Fantastica Anthology

Excerpt:
Table of Contents

Introduction
Giving Orders by Brit M.
Waitressing Can Be Hell on a Girl by K. Jo Reilly
Once a Dragon by Holly East
Office Hours by Victoria Lake
A Light in the Wind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Ghost of a Chance by Bethany Miller
The Belated Birthday Gift by Chase Jeffreys
Where Rainbows Land by Rachel Kenley
Anytime, Anywhere, Anywhen by Devin Salerno

Introduction

Sometimes the things that go bump in the night can thrill us as much as scare us. In this anthology, nine authors delve into the realms of the paranormal to create erotic romances filled with witches and werewolves, demons and dragons, and more.

Lincoln may seem to be in charge of things, but that’s only a cover for their work, because it is beautiful witch Annie who’s the one Giving Orders, and Lincoln is all too happy to comply.

In Waitressing Can Be Hell on a Girl, a unique first-person story, Kyra isn’t sure which side of her heritage – the demon or the angel – is going to help her with the mission she’s been asked to go on – or with the hunky demigod who goes with the job.

Once a Dragon is for all of us who have longed not only to be special, but to find that special someone who accepts us for exactly who we are. Selena may have forgotten how powerful she is, but she doesn’t expect the truth to give her such an incredible destiny.

In Office Hours, the hot-for-teacher theme takes on a new twist when a student with telekinesis meets a professor with empathic control. Talk about a powerful couple!

When Diana stops for the night to get out of a storm, in A Light in the Wind, she has no idea it’s a decision that will change her life forever. Late-night television will never be the same again.

Two ghosts make for erotic encounters. First, in Ghost of a Chance, Cass is ready to give up her job as a paranormal investigator until a night in an old house gives her a new idea for her career path. Kevin Tremont never forgot – or got over – his murdered first love, even if she was a stripper. In The Belated Birthday Gift he is going to get all he’s ever wanted – and quite a bit more.

A cursed stone leads not only to inspiration for Theo, a jewelry designer, but to a gift and a future he never imagined in Where Rainbows Land. The magnificence of an opal in nothing compared to the beauty hidden within the gem.

In the final story, Anytime, Anywhere, Anywhen, time travel and murder get mixed up with love and passion for Tessa and Nathan as they race to find out what happened to her sister in hopes of saving what they have discovered with each other.

And, dear readers, not only is this a book of wonderful short stories, but several of the authors featured are planning to continue their contributions as full-length novels. I hope you will enjoy this mix of the erotic and exotic.

Happy reading,
Rachel Kenley


Giving Orders

by Brit M.
"You ready?" Lincoln said, pulling the car into the gravel lot behind the club. "When we see the target, we just snatch and grab. The King wants her to get the hell out of his turf or apply for the pack. No harm, no foul."

"I know, jackass," Annie groused, adjusting the zipper on her vinyl halter bra one more time. "Am I showing too much cleavage?"

"You're the subbie," he said with a grin, kicking open his door. "You could be naked or dressed in a tux for all they care. It's what I want, yeah?"

"Oh, you wish," she said, tottering briefly in the big platform heels on the loose pavement. "I look ridiculous. My ass is hanging out of this skirt. I can feel the wind."

"You're sure this club is, ah, human friendly, right?"

She glared at him. He looked just as stupid in those tight leather pants and tight cotton tee, his hair drifting free in a gold-brown halo around his face. Or she wished he did. Too bad being a witch didn't come with wish-granting powers. He flashed a toothy grin at her and dug the last item out of his back pocket. The collar and leash hung delicately from his index finger, hovering in the balmy night air between them. The moon was only half-full.

"You're trying to decide whether to be pissed that I called you human or implied you couldn't do your research," he said. "But you should really just let me put this on you and shut up. They'll be able to hear us when we get closer."

"Fine," she sighed, uncrossing her arms from her bare stomach. "Get it over with. She should be here. She has been every other damned night."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you look good enough to eat," Lincoln murmured, bending from his considerable height to fasten the little leather collar around her throat. She gulped at the touch of his too-hot fingers on her bare skin. He slipped one under the band to make sure it wasn't too tight. "Smell good, too."

