The Librarian's Secret

2009-06-18T17:22:08Z

Diana Castilleja:

'''WARNING-Adult content. Over 18 only.'''

[[Category:Electronic Books]][[Category: 2009 Releases]][[category:Tease Publishing]][[category:romance]][[Category:Erotic romance]][[Category:contemporary]]
* '''Author''': [[Diana Castilleja]] W/A [[Diana DeRicci]]
* '''Publisher''': [[Tease Publishing]]
* '''Year''': 2009
* '''[http://tinyurl.com/ca4ywq All Romance Ebooks]'''

==Excerpt==

Chapter One

Let me clear the air right now before we go any further. I was not a prostitute. As Victoria, I was a certified, trained, and educated Relationship Sex Therapist, with a psychology degree. There wasn’t any radio talk show behind my work, or a secret Dear Madam newspaper column for what I did. There couldn’t be. In order to know what was wrong with a couple, I had to meet with them, talk to them, listen to them. Hear their voices, understand their worries, fears and doubts. And hear what they felt their real obstacles were in the sexual department, because honestly, no two couples, if it were a couple, typically had the same problems verbatim. And on occasion, I would get naked with them, but that was a rare occurrence. I know the human body. More than that, I love the human body. Let me rephrase that. I have a deep, unadulterated, hungry passion for the human body.

The rough part was I was a dual persona. Clark Kent and Superman, if you will. My Clark Kent job was a library superintendent for the county. It was a standard eight to five kind of routine, overseeing three different library systems in my county. Lots of driving and paperwork. Boooring. The evenings though, those were a different story. I also had weekend hours to accommodate working people. The day job paid my bills. The therapy job fed my soul. I needed the therapy as much as my clients did. I just never knew it.

I’d hidden my fears, and my scars, as deep as they could go. I’d buried the real me for years and didn’t have the strength to bring her back to the surface. That wasn’t easy for me to admit then, either. My childhood, the hurts and pains I’d lived through didn’t exist in Victoria’s world. As Victoria, I ruled. And I rather liked my reign. I had respect on many levels, in two different careers. I had my own home, my own possessions.

I didn’t have love. See, I had thought I didn’t deserve it because of all the things I’d done. This was the beginning that changed it.

The epiphany was scary, exhilarating, shocking, terrifying even. Thankfully, by the time I got hit with that epiphany clue-by-four, there was a man in my life who was ready and willing to help me pick up the pieces. This is our story. It’s also the only one I’ve ever wanted to write down. See, so much of what I do is of a personal nature, emotionally and physically, something like this being read out of context would see me getting sued! And we don’t want that. Especially since I’m not even doing the therapy any longer, but that’s for later in the story. But to protect the innocent, I’ll change names.

It was actually Brad—I like that name—his wife Nancy, and their friend Cory—I’ll get to him later—that gave me the incentive to write this down. It seemed fitting since their seeking me out for their problem became the catalyst behind the discovery and healing of my own problems. Problems I’d ignored, buried, and drowned into the blackest abyss of my subconsciousness. Yes, I was a therapist in desperate need of my own therapy. It wasn’t so much this couple that prompted me to write this down, as the tangle of events that meeting them created. I’m very glad I did now, but in the beginning… Well, it will become apparent why I was nervous about this situation soon enough.

I met Brad and Nancy first and oh Mama! Was he sexy. She bagged herself a catch with this man for her husband, and wouldn’t you know it? She was letting him rot like an old log.

Okay, that might be a bit strong, but the man obviously had frustration issues. It might seem like a trivial thing, but when a person has bottled up emotion and desires for a while, and after talking to him it came out that it had been quite a while, this lack of an outlet begins to have repercussions. Insecurity, frustration, doubt, and anger are often the most common. Just like any other relationship, communication is key. Oftentimes when it comes to sex, we just expect our partners to know. Last I heard E.S.P. doesn’t come in a handy bottle form. He loved his wife. That I had no doubt, but he wanted new experiences. With her. And out of fear of disrupting the balance, never mentioned them. After time, she picked up on the angst, took it for withdrawal and bam! One major misunderstanding. It had now festered until his greatest fear was that he was losing his wife. Seems simple enough in hindsight, but when there’s enough tiny misunderstandings, one large one is usually the result.

I’ll never forget the first time I met him. He had this slow southern drawl that could make women drool at ten paces. Nothing was ever spoken in a rush, and he had a voice like a king. Dark. Imperial. Still gives me shivers when I remember. Better than dark chocolate that man was.

Okay, so back to where I was going.

After several office sessions and breakthroughs, they anticipated taking the next step. It’s an option I lay on the table when necessary. They can accept or decline, but often when a couple is making this kind of breakthrough, a sense of familiarity goes a long way. And I don’t represent a threat to either.

We had an appointment to meet in the hotel bar, a usual for me. I liked dark corners and quiet most of the time. I always had. The chosen hotel was also well away from any place that I would normally be recognized. The meeting place was also in public, kind of like offering a final stand to change minds if necessary. After the office conferences, we all knew what they felt their problems were, and how they wanted to address them. And how they both wanted to get past them. I didn’t think either would be changing their mind tonight.

