The Crimson Z
Robert Cloud
Lee Rush
Richard Savage
Abby Blythe
Kara Elsberry
ISBN 0-9774682-8-3

Collection Paranormal
Stories
688 paperback pages
Multi-format ebook $6.99
Paperback $29.99
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The Crimson Z has it all, contemporary, historical, sweet, sexy, erotic.

The Crimson Z Includes:

Love of a Pendant's Heart
A Short Novella
by Lee Rush

The Anniversary
A Short Novella
By Richard Savage

Incorrigible
A Novella
by Abby Blythe

On The Wings of a Dream
A Novelette
by Kara Elsberry

The Blood Ritual of the Crimson Z
A Novel
by Robert Cloud

The Awakening
A Long Novella
by Robert Cloud

Chapter Three

Anne leaned against the wall in her foyer and watched the
officer open the door. He led the coroner and the forensics
team through the house to the basement. Her heart beat
double time. What had possessed her? She'd committed a
crime—tampering with evidence at a crime scene. The weight
of the necklace in her pocket accused her of her deception.
Once again, she'd acted out of character, unable to resist a
compulsion to act.

She decided to move to the living room to watch the
parade of uniformed people troop through her home to the
basement. Nearby, Sam and Deb followed into the room,
chatting easily. But then Debra usually did when she had a
man she wanted in her sites. Sam was definitely worth the
effort.

"If you don't need me any longer, officer, I'm going to
head out. I have a date," Sam said when the officer with his
stomach dipping slightly over his belt strode into the room.
The police officer paused and looked at him for a couple of
seconds before he nodded. "I have your number if I need to
ask anything more."

Sam glanced over at Anne and winked. "This certainly has
been the most eventful welcome-to-the-neighborhood visit
I've ever experienced."

"That's for sure." At his broad grin, heat swept across
Anne's cheeks. Spontaneous, steamy sex with a near stranger
and a body behind a bricked wall in her basement—definitely
topped the meter for strange. Anne looked at the officer. "I
only moved in yesterday."

Unexpectedly, his lips twitched in a half smile. Perhaps
there was a sense of humor lurking under his serious look.
"After this, unpacking boxes will seem pretty tame."

Anne felt the weight of male appreciation in the detective's
gaze and an answering hollow ache deep inside her. What the
heck was going on with her? If a chubby man in blue could
switch on her libido, she needed to take her temperature.

Heck. She probably needed a whole psych evaluation.

"Right now, tame is perfectly fine by me." She needed
time to reflect on everything that had happened today to her
and to what they had found.

She stepped back as the mystery victim enclosed in a body
bag and riding on a stretcher rolled through the foyer.
"Cause of death?" the detective asked the stocky fellow
with coroner stamped in bold letters across his back.
"Best guess ... blunt force trauma ... with lethal force. The
skull was fractured and compressed."

Bludgeoned to death. At the thought, Anne shuddered. The
blow might have been lethal, but from the way the body was
curled on the floor, she had a feeling death hadn't been
instantaneous.

Within the hour, the detective and his associates were
gone. Anne dropped on the couch.

"What a day!" Anne scrubbed her hand across the back of
her neck, easing kinks in her knotted muscles.

"I'm heading out to a friend's cottage tonight for a beach
party. Why don't you tag along? After today, you could
probably use the distraction." Deb grinned. "We can even go
skinny dipping if you'd like."

Yesterday, heck, even this morning, she probably would
have passed, but now, the invitation tempted her. "When?"

Perfectly sculpted brows arched in surprise, then Deb
grinned. "Now. Go put on your swimsuit. We'll grab a bite to
eat on the way."

The journey to their destination lasted only thirty minutes,
but it had felt much longer to Anne who was caught in a
twilight zone of disbelief as much from her own
uncharacteristic behavior as from finding the body in her
home.

Anne slid the gold charm back and forth on the chain as
Deb pulled to a spot behind a trio of vehicles on the side of a
wooded lane.

"Time to party!" Deb twisted in her seat and pulled a
canvas bag from the back seat.

Caught in a jumble of conflicting emotions, Anne grasped
the handle of her own bag and then opened the car door. She
climbed out of the car, then followed Deb down the hardpacked
dirt lane beside the line of cars.

Deb turned and said, "Mike and his significant other built
this place about a year ago. I've been down a couple of times
this summer. It's amazing."

Anne had heard about their parties—food, fun, and sex—
no drugs allowed. Still, second thoughts dogged her steps.
"Deb, I..."

Curls bounced as her friend stopped and swung around to
face her. "Second thoughts?"

