Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

him with my independence."
    "Did you succeed?"
    "I do not think so."
    "I see." A pained expression crossed Melizander's face. "Were my feelings for you real? After all, you are an incubus."
    "Your feelings were— are— your own. The treminae protected you from my influence." He met Melizander's gaze, refusing to look away. "However, it did not protect me from your influence. Or my own stupidity."
    Lord Nox exploded. "Great Satan's balls! Let us take the daemon-hunter to Hades and be done with all this chatter!"
    Ashtariel turned on his sire. "No! I will not be done with this chatter because I am not done with him! I came to Earth on your urging to learn about mortals. And learn I have!" He turned back to look at Melizander. "I have learned that they are honorable and kind. Funny and gracious; trusting and trustworthy with incredible character." He waved a hand, dismissing his father's magic, and caught Melizander as he slumped. "And I learned it all from you."
    Gently he laid the mortal on the settee. "I know you can never forgive me; but I shall always remember you, Melizander." He bent to place a kiss on the pale forehead.
    ****
    Listening to Ashe, Melizander had recalled the pain he had endured with his own father and what lengths he had gone to in order to alleviate that pain, including planning the destruction of a daemon. Ashe's journey had not been significantly different. Of course, he was an incubus and his father was a daemon prince, but he was just as desperate as Melizander to prove himself, to separate himself from his father's shadow. How can I not forgive what I was willing to do?
    The artificer pulled himself upright. "For you, it's Xander."
    Ashtariel smiled— which was slightly unsettling because of his fangs. "Xander it is!
    "Argh!" groaned Lord Nox. "I have no time for such weeping sentimentality!"
    A female voice chimed in. "Oh, Nox, you need some softening up!"
    "Mother!" exclaimed Ashe, turning to the incredibly beautiful woman who had appeared in the library. "What are you doing here?"
    "I wanted to visit your father." The succubus walked to Lord Nox and hooked her arm around his. "Decimius told me he was visiting you, so I had to come too."
    Ashe shrugged, transforming back to his mortal form. "Well, Xander, I did invite you to dinner with my parents. May I present Lord Nox and Lady Ashtarte?" He helped Xander to his feet, straightening his rumpled dinner jacket. "Mother, Father, I would like you to meet my lover, Xander Tristekedes."
    Melizander bowed. "Charmed, I'm sure."
    ****
    Later that night, after the parents were gone and the library returned to order, the hunter and his daemon climbed into bed.
    "Xander, please take off that damned necklace!"
    "Make it worth my while?"
    Ashe hit him with a pillow. "I am always worthwhile. I'm an incubus!"
    "That you are!" Melizander struck back and rolled atop him, pulling him in for a kiss.
    The daemon sneezed, and the light flickered out. "Bloody worthless lamp!"
    Amor vincit artem daemonica!
     
    FIN
    Author bio: After moving several times about the country and Europe, C.C. Williams currently resides in the Southwestern United States with his partner JT. When not critiquing cooking or dance show contestants, he is at work on several writing projects.
    A finalist in numerous contests, C.C. has had his work appear in such collections as Frat Boys , Brief Encounters , Best Gay Romance 2012 , as well as the forthcoming Wild Boys and The Love That Never Dies: Undead Erotica.
    Contact info:
    He invites you to find out more at his website or to join him on Facebook , GLBT Bookshelf , and on Goodreads .
     
     
    ****

AT WHAT COST
    by Kathryn Sparrow

    Devlin is a bear shifter who the Ursidae Council has exiled to the city where he has made his grouchy and lonely life. Windows down and moving across the country to accept a job promotion, Devlin catches the scent of the one person he never expected to find again. To save the one he lost years ago, Devlin finds himself in more trouble than just breaking the council's decree.
    ~ Lexi

    genre: paranormal
    tags: paranormal; first time; masturbation; shifters; interspecies; psychic ability; reunited; soulmates or bonded
    word count: 12,373
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    AT WHAT COST
    by Kathryn Sparrow
    It's been five years since the decree. Five lonely years. I looked around my studio apartment for the last time. It didn't look that different. The furniture had come with the apartment and