Rapture

by Jacquelyn Frank

  “You are Sainted,” his father reminded him grimly.

  Sainted. Similar to the Bonding, yet different. There did not need to be love for the Sainting to occur, only the intent of ultimate sacrifice. But Ashla could wend her way into Trace’s thoughts all the same, plucking at his worries and making him confess them to her. It would be a terrible way for her to learn of these threats. Besides, Trace wouldn’t take for granted that Acadian was wholly satisfied with her daughter’s plans. He would need to protect her, and that alone would raise Ashla’s suspicions. Thank Drenna they lived in the royal palace.

  “Guin is not yet returned. He is a week overdue. Malaya worries,” he said a bit numbly.

  “Guin will return soon. I intercepted him before his return and redirected him to begin the search for the assassins. Do not speak of it to Malaya. He prefers she think he is still off ‘having a sulk,’ is how he put it. I tell you only because I want you to know the search is already begun. I would never fail you in this. We will find this treachery in time. You have my word on that.”

  “Then my heart is at ease,” Trace said with sudden and calm sincerity as he met Magnus’s steady golden gaze, “for you have never lied to me and you have never disappointed me. Your wisdom brought Ashla safely to me, and I will trust it again to keep her as safe as I will try to do.”

  “Watch yourself, Trace,” Dae added with concern as she sat forward on the sofa. “Nicoya was pure poison, the fruit of a black womb. You know well enough the woman who birthed her. She is equally capable of anything.”

  “I know. Trust me,” he said grimly.

  Daenaira watched sadly as he left a short time later, her heart going out to him. “He should be headed home, but if he is anything like his father, he will divert somewhere and blow off a little steam first. He won’t want to go to Ashla in a temper.”

  “He is a great deal like his father,” Magnus said, the mixture of love and pride so very evident that it made her smile. “So I imagine you are right.” He got up from his seat and came to her, squatting down before her as his hand curved possessively around her thigh beneath the fall of the sari. “There is threat to you, K’yindara, and it distresses me. I take comfort in your fighting heart and third power, but I need to ask you to keep close to me as much as you can until the twins can resolve this battle within the Senate. Until Acadian is made to repent for her crimes, none of my family and no part of this society is safe.”

  “Keeping close to you,” she said with soft affection as she leaned close enough to brush warm, fairy-light kisses against his cheek, “is something I find I am growing a happy talent for.”

  “Mmm. It’s a wonder I get anything done of late,” he scolded with a gentle chuckle.

  “And yet, you have already selected a new penance priest, welcomed back much of the student body, and delegated new staff to all the classes left abandoned by Nicoya’s failed insurrection.”

  “It helps that you have been writing my sermons for me. You have a very grounding touch. I feel as if I am connecting to others in a whole new way. Thank you for that.” He reached to nuzzle warm, wet lips into her neck, a hand arriving quite suddenly at her breast. He burrowed beneath the sari and the velvet hem of her blouse until his fingers were pinching her lightly in a tease. “Not to mention I have never been so relaxed throughout my nights as I seem to be of a sudden.”

  “You see? Change can be a good thing,” she reminded him with a pleasurable murmur.

  “In the case of recent events, I wholeheartedly concur. However, I know one thing that will never change, K’yindara.”

  “Payback is a bitch?” she breathed hotly as he began to gather her forward against him.

  “Mmm,” he agreed as he lowered her to the floor. “In many ways. My faith is in Drenna, Dae. She will bear us through the trials to come and see that Acadian gets what she well deserves.”

  “The question is, will it come in time to keep your loved ones safe,” she said, speaking aloud his worries for him. He sighed as he took a moment’s comfort in the sweet cream aroma of her skin.

  “Is it asking too much to want all that and be blessed with you as well?”

  “Never. Good intentions and goodwill can never be overabundant.”

  “My gracious gods”—he chuckled, pulling back in affected shock to look at her—“you actually sound like a handmaiden.”

  “Imagine that.” She giggled.

  He paused to rub a gentle, loving thumb against her temple, simply absorbing her presence in his life for a moment. “I want you to be happy here with me. I want to keep you protected and to love you well. Never let me forget how to treat you and never let me neglect what we need.”

  “Never, jei li,” she promised softly. “Because you know, if you do…”

  “Mmm?”

  “You’re totally fucked.”

  Can’t get enough Jacquelyn Frank? Don’t miss the

  NIGHTWALKER SERIES.

  Start the journey with JACOB…

  Since time began, there have been Nightwalkers—the races of the night who live in the shadows of the moonlight. Love with humans is absolutely forbidden, and one man makes certain to uphold this ancient law: Jacob, the Enforcer…

  For 700 Years, He Has Resisted Temptation. But

  Not Tonight.

