Heart of Darkness
Table of Contents
“HEART OF DARKNESS
IS FRESH, FUN, FAST-PACED PARANORMAL ROMANCE. SPELLBINDING MAGIC, A WRY-HUMORED, GUTSY HEROINE AND A SEXY-AS-SIN HERO PUT THE CHARM ON THIS WITCHY NEW SERIES FROM MULTITALENTED, ALWAYS FABULOUS LAUREN DANE!”
IS FRESH, FUN, FAST-PACED PARANORMAL ROMANCE. SPELLBINDING MAGIC, A WRY-HUMORED, GUTSY HEROINE AND A SEXY-AS-SIN HERO PUT THE CHARM ON THIS WITCHY NEW SERIES FROM MULTITALENTED, ALWAYS FABULOUS LAUREN DANE!”
—
Lara Adrian,
New York Times
bestselling author
Lara Adrian,
New York Times
bestselling author
Night of the witches
“Tell me”—she paused, looking at his name tag—”Spider. Very goth, by the way, Spider.” She tried very hard not to snicker. “Is Mr. Bright in this evening?”
“Should be.” Spider tried to look tough, but she could use him to pick spinach from her teeth with one hand so the effect was lost on her.
She nodded, taking her tag and sauntering past the line and through the doors. The bouncer took one look, a smile settled over his features and he stepped back, letting her pass.
Once inside, the scent caught her attention. Mmmm.
Humanity
. Sex, lust, greed, anger.
Beautiful.
The hard-edged beat vibrated off her skin as she prowled through the crowd. In every flash, flash, flash of the strobe lights bodies moved, arms up in the air.
Humanity
. Sex, lust, greed, anger.
Beautiful.
The hard-edged beat vibrated off her skin as she prowled through the crowd. In every flash, flash, flash of the strobe lights bodies moved, arms up in the air.
Magick drifted through the large room, catching her attention, drawing her to its source. It wasn’t hard to find the go-between, the place normals wouldn’t see but others would be drawn to, and through, into their own private club.
Heart of Darkness—not a bad name for a club, really. One of her favorite books too. Too bad Gage wasn’t here. The women would have been falling over themselves to get to him. Her mother would also have a cow when she heard Meriel had disobeyed her orders and had come out unescorted, but for goodness’ sake, it wasn’t that dangerous to talk to a thief in public. And hello, she wasn’t fifteen. It had been a long time since Meriel had looked to a mother to do any taking care of her. And last, it amused her to visualize her mother having a cow.
Praise for Lauren Dane and her novels
“PULSE POUNDING …
Dane delivers!”
—Jaci Burton,
New York Times
bestselling author
Dane delivers!”
—Jaci Burton,
New York Times
bestselling author
“SCINTILLATING! …
A roller coaster of emotion, intrigue and sensual
delights … I was hooked.”
—Vivi Anna, author of
The Vampire’s Kiss
A roller coaster of emotion, intrigue and sensual
delights … I was hooked.”
—Vivi Anna, author of
The Vampire’s Kiss
“EROTIC …
Sure to keep you reading late into the night.”
—Anya Bast,
New York Times
bestselling author
Sure to keep you reading late into the night.”
—Anya Bast,
New York Times
bestselling author
“IN A WORD … AMAZING.”
—RT Book Reviews
—RT Book Reviews
Berkley titles by Lauren Dane
HEART OF DARKNESS
NEVER ENOUGH
THREE TO TANGO
(with Emma Holly, Megan Hart, and Bethany Kane)
MESMERIZED
INSIDE OUT
INSATIABLE
COMING UNDONE
LAID BARE
RELENTLESS
UNDERCOVER
NEVER ENOUGH
THREE TO TANGO
(with Emma Holly, Megan Hart, and Bethany Kane)
MESMERIZED
INSIDE OUT
INSATIABLE
COMING UNDONE
LAID BARE
RELENTLESS
UNDERCOVER
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
HEART OF DARKNESS
A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / November 2011
Copyright (c) 2011 by Lauren Dane.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN : 978-1-101-54553-9
BERKLEY SENSATION
(r)
(r)
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
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is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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BERKLEY SENSATION
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is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
This one is for Linda Sue
who always puts her family before herself.
Love you, Momma.
who always puts her family before herself.
Love you, Momma.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Laura Bradford for knowing how much I wanted this and going way above and beyond to help make it into a reality.
Thanks also goes to Leis Pederson, whose edits always make me a better writer.
To my husband, who makes my heart beat faster and brings me home Thai food just because—I love you!
And to all the people who have supported me with so many kindnesses—thank you. Thank you for buying my books, for talking about them, for the notes you send and for coming to see me at events. It means so very much!
And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also were buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night.
—JOSEPH CONRAD,
HEART OF DARKNESS
HEART OF DARKNESS
Chapter 1
MERIEL
sat, taking notes as her mother spoke from the head of the table. The pale, late autumn light spilled through the windows of the seemingly normal conference room, casting shadows on the far wall. The tastefully expensive clock and nondescript black-and-white framed photos made the space look like a law firm instead of the headquarters of a witches’ clan. A boring, non-offensive space that seemed to lack any point of view at all. This was most likely a deliberate choice, but Meriel thought pretending not to have a POV when you were someone as opinionated as Edwina Owen was absurd. But it wasn’t her place to make decorating choices. Not yet anyway.
sat, taking notes as her mother spoke from the head of the table. The pale, late autumn light spilled through the windows of the seemingly normal conference room, casting shadows on the far wall. The tastefully expensive clock and nondescript black-and-white framed photos made the space look like a law firm instead of the headquarters of a witches’ clan. A boring, non-offensive space that seemed to lack any point of view at all. This was most likely a deliberate choice, but Meriel thought pretending not to have a POV when you were someone as opinionated as Edwina Owen was absurd. But it wasn’t her place to make decorating choices. Not yet anyway.
So she sat in a moderately comfortable chair around an intentionally imposing table with the same fifteen people she’d spent her days with for as long as she could remember. How sucky was it that it was days like this that made her wish for law school again? What sort of whackadoo actually
missed
law school? But in law school when she excelled, it was without the context she carried in her life here. The next in line. The princess. Magickal royalty. Blah. There, she’d just been another overachiever struggling with the realities of being in a room full of people just as smart, and in many cases, smarter, than she was. That sort of bumpy ride had been a novelty.
missed
law school? But in law school when she excelled, it was without the context she carried in her life here. The next in line. The princess. Magickal royalty. Blah. There, she’d just been another overachiever struggling with the realities of being in a room full of people just as smart, and in many cases, smarter, than she was. That sort of bumpy ride had been a novelty.
But this was her future and she took it seriously even if she had a stack of other things to do at the moment. Meriel really didn’t have the time for this assignment, but Clan Owen’s investigator, who also happened to be Meriel’s best friend, Nell, was still out on her honeymoon and wouldn’t be back for another few days.
Really, Gage, who was Nell’s second-in-command, would be a fine substitute. But as far as Edwina Owen was concerned, as the next in line to run Clan Owen, Meriel was expected to pick up the slack when necessary. Rather like working in the mail room or running the copiers, it trained in the overall running of the clan.
Whatever, at least she’d get out of her house for the evening instead of sitting around reading legal briefs or ordering a movie on demand and eating too many spring rolls.
Mmmm, spring rolls
…
Mmmm, spring rolls
…
The lull in sound meant her mother probably expected an answer and it was time to pay attention instead of thinking about fried carby goodness.
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