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  Shadowfall Shorts

  Tales of a Dark Legacy ~ Short Stories

  L. Ann & L. Gene Brown

  Copyright © 2016, 2017, 2018 by Crow Fiction. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Shadowfall Shorts (A Dark Legacy)

  Other Books by L. Ann & L. Gene Brown

  Other Books By L. Gene Brown

  Dedication

  Complicated

  Another Day At The Office

  Interlude

  What Happens In Vegas...

  About The Authors

  Newsletter

  First Edition: Dec 2017

  Four Short Stories set in the Dark Legacy world.

  Other Books by L. Ann & L. Gene Brown

  Bonded In Blood – A Dark Legacy Book 1

  Taz I’Ane – arrogant, irreverent, womanising – Heir Apparent to the House of Nikaris, the largest and most powerful House in the Vampire Nation.

  Morganna Satori, top of the chain of the world’s deadliest and most feared assassins – as lethal and she is beautiful.

  Two people who couldn’t be more opposite. And whose only connection to one-another is a torrid one night’s stand in Las Vegas, 6 months past.

  Now they have been thrown together to investigate a string of grisly murders, perpetrated by what appears to be a homicidal mad man in control of a savage army of children.

  The question is not whether or not they can survive their seemingly impossible assignment. But whether they will survive each other.

  Other Books By L. Gene Brown

  The Gemini Hustle (The Zodiac Files Book 1)

  Two guys walk into a bar...

  ... but it's no joke when Zodiac agent Ray Slater's manhunt runs afoul of Harry Finn's undercover op, burning both men's covers—along with some of the local real estate.

  Now the two men form an uneasy partnership, one that takes them from the depths of the planet Ócala's understreet dives to the pinnacle of its pleasure palaces, and straight into the heart of an interstellar crime syndicate.

  Here, Ray and Harry find themselves entangled with two women gifted with psionic abilities—and burdened by secrets—who will change both men’s lives, forever.

  Dedication

  Both authors would like to give a huge thanks to all the fans of our stories so far for their unending enthusiasm and support. A special shout out to Kalli, whose enthusiasm is contagious!

  Shadowfall Shorts

  Tales of a Dark Legacy ~ Short Stories

  L. Ann & L. Gene Brown

  Complicated

  DRU WAS BORED. SHE APPRECIATED THE FACT her friends and family had arranged a party for her birthday, she really did, but sometimes she wondered if there was ever anything more to life than sitting around a table listening to them dishing the dirt on turnbloods, humans and the dirty dealings of the pureblood royalty. Of course, there was always the gossip of who was sleeping with who, or whose wife had been caught with husbands not their own. But gossip was not something that she enjoyed - hadn't enjoyed for a long time. Not since she was the subject of it when her engagement to Christiaan Van Schorrel had come to a public and shaming end. Squashing down the memory of her ex-fiancé, she propped her chin on a hand and gazed out over the dancefloor, looking for something, anything to use as an excuse to move, and found her eyes snagged by the arrival of a couple. The woman, instantly recognisable as Arcadia Black - the trashy vampire romance novelist - who had a side-job as what appeared to be a courtesan to many of the richer vampires. Rumour had it, Dru mused to herself as she watched the woman gaze around her challengingly, that she used a lot of her personal bedroom antics in her novels and she wondered if that was true and whether the man beside her had been her inspiration at all.

  He looked the part, she thought, letting her eyes run over him. Tall... very tall, she amended. Long thick dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck, golden tanned skin a startling contract against the white of his shirt which was open at the throat. She could see the glint of a chain just under the material and wondered if it lay upon hair as dark as that on his head or bare skin, and it was that thought which brought her back to herself with a start and glance at her friends guiltily to see if they'd noticed her unusual fascination. Luckily, they were too involved in their conversation about shoes, and Dru found her eyes drifting back to where Arcadia and her friend had paused to talk to another couple. She watched as he tipped his head down to hear what Arcadia was saying, then caught her breath when his eyes lifted and locked with hers over the woman's shoulder. White teeth flashed into a grin and he winked at her. Dru sucked in a breath, her own eyes widening at the sudden heat that flooded through her and she turned away abruptly.

  Her movement caught her friends’ attention and they turned to her.

  "Are you alright?" Poppy asked, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Gosh, I'm sorry darling, I forgot to say happy birthday when I arrived."

  Dru smiled, a quick jerk of her lips. "It's alright. I think we're all a bit old to be celebrating birthdays really."

  "You're never too old for birthdays," Chantelle joined the conversation. "And I'd give anything to have that wrapped up in a bow for me." She nodded toward a table close by and Dru knew without looking who Chantelle was referring to. "I can't believe he's with her though."

  "He?" Dru had to ask, and followed the direction of Chantelle's gaze to where, sure enough, Arcadia stood.

  The other two girls exchanged glances. "Of course, you don't know! You haven't come to Seattle before, have you?" When Dru shook her head, the girls laughed excitedly. "Oh Dru! This could be just what you need!"

