Museum of Sex
Current mood: frisky
Category: Romance and Relationships

Yesterday, I went to NYC to meet up with my friend, author Lynne Connolly.  Believe it or not, it took someone from London to bring me, an erotic author from NY, to the New York Museum of Sex.  Go figure, I didn't even know we had one!  I've been to all the toy stores, (My books must be read with toy or man in hand), checked out to unique clubs, and enjoyed plays such as Ten Naked Men.  How did I miss it???

Well, Lynne had her guide book in hand and led me to the museum I was born to explore.  If you ever get to NY, go!  I don't want to ruin some of the sweet surprises, but a few items really caught my attention.

First, let's discuss how women with a man handy found pleasure.  Oh, yes.  They had toys.  Of course, the had to crank those babies up by hand before electricity.  Men may praise Franklin and Edison for empowering their tools, but women worship these men for bringing the wonder of electricity to their toys.  Of course, the poor ladies had to plug them in back then.  Sigh.  I had to wipe away a tear as I looked at those short cords.  And, to be honest, those antique vibrators looked more like a man's powertool!  Hm.  Wonder who made them?

As you walk through the museum, you come to realize how lucky you are to live during this age of technological wonders and how lucky you are that you don't have to imagine what happens after a couple in a movie hop into bed.  Oh...did I fail to mention there is a whole floor devoted to movies? 

Lynne and I had a great time.  We dicussed how the museum gave us tons of ideas for our books.  We oooed and ahhhed over toys we had somehow missed in our own shopping excursions.  We laughed at some of the old movies and nudged each other forward whenever the new ones held us spellbound.  Finally, we shopped.  Great little gift shop, btw. 

Go check it out if you live nearby!  You might want to make sure you have a man or toy nearby, though, for when you get home.

Doreen

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READER & REVIEWER Responses! AND FIRST CHAPTER!
Current mood: giddy

This is for those who missed the bulletin! 

Buy Hunting Diana Now!

