1. Ghost: Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze are the passionate lovers whose romance is undone when the latter is murdered during a bungled hit arranged by a rival. The clever concept by screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin (director of My Life) extends outward into comedy (Swayze’s character communicates through a sassy medium played by Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Oscar for this role), horror (the afterlife is populated by hell-bound demons and the like), and romantic complications (a handsome suitor, played by Tony Goldwyn, comes on to Moore while Swayze’s spirit is still hanging around). Directed by Jerry Zucker, previously best known for codirecting Airplane! and similar broad comedies, Ghost is a careful balancing act of strong commercial elements, but at heart it is a timeless Hollywood tearjerker that easily gets under one’s skin.

2. Poltergeist: What a combo! Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, teamed up with family-oriented producer Steven Spielberg to make Poltergeist. The film is about a haunted suburban tract home in a development very much like the Arizona one in which Spielberg was raised. (Because it came out the same summer as Spielberg’s E.T., it was tempting to see both movies as representing Spielberg’s ambivalent feelings about childhood in suburbia. One was a fantasy, the other a nightmare.) Spielberg also cowrote the screenplay, which taps into primal, childlike fears of monsters under the bed, monsters in the closet, sinister clown faces, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. At first, some of the odd happenings in the house are kind of funny and amusing, but they grow gradually creepier until the film climaxes in a terrifying special-effects extravaganza when 5-year-old Carole Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is kidnapped by the spooks and held hostage in another dimension. Though not nearly as frightening as Hooper’s magnum opus, or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which came along two years later, Poltergeist is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror pictures of its time. Watch it with the lights on…seriously.

3. Thirteen Ghosts : Cool sets, gory make-up, and frantic energy are given high priority in this glossy remake of William Castle’s 1960 haunted-house chiller. The original boasted its “Illusion-O” ghost-viewing gimmick, so this remake’s producers–as they did with 1999′s The House on Haunted Hill–up the ante on Castle’s showmanship by spilling ample amounts of blood, guts, and ghoulish glory. The plot’s essentially the same: An impoverished family inherits a luxurious haunted mansion, only this time it’s an elaborate, maze-like mechanism of glass, gears, and Latin incantations–”designed by the devil and powered by the dead”–with a cellar full of tormented, undead souls. As the family (including Tony Shalhoub and American Pie‘s Shannon Elizabeth) enlists the aid of a psychic (Scream alumnus Matthew Lillard) and a ghostbusting paranormal (Embeth Davidtz), this updated 13 Ghosts grows loud and ludicrous, trading shocks for yuks and nuance for nonsense. It’s fun, to a point, after which it’s just exhausting.

4. Ghostbusters: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis wrote the script, but Bill Murray gets all the best lines and moments in this 1984 comedy directed by Ivan Reitman (Meatballs). The three comics, plus Ernie Hudson, play the New York City-based team that provides supernatural pest control, and Sigourney Weaver is the love interest possessed by an ancient demon. Reitman and company are full of original ideas about hobgoblins–who knew they could “slime” people with green plasma goo?–but hovering above the plot is Murray’s patented ironic view of all the action. Still a lot of fun, and an obvious model for sci-fi comedies such as Men in Black.

Worst Ghost Pictures:

1. Goosebumps–Headless Ghost: The first episode is entitled “The Headless Ghost”. Duane and Stephanie are frequent visitors to Hill House; an old mansion that is rumored to be haunted. During one of their visits, they stumble across the ghost of a young boy who lost his head. Now, he’s come for one of theirs!

2. Ghost World: Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) “sneak into your heart and stay there” (Rolling Stone) in this “eerie, masterful movie” (Movieline) from the acclaimed director of Crumb. Co-starring Brad Renfro (Deuces Wild), Illeana Douglas (Stir of Echos) and Steve Buscemi (Fargo) in “the best role of his career” (Movieline), Ghost World is a “smartly strange comedy [that] stands out like the Taj Mahal” (Time)! While their classmates head for college, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) focus their energies on tormenting those around them – from a goofy convenience store clerk (Renfro) to an eccentric art teacher (Douglas). But when they zero in on an oddball loner (Buscemi) looking for Miss Right, their seemingly innocent meddling threatens to shatter one of their hearts not to mention their lifelong friendship.

