night drake

8/13/2019 Night Drake

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NIGHTDRAKE

a free short story

by

LARA ADRIAN

* * * * *

In this post-apocalyptic romantic urban fantasy short story, a tough mercenary known as

Nisha the Heartless is hired to transport mysterious cargo from exotic New Asia to a well-paying

client. But things are neer what they seem in a dark new world now populated by humans and

the !trange" shapeshifters and telepaths, nymphs and hobgoblins. It is a lesson Nisha learns alltoo soon--one that puts her on a #ourney with a dangerous, enigmatic man who will force her to

confront the nightmares of her past, and risk her heart for a future she neer dreamed could behers.

* * * * *

NOTE

$ollowing this free short story, you will find bonus excerpts from other %ara Adrian noels,including Kiss of Midnight, the first title in herNew York Timesand &' internationally best-

selling (idnight Breed ampire romance series ) on sale now for just 99 centsat most onlineretailers*+! only. %imited time offer publisher may cancel sale without notice.

Also included is a preiew from Heart of the Hunter, the first title in the award-winning

/ragon 0halice medieal paranormal romance series.

$or a complete list of %ara Adrian noels, please click to the last page of this ebook.

1 1 1 1 1

CO!RIGHT

Night/rakeAuthor2s 3dition eBook

+c 45'4 by %ara Adrian, %%0

$irst published !eptember 45'5 in 6he (ammoth Book of 7aranormal 8omance 4 by 0onstable

9 8obinson


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:riginal 7rint 0opyright 45'5 by %ara Adrian, %%0

8eissue 0opyright 45'4 by %ara Adrian, %%0

8eissue 0oer Art 0opyright by $iona ;ayde +8omanceNoel0oers.com

All rights resered. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoeer

without permission, except in the case of brief


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I slowed to a stop near the loading ramp, where four big, tusked trolls were carrying a

tarp-coered crate across the plank to the dock. 6hey shiered in the bad weather, their clothing

sodden, long braided beards dripping water with each lumbering step. 6he workhorses of the!trange, trolls were built like tanks and able to labor tirelessly in all kinds of climates. 6hese four

walked gingerly with the large rectangular container--almost reerently--one of them on each

corner, taking great care with it. A human superisor waited at the end of the ramp, closelymonitoring their progress.

@Be careful with that, you brainless clods* he barked. @:ne slip and I2ll hae your

bloody hides*I got out of my rig and walked oer to the dock boss. @I take it this one2s mineD

He grunted in acknowledgment and wiped the back of his filthy hand under his runny

nose. 6hat same hand then reached out to me, palm up. @I2ll hae my payment now, Nisha.

I dug into the pocket of my coat, withdrew a chip of cloudy pink stone and dropped itinto his waiting hand. @6here you go. :ne


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A couple hours later, I was sitting atop an empty grain barrel in the back of my truck,

eating a tin of hydrated soy meal for supper while I waited for my client2s people to come to thepriate warehouse where I was parked and reliee me of my newest cargo. I had to admit, if only

to myself, I was eager to be rid of it.

I2d neer moed lie goods before, and despite my willingness to transport all manner ofother things without batting an eye, suddenly I was wondering if the three diamonds waiting at

the end of this #ob were payment enough for what I was carrying. (ore than that, I was

wondering about the contents of the container sitting #ust a few short paces away from me in thetruck. !peculating on #ust what was shuffling around inside there and what my client could

possibly want with it.

I picked up the instructions the dock boss had handed me before I2d left 7ort 7hoenix.

6hey were written on a small s


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He released a heay breath. @No, you don2t. And it was pointless to een ask it. (y kind

has no desire to wage a war against man. Ce neer did.

@Eou2d neer win anyway, I pointed out flatly. @Eou hae too few numbers, for onething, and most of you are indentured, besides. Cars take more than weapons, you know. 6hey

take ision and determination. 6hey take leaders, and that2s something your kind has lacked all

along. If the !trange were going to fight, they should hae done it long ago.@Ees. Eou2re right, Nisha. I heard regret in his oice now, and told myself I had no

reason to feel guilty for that. @But there are those among my kind who beliee that, in time, there

will be peace.I exhaled a humorless laugh. @6hat2s why you2re sitting in a crate in shackles, about to be

shipped off to who knows where and for what purpose.

