Sunday 31 March 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday #SneakPeekSunday


Welcome to Sneak Peek Sunday. I have a treat for spanking lovers this week!! What's that I hear you ask...drum roll... a FREE short novel all about slappy-happy, sexy fun written by myself and the always wonderful Natalie Dae.



MORE is a 2nd person narrative about a couple trying out spanking for the first time. It deals with their emotions as well as the physical act, in fact this view point works especially well for the emotional aspect and pulls out all of their hopes and fears making the reader feel like a voyeur in the character's heads.

Here is a snippet, not a kiss on the lips, a kiss somewhere a whole lot sexier...



And your taste, damn that makes my cock surge every time it coats my tongue. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it—sugar and spice mixed with you and that peachy shower gel that hangs in the bathroom.
Oh, God, that’s it—damn, can’t you just hear how sopping you are? Clicking and squelching around my fingers. It’s gushing from you—and your clit, it’s so engorged.
I think I may have to hold you still with my free hand. You’re writhing so much, squirming on the bed. Is it knowing what’s going to happen next that’s got you so near to the edge already? Has the thought of pain made your clit stiff and swollen before my tongue has even built up speed?

Grab your copy from Amazon US  Amazon UK and please LIKE the product page and our FACEBOOK page.

Look out for HARD coming soon.




Thanks for stopping by

Lily x




Saturday 30 March 2013

Saturday Spankings #SatSpanks - FREE spanking book for YOU!


Another glorious Saturday and another super spanking!! This week myself and fellow author Natalie Dae are offering you a FREE spanking story available at Amazon as ebook. (Natalie and I write together a lot, check out our other work.)

The story is called MORE and is written in the second person  point of view, not our usual style but for this type of piece it works very well. The narrative makes it personal, intimate, there's a certain voyuer feel to it and also a sense of having got into the character's heads.

Our heroine wants to try spanking and she's finally plucked up the courage to ask for it. This is a peek into the couple's bedroom as they explore this new side of their relationship. It's hot and dirty and gets straight to the point.



Here are the first 8 lines...

Don’t just slap me once, it’s not enough. I want more. I want you to strike my ass, your fingertips just brushing my cunt lips, and I want you to do it again and again. I heard a woman can come just from being slapped like that. Don’t you want to try it? Don’t you want to see if it works? Don’t you want to know that you can get me off just by those delicious hits?
I’ll get on my hands and knees for you, and you can stand beside the bed, the perfect position...



Tickled your fancy? Then here are the grab it FREE links (29th March - 3rd April)Tell all your friends and please LIKE the product page on Amazon and our Facebook page. Also at the end of the short story you'll find bonus chapters to sample our other novels and see if they press your  naughty buttons!





Look out for HARD, coming soon.




Thanks so much for dropping by, leave me a comment and say hi.

Lily x



Friday 29 March 2013

MORE is FREE


Short erotic story MORE is FREE between 29th of March and the 3rd of April - go grab a copy!

Written in the 2nd person this co-authored narrative piece explores the emotional aspects of a couple trying out spanking for the first time. At the end of the story there are bonus chapters from the following books to whet your appetite.







Amazon US     Amazon UK

If you grab a copy of MORE please be sweet and LIKE the Amazon page and our Facebook page.



Thursday 28 March 2013

First Lines

Please join me at Dirty Birdies where I'm talking about the first line of a book.


Wednesday 27 March 2013

Great review for Hired!



It's a while since HIRED first hit the shelves and soon the 5th book in my HOT ICE series will be available - I'm busy doing edits for High-Sticked - but it's always an absolute pleasure to get a good review....



Blogcritics

Hired is book one in the Hot Ice series by Lily Harlem, and let's just say that as soon as I finished this one I immediately pulled the next one up on my Kindle!

It tells the story of Brooke Ambrose, a woman who is given an opportunity to earn $100,000 just for spending a week on a paradise island with a famous hockey player.

She's reluctant at first, but when she thinks that she can use the money to get her through nursing school and launch her career, she decides to go for it.

She's not expected to talk to him if she doesn't want to, or spend time with him. She's just supposed to be there to make sure he doesn't go off the rails. An easy job for plenty of money.

However, Logan Taylor isn't just a hockey player - he's also a gorgeous bad boy, and although he and Brooke don't hit it off to start with, the ice between them eventually breaks. After they come to a truce, things quickly heat up between them and Brooke is left with her head in a mess.