3. Ghost Ship: In a remote region of the Bering Sea, a boat salvage crew discovers the eerie remains of a grand passenger liner thought lost for more than 40 years. Once on board, the crew must confront the ship’s horrific past and face the ultimate fight for their lives.

4. The Haunting: Suffering from the extreme bad luck of being released at the same time as the low-budget The Blair Witch Project, this adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House attempts to update Shirley Jackson’s psychologically terrifying ghost story to the era of big-budget, computerized special effects. Does it work? Well, let’s just say that showing isn’t exactly the same as telling. A prime example of bloated studio filmmaking, The Haunting telegraphs all its frights so blatantly that it forsakes any of Jackson’s subtle horrors for the remedial scares of a clunky carnival ride. The story remains basically the same, with four people called to an old mansion for experiments in the supernatural, but instead of getting inside the heads of its main characters (as the 1963 adaptation by Robert Wise did so well), Jan DeBont’s film deserts character development for the huge, glorious set design provided by Eugenio Zanetti (Restoration). Thus, instead of a well-drawn story you get… a well-drawn house, one that four very talented and underutilized actors–Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Liam Neeson, and Owen Wilson–wander around in endlessly (as Zeta-Jones puts it, the house is “sort of Charles Foster Kane meets the Munsters”). Taylor, as the hypersensitive Nell, is the unknowing lynchpin in the battle between good and bad ghosts and gets saddled with most of the expository dialogue of the mansion’s gothic backstory. Zeta-Jones (showing some spark) and Neeson (showing none) are sadly reduced to providing reactionary shots of the film’s disastrous climax, which mixes hapless new-age affirmations with computer-generated effects of ghosts and exploding windows, walls, doors, etc. For this haunted-house story, take a quick tour of the breathtaking rooms, but definitely don’t stay the night.

Mystery Author Rhys Bowen

ON FACEBOOK

8:30 pm East Coast — 5:30 pm West Coast

Join Best Selling Author Rhys Bowen on her FaceBook Page where she will be discussing how she approaches writing a Mystery Novel and creating a strong Heroine in a Series. Come and leave your questions on her wall and she will respond live to all questions, or as many as she can.

If you can not make the Chat and Giveaway live make sure to drop in afterward and check out the discussion anytime. One lucky commenter between now and Sunday will win a copy of Royal Blood, A Royal Spyness Mystery. Fan Rhys’s FaceBook Page between now and November 15th and be entered to win the newest book in the Royal Spyness Series, Naughty in Nice.

Find out more about Rhys Bowen Online

Author Website – Twitter – Facebook

GIVEAWAY

Royal Blood

by Rhys Bowen

(A Royal Spyness Mystery #4)Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre-looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it’s up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple’s vows become “to love and to cherish, till ‘undeath’ do them part…”

Amazon Kindle* Paperback * Audio

Barnes & Noble Hardcover * Paperback * Nookbook

About Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen is the Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. Awarded the Agatha Best Novel Award and nominated for the Edgar Best Novel Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series, the Molly Murphy novels, about an Irish immigrant in 1900s New York City and the lighter Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s Britain. Her books made bestseller lists, garnered many awards, nominations, and starred reviews.

Author Website – Twitter – Facebook

Naughty in the Backseat would like to welcome Kiki Howell to the blog! Today she is celebrating the release of her latest book, Working out the Kinks. Kiki is a multi-published author whose books are on the steamy side! Here’s a sample of some of the books she has written!

Working Out The Kinks

by Kiki Howell

Published by Rebel Ink Press

Genres: Pagan, Contemporary, Erotic Romance

Length: Short Story

Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language and Sex Magic with BDSM Elements

Blurb:

Making an appointment with his ex-girlfriend under a fake name, David buys himself one hour to get her attention. Hoping to apologize and remind her of their time together, he intends to do whatever he has to in order to make Meredith, a practicing Wiccan, forgive him for being idiot enough to have listened to those around him which meant choosing his political aspirations over love.

