The Flame (14 page)
Authors: Christopher Rice
Tags: #1001 Dark Nights, #erotic romance, #Christopher RIce, #MMF, #ghosts, #New Orleans, #Erotica
Shane continues to sob. When Cassidy opens her mouth to comfort him, Andrew brings one finger gently to her lips, silencing her.
“Give him a minute,” Andrew whispers. “Give him a minute to realize he’s ours now, then he’ll be okay.”
She wants to believe him, but she’s terrified Shane’s tears signal the end of this, that without Bastian Drake’s magic, they’ll once again be slaves to fear. Shane lifts his head from her chest. Her heart is racing. She’s already visualizing him leaping off her and running from the house, from the full, world-changing implications of what they’ve done together now. Twice.
Andrew reaches up, cups the side of Shane’s face in one hand. Surely, Shane can sense Cassidy’s fear, knows full well the look that comes into her eyes when she’s gripped by anticipation and dread. Surely, she has the look in her eyes right now.
Shane’s eyes meet her own. He brings one of her hands to his mouth, kissing the tips of her fingers gently.
“Belong to you,” Shane whispers.
“Both of you,” Andrew whispers.
Cassidy’s heart slows to a steady beat as Shane settles into her embrace. The words Bastian Drake’s candle drew from them have once again rolled off their tongues. But the candle has been out for hours, its spirits and their sparkling residue nowhere in sight. It’s just the three of them, their passion, their bravery. And now these words feel like vows.
Not all the words,
she realizes. She’s yet to add her final line to these, their new vows.
“Always,” Cassidy whispers.
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A Wicked Lovers Novella
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A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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A MacKenzie Family Novella
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SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING
A Scanguards Vampire Novella
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A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
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by Larissa Ione
by Lisa Renee Jones
A Masters of the Shadowlands Novella
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A Blacktop Cowboys ® Novella
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A Midnight Breed Novella
by Lara Adrian
A Desire Exchange Novella
by Christopher Rice
A Phoenix Brotherhood Novella
by Julie Kenner
A Redwood Pack Novella
by Carrie Ann Ryan
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
by Heather Graham
A Mountain Masters Novella
by Cherise Sinclair
A Dark Pleasures Novella
by Julie Kenner
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
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A Demonica Novella
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A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover
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A Midnight Breed Novella
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Also from Evil Eye Concepts:
A Stark International Novella
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A Desire Exchange Novel
By Christopher Rice
Acknowledgments from the Author
I can’t thank M.J. Rose and Liz Berry enough for giving me the chance to try my hand at a new genre and for putting together this incredibly exciting new project. I’m also profoundly grateful for Jillian Stein, the amazing social media director for 1,001 DARK NIGHTS. Thanks to these ladies, this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had outlining, promoting, writing and copyediting a book. Kami Garcia and Delinah Blake Hurwitz gave me some really insightful reads. Thanks also goes to Benjamin Scuglia for additional proofreading and copyediting
I wouldn’t be able to work on so many different writing projects while also producing (and co-hosting) a weekly internet radio show without the amazing staff of The Dinner Party Show. A big thank you to my best friend, producing partner and co-host Eric Shaw Quinn as well as our amazing support staff: Brandon Griffith, Brett Churnin, Cathy Dipierro and Benjamin Scuglia (again). If you haven’t listened to The Dinner Party Show yet, give us a try. Our goal is to make you laugh until wine comes out of your nose. Even if you’re not drinking wine! We’re always on at www.TheDinnerPartyShow.com.
Last but not least, one of the highlights of this foray into erotic romance came when Lexi Blake wrote to tell me she was so moved by the first draft of THE FLAME she wanted to include an excerpt from it in her latest novel. This kind of generosity is rare among authors in other genres and I’m still bowled over by it, to be frank. Thanks, Lexi. Thanks for embracing the complexity of Andrew, Shane and Cassidy so warmly and with such acceptance.
By the age of 30, Christopher Rice had published four New York Times bestselling thrillers, received a Lambda Literary Award and been declared one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive. His first work of supernatural suspense, THE HEAVENS RISE, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. His debut, A DENSITY OF SOULS, was published when the author was just 22 years old. A controversial and overnight bestseller, it was greeted with a landslide of media attention, much of it devoted to the fact that Christopher is the son of vampire chronicler, Anne Rice. Bestselling thriller writer (and Jack Reacher creator) Lee Child hailed Christopher's novel LIGHT BEFORE DAY as a "book of the year". Together with his best friend, New York Times bestselling novelist Eric Shaw Quinn, Christopher launched his own Internet radio show. THE DINNER PARTY SHOW WITH CHRISTOPHER RICE & ERIC SHAW QUINN is always playing at TheDinnerPartyShow.com and every episode is available for free download from the site's show archive or on iTunes. 47North, the science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint of Amazon Publishing, recently published his most recent supernatural thriller, THE VINES. And on December 9th, Thomas & Mercer, the crime and thriller imprint of Amazon Publishing, will release new editions of his previous bestsellers A DENSITY OF SOULS, THE SNOW GARDEN and LIGHT BEFORE DAY. He will continue the world of Thee Desire Exchange with a new erotic romance, THE SURRENDER GATE, due out from Evil Eye Concepts in early 2015.
