If I break it down by book, the most obvious Alpha hero I have is Roul Verlaine in Mating. Roul is the quintessential Alpha. He’s a werewolf who leads his pack. He’s an action man, a decision maker, and within his world he’s a force of nature. When he meets his mate, the fact that she too is Alpha, totally turns him on and makes him even more eager to pounce on her, take her, and make her his own. He’s a tad bit chauvinistic, but then again, that seems to be an overriding Alpha trait. They always want to be the top of the heap and that means commanding their women too even if the women are Alpha. However, like a good marriage, compromise becomes the key and a smart Alpha will learn to work in tandem with his Alpha mate. Despite the fact that within an hour of meeting Morgan, Roul has her beneath him in bed, he does learn to compromise.

Now, Roul’s twin Ranulf is the Beta.  In Runaways, Ran meets a woman on a train and instantly wants her. However, he doesn’t get up from his table in the dining car and approach her. It’s not until some Goth kids push him into her that he takes the opportunity to hit on her. And Dante is the one who invites Ran to her sleeper cabin, not the other way around. It’s not that Ran can’t take charge because he can. And he does, the instant he has a naked Dante all over him.

Ran’s used to being Roul’s right hand and dealing with pack business in an aggressive manner. But personally, he lacks that instantaneous urge to dominate that his older twin has.  Where Roul made the decision in moments to pounce on Morgan, Ran let Dante come to him and then he took control.  The Beta therefore has slightly less strong instincts to possess and has a bit more finesse when it comes to dealing with their mates. Think of it as the Cro Magnon man compared to the Neandertal.

My quintessential Beta has always been Weylyn Randall. But in Common Ground, you don’t necessarily get the impression that Weylyn is Beta. Set beside Marius, you wonder about both men.  Marius has a lot of confusion about his mate for an Alpha.  Fortunately, I give the reasons for it. When Colin ogles Marius’s mate, the Alpha surfaces and Marius takes his younger brother to task for it. Colin, who is also Alpha, but often doesn’t come off that way (see the beginning of Hot Water where Eden thinks Colin is Beta because he’s so laid back), does back off. For one, Marius is his older brother and for another, he already has a mate. Had Colin not been mated, he might not have backed down so easily.

As for Weylyn, you discover that he has an Alpha, a female Alpha whom he respects and would do anything for. You see that Weylyn is the laid back type who often lets his mate take charge. But like any good Beta, when needed to bring a situation or a person to heel, he can bring some major force to bear. Reading Weylyn you’ll find that he shares a lot of the same qualities of Ranulf. If there’s no Alpha to take charge, they will automatically rise to the challenge.  Betas are not weak. In many ways, they have far more strength than an Alpha because they must always hold themselves ready to support the Alpha. Second in command is often a tougher job than leading because not only do the lower ranks look up to you, the leader himself looks to you for support. So it’s no surprise that Weylyn Randall doesn’t come off as weak beside the Alpha, Marius Granville.

In the Pixie Prince, Max doesn’t come off as Alpha when sharing the page with Alexa, his snapping, growling, take charge vampire best friend. Yet, with his mate Bliss, it becomes much more obvious. The fact that Max is a nice guy tempers his aggressive tendencies. And besides, the fae aren’t as territorial as werewolves and vampires anyway.

The obvious Alphas in my books are the ones who are Doms. Ride the Lightning‘s Vahid Delrey may brown nose his boss Sean Antaeus (the most Alpha of Alphas in the Tales series) but in his own domain, his own dungeon, Vahid is a Dom. He controls his mate Emily sexually. The submissive Emily comes off as Alpha while at work because she is in charge of the finances of a multi-billion dollar empire. At home, she has a penchant for pain and submitting to Vahid is what makes her happy. Readers may have thought she was Alpha, but she is not. They may have thought Vahid was Beta, but he is not.

In their case, it’s a question of business versus sex. Just because you are an Alpha doesn’t mean your job lets you be one while on the clock and vice versa. However, at home, their true natures are obvious as Vahid takes control and Emily revels in it.

My other Dom is Aric Calderwood in Insolence. Aric is a total Alpha male and his best friend Ainsley Connor is Alpha too. All Aric has ever known of Ainsley is her strong personality and her need to lead. As children, their similar personalities are what made them best friends. As adults, Aric doesn’t want Ainsley on his turf – his BDSM club Insolence -  because he can’t bear the thought of watching her with another man, even if it’s a Beta or Omega.

For Ainsley, her love for Aric is so strong that she would do anything to have him, including shoving her Alpha into a box and nailing it shut so she can sub for her best friend. The very fact that she has the strength of will to subdue her Alpha tendencies for Aric tells you what she is. And for these two, life has a dividing line similar to Ride the Lightning’s. Sexually, Aric has control. He is the Alpha in the relationship. Outside the bedroom, the two resume the give and take they have known all their lives and Ainsley’s Alpha has free rein.

Over all, my heroes tend to be Alphas, but often my heroines are as well. And my Beta heroes are strong while some of my Alphas must bow to other Alphas. There’s Garret and Holden in Fire Season who must learn to work together despite both of them being Alpha. And in the office, Garret answers to Emily while Holden looks to his older brother Sean. Both of these Alphas have had to learn to compromise in business and in their private lives, but they make it work.

The same holds true of Declan Antaeus who also answers to his brother Sean.  But in Shifting Winds, we also learn that an Alpha who gives control over to the woman he loves can be hotter than the Mojave Desert in August. When Declan lets Elysia fuck him with a vibrator…well, it’s not exactly a very Alpha thing to do. Or is it? Declan still controls the situation. He’s asking her to do this, giving her the toys to use, the whole scene is orchestrated by him very subtly but still. He may be the one being fucked, but it’s what he asks for in order to achieve a certain level of pleasure. He’s definitely still in control.

With the M/M dynamic, you have to be a little more subtle about things when you have a pair of Alphas. Of course, it would be a lot easier to write if one was Alpha and the other not. I don’t tend to take the easy way out of emotions when writing though. In Where There’s Smoke, Zander is clearly Alpha with the aggression to prove it. His mate Voth is Alpha too, but Voth is a bit less aggressive, a little bit more cerebral, and his emotions aren’t as Neandertal as Zander’s. Of course, Voth was raised in a very different culture than Zander and his future was always destined, not something he’d have to fight for. The very fact that Zander’s spent his life fighting makes him appear more Alpha than Voth.  They are essentially equals, but it manifests itself in different ways. When Voth gives in to Zander, it’s because intellectually, logically, it’s the thing to do. Or in the case of sex, he just wants to cause he knows his turn is coming.

So where does all this leave us with regard to the Greek alphabet? I’m not sure. A character like Roul Verlaine is obvious to a reader. A character like Declan Antaeus or Weylyn Randall may not be. There are subtleties to these characters and things that they may have to do to survive in their world that may not fall strongly under the label of Alpha or Beta. Personally, I think the blurring of these Greek lines is what gives a character depth and endears them to readers. But what do I know? In the end, it’s all Greek to me.

It’s All Greek To Me is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

The idea to use a character who has a strong presence in my head didn’t come easily to me. At The Bar, Weylyn is a hero in his own right. No secondary character at all. When I envisioned who he would be years after his story in The Bar, I wrote The Were & Chair where he meets his mate. Again, no secondary status.  Now, in Common Ground, I’m relegating him to the lesser role.

