I let out a little growl, playfully nipping him on the nose. “What are you going to do about it? Going to scratch my itch? Going to give me a taste of what you have under those pants?”
“You want it, babe? You want it hard and fast?”
“Hard, fast, and deep.” And the energy shifted again, from playful to serious as I pulled away, crooking my finger as I backed up to the bed. “Come get me if you want me.”
He unbuckled his belt and slid it out from the loops, then stripped out of his pants. He was glorious, dark and rich skin shimmering in the dim light. I gazed at his cock, hungry and licking my lips.
Responding to my challenge, he strode over, grabbing me up and tossing me on the bed. The next moment, he landed between my legs, his lips fastening around one nipple to tease and nip at me. I let out a little cry as he lowered his lips to between my legs, and the next moment, he was licking me, his tongue creating delicious swirls. I could barely catch my breath as he continued, unrelenting, until I couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything but the pulse of his tongue driving me higher. Panting, I let out a choked cry as I came, hard and sharp, and tears began to run down my face as the stress of the past few days let go in one long wave of release.
Shade immediately rose up to thrust his cock deep inside me, and I wrapped my legs around his back, rocking with him as we drove the demons into the night, pushing them away with our passion.
And, in the midst of death and destruction, there was this: the stroke of his cock, inside me, creating the union that made all the pain and worry worth it. As he came, I let go and, once again, tumbled into the minor death that is orgasm. And there, watching over both of us, stood my lord Hi’ran, Elemental Lord of the Harvest, the fire of passion crackling between the three of us even as the fires of war raged on in my homeworld.
CAST OF MAJOR CHARACTERS
The D’Artigo Family
Arial Lianan te Maria: Delilah’s twin who died at birth. Half-Fae, half-human.
Camille Sepharial te Maria, aka Camille D’Artigo: The oldest sister; a Moon Witch and Priestess. Half-Fae, half-human.
Daniel George Fredericks: The D’Artigo sisters’ half cousin; FBH.
Delilah Maria te Maria, aka Delilah D’Artigo: The middle sister; a werecat.
Hester Lou Fredericks: The D’Artigo sisters’ half
cousin; FBH.
Maria D’Artigo: The D’Artigo Sisters’ mother. Human. Deceased.
Menolly Rosabelle te Maria, aka Menolly D’Artigo: The youngest sister; a vampire and jian-tu: extraordinary acrobat. Half-Fae, half-human.
Sephreh ob Tanu: The D’Artigo Sisters’ father. Full Fae. Assumed deceased.
Shamas ob Olanda: The D’Artigo girls’ cousin. Full Fae.
The D’Artigo Sisters’ Lovers & Close Friends
Astrid (Johnson): Chase and Sharah’s baby daughter.
Bruce O’Shea: Iris’s husband. Leprechaun.
Carter: Leader of the Demonica Vacana Society, a group that watches and records the interactions of Demonkin and human through the ages. Carter is half demon and half Titan—his father was Hyperion, one of the Greek Titans.
Chase Garden Johnson: Detective, director of the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation (FH-CSI) team. Human who has taken the Nectar of Life, which extends his life-span beyond any ordinary mortal, and has opened up his psychic abilities.
Chrysandra: Waitress at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Human. Deceased.
Derrick Means: Bartender at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Werebadger.
Erin Mathews: Former president of the Faerie Watchers Club and former owner of the Scarlet Harlot Boutique. Turned into a vampire by Menolly, her sire, moments before her death. Human.
Greta: Leader of the Death Maidens; Delilah’s tutor.
Iris (Kuusi) O’Shea: Friend and companion of the girls. Priestess of Undutar. Talon-haltija (Finnish house sprite).
Lindsey Katharine Cartridge: Director of the Green
Goddess Women’s Shelter. Pagan and witch. Human.
Luke: Former bartender at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Werewolf. One of the Keraastar Knights.
Maria O’Shea: Iris and Bruce’s baby daughter.
Marion Vespa: Coyote shifter; owner of the Supe-Urban Cafe.
Morio Kuroyama: One of Camille’s lovers and husbands. Essentially the grandson of Grandmother Coyote. Youkai-kitsune (roughly translated: Japanese fox demon).
Neely Reed: Founding Member of the United Worlds Church. FBH.
Nerissa Shale: Menolly’s wife. Worked for DSHS. Now working for Chase Johnson as a victims-rights counselor for the FH-CSI. Werepuma and member of the Rainier Puma Pride.
Roman: Ancient vampire; son of Blood Wyne, Queen of the Crimson Veil. Menolly’s official consort in the Vampire Nation and her new sire.
Rozurial, aka Roz: Mercenary. Menolly’s secondary lover. Incubus who used to be Fae before Zeus and Hera destroyed his marriage.
Shade: Delilah’s fiance. Part Stradolan, part black (shadow) dragon.
Sharah: Elfin medic; Chase’s girlfriend.
Siobhan Morgan: One of the girls’ friends. Selkie
(wereseal); member of the Puget Sound Harbor
Seal Pod.
Smoky: One of Camille’s lovers and husbands. Half-white, half-silver dragon.
Tavah: Guardian of the portal at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Vampire (full Fae).
Tim Winthrop, aka Cleo Blanco: Computer student/genius, female impersonator. FBH. Now owns the Scarlet Harlot.
Trillian: Mercenary. Camille’s alpha lover and one of her three husbands. Svartan (one of the Charming Fae).
Ukkonen O’Shea: Iris and Bruce’s baby son.
Vanzir: Was indentured slave to the Sisters, by his own choice. Dream-chaser demon who lost his powers and now is regaining new ones.
Venus the Moon Child: Former shaman of the Rainier Puma Pride. Werepuma. One of the Keraastar Knights.
Wade Stevens: President of Vampires Anonymous. Vampire (human).
Zachary Lyonnesse: Former member of the Rainier Puma Pride Council of Elders. Werepuma living in Otherworld.
GLOSSARY
Black Unicorn/Black Beast: Father of the Dahns unicorns, a magical unicorn that is reborn like the phoenix and lives in Darkynwyrd and Thistlewyd Deep. Raven Mother is his consort, and he is more a force of nature than a unicorn.
Calouk: The rough, common dialect used by a number of Otherworld inhabitants.