She wants Logan, but she's a girl with morals and struggles with the reason she was on the island in the first place, and she must keep the secret, even if it will cost her her future.

Hired is a real page-turner. We quickly get to know the female lead, who's a nice girl just looking to get ahead in life. Very soon, Logan appears and the book begins to sizzle and steam. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that this is an erotic romance with a fascinating plot, plenty of twists and turns and some smokin' hot sex. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of erotic romance; you don't have to like sport, either, as the hockey element isn't too overbearing.


- please note my Hot Ice books can all be enjoyed as stand-alone reads or in order. More details on my website.





Tuesday 26 March 2013

The Contract by Natalie Dae

"Darkly sexy, rampant with twists and one of those books that will stay in your heart and head for a long time."



Many of you know Natalie and I write together often, I adore her voice and have learnt so much from her style. I recently had the pleasure of beta reading this just released, super-length novel and wow, I couldn't put it down. Much like the cover, the journey the characters take is dark and binds you in. Afterwards I couldn't help but wonder how a whisper in your ear can change your life forever. How much one small decision can embroil you in a new way to exist for the rest of time.

Blurb:

From the moment I stepped on the path that I hoped would take me to a better life, things changed forever—for the worst. I was dragged into the belly of the underworld, where a gang lord had chosen me to do his bidding. Caught up in a trial that had nothing to do with me, I was forced to sign a contract, binding me to do whatever the gang boss ordered—or lose my life. With no choice but to obey, and me falling in love with the defending lawyer, my world was turned upside down.

Master Michael was that lawyer, a man who wanted to teach me the BDSM lifestyle and keep me safe, offering me an entirely different contract. But I couldn’t allow him to. If I did, he would also face danger. Being beaten, stabbed, and hunted down became the norm for me, and I ended up having to make a choice—his life for mine or go into witness protection.

I should have been safe. I should have been able to stop looking over my shoulder. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t. The gang were always there, dogging my every step. And so was Master Michael.

Excerpt:

I grew wet between my legs, spasms there giving me a jolt. I hadn’t done anything like this for such a long time that I was out of practise, felt out of my depth and unsure what to do next. My cunt burned, seemed to inflate with my longing, and if I’d been alone I would have wrenched my jeans open and slid my fingers inside my knickers. Rubbed, smoothing my wetness over my clit and fretting it until the pleasure burst through me and I shook, jerked, and bucked with it. I wanted to tell him to do exactly that, to discover how he would do it, whether his touch was firmer than mine. I wanted so much all at once that it overwhelmed me.
He eased his head back a little, breaths hot on my wet skin, and said, ‘Tell me now. Tell me what you want, Rebecca.’
‘I don’t know. Don’t know if I can,’ I said, keeping my eyes closed.
He swirled his tongue around the edge of the scar, then swept it across my stomach to circle my navel. I pulled in a breath, shocked, and tightened my hold on his hair. I imagined him twisting me around, making me face the wall tiles, and wrenching my jeans down my legs. Gripping my hips and drawing me backwards while he stood behind me, naked, pressing his erection into the cleft of my backside. I wanted him to scoot his hands under my T-shirt and lift my bra cups, replacing them with his hands. To fondle my nipples until they hardened, so that I forgot everything except what he was doing. Was that what I wanted him to do? Could I tell him that?
I began talking, telling him what I could see in my head, faltering at first then growing bolder as he kissed and licked my stomach.
‘It isn’t…exactly BDSM, is it?’ I said, daring to open my eyes and watch him. ‘It’s just normal.’
He pulled back for long enough to say, ‘Keep imagining. Keep talking. Say what you can see.’
‘I want…I want you to take me roughly, to fuck all the bad things out of me.’ Had I just said that? ‘I want you to kiss me hard, shove into me, make me feel alive again, as though I’m the only thing that matters. Make me forget…make me know, just for a little while, that the only thing I have to wonder about is…what you’ll do next.’
Michael stood, my hand dropping away from his hair, and crushed me to him. He kissed me — hard — and I melted against him, pushed into him, wanting to feel his erection, to writhe over it and get myself off. I put my hands around his neck, locking my fingers, going up on tiptoes and kissing him back as hungrily as he was kissing me. A strangled sound got stuck in my throat, and this time I didn’t care. He broke the kiss, dipping his head to lick a path up my neck, to kiss my earlobe.
‘Tell me more,’ he said, his hot breath sending my lust level skyrocketing.
I closed my eyes while he nuzzled and kissed, me rubbing myself over him, the sensations between my legs growing with my excitement. My jeans gave extra abrasion, and I shuddered out several pants while trying to control myself enough to speak.
‘I want you to massage me roughly, all over, and force me to my knees to suck you…your cock.’ My face was hot, getting hotter with the telling. ‘I want you to grip my hair in your fist while I do it, and push in and out of my mouth telling me how you need me to suck harder. I want you to tell me how it should be, where I should kneel or stand, where I should be. And I want…I want you to use your free hand to grip my chin so my head doesn’t move.’
I could see it all in my mind’s eye, every bit of it, both of us naked. I imagined the strain in my thigh muscles from kneeling, the strain in my jaw from having my mouth stuffed full of him. I heard him grunting as he pumped in and out, using my mouth, using me, and telling me that he was going to come.
I lowered my head to nestle it on his chest, hiding my shame as I repeated what I’d seen in my head. The words were muffled against his top, but he heard them, groaning his response and holding me tighter.
‘That’s it,’ he said, kissing my jawline, licking my lips. ‘That’s it.’
I slid my hand under his top, reaching up, seeking his chest. It was smooth, not a hair to be felt, and I ghosted a fingertip over a hardened nipple. His desire for me had done that, perked that nipple, and I finally accepted that he wanted me. I’d dreamed of being his for so long, had convinced myself it would never be, that to see proof of what I’d denied to be true was almost too much. I squeezed my eyes closed tightly, then tilted my head, needing him to kiss me.
He did, slow and tender, the roaring fire of before dousing into something just as beautiful, just as heady. It was erotic, the gentle dance of his tongue, as though he was taking his time to taste me, to explore the inside of my mouth, getting to know it. I responded in kind and knew I could stand here kissing him forever. My head swam with the joy of it, of him wanting the whole of me, scar and all.
As our kiss came to an end, I reluctantly drew back, looking up at him as he studied me.
‘That wasn’t so difficult, was it?’ he said, cradling my cheek and running his thumb tip under one of my eyes.
‘It wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t easy either,’ I said, the pounding ache between my legs making it difficult to focus.
‘Do you want more?’ he asked. ‘More of this?’












