Friday, October 30, 2015

Want more Behind the Eight Ball? Check out my Halloween short for DsP: Costumes, Creatures, and Candy.



As soon as it goes live on DsP's blog I'll add the link for ya... Here you y'all go: http://dreamspinnerpress.com/blog/2015/10/30/here-kitty-kitty-kitty-m-a-church-post-giveaway/



“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? It’ll be fun!” I threw the empty Coke can Marshell left on the counter into the trash. “I’m going as a doctor, but I’ll be in scrubs.”
“You’re going as a doctor, Lawson? You? The person who can’t stand the sight of blood?” Marshell smirked as he sipped his drink.
“Shut up. And you’re going as yourself.”
The glass froze halfway to his mouth. “Come again?”
“You’re going as a Vetala.”
Marshell slowly placed his drink back on the counter, then picked up my glass and sniffed it. “How much you had to drink already?”
“Ha-ha. It’s just Coke. Look, you’ve told me you smelled other paranormals there. And it’s a gay bar, so we don’t have to worry about offending some Bible-thumping redneck. Plus, since it’s Halloween night, they’re having a costume contest.”
“Jeez. Costumes? What are you? Seven?”
“It’s a costume contest at a gay bar.” I handed Marshell the advertisement.
“It says there will be ‘costumes, creatures, and candy—eye candy, that is’,” he read. “Okay, it does sound interesting.”
“I promise you, there’s going to be more skin than costumes. The contest winner gets two hundred dollars.”
“Well hell, man. Why didn’t you say so? I’m in.”
“What part persuaded you?”
“The possibilities.” Marshell waggled his eyebrows.
“It’s bad enough Janelle does that. Don’t you start too.” I’d invited Marshell’s twin sister, Janelle, to go tonight, but she had other plans. “You’re such a horn dog.”
“You say that like it’s something new.” Marshell closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
I stayed silent as Marshell concentrated on bringing forth the Vetala side of his nature. I didn’t fear him and his sister, but it always made my heart beat faster when they changed. They were horrifyingly beautiful.
Marshell opened his eyes. The whites of his eyes were a bright sky blue and the pupil, now elliptical, was black. The top two central incisors were long and pointy, and so were his canines. He grinned at me. “Help me pick out what to wear?”
“I swear to God, those are some the scariest fangs I’ve ever seen. And what do you mean help you pick something to wear? What are you? Thirteen?”
“No, not thirteen. But a solid nine—inches, that is.”
“Oh my God, seriously?”
“That’s what he said.” Marshell winked.
“I’m going to need a shovel to dig my way out of all the crap piling up in here.” I punched Marshell in the arm, even though I knew he wouldn’t feel it. “Come on, let’s go look in your closet. Do you still have those black leather pants?”
Marshell followed me down the hallway and into his bedroom. “Yeah, why?”
“I figure the goal for the night is getting you laid and win the prize money. So, let’s go with the black leather pants, a black muscle shirt, and black motorcycle boots. Don’t tie your hair back either.”
Marshall normally kept his long hair tied back in cornrows during the way. “No prob. But I’ll probably ditch the shirt. You know that, right?”
“I figured as much.”
I hunted around Marshall’s closet until I found the black leather pants. Honestly, it didn’t really matter what he wore. Once that shirt came off and the twinks saw Marshell’s broad, muscular chest and smooth, black skin… they’d lose their minds.
I laid the clothes on his bed. “There you go. I’m going to go get dressed now. Think can handle it on your own?”
“I got it, brah.” Marshell whipped off his shirt and flexed his pecs.
“Good grief. Show-off. Give me about forty-five minutes, and I’ll be ready.” I shut the door behind me and hurried to my bedroom.
I shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to talk Marshell into going out with me, but this had literally been a last-minute decision on my part. The only reason I had a costume was because I’d stopped by Walmart on my way home.
Fortunately they had scrubs. Otherwise I’d have been scrounging around in my closet too. Trouble was, Marshell had much cooler clothes than me. He hung out in the bars every weekend. Me? Not so much. I wasn’t into one-night stands. I wanted a relationship, but so far, no one had flipped my switch.
Once we were both dressed, we left in Marshell’s SUV. By the time we got to the bar, it was jumping. It didn’t take long for the crowd to swallow Marshell up, but I was having a good time too. I swayed to the music, the bass pounding as hands caressed my body.
* * * *
Smells surrounded him as he danced, and he breathed deeply. Oh, such lovely scents. Everywhere he turned, he was bathed by the humans’ various desires. Thick in the air was his favorite scent: lust. But the clean aroma of sweaty male called to him too.
He sniffed the air, and his head snapped up. What was that scent? So dark. So dangerous. It wrapped around him, and the smell of his own bitter need rose. It wasn’t a mate scent, but he didn’t care.
A wicked grin crossed his face as he scanned the crowd. He would find the owner of that scent. Oh, there. He saw a tall black man dressed all in black. Vetala, his mind said. Shoving people out of his path, he made his way to where his dark god danced.
Oh yes, this was the one. Mine! With a smile his Vetala pulled him close. Yes! This was where he belonged. As they moved together he caught another smell. His Vetala carried the scent of another male. A human.
His eyes flashed red and he growled, his wolf pressing to get out. The acrid odor of jealousy surrounded him, but was quickly lost in all the other scents. This was not allowable. His dark god should only smell like him.

The threat to his claiming his Vetala would have to die.