Yet, I can already see that a great deal of Common Ground will be shaped by Weylyn’s unique personality. In a menage a quatre, you’d better have strong personalities to deal with the repercussions of sex outside your bond with your mate. Weylyn and Keir have an open relationship in the sense that they do have sex with other people, just always with their mate along for the ride too. They are a team and when they decide to take on a temporary partner for fun, it’s with the understanding that that person is there for both of them to enjoy.

Slotting such an adventurous couple into a story about Marius Granville seems awkward. Well, it is awkward. Marius is very straight laced. He doesn’t let go of his emotions. He doesn’t do outrageous things. Weylyn is all about the outrageous. When Marius begins to fall for Sair and discovers that to have her he has to become involved with Weylyn and Keir too… well, it’s a big step for Marius to take. He’s been strictly heterosexual up to this point, but now the woman he wants more than anything is asking him to step out of his comfort zone.

Pushing Marius out of his comfort zone wasn’t the difficult part either. I knew Sair could do it. But pushing him into a M/M situation and not having him be squicked out… that was the thing I had problems with. Until I hit upon the idea of bringing Weylyn to this book. If anyone could suck Marius’s cock and not make the vampire feel like he’d lost his masculinity, Weylyn could.

And that is how I happened to bring a strong character, a main character, into a book where he stands in the secondary slot. It’s a very important job I’ve given him and I truly think he is up to it. He’s a special character and holds a piece of my heart because of it. No one can roll with the punches like Weylyn. I hope that when Common Ground comes out, you will see exactly what I mean. It’s my intent that you fall in love with Marius and Sair… and with Weylyn and Keir as well.

Auld Lang Syne is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

Writing Macaire’s death should have been easy. I’d been steadily making him more unhinged and evil from the time Heath died, with the idea that it would be simpler to off a really bad guy. I mean, killing Onyx the evil black dragon was a piece of cake. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way you want them to. Macaire was always essentially a good guy, so in the end his death wasn’t the happy event Onyx’s was. It was just tragic.

Here’s some background for you and then I’ll give you the actual post where Macaire dies. Macaire is after Nyx McClaren. Nyx is a water fairy who is bonded to her mate, a silver dragon named Valerian Kronos. Nyx is also a legendary spy called The McClaren. The McClaren is protected by an ancient being, a guardian called an Am-feare fair. Alfred is Nyx’s Am-feare fair and he usually looks like Batman’s Alfred, a white haired old man. The other characters in this post include Sterling and Mal, both of whom are new Fallen Angels, who were set the task of keeping an eye on Valerian, Nyx, and Macaire. Their boss is Elysia, who is in charge of the angels. Her boss is Marius, the Archangel. Elysia’s two sisters, Venetia and Althea are also angels. The song that accompanies the post is by The Cult and it really fits this post well, so make sure you play it. And now, here’s the death of Macaire:

Black Angel

My Rhapsody Playlist

Sometimes being Marius’ right hand sucked ass. Elysia paced her office as she thought, trying to come up with a way to solve all the things that had gone wrong so quickly. Althea was falling in love with Lorenzo Moretti. She should be pulled off of the blue dragon prodigy case, but now that the blues knew there was danger, Elysia wouldn’t be able to place someone else that close to them. For now, to protect the prodigy, Althea had to stay with Lorenzo despite how much it went against the grain with Elysia.

Venetia had her hands full containing the mess that was Ogilvie’s death. Elysia knew she would take a considerable amount of heat from Marius over it too. Originally, Macaire’s assignment was to protect Ogilvie. It had been a long term assignment, something Elysia had never liked, but Marius had strangely insisted on. In fact, Marius had been reluctant for some time to rein in Macaire, something that made Elysia very edgy.

Now, the whole situation with Macaire was blowing up with no one experienced on hand to contain it. Sure, Sterling was ex-CIA, but she was a new angel and Mal was just a baby despite the sexual feelings he already had for his partner. Macaire was rogue and dangerous. He’d killed the man he was supposed to be protecting, just to cause a diversion that would keep Venetia tied up for hours. Now, he was intent on killing his sister and her new husband. On top of that, he had no qualms about taking out an ancient being, the Am-feare fair. Neither Elysia nor Marius knew whether the Am-feare fair would be able to protect the McClaren from Macaire. Neither of them knew whether Oberon’s Ogham rings would protect the couple. The situation was fraught with a host of unknowns and Elysia had no help.

It had been years since she’d been in the field. Not since Althea had become strong enough to handle a job on her own had Elysia actually worked a job herself. This time, she had no choice. Not only was she the only angel available, she was the only one stronger than Macaire. As she transported herself to the dock, she wondered if that was why Marius had allowed things to shake out the way they had. He’d known no one would be able to contain Macaire but her.

When Elysia stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself to Sterling and Mal, she found the young man antsy to get involved in the drama that was unfolding at the Dragonfire.

“Aren’t you going to stop him?” Mal demanded, gesturing toward Macaire, who was tossing a bolt of energy at the McClaren.

“It’s not that simple, Mal,” Elysia said evenly, her eyes never leaving Macaire’s angry form. “I can’t just put whammy on a creature as powerful as Macaire. He’s not a human or a being with a lot less power than me. In order to contain him, I need to use my power judiciously.”

Sterling’s sharp eyes went from Macaire to Elysia and back again. “Even our combined power…?” she trailed off, her voice questioning.

Elysia shook her head, her long brunette hair fluttering. “The two of you are not to do anything but observe. That was Marius’ direct order,” she intoned coldly. “Also, because of the Ogham rings, we must bide our time. There are things at stake in this conflict that must be resolved. We must wait and watch as the scene plays out. I will know when it is time for me to take Macaire in hand.”

The three angels turned their eyes to the Dragonfire in time to see Macaire’s bolt of energy pick Nyx up and fling her against the yacht twenty feet behind her. Mal winced and Sterling’s eyes darkened. Elysia herself betrayed her concern with a tightening of the corners of her mouth. Still, the three of them stood in the darkness and watched Macaire go supernova.

“Aren’t you going to fight back, sister?” he spat as he stepped onto the dock. “You’re not even going to make this challenging for me, are you?”

“You’re not my brother, Macaire,” Nyx panted angrily. “You’re just a pain in my ass!”

At the last word, she threw her hand out and a golden bolt of light shot out directly from her Ogham ring. Elysia’s eyebrows rose. The ring had absorbed the bolt of energy that Macaire had thrown at her and now she was directing it back at him. Unfortunately, Macaire disappeared and the bolt of energy hit the back of the Dragonfire with a muffled boom that rocked the big yacht. He reappeared, laughing delightedly.

He clapped his hands politely. “Bravo, Nyx! Very well played. Those are nifty little rings for sure. I wonder what Valerian’s ring can do. Shall we ask him?”

Macaire snapped his fingers and an immobile Valerian appeared on the deck of the Dragonfire. Nyx McClaren’s eyes flashed blue green fire. Sterling shifted restlessly on her booted feet, and Elysia knew her first instinct was to protect the man who was held captive. Her CIA training allowed her to remain focused on the target, Macaire, all the while plotting how to release the victim. Elysia was more than pleased with the cool logic of Sterling’s thoughts under pressure. Mal, on the other hand, was showing signs of impatience, something Sterling was going to have to train out of him.

