The Calm Before the Storm (MM)

Professional Reviews

4 CUPS: "Seth has been tortured for his betrayal of Lord Veturious and the vampire family, but his own betrayal comes from that of another. He finally escapes, only to almost be captured and land in the arms of one of the previous vampire guards. Ben has no clue when he attempts to rescue a poor soul that the poor soul was in fact a vampire from the one family he hides from. He is unable to leave the vampire to die but decides to save him, which puts his friends in jeopardy. Seth needs to run and hide, and staying with Ben is out of the question, however much he desires it, because his presence puts everyone in danger. Ben knows Seth needs to find a safe place away from the vampires, but letting go is becoming increasingly difficult. Can they all survive and avoid a war, or is death to all inevitable? The Calm Before the Storm is a story full of thrills and chills. There is no sure way out of the situation fate has assigned, so the outcome is never quite clear. I found the mystery of who lives and who succumbs to the pain of war a hook I was unable to avoid. Once you start reading The Calm Before the Storm there will be no stopping until you too discover the survivors." -- Delane, Coffee Time Romance & More

Excerpt

Story Excerpt

Ben knelt down, but he didn’t touch the man yet, for now he knew it was a man. Being so close, he could better make out the form that was beneath the melted clothes. Narrow waist, no breasts to speak of, and sharp, angular shoulders and arms.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” he said. For all his training to handle situations of this nature, to handle dead bodies, and for his help in the battle against the vampires, this was the first time he’d ever had to look at a corpse up close, to study it, and now he was expected to pick it up, roll it in a long sheet of plastic, and carry it away to someplace where it would more convenient to find.

Ben could only pray something that horrible never happened to him.

He reached out to it. He didn’t want to touch the charred flesh, just in case any was to get shredded away in his grip should he not be gentle enough, so he opted to only handle what remained of the clothes.

He reached around the neck to the shoulders, gripped the charred shirt—

The head came alive, jerked to the side, and teeth crunched down on his hand, right in the space of his palm between his thumb and index finger bones. Fangs lengthened and pierced the skin before locking on.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Ben tried to yank away, but the fangs in his flesh held on and they held on tight.

His feet struggled for balance, to push himself off and away from whatever the fuck this thing was, but he sloshed into the water instead, splashing mud all over his clothes and face and soaking him in rancid-ass water.

It got into his mouth and he nearly puked, only managing to hold that back by the idea of anyone finding anything of himself near this thing, whatever the hell it was.

It creeped him the fuck out. He punched it in the side of the head then pressed his palm down on the black forehead to try and push it off, but its teeth clung to his hand, even when the charred skin began to tear, like Christmas paper, under the pressure of Ben's hand. Total lock-on.

“Get the fuck off me!” he yelled.

The zombie thing didn’t listen, and he felt the distinctive wet lick of a tongue, warmer, much more different than the cool water, lapping up the blood Ben spilled, and he saw the throat working in a desperate swallow.

Oh, God. It was drinking his blood!

Ben clenched his fist and, with a roar, delivered another hard knock to the side of its head. The fangs came loose, freeing Ben, and he scrambled backwards, splashing more filthy, brown, slimy water all over himself, until the hard bank and the prick of branches halted him.

He stared long and hard at the body, which wasn’t a body, for a good minute. It—he—was breathing now, the chest rising and falling, the mouth exhaling deathly wheezes, as though struggling to do just that.

The fucker was alive.

Ben looked at his hand. Judging by the two very distinctive bleeding holes that were alongside the indents of softer teeth in his palm, he was also a vampire.

Ben cradled his hand to his chest, he didn’t dare wash it out in this gross water, and he used his other hand to pull his phone out of his jacket pocket. The leather had kept it dry, but now he was fucked and had to throw away his favorite jacket.

Once again, like the loyal friend he was, Cedric picked up on the first ring.

“We got a bigger problem than I thought.” Ben said.

ADULT EXCERPT

“All right,” Seth said.

The alarm in Ben’s head went ape shit. Too easy. That was way too easy. Something about that wasn’t right, but Ben wasn’t about to push it and have a heart-to-heart while his cock throbbed between them.

He nodded, turned, and got to his hands and knees instead. "If you even think about attacking me while I'm like this—"

"I get it, I get it. I won't get far before you chase me down, right?"

Ben smirked. "I was going to say that you wouldn't get beyond the thinking stage of any plans you might be coming up with. If I so much as get the vibe that you're going to plow your fist into my head, I'll teleport you into the sunlight outside."

With Seth's hands on Ben's hips, he could feel the way the other man shivered at his threat.

Seth cleared his throat. "Got it."

Ben sensed Seth’s approach behind him, and he heard the pop of the sunscreen cap coming off. He could just see Seth in his mind’s eye, lathering that lotion on his fingers, shifting closer, readying his hand and—

Ben’s body instinctively clenched up at the intrusion, his muscles attempting to push out Seth’s fingers, which only made it easier for the other man to slide them inside. Ben grunted. It wasn’t like he was still ready to take in the intruding digits. Technically, what had happened last night didn’t happen at all, even though Ben had awoken from his daydream, whatever it was, and needed to get into the bathroom fast before Cedric could see the wet splotch in his pants.

Bad enough he thought Silus had scented it. Guy was already jealous as fuck whenever Ben came to visit.

Ben sighed as the pain from Seth’s fingers lessened. “I can take another,”

Seth complied, using three this time, and the pain returned. Not quite as strong this time, but still at a low burn. It had been way too long since he’d let anyone do this to him.

“Can’t wait to fuck you,” Seth said.

“Me, too,” Ben replied, looking over his shoulder at the other man.

Seth frowned then grabbed the bottle of sun lotion and squeezed more into his hand. Ben knew what was coming, and his skin tingled with excitement.

Seth rubbed the lotion between his hands, warming it, then stroked himself with his oiled palm. His eyes fell shut as he did it once, twice, and then he looked at Ben, those dark eyes reminding him of a predator.

“Spread your legs wider for me.”

Ben complied, his cock and balls hanging where Seth could easily see them. The flesh of Seth’s thighs ghosted over Ben’s ass and legs. His hands gripped Ben’s hips, and Seth thrust himself inside with a grunt.

Ben exhaled hard and pushed out to make the inward glide that much smoother. Then Seth was there, inside him and touching him in all the right places, and the pain faded into a burning memory.

The vampire dream had been something to drool over, but nothing compared to the real thing. Seth hardly gave him any time to adjust as he just started to pound away like it was his first time fucking anyone.

Fine by Ben. In his quick, jabbing thrusts, Seth quickly found the spot that Ben wanted him to touch the most, and every nerve in his body stood up straight and sang hallelujah. He moaned as the pleasure became too much for him. He pushed back against Seth’s thrusting hips, and Seth drilled him harder.

Their bodies slapped together, and Seth put some of his vampire strength into it because Ben found himself getting pushed forward along the carpet. It burned his knees and hands, but he didn’t care, even when his elbows gave out and he fell forward, face down into the blue fibers.

If Ben didn't get a grip, he was going to get fucked all the way across the floor.

Seth, however, seemed determined to keep him just the way he was. He moaned at the new position and kept up with the pace, not giving Ben any chance to get back up, but then he stalled, his hips and body jerking, and he stiffened.

It felt like he was coming, but the telltale warm spurts from his cock weren't there. Ben looked over his shoulder to see what the holdup was. Seth lifted one knee and put his foot down, taking some of the pressure off the joint. He resumed his thrusts, pumping his hips slower this time, sliding his eyes shut and just enjoying himself.