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The Tiny Vampire From Outer Space That's Bitey VIII - Hidden Agendas - Coming Soon
With the appearance of his old boss and ex-Bonded, Marcus is more than a little leery. These vampires are either going to be allies or competition. The race is on for Marcus to expand his businesses and take over Beach City before Caesar and Galla beat him to it or severely hinder his progress in turning Earth into a Vampire haven for his family.
Chapter 1
Sacs
Marcus rolled over and wrapped his arms around Shadow. He was probably going to get bit. She was usually hungry first thing in the evening, but he still wanted to hold her.
Shadow yawned and stretched.
Marcus kissed the side of her face.
“You’re still in bed,” Shadow said.
“I am,” Marcus said. “How do you feel?”
“Bloated. These are definitely coming tonight,” Shadow said.
“Right now or later?” Marcus asked.
“Later,” Shadow said. “They’re not moving yet.”
Marcus kissed her then stopped.
“What?” Shadow asked. She knew he wanted to stick his mutto into her.
“Have we expelled in this house?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t think so. I don’t remember,” Shadow said.
“But I haven’t built that expellation room, have I?” Marcus asked.
“No,” Shadow said.
“We have that extra room up here. I’ll do it now,” Marcus said.
“I thought you wanted to...”
“I do,” Marcus said. “But I want you to be comfortable, and those sacs are coming soon. I can bury my mutto inside you at any time, providing your not expelling.”
Shadow laughed. “But maybe I wanted to.”
“I know you do. I can feel it,” Marcus said as he slid out of the bed. He helped Shadow out of it and looked at her abdomen. “You’re right. They’re coming tonight.”
Shadow looked down at her abdomen. “Unholy Hades. You’d think I was carrying three.”
“I think you’ve got two males,” Marcus said.
“Is this eighteen?” Shadow asked.
“I think so,” Marcus said.
Shadow grinned. “You lost count!”
“It’s either eighteen or twenty,” Marcus said. “I’ve got a lot of sons and daughters down there.” He motioned to the basement.
“All yours,” Shadow said.
“All mated childer, and I couldn’t be prouder,” Marcus said. “Let me get this room done. Can you feed yourself?”
“Yeah, I’ll just have a couple Umbra Ones,” Shadow said.
“What kind of chair do you want?” Marcus asked. “Did you like the one on the ship?”
“I did, but it needed more padding,” Shadow said.
“And I’d prefer it had a little basket or something to catch them if I’m not around,” Marcus said. “I’ll make one. The Erector has about two-thousand chair designs.”
Shadow inhaled. “You better hurry.”
“Did one just start moving?” Marcus asked.
“It did,” Shadow said.
“Go eat. It’ll probably be a couple hours yet. I’ll make the room.” Marcus grabbed a pair of sweatpants and slid them on. “You can stay naked. We’ll shower after.”
Shadow hopped downstairs while Marcus grabbed the Erector so he could finish the expellation room. She ordered two Umbra Ones. She was starving.
By the time they appeared, she could feel herself starting to stretch.
“You better wait for breakfast,” Shadow told her sacs. She did not want to expell on an empty stomach. She picked up the first Umbra One and drained it. Shadow set the container on the counter. The sacs were starting to feel good. [Are you almost done?]
[Almost. Are they coming fast?] Marcus asked.
[They’re starting to feel good,] Shadow said.
[Almost done. You can come up here,] Marcus said.
Shadow drained her second Umbra One. She left the kitchen and started to walk up the stairs. She gasped. [Can you help me?]
[On my way.] Marcus wasn’t finished, but he set the Erector down and left the new room. He found Shadow at the bottom of the stairs, clutching the railing. He bounded down the stairs and lifted her into his arms. “I guess they’re not waiting.”
“They are really ready,” Shadow said then moaned. She squirmed. “Marcus, hurry.”
Marcus carried her up the stairs and into the new room. He set her on her feet. “Well, they can come. I just need to put a few finishing touches in here, like the chair.” He could hear Shadow panting and moaning as he built the chair. Those sacs were definitely coming. So much for a two hour window. It’d been forty-five minutes at most. “Done.”
“Marcus, it’s coming now!” Shadow screamed and shook.
Marcus turned around. She had a sac between her legs. “Don’t move. One came out.”
“I told you it was coming!”
Marcus walked over to her. He leaned down and kissed her. “You did that one almost by yourself.”
Shadow grinned. “It’s out?”
“You got it out.” Marcus picked it up and showed her. “It’s a male. Almost four pounds.”
Shadow let out a sigh of relief. “It still smells like the underside of a crypt.”
“Yeah, it stinks, but it’s perfect. Beautiful purple lines. Nice black sac.” Marcus walked over to a rack he had built to hold the sacs and placed it in one of the slots.
“What is that?” Shadow asked.
“A sac rack. In case I can’t get to a rookery in time,” Marcus said.
Shadow laughed.
“This room doesn’t have any windows,” Marcus said. “So, I was able to create a rack just for this type of situation.”
“When the sacs won’t wait,” Shadow said.
“Right. How’s your second sac?”
“He’s not ready yet,” Shadow said.
“Well, I have the chair built.” He lifted Shadow off the floor and placed her in the chair. “How’s that?”
“Comfortable,” Shadow said.
Marcus walked over to a sink and washed and dried his hands. Then, he walked back to Shadow and felt her abdomen. “He’s still in there.”
“I don’t feel him moving,” Shadow said.
Marcus slid his hands down her abdomen. “He’s pulsing.”
“I don’t think he’s ready,” Shadow said.
“Is the pressure gone?” Marcus asked.
“Mostly,” Shadow said.
“Let me call the doctor,” Marcus said. He left the expellation room to grab his cell phone. Then, he called the homeless shelter.
“Homeless shelter,” Charles said.
“Is the doctor busy?” Maarcus asked.
“Little bit. Do you need something?”
