Specter’s mask?
“She spent enough time around hospitals that she knew how they worked. I had to tell the director of Mother’s sanitarium where I was. That’s how she found me at the library. After the accident, one of the street people finally told her the name of the hospital where I was. By the time she got there I was gone. But my mother was a charmer when she wanted to be, and she knew how to blend in at Mercy General until somebody let her get to your records.”
The voice was low and sensual. The words and the seductive tone didn’t match. But he liked the feel of her, of the hands intimately exploring his body.
“She even outsmarted the Silver Lake reporter. Left a message with the poor man that I was ready to grant him an exclusive interview. He was to meet me at the Algonquin Hotel. That was when he fell across the subway tracks, but he’s going to be all right.”
Karen pressed a kiss against his fingertips. “Nice touch, don’t you think, using the hotel where the great creative minds of the twenties met?”
Karen sighed. She didn’t know if Niko was aware of her, but her attempt to wake him by touching him was certainly getting to her.
“As soon as I go back and get the mess in Silver Lake settled, I’m taking you to my island. All sunshine and white beaches, in the middle of the Caribbean.”
Island? He remembered a dream about an island. But there was snow. Snow and ice and cold. No, not cold, not always. For they’d made love on the floor before a roaring fire.
“The representative at the travel agency told me our cabin is very isolated and a bit primitive. She said if I insisted on satin sheets, I’d better take along my own. So I’ve packed a couple.”
Satin sheets?
“Oh, I talked to your friend Mac, and just to keep you happy, he’s sending you a supply of house shoes and ten pounds of sugar for your coffee.”
Her laugh was infectious. Niko couldn’t put a name to it, but a feeling and a longing was beginning to grow. A face began to form in his mind. The lady was tall with alabaster skin, silver-blond hair, and eyes the color of his favorite blue marble.
Her fingers had reached his hip now and were wandering inward. His corresponding physical reaction rippled the bedclothes and elicited another laugh.
“The hospital needs this bed, Niko. And I need you. You have to wake up and come home with me.”
Hospital? Yes, I remember. It was Friday the thirteenth. You were in a coma. I—
Though his eyes remained closed, suddenly Dr. Nikolai Sandor was awake. Karen. She was alive. He was alive. He didn’t know what happened on the roof, but they were together.
As if in answer, Karen said, “You fell from the roof, hit your head on the fire escape and were knocked out. You have a concussion, but that’s all. Mother has a broken hip and suffered a stroke. They took her to your Hope House.
“Please, Niko. It’s time for you to wake up. I need you.”
Damn, it wasn’t working. She had to do something more drastic, something she hadn’t planned. He might not hear her, but she needed to say it. It was the only thing she hadn’t tried.
“Nikolai Sandor, you gave me a beautiful fantasy about a man and a woman who were in love. What you didn’t count on was that it came true. At least for me. Do you hear me, you wicked man? I’m in love with you and I want you forever.”
She loves me. Karen loves me. It was all Niko could do to keep from smiling. He liked hearing her voice and feeling her hands on him. He, too, wanted it to last forever. For now, he’d just enjoy it a little longer.
“Niko, you told me once that you wanted to lie down beside me and feel my bare skin next to yours. Well, my wicked Gypsy, that’s not gonna happen until you open your eyes.”
Nothing.
“You also said you liked to touch me. I like to touch you too. Do you feel my hands on your body?”
Her fingers teased and tickled their way across his abdomen. They’d almost found their target, when his eyes flew open.
“Niko,” Karen cried, and flung herself across him. “You’re awake. I was so worried. How long have you been awake?”
“Long enough.”
“Are you all right?”
Niko held her for just a moment before lifting her chin with his finger. “I’m more than all right,” he answered. “Or I will be as soon as you do something for me.”
“Niko, you risked your life for me. Just name it.”
“First you have to get up.”
She scrambled away. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Of course, you must be bruised and sore.”
“Now turn around and go to the door.”
