Her kiss had the power to turn his blood to lava. She could move as if making love were the most exotic dance known to man, and she had the ability to make him forget himself and the world, leaving him absorbed in a feeling of wonder that they were alive and together.
They lay in each other’s arms on the floor in front of a leaping fire, sated and spent.
She turned and looked at him, stroking his face as he stared back at her in wonder.
She smiled slowly. “News flash. Elven cop seen with Vegas entertainer. Can a true Elven find happiness with a half-breed werewolf?”
He smiled. “I seem to be too worn-out to think of an answer.”
She smacked his shoulder lightly. “Cut me some slack. I’m laying my heart at your feet.”
He grinned and rolled on top of her. “You are half Elven,” he reminded her. “Making love...it’s a pretty amazing deal for the Elven, you know.”
She touched him, intimately. Even now she could get him sizzling again, kindle another fire in his loins—and fingertips, muscles, tendons, blood, toes....
“I know,” she told him wickedly.
“I know I won’t ever let you out of my sight again,” he told her.
They both jumped at a thunderous knocking at their door.
“Get dressed,” he said to her, reaching for his jeans.
A moment later he checked to make sure she was decent, then made his way to the door, checked the peephole and opened it, his expression a mix of welcome and surprise.
Keeghan McMurtree smiled and walked in, accompanied by an entire group of Keepers. He immediately started making introductions. “This is Brad Thierson, Keeper of the New York City werewolves.”
“And we’re all appalled by what Monty Reilly let happen in Vegas,” Thierson said.
“I’m Eamon MacDonald, leprechaun Keeper, Dublin,” another man said.
The introductions went on, with Calleigh standing behind Saxon, both of them confused as to what the hell was going on.
“Think we can sit down?” McMurtree finally asked.
Saxon nodded, and Calleigh led the way, seating them and asking if she could get them something to drink.
“I’m not going to waste time here,” McMurtree said to Saxon once everyone was settled. “You’ve been chosen to head a new council.”
“What? Why me? And what kind of council?”
“A council of Keepers,” McMurtree explained.
“But I’m not a Keeper,” Saxon said.
“Doesn’t matter—hell, maybe your independence makes you an even better choice,” McMurtree told him. “You see the need for a centralized system of regulations, of checks and balances, the one to insist that the Keepers need to have the power to maintain control, so that they don’t fall prey to the powers of the very beings they are born to control.” McMurtree grinned. “All you have to do is set the date and the place, and Keepers from all over the world will be called to a summit. Bailey wanted a New World Order—well, we’re going to create one, and it’s going to be based on a code that’s fair and rational and backed up by the power of a worldwide network of Keepers. It’s complex. I realize that. But we need you—not just as a figurehead, but because of your ethics and your beliefs, your strength and your courage.”
Saxon looked at Calleigh, awed, uncertain, even a little bit afraid of the responsibility that was being handed to him.
“Put your money where your mouth is, big boy,” she suggested softly.
He stood. He was being given the opportunity to be part of something that could change the world—and not only his world—for the better.
“When do we begin?” he asked huskily.
“In the morning,” McMurtree told him. “Invitations will go out across the world and a true governing council for the underworld races will become a reality.”
With that announcement, McMurtree stood and pulled Saxon in for a hug.
Moments later the visitors were gone, and Saxon looked at Calleigh. “Is it possible?” he asked.
She slipped into his arms. “All things are possible,” she whispered, her eyes meeting his. “All things. Because I’m here, with you.”
He took her into his arms. When she was with him, he realized, he did indeed believe that all things were possible.
“News flash,” he said. “Elven cop finds life, purpose and everlasting happiness in the arms of a half-breed werewolf.”
And just in case she wasn’t sure he meant what he’d said, he proceeded to demonstrate exactly how true his words had been.
* * * * *
When Vampire Keeper Rhiannon Gryffald moves to L.A., she finds herself in the middle of a vampire’s killing spree. Joining forces with Brodie McKay, a gorgeous Elven cop, may be her only hope of survival as they discover a conspiracy that shakes the Los Angeles theater scene to its core....
* * *
Read on for a sneak peek of KEEPER OF THE NIGHT by New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.
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Keeper of the Night
So many of the paranormal races—the vampires, the shifters, the elven and more—traveled there, and many stayed, because where better to blend in than a place where even the human beings hardly registered as normal half the time? With so much going on, no one set of Keepers could control the vast scope of the Greater Los Angeles underworld, and so it was that the three Gryffald cousins, daughters of the three renowned Gryffald brothers, were called to take their place as peacekeepers a bit earlier than had been expected.
And right when L.A. was on the verge of exploding with underworld activity.
Hollywood, they were about to discover, could truly be murder.
* * *
There was blood. So much blood.
From her position on the stage Rhiannon Gryffald could see the man standing just outside the club door. He was tall and well built, his almost formal attire a contrast to the usual California casual and strangely at odds with his youth, with a Hollywood tan that added to the classic strength of his features and set off his light eyes and golden hair.
And he was bleeding from the throat.
Bleeding profusely.
There was blood everywhere. It was running down the side of his throat and staining his tailored white shirt and gold-patterned vest.
“Help! I’ve been bitten!” he cried. He was staggering, hands clutching his throat.
No! she thought. Not yet!
She had barely arrived in Los Angeles! This was too soon, far too soon, to be called upon to take action. She was just beginning to find her way around the city, just learning how to maneuver through the insane traffic—not to mention that she was trying to maintain something that at least resembled steady employment.
“I’ve been bitten!” he screamed again. “By a vampire!”
There were two women standing near him, staring, and he seemed to be trying to warn them, but they didn’t seem frightened, although they were focused on the blood pouring from his wound.
They started to move toward him, their eyes fixed on the scarlet ruin of his neck.
They weren’t concerned, Rhiannon realized. They weren’t going to help.
They were hungry.
* * * * *
Don’t miss the dramatic conclusion to
KEEPER OF THE NIGHT
by Heather Graham.
Available January 2013,
only from Harlequin Nocturne.
ISBN: 9781459249677
Copyright © 2012 by Doranna Durgin
SENTINELS: KODIA
K CHAINED
Copyright © 2012 by Doranna Durgin
THE GATEKEEPER
Copyright © 2012 by Slush Pile Productions, LLC
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