“Shadow is… having her babies,” Marcus said.
“Oh, is it not going well?” Charles asked.
“One seems stalled,” Marcus said. “Could I please talk to the doctor?”
“Of course.”
Marcus heard Charles walking then telling Dr. Jones that there was a birth emergency.”
“I’m here, Marcus. What’s going on?” Dr. Jones asked.
“Shadow had her first, but she says the second isn’t moving,” Marcus said.
“Okay. Just relax. Is she in pain?”
“No, she’s not in any pain,” Marcus said.
Dr. Jones thought for a moment. “Try massaging her abdomen. Sometimes when it’s twins, the second needs a little stimulation. I’ll wait.”
Marcus set the phone down. “He says to try massage.”
“Okay, cause it’s still not moving,” Shadow said. “Usually, they move themselves.”
“I know. I’ve got the doctor on the phone.” Marcus applied gentle pressure to her abdomen. “Try to relax.”
Shadow purred. “That feels good.” She relaxed then made a surprised sound. “He’s coming.”
Marcus let out a sound of relief. He picked up the phone. “She says he’s on his way.”
“I’ll stay on the line,” Dr. Jones said.
Marcus set the phone down and continued to massage Shadow’s abdomen.
Shadow moaned and writhed. “He feels like he’s coming.”
Marcus looked between her legs. “He’s coming.” He could see the edges of the sac.
Shadow gripped the arms of the chair. “Marcus!” She screamed and shook.
“He’s out.” Marcus caught the sac and put it on the rack. He walked over and washed his hands before picking up his phone. “Thank you. She got him out.”
“If you need me for anything else, I’ll be here till two,” Dr. Jones said. “Congratulations, dad.”
Marcus grinned. “We’ll call if we need anything else.” He ended the call.
“How big was the second?” Shadow asked.
“Little smaller than the first. I think that’s why he stalled,” Marcus said. “Do you feel like you have any more?”
“No. I think they’re all out,” Shadow said.
“Just rest for a minute. I’m going to get a rookery,” Marcus said. He handed Shadow his phone. “Call Alera and brag. I’ll be right back.”
Shadow laughed. She dialed Alera as Marcus walked out of the room.
“Marcus?” Alera said.
“Shadow.”
“Oh, how are you?” Alera asked. “We’re just about ready to head over. Sorry, we’re running late.”
“It’s okay. I just expelled,” Shadow said.
“You had your sacs?” Alera asked.
“I did. Two more. Marcus is going to get the rookery,” Shadow said.
“I”m not quite ready, but we think tomorrow night or the next,” Alera said. “How did it go?”
“Not as smooth,” Shadow said. “One failed to move.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” Shadow said.
“Oliver just finished what he’s doing and I’m no where near expelling. We’ll be right over to help,” Alera said.
Shadow ended the call just as Marcus walked into the room. “They’re on their way.”
“Alera is worried,” Marcus said.
“She is,” Shadow said.
“Well, she can help you take a bath,” Marcus said.
“I don’t need a bath. I can take a shower with you,” Shadow said.
“I want you to take a bath and relax,” Marcus said. “You got stressed.” He put the new sacs in the rookery.
“I was not stressed,” Shadow said.
“Yes, you were,” Marcus said just as he heard the front door open. “They ran.”
“Marcus, we’re here,” Oliver said.
“Upstairs. Last room,” Marcus said.
Oliver and Alera ran up the stairs. Oliver opened the door to see Marcus with a rookery and Shadow in an elaborate chair. “How can we help?”
“Shadow needs a bath,” Marcus said.
“I’ll get a bath started and be right back,” Alera said.
“So, two more sons, Marcus?” Oliver asked.
“I think so.” He motioned to the rookery.
Oliver peered inside. “Very nice. Those look great.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Extra ripe though.”
Marcus closed the rookery. “Yeah, those are extra-stinky, but they look the best so far.”
“I agree with that. Those are some amazing sacs,” Oliver said. “Do you guys need food?”
“There’s food downstairs,” Marcus said.
“Well, you look like you skipped breakfast,” Oliver said. “I’ll be right back.”
Shadow looked at Marcus. “Did you skip dinner too?”
“I might have,” Marcus said.
Shadow huffed. “You know we can eat as much as we want. We have a replicator.”
“I know. I was preoccupied,” Marcus said. He leaned down and kissed her. “But I need considerably less food than you.”
“You still need to eat,” Shadow said.
“I have food.” Oliver walked into the room and handed Marcus two Umbra Ones. Then, he handed Shadow two Umbra Ones.
Marcus drained both of his. He licked his fangs. “Thank Hades for friends.”
“Didn’t realize how hungry you were, did you?” Oliver asked.
“I did not,” Marcus said.
Shadow drained one of her Umbra Ones. “Full.” She handed the other one to Marcus.
Marcus drained it. “Apparently, I was starving.”
“I thought you looked a little pale,” Oliver said.
“I’m fine now,” Marcus said.
“Bath is ready.” Alera walked over to Shadow and helped her out of the chair. She looked at Marcus. “You’re not smelling very clean either.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” Marcus said. “But I want Shadow in a bath so she’ll calm down.”
“I'll get started on some distillations in the barn,” Oliver said.
“I’ll join you as soon as I don’t smell like sac,” Marcus said.
“Are we staying home tonight?” Shadow asked.
“We are,” Marcus said.
Alera led Shadow out of the expellary room and down to the master bathroom.
“Is he mad?” Shadow asked.
“No,” Alera said as she helped Shadow into the bath.
“Alera.”
“He’s not mad at you,” Alera said as she grabbed a washcloth and lathered it. “He doesn’t want to run into his ex.”
“Oh,” Shadow said. “I couldn’t tell.”
Alera started gently scrubbing Shadow. “He’s probably keeping it out of the bond. It’s in his surface thoughts.” She scrubbed shadow’s front. “Lean forward.”