Meredith is resistant to let David anywhere near her heart again. Desperate, David plays all his trump cards and suggests a sexual magick ritual which incorporates the BDSM lifestyle he and Meredith used to experiment with. The methods he uses may be unconventional, like sensory deprivation and sensation play intended to build trust and to achieve altered states of consciousness. But David is more than willing to do whatever it takes if he can just get Meredith to agree.

Kiki Howell Bio:

Ever since she was young, Kiki Howell has loved to listen to a well-woven tale with real characters, inspired plots, and delightful resolutions. Kiki could spend hours lost in a book, and soon she knew that creating lives, loves, and losses with just words had to be the greatest thing that she could do. To that end, she pursued her study of literature and writing, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She then followed in a Master’s program in Creative Writing.

“After a long break having my boys, I finally just had to write again. And, as soon as I gave the stories the space, they entered it. It’s both awesome and humbling to find the words in my mind become characters on a page and create their lives.”

She has now had over twenty stories published between five different small presses. She could not be more thrilled or grateful to see her creations polished and out in the real world. Please look around. Although, a bit of caution, most of her stories tend to hang out on the graphically sexy side of town.

Kiki resides in the Midwest with her incredibly handsome and talented, singer/songwriter husband and two children. When she is not writing, she is spending time with her family, reading, baking or knitting.

Her biggest dream is to have a novel she writes be made into a movie that her husband creates the soundtrack for, and then cruise to Alaska with her family on the money they make.

Links

Website http://www.kikihowell.com

Blog http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com

FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/kikihowell

Twitter http://twitter.com/KikiHowell

Working Out The Kinks EXCERPT:

“Your last client is in your massage room.” The receptionist tilted her head toward Meredith, giving a wry smile but then grimacing as she looked away.

“Thanks.” Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes as she rapped her knuckles on the door to announce her arrival.

What was that about? Taking a deep breath, she swept into the room. One more massage, and I can soak my tired muscles in a hot bath at home.

“Hello,” she said to the body on her table while grabbing a bottle of oil.

She stopped short of turning back around. Cologne assaulted her. The potent mix of patchouli and musk with a hint of oak reminded her of the man who’d left her heart bruised and battered. Meredith blinked hard as if she could shut down her mind before some blissful memory could wallop another punch.

The client shifted on the table. “Hey, Mere.”

Swinging around like a moth drawn to a buzzing light, air whooshed from her lungs moments before the oil bottle hit the floor. “David?”

“Yes. Gave a false name when booking the appointment. Now, I have your undivided attention for the next hour.”

She stepped back in defiance of her need to rush into his arms and retrieved the plastic bottle instead. “Why?”

“Because we need to talk. Here, this way, you can’t walk away. I’ve already paid for my time.”

“Paying is easy for you.”

“You can begin the massage now. The clock is ticking,” he stated in a business-like tone.

Meredith sucked half her top lip into her mouth and bit down, every muscle in her face tight to avoid her unexplainable need to smile. David was tapping his wrist where his watch should be just as he’d done to her a hundred times before to get her moving. With a confident half-grin, he laid back down.

“Really? You want me to touch you?” She hadn’t quite meant for the thought to come out of her mouth, but she felt as if someone was pressing her to death.

With each step toward her ex-boyfriend, another stone was added to the imaginary board across her chest which had her laboring for breath.

But, he already tried me as a witch.

The idea of that, her conviction and thus banishment from his life, spurred her forward. Thoughts of getting even, of squeezing a sore muscle too tightly, loomed like a silver lining around a storm cloud.

Stop it! You’d never. Concentrate! Meredith reviewed the steps to a full body massage like she was back in school. Use sensitivity when making first contact with your client’s body. Her hands floated above his skin. The heat of his energy challenged her fingers, and she willed each tensed-to-the-point-of-shaking finger into a semi-state of relaxation as they moved an inch above the sculpted latissimus dorsi muscles of his back. Naming each superficial layer, she hoped would keep her on task.

“I miss you, Mere.” David’s voice was muffled from the table.

Blinking against the sting in her eyes, she lingered over his skin. The thought of her palms meeting with his flesh tightened her center, and her need warred with the nervous way her stomach rolled. Meredith wanted the rush of blissful sensuality despite the threat of emotional damage which slithered over her skin, a cold reptile squeezing the life from her already broken heart.