Brad impressed me quite a lot from the beginning. In more than one way. Nancy was a lot shyer about discussing her sexual desires. I’ve noticed that can be very common in women. As if we’re supposed to be ashamed to admit we want a climax. As if we’re not supposed to really want to be satisfied, and should take it like a gift when it does happen.

My answer to that can’t be said in polite company.

So I’ll express it here: Fuck that! One thing I’ve learned is sex is a give and receive action. I like to do both.

During the office sessions, we conversed and did light situational testing. The “How do you feel… How do you think you’d react…” type of hypothesizing. Once they got over the initial embarrassment of discussing their sex life, which is something I’m always sensitive about, they both began to describe their home life in their own words. Over the last two years, Brad had been feeling more and more insecure with Nancy. Wary, and it was affecting their lovemaking. She wasn’t demanding. Quite the opposite. She was repressing and he feared it was because of something he had done and either couldn’t remember or was being blamed for something he had no clue about. They visited their regular therapist once or twice a year to clear the air and nothing had ever arisen. They had one of the strongest marriages I’d ever encountered, especially considering the steps they took to keep it strong. She came across as the quiet thinker, where, given the chance, Brad was a man of action. Now he wasn’t sure if the root of their dysfunction was something either of them had delved deep enough to uncover.

Thus my involvement.

Like any male, he had fantasies. He also suspected Nancy had a few too, but real life factors kept them hidden, tight in a box. With her unwilling to discuss hers, he felt trapped unable to discuss his own. It was finally getting to the point where they both needed to let out the urges, either verbally or physically, or explode. Brad felt giving his wife a safe way to explore those hidden desires would unlock the heat and passion that had been slowly fading. He hadn’t counted on finding the depth of his own fantasies along the way.

He was a smart man, though. Brad knew his insecurity to speak his own desires was just as much a stumbling block. They both needed a safe way to discuss, explore, and experience.

I really felt for them by this point and after several weeks, I presented the option to them to take it a step further. The proof that I wasn’t too far off the mark in diagnosing their needs became apparent when she didn’t run screaming away from the ideas I had suggested for this intimate session. Nancy knew what she wanted, but had never known how to put them to voice. Nancy became stronger in our sessions and finally admitted she knew what she wanted, but was still hesitant about putting that want to practice. Safety to explore was Nancy’s largest concern.

Tonight we would touch, in more than one way, on her deepest desires. I sipped my drink while I waited for the couple, doing a mental rehearsal of the ideas we had discussed.

Brad was easy to spot as soon as he entered the bar. Late forties, with a touch of gray in his dark sandy blond hair right at the temples. That distinguished “better with age” look. Strong face and hands, and a body that was freaking solid. The woman in me couldn’t help but purr. The therapist kept her smile in place, relaxed as he approached. He wore a dusty-gray cowboy hat, a well tailored suit and scrumptious cowboy boots that screamed money. He walked right up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for being here, Victoria,” he said in that swoon-worthy voice. “You look good enough to eat.”

I smirked then buried it. That was part of the plan. “Thank you.” My dress of choice had a loose cowl off the shoulder neckline that draped low over my chest, clinging to my curves in all the right places in a rich, deep green. I knew what worked. If his gaze was any indication, it was working like a charm. His inspection had hardly gone higher than my chin since he’d first spoken.

My Manhattan drink was cool in my palm. I sipped at it, then asked about Nancy, glancing around his shoulder.

“She’s coming. She was a little nervous. Stopped at the ladies room.”

I nodded, not really surprised. “She’ll be fine. You both will be. You both know tonight’s intentions and hopefully what the discoveries will open up for you. This is a great step to strengthen your relationship. Most don’t take the time, or are too frightened of the unknown to really challenge their own insecurities.”

“It’s no secret how much I love Nancy. Two of our best friends are divorcing. I don’t want to be them. I want her to be happy.”

“Strong sex, shared sex, can bring you together,” I told him, leaning closer to keep the conversation private. “Have you searched your memories like I asked? Those first dates? The first rush? It’s still there. It’s only that familiarity and time has dulled the sensation. It’s all grown up now, but it’s still there.”

Brad was the rock in the relationship. If he was confident and secure in tonight’s journey, that would greatly reduce Nancy’s apprehension.

He smiled, a knowing smile that was as sweet as it was sensual. “Yeah. She was something else back then. Still is. I know I haven’t told her often enough.”

“That’s easy to fix. Expression is important.” It was one of the points I’d counseled them on during the office sessions. It’s selfish to assume your partner knows you and your thoughts twenty-four/seven. He nodded in agreement. I knew he understood.

The bar where we waited for Nancy was elegant, with leather and deep, smoky wood details, with hazed mirrors on two walls, and the only visible neon was the requisite retail signs behind the bar and the big one outside the front door. Calming jazz and piano played in the background. This wasn’t a drunken nightclub. It was perfect for the image and state of relaxation I wanted both of my clients to absorb.

