Kinky Kiss and Tell - Cyrus from Deadly Captive: Collateral Damage, by Bianca Sommerland

After reading Deadly Captive: Collateral Damage, I'm not finding many people who want to interview Cyrus. Not that I can blame them. Since I'm the only one who can go in alone to speak to him and come out alive, I decided it would be best to speak to him myself.

Joy.

Someone get me a stiff drink. I'm going to need it!

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The damp air carried the scent of freshly turned earth and cut grass. Headlights cast a glow over the stone archway and the iron gates that kept trespassers from the grounds of the eighteenth century mansion. Not that anyone with half a brain would want to trespass. Not if they knew . . .

"You're late."

Ice cold crawled over my flesh like hundreds of tiny spiders escaping the light under my stiff, leather jacket. I rubbed my arms and tossed my head, glancing over at Cyrus as he stepped from the shadows of the archway.

"I was busy." I slipped one hand into my jacket and palmed the switchblade I knew I wouldn't need. Screw that. I'm not taking any chances. "I'm still busy, so let's make this quick."

The hem of his long black cloak—apparently he'd given up on a modern wardrobe—slithered around his boots as he moved towards me. His long, pale fingers came up towards my face, and I jerked away before he could touch me.

"You'll have to make more time for me—very soon." With a tight, smug smile, he stepped past me, gesturing back impatiently. "Walk with me while you conduct your interview. I've been indoors for far too long."

I laughed and joined him, keeping a foot between us as we strolled along the long dirt road. "You've been hiding. You know they're coming for you."

"I've been cautious. Don't irritate me, Bianca." He caught my wrist and pulled me against him. "I can't kill you, but I can make things very unpleasant."

"Having you in my head has never been pleasant."

"You wound me. And here I was, thinking we were friends." He lips brushed my cheek. "Or more."

"The interview." I wrenched away from him and cleared my throat. "I'm going to ask you about Lydia."

He motioned for me to go ahead and continued down the path.

"What is your favorite thing about her?"

His expression soften as he tipped his head to gaze up at the moonlit sky. "There's just something about a woman who, after losing everything, after being tortured and debased in the worst ways you can possibly imagine—not that I can possibly image, of course, I was actually quite nice to her—can still find the strength to look you in the eye and taunt you. She challenges me more than any man or woman I've ever met. I get bored so easily . . . but I haven't gotten bored with her yet."

Which explains why she's still alive. I couldn't help but glance back towards the gate and wonder if she'd thank me for that. If she'd bored him, she wouldn't be suffering now.

But I couldn't help her. So I asked the next question. "What does Lydia do that is most annoying?"

"Oh, that would be her tendency to sacrifice herself for others. Seems noble to most, but it's tiring." Cyrus sighed. "If she didn't have so many other good qualities, I'd give up on her. That one weakness made it far too easy to catch her again. I was hoping for more of a chase!"

"And instead, you ended up being the one on the run."

"Next question."

Uck, I'm not even sure I want to know the answer to this one. "What's her best sexual talent?"

He chuckled. "Is pain endurance considered a sexual talent? She's not a masochist, thank God." The smirk returned. "If she enjoyed me hurting her it wouldn't be much fun, but she can take a considerable amount of pain before passing out. I find that very appealing.

"What is Lydia's weirdest habit?"

"Weirdest habit? Hmm . . . ." He shook his head. "That would be singing to dying people. It's rather morbid."

"You're a fucking asshole, you know that." My throat tightened because I knew exactly what he was referring to. Damn, I wanted this over with. I took a deep breath. "If there is something you could change about the first few weeks you knew Lydia, what would it be?"

"That's a very good question. I don't think I would have given her to Joe. I often imagine how things could have been if I'd kept her for a time, pampered her a little, lulled her into a false sense of security. Then again, if I'd done that, I may have broken her. There are many things I want to do to her, but breaking her isn't one of them."

This I knew. I inclined my head. "If you could choose to be in any book, which book would it be?"

"Little Women. Just imagine what I could do with all those sweet young girls and their men. Can you?" The wind tossed a few loose strands of black hairs around his face and I could see him, probably with Jo, who'd last the longest with all the sick things he'd put her through. He grinned as though picturing the same. "Women back then were so sheltered. It's harder to shock women now."

Yeah, but you manage. "Who, living or dead, would be your hero if you have one."

"Perhaps De Sade. He was a visionary and his tastes were refined."

If only I didn't know what he meant by that. But I'd finally reached the last question, so I blurted it out, eager to leave. "You play on the fear and pain of your victims. Is there anyone that hurt you or that you are afraid of?"

His jaw tensed and he glared at me. "You know the answer to that."

"I know all the answers. This is for all your fans."

"I see." He spun around, striding towards the car that had brought me here, forcing me to run to catch up. For a moment, I was sure he wouldn't answer. But he did. "There was . . . one woman. I am not afraid of her, but if there is anyone alive who could hurt me, it would be her."

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You'll all be happy to know I made it out of there in one piece! <g> He didn't have anything else to say to me. I don't think he's thrilled that I'm working on the last book in his series.

Too bad, ey. ;)

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If you'd like to read more about Cyrus, you can purchase the Deadly Captive books at:

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• All Romance Ebooks

Bianca Sommerland is giving away both  Deadly Captive and Deadly Captive: Collateral Damage in ebook form to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment today and she'll come back tomorrow, April 29th, to announce the winner

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