Grays shadow, p.44
Gray's Shadow, page 44
part #4 of Kings of Hell MC Series
And yet Gray’s usually steady hand trembled at the thought of Shadow’s screams and blood gushing out of the fresh wound. Sickness rose in his throat once more.
He didn’t even know what was happening, didn’t have time to fight it, when Shadow took over the hand and pressed the knife down in one clean cut.
His knees went soft, his head light, but he stood still, staring at the blade separating the finger from the hand as blood slowly spread over the lacquered wood. Seeing it was like a snap of fingers, and it finally made him wake up from the stupor.
“Shit,” Gray muttered, putting down the knife and quickly fishing in his pockets for a clean tissue. He wanted to just take Shadow into his arms, but this needed to be dealt with first, and he pulled him to a cupboard where they kept their first aid supplies.
“He’s dripping all over the floor,” Rev said, but Gray just ignored him and quickly pushed Shadow to sit in a chair.
“I’ve done it,” he said, even though he knew he hadn’t been the one to make that cut.
Shadow was shivering all over, his eyes wide, lips open, but he hadn’t made a peep, and guiding him was like handling a mannequin made of flesh.
“Yes you have,” Beast said without much emotion, but he stood and filled a shot glass with vodka before handing it to Shadow. “Drink up, it will help.”
Knight came closer too and actually patted Shadow on the back once he downed the alcohol with a hiss. “Prospecting next year?”
Shadow let out a sob when Gray touched his hand again, but nodded, keeping his head low, as if meeting anyone’s eyes could have resulted in unforeseen consequences.
Vars sat in an empty chair next to Shadow’s. “Let me help with that, I’ve got experience. I’ve heard yours is more in doing the damage than the other way round?”
Gray bit his lip, trying to stop the bleeding with gauze. He felt like shit, but he also didn’t want to reject the help. After all, both he and Shadow committed to staying and accepting the punishment. He wasn’t a child to get offended and turn his back on well-meaning people.
“Yeah,” he said and pulled Shadow close as soon as Vars took over with the dressing.
He sensed Shadow’s wild pulse, but was happy to see him gradually calm down with the help of another shot. Vars was proficient at his job, and someone was merciful enough to remove the finger and blood from the table while Gray wasn’t looking.
With Shadow’s wound secured, the patches started leaving the room one by one.
Beast was last. “Clean up, and we’ll see you in the common room once you’re done. We’ve got a fuckload to talk about.”
Gray nodded, cuddling Shadow even tighter. “Yeah. We’re fine,” he said but was already sliding to his knees.
As soon as they had some privacy, Shadow curled up into Gray’s embrace and let out a low sob so full of anguish Gray’s heart bled. He must have been holding it in all along. He was absorbing the exact type of masculine behavior Gray had criticized, but still let go when everyone was gone. This had to be good enough, because the world around them could only change so fast. If Shadow was to stay in the club, he needed to be strong, so maybe it was for the better.
They could be vulnerable with each other, and that was all that mattered.
“It hurts so much,” Shadow whispered between one sob and another, making Gray’s guilt soar.
“I’m so sorry. Does it feel better when you cry?” he asked softly and raised the bandaged hand to his lips. There was no way to turn back time, so all he could do was try to soothe Shadow’s distress.
Shadow nodded so eagerly his hair obscured his face. “Yes. I need a while before facing everyone again. I took something from them. From you. It’s only fair.”
Gray’s breath trembled, and he pressed a tender kiss to the top of the injured hand, sinking even lower, until his forehead rested against Shadow’s chest. “No, it’s not. It should have been me. You even cut the finger for me. Why do you have to bear all the punishment?” he asked, increasingly agitated.
Shadow smiled despite the tears on his face, and even now, he pulled Gray close with his other arm. “Because I love you.”
Gray had no counterarguments. He exhaled, slowly relaxing as the inevitability of what happened finally sank in. “You need to let me love you next time. You were so brave,” he whispered, still touched that Shadow cut his own finger to help him.
Shadow nuzzled Gray’s hair, and despite the horror that had gone down, the gesture was so intimate Gray’s heart skipped a beat. “Next time.”
Epilogue
Sitting behind Gray’s back and holding him tight as the world flew by was still one of Shadow’s favorite things. He trusted Gray completely, so putting his life on the line was no issue, no matter how fast they moved along the empty road through the woods.