HUNTING DIANA

Chapter One

Listening to the roars reverberating through the auditorium of Mina's Cove High School, Lucian feared his fellow night creatures had all reached that point where the beast inside reigns supreme–or as the younger vamps would say, gone over the edge.
Those old enough to recall Van Helsing's reign of terror and those years away from cutting their adult fangs cowered in the shadows in fear. The females, usually so adept at keeping their mates from releasing their inner beasts, shrieked and tore at their hair. The males bared their fangs, snarled, and roared as they clutched their children in their arms. Some even spoke of leaving Mina's Cove.
Up until now, they'd all felt safe living along the secluded, northern inlets of Lake George. Thanks to the combined powers of their elders, humans approaching by air, on land, or from the lake failed to see the vampires' village or majestic homes, failed to see the metal shutters descending over every window moments before dawn. The vampires' peaceful co-existence with the humans sharing this little slice of heaven might have gone on for centuries.
If not for Frank Nostrum. Now, for the first time since Dracula and Mina brought them to this haven, the vampires of Lake George, creatures capable of snapping a man's spine in two with no more effort than it took to pop open a beer, hid within the confines of Mina's Cove, too terrified to leave the protection of their elders. Lucian couldn't blame them. This morning his brother, Marek, Frank Nostrum's latest victim, had merged with all their minds during his agonizing demise beneath the dawn's searing rays. His screams had ripped them all from their slumber.
"Silence," Tobias, Lucian's grandfather, commanded in a steel-laden voice. Dust floated down from the timbers rattling overhead. "For over a hundred years, we've lived here with only the occasional hunter to deal with, and you dare risk exposing us with this despicable display? I have watched over you, as I promised Mina and Dracula when they left on their quest, but I can not protect you from your own carelessness."
A hush fell over the crowd. Only the sound of a summer breeze whistling through the blinds broke the silence. Tobias' wrath could incinerate them all if let loose. His eyes filled with crimson tears as he met each terrified gaze. Lucian had never seen his grandfather so angry, so grief-stricken.
"I too heard Marek's screams at dawn. I too lay trapped in my home while he burned beneath the sun in Nostrum's pen. My daughter, Olympia," Tobias glanced down at Lucian's mother, "is right. It is time that Frank Nostrum pay for hunting and killing our kind. He has condemned so many of us to an eternity without our loved ones, an eternity of grief. It is only right that his punishment fit his crimes. That he face a future without his greatest love. His daughter, Diana."
"But the angels," a female yelled from the back. "What of the angels?"
"Their wrath could turn us all into Slashers," one of the females closer to the front shrieked.
The need for revenge churned in Lucian's stomach, but he was a Champion d'Angelique, a protector of all innocents. Those sent to watch the hunter had yet to prove Diana Nostrum even believed in vampires, much less helped her father hunt them. He knew he should speak up, be the voice of reason, but how could he not avenge his stepbrother's murder or those who perished in the hunter's pen before Marek? He longed to wipe Frank Nostrum from the face of the earth.
But kill his daughter? They hadn't killed an innocent human since the angels returned Dracula to Mina.
"Please, you must listen to me," Damien, Lucian's stepfather, pleaded. The other elders sharing the stage with him held up their hands for silence. "I beg of you, don't taint my son's memory with the blood of an innocent woman."
"I say an eye for an eye," Lucian's mother, Olympia, cried out knocking one vamp after another out of her way as she neared the stage. "Nostrum killed my son. I demand we take his daughter. As Marek's mother, I have the right to choose the hunter's sentence. I want his daughter's head!"
Damien bared his fangs. "You are not Marek's mother."
Olympia scaled the four foot stage in one leap. "I am more his mother than the human bitch that spit him out." Shoving Damien aside before her feet touched the floor, she fell to her knees before Tobias. "Father, Diana is the one luring our vamps into the hunter's pen. She's Nostrum's weapon. She bewitches them somehow. I say, let her taste our blood. Just a drop, just enough to send her to Fentmore."
"Turn her into a Slasher?" Damien's fists clenched. "Tobias, I beg you. Don't even consider this."
Olympia's eyes shone with hatred as she turned to Damien. Only Lucian knew that his mother would do anything to win his stepfather's heart, only he knew that she spent countless nights crying because Damien still pined for Marek's human mother.
Olympia touched her forehead to Tobias' knees then raised her head. "As the only mother Marek knew, I deserve to pass sentence on his murderer."
Tobias' eyes filled with sorrow. "Very well, Olympia, I'll send—"
"Lucian," Olympia cut in.
Lucian stumbled back as the vampires who had crowded around him shifted away. The Champion in him demanded he refuse. As he opened his mouth to do just that, he recalled Marek's screams. Their minds had merged so completely, Lucian felt his pain, smelt his flesh burning. The anguished roar lodged in his throat since dawn threatened to break free.
"But he's a Champion," Damien said, raking his hand through his hair. "Why the hell would you choose Lucian?"
"It's his right...as Marek's stepbrother." Olympia sat on her father's lap and cupped his cheeks. "Please, father. Send Lucian."
"You know that's impossible, Olympia. He'll never go through with it." Tobias stared pointedly into Olympia's eyes. "He's a Champion and you know as well as I that he's her—"
Olympia pressed her fingers over Tobias' mouth. "He'll do it, if you command him to, father." She kissed Tobias' furrowed brow and slid something into his hand. "Do it. Let the daughter of the hunter become the hunted."
Closing his eyes, Tobias raised his hand. "Take this, Lucian. Follow Diana Nostrum's scent."
A red strip of cloth floated from Tobias' palm towards Lucian's outstretched hand. It unfurled and caught the light of the overhead fixtures. Clenching his fingers around it the moment it landed in his palm, Lucian brought his fist up to his nose and drew in a deep breath. A strange feeling shimmered down his spine.
Tobias continued, "You have one week to prove Diana Nostrum's innocence. May the angels forgive us all if you fail."
Lowering his hand, Lucian barely heard his grandfather. Blood surged to his groin. A hunger he couldn't comprehend drew his hand back up to his face. His fangs shot down and sliced open his lower lip. Muscles and nerves quivered with the need to find Diana and...
Blinking against the pain and lust engulfing him, he opened his hand. A scant, strip of lace draped across his palm. The skin beneath it burned. He merged his mind with his grandfather's. What spell have you woven into this?
Tobias rose and turned to leave.
Grandfather!
Just when Lucian thought his grandfather would leave without answering, Tobias' voice filtered into his mind. I have done nothing, Lucian. The cloth holds only her scent. Nothing more.
"Lucian, don't do this." Damien appeared beside him and grasped his arm.
"Mother believes our vamps follow Diana into her father's pen." Lucian fought to resurrect the rage he'd felt only moments before Diana's scent blindsided him. He crushed the cloth in his fist and held it under Damien's nose. "This is how she lures them. This is why they follow her."
