A Glimpse of the Dark Side: Adult Paranormal Erotic Romance Collection (8 page)

"You can say that again," he replied in a tight
voice. His eyes were closed, and she could tell he was beginning
his climb toward joy along with her.

Their kiss was wild and deep as he plunged in
over and over again, grinding his hip after every few thrusts,
filling her with the solid thickness of him.. Each savage thrust
and grind teased her aching clit, bringing her closer and closer to
the point of no return.

In a blinding flash, she lost herself. She felt
his cock grow impossibly hard in the first throes of his climax.
They both cried out as they hit their pleasure peaks at the same
time.

The waves of their ecstasy finally crested and
they came down on the other side. Their cries turned into kisses
and then faded away. She could feel him twitching inside her. It
felt glorious, wonderful.

Finally, they caught their breath and lay
together on the bed, locked in each other's embrace, their sweat
slick and smelling clean on their naked, entwined bodies.

Minutes later- or hours, Jan couldn't tell- she
felt him stir against her. "I knew I wanted you when I saw you
staring at that ridiculous painting at the hotel," he said.

She smiled into his shoulder. "You could have
fooled me, Mr. Poker Face."

"Ah, you'll figure me out before too long. I'm
not that complicated."

She looked at him with a coy grin. "Does that
mean we'll be seeing each other again?"

"I hope so." He gave her such an earnest look,
that she almost laughed. "...I mean, if that's what you want."

"Of course it's what I want," she said, and
kissed him.

"You know, this may not be the time to bring
this up, but there is actually a special section of the FBI for
people with your abilities," he said.

"There is?" she said. He nodded.

"You mean, we could work together again?"

"Sure. You'd probably have to work with other
agents, too, but very few of them are as attractive as I am. I'd
say not more than about 10%."

She pinched him. "I think we make a pretty good
team, no? It's something to think about," she said.

"Good.
Hm.
You think about it while I
pass out."

"Okay" she giggled, "sounds like a plan."

She lay in the dark, holding him in her arms and
listening to his breathing grow deep and even.

Soon, she tumbled into sleep herself.

JANUARY WOKE A little before dawn. The light
coming from the window was still purple-blue, and she could hear
quiet morning sounds beginning outside.

She looked over at Ash lying in the bed next to
her. He was still asleep. She reached out and moved his hair out of
his eyes. He didn't move. She wondered how long it had been since
he had had a decent night's sleep.

She slipped out of bed and went to the window
that looked out into her backyard. For once she didn't shudder to
look at it, even though it was the same as it always was. Something
about it looked different this morning. Maybe it was the light. She
was not used to being up at this hour.

Maybe I could finally plant something this
year,
she thought, and for once, the thought did not fill her
with dread.
Maybe some eglantines. Ha.

She stepped away from the window. As she moved
to get back into bed, her eyes fell on the sand dollar necklace
hanging on her dresser mirror.

She stared at it for a second, as if seeing it
for the first time. It had hung there in the same place for so long
that she had stopped really seeing it. She had taken its place in
her life for granted.

She walked over to the mirror and lifted the
necklace off the corner. The sparkle of the sand dollars was
completely gone now. They were barely recognizable as anything
other than lumps of white rock on a cord that had probably once
been white, but had no color at all anymore.

She tried to picture Lori's face, but all she
came up with was the outline of a face already lost, a portrait
etched in sand, long stolen away by the sea.. Lianna's face swam up
to replace it-a warm, loving face full of laughter and
possibility.

She held the necklace for a moment longer, then
took it to her closet. She emptied a shoebox and placed the
necklace gently inside. Then she buried the shoebox under a pile of
other boxes.

She climbed back into the bed and slipped under
the covers, turning her back to Ash and molding herself to his warm
body. He slipped an arm around her.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she whispered.

"No, I was awake," he said. "What was that on
the mirror?"

She turned to face him and smiled. "Something I
can finally put away now," she said. Then after a sigh, she sighed.
"It was Lori's."

