Sneak Peek: Demon Duke

As promised last week, I've returned with a sneak peek at my upcoming release, Demon Duke, Paranormal Nobles, Book 2 and the sequel to Vampire Prince. Not too much longer before it goes live! It's scheduled to release May 27th at MLR Press. But I know from my past releases, some have dropped the night before, so there's a chance it could go live on the 26th. After it releases at MLR Press, it'll roll out to Amazon, AllRomance eBooks, and other vendors. And I'm not sure if I've mentioned the length of the story, but it's just over 75,000 words, and the final e-file that I've been reviewing is about 240 pages. About the same length as Vampire Prince.

Now for the sneak peek, I thought I'd share Chapters One and Two. These two chapters will let everyone get reaquainted with Sal, Calvin, and the gang, and also set up what's to come.

I hope everyone will enjoy this glimpse at Demon Duke!

Blurb:

A month ago, Calvin Blackwood found himself in the company of vampires, having been hired to use his talent as a witch to summon a demon. That demon ended up saving his life. In the time since, he hasn’t been able to forget about Sal. He knows entering a deal with a demon is dangerous, but to save his brother, binding himself to the beautiful demon might be worth the risk.

Sal is a duke among demons. An immortal being, more powerful than a vampire, but who has one admitted weakness, a fondness for humans. When Calvin offers to make a deal, he’s hesitant, but can’t deny his need to be closer to him. He also knows if he doesn’t help him, Calvin will summon another demon, and he knows all too well the treachery of his own kind.

Desire and trust builds between Calvin and Sal. Their relationship grows, but so does a hidden threat, and it might take power greater than a demon duke to save them. It might take that of a witch.

Chapter One

“Someone you love is sick. Poor baby. I can fix that, you know.”

The words replayed through Calvin’s mind, as they had so many times in the past month. Were they true? Could the demon who’d spoken them heal his brother? And if Sallos could, how would he do it? And for what price? A demon never gave away anything for free.

Calvin sagged down on the bed, lying on his side, his gaze fixed on the bright, sunlit day beyond his bedroom window. A month ago, when he’d answered a request on a witchcraft forum, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. All he saw was the large sum of money being offered to anyone who could summon a specific demon and jumped at it, figuring he’d work out the details after he got the job.

He didn’t know the intention was to bind the demon. He didn’t know it was a trap to capture a young man, a former blood slave. He sure as hell didn’t know it was vampires behind the ad, not until he’d met them, and what a shock that was. Sure, he’d seen postings online by other witches who claimed to have run into vampires, but who knew what to believe online? With him still learning about his own power, he wasn’t about to disregard vampires could exist, but did he have some doubt? Absolutely. That doubt had gotten knocked out of him. And it was in learning vampires were behind it that his instincts blazed with warning and everything started to feel wrong.

It was stupid of him to take the deal. Wrong and insulting to his beliefs, his gifts, his power, but the money…he needed it so damn bad. Ten thousand dollars wouldn’t take care of all his brother’s medical expenses, but it knocked out a chunk. Except now, it seemed for nothing. Nathan was thinking about stopping his treatments.

His brother told him the day before, he didn’t know how much longer he could continue with dialysis, or really, what the point was in doing it. He’d argued with Nathan, telling him if he didn’t keep fighting and going to his treatments, his kidneys would fail and he would die. Nathan gave him a smile that told him more than the words he spoke; Nathan had accepted his fate. And as for Nathan’s words? “If God still has work for me here, then I’ll recover.”

But for all Nathan’s faith and devotion—even going to seminary school—God hadn’t helped his brother. Instead, Nathan became sick…and suffered.

Calvin closed his eyes against the burn of tears. He didn’t understand Nathan’s faith. It seemed it was something his brother had always possessed. Even as teens, when their father died from a sudden heart attack. Even two years ago, as they watched cancer steal the life from their mother. Each time, Nathan would pray and seem to come out of it with a greater sense of peace.

