by Nina Bangs
Then everything changed. She was in a different place, in a different time. Jenna instinctively knew this was the time “before,” the time that Fin refused to discuss with his men.
This was the stuff of insanity.
Terror hammered at her—unreasoning, unrelenting. The world around her was dark, with the spiraling shapes of alien-looking buildings towering over streets filled with indescribable carnage. Death swept out of swirling, black, death-clouds. It came in the form of giant, wingless machines like none she’d ever seen before. In the distance, she could hear explosions and see fires lighting the darkness.
I’m only a spectator, a spectator, a spectator. This time the mantra didn’t work. She could feel the evil—oppressive, heavy, moving like a massive rolling blanket of misery and death. And it was coming her way.
It would catch her, smother her within its terrifying folds, and she’d never reach Al. Never, never, never.
Jenna ran. She didn’t know where, or why, or how she’d outrace the spreading extinction of all life in this city. Because that’s what was coming, and she had to find Al. She sobbed as she ran, felt the tears trailing down her face only to be swept away by the sudden wind that whipped up debris from the chaotic streets.
The smell of death gagged her, but she couldn’t stop long enough to throw up. Couldn’t stop, couldn’t stop.
Her breaths came in tortured gasps, and her legs felt ready to collapse under her, but she kept going. A shadow detached itself from the darkness, and for a moment she thought it was Al. No, not Al, but someone else. Someone she knew. A glint of silver and the shadow was gone. But she couldn’t stop to think. Had to keep going. Had to find Al.
She’d never understood the saying about something breathing down your neck. Jenna understood it now. Death had a hot, fetid breath, and he was reaching for her. She strained to get one more burst of speed from pumping lungs and a pounding heart that had no more to give. She closed her eyes and screamed Al’s name.
Without warning, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her against a warm, solid chest. A familiar chest. She sobbed into Al’s shirt as he ran his hand over her hair and made low, comforting sounds. And when he spoke, she somehow knew the words weren’t his.
“You touch my soul, Jenna. You touch what I am, what I once was, and what I will be.”
She wasn’t surprised when the ritual response formed in her mind. “I accept what you share with me today—your love, your soul. I give my love and my soul in return.”
His lips brushed hers as he murmured the last words. “Take what is mine, and let it join us forever.”
Their kiss was long and deep, filled with acceptance of past suffering and joy in all their tomorrows. Jenna finally understood the power of what she’d briefly touched in the tea house. It was love to the power of ten. Okay, maybe eleven. And yes, that was the over-the-top tabloid writer speaking, but who cared?
She could feel the part of him she shared. It was the heat of the sun after a long, cold winter. And she knew she’d never tire of rolling around in it. Naked. With him. Also naked.
Which gave her ideas. “Let’s go home. Now.”
His smile was a sexy twist of his lips, and his eyes blazed his erotic intent. “Sounds good to me.”
Al sat on the park bench in Ritten house Square. It was almost dawn. After making love with so much intensity that he knew his shouts must’ve wakened everyone in the condo, he’d gathered Jenna to him and fallen asleep.
He woke a little later with a sense of someone calling him. Jenna was deep in exhausted sleep, and feeling her warmth curled against him, he almost ignored the summons. But he wanted to know.
Pulling on his clothes, he’d left the condo. Now he sat enjoying a feeling he’d never experienced before. He was totally happy. No rage against his new life, against Fin. The joy came with a sense of freedom, and he just let it soak in.
Al was almost ready to believe he’d dreamed the call when Fin emerged from the darkness and sat down next to him.
“Two down, seven to go. Plus Zero.”
“Why’d you call me?” Al wanted to get back to Jenna. “Oh, and Kione sent a message. Power always has its price.”
Fin simply nodded. He didn’t look Al’s way. “I gave Ty a wedding gift, and now I have one for you.”
For him? Al was intrigued in spite of himself. He waited.
“You’ve always wondered why you hate me so much.” Fin held up his hand. “I know, I know. You’d say it isn’t really hate. But it is.” His silver hair gleamed and sparkled.
“Whatever.” Al wondered about that hair. The silver seemed to glow even when there wasn’t a light source.
Fin finally turned his head to meet Al’s gaze. “I’m going to give you a slice of your memory to explain why.”
Al barely had time to register what Fin had said before he was flung into a different place, a familiar place. Buildings he knew rose on either side of the street where he lay. The dark sky was filled with roiling clouds and death.
He was dying. He knew it, accepted it. They’d fought for days, but now his friends and family lay dead around him. No more reason to fight, to live. He closed his eyes.
And when he opened them, someone was leaning over him. Rage surged through him, giving him temporary strength. He tried to rise, to strike at the face, but he couldn’t. He fell back, unable to move.
“I need your soul.” The voice was not one he knew, but it represented something hated.
“Never.”
“Life beyond this time, this place. Forever. That is what I offer you to night. And since I don’t feel that you’re emotionally able to make a wise choice right now, I’ll make it for you.”
There was a touch of amusement in the voice that made him hate its owner even more.
