Night Longings

By Albert Nelson

Dyane Albert Farkas had three problems. First, he was going through a period of starvation for him and saw nothing beyond the desire and lust that consumed him. The second, that his  grandfather had made him universal heir by leaving him a huge list of problems and requirements that he would share with a delicious and exasperating woman. 
Amanda Viehl only wanted two things: to lose sight of the fool with whom she shared a night of intense. But in order to achieve either of the two things, she will have to comply with the clause stipulated in her mentor's will

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Nelson
• Release date: Mar 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215160596

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

I don't think ripping your ex's balls off with a corkscrew is one of your best ideas.

Amanda's gaze shifted from the glass in her hands to the small, flirtatious woman sitting on the stool. He had met Claire five years earlier at the Cat Clinic of Northest Seattle; a hospital which he combined with volunteering at the Seattle Shelter —the animal shelter that was his life today—, his mentor had suggested that hospital to begin his internship period. The woman had been the first to extend her hand and offer her friendship. Albert. The thought of his mentor made his chest tighten once more and the tears threaten to appear again. He had been the closest thing to a family she'd ever had.

"Okay, corkscrew off the list. Let's move on to the second of my best ideas, drink until you pass out. He pushed the dark thoughts aside and raised his glass in a toast. For you Albert. The only decent man who's ever crossed my path.

Her friend made a face.

"I don't think drinking yourself unconscious is a good way to honor someone, honey.

She shook her head vehemently, sending her hair flying in various directions.

If the Irish or Scots or whatever do it, so do I.

Her friend rolled her eyes.

'You've always told me that Albert was Hungarian.

It was, right? Yes, he had always taken pride in his ancestry, among other things. He felt like crying again.

Why did he have to die just now? he blurted out. Couldn't he die next week? He told me that he would always be there for me when I needed him, and now that I need him... Puff! He died.

She set her empty glass down on the bar and ran her hands through her hair, digging her fingers into the messy strands. Of the hairstyle she had earlier in the evening, nothing remained except a few loose hairpins.

What a fucking week.

And it was. It had been a hellish week that began with the news of his foster uncle —as calling himself Albert himself—death and ended with a backstabbing from his jerk boss and ex-boyfriend.

I should have listened to you. Albert warned me what a rancid weasel that jerk was, why didn't I listen? she whined, turning to Claire.

She made a face.

—I imagine for the same reason that you didn't do it to me when I gave you the same warning.

Geez, the truth stung.

I never should have gone out with him, she huffed. Okay, yes, he's handsome, but he's got the brain of a mosquito. A very small one.

She had made a colossal mistake agreeing to go out with him a year ago. She was so thirsty for affection, that she thought she could find it in a man, who now knew, her only aspiration in life was to make money by exploiting her employees. He had also tricked her into lending him money and taking care of problems that weren't even hers. That situation had led her to have to ask for a loan putting the Refuge as collateral. The only belonging of her entire life would be repossessed and would pass into the hands of the bank at the end of the month, and all for trusting the damn prick who was now trying to throw her out on the street.

My shelter, they're going to take my shelter from me, she moaned, her head slamming back against the surface of the bar. Judging by the sound of the blow and the absence of pain, he had to be really pissed off. My children will be homeless if I don't do something to stop the foreclosure before the end of the month.

I hate to remind you of the obvious, darling, but it will take a miracle to prevent that.

She moaned as if he had stabbed her through the heart. He couldn't lose that place, it was all he had, his meager savings had been invested in it since Albert gave him the property when he came of age; he would die if he lost it.

I have failed them, she muttered in sorrow. I have failed everyone.

Albert had trusted her when he gave her the keys to the dilapidated place, he knew that she would do everything possible to preserve it and take care of its inhabitants. And because of a bad decision, he was about to lose it. Her only consolation is that he was no longer there to see her break her promise.

‹‹Promise me that whatever happens, you will give shelter to whoever needs it, Amanda.

And he had kept his promise, for the last ten years he had not allowed any of his children to stay on the street. Any animal that needed care would always find it at the Refuge.

No. She sat up suddenly and slapped the surface with the palm of her hand. No one is going to take the Refuge from me. Say goodbye to the clinic if you want, but they won't touch my home.

