Original borderline story at the edge of accepted conventions, Re-Scue, ReScue Series #1, spans four different lifetimes connected by an insane passion for sex and blood. The players are always the same: a hunter and his prey. The rule is always the same: sex without feelings.
But the prey wants more.
Each story is set in a world of its own. The characters changes physical traits and sometimes sex. But whatever world they’re in, whatever shape they have, their bloody seductive game is as exciting as the first time.
Didri and Tylean begin the sadistic ritual on Byoldar, a futuristic world where he teaches her about pain and pleasure. The game continues with Aural and Rhodri on Thuly, a fantasy medieval-style world. Together, they will break new boundaries in passion without emotions, leaving it to Leon and Sean to end the game on 21st century Earth.
Author Laura Tolomei's Re-Scue is Romance Divine’s longest audio book to-date, clocking in at over ten hours running time. It posed quite a challenge for narrator Kellie Kamryn and Editor Gregory Causey, but they are both proud of the results.
The game continues in Tasting Leon’s Mark (published by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid WCPT), ReScue Series #2, with a different setting, a different relationship, but no end to their incomprehension’s. True, the lifetimes have taught them not to destroy one another, but can they also learn to trust each other with their deepest feelings?
Only one rule: never fall in love. But the sex and blood is just too good to pass up. So what to do? Blood and sex are the only fair game he, the hunter, allows me, his prey, to have in our passionate chase through time and space. And for his sake, I’ve had more lives than I care to count. From one life to the next, I played his savage game, hungering for him in a way no amount of blood or sex could ever satisfy me. But not anymore! So how to beat him at his own game and get away with it?
The prequel to Tasting Leon’s Mark, the bloody game that started it all with the inter-play of different lifetimes all aiming for the same passionate lust. Divided into 4 books, the story takes place in four different worlds, with eight different protagonists that are the same two souls that keep reincarnating and crossing paths, hunter and prey inevitably liked in a doomed destiny.
BOOK One - In a hi-tech world, Tylean teaches Didri pain and pleasure while slicing tiny cuts on her soft skin. The game, intended only at a physical level, turns into love for Didri, but sadly not for him…
Book Two - The predator, in the shape of a panther, recognizes the bond with its gazelle/prey, but will they find a way around nature’s ways?
Book Three -.In a peaceful farming community, the hunter Rhodri meets Aural and the game begins anew. He makes her go beyond her boundaries, hovering between pain and pleasure, trapping her insidethe same knifing game he used as Tylean. Once again, though, Aural commits the fatal mistake of falling in love with her lover/tormentor, and consequences will be drastic, to say the least
Book Four - On Twenty-first Century Earth, Leon and Sean resume their game in a typical American business context. This time, however, things are bound to change as the lesson “However you lived your past, today you’re the key to changing your future” sinks in, so much so their story continues in the sequel Tasting Leon’s Mark.
Excerpt
Sean Davis read the email one more time. "We inform personnel that starting today the new Project Division CEO is Leon Sterling. Tomorrow he will conduct one to one interviews with every division member, so we strongly recommend being available all day." As usual in official jargon, direct orders were preferred over other more formal perhaps, but certainly less crude formats. Or maybe it was Sean who abhorred it, this impersonal business way of handling people and information alike, something he could never quite get used to despite his five years at Strategic Development Market. Then again, he did not agree with most of their bureaucracy, which to be fair was partly his fault since he did not quite fit into SDM’s standards.
"My, my, a new CEO. What will they think of next?" Heavily spiced in irony, the familiar voice across from his desk brought Sean back to the immediate present. "Can’t wait to see what this one’s like."
"What are you expecting, Keith?" Stretching luxuri Sean glanced up at his colleague.
"Nothing actually, knowing SDM’s management, but at least I hope he isn’t an ugly old bastard like the last one." He winked at Sean. "It would be nice if he looked more like you for a change, wouldn’t you say?"
"Hum…yeah…" Sean shook his head embarrassed. No, he definitely did not belong in their rigidly classified world, his looks simply too striking for SDM, if not the male category in general. To his advantage, though, a sunny disposition assuaged much of his appearance’s initial impact and guaranteed an easy time with everyone. Men liked him, however little he talked about sports or beers. Women poured their hearts in his ears, trusting on his sympathetic receptiveness toward their com love affairs when not relying on his taste and sophisticated sense of style to compare notes, on fashion or on art’s prevailing trends. "You never know, but seems hard he could be worse than the last one."
"In this company?" The other man shrugged indiffer "I know he can be a hell of a lot worse." Then he fixed his gaze on Sean. "And give you just as hard a time as ever."