  Jacob knows the excuses his people give when the madness overtakes them and they fall prey to their lust for humans. He’s heard every one and still brought the trespassers to justice. Immune to forbidden desires, uncontrollable hungers, or the curse of the moon, his control is total…until the moment he sees Isabella on a shadowy New York City street. Saving her life wasn’t in his plans. Nor were the overwhelming feelings she arouses in him. But the moment he holds her in his arms and feels the soft explosion of her body against his, everything changes. Their attraction is undeniable, volatile, and completely against the law. Suddenly everything Jacob has ever believed is inflamed by the heat of desire…

  Bring on the night.

  GIDEON is next on the list…

  They’re called the Nightwalkers—proud, ancient beings who live in the shadows, existing just beyond the human world. But there are also dangerous humans who hunt them—necromancers who use the blackest magic to manipulate them. And for a Demon named Gideon, the battle against these evil forces will soon be all too personal…

  As A Healer, He Knows Her Body. But It’s Her Heart

  He Wants.

  For a thousand years, Gideon has healed his people. And as the oldest surviving male of his race, his wisdom has always been respected without question. But Gideon knows that even he is vulnerable to the powerful, primitive desires that befall his kind during Hallowed moons—and nine years ago that truth was hammered home when he found himself claiming Magdalegna, the Demon King’s sister, in a wild embrace. Horrified by his lack of control, he left her wanting and furious—and then exiled himself for the better part of a decade. Now, with necromancers threatening his people—and Magdalegna nearly their victim—Gideon must face another truth. He and the beautiful, stubborn Magdalegna are destined to be together, to share a love as deep and old as time itself. But first he needs to regain her trust. Then he’ll have to save her life…

  Every night holds secrets.

  And keep the magic going with ELIJAH, the sexy Warrior

  Captain…

  They are called the Demons, one of the elusive Nightwalker races living in shadow and struggling for survival against their human enemies. Their proudest warrior is Elijah, a man who bends for nothing and no one…until one woman brings him to his knees…

  Some Feelings You Just Can’t Fight.

  He is known as the Warrior Captain—a master of every weapon, a fierce soldier sworn to protect his kind. Powerful, relentless, merciless, Elijah has always won every battle he’s ever taken on—until now. Ambushed by necromancers, he is left for dead only to be discovered by the woman who could very well deliver the final blow…Siena, the Lycanthrope Queen…

 
; With three centuries of warring, little more than a decade of uneasy peace has existed between the Lycanthropes and Elijah’s people. Now, after a lifetime of suspicion, the warrior Elijah is consumed with a different battle—winning Siena’s heart by giving her pleasure beyond all boundaries. What starts as attraction and arousal soon burns into a passion with consequences that will echo through the ages for both their people. And as would-be enemies become inseparable lovers, another threat approaches, one with the power to destroy them all…

  Surrender to the night.

  The story continues with DAMIEN,

  available now from Zebra…

  They are the Nightwalkers, mysterious beings who dwell in the shadows of our world, and Damien, the Vampire Prince, is among the most powerful of them all. But one woman will tempt him with a desire unlike anything he has known, and together they will face a terrifying and relentless foe…

  He’d Never Loved.

  But She Was Irresistible.

  As reigning Vampire Prince, Damien has tasted every pleasure the world has to offer—consorting with kings and queens and delighting in sensual adventure. Now, tired of such pursuits, he devotes his energies to protecting his people. The war between human necromancers and Nightwalkers has escalated, and when the enemy makes a daring move, kidnapping Syreena, a Lycanthrope Princess, Damien boldly follows. He succeeds in rescuing her, but is unprepared for the erotic longing her lush sensuality awakens in him…

  Gifted with rare abilities, Syreena grew up in a cloistered setting and was forbidden to form attachments to others, yet the connection Damien feels with her is immediate, intoxicating, and impossible for either to resist. But claiming Syreena as his mate could have shattering repercussions for every Nightwalker—and leave their enemies more dangerous than ever before…

  Temptation tastes sweetest at night.

  And finally, the Demon King, NOAH, gets his story…

  The Nightwalkers have lived in the shadows of our world for centuries, gifted with abilities few humans can comprehend. For Noah, duty is all—until he meets the woman who is his destiny…

  She Will Take Him Beyond His Wildest Dreams.

