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  ARACHNE

  SPEED DATING WITH THE DENIZENS OF THE UNDERWORLD

  C.D. GORRI

  CONTENTS

  Arachne

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Excerpt

  Watch for the other books

  Find C.D. Gorri

  Other Books by C.D. Gorri

  About C.D. Gorri

  Arachne

  Speed Dating with the Denizens of the Underworld

  Book Tweleve

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  Copyright © 2022

  C.D. Gorri

  ISBN: 978-1-77357-390-8

  978-1-77357-391-5

  Published by Naughty Nights Press LLC

  Cover Art By King Cover Designs

  * * *

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  * * *

  Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as "unsold or destroyed" and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.

  * * *

  No part of this book may be adapted, stored, copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  * * *

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  To anyone who has ever been made to feel less than. You aren’t less than anyone. You are bright, brave, beautiful, and uniquely you. Have faith, cause there is someone out there for you. Just keep looking.

  * * *

  Del mare alla stella,

  C.D. Gorri

  ARACHNE

  This Spider Shifter is about to get caught in a web of love!

  * * *

  The owner of the Underworld’s premier boutique, Metamorphosis, is too busy to find a boyfriend. But when the Goddess of Love decides to fix her up, what choice does she have? It’s off to a round of speed dating for the sassy Spider Shifter. But Arachne has her misgivings. After all, who could love an eight-legged freak like her?

  * * *

  Everyone knows Griffin Jara is the most lethal legate in the Daemonium Guard. When his boss calls him in with a special request, Griff just can’t say no. But how can he attend the Underworld Cafe's Wednesday night speed dating event when he can’t get close enough to a female to touch her? It’s a problem. And one he can’t solve alone. Luckily, his boss knows just who to call.

  * * *

  Can the half-Demon and the spider queen work together in this steamy paranormal romance tale?

  * * *

  Arachne is book twelve in the Speed Dating with the Denizens of the Underworld shared world, filled with lustful half-Demons, sultry Spider Shifters, and more.

  PROLOGUE

  Her black catsuit blended in with the walls of the cave where she tiptoed over the stalagmites that cut through the ground like crooked but deadly teeth in some Underworld monster’s mouth. Lucky for her, night vision was one of her unique abilities. She had no problem working her way around the lethal rock formations filling the small space.

  “Getting creepy in here, Ari,” she muttered to herself, moving ever deeper into the darkness of the cavern.

  Arachne, or Ari, as she was often called, had gone to check on the newest batch of special little spiderlings that would arrive sometime in the next fortnight. The air was ripe with the promise of life, and she grinned as she inched her way closer to the precious sacks filled with thousands of tiny eggs.

  She’d been overseeing the births of her most sacred midnight silk weavers for centuries. These spiders were the key to her specialty thread used in weaving the magical fabric that clothed her unique clientele. Living in the Underworld, Ari had tons of customers with various needs when it came to garments.

  Each one created a challenge that she was eager to meet. With her special set of skills, Ari was uniquely suited to her profession. Not like she had a choice these days. An ancient curse had seen to that. But she was much more comfortable in her skin, or should she say, exoskeleton, nowadays.

  After all, she’d had a long, long time to get used to it. Setting up shop had seemed the thing to do now that the Underworld had a new look. Lucifer and his mate were changing things, seemingly for the better, but Ari had her doubts.

  Still, business at her boutique, Metamorphosis, was booming. Her customers were such that each had their own quirk, talent, or individual physical peculiarity, making it impossible for them to don typical attire found topside. The way she saw it, why should they do anything so ordinary as that? With her special set of skills, being a Shifter with inherent magic, Ari could create almost anything.

  For example, she created suits for Demons who required fabric that would part to allow for wings and tails to break through, then re-knit seamlessly when those appendages retreated. She also had clients who could spew flame. Some who excreted poison and venom. Others who shifted to creatures of various sizes, with or without wings. And more still, who had razor sharp claws and fangs.

  Every day brought her new clientele, each with their own special desires. And every day, she rose to the challenges presented. It was quite exhilarating, but only part of her job.

  Indeed, the Underworld was filled with creatures like her who required bite proof, poison repellant, and even flame-resistant clothing. Not to mention, she loved pretty shit. And making folks look and feel pretty was a gift, or so she was told. Ironic that her own beast was something most found frightening.

  But she was not one to quibble about it. Arachne had learned to love herself long ago. Still, she was not foolish enough or naïve enough to expect anyone else to do so. Love her, that is. But people needed their things, and she filled that need. Truth was, she loved it. What she did not care for or appreciate was the dwindling habitat of her most delicate weaver spiders.

