Praise for the Gillian Key novels
KEY TO REDEMPTION
“A fantastic satirical urban fantasy that never takes itself seriously . . . With more of a romantic-triangle spin this time, therapy will never be the same.”
—Midwest Book Review
“The sex sizzles.”
—Monsters and Critics
“Imaginative, compelling and thrilling . . . If you like urban fantasy and erotica, this will be right up your alley.”
—Fresh Fiction
KEY TO CONSPIRACY
“Talia Gryphon is a master at making the impossible seem real. Her diverse group of characters lives on in your heart and your imagination long after the last page has been turned. Her women are strong and independent, and her men are alpha enough to be led. Talia is a developing master of the word who has an amazing grasp of human nature and the ability to craft tales that will engage the mind as well as thrill the soul.”
—Stephanie Burke, author of Dragon Star
“Fun and imaginative, this rock-’em, sock-’em vampire tale puts a hard-as-nails military twist in the ole wooden stake. Oh, you want some erotic spice? Here’s a whole rack!”
—David Bischoff, author of The Tawdry Yellow Brick Road
KEY TO CONFLICT
“A kick-ass blond vampire-therapist, two sexy vampire brothers and an evil Dracula looming in the offing. I dare you to put this book down.”
—Rosemary Laurey, author of Midnight Lover
“A fast-paced adventure tale set in a fascinating new alternate reality.”
—Robin D. Owens, author of Heart Change
“Kick-butt attitude, sassy dialogue and steady action make this a light, fast read. Gryphon puts a refreshingly different spin on Anubis, Osiris, Dionysus, Jack the Ripper and elves, while giving a nod to J. R. R. Tolkien.”
—Monsters and Critics
“Urban fantasy readers will welcome Talia Gryphon, whose thriller will appeal to fans of Charlaine Harris and Kelley Armstrong.”
—The Best Reviews
“With a story that is just complex enough to be attention-grabbing, rich locales, vibrant characters and multifaceted mythology interwoven with current cultural icons, this book will draw you in and not let you put it down. It is impossible to pick which of the two heroes you like best; both are so intriguing. I hope this is the opening volume in a series, not a one-shot. It is familiar but new, and quite fascinating.”
—The Eternal Night
“Gill is a wonderful character, full of conflicts . . . interesting twists and turns . . . The story was strong, the characters were intriguing and . . . the prose really took off. I think that we’ll see some really great writing from this author in the future.”
—SFRevu
“A great story. I found it an enjoyable read and was hard-pressed to put it down . . . Talia Gryphon’s take on vamps and other paranormal creatures is interesting and different.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
Ace Books by Talia Gryphon
KEY TO CONFLICT
KEY TO CONSPIRACY
KEY TO REDEMPTION
KEY TO JUSTICE
Key To Justice
Talia Gryphon
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
KEY TO JUSTICE
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / April 2010
Copyright © 2010 by Talia Gryphon.
All rights reserved.
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eISBN : 978-1-101-18613-8
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This is for some of the dazzling women who have influenced my life by word or paradigm: my mother, Eleanor; Jill Marrinson; Charlotte Poetschner; Barbara Finer; Nichole Schumacher; Virgina Sica; Greer Fites; Missy Iske; and, in her own peculiar way, Sophia Wiwczarowski.
And to my wonderful, patient, tolerant sons. I could never have accomplished some of the things I set out to do in my life without your support and encouragement.
To Troy and Reni Wiwczaroski, my nephew and his lovely wife. It’s not family without you.
To John Pfeifer, my first writing partner from back in the day and a loyal friend.
As always, to Ginjer Buchanan, my wonderful editor, and Joe Veltre, my fabulous agent. You guys are the best.
Special thanks to my military advisors: Charles Randolph, Sgt. U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Retired; Jon Eppler, Sgt. U.S. Army Reserves Intelligence Analyst; Steven Mills, Sgt. USMC, Retired; Donald Akina, Corpsman Second Class U.S. Navy, Retired.
Talia Gryphon
CHAPTER 1
VIRGIN. She was a virgin. Again. This was not happening. Thirty years old and a goddamn virgin. Stupid music, stupid Perrin, stupid Vampire foo. Great Ganesh, this was beyond ludicrous. Gillian briefly considered leaping off the back of the black dragon to save herself the trouble of subjecting herself to Daed and Helmut’s inevitable question session.