@I know what lies ahead for me, he replied, that elety deep oice as calm as I2d heard

it so far. @I won2t be enslaed. 6hat2s not why they took me. (y capture will hae only oneoutcome.

@/eath, I whispered, ignoring the twinge in my chest. I wanted to see his face in that

moment--whether or not it was !trangely hideous--to determine if the thought of dying scared

him een a little. It didn2t seem to, and I held my ground, fisting my hands at my sides instead ofreaching out to moe aside the tarp that hid him. @Eou know you will be killed.

@3entually, yes, he said, without a trace of fear or sorrow. @I feel my death might serea higher purpose.

I shook my head, unsure if he could see me or not. $or some reason, despite eerything I

knew and felt about his kind, his resignation bothered me. (ore than bothered me, it pissed meoff. @Eou2re #ust giing up. /on2t try to pretend it has anything to do with honor.

@!ometimes, Nisha the Heartless, there is a greater good to be gained in dying than there

was in liing. $or me, certainly. I go to my fate willingly.

I barked out a sharp laugh. @Cell, then, I guess that makes you either ery courageous, orery stupid.

I reminded myself that he wasn2t my problem. His fate--whether or not he welcomed it

with open arms--sure as hell was not my concern. I walked oer and picked up my empty soymeal tin, my moements tight with aggraation.

@I2e had enough thought-prooking conersation for one night, I told him, more than

ready to get away from him and spend the rest of the wait up front in the cab by myself. @etsome rest. Eour other ride should be here soon.

I #umped out of the back of the truck and closed the doors, sealing him inside.

Cha'ter

I fell asleep in the cab.6he dream woke me, as it always does. Not the iolent nightmares I2d had since my

parents2 deaths, but the one that started soon afterward and isited me more often than I liked.

6his time, eerything seemed more iid, so real I felt as though I could sweep my hand out

before me and touch it.


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!unlit skies. littering a?ure ocean. And me, soaring high aboe it all, twisting and

gliding on a gentle wind toward an infinite hori?on.

I #olted awake, trembling and breathless.It was the usual reaction. ;ust the thought of flying terrified me. 6he act itself was

unnatural, whether achieed in the thunderous, now obsolete, metal machines of decades past, or

as performed by those rarest of the !trange who2d needed none of man2s inentions to aid them.$lying was nothing I2d eer done, or eer wanted to know.

/esperate to purge the troubling sensations, I pushed myself up in the drier2s seat of the

cab and fumbled for the wristwatch I kept fastened to the steering wheel. It was an ancient wind-up type, the only time-keeping deices that still functioned in the post-technology age. I checked

the gloed hands on the smiling black-and-white mouse.

@!hit. I2d been asleep for more than two hours.

6he truck was


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7erhaps I would hae, if not for the sudden rumble of an approaching ehicle outside the

warehouse.

@(y client, I managed to gasp as I broke away from the shapeshifter I was expected tosurrender to his would-be killers that ery moment. I heard the crunch of grael, the sharp s


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I stomped on the gas, and the truck rocketed backward out of the place, sending my

client2s men scrambling for coer. I righted the ehicle and put us on the road, heading off into

the cold, dark night . . . together.

Cha'ter +

Ce were six hours north of 7ort 7hoenix before I dared slow down een a little.

6he rig2s dim headlights piercing deep into the darkness ahead of us, I glanced out the

side windows, trying to get some idea of where we might be. 6he night was fathomless on allsides of us. Nothing but stars oerhead and ast forest wilderness encroaching on the broken

paement of the seldom-used highway.

No one behind us, either, which I figured was about the best luck we could hope for at the

moment. I didn2t suppose that luck would hold out foreer. 6onight I2d put a giant target on myback, and I had been in business with powerful, dangerous people long enough to know that a

stunt like the one I2d #ust pulled would not go uncontested.@Eou look tired, /rakor said from beside me.

He2d been


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with mankind by the time my father took his last breath. I was little more than a stupid boy, unfit

to rule.

