by: A.J. Locke
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Release Date: March 26, 2024
They say humans are dreams and Fiends are nightmares. For though Fiends have magic, beauty, and power, their immortal lives are restricted. Vampires must sate their blood lust. Wytches will crumble to dust when their magic runs out. Shapeshifting Haunts must keep their vicious beasts caged. Incubi and succubi cannot indulge in carnal pleasure without dire consequences.
Novari is a human who bartends for Luccero, an alluring incubus and the star of her fantasies. She can’t have Luc, but she does have Keo, who also wouldn’t mind Luc’s touch. Keo, who loathes being a vampire, is in pursuit of a fabled cure that will turn Fiends human. A cure highly in demand as many Fiends crave freedom from their burdened lives.
When an unexpected discovery about the cure’s location puts Novari and Keo in danger, they take refuge in Luccero’s sprawling manor. There, they contemplate how to stay safe … and succumb to each other’s seduction.
The pleasure she finds with Luc and Keo makes Novari want to hide away forever, but when the danger zeroes in, they’ll have to figure out how to overcome it before the dream they’ve found together becomes a nightmare.
“Cursed,” came Luc’s soft voice. “As Fiends we consider ourselves cursed, nightmares. Humans, fragile and finite as they may be, are the dreams. They are born, they grow, they change, they have choices we will never have about who they want to be and what feeds their appetites. But we, everlasting and unchanging until the moment of our demise, have little choice. I can never travel far by myself lest I have no means to sate my Lust. I came into existence as an incubus with a specific way I must live, and that is all I can ever be.”
His words reminded me of the conversation with Keo last night and the way he’d questioned his urges because he couldn’t stop wondering if everything about him was decided before he even existed.
“I don’t think I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about things from your perspective. I feel bad about that.”
Luc chuckled. “Humans are selfish beings; I do not fault you for it.”
“I’m not—”
“I meant it not as an insult,” he cut in, “you are selfish because you know your time is limited. That there is an inevitable end you cannot avoid, and though you wish for the years to take you into old age, you live with no idea if your next day will be your last. Thus, you focus on yourselves, your pursuits, your pleasures. You can pick up jobs, hobbies, lovers, and discard them as your mood fits because ‘life is short,’ no?
“You try to pull as much life from the world as you can because when you die, there is no coming back. Fiends can walk through centuries; we do not think of time the same way. Were two hundred of your friends to ask you to keep something of theirs in your care for the rest of your life you would say there was no way you could dedicate your life to taking care of things that do not belong to you. Things that would impede your ability to live your life on your terms.”
He raised his hand to indicate the greenhouse. “But for me? I said yes every single time a Fleurisse came to me. Because it was of no consequence to hold on to things that would remain as long as I. All I have is time, and thus, we endure the long years together.”
Luccero was far more perceptive and empathetic than I would have ever thought he was. In a few short hours I’d learned more about him than I’d ever known. Because all I’d seen when I looked at him was his beauty, all I’d felt was his charm and his lusty aura. But he was so much more than a creature of seduction. I was sure his long life was full of amazing stories. He could tell me something about every Fleurisse here, was probably knowledgeable about things I wouldn’t know the first thing about.
I badly wanted to know this side of him more.
His words reminded me of the conversation with Keo last night and the way he’d questioned his urges because he couldn’t stop wondering if everything about him was decided before he even existed.
“I don’t think I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about things from your perspective. I feel bad about that.”
Luc chuckled. “Humans are selfish beings; I do not fault you for it.”
“I’m not—”
“I meant it not as an insult,” he cut in, “you are selfish because you know your time is limited. That there is an inevitable end you cannot avoid, and though you wish for the years to take you into old age, you live with no idea if your next day will be your last. Thus, you focus on yourselves, your pursuits, your pleasures. You can pick up jobs, hobbies, lovers, and discard them as your mood fits because ‘life is short,’ no?
“You try to pull as much life from the world as you can because when you die, there is no coming back. Fiends can walk through centuries; we do not think of time the same way. Were two hundred of your friends to ask you to keep something of theirs in your care for the rest of your life you would say there was no way you could dedicate your life to taking care of things that do not belong to you. Things that would impede your ability to live your life on your terms.”
He raised his hand to indicate the greenhouse. “But for me? I said yes every single time a Fleurisse came to me. Because it was of no consequence to hold on to things that would remain as long as I. All I have is time, and thus, we endure the long years together.”
Luccero was far more perceptive and empathetic than I would have ever thought he was. In a few short hours I’d learned more about him than I’d ever known. Because all I’d seen when I looked at him was his beauty, all I’d felt was his charm and his lusty aura. But he was so much more than a creature of seduction. I was sure his long life was full of amazing stories. He could tell me something about every Fleurisse here, was probably knowledgeable about things I wouldn’t know the first thing about.
I badly wanted to know this side of him more.
Purchase A Seduction of Dreams and Nightmares from:
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Places to find A.J. Locke:
1) Handmade book sleeve
2) Themed Notebook
3) Worldbuilding key item: Everway Compass decoration
4) Character art bookmarks: Luccero, Novari, Keovallen
5) Character art prints: Luccero, Novari, Keovallen
6) Handmade pressed flower necklace
7) Sticker sheet
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