Valerian Kronos was glaring angrily at his mate while she glared angrily at Macaire, who was grinning with triumph. Casually, he tossed another bolt at Nyx. She moved with lightning speed, trying to avoid the bolt but it followed her like a heat seeking missile, tossing her a good hundred feet down the dock. Valerian’s eyes flared with heat and his Ogham ring glowed brightly. Nyx picked herself up and stalked back toward the Dragonfire, her ring glowing more and more the closer she got to Valerian.

“Let him go, Macaire. This is between you and me. If I die, you know he dies too, so there is no need for you to keep him here,” Nyx gritted out, her voice cold as ice.

Macaire shook his head. “Oh, on the contrary, Nyx,” he told her in a smoothly contemptuous voice. “I have every reason to keep him here. You would do anything to save his silver hide. That is an ace in the hole to me. Just a little insurance in case the Am-feare fair here gets out of hand.”

“I cannot engage you, Macaire. You know that. I can only protect Mrs. Kronos. I cannot raise my hand to stay you until your overt actions become more than she can handle on her own,” Alfred intoned, his huge robed body as motionless as stone.

“Well, then. I suppose it’s time to up the ante, eh old man?” Macaire’s laughter was filled with insane delight as he waved his hand toward Valerian Kronos.

As if a hand had pushed him, Valerian toppled over the rail of the Dragonfire into the murky river. Nyx let out a startled cry, knowing, as they all did, that Valerian was unable to move because of the whammy Macaire had put on him. He was sinking like a stone in the river, unable to swim.

“You sonofa…” Nyx rushed Macaire, her movements a blur. In the blink of an eye, her hands were around his throat, squeezing powerfully into the muscle.

Macaire’s face turned purple as he stared unblinkingly into Nyx’s furious eyes. Elysia made a motion with her hand toward the river and Sterling took off running, diving off the dock into the oily water in one swift movement. Mal rushed to the edge and crouched there, waiting for her to come back up with Valerian.

As Nyx struggled with Macaire, both the Am-feare fair and Elysia closed in on them. Elysia wasn’t sure what to do other than play a waiting game. This was the Am-feare fair’s responsibility. If by chance he was unable to contain Macaire, Elysia herself would do it.

“I will make you pay for what you’ve done to my family,” Nyx growled into Macaire’s face.

“MY family. Mine before it was ever yours!” Macaire rasped. His arms came up and knocked hers away. He tried to put the whammy on her, but strangely, it didn’t work.

Nyx’s Ogham ring was emitting a high pitched whine and Nyx herself was glowing with a weird purplish light. The Am-feare fair hadn’t made a sound, but Elysia knew he was concentrating on Nyx and Macaire. A glance at the river showed that Sterling and Valerian still hadn’t come up. That worried Elysia a little, but she had to stay focused on Macaire.

“Fuck you, Macaire,” Nyx spat as Macaire grabbed her arm, twisting it painfully. “You’re no McClaren. A McClaren would never do anything as dishonest as what you’ve done. You had the opportunity to be more than the McClaren. You had a chance to help people as an angel, yet all you’ve done is feed into the base emotions of greed and jealousy and envy. You do not have the qualities necessary to BE the McClaren!”

Nyx wrenched out of his hold. Fury lit Macaire’s expression and the wind began to tear at everyone’s clothes. He drew a deep breath and when he exhaled flames shot out of his nostrils, licking toward Nyx. She laughed at him, which seemed to infuriate him even more.

“My mate is a dragon. You think I cannot withstand fire?” she taunted him, her long ponytail whipping in the wind. “You’re foolish, Macaire. Just give up before you do something that will require that Alfred destroy you!”

Elysia shook her head. Nyx shouldn’t be taunting him. It was a bad move on her part. She had no idea what she was up against. Thus far, Macaire had only been toying with her. Elysia wondered if he was done playing now. He certainly looked as if he was.

Sure enough, Macaire made a movement with his hand and Nyx floated up off the dock, as if held by an invisible hand. She struggled, but couldn’t free herself. The Am-feare fair took two steps forward.

“Let her go,” he intoned.

Macaire tossed the huge man in the purple robes a sardonic look. “I think not, Alfred,” he said mockingly. “I think it’s time I showed you all what kind of power you’re messing with. Valerian is gone to the bottom of the river now. Next will be Nyx. If you get in my way, Alfred, you will go before her.”

Alfred took another step toward Macaire. “I cannot let you harm the McClaren.”

Macaire put out his free hand toward Alfred. “I AM THE MCCLAREN!” he yelled furiously. “She is nothing! Just a fucking girl! A girl who got everything that should have been mine! She got my title, my castle, my very life! SHE TOOK IT FROM ME!”

Macaire’s fingers twisted and Nyx twisted in his grasp, as if her body was being crushed by a giant unseen hand. Blood trickled from her nose as she struggled to get free. The Ogham ring was emitting a loud ringing whine now.

“Fuck. You.” Nyx’s words were obviously a struggle to get out, but the fury in her eyes matched Macaire’s.

He twisted his hand again and her body bent in the air, blood now trickling in a stream from her ears and the corner of her mouth. “I will never give in,” she panted, blood spraying with every breath she exhaled.

The Am-feare fair made a movement, his hands emerging from his robes. Macaire laughed at him, making Nyx twist even more grotesquely in the air. Alfred took a step toward Macaire, intent on making him release Nyx.

Elysia’s eyes widened then as the leg of Nyx’s black catsuit split down the thigh as if rent from within. There was a glint of metal there, yet Nyx’s arms were nowhere near her thigh. Elysia bit back as gasp as she saw a deadly little blade appear. She recognized it at once. The Am-feare fair began to smile and lowered his hands.

“Giving up, Alfred?” Macaire mocked, his laughter maniacal. “You know you cannot win. I am the true McClaren. This bitch imposter will now die and I will take back what is rightfully mine!”

As Macaire moved his hands to crush Nyx, the lethal little sgian dubh shot through the air toward the angel. Just before it buried itself in his throat, Macaire saw it coming and screamed. “Noooooo!”

There was a gurgle as the dirk buried itself to the hilt in Macaire’s flesh. His hands came up to claw at it, but he could not remove it. No longer held in Macaire’s power, Nyx fell to the dock unconscious. Alfred ran to Nyx. Elysia ran to Macaire. Behind her, she heard a splash as Sterling broke the surface of the river.

Macaire lay on the dock, his pupils expanding as black blood poured from the wound in his throat to puddle beneath him. Elysia knelt beside him and took his hand. He worked his mouth, but no words came out. In her head, she heard his thoughts.

Why?

Because this was not your destiny, Macaire. You are not the McClaren and were never meant to be so.

Then why show me what should have been mine? Why?

Elysia shook her head sadly. I don’t know. At some point in our existence, Marius takes us each back to our pasts to show us who we were. I do not know why. I have my suspicions, but they are only conjecture.

Why did the sgian dubh attack me? I am a McClaren.

Above them Alfred intoned, “The blade is cursed in several ways. Primarily, it will seek out evil and seek to kill those who act with evil intent. It is also cursed to only work when thrown from the hand of the McClaren. The last part of the curse is that it will seek to protect the McClaren from any harm. The blade was forged by the first Am-feare fair and cursed by his lover, a witch. The blade was made to perform its duties flawlessly. And so it has this night.”

Alfred turned and walked away, picking up Nyx’s limp body and stepping onto the Dragonfire. Elysia looked over her shoulder and saw Mal carrying the dripping body of Valerian Kronos. Sterling’s eyes were filled with concern.

