A Hot Summer Night and a fairy in the bed. The temperature’s rising when the knight comes into Kendra’s room. Kendra is cat-sitting for her cousin when temperatures soar and a knight comes into her room and takes off his armour. With no more than a brief phone-coaching session from her cousin’s lover, Kendra has anything but chivalry on her mind.

The thorn has pierced my finger, pierced my skin. My blood wells up, a bead of life that rises and gleams in the moonlight. Black. It reflects the slit of a dying moon. The roses are all about me. Their velvet blooms are damask, Bourbon, musk, they swell like the breasts of harlots and their scent is sweet as sin. My crystal goblet holds blood-red wine, drained of its color by moon and stars. What has brought the beautiful Dove to this place? Why must she forever fear the sun? The answers lie in her memories of blood and wine and roses. Also includes a second story by the same author, Every Night and All.