage as he stepped inside and the doors closed behind him. The game was afoot and he was determined to see that it had a satisfactory outcome for himself but most of all, for Sidony.

The Erotic Adventures of Sidony Tassen

Part I

Sidony reclined against the smooth silk pillows that crowded the head of her king sized bed. She arranged her dark curls to fall artfully around her and waited for tonight’s playmate to enter her bedroom.

In the century since her twenty first birthday, the day she’d been found in the King’s bed and cursed, Sidony had a different lover, or two, in her bed every night.

This night’s entertainment had dropped onto her radar at the bakery down the street from her office. A seductive smile, a flash of cleavage and he’d been ready to accommodate her every whim. Then again, they always were – her curse ensured that she would always be alluring to the opposite sex. Problem was - the sorceress hadn’t been clear if her savior would be one of the men of her race or a human male. 

"My lady?" The door swung soundlessly on the plush carpet, the dimness in the hallway brightened the soft candle light in the room. Sidony glanced up and her inner sex kitten purred. Hello, lover.

Her eyes focused on the large vampyre in front of her. She took in every detail of him. Jason’s blonde hair gleamed a burnished gold and his skin, soon to be under her fangs, had been kissed and caressed by the summer sun. Gods, I love my life - sometimes.

He stepped inside the room and stood just beyond the doorway, helmet tucked under an arm thick with muscle. Her playmate was a foot taller than her and not even the obsidian centurion’s uniform he had on could hide that he was very well muscled.

“Come in.” Sidony’s eyes wandered past the embossed breastplate to the short leather skirting and the bare legs below it. He’d left off the sandals. Bad boy. She shifted against the pillows and let the cream colored sheet fall to her waist. "Tell me soldier, what brings you to me?"

His sky blue eyes flashed with desire and followed the silken material as it slid over her breasts. Hunger darkened his eyes and the way his fangs flashed when he smiled moistened Sidony’s core. "I have been assigned as your new personal guard m'lady. I am never to leave your side."

"Do you like what you see soldier?" She stepped from the bed and its puddles of slippery sheets. The fingers of her left hand toyed lazily with the pebbled nipple of her breast as she drew closer to him. "Come; let me show you what your duties entail."

He tossed the helmet aside and pulled her against the cold metal covering his chest. “This really gets you off?”

The filigreed emblem on the uniform abraded her nipples and forced a moan from Sidony’s throat. “I hope so.”

Jason reached up to unbuckle and she slid her hands over his sides to help. The uniform fit his large frame better than she’d expected.

“This thing is a perfect fit. Almost as if it was made for me.”

Sidony hid the startle his words caused behind her hair. She tossed the breastplate aside and looked back up at him with a coy smile. “This old thing?” …was made for the man who will finally give me what I’ve been cursed never to have again...release.

His upper body was a delicious expanse of hard muscle under golden skin. He wasn’t a battle scarred warrior like the men who’d originally worn the uniform. No, he’d been trained for a far different kind of war - one Sidony was excited to let him win. The battlefield of her body his to plunder at will.

The leather skirting followed the rest of his outfit to the floor.

His swollen cock was thick, the head a velvety purple that declared his arousal. A dewy drop of moisture beaded and spilled over to coat the satiny skin that Sidony’s mouth watered to taste. Inch upon rock hard inch of him sprung from the golden thatch at his groin and strained past the hollow of Jason’s navel. The man was glorious.

“Gods, that’s beautiful.” Her words were a whisper as Sidony took in the size of her bedmate.

Sidony licked her lips in anticipation and drew a finger over his length. The steady movement of her hand a mask that hid the tremor of hope inside. Was this it? Was he the one? "You’re perfect."

Jason knelt on the bed and pulled her beneath him. He dipped his head to nip at the underside of her right breast and Sidony dug her fingers into the thick waves of his hair as his fangs grazed her skin. “Mhmm, and you’re about to find out just how right you are – repeatedly."

A ragged moan slipped passed Sidony’s lips as she ground herself against him. His heavy chest vibrated with a chuckle. He pressed back against her moistened core and pushed her that much closer to the ever elusive orgasm she craved. Freedom was so close she could taste it. "You’re an eager one."

"It’s been a hell of a long time since a man like you has been in my bed. Eager is an understatement, soldier."

