~xX Night
***
1. One Hundred Little Things
Pritch has led the perfect life up until now. He's got a great job with an advertising agency. He has a killer apartment and a sexy suit and tie wardrobe. All of his life, things have been a little too perfect, too structured and planned and it's all his fault. Pritch craves to know how the rest of the world lives. He yearns to do all the little things he's never allowed himself to do because they weren't part of his life plan. In short, he's boring and everyone knows it. Everyone.
Leaving his job after a 'heart-to-heart' with his blunt secretary, Pritch finds his life plan crumbling and he's not so sure he was meant to be adventurous after all. Jobless and falling apart, Pritch makes a list - one hundred things he wants to do before he dies of being too boring.
K.J. is a bike messenger, one of the city's finest. Besides being a little blunt and uncaring of what others think, he can't help but be drawn to those in need of help. The sexy, street smart courier gets a 'hot' pick-up at a swank ad agency and he finds himself wrapped around the universe's little finger when he ends up on Pritch's doorstep to deliver.
Through a series of discoveries, the two men embark on an adventure to see life for what it truly is...and maybe find each other in the process.
* Preview *
“Here.” K.J. pulled a
sandwich that he’d picked up at a stand on the corner out of the webbing of his
shoulder bag. He dropped it in the kid’s
lap. “Eat something, then stop sitting on your ass and take a ticket from
Mer. You gotta learn your way around
this jungle sometime or you’ll starve. I
can’t be feeding you twenty-four seven and you need a new bike. That chain is ancient and those wheels are
for sightseeing, you feel me?”
“You’re such a humanitarian, K. Jesus, you’re pathetic.” Tiny dropped her bag on the table in the
corner. “Mer just got a drop for you. Give the kid his last meal and get your ass
in gear.”
The kid bit his lip, scared to let anyone see how hungry he
was. He carefully unfolded the plastic
wrap from his sandwich, staring at the food with hooded eyes. K.J. ignored Tiny’s comment and crouched down
beside him. “Ain’t no one else gonna do you
any favors. It’s hard. I know.
But you gotta let it roll off your back and toughen up. Don’t give a shit what anyone else
thinks. If you do, you’re gonna be
exactly who they think you are, and I know better. You got it.
You just have to want it. Ask Mer
about the rider’s club. You can get a
little time in with some pros and once you get your legs about you…you’ll make
more money. I know you don’t want to
sleep in that backroom forever.”
The rookie nodded once.
“Thanks,” he whispered, ducking his head.
“When everyone clears out, take the blue helmet at the
bottom of my locker. Yours is shit. The last thing we need is for you to take a
dive you don’t get back up from.” K.J.
patted the rookie’s knee then stood.
“Alright, ladies, we done gawking or ya gonna keep standing around and
lose good money?”
The messengers made their comments before dispersing. It was lunch time in the city, the busiest
three hours of the day. K.J. left the
kid to eat and walked down the concrete hallway to Mer’s office. Through the glass panes and bars of her
windows, he could see Mer and her boyfriend taking calls and putting the ticket
information through to the couriers, via radio.
He tapped on the glass and lifted his hands at her.
Mer waved him in, looking beat as hell. Jackson, her boyfriend, grunted a hello as
K.J. entered. Jackson thought Mer had
the hots for K.J. and that the two of them were having an affair behind his
back. The two men could never come to an
understanding. Even though K.J. had
repeatedly assured Jackson he was gay.
Not that his sexuality deterred Jackson’s rampant imagination.
Insecure prick, K.J. thought.
“Got a big one for you.”
Mer slid the ticket over her desk mid-call. “No, sir, that wasn’t for you. Uh huh.
By five? Got it. You, too.
Thanks.” She hung up. “Asshole.”
“You got a big one for me, huh?” K.J. smirked.
Jackson shook his head, muttering under his breath. Mer scowled at her boyfriend. “Knock it off.”
“Didn’t say a word.”
Jackson flipped open the messenger log.
“Though, I’d like to.”
“Don’t have to, I can smell the cogs turning and burning in
your head.” Mer rolled her eyes. “Anyway, K, as I was saying, I’ve got a hot
run on fifth.”
“Dammit, Mer, that’s gonna be hell.” K.J. put his hands on his spandex covered
hips. He caught her staring at his groin
and put his hands in front, giving her a warning look.