I hit a rut in the ruined old road and had to #ockey to keep my rig on course. Chen I wasable, I stared at him again, incredulous. @If you haen2t assumed your father2s place in all this

time, who hasD

@I was twele years old when I relin


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I nodded and looked back out to the road. 3en though I wanted to put another couple of

hours behind us before we stopped to rest, my arms were heay and my eyes were burning from

staring into the darkness.@I hae some old maps in the back, I said. @(aybe we should pull oer and see if we can

find where your people are located.

/rakor gae me a silent nod of agreement. I slowed the truck and detoured off the emptyold highway, taking us toward a thicket of woodlands seeral hundred yards from the road.

Cha'ter ,

I lit a candle lamp and brought it oer to where /rakor was studying one of the do?en or

so historical maps I kept on hand in my rig. I sat down next to him on the floor.

@6his is about where we are right now, I said, pointing to the area aboe a ghost townknown as $lagstaff a couple hundred years ago. I moed my finger across the map and his sharp

ga?e followed the northeasterly, diagonal path I indicated on the worn and brittle swatch ofpaper. @6his is the old state border of 0olorado. 6he area you told me about would be roughly

around this corner. 6he roads between here and there aren2t the greatest. It will probably take me

a couple of days to get you there.Chen he looked up at me, I felt a


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@(y mother, I began, then took a steadying breath. @!he was killed when I was four

years old. !he and my father and I were liing in the country at the time. I don2t remember much

about that time, only that one day hellhounds broke into our home and chased us out to thewoods.

@Hellhounds. /rakor2s expression hardened. @Ah, od, Nisha. 6hey are icious

creatures, the worst of our kind.I knew all about them, of course, as did most of mankind. Hellhounds lied for blood

sport and were most commonly employed as trackers. Cith their hideous double-heads, ra?or-

sharp claws and incredible speed, there were few that could escape them--human or !trange.@(y father ran with me in one arm, his other hand wrapped around my mother2s wrist. I

blew out a


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een if I2d spent a thousand nights in his arms I knew I2d still hunger for more. I hungered for all

of him, and for all we2d neer hae again once we reached our destination and said our goodbye.

As we lay together side by side, he stared into my eyes with the same unspoken longing Ifelt weighing down my own heart.

@Nisha, he murmured. @(y od, I neer expected you. I neer expected to feel any of

this. I shouldn2t feel it. Eou are human, and I am not.@I know. I nodded, tried to smile een though it hurt.

He brushed his lips across mine, a sweet, tender kiss. @Eou are human . . . and I don2t

care. I want to be with you, whereer you need that to be. I loe you, and none of the restmatters.

I swallowed, uncertain I2d heard him correctly. @Eou whatD

@I loe you, he said, and kissed me again, more firmly now. A claiming kiss that burned

through me like fire.I started to tell him that I felt the same way, but then I heard something terrible ring out in

the distance. A low howl, coming from somewhere in the dark outside. 6hen another, and still

another.

All the blood seemed to drain from my head and settle into my stomach, as cold as ice./rakor looked at me, his ga?e stark. @Hellhounds.

Cha'ter -

Ce barely had time to dress and #ump back into the cab of my truck before the beasts2howls had grown dangerously close.

I turned the engine oer and swore when the damned thing sputtered and choked. I tried

again. It coughed to weak life, rattling as though it were on its last legs.And that2s when I noticed the needle on the fuel gauge.

@!hit. I reached into the dash and tapped the temperamental old gauges, hoping the

needle had merely gotten stuck as it so often did on relics like the one I was driing. After a fewknocks, it did moe a couple of degrees--deeper into the negatie. @Ce2re practically out of

fuel.

In my haste to put distance between my client2s men in 7ort 7hoenix and ourseles, I2d

neglected to do een the most basic systems check. And, in my state of fatigue after so manyhours behind the wheel, I2d managed to drie us smack into the middle of nowhere. Cith

hellhounds on our tail.

Another bone-grating howl went up somewhere in the darkness outside.@I think we can make it another ten miles or so. Ce can head deeper into the wilderness,

try to outrun them. I grabbed the gearshift and started to put the rig into drie. /rakor2s hand

stopped me.@Nisha, there isn2t time. 6he truck will only be a hindrance in the end. He took my hand

in his and pulled me across the seat to slide out the passenger side door with him. @%et2s go.