Shadow leaned forward.
Alera scrubbed her back. “He just wants to do things here tonight. Make sure you’re comfortable. Start a new distillation.”
Marcus knocked on the doorframe. “Can I take a shower?”
“You can. She’s in the bath,” Alera said.
Marcus walked in and started the shower. He turned around and stepped to Shadow's head. He leaned down and kissed her.
“You want to tell Shadow why you’re mad?” Alera asked.
Marcus sighed. “Did she ask?”
“She did,” Alera said. “You’re keeping it from her. Not that I want to pry.”
“It’s okay,” Marcus said. “It’s hard to keep secrets when you’re Bonded and your best friends are telepathic.”
“I know you’re mad,” Shadow said. “I just can’t tell why.”
“It’s not you or the sacs,” Marcus said. “I’m still angry with my previous Bonded. I will eventually deal with her, but not tonight.” He stepped into the shower.
Alera handed Shadow the washcloth. “Clean between your legs. Gently.”
“Shit. I need to feed her so she’ll heal,” Marcus said as he washed.
“She’s okay. She can still wash that area,” Alera said.
Shadow washed and handed the cloth back.
“Stand and let me see,” Alera said.
Shadow huffed and stood out of the water. “It’s cold.”
“I know.” Alera examined her. “You are so bad at washing. Hold still.” Alera went over the area then looked again. “Okay, you can sit back down.”
“I usually wash her,” Marcus said as he stepped under the shower to rinse.
“She managed to miss all the gunk,” Alera said as she grabbed the shampoo and washed Shadow’s hair.
“I’m pretty sure her house on Umbra had an automated shower,” Marcus said.
“What’s an automated shower?” Alera asked.
“It had specific spray jets for everything. You step inside, and it sprays you clean,” Marcus said. “From her memories, she had a fairly advanced house. This low-level technology confuses her.”
“Oh my goodness,” Alera said as she finished washing Shadow’s hair. She turned on the faucet. “Rinse.”
Shadow stuck her head under the faucet.
Alera made sure her hair was thoroughly rinsed of soap. “I think you’re done.” She helped Shadow out of the bath, then grabbed two towels. She wrapped one around Shadow and another around her hair. “We’re all clean.”
Marcus stepped out of the shower after turning off the water. He wrapped a towel around his waist.
“Marcus, can I talk to you about something? In private?” Alera asked.
“I already know what you’re going to ask. The answer is no,” Marcus said.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask,” Alera said.
“Yes, I do. You haven’t had your sacs. You’re concerned about their growth, and you know that four-thousand year old seed would help,” Marcus said. “I’m not doing it.”
Alera sighed. “How do you know all that?”
“It’s all over your face. I may not have telepathy, but I know expressions,” Marcus said.
“I am concerned. I don’t think Oliver’s seed is strong enough.”
Marcus looked at Shadow. She looked like she was going to cry. “Go put on one of your little dresses and go help Oliver.”
“But...”
“Go help Oliver. You’re still sensitive after expelling your sacs,” Marcus said. He waited until she left the bathroom. “That’s a really mean thing to ask me in front of Shadow.”
“I didn’t want to hide anything,” Alera said.
“I can appreciate that thought,” Marcus said. “And I understand your dilemma.”
“I want these sacs healthy, Marcus,” Alera said.
“And I want my clan, but I promised her I wouldn’t stick my mutto in you,” Marcus said.
“Well, can I just have the seed?” Alera asked.
“How?” Marcus asked.
“In a cup?”
Marcus ran his hands down his face. “You’re putting me in a terrible position.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll drop it,” Alera said.
Marcus contemplated. “I’ll help you but not in that way.” He held out his wrist. “Take a bite.”
“How will that help?” Alera asked.
“It’s seeding and feeding,” Marcus said. “It’ll help.”
Alera walked over and sank her fangs into Marcus’ wrist.
“Take a couple good swallows,” Marcus said.
Alera took three swallows and released his wrist. She licked her fangs. “You’re incredible.”
“It’s four-thousand year old blood,” Marcus said. “How do you feel now?”
“Better,” Alera said.
“Don’t ask me again,” Marcus said. “I consider my seed and my blood for Shadow.”
“I understand. Thank you,” Alera said. She walked out of the bathroom.
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The Venery of Bigfoot 5 (Naughty Reads)
Kitty and Marc are on a mission to create bigfoot birth control before everyone male who took a betaism injection gets their girlfriends and wives pregnant. They're hoping a trip to Kitty's grandma's house will provide the information they need, especially if grandpa bigfoot is still alive.
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Chapter 1 – Finding Grandma
Kitty rolled over onto Marc. She expected to feel fur. Then, she remembered they kept him shaved.
“You okay?” Marc asked as he opened his eyes. She didn’t seem to be laying on him correctly.
“Yeah,” Kitty said. “I expected hair.”
Marc chuckled. “That’s all gone. It’d probably take me a month to regrow it.”
“It’s okay,” Kitty said. “I think I was asleep.”
“I think you’re still asleep,” Marc said. He pulled her against his body. “It’s still early.”
Kitty settled against him and fell back asleep.
Marc let her sleep another hour. He was just about to get out of bed and feed Little Fuzzy when he heard feet running down the hall.
Kitty opened her eyes. “Was that Little Fuzzy chanting ‘fish’ down the hall?”
“It was,” Marc said.
Kitty laughed. “I guess we better get down there.”
Ten minutes later, they were dressed and walking into the dining room. Little Fuzzy was eating his fish and berries.
“I managed to find him a fish for breakfast,” Mary said.
“You made his day,” Marc said as he sat down at the table.
“What’s he wearing?” Kitty asked as she sat across from Marc.
“A little pair of sweatpants,” Mary said. “Can’t have him running around with his doodle out.”
Kitty and Marc both laughed.