“You can save him,” Elysia told her. “The Ogham ring protected him from drowning, did it not?”

Sterling nodded. “It’s why I couldn’t get him up to the surface. The damned ring was fighting me. I couldn’t get a grip on him,” she said. “It was like he was in a protective bubble.”

Elysia gestured toward the yacht. “Take him to his mate. They need each other to recover,” she said quietly.

“What about Macaire?” Mal asked.

Elysia turned away from them. “He is my responsibility.”

Sterling and Mal stepped onto the Dragonfire and disappeared below the deck. When they were gone, Elysia stroked her hands over Macaire’s golden hair. Tears were leaking from his eyes.

I am to go now, aren’t I? he asked her.

She nodded. I cannot stop the blade from doing its duty. It is your time to go, Macaire.

He blinked at her, his throat working, causing the blade to sink in further. More black blood gushed from the wound. I’m sorry, Elysia. I was wrong. His eyes pleaded with her.

I wish I could help you, Macaire, but I cannot. You set yourself on this path, and it is not for me to alter its course. I wish you peace in the Afterworld.

Elysia pulled the dirk from Macaire’s throat and a flood of black blood spurted from it, soaking through his clothes. The light in his eyes faded swiftly, the pupils expanding until the irises were gone. Elysia closed his eyelids and looked for the dirk but it was gone. When she looked back at Macaire he was fading swiftly until the outline of his body became whisps of fog that disappeared into the night.

Rising to her feet, Elysia sighed heavily. This was not the first angel she had seen go to the Afterworld. However, every time she witnessed it, she felt sick to her stomach. She looked up as Sterling and Mal joined her. Sterling had already removed the water from her clothes.

“What do we do now?” Sterling asked Elysia.

The tall brunette cleared her throat. “Just make sure they get back to Scotland without any further trouble,” she said softly. “I need to check on Venetia.”

Sterling and Mal nodded and Elysia took herself back to her office. Sitting in the corner on the settee was Marius. He had a tray of tea and was sipping from a porcelain cup. Elysia bit her lip and sat down in the chair across from him. He leaned forward and poured her a cup of tea, adding a bit of cream and a lump of sugar, just as she liked it. He handed it to her and she sipped the hot beverage, thinking there was nothing a good, hot cup of tea could not overcome.

“It is done.”

“I know.” Marius sipped his tea, his pale blue eyes on the woman who had been his right hand for centuries. “You never like this part.”

“No.” Elysia refused to look at him.

“You liked him.”

She sighed and set the cup down, her eyes finally meeting his. “I did. Until he decided he didn’t want to be one of us any longer. Then I knew he was on borrowed time. I just did not want to be the one to witness his passing. I like the creation of life, Marius, not the ending of it.”

Marius stood up and walked over to where she sat. He stroked a hand over her glossy brown hair. “I know, love. I know.” He bent and kissed the top of her head and dissolved into thin air.

Elysia sat sipping her tea for a long time, staring out the window at the puffy clouds in the night sky. There should be something to herald his passing, she thought, like the bell ringing in that Christmas movie when the angel got his wings. He’d had so much talent. It made her heart ache to see it all wasted.

After a long moment struggling to set aside her sadness, Elysia pulled a file folder toward her, seeking to bury herself in her work.

This post is dedicated to Heath Ledger, a talent that left us far too soon.
4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008

Have a great day!

Black Angel is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

So I’m writing these two characters and I’m coming up on the kiss, and suddenly, I’m not sure how I want it to go. Since I was in a quandary, I decided to look at some past first kisses I wrote to help me figure this out. At the end, I’ll show you what my hero looks like in my head. He’s hot and amusing and so very different from any man my heroine has ever been with. But first, a few kisses.

Dominic and Ainsley

“You don’t have to wait with me while I hail a cab,” she told Dominic. “I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

He shrugged. “Your sister would want me to make sure you’re safely in a cab.”

Ainsley’s mouth tightened angrily. “And you do whatever my sister thinks you should?”

Dominic’s frown creased his forehead. “She’s a wise woman, so yeah, mostly I do.”

“Well, I suppose it’s easier than thinking for yourself,” she muttered sarcastically.

“Why are you such a bitch?” he burst out.

“Why are you such a dick?” she shot back.

She heard a cab pull up just as Dominic growled and grabbed her arms. She wondered if he was going to shake her, and looked up into his face, her eyes meeting his golden ones. There was something in them that suddenly wrenched at her and it was definitely not anger. Driven by something she couldn’t name, she stood on tiptoe and leaned against him, pressing her mouth to his.

Dominic growled again and let go of her arms to grab her hips and pull her against him. His mouth was hot against hers and she felt the wet glide of his tongue enter her mouth. She moaned at the sensations that were buffeting her body. He tasted like cinnamon and she wanted to wind her arms around him and…

“Hey lady! Do you need a ride or not?” the cabbie yelled out.

Ainsley jerked back from Dominic, her hand going to her mouth. They stared at each other for a split second, both of them breathless. Then she turned and stumbled into the cab. It shot away from the curb and she looked back, seeing Dominic still standing there watching the cab drive away. Whatever had just happened between them had been just as stunning to him as it had been to her. Now, if only she could figure out what had happened, she might be able to prevent it from happening again. She touched her lips. They burned. In fact, her whole body felt like it was on fire. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, so she wondered if maybe she should let it happen again…and again…

Mace and Sterling

I stopped and looked over my shoulder to find that Mace had followed me as I’d known he would. I slipped between the mausoleum, the tree, and a tall wrought iron fence, my back against the cold marble. Mace stepped close to me, his body brushing mine.

“You’re giving me signals, Blondie,” he said in a low rough whisper as his fingers snaked through my silvery waves.

“You’re giving signals as well, Bad Boy,” I murmured and set my Glock on the ledge next to me. With a flick of my wrist I popped the buttons on my leather jeans and I heard Mace draw in a hissing breath. Then his mouth was on mine, hard and grinding.

His fangs cut my lower lip and I tasted blood. He ground his hips against mine pressing me back against the cold marble wall as his hands first gripped my shoulders then moved down to slide under the edge of my leather corset top to squeeze my breasts roughly. I thrust my tongue into his mouth fiercely, my hands clutching at his thick neck and muscular shoulders. His hands moved from my aching nipples to slide over my naked buttocks beneath my loosened jeans. The jeans slid to my knees and Mace’s knee wedged between mine, spreading my thighs for the rough caress of his fingers.

He groaned when he discovered my wetness and I reached between us to unzip his jeans and release his hard cock. The velvety tip was already leaking fluid. I stroked it and his head fell back, a shaft of moonlight showing me the pleasure on his face. He groaned again and then his head moved and his eyes met mine. “I don’t have a condom,” he gritted.

I shook my head, strands of my hair catching in the dark stubble on his jaw. “You don’t need one. I’m going to die tonight,” I told him as I nipped at his strong neck.

Helios and Tarren

Helios sat down beside me and reached out to take my hand in his. His thumb stroked my palm in a caress that sent shivers down my spine.

“Can’t you look at me?” he whispered.

I turned my head back toward him noticing how close he was. He sat on the other chaise and his knees were right up against the one I sat on. He was leaning forward so that he was actually only inches from me. Our eyes met and my heart began to race. I swallowed hard. His free hand came up and slid into my hair testing the texture. Then his fingers cupped the back of my head and he pulled me toward him. His mouth touched mine briefly, hesitantly. Electricity crackled through my body lighting every nerve ending. When I didn’t pull away he kissed me again, this time more urgently, his tongue parting my lips then sliding against my tongue.