There were still many things that needed to be dealt with so that he could function as any other human, but documents, and all that other stuff the world seemed preoccupied with, could wait. A few weeks had passed since Shadow had consumed the Pigeon Heart, and while he was settling into his new life that promised him an unbelievably long future, he started truly believing they’d made the right choice. Come what may, he would face all dangers at Gray’s side.
It was already dark when they first left the clubhouse, but instead of riding all the way to Baal’s trees for a final feeding, Gray stopped the motorcycle on an empty road, just ahead of an old stone bridge. A simple wooden cross stood at the side of the road, with a pot of wilted flowers placed in front of it.
Gray sighed. “This is the place.”
“Oh.”
Shadow swallowed when they got off the bike, and he wasn’t sure what more to say. So this was where Gray’s twin had died. To think of Gray’s mirror image hurt, broken, and bleeding always made Shadow’s throat ache, but Gray didn’t seem sad when they both dismounted. He opened his leather jacket to reveal a small bundle of flowers, which he replaced the wilted ones with. “It’s a shame you two didn’t get to meet. He would have liked you.”
Shadow smiled at that, because coming from Gray’s mouth, it was the most amazing compliment.
The nature around the bridge was in full bloom—lush, green, and growing stronger to the tunes sung by birds. The fresh flowers fit in perfectly.
“I would have loved it. Not because there would be two of you, of course. Because you were different. But if he was your brother, I’m sure he was amazing.” Shadow put his arm over Gray’s shoulders as they both looked at the cross. His hand still hurt on some days in the place where the wound was healing, but thanks to his sacrifice Gray didn’t have to take on even more pain.
Gray kissed Shadow’s jaw, melting against him. It was second nature to them both by now. “If he is somewhere out there, I’m sure he’s happy I have someone like you,” he said and nuzzled Shadow’s healing hand before leading the way to the motorcycle.
Shadow looked back at the flowers with a smile. “Because you’re in good hands?”
“The best hands.”
The ride to the trees only took twenty minutes, and while Shadow was dreading the discomfort of giving some of his energy to the plants from his former world, he was glad this would be the last time. Once this was done, he could focus on their future.
“It wasn’t even that horrible,” he said to Gray, who looked like he was about to cry by the time the ritual was finished. He didn’t want to worry Gray, but the truth was that with the Pigeon Heart filling him with so much red energy, he didn’t feel like the parasitic trees have taken all that much.
Gray exhaled and rubbed his face as he sat down in the grass next to Shadow. “I’m sorry. I just hate seeing you in pain. I hate it.”
Shadow was eager to hug Gray and laughed. “You’re so cute when you worry! This was the last time. They’ve had enough from me.”
Gray nuzzled Shadow’s nose. The blond hair framed his angular face in a way that had Shadow want to follow its lines with kisses.
“I think we should celebrate your freedom then.”
Shadow’s smile widened even more. “Oh, really? What will we do? A night to ourselves? I don’t mind working for the club, but all the jobs they’ve been sending us on take away from alone time.”
Gray rested his chin on Shadow’s chest. “Beast agreed to give us an evening off. So I got two tickets to this new movie that I think you’ll like, and we’re going to have dinner before that. Real date.”
Shadow leaned down for a kiss, already giddy. “A real date.”
Gray smiled, but the corners of his mouth fell somewhat when he nodded at the tree above. “Look. It’s blooming.”
The end
The Story of the Kings of Hell MC will be concluded in “In the Arms of the Beast”
(psst! There is a bonus chapter at the end!)
Coming soon!
In the Arms of the Beast
Kings of Hell MC #5
Neither Laurent nor Beast ever considered that they would make another pact with a devil, but in the spur of the moment, the temptation becomes too great, and they decide on one more deal.
This time, with Mr. Magpie.
What they get, though, might prove to be more than they can handle. The danger to the human world has already been a strain on their relationship, but Magpie’s gift brings out the worst in both Laurent and Beast. Confronted with each other’s flaws, they need to decide if, despite what they’ve been through together, maybe they’re just not meant to be.