She straightened.
“This is me caring.”
“You’re such a doll.
How hot?”
“An hour?” She smiled
sweetly. “West 55th to 5th
Ave, quick right, two blocks. Easy.”
“Where’s the drop?”
“East 50th and Park?”
“Ah, hell, Mer, you know Reggie took it hard there last week
with that construction, swam right into a pothole the size of middle earth.”
She leaned back, putting a call on hold. “Am I asking Reggie to take this?”
“No.”
“I’m asking you because you’re the best and our lovely
client requested the best. Even paid
double for insurance purposes, which filters down to you getting double, am I
right?”
“I guess.”
“Big tips on both ends, I suspect.” She raised her brows. “In or out?
Can’t have this going cold or it’s my ass.”
“It’s always about your ass.” K.J. swiped up the
ticket. “Cool your jets, Jackie
boy.” K.J. shot her boyfriend a
look. “I don’t want it.”
Jackson sneered. “Fucker.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
K.J. walked out of the office, slamming the door
closed. Construction. A lot of it.
Traffic, he could deal with, but a whole two blocks being repaved by
street and by sidewalk was a messenger’s worst nightmare. He could always go around, but it would cost
precious time he didn’t have. The money
would be worth it. He always needed
money. Who the hell didn’t? Though, unlike most people, he needed it for
his bike which was hurting in a bad way.
Bad bike, no cash, he thought.
He shoved his Bluetooth in his ear, turned on his radio for
dispatch, and strapped his bag around his chest. His bike came free of the hook and he hoisted
it on his shoulder for the trek to the outside world. “Later, kid.”
Not rookie. Not newb.
Just kid.
The other messengers heard the same and stared at K.J. like
he’d lost his mind. However, the kid
beamed back at him, sparking something inside that no one had given him
before. K.J. didn’t stick around to see
what the kid did with his newfound magic.
He set his tires on pavement, mounted his bike, and turned on his GPS.
He had a run to make, a really hot one.
2. Meteor Mavericks Series
Meteors keep falling from the sky, in the middle of the night, in little places all over the world. Doc Granger and his best friend Isaiah were first to see the meteor fall from the sky. Just boys, and very curious, Doc and Isaiah touched the rock that life-changing night. Unbeknownst to them, the meteor carried two brands of alien DNA, one good and one evil. In a war for planet earth, the alien races had come to a shaky agreement.
They would send their life essence out into the human race and let the mortals battle it out for them, with special abilities, of course. Their first warriors were Doc and Isaiah, pit against each other until one could kill the other. Isaiah's race would need to take back the meteor energy Isaiah had been tasked to guard until it became powerful enough to kill. If Isaiah succeeded, he would end Doc. If Doc collected the energy he needed, he would kill Isaiah first.
But something went wrong, an unforeseen glitch in the alien war. A child became involved. A child born of both alien and human DNA. Doc became a father...to little Tuck.
Doc Granger had been everything to Tuck. His father might have been a little eccentric and always hid his true abilities behind his healing skills, but Tuck had looked up to the man since the day he was born. Twenty years after his father's death, Tuck lives with Doc's legacy, following in his footsteps as a doctor by day and a Maverick by night.
Charged with protecting his father's meteor - Tuck's means of survival - Tuck knows his father's murderer still roams the earth, waiting for the day he gains enough energy to kill Tuck too. With the help of his butler, Landry, a runaway Maverick, Tuck begins the hunt for his father's opponent to end it once and for all.
When higher powers begin to take notice of him... all bets are off.
*Preview*
“One night, many moons ago, a meteor landed on earth.” Doc
Granger pointed out the window at the night sky. “It was a summer night just like any
other. It was real hot inside, so two
boys had been camping out by the river to cool off. They were the best of friends, a bit
competitive with each other, but what boys aren’t at your age? When they saw that light falling from the
sky, they raced each other to see who could find it first.”
Seven year old Tuck sat up, wide eyed. “Who found it first, daddy?”
Doc ruffled his son’s dark hair, smiling wide. “I did, of course.”
Tuck gasped. “Was it
aliens, daddy?”
“Boy, you got some imagination.” Doc’s crystal blue eyes
twinkled. “Well, I don’t rightly know
where the rock came from, the sky I suppose as that’s where meteors come from,
but it was glowing something fierce when we got close enough to touch it.”