“Did you hear me?” He turned to her.

A tear slipped from her eye. Ripples of water down her cheeks had become commonplace this last month being separated from him. These tears came as no surprise, and neither did the warm anger bubbling up to the surface.

“What difference does it make?” she clipped, answering both his question and her reluctance to give in to the pleasure of stroking her hands over his skin. What remained hidden from her view under the strip of the white towel over his butt was crystal clear in her mind.

I am Michelle Diener, one of the authors of the ENTANGLED e-book anthology, a collection of paranormal stories set around Halloween, for which all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I am excited to be working on this project because giving back to charity, and such a great charity at that, through my writing, is a real thrill for me. I love the generosity of spirit that inspired this anthology, and the generosity of everyone who contributed to it. I am definitely proud to be part of such a great project.

Cancer, although not just breast cancer, has affected close friends and family, and I would love for scientists and doctors to find a cure for this disease. I love being able to contribute to that, in whatever way I can.

I also love that I got to write in a completely different genre for my contribution to this anthology. I usually write historical fiction, and my Tudor-set suspense series (http://www.michellediener.com/books/ ) is published by Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books. It was a lot of fun to dive into the world of a contemporary paranormal after the heavy research I do for my historical fiction.

One of the most exciting parts for me was getting to be in a book with Cynthia Eden (http://www.cynthiaeden.com)! Cynthia and I ‘met’ through our respective blogs, way back when she had just started to get published, and I was still working my way through the unpublished trenches. That friendship has stood the test of a very long time, and now we are co-bloggers together at Magical Musings (http://www.magicalmusings.com). Cynthia’s books are what made me into a paranormal fiction fan. I have a real love of werewolves thanks to her!

Hear from Cynthia Eden here – Love to Read for Fun – tomorrow

Read more about my contribution to the Entangled Anthology here: http://www.michellediener.com/entangled/

For an excerpt of my contribution to the anthology, BREAKING OUT, you can go here: http://www.michellediener.com/entangled/entangled-excerpt-of-breaking-out/

For more information about me and my books, please visit me at: http://www.michellediener.com/

Today he’s going to give his thoughts on how being an author affects him as a reader!  After that we can learn a bit more about his book and even read an excerpt!

Thanks for inviting me back to Backseat Nightmares! I hope your Halloween season is frighteningly wonderful.

Backseat Nightmares would like to welcome Amanda Greene to the blog today!  She is the author of the new release, Caressed by Moonlight.  She is dropping by today to share her thoughts with us about writing!

Some people have asked me, when and where do you write?

Well, the “when” part is hard to answer since family, school, and work tend to take up a lot of my time. I usually write late at night or early in the morning, before class and, to be truthful, I sometimes write in class (…I know! Bad.)

Unfortunately, my creative side is often suppressed.

Now, moving on to “where.” I use my laptop for everything. I should just attach it to myself since I am on it every chance I get. I’ve got to be careful. My husband, Robert, might become jealous.

I like to get comfy on my bed, relax against the pillows and have a cup of fantastically flavored coffee on the nightstand with my dog laying by my side or warming my feet. I love to write when the house is quiet and at peace, but this is rare. So, I usually just close the door, shutting out the world so that I can set my imagination free and get to know my characters and their stories. For me, the perfect time to write is when it is raining, inspiration strikes and all I want is to sip my coffee and write.

Caressed by Moonlight was written on my spare time. I would hide away in my room and type furiously on my keyboard, the ideas flowing from my fingertips.

Caressed by Moonlight is the first within the Rulers of Darkness series and is a combination of historical and paranormal romance – my two favorite romance genres in one book.

Dorian is a vampire king, a ruler of darkness, who comes to London hoping to save his Clan from the hunters, intent on destroying his race.

Victoria is a lovely young woman thrown into the harsh realm of reality. Orphaned and without a penny in her pocket, she must marry a suitable man of means in order to retain custody of her younger sister, the only family she has left.

When Dorian and Victoria meet, sparks of love and lust set fire to the pages. Although, Victoria knows he is not the right man for her and Dorian knows that his world is too dangerous for a mortal. But, they can’t deny their attraction and soon they are thrust together by fate. Will Victoria, a mortal woman, be able to survive in Dorian’s harsh, unforgiving world of darkness?

