| Sample
Chapter For OPEN DOOR by H.H. Self
A New Romance
He watched her from a distance. A thin gown covered her
body as the mist at her feet did the ground, concealing the sharpest of
details, delicately revealing the rest. Each step swirled the diaphanous
night vapor around her ankles, rising, caressing her, and then flowing
back over the pebbles of the narrow pathway. The sound of a heartbeat
echoed in his ears. Was it hers, his, or a blending of both? He strained
to see more, understand more, but the shadows and muted colors of night
mocked his efforts as the moonlight ebbed and flowed with the passing
clouds. His hand reached forward then halted, fingers curling back, a
heavy breath pushing into the darkness. The gossamer figure slipped around
the path’s curve and stepped slowly toward the imposing cliff and
the door set into the rock.
One arm outstretched, she pressed at the large stone door
that loomed before her. For a moment, the small round carving on the door
shimmered in a faint green glow, the design a memory just out of reach.
The groan of burdened hinges, a grating as fingernails on a chalkboard,
heralded the portal’s opening. The sound moved over his flesh with
the feel of a frigid wind. The breach was as black as pitch. Even the
faint moonlight seemed to refuse to cross the threshold. Her long dark
hair billowed back from an out rush of air and then quickly swung forward,
as if the darkness inhaled. She turned to look at him over her shoulder,
eyes of blue ice, lips the color of fanned embers; her paleness now amplified
by the framing of the blackness before her. Her body twisted toward him,
the curve of hip and breast made clear. A conscious act of seduction on
her part reflected in the slight up-turned corners of her mouth. The hand
that pushed open the door now stretched out toward him and one finger
with a blood red fingernail curled slowly, calling him closer. He could
not feel a step taken and yet the dis-tance between them narrowed until
he stared into the subtle shades of palest blue eyes, their hues flickering
before him. As he inhaled, her scent filled his head, everything around
him fading into the mist but her. Like a predator, her desire, her hunger,
revealed to him by her musk, like prey, he did not understand why. Her
outreached hand let a single finger touch his face. “Khaba…”
Quinn jolted up in his bed, a cold sweat covering his
body. He felt on fire where the touch of her finger still lingered on
his skin, yet deep within him ran a cold thread that heralded more than
seen in the dream. He inhaled, pulling at her lingering scent. Why he
held to it so desperately eluded him in the still fogged haze of try-ing
to wake. With hurried desperation, he placed the scent firmly in his mind,
as a feeling of déjà vu sent yet another cold chill through
him.
The woman beside him shifted. He looked over at the small
blonde; a sheet half covering his newly made friend from the Saint Patrick’s
party, Cindy, no Candy, his mind still split between dream and reality.
The dream seemed a little more corporal each time he had it and this time,
the scent made it too real. He let a single fin-ger trace over his cheek
as hers had in the dream, trying to recap-ture the jumble of feelings
a moment more. The tingle of cold slithered up his spine. How could a
woman, whose lips looked as though they could set a man ablaze with a
passing touch, cause such a shiver? It was just a dream. Dreams are not
suppose to make sense. He held on to more of the dream each time it came
to him, even though he could not visualize her face as a whole. Eyes,
lips, a piercing with a green stone in her left nostril, bits and pieces
but never the whole. He tried his best to file each little clue to her,
to the dream, away in his mind.
Candy shifted and sighed, seemingly lost in a dream of
her own. Quinn’s gaze focused on the soft features of her face.
His dream pushed to one side by the memory of watching this beautiful
woman flirt with him across a crowded room. The way she seemed to appear
and vanish at will among the other partygoers, a butterfly in a field
of flowers, her antics held him captive most the evening. His mind filled
with the music of their first dance. How when the third dance ended, he
held up her hand and led them to the small terrace, taking two glasses
of wine on the way. He handed her one, “Quinn White.”
“Candy.” Quinn raised an eyebrow and stood
waiting. “Just Candy, for now.” Sipping her drink, she walked
over to the edge of the terrace and looked out on the scattered buildings
of the cam-pus. Quinn stepped behind her. The full moon lit the tree lined
streets and walkways of a school that had been around for the past hundred
years. “What do you teach, Quinn?”
“I am in the creative writing section of the English
depart-ment. And you, Candy, what brings you here?”
