Dark Lover. Brenda Joyce
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Praise for New York Times bestselling author
and the Masters of Time® series
Dark Embrace “A Perfect 10. Brenda Joyce has created a tale that is full to overflowing with emotion. Passionate, heartbreaking, hopeful, and entertaining, Dark Embrace is a novel you do not want to miss. I recommend it highly.” —Romance Reviews Today
“Known for her intensity of emotion and superlative storytelling, Joyce draws you into a new Masters of Time® novel that will blow you away with its unforgettable alpha hero and a willful heroine who feels his pain across the centuries.” —RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
Dark Rival “The supporting characters are excellent, the sex scenes are plentiful…and the plot thick, making this sophomore series entry a fine entertainment, sure to gratify fans of the bestselling kickoff.” —Publishers Weekly
“For intense emotions, power-packed writing, alpha males and building sexual tension, Joyce is unrivaled.”
—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
“A novel that will rivet your attention from the first page to the last.”
—Romance Reviews Today
Dark Seduction “Bestselling author Joyce kicks off her Masters of Time® series with a master’s skill, instantly elevating her to the top ranks of the ever-growing list of paranormal romance authors…Steeped in action and sensuality, populated by sexy warriors and strong women, graced with lush details and a captivating story…superlative.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Dark Lover
Brenda Joyce
Dear reader,
I hope you enjoy reading Dark Lover, the last installment of the Rose trilogy, as much as I enjoyed writing it. When I started THE MASTERS OF TIME®, I really didn’t realise how much this world would grow and evolve, and all the undertones it would have. I am really enjoying taking the paranormal wherever my muse leads me. Nor did i realise how exciting it would be for me to do strong, modern women, but mostly it is the damaged, dark heroes who are making this series so exciting.
In Dark Lover, both the heroine, Sam, and the hero, Ian, were departures for me as an author, and I had a blast putting the two of them together. Once they were on the same page, they pretty much wrote their own story, as I am sure you will see. I look forward to doing other strong, contemporary heroines, and heroes as dark and damaged as Ian.
If you haven’t tried my historical romances yet, you might want to consider checking out An Impossible Attraction. It continues the saga of the great de Warenne family and, as always, is a tale of power and passion, tragedy and triumph—and romance. Alexandra Bolton gave up marriage to her true love nine years ago, when her mother died, in order to care for her family. Now the family is in disgrace, her father having gambled away their entire fortune, and Alexandra actually sews for a living. Stephen Mowbray, the Duke of Clarewood, is the most powerful peer in the realm (and a bastard de Warenne). Haunted by his past, he lives in “splendid isolation,” and is accused of being cold and heartless. His life begins to change when he meets Alexandra, whom he decides to take as a lover. As he begins his pursuit, she is determined to refuse him, but fate has other plans for them. An Impossible Attraction is about pride and passion, sacrifice and betrayal, and love won and lost, then won all over again. And, as always, the de Warenne adage holds true: a de Warenne loves once and forever, or not at all.
Happy reading!
Brenda Joyce
For my readers
This one’s for all of you who have helped make this series such a success. Thank you!
Table of Contents
Praise
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
New York City, July 18, 2009
SAM ROSE WAS in a really lousy mood, until she saw the memo on her desk. “Party tonight at seven at Rupert Hemmer’s. Bring stilettos and wear red.”
She slowly smiled. Great, she shot back in an e-mail to her boss. I haven’t been to a good party in ages.
It was three in the afternoon and she had just come into work, but she wasn’t late. Evil played at night, which meant she worked at night, because her job was hunting down the bad guys and doing them in. In fact, she’d been hunting evil since she was twelve years old—since the day her mother had been murdered.
It was ancient history now. Sam could think about Laura as she’d last seen her, even recalling her pale lifeless face, without a pang of sorrow or sadness. She’d learned long ago how to turn off any impending compassion. No Slayer could get the job done if he or she started feeling sorry for evil’s victims. Laura’s death had been Fate. Every Rose woman had a destiny, and hers was to be a Slayer.
That day, the need to vanquish evil had been branded into her soul. Now Sam looked forward to the night. Others feared the shadows—as they should; she thrilled when the moon rose. Others feared the sound of heavy breathing behind them; she relished evil daring to pursue her. Let it try! She hunted with a vengeance—literally.
Nick Forrester had recruited her into the Historical Crimes Unit at CDA almost