Damien took the cloth and sniffed. "She smells no different than any other human."
"You feel nothing? Nothing?"
When Damien sniffed again then only shrugged, Lucian snatched back the lace that had incited his senses. Instantly, his body grew more aroused than he ever recalled. "What the hell is this, Damien? Some kind of trick?"
Damien blanched. "What did you feel, Lucian?"
Vampires patted Lucian's back as they passed on their way out. Voices both mental and physical offered condolences for the loss of his stepbrother and thanked him for coming to their aid.
"Answer me, Lucian. What did you feel?"
Guilt brought a lie to his lips. "Nothing."
Damien's fingers wrapped around Lucian's bicep. "Lucian, listen—"
Curling his upper lip high above his fangs, Lucian let out a low warning growl. "I feel nothing." He turned and shoved the cloth into the back pocket of his jeans. The desire to find Diana and mount her suffocated him until he caught a trace of her scent coming from outside. Yanking his arm free, he pushed his way through the door and followed. Outside, he found the trail of her scent and began the hunt for Diana.
*****
"You've taken enough, Mother. Anymore, and you'll kill him." Most summer evenings, Lucian relished the orchestra of his fellow night creatures—crickets singing their sweet melody, owls providing a soft bass, a raccoon's call to its mate adding the melancholy cry of a lone violin. Tonight he willed them to silence their clamoring so that he might hear the whisper of a breath, the soft thump of a heartbeat, the slightest sign that life remained in his mother's latest victim.
When his mother merely moaned in reply, he pushed off from the boulder he'd been leaning against and in one swift leap, crossed the yard. A toy shovel snapped beneath his feet. "Enough!"
His mother's head jerked up. Blood dripped from her fangs and splashed onto the tiny creature's glazed eyes. "I'll decide when I've had enough. What are you going to do? Bring me before the elders for killing a worthless animal?" Holding his gaze, she narrowed her eyes and brought the kitten back up to her mouth.
"Take another drop and I will."
With a toss of her head, she swept a lock of her hair over her shoulder then curled her tongue over her fangs and sucked until no sign of her deed marred a single, pure white tooth. "It's not like I stole it, Luc. The stupid animal offered itself to me." She pouted and kissed the kitten's nose. "Didn't you, sweetie?"
Closing his eyes, Lucian shook his head. One look and fully matured vamps who knew his mother, who had been warned and knew better, succumbed. What chance did an innocent have?
She held out the limp body. "Come on, Luc. Have a taste. There's no blood sweeter than a kitten's. Not even a virgin's."
"Touché, Mother." He kept his face devoid of emotion and shielded his thoughts. Her remark resurrected memories of the dazed virgins she had dragged before him in his youth, virgins she had held down while he'd taken their innocence and blood, virgins who had gazed upon him with revulsion, who had considered his kind nothing more than vile creatures more suited to dwell in nightmares than in the real world. He wished he could forget that time ever existed; yet, the memory of their faces saved him whenever the pure scent of virgin blood stirred a hunger he barely controlled.
"What's wrong, Luc? Still battling that addiction?"
Lucian released a low warning growl.
"Fine." She tossed the kitten over her shoulder. "You're just as boring as a recovering alcoholic."
He lurched forward and caught the kitten inches from the ground. The rich scent of its blood invaded his senses, mocking her claim that it could ever compare to virgin's blood. Baring his fangs, he glared at the woman he doubted would have shared her black hair and blue eyes if she hadn't been forced to pass them on in her womb. "Either tell me why you're here or leave and let me get this over with."
She glanced down at the kitten cradled against his chest. Rolling her eyes, she turned and stepped over a low hedge into the next yard. "You really disappoint me, Luc. How long has it been since you've indulged? Ten years?"
Following her only because Diana's scent would have led him that way anyway, he muttered, "I indulge."
"You know, damn well, I'm not talking about drinking some vamp whore's blood. Admit it. You miss human blood...the rush of adrenaline from their fear...the mind-blowing orgasms."
"That's where you and I differ, Mother. I find that fear during sex spoils the taste of blood." He gently messaged the fur over the kitten's heart and willed it to beat.
Snorting, his mother headed for the lake.
A faint heartbeat tapped into his palm. He let out a relieved breath and licked the kitten's wounds so they would heal before dawn. Carrying it in one hand as he picked fur from his tongue, he nearly bumped into his mother when she abruptly stopped and spun around.
"Aren't you getting a little old for pets?"
Bile filled his mouth. As a child he had poured his blood down the throats of the innocent refuse of his mother's ravenous appetite believing it would save them. Within days his "pets" had transformed into bloodthirsty creatures that attacked any vampire they encountered. Too many of his "pets" died before he realized they had lost their sanity to a hunger his blood had spawned, a hunger only his blood could satisfy. Too many before he learned how vampire blood turned animals and humans into Slashers. "Just tell me why the hell you're here."
"Impatient as ever." She pulled an antique lace hanky from the back pocket of her jeans and delicately dabbed at the corners of her mouth. "You don't have to follow Diana, you know. The files the elders emailed you on her and her father have more than enough information. And my puppets are her dearest friends. They could tell you anything you want."
"Not according to Damien and the other elders."
"Damien?" she snarled, "Diana is not the innocent he described at the elder's meeting. You want a virgin, Luc? One lives right across the lake. A pure, sweet virgin just waiting to be plucked."
"Good bye, Mother." Lucian turned and leapt into the air. Below, a car pulled off the road on the other side of the homes lining the lake. Open windows released the perfumes and feminine scents of those in the car. Only one held his attention. Only one hit him with enough force to nearly send him plummeting to the ground. Following an older, lingering scent, that told him she'd come this way before, he soared over a dense wall of ten-foot high hemlocks and landed in the middle of a lakefront yard. Filling his lungs, he knew he'd come to the end of his hunt. Diana's essence permeated the area.
His mother alit beside him.
Ignoring her, he peered over the lake. Not a single boat disturbed the puddles of moonlight bathing in the gently rippling water. From a hundred foot wide beach, a well-manicured lawn sloped up to a three-story colonial mansion. The full moon consorted with a warm breeze which tossed aside the leaves and slender branches barring its way as it swept through the surrounding trees; a multitude of shadows danced across the white clapboard house and along the balconies wrapping around each floor.
Like many of the mini-estates nestled on the banks of Lake George, this one's borders were lined with towering hemlocks that insured privacy. Tilting his head, he mentally scanned the interior of the house. As far as he could sense, two of the three inhabitants slept while the third, an adolescent male, masturbated in his bed.
