Hotter on the Edge

by Erin Kellison

  “No soul!” she screamed, clawing at his hands. “No soul!”

  Her feet kicked empty air as his maw opened. He tilted his face to get the kiss right, when it could never be right. She had nothing to give him.

  “Please!” she shrieked. “Daddy!”

  The wraith’s bite clamped down on her face, his teeth spearing into the flesh and bone at her jaw. His hands at her ears kept her trapped in his grasp. Pain sharpened the moment. She was enveloped in his rank smell, yet unable to retch. The world became he and she, sharing her first-ever French kiss.

  Should’ve been that angel. She could have kissed him forever. But she’d left him behind. Why did she leave him?

  A ripple went through the wraith and his mouth flexed on hers. It was a drawing motion, a suck, a slurp, that sought deep within for what she’d already told him she didn’t have.

  What the old lady had to know she didn’t have.

  A second wave took the wraith’s body, as he pulled harder at her, blistering whatever skin she had left intact.

  The pain of the motion made stars prick into the gray of her vision. Warm fluid ran freely down her neck. His teeth became the nails holding her bones together. Without him, she was broken. Broken like that angel.

  She didn’t want to die.

  She hadn’t yet lived.

  The kiss sent her down into herself, down down down, away from the smell and the pain and the fear. Away from the moment when the wraith would wrench himself from her lips and she would fall apart, left in the cold.

  She went down into the deep of her core and found her umbra, her Shadow within, at last. It churned with darkness and beat with drums. And in the primordial depths, obscured by the circling pitch of magic, was the plume of a flame, its source, her blood, her heritage.

  Brand.

  She reached out to it with everything she was, with all the screams trapped in her mind, the hopes crushed by the marriage contract, the rage that her life should end now, this way. It wasn’t fair! She reached to fight back.

  And the flame obeyed.

  It stretched up in a pillar of light, but she wanted more, demanded more. Now!

  And the flame erupted within her, heating her twitching limbs like a volcano awakening. Like lava, the fire coursed through her veins. She was alive with it, a shimmering conflagration, a human torch.

  The wraith released his kiss, flinging her away. She seemed to fall for ages, then jarred on the ground and lay slack, ravaged, blood flowing down her neck from her wounds and ears. But in her dimming vision, the wraith thrashed against her fire. He went up as if doused with accelerant and screamed his own pain as he convulsed, charring. Then he dropped into a folded heap of blackened bones.

  His fire smothered quickly, and she found herself in the dark, her inner flame dimming to a flicker. The black trees blended with the night sky. The cold crept over her, and she sank, her breath shallow, toward sleep or death.

  After what seemed a very long time, the world went utterly dark. Inside the blackness, there was no time. Just cold.

  Until she felt herself lifted against a warm, strong chest. Felt a rolling movement like a swift stride. Someone cradling her.

  See, Daddy, she thought from within the void, I can call fire.

  Want to read more? Order FIRE KISSED from:

  “Equal parts mystery, sexy romance, scary drama and fairy tale, [Shadowman] is guaranteed to thrill and chill. A unique view of the paranormal isn't easy to find, but this story is unlike anything you've read before."

  – RT Book Reviews, review of Shadowman

  "SHADOW BOUND is unlike any other reading experience I've had to date. Its a fast paced, heart pounding, gut wrenching, nail biting, awe inspiring thrill ride that will leave you begging for more and more." Grade: A

  – Lovin' Me Some Romance, review of Shadow Bound

  About Erin Kellison

  Erin Kellison is the author of the dark fantasy romance Shadow, Shadow Touch, and Shadow Kissed series. She has a decades-running space opera going on in her head, so if she's not hanging out with her family or writing for a deadline, she's probably adventuring off-world. You can find her at:

  Website: www.ErinKellison.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/erinkellisonauthor

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/ekellison

  Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/ErinKellison

  Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/ErinKellison

  For the latest news on upcoming releases, subscribe to Erin’s newsletter.