She turned to face Quinn. “I came with a friend
who promised I would meet some really cute single guys. You are single,
right?” The chocolate brown of her eyes pulled him closer. The parting
of full lips banished the remaining distance.
One of Quinn’s hands held to the small of her back,
the other, the nape of her neck. Their lips brushed together and she nipped
at his lower lip. “Yes, thank God I am,” Quinn replied. His
tongue traced the curve of her upper lip and her mouth opened accepting
him. Their tongues caressed and explored, hers stirring embers to flame.
A flame not fed by air but the lack of it, not quenched by wetness but
stoked by it. The fingers of one of her hands laced into his hair and
the other embraced his hip. Her every move seemed the perfect reflection
of his desire to be touched by her and touch her. Her body shifted and
her hip pressed to his growing need. Her moan at its discovery fed into
his mouth. The hand on his hip shifted to his ass and pulled his hardness
tighter against her. His hand at her back lowered, gripping the swell
of her bottom and her hips shifted, grinding and pressing at a growing
need.
Her head fell back exposing her throat and Quinn’s
mouth covered the pounding pulse. Her words wrapped tightly in what seemed
a breathless question. “Quinn, do you believe in lust at first sight?”
Quinn’s tongue traced up her neck and around the
curve of her ear, “I think I could be easily convinced.” He
kissed behind her ear and the hand that held her neck moved to the front
to caress her throat. His fingers moved down and slipped along the edge
of the black lace blouse, a finger venturing under and finding the heated
flesh of her breast.
Her fingers moved between them and grasped his erection.
Her other hand reached up and undid the top button of her blouse. “Will
that convince you?”
His mouth took hers once more and his hand moved under
her blouse finding a diamond hard nipple. The sound of the terrace door
opening pulled them apart.
A grin on Mark’s face reached from ear to ear. “Quinn,
I am catching a ride home with Sam. I will see you in the morning.”
He turned and started to leave adding, “Maybe.”
“Who was that?” Candy asked.
“Mark, a friend, one with poor timing, but a friend.
Now where were we?”
Candy placed her hand on his chest holding him back for
a moment. “We were about to let you take me to your place and see
if I could convince you further.” She buttoned her blouse and started
for the terrace door.
Quinn reached out and took hold of her arm. “Let’s
use the side path.” He pulled her palm over the large bulge in his
pants. “It might not go over so well me walking through the room
with this, and with you close, I don’t think it is going away.”
Her finger tightened around him for a second. With a giggle,
she let go and took a step back, “I think it’s cute, but if
you insist.” She started down the side path. He became lost in watching
her strides and the sway of her hip. She looked back at him. “This
will work better if you come with me.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow and quickly closed the distance
be-tween them with long strides. His arm went around her waist and he
walked her to his car. Opening the door, he watched the gray skirt move
up her thigh until the top of her stockings showed as she sat down. His
gaze moved up her body to find her looking at him with a smile. Even with
the short distance to his apartment, it seemed to take forever to get
there. The time stretched with Candy toying with her top button once more.
Once in the apartment, Quinn took charge of the top button,
and then the next, and the next, his mouth discovering the flavor of Candy.
He could wait no longer and he took her into his arms, carrying her to
the bed. His steps hastened a little more with the fact her blouse fell
open when he picked her up, exposing her breasts. He placed her in the
middle of the bed and removed her blouse, kissing his way up the mounds
and letting his tongue circle her tightening nipples.
She reached out and pulled his shirt over his head. Pressing
her nipples into his chest, she undid his slacks and reached into his
boxers. When her fingers touched his hardness, his breath left him and
he could feel himself growing larger. She stroked him until his breath
returned. With a smile that seemed shy, she stood up on the bed and undid
her skirt. When it fell, she kicked it to one side. She stood there in
a black thong, black stockings and stiletto heels. “More?”
“Yes, please.”
“Show me yours, and I will show you mine.”
Her words punc-tuated with a mischievous grin.
Quinn jerked off the remainder of his clothes and sat
on his knees before Candy, his erection reaching for her. He reached out
and let his fingers capture the waistband of her thong. Lowering the small
sliver of cloth, he exposed her shaven sex. Stepping out of her panties,
she moved to the top of the big bed and sat down, spreading her stocking
covered legs, the patten leather heels catch-ing the light for a second.
