Free NocC 026 - Lauren Hawkeye - The Darkling's Desire - Harlequin 2012-11 by Nocturne Page A

weeks.
    Jasper had different talents. Trained as a soldier, a veteran
of World War II, he had quickly shown an aptitude for uncovering hidden
information—things that others did not want known. His current mission was the
same—gather information and report back.
    He was very good at what he did. But nothing in his long memory
clicked with the creature huddled on the damp ground. He peered through the fine
mist, could now see the strands of dark hair clinging to rosy cheeks. It was a
woman.
    Because the Witchling doctor’s schedule at the hospital had
become erratic since his turning, Jasper had thought it more expedient to stake
out the place of employ of the doctor’s lady love. Aubrey Hart was a doctor
herself, but as a fairly newly turned Darkling, she had chosen a new path…away
from the constant scent of blood, he assumed, and wisely so.
    He well remembered the thirst he’d experienced as a newborn. He
assumed that she was working at Esme’s store in exchange for guidance through
her difficult transition. Though Esme was human, she knew more about the
supernatural than even many old vampires did.
    The newly born Aubrey was classified as a rogue Darkling, one
who had bucked the council’s orders. A salesperson in a magic shop was a curious
choice for someone with the balls to go against the council.
    Pulling a strip of the bark from the tree to worry with his
fingers, he wondered what would become of her. There weren’t many who disobeyed
the Karpaty Council and lived to tell stories about it.
    Jasper also wondered about the fate of the woman below him. If
she detected his presence, she would be an encumbrance to his mission. And he
would have to kill her. He didn’t like killing. He’d done it—he was a Darkling,
after all, as well as a soldier—but he regretted every life he’d been forced to
take.
    Watching the woman now, he was almost inclined to think that
she was just a human, one with a very slow metabolism, but both her slender
frame and her focused stillness discouraged that notion.
    No, she was more than human. He was sure of it. And if she was
here, in the exact spot as he, he would have bet that her purpose had something
to do with either the doctor or his Darkling.
    Since he was here to monitor the Witchling, then she must be
here for the Darkling. His ego was large enough not to even consider that the
council would send someone else on his mission. His curiosity was piqued. He had
heard talk of a group of women who lived in the mountains outside of Lviv and
were trained to hunt and kill the rogue Darklings. He was aware now that a
former lover of his had been one, though he hadn’t known at the time.
    Not that it would have changed anything between them.
    The reams of information swirling in his busy mind told him
that this must be who this woman was—an Amazon warrior. But under his intense
scrutiny he saw that she shifted slightly in her crouch, clearly uncomfortable
from holding the posture. Her hand lifted to tuck an errant strand of
liquorice-black hair behind her ear before darting back down to her lap, as if
someone has verbally reminded her not to fidget.
    She was either very new at this job, or not very good at
it—Amazons were rumoured to possess a fierceness to rival that of his own
species. This was the being that had been sent to
take care of the Darkling? His brow furrowed as he tried to work through the
puzzle.
    The tinkle of a light as fairy dust bell rang out across the
breeze, followed by the distinct sound of a heavy door opening and closing. A
very human woman with long scraggly hair that belonged in another decade, and
floral printed clothing to match, exited the magic store and walked away down
the street, her unseasonal sandals slapping against the soles of her feet as she
moved.
    The noise jolted Jasper out of his reverie. He was here to
gather information. The shop was now empty, the Darkling alone inside. The
workday was drawing to a close, and Jasper suspected that