Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls by Marilyn Barr

Harriett
1922, Cypress Kentucky, USA
Does Leopold suspect me? My aging husband’s beady eyes are glued to his experiments and notes, but I twitch as if I’m the specimen he examines. His work created our menagerie of selectively bred and surgically enhanced animals—ugly snakes with mouse heads, birds with paws and puppy faces, and worse. They frighten me, but not as much as my future of lonely nights in an empty marriage bed. If we still lived in Boston, among the speakeasies and dancehalls, I’d get the attention I crave from men. With our long, platonic, unconsummated marriage, can Leopold blame me for skinny dipping in the swamp after his lantern goes out? But isolated on his estate, I refuse to give up my visits to the plant frons that give me more pleasure than a man ever could…

Phineas
She comes to my lagoon when the moon rises. With her silky skin, shimmering hair, and sweet voice, she’s irresistible. Her moans and gasps of pleasure haunt me between her visits. Who is she? Where did Papa get her? After years of his silence, is she the next female he selected to carry my eggs? I can’t risk her fleeing in terror at my monstrous appearance, but it isn’t fair for her to believe my tentacles’ touches are innocent plants…
How will Harriett react when Phin reveals his Cthulhu nature? What happens when Leopold catches them in the act—will he separate the lovers or incorporate them into his experiments?

Monsters have always existed. They walk amongst us or live in the shadows. Hungering. Craving. Looking for love. Are you ready to meet these swoon-worthy specters and creatures of the night? It’s time for monsters…

Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls is a horror romance with oviposition spicy scenes, exhibitionism, and violence, written for mature audiences.