{"id":185,"date":"2014-12-17T16:33:17","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T21:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=185"},"modified":"2014-12-17T16:33:17","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T21:33:17","slug":"familiar-places-by-cameron-quintain","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=185","title":{"rendered":"Familiar Places by Cameron Quintain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>ebook: $2.99
\nISBN:<\/b> 9781613901083
\n9560 words<\/p>\n

[wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=24]<\/p>\n

The ebook edition is also available at: Barnes & Noble<\/a>, Amazon<\/a>, Smashwords<\/a>, Kobo <\/a>& AllRomanceEbooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time they had been together she had offered to make him immortal, to be her slave forever.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Kenneth is a private detective on a case, and to solve it he needs help from the beautiful and dominant vampire he once loved, once served. A girl is missing, possibly kidnapped by vampires, and Dinaria is Ken\u2019s only ally in his old haunts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe remembered the cool, sweet taste of her body, the way her nipples would darken and harden when they became flushed with blood, his blood.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Twelve years earlier, Dinaria\u2019s temptations had ruled his life, until the moment he had finally rejected her to make a life for himself. But now, as they hunt for the missing girl, a world of temptations swirls around them both.<\/p>\n

About the author: Cameron Quintain is a quiet librarian by day and a swashbuckling superhero by night. He is also the author of The Viscountess Investigates<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Look under the cut for an excerpt\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

He was twelve years older, but she was still the same. He had known it would be true, but somehow he still wasn\u2019t ready for the lurch he felt in his chest when he saw her sitting there. She stood out like some rare exotic flower in the mundane coffee shop. No one else noticed her; no one ever noticed her unless she wanted to be seen.<\/p>\n

Her hair hung heavy on her shoulders, glistening like platinum. Her dress was white, slightly off from the color of her skin so that her whole body seemed to reflect the light of the room. Death had hardened the curves of her body like a Cellini nude. The dress she wore clung in all the right places, but was slit on both sides to give her freedom of movement. Her long, pale legs were visible almost up to the thigh.<\/p>\n

Her face\u2014no, he wasn\u2019t ready to look at her face yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenneth,\u201d she said. Her voice was unchanged, charged with a faint exotic accent a linguist could spend a lifetime trying to place.
\nHe approached the table and there was an awkward moment when they did not hug or kiss, or shake hands. What was the proper etiquette for such a situation? The last time they had been together she had offered to make him immortal, to be her slave forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cDinaria,\u201d he said, trying to keep his voice neutral. When he slid into the seat across from her, he avoided looking at her face. It was still too early to risk making eye contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you called.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought she answered a little too quickly and wondered if there was a note of condescension in her voice. Was she making fun of him? It didn\u2019t matter. It was too late to back out now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking for a missing teenage girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you did become a police officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, well\u2026\u201d Kenneth shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It had been easier telling his mother what happened than it was to tell her. \u201cIt didn\u2019t work out. I guess I just wasn\u2019t cut out for it. I did get my private investigator\u2019s license.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wondered if she even knew what a private eye was. She had stopped paying attention to modern culture a few hundred years ago.
\n\u201cHer name is Callie Ferris. She\u2019s sixteen.\u201d He fished the school photos out of his pocket and showed her the fresh-faced brunette. \u201cShe\u2019s been gone for about a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dinaria glanced at the pictures and shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s not that I\u2019m not flattered, Kenneth, but why here and why me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore she left, she was showing all the signs: pale, anemic, huge appetite but losing weight. The doctors couldn\u2019t find anything wrong with her. Her mother saw teeth marks on her inner thigh when she stepped out of the shower. One day she left for school and didn\u2019t make it there. She never came back. The next night, she called her parents and told them not to worry or come looking for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere aren\u2019t that many vampires where I live, and they\u2019ve learned not to cross me. It seems I have a reputation,\u201d Kenneth explained.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you do,\u201d Dinaria cut him off. She had a mischievous grin that made her look like a naughty schoolgirl.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway.\u201d Kenneth suppressed a smile. \u201cNo one local had touched her. It seems to have been someone from the Russian mob. By the time I figured it out, he had vanished. My sources say he came from here. I\u2019m betting he returned with Callie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you came back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019ve been gone a long time. I couldn\u2019t think of anyone else to call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad you did.\u201d The smile was gone and she glanced around the room. \u201cThe black girl has skin like chocolate. What do you think of her?\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught himself looking around the room. There was an African American girl in her twenties nursing a latte at a table with a stack of textbooks next to her. \u201cI\u2019m serious,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cSo am I. If some idiot is kidnapping girls and dragging them here, it\u2019s bad for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think there\u2019s really a vampire working for the Russian mob?\u201d
\n\u201cI think the Russian mob is working for a vampire. There have been a lot of new faces lately. A few years ago Moscow was like the Wild West, but now the government is starting to crack down and they\u2019re moving out. It\u2019s like when the Chinese undead moved in after Hong Kong was taken over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, don\u2019t remind me. If I never see another hopping vampire again, I\u2019ll be a happy man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou seemed to like that girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow was I supposed to know her father was a dragon?\u201d<\/p>\n