And that was what the swine had threatened to do when he had refused to give her a new loan after squandering the first one; fire her

After spending more than a year living together and sharing a pretty good relationship—in her modest opinion and to her completely blind and foolish instincts—he had spent the last month trying to convince her to take out a new loan. He wanted him to sell his van, if he could get the amount he needed that way. Faced with his profound refusal, recriminations and insults arrived and before he knew it he found himself facing the weasel that so many people had already warned him about.

A week after that, his life went from being reasonably normal to becoming a real hell.

On Monday he received an unexpected call from the jerk Daniel Cassidy—his mentor's right-hand man and good friend. The man had not been around the bush, he had asked her to be ready because he would go to pick her up to take her to the hospital; Albert had died. The next two days passed in a kind of unreality that she still couldn't shake. His benefactor had left instructions for him to be cremated and for his ashes to be sent to a nature reserve and scattered to the wind; he had always been a free spirit. No one came to say goodbye, not even his own family. She, Cassidy and other people - she supposed they worked in the mansion or knew the deceased - were the only ones who accompanied him before heading to his last resting place.

On Thursday he had woken up to find the notification from the bank in his mailbox. If he did not pay the debt he contracted for the loan before the end of the month, he would lose the refuge.

And that same Friday afternoon, his life had gone down the drain as soon as he arrived at the clinic. She had been stunned—like the rest of her colleagues on the afternoon shift—by the news that the clinic had been sold to a corporation and that it was a firm candidate to head the list of those laid off in that company restructuring.

My life sucks, so what difference does it make if I'm close to an alcoholic coma when I go to collect the settlement? he grumbled. With my luck, if a lighter is brought near me I will burst into flames and have a spectacular ending. Break your back at work for more than five years and prepare your ass to get kicked out because you didn't want to continue sucking the son of a bitch of your boyfriend-boss. Why didn't you force me to listen to you when you said he wasn't clean wheat?

Her friend sighed and put her hand on her shoulder.

You were so obsessed with that prick that anything I said to you would have gone in one ear and out the other. Or worse, you would have accused me of being a liar.

He snorted and dropped his head back against the smooth surface of the bar; tomorrow she would have a bump the size of a grapefruit.

I'm a complete idiot, she whimpered, I'm going to end up homeless with no roof over my head.

You don't know that for sure, her companion insisted. He pushed the empty glass away so they couldn't refill it. They're just rumors, he can't just fire you, you're one of the best vets the clinic has.

He huffed, slowly raising his head. The distorted image that the mirror returned to him behind the bottles on the bar made him grimace.

I should have spayed him when I had the chance, she whined. Arg , this is disgusting...

You should wait until tomorrow before jumping to conclusions, she insisted. As I understand it, the new owners...

He made an effort to turn to her.

-The? Is it more than one?

—I found out from the anesthesiologist, who went out drinking with our asshole boss...

Ex boss... ex boyfriend... ex everything, he interrupted. I needed to point that out.

...someone made an offer he couldn't refuse, he continued. And said offer was signed with two names. Two men, in fact.

He snorted once more.

Of course, he grumbled. God forbid the clinic is run by a competent and intelligent woman.

He huffed at the prospect of having to put on a brave face and greet new bosses just to ask for a raise. One had the right to be paid according to her work.

Yes, it would be the first to be put on the street.

Do you know them? You know who they are?

If there was anyone who could overshadow the CIA's Intelligence Service, it was Claire. He didn't know how he did it, but the woman was always on top of everything.

"What I know is what appears on Google if you enter their names, he commented, leaning toward her confidently, and what I was able to hiss at the anesthesiologist." Apparently, they are two sharks of finance. They are known for rescuing small businesses and turning them into leaders within their own industry. For the rest, everything is very hermetic, no shady secret or too much of their private lives is known.

He couldn't help but laugh at the annoyed note in the female voice. Claire made gossip her second profession.

So they could very well be wolves disguised as little lambs, he teased.

Girl, if either one of them decides to take a bite out of me, I wouldn't mind being their little lamb, he purred. Our new bosses are magazine material.

snorted.

And what would your hubby say about it?

She snorted back.