She looked like a men’s magazine fantasy come to life. BBS as Mark
called it, blonde, beautiful and spread. Candy gave a little wiggle of
her shoulders and shifted her hips. Quinn reached out taking a hold of
her ankles and pulling her back to the center of the bed. He took off
the heels and tossed them to the floor. He held both her feet up, her
legs running down his chest. He spread her feet apart just enough that
he could nuzzle be-tween them and feel the texture of the stockings on
his cheeks. At the same time, he savored the feel of her bottom pressing
down on his cock. His hands caressed down one leg and pulled the stocking
off, and then the other. His kisses started at her ankles but his need
to taste the liquid center of Candy pulled him to the petals of her sex
and the scent of her arousal.
Her legs draped his shoulders and his hands moved over
her sides and up to her breasts. A probing tongue traced the outer edges
of her sex until her hands reached down and grasped his hair pulling him
to her. Every woman is unique in flavor and scent. Quinn filled his senses
with Candy’s. The silken feel of her inner folds accented his discovery
of her. He could feel her upper torso arching and twisting, while her
mound pressed into him. Grinding in small circles, her thighs began to
press to the sides of his face. In his very breath he could feel her wetness.
Her unstoppable need for release showed in the liquid that covered his
lips and chin. Her legs wrapped around his head, her entire body trembling.
Her clit captured between lips and pressed beyond all control by a fevered
tongue. For a second, everything stopped. He could not hear her moans
or breath, her body became hot stone, frozen. Small quivers returned and
her legs released him but not her grip on his hair.
She pulled his head up so she could look at him. “I
need to feel you inside me.” She guided his head up her body, his
tongue sam-pling her with each passing inch. The hardness between his
legs aching to find the wet heat his tongue stirred. His body slipped
over her like a warm summer breeze until he could capture her mouth.
His tongue explored once more, filling him with yet another
of her sweet flavors. Her small hand reached down and took his girth.
She rubbed its tip to the tight ring of muscle that announced her inner
passage. “Don’t make me beg, Quinn.” His weight shifted,
hips lowered and he could feel the tightness yielding to his hardness.
Entry into such a woman is more than shaft and sheath. It is the engulfing
of need and desire in a blanket of passion. Feeling the soft silken inner
folds of her passage caressing his swollen sensi-tive crown, he felt her
in a way only they could share.
Her legs wrapped around his waist and she drove herself
hard into him. Every thrust, touch and moan building out of control un-til
they shuddered, stilled and quivered.
Quinn rolled to his side pulling her into his arms and
kissing her neck, his hands moving over her body moist from sweat. “You
made a believer out of me.”
“You think so, do you?” She slipped out of
his arms and down his body. Light kisses trailing down until she reached
a still half-erect shaft. Her tongue lapped at the underside causing his
cock to tremble.
“Candy. it might take a moment or two for me to…”
“I doubt it,” she said just before sucking
the sensitive head into the heat of her mouth. His shaft did not hesitate
to rise at her command. She pulled him to a point where her stopping caused
a whimper from him. With a grin, she straddled him, took hold of his shaft
and lowered herself so she could move the tip between swollen petals,
raking it over her clit. Her back arched and breasts pushed out inviting
his grasp. Her hips rocked from side to side but did not lower and when
he raised his, hers countered doing the same.
“Please” he said.
She tipped her head forward letting golden curls cover
her face, then tossed them back with a jerk. No siren conceived in my-thology
had more power over a man. “It’s your turn to beg,”
her tongue moved over her lips and then she pulled her bottom lip be-tween
her teeth.
Quinn’s hands moved to her hips coaxing her lower.
“Please, I want, I need to feel the heat of you surround me. I have
to feel the tightness within you.” She lowered until the tip popped
into her and then held still.
“More, Quinn?”
“Oh God yes,” he could hear the desperation
in his voice. He was sure it covered his face. However, all he cared about
was find-ing himself held by her once more.
With a grin of satisfaction, she lowered painfully slow,
con-suming him. Once impaled on his hardness, her hips ground and she
leaned forward offering her breasts to his mouth. “See, I told you,
with the right woman, you did not need any time.” She rose until
she held just his tip and plummeted back down. Within a mi-nute, her body
glistened with sweat once more and her hair swung out of control. Her
body rising and falling in a rhythm his hips hur-riedly matched. Quinn’s
hips thrust up into her trembling body, her face revealing what the clenching
muscles of her passage con-firmed. Her head arched back and her hot breath
escaped in an out rush, all but seen. Quinn released a torrent into her
passage that felt unending in the moment. She fell forward into his chest
and lay there, the heat of her breath washing over his flesh. His fingers
combed out the tossed blonde hair until their breathing became normal
once more.