All the joy drained out of Karen’s face. “Niko, I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know it was my mother. She isn’t my real mother. I always knew the truth, but I took care of her anyway. She wasn’t well and my father thought a baby would be what she needed to be happy on his farm. She couldn’t have children, you see, so when he heard about me—my real mother died—he—”
“Karen, you don’t understand.”
“—brought me home. But she was never happy. Then he died and she was stuck on the farm she hated. She began to have spells of violence and I couldn’t control her. I didn’t want people to know, so a family friend helped me sell the farm and find a place where they could look after her. She always blamed me for her unhappiness. And she kept running away and—”
“Karen. Be quiet, Karen.”
“Of course. I understand. I really do, Niko. You’re all right now. You helped me, but you’ve been away from your work long enough.”
This time Niko’s voice was neither calm nor patient. “Karen, do you remember your dream?”
She hushed. She hated that her feelings were so intense, that the connection between them still seemed so strong. “Yes, of course. Why?”
“Well, we aren’t on the moors and I don’t have a white horse. In fact, I doubt I could climb on one if I did. I don’t know where we’re going with this, but I think this time you’ll have to create the fantasy for us both.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Karen, lock the damned door and come here.”
It took her a minute to understand. “You aren’t sending me away?”
He smiled that wicked smile. “No. The world I live in is pretty lonely, Karen. I never knew just how much until you came into it. No, I’m not sending you away.”
“Good, I wasn’t going anyway. And the door is already locked.”
“Then why are you standing over there?”
“I’m waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you to tell me how you feel.”
He closed his eyes and moved his body gingerly. “I feel fine, or I will once you come and kiss me.”
“Nope. I’m still waiting for the right words, Dr. Sandor. And you haven’t said them yet.”
Niko opened his eyes and looked at Karen for a very long time. “I think I fell in love with you in the very beginning. And when I saw you on that ledge, I nearly lost it. I’d already had a sister give up her own happiness to make sure I had the life I wanted. I couldn’t save her, but I wasn’t about to let you get away from me. I love you, Karen Miller. Will you share my fantasy forever?”
Karen couldn’t speak. She caught the ribbed hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head.
Niko groaned.
The only thing she was wearing beneath it was a tattoo of a black cat with a halo hanging over one ear.
“A cat?” he said hoarsely.
“A sinner wouldn’t ride a white horse anyway. And I’m only a little bit saintly.” She started toward him. “Do you like my cat?”
His voice disappeared completely.
“I found it down at the gift shop in the children’s section. It’s only temporary, a reminder of our meeting. Friday the thirteenth, remember?” she asked as she unbuttoned her jeans.
“My lucky day.”
“Meow!”
EPILOGUE
Lincoln MacAlliste
r studied the file he was holding—Conner Preston. He hadn’t opened it for a long time—not since Conner had left Shangrila.
He wasn’t certain he ought to use it now. Though the world knew Conner Preston as a sophisticated millionaire importer and exporter, Mac knew the truth and he was worried.
Conner, firmly convinced that he was supposed to have died ten years ago, had become more and more daring, tempting death with a vengeance that skated on the thin edge of self-destruction.
But Conner Preston was the only man on the angel assignment board who could stop what was about to happen.
Mac picked up the phone and dialed the man adored by the very wealthy and feared by the criminal minds of the world, the man known to them only as the Shadow.
Halfway around the world, Conner Preston loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, and leaned back in his executive chair. “You know I’ll do anything you ask me to, Mac, but undercover work for the government is one thing I left behind a long time ago.”
“This isn’t for the government, Conner. This is for the ambassador.”
“Close enough. You and I designed Mission Impossible to serve the private factor, remember? If you have the money, I’ll find it, rescue it, or move it—in my own way.”
“I remember and I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important, not just to the man but to Shangrila. Shadow is the only one who can stop a disaster.”
