Читать онлайн "Tatterdemalion" - Crow Anah - RuLit

jerked under Trey’s hold. When he lifted his eyelashes to look at Trey, there wasn’t censure or anger on the wolf’s face. Just a strange openness Jonah had never seen before.

Then Trey smiled.

Desire. Destruction. Destiny.

Ghost Star Night

Thomas Myrdin knows that intrigue is part of life at court, but that doesn’t make his king’s betrayal

any easier to take. Yet heartbreak troubles him less than the apocalyptic visions that haunt him. Fiery

premonitions that show the world burning in ruins—and the cause, the king’s daughter. Visions and

vengeance awaken a strange new power within him, but not even he is sure if he is the kingdom’s savior,

the king’s pawn.

Lord Adam Wexley harbors a secret longing for the elegant Thomas, but his duty is to protect the

newborn princess. When a sudden threat arises, Adam seeks to procure services of Grand Magician

Zachary Drake. Even if it means sacrificing his own soul—and his body.

Drake has seen the worst of kings and courtiers. Now he protects himself with powerful sorcery and

the adamant refusal to affiliate with any of the Four Courts. But the grand magician isn’t without

weaknesses and Adam may be the one enticement that could draw him to ruin.

In a rising storm of magic with the power to strip away men’s souls, the thread of desire connecting

three men could be the kingdom’s last lifeline…

Warning: This story contains men, magic, man-on-man moments, orangutans speaking in sign

language, beehive hairdos and an army of soulless janitors that seeks to destroy them all.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Ghost Star Night:

“Your hands must be tired,” Drake said.

Adam looked up and caught a hesitant, but definitely sensual smile playing across the other man’s

lips. The idea that the magician had a sexual interest in him began to form in his mind. Unlike the other

magicians he’d met, Drake’s face was not inscrutable. To him, Drake seemed almost shy, although how

that could be possible was a mystery.

“They are a little tired.” Adam set his guitar aside and focused his attention on his host. He still

looked as scary as ever. Slim black shirt and trousers. Boots with silver filigree tips. Silver rings. But now Adam noticed a subtle cologne, the glossiness of his hair. His smooth jaw.

Drake had shaved for him. Adam could see that his direct attention made Drake nervous because that

hesitant look returned.

Suddenly Adam found himself in much more familiar territory. Indeed, he began to consider the

possibility that guitar playing was not the activity that Drake most hoped Adam would engage in during his

visit to the Black Tower. This changed everything.

While he was good at playing guitar, Adam’s true excellence resided in the area of lovemaking. He

smiled and offered his hands to Drake who took them, sliding his own long, thin fingers across the surface

of his palms.

The doorbell rang again. And again. It rang at one-second intervals for a half-minute.

Drake’s face revealed his emotions. First, that he definitely wanted to continue to explore more of

Adam’s skin, and second, that he was annoyed by the doorbell and that Adam should do something about

it.

“Would you like me to tell them to go away?” Adam asked.

“Since my servant is away, thank you,” Drake said. Adam stood and pressed the button for the

elevator intercom.

“Grand Magician Drake is not accepting guests this evening.” When he lifted his thumb off the

button, the only sound to come through the speaker was a barrage of barking. He looked to Drake who

immediately ran his diamond around the rim of his glass. The crystal glass sang out that clear, resonant

note that directly precedes shattering. A fresh round of barking drowned out the sound.

Adam turned back, in bewilderment, to the speaker.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” As he spoke Adam heard Drake’s glass shatter.

“Don’t send him away!” Drake ran from the patio and slammed his hand onto the oval button that

started the elevator moving up. Adam stepped back from Drake, baffled by the sudden reversal. Drake

smiled at him in what looked like a feeble attempt at reassurance. “I believe I know that dog.”

Drake pulled the front door open and lunged into the foyer. The lighted display above the elevator

indicated the car had reached the tenth floor, then the eleventh.

Drake’s expression was one Adam had never seen outside a movie theater—a sort of agony of hope.

Adam’s only thought was that Drake was not the sort of man who he’d imagined as having such an

intensely emotional relationship with a dog, and by the sound of the bark, a small one. He could see Drake

having affection for an albino python, maybe, or a raven. But to Adam, love of a cuddly pooch did not jibe

with Drake’s spider-shaped ring. The thought that he might have judged another man’s character on fashion

accessories alone generated a grimy, shallow shame in Adam. Briefly, the notion crossed Adam’s mind that

the dog was inhabited, but by who?

An ex-lover? Certainly the expression on Drake’s face communicated the importance of the dog,

whoever it was.

Whoever it was, he wouldn’t be happy to find Adam here, certainly.

This evening should be over, he thought, and aloud he said, “Perhaps I should go,” but the grand

magician didn’t answer.

Above the elevator the number thirteen lit up and the doors slid open.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

It’s all about the story…

Action/Adventure

Fantasy

Historical

Horror

Mainstream

Mystery/Suspense

Non-Fiction

Paranormal

Red Hots!

Romance

Science Fiction

Western

Young Adult

www.samhainpublishing.com

Document Outline

Tatterdemalion

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

About the Author

No trust without truth.

Many Roads Home

The only way to break free is to let go.

Lynx

Desire. Destruction. Destiny.