  "Need?" Dru began to feel a sense of dread. "I don't need anything."

  "Everybody needs a night with one of Seattle's Unholy Trinity, darling."

  "Unholy Trinity?" Dru frowned at her friends. "What are you talking about?"

  It won't please your mother though, so you'd have to be careful," Chantelle ignored her question. "But it'd be worth it. I'm told out of the three of them, Isaac Trumaine is .... well... the most wild."

  "Three of them?" Dru caught her friend's hand. "Will you please tell me what you're talking about?"

  "We could be her alibi. Clarissa isn't expecting her home tonight anyway," Poppy spoke over Dru excitedly.

  "Wait! Alibi for what?" Dru's voice was higher than she meant it to be, drawing attention from the group nearby and, once again, her eyes were trapped by a pair of laughing green ones for a brief second. Breaking contact, she bent her head and pretended to look for her bag. "It's stuffy in here," she told her two friends. "I'm going to get some air out in the courtyard."

  Polly and Chantelle exchanged glances. "We're sorry, Dru. We're only teasing," Polly said, covering Dru's hand with hers. "We'll behave."

  "It's not that. I'm just a little warm," she fanned her face. "Why don't you two get some drinks and I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She rose to her feet and headed toward the door which led to a small private courtyard.

  Once outside, she took in a
deep breath of the chilly Seattle air. She knew her two friends meant well, that they were aware how restricted her life had become since the failed engagement. But she knew that it was safer to keep her head down and out of the limelight, no matter how restless that made her. But there were times, like tonight, when she wished she could do as her friends did and just enjoy life.

  The sound of a shoe scraping on concrete had her spinning round. "What do you want?" The words blurted out before she could stop them, and she covered her mouth in horror at the silence that followed it.

  One black winged brow arched upwards above amused green eyes and he waved the unlit cheroot in his fingers in front of her. "Human law says I can't smoke this inside." His voice was deep, husky with the slightest hint of an accent she didn't recognise. He paused and fished out a silver lighter from his jacket pocket and flicked it open. "Smoking kills humans, you know." A curl of smoke peeled away from his lips.

  "Where's Ms Black?"

  His smile flashed quickly. "Working the room, seeing if there's any fresh blood."

  "That doesn't bother you?"

  "Should it? Arc is her own woman. If she finds something she prefers, she's welcome to it." he shrugged.

  Dru felt her bottom lip drop and hastily snapped her mouth shut. "Something she prefers over you?" He chuckled and Dru realised there had been a note of disbelief in her voice. "I just meant that -"

  "I know what you meant," he spoke with the cheroot hanging from his lips while he patted the pockets of his jacket and pants, clearly looking for something, then pulled out a hip flask. Unscrewing the lid, he offered it to her. "You look like you could do with a strong drink."

  Dru shook her head. "No thank you."

  "Suit yourself." He held the cheroot between two fingers and lifted the flask to his lips to take a long drink and Dru found herself following the movement of his throat as he swallowed. Lowering the flask, he looked at her. "Sure?" He tilted the flask in her direction. "It's just some single malt, nothing more adventurous than that." When she hesitated, he smiled. "If the two women you're with in there are your friends, you're going to need it."

  Dru laughed and reached for the flask. "They do have the ability to drive me to drink." The drink burned as it went down her throat and she coughed, tears springing to her eyes. She felt, rather than saw, him move and then his hand was on her back.

  "Stop trying to cough and breathe at the same time," he told her. "That's it, slow breaths." When she finally stopped coughing, his hand smoothed down her spine, coming to a stop just above the curve of her bottom. With his other hand he tucked a finger beneath her chin and raised her face, wiping away the tears on her cheeks with his thumb. "Not a whiskey drinker, huh?" he asked.

  "Are you certain it wasn't paint stripper?" she managed to whisper through a throat that still burned.

  "I'm certain." That fleeting smile appeared again. "So, these friends of yours. I couldn't help but overhear their thoughts about how you should spend the night."

  Dru groaned. "Just don't!"

  "You don't agree then?" His fingers were still touching her face and he stroked his thumb along her jaw. "Shame, I was going to offer my services." His sharp gaze didn't miss the way her eyes widened at his words.

  "You're trying to tease me," Dru told him, stepping backwards, tension stiffening her spine when the hand resting there dipped lower still.

  "Am I?" He tilted his head, and followed her. She stopped when her back hit the wall and he lifted his hand and ran a fingertip along her collarbone, following the scooped neckline of her top and paused at the buttons at the centre. Holding her eyes with his, he saw fear quickly masked and briefly wondered who had put it there. Slowly, giving her ample opportunity to stop him, he flicked the top button open with deft expertise then the second and third in quick succession and parted the material. When she didn't stop him or move away, he let his eyes lower and gazed at the scarlet lacy bra that he had uncovered.

  "Red," he murmured. "I didn't think you'd be a sedate as your clothes suggested."

