Fifty years ago, Zavier became a Collections Demon in order to save his lover’s life. He hates his job, but once you make a deal with Corporate South, there’s no backing out. Answering a routine summons, he never expects to come face to face with his reincarnated lover.
Ryan Monroe is a desperate man searching for a way to save his dying sister. His attempt at summoning a soul collection demon to exchange his soul for his sister’s life finds him face to face with Zavier.
For the first time in years, Zavier’s life has purpose. Despite his employer’s disapproval, Zavier intends to rebuild his relationship with Ryan. Corporate South has other plans.
Can Zavier and Ryan find a way to break free of Corporate South and beat death?
Warning, this book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.
EXCERPT
“You rang?” Zavier asked, glancing down at his watch. He just wanted to be done with the business at hand.
The man almost jumped out of his skin as he whirled. Zavier had tried to make enough noise to announce his approach, but apparently he hadn’t been successful.
“Man, you scared the crap out of me. I didn’t expect anyone to be wandering around out here at this hour.”
“You’re saying you didn’t summon me here?”
“Summon?” the man asked, looking momentarily confused. Then the light bulb went on. “Are you–”
“Yeah, yeah, my name is Zavier. Your wish is my command and what not. Tell me why I’m here, instead of at home in bed in the middle of what was shaping up to be an excellent wet dream.” He couldn’t resist messing with the man. Zavier found his nervous fidgeting sort of cute.
Head cocked to the side, the man just studied him a moment. Zavier did the same, running his gaze over him, admiring his hard thighs. Very nice. A form-fitting white t-shirt molded to rather impressive abs and a broad, muscular chest. Oh yeah, Zavier thought, a night or two with this guy could definitely improve his mood. Call him shallow, but he couldn’t help but admire a well-toned body.
Tearing his gaze from the guy’s pecs, he continued scanning upward to inventory the man’s face. Strong chin, lips made for kissing and–
When their eyes met, he froze. The world seemed to stop spinning as he stared into gorgeous, familiar green eyes. Something about those eyes tugged at his memory, causing a tingle at the base of his skull. Zavier broke eye contact while he wracked his brain, but didn’t look away from his face. His inability to remember pissed him off. Sometimes the rules and regs of demon life sucked, especially the “Swiss cheese memory” policy.
Turning his attention back to his potential client, Zavier caught the man giving him a long, slow once-over. Just to fuck with him, Zavier let both his annoyance and a hint of seduction slip into his words. “Would you like me to do a little turn for you? Give you a better look?”
A slight blush spread across the man’s face. “What? No. It’s just–you aren’t what I expected. I imagined something a little more Hellraiser and a little less Ralph Lauren.”
Sighing, Zavier closed his eyes, calling up a bit of the darkness caged within. When he raised his lids he let his inner demon show through.
“Better?”
The man gasped. “Uh, not really.”
“Whatever.” Zavier huffed and snuffed out the fire, allowing his eyes to return to their usual blue. “Can we get on with this?”
“Oh, sure. H-how do we do this? Do I need to say any type of special incantation?”
“No, just tell me what you want.”
The man dug in his pocket and pulled out a picture of a beautiful blond woman, who wore a huge smile as she cuddled a newborn baby. “This is my sister, Maggie, and her daughter Mya. Maggie has cancer. Pancreatic, stage four.” He glanced at the photo, his expression grief-stricken, before determination chased it away. “I need you to cure her. I want her to have a one hundred percent clean bill of health.”
Zavier stared at the picture. Sympathy and an odd sense of commiseration squeezed his heart. The woman had those same familiar green eyes. In the picture they shone bright, happy, and full of life. “You must love her a lot.”
“I’d do anything for her.”
Tears shimmered in the man’s eyes. He pressed the heels of his hands into them before any could fall. When he continued, his words turned defensive. “Look, my mind is made up. I just want to do this and go home.”
Zavier stared at the man, awed by his apparent selflessness. No one this genuine had summoned him in ages. It tugged at something inside him, warming him. If he could help this man in some way without locking him into the soul contract, he’d do it. The board, however, would have his hide if he offered his services free of charge. Pushing his personal feelings aside, he did his job despite the sour taste it left in his mouth.
“It’s your life.” Zavier sighed.
BIO
Rayna Vause aka R.A. Vaughn is fascinated by the paranormal and she loves a good romance as well, which probably explains why these two elements perpetually crop up in her writing. At a young age, she began penning fairy tales and fables, but it wasn’t until she read her first romance novel, in her freshman year of high school, that she discovered her true calling. The perpetual student, she took fiction writing classes and steeped herself in tales of love conquering all before attempting to write her own story. But, as she wrote she knew something was missing. Again, she found her inspiration in a book, one filled with suspense, romance, and witches. From that moment, she began to spin tales of psychics, vampires, and other extraordinary characters.
When not writing, R.A. spends her time reading, getting caught up in a video game, watching reruns of Ghost Hunters, and attending karate class.