After a moment, he kissed her. Gently. Lovingly.
He held her tighter to him.

He understood.

***

Next in the JANUARY MORRISON FILES, Psychic
Series:

THE MATCHMAKER'S STRINGS

January is once again called in by the FBI to
help in another case of saving innocent victims, this time from the
clutches of a criminal known as 'The Matchmaker'.

But it isn't as simple as just calling a
victim's ghost for information. The notorious gangster who preys on
innocent young Russian women and brings them to America to become
sex slaves also happens to be very dangerous.

Will January be able to save lives again this
time? Will ghosts be able to help her?

And after finally finding the one man who can
truly love her for what she is, does she have to endure seeing him
die? Because the gift that helps her save lives is also the one
thing that will surely drive Ash to his grave.

***

THE VAMPIRE AND THE NIGHTWALKER: IN THE BLOOD
1

by Sandra Ross

LOOKING INTENSELY AT the spread of cards on the
table in front of her, Secret Lavalle pondered what to say to her
young client. There was no easy way to tell a girl in love that she
was being cheated on by the object of her affections. She was
stalling for time, but she knew it wouldn't make any difference in
the end.

"Ok, Sharla. Do you see these two cards right
here? This is the Queen of Pentacles and here's the Three of
Swords. In between these cards is the King of Wands. Now, remember,
we said that the King of Wands represents Dion. The Queen of
Pentacles is showing us a new woman that seems to be in Dion's
life. The Three of Swords right here shows heartbreak and
disappointment."

"But what does that mean, Secret?"

"It means, sweetheart, that Dion is seeing
another woman."

"I knew it!" Sharla yelped as she slammed her
hand down on the table. "That bastard has been lying to me for
months! I could feel it, Secret! It's just that I didn't want to
believe it, you know? But he's gonna get what's coming to him
now!"

"I know it's hard when men do these things,"
Secret said, trying to offer comfort where there wasn't any to
actually be had. "But let's look at this to see what's ahead for
you after you get rid of this worthless piece of waste."

"I don't care what's ahead! I don't want any
other man ever! This is it for me!"

Shaking her head, Secret waited for Sharla to
calm down. It was rarely ever the end for a 19-year-old woman.
Sure, Sharla was hurt and angry now, but once she was able to get
Dion out of her life, there would be another man. Apparently, there
would be more than just one other man coming up in Sharla's
future.

"Oh well," Secret sighed.
No matter what I
say, these girls never listen.

"Sharla, you're going to make it through this.
It's pretty clear that you and Dion aren't meant to be together,
but there will be someone else for you in the future. However, if
you stay stuck in this situation, you'll just delay finding that
man."

"I don't care about finding any other man!"
Sharla's big brown eyes got even wider as she shook her head full
of long, curly, dark hair in denial. "Dion has proved to me that no
man's worth it."

"Sharla, you're going to be fine, sweetheart,"
Secret said calmly. "There is someone else for you. It doesn't
matter if you believe me or not. He's there and he's waiting for
you. You're going to deal with this Dion mess, grieve a little
because of the time you wasted with him, and then you're going to
move on. Your heart will heal. I promise."

Sharla was still glaring at the cards as if she
could make them change their meanings if she just got mad enough.
Secret hoped that her anger would hold for a little while. It would
sustain her and keep her from feeling all of the pain that was also
in her very near future.

"I should have known," Sharla finally said in a
quieter tone. "My Mama told me not to mess with him. I just
couldn't listen to her for once."

"It's okay, Sharla," Secret responded. "Do you
want to know about the next man who's coming into your life?"

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Sharla left Secret's house
in a marginally better mood. It had helped her to hear about this
upcoming man, just as Secret had known it would. There was no
reason to tell her that it wouldn't last, either, though. She would
find that out on her own, when she was meant to know it.

Secret went to the back of her house where her
cozy, country blue and yellow kitchen was located and put on some
water for tea. The only time she preferred hot tea was when she
needed to replenish her energy after a reading. Iced tea was her
favorite the rest of the time.