“Glowing? Did you
touch it?” Tuck pulled the blanket up to
his chin.
Doc curled into his son’s side, soothing his fear. “Sure did, and as you can see, I’m just
fine.”
“Good.” Tuck put his
small hand on his daddy’s big one, grabbing a finger. “What about your friend?”
“He’s alive.”
“Is he okay?”
“Depends on your definition of okay…”
“What happened, daddy?”
Doc hugged his son, staring out at the night. “I’ll always wonder where that rock came from
and who sent it here. I do know, after a
lot of looking into it, that rock wasn’t the first of its kind, seems as though
when one of them rocks falls from the sky, it carries energy inside of it, like
magic. When that energy releases…you
following me?”
Tuck nodded eagerly, rewarded with a kiss to his hair.
“Like I was sayin’, when that energy releases it tries to
find a home inside of whoever is closest to it, it being the meteor. But
just like with anything on this earth that energy splits up into two separate
parts, one side good and one side bad. Being
on earth is too much for the magic to stay together, as opposed to outer space,
I reckon.”
“Daddy, magic ain’t real.”
Tuck squirmed around until he could see his daddy’s eyes. “Is it?”
“Tuck, if you had magic inside of you, what would you do
with it?”
Frowning, Tucker sat up.
“Daddy, you’re scaring me. I’m
not magic.”
“Ain’t nothing to be scared of, boy. It’s just a question.” Doc pushed Tuck’s hair away from his fearful
eyes. “What would you do, son?”
Tucker hugged his pillow to his chest, casting his eyes to
his lap. “Like a special wish?”
“If that’s what you want to call it, sure.”
Looking at his daddy, Tucker sniffed. “I’d bring mama back.”
Doc swallowed and shook his head. “You can’t bring people back from the dead,
sugar.” He pulled Tucker to his
chest. “No matter how much magic or love
we have.”
“Then what can I do, daddy?
I miss her so much.” Tucker’s
watery eyes met his daddy’s.
Doc brushed the tears away, hiding the shock behind his
gaze. Tucker’s blue eyes burned like
twin beacons against the dark window. It
was time.
“Instead of bringing mama back, you use that magic to
protect innocent people from those that hurt her.”
“You mean heal them like you do, daddy?”
Doc gripped his son’s shoulders carefully. How did he tell a seven year old about his
life so far? How did he tell Tuck that
the meteor was their means of survival?
How did he tell his son that if his meteor fell into his enemy’s hands,
they would be finished…if not before? If
he couldn’t protect them until Tuck was strong enough to protect himself…
“Yeah, sugar, you heal them all. If that’s what you want to do with your
magic.”
“But magic ain’t real, daddy…”
With no other choice, as Tuck’s abilities were starting to
show, Doc lifted his son out of the bed and went to the old vanity mirror. He took a deep breath and turned around for
Tuck to see.
“Magic is real, sugar.
Very real…”
Tucker’s scream in his ear was a noise Doc would never
forget, not even in death.
3. The Other Side of Royalty Series (Vampire Guardian Spin-off)
This one doesn't really have a blurb because I intend for it to be a series of multiple short stories, but I do have a preview of the first one. Here you go!
Preview:
Trey hugged himself, fidgeting in front of the clinic front
desk. His threadbare coat was too short
in the arms, leaving at least six inches of his skin exposed to the chill
wafting in from the closing double doors.
He knew he looked like shit. He
knew he smelled too. But he was
desperate at this point. He needed
somewhere safe to sleep; somewhere away from the dealers after him. And he was starving. The nick he’d stolen from another dealer had
fallen out of his pocket on the subway.
Right now, he was fucked.
“Can’t you just give me one?
Look, lady, I’m desperate here.”
He chewed on his lip, watching her glance up at him.
“Sir, I’ve told you twice now, you need to fill out a Second
City Insurance form before I distribute a blood testing device. It’s the Queen’s law, enforced by the Prince
and his mate, Daniel.”
He gripped the desk.
His hunger surged. “I’m trying
here. I don’t have a place of residence. I don’t have any ID. And I don’t have a place of work. The shelters are all booked up, too. Please,” he begged. “I’m… I’m hungry.”