The face came closer, and only two things registered before everything went black.
Long silver hair.
And the word “enemy.”
Epilogue
“You know, I think Zero fits. The beginning, the end. It’s whatever you want it to be. Fin was complimenting you.” Seir grinned. He liked his reasoning.
The man standing at the edge of the roof staring down at traffic made a rude noise. “That’s crap and you know it. Fin wanted me to know he thought I was nothing, worthless.” He reached down to stroke Balan.
The black jaguar turned his head to study Seir from golden eyes. “You hid your identity from me when last we met. That is not the act of a friend.”
“I’m no one’s friend.” And then he pushed the jaguar from his mind.
Seir didn’t walk over to join them. Heights bothered him. A weakness he wasn’t proud of. “Fin’s not stupid. He knows what you are.”
The man turned away from the edge, his long, dark-red hair swinging in a glittering arc behind him. He walked over to where Seir stood. “He’s grown stronger. I couldn’t…What’s the vernacular in this time period?”
“Whip his ass?”
“I suppose that will do. He fought me to a draw.”
“Guess you need to practice harder.”
“Maybe I should begin practicing by heaving your ass off this roof.” His smile was a slash of wicked enjoyment at the thought.
Seir contemplated the idea with a lot less enthusiasm. “Where’re you going next?”
“Wherever Fin goes next. That’s your job. Find out.” He studied Seir from eyes that refused to stay one color. Right now they were bad-tempered red.
“Maybe I feel like I’ve earned some vacation time.” Seir never tired of agitating.
“Maybe you need to make up your mind whose side you’re on.” With that parting shot, he jerked open the door leading from the roof and disappeared.
Seir met Balan’s amused stare. “And you shut up, cat.”
Praise for Paranormal Queen Nina Bangs!
ETERNAL PLEASURE
“It takes awhile to get used to placing this sort of character in the same sexy arena as wolves and vampires, b
ut Bangs pulls it off with a deft hand and the right balance of menace and humor, weaving in Mayan prophecy for an unusual theme.”
—Booklist
“This is the beginning of an exciting new series. It has it all…action, steamy sex and even some humor…This is a great book!”
—Affaire de Coeur
ONE BITE STAND
“Bangs delivers another outrageously fun and scorchingly sensual paranormal romance.”
—Booklist
“Bangs’s wacky tales never disappoint and her offbeat characters face danger with flair.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
A TASTE OF DARKNESS
“The creativity and humor of Bangs’s outrageously sexy paranormal tale is topnotch and consistently excellent. Her over-the-top scenarios are rich with adventure, fun and laughter. A guaranteed mood lifter!”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Bangs continues her wildly imaginative Mackenzie vampire series with another deliciously dark tale that is…sizzling, sexy, and wickedly funny.”
—Booklist
NIGHT BITES
“Cosmic chaos and laughs abound in this latest romp from the always wonderful Bangs. Sexy and sizzling, this is paranormal fun with lots of spice.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Nina Bangs has written a truly fascinating romantic tale with Night Bites…everything from trickery, sorcery, sizzling sex, intrigue, and danger all rolled into one explosive package.”
—Romance Reviews Today
MORE RAVES FOR NINA BANGS!
NIGHT GAMES
“A look into a future where sex is the only game worth playing showcases Nina Bangs’s talent for witty, irreverent eroticism…A sensual time travel that at once titillates and satisfies…A tempestuous fantasy with scintillating details.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Nina Bangs has to be the imagination queen. Who else could come up with…a humorous satire poking fun at the games people play?”
—Harriet Klausner
MASTER OF ECSTASY
“Is there any author who does humor, horror, and romance in one blending better than Nina Bangs does it?…An amusing romance that will lead the audience to read in one enchanting bite.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Bangs…mixes in several different paranormal elements and equal measures of passion and humor to create her latest wonderfully creative, utterly unique romance.”
—Booklist
THE PLEASURE MASTER
“Sizzling!…The Pleasure Master lends a new definition to the word tease as it titillates the reader.”
—Wordweaving
“An irreverent, sexy and hilarious romp…Nina Bangs has done a fabulous job of creating a funny, sexy and off-beat romance that time-travel aficionados will absolutely relish.”
—Writers Write
AN ORIGINAL SIN
“If you’re looking for a funny, heart-wrenching and truly lovely romance to read, try this one. You won’t be disappointed.”
—All About Romance
“Nina Bangs has come up with a completely new and unique twist on the time-travel theme…that is both humorous and captivating.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
Other books by Nina Bangs:
ETERNAL PLEASURE
ONE BITE STAND
A TASTE OF DARKNESS
NIGHT BITES
NIGHT GAMES
PARADISE (anthology)
AN ORIGINAL SIN
SEDUCTION BY CHOCOLATE (anthology)
UNWRAPPED (anthology)
THE PLEASURE MASTER
AN ORIGINAL SIN
FROM BOARDWALK WITH LOVE
MASTER OF ECSTASY
Copyright
A LEISURE BOOK®
May 2009
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2009 by Nina Bangs
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