Sharla was easy to read, though. So Secret's
energy level wasn't too depleted. The reason for the rejuvenating
tea was because of her next client, who would be there within an
hour. Adele Dubois was a psychic vampire in every sense of the
phrase. Her husband had divorced her two years ago and married a
lovely young woman, who was now pregnant with his child. Even these
small details did nothing to deter Adele from her firm belief that
her ex-husband still loved her and would be realizing that fact any
day now. Secret wasn't even sure why the woman kept coming to see
her, because all she did was argue about everything the cards
turned up.

Lacing her tea with plenty of honey, Secret
stirred it thoroughly and went out onto the deck off of her
kitchen. This was a wonderful place to her; a place of calm and
peacefulness. She had added the deck just after buying the house.
With such an incredible back yard, she just knew the house needed a
small deck so that she could enjoy it.

She sat down at the round table, sheltered from
the sun's heat by a large umbrella. The Louisiana sun showered down
on the grass in her yard, as well as her large plants and flower
garden. A green water hose snaked out into the yard from an outside
water spigot that Secret used on the days that the heat wasn't
broken by a rain shower.

Not today, though,
she thought.
It's
going to rain within a couple of hours.

It never occurred to her to wonder how she knew
those things. But she had no doubt that it was going to be raining
by the time she was able to close her door in relief on the
departing back of Adele Dubois.

At the moment, she felt completely at peace and
would enjoy that for now. Adele would arrive soon enough to drain
her of both solace and energy.

Secret wished that there was some way to
convince the woman that she needed to move forward rather than
staying mired in the past. It seemed that there was no moving Adele
from fixating on her ex-husband. Secret almost felt sorry for the
man.

Checking her watch, she realized that she only
had about fifteen minutes before Adele arrived. Finishing the last
of her tea, she stood and went back into the kitchen. Rinsing out
her cup, she placed it into the dish drain beside the sink and
headed into her bedroom to freshen up a little.

By the time Adele was ringing her doorbell,
Secret was ready for her.

Well, at least as ready as she would ever be for
someone like Adele.

Secret opened the door.

"Hi, Adele. Please come in," she said.

"Hi, Secret. I sure hope you have some good news
for me today," Adele began her monologue that wouldn't end the
entire time she was here.

Just as Secret was closing her door, she felt
that familiar chill down her spine. Glancing out at the street, she
saw no one, but was positive that someone was watching her.

"I've just had the most awful week," Adele
continued to whine in the background. "You just won't believe what
Sam's wife has done to me now. I called Sam only because I needed
to ask him a very important question and... Secret! Are you
listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Secret asked, continuing to scan the
street for whoever was focused on her. "Oh yes! Of course, Adele.
Certainly. Please, let's go get started, shall we?"

Looking once more, she closed the door and
walked with Adele back to her reading room.

SHE FELT ME watching her! That's nearly all
the proof I need that she's the one.

From his concealed perch in one of the many
trees lining the street, Kane Broussard knew that the woman hadn't
spotted him. But he knew when she had sensed him. He could feel her
as she searched for him both visually and psychically.

He had first noticed her a week ago when she and
some women were exiting a bar in the French Quarter. Her scent was
intoxicating and immediately caught his attention. He had
surreptitiously followed them that night, watching the woman and
trying to figure out what was so unique about her.

Sure, she was quite beautiful. Her black hair
hung straight and thick to the middle of her back. She had almond
shaped eyes, the color of whiskey, with what seemed to be green
flecks in them. High cheekbones and a full mouth gave her a
somewhat exotic appearance. She was tall; probably around 5'10"
with a model's body.

Eventually, he was able to get her name out of a
bartender that she seemed to be rather friendly with. That was how
he had discovered that Secret Lavalle was one of the best psychics
in a town of psychics. It seemed that she used to do readings on
Bourbon Street as well as the French Quarter, but she had moved
into a small house just outside of New Orleans. Clients still found
her with no problem.