4 ANGELS! -- "This is an intriguing start to a new series... Although fast-paced, Hunter Raines has succeeded in developing multilayered characters that breathe life into the story of love in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds... Bound by Melody seems fresh and exciting due to Hunter Raines' deft descriptions and vivid characters."

BOUND BY MELODY
Paranormal / Urban Fantasy

ISBN: 978-1-59596-850-0
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Elves, M/M
Series: Bound by... (Book 1)
Length: Novella

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Having just been evicted for what his landlord calls "immoral and unnatural carnal acts," Gilrain is forced to move into the first elf-friendly building he finds -- even if that means renting a basement apartment that has more in common with a cellar than a penthouse.

Still, a change of scenery is just what Gil needs. He's still not sure whether what he experienced the previous night was a dream or a real encounter. What he does know is that he woke with bruises, love bites, kiss-swollen lips... and an eviction notice on his door.

But when the first night in his new apartment brings strands of a spectral song drifting from beneath the ground straight into his bedroom, Gil realizes he'll find no rest here. He recognizes an elf binding when he feels one, but he won't be taken against his will.

So what will Gil do when he learns he's the only one who can grant a wounded elf a second chance... or condemn him to everlasting damnation?

Gil rose on shaky legs and made his way to the only window in the bedroom. Neon-gilded light slid through the open slats in the bamboo blinds and scattered colorful patterns across the hardwood floor. With a grunt, Gil slid the window up.

A cool breeze pushed his long hair back from his face. He leaned into it, breathing in the smell of car exhaust and rotting garbage drifting up from the alley below his apartment.

With a sigh, he returned to bed. This time, he didn't bother with the sheet. Ethereal tendrils of wind played across his bare chest and drifted among the nest of curls at his groin. The sweat dried on his skin.

He hadn't had a nightmare. At least... he didn't think he did. He couldn't recall even one terrifying or even remotely frightening image. In fact, he couldn't remember anything about his dream except for the eyes.

Those perfectly normal, beautiful, haunting eyes.

He wished he'd been able to glimpse the face that went with them. Would it have been classically gorgeous, with a sculpted chin and straight nose? No... it would probably have been rugged, boasting a scar across one cheek that stood out in sharp contrast to the normalcy of those eyes. And what of the man's hair? Would it have been curly and short? Dark and long, perfect for gripping and yanking?

Gil groaned. Flipping onto his stomach, he buried his face in his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him, but falling into another stupor would certainly chase the lingering images from his sleep-deprived mind.

His cock bore into the mattress. The urge to hump the bed sheet stole the air from his lungs. He resisted. Barely.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there, willing sleep to claim him. It would have been easy to slide a hand between his legs, grab his cock, and stroke it until his seed seeped into the mattress.

Too easy.

Just the thought of how good it would feel to stroke his thick erection to climax sent magical energy scattering into the air. Blue sparkles hovered above the bed. The noise of crackling static filled the room. To drown it out, Gil grabbed another pillow and slammed it over his head.

He could reject the sensual pull of the magic. He controlled the energy, not the other way around. Just like he controlled his own carnal desires. In the hundred and twenty-four years he'd lived among humans, he hadn't once allowed his base impulses to get the better of him. He wasn't about to start now.

Lust whispered through his veins, reminding him it had been too long since he'd given in to his Helir nature. He'd have to remedy that in a hurry, before the urge grew too compelling to resist.

He still had time, though. He hadn't spent the first two centuries of his life ignoring the magical fabric that branded him a Helir elf. No. He'd learned to tame it, to wield it, to make it submit to him instead of dominating his every move.

The effort had been worth it. While the rest of his kind loved terrorizing lesser races with sexual magic, Gil had managed to become as close to human as possible without changing his genetic makeup. It had taken more than a century, but he'd proven himself trustworthy time and again. His accomplishments had won him the right to live among humans. And although ancient prejudices still reared their heads, those who knew him respected his abilities. Some even called him "friend."

He'd be damned if he'd give all that up for a measly orgasm.

The powerful energy hovering above the bed began to dissipate. The crackling noise dimmed to a hum. Gil released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as the last traces of magic fled through the open window, making a forlorn sound akin to a wail on the way out.

After that, sleep came quickly. Slumber enveloped Gil in a sense of comfort and peace, lulling him with promises of dreamless oblivion.

But that was before the eyes returned. And this time, the rest of the man came with them.

Unseen hands lifted Gil from the bed. He tried to protest, but the words died on his tongue. His surroundings wavered, changing with the speed of rapid strikes of lightning. He floated through hollow air, following a dark specter he couldn't quite make out.

Newly-familiar brown eyes beckoned to him and he followed, unable to resist the tug of that haunting gaze. He floated through dreamland, guided by an invisible pull toward a man he didn't know.

He drifted above green meadows, along the ocean's edge, down the center of a busy L.A. highway, and into landscapes so twisted and alien that he couldn't name them. Through it all, Gil's cock pounded with need. It took all the self-control he possessed to keep from reaching down and giving the thick length a frenzied stroke.

At last, the man stopped. They stood at the top of a stony cliff in the deep darkness that came just before dawn. Moonlight cast a silvery sheen over their surroundings, highlighting the bare branches of bushes and thorny plants. Ten feet ahead, the craggy edge of the cliff fell away into nothingness. Wind whipped Gil's hair around his face and lashed his naked flesh with icy fingertips.

For the first time, Gil had a chance to assess his guide. He was at least a head taller than Gil, and just as naked, with the exception of a black knitted pull-on cap that covered his head and hid his hair. Moonlight caressed a lean, powerful body. A blunt nose, full lips that turned downward slightly, and the jutting slant of a hard jaw completed the breathtaking visage.

"Who are you?" Gil asked when he could find his voice. The words echoed around him, bouncing off the rocks. The cliff and the wind threw them back at him ten times louder. "What do you want?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he anchored his hands just above his tapered waist. His groin rocked forward, showing off a long, perfect cock.

Gil swallowed past the lump in his throat. His own erection answered with a throbbing pulse that caused the shaft to twitch. A drop of precum appeared at the tip. The icy breeze caught it and pushed it down across the flushed head, eliciting a violent shiver that spread through Gil's body.

Unease skittered down his spine as arousal ignited something deep inside him, lighting a flame he'd fought hard to stifle. Magic rose in blue waves. It blossomed in the darkness, a cascade of striking iridescent sparkles against a backdrop of black.

The man moved toward him, one hand outstretched. A flame of powerful magic burst from his palm, then quickly spread up his arm. In the span of a few seconds, it had enveloped his entire body, giving it an otherworldly blue glow.

"You're Helir," Gil murmured, taking a step back.

It had been decades since he'd encountered another of his kind. His own magic responded to the sexual energy surging through the other elf. It slid down his skin to burrow deep into his balls. His sac tightened against the base of his shaft, sending another jolt of aching lust through his system.

"What do you want?" Gil asked again, louder this time, grimacing when the echo tinted his words with an unmistakable shade of desperation.

"You."

There was no inflection in the elf's tone. No desire or charm or anger. He might have been commenting on the weather for all the emotion in his voice.

"M-me?" Gil cleared his throat. He stood up a little straighter and nudged his shoulders back to bolster his courage. Despite the rush of heat blazing in his cock and addling his mind, he willed reason to override his libido. "Well, you can't have me."

The elf laughed, the sound startling in its intensity. It held no humor, no silvery sparkle of amusement. Just a calm, cool finality.

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