The Mystery Woman (Ladies of Lantern Str - By Amanda Quick Page 0,107

in life.”

“I am well aware of that.” Joshua finished undressing, turned down the lamp and got into bed beside her. He gathered her close against him. “For example, I certainly never anticipated you, my love. I broke most of my rules because of you.”

She savored the heat in his eyes. “Just most of the rules? Not all?”

“No, not all.”

He brushed his mouth across hers and wrapped one powerful hand around her hip.

She felt the energy of joy and love and passion welling up inside her but she pulled back an inch or so and put her fingers on his mouth to stop him from deepening the kiss.

“Wait,” she said. “I have to know which rule you did not break.”

He smiled at her there in the moonlight, love heating his eyes. “The one that states that simply because something cannot be explained, it does not follow that it does not exist.”

“Good heavens, sir, are you telling me that you have at last come to believe in the existence of the paranormal?”

“I will not go that far,” he said. “But I promise you that I do believe in love. And I will love you always and forever.”

She remembered what Abigail and Sara had said about him the night she told them about her encounter with Mr. Smith’s mysterious Messenger—Anyone who had dealings with him knew that if he made a promise, that promise would be kept.

She touched the side of Joshua’s scarred face with her fingertips. “That will do for now.”

He covered her mouth with his own. The promise was there in his searing kiss. Always and forever.

Joshua might not be convinced that love was a form of paranormal energy, but he was capable of love, and he loved her as much as she loved him. That was more than enough for tonight.

More than enough for a lifetime.

From

DECEPTION COVE

By

JAYNE CASTLE

A NOTE FROM JAYNE

Welcome back to Rainshadow Island on the world of Harmony.

In the Rainshadow novels you will meet the passionate men and women who are drawn to this remote island in the Amber Sea. You will get to know their friends and neighbors in the small town of Shadow Bay.

Everyone on Rainshadow has a past; everyone has secrets. But none of those secrets is as dangerous as the ancient mystery concealed inside the paranormal fence that guards the forbidden territory of the island known as the Preserve.

The secrets of the Preserve have been locked away for centuries. But now something dangerous is stirring . . .

One

The two low-rent thugs were waiting for Alice when she left the darkened theater through the stage door. She sensed their presence as soon as she started walking toward the street. They were hiding behind the large garbage bin in the middle of the alley. They were not the subtle type.

“I do not have time for this,” she said to the dust bunny perched on her shoulder.

Houdini chortled enthusiastically and bounced a little. At first glance he looked like a large wad of dryer lint that had been decorated with six paws and two baby-blue eyes. He had a second set of eyes—they were a very feral shade of amber—but he only opened them for hunting and other violent activities. He was still wearing the elegant red satin bowtie that Alice had put on him for the night’s performance of the Alien Illusions Magic Show.

A born ham, Houdini adored the limelight. He was always up for a performance. Somehow he sensed that they were about to give one here in the alley. True, it would be for an audience of two and neither of the lowlifes had purchased a ticket, but he wasn’t particular about the size of the crowd and the concept of money was lost on him. He took a more pragmatic approach to finances. Pizza worked for him.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Alice said. “We’ve got an empty refrigerator waiting back at the apartment and a mean landlord who will be expecting the rent tomorrow, remember?”

She did not have the money for the rent. The Alien Illusions Magic Show had folded without notice tonight. That kind of thing happened in show business, but in this case she was pretty sure she knew why the owner of the theater had cancelled all future productions. He had been bribed to dump the act.

She was now towing a wheeled suitcase crammed with costumes, wigs, stage makeup, and everything else she had been able to salvage from her tiny dressing room. A large blue tote filled with props