Just got cover art this week for my demon novella, Dirty Deeds, which will be out with Loose Id on April 27, 2010
Created by the fantabulous Christine Griffin
Interested in knowing more about the story?
Here is the VERY unoffical blurb:
Five souls in five days…What’s a girl to do?
As a newly turned Demon, Melody loves being a bad bad girl. Sex is her weapon and she knows how to use it. But when her boss demands five souls in five days, she’s in an awful fix. Desperate to find those souls, in as easy a way possible, she heads for The Dungeon. The hot new BDSM club in town where she’s bound to find just the kind of man she’s looking for.
Drake is the Master here in the Dungeon. Anything and everything he wants is for the taking…until he meets Melody. But despite his need to master the strong willed Demon, he harbors a secret that threatens their bond, Melody’s soul, and even Immortality.
Excerpt: (yeah, you need to be an adult cause I like dirty words. *g*)
“I tried to tell you I wasn’t cut out to be a soul-sucking bitch.” Melody cast her gaze down, evading her boss’s compelling eyes, afraid of the look. A summons to the depths of hell for an impromptu job performance review wasn’t her idea of fun. She had ignored the warnings she’d received before, so when her body dematerialized in midstroke, she hadn’t been all that surprised. What pissed her off was being pulled from her lover’s embrace when she’d been about to reach an orgasm. That had just been mean.
“Well, Melody, if you don’t want to meet your soul quota, how about an extended period of time in the Lake of Fire instead? Say a century or two for starters. Maybe that would change your mind.”
She cringed. Been there, done that, seen the movie, and don’t want to do it again.
“Isn’t there anything else available more suited to my tastes? Say like greed or gluttony or something like that?” She kept her gaze focused on her lap inspecting her nails, thinking about getting a new manicure. Anything to keep from looking into his eyes. Her demon boss was an ancient who, with one direct look, could make a person give up all control, making anyone do all manner of very bad things.
“No!” Harold’s gnarled hand pounded on his desk.
She flinched, raising her head, barely remembering to avoid his eyes.
“I’ve told you before, so I shouldn’t have to keep reminding you. Assignments in hell are permanent, and either you accept the job I gave you and perform it well, or suffer along with the rest of the residents.”
Melody took a deep breath. She’d heard this speech many times before, and she knew there was no other choice. She’d made her bed; now it was time to lie in it…literally.
“Look at yourself, Melody.” A handheld mirror appeared in her lap, and she picked it up to view her new self once again. “This is what you traded your soul for. You begged and pleaded for a beautiful human form, and I granted your desire for a price. One that you agreed upon.”
She put the mirror back down on her lap. She didn’t need a mirror to know how much her appearance had changed. Gone was the overweight, dishwater blonde virgin librarian she had once been. Instead she’d become the goddess she’d always dreamed of.
At five foot seven inches and one hundred twenty-four pounds, she had just the right amount of hips and curves to attract any man she desired. Her blonde hair was a lush golden mane framing her heart-shaped face and showing off her green eyes and pouty lips to perfection. Every man she met wanted to fuck her and her sex life had gone from nonexistent to nonstop since the change. It didn’t hurt that she could sense their true desires if she wanted to. This private knowledge made her job of getting them into bed even easier than she’d ever imagined.
Problem was, every time she fucked a man, Harold expected her to do so with one whose soul was ready to be taken. Harold created her power so when the object of her desire, be it man or woman, achieved orgasm, she could reach in and absorb their marked souls from their body.
She’d managed to do it a few times. And everything had been awesome right up until she reached in and grabbed their blackened souls. It felt just like reaching into a tub of black and green slimy sludge. At least that’s what she imagined it felt like, as she hadn’t actually stuck her hand in a tub of sludge. She shivered at the memory.
“Melody! Are you listening to me?”
She jerked back to her boss, Harold, meeting his gaze head on. Fuck. I’m a goner now.
“You’ve had more than your fair share of warnings, dear. I should have punished you long before now. But for some reason, I like you.”
A heated blast of air hit her torso, tightening her nipples to sharp points. Between her legs, her sex heated and clenched in anticipation. A little side effect Harold failed to mention when they forged their agreement. Everything made her horny and she was damn near helpless to resist it.
Her boss, however, had never once made any moves on her, so this was rather unexpected. A slight brush against the sensitive skin of her breast tore a low groan from her mouth. Invisible hands plucked at her nipples, pinching to the point of erotic pain, yet Harold hadn’t moved and no one else was in the room. Her eyes couldn’t leave his to investigate her surroundings and honestly, she didn’t care. Her boss’s power enthralled her as her body heated up with the delicious expectation of hot sweaty sex and the release she craved. Light fingers traveled up the inside of her legs and underneath her short red skirt. The gentle graze across the tops of her thigh-highs sent chills over her skin. She arched into the pressure at her breasts while wiggling her hips closer to the featherlike fingers moving toward her now aching pussy.
“Melody, are you ready to do your job?”
She nodded, lost to the sensations enflaming her desire.
“Are you going to start meeting your quota immediately?”
A breathless yes escaped her lips as the tips of the fingers on her thighs slid along her moist folds, barely grazing the hardened little bud of flesh that would rocket her to climax with a tad more attention.
“Aaaahhhh.” She lifted her bare butt, pushing the fingers farther into her moisture. Just a little more. A little more pressure.
Harold released his power, the touch on her body disappearing as quickly as it had started. She slumped in the chair, bereft from the near orgasm once again. Frustration boiled inside her as she bit back the desire to scream at him.
“Melody, you have five days. Five days to meet this month’s quota, or else.” She didn’t want to know what the “or else” was. She knew for certain it would be far worse than anything she could imagine. “Do you really understand this is your final opportunity? Either you become the productive little Sex Demon you were made to be, or I’ll be forced to terminate your contract and turn you over to the gatekeeper for the appropriate eternal punishment.” He scribbled something in a folder and then slammed it shut.
She didn’t need to hear anything more. She may not want to steal the vile souls required of her, but the other option would be far worse. “Yes, sir, I understand.”
“Good girl.” His puffed up and twisted lips curved into a bit of a smile as she got up to leave. “You go on back home now and take care of business. Five days, Melody. I’m not kidding about this.”
Right. Five days to collect five souls, or I’m going to find out that hell does have more fury than a woman scorned.
