by Lara Adrian
“Grigori,” Kade murmured, watching his father’s expression mutate from mild surprise to remembered regret.
“Grigori,” Kir repeated quietly. “I presume you heard something about him from my other brother, Maksim.”
Kade nodded. “Max told me a little. I know that Grigori meant a lot to you, and I know that he went Rogue.”
Kir’s brows rose a fraction. “Yes, he did.”
“And you thought I would end up like him one day.”
“You?” He scowled, then gave a small shake of his head. “I never thought that of you. It was Seth I worried about. You reminded me of Grigori, that is true. Everything vibrant and robust and strong in him, I saw in you, Kade. Seth, however, had none of those qualities. He was only like my brother in that he possessed the same flaws and insecurities that eventually doomed him. I knew it, and I lived in dread of what might become of Seth. As for you, I could only hope that you would never be put into the position that I had been with Grigori. I prayed you would never be faced with that kind of decision.”
Something cold coiled around Kade’s heart at his father’s words. Alex’s fingers tightened around his as if she, too, felt the dread of what Kir might say. “Tell me what happened, Father.”
“I never wanted you to have to shoulder the burden of having to destroy something you loved.” Kir’s eyes dimmed with regret. “I thought that if I kept Seth close enough, if I gave him every opportunity to prove himself, my strength might be enough to hold him up. If I could keep Seth from giving into the weakness I saw in him from the time he was a child, then maybe he wouldn’t end up like Grigori. Maybe you would not be forced to do what I had to do.”
“Max said Grigori was never seen or heard from after your family received word that he’d gone Rogue and killed someone in his Bloodlust. Max said you refused to speak of Grigori after that.”
Kir nodded grimly. “There was no need to speak of him again. He was dead. As his brother, I felt it was my duty to make sure that he could never kill again.”
Alex exhaled the smallest gasp at the sober confession. Kade was stunned to discover how similar his father’s path had been to his own, how much he never knew about the male who’d sired him or the life his father had led before Kade and Seth had been born.
He muttered a curse, but there was no venom in it. There never could be again, not after tonight. “I have resented you nearly all my life,” he admitted. “I thought you despised me.”
Kir clucked his tongue, gave a remorseful shake of his head. “Never. I only wanted the best for you. For both my sons. And now, for the two new ones who will be born in a few short weeks, as well.”
“We have wasted a lot of time on secrets and festering fears,” Kade said to him. He turned a look on Alex, swamped by love for the female who owned his heart. “I can’t waste another minute like that.”
Kir stood up. “Nor should I waste any more of your time when you and Alex could be spending it together. I want you to know that I am proud of you, Kade. And I am glad to see that you have found happiness. You’ve found love, and next to all your other strengths, that is the one that will see you through any challenge.”
Kade swallowed, gave an awkward nod. “Thank you, Father.”
“How long will you and Alex be staying here at the Darkhaven?”
“Not long,” Kade replied. “A few more hours at the most. Some of my brethren from the Order are waiting in a town not far from here. We have a mission to wrap up, and then we’ll be heading back home.”
“Both of you?” Kir asked, glancing from Kade to Alex.
“I guess I’d better make it official and ask her,” Kade said, smiling as he stroked Alex’s cheek. He drew her gaze to his. “What do you think, Alex? Any chance I can convince you to come back with me to Boston?”
Her soft brown eyes gleamed. “I’ve never been to New England. I think I’d like to see it.”
Kade’s grin burst across his face. “I’ll show you the whole damn world if you’ll let me.”
They kissed, interrupted a moment later by Kir’s slightly awkward clearing of his throat. Alex was blushing furiously. Kade felt no embarrassment for his affection, meeting his father’s amused look with an unapologetic quirk of his brows.
Kir smiled, then strode to the door, Kade and Alex walking at his side. When they paused at the threshold, Kade held out his hand, but his father didn’t take it. Instead, he pulled Kade into a firm embrace. “I know that you have made a family in Boston with the Order,” he said as he drew back to meet Kade’s eyes. “I’m glad for you. But you have a family here, as well. You and your beautiful Alexandra both have family here.”
“May I hug you, too?” Alex asked, turning her warmth on Kade’s gruff father.
Kir’s mouth curved into a rare smile. “I would be honored if you did.”
As Alex embraced him, the elder male glanced at Kade, his gaze filled with too many emotions for Kade to name. Pride, forgiveness, regret, hope … years of emotions that went unspoken between father and son. Maybe now they would have the chance to repair the things that had been buried under so many secrets, so many useless fears.
