Thank
you Holly and Full Moon Bites for being the first stop on my tour celebrating
the release of Beyond The Edge! This
book was double the fun to write, because it merges two of my series, On The Edge and Out of the Box.
Five main characters can be a little hard to manage at times, but they’re all
so interesting (… at least to me, and hopefully for readers, too!) that it was
a pleasure to play with them all.
And
actually, I’m playing with all of them today again… Holly gave me a prompt and
I wrote a short flashfiction piece on that theme for each of the main
characters. While these scenes are set during Beyond
The Edge, they don’t ‘spoil’ the story for important events or plot
points. I hope you’ll enjoy and would love to hear what you think!
I’d
also like to invite you to follow me on my
tour to learn more about the characters and their stories, as well as
participate in giveaways for signed swag and a $25 Gift Certificate!
Bodyguards
Leaning
against the railing on one of the catwalks above the dance floor, Brett looked
down at the dancing crowd. He joined in often enough with Lisa, Leo or both of
them, but at times, in the privacy of his own mind, he could admit that he was
starting to feel a little too old to bounce along with the music the way his
customers now did. Could it even be called dancing? From his vantage point, it
looked like an accident waiting to happen, twisted ankle or elbow in the face.
He
wondered if he’d feel differently once he was a vampire like his lovers. The
date they’d set was only a few months away, and while both Leo and Lisa had
hinted, separately, that they’d understand if he changed his mind, he hadn’t.
The baby’s arrival would change many things, but not that.
As
his thoughts turned to the baby - a girl, Virginia and Anando had told them
that very afternoon - Brett found himself imagining her as a toddler, a teen… a
young woman, much like those now dancing below him. His smile faded little by
little.
“That’s
not a happy face,” Leo said, coming up to him and leaning against the railing
next to him, their shoulders pressed together.
“I
just had a thought,” Brett said. “Look at those girls. One day our little girl
will be their age and she might want to dance.”
He
gestured at a couple of young men near the bar who were eyeing the group of
girls. He didn’t even add a word; he didn’t know if those two guys were
vampires, and it didn’t really matter. They were on the prowl, that much was
evident, and they were checking out their prey.
When
Leo laughed quietly, Brett shot him a mock-glare.
“Hey.
Not funny. It’s our baby girl I’m talking about.”
“It
is. Which is why she’ll never set foot on that dance floor without at least one
bodyguard within arm’s reach. She’ll be lucky if she can even find someone to
dance with.”
Leo
made an excellent point there. A grin coming back to his lips, Brett kissed
him.
*
* *
The
tissue box rocked on top of Virginia
Seconds
later, the front door opened and Anando walked in. Virginia
“Virginia
He
sat on the sofa next to her and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m
not crying,” she protested, her voice breaking on a small sob.
He
pressed a kiss to her cheek, right on the path of a falling tear.
“Funny,”
he said in a croaky voice, “because these taste like tears. Come on, tell me
what’s going on. Did something happen? Did someone call? Virginia
She
gestured to the screen with her tissue-holding hand. “That movie. It’s just…
Every time Kevin Costner…”
She
broke into tears just as, on the television, a plane came to a standstill while
the music soared.
Against
her, Anando turned completely still, then started to shake. She looked up at
him and, through a blurry curtain of tears, realized he was chuckling
soundlessly.
“You’re
crying because of a cheesy movie you’ve seen before?” he asked with a too wide
grin.
She
jostled his shoulder. “It’s hormones!” she protested, crying harder yet. “I
can’t… I can’t help it.”
Still
chuckling lightly, Anando drew her closer again and pressed a kiss to her
temple.
“Then
maybe you shouldn’t watch movies that make you cry?”
She
huffed and tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her go and after a moment
she settled more comfortably against him.
Men,
she thought to herself. They understood nothing.
But
they did make for nice pillows.
*
* *
Sometimes,
Lisa had the strangest ideas.
Leo
had no doubt that she was great at what she did for the club. She didn’t have
an actual title, but dealing with public relations was a gift for her. Whenever
things slowed down a little, she came up with another event, another party
theme that packed the club with regular and new customers alike. She’d done it
again tonight, but Leo was still unsure whether her idea had been genius or a
catastrophe in disguise.
He’d
know soon enough; his turn was coming.
On
the stage, the emcee was reminding the audience that the money raised in the
auction along with a percentage of the bar profits would benefit a local charity
for runaway teens. Leo gulped.
“If
I didn’t know any better,” Lisa whispered next to his ear, “I’d think you’re
scared.”
“I’m
not scared,” he protested at once. “Just wondering how I got volunteered for
this.”
She
chuckled and patted his arm. “That’d be because you flirt with everything that
moves. And I bet everything that moves will bid on you tonight.”