"You mean I smell like food," she said, breathier than she wanted to sound and not without fear. It sucked to have a business partner who could scent out what you were feeling, but he kindly didn't comment.

"Well, you do smell like human," he said while clipping her leash on. "They don't do some kind of survey at these places whether or not you've got some supernatural oomph, you know that."

"Let's go," Annie said, rolling her shoulders and popping her back. "Now or never."

"Remember to always follow my lead, no matter what. You aren't going to be able to show even a hint of disrespect or the game is blown, and we really don't want that to happen. My King doesn't control all of these patrons."

"I know," she murmured.

Her breath caught when he wound the loose length of the leash around his fist absentmindedly, drawing it taut. She fought not to cover herself with her hands while she trotted behind Lincoln, perfectly in character. It helped that he was so masculine and big. She could pretend for a moment that he really could control her. Deep down, they both knew the truth.

The back door opened when they were four steps away. Subtle music drifted out into the lot. A sable-haired woman wearing a dress made of something shiny, perhaps latex, smiled at them. Lincoln nodded his head low to her and tugged the leash, drawing them both inside. Annie kept her eyes lowered but still peered around for their target. Some of the less rigorous activities stopped and most of the patrons looked up at the newcomers.

She nearly shrieked when fine, long nails scraped the bare curves of her bottom in four thin, burning lines. A tiny squeal did escape and she bounced on her heels, away from the invasive touch. Lincoln jerked her tight to his body instantly and pulled his lips back in a growl that fit his wolf more than his human form. She stared over her shoulder at the door-woman, who spread both of her hands in a gesture of open friendliness. Her smile was a little confused.

"Is there a problem?" she said.

"You're touching my girl," Lincoln said in the deep bass growl.
"Oh," the woman replied, her cheeks coloring a bit. "I'm sorry, she isn't marked. I didn't realize you had staked your claim."

"Ah," Lincoln said, easing down. Annie imagined she could see his hackles smoothing. "She didn't do her research as well as she thought she did, then."

"I apologize," the woman said. "Guests who bring an unclaimed pet here are inviting…"

"Sharing," a man's voice called from the room. Everyone seemed to be watching the debacle.

"I can remedy that," Lincoln said easily. His fingers dug into Annie’s back, warning. "If you'd allow me. She deserves a punishment for failing her research task so spectacularly. Is there a standard here?"
Annie felt the sweat break out over her body before her breath sped against his chest. If it wasn't a humans-friendly club, and they were talking claiming, she really hadn't gotten the right information. What would they ask? A brand, a cut, a carving? Her body shivered with fear, out of her control.

"She's a sweet thing," the woman said, her voice a touch deeper than before. "She's scared. You've got her all frightened."

"What's the standard?" Lincoln reminded gently.

"A bite will do," the door-woman replied.

Annie sagged a little with relief. She didn't have to fake the reactions. Why had they ever thought play-acting this was a good idea? Grabbing the target somewhere else would have been preferable, but Lincoln's King had only offered them this information. She wouldn't put it past the bastard to test their work that way, to see if they could handle the split-second decisions.

"Thank you," Lincoln said.

His big hand gripped the back of her neck instead of the leash, guiding her with her head down through the small club room. There were private rooms behind doors all along the far wall. A slightly lowered area held couches with resting couples and trios in various states of undress. Her bare skin prickled at the feel of so many staring eyes. He was going to do this in front of them?

"Sit," he rasped, stopping in front of an unoccupied couch. Annie sat, thighs pressed together for modesty. She stared up at him, breathing quickly and harshly, trying not to let her fear or the tingles of something else show on her face. His nostrils flared. "You can yell all you want."

She didn't have a chance to respond before he dropped to his knees on the ground in front of her low couch and leaned up to put both hands on the back of the frame. His body towered over hers, making her feel small and slightly screened off from their audience. His eyes were still gentle, though. She knew she could say no, and they could leave – and lose the job.

Instead she gave the faintest twitch of a nod she could manage. His nimble fingers undid the collar and let it drop into her lap. The cold buckle stung her thigh but she didn't move it, stuck as she was staring up into his eyes while their colors shifted. The normal brown developed first flecks of gold, then green, until she was staring down something less and more than a man.

