Praise for
Heart of Darkness
“FRESH, FUN, FAST-PACED PARANORMAL ROMANCE. Spellbinding magic, a wry-humored, gutsy heroine and a sexy-as-sin hero put the charm on this witchy new series from multitalented, always fabulous Lauren Dane!”
—Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author
“DANE ALWAYS DELIVERS A STEAMY, EXCITING RIDE… She leaves me wanting more!”
—Larissa Ione, New York Times bestselling author
“UNPUTDOWNABLE… Great characters, wonderful world-building and, as always, a delicious romance. If you pick this book up, make sure you’ve cleared the afternoon.”
—Ann Aguirre, national bestselling author
Further praise for Lauren Dane and her novels
“PULSE POUNDING…
Dane delivers!”
—Jaci Burton, New York Times bestselling author
“SCINTILLATING!…
A roller coaster of emotion, intrigue and sensual delights… I was hooked.”
—Vivi Anna, author of Glimmer
“EROTIC…
Sure to keep you reading late into the night.”
—Anya Bast, New York Times bestselling author
“IN A WORD… AMAZING.”
—RT Book Reviews
Berkley titles by Lauren Dane
CHAOS BURNING
HEART OF DARKNESS
NEVER ENOUGH
THREE TO TANGO
(with Emma Holly, Megan Hart, and Bethany Kane)
MESMERIZED
INSIDE OUT
INSATIABLE
COMING UNDONE
LAID BARE
RELENTLESS
UNDERCOVER
Chaos Burning
LAUREN DANE
BERKLEY SENSATION, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
CHAOS BURNING
A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market / June 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Lauren Dane.
Excerpt from Heart of Darkness by Lauren Dane copyright © 2011 by Lauren Dane.
Cover art by Claudio Marinesco.
Cover design by Rita Frangie.
Interior text design by Laura K. Corless.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56888-0
BERKLEY SENSATION®
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY SENSATION® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
For Ray, who helps me write
better bossy alphas because he is one.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my wonderful editor, Leis Pederson. It’s hard to thank her in every book and make it sound fresh and to do justice to how much I appreciate her. But suffice it to say I think she’s wonderful and I’m so glad I get to work with her.
Laura Bradford, most excellent agent and fellow lover of shiny things—thank you.
None of us does this alone. I would be lost without the support of my husband. Thank you for rarely complaining when the house looks like a first draft and for taking the kids out on weekend afternoons so I can work.
Fatin, who is far more than an assistant. She is a friend, a dear, kind woman who always makes me laugh and makes sure I don’t go off the rails.
Mary and Renee—you both mean so much to me! Thank you for all you do.
Megan—thanks for all the listening and for making me laugh and for being just as loopy as I am.
Thank you also to Lara Adrian for blurbing Heart of Darkness! You’re wonderfully supportive as well as being a kick-butt author. Similar thanks to Carly Phillips, who is equally supportive and talented. The support of my fellow authors means a great deal to me. I’ve been helped so many times from the very beginning. I’m very fortunate.
Last but never ever least—thank you to all my readers, new, old and in between. I appreciate each and every one of you! Thanks for helping make this dream of mine possible.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Heart of Darkness
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
LARK shouldered her duffel and headed down the Jetway, hoping to avoid the cute and nice-smelling hipster college student who’d been trying to pick her up since they took off.
She really should have undone the spell she used to hide the bloom of purple, green, and yellow that bruised up her neck and onto her jaw. That sort of thing tended to lead women to take her aside to ask in conce
rned tones if someone was hurting her at home.
The answer was yes, of course, just not the way they thought. As it was against the rules to tell them a feral werewolf jumped her in MacArthur Park two days before, it was best left hidden to most eyes and avoid scenes with well-meaning humans.
It was nice to know people didn’t just turn a blind eye when they thought someone was being beaten up at home and it was a good reminder to use the obscura spell to hide evidence of her unconventional life.
By the time she caught sight of the escalators down to baggage claim, he’d caught up with her because he was all legs.
“Hey, do you need a ride or anything?”