Not far from the shore, a rusty swing creaked as it swayed beneath the lowest branch of an old Weeping Cherry tree. A canopy of tear-drop leaves rustled from a sudden gust of wind.
Unbidden, the realization that his stepbrother, Marek, would have loved this place released the grief he'd managed so far to control. He took to the air and hovered for a moment above the yard that now shimmered beneath a crimson veil from the bloody tears filling his eyes. Soon, Frank Nostrum would share his pain; soon, the vampire hunter would lose a piece of his heart.
He soared across the yard and over the other hemlock barrier then cursed when he found his mother already waiting for him. "Don't you have something better to do than follow me around?"
"You want to know about Diana? There's no need to waste a week of perfectly good nights. I know more about her than anyone."
His mother's penchant for torturing him with tidbits of information irked him as much now as it had when he was a child. Years of experience, though, had taught him the benefits of hiding his impatience. He shrugged as if he could care less that once again she had piqued his curiosity. "I hate to admit it, but you're right," he said, absently caressing the tiny silken ears of the kitten. "Watching Nostrum's daughter for a week will be nothing but a waste of time."
"Of course, I was right!" She spat on the ground then groaned and slumped back against the trunk of a pine. A frown marred her flawless brow. She pushed away from the tree and, gripping his chin in her cold, slender fingers, stared intently into his eyes. "Listen, Luc. Don't talk to Diana. If you insist on following her this week, keep your distance. Then give her your blood and leave. I'd bet my fangs Diana's the lure." Her eyes shimmered. Don't touch her, Luc. And, no matter what happens, don't drink a drop of her blood. It's cursed. It will infect your mind. Do you hear me? Do not drink her blood.
At first, the fear and concern filling his mother's eyes revived the child who once foolishly embraced any sign of affection she cast his way but then he felt the tingling that signaled her attempt to control his mind. He yanked his head and heart from her grasp. Baring his fangs, he roared into her mind with enough force to knock down most vampires. Get the hell out of my head!
"Diana's a whore, Luc. I've watched her spread her legs to get her way since she was a teen. She'll seduce you and before you know it, you'll be facing the dawn in her father's pen."
The distant sound of car doors slamming caught his attention. Gazing towards the yard they'd just left, he asked, "How will I know which one is her?"
"You've never seen her?" His mother stumbled back a step as if he had slapped her. She raked the fingers of one hand through her hair and shook her head. "But I thought...all these years...you've never once felt you should see what the daughter of Lake George's vampire hunter looks like? My God, Luc, you're our Champion. It's your job to protect us from the likes of Nostrum and his daughter."
"I protect the helpless, and you, dear Mother, are far from helpless."
She gaped at him. "You must have bumped into her."
"This new generation keeps me busy all night and leaves no time for checking out some little chit who may or may not have a hand in her father's crimes." He almost added that the elders had forbade him to go near the Nostrums the day Diana was born, but he'd learned at a young age that it was safer not to give his mother more information than necessary.
Back then, he hadn't questioned the elder's edict. Frank Nostrum had been nothing more than an annoyance, a harmless human mocked by vampires and humans for traipsing through the mountainside and along the banks of the lake each night in search of the ever-elusive vampire he claimed to have seen as a child. Lucian had no interest in Nostrum or his baby girl.
Back then.
But for the past several years, Nostrum had managed to kill some of their strongest vampires in his pen, and no amount of surveillance had revealed what weapon he used to lure and restrain them. In the last few months he'd taken down four.
The only preacher in Mina's Cove, Marek had protected Nostrum from retribution for years with sermons on forgiveness. Lucian's indifference and the hunter's safety net vanished the moment dawn's fiery rays touched Marek's skin.
"This changes everything. Everything!" His mother brushed past him and paced along the hemlocks, stopping occasionally to peek into the yard. "Okay, just let me think a minute."
His mother suddenly stopped pacing and nodded. "I'll watch her this week. Then you could give me your blood and I—"
"I will follow her. I will prove she knows about her father's crimes." Lucian's voice shook. "And I will avenge Marek's death."
"Of course, she knows about his crimes! Any fool can see that she's the weapon."
"I swear on Marek's soul and all those before him, if she lured him into that pen, I'll pour so much of my blood down her throat she'll drown in it."
"No!" His mother clutched his upper arms. "One drop, Luc. No more! And wait the damn week. If you don't, they'll think I had a hand in it and banish us both."
One week. An eternity for a vampire intent on revenge. He despised Frank and Diana Nostrum, hated putting off their punishment, and prayed the week would pass swiftly. Diana's innocence meant nothing.
A soft mewl brought his attention down to the kitten struggling within the tight grasp of his hand. Cold fingers skipped down his spine when he realized how close he'd come to crushing the fragile body. He immediately relaxed his grip and compelled the kitten to sleep while he sped up its natural ability to replenish its blood. "One week. Not a day more. Whether I find out how Nostrum captured Marek or not, Diana pays for his death a week from tonight."
"Remember, not a drop of her blood."
"Just the thought of her blood makes me sick." Lucian watched his mother vanish. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just joined forces with the devil.
Striding a short distance into the woods, he carefully placed the kitten near the base of a towering pine. "I'll be back, little one," he whispered.
When he returned to the hemlocks, he was surprised to find Damien waiting for him. Lucian lowered his head in deference to his elder and stepfather.
"What's happened to you, son?" Damien asked, raking his fingers through his hair and mussing the bittersweet chocolate spikes falling over his furrowed brow. "How could you even consider punishing an innocent woman for her father's crimes?"
"Her innocence means nothing," Lucian muttered, wishing he felt as convinced as he sounded.
"That's Olympia speaking, not you." Damien's voice was calm but Lucian heard the steely edge of his rising anger.
"Mother's right, Damien. We're fools if we think the man hasn't brought Diana up to follow in his footsteps."
Damien continued to stare intently into his eyes.
Lucian mentally swatted away the doubt and guilt Damien's mere presence inspired. "Marek wasn't just my stepbrother, Damien. He was my best friend, my confidant, my only light in this damned eternal darkness."
His stepfather's rage slammed into him, knocked him down, and sent him skidding back into a tree. The impact of his head hitting the trunk was nothing compared to the searing pain from his stepfather's anger battering his mind. He raised his eyes and flinched; crimson tears streamed down Damien's cheeks, a heartbreaking contradiction to the rage twisting his usually calm face.
Damien towered above him, his fangs longer than Lucian had ever seen, his fists clenched at his side. Your light? He roared into Lucian's mind. He was my son! My light! But I'm not blindly striking out at anyone who might be involved, am I? I'm not considering casting some poor, innocent woman into the pits of hell!