Since it seemed to comfort Nathan, he tried to follow him into that faith. It didn’t work for him. He’d recite prayers to the same God and he felt…nothing. No sense of peace or enlightenment. No calm or warmth or love. More than that, he felt odd, out of place, as if he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t. He came to the conclusion Nathan’s path of faith wasn’t meant for him, and maybe no path was.

Until he discovered the faith he was meant to follow, the Craft, the way of being a witch.

He’d been in a park near his home, a few days after his mother passed. He needed solace and comfort that he couldn’t find with anyone. As it always had, going to nature, sitting among the trees, cool earth beneath him, the wind whispering around him, he found peace. He found strength. A stick in his hand, he absentmindedly sketched in the dirt, and drew a five-pointed star. It was a symbol he’d drawn often, never knowing why, but thinking it was probably because it was easy to do and his artistic talent wasn’t exactly high. Only that day, he caught himself as he drew it. He stared at it, wondered about it, and from the shadows of his mind, a thought rose.

He carried that thought to the library, where he found a green volume in the New Age section with that five-pointed star on the cover. He checked out the book and what began as a pursuit to satisfy his curiosity, became a quest for greater knowledge and to understand himself. To be a witch was to live a spiritual life bonded with nature and those who shared the world, animal and human. Witches were healers and helpers, seekers of knowledge and truth. They could even be warriors, if their path called for them to be.

He still remembered the joy that shone through him when he opened himself up to learning the Craft. He felt uplifted, as if he’d discovered a hidden part of himself. He understood why it was in nature—being surrounded by trees, finding a quiet spot on the beach, gazing at the moon and stars—that he felt more peace than when he’d prayed in Nathan’s faith. Why when he touched gemstones, he felt more than the cool stone itself, but also a subtle hum of the power within. In his heart and soul, he’d always been a witch. All he’d needed was for his mind to make the discovery.

But in the two years since that discovery and for all the honing of his skills, he hadn’t found a way to save Nathan. Though, he knew and understood that being a witch was a lifelong pursuit in strengthening his skills and gaining knowledge. He just didn’t have that much time if he wanted to save his big brother.

Calvin rolled to his back on the bed and pulled in a long, slow breath. Not that Nathan was inclined to let him use spells, incantations, or magic to try and save him. His brother refused to take part in any pagan ritual. His being a witch was the one thing they continuously fought over. When he’d revealed to Nathan the path he was taking, Nathan had argued fiercely with him, to the point where he felt akin to those of old who’d suffered the Inquisition and persecution. It was only when he pointed out to Nathan that the same zealotry had led to the deaths of countless innocent people that Nathan backed off.

For that moment, at least.

They continued to argue about it from time to time, but not as heatedly. Despite each of them lacking faith in each other’s beliefs, they loved each other. And he was positive Nathan prayed daily for him to turn his back on the Craft, but same as his prayers hadn’t brought him the results he wanted when he’d tried to follow Nathan’s faith, Nathan’s weren’t changing him from being a witch.

He still managed to sneak a few healthy herbs into Nathan’s food when he cooked dinner, but it wasn’t enough. Nathan was growing weaker. Going in for dialysis three times a week was the only thing keeping Nathan’s kidney disease from total kidney failure. Hopes for getting a donated kidney were almost nonexistent, especially since he hadn’t been a match.

He couldn’t lose him. Nathan had always been there for him, and despite their differences, he knew there was nothing his brother wouldn’t do for him. And he was the same toward Nathan. Only, Nathan wouldn’t accept his kind of help. Regardless, he wasn’t going to let him slip away, not when there was the smallest of chances he could save him. His big brother was the only family he had left.

The tears Calvin had managed to hold back threatened again. He pulled off his silver rim glasses and set them on the nightstand by his bed. He closed his eyes and two tears escaped from the corners of them. They left warm trails over his temples and into his hair.

“I can fix that, you know.”

The voice played again through his mind, deep and seductive. Sallos…Sal…manifested behind his closed eyelids in such detail, he could be looking at him in reality. Whether in his human guise or his true form, the demon was beautiful. When in his human form, it seemed at this period in time Sal preferred to have flaming red hair that fell to the tops of his shoulders, layered, sharp angles to it. His body was slender and muscular, his fair skin flawless. Sal’s face held so much beauty, he seemed sculpted by a divine hand. And his eyes, the enchanting lavender hue, Calvin had become captivated when he’d looked into them.