Monday 25 March 2013

Coming Together Triumphantly - charity anthology




Coming Together: Triumphantly is a collection of erotica that deals with reclaiming the body and sexuality after trauma. It contains stories of triumph, of healing, and of appreciating the body and its abilities after (and in spite of) the changes brought about by illness/injury. This collection will benefit the National Women's Health Network.

This collection is edited by Dorla Moorehouse, who pitched the idea to Coming Together as follows:

In late 2010, my friend and fellow writer Reesa Brown and I decided we wanted to edit an erotica anthology based around reclaiming the body and sexuality after trauma, such as illness or assault. This idea was very important to Reesa, who was a breast cancer survivor. We mapped things out, found some interest from other writers we knew, and put together a call for submissions, but then Reesa's cancer returned. She spent most of 2011 fighting, and most of the time she was too ill to work. We planned to relaunch our efforts as soon as she was well, but unfortunately, that day never happened. After grieving her death in January, I've decided I want to continue along with the project as planned, even though she is no longer here to co-edit with me. While more than a year has passed since our initial plans, my motivation is stronger than ever.

CONTENTS:  Shy Bird (Lily Harlem); Scarlet's (Maxine Marsh); Mine Like The Rest of You (Teresa Noelle Roberts); How Love Can Triumph Over Cancer (Mark Lawrence); Love the Second Time Around (Deva Shore); My Stillness (Corey Fisk); Finding Christine (Alicia Baines)

A note from me - I was keen to add to this collection of stories that aids such a good cause, and it's not the first time I've donated my work to Coming Together, I also have a steamy menage tale in Coming Together; As OneShy Bird was interesting to write, I made the guy the one overcoming physical injury and although he's a big, tough, leather-wearing, tattooed biker, it is the shy, unassuming girl who he takes up bird watching in the Norfolk Broads with who finally heals his heart.

You can find out more about Triumphantly (available as ebook) here.

Sunday 24 March 2013

Sneak Peek and a Snog #SneakPeekSunday



How can we not love Sunday? A sneak peek and a snog!