Clutching his head, Lucian stood up, fell down to one knee, then with a growl, forced himself back to his feet. "Jesus, Damien! You nearly fried me."
Damien lowered his head. His chest heaved as he drew in one long draft of air after another. Lucian waited, wondering why his stepfather, a vampire who rarely showed any extreme emotion, had so easily slipped over the edge.
When Damien finally raised his head, desperation filled his eyes. He pressed his palm against Lucian's chest. "Look into your heart, son. You don't want to do this."
Lucian shoved Damien's hand away and pounded the spot where it had been. "I have no heart! It incinerated with Marek in Frank Nostrum's pen. I'm dead inside, Damien, just like Frank believes we all are."
"I hope, for your sake, you're wrong, son. Mina help you if you aren't." Damien sighed and looked up at the moon. He frowned as if he were searching, questioning, then nodded and spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're here. She's a virgin, Lucian. Once again, your mother has set you upon a virgin. Remember that, tonight. And remember what you were. What you are, now. A Champion."
Before he could reply, his stepfather vanished.
He knew what he was. A Champion des Angelique. But he was off duty for this mission. Massaging his temples, Lucian peered through a slight breach in the hemlocks. A virgin. The red strip of cloth in his pocket felt as if it would burn through the denim separating it from his skin.
Three women in their mid-twenties slipped through an opening in the hemlock wall on the other side of the yard. Lucian focused his senses. Their voices, breathing, heart rate, and scent met with his scrutiny.
He recognized two of the women as his mother's puppets, identical twins with tall, model thin bodies and stunning faces that graced each equally. Their hair marked the only difference between them. Although both had soft brown curls, one had cut hers to rest at her jaw line while the other had streaked her waist-length hair with blonde. Hushed giggles mingled with whispers as they scanned the property before stepping free of the shadows.
Another beauty with piercing blue eyes and hair the color of wheat that streamed over her shoulders without a single ripple stood with the confidence of a woman who knew men found her irresistible and would do anything for a chance at her body. She sent a sultry gaze up at the house.
Lucian pegged her as Diana, the whore his mother had described, until she spoke. "Okay, so what's the big deal, Diana? Your grandmother was wrong." She pulled aside some branches and peered into the gap she'd just come through. "Diana?"
A fourth woman stumbled as she broke free of the hemlocks and landed face down on the dew covered grass. Lucian grinned when a string of muffled curses silenced her friends' laughter.
She ignored their outstretched hands and, scowling at the ground behind her, scrambled to her feet.
He drew in a hissing breath.
Petite compared to the others, not more than five foot three with breasts that would barely fill his hand, she brought out an instinctive need in him to protect. He watched as she drew up her shoulders and glared at the blond.
"Damnit, Terry, she's never wrong and you know it." The woman he now realized was Diana shot a glance at the house then shimmied out of her skirt. "If Nana Lina said I'd meet my soul mate tonight, then one of the guys I met tonight was him!"
Leaning forward, Lucian smirked. If her voice were any indication, Diana needed no protecting. He felt the strength of her conviction and her willingness to fight to defend it in each word. As she moved, muscles smoothly rippling beneath her skin revealed that her strength was not confined to her soul. He wondered if, like the female vampires, she would feel like steel encased in satin.
Terry rolled her eyes at the twins shedding their clothes beside her. "Did you guys see Diana's Mr. Right at Cabana's tonight?" They both giggled and shook their heads as she unclasped her bra. "Unless that nerd, the one you never would have glanced at if Nana Lina hadn't called—"
"He was not a nerd," Diana said with a soft laugh.
"Well, unless he's the love of your life," Terry continued, "or Mr. Right is some perv lurking in the bushes, face it, Di, you ain't meeting him tonight."
A wave of heat washed over Lucian. Watching the women went against every moral he possessed, every vow he'd made to the angels; yet, each discarded piece of Diana's clothing incited his body and, like a great mystery, insisted he remain and discover what had yet to be revealed.
He forced himself to close his eyes and reminded himself that this woman may have lured Marek to his death. The lump in his throat threatened to suffocate him. Why should she have another week of life? She already had one more day than Marek. Marek's wife and little girl didn't get another week with him.
Frank Nostrum didn't deserve another week with his daughter.
Compelling her to swim until she drowned would be kind compared to what Lucian had planned, but the idea of watching her slip under while her friends struggled against his mental hold was definitely tempting. Too tempting to ignore.
*****
Diana shuddered. One second the crisp night air caressed her skin, the next the air felt charged with electricity. A strange tingling that lifted her hair by the roots flowed over her head. She nodded in agreement with the sudden idea that she could swim across the lake but when she took a step towards the shore, the tingling returned, and she promptly forgot what she had been considering a moment before. She raised her hand to scratch her head, then froze. "Oh my God, Ter, I think there's a bug in my hair."
Terry immediately started sifting through her hair. "Okay, Di, don't freak out. It's probably just some moth."
Diana squeezed her eyes closed and forced herself to stand still while every muscle screamed that she run into the lake and drown whatever had crawled across her scalp. "Just get it out!"
"There's nothing in your hair. Wait a minute. Did you do that just so I'd stop making fun of Angelina's prediction?"
Diana glowered at her best friend. "The last time you convinced me to ignore one of Nana's predictions, I ended up losing my state title."
"Was that the year you puked all over my parent's carpet then passed out in our tub?" Cindy asked.
Unconvinced that nothing lurked in her hair, Diana bent over, flung her hair over her head, and answered as she combed her fingers through the knots and curls she could never seem to tame, "And woke up so sick and sore, I could barely raise my legs high enough to get out of the tub, much less kick some hotshot in the jaw."
Fingers parted her hair. Terry scowled through the opening. "Get over it, Di! That was in high school! And how was I supposed to know the champion kick boxer from California had moved here?"
"Nana Lina did." Diana flung her hair back over her head as she straightened. She yanked at the buttons of her shirt then shrugged out of it. Emphatically shaking her head, she added, "I love you, Terry, but you're not screwing this up for me. Not this time."
Terry draped her arm over Diana's bare shoulders, led her away from Mary and Cindy, then whispered, "Girlfriend, you need to see a therapist. You masturbate nearly every night, and yet you wait for Nana's permission to do the deed just because she predicted your virginity would hold some power over your soul mate."
"Don't forget the warning that if I failed in winning his heart, I'd spend eternity in a living hell while you and the rest of humanity faced ravenous beasts unleashed by—
