Blood Run Cold, co-written with Aleksandr Voinov (May 10, 2010)
Blood Run Cold is a m/m vampire novel with strong BDSM themes and a m/m/m triad. After an "incident," Frederik Berg, a financial consultant with a reputation for shady business practices, is hired by the Dalcas, a family of ancient and influential wealth. The patriarch, Lucian, takes an interest in him. He is intrigued by Frederik's sociopathic nature and wants to keep him as a pet-literally. Lucian reveals himself to be a vampire, and in him, Frederik finds what he has been looking for all along: a predator even more dangerous and fearsome than he is, someone he can submit to.
But there is bad blood all around. Lucian has two children: jealous, opportunistic Elena and quiet, slippery Emil, who takes it upon himself to uncover Frederik's past and use it against him. That past comes in the form of Ghislain Saint-Denis and Prince Hasan, who were involved in Frederik's "incident." Though he intended to use them, Emil finds himself growing attached to both men.
When Lucian promises to make Frederik a vampire, Emil fears for his lovers' safety, knowing that Frederik will take his revenge upon Ghislain and Hasan. Emil tries to protect them, but he can only do so much. And Lucian has no intention of keeping Frederik leashed. Meanwhile, Elena has plans of her own. She is jealous of both her brother and her father, and intends to make sure that all of their pets meet their end.
Both sides strike their blows, and family tensions come to a head. Soon it becomes clear that not everyone will survive the conflicts.
Blood Run Cold is available via eXcessica on May 10, 2010.
But there is bad blood all around. Lucian has two children: jealous, opportunistic Elena and quiet, slippery Emil, who takes it upon himself to uncover Frederik's past and use it against him. That past comes in the form of Ghislain Saint-Denis and Prince Hasan, who were involved in Frederik's "incident." Though he intended to use them, Emil finds himself growing attached to both men.
When Lucian promises to make Frederik a vampire, Emil fears for his lovers' safety, knowing that Frederik will take his revenge upon Ghislain and Hasan. Emil tries to protect them, but he can only do so much. And Lucian has no intention of keeping Frederik leashed. Meanwhile, Elena has plans of her own. She is jealous of both her brother and her father, and intends to make sure that all of their pets meet their end.
Both sides strike their blows, and family tensions come to a head. Soon it becomes clear that not everyone will survive the conflicts.
Blood Run Cold is available via eXcessica on May 10, 2010.
Excerpt
"I want to lose control..." Frederik swallowed, because it was the truth, and the truth had enough sharp edges to hurt him. He touched his lower lip with the middle finger. "You understand what I want. I know you do. It's about hearing it for you." He grinned. "I want you in ways that would scare most people. I don't want false safety, no holds barred, no bullshit, I want you exactly... exactly as you are."
Lucian savored a private success at having read someone correctly and didn't bother to conceal his smugness. He circled around Frederik, smaller and smaller circuits, then stopped and pulled Frederik's head down until their lips brushed. "Be careful what you wish for. I don't think you know what it is, not yet." He flattened his palms, slid them up Frederik's chest, then back down again, fingers curling so his nails raked over the skin. For the briefest of seconds, just below the nipples, the nails pricked. Like claws. But then they were gone.
Frederik hissed, straightened at the sensation—touch, then pain. Perfect. He felt dazed by whatever Lucian had done—it hadn't been the circling, but something had changed, a magnetism, a shift in gravity, and it was like Lucian was filling out the horizon, his field of vision, and almost his thoughts, like nothing else had any substance or reality, and he was like hypnotized, but at the same time awake, clear. Entranced.
"Then show me what it is." Breathing was like against a resistance. No man had had that effect on him. Up to now, he wouldn't have believed anybody could.
Lucian considered. He could reveal everything now—it was tempting. Not wise, but tempting. He wanted, for some reason, for Frederik to know exactly what he was getting himself into, to see his reaction.
He smiled wide in honest delight and stepped away, spread his hands. "I belong in a world you never knew existed," he said matter-of-factly. He kept smiling, but let his fangs grow, sharp canines that extended nearly to his gums on either side. "You might call me a vampire, though I find that term rather inadequate."
Frederik suddenly felt his heart race, so hard and fast it drove up his blood pressure into nausea, and at his fitness level, that should simply not happen. Fear. Naked, cold fear. He was no man to deny what he saw, never claimed something wasn't real. Denial didn't work. The stress reaction woke him from the trance, sharpened all sensory information, big, bold strokes for brain tissue that readied him for flight or fight. Vampire. Mortal risk, ultimate danger, but there was the other reaction. A sudden sense of clarity, of focus, like it all made sense now. The charisma. The way the man read him. Even the way he moved.
Something unspeakably different, and, Frederik thought, how strange that that 'other' had seemed so familiar. Alluring, still, sexual, even, despite, whatever... those fangs. He was fascinated, intrigued, attracted, while a part of his brain he'd inherited from screeching monkeys clamored for him to run. "You know what I want. What do you want?"
Lucian had been expecting the alarm reaction (it was only natural, after all), had even been expecting Frederik's well-honed sense of machismo and pride to battle with that instinct. What he hadn't fully expected was for him to stay rooted to that spot, to stand his ground, to question Lucian.
More amused than ever, Lucian nodded. Even better than the ridiculous courage was the yearning he could still see in every line of Frederik's body. "Yes, blood," he said. "I want to play, sweet boy. I don't want to feed from you. You're too much fun for just a meal."
Frederik relaxed, knowing that that kind of reassurance should actually alarm him more, but the desire washed the animal fear away. He was no screeching monkey. And this seemed like one of the best thrills he'd ever had, could ever hope to have. Something rare, like an answered prayer. Whatever it meant.
"I won't say a word. I know better than to bite the hand... that feeds me." His eyes flashed at the pun, and he grinned. "I want to play this game. Badly."