This week's offering is from my work in progress - Breathe You In - a million thanks to Posh Gosh for creating the perfect cover. The Peacock feather, shaped like a heart, sums up the story, but probably not in the way you think. Peacocks have many beliefs attached to them, including immortality and phoenix-rising-from-the-flames qualities. This little snippet is taken whilst the hero, Ruben and his first love interest in a long time, Katie, are on a summer's evening picnic in central England. But all is not as it seems, Katie, who is trying to put her life back together after tragedy, has more to do with Ruben's return from hell than he knows...



My decision had been painful, torturous, but it had been the only thing that made sense.
He caught my escaped tear with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t cry, Katie.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just happy for you that it's over. You’ve been through hell. And I know what a horrible place that is.”
“Right now it feels like I’m in Heaven.” He smiled. “I can almost hear harps.”
A slightly hysterical little giggle burst from me and then I did what I’d been wanting to do all evening. I slipped my fingers into his soft hair, cradled his skull and pressed my lips to his.


Have a great Sunday, Breathe You In will be out next month - watch this space :-)

Lily x

Saturday 23 March 2013

Saturday Spankings #SatSpanks


Saturday is rapidly becoming my favourite day of the week - so much spanking fun to be had!

This week my quick slap offering is from the third book in my Hot Ice series, aptly named Slap Shot (please note all of these books can be enjoyed as stand-alone reads).


Rick is the captain of the Orlando Vipers and he's got his determined eye set on Dana, an ex pole dancer and now super-efficient event organiser. Things are just spicing up between them and she's got him all hot-under-the-collar and ready for action by performing a raunchy dance for him. Needless to say, it's time for Rick to show his new woman exactly what he wants...




“I want to make your ass all pretty and red and then fuck you from behind,” he murmured. “So I can watch your glowing skin tremble for me, tremble while I fuck you - fuck you really hard.”
I heard those words loud and clear and Oh. My. God. I should have guessed a guy that overdosed on testosterone would have his fair share of kinks.
“I won’t slap you again until you ask, Dana.”
I pushed into the pole, squeezed shut my eyes and dragged in a breath. The pain had dulled, merely a memory now but as it faded I realized that I wanted it back. I wanted it back desperately. The sting was like a direct current to my pussy, another erotic stimulus that I had to have.
“Dana,” he breathed onto my temple. “Do you want more?”
“Yes,” I panted, hardly believing what I was agreeing to. “Yes, again. More.”






I've had several readers email me and say they think Joe Mangeillo should play Rick should Slap Shot ever become a movie, oh my, yes please, I'll be on set everyday!



You can check out my Hot Ice Pinterest page or my dedicated website page with details of all the books in the HOT ICE series, though if spanking and hockey is your thing, Slap Shot is definitely the book for you!





Friday 22 March 2013

Thursday 21 March 2013

Beautiful Britain





I just can't help but be inspired by the wonderful country I live in, but none more so than the Cotswolds. I spent last week there with Mr Harlem and we had a wonderful time. The cute, topsy-turvey villages are quintessential England. From their sandy colour brickwork to their tiled roofs and walled gardens, there is nothing remotely ordered about the mishmash of houses and shops. The roads go from wide to breathe-in narrow, hills flow right down to the entrance of the villages and gurgling streams pool into ponds full of mallard ducks.






I've been several times over the years and I always have the urge to walk for miles then settle in one of the many welcoming pubs by a fire and enjoy some good food and fine wine.





Of course I like to find time for a little shopping too, and last week in the slightly-larger-than-average village of Winchcombe I had a delightful few hours mooching around shops with names like -  Sprogs (kids stuff) The Winds of Change Gallery, Me Me Me (clothes), and enjoyed tea and scones in Food Fanatics Delicatessen - yum!  I came home mainly with tasty treats in my bag though having a particular fondness for art, had money been no issue there were several pictures in the gallery I would have treated myself to.




I always play a game with my lovely man - which house we'd have if we could have any. I'm always hard pushed to decide if I would want a small cute one, all chintzy and cosy...




Or one with a thatched roof...



Or something big and sprawling, mansion-like...




Or even something quirky - of which there are many to chose from...





Whichever one I choose, in my imagination, I'd be sure to see something else on my next visit that grabs me more, depending what mood I'm in. And I'm already looking forward to my next Cotswold trip, though between now and then I wonder if I'll set another story there? Without intentionally setting out to, I have three books all based in the Cotswolds, I guess that shows how under my skin this beautiful part of the world has got.

Thanks for reading

Lily x




PS - My books set in the Cotswolds...





Wednesday 20 March 2013

Scored hits the spot!