"The wrath of the angels," Terry cut in with an ominous voice. "Hello!" Terry held up a finger. "One. All old ladies believe men only marry virgins. And they all believe that women who give out before marriage will go to hell." She raised another finger. "Two. Soul mate? Ravenous beasts? Need I say more?" Not waiting for a response, she shot up a third. "And three. No offense, Di, but your Dad's whacked, and she's his mother!"
Diana's stomach clenched. "And I'm his daughter. Does that make me nuts, too, Terry?"
"No, but—"
Diana sighed. "Look, you come home every night to a mother and father who miss you. It doesn't matter if you were gone a few hours or a few days. They missed you. You know they missed you." She glanced up at the stars and clutched the silver locket bearing her mother's picture. "I want that so much, it hurts. Someone who misses me, someone who's not too obsessed with—" She bit back her words and searched the dark windows overlooking the third floor balcony of the house for any sign of the boy who'd moved into town over the winter.
She could swear someone was watching, listening. She didn't feel it in her bones; she felt it on every inch of exposed skin. Heat washed over her body, lingering on her breasts, sweeping down her ribs, her stomach. She gasped and covered her mound even though she still wore her thong.
The shadows surrounding them seemed to press closer and closer. Her heart ached but she couldn't fathom why.
Her grandmother's prediction replayed in her mind. I see you and your soul mate surrounded by darkness. And butterfly wings—thousands of butterfly wings—fluttering against your heart. You offer him a white rose that is so flawless, so pure its light blinds him long enough for you to capture his heart. Then you will have what you've always desired, Diana. Then you will know eternal love. But fail in winning his heart, and you will spend eternity in a place even worse than Hell, Diana, while the rest of humanity falls beneath ravenous beasts the angels unleash ?
"What's wrong?" Terry asked, squeezing her shoulder.
Diana bit her lip and glanced up at the house. "Nothing. I'm just a little nervous."
"Look, sweetie," Terry said, "I understand how you feel. Really, I do. But you've lived your life by rules dictated by a woman who never leaves her house."
"In my family, we call that stability," she mumbled to herself. Her mother deserted her. Her father, obsessed with the idea that he was this century's Van Helsing, barely noticed her. A housebound grandmother who showered her with love and only asked that she wait for her go ahead to lose her virginity deserved her loyalty and obedience. "And I don't mind waiting."
"Yeah, right. I bet when she called and said tonight was the night, you nearly came in your pants." Terry let out a bark of laughter then covered her mouth and shot a quick glance up at the house.
Although the thought of finally being with a man terrified her as much as it excited her, Diana tossed her hair over her shoulder and Terry's arm with a flick of her head then grinned. "You've got that right."
When they rejoined Mary and Cindy beside their clothes, she slid her fingers under the straps of her thong and started to lower them. The hairs on back of her neck rose. Her hands stilled. She hesitated long enough to steal a glance at the windows before sliding her thong down her legs. The blinds and curtains didn't stir, but she still felt as if someone watched her every move. Dropping her thong, she looked up at the sky just as the moon disappeared behind a lone cloud. A cool breeze lifted her hair. The ends tickled her lower back. She stared up at the multitude of stars twinkling down at her and, with a mental wink at the moon, picked which star she'd dance for tonight. "Isn't it a beautiful night? It would have been perfect...making love under the stars."
"Been there, done that. The bugs kinda put a dent in the mood." Terry chuckled.
Cindy groaned. "Not to mention grass tickling your butt."
Diana giggled. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. "Or unwanted onlookers. We'd better get swimming before our young voyeur wakes up."
Mary slid behind Cindy and peeked at the house over her shoulder. "Maybe we should find another spot. I heard Bobby has a website where he's promising naked pics of Lake George girls. Something tells me, he means us."
Diana crossed her arms under her breasts. "We've been skinny dipping here since we were kids. I'll be damned if some horny kid is going to make us leave." She stared at the lake. Stars twinkled on the ebony blanket of water. She watched them flow into each other, touch, merge. "I thought tonight I'd be here with the love of my life, finally giving this twenty-five year old body what it should have had with Rickie Lemax in twelfth grade."
Terry let out a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, right. Like you'd ever give in on the first date. Then or now."
Diana grinned mischievously over her shoulder as she sashayed towards the shore. "Girls, I'm so horny I'd probably tear his clothes off in the first five minutes." She waited for Terry to catch up then added, her voice firm, "If I was sure he was the one Nana told me to wait for."
Terry ran in front of her and grabbed her arms. "See, you've got it backwards, Di. When I think I've met Mr. Right, he's gonna have to wait till I've convinced him I'm not a slut."
"Which you are!" Mary and Cindy said in unison as they ran past Diana and Terry into the water.
"I am not! Sluts have sex with anyone willing." Terry stuck out her chin. "I'm very choosey."
"Not!" Mary dove under to avoid the spray of water Terry kicked up.
Diana swished her toe back and forth in the cool water. "Well, I'm not totally led by Nana Lina's predictions. Her Mr. Right might not be right enough for me. It's not like as soon as she says go screw him, I'll let some stranger jump my bones. I'm not spreading my legs till I'm sure. That's really all she wants."
Terry leaned over and whispered. "Give up this crap about saving yourself for your soul mate, Di. Nana's old. Her predictions are probably as wrinkled as her butt. She said you'd meet him tonight, and you didn't. Doesn't that tell you something?"
"Man, I'll never get how you've held out so long, Di." Cindy said, as she floated on her back.
Terry licked her lips. "Especially with the last guy. The fireman? He had the kind of bod even I might go two nights with."
Diana closed her eyes, envisioning the washboard abs that had caught and held her attention for nearly a month. "Mmmm, he was tempting. He's still leaving me messages calling me a cock-teaser."
"Which you are." Cindy shouted from the water then dove under again when both Diana and Terry retaliated.
"I am not! The guys usually got more out of it than me. And Smokey the Bear left bruises all over my boobs, the creep." She poked a finger into the side of one of Terry's breasts. "Yours look and feel great, by the way."
Turning from side to side, Terry grinned. "They do, don't they?" She nodded down at Diana's breasts. "Well worth the money, honey. You could turn those Barely B's into Double D's by the end of the summer."
Diana ran her hands over her breasts and frowned. "I see nothing wrong with my perfectly full B's. If I had the money, I'd spend it on my nose."
"When you do meet Mr. Right, he's gonna be more interested in these than your crooked little nose." Terry flicked Diana's nipple and smirked when Diana gasped. "No, you're not too horny."
Diana rubbed her nipple, embarrassed by the way it hardened. "We'd better hurry. Our young Acteon," she whispered, nodding towards the house, "might wake up."
Terry laughed. "Then we'd just have to feed him to the dogs."