Caressed by Moonlight is one of five books that I have planned for this series and I hope I can rearrange some things in my life so that I may have more time to write. I am anxious to share the other rulers of darkness characters and their stories with my readers.

I am currently working on Caressed by Night, Rulers of Darkness #2. Tentative release: February 2012 – I am hoping to release it before then, if time will allow.

Thank you for having me and I wish you all happy reading!

Backseat -  Tell us a bit about yourself and your writing.

Maria – I’m it. Well, I have a dozen or so readers who write and let me know that I’m too slow at my job!  I love each and every one of them.

Maria – I write cozy mysteries as well as the Urban Fantasy series.  The Sedona O’Hala mysteries are lighter, humorous and the only magic is in the fact that Sedona manages to survive her various jobs.  My stand alone, Catch an Honest Thief, involves a bit of a “futuristic” bent, but contains only the magic of romance, not of spells.

Adriel should have known that with a werewolf, it never stopped with just one body. She would have gone to the police after witnessing Dolores’ death, but she wasn’t certain the killer she saw was responsible for the other murders. Besides, the police didn’t believe in werewolves, and they weren’t going to believe she was a witch either so what could she tell them?

She kept her eyes and ears open while she tried to help her latest client escape the clutches of a voodoo witch, but things went from bad to worse when more bodies turned up. She was greatly relieved when she met White Feather, an undercover cop. Unfortunately, he wasn’t convinced she was innocent of all wrong-doing.

It was going to take every spell she knew and a few she hadn’t tried to solve the murders and stay alive.

Backseat Nightmares would like to thank Maria for dropping by and sharing with us!  Hop over to Amazon and pick up a copy of her book.  Once you are done with that, drop by her site and say hi!

We are joining Jean Murray again.  Yesterday we had the opportunity to read a guest post from Jean and learn a bit about Soul Reborn.  Today was are going to be able to read an excerpt, find out a bit about Jean Murry and also have the opportunity to read the blurb for the book!

Here’s the excerpt for Soul Reborn:

Lilly walked slowly across the great expanse of the front entrance to the stairs. The smallest sound of her metal weapons hitting the curve of her hips resonated in the large room like the distant sound of wind chimes. Her eyes locked immediately on the dark shape as he watched her ascend the steps to the Egyptian exhibit where Kendra conducted her work. He never moved, even as she lost sight of him around the corner. Only then did she turn and join her sisters.

With books strewn everywhere, Lilly had to step carefully to avoid tripping or falling. Kendra, lying on her stomach in the middle floor, looked like she was reading a book at the beach. Lilly shook her head at the complete vulnerability of her sister’s position. Kendra couldn’t defend herself from that pose.

Another chill rippled down her back. The other hulking deity stood like a statue in one of the darker corners of the exhibit. Larger than Asar, the god had thick black hair that fell past his shoulders and a perpetual five o’clock shadow. Asar addressed him as Kamen. With his arms clasped in front of his chest, he looked as if he belonged here among all the antiquities. His stoicism did not match the wildness in his eyes. His stare would wilt even the strongest resolve.

“Where do you need us, Kend?” Lilly asked, looking around.

Kendra bounced up to hand Kit a book and brought her notes over to Lilly. “I need you to go into the archive and find a picture of the goddess marked with these symbols. I think I know who our key thief is and where she might be heading to next, but I need a picture to see the writings inscribed on her sarcophagus.”

Lilly headed down to the basement.

When she pulled out a drawer of the cataloging system, a plume of dust exploded into the air. Apparently, the drawers hadn’t been opened in a very long time. She waved her hand in front of her face, but it didn’t stop her from sneezing. Memories of climbing through old dig sites with her father surfaced in her mind, followed by another series of sneezes. “God, I hate this stuff,” she mumbled to herself, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. She shivered and immediately looked to her left.

“Your sister seems to enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s her thing.”

Asar stepped closer. “What is your thing, Lilly?”

