Jo Carlisle: Raina’s Fantasy
August 26, 2007
Raina’s Fantasy by Jo Carlisle
From: Ellora’s Cave
First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular thing ask: what is it in itself? What is its nature? What does he do, this man you seek?
You know who I was rooting for in Silence of The Lambs? You might think it was Clarice Starling but you would be wrong. Sure it was Jodie Foster’s best movie role but she did not sell me her character. You know who made her shine? Dr. Hannibal Lecter made her shine, and that is who I was left rooting for at the end of the movie, not Clarice. It’s all about liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
The way it worked so well for me was that Dr. Hannibal Lecter was not an idiot, he was not some raging monster, he functioned incredibly well and interacted very intelligently far more so than any other character in that movie and even Clarice noted he had honor. He just did not share our sense of right and wrong, our social taboos. He ate people. Yet you and I wanted him to have an HEA at the end of that film. Oh, come on admit it.
Jo Carlisle, creator of Drakkon, come on down!
What shall I say about this story? OK here is what Jo initially sets up for us.
Johan Stone, Alpha Supreme, and his faithful yet sick side kick Zane Ramsey, are discredited Warriors (fantasy world cops) and Zane is starting to succumb to pneumonia while still looking good in a g-string. So Johan has a bright idea to sell their asses into slavery.
Vampire Queen Raina Zharov out bids the evil demon Drakkon and makes our boys her slaves.
Zane is totally into the slave thing they have fallen into and even the homo sex with his best buddy turns him on big time. With both feet he jumps right in. Johann on the other hand is ALPHA, so no go on the slave show. That is until he figures out that him and missy Vampire Queen got a thing going on. So basically the first half of this book you get this…
He’d do anything for Raina. For Zane.
Anything at all, no matter the cost to himself.
Was this…love?
Yes, he’d always loved Zane. Raina had him pegged on that score. If not for the extraordinary circumstances they’d found themselves in, would he ever have expressed those feelings toward Zane physically? Probably not.
But what about Raina? Truth be told, she’d done nothing but try to protect her men since she’d rescued them from Lash and whisked them from Drakkon’s clutches. She’d tried to comfort him, to convince him she wasn’t the enemy. Had worried over their safety as they’d gone into the night poorly armed to search for a killer. With Zane’s and Alexi’s help, she’d healed him from the demon attack, then saved his sanity when the ardin merged with his DNA.
Being the Vampire Queen, she must conduct herself in accordance with the law, but she wasn’t at all selfish and cold as she’d have others believe. Raina was sexually free, compassionate, beautiful—
Two truths hit Johan between the eyes like twin hammers.
Hadn’t he already guessed? The thread glowed brighter between him and Raina, illuminating his heart and soul, every fiber of his being, because she was…his mate. My mate! He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he did. The other truth?
Johan, former warrior-turned-slave, was falling hard for Raina Zharov.
Gods, how is this possible? My Queen, my mistress, my mate.
And he didn’t have a fucking clue how to avoid becoming entangled in her silken web. A bitter laugh escaped his lips. Too late. Damn it to Hades, he should leave. Take his chances and just go, as soon as possible.
At once, the bond screamed in protest and terror, a white-hot lance skewering his brain. The beast added to the cacophony, roaring in displeasure, coiling his muscles into a knot at the very idea of abandoning his mate. Mine!
Gritting his teeth, Johan gripped the chains and rode the agony, muttering a foul oath. Didn’t Raina know the shackles at his wrists and ankles were no longer necessary?
His own traitorous heart had performed the task just fine.
Trapped like the animal he’d become, with no way out.
Yeah, I know. Me ALPHA, you mate! Let’s fuck! *yawn*
But then, Jo gets us to chapter 16 and Missy Mate the Vampire Queen has a little public confrontation with Drakkon the Demon King…
“You consume human flesh, Drakkon. That’s wrong on so many levels, I can’t even begin.”
“Why?” He sounded genuinely baffled. “If a group of middle-class humans pickets a meat-packing plant with signs declaring ‘save the cows’, they’re dismissed as weirdoes. I, on the other hand, perform a service to humans and shifters by cleansing the earth of their lesser brethren. Through the slave system, I dispose of career criminals and other foul wretches no one wants littering the streets. They are my cows, if you will. The choice slaves I use for sex, same as any upper-class member. And I do all of this legally. Why is that wrong, yet your consumption of human blood and ownership of that lovely thrall isn’t?”
Zane glanced down at his mistress from under his lashes. The demon hit a nerve. Her lips were drawn into a grim line, her face taut with anger. The scary thing was, every word he’d said was true. A prime example of what made Drakkon such a dangerous enemy, of how he kept the Council in his corner. Smooth talker with a forked tongue. Typical politician.
“Touché. Be that as it may, I’m not here to debate with you. I’ve come to propose a trade, one of mutual benefit to us both.”
My bored mind suddenly came awake and my pop culture sensibilities came alive and I was… Oh Jo! You are not going there, are you girl?!