She whimpered, and it was if he'd been waiting for the sound. He wrapped his fingers in a handful of her short hair and yanked her head to the side, baring the muscle and flesh of her throat. Her pulse pounded like a caught bird's. Her mouth went dry. He laved his tongue in a hot, wet line up her neck, sending a shiver down her spine so hard it nearly made her wrench out of his grasp.

The pressure of his teeth started out gentle on the muscle’s curve where neck met shoulder. She took a deep breath and hissed it out between her teeth while he shuffled closer. She spread her legs around him, letting his body block her nudity from the room. The little vinyl skirt rode up. Lincoln caught her left hand with his and pinned it to the couch before biting down harder. At first the pain was dull and liquid, like a bruise. Annie closed her eyes and ignored the way her legs trembled at the stirring of his breath on her vulnerable throat, the way his tongue flickered gently against the flesh he'd captured.
But then he kept biting down harder, tiny increments but more noticeable as the pressure didn't cease. She whimpered once, clutching at his back with her free hand. The thick muscles rippled under her touch and he shuddered, locking his jaws down that much harder. She cried out. Soon he would break the skin. She knew it, the pain was too intense. It burned down her spine like fire, consuming her mind and her every nerve. Still harder until she swore his teeth would touch through her body. She screamed, ragged and hurting. His body surged against hers. The sudden press of his huge, hard cock against her panties reminded her of the other edge to his bite. Lust, tingling and confused, mingled with the continued burning agony.

After another small eternity, Lincoln began to ease off. She scratched at him futilely as blood rushed back into her bruised flesh, searing worse than his teeth. He licked her again once he'd released her. She whined, squeezing her eyes against the pain that hadn't ceased. It felt like he'd branded her with a hot iron, her whole shoulder and neck throbbed.

"Oh, my," a woman's voice said breathily behind them.

Lincoln turned to stare at her with his wild wolf eyes, which offered Annie a sight as well. It was their target, without a doubt. Her curly red hair was hard to miss. The woman's eyes lingered on Annie's marked neck before drifting to her date.

"Interested in a little company?" she whispered. "I'm Lisa."

"Only if we can take it home," Lincoln murmured back. "I'm a little taxed being here. Don't want to test my control."

"Of course," Lisa agreed. "Let me grab my coat."

Lincoln's hands were gentle in helping Annie up from the couch. She wobbled, dizzy with the confusion of pain and sexual heat. The memory of his erection pressing her through his pants flamed in her mind like his mark on her throat. Eyes followed them hungrily as they made their way to the door.

"I hope you'll come back soon," the doorwoman said, still smiling. "We'll avoid the rude welcome next time."

"Of course," Lincoln said. "We're grateful to be allowed here."

Once out in the parking lot, Annie lifted a hand to gingerly touch the mark. It felt puffy and strange. The indentations of his teeth were little ridges, but she felt no blood. He'd done his work carefully and as respectfully as possible. He was still holding himself tight as a wound spring. She stole a glance down and yes, he was still hard, straining against the crotch of his tight pants. Her mouth watered. They'd been working together for three weeks but she hadn't quite thought of him as a viable love interest until then.

"Ready?" he murmured, and she shook herself.

"Will be," she whispered back. "Get her in the car."

Annie walked ahead to climb into the back seat. Her body thrummed with lingering pain and excitement, as well as the thrill of the hunt. A coil of spell-enhanced rope took up most of the floorboard. She wrapped it loosely around her fingers. Lincoln was the bodyguard and the backup, but capturing the prey was her job. Real witches were especially handy for nabbing shapeshifters without killing or injuring them.

Lisa's heels crunched gravel close to the passenger door. Annie held her breath, listening to the strains of a quiet conversation, and held herself tense. The door opened. Lisa didn't look back at her before sliding in.

She threw the coil of rope around the werewolf's upper body, trapping her arms around her waist in a practiced move. She was able to make a quick knot behind the seat and two more loops before the wolf even began to curse and struggle. The seat creaked alarmingly, but Lincoln laughed and revved the engine, tearing out of the lot and into the night. She wouldn't dare punch her feet through the floorboard going down the road, not if she wanted to keep them, and the rope would leech all the strength from the parts of her body it touched.

"Bitch!" Lisa screamed.