The receptionist frowned compassionately. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure
none of her co-workers were in ear shot before looking back to him. “I’m not supposed to do this. I could lose my job.”
“Please,” Trey repeated softly.
“If you didn’t remind me of my own son… God, you look so
much like him.” She rubbed her nose and
sighed. “There’s a shuttle leaving for a
Soho shelter in ten minutes.” She nodded
at the lobby full of waiting vamps. “They’ll
give you something to take the edge off when they arrive. Clean donors will be waiting at the facility
when you get there. I’ll push through
some forms to make it happen, but if my boss catches on, I don’t know you. You’ll be on your own to explain.”
Taken aback by her kindness and her willingness to ease his
suffering, he put his dirty hand on hers.
“I won’t forget this.”
She snatched her hand back as the doors behind her
opened. “Go. Have a good night… Alex.”
Trey caught on quickly.
He pulled his coat tighter around him and sat in the lobby with the
other homeless vamps. He was no longer a
Trey. He had been forced to become an
Alex.
***
Jaska cut the engine of the fifteen passenger van and waited
for Greg to pull up behind him. He
radioed inside for a heads up. “Missy, spot any trouble tonight?”
The clinic receptionist radioed back, “All good in here,
mostly women and children. One widow, though.
She seems a bit… emotional. Are you boys out front?”
“I am. I’m just
waiting for Greg.” Jaska spotted Greg’s
car pulling up behind him. “He’s here. I’ll bring the bags inside.”
“I’ll notify staff.”
“Thanks, Missy.”
Jaska got out, meeting Greg at the trunk of his car. “How was dinner, man? Any luck?”
Greg woefully shook his head. “He talked the entire time. I didn’t get a single word in except for
hello. I think I’m just going to hang up
my hat for now on the whole dating thing.
Not all of us are so lucky as to have a built in mate.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
Jaska rubbed Greg’s shoulder. “Did
you at least…” Jaska grinned at Greg’s
scowl. “Never mind.”
Hefting the locked trunk from Greg’s car, Jaska went into
the clinic with his arms full. Greg
followed him in, checking the streets for any stray security issues. Seeing nothing out of sorts, he went
inside. The moment he stepped foot into
the clinic, he scented the perfume of the city people. A pungent, garbage-like odor assailed him,
but he kept a straight face. Some of
these vamps had never had a chance. From
what he could make of the group, at least eighty percent of them were human
turned, most of them not by choice.
“Listen up.” Greg
accepted a clipboard from Missy at the front desk. “This is how it’s going to go. You’ll be transported to the Soho shelter for
a temporary stay with a seven day max on your room. If you fail to file the proper paperwork once
we arrive, you’ll lose the chance to be placed in our trade program, school for
your children, and also a permanent residence.
“If any of you fail to uphold our rules, you will be banned
from the shelter and put on a black list.
The rules are as follows. No
drugs. No weapons. No fighting, including raising a hand to the
staff or each other. No visitors of any
kind. You will not be allowed to leave
the premises unless authorized by a staff member, with a staff member. All feedings will be supervised by me or
Jaska here.” Greg pointed to Jaska. “And last but not least, you will bring no
outside materials, blood bags, terrorist paraphernalia as deemed unacceptable
by our Queen, or technological devices.
All personal belongings will be searched and approved before we transport
you to the shelter. Are there any
questions?”
Every vampire remained still. No one raised a hand, but the nervous twitch
of a young, vampire male’s eyes caught Greg’s attention. As soon as the man lifted his jade stare to
Greg, everything else seemed to fade away.
“Uh, Greg?” Jaska
kneeled next to the trunk he’d brought with him.
Greg cleared his throat, but not before he got a whiff of
something the opposite of garbage. And
every sweet delicious note was wafting off the green eyed man in the corner.
“Yeah, man, let’s do this,” Greg grunted and went to the
door.
He caught his breath with his back turned to the small
crowd. He desperately searched the
clipboard roster for a name to go with the face, only to realize he’d have to
ask the fucking guy what his name was in person. One thing Greg was sure of, even without a
name, that mystery man was trouble… a whole lot of trouble. He could smell it.
****
Okay, folks, it's your choice what comes next. I have a sneaking suspicion what you guys are going to choose, but for now I'll keep that to myself. I hope I'm right because I'm dying to write it. *rubs hands* Leave me a comment and let me know!!