He thought Sal couldn’t be any more stunning, until Sal shifted into his true form.

Calvin laid a hand over his chest. His heart started racing whenever he thought of him. Sal’s hair had grown longer to hang down his back. Horns, thick and curled like a ram’s, emerged from the sides of Sal’s head. His height increased, his body’s frame and muscle thickened. From two smoking slits that opened in Sallos’s back, great leathery red wings emerged. Fangs that put to shame any vampire dropped down from Sal’s canines. And Sal’s eyes…they glowed with that stunning lavender color, the round pupils becoming slits.

Calvin rolled from his back to his stomach, pinning his hardening cock between his body and the bed. Was it completely crazy of him to fantasize about having those wings wrap around him as Sal embraced him? If it was, then he was a certifiable lunatic because he’d thought of it daily since meeting the demon.

He knew, though, his lusting for Sal would never go beyond his thoughts. He couldn’t get human men interested in him. No way would a demon as gorgeous as Sal want him. And he wasn’t entirely sure he’d want Sal to want him.

On the witchcraft forums he hung out at, he’d seen more than one person post about summoning a demon, some even claiming to have had sex with them. It never worked out well. The demon always used the summoner to get a strong hold over their life and use them for their own benefit. While someone might think they had control over the demon, they never did. Ever. A demon would always find a way to get the upper hand and once they did, only pain came from it. It took a lot of powerful magic to banish a demon once they became deeply connected to a person.

In the month since everything went down at the blood house, he realized how much he had to learn about summoning, binding, and compelling demons. He studied his craft for hours each day. If he wasn’t working or helping Nathan get to and from his dialysis treatments, then he was striving to gain more knowledge and control with his power. Along with studying evocation, he’d searched for, gathered, and read everything he could on demons, working to not only learn about Sal, but others as well.

He understood their hierarchy now, how the titles weren’t a matter of bloodline or age, but power. The stronger the demon, the greater the title. The counts were at the bottom, followed by the marquises, then earls. Next in line came the dukes, then it moved up to the princes, followed by the kings, to the last and most powerful, the Emperor.

Sal was one of the great nobles. And his true form showed it in his powerful body and massive wings, in his strength and his beauty. Sal may have said his true form wasn’t as pretty as his human one, but he’d been awestruck by him.

All of it told him, though, despite how much studying he’d done, he didn’t know if he was strong enough to compel a noble demon like Sal. And really, he didn’t want to. He’d rather have Sal help him of his own free will than try to bend him to his. The only way that might happen would be to strike a deal with him. He never thought he would be one to consider a deal with a demon, but if Sal could help him, it might be worth any price the demon duke asked for.

Chapter Two

“Beezy, catch!” Sal tossed a red ball toward the little black crocodile.

The ball bounced lightly over the patio cobbles…and off the tip Beezle’s snout. The crocodile opened his yellow eyes to slits, peering at Sal with an unappreciative look. He closed his eyes again, returning to soaking up the sun.

A snort and a snicker came from behind Sal. “Do they have entity obedience classes in DemonLand? Because if they do, you should really consider signing Beezle up.”

Sal glanced over his shoulder at Sebastian floating in the in-ground pool, his arms folded over the edge as he watched him and Beezle. Sebastian was such a lovely young human. Brilliant blue eyes, golden blond hair, delicate and pretty facial features. It was no wonder Sebastian had broken down the barriers his dear vampy friend, Valentin, had built around himself. And though Sebastian didn’t know it, he was grateful to him for bringing Valentin back to his old self. After Malcolm’s betrayal, Valentin had become somber and guarded. Now, Valentin’s smiles came easily again.

Sal arched an eyebrow as he met Sebastian’s gaze. “DemonLand?”

“Since it’s not really Hell with all the brimstone and burning souls, what else would you call it?”

