Free Nightlord Lover by Kathy Kulig

tried filling her lungs. Getting
the hots for her landlord was such a bad idea, but her body was the traitor.
    “Tell me what she said,” he pressed.
    She didn’t want to get Jordan in trouble. Larissa didn’t
know much about her but they were becoming good friends. “Not much. She said I
should trust you and Ramon, and implied I might be in danger.”
    “There are influences in this town, a means to allow all to
live in peace and thrive in prosperity, but it does come at a price.”
    “So there is a criminal element here,” she said. “Are
you part of it?”
    He smiled and leaned closer, which made her hotter and weak-kneed.
Her breasts felt full, nipples sensitive. She desired his touch, craved it.
Certainly she had enough common sense and willpower to resist him, however, at
the moment, she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and draw his mouth onto
hers. Her arms felt like lead. She dropped them to her sides.
    “It’s not what you think. It’s a symbiotic relationship
between worlds, with a supernatural element, but there’s some competition and
that’s where the danger comes in.”
    “Supernatural?” She laughed, but her laugh fell flat when
she noticed he wasn’t smiling. Could he be telling the truth?
    “Yes, you’ve experienced the supernatural already. Down at
the towpath, here in your apartment. That man on your balcony wasn’t a dream.
He’s one of many who are fighting to claim you and has another agenda.”
    “No one claims me or possesses me. I decide who I go out
with.”
    He laughed. “Those mortal rules don’t apply here. If you’re
not under someone’s protection, you won’t survive. Your business will fail. You’re
beautiful and will become someone’s blood slave if you don’t choose a
nightlord yourself.”
    As crazy as his words sounded, Larissa knew there was some level
of truth there. Why was she so trusting? Did he have that power or was she
thoroughly captivated? Resistance drained out of her. “So I wasn’t dreaming
when you and Ramon were in my apartment the other night making love to me?”
    “No, that wasn’t us.” He groaned in a low voice. “As much as
the idea appeals to me. We have the power to astral project to other locations
if an area isn’t under protection. There we can have astral sex with a mortal
partner. What you experienced was something different. I believe Lazaro sent
images into your mind, trying to trick you into opening the door using a power
similar to hypnosis. He wants to claim you. But Ramon placed a temporary
protection spell that stopped him.”
    “He wants me as a crimson swan? Jordan mentioned that. I
also heard the term crimson slave. What are these things?”
    “A crimson swan is a willing participant who gives an
offering. A crimson slave gives frequent offerings and has no free will. A
slave is controlled because of the lack of mortal blood.”
    She shook her head. “I still don’t understand. This sounds
too bizarre to me. Why don’t you just tell me straight who you are and what the
Guild is?”
    His smile both excited and terrified her. “That would be our
pleasure.”
    She crossed her arms, waiting.
    “The Guild is an ancient sect set up in small communities to
assist in their prosperity and protection in exchange for a blood offering,”
Garrick said.
    “I suspected as much,” Larissa stated. She knew this was
like a mob. “What percentage of my earnings am I supposed to offer ?
    Ramon laughed. “No, babe. Blood offering is exactly what it
is. Payment in blood.”
    She laughed but it was a nervous one. Then they all grew
quiet. She got up and walked to her door. “Like vampires? Not funny. It’s late.
I think you should go.”
    “I think she needs proof,” Ramon said to Garrick.
    “Proof?” Larissa glared at them. “I’d love to see this.”
    One instant Garrick was seated on the sofa, the next, he was
standing beside her. She cried out and jumped away from him. “How did you do
that?”
    “Ability to