Slipping off his chest, she curled up beside him. “Any
bets on a next time?” she asked. Quinn pulled the sheet up over
them both with a smile as they drifted off to sleep between languid caresses.
* * * *
Candy rolled to her side eyes fluttering open. “Awake al-ready?
I would have thought after last night you would have wanted to sleep in.”
She said through a half yawn. She let her fingers caress over the ripples
of his toned stomach, then slip under the sheet. She giggled and smiled.
“It would seem you are up and ready to go this morning.”
The erection began as an effect of the dream, a detail
he felt best not shared right at the moment. He slowly pulled the sheet
off her and let his hand caress the curve of her bare hip. ‘One
in bed is worth two in a dream’, he cringed a little at a thought
so cliché. With a grin, he tossed the sheet to the end of the bed
and gently rolled her onto her back. His hands caressed flesh as his tongue
pulled soft moans to the surface. He explored her body looking for that
scent that lingered in his mind from the dream. It should be Candy’s.
Yet it could only be found floating ghostlike in a shadowed memory. His
tongue sketched a lazy wet line that rambled from a hard little pearllike
nipple until it traced the soft curve of a pouty lipped mouth. He rose
on strong capable arms to look down into soft brown eyes. Her head fell
back as red lips parted so a pink tongue showed, her chest rising as her
lungs filled with air. One of Quinn’s arms supported his weight
while his free hand roamed down her side grasping her slender hip. He
could feel the subtle movement stirring deep within her pelvis. A movement
amplified with the arching of her back. He lowered himself to claim her
moist mouth with his own. A shift of his hips and he swallowed her moan,
her body engulfing his shaft.
Within the first throws of passion, Quinn found himself
torn between holding onto a dream and embracing reality. Candy’s
body crashed into his with a growing force and made that choice for him.
Within a breath, she owned his morning arousal. A sliver of her brown
eyes showed through almost closed eyelids as a flush moved down her neck
and flowed between the valley of her breasts. Her fingers dug into the
muscle of his thigh forcing the un-ion from delight to frenzy. Quinn met
her need for release with his own. His hands cupping her face and the
arch of his back increased. Her moans became screams, their almost sinful
shrill pulling both Quinn and her over the edge. Two quivering bodies
seemed to melt into one. Beads of sweat glistened between her breasts
while Quinn lazily ran his fingers over her skin. Candy shivered.
“Cold?”
A soft purr preceded her answer, “Not in the least.”
Her fin-ger tracing his jaw line, “A girl could get use to this.”
“I know I could.” He pulled her closer holding
her tight until her body calmed. With a slow pace, he slipped from the
bed, tak-ing her hand in his. “What do you say to a shower and then
I’ll fix you breakfast?” Her eyes answered the question and
her body fol-lowed. The warm water and the slick texture of her skin made
it difficult not to let a shower become more. The willing tilt of her
head made it near impossible. “If there was not a morning staff
meeting—”
She placed a finger on his lips, “I need to get
going soon, too.”
Quinn got out of the shower first, telling Candy to take
her time. He dried his dark hair with a towel looking into his own gray
eyes in the mirror. Damn, you’re a lucky guy, he thought, letting
his gaze move over to the svelte silhouette shifting behind the shower
doors. He purposefully took his time shaving so he could watch her step
from the shower. She shyly looked at him reaching out and taking the towel
off his shoulder. Quinn yielded his place to her with a slight step back,
one that forced her body to caress his when she stepped in front of the
mirror. His hands grasped her slender waist and he kissed the back of
her neck.
Her gaze caught his in the reflection, “breakfast?”
Quinn raised one eyebrow, a mischievous grin curled his lip and he headed
off to the kitchen.
Placing pancakes on the plates, he looked up to watch
Candy walk into the kitchen, buttoning the black lace blouse he so slowly
unbuttoned last night. She was gorgeous. He pulled a chair out for her
with a boyish smile. When she moved past him sitting down, he drew in
the clean fresh scent of her still damp skin. Maybe not the scent from
his dream, but this…it was real and so very close.