And then there was Alexandra.
Kade looked at the female he loved—his female, his mate. His heart overflowed with all the things he wanted to say to her, things he wanted to share with her … promises he intended to give her now, in the hope that he would have the rest of his life with her to make good on them.
Kade wrapped his arm around Alex’s shoulders as they stood together and watched his father stroll across the moonlit snow toward the main house. When he was gone, Kade turned to Alex and swept her up into his arms.
She gasped as her feet left the ground, then laughed as he pivoted around and started walking with her toward his bedroom. “Put me down! You’re hardly recovered from your burns, Kade. You really shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Oh, yes, I should,” he replied, gazing into her eyes with a hunger he wouldn’t have been able to mask even if he’d tried.
They made love together, at first a tempestuous, fevered joining, both of them lost to the swell of their emotions and to the urgent demands of their desire for each other. Kade ravished her body, made her climax so many times she finally gave up trying to keep count.
Alex’s senses were filled with him, her body thrumming as she came down from the crest of another wave of pleasure, nestled in the protective shelter of Kade’s arms.
She loved him so deeply she ached with her devotion. And in the afterglow of their passion, she knew that he loved her, too.
His touch was tender as he stroked the sensitive skin of her neck, his fingers skating like velvet beneath her ear. “I haven’t done right by you,” he murmured quietly. “When I drank from you that first night at your house in Harmony. It should have been your choice, Alex. I took that from you. I should have told you what it meant before I bonded myself to you. I should have had honor enough to earn the right, not steal it the way I did.”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” she murmured. “All that matters is that we are together now. I want you forever, Kade. I want …” The words trailed off, not out of fear or uncertainty, but out of the depth of her longing. She turned her head to look at him. “All I want is you, to be bonded to you as your mate.”
“And all I want is to make you happy, and to know that you are safe and protected.”
“I am. There’s nowhere I could be happier—or more secure—than here in your arms.” She caressed his handsome face, seeing the torment that still lingered in his expression. The measure of self-doubt that hadn’t quite faded from his eyes, and might never fully disappear. “Together we are strong, Kade. Stronger than the wildness inside you. You heard what your father said: Love is the greatest strength. Nothing is more powerful than that.”
“You really believe that?”
“More than anything,” she replied. “But the question is, do you?”
He stared at her for a long moment, his s
ilver eyes searching. “So long as I have you beside me, I can believe that anything is possible. I love you, Alexandra. You are everything to me.”
He brought her closer and kissed her—the most tender, reverent kiss she had ever known. Alex melted into him, her body responding in a fluid rush of warmth that pooled in her core. She tipped her head back as his mouth traveled down the line of her jaw, to the side of her throat.
Kade reared his head back on a growl. He stared at her, his eyes blazing with amber sparks, his fangs glowing white. Already he was panting with need, fierce with hunger for her.
He scowled, dark emotions tossing in the depths of his silver eyes. “Forever?”
“Forever, Kade.” She let her fingers drift over his sensual mouth, where the points of his fangs glinted behind his parted lips. “Bind me to you now. I want to taste you. I want to have forever with you.”
On a deep growl, his gaze locked on hers, he brought his wrist up to his mouth. He parted his lips, then sank his fangs into the flesh and muscle. Blood dripped from the punctures and down his chin. Tentative, he held his arm out to her.
Alex took him in her hands and brought his wrist to her lips.
The first taste of him was a shock. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but none of her imaginings had prepared her for the reality of drinking from Kade. His blood was a sweetness that rolled over her tongue, a stunning wildness that stole her breath. She drank in the scent of his skin and the earthy spice of his blood as she drew from his open vein.
Power surged through her like lightning.
Kade groaned with pleasure and she drank more, greedy now, desire pulsing through every nerve ending and making all of her senses come vividly to life. Heat roared deep inside her, and she whimpered as the first wave of orgasm rose up on her and swept her away.
Kade’s growl was purely male, purely triumphant.
Alex was still riding the crest of rapture as he licked the wound at his wrist, then spread her body, opening her thighs to the searing heat of his hungry gaze.
“You are mine now, Alex. God help you, you are mine forever now.”
“Then show me,” she whispered, her voice roughened from pleasure. She swept her tongue along her lips, savoring every last taste of him on her mouth. She tipped her head to the side, presenting her throat to him. “Show me that I will always belong to you, Kade.”
His lip curled away from his fangs, which shone as sharp and pristine as diamonds in the dim light of the aurora dancing in the distance outside the cabin. Alex took in the savage beauty of his face, feeling nothing close to fear when she looked at him now.