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO BUY HUNTING DIANA NOW!

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CROSS LEGS & SQUEEZE EXCERPT: ORSINI'S TANNER'S ANGEL
Current mood: excited
Category: Writing and Poetry

Warning! When man vs. toy, all hell breaks loose. This excerpt should be read with a man or toy nearby, preferably both.  Failure to due so may lead to crimes of passion. The author, Doreen Orsini, can not be held liable for males kidnapped, bound, and, ahem, enjoyed due to the following excerpt...or adult toy boutiques robbed.

Doreen Orsini admits that she just loves when a man gets a woman to "that point" then makes demands she will undoubtedly obey for the sake of pleasure.

 

"Doreen Orsini turns up the burner from the first sentence in Tanner's Angel and never turns down the heat in the slightest.  I challenge any reader to finish this book while sitting still without rushing for the toys, the ice, and a partner. Who knew a clash of cultures—Texas meets Italian Manhattan—could start such a fire? Doreen Orsini did—and by the time the reader's completed Tanner's Angel, the reader will realize it too. Buy this one, keep this one, reread this one. This is a do-NOT-miss." Frost of Twolips Reviews

ROMANCE AT HEART MAGAZINE:

Tanner's Angel is an erotic and delightful book, and is another rousing and arousing success. Doreen Orsini has a way of looking on the "dark side" and taking her readers along without disrespect, but guiding them along those more erotic paths with her characters. Tanner's Angel is a must buy, and a definite keeper. I find Ms Orsini's work fascinating and erotically entertaining, and recommend Tanner's Angel to all those who want a very different sort of read. Get it now at Triskelion Publishing, sit back, relax, and above all….ENJOY! Rose of Romance at Heart

JOYFULLY REVIEWED:

Tanner's Angel was a sexy whirlwind of a read.  Doreen Orsini knows how to make her readers feel every emotion of her characters.  Tanner is a sexy, strong-willed cowboy who knows what he wants and is very willing to go get it.  Angel is beautiful, smart, and bogged down by her sense of responsibility to her father and the bakery.  The chemistry between Tanner and Angel is instantaneous and incredibly hot.  Tanner's Angel is not only a very sexy story, but also, intensely emotional.  I was rooting for Tanner and Angel from the start and I was amazed at the things they had to overcome in order to find a future together.  Doreen Orsini knows how to write amazing stories!  I would love to have been Tanner's Angel.