  Shadow Series

  Shadow Kissed Series

  Shadow Touch Novella Series

  Read excerpts from all the Shadow Series novels at ErinKellison.com

  Erin Kellison's books are available at Amazon

  Read more from KC Klein

  Want more books by KC Klein? Read on to find out how it all began in the first book of the series, DARK FUTURE.

  Awakened in the middle of the night by a future version of herself, Kris Davenport is given a mission: go forward in time to save the world—and His life. Of course, her future self doesn't tell her who he is, just sends her into an abyss and straight into an alien invasion.

  He turns out to be ConRad Smith, the callous, untrusting Commander of Earth’s army and the world’s last defense. There’s only one way to know for sure if this strange woman is an alien spy—slice her throat. Except, he didn’t anticipate the heat he would feel as he interrogates the hot-tempered, warm-blooded woman. For a man whose sole focus has been survival, she's more temptation than he can handle. But a world on the brink of destruction leaves no room for love…and time is running out.

  EXCERPT

  “Mmm, you taste human. Like salt or more like … warm sunshine?” He pinned me with his gaze. His eyes spoke a primal language. Desire warred with anger; need against punishment.

  I looked away. Embarrassed. Violated. His body crushed mine, suffocating in its nearness. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe without crushing my breasts against him. I always considered myself strong and physically fit, but he subdued me with barely any effort. Heart racing, I panicked.

  The feeling of no control would break me—complete powerlessness always did. I used whatever weapon was available; whatever maneuvers would give me a fighting chance. This was no different. I turned my head, opened my mouth against his neck, and … sunk my teeth in.

  He cursed. Grabbed hold of my shirt, picked me up, and slammed me back against the wall.

  A painful whoosh came from my lungs. My vision rocked—brain swished inside my skull.

  “You bit me.” He sounded shocked.

  My head hurt so bad I had to blink hard to keep my eyes in their sockets. “You licked me,” I shouted back.

  He assessed me, aqua blue eyes hooded with thick, long eyelashes, for what seemed like an eternity. “I will ask you one more time. Who are you?”

  “I’ve told you everything.” My voice sounded desperate, tired, even to me. “I went running and fell into the dark … I’m a doctor at a hospital. If you don’t believe me, just call them. I’ve worked there for years.”

  He stood still, his body hard against mine, creating an insurmountable barrier. His face so close I could see his pupils enlarge, almost hiding the hard blue of his irises. The rage in him lived and breathed. One hand ran along my scalp in a mock caress, grabbed hold of my hair and pulled.

  “Liar,” his voice barely a whisper, the knife was back … shaking at my very exposed, very vulnerable artery. “There hasn’t been a hospital anywhere on Earth since the year 2075.” And in one efficient movement, he drew the knife across my throat.

  Read all of DARK FUTURE now:

  "Dark, gritty, and utterly entrancing, this book absolutely blew my socks off."

  – Jess "The Romanceaholic"

  "…I didn't want to put it down. It had me on the edge of my seat and never shied away from the really hard stuff."

  – Jen "Red Hot Books"

  "[DARK FUTURE] knocked my
socks off! Do yourself a huge favor and GET THIS BOOK!! You won't be sorry you did."

  – Kissablysweetone

  Want to read more? Buy Dark Future at Amazon.

  About KC Klein

  KC Klein has lived most of her life with her head in the clouds and her nose buried in a book. She did stop reading long enough to make a home with a real life hero, her husband, for over sixteen years. A mother of two children, she spends her time slaying dragons, saving princesses, and championing the belief in the happily-ever-after. She is the author of two novels, a sexy time-travel romance, Dark Future and a new contemporary western romance, Texas Wide Open, coming this fall. KC loves to hear from readers and can be found desperately pounding away on her laptop in yoga pants and leopard slippers or more conveniently at kckleinbooks.com.