  She drew breath to respond, but found her mouth covered by his before she could say anything, his tongue sliding between her already parted lips. He tasted of whiskey, of smoke and of something darker, more decadent than anything she'd ever tasted before and Dru realised just how many years it had been since a man had kissed her. She felt his hand brush against her bra and then a rush of cool air hit her breast, making her gasp. His mouth lifted from hers and, once again, he held her gaze with his.

  "If I'm misreading the signs, you need to tell me now," he told her. She swallowed but said nothing and he nodded. "Watch me then," he whispered and looked down at where his fingers lay against her skin. She followed his gaze and watched as his long tanned fingers stroked across her breast, rolling the nipple between his thumb and finger before pinching gently and making it harden. Dru bit back a moan and resisted the urge to arch her back and press her breast more firmly into his palm. When he bared her other breast, and began to toy with that one as well, the sensation was too much and her eyes drifted shut.

  "No, eyes open. Keep watching," he told her and stilled his caresses until she'd lifted her lashes and refocused on his hands. Her fingers curled, nails biting into her palms as she fought to bring her body back under control - a battle she lost the moment he leaned forward and ran his tongue across one peaked tip. Her breathing quickened when she felt his lips surround and then suckle on the sensitive peak, his teeth capturing and tugging it upwards until it pulled from his mouth itself and then repeating the action. His palm smoothed down over her stomach and under the waistband of her skirt, continuing over the scrap of lace and cupping the damp molten heat between her thighs. "Are these red too?" he asked and lifted his head to see her jerky nod. "Show me."

  "Sh-show you?" Dru repeated uncertainly.

  Taking her hand, he led her to the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. "Sit here."

  He dropped to his knees in front of her and ran his fingers up her legs, pushing her skirt up along with them until it was around her waist, then knelt back on his heels. "Show me."

  Slowly, inhibitions and shyness battling with a desire and eroticism she'd never felt before, Dru parted her legs to display the small piece of red lace that covered the heart of her.

  "You're beautiful," he told her and Dru wondered what he saw, how she looked displayed in front of him. He eased forward between her legs and kissed his way up her thigh. Hooking one finger around her panties, he pulled it to one side. "Keep watching me." And then his tongue was tasting her; licking, stroking, exploring her sex until she was moaning and gasping with the sheer pleasure of it. He glanced up, making sure her eyes were still on him, and smiled. "Don't come until I say."

  He saw her eyes flicker, that hint of fear showing again before she squashed it down. She wanted to question him, to stop him but his tongue was inside her and all thought splintered. When he rose to his feet, and his fingers replaced his tongue, he pushed first one then two fingers deep and used his thumb to stroke her, driving her desire higher until she was begging him to stop.. to go on... to stop again. Dru wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he kissed her again. He nipped at her bottom lip, then lifted his mouth to her ear. "Come for me," he breathed, and she did, her body shuddering its release while he held her securely against him, muffling the sounds of her moans against his shoulder. He kept her there, held tight in his arms until her body was still then gently set her upright.

  In silence, he redressed her, buttoning closed her blouse and settling her skirt back into place, then stepped back and gazed at her. "Was I just teasing you?" he asked, then turned on his heel and left her alone in the courtyard.

  Dru stayed where she was, her mind replaying the last few minutes. Had she really allowed a stranger to touch her like that? In a public place? She blinked, focusing on the door and shivered. Anyone could have walked in on them! Her eyes fell on the still-lit cheroot that he must have dropped, and her lips curved into a shaky smil
e.

  "Happy birthday, Dru," she whispered to herself, took a deep breath and re-entered the club only to bounce off Isaac's chest as he came back through the door.

  "What are you -" His hands curved over her shoulders and his mouth descended, covering hers before she could complete the sentence. He moved forwards, taking her with him until her back hit the wall. Running his hands down her arms, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, pulling her against him.

  "Will anyone miss you if you leave?" he pulled his lips from hers to ask.

  Breathless, Dru couldn't reply straight away. She shook her head mutely.

  "Come with me," he invited. "Let's get out of here."

  She was tempted, Dru admitted to herself. God, she was tempted. "I can't -" she brought her hands up to push against his shoulders, and stop him taking her mouth again. He turned his attention to her throat, dipping his head to press kisses along the sensitive skin behind her ear.

  "You want to."

  Her hands, supposed to be pushing him away, clung to his shoulders and she tipped her head sideways, granting him clearer access to her throat. "Yes," she admitted. "But I can't."

  "Why not?"

  "It's my party."

  "It's your birthday?" He drew back slightly to meet her eyes, smiling at her nod. "I'll be your birthday present. You can take me home and unwrap me."

  She laughed at that and gave in to the temptation of touching his face. "Are you always this confident?"

  "Always." He caught a finger between his lips and nipped gently. "Especially when I want something."

  "And you want me?" She shook her head. "When you have Ms. Black waiting in there for you?"

  "You don't believe me." As he spoke, he unwound one arm from around her waist and caught her hand in his. Pressing her palm to his chest, he pushed it downwards between their bodies until her fingers touched his erection through his pants. "I want you."