“Well, probably best he gets used to wearing clothes now rather than later,” Marc said. “Did you manage to get him into some shorts?”
“No. He didn’t like the shorts. I’ll have to find some softer ones next time I get to town,” Mary said. “But he didn’t complain during his bath, and did he did put on the sweatpants.”
“How are the other two?” Marc asked.
“Washed and fed. I found some blocks for them to play with,” Mary said as she placed their plates in front of them.
Kitty ate her scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes o’brian. “Has anyone looked outside?”
“It’s bad. It’s still snowing. The news said it’d snow all day,” Mary said.
“This place has a generator, right?” Kitty asked.
“A big one,” Mary said. “And about two-thousand gallons of gas.”
“That’ll run for a while,” Kitty said.
“A month,” Mary said. “Little bit longer really.”
“How do they refill the tank?” Kitty asked.
“They roll a truck like the ones you see at the gas station up to the tank,” Mary said.
“Damn,” Kitty said.
“It’s seamless. Once the power goes out, we flip a switch. The generator fires, and everything comes back on,” Mary said.
Kitty finished eating. “Well, sounds like we’ll be fine. I guess I’ll go downstairs and work on this project.”
“I’ll take the fuzzies out to play in the snow,” Marc said.
Kitty stood and started to walk out of the dining room.
“Were you going to track down your grandma?” Marc asked.
“Yes. Thanks for reminding me. I’ll do that first,” Kitty said. She walked upstairs and grabbed her address book from on top of the dresser and flipped through it. She had no idea if she had up-to-date information for her grandma. Kitty hadn’t talked to her in years. If she had a cell phone number, there was a chance it still worked. If it was a landline, she knew there’d be no chance. The last time they’d talked was before she moved to Florida.
Kitty found two numbers under her grandmother’s name – Ester Adroit. Kitty studied both numbers. The top number was the one she usually called, and she didn’t remember writing down the bottom number. Kitty picked up her cell phone and dialed the top number. A man answered. “Yes, is Ester Adroit there?”
“I’m sorry. You have the wrong number,” he said.
“Thank you.” Kitty ended the call and dialed the second number. It rang six times before a man answered. Kitty inwardly cursed. If she had two bad numbers, it was going to be hell tracking down her grandmother. “Yes, I’m trying to reach Ester Adroit.”
“She’s right here. Who may I say is calling?” he asked.
“Kitty Adroit.” She heard the phone being passed.
“Kitty, is it really you?” Ester asked.
“It is,” Kitty said. “Was that your new boyfriend?”
Ester laughed. “Sorta. Anyway, how are you?”
“I’m good,” Kitty said. “I realized we hadn’t talked in forever, so thought I’d give you a call.”
“I’m glad to hear from you,” Ester said. “But I know you. You can’t just be calling to chat.”
“Well, I thought I might like to visit. I have a new fiance I’d like you to meet,” Kitty said. She noticed a strange paused, and it sounded like her grandma had put her hand over the mic. “Grandma?”
“That would be wonderful. When do you plan to visit?” she asked.
“Soon. Like within the next week,” Kitty said.
“Of course. Let me give you my address.”
Kitty wrote down the address in her contacts book. “Got it.”
“Do you know what day?” Ester asked.
“Not yet, but I’ll call when we leave,” Kitty said. “It’s snowing up here, so as soon as the snow melts, we’ll be on our way.”
“I haven't had to deal with snow in years,” Ester said. “You’ll love it down here. It warm and peaceful.”
“Sounds great. I’ve been dealing with nothing but snow for months,” Kitty said. “First in the mountains and now here.”
“The mountains...”
“Yeah. It was for work,” Kitty said. “I’ll tell you all about it when we get there.”
“Well, I’ll see you when you get here,” Ester said.
Kitty ended the call. She had a weird feeling. Her grandma had paused too many times. Kitty put on her socks and shoes and found her jacket and gloves before walking out of the master bedroom, down the stairs and out the back door.
She started to look for Marc and the cubs then laughed. The little cubs were buried in the snow and Marc was building some sort of snow hill while Little Fuzzy was packing snow on with his hands in an attempt to help. “What are you doing?”
“Playing snow fort,” Marc said. “This is the main building.”
Kitty walked over and looked down at the little cubs. They were about half the size of Little Fuzzy. “Can they move? How many layers are they wearing?”
“Sorta, and six,” Marc said.
Kitty picked one up and put it on its feet. It squealed and waddled over to the snow pile. Kitty did the same this the other one. “They can walk.”
“A little bit,” Marc said.
“Small Fuzz!” Little Fuzzy pointed to the younger cubs. “Big Fuzz.” He pointed to himself.
“What am I?” Marc asked.
Little Fuzzy inhaled and spread his arms all the way out. “Huge No Fuzz!”
Kitty laughed. “He doesn’t know you’re shaved.”
“He’s too little to remember the cliff dwellings,” Marc said. He turned to look at Little Fuzzy. “Are you going to show the other two how to put snow on?”
“Fuzzy help!”
Marc walked over to Kitty and kissed her while Little Fuzzy walked over to the pile of snow and started showing the other two cubs how to put snow on the sides of the hill. “He’s really coming along.”
“Is he talking your ear off?” Kitty asked.
“He’s trying,” Marc said. “He told me all about his bath this morning and his… F. I. S. H.”
Kitty grinned. “Well, I got a hold of my grandma.”
“Does she feel like company?” Marc asked.
“She said to come on down,” Kitty said. “But it was a weird call. A man answered the phone. Kinda sounded like grandpa. I asked if she had a new boyfriend, and she dodged the question.”
“I’m not surprised,” Marc said. “What else was weird?”
“She paused several times, like she was talking to him but didn’t want me to hear,” Kitty said.
“Not surprised. If he’s still alive, they’re probably trying to figure out how to have you down for a visit and keep him hidden,” Marc said. “And they can try, but it won’t work. Bigfoots have a smell, no matter how much they wash.”