I'm really thrilled that my sexy soccer novel Scored has 10 five star reviews on Amazon and plenty more on Goodreads. What I especially love is when readers take the time to post about this steamy story.

All my characters are important to me, they've each completely taken over my head for a while, consuming my thoughts and keeping me awake at night, itching to get back to writing their raunchy tale.

A few days ago I came across this review on Goodreads - it certainly made me smile, and gave me a warm gooey feeling inside...it even had a football covered in hearts at the end of the review!




Erica's review 

Mar 15, 13

I have a new book boyfriend and his name is Lewis Tate. OH MY HOLY EIGHT POUND BABY JESUS IN A TUXEDO T-SHIRT. This man is perfect with NO FLAWS. I read this today at a indoor play area while my daughter played and I know that the other moms had to be wondering what I was reading since I either had a goofy smile on my face the whole time or was giggling. This book is SOOOO romantic. If you are looking for a hotter than hot romance with no major drama, heartbreak or serious conflict, this is your book. It is SOOO cute and sweet and romantic. And HOT. No shortage of hot sex scenes in THIS book. And you do not need to know a thing about soccer (sorry, my British friends, football is played with a pigskin, don't throw tomatoes) to enjoy this sports-oriented romance. At first, I just giggled my ass off at Nicky. Poor girl could not get away from embarrassing situations with Lewis. Lesson to all: if you must travel with your vibrator, take the batteries out before you pack. Second lesson: don't wear a white swimsuit for the first time without testing it in the shower. OMG, I was laughing SO HARD. But clearly Lewis fell hard in love with Nicky and she with him. They are absolutely PERFECT for each other. Lewis' dirty talk is something else. But when he threw her up against the wall because he couldn't wait another second...yeah, I was history. I was smiling a goofy grin ALL NIGHT after reading this book. It was truly a wonderful, romantic story and I LOVED IT. Hearts and flowers, indeed.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

The Last Word

The very lovely Viki Lyn has invited me and several other authors over to her place to have The Last Word! It's all good fun, come on over and join us...


I'm under the spotlight!

This week at Total-E-Bound I'm the spotlit author, come over and check out my interview about sex toys and seductive clothing and have a browse around the smokin' hot bookshelves Total-E-Bound has lining its virtual walls!


Wuthering Nights by Emily Bronte and IJ Miller



 Romantics everywhere have been enthralled by Emily Bronte's classic novel of the tragic love between beautiful, spirited Catherine Earnshaw and dark, brooding Heathcliff. The restrained desire between these two star-crossed lovers has always smoldered on the page. And now it ignites into an uncontrollable blaze. In WUTHERING NIGHTS, writer I.J. Miller reimagines this timeless story to reveal the passion between Catherine and Heathcliff--in all its forbidden glory.

Set against the stark, raw beauty of the English moors, Heathcliff, an abandoned orphan, recognizes his soulmate in wild, impulsive Catherine, the only woman who can tame his self-destructive nature. And Catherine cannot deny the all-consuming desire she feels for him, despite his low birth. Together they engage in a fiery affair--one that will possess them, enslave them, and change their destinies forever...

THE INTERNET CHANGED MY NAME
by I.J. Miller

For most of my adult life I have been a two-career person.  There were many years that I was a full time writer who coached college tennis part time on the side.  There were many years when I was a full time college tennis coach who wrote part time on the side.  Now I am just a full time writer.  My first novel was published when I was (very) young, in the 1980’s.  Despite the book having explicit sexual content, I used my real name, the same one I used for coaching.  The book wasn’t famous and neither was I.  It was easy to keep the coach and the book completely separate.  Seven years later, it was out of print.  I even mentioned in my coaching bio that I was a published writer.
One day in the late 90s, one of my college players came up to me and said she saw my novel on Amazon.  I asked her what Amazon was and she explained that it was a website that sold books and that used copies of mine were available for purchase.  I told her that the book had strong sexual content, it would probably weird her out because I was her tennis coach, and that I didn’t want her to buy it.
A few days later she told me she bought the book.  I told her that no matter what she shouldn’t read it.
A few days later she told me she read it.  Worried, but curious, I asked her what she thought.  She said she hadn’t really read it, but skimmed it.  College kids.  We never spoke about it again, but about a year later, after becoming more website savvy, I searched my name on Amazon and saw not only the book, but that my player had written a rave review.
Either way, as the times got more conservative, and everything one did had a chance to explode in cyberspace, I thought it was best to keep the university employee and racy novelist as separate as possible.  I soon took “published writer” out of my coaching bio and published all of my subsequent erotic books under my current writing name, I.J. Miller. 
Now that I am not coaching anymore I can probably go back to using my full first name.  But if I do, no one will find me on the internet.