I sat there not really kissing him back but not putting up any resistance either. Everything I’d begun to feel for him since the moment he’d walked into Blackthorne Castle rushed to the surface as he kissed me. I felt as if I was coming alive. I tingled as if with an electric shock and my skin burned with heat. I could feel Helios’ emotions flooding his thoughts and by extension, my own thoughts. He pulled away, his thumb coming up to stroke my bottom lip as we looked at each other trying to figure this thing out.

Alex and Maris (This isn’t a first kiss, but rather a first kiss after being apart for years.)

He smiled gently at her, his body angling itself closer to hers. “Yet, you were coming here to meet a man you didn’t know,” he said in a low tone.

“I was coming here to find the man who wrote those words,” she countered.

“Are you surprised to find it was me?” he asked, his head cocked to one side.

She shook her head, her silky hair spilling over her shoulder. “Surprised is too mild a word.”

Alex bent his head, bringing his mouth close to hers. “Kitten, what I feel for you isn’t mild and never has been,” he murmured, his breath wafting over her lips as his pet name for her slipped out easily.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he swooped in and kissed her. It was a light kiss, just a brushing of his lips against hers, rubbing softly and seductively, promising more. God, how he was promising her more! His head spun as her apricot scent and the fruity taste of her mouth overwhelmed him. He felt his cock twitch and fought for control.

As he lifted his head, their lips parting, two tears slipped down her cheeks. He swallowed hard, pushing down the ache that rose in him when he saw her pain. His thumbs brushed the moisture away, the feel of her tears on his skin making his chest burn.

“Maris, this is the first time I’ve felt joy in more years than I want to count,” he whispered hoarsely, his emotions close to slipping free of his control. “Tell me you don’t want dinner.”

She shook her head. “I can’t eat.”

Miles and Jen (This is the hottest kiss I’ve ever written IMO. I read this and shiver.)

He was hot. Hot in a way that made her knees weak. She could tell he didn’t really want to talk to her. He was edgy, and he kept looking at the door. The rest of his family stayed away though. That meant he had nothing to focus on but her. And he did. It was disconcerting.

His beauty was deadly. He totally slayed her with his dark eyes and his square jaw and hot body. Her heart was racing and tumbling in her chest. The words he spoke were just ordinary ones. He said everything she expected him to say. There was nothing sexy or flirtatious about what he was saying. However, there was an expression at the back of his eyes that told her something far, far different than the words that fell from his lips.

His eyes were hot. And needy. Not needy bad, but needy good. The kind of needy that led to sweaty bodies and delicate touches and little moans of pleasure. One of those moans erupted from the back of her throat as she stared into his eyes. She couldn’t help herself. Looking at him was like looking at a buffet when you’d been without food for months.

The sound of her moan affected him. How could it not? She knew she wasn’t the only one wrapped in a white hot heat of lust. But while she stared at him google eyed, unable to focus on the issues at hand, he’d been all business, only that expression in the back of his eyes giving away that he felt the same as she did. Now, that little snippet of sound was unleashing a beast. A beast that she knew would devour her. She was more excited than she could remember ever being.

His hand came up to brush her jawline. His body angled in closer to hers. She could smell his cologne. It was faint and overridden mostly by his own unique scent. She liked that. He wasn’t artificial. As his hand slid into her long hair and cupped the back of her head, she placed her palms on his rock hard chest. The muscles shifted beneath the thin t-shirt, and she could feel his heart thudding against her palm.

She looked up at him and saw that the expression in the back of his eyes had taken over. He wasn’t thinking about business at all now. He was thinking about her. He lowered his head. His lips brushed hers. She shivered, feeling as if an electrical current had just run through her. He kissed her softly and pulled back, looking into her eyes for a moment. Then he was kissing her harder. The tether that had held his desire in check, snapped.

Their bodies came together like waves hitting the beach. An inevitable meeting that gave pleasure and relief while pushing their newfound desire to the edge of endurance. His mouth was hot and firm. The rough thrust of his tongue against hers held arrogance and urgency. The movements of his body were seductive. He held her in a primal manner, his body curved around her protectively, yet with a tenseness that came from his rising passion.

They kissed like it was their last kiss, instead of their first. Her arms encircled his broad shoulders, her fingers finding his soft dark hair. The solid wall of muscle that was his chest crushed her breasts while his jean clad hips rubbed against her sinuously. Shivers of lust and some unnamed emotion rocked her body. She didn’t want to put a name to what she was feeling. She just wanted to enjoy it, the same way she wanted to enjoy the taste and feel of him.

The kissing session lasted for long minutes. They couldn’t get enough of each other. They’d progressed to hands sliding beneath shirts and into the waistbands of jeans, when voices in the next room brought them back to reality. He pushed her away from him, regret in his dark eyes. There was also a promise in those eyes though. A promise that he would soon finish what they had started this day. Later… tonight… him and her and nothing else.

Now my question is, what the hell do I do for a first kiss with a hero who’s laid back, amusing, and looks like this:

Oh, Travis Fimmell… it doesn’t get much hotter than him…

I’ll figure out the kiss, but feel free to leave your suggestions. You never know what they will spawn in my fertile brain!

Kisses is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

And that’s the truth right there. I should be writing the end of Macaire’s storyline at the Bar. Let me backtrack for a moment and show you what happened to make me end Macaire. Macaire is a Fallen Angel. The angels are good not evil creatures. I’m not gonna tell you how they become angels because that is a plot device you’ll have to read for yourself, either at the Bar or when I actually write the Fallen Angel book that I’ve plotted out.

Macaire is not a good angel. He has feelings of rage and jealousy and he puts in place a very devious plan to take power away from a renowned hacker/spy/assassin named The McClaren. The McClaren is really a water fairy named Nyx who inherited the role/title/job of the McClaren. It’s a job handed down through the centuries since the beginning of time.

Nyx has all the accoutrements of her trade, lots of technie toys, a cursed a sgian dubh, and even better than anything else, her own Am-fear faire. An Am-fear faire is a kind of immortal guardian. In this case, Alfred (like Batman’s Alfred) is the guardian of the McClaren. Not Nyx, but the McClaren. Macaire seems to feel that Alfred should be his, a clue to the readers that Macaire, when he was alive and not an angel, was related to Nyx somehow.

Anyway, the story about Macaire and his desire to see the downfall of Nyx isn’t exactly the issue here. The issue is how things change and why I decided Macaire’s storyline had to end. You see, my original plot for Macaire was to redeem him after he reveals who he was when he was alive. Then something happened in the real world. Heath Ledger died.

Yeah, in my head, I kept envisioning Heath Ledger as Macaire. Once Heath died, it became increasingly difficult for me to write Macaire. That’s when I knew, Macaire had to die too. Yeah, it sucks ass majorly. I was really loving Macaire, but I just can’t write him if I can’t see him in my head. Now that Heath’s dead, I just keep thinking of that rather than the Machiavellian Fallen Angel character. I’m toast. I’ve gotta spit out the end of this storyline and send Macaire to the Afterworld. Such an incredible waste of a talent (Heath’s) and a storyline (Macaire’s).