Shit. Damn. Hell. Fuck. No, she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t that much of a coward, and besides, Aleksei, the morphed dragon-Vampire Lord she was riding, would just catch her in a huge paw on her way down, then yell at her for being an idiot and not relying on him as her partner . . . even though they were still on a relationship break. Sort of.
Sometimes it wasn’t worth it, trying to remain in non-bitch mode. Things were much easier when you were able to just shoot whatever was bugging you. Or at the very least, pack up your stuff and depart the area until things calmed down.
That wouldn’t work either. She really didn’t want to hurt Aleksei or her friends. Nor did she want to jeopardize the newly anointed Rachlav Ins
titute of Paramortal Healing, just when it was beginning to blossom. Some nights it just sucked to be herself. Some nights also sucked more than others. This would be one of those nights.
She felt like a virgin on prom night . . . except it wasn’t prom night. It was nighttime in the Carpathian Mountains and she had just been turned down for sex by her ex-boyfriend—if that was what she could call Aleksei—because he had some ridiculous notion of taking her out for a dreamy weekend, romancing her and seducing her gently. In short, he wanted to take her out and treat her like a lady instead of the hardball soldier he’d been sleeping with for the past few months. Inconsiderate bastard.
Gillian realized she was being unreasonable and ridiculous, but couldn’t think her way out of their current difference of opinion. On the edge of her consciousness floated the tendril of thought that she didn’t want to address: if she let Aleksei do what he wished, make everything perfect for her as only he could do, she might find herself really in love with him. And that would suck. She didn’t want to be in love with anybody, not just Aleksei.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with him being a Vampire Lord; she wasn’t prejudiced against mixed relationships like some Humans were. It had to do with someone really needing her in his life, being willing and wanting to commit to her, that scared her to death. Gill wasn’t sure she had it in herself to be permanently devoted to anyone. She was horrified of the possibility that she might actually hurt Aleksei if she was unable to commit. As perceptive as she was with her patients and on her missions, she had a major blockage when it came to thinking things through about herself and the “L” word.
The United States Marine Corps had been the only thing that ever held her devotion for very long . . . well, and the people she worked with at the International Paramortal Psychology Association. At least her patients were on a time frame with her. She would give them 110 percent of her attention, concern, knowledge and dedication while they were under her care. After their needs were resolved, she bid them farewell, focused on being proud and happy for their success and moved on. There was no lasting involvement except for the occasional follow-up thank-you card or letters letting her know how they were doing in their lives, which was fine with her. No lasting ties, just satisfaction for having done her job. Right now, with regard to Aleksei, it wasn’t a job; it had serious potential for permanency, so she was kidding herself by avoiding the obvious since that was all she had as leverage.
After their near-disastrous moments on the mountain, discovering Gillian’s newly “intact” state and subsequent discussion on what to do about it, Aleksei shifted to dragon form to fly them back to the castle. Gillian was uncharacteristically quiet, which had him a little worried.
Damn her, he wanted to give her respect, not take her like an undisciplined young buck on the mountainside. Once again, his idea of chivalry and her idea of antiquated nonsense were at odds. He didn’t know how to resolve it any more than she did, but both were willing to keep slogging along and trying like hell to figure it out. At least he hoped they were.
He avoided invading her thoughts. It grated against every protective bone in his body, but was necessary to give her space, let her realize she could trust him with her fears, come to him in her own time. Insisting on further dialogue tonight would be a mistake.
And they say an old Vampire can’t learn new tricks, he thought to himself. His smile was an unfortunate grimace coming through the dragon’s jaws, but it was there.
It had been a surprise to encounter her regrown barrier. A barrier re-created by the power they had generated in their “group effort,” as Gillian would say. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined such power—power that was his to command. Perrin’s magical music had enhanced it, the healers had fueled it and Aleksei had merged it, but she had directed it, channeled it, fired it into all of them. She was truly an amazing female, of any species.
In so many ways she was his perfect match, his ideal mate: strong, disciplined, dedicated, altruistic, kind, loyal and, as an added bonus, beautiful. If only he could get her to stop being stubborn and come to terms with her feelings. He wanted her to accept the idea of them together in a joyous commitment instead of judiciously avoiding a possible emotional entrapment.
Inwardly he groaned. That was going to take time. He had all the time in the world; he would simply have to exercise his iron will in a different way. He would outlast her stubbornness; be there when she came to her senses. Right now she was not ready to buy into what he was trying to sell her.