Let’s think about this a minute. How many would love to have their partner as their personal sex dream, sex kitten, or Adonis? Able to fulfill any desire suitable to that relationship? An equal partner to the give and take, where pleasure and passion have equal footing for both? This was one of the ideas I opened up for my clients. Why shouldn’t they enjoy each other? The human body was meant to experience touch, pleasure and pain, and react to it. One of our more enlightening conversations had been on how rare that balance really was between any—even married—couples. It helped Brad realize that what had happened between him and Nancy was just a matter of a hurdle, and it was only finding the right way over it to make it disappear.

While their relationship was normal for them, lacking substance and reciprocal physical attention was leading them to a dangerous side of need. Especially if they didn’t know how to broach the subject with the one person who could remove the danger element.

When in a solid relationship, either should feel unfettered and able to explore anything. This was actually far more rare than most think. People clam up, fearing their own needs and the reactions they might receive, or of disturbing their partner. Or worse, the balance of the relationship. There’s a long list of excuses. Thankfully, we’d addressed a lot of those concerns already and I really felt these two were on the right path to solving their problem.

Nancy was a lovely average height platinum blonde, easy to spot as she entered from the side causeway from the hotel foyer. Two kids had given her a bit of a stomach but she worked out and took care of herself and the family. She wasn’t a weak woman. I’d also seen how proud Brad was of all she’d accomplished with her life and kids.

He slipped an arm around her when she came into range and pressed a kiss to her temple.

I leaned forward and brushed a cheek to hers in greeting. “You look lovely, Nancy. I’m glad to see you.”

“Me too,” she replied firmly. She glanced at her husband. “You’re sure about this?”

He hugged her snug. “Completely. We need a safe place with no kids, dogs or TV to bare everything.”

I hid my smirk at his pun behind my glass. I sipped then said, “I assure you, nothing will be done that you don’t agree to. Just like we discussed in the office sessions, we’re only putting those desires into practice. You know I have a clean bill of health, and everything we need is already in place.”

Her mouth made that silent ‘o’ shape. She was nervous but determined. There was something on her mind that I glimpsed once or twice but she still hadn’t found the courage to put it into words. Tonight would likely fix that.

“Honest. This is what I do, Nancy.” I had explained to them both before they’d agreed to this step how few I actually physically helped. Sometimes it was the encouragement more than the action that did the most good. I loved getting naked, but not at the expense of a client.

She tipped her head. “I thought it sounded insane at first, but it makes more and more sense.”

“You trust me, right?” I asked, without inflection.

“Absolutely!” she stated.

“That is why you can be comfortable with this. It’s like learning to trust a professor. You don’t, not on the first day, but by the end of the second week, you believe he might just know what he’s teaching. I’m here to teach you how to unlock what you’re rediscovering in each other.”

“I trust her,” Brad told Nancy, drawing her attention up to him. “This will be good for us. What we want from each other is individual. I love you. I don’t want to lose you because one of us isn’t doing or saying the right thing.”

“Excellent.” I praised him for being so open. “It’s actually just being free, following your desires, sharing the joy in expressing it with your partner. Even something as simple as vocalizing what might be on your mind in that moment. Many are programmed to never do that, to hate saying their deepest desires when lost in passion. That could be another avenue to try to see how it feels for the both of you.” I gave them both an easy smile, not rushing any part of the evening, keeping the conversation slow and relaxed. “Sex should be enjoyed on all levels, not just the physical. It’s a sensual act because you bring your senses to the party. Touch, taste, sound, smell and sight. Sometimes the most arousing thing and erotic thing is nothing more than watching your partner.”

“Take your relationship,” I offered. “Have you tried my suggestions to use candles in the bedroom, or shared a bath with music in the background and low lights?” They glanced at each other and Nancy blushed.

“We’ve used the candles, but it’s hard with two teenagers at home to feel sexy.”

I grinned. She had me there. I didn’t have kids.

“Then tonight is about taking it to the next level.”

Nancy tipped in agreement, curving more into Brad’s body as he stroked a slow finger over her shoulder. I brought myself closer to her. On the side of her body that was blocked from the view of onlookers, I drifted the back of my hand down her body, caressing the swell of her breast. She was tense and still a little nervous, but she was also slowly getting hot. Slowly unwinding. Sipping at her drink, her eyes locked on mine.

“A body is made to feel. The more you feel, the more you want to share that feeling. It escalates for the both of you.”

“That is hot,” Brad groaned, following the slow motion of my hand on her body.

“You like watching your wife, don’t you, Brad?” I always reaffirm the relationship. I was an outside influence and would remain that way.

He looked at her, his heart in his eyes. “She’s beautiful.”

Nancy’s cheeks pinked again. “It’s been a while since you said so.”

Her breasts rose and fell with heightened energy. The press of her nipples tipped the fabric of her blouse. It was hard not to look. Harder not to appreciate. She had a luscious body.

I finished my drink.

Time for the lesson to begin.