What you don't see won't hurt you, he sneered. Besides, staring isn't considered cheating and our new bosses are...

Your new bosses, he pointed out. If nothing prevents it, tomorrow at this time I will be enjoying my settlement, looking for a new job or begging God for a miracle.

If they're smart, they'll want to keep you.

He smiled, he envied that positivity.

—Men and intelligence together in the same sentence? -he mocked-. That is a myth.

Her friend's laugh was contagious, either that or she had so much alcohol in her body that she couldn't tell what was funny from what wasn't. Everything amused him.

New bosses... he murmured between giggles. When they present the fucking list that that son of a bitch left with the names of the personnel who will be given the settlement, they will stop being the bosses of many.

He shook his head.

God, I'd give anything to shove the fucking redundancy list up that bastard's ass and twist it... without him enjoying it!

An unexpected cough, followed by the sudden movement of placing the glass on the bar, attracted the attention of both.

Lower your voice, crazy, her friend chided, shooting the man an apologetic look.

She turned just enough to glance briefly over her shoulder at the boy who was now wiping his mouth with a napkin; if he hadn't been so drunk he would have sworn he was trying hard not to laugh.

Do you think it's fun? He couldn't help but ask.

The stranger's feline eyes widened slightly, flirtatious dimples forming in his cheeks as his lips curved into a wide smile. The words that came from the parted lips hit her as if she had just grabbed a power line.

-The truth? Yes, he replied. His voice was deep, slightly dark, and boyish. He couldn't have been more than twenty years old. It didn't make you so bloodthirsty... it's fun to see this new side of you.

She opened her mouth to say something, sure this was the first time she'd seen him, but Claire grabbed her arm and yanked her off the stool, preventing her from saying anything else. He put a few dollars on the bar and waved the bartender good-bye.

Let's go before you end up hitting someone, he stated, already pulling her toward the door.

She stopped short, digging her heels into the floor before he could get her across the threshold of the door of the place they used to go to after work.

"I haven't hit anyone in my entire life.

Have you already forgotten about the incident you had with Cassidy and the tabby cat?

It took Amanda a few moments to form an image of that scene.

Oh, yeah, he agreed with a slow nod. Yep... well, it was a slip.

A slip that almost sent you straight to the police station, he said with a pout. If it wasn't for Albert, who knew the guy and interceded between you, you would have had a nice night behind bars.

He grimaced as he remembered the memorable afternoon when he had his first words with the cocoon. The man who came to pick up the tabby cat from the Menedèk mansion had acted as if he were the only one who had all the answers and his word didn't matter at all. He even had the luxury of censoring her, shutting her up with just a look and a simple word. The fact that bothered her the most was not that she had succeeded, but rather that her attitude and the aura that surrounded that element had pissed her off as much as it had turned her on, sexually.

Fortunately, Albert was there and put an end to what happened. He had apologized to her, as he had forgotten to introduce her to the new member of the family; the tabby cat, who seemed to have a penchant from then on for going miles to visit his cellmates in the shelter. In fact, she'd had to take him with her to the clinic that afternoon and was currently waiting in the carrier in the back seat of her beat-up van.

The thought of Albert brought a knot to her chest again.

Tiger misses Albert too, he murmured, thinking of the cat.

Don't tell me that bug has dropped back into the Refuge again.

He nodded.

"I have it in the back of the van, in the carrier.

Don't even think about taking that old thing, he threatened her.

He shook his head and sighed.

-Don't worry. I'll call a taxi and take you home," he agreed. He didn't see himself with the strength to return that night to the apartment he had been sharing with that bastard. He had made it clear that he wanted all his things out of there before Monday or else he would burn them.

She was wishing she would leave them so she could become an arsonist.

When is the reading of the will held? he asked. Do you want me to go with you?

That had been another of the many surprises of that week, the summons to appear on Saturday for the reading of Albert's last wills.

Tomorrow, at four, he muttered. You must be the first lawyer to want to work on a Saturday afternoon.

With a deep sigh, she maneuvered onto the stool to retrieve her bag—without falling to the ground herself—and extracted a couple of bills.

Today it's my own, she declared and rose on her wobbly heels. I'd better get some fresh air and then call a taxi.