She loved him; he was sure of it. There were bound to be a few more bumps in the road of their relationship. He was going to have to put big, thick walls around his ego if he was going to keep from snapping. She was worth it; of that he had no doubt. Now, if he could just get her to see what he saw when he looked at her . . . and believe.
Gillian remained torn between being extremely pissed off and grudgingly grateful to Aleksei. That he hadn’t fallen on her like a randy stud said a lot about his character. A sense of honor was something Gillian admired above all. She had it, all of the people she loved had it, and Aleksei had it in buckets. That was one point she couldn’t argue. Why the hell he wanted her, wanted to go through all the trouble to keep her, was beyond anything she could imagine.
He was remarkable. Powerful, but he refused to use it carelessly and was unwilling to force control or to bring fear. Aleksei was as he always had been even after coming into the full power of a Lord: noble, aristocratic, honorable, honest, stubborn, intractable, chauvinistic, opinionated . . . gorgeous, passionate, tender and bossy.
She was just a scrappy little girl from the foothills of the Ozarks, former Captain, now successful psychologist, sex therapist and poster girl for Paramortal careers everywhere; always a Marine, and apparently a great big chickenshit. And dead, because her friend Kimber was going to fucking kill her if she was now re-virginized as well. Oh joy.
Once they arrived at the castle, Aleksei walked her upstairs and offered to sleep with her if she promised to keep her hands to herself. Gillian kicked off her boots and flopped onto the bed, sprawling over most of the area with an exasperated sigh. Smiling a breathtaking smile, he rolled her onto her side, then lay beside her, curling around her body, sheltering her in his arms. Gill could feel the raw power and sensuality coming from him as she nestled into his warmth. His scent of cardamom and nutmeg was comforting and safe.
There was nothing really to say; they’d said everything on the mountainside. Aleksei had formally asked her for a “date,” and she’d grudgingly agreed after he cocked an eyebrow at her and assured her the only way back into his bed anytime in the near future was to allow him this one concession. Gods above, she wanted to work things out with him. Sort of. Mainly she didn’t want to fight. At least, not with Aleksei.
He held her tenderly, wanting her to know that she was important to him, that he had never before considered any woman as a long-term partner. Even his former fiancée, Elizabeta, had become his ex-fiancée when he realized she was more interested in what he could do for her in terms of immortality and power than with his love.
He was in entirely new territory himself but wasn’t quite as nervous about it as the petite blonde he held in his arms. It was on the tip of his tongue to speak soft words of love and passion to her, but knowing this was Gillian he was dealing with, he refrained. Eventually her breathing evened out and she slept trustingly in his arms.
“Ti amo, mia piccola,” he said softly, his voice rumbling in his chest. No, this was not going to be easy. Even in the surface areas of her mind that he had glimpsed, there was a deep-seated fear of being trapped, particularly in a relationship. Suddenly it occurred to him that he’d known her for over two years and had barely heard her mention her family except for their brief conversation after the Ripper incident. He wanted to know more about her, how and where she’d grown up. “Quid pro quo, Doctor.”
Gillian didn’t talk about herself. She did not whine, wheedle or complain.
Well . . . she did bitch a lot, but it was about other things, not the state of her own affairs. Maybe it was a defense mechanism, or maybe it was automatic professional detachment; maybe she was just being a pain in the ass as usual. He chuckled at his thought. Gillian was a lot of things, but she wasn’t high maintenance despite her prickliness once in a while.
In fact, Gillian was so low maintenance that her own needs, fears and desires were buried; locked away, where no one could ever reach. She was self-protective, fearless, but with a wall of iron surrounding a vulnerability that broke his heart whenever he’d glimpsed it. She kept her emotional distance from everyone, even him. Other people could disappoint her but she would walk through hell itself to avoid failing a patient or a friend.
That was a sobering thought. Perrin had been right. It was all smoke and mirrors with her. She needed looking after and a safe haven. A person she could talk to, really talk to, whom she trusted, loved and respected. Aleksei hoped to someday be that person. For now, her past was a mystery and the future was looking just as obscured.
Trusting him with her life came naturally to her, as did trusting him with her body. Completely comfortable with her own sexuality, she was as giving with her body as she was with her various professional skills. Trusting him or anyone with her heart was quite another matter. Gillian was her first, best and only sanctuary from the crazy shit she had to deal with on a daily basis and from any accidental emotional entanglements. Her Marine family didn’t count. Those relationships were on purpose and Gill loved them like her family. Aleksei wanted very much to be part of that family.
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