* * *

“Tell me the fantasy you’ve always wanted.” I stood close to Nancy on the elevator, rising to the suite I had reserved for the evening for them. She gave me a wanton smile when I rested a hand on her lower back. I didn’t remove it the entire trip upward, caressing and teasing the fabric of her blouse beneath my touch. Once or twice, I swept to caress the gentle slope of her ass. I felt her arousal heightening, flowing off her in waves. The more aroused she became, the more open she’d become to sharing.

I had ordered wine and champagne for the room. It was sitting out, breathing, or chilling and would be ready when we arrived.

“Well.” She dipped her head, grinning mischievously. “He’s watched me masturbate and I know how much that turns him on.”

Brad groaned. Thank God the elevator stayed empty except for us. His slacks hid nothing.

“And?” I encouraged. Brad answered first.

“I’ve always wanted to watch her with another woman.”

Typical, but easily fulfilled. “Nancy?”

The elevator doors slid open on silent runners. The hall beckoned. All three of us strolled easily toward the room. It was early evening but the low lights of the hall made it seem much later.

“How will that help us?” She was shooting lowered appraising looks at me, and I knew she was considering it.

“Fantasy is all about breathing life into your sex again. Some suggestions I’ve made are titillation, light bondage, and sex toys. Even something as simple as whipped cream or a body butter. Something sensory for the both of you. Just because it’s more than you and him naked doesn’t mean it isn’t right. It’s what you’re both sharing and that you both enjoy it that counts. Doesn’t the same coffeecake every morning get boring?”

It’s one of the most simplistic comparisons you can make. An everyday norm associated to their sex life.

In answer: Hell yes it gets boring!

While I let them think about that, I opened the door with the pass key I’d stashed in my purse. The door closed behind us and I set the purse to the side. The front room was quite large, the bedroom doors open and inviting to the side. The entire suite smelled like jasmine and vanilla. I preferred this hotel because of the colors they used. Rich and vibrant in reds, russets and dark browns, a little more subdued for the bedrooms. None of that depressing teal and green that was everywhere.

“Nancy,” I said. “Did you have a fantasy you wanted to explore or do you want to see where this goes? Let yourself experience the freedom of your body?” I neared her again, giving her a soothing expression. There was a game plan, but spontaneity could heighten the anticipation and the level of freedom. Plus, it put the ball in their court so to speak. They, as a couple, were making up the plays rather than following an itinerary. “Humans are sensual creatures. We crave touch, crave pleasure, but are taught to segregate it from our physical selves, to be turned on like a switch at will. You have more control than that. You have the power to create it, not just receive it.” I gave both of them frank stares. “When you separate yourself constantly, you become apathetic to sex, to what it means, to how it can be enjoyed. I really feel this has happened to the both of you through time and real life intrusions. You have been blocking cravings. You’re both careful and considerate to not push, for those deeper wants. You’re safe in the status quo and don’t want to disturb it, but leaving it as is can be even more damaging. There is no one better to explore the unknown, all the wonders than the one person you cherish, trust and love above all others.”

Brad stood at my side, both listening intently, their gazes showing I’d hit the target full on.

“Don’t be scared to voice what you want in this room, either of you. This is a special haven to find your inner sensuality and embrace it. Once you’ve found it, you get to take it home and explore it even more.”

Brad grinned at that. “I like this idea,” he said.

He wasn’t the one I was worried about. Nancy was still watching me, neither of us really blinking as she absorbed the fact that it was okay to want. That it was okay to ask for her pleasures, for satisfaction. I didn’t think Brad was losing her at all. She was a mature woman, with kids. You did certain things in life, at certain ages.

Sexual freedom wasn’t typically one of them. That train had departed. Or so she thought.

I was going to fix that misconception.

One of my hands lifted between us, hovering then sliding along her jaw, caressing her. “Feel,” I crooned and her lashes fluttered closed. “Breathe.” She did. A small smile curved her lips. Vanilla, every time. Music played through the suite, a slow sultry jazz quartet that always made me think of humid nights and no clothes, sensual caresses and secret desires.

“Listen. To our breathing, the rush of your heart, even the music.” Her chest staggered as she did. With gentle pressure, I touched my thumb to her bottom lip. Her eyes opened and locked on mine. “Taste.”

The flicker of her tongue was hesitant against me but it only took a short second before she was opening to lick the pad of my thumb in fascination.

Most men who brought their wives to help unearth hidden desires easily digressed back to their late teen years. Brad was no different. Men and sex were synonymous. The male was made to procreate. It’s really a shame to me how women are force fed their submissive tendencies through their lives and then the men bitch when the women won’t come out of their shell to play. Go figure.

But Nancy was blooming before my eyes. The office sessions and confident support were doing wonders to awaken her dormant sexuality, to regain the heat of passion she’d been denying.