His strong, firm hands slid between them. Fingers roughened by calluses traced up her legs to thighs parted and trembling with anticipation for his invasion. "So soft and warm. I can feel your heat from here."

Jason’s thumb found her clit and rubbed a slow circle around it. He sheathed two thick fingers inside of her and Sidony arched into him as a rush of heat flooded her veins.

“When you scream my name,” he whispered. “Scream Jason - not Soldier.”

Sidony dug her nails into his scalp and grunted as she tried to take in even more of him. “If you can get me off – I’ll call you whatever you god damn want.”

“If I can?” Jason licked up the column of her throat. “Baby, you’re about to come so hard you’ll forget your own name.”

“Prove it.”

∞

The next afternoon the phone on Sidony’s desk rang and snapped her out of a vision. She listened for the intercom buzz from the outer office and tried to shake the images of chocolate covered flesh from her mind. She stopped short of answering the call and then jammed down on the button anyway. “Shit. So much for relaxation time.”

"Hey Sid. Your mom’s on line two.”

Sidony groaned. The phone ringing had put a dampener on the mental peep show she’d been trying to enjoy. Mention of her mother killed it.

"Hey Astrid. Clear our calendar for the next two weeks and tell mom I’m in a meeting." She hung up the phone and made a mental note to try out the things she’d seen in the vision.

Her best friend and secretary, Astrid, appeared in the office doorway two minutes later. Sidony smiled and waved her into a chair. "How soon can you pack a suitcase and meet me at my place?"

Astrid plopped her five foot six inch frame into a chair and her ruby red curls bounced around her shoulders. "We going on another orgasm quest?"

Sidony’s grin widened. She shook her head and shared some of the details of the unsuccessful date she’d had the night before with her while she wiped down the phone, and her fingers, with a wet nap. "I've got a sudden urge to visit Italy. You game?"

"Gladiators, hmm? As long as we can make a detour for some shopping in Milan, I'll clear the schedule for the next two months." Her chartreuse colored eyes glittered at the prospect of a shopping trip. The woman loved her couture.

Astrid bounced out of the office and Sidony laughed. She really loved that the little redheaded vampyre was such a good friend and so easy going. She put up with so much of Sidony’s shit. Seriously. The woman deserved a Nobel Prize for her patience.

A few minutes later she heard her secretary on the phone cancelling appointments. "Is this the office of Dr. Mongovian? I'm calling from the office of Dr. Sidony Tassen. She was scheduled to meet with him next week but has been called away on a family emergency and will be unable to attend. She sends her sincere apologies and will reschedule for another time."

∞

The bartender placed two beers on the counter in front of Jason and his friend slid a few bills back in payment.

"What are you staring at, Jase?" Pete followed Jason’s gaze and caught sight of the brunette and redhead down the bar.

"Ah, I see. Those two have been in every bar in town for the past two weeks. Sex in stilettos if I've ever seen it, my friend."

Jason turned his sky blue eyes to the shorter man. "You're such an ass, Pete."

Pete laughed, "Come on, man. The brunette is seriously hot and the redhead? Can you say dick magnet?"

He turned to nudge Jason in the arm only to find him gone.  "Where the hell did he go?"

The bartender smirked and tipped his head in the direction of the women he'd been talking about.

Astrid and Sidony were dressed to impress. There was more skin showing than not and the men were taking notice. They had been inside the bar for two hours and were finally sitting down to order drinks.

This was the girls’ last night in Italy and Sidony had yet to find her entertainment for the night. She could hear the buzzer getting louder in her head, feel the telltale tug of power that told her that he, the one who could help her, was nearby.

Astrid nudged Sidony with her elbow as she tilted her head to the left. "Sid, that guy down the bar is eating you with his eyes."

"Which one?" She turned quickly to see down the bar as Astrid described a tall blonde in a blue t-shirt. Yeah, Captain Subtle she was not.

The tug turned into a pull as she heard Astrid whisper her name. Sidony turned and looked straight into a wall of muscle covered in blue cotton. Hello beefcake. Come to mama.

Sidony’s eyes followed the cotton up to familiar sky blue eyes that glowed as they bore into hers. Jason, the gladiator she’d brought home from the bakery. Shit.

"Wanna get out of here? Give me another shot?"

It took her brain a few seconds to catch up but she finally nodded. She turned to let Astrid know where she was going but her friend had disappeared. "Sure."