  Website: www.KCKleinBooks.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorKCKlein

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/KCKleinbooks

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kckleinbooks

  KC Klein Books

  Read more at www.KCKleinBooks.com

  KC Klein’s books are available at Amazon

  Read more from Jessa Slade

  DARK HUNTER’S TOUCH

  Book 1 of the Steel Born

  Yearning to be free, Imogene has fled the idleness and cruelty of the phae court to hide in the sunlit realm of humans. When the Dark Hunters find her—and they will—she will face the Queen's wrath. But she is tired of running, and after a chance encounter with a seductively handsome stranger named Vaile, Imogene embraces the earthly passions within her, if only for one night. But has she fallen for a man—or an illusion?

  Chapter 1

  She wanted to feel it all. Her body burned. Sweat slicked down her skin, a sensuous tickle, and her chest heaved with each pounding stroke. When she gasped, the taste of salt prickled on her tongue.

  Imogene needed her sunlit runs. With her body, mind, and senses so immersed in the moment, she might camouflage her presence from the Wild Hunt. The inexorable path of the sun, immune to any magics, helped keep her on her path, pretending to be a true inhabitant of this earthly realm—but for how long?

  She wanted to run forever. That’s how long the Queen’s phaedrealii Hunters would search for her: forever. Creatures who stood with only one foot in the world’s time had that advantage. Though the phae could be blithe and capricious, once Hunters were loosed upon the object of their hunger, they would never falter. The black dogs and their dark masters were so dangerous that the Queen herself chained them when they prowled her inner court.

  The sun fell into the streaked clouds over the Pacific Ocean like a fading ember. Its glow burned a red hole through the veil of the blue-gray sky, and the reflection in the water rippled with secrets. A chilly breeze breathed out from the pine forest rising from the rocky headlands beyond the dunes. Imogene slowed to a jog and flapped her oversized T-shirt to let the breeze tickle her belly.

  A creep of awareness between her shoulder blades made her glance back.

  Down the beach, a dark silhouette closed the distance, tall and menacing. Her heartbeat ramped up again and all her muscles tensed. For a confused moment, a swirl like black wings spread above the figure, and even the ceaseless churn of the ocean seemed to hush.

  Then the sun flared out behind the clouds one last time, and Imogene recognized him: just a fellow jogger she had passed many times over the month since she had moved to the Oregon coast. He waved at her again—not wings, just a regular old human arm—and she chided herself for seeing monsters in every shadow.

  Still wary, she let him catch up. All the other times, they had waved but never spoken.

  “Hey, I think you dropped this.” Still a dozen strides away, he tossed something toward her.

  Reflexively, she caught the chain that spiraled through the air. The metal tingled in her hand: steel. From a bezel at the bottom dangled an odd, blue stone, partly clouded but transparent in places with occlusions that caught and scattered the low slanting light. The pendant gleamed like a sky changing from the clear blue of day to the darker blue of evening, a sight she had longed for when she’d been trapped in the halls of the phaedrealii.

  With regret, she shook her head. “Beautiful, but it’s not mine.” She held the necklace out to him, looking up.

  And her breath, which she had finally caught, escaped her again.

  They had always passed each other at a distance—part of her promise to herself to stay far away from humans on this trip through the sunlit realm. She had noticed only that he was dark haired; had a smooth, gliding stride that ate up the beach miles; and didn’t usually bother with shirts despite the chill.

  Shirts were overrated anyway—especially if they committed the crime of covering such a perfectly sculpted chest. The hard planes of his pectorals blurred beneath just enough dark curls to declare the undeniable presence of testosterone, and the narrowing arrow of hair over his abdomen commanded her attention down toward testosterone central.

  She jerked her gaze up before she could wonder if the ripstop nylon fly of his shorts was rippling from the breeze…or from something else.

  Judging by the sly smile playing around his lips, she knew he hadn’t missed her once-over, but the confident tilt of his head said he thought he could take it. No doubt he got plenty of once-overs, not to mention twice- and third-overs. Even the haughty courtiers of the phaedrealii who objected most vociferously to the idea that there might be any shared blood between humans and phae would be willing to claim this one as kissing cousin.