The Eternal Kiss

2009-06-18T17:21:27Z

Diana Castilleja:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eternal Kiss, The}} [[Category: 2008 Releases]] [[Category:Paranormal]][[Category:Vampire]] [[Category:Electronic Books]] [[Category:Tease Publishing]] [[category:sensual]][[Category:United States]][[Category:California]]
* '''Author''': [[Diana Castilleja]]
* '''Publisher''': [[Tease Publications]]
* '''Year''': 2008
* '''Setting''': United States
* '''[http://allromanceebooks.com/product-thehangedmantheeternalkiss-8852-140.html All Romance Ebooks]'''
* '''[http://tinyurl.com/68d9tw Fictionwise]'''
* '''[http://tinyurl.com/42vcgx Barnes & Noble]'''

==Book Description==

Diego Viteri has lived for centuries with only one
real goal, to avenge himself against the one who
destroyed the man that he was and created the creature
he is now. He is suffering a growing loneliness that
is becoming impossible to ignore. His only reason for
not ending his life is to see that Brakka is served his
justice and then, Diego can rest.

The last thing he is expecting is to have an encounter
with a human woman who is willing to jump between himself
and Brakka during a harsh and bloody battle. Their one
meeting changes everything for Diego, bringing to life
emotions and wants that he has long believed to be as
dead as he is.

As he follows Titania and her band, his needs reshape into
something that he can’t ignore. Before he knows what he
has done, he bonds with her and sets into motion the very
thing he swore he would never do to another person. He has
shared his curse and in the process may have very well
killed her. And there is only one choice to be made to try
to save her.

==Excerpt==
His hand covered hers where she cradled his cheek, and
he could not resist, could not find the strength to any
longer. He watched her, waiting for fear, apprehension,
anything to stop him. It never came as he dipped his head
to hers.

Her lips were so soft, so warm, he burst into flame at her
touch. She was the sweetest breath of life he had ever tasted.
Heat flared, roared to life between them.

He snapped up, his heart racing. Every fiber, every nerve ached,
needed. He had never felt this.

She sat up slowly, clutching the robe when the blanket fell
to her lap. Her hand lifted to her lips. “What was that?” Her
eyes were wide, staring at him. They glittered with a sapphire
magic.

His voice vanished. He plunged his hand into her hair, holding
her. He slanted his lips to hers and felt the fire again.
Heat, hungry desire swamped him. He seduced her mouth,
caressed and sipped.

Diego was going to explode into heat where he sat. Satin
skin, rich, fragrant hair, soft lips. He wanted more. He
demanded entry into her moist heat and growled when she
opened for him, hearing her whimpers. Her hand had found
his hair, held him as tightly. Passion had eclipsed all
other thoughts. He enfolded her into his embrace, pulling
her into his chest. Wanting her warmth, needing her
physical touch.

He kissed the corner of her delicious mouth, traveling
with tender brushes to her temple, hearing the erratic
pounding of her heart. The sweet call of blood, rushing
hotly through her body. Her scent invaded his every cell,
and where she touched, he felt her caresses through every
pore.

His tongue moved, and he found the tip of his fang. Burning
lust overrode reason. “Give yourself to me. Only to me,”
he breathed. “Just a taste.”

Titania’s skin was so soft beneath his touch, his hungers
beating at him, yet his strong arms remained gentle. She made
a faint, kittenish sound deep in her throat, and his body
tightened. His lips moved over burning skin, feeling the pulse
of her under his seeking caresses.

He breathed her name. The hand she held the robe with rose
over his shoulders, and he shook beneath her palm. He had to
have a taste, just a taste. To know her, her every thought,
her every wish, hope and desire.

He slid gently down the length of her silken neck, tasting her
with flicks of his tongue, sipping at the sensuous, sculpted
beauty of her. He inhaled, found the scent that belonged only
to her. Spring rain and heat. A seductress in his arms. Blood
raged through his body, through hers.

“Say yes,” he whispered, his breath hot against her neck. He
laved his tongue against her and felt her pulse leap in answer.
Her body tensed with awakening sensations. The scrape of his
teeth bringing her breathing to a standstill. He needed her
to give this to him. He realized he needed her to take his next
breath, but he would not take unless she gave. He suckled gently
at her pulse, bringing her own hungers to a crying pitch. “Just
a taste, cara. Say yes.”

After The Fire

2009-06-18T17:19:06Z

Diana Castilleja:

[[Category:Electronic Books]][[Category: 2008 Releases]][[category:D]][[category:Liquid Silver Books]][[category:romance]][[Category:magic]][[Category:paranormal]]
* '''Author''': [[Diana Castilleja]] W/A [[Diana DeRicci]]
* '''Publisher''': [[Liquid Silver Books]]
* '''Series''': A Granier Falls Novel
* '''Year''': 2008
* '''[http://tinyurl.com/cj77u9 Fictionwise]'''
* '''[http://tinyurl.com/3veogy Direct Buy]'''

==Excerpt==
Chapter One

Liar. Fake. Fraud. Deceiver.

The accusations buzzed through Shar’s mind like the largest swarm of locusts, the intense drone driving all sane thought far away. Drunken shouts and swearing made aching pain rise and fall in an obnoxious rhythm while the clang of steel doors being thrown into their locks reverberated in her ears. Up and down the cells the crude noise echoed. Being a woman, she had her own private chamber of hell. Lucky her.