You know, I liked Macaire so much I’m gonna leave you with a couple of posts from his point of view and one from Nyx’s. (WARNING: The Nyx post contains explicit sex.) They’re first person, which I’m starting not to use at the Bar anymore, but I think I’m good enough with that voice that you’ll get the image in your head of Heath as Macaire. Let me know what you think.

From Macaire’s POV

The fog swirled around me as I watched Nyx walk into her building. She couldn’t see me any longer. No one could. I stood and watched the Dragonfire cast off and head down the river. So Nyx had sent the yacht back to the drop off point. Smart move. If there was trouble the dragons could get to the yacht a lot faster than they could get home. Plus, the yacht had a lot of firepower. The McClaren wouldn’t have it any other way.

I turned away from the river and looked up at the tower where Nyx lived. She thought she was safe from me up there. Had I been any other kind of creature than what I was, she would have been. I began to stalk around the building, thinking as I walked. She was alone but for Alfred. I could put part of my plan into motion now. I could also ensure that her “husband” didn’t return from his little mission in Belgium. Unfortunately, Venetia would know instantly that I had done something against the tenets of the angels if I made sure Valerian didn’t make it back. I didn’t need her sister Elysia showing up and giving me shit. I was pretty powerful but Elysia was the boss, a step below our all knowing creator Marius. She could kick my ass straight back to the Afterlife if she wanted to.

So far, I had been lucky that Venetia was so easily manipulated. She was playing the game exactly as I wanted her to. She thought she was being Miss Double Agent when in fact I knew all about her and Althea watching me and Nyx. I would have preferred Elysia to have left her youngest sister here with Venetia. I could have used an afternoon of sex with the gorgeous Althea. When I found out Althea had been sent to Switzerland I was a little tweaked. I’d been looking forward to seeing her again. I stopped and looked up at the tower again. This was going to have to come to a head soon. I was antsy to have it done and have my place in this world restored to me.

I debated confronting Nyx or waiting to see what happened to her mate. Even though I had led Nyx to believe that I knew the outcome, I didn’t. Some things that were preordained through the deities were easy to know. The destinies of chosen mates for instance. Sometimes we could even see death writ upon a person’s face but usually those were humans. With immortals, knowing their fate was difficult and mostly guesswork.

I stopped and gazed up at Nyx’s penthouse. Needling her again so soon probably wasn’t the best move. I turned away and began to walk toward the street. Maybe it would be better if I crashed Althea’s party. She was probably bored babysitting blue dragons by now. She could probably use a distraction. My groin tightened as I thought of her luscious body. I’d only ever had the one opportunity to bed Althea. She seemed to have a habit of never fucking the same guy twice. I wondered briefly why that was but then decided it would be easier, and more fun, to just show up in Switzerland and convince her to give me a second go.

Thinking about Althea pinpointed her location for me and I snapped my fingers, leaving behind the icy fog of London for the almost warm Zermatt airport. Althea was leaning against a pillar near the men’s room; her long legs encased in jeans and knee high leather boots. The long fur lined leather coat she wore hid her body but I knew what it looked like, felt like, tasted like. I slipped up behind her as she fiddled with her cell phone.

“What’s a sexy thing like you doing hanging out in a shitty place like this?” I whispered in her shell pink ear.

She stiffened and I sensed that my voice had startled her. She spun away from the pillar and I took her place leaning against it. “What the fuck are you doing here Macaire?” she hissed, anger lighting her usually warm eyes.

I shrugged. “You’re here, so I thought I’d come by and say hi,” I told her with an unrepentant smile.

“Since when have you stalked me?” she asked sourly, her eyes wary.

“Since I started thinking about that time we spent together in Spain,” I murmured, pushing off from the pillar and pacing around her. “You’re such a lusciously uninhibited thing. I like that in a woman.”

Althea glared at me. “I’m not interested, Macaire. Once with you was plenty,” she gritted out.

“Oh, now, that certainly cannot be true,” I told her, shaking my head. “I have yet to be with a woman who doesn’t want a second ride or a third.”

Althea’s eyes shifted toward the men’s room door. “Not interested, Macaire. Why don’t you visit Khaos. She always has a party happening and many willing men and women.” Her eyes narrowed on me as I continued to circle her. “I’m not willing.”

I stopped and leaned in, close to her body. “You’re always willing Althea. You’re a party girl,” I whispered and bent my head to steal a kiss.

She twisted away, her dark eyes stormy. “No, I’m not. And with you Macaire, I’m no longer willing,” she replied firmly.

I felt rather than saw the men’s room door open. I knew then that Althea was waiting for that blue dragon, Lorenzo something. Sensing him approaching, I took Althea by the elbow and pulled her against me, kissing her hard. She was twisting her head away when I heard a growling behind me and the already cool airport became frigid.

“Get your fucking hands off her!”

I turned, pulling Althea with me so that her body was between me and the blue. Her eyes grew frantic. “Lorenzo, it’s okay,” she said hastily, fear flashing across her face.

I smiled in a very sharky way. “Now, now, mate. Just saying hello to an old girlfriend,” I said, my voice silky. Althea, however, could sense the menace in my tone and she stiffened. My hands caressed her arms possessively and the blue dragon began to shake with anger.

“You can say hello without touching her,” he growled, smoking gushing from his nostrils.

Althea looked over her shoulder at him. “Please, Lorenzo. It’s okay. Macaire was just going,” she soothed, obviously afraid I would hurt the guy.

I sighed. Fuck it. This was too much work for a piece of ass. I let go of Althea and she stepped backward toward Lorenzo, whose blue eyes still blazed at me. I felt him trying to probe my thoughts and left a single one for him to find while locking away all the others. ‘Fuck you, blue reptile. You can’t get in MY head unless I say so!’

Lorenzo’s eyes widened as he found that one thought. I held out my hand toward him and froze him, eyes open. Althea gasped. “Let him go,” she ordered, her voice fierce.

My eyebrows rose. “Althea, I know you enjoy your work, but aren’t you taking it a tad bit too far with blue boy there?” I asked suavely. “You can’t have a mate so falling for him will only leave you heartbroken.”

Her face became as stony as her sister Elysia’s always was. “The state of my heart is none of your fucking business Macaire!” she said in a frigid voice that sounded like her sister’s. “You should be more concerned with the state of your ass with my sister the way you’re fucking with the McClaren. Elysia won’t take much more of your stupid antics. Nyx McClaren owes you nothing and you know it! If you fuck with her, my sister will can your ass. So I suggest you put Lorenzo back in motion and get away from me. And don’t bother ever thinking you can fuck me again because you can’t and you won’t.”

My mouth tightened in anger. “Don’t threaten me with Elysia,” I told her in a low voice, my eyes holding hers intently. “I’ll leave you alone, but because I want to, not because you tell me to.” I began to back away from her. “I won’t forget that you turned on me Althea.”

She tossed her glossy brown head and shot me an arrogant look. “Yeah, what and ever Macaire.” She threw the words at me the way a person would carelessly throw a dog a bone.

I snapped my fingers putting Lorenzo Moretti back in motion. “It’s been good seeing you darling,” I murmured with an indulgent smile at Althea. “We must do this again some time.” I turned and strode quickly away through the terminal, knowing without looking back that Althea had restrained Lorenzo.

