1001 Dark Nights fabulous novellas...
1001 Dark Nights
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FOREVER WICKED
A Wicked Lovers Novella
by Shayla Black
CRIMSON TWILIGHT
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
by Heather Graham
CAPTURED IN SURRENDER
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Liliana Hart
SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING
A Scanguards Vampire Novella
by Tina Folsom
DUNGEON GAMES
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
by Lexi Blake
AZAGOTH
A Demonica Novella
by Larissa Ione
NEED YOU NOW
by Lisa Renee Jones
SHOW ME, BABY
A Masters of the Shadowlands Novella
by Cherise Sinclair
ROPED IN
A Blacktop Cowboys ® Novella
by Lorelei James
TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT
A Midnight Breed Novella
by Lara Adrian
THE FLAME
A Desire Exchange Novella
by Christopher Rice
CARESS OF DARKNESS
A Phoenix Brotherhood Novella
by Julie Kenner
WICKED WOLF
A Redwood Pack Novella
by Carrie Ann Ryan
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
by Heather Graham
MASTER OF FREEDOM
A Mountain Masters Novella
by Cherise Sinclair
CARESS OF PLEASURE
A Dark Pleasures Novella
by Julie Kenner
ADORED
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
by Lexi Blake
HADES
A Demonica Novella
by Larissa Ione
RAVAGED
An Eternal Guardians Novella
by Elisabeth Naughton
DREAM OF YOU
A Wait For You Novella
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
PURE WICKED
A Wicked Lovers Novella
by Shayla Black
HARD AS STEEL
A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover
by Laura Kaye
STROKE OF MIDNIGHT
A Midnight Breed Novella
by Lara Adrian
Also from Evil Eye Concepts:
TAME ME
A Stark International Novella
by J. Kenner
THE SURRENDER GATE
A Desire Exchange Novel
By Christopher Rice
Acknowledgments from the Author
I can’t thank M.J. Rose and Liz Berry enough for giving me the chance to try my hand at a new genre and for putting together this incredibly exciting new project. I’m also profoundly grateful for Jillian Stein, the amazing social media director for 1,001 DARK NIGHTS. Thanks to these ladies, this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had outlining, promoting, writing and copyediting a book. Kami Garcia and Delinah Blake Hurwitz gave me some really insightful reads. Thanks also goes to Benjamin Scuglia for additional proofreading and copyediting
I wouldn’t be able to work on so many different writing projects while also producing (and co-hosting) a weekly internet radio show without the amazing staff of The Dinner Party Show. A big thank you to my best friend, producing partner and co-host Eric Shaw Quinn as well as our amazing support staff: Brandon Griffith, Brett Churnin, Cathy Dipierro and Benjamin Scuglia (again). If you haven’t listened to The Dinner Party Show yet, give us a try. Our goal is to make you laugh until wine comes out of your nose. Even if you’re not drinking wine! We’re always on at www.TheDinnerPartyShow.com.
Last but not least, one of the highlights of this foray into erotic romance came when Lexi Blake wrote to tell me she was so moved by the first draft of THE FLAME she wanted to include an excerpt from it in her latest novel. This kind of generosity is rare among authors in other genres and I’m still bowled over by it, to be frank. Thanks, Lexi. Thanks for embracing the complexity of Andrew, Shane and Cassidy so warmly and with such acceptance.
About Christopher Rice
By the age of 30, Christopher Rice had published four New York Times bestselling thrillers, received a Lambda Literary Award and been declared one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive. His first work of supernatural suspense, THE HEAVENS RISE, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. His debut, A DENSITY OF SOULS, was published when the author was just 22 years old. A controversial and overnight bestseller, it was greeted with a landslide of media attention, much of it devoted to the fact that Christopher is the son of vampire chronicler, Anne Rice. Bestselling thriller writer (and Jack Reacher creator) Lee Child hailed Christopher's novel LIGHT BEFORE DAY as a "book of the year". Together with his best friend, New York Times bestselling novelist Eric Shaw Quinn, Christopher launched his own Internet radio show. THE DINNER PARTY SHOW WITH CHRISTOPHER RICE & ERIC SHAW QUINN is always playing at TheDinnerPartyShow.com and every episode is available for free download from the site's show archive or on iTunes. 47North, the science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint of Amazon Publishing, recently published his most recent supernatural thriller, THE VINES. And on December 9th, Thomas & Mercer, the crime and thriller imprint of Amazon Publishing, will release new editions of his previous bestsellers A DENSITY OF SOULS, THE SNOW GARDEN and LIGHT BEFORE DAY. He will continue the world of Thee Desire Exchange with a new erotic romance, THE SURRENDER GATE, due out from Evil Eye Concepts in early 2015.
