Summary

Vampires agree that vampirism must be spread through sex, because if a bite on the neck could turn someone, the world would be overrun with legions of bloodsuckers by now. So Wild Bill's been careful. The last thing he'd want is to turn anyone. Especially his boytoy.

Despite Wild Bill's caution, Michael's looking pale and thin...more so than usual. He wears it well, just like the leather jacket, the black-dyed hair and the eyeliner. But for someone as starved as he is, food should hold more of an appeal. And is that a preternatural grace Bill detects in Michael's movements?

Excerpt

Heartless, soulless, generic and commercial. You gotta love these big box stores. I’d never set foot in one until I had a someone other than yours truly to look after. Never needed to. As long as I had enough smokes to keep me busy and a warm-blooded meal ticket nearby, I was happy enough with the clothes on my back.

The homicidal eye-candy I’d hooked up with had more needs than I did. Like food. Pens and notebooks. Somewhere to eat and sleep. And do the nasty.

So I bought us a van.

That’s how it all starts, I guess. You let something stick, and the next thing you know, you start accessorizing it.

I pulled a card of earrings off a revolving rack full of shiny, shiny trinkets. Not bad. “I’m taking this,” I told the clerk behind the counter, who smiled and gave me a fingerwave. I tucked the earrings into my pocket.

Handbags. Slippers. Pantyhose. Sunglasses. I pulled a pair of cheap plastic shades off the display and tried them on. Thankfully the notion about vamps not casting reflections is just a weird idea someone dreamt up after chugging too much absinthe. How else would I be able to pick out a decent pair of shades if I couldn’t make sure they looked good on me?

But of course they did. I snapped the pricetag off and put them on. Better. The hyper-bright fluorescent lighting had really been doing a number on my ticklish retinas.

Hats. Wallets. Scarves. I stopped and stared. Some of ’em were grandma-scarves, sure. But some of ’em were slinky and long. I took a black one, pulled off the tag, looped it around my neck. Nice.

I sniffed the air. Lots of humans teeming through the store, even at quarter to ten. Despite the smorgasbord of scents, I zeroed in easily enough on the one I wanted.

Michael.

He stood at a glass countertop shaped just like the jewelry island, except this one was full of cameras and phones, and other little gadgets I’d never heard of, and had no desire to know what they did.

I unwound the scarf from my neck and wrapped it around his. Not only would he feel less self-conscious about the series of thin, neat cuts I’d left on him with my trusty flip-around knife, but he’d give Marc Bolan a run for his money in the jerk-off fantasy department. I’d refrain from telling him that, since given his age, I couldn’t hope for anything more than a blank stare in return.

He leaned into me, pressed his side against my side. “Look.” He pointed at a plastic rectangle.

“Yeah?”

“It’s a computer.”

“It is?” It was the size of the cigar box I kept my paintbrushes in, back in the Dark Ages.

“If I had one of those, I wouldn’t need to spend so much time at the library. We could park outside a coffee shop and I could hop online.”

I was probably giving him the same look he would’ve given me if I’d told him he’d pass for a member of T-Rex. “So get it.”

He went real quiet. “It’s almost three hundred dollars. Plus tax.”

I squatted and pressed my nose against the glass. I didn’t understand money at all. Smokes had gone from a buck twenty-five a pack to six, while computers had dropped from five grand to a lousy three hundred—plus tax. Good thing I never had to pay for anything. I’d get taken for a ride, for sure.

Series

Channeling Morpheus Ebook Novelettes

Payback
Vertigo
Manikin
Tainted
Rebirth
Brazen
Snare (2nd edition coming April 2012)
Fluid (2nd edition coming June 2012)
Elixir (2nd edition coming August 2012)
Swarm (2nd edition coming October 2012)

First edition ebooks available at Changeling Press and many other online ebook sellers until the release of the second edition. Channeling Morpheus Novelettes 5-10 are called the "Sweet Oblivion" series in their first edition.

If you own the first edition ebooks, there's no need to purchase the second edition. The main differences are new cover art, new typesetting, and small editorial changes (which are also contained in the paperbacks).

Channeling Morpheus Paperbacks

Channeling Morpheus for Scary Mary (Channeling Morpheus Series 1) featuring novelettes 1-5
A Bitter Taste of Sweet Oblivion (Channeling Morpheus Series 2) featuring novelettes 6-10

Reviews

"I loved watching Wild Bill interact with humans, especially in the opening when they’re in a store. And the scene in the dressing room? Dear God. Do not miss this installment to Jordan Castillo Price’s amazing series. It certainly deserves a Golden Blush!" - Literary Nymphs