So he was no model employee and his bosses seldom liked him…big deal! If they seemed to have trouble adapting to his alternative style—not just a question of looks, rather his way of working—Sean could care less. Never a priority, work was simply necessary to survive, one thing he managed quite well in SDM after top execs began exploiting him to attract potential clients. And since Sean Davis was more effective than any well-formulated marketing plan, he be invaluable to the point CEOs often brought him along to business lunches or dinners, as if hoping his good looks conveyed the message of a successful and trendy company on the go. In return, Sean was sure they shielded him from his direct superior’s harassment and closed an eye on his incompliance with trivial details, like being on time every day and playing the part of the efficient team player devoted to company goals alone—an unfeasible possibility due to his busy side-life, which on a few occasions even interfered with his job. On top of it all, Sean was also short trained in Marketing, having only minored in it after majoring in Art, an additional feature that set him further apart from col and management alike.
"You’re being pessimistic as usual." Sean rubbed his tired eyes before looking out the giant window at his left side. The day was ending, and people were getting ready to bottle up in Atlanta’s hectic evening traffic. "He could be great, instead—"
"His name reeks of Harvard…"
"And of old money." He was quick to grasp Keith’s conclusions, which come to think of it, could not be so far-fetched. "Yeah, you’re right, just another rich bored guy who isn’t going to give a damn about us or our problems." Yawning loudly, he deleted the email.
"Now who’s being pessimist?" Mouth open, Keith was unable to resist the contagious yawn. "But whatever he is, I guess we’ll find out soon enough."
"He can’t be any worse than the last one." From around the door, another colleague popped in Sean and Keith’s office obviously in search of a bit of gossip before his long ride home.
"I wouldn’t be too sure, Tom." Keith scoffed. "I mean we’ve changed four in the last year or so, and most of them left without even saying goodbye."
"It’s your fault, blondie!" Despite the seriousness of his tone, Tom’s eyes flashed at Sean in amusement. "They can’t manage you, so they’d all rather leave."
Sean grinned. "And get back to their boring family life and their routines—"
"Of which you’d know nothing about," Keith ob suppressing a smile.
"Envious, Keith?" It was a game, to pick on Sean, which he never minded, enjoyed actually because it gave the measure of how close the men felt to him. In short it was their way of showing it without seeming unduly…caring.
"Damn right I am! If I went back, I’d think twice before I got married and started a family."
"I guess it’s just a matter of choices." Sean’s tone softened. "And I never made that one."
"I think blondie’s right." Tom and Keith exchanged a glance. "You probably live better without a family that’ll bitch at you if you’re five minutes late in getting home." Looking at his watch, Tom smirked. "Plus they tell me life’s pretty hot for single men these days." He moved closer to Sean.
"You can’t imagine how!" Sean leaned back on his chair. "You might try it, too, if—"
"Hey, guys!" A pretty petite blonde entered. "Aren’t you excited about the big boss?"
"Hey, Suzy, does he really want to see us one by one?" And Keith’s eyes grew wide as if calculating how long it would take to accomplish it.
"That’s what Karen told me, and she ought to know since she’s the number one secretary." She moved next to Sean. "He’ll be conducting interviews all morning."
"Yeah…and all night, too." Tom sneered. "There are a lot of us in this division."
"He must know that, too." Then Suzy turned to Sean. "They also tell me he’s a very attractive man."
"You mean to tell us we’re going to have two of them in our division alone?" Tom snickered.
"As if it ruined our image!" Passing a hand through Sean’s hair, she smiled sweetly. "And there are plenty of your unattractive species anyway to even out the score."
"Is he also single?" Looking at his computer screen rather than at any one in particular, Sean began closing his files.
"I’m afraid not." Taking a step back, Suzy shook her head disappointed. "And the bad news is his wife works here, too."
"As if that would stop you, Suzy," Tom quipped.
"Hey, pal, believe it or not, I’m not in the habit of sleeping with just anyone." She threw back her shoulders defiantly. "I happen to choose my men."
"Yeah, and nothing’s better than banging the boss," Tom added.
"If he’s cute, why not? A little fun on the side is never bad for business, right, Sean?"
"I guess not, but I’d be careful if I were you." Taking his eyes off the screen, Sean fixed them on Suzy. "An in-house wife may mean trouble." Or a lot of fun if he likes playing the field. But it did not seem appropriate to share his thought, not with Suzy, not after what she had been through.
"Have you heard about Leon Sterling?" Another woman stepped inside the already crowded room. "I wonder how his wife took the news."
"Paige? Sure, I do. She works in Accounting, and she’s a real nice lady, always goes out of her way to help people."
No one commented, probably reluctant to spoil Suzy’s fling, however imaginary.
"Well, guys, I’ll see you tomorrow, and I bet everyone’s going to be extremely efficient and productive." Chuckling, Tom left.
The others followed his example by returning to whatever off-time life they nursed on the outside, which for Sean was full of friends, but no steady mate to his mother’s dismay. He knew she wanted him to settle down with a special someone, not necessarily in the married sense. What could he say? She had figured him out by now—no, even before he realized it himself. So where’s my dream man?