ROMANCE JUNKIES REVIEWS:

TANNER'S ANGEL is a great book that readers will enjoy.  Tanner is a sexy southern stud that goes after what he wants with no holds barred.  Angel is the city girl that gets entranced by the small town boy who has an intense sensuality that can't be denied.  Together this couple is explosive and their romantic encounters are sizzling to say the least.  Doreen Orsini is a terrific author who has brought two opposites together and makes their tale of romance one to be remembered.

DOREEN ORSINI

Touch my neck...lick, kiss, and bite my neck...

I will submit to your every desire.

www.groups.yahoo.com/group/doreenorsiniromancers/join

www.myspace.com/doreenorsini

www.doreenorsini.com

 

8:30 AM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

The joy of researching erotica.
Current mood: naughty

As a writer, I must research.  While in the midst of research, many thanks are offered to the fates that led me to write erotic romances.  I can't imagine reading history book after history book just to ensure my facts are straight. Or memorizing all the layers of clothing worn during Victorian times. 

My research leads me down more exciting roads.  Yes, discovering the latest toy for single women and couples validates my books. Of course, if my character enters the world of BDSM, I need to spend hours learning terms, modes of dress and undress, and the beliefs of those living day to day in that world.  Sure, I may spend hours upon hours surfing websites and forums.  Drudgery? I'll let you answer that.

To ensure I use just the right verb or adjective, must I test and experiment.  Of course!  How can I say that something "stung for only a moment" or that "a slow burn spread out from where his hand had struck her" unless I knew for sure that she wouldn't have felt a "dull, throbbing pain".  The research was endless.

In Tanner's Angel, a vibrator, namely one with a busy little bunny, has kept my heroine happy up until a tall Texan enters her life.  She finds it hard to believe a man can outdo her toy.  Now, how could I possibly give a vibrator that much credit unless I ran a few tests?  Wouldn't want to lie to my readers.  Tanner may have convinced Angel.  I'm still not sure... 

Even with my paranormal romances, I was forced to drag my husband into trying this or trying that.  "Kiss me here so I know what Diana felt when Lucian walked up behind her and nibbled on her neck.  Ok, now here.  Lower.  Lower."  After an exhausting day at work, the man would often be met with..."Keep your clothes on so I know exactly how Lucian's jeans feels on her skin when she runs naked into his arms."  Poor hubby, he never had a moments rest.

Have I changed?  Oh, yes.  Has my marriage?  You bet it has.  I love writing.  I love writing erotic romances.  And there is no joy better than the joy of research.

Doreen

9:02 PM - 4 Comments - 7 Kudos - Add Comment

Welcome!
Current mood: content
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hi all!

I'm new to myspace, so any tips, links, or advice are appreciated.

An author of both Contemporary and Paranormal Erotic Romances, I thought this might be a good place to meet people and find fans. 

A little about my books...

 No One But Madison (May 2006)

An Erotic Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Copyright 2006 Doreen Orsini

"Train me." No one but Madison could bring Master D to his knees with those two simple words. The younger sister of three overbearing brothers, undercover journalist, Madison Garrett, can outfight, out curse, and outsmart any man. To uncover abuse in one of New York's BDSM clubs, she must learn the art of submission. Secret fantasies come to life when she discovers her arrogant boss, Drake Williams, behind her trainer's mask.

Drake could chain Madison and make her beg for his touch, but he soon realizes he'll never tame the woman he'll do anything to possess. When Subs matching Madison's description are brutally attacked, he takes her training to the highest level to protect the woman who has managed to enslave his heart.

Tanners Angel (July 2006)

An Erotic Contemporary Romp

Copyright 2006 Doreen Orsini

When Tanner bumps into Angel Roselli, he enters a rodeo like no other. His competition? A meddlesome father, an Italian stallion, and a vibrator with a bunny riding shotgun. The prize?  A ranch, an angel with dirty wings, and a whole lotta lovin'.

There's only one catch.  Angel has no intention of ever leaving NYC or Roselli's Bakery.  And she doubts any man can outdo her favorite toy. 

HUNTING DIANA (August 2006)

An Erotic Paranormal Romance

Copyright 2006 Doreen Orsini

A single kissa drop of blooda hunger denied. The vampire hunter's daughter would pay for his crimes, would become one of the bloodthirsty creatures vampires were before Mina's love for Dracula changed them all. Torn between duty and his feelings for Diana, Lucian carries out the sentence then sates her hunger for his blood with every kiss.  Until another interferes.

Abandoned by her mother, ignored by her father, Diana clings to a prediction that only Lucian can fill the void in her heart. An unexplainable hunger thrusts her into the arms of a creature she was brought up to despise, a creature she never believed truly existed. Will her failure to trust Lucian leave Diana abandoned, once again? 

Excerpts can be found on my website, www.doreenorsini.com.  But please, if you are under 18, stay out.

Doreen

10:22 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment