Echo In The Hall

Being a statue for centuries on end is pretty boring. Fortunately, the Greek nymph Echo can sometimes turn her spirit solid enough to slip out of her statue and watch other people making love. Seeing Nick and Violet together turns her on so much that when Alex the museum guard offers her the real thing, she jumps at the chance.  How was Echo to know that having sex with a human would turn her into a real woman? Now the goddess Aphrodite has given her two months to earn Alex’s love, or it’s back to the spirit world for her, possibly without even a statue to live in.  Alex’s former girlfriend really burned him and he’s sworn off even using the word love. He gives Echo a new name, Chloe, and lets her into her home but won’t let her into his heart. He doesn’t know if he can trust Chloe not to hurt him the way his ex did.

Chloe has her work cut out for her. Fortunately, she has her sister nymph Nemesis, who these days is porn movie star Nina, to help her out.  Nina would do anything to help Chloe, and that includes pulling in her ex-lover, Pan, who has his own agenda for the one nymph he never had in his bed.  Just another one of Aphrodite’s divine interventions, with gods, goddesses, nymphs and humans all trying to make sense out of this crazy little thing called love.

This book is also available in the collection Mythical Seductions.

Alex stepped further into the room, expecting to see Chloe near the bed. Instead she came up from behind the door and snapped something down on his wrist.

“Hey! What’s this?” Alex tugged on the narrow circlet locked tight around his wrist. A second one dangled from the short chain that attached them. Alex stared at the pair. Handcuffs?

Chloe danced to a few feet away and turned to grin at him. She was wearing some sort of little black lace teddy that pushed up her breasts and outlined her pubic triangle in an audacious display. Black lace stockings outlined her legs, attached to garters, and her feet wore what had to be six-inch heels. Alex wondered how she could stay balanced in them.

She wielded what looked like a tiny whip and slapped it against the palm of her hand. It made a puny sound like a wet noodle on a kitchen counter.

“You are my prisoner!” she said and struck a pose like that of a dominatrix in a dirty movie, wide legs and penetrating stare. Then she giggled, spoiling the effect.

Alex didn’t know whether to be angry over her subterfuge, or to burst out laughing. A bondage game? So this was what she’d been planning all afternoon. No doubt her sister, the porn queen, had put her up to it.

He glanced at the cuff on his arm, at her, and at the room. Oh, what the hell, she’d gone to so much trouble. He hadn’t tried anything this kinky before, but how bad could it get? What was a little S-and-M between friends? Besides, she looked absolutely hot in that get-up. His cock was already hard enough to pound nails at the thought of tearing it off her. If he were free to have his way, he’d have her sprawled on the bed before she could slap him with that dinky whip of hers. He’d shove himself inside her, and wham, bam it would be over in minutes. At least this way he might last a while.

Trying to control his snicker, Alex went down on one knee before Chloe’s astonished face. “I am your servant, Mistress. What is your command?”

“Uh...” Chloe stared at him with wide-eyes before pulling herself back into character. She gestured to his clothes with an imperious wave of her whip. “Remove those garments...slave.”

He suppressed a chortle and went to work, removing his shoes, and socks, unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time. As he pulled his shirt off his shoulders he glanced over at “Mistress Chloe”. She was looking more nervous that he’d seen in recent days, rolling the little whip around between her palms.

“You know,” he said as he unfastened his pants, “If you get to be my mistress now, I get to play the master next time.”

Her eyes fixed on his massive erection and she chewed on her lower lip. “No talking. We can discuss that later.”

Smirking, Alex dropped his pants on the floor. “Just thought I’d mention it. I think I might enjoy having a little sex slave like you.” The single cuff dangled from his wrist, the only thing left he wore. Naked, he strode toward her and dropped to one knee again.

“I await your bidding, mistress."

Katherine J. Turcotte for Romance Reviews Today...ECHO IN THE HALL is a wonderful fantasy that transports the reader beyond the realm of classic mythology. The sexual intensity between Chloe and Alex is palpable and their everyday problems are real and believable. The addition of Aphrodite, Nemesis, and especially the sexually charged and enticing Pan, add just the right edge to a deliciously sexy book. ECHO IN THE HALL is filled to the brim with heart-pounding, searing sex and mesmerizing magical charm. I don’t think I will ever look at a mythical statue the same way again!

Four Stars - Robin Taylor for Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine ...Starr takes wonderful liberties with Greek mythology and the results are warm characters that make an unbelievable situation work and interesting mythical creatures from the past. This is a thoroughly entertaining read.

Four/Five Stars, Heat level H -Michelle Naumann for Just Erotic Romance Reviews ...Heartwarming, moving at times, and sprinkled with Ms. Starr’s delightful sense of humor, Echo in the Hall is quite an engaging read. ...I truly enjoyed this novella and definitely recommend it to all lovers of paranormal romance. Echo in the Hall goes to my keeper shelf.

Five Hearts - Jennifer Lynne for The Romance Studio ...Starr entices the reader by throwing effective hooks throughout her novels so you can’t stop reading. I desperately wanted the hero and heroine to end up together. The sex scenes almost melted my computer they were so intense. ...Starr has a gift. She is one of the best erotica e-book writers I have ever encountered, and I’m way picky. I hope she doesn’t stop writing!

Ansley Velarde for The Road to Romance ...If you enjoy Greek mythology, you will enjoy this one. If you don’t enjoy Greek myth, and want to read a good fantasy with some heat and humor to it, you will enjoy this one too.

Four Angels -Tanya for Fallen Angels Reviews ...Echo in the Hall is wonderful and well written. I was compelled to stay up until the wee hours of the morning so that I could finish the story and learn what happened between Echo and Alex.

Cynthia Lovett for Paranormal Romance Reviews ...Cricket Starr has done a wonderful "What If..." story with Echo. The language is stronger than I prefer, however as odd as this seems, I think it was tastefully written. The passages that were meant to heat the readers' blood up, well... worked. Cricket Starr has well written vivid love scenes that are graphic in language, and still managed to turn me on. I was surprised!