Crawl in Bed with Shax

Crawling Into Bed With Shax, 

the Demon Prince of Thieves 

(from the Brimstone series by Angel Martinez)

And a Good Book

Hi, Lee! I’m going to leave Shax with you. He’d fairly well behaved…most of the time.

Important things first, are these sheets silk or cotton?

*Shax crawls up from the foot of the bed, and flops down with a wink* Silk, of course. I knew you wouldn’t insult me with cheap sheets. Good silk, too. And blue, my favorite color. *nuzzles Lee’s ear*

What are you wearing?

*Shax spreads his arms to show off his black satin pj’s* Lovely, aren’t they? Ness thought I needed them for those evenings when we want bed to be a formal occasion. Not that I would ever have them on for long, you understand. Perhaps partially. Ness is very tactile. He may want to have them off partway while he bends me over the…whatever’s the matter, Mr. Brazil? You’ve turned bright red.

What are we snacking on in bed while we read tonight?

After a recent visit to Opal, I’ve rediscovered my love for the gastronomic. So absurdly fun and someone told me you like to…experiment. I’ve brought us cherry tarts with wasabi ice cream. Should I feed you the first bite?

If I open this nightstand drawer, what will I find?

*Shax leans over and rummages* Oh, let’s see…my sonic lockpick…magnetic scrambler…one of Ness’s feathers…Dostoevsky, you know, a little light reading…packet of dehydrated mangoes, never know when you’ll need a snack…fuzzy handcuffs…metal handcuffs…ball separator…several dildos, various sizes and colors…bottle of aspirin…various flavors of lube…What? You were expecting condoms? Demons don’t use condoms.

Do you roll up in the blankets like a burrito, or kick the covers off during the night?

Does rolling up in Ness’s wings like a burrito count? Much softer than any mundane blanket and when he caresses me with them… *Shax takes a spoonful of wasabi ice cream and closes his eyes on a sinful moan.*

Can I put my cold feet on your calves to warm them up?

Of course you can, sweetie. I run a little hot most days anyway. Get you all nice and toasty in no time.

What are we reading? (include your cover art, buy links & excerpt)

We have the new Mischief Corner anthology, Not In the Stars. It’s a serviceable collection of Science Fiction stories, but I can’t imagine there’s a more compelling reason than to read my story. *Shax opens the book* See? This one. It’s called “Shax’s War.” Angel wrote it as the third Brimstone story. I do like Angel, but I wish she’d stop screwing with my life so much.

Not In The Stars

Toni Griffin, Angel Martinez, Freddy Mackay and Mathilde Watson

Since the dawn of human expression, man has gazed up at the heavens in wonder, inspired by the wheeling of the stars to explain his surroundings. While our perception of those surroundings have changed, from thinking of the Earth as a flat, stable plane to realizing we’re falling through space in a tiny atmospheric bubble, our wonder remains constant.

Space stations, alien races, far-flung planets—join the Mischief Corner authors as they explore the possibilities the stars might offer. The catch? Returning to mundane old Earth might be harder than you think.

Excerpt:

Shax yelped as the trauma ball hummed against his palm, the surface shifting from swirling orange toward yellow. Before it could deliver its nastiest shock, he flung the thing at Verin’s head.

“Bastard!”

Sparks flew as Verin swung his horns and batted the ball away. He aimed right for Ness, who sidestepped and caught the ball as it powered back down to blue. Wings spread for balance, tip of his tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth, Ness spun and ran the three steps up the ramp at the court’s far end, aiming for the hovering sphere goal.

At the last second, the goal moved left and Ness’s shot caught the magnetized lip, which hurled the trauma ball back at him at some ridiculous, unsafe speed. Shax winced at the sharp crack when hard ball met angel head.

“Ow.” Ness flopped down at the top of the ramp, rubbing at his temple.

“Someone gonna explain to me again how this is fun?” Corny called from where he balanced on the swinging planks that made up mid-court.

He’d been stuck on the water hazard for several plays, his muscular body and high center of gravity an indisputable disadvantage since the wrong move would send him into the water and cost him a five minute penalty. Their cowboy had figured out the hard way in the first quarter that the pool itself enforced the penalty and didn’t let the penalized player out a second before.

Good thing he can tread water.

The ball was now happily rolling along the elevated sidewall ramps and Shax prepared to jump for the rings that would put him at the right height to catch it when it rolled free. Had they been playing teams…but no one could agree on a fair way to pair the four of them up, so solo it was.

Shax cocked his head, listening to the rumble of the ball as it trundled downward. Ness was still on the ramp. Corny was stuck. Verin was navigating the sponge quadrant where his claws were sticking. Perfect. He leapt, caught a ring in either hand, got a good swing going, and let go with his right hand just in time for the ball to drop from the chute.

With a whoop, he swung free and dropped with the ball clutched to his chest, only to be hit from behind with the force of several megatons. Wind knocked out of him, he could only watch as Verin snatched up the ball.

“Attempted murder isn’t supposed to be part of the game,” he wheezed as Verin took his shot. It seemed to be too far right, but the sphere turned and the ball shot inside.

“You’re all right, you baby,” Verin growled. “Get up before you really get fucked up.”

Shax heaved himself to his feet, staggering a few steps before the floor decided he’d been in one place too long and started bucking.

Ness had moved now, too. “Shax? Sure you’re all right, love?”

“I’m good. There are two of you right now. Don’t mind. Two of you are nice.”

All four of them managed to reach the sand quadrant closest to the near goal where they crouched in anticipation, waiting for the sphere to spit out the ball. Shax got Verin’s elbow in his ribs and a playful shove from Corny as they jockeyed for position but they might as well have stood still. The sphere rumbled and disgorged the trauma ball with a hacking cough, sending it high and wide. Ness, with his superior height and reach, snagged it easily, holding it up to keep it out of reach.

Any second, Verin and Corny would charge him and then Shax wouldn’t have a chance. An evil thought percolated in his mind and he sidled up close to Ness, blew a breath across his bare nipple, and reached down to cup Ness’s balls through the tight game shorts. A strangled whimper caught in Ness’s throat. His jaw slack, eyes saucer-wide, he fumbled the ball and dropped it.

Shax caught it before it hit the sand, snatched a quick kiss, and bounded away toward the far goal. He slammed the trauma ball into the sphere just as it hummed over to yellow again.

“Ha! That’s three for me! Game!”

Please include purchase links and web links where readers can find you.

Readers can find Shax’s other books as well we more of Angel’s and all of the Mischief Corner crew at: Mischief Corner Books

For a complete listing of Angel’s work, please visit her website:

Angel Martinez