Wicked Whispers
Authors: Nina Bangs
Praise for
Wicked Fantasy
“If you need a good laugh, then grab this one… Engaging and fun, filled with surprise twists and turns around every corner. I truly look forward to finding out what trouble the cosmic troublemakers will cause next.”
—
The Eternal Night
“A sensational read full of humor and romance. You’ll be burning through the pages while you follow… all the hijinx and scorching sex.
Wicked Fantasy
is a great read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Nina Bangs has created a story with outrageous and hilarious characters and a romance that will make you wish for your own fantasy at the Castle. It goes on my bookshelf as a keeper. Enjoy!”
—
Night Owl Reviews
Wicked Pleasure
“Wicked fun from start to finish… [A] side-splitting, sexy tale that dazzles and delights.”
—
The Best Reviews
“Another terrific Nina Bangs humorous action-packed paranormal romance… Readers will enjoy this wicked tale.”
—
Midwest Book Review
“A delightful comedy.”
—
The Eternal Night
Wicked Nights
“Paranormal romance filled with humor and sex… and with the right touch of suspense… Action-packed. Readers will enjoy this wicked tale and look forward to novels starring Eric’s siblings, a demon and an immortal warrior, that will surely sparkle with fun.”
—
Midwest Book Review
“Intriguing.”
—
The Eternal Night
… and the novels of
Nina Bangs
“Sinfully delicious.”
—Christina Dodd
“The key to Ms. Bangs’s clever… novels is the cast never does what the reader expects. [She] combines vampires, time travel, and… amusing romance that will lead the audience to read it in one enchanting bite.”
—
Midwest Book Review
“Bangs puts a… darkly brooding hero together with a stubborn heroine; adds an amusing cast of secondary characters… and then mixes in several different paranormal elements and equal measures of passion and humor to create… [a] wonderfully creative, utterly unique romance.”
—
Booklist
“A witty, charming, sexy read.”
—Christine Feehan
“Sensuous and funny… [A] true winner.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A sizzling story… With steamy love scenes and touching characters, Ms. Bangs brings readers into her world and sends them away well satisfied with the power of love.”
—Karen Steele
“I know I can always count on Nina Bangs for an exceptional read! A pure stroke of genius.”
—
The Best Reviews
Berkley Sensation titles by Nina Bangs
WICKED NIGHTS
WICKED PLEASURE
WICKED FANTASY
WICKED EDGE
WICKED WHISPERS
Anthologies
MEN AT WORK
(with Janelle Denison and MaryJanice Davidson)
SURF’S UP
(with Janelle Denison and MaryJanice Davidson)
eSpecials
“Color Me Wicked” from
MEN AT WORK
“Hot Summer Bites” from
SURF’S UP
Wicked Whispers
Nina Bangs
BERKLEY SENSATION, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
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.
Copyright © 2012 by Nina Bangs.
Cover illustration by Julia Kolesova.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY SENSATION® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / October 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bangs, Nina.
Wicked whispers / Nina Bangs.—Berkley Sensation trade paperback ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-61178-4
1. Demonology—Fiction. 2. Fairies—Fiction. 3. Imaginary places—Fiction. 4. Imaginary wars and battles—Fiction. 5. Immortality—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.A636W55 2012 2012025601
813’.6—dc22
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
To Dianne Byrd.
Thanks for suggesting such a wonderful title.
Love it!
Table of Contents
1
The music pressed against the inside of his skull, a melodic migraine pounding out a deadly rhythm in his head. Murmur resisted the urge to just let go, to free his songs, to stop their ice-pick notes from jabbing at him. Pain-free seemed like a good place to be.
He clenched his teeth against the agony. “I need to do a pressure release before my head explodes. I don’t think vacuuming up demon brains is part of the maid’s job description.” Even pacing this hotel room would work off some of the tension buzzing in his brain, but moving hurt too much, so he simply sat as still as he could in the chair facing Bain.
“Control it. If not, they’ll kick you out of the castle, and I need your help.” Bain leaned back in his chair and watched his friend from hooded eyes.
Murmur took a deep breath. “I
never
lose control. So to keep my record intact, I’ll have to take my show on the road. Where can I go to defuse?” The castle/hotel might specialize in fantasy role-playing, but Murmur didn’t think they were ready for what he’d deliver.
Music was his power, but it was also his weakness. If he kept it captive for too long, the pain crippled him. And at some point it might even drive him crazy. What the world did
not
need was a mad music demon.
Bain shrugged. “It’s late, so I’d try the beach. No one there to hear you. But if some of your music does creep back into the castle, no big deal. Remember, I saw you in action here a few weeks ago. You pissed me off with that compulsion you laid on everyone, but we all danced and had a good time. No harm.” He shrugged. “And sure, you were a little scary in the final showdown with Ted, but all demons ramp up the terror.” His grin promised he could take scary to a whole new level. “It’s what makes us beloved by all.”
No harm because I stopped the dance in time. But I didn’t
want
to stop it. I wanted it to go on and on and on…
Murmur knew his smile was bitter. He winced. Damn, even that small use of facial muscles upped the agony. “Don’t be an ass, Bain. You know what would happen if I lost control, so don’t act as if it’s nothing.” He stood and walked slowly to the door, each tortured step sending new vibrations rattling around inside his aching head.
“Fine. Do your thing.” Bain’s tone said he still didn’t get it. He glanced at Murmur’s music system. “This is a pretty fancy setup for just a hotel stay. Maybe you should turn it on and relax with some mellow tunes instead of dragging yourself to the beach.”
“I have a ‘fancy setup’ because I
need
the music.” He and the other demon had been friends for millennia, but that didn’t mean they knew squat about each other. Demons weren’t social creatures, and being friends simply meant they didn’t try to tear each other apart when they met. All right, so Bain and he were a little closer than that, but Bain had only experienced Murmur’s music on a small scale. He’d never really seen what happened when Murmur got serious.
Bain heaved an exaggerated sigh and rose to follow him. “Then I’ll leave you to your midnight concert. I’m due for my last fantasy performance of the night in about ten minutes. Give a shout if you need me.” He paused before heading for the winding stairs leading down to the great hall. “And thanks for sticking around. I appreciate it.” Then he was gone.
Coming from a demon, Bain’s words were the same as a big hug and a sloppy kiss from a human. Demons didn’t display emotions. Most of the time, they didn’t have any to display. Okay, so maybe there were occasional outbursts of rage leading to mass destruction. But that was about the limit to their softer feelings.
Murmur took the elevator. No way would he survive the explosion of pain as each foot landed on those stone steps. From there he staggered out of the castle, his hands over his ears, trying to block all those human voices adding to the din in his head.
He stumbled across Seawall Boulevard and down the steps leading to the beach. This was all Bain’s fault. The other demon had asked Murmur to help with some as-yet-to-be-explained plot. That had been a few weeks ago. Since then Murmur had been stuck on Galveston Island, unable to find a place far enough away from people to free his music.
Sure, he could’ve abandoned Bain. But Bain was a friend. His
only
friend. And wasn’t it pathetic that Murmur actually cared? Not a positive demonic character trait. He’d have to shore up his I-don’t-give-a-damn wall of indifference.