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Guns n’ Boys (single-couple series)
Road of No Return
The Devil’s Ride
No Matter What
Red Hot
One Step Too Close
His Favorite Color is Blood
Heart Ripper
Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist
Bare-Knuckle Love
Mr. Jaguar
The Cattery
Werewolves of Chernobyl (written with L.A. Witt)
Break My Shell
Special Needs
The Copper Horse (single-couple trilogy)
Stung
Scavengers (single-couple series)
Crazy Kinky Dirty Love (single-couple series)
The Art of Mutual Pleasure
The Black Sheep and the Rotten Apple
Hipster Brothel
—- You don’t fuck with the club president's son. —-
Tooth. Vice President of the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club. On a neverending quest for vengeance. The last thing he needs is becoming a permanent babysitter for a male hooker.
Lucifer. Fallen. Lost. Alone.
After a childhood filled with neglect and abuse, followed by his mother’s suicide, Lucifer set out into the world alone. There was nothing for him out there other than taking it one day at a time. As the bastard son of the Coffin Nails club president, Lucifer never got much fatherly love. So when the Nails show up at the strip joint Lucifer works in, the last thing he expects is to be put in the custody of Tooth, the Nails Vice President famous for his gruesome interrogation techniques. The man proves to be the sexiest beast Lucifer has ever met. He’s also older, straight, and an itch Luci can’t ever scratch.
Tooth’s life came to a halt twelve years ago. His lover got brutally murdered, police never found the perpetrators, and all leads were dead ends. To find peace and his own justice, Tooth joined the Coffin Nails, but years on, he’s gotten nowhere with the case, yet still lives on with the burning fire for revenge.
Babysitting a deeply scarred teenager with a talent for disappearing is the last thing on his bucket list. He promised himself to never get attached to someone like him again. To make sure the openly gay boy is safe in the clubhouse, Tooth is stuck keeping an eye on him. The big, blue, attention seeking gaze is drawing Tooth in, but fucking the president’s son is a complete no-go, even when both their feelings go beyond lust.
What Tooth doesn’t know is that Lucifer might hold the key to the closure Tooth so desperately needs.
WARNING Contains adult content: a gritty storyline, sex, explicit language, violence and abuse. Inappropriate use of dental tools and milk.
Themes: Prostitution, Outlaw Motorcycle Club, organized crime, homophobia, family issues, coming out, discipline/punishment, organ snatching, hurt-comfort, age gap
Genre: contemporary gay erotic dark romance
Length: ~ 125,000 words (Standalone novel, no cliffhanger.)
—- Love is sour like a Sicilian lemon. —-
The Family is always right.
The Family doesn’t forget.
The Family pays for blood in blood.
Domenico Acerbi grew up in the shade of Sicilian lemon trees ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor.
When Seth, the younger son of the Don is kidnapped, it’s Domenico who is sent to get him back. The man he finds though, is not the boy he knew all those years ago. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer.
Seth Villani wants nothing to do with the mafia. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a say when the Family pulls him right back into its fold after his mother’s death. Thrown into a den of serpents otherwise known as the Villani Family, Seth has to find a way to navigate in the maze of lies. But when Domenico Acerbi, the most vicious snake of them all, sinks his fangs into Seth, the venom changes into an aphrodisiac that courses through Seth’s veins.
Domenico knows his life is about to change when he gets the order to train Seth up to the role of future Don. Seth isn’t made for it. He isn’t even made. But a man Domenico knows he would never have to fear might just be someone he’s always needed.
If Seth is doomed to follow in his father's footsteps, he might as well enjoy himself—with the most intoxicating man he’s ever met. Maybe he can even fool himself into believing that Domenico isn’t a handsome sociopath who kills for a living.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: Enemies to lovers, mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime
Genre: Dark, twisted erotic romance / crime thriller
Erotic content: Explicit gay sex, coercion
Length: ~110,000 words (book 1)
WARNING: Adult content. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you.
‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.
Post-Credits Scene
They entered the empty room which was tiled white from floor to ceiling. Magpie gestured to the only item in the space, a tall vase decorated with porcelain flowers. Tiger’s Eye and Amber both knew what to do and approached the container with soft steps.
Magpie closed his eyes and stood in the middle of the room with his arms raised. When both beautiful boys returned with cupped hands full of brocade pomade, Magpie felt his muscles relax in anticipation of its touch. He moaned when Tiger’s Eye’s large, skillful hands gently rubbed the warm mixture into Magpie’s skin. With Amber massaging his shoulders and back, Magpie let go of all the tiresome memories, of politics, and of the conversation he’d had with his lawyer earlier that day. They mattered nothing in comparison to the hands of handsome boys.
