Author: catstark

Something a little steamy this morning.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Vincent! Give me what I want!”

Her tone of voice made him growl. There was sheer determination: she would not be denied. His mind was made up; he would not be turned from his current actions. Vincent straightened and slid her dress off her body completely, letting it slide down and pool onto the floor. He growled at what he exposed. She was wearing a corset. He fell to his knees before her, grabbed her by her hips and bit her inner thigh. He bit her just to the right of the garter belt strap that was holding up her now ripped nylons. He used his teeth to undo the snaps as her hands continued to pull in his hair.

Vincent stood, finally, only to turn her around and play with the laces holding the corset together. It had been a long time since he had the pleasure of unlacing a lady. Natalia had no idea how much she was enticing him with the corset. He pulled the laces free of the knots, then wrapped the laces around his hand and pulled the laces tighter. She inhaled sharply as the garment bit into her skin and squeezed her ribs closer together. He let go of the lace tips, grasped the lowest and highest lace crossing and pulled until there was no more slack. He worked his way to the middle of the corset, going slow, watching his lover’s face in the mirror as the boning, probably metal, constricted her lungs, inhibiting her breathing.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Surprised the door did not closed on its own, she looked around the entrance of the room and saw the lit keypad. The numbers were lit from underneath. The keypad was on the same side of the wall as the one in the bathroom. She entered the code again and the door slid shut. The room brightened but only a little. It was unnatural light, but she couldn’t see the source. She put out the candle, placed it on the floor and waited as her eyes adjusted. When she could see, she looked around and saw the boxes piled high. The boxes started at the wall next to the door and headed straight for a few steps then ended at a t-intersection. She rubbed her hand against her forehead and glanced down in frustration. Damn him for his paranoia.

In the trilogy, we find out that humans are susceptible to a vampire’s control, if the human drinks the vampires blood.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia took deep breaths to try and stop the feelings coursing through her head. It was as if she could hear Mierka’s thoughts in her mind. She breathed deep; her eyes still closed as she pushed away some of the thoughts. The kiss was nice, but Mierka was not her partner. She opened her eyes and looked right at Mierka, who was smiling her secret smile. At the look, everything seemed to coalesce and calm itself into the pretty pattern of the vampire’s smile.

Mierka watched the human’s posture change from one of dominance to one of subservience. Before the blood laced kiss, Natalia had been sitting up straight, and had a look on her face as if she could control the world. Now, she was leaning forward expectantly, looking just at Mierka, as if the vampire knew everything there was to know. Mierka smiled triumphantly.

The thought of the main character (either of them) having a throne always thrills me. For various reason. I like describing elegant chairs I’ve seen, or making them up as I go along. I am not an authoritarian but understand how to use that aspect of our nature in stories.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Meeting room. I’ll escort you.” He held his arm out to her. Natalia stood, fully dressed in a red cotton dress. She took his arm and let him lead her out the rooms, down the stairs and into the meeting room. There was a long table with twelve wooden chairs around it. Vincent was at the head of the table, seated on the throne he had pulled out of storage one month after Edwin’s party. Anthony was seated at the other end. Mierka was to Vincent’s right, facing the door. Next to her was Ben, then Dr. Elving, then Franklin then Julia. To Anthony’s right were Lilly, Diana, Angie, and Rebecca, with an empty seat to Vincent’s left.

The talk stopped as the pair walked into the room. Joseph let Natalia’s arm go and went to whisper with Diana before sitting in the empty chair. Vincent stood and greeted Natalia with a kiss. Then, to Anthony’s chagrin, the Captain led his lady to his throne, choosing to stand behind her as he continued talking.

I am absolutely having apple pie for breakfast. With a cup of coffee. Always have the coffee. Oh, the pie is homemade. By me. Yes, it is tasty.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Her name was Laura Lynn McGarity. She was the last woman I loved before you. We met in San Francisco over fifty years ago, the first time I lived in this area. She was a reporter and had heard about the wealthy businessman no one ever saw during the day. There were rumors back then that I was connected with the mob. I’ve always let those rumors fly, as it makes a good cover story. As long as all my paperwork is in order and everything looks legal and reported on my current identity’s taxes, no one arrests me.”

With vampires, I always imagine they would be able to sustain a large amount of damage, as long as they have blood to heal with. What a person could do to an old vampire is breathtaking.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“He healed himself and they pulled his skin off again. Halfway through, he broke. Told them I was sleeping with Vincent but that his own boss didn’t trust me. He had been sent to spy on me to reveal my betrayal so that I could be exposed. His words helped my story, but then he told them what I had done in order to try and convince Vincent of my loyalty. The Slayers weren’t pleased to learn that I killed their kind. They had stopped interrogating him at that point. There was no reason for Wayne to keep talking. So why did he? Did you tell him to sell me out? Do you want to get rid of me that badly? Or is it just that your man was poorly trained?”

Why is it, when I get out of bed later than usual, nothing seems to work right? Had to restart my computer before being able to post. And all sites were being extra slow.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia told him that she often had to infiltrate groups of Slayers. Before, it was one at a time. Now she often spoke with three or four at a time. She told Vincent she took care of the Slayers cautiously, making sure to kill them one at a time, when they were by themselves, instead of going against them all at once. Still, she had started training for the inevitable. She was fighting his vampires two or three at a time. Vincent didn’t care for these sessions, but allowed it, knowing she needed the training. It didn’t help that Joseph and Mierka both thought she was doing a worthy job and helped to push the human to her limit and beyond. Joseph fought her often and Mierka gave her pointers on stealth tactics.

Occasionally, I allow the audience to see Vincent’s softer side, the side that doubts Natalia’s permanence with him.

From Protector of the Grey House:

A smile came to Joseph’s face. “And you’re happy to have her in your bed.”

Vincent gave him a sardonic look as Joseph closed the box and handed it back. “That was not a factor in my decision, and you know it.”

“Of course not. But if she has rank, knows how important she is to you, perhaps she’ll stay after she kills Donald.”

“One can hope.” Vincent locked the box back in his drawer.

“When do you plan on presenting this to her?”

“Next time I see her.”

I love this scene. I also hope I didn’t keep anything that would spoil any part of this paragraph.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Though she was prepared, she didn’t have any weapons, except her brains, determination and her boots. And Charlie. Charlie was a weapon. Currently he was a gun without bullets, impotent with his concern for her. He could change and kill everyone in this room, then jump down to help her. Should he Blitzkrieg in the small room he would hurt her. No maybes about it. He wouldn’t unleash his rage until she was safe. There was no way to escape out the door; Edwin was blocking the door on this side. There were two men on the other side, standing side by side. She didn’t want to rush Edwin, in case he decided to use the gun on her.

People are told to ‘go home’ when they are no longer wanted/needed, for good or bad reasons. After reading this short passage, do you believe Vincent means well or ill for Anthony?

From Protector of the Grey House:

“With all due respect sir, will you allow her the blood she demands?” Anthony was wondering how far Vincent would go to keep the human here, and she had demanded his blood earlier.

Vincent went to Anthony and placed his hands on the man’s tight shoulders. “You fret too much over her, Anthony. As I said earlier, you were doing your job. I’m upset about the way things turned out, but you did nothing against your nature or position. Natalia can’t take your blood and I don’t enjoy taking blood from my people when all they’ve done is the job, I assigned them to. As for not telling me, I believe Wayne’s death is punishment enough. Calm yourself, have a drink. Go home. We’re done.”