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kudos

"Steamy and sassy. Shay, the top-ranking she-demon in the devil’s army, strikes up a steamy romance with a demon hunter in Grant’s “The Nanny from Hell.”  Several characters from Mysteria make appearances, but new readers will have no trouble appreciating these charming tales." (posted 9.24.08)

-- Publishers Weekly

""The Nanny From Hell."  This had to be one of my favorites in this anthology. Shay as the demon who wants so desperately to be human, and even in a way sort of manages emotions, is captivating. I absolutely adored Quel and how, even after he finds out what Shay is, he is still willing to give her a shot. This was a great romance that shows the redeeming power of love." (posted 11.1.08)

-- Coffee Time Romance

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The Nanny from Hell by Susan Grant
(From the Mysteria Lane anthology)

Once upon a time there lived a demon with a secret wish of being human.  It made Satan very, very unhappy...

Prologue

Circus Maximus
Ancient Rome

One-hundred-and-fifty-thousand spectators lunged to their feet, cheering as the chariots flew out of the starting gate.  Everyone from the lowliest slave to the emperor himself added to the deafening applause.  The attention, the excitement, the anticipation, Shay reveled in it, savoring every aspect of the races from dust churned up by chariot wheels to the dizzying sensation of sheer speed.  Most racers conserved energy in the early laps in order to give it their all in the final stretches.  Bah!  Rules were for mortals.  Full speed ahead!

Four powerful horses tugged on the reins wrapped around Shay’s fist and down her arm to her waist.  If she were to crash, she doubted she’d have time to cut free with her dagger before being trampled or dragged to her death.  Not that she worried about such frivolous things as dying. 

Shay threw back her head and laughed.  Dust billowed into the air and settled like fine powder over her toned, slender arms and her black racing colors.  The fabric fluttered around her breasts, barely concealing them.  She heard shouts of surprise.  “A woman!” they cried. 

“A she-demon, actually,” she murmured smugly.  Not that they’d care.  Men never seemed to mind as long as they thought they were getting what they wanted from her. 

In particular, she noted the emperor’s hot, interested gaze, dismissing it as a mere annoyance.  Warlords were sometimes diverting, yes; chieftains, too.  But emperors?  All pomp and little circumstance.  She wouldn’t bother with this one unless she was very, very bored.  And she doubted she’d be bored today.  There was much to be done.

A blink of her eyes and two chariots collided.  Spectacular!  Ooh, and a trampling, too.  Score! 

Shay couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun.  She was sent by Lucifer all over the world--a plague here, a fire there--but she’d rather be here.  Something about racing made her feel so alive.  So...real.

She cringed.  Cease that drivel!  If the Dark Lord ever got wind of her addiction to earthly life, he’d snuff out her existence like a boot crushed a flickering ash.  He’d told her as much, countless centuries ago when he’d suspected she was hanging around an Ice Age settlement because she’d taken a fancy to nights spent cuddling in the furs with one of its hunters, Swift River.  Master had been right, of course.  With the fear of permanent extermination hanging over her head, she ended the affair with a good-bye kiss and an avalanche and went on her way. 

Shay pushed the painful memory away.  Her job was to break hearts and tear families apart, not to pretend she was human.  Not to pretend love.  Especially not at the risk of her own existence.  Something about ceasing to be frightened her.  She’d do everything she could to avoid that fate.

Snarling, Shay punched her fist to the side.  The horses pulling the chariot next to hers went wild, yanking their rider toward the wall with a snapping of wood and the scraping of metal.  The champion’s scream was cut short.  “Buh-bye, Scorpus.”  He’d won far too many races, anyway.  It was time he retired. 

Dust rose from the wrecks as the remaining racers plunged down the straight-away.  Easily, Shay commanded the lead.  Only one other racer had the stamina to keep her pace.  Aquila.  The shaggy-haired up-and-coming champion seemed to have it all: looks, youth, a beautiful wife and child, and all of Rome at his feet.  Sensing she was pulling ahead, Aquila slid his narrowed eyes in her direction, sizing up her chariot, her horses, and her technique.  Roman sunshine gleamed on his sweating skin.  My, but he was nicely muscled.  She could tell by his glance that he saw her as simply another competitor and not a potential lover.  Probably because of his pretty little wife and baby.  Aw, he was in love.  How easy that would be to change.  In fact, she’d keep him alive just to prove the point! 

Laughing, Shay urged her horses on ahead--just like she’d urge on Aquila...in bed after the race.  Feeling generous, she’d even let him win.  What did it matter?  He’d lose later.  They always did.

Neck and neck, they careened around the last turn.  Who would win?  Who would lose?  In those final, breathless, exhilarating moments, Shay allowed him to drift into the lead.  He beat her by a length.  The crowd’s applause was thunderous.  They had a new champion!

Magnificent in his crimson racing colors, Aquila beamed as he received his palm branch and wreath from the magistrate.  Shay shook out her hair as she jumped down from her chariot.  As the silly Romans fawned over him, she undulated her hips as she sashayed past, brushing her finger down his arm.  In his mind was planted a vivid image of her moaning and naked, submitting to his every desire.  His dark eyes flashed with sudden awareness.  It was done.  

Away from the circus, she’d barely breezed into her tent when he came striding after her, stripping her out of her clothes before she reached the bed.  He threw her on her back, impaling her with his body, pumping with sweaty, dusty, post-victory vigor.  Mentally, she took control, making him believe it was the best sex he’d ever had, and that she was first in his heart.  You’ll love me to the end of time, Aquila.

“To the end of time...” he breathed in her ear. 

Stupid mortal.

The tent flap eased open, and a woman stepped in.  A babe on her hip, she took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the shade, and to the sight of Aquila’s pumping bottom.  Then she met Shay’s amused gaze. 

He loves me.  Shay planted the realization in the woman’s mind.  One startled sob, and the wife was gone. 

Shay vanished herself--at the very moment of Aquila’s release.  He’d spill his seed on an empty bed, not knowing what had happened to her, to him--or to his little wife when he returned to an empty house later.

Love, Shay thought with disdain.  It was her mission to destroy it.  It was her entire reason for existence.  When all was said and done, she had to say she was very, very good at her job.

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