  Ari frowned as she moved deeper still into the dark, cool place where the midnight silk spiders had lain their eggs for millennia. The special black sacks that held the translucent eggs were made of the same nearly impenetrable protein she needed for her thread.

  Shivering slightly at the sudden influx of wind that whistled through the cavern from the hidden depths of the Underworld, Ari paused a second to compose herself. Everyone expected the Underworld to be hot as hell, pun intended. But she knew better, having explored the untrodden spaces where monsters and creepy crawlies hid.

  Caves like this one were uniquely attuned to colder realms and planes of existence. Sometimes, the less temperate winds blew through, creating pockets of cold like this one. A wonder, in truth. It created the perfect temperature for the thousands of spiderlings who were to hatch quite soon.

  “Hello, babies,” she crooned once they were in view.

  Her night vision caught sight of slightly glowing egg sacks that clung to the walls and ceiling, and her heart filled with relief. She’d never had to travel so deep before to find them. It was the changes to the environment. She just knew it and frowned hard at the realization she would soon have to tell Lucifer what was happening. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to with relish.

  Exhaling, Arachne tiptoed carefully over the bigger rocks and longer spiky formations that seemed to completely cover the
cave floor the deeper she went. Her combat boots were the perfect footwear to protect her toes from damage, but she’d done this before and knew what to expect.

  The danger was nothing compared to the prize. And that was in simply knowing she was doing right by her charges. The queen of spiders had a duty to care for those smaller creatures in her purview. Ari had vowed long ago to do just that. Even now, she recited her oath silently as she gently handled the sacks. Her inner beast chittered and purred as she held the precious eggs and lifted them to her ear.

  So many precious voices. So small and soft, and yet, Ari could pick each one out. Thousands of them, all unique and all singing out to their mistress. Her inner beast purred loudly, and she allowed the rumble to build until he escaped her lips.

  “Yes, I am here, little ones, you are safe,” she whispered back in the language of the spiders.

  This breed was a favorite of hers, and Ari was so much more than just a harvester of their incomparable magical silk. She was their caregiver and protector. The queen of spiders, Arachne, might have been cursed ages ago by a jealous Goddess, but she thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of her position.

  This was by far the most gratifying. Ari had embraced her fate long ago, taking to her new life as the only Spider Shifter in existence with gusto. There were none like her. At least, none that she had ever met.

  Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games. For the most part, other Shifters were cuddly and cute. Spiders, though she found them adorable, were not the kind people wanted to snuggle with. In fact, most saw her other half as somewhat terrifying.

  That kind of thing could take one hell of a toll on a girl’s ego. Luckily, she’d had centuries to get over it. Why in all the Underworld she was thinking of this bullshit now, she had no idea. Worse, she should be concentrating on her task. There were a lot more important things at stake than her self-confidence. Besides, she knew better than to daydream about true love. It was never happening.

  Not for her, anyway.

  “Get it together, Ari,” she scolded herself.

  She noted the number and size of the precious egg sacks and jotted the statistics down in the black notebook she had tucked away in one of her bottomless pockets. The things were magicked to create a portal so she could grab things she needed from her storeroom, and replace them there when done, at will.

  Even her notebook had a spell to keep it from ever growing cumbersome or, gods forbid, running out of pages. Her records dated back to when she’d first arrived in the Underworld. That was a hell of a lot of information.

  Snort.

  Okay, enough with the puns.

  Frowning, she stared hard at this season’s numbers compared to last.

  Fuck.

  Something was not right.

  Could she have miscalculated?

  But even as she recounted and checked the numbers going back a hundred years, Ari knew she had not made a mistake.

  “It can’t be,” she murmured.

  The population of her charges had been steadily decreasing ever since Lucifer had instilled changes to the Underworld to please his bride. Of course, they were all well and good for the denizens who dwelled in the main part of town, but for these creatures, and several like them, the effects were not so rosy.

  That was not to say the Lord of Hell had purposely disrupted the life cycles of these minor inhabitants. She knew better than that. But since no one really liked spiders, they were easily overlooked. Tragic, indeed, seeing how important they were to both the natural and supernatural ecosystems. They not only control the populations of invasive and often destructive species, but they produce rare and beautiful silk coveted by many from the garment industry.

  And yet, they should not be. Ari knew several important people who more than liked the clothes her boutique was renowned for. Important beings who, without these spiders, would not have the popular confections they demanded from her. That alone would give her the fuel she needed to mount a campaign to save the tiny creatures.