"Oh, honey," Annie drawled, leaning up between the seats with a malicious grin. "You don't know the half of it. I had to let that cocksucker sink his teeth into me to get to you. I don't like you very much at all."

"Hey," Lincoln said, pretending affront.

"Drop her off," Annie said. "Then we're going back to my place to split the payment and have dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Lincoln said.

She thought she heard a hint of relief to be back to normal in his voice.

"Want me to put this on the table?" Lincoln asked, holding up the sack of carry-out.

"Sure," Annie said, hefting the spelled rope in its tight coil in her hand. A secret smile stole across her lips. "Let me put this up."

He disappeared into the kitchen. She waited a heartbeat and followed him. He would hear her coming, there was no way to avoid that, but it didn’t matter. He kept his back to the door as if he was oblivious, though, and slipped his hands down to waist level. Annie's heart pounded. That was his permission.

She pressed up behind him, slipping one loop of the rope around his right wrist. She had to stretch up on her toes to reach his ear, but she brushed it with her lips.

"Is this okay?" she murmured.

"Fuck, yes," Lincoln growled.

She cinched a loop around the other wrist and then bound his hands together. A quick push guided him out of the kitchen and down the hall. Dampness, hot and slick, built between her legs at his submission to her. This was how it should be between them, at least for this first time: the illusion of capturing him, beast and all, of taming his dangerous strength. Her breasts felt heavy and aching. All through their meeting with Lincoln's King, she'd been thinking about how his mouth would feel on her nipples, her thighs, her cunt.

"Lie down," she commanded as soon as they stepped into her bedroom. "On your back."

He turned to face her first, his lips damp from his tongue. "Kiss me," he said.

"I will if you're good," she said, thrilled by her own power to deny him if she wished.

A quick glance revealed that he was hardening again. He sat on the edge of her bed first. She knelt and put a hand on his knee to stop him from moving further. Drawing out the moment wasn't helping to cool her ardor, but she unlaced his boots and tugged them gently from his feet before slipping out of her own heels. Being flat on her feet felt so much better.

"I'm going to retie your hands," she murmured. "But first, undress me."

"Yes, ma'am," Lincoln said hungrily, his brown eyes devouring her curves.

Annie slipped the knot on his bindings and gasped as he grabbed her with superhuman speed. Her heart was suddenly pounding while he buried his face between her breasts to snag the zipper to her top with his teeth. Dangerous, she had to remember he was dangerous, but Lincoln didn't seem like the type to hurt people. Not even by accident.
The zipper popped free and her top fell open, no longer constraining her breasts. Lincoln moaned his appreciation and rubbed his face in the valley between them, the invisible stubble on his cheeks abrading her tender skin. She groaned and guided his hands downward from her waist. He jerked the skirt's zipper open and pulled it free.

"Hands," she reminded him.

He readily offered his wrists again, breathing heavily and showing his desire in this green-gold wolf eyes. He couldn't fully control his body around her; that was a greater sign of desire than any human man could offer. He wanted her that much, so much that the sight and smell of her bare body could not only bring his dick to full hardness in those lovely leather pants but also shift his eyes.

She tied a loop around his hands and bound the loose end of the rope to the headboard, leaving plenty of slack. It wasn't a true binding. He could escape it by asking or by force. Instead, he lay down on his back, spread out for her like an offering. Her breath caught in her chest, then came out as a moan.

"What do you want?" he whispered, his voice scratchy. She wanted the growl to come back, but she'd have to work for that.

"Make me come with your tongue," she said, and if it sounded more like a plea than a command, well, Lincoln didn't point it out.

"Only my tongue?" he questioned. "Or my whole mouth?"

"Whole mouth," she said breathlessly, climbing atop him.

He wriggled down the bed a little to give her more room for her knees on the pillow. His eyes didn't leave her body the entire time; they were locked firmly on the delta between her legs. She blinked down at him, suddenly a bit self conscious.

"Is there something wrong?" she said, hesitating, hovering over his face.

"You don't shave," he growled, bass and husky again.

She glanced down at herself. No, there was no unmanicured thatch confronting him, but she did keep it trimmed no matter her single status. He buried his nose against her curls and breathed in deep.
"Oh," she gasped. "Oh."