“No, thanks. Someone’s meeting me here.”
“Do you want to get together? You know, while you’re in town?”
If she was just a regular old human woman, she’d be all over this cutie pie like icing on cake. She’d broken up with someone two months before and it’d been a dry spell since. But she wasn’t regular anything and she’d only break him. It was inevitable with humans, which is why she never allowed herself to partake in anything they had to offer.
Her life was filled with weapons and other not-human beings with weapons, or those she had to use her weapons on. They never understood it, the life she led. She had to hide her true nature from human men, and that was never a good way to have a relationship.
“I appreciate the offer. But I’m here for work and my time is pretty much booked until I go back home.”
He frowned, apparently unused to his charms failing.
“Oh. Well.” He continued to walk alongside her as they approached their carousel. And that’s when she saw the giant, beautiful man holding the sign with her name on it and she forgot tall college boy even existed.
Mentally, she wiped her brow and fanned her face. So masculine the heat and power of him radiated outward. His hair was thick and dark, cut perfectly. A tousle that made her instantly think about what he’d look like right after a long, slow kiss. His facial hair only drew the attention to that mouth. Full, gorgeous lips that were currently drawn into a wary, yet casual line as he scanned the area.
Denim covered unmistakably powerful thighs and long legs right down to a pair of boots she had no doubt were handmade by someone somewhere.
Lark had always tended toward men who were of the cute, college-hipster type currently walking at her side. Scruffy beards, lanky, sexy glasses. The kind of man who not only wore scarves but looked totally adorable in them.
Sign guy was not one of those men. At all. He was one of those capital-M Men. Huge. Broad shoulders and narrow waist. The kind she enjoyed working with because they were smart, strong, nearly fearless, independent and yet controlled. And without a doubt totally and utterly fuckable. She imagined though, a man like him would be a hell of a lot of work to have a relationship with.
His eyes were dark, fringed by thick lashes. Those were fuck me eyes. Though, she noted, he looked around the room just like she did. An Other. Her heart kicked and her attention honed on him in a new way.
“Well, have a great quarter. Nice chatting with you.” She said it offhand as she wandered toward Sign Guy.
She paused, cocking her head and opening up her othersight—the second sight she’d been trained to use since she could walk. Othersight was a way of viewing the world all around her through her magick, allowing her to see another layer of existence layered against what most people saw every day. Energy had a signature and all living things had a pattern unique to them, but within that were other indicators such as their composition—human, vampire, witch, whatever—and this one was a shifter. No, not quite. The same, but slightly different. Not Fae, though his magickal signature was similar.
His nostrils flared, as if he sensed her magick. And then he focused his attention on her as she approached. Like a predator, he went very still and there was no mistaking the way he took in every detail.
“I’m Lark.” Still fascinated, she held her hand out for him to shake.
He smiled, a slow, sexy smile designed to part women from their underpants. The hand that took hers easily engulfed her fingers.
“Simon Leviathan. Meriel sent me.”
Lark nodded. “She said she was sending a friend of the clan. Thanks. I appreciate the ride.” Her suitcase hit the conveyor belt. “Can I leave this with you while I grab my bag?”
“Which one is it?” He took the bag she’d been holding.
“The red one.”
But before she could move, he’d already taken three steps to the carousel and had grabbed her bag.
“That all?”
“Yes, thanks. I can get those.” She reached for the duffel but he just sent her a raised eyebrow and turned slightly to continue holding the bag.
“I’m sure you can.” He squeezed her upper arm with his free hand and then paused. “I’m really sure now. But I can hold them just as easily. We need to go upstairs to head to the parking garage.”
And then he sort of ushered her exactly where she wanted to go.
She was still mildly annoyed at how he just sort of took over. And yet interested enough that she let him get away with it. She ruminated on that as she snapped her seat belt. While she remembered, she sent a quick text to Meriel letting her know Simon had met her and was taking her to her hotel.
He slid in on the driver’s side and though the car was pretty large—she hadn’t been surprised by the big, black Cadillac—he seemed to fill every inch. Tinted windows. Swank interior. Smelled good too. Him and the car.