That
wasn’t a particularly reassuring thought. Leo flirted with a lot of people,
that much was true, but it was very different from being put on offer like
this. Besides, it’d been a while since he’d taken it beyond a few words, smiles
and winks. What would happen if his ‘owner’ for a night was a little too
‘hands-on’ or demanding? Some of the ladies assembled in front of the stage had
hungry gleams in their eyes…
Lisa
seemed to read his mind. She laughed quietly then said, “Don’t worry. I’ll stay
close and make sure whoever wins you doesn’t molest you before the end of the
night.”
And
with that, she pressed a hand to the middle of his back and pushed him forward
to the middle of the stage. The emcee wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders as
though to stop him from fleeing and started the bidding at five dollars. Leo
only had time to feel mildly insulted by the low number: already a bidding war was
raging, and the price offered quickly climbed to three digits. He glanced back
at Lisa. He was definitely going to need a bodyguard.
*
* *
Seconds
ago, Lisa had been teasing Leo about the look of dread on his features and said
she’d keep a close eye on him. As she listened to the women voices call always
higher bids, she started to grow mildly concerned. Leo was the fifth ‘eligible
bachelor’ they had auctioned so far, but while everyone had garnered a few
bids, none had drawn quite as much interest as he did. Would she really have to
play bodyguard to him? That’d be too bad, because she’d had plans for the
night.
As
the bidding climbed past two hundred dollars, excitement buzzed through the
crowd. One after the other, the bidders yielded until two women remained, both
of them standing right in front of the stage. Lisa recognized them as regular
customers and wondered if either or even both had had the chance to spend a few
hours with Leo before. It wasn’t what was on offer tonight; did they realize
that?
At
two hundred and fifty-five, one of the women bowed out, retreating through the
crowd and climbing a staircase to leave, clearly disappointed. The emcee
started calling out the number. At his loud “Going twice” a new voice rose from
one of the catwalks; a man’s voice. Gasp resonated through the room when he
called out, “Five hundred.”
Lisa
smiled when she recognized the voice; judging by the way Leo’s shoulders
relaxed, he had recognized it, too. It looked like she wouldn’t need to protect
Leo from unwanted attentions, after all.
No
one challenged the five hundred bid, and the emcee called an end to the
auction. It was only seconds later that Anando sauntered to the lower level to
pay his price and claim his prize; no doubt he’d left Virginia
“Do
I really have to?” Brett murmured into Lisa’s ear, sounding just as nervous as
Leo had.
Laughing,
she pushed him to the front of the scene. Rather than remaining to the side as
she had so far, however, she climbed down to stand with the bidders. She
supposed she could have played Anando’s game, let the bids climb and then jump
in when it looked like it was over. She’d never been all that patient, though.
As soon as the emcee finished introducing Brett to the crowd, Lisa called out
her bid in a loud, clear voice that rang through the entire dance floor.
“Two
grand.”
It
was the shortest auction of all.
People
around her clapped, there were even a few wolf-whistles and questions about
what she expected to get for that price, followed by laughs. She smiled as she
handed out the cash. She already had what she wanted: Brett was smiling when he
took her hand.
*
* *
Over
the past year and half, Anando had grown used to the rhythm of Virginia
Lately,
another heartbeat had joined hers, tiny and fast. Most nights, he found himself
listening to it for hours. He wove his arms around Virginia
He didn’t delude
himself he’d ever be able to protect them against everything; even the best of
bodyguards could do nothing against heartaches and painful words. But he’d do
his best, so that if he had any say in it they would both live long, happy
lives. And he’d be next to them every step of the way.
Beyond The Edge
Buy links at http://original.kallysten.net/2013/beyond-the-edge/
Blurb:
As Brett Andrews, owner of the famous club On The Edge,
reaches the big ‘four-O,’ he has one request and one question for his two
vampire lovers, Leo and Lisa: he doesn’t want them to organize any sort of
celebration for him – but he does want to know why neither of them has ever
mentioned the possibility of turning him into a vampire.
The question finds an answer, and the three of them share a
promise for the year to come. His request, on the other hand, is doomed from
the start as they already have plans for the big day: they have a gift for him
to match presents he offered each of them, and the party they planned with help
from a couple of friends promises to be something special.
Vampire Anando and his human lover Virginia met at On The
Edge. They are friends and occasional lovers of Leo, Brett and Lisa. When
asked, they gladly accept to host the big-bash birthday party – and the private
after-party, too. A good time is had by all, but the last gift is only revealed
a few weeks later, to be delivered after nine months.
With both humans in love with vampires, neither expected a
child in their future. As for the vampires, they knew for a fact that they’d
never become parents. For all five, once the first shock has passed, decisions
have to be made. Will this new adventure strengthen bonds of love and
friendship, or will it tear lives apart?