Conner swung his chair around so that he could look out the window of his Venice apartment and see the slow-moving water in the canal beyond. Ten years before he’d promised to repay Mac for saving his life and helping him find a use for the skills he’d learned as a member of the Special Forces military unit in which he’d served.
Ten years before, because he could get in and out of places without being seen, his unit had given him the nickname Shadow. Conner Preston had been the best at what he did and he’d never thought it would end.
But he’d made one mistake: he’d trusted a woman. And fallen in love with Erica Fallon. He’d been on top of the world when he and his best friend had gone to the little chapel on what was to have been Conner’s wedding day. But instead of a wedding Conner had been shot and Bart had been killed.
And the bride never showed up.
“You won’t have to do it alone, Conner,” Mac said. “But if you refuse, I’ll understand. I’ll find someone else.”
Conner stood up and walked out on the balcony, allowing the lazy sound of the boatmen moving gondolas along the water to sooth his anger. “No, you won’t, Mac. I’d be dead or in jail if it weren’t for you. I owe you and you wouldn’t have called unless I were the only one who could pull it off. But I work alone.”
“Not this time, Conner. The woman who brought the ambassador here is the key to this mission.”
“I see. And who is the woman wielding all this power?”
There was a long pause.
“Erica Fallon.”
Long after Conner had broken the connection, Mac sat thinking and tapping the folder on his knee. It was done now, and the wisdom of his decision was no longer in question. He picked up the phone, dialed a number, and waited for it to be answered.
“Erica, he’s on his way. It’s in your hands now.”
THE EDITOR’S CORNER
Welcome to Loveswept!
Whether you’re on the beach, in the park, or sitting poolside, there’s nothing like spending a warm summer day reading a good book — especially one that has romance, sizzling passion, and deeply felt emotion. Luckily, we have just the thing to make your summer even more sweltering — in the very best way.
Samantha Kane’s captivating regency romance, TEMPTING THE DEVIL, is an erotic tale of secrets and temptation, and after reading it, you’ll be reaching for that fan for a whole ’nother reason! And we’re also incredibly excited about Mary Ann Rivers’s sexy debut contemporary romance novella, THE STORY GUY, where Wednesdays turn into a day of temptation and pleasure for a mild-mannered librarian who responds to the most intriguing personal ad.
We also have some classics that you won’t want to miss:
Sandra Chastain’s exceptional stories, SILVER BRACELETS and DANNY’S GIRL, Ruth Owen’s riveting AND BABIES MAKE FOUR, Jean Stone’s moving SINS OF INNOCENCE, Iris Johansen’s thrilling TIL THE END OF TIME, and Katie Rose’s irresistible A HINT OF MISCHIEF.
If you love romance … then you’re ready to be Loveswept!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
P.S. Watch for these terrific Loveswept titles coming soon: August heats up with three e-originals: Stacey Kennedy’s intoxicating CLAIMED, Elisabeth Barrett’s blazing SLOW SUMMER BURN, and Toni Aleo’s red-hot BLUE LINES, as well as Sandra Chastain’s stirring SURRENDER THE SHADOW, Katie Rose’s unforgettable COURTING TROUBLE, Adrienne Staff’s alluring CRESCENDO, Iris Johansen’s tantalizing YORK, THE RENEGADE and Ruth Owen’s ultra-sexy BODY HEAT. September arrives with more timeless stories for you — Three enticing stories from Sandra Chastain, THE JUDGE AND THE GYPSY, FIREBRAND, and THE LAST DANCE, beloved author Iris Johansen’s THE DELANEY’S OF KILLAROO, Fran Baker’s enchanting SEEING STARS, as well as two original stories: Lauren Layne’s seductive AFTER THE KISS, and Mira Lyn Kelly’s sexy and sweet TRUTH OR DARE. Don’t miss any of these extraordinary reads. I promise that you’ll fall in love and treasure these stories for years to come.…
Read on for excerpts from more Loveswept titles …
Read on for an excerpt from Ruthie Knox’s
Flirting with Disaster
Chapter One
“Yes,” Katie said, gripping the steering wheel harder. “Uh-huh, yes, I get it.” She glanced in the rearview mirror, signaled left, and changed lanes. The traffic was getting thicker as they approached Louisville.