Her hangover pounded on as the morning darkness crawled past her. Disgust warred with nausea when she counted just how many hours she’d been trying to erase those flung curses, especially considering who’d said them. The man who’d deceived her in flying colors. One by one they marched like a line of tromping ants across her thoughts. Shar was forced to listen to their mocking sound.

Liar.

She swallowed hearing its guttural sound over and over in the silence of her accommodations-for-one tomb. She’d never lied about her ability, never let the words of denial slip past her lips. Omission though, that she knew she was guilty of. It was paramount. Humans, people in general, had never warmed to her kind.

Fake.

Ah, yes, another flung taunt. She was so far from fake. She was better than lab-created reality. She was the real thing. Not that it mattered now. None of it would help her in her current situation. Which led her to not being a fraud obviously, at least not the kind Lawson had accused her of being. She so easily could use her magic to get out of jail, and be on the nine o’clock news in the morning as the latest sensation. She snickered in silence.

But that last--deceiver. Yeah, that one hurt. That one burned.

She’d intended to tell him the truth about what she was--today in fact. She knew she was running out of time. She thought he trusted her. She thought he loved her. He had asked her rather impetuously to marry once already. What a load of bull. Derision iced her thoughts. It didn’t feel any better than the bitter headache.

He’d proposed in style this time with the ring and like an idiot she’d accepted it first. The cruel truth slapping her like that had been the only small blessing she’d received because the rest of her day and her night had promptly fallen into a hellish wormhole of misfortune.

The musty, sour stench of previous inhabitants reeked back at her from the grim furnishings of the jail cell she was at the moment calling home. She prayed it was for only a very short stay. Abused brick walls looked like they’d been repeatedly painted by the numerous signs of peeling. The two-inch thick steel door with nothing but viewing bars sandwiched between polyurethane plastic sheets preempted any attempt to try to escape. The guard on the other side would shoot before she got three toes on the other side.

After a humiliating strip search--for God only knew what--the police had left her alone for most of the evening. She knew exactly who she was going to waste her one phone call on. And the bastard better answer his phone if he knew what was good for him. She had no choice but to wait for dawn, the best chance of reaching him at home. It also gave her more than ample time to replay the night before, the reason behind her forced stay in county hospitality to begin with.

* * * *

“Shar!”

She whirled at the shout of her name, and spotted her best friend twisting through the crowd outside the front of the club. Far from angelic beneath midnight dark hair and eyes models craved, Maddie emerged from the throng. Mystic was the only place to be on a Saturday night. The large blue neon letters blazed over the dark entrance; an entrance into another world, at least if you were Kin. Either way, inside or out, it was always busy on the weekends.

“Hey Maddie.” She looped an arm through her friend’s and together they walked into the fog and neon haven. She forced a smile, not wanting to talk about why she was there alone when just six hours ago, she had been nearly engaged. In fact, for a brief few minutes, she had been engaged. Until her eyes had been opened to the man she’d believed loved her.

“Boxer, give me something flaming, will you?” she ordered from the tattooed guy behind the bar in a near shout. Bass beats vibrated the air, booming loud and rocking the house like a frat boy’s wet dream. Scantily dressed women danced all over. She drew a deep breath, soaking it all in. It’d been a while since she’d been to the hot spot. She’d been doing more normal things with Lawson. She realized she’d missed being with her own kind.

“One Flaming Star, coming up,” he said, not missing a stride, as if it wasn’t an unusual order for her. She turned and propped her butt against a barstool. Her gaze sliced one way then the other across the undulating bodies packed on the dance floor. She tugged on the leather corset she wore, more out of irritation than for modesty. It fit her like a glove, and matched her attitude. Black, lethal and screaming ‘I’m one hot single babe’, because as of three that afternoon, there was no doubt she was not getting married.

“Flaming Star?” Maddie asked, her eyes wide against her porcelain skin. Deep blue, they reflected the neon glow and scattered fragments of the disco balls on the dance floor like fireworks in their depths. “Shar? What’s wrong?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “What could possibly be wrong?” she said with a snide undertone. She hadn’t anticipated running into Maddie, but she wasn’t going to turn down the shoulders of one of her best friends. Memories of her afternoon still burned. It was the biggest reason she was in the mood for leather tonight. And Flaming Stars.

“Um, you don’t drink for one, and you ordered a Flaming Star. Two sips and you’ll be on your ass.”

Maddie was right, but she refused to admit it. Instead, she focused her attention on the sea of bodies in front of her.

“Here you go,” Boxer said, sliding the drink toward her on the hardwood bar. She turned to watch the show. A pool of something dark green and sweet-smelling was layered over the base crème liqueurs of the drink. He snapped his fingers and the pool ignited with a cerulean flame. “Make your wish before you blow it out. It’s the only way to drink a Flaming Star.” He winked then turned to get more drink orders filled.

She grimaced. Her wishes would likely get her into more trouble because they involved the maiming and torturing of a particular male. Thankfully no one would think of reading her mind because even without actually making the wish, it was really hard not to think about making that wish.