He paused before he turned the engine over. He didn’t glance at her, he examined her. “You look tired. Would you like to go to Meriel’s? Or straight to sleep? I know you’ve got the meeting with Clan Owen’s governance council tomorrow.”
Surprising how easily she found herself responding to him. A near stranger, she’d heard Meriel refer to Simon, knew he co-owned a nightclub with Meriel’s man, Dominic. That Meriel had sent him to pick Lark up told her that he was to be trusted, even if her gut hadn’t already told her the same thing.
“It’s already nine. I’ve gone over my presentation several times.” Including once with her sister and father, and really she couldn’t think of anything she wanted to talk about less right then than mages and death magic. “I’ve eaten and slept this stuff for the last few months. I’m as prepared as I’m going to be. I think.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Um. I figured I’d get room service when I got to the hotel.” She’d been in such a hurry after her last meeting with her sister, Helena, she’d missed dinner, though she did eat a giant bag of M&M’s on the plane.
“Do you like steak or are you a vegetarian?”
He said vegetarian as if it were a suspect class.
“I like steak. Vegetables too.”
He hmmed but it was laced with suspicion. “You’ll be staying in Meriel and Dominic’s old apartment.”
“I don’t want to intrude on them.” She liked Meriel but that didn’t mean she wanted to stay with her. A hotel meant she could walk around in her underwear and eat ice cream from the carton. Being around people took work. She had to be nice and polite and make small talk if she stayed with people.
“They don’t live there. They recently bought a house and had two months left on the lease.”
Well, that was nice actually. An apartment meant she’d have a kitchen and some room. Of course that meant she’d have to go grocery shopping. Though if she knew Meriel as well as she thought, that fridge was most likely well stocked already.
“Good to know. Thanks for the ride. You’re not a shifter.”
He continued to look at the road but one of his brows rose.
“I’m sorry. I have a hard time telling the difference between blunt and rude.”
His mouth twitched.
“I’m Lycian.”
She leaned closer and breathed him in, so excited she forgot it was rude to get up in someone’s business and start sniffing. “Oh!
I’ve never met anyone from the other side of the Veil but a Fae warrior.”
Simon had no idea what to make of this woman. His wolf liked the way she smelled. Sharp like he did. Like a warrior did. But she had blue streaks in her hair. Hair she most likely cut herself. Maybe not even in front of a mirror.
She most likely listened to bands no one ever heard of and went to shows in clubs with sticky floors. Clearly she liked shopping in thrift stores and probably had gloves that were once someone’s sweater.
The smudge of her energy was bright and clear blue. Blue like her eyes. Earnest eyes, but the shadow of a warrior lived there. Even as she rattled on at random, her gaze roamed, keeping track of where they were and who was near.
“How long have you been here? And by the way, if I, you know, fall over the line into rude, please just poke me and say so. That’s what my family does.”
“I’ve been here for ten of your years.”
“I bet your house has very clean lines. Nothing fussy. You don’t have knickknacks and I bet you fold your shorts.”
“I don’t follow.”
She sighed. “You’re a very spare guy. I mean you don’t have any fuss about you. You don’t use four words when three will do. It’s an admirable trait. One I do not possess. I bet you don’t leave your clothes on your bedroom floor or have stacks of magazines anywhere.”
He paused as he processed her stream of words. It’d been a while since he’d met anyone as interesting as this one. Plus she was small and most likely hungry. He wanted to feed her. And maybe show her his house since she thought he lived in a monk’s cell or something like that.
“Tell you what. I’ll make you a steak at my house. You can see for yourself.”
He caught her grin.
There was an odd sound and they both looked around. And then she cursed and dug into her coat pocket. Hubba hubba, hubba hubba. That’s what it kept saying.
“Clever. Oh yes, I’ll totally take you back now. What do you want?”
Much like a shifter, he had excellent hearing so the other end of the call was audible.
“Why you gotta give me such a hard time?”
“I’m working. And hanging up now.”