@Ce2ll neer make it, I said as we raced away from the sound of the gaining hellhounds.

@Are you strong enough to flyD


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@I am, he replied. @But I wouldn2t be able to carry you ery far yet. Ce hae to run.

I tried to pull myself free of his hold, but he wouldn2t let go. @/rakor, listen to me. Eou

hae to get away. Eou hae to leae me here and sae yourself.He swore something dark and nasty and pulled me into a faster pace. 6he forest was pitch

black, a ma?e of tall pines and thorny bramble. Ce tore through it, uncertain where we should go

except as far away from the chasing hellhounds as possible.3ach second I felt hopeful that we might elude them, it seemed the !trange beasts

sounded closer. 6heir howls and snarls echoed in the woods, coming at us from seeral

directions.@/rakor, please, I whispered fiercely. @Ce can2t both get away from them. 6hey2re

going to catch up to us.

@6hen I will stand and fight them, he muttered tightly, not slowing his gait.

No sooner had he said it did one of the two-headed hounds erupt from out of the darknessand launch itself at /rakor. I lost his hand in the sudden crash of colliding bodies. I heard the

gut-wrenching sounds of the struggle, the snapping of animal #aws. 6he tearing of ulnerable

flesh and sinew.

@/rakor* I cried, anguished to think of his suffering.All at once, flames shot up into the night. In the abrupt illumination, I glimpsed /rakor in

his dragon form, the thick forest in front of him, nothing but endless night at his back. He hisseda plume of fire at the attacking hellhound, incinerating the beast. Another one came at him with

both sets of #aws gnashing and was similarly torched.

6wo of the awful creatures were down, but three more were right behind them.And /rakor had already shifted back into a man.

He was panting and sweating, strain showing in the taut lines of his face. (y heart sank

like a stone in my breast. 6he shift had drained him of his power.

@Nisha, behind you*I swung around and met with two sets of feral eyes locked on me from the heads of an

enormous hellhound who stood #ust an arm2s length away from me. It bared its terrible teeth and

fangs, massie hind legs coiled and ready to spring into a leap.I couldn2t run. 6here was nowhere to go. I went for my gun, but it was too late.

6he hellhound leapt at me.

It knocked me off my feet, sent me reeling through the dark night air. I waited to feel thecrushing blow of the ground coming up to meet my spine. It didn2t materiali?e. Instead, I fell and

fell and fell . . . into a black oid. A chasm so deep and wide it was all I could see.

@Nisha* /rakor2s oice roared from somewhere high aboe. It echoed off the stone

walls of the abyss that surrounded me. @Nisha, no*All my fears of flying--the inexplicable terror of finding myself airborne--pressed down

on me like a lead weight. I plummeted faster.

$rom somewhere deep inside me, I knew it was my fear that would destroy me now. Notthe hellhound that had pitched oer the ledge with me and had since dropped out of my sight, but

myself alone.

I thought of my mother, who sacrificed herself so that my father and I could lie.I thought of my father, who died of a broken heart because fate had torn her from his

arms.


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And I thought of /rakor, the !trange and noble man I didn2t want to loe but couldn2t

lie without. I didn2t want him to know my father2s pain. !elfishly, I wanted to spend the rest of

my days in /rakor2s sheltering arms, howeer long destiny might grant us.$ar aboe me now, I heard him call to me again. I saw him leap oer the cliff2s edge, not

in dragon form but as the man I loed.

I screamed, heartbroken and horrified.!omething fell away from me in that moment. I felt my fears dry up and swirl off on the

bree?e that rushed up all around me as I dropped. I watched /rakor diing toward me in the

empty darkness, and something deep within me shook free of its tether.I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again I wasn2t falling anymore. I was floating.

I was flying, suspended on the night wind, my arms and torso coered in glorious white feathers.

And there was /rakor beneath me now, his massie wings spread out as if to catch me,

hoering as I was in the middle of the immense canyon that gaped as far as the eye could see.

Cha'ter .

Cith silent understanding, we flew together to the far side of the canyon, leaing the

remaining hellhounds and my client2s newly arried men to stare after us in disappointment./rakor and I alighted on solid ground as one. He shook off his scales, and I watched in

ama?ement as the snowy plumage that coered me from my glossy beak to the tops of my

taloned feet dissoled back into my own skin.

