by Lou Harper
His arm was around me in an instant. Warm. Solid. Supporting. Comforting. My libido decided it’d be willing to get mugged every day of the week if this was the outcome. My midriff, pain blossoming across it, wasn’t so sure.
“Did they hurt you?”
“M-my stomach,” I managed.
“Let’s have a look.” There was a tug on my violin case, which I resisted for a moment before common sense reasserted itself and I let it go, back into the capable hands of up-do girl.
And then—oh my God, Karate Crumpet was pulling up my T-shirt. I was caught between arousal, desperate hope no one would notice my arousal and fervent regret I hadn’t done a few more sit-ups lately. We all peered at my middle, as if it had suddenly sprouted a TV screen like a Teletubby. There was a reddish patch, but no obvious signs of massive internal haemorrhaging. “I’m okay, honest,” I protested a bit more strongly now.
“Anything else?”
“Well, I hit my head…” I put my hand up to the back of my head—and stared when it came back smeared with blood. “Oh. Ow.”
“Right, that settles it. I’m taking you to A&E.”
“I can’t!” I blurted out. “I’m meeting Keisha.”
He gave me a startled look. “You can text your girlfriend on the way.”
“She’s not…” I cursed as I remembered something more important than setting him, as it were, straight. “She hasn’t got a phone. It broke, and she can’t afford a new one.”
“She’ll forgive you. Come on, let’s get you looked at.”
“I could just go to the slam first…”
“No arguments. Lauren, can you take over with the class?” At the hard-faced girl’s businesslike nod, he turned back to me. “I’ll take you. I’m parked not far away. Right, Lauren, everyone, I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
He gave a little bow. The posse bowed back and chorused something that sounded like “Ooss”.
“But…” I held out a hand, my fingers clutching violin-wards.
“Don’t worry. Lauren will take good care of it, and you won’t have to worry about dropping it if you come over a bit faint, okay?”
“O-okay,” I quavered.
The posse jogged away, up-do girl carrying my violin, which added a nice surreal touch to the already weird sight of them all bounding through the streets. I hoped I’d get it back, but on the other hand, if I got to keep Karate Crumpet instead, it was probably a fair trade.
Spirit Sanguine
Lou Harper
Is that a wooden stake in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
After five years in eastern Europe using his unique, inborn skills to slay bloodsuckers, Gabe is back in his hometown Chicago and feeling adrift. Until he’s kidnapped by a young, sexy vampire who seems more interested in getting into his pants than biting into his neck.
Harvey Feng is one-half Chinese, one-hundred-percent vampire. He warns Gabe to stay out of the Windy City, but somehow he isn’t surprised when the young slayer winds up on his doorstep. And why shouldn’t Gabe be curious? A vegetarian vampire isn’t something one sees every day.
Against their better judgment, slayer and vampire succumb to temptation. But their affair attracts unexpected attention.
When Chicago’s Vampire Boss makes Gabe an offer he can’t refuse, the unlikely lovers are thrust into peril and mystery in the dark heart of the Windy City. Together they hunt for kidnappers, a killer preying on young humans, and vicious vampire junkies.
However, dealing with murderous humans and vampires alike is easy compared to figuring out if there’s more to their relationship than hot, kinky sex.
Warning: Fangalicious man-on-man action, a troublesome twink, cross-dressing vampiress, and role-playing involving a fedora.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Spirit Sanguine
Copyright © 2013 by Lou Harper
ISBN: 978-1-61921-533-7
Edited by Linda Ingmanson
Cover by Lou Harper
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Seeing Red
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
The Cheerful Corpse
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Bad Blood
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About the Author
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