He placed the plates on the table and sat beside her.
The con-versation neither clumsy nor forced but light, the kind two old
lovers would have. Every now and then, a sly look or soft touch reminded
him just how beautiful, how passionate this woman could be. A few mornings
like this and that dream would simply fade.
After breakfast, they exchanged phone numbers, promising
to call each other later that day. The drive down the oak lined street
to the campus made a little more pleasant with the thought of a goodbye
kiss that left no doubt in his mind about calling her. A kiss like that
would leave an impression on a man’s psyche all day long.
Reviews For
OPEN DOOR by H.H. Self
I enjoyed this book so much --this paranormal book deals
with incarnation, a subject that has always fascinated me. It grabs you
from the first page and doesn't let go until the last page --and what
an ending! HH Self has a beautiful writing style, the descriptive writing
made the pages of this book come alive for me --this is one erotic paranormal
read not to be missed. (5) Luisa at Three Degrees of Love
H.H. Self has written an original tale of suspense and horror. I could
not put this book down until I was finished. He has done a wonderful job
of plotting twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Characters are not what they seem and the book is chock full of surprises.
OPEN DOOR had all the necessary elements that I look for in a horror story
and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future! ~Blue
Ribbon Rating: 5 By Romance Junkies Reviewer Jenni Mae
Open Door is a love story with a twist, built around an ancient legend,
it has a touch of the paranormal set in a contemporary setting. Intense
sex scenes without being too much are charged with emotion making them
all the more potent for it. H.H. Self has a style of writing that is romantic
and erotically stimulating, so much so that I could almost feel Quinn’s
caresses. I was drawn into this story from the start and felt the emotions
of the characters involved. I highly recommend this novella as I thoroughly
enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more from this very talented writer.~
Nikita reviewer for Enchanted in Romance
H.H. Self is a fascinating writer. He draws you into the land of dreams,
and takes you where you have never been before. H.H. Self leads us into
a dreamscape of supernatural proportions, and uses his creative ability
to show us that lost loves can be found, even if only in dreams. I enjoyed
this story tremendously; it shows depth, and uncompromising excellence.
Dawn reviewer for Fallen Angel Reviews
Mr. Self is a new male author in the e-book industry, and he is one well
worth watching. With this debut short story, he has proven to have what
it takes to make his name well known among erotic romance lovers. Deliciously
dark, this tale will grip readers, who will not be able to stop reading
until the end. Mr. Self’s prose is almost poetical, and emotions
run hot between Quinn and Candy. His love scenes are passionate, emotional
and very well written. The reader will definitely be squirming in her
seat while reading. The characters are multidimensional, and the reader
feels close to them. The plot is well thought out and reads very smoothly.
This reviewer did wonder though, how a woman could stand on a bed in stiletto
heels, however, it was a very enjoyable read. It is a refreshing change
to read an erotic story from the viewpoint of a man. This reviewer will
be watching Mr. Self’s writing career with enthusiasm. Greater things
to come are anticipated, as readers will surely agree after reading this
exciting story. Valerie reviewer for Love Romances
This was the first book by H.H. Self that I have read. It drew me in from
the first page and took me on a journey through dreams and reincarnation.
I look forward to reading more of this authors work. Sonja reviewer for
Coffee Time Romance
Mr. Self has written a great story of sex, lust, and love. There is a
mystery to be solved so the souls of true love can be joined again. This
is a fast paced story with wet and steamy love scenes and a dark evil
that threatens the lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend
it everyone. It is a definite buy. Oleta M Blaylock reviewer for Just
Erotic Romance Reviews
An evil that has lasted through time, two halves of one
soul doomed to exist apart, and redemption found in the most unlikely
place - H.H. Self chills and thrills readers in this spine-tingling tale
about lovers separated by time. Combined with the scary, dark manifestations
of Quinn’s dreams, the eerie and sensual elements in Open Door are
enough to make you shiver in more ways than one! With excellent characterizations,
rapid-fire action and a theme of love for all eternity, Open Door is a
wonderfully spooky, erotic fairy tale.
Reviewed by: Michelle 4 Angels
“H.H. Self is an incredible writer. His penmanship
is electrically charged with a touch of romance that allows the reader
to feel every sensation.” By Linda L. At The Romance Studio –
5 Hearts
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