@An eagle, /rakor said, wonder in his deep oice. @I might hae guessed.@How could you haeD I asked. @I didn2t know myself until #ust now.

His smile was rather smug. @Eour mother2s name, Nisha.

@;ariatD I shook my head. @I don2t understand.@As I told you, it is a ery old name, a mythical name. According to legend, ;ariat was a

beautiful bird who became a human for loe of her offspring.

It took me a moment to process eerything I was hearing, eerything that had #usthappened. @Eou2re telling me that my mother was !trangeD /o you think she was the ;ariat of

legendD

He bent his head and kissed me with so much loe it made my heart ache. @Ce hae a

lifetime to figure all of this out. Ce could share foreer, Nisha, if you2ll hae me.I smiled up into his handsome face. @I like the sound of that.

@6here2s #ust one other thing. He grew ery serious then. @I will be making some

changes in the way my father2s court is run. I will need someone courageous, someonehonorable, whose opinion I alue oer any other, to stand beside me when I reclaim my father2s

throne.

I swallowed, proud of him and hopeful for the future we might build together. @Eou wantme to be part of your courtD

His assenting nod couldn2t hae been more regal if his head was wreathed with a #eweled

crown. @I cannot imagine becoming king unless you are with me, Nisha. As my


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I threw my arms around him and caught his mouth in an elated kiss.

He chuckled. @I2ll take that as a yesD

@Ees* I cried. @I loe you, /rakor. !o, yes, yes* Ees to whateer you desire of me.He growled with purely male interest. @Now, I like the sound of that.

Cha'ter /

/rakor and I spent two weeks with the !trange enclae that dwelled in the hidden cliffs

of what had once been southwestern 0olorado. :nce he2d regained his strength and recuperatedfrom the mistreatment by his captors, we traeled back to the coast together to begin the rest of

our #ourney toward the future that awaited us in his homeland of New Asia.

6he air was crisp that day, but the sun was high, its warming rays stretching down to

touch us as we stood at land2s end and stared out at the ast blue ocean ahead of us. /rakor2shand was clasped easily around mine.

@Are you ready, NishaDI looked up into the face of my loer, my mate, my king, and I smiled. @I2m ready.

He gae me a nod and let go of my hand.

Cith a shrug of his mighty shoulders, he transformed. I #oined him in shifting, giing ashake like a dog throwing off water and watching with still-fresh wonder as my white feathers

sprouted into glorious plumage.

(y dragon looked at me, and I thought I could see him smile. I gae him a nod of my

beaked head. 6ogether we stepped off the steep edge of land.And we flew.

~ * ~

6hank you for reading NightDra0e. I hope you en#oyed it* If you liked this short story--or any of

my other releases--please consider rating the book at the online retailer of your choice. Eour

ratings and reiews help other readers find new faorites, and of course there is no better or more

appreciated support for an author than word of mouth recommendations from happy readers.6hanks again for your interest in my books*

Lara Adrian

$$$1LaraAdrian1&o#

G1G


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Read on for more about

LARA ADRIAN

and for a sampler of her best-selling

contemporary vampire series

and award-winning historical romances

G1G


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About the Author

LARA ADRIANis theNew York Timesand &' internationally best-selling author of the(idnight Breed ampire romance series, with more than 4 million books in print in the nited

!tates and translations licensed to more than ' countries. Her books regularly appear in the top

spots of all the ma#or bestseller lists including theNew York Times, "S! Today,#ublishers$eekly, Indiebound, Ama?on.com, Barnes 9 Noble, etc. Her debut title, Kiss of Midnight, was

named Borders Books bestselling debut romance of 455. %ater that year, her third title,

Midnight A$a0ening, was named one of Ama?on.com2s 6op 6en 8omances of the Eear.8eiewers hae called %ara2s books @addictiely readable +0hicago 6ribune, @extraordinary

+$resh $iction, and @one of the best ampire series on the market +8omantic 6imes.