A Desire Exchange Novel
By Christopher Rice
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Coming February 3, 2015
From Evil Eye Concepts
“Arthur has a son who ran away from home years ago, when he was twenty,” Emily says. “His name is Ryan. Ryan Benoit. Arthur’s written him a letter and he wants me to find him and give it to him.”
“As a condition of leaving you his fortune?” Dugas asks.
“It’s not a condition. It’s a request. And given that he’s about to change my life forever, I’d say it’s the very least I can do.”
There is more bite in her tone than she’d intended, but Dugas seems more aroused by it than offended. “I see. Have you read this letter?” he asks.
“I have not. And I will not.”
“Well, that
is
impressive. Certainly more self-control than you exhibited this evening. So you have no idea why Ryan ran away, but you’re expected to find him and bring him back?”
“I’m expected to give him the letter. The letter is supposed to bring him back. At least that’s what Arthur’s hoping for.”
“And Arthur has made no attempt to find his son before now?”
“No. I mean, yes. He has, but…”
“But
what
?” Jonathan asks.
“Ryan ran away so long ago that every few years Arthur has an age progression done on computer. Then he hires a private detective to go look for him. A few years ago, one of the detectives turned up what looked like a real lead. But at the time, Arthur didn’t want to pursue it. Now that he’s dying, he’s had a change of heart.”
“And the lead was?” Dugas asks.
“The P.I. said a man matching the latest progression was involved with some sort of secret
organization
called The Desire Exchange.” Emily watches Jonathan to gauge his reaction to these words. He’s nowhere near as startled as she’d hoped he’d be. “I’ve only heard that name one other time and it was from you. You just sort of mentioned it in passing so I thought—”
“You thought what?” Jonathan asks sharply. “That I was a member of a secret sex cult?”
“I just thought you might know more about it than you were letting on. But you wouldn’t tell me unless—”
“—unless you caught me with a client and
embarrassed
it out of me?”
“Children,” Dugas says. “Please.”
“Emily.
Come on!
Some secret organization that helps millionaires live out their deepest sexual fantasies? It was somebody’s idea of a joke. I thought it was funny. That’s why I told you. It’s not real, for Christ’s sake.”
“It is not a joke,” George Dugas says quietly. His finality silences them both
The man seems incapacitated all of a sudden. By shock? Memories? Emily can’t tell. If she hadn’t looked to Jonathan so quickly when she’d said those three shiver-inducing words, she might have picked up on the older man’s reaction before now.
“And it’s
very
real,” Dugas whispers.
He rises to his feet, takes his drink in hand, and strolls to the edge of the pool; as if it’s wavering blue surface were a window onto the past. “The latest age progression. Describe it to me.”
“He was about six feet tall when he ran away, so he should be around that now. Dirty blonde hair.”
“Leave out the things he could have easily changed,” Dugas says.
“Okay. Bright eyes that have a kind of slant to them that looks almost Eastern European. I guess they’d make him look kind of angry. Or amused, I’m not sure. Anyway, his facial features, they’re all proportional, is what I’m trying to say. Especially his nose. He doesn’t have one of those big Roman noses that can dominate a guy’s face. Everything about him is more classic and all-American.”
“Any birthmarks?” Dugas asks.
“Yes. A small strawberry-colored mark above his left collarbone.”
This concise description causes Dugas to straighten and suck in a deep breath, as if a wave of pleasure is coursing through his entire body.
“Oh my,” Dugas whispers. Then he takes a quick sip of his drink. “Oh, mymy
my
.”
Jonathan breaks the silence. “Mr. Dugas, are you a
member
of The Desire Exchange?”
“The Desire Exchange doesn’t have members. It’s not a club. It’s an
experience
.”
“An experience you’ve apparently had,” Emily says.
The older man drains the last of his cocktail with several long swallows. The mint sprig catches on the remaining ice cubes as he drinks. Whatever it is, George Dugas has trouble remembering The Desire Exchange without the balm of whiskey and powdered sugar to soothe the hot fires of his lust.