His question actually made her laugh. “My thing? Yeah, well. I guess that would be killing revens.” She scratched the back of her neck, where it burned just under the skin. “Seems I’ve run into a cold spell.”

“I cannot very well let you die. And you made me vow to keep your sisters from harm. Letting you fight revens would seem a contradiction to our agreement.”

With her choice of expletives threatening to break free, she bit and held her tongue tightly. How was she going to explain this to Mother? All of a sudden her best hunters had no kills. She rubbed her neck again and twisted her head a few times to stretch the muscles. Finally, she turned back to what she had been doing and tried to ignore the fact a deity loomed over her shoulder. Not to mention her neck hurt like hell where the snake’s fangs leaked venom into her muscles.

An occupational hazard for the Nehebkau.

Lilly leafed through the parchments carefully laid on top of one another. She finally found the one she was looking for and carefully pulled it out of the stack. Rolling it up, she turned to leave, but his black body blocked her egress.

“Excuse me.” She didn’t bother hiding the annoyance in her voice.

He turned to the side. She tried to pass without touching him. She needed to stay focused on the task and not his body, but he didn’t budge an inch to accommodate her. The burning in her neck only added to her acrid mood. Finally, she pushed past, but not before her breasts brushed against his cold broad chest. Her nipples instantly tightened into small peaks underneath her vest. Of all things she didn’t want to happen.

Why the hell did he have to be so cold?

Over the table, she spread the parchment containing sketches of the hieroglyphics matching Kendra’s picture. Her stalker stood in the corner watching her. His ass could stay there for all she cared. She leaned over the small table and rested on her elbows, which brought her sleek blonde hair forward over her shoulders to block her view of him.

“When was your conversion?”

She stiffened as the serpent shifted under her skin. He moved just behind her, never making a sound. She glanced over her shoulder. He was nearly five feet away, yet her skin rose up in goose bumps. She rubbed the big knot of muscle running from her neck to her shoulder. “Five years ago.”

He stepped closer. “It is a very painful transformation, relative to the species of snake.”

She caught his gratuitous glance down her back to her ass. No doubt a hint of her pink lace panties peeked out from beneath the waist band.

As if she didn’t already know it was painful. She lived through the damn thing. Her current level of discomfort was a constant reminder of that moment. If she had known how agonizing it would be in the beginning, she’d have never agreed to it. Straightening up off the table, she refocused her attention back to the parchment.

“Hold still.”

Every muscle in her body tightened to fight when his ice cold fingers pressed against the base of her neck across the snake’s head. She didn’t like having her back turned to a potential enemy. Well, not so much an enemy, as an unwanted business partner.

A partner with hands of magic.

“An Egyptian asp is a very deadly snake. Used for the execution of criminals, it signifies the power over life and death.”

Her shoulders melted as the pain dissolved under his touch. The cold chill against her skin ceased when he pulled his hand away. She turned around to face him. With her arms crossed over her chest, she leaned her bottom against the table.

“Appropriate, seeing as I kill revens for a living, and we just added a convicted goddess to the list.”

“Fate, perhaps.” Asar touched his pectoral necklaces hidden under his tunic.

Lilly followed the motion to his chest.

“May I see them?” she asked. Surprise fluctuated in his eyes, but then he untied the tunic in the front and pulled back the edges. Honed out of well chiseled muscle his chest spanned above a six pack abdomen. His dark skin entirely smooth and devoid of hair held tautly against the bulk of muscle. The locations she had come in contact were lighter in color. His linen pants hung dangerously low against his hips, just above his pubic bone. Lilly glanced away when heat flushed her face. It took all her strength to refocus on the necklaces.

The three gold ropes lay at the broadest part of his chest. She recognized the lion and the moon pendent. The second, a ram’s head. The third, a crown with a crook and flail. With her lower lip pulled between her teeth she slowly extended her fingertips to touch the three medallions.

She searched his expression for any displeasure, but it remained placid. He at least wasn’t offended by her curiosity and touch. She withdrew her hand, and saw a cast of disappointment in his eyes despite his emotionless face.

“You left it there for me to find,” she said, astounded. “Did you know it would bring you here?”

“Your youngest sister has not been initiated into the Nehebkau. Why?”

