Free The Warlock's Daughter by Jennifer Blake Page A

fear loving, or being loved.”
    She glanced up at Renfrey , and he down at her. They smiled together.
    “Yes, well ...” The older man said and cleared his throat of some apparent obstruction. “There is a manservant inside who needs occupation to calm his nerves. And I rather thought you might both be in need of sustenance to repair your strength. There is, you will remember, an excellent supper inside which should take care of both problems. Will you join me?”
    Renfrey looked down at Carita . “Shall we?”
    “If you like,” she answered, “though not, I think, in our current state of dress.”
    “Undress, I would have said,” her father corrected with a wicked twinkle in his eye as he rose to his feet. “I shall see you two in the dining room, then.”
    They were not particularly prompt, in spite of their manifold advantages. They decided to dress each other, and their mood, turning a little giddy, ran through several varieties of uniforms and national costumes, fabrics and modes of decoration. And it was necessary, naturally, to snatch a kiss or a touch between each change—or to change in order to have an excuse for it. They settled at last, however, on the same clothing they had so rashly discarded earlier.
    They were mounting the steps toward the vestibule, hand in hand, when Renfrey stopped. His face serious, though his eyes were not, he said, “Pity the poor mortals. They can never know what we have found.”
    She looked into his mind, caressed it, and left her own half-mortal impression. Her smile was generous, tantalizing.
    “Can't they?” she said.
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~ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ~
     
    Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre,” an “icon of the romance industry,” and a “ grande dame of romance.”   A New York Times and international best-selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA and Affaire de Coeur Halls of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including the “Maggie,” the Holt Medallion, multiple Reviewer’s Choice awards, the Career Achievement Award from RT BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence.   She has written 65 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide. Jennifer and her husband live on a lake in northern Louisiana.
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    To find out more about Jennifer’s award-winning books and to purchase direct from your favorite outlet, see the Steel Magnolia Press website at www.steelmagnoliapress.com .
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    Subscribe to Fresh Leaves , the Steel Magnolia Press newsletter, to be notified of new releases and subscriber-only specials: http://eepurl.com/gCgrX .
    (You can also subscribe from the Steel Magnolia Press website.)
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    Jennifer would love to hear from you! Other places to connect with her:
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    Twitter: @JenniferBlake01
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    Historical Romance by Jennifer Blake
SAMPLE
     
    ~ CHAPTER 1 ~
     
    To have the Dark Angel appear at the ball was a stupendous honor. It was no more than a country cotillion, after all, this being the summer season when everyone retreated from pest-ridden New Orleans to the more healthful air of their upland plantations. More important, Lucien Roquelaire , the premier duelist whose deadly skill had given him his title, was known to avoid such mild entertainments.
    Anne-Marie Decoulet watched the arrival of this exalted guest from her corner seat half hidden behind a gilded and silent harp. She had never met the Dark Angel personally but knew him on sight. Invited everywhere due to his social standing and devastatingly handsome appearance, he cut a wide swath through the city during the festive winter season. Fluttering feminine hearts and shattered male egos littered his path like rose petals before a conquering hero. It would