“I don’t smell anything different about you,” Kitty said. “I didn’t in the forest either.”
“You’re not paying attention to it,” Marc said. “It’s not a huge smell either, so it’s easily ignored unless you know what you’re smelling.”
They both turned their heads when Little Fuzzy started yelling.
“Oopse. They got avalanched.” Kitty ran over and dug Little Fuzzy out while Marc dug out the other two. She picked up Little Fuzzy. “I think it’s time to go inside.”
“So do I. I have these guys,” Marc said.
Kitty walked inside with Little Fuzzy. “We need hot chocolates all around.”
“I’m on it,” Mary said as she pulled out a pan.
Kitty sat Little Fuzzy in a kitchen chair and took off his socks. All four pairs of them. “I guess he needs some shoes.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have any shoes to put on him,” Marc said. “Not the other two either, so I just put on a lot of socks.”
“I can get shoes when I go into town,” Mary said as she took the milk out of the fridge.
“Milk!” Little Fuzzy reached for the jug even though he was nowhere near it.
“It’s going to be warm milk. Wait for warm milk?” Kitty asked.
“Oh,” Little Fuzzy said then nodded.
She felt his feet. “He’s warm.”
“These two are fine,” Marc said as he finished taking off their clothes. “Do you need to work?”
“I do,” Kitty said. “But you can join me.”
“I think I’ll do that,” Marc said.
“I’ll look after these guys, and I’ll bring your hot chocolates down,” Mary said.
“Thanks,” Kitty said. She walked downstairs to her lab with Marc.
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The Lumberjack and His Wood (Naughty Reads)
Jane Woodland is on a hiking trip to clear her mind and determine what to do next with her life when she wanders off the trail to find some purple-leaved trees. Unfortunately, she wonders so far off the trail, she gets lost. Luckily, there's a lumberjack cutting down trees. She locates him by the sound of his chainsaw, hoping he can give her directions back to the trail, but it's getting late. After traveling to his cabin for the night, she quickly discovers the trees aren’t the only things with big wood.
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The Lumberjack and his Wood - sample
Chapter 1 - Camping and Hiking
Jane Woodland finished setting up her tent and campsite. She had all the latest luxury camping amenities. A portable bathroom. Shower. And kitchen. And she’d brought plenty of food in a cooler. She needed a break. As the head advertising exec at a major fortune 500 company, the work was overwhelming, so much so that she hadn’t had time for herself in over five years, much less an actual vacation away from the city. She was lucky to be able to get in a spa day on the weekend without getting interrupted by work. In fact, if she had a fucking dollar for all the times her boss had interrupted her on a day off and demanded she go into the office, she’d own a much bigger house!
She was sick of it. Of course, the money was good. She made over six figures a year, and it was high sixes, but still. She needed a break and worked it out with her boss. She’d get three weeks off, and Jane intended to spend them in the woods away from everything. She even brought a rifle in case she had to hunt and forage.
Thankfully, one of her hobbies was hunting and rifle shooting. Not that she had gotten much time to do either one in the last five years, but she knew how to prepare small game and turn it into food. Though, she’d brought a massive cooler, so she didn’t expect to have to hunt.
Jane laid back in her tent cot. She was reasonably clean for just having setup the entire camp. She’d washed her hands in the bathroom. She had a sink that was fed from a large jug of water and a composting toilet. She planned to go hiking and view the nature and trees. This area was known for its rare purple leaved trees, and she wanted to see a few before making dinner and settling in for the night.
She’d stopped for a hamburger and french fries and gotten a few bags of chips, some Cokes and a couple cases of beer at the last small town before her destination. The prices were higher than she liked, but it was her fault for not remembering to get those things in the city.
She stretched and sat up. If she wanted to go hiking, now was not the time for a nap. Jane grabbed her camera and a small bag with some granola bars and water. She stood and walked out of her tent then zipped it shut to prevent any wildlife from entering it. She didn’t need to wake up with a snake in her bed or a raccoon munching on her trail mix.
Jane hefted her bag onto her back and walked to the trailhead. This was Mountain Pass 1, a ten-mile circular trek that would take her slightly behind her campsite, but she thought she’d still be able to see her tent upon exiting the trail on the other side. The purple trees were supposed to be on this route.
She had a lot of thinking to do. She was over thirty. Single, and no kids. This wasn’t how she saw her life. All work and no play, family or friends. It was depressing. She couldn’t maintain a relationship for longer than six months, and her last relationship had imploded. She thought she’d have a family by now, and if she waited much longer, it wasn’t going to happen. But no male had been able to tolerate her work schedule. Hell, she wasn’t even sure when she’d find time to go to a doctor, much less have some damned babies. Having it all wasn’t as damned easy as it sounded. She had her job and money, but that was all she had. It wasn’t enough.
Jane hiked the trail. It was interesting. The trees were huge, not at all like the ones in the city. They had large trunks, long limbs and plenty of leaves, but the trees at this end were green. Jane was going to be pissed if the brochures lied, and there were no purple leaved trees.
Jane checked her watch. She’d spent a lot of time taking pictures of the bushes and flowers and thinking. She planned to do a full expose` on her trip to the mountain forests once she got home. Jane didn’t mind nature. In fact, she loved to be outdoors. If she thought she could make a living blogging about her outdoor adventures, she would have quit her job yesterday. Unfortunately, she didn't know how much articles about outdoor experiences were worth, and she didn't know the first thing about creating a website. Though, she supposed she could learn.
It was almost five in the evening. She needed to get back to her campsite and make dinner. Looking for the trees would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
She arrived back at her campsite just after six. Hamburgers and french fries sounded like a good dinner, so she pulled out her skillet and camp deep fryer.
Her propane camp stove didn’t take long to cook the hamburgers, and by the time they were done, her french fries were done. She dressed up her hamburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapenos, cheese and mayonnaise before adding ketchup to her plate and sitting down at her pop-up picnic table to eat.