“We demons just call it our realm, same as we call this one the human realm.”

“I think DemonLand sounds better than Demon Realm.”

Sal sat on the patio, leaning back on his hands, his legs stretched out in front of him. “It does, actually. Kind of touristy.”

Sebastian laughed softly. “Yeah, but instead of people in cute cartoon character costumes running around, you’ve got little horned minions and flesh-eating entities.”

Sal pointed at him. “Don’t forget the orgies! Those would be our main attraction. Man, this is a billion dollar idea waiting to happen. Why didn’t I ever think of setting up a resort there?”

Laughter came from the mansion.

Sal tossed his head back to look through the open sliding door, where Valentin and Basil sat within the shadows.

Valentin stood and stepped close to the shadow’s edge, leaning a forearm up on the doorframe. Long, silken black hair fell past Valentin’s shoulders, and his eyes of light frosted blue were quite the lure themselves, especially combined with his face of flawless beauty. As he spoke, Valentin’s voice rolled with an elegant English accent. “I’m not so certain. I think there are quite a few humans who wouldn’t be too comfortable at the idea of having sex with a demon.”

Sal let a smirk rise to his lips. “None that I’ve ever fucked have complained.”

Basil moved to Valentin’s side. “But how many of them have known you were a demon?”

Sal focused on Basil. The two vampires were true blood cousins from their human life. They both had similarities in the slender builds and pretty features, but they were opposites in many other ways. Basil wore his wavy, dark blond hair shorter, often bound in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. And while Valentin’s eyes were icy and cool in color, Basil’s were warm, honey-brown.

“I’m sure they had to have some suspicions of me being an otherworldly being since I can fuck better than any human.”

“Hey!” Sebastian said. “Those are fighting words! Or fucking words. One or the other.”

Sal turned a smirk toward Sebastian. “Only one way to prove me wrong. You two will have to let me watch you at it, and I’ll tell you if you’re better than me.”

“I think you’d be a rather biased judge,” Valentin said. “And, no, we’re not letting you watch us fuck.”

Chuckling, Sebastian pushed out of the pool. He walked by Sal toward Valentin and stepped into the embrace of his vampire prince. “I’ll agree on that ‘no’.”

Valentin wrapped Sebastian in his arms, not the least deterred by Sebastian’s wet body pressing against his clothes. Sal couldn’t blame the vampire. He wouldn’t mind getting a little wet to have a hot human pressed against him either. With his final thought, a human, a name, floated to the front of Sal’s mind…one he’d been trying to forget about for the past month—Calvin.

Damn witch. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear Calvin had cast an enchantment on him. In fact, he would’ve preferred it if Calvin had. It would be a hell of a lot less disturbing of a reason as to why he couldn’t get the human out of his head.

If he had one admitted weakness, it was for humans. Their intoxicating energy. Their bodies so warm and delightful to touch, caress, have his dick buried deep inside. And Calvin was a very lovely human, though, he felt certain Calvin didn’t realize it. The witch was on the smaller side in build and height, but he imagined Calvin had quite the tight body beneath his clothes. Calvin’s black hair didn’t have any kind of style to it, seeming perpetually tousled, giving him a look like he was just getting out of bed…or ready to climb into it.

He liked that last thought, especially with adding himself to the bed. The innocence he sensed from the witch told him Calvin wasn’t the most experienced in the erotic arts, but his intuition sensed Calvin was a man filled with lust and passion waiting to be unleashed. And he would love to be the one doing the unleashing.

Behind the silver-rimmed glasses Calvin wore were intelligent, thoughtful, and sad blue eyes. The sadness was tied to Calvin’s sick loved one, whoever that was. When he’d viewed Calvin’s aura, he saw a man of deep compassion and love, things his little black heart were drawn to. But with those, he also saw power, raw and potent, not completely trained or even the depth of it realized. If Calvin fully honed his skills, he’d be a wicked force to reckon with.

