Hello again!
First off, great news: TIM PABON has let me know he has begun prep work for the audiobook for PMF 6: NO MAN'S LAND! Audible asked if I had narrator requests and he was at the top of my list as the main narrator for the series, but they left me on pins & needles over how that would be decided. Turns out I got my wish!
No release date yet, but he just got the project. I'll keep you posted!
TESS IRONDALE is closing in on the end of production for HOT RESTART over on her Discord channel. From there, it'll move on to editing and post-production, and should be available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes very shortly thereafter. This one is all in our hands, so I don't have to delay for any release calendar issues; when it's done, it'll be out!
The next chapter of my current work-in-progress, GRAND THEFT SORCERY, will be posted shortly here on the Patreon for the Patron tier. I'm zooming right along on this spinoff from Good Intentions. In possibly even-better news, I finally worked out the starting scene issues that have kept me from breaking ground on Good Intentions 5. That may be a little too inside-track for anyone but me, but here at my desk it sure feels significant. :)
And as I mentioned in the header there, today's spoilerific-tier post is none other than a Good Intentions flashfic. It's been a while since we've seen these folks, but I didn't want anyone to think I had forgotten them... although the turn this one takes might get me pelted with rotten vegetables. :)
Take care!
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WANTS AND NEEDS
© Elliott Kay 2023
END OF JANUARY
“You know what I want from you, love.”
Lorelei’s tone held mostly promise with a spicy dash of menace. Her voice matched her image: six feet of confidence, power, and patently unfair curves and flawless skin, most of it bare. Her black bra, panties, and tall boots matched her flowing hair. She stood directly over Alex on their living room floor, one foot to either side of his chest. She knew where his eyes would go before they found her face, looking down at him.
That gaze was only one of the things she wanted.
“I just got home,” said Alex.
“I let you get settled first,” said Lorelei. It was arguably true: he had shed his jacket, shoes and socks, dropped his backpack, and even shuffled in and out of the bathroom before he knew she was home. Then he found himself on the floor beneath her. One corner of her mouth lifted in a grin. “And I don’t hear a complaint.”
“That’s true,” Alex conceded. The view took his breath—and it was definitely the view rather than the trip to the floor. That part had been surprising yet gentle. Still, the view would’ve been worth a rougher landing. “Statuesque” didn’t do her justice.
“You knew I would claim you when you came home.” She swayed subtly, taunting him with those long legs and curves. “You anticipated it. I felt your desires all day. And I told you there would be a price for such delights.”
“Did you?” he blinked.
“This morning, while still in bed.” Her eyebrow rose. “You may have still been shuddering.”
That made sense. She had towered over him upon waking, too, but only from the hips. He heard her say something about clearing his mind for his exams today, and something about tonight, all amid a lot of moaning and fucking. He hadn’t been entirely sure if all that was really for him or for her. Lorelei’s “selfish” moves felt pretty damn indulgent to his perspective.
As a case in point, she was the one in lingerie, initiating all this.
“What’s your price?”
“As I say: you know what I want. It is what I always want from you.”
Oh god, is this a quiz? Alex wondered, but didn’t ask out loud. They could laugh amid sex, and often did, but this was too hot to deflect with a joke. It was also too sincere.
This wasn’t about romantic gestures; those were constant. It sure wasn’t about something domestic or mundane. It also couldn’t be about a specific act, since she could have any of those from him at her whim. Any talk of a “price” was in fun. He could say the same of her.
Lorelei watched the wheels turn in his head. He came to the answer quickly, but it took long enough for her to smirk.
“You want my desires.”
“Yes, love. Always.”
“Then what’s different tonight?” he asked. Her eyebrow rose again. “Something’s different.”
“Other than my brief ascension of power and the sundering of a mystic bond?” A stroke under his jaw caused him to shudder and blink—and then Lorelei changed. Curves and lingerie remained, but now he saw crimson with predatory stripes, horns larger than she once had, broad and proud demon’s wings, and the tail that teased his jaw. “Nothing, and that is my point.”
This is a relationship talk, he realized. The fun kind, but still a relationship talk. “Go on?”
“You have been careful since that bond broke. Respectful. And I appreciate it, right up until it gets in the way of our play.” Her tail snaked under his shirt to trace along his bare chest beneath. “The bond never dictated our relationship. We took advantage of it. Together. I think it’s time we get back to that, magic or no magic.
“You are still my love… and still my prey.”
It hadn’t been more than a week since Lorelei took and discarded the iron crown. Their relationship hadn’t skipped a beat without the magical master-servant thing. The only thing they missed was furniture and belongings damaged in the attack on their condo. Alex wasn’t about to let that side-track a moment like this, and neither was she.