Once out of her eyesight, I snapped my fingers and took myself back to London just in time to see Nyx climbing onto the Dragonfire, which sped out of the docks and down the river. I drew in a deep breath. If the Dragonfire had come back, that meant something had happened. I spun away and hurried toward the tower where Nyx lived. Alfred was always a font of information and right now, I needed to know where Nyx was headed.

***

“Alfred, Alfred, Alfred. Did you think I was so stupid that I didn’t know Nyx was gone?”

I brushed past the butler and walked into the foyer of Nyx’s penthouse as if it was my own. I strolled down the hallway until I hit an invisible field of energy that wouldn’t let me continue. I turned and smiled at Alfred, who had followed me.

“Always on duty, aren’t you, Alfie?” I murmured, trailing my fingertips through the energy field, causing it to make a buzzing sound.

“Mr. Macaire, you know quite well that in my position, I am required to be on duty at all times,” Alfred replied in a stiff tone.

I smiled at the old man, wondering, for perhaps the hundredth time, how old he truly was. “Which position, Alfred? Your butler job or your real job?” I walked back toward the study and went into the room. No energy fields there. I opened the humidor and checked out the cigars. All Cuban. Nyx did have good taste. I’d give her that.

I glanced over my shoulder, knowing full well that Alfred had followed me. I let one eyebrow flick up, as a smile teased my lips. “C’mon, Alfred. What does an Am Fear-faire make these days?” I asked him in a sardonic tone.

Alfred’s eyes flashed. “Your pronunciation of the Gaidhlig is deplorable,” he replied haughtily.

I flopped down on a leather wingback chair and crossed my legs. “So what?” I shrugged carelessly. “I know what you are and that is all that matters between us, Alfred.” I leaned forward a little, my eyes sharpening as they met his. “You are the Guardian. More specifically, the McClaren’s Guardian. That means you hold as much interest for me as Nyx herself does.”

“I’ve always known that you were not interested in her sexually,” Alfred said, the stiff tone returning.

I pointed my index finger at the old man. “Smart of you, Alfred. Very smart. But you won’t outsmart me. I’m stronger than you. I have more power than you. And, even better, I have more power than Nyx.” I sat back and let my smile out once more. “Her days as the McClaren are numbered. You know this, Alfred. She should never have been made the McClaren in the first place.”

Alfred’s spine straightened and his pale blue eyes flashed with intelligence and anger. “Mrs. Kronos is the last of her line. It was right, and appropriate, that she take on the mantle of the McClaren. If she were not the true McClaren, I would not be here with her,” he intoned, his voice becoming very different from his usual butler tones. The sound boomed out from his chest, as if he were a much larger creature than the thin old man before me.

His eyes narrowed then. “I would not advise that you make any sort of attempt on Mrs. Kronos’ life, Macaire. If you should happen to do that, you will then discover the truth of who has the most power, a Fallen Angel or an Am Fear-faire.” The booming voice was now tinged with menace.

I leaned back in the chair, delighted that I had cracked his composure. “Oh, Alfred. You’re so predictable. In all the months I’ve been stalking Nyx, you should have discovered something else about me besides the fact that I have no interest in her sexually,” I said coolly, swinging my foot and steepling my fingers. “You should have realized that I knew quite well that Nyx has no weaknesses. At least, she used to have none. Now she has Valerian.”

Alfred’s face turned to stone. “Mr. Kronos has nothing to do with your vendetta against Mrs. Kronos. And as her mate, I am sworn to protect him just as I protect her,” he intoned, the deep voice still in place.

I laughed out loud. Alfred was just too cute. He took himself, and his job as Am Fear-faire, far too seriously. I could squash him like a bug and he knew it, despite his warning that he was stronger than me. Marius and Elysia had trained me well. I knew there was very little on this planet that was more powerful than me. After all, I had the ability to create life. I knew that should I choose to end life, I would be able to do that just as well.

Rising from the leather chair I paced around the study for a few minutes, feeling Alfred’s eyes on me every moment. “I’m not afraid of you or the McClaren, Alfred. I know full well the powers that the two of you have,” I said in a low voice, the sound so soft only an immortal would be able to hear me. “The only thing that gives me pause are those Ogham rings. I do not yet know the full extent of their power, but when I do, Valerian Kronos’ life will not be worth much.”

I spun around, my eyes locking with Alfred’s. “Him first. Then you. And then her,” I promised him, watching him stiffen with rage.

“You will not succeed.” The old man’s voice was flat and emotionless, his cold pale eyes as blank as a reptile’s.

With a slight grin, I walked to the door of the study. “You can think that, Alfred, but all it serves is to weaken your defense against me. You would be better off worrying about what I could do,” I whispered. “You know what I want. You alone know this whole story. Give me what I desire and I will spare your life.”

Alfred walked past me, out of the study, and into the foyer. He stood silently beside the door to the outer foyer where the elevator waited. “Good evening, Mr. Macaire. I expect I shall see you again, when Mrs. Kronos returns from Paris,” he intoned.

I headed for the elevator, although I didn’t really need it. “You better believe it, Alfred. Give her my best, would you? Oh, and to Mr. Kronos as well.” I chuckled softly. “It’s too bad he didn’t get caught inside that castle. It would have saved me some work.”

I stepped out of the door and into the elevator, waving calmly to the stone faced Alfred as the door shut. The elevator winged its way toward the ground floor, but I snapped my fingers and took myself to Ogilvie’s house in the blink of an eye. According to Ogilvie, Valerian Kronos’ brother was getting married. I was really happy for the guy, because his nuptials would be the vehicle for the first part of my assault on Nyx McClaren.

From Nyx’s POV

“Oh, fuck. Oh, baby,” Valerian moaned as he thrust into me.

I pushed my hips back as he thrust into me. “Damn it, Val! We can’t show up at your brother’s wedding reeking of sex,” I panted.

“You’ll put your hands in the sink and magic the smell away,” he groaned, pushing his cock into me harder.

I gripped the edge of the sink and fought to keep my eyes open as pleasure washed through me. “I don’t know if I can make the smell of sex go away with my powers,” I replied through gritted teeth. Stringing words together so that they made sense was getting more difficult as the sex progressed and I drew closer to orgasm. “And I know I can’t do anything about your wrinkled trousers,” I muttered.

“Shut up, Nyx. Stop talking and just fuck me,” Valerian growled. He shoved the top of my dress down and fondled my breasts with one hand. His other hand was between my thighs, teasing my clit.

I turned my head, seeking his mouth. He kissed me hard, his breathing totally out of control, his face flushed. I felt the heat in him rising and knew he was about to feed me his fire. My tongue twisted around his as the heat of his fire rushed through my veins, kicking my arousal up a notch. My knees began to shake as my orgasm hit me. The feel of Valerian’s cock within me, the cold marble of the counter beneath my fingers, Valerian’s hard chest pressing against my back and the wet heat of his tongue twisted around mine while the remnants of his fire still bubbled in my veins, made my orgasm burst inside me like fireworks. I felt Valerian coming too, the wet gush of his seed triggering another orgasm in me.

The sex was awesome. The aftermath was horrid. I had to be careful not to get anything on my dress. I had to clean up and look for my panties. I had to struggle into the panties and adjust my garter belt. Then I had to check my makeup and fix my hair. Fixing Valerian was rough. His pants were creased and I had to steam them while he was wearing them to get the wrinkles out.

“Ow! The steam is hot!” he complained as the steamer jetted out clouds and filled the bathroom.

“Suck it up, Val,” I warned him. “You’re a dragon. Heat doesn’t bother you.”