Criting as TINA "T1 2OHN, her historical romances hae won numerous awards

including the National 8eaders 0hoice 8omantic 6imes (aga?ine 8eiewer2s 0hoice

Booksellers Best and many others. !he was twice named a $inalist in 8omance Criters of

America2s 8I6A Awards, for Best Historical 8omance +3hite Lion4s Lady and Best

7aranormal 8omance +Heart of the Hunter. (ore recently, the 45'' erman translation ofHeart of the Hunterdebuted on /er !piegel bestseller list.

Cith an ancestry stretching back to the (ayflower and the court of >ing Henry III, the

author lies with her husband in New 3ngland, surrounded by centuries-old graeyards, hip

urban comforts, and the endless inspiration of the broody Atlantic :cean.

Conne&t on5ine at6

www.%araAdrian.com

www.(idnightBreed.comwww.facebook.comJ%araAdrianBookswww.twitter.comJlaraKadrian

www.goodreads.comJlaraKadrian

www.pinterest.comJ%araAdrian

G1G

Read on for a sampler of

LARA ADRIANs

other published novels! available now"

G1G

THE MIDNIGHT 7REED "ERIE"

+3dgy, dark contemporary ampire romance


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KI"" O8 MIDNIGHT 97oo0 (:

New York Times % "S! Today bestseller

@>I!! :$ (I/NIH6 is dark, edgy and passionate, an irresistible ampire romance.

;;Chi&ago Tribune

Insatiable desire# $ndless seduction#

%ne touch is just the beginning#

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirsabrielleLs deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night--or this man--is what it seems. $or

when abrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and

deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she neer knew existed--a realm where

ampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

%ucan 6horne despises the iolence carried out by his lawless brethren. A ampire himself,%ucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind--and the unwitting humans existing alongside

them--from the mounting threat of the 8ogues. %ucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal

woman, but when abrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into thedark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the BreedLs formidable leader, abrielle will confront an extraordinary

destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all . . . .

G1G

E


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But %ucanLs first duty was to his Breed and the warriors who had banded together with him to

combat the growing problem of the 8ogues.

Bad enough that abrielle had witnessed the nightclub slaying and reported it to thepolice and her friends before her memory of the eent could be erased, but she had also managed

to take pictures. 6hey were grainy, almost unreadable, but damning #ust the same. He needed to

secure the images, before she had a chance to show them to anyone else. HeLd made good onthat, at least. By rights, he should be back at the tech lab with ideon, I/ing the 8ogue who had

escaped outside %a Notte, or riding shotgun around the city with /ante, 8io, 0onlan, and the

others as they hunted down more of their diseased brethren. And so he would be, once hefinished this last bit of business with loely abrielle (axwell.

%ucan slipped inside the old brick building on Cillow !treet and closed the door behind

him. abrielleLs tantali?ing scent filled his nostrils, leading him to her now as it had the night

outside the club and at the police station downtown. He silently naigated her apartment, throughthe main leel and up the stairs to her bedroom loft. !kylights in the aulted ceiling summoned

the moonLs pale glow, which played softly oer abrielleLs graceful cures. !he slept nude, as

though awaiting his arrial, her long legs wrapped in twisted sheets, her hair spread out around

her head on the pillow in luxurious waes of burnt gold.Her scent eneloped him, sweet and sultry, making his teeth ache.

&asmine, he thought, curling back his lips in a smile of wry appreciation. An exoticflower that opens its fragrant petals only under the coaxing of night.

'pen for me now, Gabrielle.

But he wouldnLt seduce her, he decided, not like this. He wanted only a taste tonight, #ustenough to satisfy his curiosity. 6hat was all heLd permit himself. Chen he was through here,

abrielle would hae no memory of meeting him, nor of the horror she had witnessed in the

alley a few nights ago.

His own need would hae to wait.%ucan went to her and eased his hip onto the mattress beside her. He stroked the

burnished softness of her hair, brushed his fingers along the slender line of her arm.

!he stirred, moaning sweetly, rousing at his light touch. @%ucan, she murmured sleepily,not


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He was hardening as well. He licked his lips, growing hungry, eager to hae her.

abrielle s


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Breedmate.

He withdrew from the bed as though touched by fire, hissing a furious curse into the dark.

