Fever Pitch

By A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly

Fallen Hawaiian god Malakai's love for the mortal Jepoi reaches fever pitch. The furious ruling gods open the gates of hell, releasing long-dormant demons and monsters into the islands.

Malakai and Jepoi have infuriated the major Hawaiian god Kanaloa by falling in love. Malakai was once Kanaloa's lover, and after a nasty break-up, Kanaloa banished Malakai to eternity as a vampire on earth. Malakai loves Jepoi and yearns for a peaceful, mortal existence with his man, but Kanaloa is a sore loser. He's not about to lose the man he worships to a guy who just won't go away...so he abducts Jepoi and punishes him severely.

He turns Jepoi into a vampire, separating him from Malakai. Jepoi struggles to find his way as a Hawaiian vampire, learning what it's like for others of his kind in the islands.

When Malakai finds Jepoi, their passion reaches fever pitch. To punish them both, Kanaloa opens up all the gates of hell, unleashing long-dormant demons and monsters into the islands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Nov 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781781848142

A.J. Llewellyn

A.J. Llewellyn lives in California, but dreams of living in Hawaii. Frequent trips to all the islands, bags of Kona coffee in the fridge and a healthy collection of Hawaiian records keep this writer refueled. A.J. never lacks inspiration for male/male erotic romances and on the rare occasions this happens, pursues other passions such as collecting books on Hawaiiana, surfing and spending time with friends and animal companions. A.J. Llewellyn believes that love is a song best sung out loud.

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A Total-E-Bound Publication

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Fever Pitch

ISBN # 978-1-78184-814-2

©Copyright A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly 2013

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright October 2013

Edited by Stacey Birkel

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2013 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-burning and a sexometer of 2.

This story contains 144 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 11 pages.

Tiki Vampires

FEVER PITCH

A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly

Book two in the Tiki Vampires series

Fallen Hawaiian god Malakai’s love for the mortal Jepoi reaches fever pitch. The furious ruling gods open the gates of hell, releasing long-dormant demons and monsters into the islands.

Malakai and Jepoi have infuriated the major Hawaiian god Kanaloa by falling in love. Malakai was once Kanaloa’s lover and, after a nasty break-up, Kanaloa banished Malakai to eternity as a vampire on Earth. Malakai loves Jepoi and yearns for a peaceful, mortal existence with his man, but Kanaloa is a sore loser. He’s not about to lose the man he worships to a guy who just won’t go away… So he abducts Jepoi and punishes him severely.

He turns Jepoi into a vampire, separating him from Malakai. Jepoi struggles to find his way as a Hawaiian vampire, learning what it’s like for others of his kind in the islands.

When Malakai finds Jepoi, their passion reaches fever pitch. To punish them both, Kanaloa opens up all the gates of hell, unleashing long-dormant demons and monsters into the islands.

Dedication

In loving memory of John Bruno, gone too soon. You always said vampires should sparkle. This one is for you.

xxx

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

iPad: Apple, Inc.

Cast Away: Twentieth Century Fox and Dreamworks

Adobe Photoshop: Adobe Systems, Inc.

Volkswagen: Volkswagen Group

Superman: DC Comics

The Exorcist: Warner Bros.

Spider-Man: Marvel Comics

Batman: DC Comics

Tarzan: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Raid: S.C. Johnson

Trojan Condoms: Church & Dwight Company

Heartbreak Hotel: Mae Boren Axten, Thomas Durden and Elvis Presley

Cry Me a River: Arthur Hamilton

Chapter One

I heard a roar of thunder. Lightning crackled, sending shards of silver and red light through the bedroom windows. Felix gave a yelp as something strange was going on deep beneath the house’s foundations. Both excited and terrified at the prospect of meeting a genuine Hawaiian god, I tried to take it all in as the ground surged and the house began to sway.

Malakai and Felix exchanged loud words over the noise.

He’s coming! Felix shrieked. He rose from the bed, pointing over his shoulder. Kanaloa wants to talk to you. His eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder, his teeth chattering. Oh, I don’t think he’s pleased.

Kanaloa was here? In this house?

One of the most important Hawaiian gods had actually come here and was ripping the crap out of the joint just to talk to Malakai?

The house started to rock harder, as if the great Kanaloa had reached from the sky, plucked it in his mighty hand and couldn’t decide whether to fling it across the universe or just shake it until we all disintegrated into rubble.

To be honest, I’m not sure who was more scared, Felix or I. Malakai did his best to calm us as the ground made a roaring sound. It was the strangest thing I’d ever heard. It was as if the very core of the Earth groaned as it was twisted and torn apart. Things began to fall—curtains, blinds—hardwood floorboards popped loose. Windows splintered and shattered into a million pieces. The overhead light flickered, the fixture swinging wildly as though we were on a ship battling huge waves.

Malakai reached for me as the bed broke in two.

