Stranger:. Zoe Archer
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Название: Stranger:
Автор: Zoe Archer
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Зарубежная фантастика
Серия: The Blades of the Rose
isbn: 9781420119862
isbn:
“DOES THIS HURT?” HE ASKED.
Because it was hurting him.
Beneath his hands, her breathing quickened. “N-no.” She stared at him, eyes wide but unafraid, and her soft, pink lips parted slightly. “It feels … nice.”
He was braced over her now, his body stretched alongside hers, so that he had only to lower his head to touch his lips to hers. Thoughts of the Heirs, the Primal Source all dissolved like vapor beneath the sun of his and her shared awareness. Her gaze flicked down to his mouth, as well, and the dropping of her lashes and flush spreading across her cheeks revealed that not only had she shared his thought, but wanted it, too. What would she taste like? Both the scientist and the man within him needed to find out.
Slowly, slowly he bent lower, suspended in liquid time. His heart slammed within the cage of his chest, and he was tight and hard everywhere. He cradled the juncture of her neck and jaw, feeling the rush of her pulse at that tender convergence. Such delicacy. Combined with remarkable strength.
“You’re a very courageous woman,” he breathed, close enough to count freckles.
She brought her hand up to curve around the back of his head. “I know,” she answered.
He smiled at that, a small smile. And then he stopped smiling, because he kissed her.
The Blades of the Rose
Warrior Scoundrel
Rebel Stranger
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
STRANGER
The Blades of the Rose
Zoë Archer
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2010 by Ami Silber
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-1986-2
eISBN-10: 1-4201-1986-2
First Printing: December 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
For Zack, sometimes strange but never a stranger, my heart will always know yours
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter 1 Shipboard Meetings
Chapter 2 Tenacity
Chapter 3 Miss Murphy Makes the Leap
Chapter 4 Unfamiliar Territory
Chapter 5 Sleeping Arrangements
Chapter 6 Catullus in the Dark
Chapter 7 Question and Answer
Chapter 8 Rex Quondam, Rexque Futurus
Chapter 9 The Silent Village
Chapter 10 Mr. Graves Takes Control
Chapter 11 Of Scarabs and Sulfuric Acid
Chapter 12 The King and the Heir
Chapter 13 A Hunger Not Sated
Chapter 14 Crossing the Boundary
Chapter 15 Shelter
Chapter 16 The Hazards and Habits of Otherworld
Chapter 17 Courage
Chapter 18 Perilous Crossings
Chapter 19 Conundrums
Chapter 20 The Silver Wheel
Chapter 21 The Blades of the Rose
Chapter 22 Siege
Chapter 23 Through the Fire
Chapter 24 Aftermath
Epilogue The Once and Future Blades
Thank you to superagent Kevan Lyon and wondereditor Megan Records for loving my crazy adventurers as much as I do. And thank you to the many people whose support and encouragement helped make the dream of the Blades of the Rose a reality: Andy and Christina Blaiklock, Lorelie Brown, Pauline DiPego, Jerry DiPego, Gene and Janice Fiskin (hi, Mom!), Kathy Harmening, Carolyn Jewel, Carrie Lofty, Tiffani McCoy, Julia McDermott, Courtney Milan, Martti Nelson, Elyssa Papa, Jeffrey Silber (hi, Dad!), Liz Thurmond, and Lisa Zalokar.
The steamship Antonia, two days from Liverpool, 1875.
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