Hunger for abrielle still pounded through him, een as he grappled with the ramifications ofwhat he might hae done to them both.

abrielle (axwell was a Breedmate, a human gifted with uni


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E


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preparing to sail off without a care in the world for stranding me with no options whatsoeer.

Eou are despicable.

Her barb stung him more than he wanted to gie credit, but he cast off the insult with ashake of his head and an exhaled curse. @Eou were safe enough with 8ob. He is an honorable

man. He would hae made sure you got back to 0lairmont in one piece. He felt the corner of his

lip curl as he glanced up and met her indignant glare. @And I didnLt steal your money, either.@Eou most certainly did, no matter what you choose to call it. 6hat purse belonged to me,

not (onsieur $errand. And not you, sirrah.

He threw the web of rope netting down at his feet. @Eou are


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@ery well, she said. @If my coin is of no alue to you, and honor does not compel you

to help me, then let us make a different bargain. 6here must be something else you might accept

in exchange for my passage...6ry as he may to remain unaffected by the woman, her suggestion halted him where he

stood. 0ocking his head, he slowly swung back around to face her. !he was nerous now, her

slender fingers fidgeting with the furred edge of her mantle. A flush of pink filled her cheeks andshe


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Irritated, he decided, reali?ing #ust now that she truly was that desperate to reach $rance.

/esperate enough to consider giing herself to a irtual stranger--a ruthless, dangerous man,

Braedon acknowledged wryly, who would be all too willing to collect on the debt when the timecame.

He might hae been tempted to sample some of his boon right there on the dock, if not

for the rise of oices coming from farther down the wharf. %ifting his head, he turned his ga?eoer his shoulder and peered through a swirl of thin morning mist, to where a group of sailors

had gathered. 6he knot of rough-looking men were watching him and the girl.

$errandLs men.:ne of them pointed and gae a shout. 6he group started running on the manLs command,

heading straight for BraedonLs dock.

@/amn, he cursed, shoing aside his enticing thoughts of a delectable tangle with the

lady to thwart this current mayhem. @Ce hae to go, my lady. Now.He grabbed her by the wrist and turned to haul her onto his ship. 6o his surprise, she dug

her heels in and resisted. @Cait* (y horses, she said, shaking her head. @;amesLs mount and

mine are stabled back there, near the taern. I canLt leae them. I will need a mount once I reach

$rance.@6oo late for that, demoiselle.

6he sailorsL shouts grew louder. $ootsteps thundered on the wharf. !omething whi??edoer their heads and lodged in the cogLs mast with a dull thwunk-

A crossbow bolt. :ne of $errandLs men paused to load another missile, then raised the

weapon and let the second bolt fly. Another took up a similar position, leaning against a barrel toprepare a further attack.

@/own* Braedon shouted to Ariana, bringing her under his arm. Hunched oer with her,

he ran a couple paces on the dock, pulling them out of the arrowLs deadly path. It missed its mark

by a hairbreadth and splashed into the icy rier. He crouched low and ran to untie the last line,releasing the cog from its slip. @If youLre coming with me, demoiselle, come now.

Cith a shriek, she ran the handful of steps to his ship and gae him her hand to help her

up onto the deck. Braedon shoed off from the pier and shifted the cogLs wide sail to catch a gustof chilly morning air.

@!tay down, he instructed her, directing her to the forecastle at the head of the cogLs

deck. 6he eleated s


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&esu. $hat had he gotten himself into

+$AR, %( ,+$ +.N,$R is available now

in eboo and print /audioboo coming soon0

G1G

HEART O8 THE 8LAME 97oo0 ):

(omantic Times (e)iewers *hoice !ward Nominee

@A richly imagined, paranormal-tinged historical . . .

dark, ex7oo05ist

!ix months in an enemyLs dungeon might hae broken a weaker man, but former 6emplar

knight >enrick of 0lairmont has emerged from imprisonment with an unyielding determination,

and consumed by a single daunting


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>ub5ishers 3ee05y

3erything that 8andwulf of reycliff loed was torn from his grasp in a night of fire and

terror. His wife and child slain, his manor destroyed, 8and now lies for one thing alone"

reenge on the man who ordered the attack. Armed with a part of the legendary /ragon0halice--the ob#ect his enemy most desires--8and embarks on a deadly oyage to trap his foe.