Felix screamed as Malakai grabbed him and plopped him on his shoulder. He wrapped both of his arms around me again and held me tightly. My feet dangled over the edge of the ragged bed, the smell of sulphur strong on the air. Smoky fissures in the floor revealed even bigger rips beneath the surface. I stared down into a dark abyss of dirt and lava stone. A roiling fireball of red, molten lava seemed to grow bigger hundreds of feet beneath me. A terrifying wave of vertigo swept over me and I leant back, closing my eyes.

It was as though we’d sustained a volcanic eruption. Perhaps an earthquake.

Damned show-off, Malakai muttered, as the world stopped spinning and tumbling. He flung my discarded clothes at me. I dressed hurriedly, Malakai’s worried gaze flicking back and forth between me and a whimpering Felix.

I tried not to look or act scared even though black clouds hovered outside from what I could see out of the crushed window frames. Everything was smashed, even the bed, which had splintered, the mattress hurling into the depths of the fireball.

I stared at the remains of the bed. It seemed Kanaloa wanted to make sure Malakai and I had been well and truly separated. I heard a crack and the last piece of the bed frame dropped from under me. Malakai held me tighter as the headboard fell, twirling like a toy hurtling downward, swallowed up by the red-hot lava.

This, as my mother might have said, was biblical.

Water rose in the room from another ripped hole in the floor. We all turned at the gushing sound and I looked behind me, stunned to see that we were submerged in sea water, jagged lava peaks and the raging river of fire warring with the water for control of the room.

It was almost like the morning the earthquake had torn up my hotel room in Honolulu months ago.

Malakai kept us both in his grip and hurried out of the room. We stood in the living room, where steam and the stench of sulphur were just as strong, but the windows had only sustained cracks and some of the floorboards had popped.

However, standing on them seemed like standing on burning coals.

Malakai left me for a moment. I stared down into the melting pot as I heard Felix and Malakai’s urgent whispers.

Jepoi, come here. Malakai held out his hand to me. He was in the kitchen now. Roaring flames had begun licking up, surrounding me in a large circle.

Holy shit!

He dragged me out of the house, Felix already outside, rising up and down as he wrung his hands, gazing fearfully up at the sky.

I heard a sound. A mixture of rain and thunder. The sky swirled in a great, gigantic pattern of dark, angry circles.

When I opened my mouth, Malakai shook his head.

You can’t stay here, he said.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Where am I supposed to go? I longed to participate in this crazy, spiritual gathering, but his face took on a hard set. We stared at each other. For all his talk of protecting me, taking care of me, loving me, the moment trouble came apparently he couldn’t wait to get rid of me.

My cell phone rang. I hadn’t even realised I had the damned phone on me. I’d jammed it in my back pocket of my jeans the day before.

I took the call and a guy from dispatch said, Hey, Jepoi. I know it’s your day off, but we have a serious emergency. A young woman came here on her honeymoon and fell off her horse the first time she went for a ride. She has a hangman’s fracture and we gotta get her to Honolulu fast.

A hangman’s fracture was no fun. It was painful and very, very dangerous. One jolt of the plane could break the patient’s fractured neck irreparably, paralysing her for life. I was a little surprised the young woman had sustained such an injury. They were more prevalent in older people, but with a fall from a horse, I supposed, anything was possible.

What worried me was that with what I’d just experienced, the gods might just take that plane and hurl it into oblivion.

Malakai’s gaze bored into mine. Take the job, he said, his voice loud and guttural. I couldn’t stand how relieved he seemed.

Before I could respond to dispatch, Malakai leaned towards me. For one foolish moment I thought he was going to kiss me.

I’ll be ready, he said into the phone perfectly mimicking me.

We’ll have someone out to you in twenty minutes, dispatch said.

I was in shock as the operator ended the call. The last time I’d been on a work flight, two co-workers had plummeted to their deaths and Malakai had dragged me to his now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t house high up on the hill.

Malakai, I insisted, I don’t want to leave you.

"You have to. Please," he implored.

I gazed up in the air as the clouds darkened. Day turned into deepest, darkest night. Lightning scissored across the sky in blinding colours. Yellow, lilac, green…a pulsing red emerged and the cloud cover broke.

Pale, fluffy grey clouds emerged and moisture dropped on us. I could taste the liquid on my tongue.

Salt water.

What the—

Oh, fuck, Malakai muttered, shoving me behind him as the clouds started to form an unusual shape. Could everyone on the island see this? I had no way of knowing. We were on a hill, the three of us staring upwards. I couldn’t move.

Felix gave a funny squeak and levitated himself back up to Malakai’s shoulder. I felt like climbing up there my damned self. Malakai didn’t touch me. He just kept watching as the clouds made a strange grinding sound, like metal on metal.

A squeal of celestial brakes.

Malakai kept his gaze heavenwards as he said, You’re safe if you’re working. You can’t be at this meeting with me. I’m sorry, Jepoi.