They were both laughing and he had a sudden vivid image of himself and Dinaria. They were naked and drenched in blood. The air was heavy with smoke from fireworks. They made love surrounded by human bodies and the scattered parts of a dragon. He could taste it, smell it, feel the rain on their sticky bodies. When the sun came up, they were still making love, and they\u2019d had to hide in one of the old massive coffins like teenagers fleeing an angry parent.<\/p>\n

Now, he looked into her eyes for the first time and knew she was thinking exactly the same thing he was. There was a moment of awkward silence as they stared at each other. He wondered if she saw the little lines around his eyes. What did he look like to her, anyway? He wasn\u2019t the shy, lonely kid she had picked up that first night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any contacts with the Russians, but I know people who do.\u201d Dinaria broke the silence, rising to her feet. \u201cI\u2019ll ask around and call you tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know where you\u2019re staying, Kenneth.\u201d She said it with just an edge of sharpness in her voice. Just because she was willing to meet with him, to speak to him, that did not make them equals.
\nShe smoothed the wrinkles out of the silk dress with a casual motion that instantly riveted the attention of everyone in the room. Ken was close enough to her that he could see the silk perfectly outline her high, firm breasts. He remembered the cool, sweet taste of her body, the way her nipples would darken and harden when they became flushed with blood, his blood.<\/p>\n

On her way out the door Dinaria paused at the table of the college student. The girl glanced up, then looked down suddenly, her dark face growing darker still as she blushed furiously. Probably she did not know why she was so turned on. It was possible she had never been attracted to another woman, but there was something about this icy blonde, something that made her whole body tingle.
\nDinaria bent over to talk to the college student. As she did so, her white silk dress stretched across her perfect heart-shaped ass. People were glancing up from their books and newspapers. Conversations came to a halt. At the counter, the clerk lost control of the espresso machine and sent a shot of boiling black coffee into the air.<\/p>\n

The two women talked for a moment. Whatever the college student said, Dinaria found it absolutely fascinating. The girl was flattered by the attention. Kenneth saw her shift her legs and knew she was probably already wet with desire.<\/p>\n

He had seen the routine enough times to have it memorized. They would leave together and within an hour, their bodies would be entwined. At some point there would be a sudden sharp pain at the neck or breast or inner thigh, followed by a rush of giddy pleasure. The next morning, there would be no mark; Dinaria was careful about that. The girl would stumble to class with nothing to show for the night but a few bruises, some pleasant memories, and a happy, contented buzz that would last for a few days if she was lucky.<\/p>\n

Kenneth got up and left the coffee shop without looking back. If she had done that to make him jealous, it hadn\u2019t worked. He had moved on, and she had to learn he wasn\u2019t some puppet she could make dance.<\/p>\n

To read the rest, download the ebook today!<\/em><\/p>\n

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ebook: $2.99 ISBN: 9781613901083 9560 words [wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=24] The ebook edition is also available at: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo & AllRomanceEbooks. \u201cThe last time they had been together she had offered to make him immortal, to be her slave forever.\u201d Kenneth is a private detective on a case, and to solve it he … Continue reading Familiar Places by Cameron Quintain<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":867,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-185","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/185\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}