The second Kyoko Nakamura book is complete and ready to launch. It’s going to come out on March 21st, which will also coincide with a price promotion for Fallen Idol, the first book in the series.

If you want to be the first to know when Murder Walk is available, you can sign up to get an email as soon as it’s out!

But in the meantime, I’ve got a taste of what you can expect in the next book:

Shinsekai at night, a place where if you had the cash, you could find just about anything you desired. As he walked through the alleys and winding roads making up the Osaka district, his eyes avoided the neon-lit signs advertising hostess clubs and cabaret bars. Passed by the massage parlors. His gaze never lingered once on any of the young women standing on the streets, wearing dresses in bright primary colors—low-cut necks, hemmed around mid-thigh. Makeup caked on their faces.

Painted whores, every last one of them.

No, he had something else in mind. This place disgusted him, but there was purpose in coming here. A reason for him to move through this pit. He knew he was tainting his own soul just by setting foot on these streets, but sacrifices had to be made.

He felt a vibration against his leg. Without pausing his stride, he reached his hand into the pocket and took out a smartphone. On the backlit screen was a message with the words, “I’m here, where are you?”

“On my way,” he texted back, with an emoji of a smiling face that had hearts for eyes.

The phone buzzed again before he had a chance to even put it back in his pocket. The same sender, this time a picture. A cartoon bunny clasping its hands together, a lovestruck expression on its face.

He scoffed and put the phone back in his pocket. She had no idea what she was in for.

When he turned the next corner, he saw her off in the distance, standing in front of a set of vending machines. Her hair was blond and she wore a button-down white shirt, open down to her cleavage, leaving just a hint of the black bra she wore beneath. Black socks ended just below her knees. Her gray, pleated skirt barely covered her—had she bent over even a little, she would flash her panties at the entire street.

And judging from the kind of people milling about, they would enjoy it.

She held a smartphone in her hand, her fingertips adorned with long, fake nails, with a purse hanging from a strap over her shoulder. As she brushed a few strands of hair from her face, she turned her head and looked in his direction. Of course, she didn’t know who she was looking for.

But he knew she was the one. He’d been watching her on these streets. Waiting. Planning. Watching as night after night, she wandered around, always a different man on her arms. Always one who was at least old enough to be her father, if not her grandfather.

Her face was just as dolled up as the other whores in Shinsekai. Lips red as blood, cheeks with a hint of pink, and eyeshadow that made the blue contact lenses she wore stand out even more.

There was not one inch of her that wasn’t artificial.

The time had come. He’d planned for this. Fantasized about this. So why, when he sent a signal to his legs, did they refuse to move? The desire was strong. He could already feel his pulse increasing, the blood rushing to his loins and a tightness in his pants. His lips parted slightly as his breaths came in shorter and faster.

You can’t back out now. Not after all this. You have to see it through to the end.

He inhaled a lungful of air through his nostrils. With his eyes closed, he held it in for a moment before finally breathing out slowly. That helped his nerves somewhat. When he opened his eyes, he now took a step towards her.

The distance between them wasn’t far. But with each step he took, it felt like the gap increased. Her head kept swiveling from side to side, then going back to her phone. His eyes traveled down her body as he approached, lingering on her breasts and the black bra teasing through her white shirt.

Her head turned again and when she spotted him, her eyes lingered. She tipped her head to the side and then she smiled. Happy to see him? Or happy to have a client? It didn’t matter which.

“Shiro?” she asked.

He opened his mouth. No sound came forth. A pause. He looked down at the ground. His cheeks had no doubt reddened. Why was he so nervous?

“Are you Shiro?”

He managed a nod this time. Of course, his name wasn’t really Shiro. But she didn’t know that. She flashed a smile at him and bowed, lingering just a bit. No doubt in order to tempt him with her cleavage.

“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”

Shiro returned the bow. This time, he was able to squeak out the word, “Yoroshiku.”

“So, ready to go?”

He tried to speak. A slight noise crept out from his throat, but it couldn’t be described as a word. Don’t fuck this up, do what you came here to do. After closing his mouth for a moment, he managed to speak.

“Hai.” Yes.

She smiled at him, her ruby lips parting to reveal uneven teeth. “Okay, let’s go!”

She pushed up against him, looping her right arm around his left. When she laid her head against his arm, a tingle ran up his body. He couldn’t help the scent of her invading his nose.

His body warmed. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. He knew what she was. Knew what he had to do tonight. But there was a rush to having her this close to him. Something unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Not like the others.

