Captive's Kiss
C
APTIVE’S
K
ISS
S
HARON
K
AY
This is a work of fiction. Any actual places are used in a fictional context. Other names of places and people are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual places or people is purely coincidental.
C
APTIVE’S
K
ISS
Edited by Janet Michelson
Cover art by Kim Killion at The Killion Group, Inc.
Interior design by
Ink Slinger Editorial Services
C
APTIVE’S
K
ISS
© 2015 Sharon Kay
ISBN-13:978-1533411488
ISBN-10:1533411484
B
OOKS BY
S
HARON
K
AY
The Solsti Prophecy series
W
ICKED
W
IND
W
ICKED
W
AVES
W
ICKED
F
LAMES
O
N
W
ICKED
G
ROUND
Companion to the Solsti Prophecy series
K
ISSED BY A
D
EMON
S
PY: A
N
OVELLA
The Watcher’s Kiss series
T
AINTED
K
ISS
ASSASSIN’S KISS
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, a huge, sincere THANK YOU to my readers! Without you, these stories would remain untold. Your support, comments, and messages motivate me and mean more to me than I can possibly express.
Thank you to my amazing husband, for your patience and support of my writing. You are wonderful to brainstorm with about plots and powers. I love you!
Thank you to my son. I love everything we do together. I love your bright and curious mind, and your endless questions (and thank you to Google for helping me answer them)!
Thank you to my parents and siblings, my in-laws, and my extended family for your love and encouragement of my creativity.
Thank you to my beta readers: Cristin and Jamie, and proofreader Toshia. Your opinions, advice, and nit-pickiness are invaluable, often hilarious, and always spot-on!
Thank you to the group of authors who helped put together the Gathering Darkness boxed set, in which Captive’s Kiss was originally published. You were fun, professional, and a joy to work with!
Thank you to the trio of women who make my plain Word document into a professional-looking book: Kim Killion, my amazing cover designer; Janet Michelson, my eagle-eyed editor; and Cheryl Murphy at Ink Slinger Editorial Services, my formatter and savior from the scary world of ebook html-coding.
And a big hug and kiss to the many bloggers I have had the joy to work with. The support you give to indie authors is amazing. Many of you have jobs and families and still make time to read and review dozens (if not hundreds) of books each year, providing exposure for us through insightful and witty reviews, blog tours, cover reveals, and contests. THANK YOU!
C
ONTENTS
C
HAPTER
1
T
ANNER ROLLED HIS SHOULDERS AS
he and his team headed into the vibrant energy of downtown Halice. Festive colored lights hung in the trees and along rooftops. From one block to the next, different music blared from windows. Laughter and cat calls carried on the warm night air.
All centered around sex. The very oxygen in the city pulsed with it.
Half of Torth’s creatures were fertile at the solstices, half at the equinoxes. Now, as the longest day of the year reached its end, the summer solstice tilted the masses to a fever pitch.
His team, the males Tanner fought with every day, lethal in battle and interrogation, had only one thing on their minds tonight. Need rode them hard, and the scent of sex that curled through the air only intensified it.
Aleksai, the team leader and a lieutenant, led the way down a packed street. Tanner and Ian walked side by side behind him, with Gabriel and Raul in front. Nymphs cooed and flirted as the five Watchers strode by. One actually took off her top right there in the street and latched onto Raul’s arm.
“Hey sexy,” she purred, craning her head to look up at him. She was all of five feet tall, and Raul, like most Watchers, was well over six feet.
But no one cared about things like height differences tonight. With a grunt, he picked her up and stalked toward an alley. She crawled higher up his chest, kissing his neck.
Ian shrugged and smirked. “One Watcher down.”
Gabriel turned and angled his head at the crowds of females. “Take your pick. Or wait for the club. We’ll be there in five. You know the drill.”
The drill.
Fuck who they want and make their way back home when they wanted. They just had to show up for the noon briefing, when Aleksai would inform them of their next assignment.
Tanner met the eyes of a curvy red headed witch, but shook his head. Witches were entirely too perceptive about the emotions of others. A dark elf got into her personal space, obviously thinking she was anxious for male company of any variety. The witch scowled and her lips moved quickly. Suddenly the elf was knocked to his knees, cursing, and he scuttled away.