  After all, no weaver spiders equaled no specialty garments. Her wares would simply be impossible to manufacture. Spiders might not be cuddly, but they could be determined.

  Like Arachne.

  She vowed then and there to bring the plight of her little weavers to their lord’s attention. But she needed a plan. One simply did not storm into Lucifer’s office and accuse him of being careless.

  Fuck.

  She needed to rein in her temper. Then she could devise a well thought out plot to bring awareness to the Lord of Purgatory. Just as soon as she finished her rounds and made plans for these babies to be brought safely to her workroom. Then she could figure all that out.

  “A little longer, my sweets, and you will be ready,” Ari whispered before heading back out toward the mouth of the cavern.

  Her inner Spider purred once more, bidding goodbye to the thousands of tiny spiderlings in their secret language, and she closed her eyes and listened to their trusting replies. So many depended on her, and her reputation was that of someone who got things done. Yes, the queen of spiders kept her word. It was, after all, her most sacred vow.

  “I will not let you down,” she said.

  And she meant it.

  CHAPTER 1

  True. It was too soon to move the fragile spiderlings, but Arachne would have them safe and sound back home when the time was right. She tucked the notebook back into her pocket, grinning at the way the fabric stretched, then flattened.

  Just another perk of being a magical seamstress. Ari snorted at the description. Even if it was kinda true.

  The small black book had indeed traveled through a magical portal, a spell that had been woven into her catsuit, allowing the object to move through time and space, all the way back to its spot on her desk.

  Cool, right?

  She could do that, weave spells and magic into her cloth, and much more. Her skills had been unrivaled when she was human, and now they were simply unparalleled. Arachne had not been born a Shifter, and even after centuries, she was still learning the extent of her powers.

  She had magic, like witches, shifting capabilities, and sometimes, she saw things. It was how she created the right clothes for her clients. Ari trusted her instincts, used her gut, and did not take orders.

  My way or the highway was a real thing at Metamorphosis. And she was breaking bank, so it really did not matter if a few noses got out of joint when she refused them. She didn’t need the work, and honestly, hadn’t expected her little boutique to take off the way it had.

  She loved creating designs, but it was her role as caretaker that had kept her occupied all morning. And finally, she was finished. The weaver spiderlings had been counted, the numbers entered, and her records book was back on her desk.

  Not bad for a day’s work, she thought and stretched.

  Only took three hours to find the cave and the spawning grounds. The little buggers moved it every year, and ironically, never told her where to. Tracking them was part of her job. She tried to push her worry aside, but the numbers did not lie. Something was going on, and it needed to stop.

  “Time to head back,” she murmured, biting her lower lip.

  “Where is he?” She wondered aloud.

  Ari scanned the outlands for Buggie. The furry little nugget was more than her pet. He’d been her companion and confidant for centuries. About the size of a house cat with giant black orbs for eyes, Ari had a weakness for the little critter. Even if he didn’t stay put as told.

  “Buggie,” she whispered urgently.

  He knew better than this!

  The Underworld might be familiar, but it still wasn’t safe this far away from her shop. Technically, they were still inside Lucifer’s domain. The outlands were part of the Underworld, but they were too close to the border for her liking.

  “Buggie, where are you?”

  “Meep mee—”

  The exuberant reply had been cut off by something. She turned so fast she almost stumbled, trying to
find the cause of her precious Buggie’s distress. Her heart raced, palms sweated, and for some reason, her knees knocked. The giant Spider that dwelled inside pushed forward. Its legs scratched at her, itching to be let out, but she kept her beast at bay with a firm hand.

  Her head stopped swiveling from side to side the second Ari saw him.

  Holy hell.

  Almost seven feet tall and half as wide with bulging biceps, triceps, pecs, and quads that tested the limits of his clothing, the man was, in a word, huge. And in those gigantic arms was her little nugget.

  What was that hulking brute doing with her Buggie?

  Had he hurt him?

  Her eyes narrowed and her Spider pushed harder. If that fucker had touched a hair on her precious pet’s head, he was going to find himself face to face with her not so wee beastie. Teeth bared, she hissed a warning and crouched slightly.

  “Stop right there and let him go,” she demanded.

  The stranger’s black clothing and the emblem on his cloak indicated he was a legate in the Daemonium Guard. Good. That meant he knew how to take orders. The stranger stopped, brows furrowed as his cold gaze roamed over her. His eyes glowed an icy blue color, and she recognized him as a Demon before she noted his horns and tail. Odd that they were out unless he had hurt her precious. Anger welled inside her once more, but curiosity too.