  As Demon King, Noah is dedicated to protecting his kind from their human and Nightwalker enemies. Yet for six months he has struggled with vivid dreams that threaten his very sanity. Every night he’s tormented by images of a woman both achingly real and tantalizingly beyond his grasp. And his bone-deep need leaves him no choice but to force her to leave the life she’s known and enter a world beyond her imagining…

  Every day, Kestra risks her life in perilous missions that veer just shy of the law, but she instinctively knows that the imposingly sensual figure before her is a danger unlike any she’s ever faced. Kestra has sworn never to trust or need another man, but Noah’s lightest touch scorches her with fevered desire, branding her as his mate, blinding them both to the terrifying truth. For within the ranks of their own people lies an adversary growing in number and power. And nothing and no one will be safe again…

  Desire awakens at night.

  Try the SHADOWDWELLERS series from the beginning!

  It all starts with ECSTASY…

  At one with the darkness, the mysterious Shadowdwellers must live as far from light-loving humans as possible in order to survive. Yet one damaged human woman will tempt the man behind the Shadowdweller throne into a dangerous desire…

  Worlds Couldn’t Keep Them Apart.

  Among the Shadowdwellers, Trace holds power that some are willing to kill for. Without a stranger’s aid, one rival would surely have succeeded, but Trace’s brush with death is less surprising to him than his reaction to the beautiful, fragile human who heals him. By rights, Trace should hardly even register Ashla’s existence within the realm of Shadowscape, but instead he is drawn to everything about her—her innocence, her courage, and her lush, sensual heat…

  After a terrifying car crash, Ashla Townsend wakes up to find that the bustling New York she knew is now eerie and desolate. Just when she’s convinced she’s alone, Ashla is confronted by a dark warrior who draws her deeper into a world she never knew existed. The bond between Ashla and Trace is a mystery to both, but searching for answers will mean confronting long-hidden secrets, and uncovering a threat that could destroy everything Trace holds precious…

  And get excited about Jacquelyn’s newest book,

  the third in the SHADOWDWELLERS series,

  coming in January 2010.

  Turn the page for a sneak peek!

  “Guin!”

  Malaya’s scream came so suddenly, a blood chilling shriek of desperation. Guin was armed and through the door in an instant. His eyes swept the room and she screamed for him again. Malaya was sitting upright in her bed, arms outstretched, fingers grasping as her beautiful whiskey eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling.

  “Guin! Guin!”

  She’d have the whole household on them if she continued to scream so disturbingly. Knowing so well how she hated rousing from a vision surrounded by people and afraid of how she had been unwittingly behaving, he hurried into her bed and filled those reaching arms as he gathered her up close and tight to himself.

  “Shh,” he soothed her, trying to give comfort when his heart was racing with fear and adrenaline was blasting through him. Gods, he thought in a cold flash of realization, how can I ever leave her? It was moments like this when he believed he would hear her screams for help anywhere in the world, no matter his distance away from her, and that he would never escape his seemingly instinctive calling to keep her safe. “I’m here, my honey,” he whispered thickly against her ear. The smell of her overwhelmed him, the clawing of her grasping nails into his bare back tearing him up in more ways than one.

  She wasn’t crying, and he never knew if that was a good thing. Sometimes it meant she was terrified beyond something like tears, other times it meant they weren’t called for. But she rarely screamed out like this. He’d heard her wake with a raw gasp often enough over time, but this vision held her entrapped and he was helpless until it chose to let her go.

  “Guin,” she rasped again, her hands so desperately holding him close, their restless grasp continuously searching for the best and tightest hold on him.

  “Yes, I’m here,” he assured her, crushing her lithe body to his in the tightest of hugs so she could feel him as much as possible. He heard Rika in the doorway, but as usual she returned to her room when she realized Guin was in control of the situation. He found that funny, because he couldn’t have felt more out of control if he had tried.

  “Guin…my Guin,” she breathed as her fingers threaded up into his hair at the back of his neck.

  His reaction was instantaneous and brutal. Guin felt every muscle in his body clench tight at the stimulus of her touch, but more from the impact of her verbal claim. Oh, she’d referred to him this way before, but each time had been a light and affectionate toss of words. There was deep intensity for him feeling her say it like this. Feeling her against him while she did. The smell of her sleep-warmed body and the feel of it under the slide of the silk tissue of her k’jeet. And the touch of her hands reminding him of how she had recently pulled him down to taste her.

  Guin closed his eyes and tried to take rein of himself. She would awaken soon and he was not going to be in a state of sexual excitement when she did. It would be a thrice-damned perverted betrayal. She despised her vulnerability and in-ability to control her actions and she would despise him for getting off on it. Gods, he didn’t mean to! He fought it with everything he had, but for some reason it wasn’t enough anymore. It was as if she’d opened a flood gate and his strength wasn’t enough to close it again.

  He needed help.

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

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  Copyright © 2009 by Jacquelyn Frank

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  ISBN: 1-4201-1048-9