"I like it," Lincoln whispered. "I like that a lot. Makes you feel like a real woman."

"Glad you…" she started, only to cut into a moan as his tongue delved without shyness between her folds.

Annie clenched her hands on the headboard and whined. His tongue seemed impossibly long and hot, laving her swollen clit with sweet strokes, then dipping inside her ever so slightly, only to return again. It was an onslaught of wet, burning pleasure. She gasped again, rocking her hips against him. He swirled his tongue in a tight circle and she cried out.

"Oh, God, do that again!"

"What?" he murmured against her, making her shudder.

"The swirly thing," she gasped.

He chuckled, the sensation of his breath huffing against her drawing free another gasp. She slapped his shoulder in reproach.

"You sure know how to talk dirty," he said, leaning back from her with a grin.

"Oh, my God, I hate you," she groaned. "You need to shut the hell up."

In reality, she had trouble keeping a smile off her face. Lincoln's infectious humor might not have gone over well with everyone in the bedroom, but she didn't mind. It freed her to act a little silly herself, make mistakes, amuse him.

But the time for play was over. She shimmied down his body.

"Hey," he said, licking his lips free of her juices. "Where are you taking that? I wasn't done."

"I agree," she said, popping free the button on his leather pants. He caught on quickly and helped her by lifting his hips.

For a moment she just looked at him. His cock lay thick and hard against his stomach. It was the biggest she personally had ever handled, though not that she'd ever seen. She wrapped one hand around it, testing, and made him groan with a quick stroke. A rifle through the bedside cabinet yielded a condom. She tore the packet open then placed it on his stomach.

"I need to move your hands."

She yanked the end of the rope around the headboard and pulled his wrists up to it, out of her way. She smiled, feeling more predatory than usual, even though he was the one who could technically make her prey.

"Please," Lincoln said, shifting his hips with intent. "Fuck me."
She rolled the condom over his cock, her cunt throbbing with the desire to have him inside her. Her thighs were slick with her own arousal. She braced one hand on his chest and used the other to guide his dick. The head pressed against her, insistent and seemingly huge. She grit her teeth around a cry and pushed down, down, down, until it slipped inside. Lincoln shouted briefly, his thighs clenching as he fought himself. He could hurt her with his strength and they both knew it. The sudden possibility of danger made her even wetter, her heart pounding, her breath unbearably heavy.

"Let me make you come," Annie whispered.

Her own orgasm seemed to be nearly on top of her as she slid down the rest of his dick, taking him in until he bumped the end of her body with a tiny spark of pain. His hips dug into her thighs with a pleasant ache. She bounced on him, getting used to the girth first. He wasn't too long, only so wide. She collapsed forward over him and began to work her body back and forth, moaning continuously. He turned his head toward hers and their mouths met in a heavy, hungry kiss, teeth bumping and tongues sliding.

His cock stroked all her tender spots as she writhed on him, using him like her personal sex toy, though by his gasps and groans he didn't mind. The wave of her orgasm built first as a tingling in her belly, then exploded outward, bowing her back, tearing her lips from his as she yelled her pleasure. He struggled underneath her, hips working shallowly.

"Oh, God," he gasped, eyelids fluttering. "Don't stop, please don't stop."

So she didn't, riding him harder and faster even as her thighs protested the vigorous activity. Her hair stuck to her damp lips and she buried her face against his throat, biting him in sudden and tender payback. He nearly howled, surging against her. She felt intimately the way his body tensed and spasmed, how his dick pulsed inside her body. After a long, tense moment, both of them panting, she slipped to the side. He slid out of her, leaving a pleasant soreness behind.

Annie unbound his hands and collapsed onto her back. Her body was full of the unique ache of sex that came from straining and stretching and working for pleasure. It made her grin. She turned her head to see Lincoln smiling at her.

"You're so amazing," he sighed, obviously pleased.

"You too, big boy," she said with a little giggle.

"Please don't let that become my nickname," he begged.

They lay in comfortable silence another moment, hands brushing between their bodies while the heat they'd built up dissipated. Sweat dried on her skin.

"Dinner's probably cold by now," Lincoln said after a moment.
He leaned in, and she inched up until their lips touched in a half-kiss.

"Then let's go heat it up," she said with a grin.