It was dark by the time she finished, but all she had to do was press a button on her phone, and her camp lit itself. The tent came with lights that were app controlled.
She washed the dishes then took a quick shower in her camp shower before heading into her tent to relax and sleep.
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The Tiny Vampire From Outer Space That’s Bitey VII: Undead Salvation (Shadow Conn Tiny Vampire Book 7)
Marcus' clan is growing. The childer are hatching, and the homeless shelter is becoming profitable. In fact, it's so profitable that he's opening a women's shelter behind his homeless shelter so that he can start live food production, but Marcus' unfinished business on Umbra and Chivitas is starting to come back to haunt him, threatening the existence of his current family.
Available as an ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook
Chapter 1
Clan Abridgment
Marcus woke before the sun set. He dressed in jeans and a black button shirt before walking outside with the Erector. He needed to get the wall around their property rebuilt.
He decided to start at the back wall and work his way around. Marcus finished half the wall and was standing at the front of the property when he heard running that could only be Shadow.
Marcus released the trigger and set it on the ground. He caught Shadow when she jumped on him. “Awake?”
“Been awake,” Shadow said.
“Are you fed?”
“Yes.”
“Is that one of my t-shirts?” Marcus asked.
Shadow grinned. “It is.”
“Did you come out here to tell me about the sacs?” Marcus asked.
“The next one is hatching. Oliver and Alera are watching it,” Shadow said.
Marcus set her on her feet then picked up the Erector. “Let’s go see our next childe emerge.”
Shadow hopped in front of Marcus.
“Go on down. I’m going to put this in the cabin,” Marcus said.
Shadow walked down into the cellar and over to their third childe’s coffin.
“Is this a male or a female?” Alera asked.
“I’m not sure,” Shadow said. “I think this is one of the ones we didn’t know.”
Marcus stepped behind Shadow. “How’s it doing?”
“Got some good cracks, and I see movement,” Oliver said.
“There it goes.” Shadow watched as the vampire in the sac stretched out. She could see feet and hands.
Marcus pulled the big sac chunks off their new childe and tossed them to the dirt floor. “It’s female. That means the last one in that set is male.”
“And these were the four we announced to the instersteller space program?” Shadow asked.
“They are, but they know nothing of our other ten,” Marcus said.
“Did you want to feed her, Shadow?” Oliver held up the bloodbag.
Shadow looked at the bloodbag. “Uh… No. That’s okay.”
“She’s nervous.” Marcus took the bloodbag from Oliver. He stuck the straw in their new childe’s mouth and opened the valve. “That’s all there is to it. She’ll drink it.”
“She’s already eating,” Shadow said.
“They’re usually pretty hungry after they hatch,” Oliver said. “But no more than half a bag. This is just to get their stomachs full and processing blood.”
Marcus watched as their new little girl sucked the blood. When the bag was half empty, he closed the valve and pulled the straw out of her mouth.
“Step back,” Alera said.
“What’s that gurgling?” Shadow asked as she took a step back.
“Air,” Alera said. “Marcus, load the straw first.”
Shadow jumped and squeaked when she heard a big burp.
Marcus looked into the coffin. “She spit some of it back up.”
Alera grabbed a rag out of her back pocket and wiped the childe’s mouth. “She’s okay.”
“Does she need more?” Marcus asked.
“She was just getting rid of the air,” Alera said. “She’s full.”
Marcus closed the lid. “In six months, they’ll be fully grown.”
“How’s yours?” Shadow asked Oliver and Alera.
“We need to look,” Alera said.
They walked down to Oliver and Alera’s coffin.
Marcus opened it. “This one is hatching. I think you need the rest of this bag.”
Alera took the bag from Marcus. “This is the girl.”
“I’m glad you said something, Shadow,” Oliver said as the sac flexed and cracked. He removed a couple big pieces. “Yep. This is the girl.” Oliver opened the valve and loaded the straw before sticking it in the childe’s mouth.
Shadow watched. “Is she eating?”
“No,” Marcus said and frowned.
Oliver squeezed the bag. “Let’s see if that helps. Usually they latch on the minute it touches their tongue.”
“Still not eating,” Alera said.
“Is it too young to eat?” Shadow asked.
“They should be able to eat the minute they break out,” Oliver said.
Shadow picked up the childe’s hand. “Marcus.”
Marcus looked. The childe had three large fingers. “Is that hand slimy?”
“No, it’s dry,” Shadow said.
Marcus moved to the childe’s feet and looked. Two toes and they both ended in claws. “Alera, is this normal for your breed?”
Alera looked at the childe’s feet. “No.” She sighed. “It’s not.”
Oliver pulled the straw out of his childe’s mouth. He handed the bloodbag to Marcus and pulled the rest of the sac away from her body. It looked like she had all of her bones, but the concaveness of the stomach told him that none of the internal organs developed. “It’s no good.”
“The sac looked good,” Alera said as she stared at her childe.
“We have to stake it, Oliver,” Marcus said.
Oliver shook his head. “She’s already ashing.”
Shadow turned her head when she heard Alera run up the stairs.
“Go take care of Alera. We’ll clean this up,” Marcus said.
“This is awful,” Shadow said.
“It is.” Marcus handed the bloodbag to Shadow and grabbed a shovel from next to the wall. He scooped the ash out and carried it up the stairs where he tossed it on the ground. It took him three trips before he had all the ash removed from the coffin. “Dump that blood on their other sac.”
Shadow opened the valve and dumped the rest of the blood on Oliver and Alera’s second sac. “What causes that?”
“Nothing specific. Sometimes the deformities aren’t bad enough to notice until they hatch,” Marcus said. “But if I had to guess, it was lack of seed in the early nights.”
Shadow closed the lid. “Will any of ours do that?”