Valerian sighed heavily and let me finish. Once we were returned to our pristine pre-sex pre-wedding neatness, I sprayed myself with cologne and spritzed Val with his cologne. He frowned at me. “Nyx, go easy with that stuff,” he muttered with a cough.

I looked at the time. “Shit. Shit! Go get the car! We’re gonna be late!”

Valerian hitched up his sleeve and looked at his watch. “Damn. I’ll meet you at the front door,” he said, turning toward the bedroom. “Hurry!”

When Valerian had gone I went looking for my purse. I stuffed my Treo into it and turned toward the door when a voice stopped me.

“So affectionate,” Macaire said smoothly. “Stop talking and just fuck me. How romantic!”

Anger shot through me. “Get out, Macaire,” I said in a low tone.

Macaire frowned at me. “Now what kind of welcome is that for a relative?” he replied, his smile as cold as the North Sea.

I stopped myself from blinking in surprise. “You’re not my relative.” I kept my tone even and didn’t give away the fact that I had no clue what he was talking about.

He shook his blonde head and took off his wrap around sunglasses. “You think not? Best consult your Am fear-faire, my dear. Alfred knows more about your heritage than you do. Another reason why you are such a poor candidate to be the McClaren,” he murmured as he strolled around me.

I twisted, keeping him in sight at all times, wondering how much of my power was left from my shower. Macaire was playing some kind of game and I was very much afraid it was a deadly game. “I’m no candidate to be the McClaren. I AM the McClaren. There is no one else left in my line,” I gritted out, trying to get my anger under control.

“So you say, Nyx.” Macaire stopped by the French doors. He waved a hand and they opened. “You’d best speak to Alfred, and soon. He’s quite old, you know. Something could easily… happen to him.”

With a sharky grin, Macaire stepped through the French doors. They swished closed. I ran to them, but by the time I reached them, he was gone. Now, anger and fear warred within me. Macaire’s threats were barely veiled this time, and the clues he’d dropped had me scrambling for my phone. Then I saw the time and cursed.

I grabbed my purse and ran for the front of the chateau. As much as I didn’t want to have this conversation with Alfred in front of Valerian, now I was stuck. I was sure that bastard Macaire knew this too. He’d planned it all this way. Whatever the hell was going on with him, Alfred knew something about it. And calling Alfred in front of Val meant that now Val would know what it was too.

I ran out the front door of the chateau and jumped into the front seat of the Jaguar that Valerian was driving. As he raced down the drive, I stared at the Ogham rings. They were glowing faintly.

“What the fuck took you so long?” Valerian grumbled.

I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone. I hit the speed dial for my penthouse. “Business, Val. Really serious business,” I said.

My tone must have alerted him that something was wrong. He shot me a glance that was filled with worry. Then Alfred picked up.

“How the hell does Macaire know that you are my Am fear-faire?” I bit out, my voice shaking with anger.

On the other end of the phone, Alfred sighed. “I was afraid of this.”

“Afraid of what?” I almost yelled into the phone.

Valerian’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Nyx? What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.

I looked at him and said, “I don’t know Val. I just don’t know.”

In My Head is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

Ok, so I didn’t have his name right. My bad. But it was a little hard to get his name right when Jared was babbling away. While I was in the shower, Kevin explained to me just who he was and why. He’s so deep he makes Jared look like a dilettante.

Now that I’ve played the name game, Kevin talks to me more more easily. Venetia is still not talking much, but I think she’s just absorbing Kevin’s story. Eventually here, she’s gonna give me more of her motivations. After all, a single successful woman like her doesn’t need the baggage these two men are about to hand her. Let’s see what you think…

Venetia Colchester is a hedonist. At least, she wants to be. She’s been trying to get into the ultra exclusive Hedonist Club for nearly ten years, but entrance had been denied her. The owner of a successful software company, Venetia is looking for sexual games not a relationship. At least, that’s what she always told herself, until the day her company buys a smaller software company and she meets the man who owned it.

Jared Quentin wants to retire. He’s tired of the rat race. All he wants to do now is enjoy his money, work occasionally on programming, and have kids. The problem is, Jared doesn’t have a wife or a girlfriend. As new owner of the Hedonist Club, Jared is the epitome of a hedonist. Multiple partners, no ties. Buying the club was a perfect fit for him. So how does a man with a sexually open lifestyle and no permanent female partners go about adding kids to the equation? By finding the one woman who could live his lifestyle with him.

Kevin Kearney was once at the top of his game. Tennis, that is. The US Open. The French Open. Wimbledon. The Australian Open. Kevin won them all in the same year. Then tragedy struck. Kevin was left to pick up the shattered pieces of his life and his knee. Filled with both physical and emotional pain, Kevin struggled for three long years until he met Jared at the Hedonist Club. The two men became best friends, sharing women for several years until the day Jared brought Venetia to the club. Kevin took one look at her and realized that all their fun and games were over… or were they?

It’s a twisted tale of three people who think that what they want in life is to be sexually free. For Venetia, that sexual freedom is set aside to give the man she’s fallen in love with his dream. For Jared, that freedom is willingly traded for a chance to have everything. And for Kevin, his heart may be locked away, but he can still meet the needs of his body and soul by sharing himself with his two best friends, so that none of them has to stop being a hedonist.

Not just a story of sex games now is it? Each of these characters has a twisted motivation to begin this menage. Each of them is selfish in the beginning. Soon, they each learn that it’s not about the taking of pleasure, but the giving.

So now that Kevin’s name is set, maybe he’ll stop listening to Jen’s characters and will leave me alone in the shower. Although, a shower with a tennis star sure sounded hot to me.

The Name Game is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

So now Venetia is kinda quiet. I think she was listening to Jared talk too. Cause yanno, Jared seems to be able to talk about Tim (the 3rd in the menage) all day long. Seems Tim has an especially tragic background. This tragedy in his life is what has led him to a life of sex without commitment – other than friendship. I guess the reason Jared talks so much about Tim to me is that he’s trying to get Tim’s motivations through to me, but honestly, Tim coulda done it.

I hadn’t originally thought Jared would be the talkative kind. Apparently, I was wrong. Tim isn’t the talkative kind. He’s only said a little to me. He’s letting Jared do all the talking. I guess Venetia has decided to shut up too and let Jared talk. So annoying.

At just under 2200 words I stopped tonight because I really needed Venetia to talk to me, but Jared was still jabbering away. I stopped right at the point where Tim enters the story. He didn’t say anything except “Am I interrupting?” and then he went silent. Jared’s still blathering away in the background, and Venetia is awed by the young blonde god in front of her. I didn’t expect her to say anything. Right now, her boobs are doing all the talking she is capable of.

I think the other reason I had to stop was because I’m not sure I like Tim’s name. I’m starting to see Tim Allen and that is so not who this guy is. Maybe Kevin would be a better name… or Max. No, not Max. I need a California surfer boy name that isn’t a wussy name. I suppose stopping was the right thing to do because now I need to play the name game.

Meanwhile, Jared is still droning on at the back of my head. I swear this man has it ALL figured out. Maybe he needs to be the one who ends up having issues. Certainly, if he keeps talking too much, I’m gonna have issues with HIM.

What do you think? Should I risk him getting offended and just tell old Jared to shut up? Or do I just let him control the flow? I may have to take drastic measures or I’ll never get to sleep!

Shut Up! is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author