Maddie spoke up. “What happened Shar? You didn’t answer me.”

Shar frowned, envisioning her now ex’s face melting in the glowing flame. He silently screamed as his face solidified in the arc of light, melting like hot wax. “I found out Lawson’s been using me.” Oh, fuck it. She made her wish and blew out the flame. Maddie’s jaw fell open. Carefully cradling the tumbler she blew on it, waiting for the glass and liquid to cool enough to sip at the heat-candied liquor layer on top.

She looked across the dance floor to the few tables and spotted Braden and his friends at one. The table next to them was just being vacated. “Let’s go grab it,” she said.

Once they were situated, Maddie tilted her chin to talk privately, but there was no mistaking the shock in her voice. “But you two are engaged!”

“Nearly engaged. We were nearly engaged,” she corrected. Sans one ring, it was pending. She refused to call herself engaged to that jerk.

A choking sound came from Maddie. Shar’s gaze stayed locked on the liquid in her drink. Looking up might have disastrous results. The people on the dance floor should be thankful she’d learned control at an early age. The urge to let it out was incredible. A small explosion. Just a small one. She would feel so much better, expelling the pent up rage she was silently wallowing in. She forced restraint on her temper instead.

“He popped the question over a month ago. I thought all that was left was the ring. Did he buy the ring?”

A lip lifted in a snarl. “He bought a ring all right.” She’d even had a few minutes to enjoy it and the way it looked on her finger before the truth hit her with the force of megaton comet. The painful expulsion of air she’d suffered wearing the glittering diamond had knocked her down. Waves of anger and humiliation made the air shimmer around her. She forced calm back down her throat, along with the first sip of the concoction in her hand. One sip to go and oblivion would be hers. At least for tonight. “Did you know he could block his mind?”

Maddie shook her head, her eyes bulging with what that meant. Lawson knew she was a witch. “How would he know?” she demanded. Her eyes glowed brightly from the inside with indignation, sparking from more than the lights from the strobes hanging from the ceiling. Shar didn’t know how Lawson had figured it out, or if he’d known all along. She never got the chance to find out.

It had been a hell of a shock for Shar, that was for damn sure. After a year, she’d had no idea. Talk about being a fool, and he’d accused her of being a deceiver. The irony still made her want to scream. She’d been silent for her own protection. That had been the least of his reasons.

“Neither did I. The ring was charged with his aura and I slipped right in behind his protections before I even knew what had happened. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I think he didn’t believe I’d find him out, definitely not so easily. He’s had training to protect himself. He’s probably known all along that I have powers. He was after something.”

“Oh, Shar,” Maddie said with sympathy.

“I’m not, or wasn’t, his only girlfriend either.” She controlled the shudder when she was forced to acknowledge just how unfaithful he’d been. He’d been playing with her, pretending to care. She’d thought the proposal had been real. He just didn’t have the ring when he’d asked her, his blushing face giving away that it had been spur of the moment. The ring hadn’t been that important to her. He’d asked her to marry him! She had been ecstatic. Amazing how well he could act. Derision burned at the memory. She thought the emotion had been real too. It hadn’t meant dick to Lawson. The proof was all the women he’d shared his bed with since she’d known him. Let Maddie think it was just one. She could live with that, rather than the reality.

This time the squeak of outrage was much louder. “You’re kidding, right? He couldn’t have been that stupid.”

“Apparently he is.”

“Shar, honey. I’m so sorry.” Still dumbfounded, she murmured, “I can’t believe he’d lie like that. He fooled all of us, then.” The note of support coming from Maddie eased the pain knifing through her. “I had no idea. None of us knew him before he came to Granier Falls. He always seemed so damn honest.” It was against the Kin laws to probe minds. Just once she should have done it. She’d have saved herself a year of humiliation.

She shrugged again, more than ready to put the whole relationship behind her. “I don’t think anyone did.” She took another sip, savoring it slowly. She didn’t blame anyone but herself for following along, believing in his handsome faced lies.

“He’s a scumbag,” Maddie said staunchly. Shar had to agree, emphatically.

Getting over the deceitfulness of the man she’d almost married though, that might take her a while. She couldn’t believe it. She’d been preparing herself since the original proposal to tell him about herself, to explain her ability and what being a member of the local clans meant, but it hadn’t been necessary. He’d guarded himself especially well to keep her from sensing his intentions. He’d slipped somehow with the ring.

Partly he’d been after her father’s money, of which yes, she had a little, but she still worked, still earned her own. Her shop in downtown Granier Falls suited some of the sexier feminine wishes. She personally loved the butter-soft leathers she special-ordered for some of her biker friends and their wives. The specialty shop had grown into a full lingerie clothing line and women’s leather accoutrement store. With that going on, there wasn’t any need to take over her father’s finances until it was physically a necessity, and the way her old man was going, she had a long while to wait. Locals knew her lineage. She didn’t hide it, but she didn’t flaunt it either. Only Kin knew she was a witch, following the family tree for several generations. She’d never suspected Lawson had such a hunger for what she had waiting for her when her parents finally needed her to take over the accounts. Scumbag was actually too kind for him.