  The wicked edge of male beauty had carved jaw and cheekbones in bold relief from his deep-set dark eyes. Salt spray and sweat had frozen his dark hair in untamed tousles. Only the fullness of his lower lip seemed out of place, as if some all-powerful fairy godmother had decided this chiseled work of unassailable masculinity needed a touch of bruised tenderness and had taken a soft bite of his mouth before breathing him into life.

  Imogene caressed the smooth, blue stone—still holding his body heat from his pocket—and imagined running her finger over that lip. Desire pooled low in her belly, warm and glowing as the stone. She curled her hand into a fist and crimped the chain in her grip. The slide of metal links through her fingers, each coiling into the next, echoed through her body. Her skin tingled again, not from the touch of steel, but as she pictured his big hands on her.

  His jet eyes glittered. “Are you sure it isn’t yours? You seem like you want it.”

  She wanted something anyway.

  Read all of DARK HUNTER’S TOUCH now:

  Praise for the novels of the Marked Souls:

  “Slade’s plot packs plenty of action…in a group of forceful personalities.”

  – Publishers Weekly

  “[A] fish-out-of-water story that keeps a rapid pace, delivering a strong plot, enjoyable characters and a stunning world.”

  –RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

  About Jessa Slade

  Jessa Slade is a blatant space captain groupie. Give her a hot ship and a cool stare and she swoons. To this day, say Firefly around her and she cries. She likes to quote Han Solo, giggle at Kirk's shirts, and harbors a soft spot (in the head) for Buck Rogers. Shameless, I tell you. You can often find her goofing off online.

  Website: www.JessaSlade.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/JessaSlade

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/JessaSlade

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/JessaSlade

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/JessaSlade

  For the latest news on upcoming releases, subscribe to Jessa’s newsletter.

  Marked Souls Series

  Steel Born Series

  Read the first chapters of all the Marked Souls and Steel Born novels at JessaSlade.com

  Jessa Slade’s books are available at Amazon

  Acknowledgements

  From Erin:

  When I was a teenager, I played Deanna Troi in my family's holiday production, Star Trek: The Search for Christmas Spirit. I emot
ed a lot, and I'm told, very convincingly. My big sister was Guinan; she wore a salad bowl draped with a bed sheet on her head. Yeah, that's how my family rolls. Growing up, I was steeped in all things speculative, and I loved every minute of it. The abundance of possibilities for the imagination fuels my writing today. First and foremost, thank you to my mom, dad, brothers and sisters, who introduced me to so many great worlds. And to Jessa Slade and KC Klein for helping me explore one of my own here.

  From KC:

  First and foremost, I have to thank my family. Without their love and support (and understanding of why mommy has to stay up in her room all weekend) I would be a lesser person. I also want to thank all the wonderfully supportive authors on the IndieRomanceInk writers loop. Their wealth of information and support in all things indie-publishing gave me the courage to strike out on my own. I have to thank, Matt Ellison for our super cool HOTTER ON THE EDGE website. I'd still be floundering in the dark if it wasn't for my wonderful critique partner and all together good friend, Erin Kellison. I also need to give a bow to Jessa Slade for her hard work on our awesome cover and for her "whipcha" attitude that kept us all on track. Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of this exciting project.

  From Jessa:

  Writers spend a lot of time alone at their computers, but we aren't really alone. I want to thank my family for cheering enthusiastically, no matter what I do. (Unconditional love is an amazing force.) I also want to thank fellow authors Delilah Marvelle and Cathryn Cade, cool ladies who spiced up my love scenes, and Marie Force, who doesn't know me but who shared her self publishing journey and made me want to check it out. And extra huge thanks to Erin Kellison and KC Klein whose invitation to be part of an anthology made this story jump into my head. Plot bunnies in space!