by
The Minneapolis/Saint Paul 77th police precinct has been labeled as a group of misfits. It's unfair. In reality, they have loads of talent. Paranormal talent. Except, of course, no one knows that. Their job? Chasing and capturing all those creepy crawly things that go bump – or worse – in the night, and sending them back to their realms. In other words, they keep the people of the city safe and totally unaware that doors to other realms even exist.
Nick, their boss, is the keeper of those cosmic openings. He is the only one who can find, open, shut, and more importantly, seal other-worldly realm doors, preferably with its scary and sometimes homicidal inhabitants on the other side. Vicious hungry monsters waiting for Nick to mess up.
Or for an opening Nick misses.
From a single tear comes an unspeakable horror. A dangerous vampire. Ferociously brutal, he is a killing machine. A creature so lethal it will take Nick’s entire team and absolutely all their power to hunt him down to send him back. And the last thing Nick needs is another partner. Especially one as sexy as Arrain.
But Arrain intends on being more to Nick than just a partner. Much more. Something Nick cannot allow. Not with the devastating secrets he harbors.
Except Arrain has a few secrets of his own and one thing he knows. Nick is next on the vampire’s list. The handsome monster wants not only to seduce the talented Door Keeper, but to suck his power over doors right out of him. If that happens, the world of humans is doomed. Can Arrain make Nick trust him in time to save him?
- 2 To Be Read lists
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 46-65
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Age Difference, Alpha Character, Arranged Pairing, Badass Hero, Big Character / Little Character, Hurt / Comfort, May/December, Rescue
Word Count: 38,000
Setting: city
Languages Available: English
A while later, Mason walked back into Nick’s office.
“Hey, big guy. What’d you find out?”
“Not a whole hell of a lot. Kid blocked me.”
Nick jerked his head up from the mess he was still sorting through on the floor near his crunched desk. “Blocked you?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’m not really sure what happened. He seems innocent enough, but either he’s freaked out or he’s a natural block.”
“What the hell is a natural block? What are you talking about?”
“There’s no doubt in my mind the kid is hiding something, but I can’t get to it. I don’t think it’s anything sinister. I think he’s just a scared little rabbit.”
“You can’t get to it?”
“Well, I got bits and pieces. That’s why I think it’s natural…or something.”
“I never heard of such a thing.”
“Yeah, like we’ve heard of half the damn shit we’ve had thrown at us in this last month.”
READ MORE“I don’t like him holding out on us, innocent or not. You want me to go talk to him? See if maybe it’s simply the kid’s nerves that are blocking you?”
Mason shrugged. “Give it a shot.”
Nick followed Mason back down to the entry where they had found a wooden crate for Chad to sit on. A bit crowded now, Charlie was standing off to the side, appearing haunted. She always did. Wendy was finger-combing her hair, sparks arcing and snapping with every stroke.
“Wendy, I keep telling you to knock it off. Go find something to do, like giving power to the east side.”
Woman was going to drive him nuts. She glared at him with her big blue eyes, arching an eyebrow as she shifted her ample frame away from the wall she was leaning against.
“Really, Nick? The east side?”
Nick grunted. Yeah, it was a bad joke. But it had already been two months since Wendy’s very poor aim at an Orb Shifter had robbed the entire east side of electricity for three solid days. Being it was in the middle of a ridiculously hot summer, the timing sucked. Even though the 77th was charged with the cleanup, which took the better part of another week, she still needed to be over the humiliation of her horrendous mistake by now. Of course, humiliation was not something the 77th let go of easily. Especially of one of its own.
“Seriously, Wendy. If you’re going to stick around, shut off your power. You’ve got my skin tingling.”
Wendy sauntered up to Nick and put a hand under his chin. With the heels she had on, she ended up being slightly taller than Nick, so she had to lift up in order to bring her lips a scant inch away from his.
“Sweetheart, that’s the power of my sex appeal, not my power over electricity.”
Behind him Mason flat-out laughed, which pissed Wendy off as her hair crackled and moved like it was alive. Thankfully, she had let go of Nick’s chin before that power arced through him as well.
Wendy stomped up to Mason, punching him in the arm. “Just because you’re blind to a woman’s assets does not mean Nick is.”
Wiping tears from his eyes, Mason next rubbed his arm. “Shit, woman, you pack a punch. And, no, I am not blind to a woman’s assets. But you have to know Nick is even gayer than me.”
Nick flinched at the way the conversation had completely deteriorated. “Guys, you want to shut up? We have a person with a problem here and this is highly inappropriate.” Nick turned and cast a raised eyebrow at Mason. “And just how is it I am gayer than you? Is that even possible?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I do not want to hear the answer to that.”
Nick turned to Chad, who had sat wide-eyed through the quick bantering, but as soon as Nick caught his gaze again, he smiled brilliantly.
“You’re gay?”
Ah damn. “That has nothing to do with anything.” He sat on another wooden crate opposite Chad, which obviously Mason had retrieved for himself. He leaned over, put his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands in front of him. “Mason tells me you’re…well, let me lay it out for you. A certain number of our group here have…abilities. Like you. Mason’s is being able to tell if someone is telling the truth or not, and he seems to think you’re holding back some information. It’s fine. But again, we won’t help you if we don’t have the full story. I refuse to let my people go out into something they don’t have full knowledge of. Your choice.”
“His ability is to read minds, and he told you I blocked him.”
Nick could not help his surprise from showing on his face. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah. I know all about the 77th. I have to admit, I did block him.” Chad reached out and ran a finger up the side of Nick’s arm. “I won’t block you, though. I want you inside me.”
Nick jerked back out of reach of Chad. What the hell was that? He had responded to the touch as if he had just turned on porn, but what shocked him even more was the image that slammed into his brain—Chad’s face in orgasm.
COLLAPSE