His blatant disregard of her question, only confirmed her suspicions. Damn if she didn’t walk right into his plans. “I wouldn’t let her. It’s much too dangerous.”

“But you let your other sister.”

“Kit can handle herself,” she quipped.

“Do you know what they say about Nehebkau?” Asar asked, as he walked around the table.

“He was the God of Protection,” Lilly said, tracking him with her eyes. He circled her like a predator testing his prey.

“He is the God of Protection, both in life and in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians depicted him in the form of a snake with a human body. He joins the Ka, the soul, to the body.”

“Well, then Mother picked the right god to represent us. I just hope the revens we kill eventually find peace.”

Asar narrowed his eyes on her. “Mother? Your mother?”

“No. It’s a term we, Nehebkau, use for our leader. She believed in the curse, and used Nehebkau’s spell to create hunters to combat the revens. Mother believes we can find a talisman to cure those afflicted.” Lilly looked directly at the pectoral necklace, the very one she placed around his neck.

“What of your natural mother?”

Lilly glanced away and shrugged. “It’s always been our father and us. She left when we were very young.”

Despite her efforts, she couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice, which made her feel even more vulnerable–a sensation that never sat well with her. Her pain turned to bitterness. “I don’t see the relevance to this discussion. Does it really matter what kind of snake I have implanted in my body? It gives me the strength to protect what I love. Why are you even interested in my family?”

He moved closer, and placed his hands on the table on either side of her hips. With no means of escape, she leaned back, but he closed the space.

“Your reasons for joining the Nehebkau reveal the character of your soul. It is no coincidence the asp was chosen for you. It was chosen for you by the gods. As you said, we want the same thing. To protect what we love. The gods have decided to cross our paths, our fates. It is important we succeed. You are not the only one that has family at stake.”

She straightened closing the distance between them as far as she dared without touching him. “Yes, this is personal for me. The curse destroyed my family’s life. I’ll do everything in my power to stop it. And, if you are asking whether I’d betray your trust? No. No, I wouldn’t.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly before he pulled away, though his hands remained on the table close to her hips. She let out a heavy breath.

Lilly saw the hunger in his eyes. Hunger she had seen several times before when he stared at her. She squirmed under his gaze. With very little room to move, her hip brushed his arm. The fire in his eyes intensified with the slight contact. A stark contrast to the coldness of his skin.

Finally, she couldn’t take it. “Do you have to look at me that way?”

“What look would that be, Lilly?”

Another chill ran down her spine when he said her name. She lifted her chin. “The one that looks as if you are going to take a bite out of me. It’s very disconcerting. I’ve enough problems with revens trying to make me a meal.”

He blinked, then suddenly his eyes darkened. He leaned in closer so that his lips almost touched hers.  “You mean this look.”

She inhaled sharply. Her heart clashed against her chest. “Yes.”

“And what if I wanted to take a little nibble?”

The words sent an instant rush of heat through her body, tingling in all the right places. She closed her eyes, and gripped the table. The wood creaked under the stress.

“Open your eyes,” he commanded.

She complied and found him staring into her soul. Her connection to him was so strong. Everything about him pulled her in. The more she struggled to stop it, the stronger it became.

Her body trembled, feeling the cold press of his lips against hers. Coldness spread over her face, cool and delicious. Like, an ice cold drink on a sweltering day, quenching an unknown thirst. His strong cold hands grasped tightly around her biceps and pulled her in tighter to his mouth. Her reluctance got lost somewhere in the taste of him. Desperation overcame her as he aggressively sought out her tongue with his own. A moan escaped her lips with the onslaught of pleasure. He answered her with a growl which resonated in his chest, spurring her to slip her hands under his tunic and up his tight muscular back.

The deep growl of arousal propelled to a deafening roar. He reared back and retreated several feet into the darkness.

She gasped. To stabilize herself, she gripped the table and leaned over to catch her breath. Her warm fingertips pressed against her burning lips.

“Whoa,” she muttered under her breath. She didn’t know what to do with herself. Stay? Go? Run? She just kissed an Egyptian god–the God of the Underworld, no less. Her body throbbed from a simple kiss.

Who was she kidding? There was nothing simple about it.