His eyes were dark brown, flecked with bits of gold. His stare was intense, sinking deep into her very soul as he gazed at her. She felt herself flush under his stare, her body pulsing in response to the heat of his attention. For a moment, the world seemed to freeze, and she was caught in his spell, in his raw masculinity and strength. His cheekbones were sculpted, giving him a regal appearance, despite the heavy growth of whiskers and the disheveled dark hair, which gave him an aura of danger and lethalness that should have terrified her…but she found herself riveted by him instead.
His shoulders were broad, but not as broad as José‘s. Unlike José and his men, who wore camouflage pants, lean boots, and sported bare chests as if impersonating some ancient warrior, this Calydon was wearing the garb of civilization. His blue jeans were dirty and torn. His black T-shirt was loose and ragged. He was wearing hiking boots, but they appeared to be heavily insulated as if they were meant for trekking through snow and ice instead of the brutal heat of the jungle. He didn’t look like he belonged to this jungle or to José, but the twin dark brands on his forearms told her all she needed to know.
He was a Calydon, and that meant he was a threat, no matter how intense her reaction to him was. In fact, he was even more dangerous because of the way she wanted to fall under his spell. Men knew how to take advantage of a woman’s attraction to them. They preyed upon it, twisting it to their advantage. She knew better than to want a man, but her fingers actually twitched with the need to lay her hand over his wound and take away his pain, to feel his flesh beneath her palm, to move closer, and lose herself in the incredible strength and power of his being.
“Yeah…” he said softly, his gaze locked onto hers, as if he were having the same intense reaction to her that she was having to him. “Who are you?” he asked. “What’s your name?”
“Who am I?” The question jerked her back to the present, to the very real danger he presented. If he’d been sent to find her, his quest would have to end now. Even as she thought it, resistance pulsed through her, and she realized she didn’t want to kill him.
Grimly, she took a step back as she pulled another arrow out of her quiver. She set it in the bow and aimed it right between his eyes. “What do you want?”
She needed to know whether he had stumbled across her accidentally, or if José already knew she was here. Then, once she had her answers, she would do her best to kill the man kneeling before her.
She ignored the stab of regret at the notion of killing him. Sure, he smelled incredible and had eyes that had momentarily melted right through the fear of men that she kept wrapped so tightly around her. That didn’t mean she was going to make the same mistake that had once almost killed her. Never would she trust the wrong man, or any man, again.
Never.
He would have to die. There was simply no other option.
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Select List of Other Books by Stephanie Rowe
(For a complete book list, please visit www.stephanierowe.com)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
The Wyoming Rebels Series
A Real Cowboy Never Says No
A Real Cowboy Knows How to Kiss
A Real Cowboy Rides a Motorcycle
The Ever After Series
No Knight Needed
Fairytale Not Required
Prince Charming Can Wait
The Knight Who Brought Chocolate (Coming Soon!)
The NightHunter Series
Not Quite Dead
The Order of the Blade Series
Darkness Awakened
Darkness Seduced
Darkness Surrendered
Forever in Darkness
Darkness Reborn
Darkness Arisen
Darkness Unleashed
Inferno of Darkness
Darkness Possessed
Shadows of Darkness
Hunt the Darkness (Coming Soon!)
The Soulfire Series
Kiss at Your Own Risk
Touch if You Dare
Hold Me if You Can
The Immortally Sexy Series
Date Me Baby, One More Time
Must Love Dragons
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Hot
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
The Alaska Heat Series
Ice
Chill
Ghost
Stand Alone Novels
Jingle This!
NONFICTION
The Feel Good Life
FOR TEENS
A Girlfriend’s Guide to Boys Series
Putting Boys on the Ledge
Studying Boys
Who Needs Boys?
Smart Boys & Fast Girls
Stand Alone Novels
The Fake Boyfriend Experiment
FOR PRE-TEENS
The Forgotten Series
Penelope Moonswoggle, The Girl Who Could Not Ride a Dragon
Penelope Moonswoggle & the Accidental Doppelganger
Release Date TBD
Box Sets
Alpha Immortals
Last Hero Standing
Romancing the Paranormal
Stephanie Rowe Bio
USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Rowe is the author of more than 40 novels, including her popular Order of the Blade and NightHunter paranormal romance series. Stephanie is a four-time nominee of the RITA® Award, the highest award in romance fiction. She has won many awards for her novels, including the prestigious Golden Heart® Award. She has received coveted starred reviews from Booklist, and Publishers Weekly has called her work “[a] genre-twister that will make readers…rabid for more.” Stephanie also writes a thrilling romantic suspense series set in Alaska. Publisher’s Weekly praised the series debut, ICE, as a “thrilling entry into romantic suspense,” and Fresh Fiction called ICE an “edgy, sexy and gripping thriller.” Equally as intense and sexy are Stephanie’s contemporary romance novels, set in the fictional town of Birch Crossing, Maine. All of Stephanie’s books, regardless of the genre, deliver the same intense, passionate, and emotional experience that has delighted so many readers.
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Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my beta readers, who always work incredibly hard under tight deadlines to get my books read. I appreciate so much your willingness to tell me when something doesn’t work! I treasure your help, and I couldn’t do this without you. Hugs to you all! Thanks also to the Rockstars, the best buzz team ever!
There are so many to thank by name, more than I could count, but here are those who I want to called out specially for all they did to help this book come to life: Malinda Davis Diehl, Donna Bossert, Leslie Barnes, Kayla Bartley, Alencia Bates Salters, Alyssa Bird, Jean Bowden, Shell Bryce, Kelley Daley Curry, Ashley Cuesta, Denise Fluhr, Sandi Foss, Valerie Glass, Heidi Hoffman, Jeanne Stone, Rebecca Johnson, Dottie Jones, Janet Juengling-Snell, Deb Julienne, Bridget Koan, Felicia Low, Phyllis Marshall, Suzanne Mayer, Erin McRae, Jodi Moore, Ashlee Murphy, Judi Pflughoeft, Carol Pretorius, Kasey Richardson, Caryn Santee, Summer Steelman, Regina Thomas, and Linda Watson.
Special thanks to Michael James Canalas at MJC Imageworks for a wonderful cover. Mom, you’re the best. It means so much that you believe in me. I love you. Special thanks also to my amazing, beautiful, special daughter, who I love more than words could ever express. You are my world, sweet girl, in all ways.
Dedication
For Janet Juengling-Snell and Erin Michelle McRae, for all the amazing work and heart that you ladies have spent on launching the Stocktons into the world. You guys ROCK!
Knows How to Kiss