“It’s a possibility,” Marcus said. “Procreating like this is a lot harder than the books make it seem. They only grow and develop when you eat, or I give them seed.”
“Which one is better?” Shadow asked.
“My seed. It lasts longer, and it’s used to develop their bones and internal organs,” Marcus said.
“And they were fighting during this one,” Shadow said.
“I would say it was a lack of early feeding and seeding,” Marcus said. “Her first one took 75 years. That took a a few weeks, I think,” Marcus said.
Shadow frowned.
“The true success rate of mated childer is less than fifty percent,” Marcus said. “And I knew that before we started.”
“What’s our success rate?” Shadow asked.
“About seventy percent,” Marcus said. “Although, you could argue that one of those failures wasn’t our fault.”
“So, we could lose four,” Shadow said.
“We could,” Marcus said. “Three or four.”
“Could I run out of sacs?” Shadow asked.
“I’ve never heard of that happening,” Marcus said. “But don’t think about this too hard. We’ll have all the childer we want.”
“I hope their next one is good.”
“So do I,” Marcus said. He led Shadow out of the cellar and closed the doors. “I’m going to get the Erector off the table and work on the wall. I want you to pack a bag. Quietly. We’ll spend tonight and tomorrow in the stone house to give them some privacy. You can get that expellation book off the table if you want. We can see what it says.”
Shadow walked into the cabin and upstairs. She could hear Alera sobbing in her and Oliver’s bedroom. She got to the top of the stairs and turned for her and Marcus’ bedroom when she heard the door open.
“Shadow,” Oliver said.
Shadow stopped and looked at Oliver. “Do you need something?”
“Could you get me an Umbra one?” Oliver asked.
Shadow ran down the stairs to the kitchen. She hit the Umbra one button and waited for it to appear. Then, she ran upstairs with the bottle. “Is she okay?”
Oliver stepped out in the hall. “She’s almost inconsolable.”
Shadow handed him the food. “Is there anything we can do?”
“No, but I have to stay with her tonight. I can’t leave her alone,” Oliver said quietly.
“Marcus is going to work on the wall. I’m going to pack a bag. He thought you might like the cabin to yourself tonight.”
“I do think we could use some quiet time. She didn’t say much about it, but she was looking forward to that childe,” Oliver said.
“We dumped the rest of that bag on your other sac. There were no cracks,” Shadow said.
“Thank you,” Oliver said. “We’ll come by the stone house tomorrow night once she feels better.”
“Are you okay?” Shadow asked.
“I’m doing better than Alera,” Oliver said.
“We’ll be on the property. Marcus wants to lay low for a few nights, but we can do that at the stone house,” Shadow said. “If you need something, let us know.”
“I will.”
“I’m sorry, Oliver.”
“I know you are,” Oliver said. “We’ll be okay. Just give us some time. If we need anything, I’ll let you know.”
Shadow watched as Oliver walked into the room and closed the door. She walked into her and Marcus’ room and packed a bag for him and a bag for herself. She stopped in the kitchen and grabbed six bloodbags and the advanced expellery book before walking out of the cabin.
She was halfway to the stone house when she realized she packed her sandals and shoes and forgot to put a pair on. Luckily, the ground wasn’t overly sharp. She was just going to be dirty.
Shadow walked into the stone house. She set the bags on the kitchen table while she put the bloodbags in the fridge. All the electricity appeared to still be on from the other night.
Once she was finished, she took the bags upstairs and put them in the largest room.
Shadow found Marcus on the other side of the property working on the wall with the Erector. She looked at the wall. It was fifteen feet high with two foot iron spikes. “Marcus.”
“Yes,” he said as he continued to rebuild the wall with the Erector.
“Is it lethal enough?”
“No,” Marcus said. “But it’ll do. How’s Alera?”
“Sad,” Shadow said. “I got her an Umbra one. Oliver said he has to stay with her tonight.”
“I expected that,” Marcus said. “She lost her first childe after a thousand year dry spell.”
“She has another, and she can expel more,” Shadow said.
“She knows that,” Marcus said as he stepped two feet to the right so he could build more wall. He paused and listened to the bond. Shadow was thinking something, but it wasn’t entirely clear. “Do you miss our first sac?”
“The one we didn’t know about?” Shadow asked.
“Yes,” Marcus said.
“I don’t think so,” Shadow said.
“That one scared you, didn’t it?” Marcus asked.
Shadow nodded.
“What about the one we knew about?” Marcus asked.
Shadow sighed.
“I’m still upset over that one too,” Marcus said.
“You are?” Shadow asked.
“I am, but we went on to expell more,” Marcus said. “Oliver and Alera will have more childer, but we need to give them time to heal. How long did it take us to heal?”
“A couple nights,” Shadow said then looked at the ground. “Until now.”
Marcus pulled her into his arms. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I wanted that one.”
Marcus sat with his back against the wall and pulled her into his lap. She was starting to shake. “I know you did. So did I.” He held her tightly as she sobbed. Marcus inwardly cursed. He thought she was over this. Hell, he thought he was over it. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. “Just let it all out.” It was then that he felt Oliver.
[How’s Shadow?] Oliver asked in nearly inaudible mental tones.
[Reliving the death of our first sac,] Marcus said. [How’s Alera?]
[Not well. My apologies. I know you don’t like telepathy, but Shadow didn’t look good when she came up here to get your things,] Oliver said. [I didn’t want her to…]
[Be alone. I understand,] Marcus said. [I have her.]
[How are you holding up?] Oliver asked.
[Probably about the same as you,] Marcus said.
[That well...] Oliver said.
Marcus started to say something when he heard Shadow hic. [One second. She’s about to puke.] He hated it when Shadow was this upset. He lifted her and turned her just as she emptied her stomach onto the ground.
Shadow groaned.
Marcus held her. “You’re okay.”
[Is she all right?] Oliver asked.
