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Preface

PLEASE READ

A note from the Author

This story was originally written for inclusion in the anthology Pink Shades of Words All of the proceeds went to breast cancer research My gratitude goes out to all of you who purchased a copy and contributed to this wonderful cause

This story has been edited to allow for prior knowledge of the Dark Duet plot and all of its characters; I had to avoid spoilers in the anthology asthis story for the first time or not, I hope you'll enjoy what I've done with it

I love all of my characters, but some of them really speak to me, and I've always had a little bit of a soft spot for "Kid", the nineteen-year-old biker with a tender heart In fact, I had originally written a s Kid, Livvie, and Caleb Kid was e who'd lost someone he loved and had been taken captive It sure as hell didn't hurt that he and Caleb share so many physical attributes However, in the end, I just couldn't justify another hundred pages to an already enormous second volume

That said, having a beautiful boy held captive in a house with a hedonist couple like Felipe and Celia was simply too much temptation to resist FAIR WARNING - ALL SEXUAL PAIRINGS APPEAR IN THE TEXT

The character "Kid" appears in both Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark

This short story takes place in Mexico and follows Kid after he and his girlfriend, Nancy, after they are taken hostage by a group of men led by Caleb Unbeknownst to Kid or Nancy, they are taken to the mansion of Felipe Villanueva, an eccentric crime boss with a taste for the taboo

Wrongfully accused by Nancy of the attempted rape and subsequent assault of Caleb's escaped captive, "Kitten", Kid is tortured by his captors

We join Kid in the dungeon, where he is about to meet Felipe and his companion Celia for the first time

1 Kid

He's alone, absolutely alonelost! He's never been lost He's never wondered if he'll ever see his faht years old; he's terrified for the first time in his life His eyes look everywhere at once, but he can't see her She should be there--on the bench--waiting He wasn't gone very long, he thinks, but can't be sure How big is the park? Where is she? Where is his ue darts out across his upper lip: Salt Dust Desperation He cries out, sudden and fierce, "Mama!"

No answer

An old iven about strangers--strange h his blood Kid has been told how beautiful he is, warned he's a teiven the talk about people who like to touch underwear parts So when the old man takes a step toward him, Kid runs

He runs, but has no idea where he wants to go He just has to keepout--whatever it takes to find her If he stopsHis dad says there's never been a proble

He thinks about going back to the skate ramp to see if the boys he met left, but he knows they did He only ca He can't reone? He brushes the thought away--his mother would never leave him

"Kid!" histo lay eyes on her Relief slams into him so fast he isn't ready His knees buckle and land on the soft grass at the same time his butt hits his ankles, and he cries He cries loud and hard until his throat burns and his stomach cramps

His mother lands on her knees in front of him He screarip--she's never hurt hietically and rubs his arined wounds She's out of breath--she's crying too