"I’m safe at work? Are you joking?" I was almost hysterical now. First he dragged me here saying I wasn’t safe at home, now I would supposedly be safe at work?

He said nothing in response. My thoughts raced along with my pulse, and I stared up at the strange configuration that formed high above us. I could see arms…no, tentacles.

Holy smokes! Felix managed to shriek.

I stayed silent. My mind could not take it in. Any of it.

Was this the end of the world?

I didn’t think so. When I tore my gaze from the sky and settled on Malakai’s gorgeous face, he looked too…annoyed. If we were all about to die I’d expect a goodbye kiss at least.

When I first met him, I was deliriously happy and yet exactly twenty-four hours after the best first date I’d ever had I took a very sick patient to Honolulu. I’m a nurse for Hawaii Air Patrol and we accompany people with all kinds of ailments from the outer islands to one of two major hospitals in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

That fateful day, the man I’d transported was suffering from the bubonic plague. I’d had no idea that horrible, supposedly extinct disease was back. I’d become so ill I almost died. Malakai saved my life. At first, I thought I’d dreamt his visits in my isolated hospital room. I was certain my rabid fever had induced the images I had of Malakai biting me, giving and taking blood from me. Fucking me…

Since then, I’ve had some crazy experiences. I see things differently. I see colours, images, ghostly, shadowy imprints on everyday scenes. I see dead people, just like the kid in the movie.

And I’ve seen death.

My favourite pilot, Alex, had been inhabited by a couple of deadly immortal characters, both intent on killing me. A new nurse, Kate, was overtaken by evil forces and almost killed, dropped from the sky along with Alex.

My best friend and fellow nurse, Jon, had almost been killed in a car accident…

The ghosts of long dead friends keep popping up—only they aren’t my dead friends. We believe in ghosts on the islands. We need them. We’ve long accepted the idea of our aumakua, our ancestral spirits, guiding us.

Being involved with Malakai turned all my concepts of life and death, and as we islanders call it, beyond the rainbow, on its ear. I’ve met some truly complex beings Malakai has yet to explain. Starzs is some kind of bad celestial being. He really seems to have it in for me. I’ve even met a couple of Hawaiian gods. Malakai casually mentioned that his lover, Kanaloa, one of the main Hawaiian gods, had been his great love.

Malakai was actually the god Kane. I learnt that from the dreams Delmontre—some kind of wacky supernatural creature I still have no clue about—sent me. He too, had been Malakai’s lover, but he was now Kanaloa’s slut, as Malakai called him.

It still rankled that Malakai had enjoyed explosive sex with Delmontre and Kanaloa. I knew this because I’d had lengthy visions of the sex Malakai and Delmontre experienced via the dreams he sent my way.

Oh, boy.

Having seen what I did, I could understand why Kanaloa had gone berserk when he felt Malakai didn’t really love him and banished him to an earthly existence. Trapped as a vampire, cast out of the celestial realm, Malakai was supposed to be a good boy and maybe find his way back over the rainbow.

But then he met me.

And now, Kanaloa wanted him back.

Hell. I mean Earth. No. Whatever. Who didn’t want Malakai? He was my everything and I craved his skin and touch. I dreamt about blood. His blood. I wasn’t yet a vampire, but no longer just human. I felt with each new encounter with Malakai I was getting closer to being a vampire. I wanted to, if it meant I could be with him forever, but he teased me with this state of being, just on the edge of my conscious thoughts.

I dreamt of Malakai and so did Kanaloa.

And he would stop at nothing. He would keep trying to destroy me. One way or another, he had the power I didn’t, to woo Malakai back to his place above and beyond that rainbow.

And Malakai thought I was safe?

Take the job, my lover coaxed, his dark eyes gleaming as he turned to gaze at me. His eyes burned with a bright fire I’d never seen in him before. Please, sweetheart.

I shook my head. It’s really him, isn’t it. It wasn’t a question. I knew who it was and now, a strange, golden light started pouring out of the sky.

Malakai’s shoulders sagged a little. Unprepared for the sudden movement, Felix almost toppled from his perch, then steadied himself.

I knew what I was looking at. A gigantic octopus. I’d studied the four main Hawaiian gods enough to know that Kanaloa had no physical representation. He’d been feared and reviled when the missionaries arrived in the islands.

Queen Ka’ahumanu, the first female regent, had destroyed all the old idols immediately upon the death of her husband, the first Hawaiian king, Kamehameha the Great. The missionaries had worked on her relentlessly in the months leading up to the king’s death. In their initial attempts to visit with her, she rebuffed them, refusing to even let them set foot on dry land after they sent her messages from their ships beseeching her for an audience.

Intensely curious in an almost childlike way, she eventually caved in after three months of this strange game and allowed two missionaries ashore to speak to her. She became angry at first when she realised they hadn’t come bearing gifts like the fur and sandalwood traders always did.

No.

She’d expected Western…toys.