Oh, he looked for him, had since his school days with the unfortunate result that what he sought still eluded him and not for lack of eligible suitors. Sean attracted men and women of all ages, looks or inclinations, including those who adamantly refused men as suitable sexual partners. Actually, they made for irresistible targets to the point of getting involved with men at their first gay experience just for the fun of it. But even if many liked it, or maybe they simply surrendered to his allure, the relationship seldom lasted. Tired and bored of people who only two days before were excitingly alive, Sean would revert to his favorite dump line to get out of sticky situations. "You’re wonderful, really, but I’m looking for something more…like…"
A bigger cock for sure! It was probably the dumped guy’s guess, and he could not be farther from the truth. True, dimensions were important—of course they were, yet it was often a matter of knowing how to wield whatever size equipment Mother Nature bestowed. Still they were not every Something beyond mere sex tormented him, his body craving more passion, more game, more blood.
Shaking his head, he tried to get the obsession out of it while driving home the night before Leon Sterling’s arriv Not a very successful technique, then again nothing worked to stop his need for someone stripping him naked and draining his very life source while having hard, rough sex with the aid of a sharp blade. And the first time he realized how dramatically different he was from everyone else, he had been just a teenager watching splatter movies of late night trash TV.
The discovery had shocked him, even worried him at first. Something was not quite right with him if he had an erection from watching people dismembered or cut to pieces, unable to tear his eyes off the horrifying sequences or his hands from the hard-on. Whether melting in the darkness of a cinema or after creeping downstairs while his mom was fast asleep, he pretended to be the one brutalized, wondering how it might feel to have someone actually carving his flesh. Pain or…pleasure? He could not determine, but his cock demanding immediate attention seemed to have already made up its mind. At that point, there was no alternative besides jerk off on a fantasy lover capable of inflicting both at the same time. Aroused by imagining the stingy sensa of the warm tongue tracing the wounds’ uneven edges, Sean pictured him sucking the tiny droplets before starting a fresh wave of incisions, until he flooded his hand with the semen bursting in rapid jets from his twitching dick.
And to think his nature was anything except cruel, despising violence and suffering along with anyone causing it, particularly if on purpose. Still his yearning spiraled to the point it took complete hold of him, inevitably spilling into his otherwise great sex with lean bodied studs, not to men spoiling whatever chance he had of a normal relation. So there was no cute but quite ordinary fellow waiting for him at home, and no one who might cuddle him when he woke up in the dead of night—sweaty and out of breath—grabbing the air to clutch his dreams or wipe out the disturbing image with a healthy, non-bloody fuck.
Professional Reviews
Listner’s Review rated the story 3 stars
[…] the author’s descriptive ability and her intriguing, and sensual way of phrasing provided a degree of listening enjoyment in spite of the aforementioned dislikes. And that’s really saying something […].Also, watching the H’s transformation was good, and the story was plausible, which was good. So things flowed well. Finally, returning to the negative side, this author should never, ever, ever, never use the word “Sweetie” ever again. Goddess knows I cringe at just the idea of hearing it again. This book is a lesson in overuse of a word.
RJR rated it 3.5 BLUE RIBBONS
For him it’s all about the blood, sex and domination. Nowhere does love enter into the equation. He even goes so far as to inform her that it’s just a game and he doesn’t love her but that doesn’t stop her emotionally driven response to him. Unfortunately her love for him and his over the top response leads to their becoming separated lifetime after lifetime.
Regardless of what form they take during each reincarnation there’s a connection between them that’s impossible to ignore and their interactions are anything but your standard hearts and flowers ‘romance’ but the unique needs and desires they share are what make this such a stimulating novel.
RE-SCUE is a more intense and startlingly horrific than most titles I’ve read. Now that being said I was actually fascinated by how Ms. Tolomei was able to jump genres so frequently within one book and still have it all make perfect sense. The whole theme of the story is a simple one – falling in love can destroy you, but with time and effort love could ultimately save you. If you’re faint of heart or strongly opposed to the more shocking fetishes then you might want to steer clear of this one but if you’re more adventurous (at least in your choice of reading material) then pick up a copy, sit back and prepare yourself for a heck of a wild ride.
RE-SCUE is the prequel to TASTING LEON’S MARK which was released in April of 2009.
Coffee Time Romance & More (CTR) rated it 4 CUPS
Craving the sex and submission of his prey is only part of the reason the hunter keeps searching for the one. There is no need for emotion, and in truth the hunter abhors the very idea, but something draws them together time and again.
The gnawing ache for pain to be mixed with pleasure throws this hunter and its prey together throughout time and space. The blood is an aphrodisiac neither can live without, but for the prey that blood is connected directly to its heart. Every time the hunter turns his back, the prey gets wiser, until a time comes when everything must change. No longer will the prey be satisfied by holding in the truth, and it may finally mark the end to what has been an ageless battle.
Be warned that the fetish angle within this story is knife play, and it is vividly and intensely exploited. The characters are consensual adults, and although the prey suffers greatly at the hands of the hunter, it must be kept in mind that it is all part of the game. I feel that the final coupling makes the whole story come together, and readies the reader for more to come. Although this read may not be for everyone, I find it to be a fascinatingly, if at times disturbingly, erotic love affair.
Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
- See more at: http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/rescuebylauratolomei.html#.Vq4a7kfMdNs
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