"Third, fourth and fifth." She hitched the straps of her bag
higher on her shoulder. "Sometimes it feels as if..." How could
she describe the uncharacteristic lack of inhibitions that
welled up inside her? "I'm starting to feel like two women.
This morning with Sam, a part of me couldn't believe what
was happening, and yet, I didn't want to ... I couldn't stop."

"Hallelujah!" Deb looped her arm around Anne's.

"Sometimes you think too hard. Maybe it's a sexual
awakening ... you just needed a kiss from the right prince or
several princes to let go and live a bit."

"Ditto to that thought," Virginia added, liking Anne's friend
more and more. Between the two of them, they should be
able to help Anne loosen up and sample some of life's best
delicacies—men.

The burst of energy generated by her steamy union with
the Viking wannabe had given off enough energy so that
she'd been able to force Anne to take the necklace before it
was confiscated by the hunky police officer. She couldn't allow
the necklace to fall into his possession. It was her anchor to
this dimension, and if it had been locked away in a box in an
evidence locker, any chance of bringing her murderer to
justice would have vanished along with her chance of passing
over.

Another good lay should generate enough energy for me to
make an appearance. Inside, she grinned. "Let's find a nice,
delicious hunk to expand your horizons, Annie, my girl," she
murmured. "And help me make an appearance."

As Anne emerged from the bedroom where she'd taken off
her street clothes to reveal a one-piece swimsuit. She
scanned the people milling about the large gathering room.
She felt over-dressed, even prudish. Most of the women wore
triangular pieces of spandex that barely covered their pointed
nipples and pubic triangles.

"Anne? This is a surprise."

"Jason," she replied without turning around. Her heart
sank to the hardwood floor beneath her bare feet as she
turned slowly to face the man who'd offered the familiar
deep-voiced greeting. She came face to face with Jason
MacIsaac who was a friend of Mark's. Why did he have to be
here? His distance and unnerving stares had always made her
uncomfortable.

"And to think I almost didn't come," he said.

Wishing he hadn't, Anne lifted her gaze to meet his.
Instead of the scorn or derision she'd expected to find, frank
and totally male admiration warmed his deep brown eyes.
"Aren't you glad you changed your mind?"
The flirtatious words had slipped through her lips as if
someone else had placed them on the tip of her tongue. Heat
burned its way across her face as she watched as his dark,
straight eyebrows lifted in surprise, and dimples creased his
cheeks at the corners of his mouth.

"I certainly am," he returned, laugh lines fanning out from
the corners of his eyes. "I always regretted that Mark saw you
first."

"What?" She pulled in a sharp breath, stunned as much by
his warm smile as his statement. Never had she suspected
anything lurked behind his neutral gaze other than a
calculator planning his next financial venture. "I never knew."

"You weren't supposed to. Mark was one of my best
friends. I wasn't about to poach in his territory, but I wanted
to pump air and pound the shit out of him all at the same
time for being such a jerk and then ending it with you."

Surprise startled a soft laughter through her lips. The
knots of tension his appearance prompted started to ease.
This man was both foreign and familiar all at the same time.
Assumptions she'd made about him started to melt under the
heat simmering in his gaze.

He stepped closer and cupped her elbow with his hand.
"Let's get a drink and catch up."

"That would be nice," she returned, actually meaning the
words and not just offering a platitude. The dismay she'd felt
at his appearance was quickly dissipating. Though she still
wasn't used to a Jason who openly expressed his desire for
her, he was familiar enough so that his presence felt like an
anchor in a sea of uncertainty. The events of the day had
turned her life upside down, and she was still off balance and
not quite comfortable in her new skin, but at least Jason was
familiar even though it was the first time she'd seen behind
his reserve.

She snuck a glance at her companion as they moved
between chatting couples in the great room as they made
their way toward the kitchen. Her gaze drifted from his lips to
his chest. Whorls of light brown hair followed the muscular
definition of his pecs then narrowed as it followed a tempting
trail to the waist of his very brief swimsuit. She'd always
admired Jason's classic good looks. Admired them? She
nearly snorted aloud. Jason surpassed good looking by miles.
If sex appeal could become incarnate, it would be him. Only
his chilly demeanor had made her keep her distance.

Even in sweats after a run, he'd always managed to look
as if he'd stepped off a GQ page. His looks combined with his
Adonis physic were a lethal combination, and the reason she'd
been surprised when she'd learned he was a successful
banker. In her mind, the word banker had brought to mind
images of a grizzle-haired man with a paunch not an athletic,
drop-dead gorgeous man.

She took a soda from the tin washbasin filled with ice and
cans.