[She just made a big blood-puddle, but she’s all right.] Marcus said. [I think we may all need to take a couple nights and rest.]
[I think so. I told Shadow we’d come by the stone house tomorrow night.]
[That’s fine,] Marcus said as he continued to hold Shadow. [Alba said she did something to Shadow to help her with the grief. Could that have worn off?]
Oliver contemplated. [Shit. Yes. I know what that is. It’s not easy to explain, but seeing Alera’s childe ash could have undone it.]
[I need to treat this like…]
[Like you lost that childe tonight,] Oliver said. [I’m sorry, Marcus. I didn’t know she did that. I could have warned you. I can redo it, if you want.]
[I’m going to let her work through it. She needs to deal with it, because I don’t want to deal with this again,] Marcus said. [We can get together tomorrow night and figure out what we need to do next.]
[All right. I need to get back to giving Alera my full attention,] Oliver said.
Marcus held Shadow and stroked her hair. He was upset and pissed. He could understand Oliver not catching this. He would have had to have been looking for it. Marcus should have caught it. It had happened before he and Shadow had Bonded, but he hadn’t seen the blocks when they Bonded. Now, she was sobbing like they’d lost that childe tonight, and it’d been more than six months and sixteen childer ago.
It infuriated Marcus. If he ever saw Alba again, he’d stake her. Shadow being upset over that night reminded him of it, and Marcus wanted to move forward not backward. Still, he held her until she calmed then kissed the side of her face. “Are you okay?” He wiped her face off with his sleeve. Luckily, it was a dark colored shirt.
Shadow nodded then shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what happened. I was fine.”
“Sometimes, it just sneaks back up on you,” Marcus said.
Shadow looked up at him. His eyes were red. “Were you?”
Marcus wiped his eyes. “Sometimes, it just sneaks up on you.” He hoped this was the last time they had to relive that night. It was something he couldn’t change. He couldn’t bring that childe back. He could give her more, and Marcus was working on that.
Shadow laid her head against his chest. “This is horrible.”
“It’ll get better,” Marcus said. “We’ll have our family, and Oliver and Alera will have theirs. This is just a little setback.”
“I hate that the next moon is so far away,” Shadow said.
Marcus blinked. That was the second thought that he hadn’t been able to pick up while she was grieving. She missed holding sacs. He kissed the top of her head. “We’re not behind in our clan growth. I think we’re actually ahead.”
“I know,” Shadow said.
Marcus looked up at the sky. It was not a full moon. It wasn’t even close. “As soon as I can, I’ll see what I can do about creating that recreation room.”
Shadow grinned.
“Don’t say it.”
“You miss them too!”
Marcus groaned. She said it. “It’s not immediately on my list of things to do. It may still be a week or two.”
“You want to check for sacs?”
Marcus laughed. “You don’t have any.” He kissed her. “But we can certainly practice filling sacs later tonight. If you’re feeling up to it.”
“And we can read the book,” Shadow said.
“We can read the book,” Marcus said. He watched her. She seemed to be okay now. “Let me finish this wall. Make yourself comfortable in the house. I’ll be in as soon as I finish.”
Shadow turned to walk into the house.
“Shadow.”
She turned her head.
“I love you.” Marcus picked up the Erector and continued building the wall. “And eat. You don’t have anything in your stomach.”
Shadow smiled as she hopped back toward the stone house.
Marcus chuckled. He knew Shadow knew how he felt, but he also knew she didn’t expect him to say it. He was getting better about it, even though the word didn’t come close to how he actually felt. He still reveled in her reaction. Marcus knew she was upset that Alera and Oliver lost their childe. Shadow was developing empathy for her friends. It was not an attribute lauded by the interrogation team on Umbra. In fact, the fact that she didn’t have any empathy was probably why she was hired. What she had was a weak stomach, and it was not the same thing as empathy. Though, Marcus was helping her with the former. The latter. Well. He didn’t want her to have too much empathy. He’d seen vampires travel down that path. They’d get too deep and start feeling emotions for their food. Marcus didn’t want that for Shadow, but he did want her to care about the well-being of their friends.
***
Shadow hopped into the stone house. It was much nicer than the cabin. The décor was richer, more vibrant and more expensive. Although, it still didn’t have any advanced technology.
Shadow walked upstairs and washed her face and feet before putting their clothes away in the closets. She had no idea how long it would take for Marcus to finish the wall, but she knew he considered it extremely important for their safety. Shadow agreed. They now had evidence of vampire hunters. Finaled vampires on the property, and some of the humans they’d encountered were less than friendly.
Shadow walked into the den. [Is the computer online?]
[Did you eat?]
[Not yet,] Shadow said.
[Eat first,] Marcus said as he moved down the wall. [It’s online and safe to use. What did you need?]
[I don’t know. Just looking,] Shadow said as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bloodbag out of the fridge. She looked around for a microwave and found one. She tossed the bag in for twenty seconds.
[If you want more blankets type ‘bed and bath’ into the search engine.] Marcus spelled the English words for her. [I should be done in the next two hours.]
Shadow pulled the bag out of the microwave and poured in into a glass. She drained it on her way to the den. After sitting down at the computer, she searched ‘bed and bath’ on the Internet and found a store that sold blankets in extra-large. She chose three in black and red before she was interrupted by noise. [Did you start an engine?]
[I think that’s the vehicle we heard the other night,] Marcus said. [I’m checking it out.]
[It sounds close,] Shadow said.
[It is close.] Marcus jumped over the fifteen-foot wall and looked around. The vehicle was too close to the house, and Oliver’s mental hint to stay away hadn’t appeared to work. At least, not long-term. Marcus had had enough of it. [Shadow, I need you out here. I need to find out how this human is getting into the forest, so I need you to stop him.]
[On my way.] Shadow ran out of the stone house and listened. The vehicle was extremely close. She walked across the boundary and looked around.