He was her heart, her lover, her mate.
Her everything.
“Love me, Kade,” she murmured.
“Forever,” he replied.
Then, with a groan of pleasure and surrender, he bent his head and sank his bite deep into her flesh and showed her just how pleasurable their forever was going to be.
Thirsty for more?
Don’t miss the next novel in Lara’s
hot and thrilling
Midnight Breed series
Taken by Midnight
Taken by
Midnight
BY
LARA ADRIAN
Coming from Dell in Fall 2010
PRAISE FOR
LARA ADRIAN’S
MIDNIGHT BREED SERIES
SHADES OF MIDNIGHT
“[Lara Adrian] once again serves up a blockbuster hit.… With a fast-paced tale of romantic suspense and intense and realistic characters … Lara Adrian compels readers to get hooked on her storylines, and that’s why Shades of Midnight deserves a Perfect 10.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“[A] rapid fire story … Besides delivering wonderful paranormal romances, the Midnight Breed series also continues to add complexity.… A twist at the end could prove quite interesting. This is time well spent!”
—Romantic Times
ASHES OF MIDNIGHT
“Ashes of Midnight will scorch its way into your heart.”
—Romance Junkies
“Lara Adrian continues to kick butt with her latest release.… Ashes of Midnight is an entertaining ride and as usual kept me riveted from page one.”
—The Romance Reader Connection
VEIL OF MIDNIGHT
“Adrian’s newest heroine has a backbone of pure steel. Rapid-pace adventures deliver equal quantities of supernatural thrills and high-impact passion. This is one of the best vampire series on the market!”
—Romantic Times
“Veil of Midnight will enthrall you and leave you breathless for more.”
—Wild on Books
MIDNIGHT RISING
“Fans are in for a treat.… Ms. Adrian has a gift for drawing her readers deeper and deeper into the amazing world she creates.… I eagerly await the next installment of this entertaining series!”
—Fresh Fiction
“Packed with danger and action, this book also explores the tumultuous emotions of guilt, anger, betrayal and forgiveness. Adrian has hit on an unbeatable story mix.”
—Romantic Times
MIDNIGHT AWAKENING
“This is one of the best paranormal series around. Compelling characters and good world-building make this a must-read series.”
—Fresh Fiction
“One of the Top 10 Best Romance Novels of 2007.”
—Selected by the Editors at Amazon.com
“Ms. Adrian’s series just gets better and better.… Midnight Awakening was exactly what I hoped it would be, then so much more.… I’m intrigued and without a doubt completely hooked.”
—Romance Junkies
“Vengeance is the driving force behind this entry in the intense Midnight Breed series.… Things look bad for the characters, but for the readers it’s nothing but net!”
—Romantic Times
KISS OF CRIMSON
“Vibrant writing heightens the suspense, and hidden secrets provide many twists. This dark and steamy tale … is a winner and will have readers eager for the next Midnight Breed story.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Hot sensuality with emotional drama and high-stakes danger … [Adrian] ensures that her latest is terrific supernatural entertainment.”
—Romantic Times
“[Adrian] pens hot erotic scenes and vivid action sequences.”
—The Romance Reader
KISS OF MIDNIGHT
“Evocative, enticing, erotic. Enter Lara Adrian’s vampire world and be enchanted!”
—J. R. Ward, bestselling author
“Kiss of Midnight is dark, edgy and passionate, an irresistible vampire romance.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Lara Adrian delivers a fast-paced, sexy romantic suspense that … stands above the rest.… A gripping, sensual love story.”
—The Romance Reader
“Gritty and dangerous, this terrific launch book sets up an alternate reality filled with treachery and loss. The Midnight Breed series is poised to deliver outstanding supernatural thrills.”
—Romantic Times
Also by Lara Adrian
KISS OF MIDNIGHT
KISS OF CRIMSON
MIDNIGHT AWAKENING
MIDNIGHT RISING
VEIL OF MIDNIGHT
ASHES OF MIDNIGHT
SHADES OF MIDNIGHT
Taken by Midnight is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Dell Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2010 by Lara Adrian, LLC
Excerpt of Deeper Than Midnight © 2010 by Lara Adrian, LLC
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of The Random House
Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
DELL
is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
eISBN: 978-0-440-33968-7
www.bantamdell.com
v3.1
To Heather Rogers,
for being awesome
Contents
Main Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series
Also by Lara Adrian
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
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
Chapter Twenty-two