Again, she waited, smirking.
“You have my desires. You know them all. Better than I do.”
“Yes. I want something specific.” Gently, Lorelei placed one high-heeled boot on his chest. “Name one.”
“Well, this kinda checks a box,” he said to the boot stepping on him.
“Then name three more,” she demanded softly.
They had played this game before, though never with this power posture. Lorelei did, in fact, know all his desires. She wanted him to share them out loud, or through action. Giving in meant a lot to her. The trust they shared meant everything to both of them.
He still hesitated at using the unorganized list of fantasies and minor fetishes in his mind like a catalogue. “I don’t want to be disrespectful,” Alex smirked back at her.
“Do you think this moment is about respect?” Lorelei scoffed. Then her gaze settled into something deadly serious and still utterly loving. “Choose something selfish. Transgressive.”
“Transgressive?” He didn’t know where to take that, but it gave him a thrill.
“For at least the next week. Longer, if we so choose.”
His imagination took off with the demon lover towering over him. She had magic powers. She wanted to play. “If you stalked me at school with this energy, I don’t think I could resist,” he suggested.
“That may have intriguing side effects on your daily life,” Lorelei mused. “Done. Name another.” Her grin turned wicked. “Something you could never admit to—”
His phone buzzed on the couch. Lorelei snatched it with her tail before he realized it was there—Hell, she must’ve taken it from my pocket before she took me down—and glanced at the screen. Then she held it down to him and removed her boot.
“Your mother.” Her grin shifted moods, but it was still a grin.
They had long resolved to always answer certain calls, no matter what, but he groaned anyway. He saw Lorelei’s questioning glance. “I don’t want to be that guy who drops everything with his girlfriend whenever his mom wants.”
“You are not, and we do not live that life. Also, I like her.” Lorelei dropped sharply, knees folding, her hips hovering over his. “I have driven too many mortals from their families in the past, love. To some extent, I needyou to be That Guy.”
Alex accepted without argument, tapping the answer icon before it rang through to voicemail. They had genuine safety priorities for friends and family, and he loved his mom… even when her timing could’ve been better. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked.
“Hi. Have you got a minute?”
“Yeah,” he said, despite how her greeting had already confirmed her safety.
“How’s everything with Lorelei? And Rachel?”
“They’re good,” he said. “Everything’s good.”
Lorelei rose and stepped away. The demonic features vanished, but her normal beauty remained. He had to choke down his desires all over again at the view of her back, but the voice on the phone helped cool him down.
“You know what time of year it is?” asked Michelle.
“Uh… end of January?”
“It’s tax season. We need to talk.”
“Oh no.” His hand came to his face.
“Do you have your W-2 from your old job yet?”
“Yeah.” He staved off a groan in his answer. “Yeah, it showed up the other day.”
“Listen, you’ve got more to report now than just your job and your health insurance form. Your finances with Lorelei aren’t my business, but there’s a threshold before gifts have to be reported on your taxes. You both know that, right? I’m sure she knows. Tuition is gonna count.”
“Yeah,” Alex sighed. The view of the ceiling was much less appealing than his girlfriend.
“Also, you said you’re on the deed to that condo. That’s a whole other level. Does she have an accountant? You don’t want to screw this up.”
Alex and Lorelei had only discussed enough of this to put it off until all the papers came in. The pool hall was handled by an accountant, but they, too, waited on some records… and Michelle didn’t know about the hall yet. “We’re gonna find somebody.”
“We? You’re not married. You’re not filing jointly.”
“Er—no, but we’re still sharing a lot of stuff.” He sat up and looked around for Lorelei, eyes full of apology, only to find her tying on the belt of a casual blue dress. “Hold on a sec,” he told his mom, and then held out a questioning hand.
“Let’s go for dinner when you’re done. You’ll need a break from this before you’re back in the mood,” Lorelei whispered.
“No I won’t,” he mouthed silently.
“Yes, you will.” She grinned ruefully. “If you don’t, I do.”
That settled that. “Sorry. Go on?” he said into the phone.
“I’m just saying, you want someone to make sure you don’t trip up your reporting since this is all new for you,” said his mother. “While we’re talking about it: you’re still on my health insurance. You can stay there until you’re twenty-five. That’s the plan, right?”
His real health insurance came from an angel and a demon curse, with two witches on speed dial for back-up, but he still needed something on record. “I mean…”
“Alex.”
“We can cover that ourselves. You don’t have to pay for—”
“Alex. I’m your mother. I would feel better if you stayed on my health insurance. Okay?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Lorelei had a point about dinner. “Fiiine…”