Oh and she did, oh she did! She has Zane, the happy thrall, get corrupted by Hannibal Drakkon!
Oh Clarice NO!
“Mercy,” he croaked.
“No, because you do not want me to stop. Tell me what you really desire. Say it!”
“H-h-hurt me…please…”
The strikes redoubled, falling with ruthless precision. Each one sent shocks to his dick. The fog thickened until he reached and found the prize. Rapture.
“Yes, yesss,” he sobbed.
As if sensing he’d broken the thrall at last, Drakkon tossed aside the whip. He dragged two fingers through the blood on Zane’s skin and came to stand in front of him once more. Slashing open his own wrist, he watched as the dark liquid beaded on the surface. He rubbed the crimson fingers into his wrist, mingling their blood, then held his wrist to Zane’s lips.
“Taste.”
On instinct, Zane tried to avert his head. Restrained as he was, Drakkon dabbed his lips with little effort and out of sheer reflex, Zane’s tongue flicked out to clean off the droplets.
“Ohh!” His heart and lungs seized, his brain spinning. He’d never mainlined heroin, had avoided that deadly Venus flytrap, but this is exactly what he imagined the high to be like. An addictive rush bleeding to every fiber, carrying him toward his destiny, black and final.
When the demon’s wrist touched his lips again Zane didn’t resist. He latched on hungrily, drinking with greedy swallows, loving the heady nectar pouring down his throat. Taking the essence of his master inside him.
“Now you are mine,” the demon approved, stroking Zane’s hair with his free hand. “We will keep our secret for a while, but I am your master in truth. Only I will be able quench the dark fire burning within you. After tonight, I will stay away until your urgency to submit to my touch drives you mad, until your sanity hovers on the brink. And when I call, you’ll come to me eagerly. Beautiful thrall…mine forever.”
“Yours, my lord, to do with as you wish,” he whispered, nuzzling his face into the beloved hand. The awesome instrument of sadistic cruelty, carnality stripped to its most primal elements.
What am I saying? What have I done?
Drakkon smiled, caressing his cheek. “That’s right, sweet boy. The others will try to fill your head with lies about me, but you will not listen. If you betray me, you’ll accomplish nothing but your own destruction because your body and soul cannot survive without me. Have I given you anything except what you so desperately need?”
“No, my lord.”
“Have I done anything to your delicious body that you did not desire?”
He closed his eyes. “No.”
The hand left his face and he felt the absence of the sensual touch like a physical blow. Blinking, he sought his captor…and sucked in an appreciative breath. Drakkon stood naked in his most human form, clothing vanished. Ebony hair tumbled past his shoulders, framed his massive, gorgeous chest. He was all muscled perfection and olive skin. The enormous penis jutting between his thighs and the weighty orbs beneath testified he wasn’t anywhere near human. In true demon form, supersized all over, could Zane house all of that magnificent length?
A feral, determined expression hardened Drakkon’s face. He stepped around the rack, positioning himself behind his prey. He parted Zane’s ass, nudging his tight hole. Pushed in just the head, teasing. “My thrall.”
“Please,” he begged, reason gone. “If you don’t take me, I’ll die.”
“Never forget it.”
YES! Fucking YES!
My inner editor came out during the standing ovation and wanted Jo to go back shift as much as possible to Zane’s POV, dump a couple of characters, and let Missy Vampire Queen and Johann (I’m an ALPHA) do their thing on the back burner. *yawn* Zane was the one I needed to watch slowly be setup for the downfall.
So you see, this is not a perfect book. None of the other sex scenes besides the one in chapter 16 hit me because everybody recovered so easily from the dramatic moments. Even the straight guy, Johann (I’m an ALPHA DAMN IT!) and his side kick Zane fucking away did not register because there was no real solid angst to hang off of, no moments of OMG, before or after. I was not really sold any sense of trepidation.
But… this wonderful Demon King and Zane? Oh hell yes!
When Drakkon is impressed with Zane all hung up and ready to fuck crying for him to “do me Daddy” in his native form, he did not want a bed time story, that was true love right there baby.
I could really tell where this writer was having fun and honestly if this is her fun then honey take those old Romance rules in both hands and go *SNAP*. If I wanted safe I would not be buying eBooks, I would buy Harlequins. Jo, you had me begging for you to turn the tables on my ass and let the bad guy and his angst ridden corrupted love slave get the HEA. All Romance says is there has to be an HEA, it does not say WHO gets one.
I suddenly wanted a whole book dedicated to Zane as he betrays his (cardboard cut-out) friends at the whims of his Dark Lord and Master, Drakkon the Evil Demon King. I want that sweet sweet evil demon lovin PLEASE.
They are that good together.
I have argued with myself over this grade girl. This is may have not been in your plans Jo but you hit on some great characters in the second half and saved this dang book from an average score.
Great villains with great sex scenes deserve Grade B at the least.