Her friend clicked her tongue.

That way you'll learn not to drink until you're close to unconsciousness, he assured with good humor. Try to be punctual tomorrow, remember that you have the morning shift and if I don't see you show up at the clinic first thing in the morning, I'll worry.

He gave her an unexpected hug and pulled away decisively.

—Everything is to collect the settlement soon.

Before she could say anything about it, he waved goodbye and hurried across the room to the front door with perfect balance to carry four margaritas with him.

CHAPTER 2

It's too early for you to start complaining.

Dyane's gaze slid from the various documents scattered on the desk to the collage of monitors inside a handsome mahogany cabinet across the room. He raised an eyebrow and rubbed the corner of his mouth with his thumb, a gesture that his interlocutor could not see.

Now you're going to tell me it's also a crime to snort? he suggested printing in his words all the irony he could.

As if it were known that he was being watched, his friend and current manager of the Menedék mansion turned his face in the direction of the room's security camera and raised his ring finger.

She couldn't stop her lips from curling up in response.

Give me a break, Daniel, she told him as she looked at the different monitors, which showed the action in real time from the different areas of the Nightsins ; the private haven that inhabited the bowels of the enormous mausoleum. You already dragged me here, so relax.

He heard a small giggle through the hands-free line he had open, the contemptuous tone still present.

I'm not the one who decided to lock myself in that office to escape temptation, Dyane, he told her. He must have been one of the few people who pronounced her name correctly: Dáyan . Just for that little detail he allowed her to talk to him the way she did without repercussions. When you had a name similar to a woman's, it was a luxury to find someone who knew how to pronounce it correctly.

The mention of his strategic withdrawal, however, was another matter entirely. He would have thought that with the party he had the night before with the delicious brunette, his hunger would have been satisfied. But it wasn't like that. It was still present and very much alive, kicking inside her.

With a mixed heritage, the period of famine, which normally affected a select few of the various races, was slightly altered with each season. Her sorcerer part, instead of mitigating the effects of Hunger , made it twist to the point that she was one of the only and rare members of her caste capable of entering the female mind and commanding it. Not only could he unravel his prey's every sinful thought and desire, which was hallmark of the Masters of Sin , he could also coerce and secure the cooperation of his bedmate.

The unexpected gift had served her purposes perfectly, especially when it came to satisfying her wild nature and enjoying something as delicious and natural as sex.

"I'll remind you when hunger squeezes your intestines at the next station," he grumbled without taking his eyes off the increasingly attractive scenes shown to him by one of the screens in the Nightsins' private rooms .

With each new image that passed, he found himself more uncomfortable and totally ready to break out of his confinement and indulge in lust with any woman who crossed his path. The heavy erection that his pants barely contained was incentive enough for it.

Rohan's at a demo, who's taking over guarding the rooms?

He licked his lips as he enjoyed the show offered by one of the Masters with his scene partner. They were in the hall of mirrors, carrying out one of the hottest demonstrations of the night, much to the pleasure of those who enjoyed voyeurism or who enjoyed listening to the sweet moans of the two bedfellows.

Skin to skin, two naked and intertwined bodies enjoying sex and pleasure, the power that comes from knowing that one is dominant and the surrender of the one who submits. Theirs was a slow, sensual dance, full of kisses and caresses that rose in pitch with each new advance. The distribution of the mirrors returned their own image from all angles, thus allowing them to remain enclosed in the cocoon of their own intimacy and eroticism. They were both aware that behind those fake mirrors, others they enjoyed at the same time their pleasure in contemplating them.

Theoretically it was Bass's turn, the answer seeped slowly into his dull brain, but once again the damned cat is missing. I have Ortega lending a hand.

He nodded and made a low, loud noise in response.

It was lucky that the Nightsins was under Daniel's direction and that the Masters were still within its walls, especially when the man who had created such a haven for the different races had suddenly left them.

Although he knew the Masters from other fights, it had been too long since he had dropped by the mansion. Too much since his father and grandfather had broken relations, and consequently, he had stopped coming. A long absence of ten years after which he found himself not only back, but with a huge unexpected load on his shoulders.

If learning of his death and the illness that had led him to that end was not enough of a shock, the fact that he had been named