They rounded a corner and the huge, obnoxious façade of Club Hades came into view. Jagged red letters formed the name, twined with giant fake snakes. The letter “A” had horns. It was ridiculous, but it filled a gap in entertainment venues after Hell’s Gate had been destroyed in a dark elf fight last winter.
Aleksai approached the bouncer, skipping the long line, and subtly handed the male some gold. The club was nearly packed to capacity, and the owners knew they had a needy clientele. Letting in a handful of Lash demons would only help them if things happened to get out of hand.
The seasonal lust was intense. Need for sex, need to procreate, need to be more territorial and assert dominance-all of it was magnified for a period of two to three weeks that ended shortly after the solstice. No one was above it or could resist it, unless they chose to be drugged by a witch or healer to avoid the whole thing.
Tanner followed Aleksai under an arch of flames and into an enormous room. The walls were painted black, but the ceiling high above was bright white and bathed in light. Figures painted on it showed ancient Earth Greek gods and goddesses in various poses of sex and destruction. The same theme was echoed in flashing light patterns projected on the walls, and statues that towered on gold pedestals scattered throughout the room.
Techno music pounded. The Watchers pushed through the crowd, heading toward the massive bar. They didn’t even make it there without losing Gabriel and Ian to grabby female hands. Aleksai and Tanner ordered shots of dragon’s blood, which the female bartender delivered with a smile but not an invitation. The bars and clubs tried to schedule their workers on opposite seasons.
But plenty of other creatures were happy to accommodate. Didn’t matter who was being controlled by summer hormones and who wasn’t-the air was palpable with sex.
“To the solstice,” Tanner said as he raised his glass.
Aleksai nodded and raised his, and they downed the deep crimson liquid.
At one side of the bar, a tall female Lash crawled up onto the wooden surface. Pinning her eyes on Aleksai, she slid along on all fours, deftly avoiding drinks, her low cut top barely containing her breasts. She stopped in front of Aleksai and leaned to whisper something in his ear.
Tanner could have listened, his enhanced hearing would have allowed it, but he didn’t. Her intent was clear. And so was his lieutenant’s response.
In one fluid motion, Aleksai grabbed her and lifted her over his shoulder, caveman style. Ass in the air, she wrapped her arms around his waist from her behind-and-upside-down position as he carried her away from the bar.
Down a dark hall they went, to rooms-more like tiny alcoves or closets-where creatures could go to take care of business. Though some didn’t make it that far, as the occasional sounds from the dance floor indicated. Whether moans or grunts, high-pitched or low, every nuance in the sex-fueled cacophony reached Tanner’s ears.
Tanner turned toward the dancing throng. No surprise, some females were topless and some couples were locked intimately together. He’d seen this often in his three hundred years and, yeah, it was hot. It wasn’t possible to remain unaffected by it. Not at this time of year, and not with the sudden brush of soft female hands on his arms.
A petite Trant demoness batted purple eyes at him. Her black dress was sheer, showing him every inch of her body. Her species thrived on sex and passed as beautiful humans, so many of them had moved to Earth to work their magic. No harm was done, just sex that the human would always longingly remember. Trants were notorious for tiring of partners and needing new ones to keep them entertained.
Tanner’s eyes slid over wavy black hair that reached the tops of her full breasts. She was willing, she was sexy. He pulled her closer and she pressed into his body, rubbing herself against him. His cock had been semi hard ever since they’d arrived in Halice, and now it responded to the intimate position with an obliging female.
He inhaled, taking in her arousal as well as the musky nutmeg Trant scent. But his budding interest in the Trant was derailed in his next breath.
A different female fragrance filled his nose. Night-blooming jasmine. Sweet, powerful, promising...a Lash female.
Tanner breathed again, needed more of it, like a drug. Who did it belong to and where was she? He pulled back from the little demoness, trying to pinpoint the scent. “Sorry, sweetheart.” He disengaged from the Trant. “I need to talk to someone.”
He started a methodical walk around the sprawling bar, not sure why he cared so much about this particular scent, but operating on pure instinct. The rectangular bar sat at the side of the club, separating the main area from the sex rooms in the back. It was thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, and somewhere nearby was a female he needed to find.