He will aenge his family . . . and let no one stand in his way.

:n a stormswept shore in the wilds of northern 3ngland, a gentle maiden discoers a man

lying on the beach, shipwrecked and in need of care. But helping him is forbidden. !erena has

the gift of >nowing" with a mere touch, she can see all the secrets in a manLs heart. It is a gift that

has kept her secluded from the outside world, wary of those who would use her powers for theirown gain. But 8andLs wounded heart beckons, and his passionate nature draws her to him--

daring her to surrender to a dangerous seduction that could destroy them both. . . .

~*~

Read on for #ore about

LARA ADRIAN4s

a$ard;$inning histori&a5 ro#an&es

a@ai5ab5e no$

B*B

THE 3ARRIOR TRILOG!

+7assionate medieal romance with strong, battle-hardened alpha heroes

3HITE LION4" LAD!

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(omantic Times (e)iewers *hoice !ward Nominee

(omance $riters of !merica (+T! inalist

@Has eerything I look for in a good medieal romance" a strong hero, an intelligent and caring

heroine, a really unpleasant illain, and plenty of atmosphere. It also has a few unexpected twistsand turns, which complement an excellent plot . . . the romance is pure gold.

>A55 About Ro#an&e 9Grade A Desert Is5e Kee'er:

In this captivating tale of forbidden love and star-crossed destiny! a dangerous night on a

rogues mission is reunited with the virtuous young lady who once adored him # # # #


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>A55 About Ro#an&e 9Grade A Desert Is5e Kee'er:

%eft a widow by her cruel husband2s death, %ady 3mmalyn of $allonmour is determined

to control her own destiny, until her hard-won ows of independence are threatened by the

mysterious warrior sent to protect her castle on order of the king. 3mmalyn is now at the mercyof !ir 0abal, a feared knight known as Blackheart.

!killed at war and hiding a tormented past, 0abal swears allegiance to no one but himselfand his country. But once he meets 3mmalyn, he finds his strength tested by this proud beauty

who stirs his blood with desire, tempting him to defy his king and surrender his heart. . . .

G1G

LORD O8 ?ENGEANCE

(omantic Times (e)iewers *hoice !ward $inner

@Between the hero and heroine, a secret I was not prepared forand the action building to a

feered pitch toward the end, there was little or nothing not to loe about Lord of ?engean&e.

A truly wonderful read.

;;A55 About Ro#an&e 9Grade A Desert Is5e Kee'er:

6aken captie by unnar 8utledge, a dark knight sworn to destroy her father, 8ainad2Bussy must teach forgieness to a man who knows no mercy and lies only to exact reenge

on his enemy. But time in unnar2s keep stirs an unwanted passion in 8aina, and something far

more perilous, when she finds herself falling in loe with the one man she should neer desire.

$or unnar, engeance is all that matters. He seeks the ultimate price from his enemy2s

beautiful young daughter, claiming 8aina as his hostage. But the proud beauty defies him ateery turn, tempting him like no other. !etting out to break 8aina2s glorious spirit, unnar

instead finds himself bewitched by her goodness, her strength. 0an he sei?e the #ustice he is due

without losing 8aina foreerD

G1G


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1omplete list of titles by

New 2or ,imes 3 45 internationally

best-selling author

LARA ADRIAN

Midnight 7reed "eries

>iss of (idnight

>iss of 0rimson(idnight Awakening

(idnight 8ising

eil of (idnight

Ashes of (idnight!hades of (idnight

6aken by (idnight

/eeper 6han (idnight

A 6aste of (idnight +ebook noella/arker After (idnight

3dge of /awn+hardcoer release $ebruary 45'F

0rae the Night

+hardcoer release $ebruary 45'O

Night/rake +ebook noella, reissuing 45'4

A limpse of /arkness +ebook collaboratie noella

LARA ADRIAN

writing as ,INA ',# 6%+N

Dragon Cha5i&e "eries

Heart of the HunterHeart of the $lame

Heart of the /oe

F-in-' 3book 0ollection

3arrior Tri5ogy

Chite %ion2s %ady

Black %ion2s Bride%ady of alor

%ord of engeance

night drake

Documents