But even if Calvin did reach his full potential, Sal doubted that the witch would ever use his magic to harm anyone. He’d seen the distress in Calvin when he’d learned of the vampires’ intention with him, to lock him away forever. And who was it that came to his rescue at the first opportunity? Why, none other than Witchy Poo. He could count the times a human had come to his aid on not only one hand, but on one finger. Well, two fingers. He’d give one to Sebastian, since he’d been part of the rescue too. Sure his life might not have been in true jeopardy, the vampires couldn’t kill him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t trapped in a sticky situation until Calvin came through for him.

For that alone, he’d like to know the witch better…and get closer to him. Not that it mattered. Unless Calvin summoned him again, he’d never see him. After they’d left the burning remains of the blood house, Basil had taken Calvin close to Savannah and dropped him off, the sunlight and its toll on Basil not letting him take Calvin further. None of them knew where Calvin lived and they hadn’t pried enough to get any information on him. Now he wished they had.

It was really annoying that humans, with the right knowledge, could summon a demon at will, but a demon couldn’t track down a human unless they had a strong connection to the human or something personal of the human’s. Shit like that was one of many reasons why so many demons were bitter against mortals. So unless Witchy Poo wanted to see him, chances were they’d never meet again.

Sal let out a sigh at the thought and caught Basil speaking to him again.

“Aww, darling, there’s no need to pout that your pet won’t play with you. Shall I call the Savannah Humane Society and see if they’re open after dark? We could go get you a puppy.”

“Yes!” Sebastian blurted out. “Call them!”

Valentin startled back. “You can’t be serious.”

Sebastian gave him a sweet smile. “Wouldn’t it be fun to get a dog?”

Valentin slowly turned to Basil. “See what you’ve started?”

Basil clasped his hands behind his back, his posture far too innocent for the mischief in his eyes. “The only reason you’re opposed to it is because you don’t want dog hair to get on your suits.”

Valentin flung his hand out in the direction of Beezle. “And that’s why I like Beezle. He doesn’t shed.” He took Sebastian’s hand and walked backward, drawing Sebastian with him. “Let’s get you inside, out of that wet swimsuit, and see if I can’t redirect your thoughts elsewhere.”

Basil watched them disappear inside, then smiled at Sal. “Sorry. It doesn’t look as though you’ll be getting a puppy today.”

Sal chuckled. “That’s all right. Too much responsibility for me. It’s a damn good thing Beezy’s an entity or I probably would’ve accidentally killed him by now.”

“I’m not going to say responsibility isn’t exactly a strong suit of yours, but…well, yes, actually I am going to say that.”

Sal laughed and brandished a middle finger at Basil.

Grinning, Basil turned on his heel into the mansion. “And on that note, I’m going lie down for the day. It’s far too late in the morning for me.”

“Have a good sleep,” Sal called.

Basil lifted his hand in thanks before disappearing into the darkness inside.

Sal turned back to Beezle, stretching across the distance between them and picking up the ball. “Okay. Let’s try this again.”

A growl rumbled from the little croc. He swung around, waddling toward the pool.

“Hey! Don’t you go in that pool! You know how Baz and Valentin don’t like it when…” His voice trailed off as Beezle slipped into the water with hardly a ripple.

Sal tossed the ball into the air and caught it as it came down. “Maybe I should get a dog. I could get Sebastian do all the dirty work.”

He tossed the ball again…and it bounced to the ground. Sal gasped, one hand on his chest, one on his abdomen. The pull, it was as if someone had hooked him on the inside and was reeling him to them. He was being summoned. And the presence calling for him was familiar, but far more controlled, confident, and stronger than the last time the summoner had evoked him.

A grin slid onto Sal’s lips. Speak of the devil…or witch, in this case. He wouldn’t fight this summoning. This was what he’d been waiting for.

Sal took a breath, calling to Beezle. “I’ve got to go for a little while, Beezy. Be a good boy.”

Closing his eyes, Sal willed his body to dematerialize, using his power to do the same with his clothes. As he descended into the gray haze between dimensional planes, he felt happier than he had in ages at being summoned, and that itself troubled him.

Copyright 2016 by S.J. Frost and MLR Press