Her brother kept talking, his voice robbed of its customary power by the cheap speakers of her cell phone, which sat in a cup-holder mount and broadcast Caleb’s warnings upward at her head. “If you have the slightest indication that there’s danger attached to this threat, you’re going to call me, and—”
“Yesssssss,” she droned.
The drama was wasted on Caleb, who was going to give her this lecture for the seventeenth time whether she wanted to hear it or not.
It was wasted on Katie’s traveling companion, too. Sean didn’t react to anything she did. Ever.
Katie glanced at the man in the passenger seat of her Jetta, just to be sure. His expression as he stared out the windshield matched the bleak, featureless expanse of southbound I-71. He was like a human wall of granite, completely impervious to everything about her.
A stern, gorgeous cliff face.
Suppressing a sigh, she tuned back in to Caleb’s speech. “—you to be in charge of anything along those lines, Sean. This is a trial run for Katie. I’m only letting her go because Judah insists she’s the one he wants to work with. You got that, Katie? It’s Sean’s show. I need you to play nice and stay out of his way.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I know the deal. I agreed to the deal. I am on board with the deal. Now can we stop talking about it, please?”
She flinched at the way her voice came out, sharper than she’d meant to sound. It was only because she was nervous about this trip. Her palms had gone clammy and slimed the leather wheel cover, so uncomfortable did it make her to venture into an unknown city to do an unfamiliar job with a man who didn’t like her.
She had a tendency to bristle when nervous.
One more bad habit she needed to make an effort to tame. Better to be professional. What Katie really needed to figure out was how to act cool and icy like some kind of Bond Girl assassin, slinking around and poisoning people by slipping strychnine into their drinks.
Except without the poisoning. Her goal was to win herself a promotion from office manager to agent for Caleb’s security company, not to become an assassin. Not unless her ex-husband strolled into town needing assassinating.
“We’ll stop talking about it when I’m positive
you’re going to cooperate,” Caleb said. “Right now, you sound like you’re blowing smoke up my ass.”
“I’m not,” she replied levelly. “I promise. I understand that this is your company and Sean’s assignment, and I’m just a companion on this trip. I promise I’ll be quiet and helpful and learn things, okay?”
“I need you to be safe.”
She made a face, then immediately regretted it. Wrinkling her nose and pursing her lips in response to Caleb’s babying only proved she deserved to be babied. Not the way she wanted Sean to see her.
She flicked another glance in his direction. If he saw her at all, he gave no sign.
“I’m safe,” she said.
“I care about you, Katelet.”
“I know you do,” she replied. “I care about you, too.”
“And it’s only because I care about you that I’m going to say this again …”
Katie tapped her fingertips against the steering wheel and stopped listening.
She understood his worry. Ever since she’d confessed that she was married and needed to locate her spouse so she could get divorced, Caleb had become all concerned and brotherly. She kept waiting for him to go back to the way he’d been before, but so far, no luck.
Five years older than her, her brother was a born nice guy who had spent most of his adulthood in the Military Police before moving home a year ago to help take care of their parents after their dad had a stroke. Katie had been living in his house rent-free at the time, working as a bartender nights and spending her days in elastic-waist pants, moping and watching daytime TV. Her husband, Levi, had cleaned her out and dropped her like a bad habit, and she’d returned from the life they’d built in Alaska in defeat. She’d practically regressed to adolescence by the time Caleb pulled her out of her self-pity slump.
He gave her a job running the office of his new company, Camelot Security, and after the first month or so, Katie had started to feel useful again. Competent. She’d discovered she had some get-up-and-go left in her after all. That she actually wanted to do something with herself.
Mac's Angels : Sinner and Saint. a Loveswept Classic Romance (9780345541659) Page 16