ABOUT I.J. MILLER

I.J. Miller is the author of five, distinct, literary, erotic works of fiction: SEESAW was translated into two languages, with over 130,000 copies in print; WHIPPED appeared in both English and German; SEX AND LOVE, a collection of short stories, made its debut in the summer of 2011; CLIMBING THE STAIRS, a novella, was released just a year later.  His latest novel, WUTHERING NIGHTS, is an erotic retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, and is published by the Grand Central Publishing imprint of Hatchette Books.  It is available now as an e-book and will be in bookstores in trade paperback on April 23.  Miller has a Master of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute and has taught creative writing and screenwriting at the university level.


EXCERPT FROM WUTHERING NIGHTS

Just before the light of dawn, not long after Nelly had left his bedside, the dark figure of Heathcliff moved swiftly along the moors. He carried nothing, for he owned nothing. He wore no shirt, for the one he possessed, a bloody mess, was left in the barn. He soon arrived at Black Rock Cragge, surveyed the surrounding landscape of the place he called home since arriving from Liverpool. To the north, was Thrushcross Grange. To the south, was Wuthering Heights. To the east, first light of day was about to break, but there was only a slight clearness above the horizon. The rest of the sky was a charcoal black of storm clouds.
Heathcliff stood, shirtless, at the edge of the precipice, fifty feet above the pool and sharp pointed rocks where Catherine and he had sealed their vow, arms rising up to the heavens, palms turning outward, as he welcomed the tempest.
The storm came rattling over the moors in full fury. The hard rain struck his face.  There was a violent wind, as well as thunder, and a bolt of lightning revealed a twisted smile on his face.
He had listened to his beloved speak of the many ways she loved another.
He had heard his darling say that to marry him would degrade her.
He had heard his most venerated speak words that violated their sacred vow.
He had allowed a cowardly bully to have his way with him.
He had endured the pompous and shallow Linton family separating him from his treasure as if he were trash to be tossed to the pigs.
He knew now that he could have had his way with Catherine at any time: in the garret on Christmas night, during their stolen moments in the fields, if he had wanted to take her the way he had Nelly this very eve and that she would have been powerless to resist the strength in his hands, the fire in his eyes, the hunger in his mouth, the forceful strength between his legs.
Even now….If he wanted her.
But after all that had happened tonight he could not see one, single, solitary way to have Catherine in the truest of forms. He could love her as Heathcliff: falling to his knees for the chance to place his lips upon her feet, rising each day simply to rest his eyes upon her loveliness, baring his soul just to receive her simplest of touches. But she needed more, much more. She needed Edgar as well. And though the lad was as spineless as a worm, he had the fair skin and blue eyes of a gentleman, the costume and manners of a man of dignified birth, the wealth and station of someone who could fulfill Catherine with the luxury of life at the Grange and the noble status of being called his wife.
What was the point if he could not have her completely and she would not be satisfied with all that was him?
But should they all be absent of the suffering that ripped through his soul as the storm whipped through the firs on the moors?
“NAY!” shouted Heathcliff to the sky, daring God to strike him down now if he so planned.
But as bolts of lightning came and went, from sky to ground, all around the moors, there was nary a flicker at Black Rock Cragge.
“Then a curse be on them!” cried Heathcliff. “A curse for a thousand years and more. I place a curse on the Earnshaws and Lintons, for all the pettiness you inspire, the meanness of spirit you invoke, and because you would not allow two people to love in the pure righteous way that lay buried in their hearts.”
A loud, angry bolt came crashing down, but it did not strike Heathcliff and he continued to smile.
“A curse on all those Earnshaws and Lintons living and all those to be born! For as I stand here on the cragge, as long as I draw breath, and even from the hell where I will surely land, I will reap pleasure from seeing each and every one of you suffer!”
Despite the rain pounding his face, Heathcliff let out an horrific, bone-chilling, bloodcurdling scream that paled the death cry of any wounded animal, a scream that startled awake and went down the spine of each Earnshaw and Linton like a razor splitting a soul in two—although they could not be sure it was human, animal, or just the storm they had heard—disturbing deeply every last one of them, including the baby curled inside Mrs. Earnshaw.
And then he jumped.