"A beer?" she asked, automatically reaching for the brand
she knew he preferred. Strange the things people
remembered. How you could know so much about a person
without really knowing them.

He nodded, his gaze drifting toward the v in her swimsuit.
"Thanks."

He popped the tab then took a drink.

"So, I heard you bought a house," he said as they strolled
through the kitchen door onto the broad covered veranda
overlooking a sloping lawn and sandy beach.

"I moved in yesterday and found a skeleton in my
basement this afternoon," she said, with a wry grin, her gaze
following a thin band of orange resting on the horizon.

"Seriously?"

"Really." Their gazes met, and Anne didn't have any
trouble reading the male hunger in his eyes. At one time it
would have unsettled her, perhaps even sent her scurrying for
cover, but this time it made her feel attractive and desirable.

Muted melodies from speakers hidden in the foliage drifted
around them. "Would you like to dance?" He offered her his
hand, then looked toward the couples on the lawn swaying to
the soft, sensual melodies. Some completely out of sync with
the music, their hips creating a sensual rhythm of their own.

"That would be nice." Anne placed her palm against his,
glad she had come. She had taken a new road, destination
unknown, and she was happy to see where it took her.

Virginia circled the couple moving with the music,
anticipation humming through her. The virile hunger in the
fellow's eyes could singe and satisfy all at the same time.

"Annie, let's have some fun with this one. I have a feeling
he knows how to take his time and savor the moment, and
the fact that he's totally smitten with you doesn't hurt."
All she had to do was to keep whispering suggestive
remarks to help the cause. Anne seemed to be very receptive
to her suggestions even though she was unaware of her
presence.

Virginia paused and studied Anne. She was looking at her
partner with wide eyes full of lust and uncertainty. What had
happened to make Annie-girl so insecure, so unwilling to take
risks? The fact that she cared about Anne surprised Virginia.

When she was alive, she probably wouldn't have given the
retiring young woman a second look, writing her off as a
prude, but spending decades with only her own thoughts as
company had sobered her, softened her self-centered outlook
on life. She sensed there was a lot more to Annie Kemper
than met the eye. She suspected she was a woman worthy of
a special man.

Jason's hand slid to the small of Annie's back, drawing
Virginia's attention back to the couple moving in time to the
sensual tune. Invisible lips twitched at the sight of his arousal
stretching the spandex of his scrap of a swimsuit. If he was
any bigger the tip of his arousal would be peeking out of his
suit. She drifted closer to them, leaning over Annie's
shoulder. "He's hot to trot, girl. Give him a reason to hope."
Annie closed the distance between them, sandwiching his
arousal between their bodies.

"That's it, Annie. Relax, have fun, let your hair down."
Virginia floated on her back toward Jason until her head
was level with his shoulder. "Treat her right," she murmured
in his ear. "And if you don't, you'll have me to answer to."

Toy's Story:
Aquisition of a Sex Toy
By Robert Cloud

Bound By Fate
By Lee Rush

Fool Me Once
By Jessica Joy
(Jessica also writes as Abby Blythe)

1 Fan -- Books given this rating include very minimal sexual activity between hero and heroine. Sexual activity that does occur is described without the use of graphic terms. These titles will be found in our Tender Destinations line and in our Amorous Adventures line.

2 Fan -- Books given this rating include a moderate amount of sexual activity between hero and heroine, however it is described in romantic as opposed to graphic terms. These books will be found in our Tender Destinations and Amorous Adventures lines.

3 Fans -- Books given this rating include a lot of sexuality between hero and heroine. The activity may be described graphically but will not include fetish elements. Books with this rating will be found in our Sensuous Journeys line and in our Amorous Adventures line.

4 Fans -- Book given this rating include a lot of sexuality between hero and heroine and will typically include fetish elements. Sexuality in these books is described graphically but with a softer touch than our 5 Fan titles. Books with the 4 fan rating will be found in our Forbidden Experiences line as well as our Amorous Adventures line.

5 Fans -- Books with this rating include a very high degree of sexuality between hero and heroine. These books include fetish elements which are described graphically. Books with this rating will be found in our Forbidden Experiences and Amorous Adventures lines.

Tender Destinations
Are poignant stories of meeting and falling in love. They contain a minimal level of sexuality.

Sensuous Journeys
Are emotional and poignant but include explicit descriptions of the lovemaking between hero and heroine. There is no explicit fetish component in these books.

Forbidden Experiences
Are powerful and emotional love stories with explicit sexuality which includes fetish content.

Amorous Adventures
Are love stories with an element of suspense or danger.