The multiple lovers thing... The air shimmered again, a little brighter, a little hotter. Her hair sparked and fluttered as the energy gathered. She’d almost managed to not think about that.

“Easy, Shar,” Maddie whispered, her shoulder to her own in solidarity. “Be mad, but not in here.”

She nodded at her friend’s advice. Maddie had some incredible energy strengths herself, but nothing that she’d earned the reputation like Shar had over the years. Family spells helped her a lot. She was also one of the best scryers in Granier Falls. Lose your diamond ring? Call Maddie. Shar’s lips twitched at that. She’d seen her do it. Wench, even though it was thought with deep affection. Her sonic-level energy ranged from having the lightest touch of power up to being able to topple a temple with one finger. Shar envied her that. Maddie’s apartment was never dusty. Shar on the other hand...

She was well known for her flare-ups, but had learned over the years to keep them under wraps. She wasn’t lacking for control most of the time, but this was one of those circumstances where letting loose--even just a little--would feel so good. It was like having a good cry, or a hot bath or even both. She’d been so wired since this afternoon, she hadn’t thought of doing anything about it. Until now. And this just wasn’t the right place for it.

She took another drink. A full one. To hell with sips. The warmth from the candied liquid on top along with the raw burn of the alcohol sliding down her throat made her eyes water. Sweetness and something peppery blended on her tongue, coated her all the way down to her stomach. One more swallow and the lowball glass was empty. Damn but those went down easy after the first shock.

Braden turned and spotted them. Probably because she’d tossed sparks, and anyone who knew Shar knew when she was throwing a temper.

“Hello ladies!” Braden grinned, leaning over the leather of the bench seat, a couple of pals and their dates hovering. “What’s going on? Haven’t seen you in a while Shar.” He said it with a taunting grin. “Set anything on fire lately?” His mouth held a wicked smirk. The gleam in his dark brown eyes seemed to catch the lights and glow with his amusement. It was those same eyes and the sexy taunt of his mouth—and his knowledge of how to use them—that kept his datebook filled with other orderlies and nurses from the hospital where he worked.

She glared at him, then put on a face of sultry decadence. “Just your dreams, lover,” she replied in a throaty tease.

A round of howls ensued. Maddie gave her a worried glance, but Shar was feeling pretty impervious. She pushed the empty glass toward Maddie. “I want another one.”

“Shar...” She eyed the glass and Shar knew she was studying the moment, searching for the right balance. Really looking for a way to stop the inevitable.

Braden picked it up. Actually, he called it to him, levitating it off the table to hand it to one of the others sitting with him. “Bring the lady a Flaming Star,” he ordered. “Tell Boxer not to light it. I want that privilege.”

Maddie groaned, but Shar didn’t care. Braden had always pushed Shar’s buttons. Summer seasons spent training together for their education in the magical arts had proven one thing. There was no one better than Braden.

Except Shar. And it ate at him like a vicious dog, swallowing his common sense in one bite. Even drunk Shar knew she was better, better skilled, with more control.

She stood from the table. She swung her hair back and absorbed the sound of the night, the heat of the bodies in the club. It was its own high. She licked her lips. Leather gleamed in the dance floor lights and arching an eyebrow at him she told him, “Bring it on.”

Diana Castilleja

2008-09-23T17:43:09Z

Diana Castilleja: /* Books */

Diana Castilleja

2008-09-23T17:42:53Z

Diana Castilleja: /* Books */

Diana Castilleja

2008-09-23T17:42:08Z

Diana Castilleja:

Diana Castilleja

2008-08-21T20:41:04Z

Diana Castilleja:

Sweeter Romantic Notions

2008-08-21T20:39:09Z

Diana Castilleja:

[[category:Romance Resources]]
[[Sweeter Romantic Notions]] is a website that provides Multiple Author Blog and other [[resources]] for readers and authors.

* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sweeterromanticnotions Sweeter Romantic Notions] - Multi-genre, multi-author resource for authors of sweet to sensual romance.

* [http://srnwrites.blogspot.com Sweeter Romantic Notions Authors Blog] - The author board.

* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SRN_Newsletter Newsletter sign up] - Sweeter Romantic Notions News

==Administrators==
*[[Diana Castilleja]]
*[[Judith Rochelle]]
*[[Adelle Laudan]]
*[[Diane Craver]]
*[[Maggie Toussaint]]

==Promotions==
*[[Adelle Laudan]]

==Interviews==
*[[Judith Rochelle]]

==Contributors==
*[[Emily Brevard]]
*[[Elaine Cantrell]]
*[[Stacy Dawn]]
*[[Nell Dixon]]
*[[Carol Ann Erhardt]]
*[[Sara Freeze]]
*[[Cindy K. Green]]
*[[Adelle Laudan]]
*[[Liana Laverentz]]
*[[Brieanna Robertson]]
*[[Susanne Rose]]
*[[Maggie Touissaint]]