THE SURRENDER GATE
A Desire Exchange Novel
By Christopher Rice
Click here to purchase!
Coming February 3, 2015
From Evil Eye Concepts
“Arthur has a son who ran away from home years ago, when he was twenty,” Emily says. “His name is Ryan. Ryan Benoit. Arthur’s written him a letter and he wants me to find him and give it to him.”
“As a condition of leaving you his fortune?” Dugas asks.
“It’s not a condition. It’s a request. And given that he’s about to change my life forever, I’d say it’s the very least I can do.”
There is more bite in her tone than she’d intended, but Dugas seems more aroused by it than offended. “I see. Have you read this letter?” he asks.
“I have not. And I will not.”
“Well, that is impressive. Certainly more self-control than you exhibited this evening. So you have no idea why Ryan ran away, but you’re expected to find him and bring him back?”
“I’m expected to give him the letter. The letter is supposed to bring him back. At least that’s what Arthur’s hoping for.”
“And Arthur has made no attempt to find his son before now?”
“No. I mean, yes. He has, but…”
“But what?” Jonathan asks.
“Ryan ran away so long ago that every few years Arthur has an age progression done on computer. Then he hires a private detective to go look for him. A few years ago, one of the detectives turned up what looked like a real lead. But at the time, Arthur didn’t want to pursue it. Now that he’s dying, he’s had a change of heart.”
“And the lead was?” Dugas asks.
“The P.I. said a man matching the latest progression was involved with some sort of secret organization called The Desire Exchange.” Emily watches Jonathan to gauge his reaction to these words. He’s nowhere near as startled as she’d hoped he’d be. “I’ve only heard that name one other time and it was from you. You just sort of mentioned it in passing so I thought—”
“You thought what?” Jonathan asks sharply. “That I was a member of a secret sex cult?”
“I just thought you might know more about it than you were letting on. But you wouldn’t tell me unless—”
“—unless you caught me with a client and embarrassed it out of me?”
> “Children,” Dugas says. “Please.”
“Emily. Come on! Some secret organization that helps millionaires live out their deepest sexual fantasies? It was somebody’s idea of a joke. I thought it was funny. That’s why I told you. It’s not real, for Christ’s sake.”
“It is not a joke,” George Dugas says quietly. His finality silences them both
The man seems incapacitated all of a sudden. By shock? Memories? Emily can’t tell. If she hadn’t looked to Jonathan so quickly when she’d said those three shiver-inducing words, she might have picked up on the older man’s reaction before now.
“And it’s very real,” Dugas whispers.
He rises to his feet, takes his drink in hand, and strolls to the edge of the pool; as if it’s wavering blue surface were a window onto the past. “The latest age progression. Describe it to me.”
“He was about six feet tall when he ran away, so he should be around that now. Dirty blonde hair.”
“Leave out the things he could have easily changed,” Dugas says.
“Okay. Bright eyes that have a kind of slant to them that looks almost Eastern European. I guess they’d make him look kind of angry. Or amused, I’m not sure. Anyway, his facial features, they’re all proportional, is what I’m trying to say. Especially his nose. He doesn’t have one of those big Roman noses that can dominate a guy’s face. Everything about him is more classic and all-American.”
“Any birthmarks?” Dugas asks.
“Yes. A small strawberry-colored mark above his left collarbone.”
This concise description causes Dugas to straighten and suck in a deep breath, as if a wave of pleasure is coursing through his entire body.
“Oh my,” Dugas whispers. Then he takes a quick sip of his drink. “Oh, mymymy.”
Jonathan breaks the silence. “Mr. Dugas, are you a member of The Desire Exchange?”
“The Desire Exchange doesn’t have members. It’s not a club. It’s an experience.”
“An experience you’ve apparently had,” Emily says.