They walked through the streets. The girl prattled on, her voice high-pitched and her speech rapid. She cycled through topics so fast, he would have felt dizzy if he’d been paying attention. But he couldn’t focus on her words. All he could focus on was her fragrance. Like a spring morning in the countryside. Her touch was electric. Every now and then, she would brush her fingers lightly along his chest and a charge shot through his body. He wanted—no, he craved more.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. But he supposed this would work just as well. He knew where he had to go from here. If he could manage to get the words out.

“I was wondering…”

“Mmm?”

Shiro glanced down and saw her faux blue eyes staring quizzically into his own, the edges of her lips drawn up in a smile. He stopped in his tracks. She circled around in front of him, the smile fading as she examined his face in curiosity.

“What is it, Shiro?” she asked. “You’re pretty quiet. Do you…are you not having a good time with me?”

Shiro shook his head. And in fact, this wasn’t a lie. Just being near her was intoxicating. “No, I just…I was wondering…can we go somewhere?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course! Where should we go? You wanna do karaoke? Grab something to eat?”

“I was hoping…” Shiro looked away from her, his eyes scanning down the street. They settled on a sign outside a building. The katakana characters spelled out the words LOVE HOTEL. He turned his gaze back to her and saw she was looking at the sign, too.

The girl looked back at him and kept that smile on her face. “Sure! Let’s go!”

She took him by the hand and pulled him down the street. He felt some resistance in his legs, but he pushed forward, walking after her. The automatic doors parted for them once they ascended the single step up to the ledge.

The girl escorted him into the lobby. A board with pictures of rooms was laid out against the wall, each one with a button below. A backlight illuminated the rooms that were vacant. She looked back at Shiro.

“Which one you want?”

He looked over the images. One would do just as good as another. Shiro pressed the button for one of the standard rooms. They went to the elevator and took it up to the appropriate floor. Once stepping into the hall, a light indicated which room was theirs.

She knew the routine, leading him through as if she’d done this a thousand times—which she probably had. The door to the room opened and they entered. The genkan was fairly large and closed off by another door. They removed their shoes and stepped up the level, walking into the room.

A large bed was the centerpiece. The headboard had a series of controls for the room and a flat-panel TV screen was placed in front of it. On the headboard was also a box of tissues and a small plate with three condoms laid out. Shiro’s eyes traveled around the room. There was also a karaoke machine and a massage chair. The door to the shower room was open and he saw a mat pushed up against the wall.

She pulled his attention away from the bathroom by pressing her lips to his. He was surprised at first, but after a moment, he returned the kiss in kind, closing his eyes and sliding his tongue past her lips. His arms embraced her and he could feel her hands exploring his body, sliding up and down his sides, one of them tiptoeing closer to his crotch.

This was happening.

She broke the kiss and took him by the hand, leading him to the bed. After easing him onto it, she started to unbutton her shirt. As she opened it, she pulled the tails out from the waistband of her skirt, revealing the black bra concealing her breasts. She placed one knee on the bed and leaned over him, resting her crotch on his thigh.

The lust overcame him. He knew it shouldn’t have, but it did. Shiro grabbed her and flipped her over on the bed, kissing down her neck as he started undoing his pants. The rush was strong now. His mind swam with sensation. She removed her panties and passed him one of the condoms.

Her body was warm. She welcomed him into her, breathing heavily with each thrust, calling out his fake name. Shiro felt the build-up inside of him and knew the time was coming. The time to accomplish the task he’d set out here for.

Shiro leaned over her, kissed her parted lips one last time, letting the taste of her peach-flavored lip gloss linger. His hands cupped her breasts, relishing the feel of her hard nipples beneath his palms. He traveled upwards, sliding his hands along her chest until they reached her neck. His fingers wrapped around her throat and squeezed.

She gasped, her eyes opening wide. She struggled against him, but each attempt to get him off only caused his grip to tighten. The rush was incredible now and he couldn’t stop thrusting inside her. He could tell she was trying to scream. Her small hands slapped his arms, her nails scratching at him. She drew blood, but he didn’t care.

His pulse raced. The more fight she put up, the more pleasure he experienced. Shiro wanted nothing more than to stretch it out, make it last as long as possible. Waves of euphoria fell over his body. Her strikes grew weaker.

Shiro gasped, his eyelids closing as he reached his own climax.

He fell over her body, lying there for a few moments, just allowing himself to breathe again. When he finally looked up, he stared into her face. Her eyes were closed. He moved his fingers to the side of her neck, feeling along for a pulse.

Nothing.

Shiro pulled out of her and took a tissue from the box. He removed the condom and wrapped it in a tissue, then grabbed his pants and slid it into the pocket. Wouldn’t do to leave something like that behind.

He dressed quickly, staring down at the body. His first in more respects than one.

And he was just getting started.

Intrigued? Sign up for notifications!