The older man drains the last of his cocktail with several long swallows. The mint sprig catches on the remaining ice cubes as he drinks. Whatever it is, George Dugas has trouble remembering The Desire Exchange without the balm of whiskey and powdered sugar to soothe the hot fires of his lust.
“Have you seen Ryan Benoit?” Emily asks.
“How about I give you the chance to see him for yourself?” Dugas says. “For a price, of course. Several prices.”
When Dugas starts for Emily’s chair, Jonathan straightens, watching the man’s every move.
“There’s the price of admission, of course. That you will pay directly to the Exchange. After I’ve given you a reference. And make no mistake, you must have a reference. The admission…well, I’m sure Arthur Benoit will cover that for you. But he’ll also need to give you some sort of fake identity, something that will make you appear to be in line with their usual clientele. Do you think he’s up to it?”
Dugas is standing behind her chair now. Jonathan watches the man with the intensity of a cat watching a bird through a window. Emily studies Jonathan’s facial expression with the same focus.
“Arthur would do anything to get Ryan that letter,” Emily says. “Short of hurting people.”
“No,” Dugas whispers, hands coming to rest on her shoulders. “Of course not. Pain is not on the menu.”
“And the price for your reference?” she asks.
Gently, he pulls open the flaps of her robe, exposing her breasts to the humid air. Her eyes flutter shut against her will as she braces for the feel of the man’s hands on her flesh. But the feeling doesn’t come. He continues to tug on the robe instead until the loose knot in the tie comes undone. Suddenly her thighs are exposed, and then her sex.
Jonathan gazes into her eyes, trying to read her every emotion, ready to spring into action as soon as she gives him the word, she’s sure of it. But her head is swimming and there is heat traveling up her sternum. Rather than feeling violated, being gradually exposed this way makes her feel included in a delicious secret.
“The Desire Exchange isn’t just about your fantasy,” Dugas continues. “It’s about surrendering to the fantasies of others as well. To do that, you have to let go of labels, of limits. Of fears.”
“I’m still waiting to hear your price, Mr. Dugas.”
The older man chuckles. “As if you’d ever say no, Miss Blaine. You’d be risking your incredible inheritance if you did.”
“I’m risking my incredible inheritance by agreeing to find the only rightful heir. Some of us are motivated by other things than money, sir.”
“Yes,” Dugas says. With one final tug he has separated the flaps of the robe and draws it down over her back, rendering her fully nude and exposed. “Desire.”
Jonathan is on the edge of his seat, nostrils flaring, rock-hard pecs rising and falling with his deep breaths. The head of his olive-skinned cock has emerged from the waistband of his briefs, glistening with his arousal. She tells herself it’s just Dugas acting the part of the masculine aggressor that has Jonathan engorged. It can’t be her, for Christ’s sake. How many times has he seen her breasts before now? But she’s right and she’s wrong at the same time. It’s not just her. And it’s not just George Dugas. It’s all of it. All three of them, the setting, the hint of danger, and the act of pure will that brought her here. It’s this sudden swirl of desire they’ve been swept up by, and Emily realizes it’s about to render comforting labels irrelevant.
“Nobody does anything for just one reason,” Dugas whispers in her ear. “You can pretend you climbed onto my roof because you were after information that will help you find this Ryan Benoit. But you’d be lying. You’d be lying if you didn’t also admit you wanted to see the expression on your best friend’s face while he was in the throes of passion with a strange man.”
Also from Christopher Rice
Thrillers
A DENSITY OF SOULS
THE SNOW GARDEN
LIGHT BEFORE DAY
BLIND FALL
THE MOONLIT EARTH
Supernatural Thrillers
THE HEAVENS RISE
THE VINES
Paranormal Romance
THE SURRENDER GATE: A Desire Exchange Novel
On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,
Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~
Doug Scofield
Steve Berry
Richard Blake
Dan Slater
Asha Hossain
Chris Graham
Kim Guidroz
BookTrib After Dark
Jillian Stein
and Simon Lipskar
Table of Contents
Book Description
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Also From 1001 Dark Nights
Acknowledgments from the Author
About Christopher Rice
An excerpt from The Surrender Gate: A Desire Exchange Novella by Christopher Rice
Also by Christopher Rice
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
The Flame: A Desire Exchange Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Page 11