Sherrilyn Kenyon
 Seize the Night
Dark Hunter novel # 7

Hail, Glorious Reader:

I was born the noble son of a legendary Roman senator. I walked through the ancient world as a general, admired and supreme until a brutal betrayal caused me to bargain my soul. Now I'm an immortan Dark-Hunter, bound to protect mankind from the evil scourge that haunts it. Over the centuries, I've seen many frightening thinds: plagues, pestilence, disco music...

And now, Tabitha Devereaux. A human, she has trained herself to fight vampires every bit as capably as any Dark-Hunter. Idiosyncratic and off-beat, she is my personal bane - and yet she beguiles me. There are only two small problems. She happens to be the twin of my mortal enemy's wife. More than that, Tabitha and her sister are being stalked by a power that will not rest until everyone she holds dear is dead.

Unlike any Dark Hunter brethren, I rely on no one but myself. Theiy spurned me and I turned my back on them. But the only way to save Tabitha and her family is to find some way to bridge a two-thousand-year-old feud.

They say opposite attract, but can they stay together when even the Fates conspire to keep them apart? Then again, the Fates have never dealt with the likes of Tabitha Devereaux before. They're going to be in for quite a fight...

Valerius Magnus

 

(...) -Who are you? - he asked in a suspicious tone.
- Tabitha Devereaux - she said.
- Are you a Squire? -
- No -
- Then how do you know... -
- I'm a friend of Acheron's -
His anger snapped at that. -You're lying - He stood up suddenly, then hissed as he realized he was completely naked. Tabitha bit her lip to keep from moaning at the sight of all that luscious skin bared. She had to give the Dark-Hunters credit, they were all incredibly well built. Valerius grabbed the sheet from her bed and covered himself - Where are my clothes? - he asked in the most disdainful voice she'd ever heard.
No wonder Nick and the others had a hard time with him. Arrogance and supreme superiority bled from every molecule of that masculine body. It was obvious Valerius was a man used to giving orders, which made sense since she knew he had once been a Roman general. Unfortunately, Tabitha wasn't used to following anyone's orders, especially not a man's.
- Keep your shirt on - she said with a laugh at her bad joke - Your clothes are at the laundry. They'll deliver them as soon as they're ready -
- And in the meantime? - 
- Look like you're naked - 
His jaw worked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing - I beg your pardon? -
- Beg all you want, you're still going to be naked - Tabitha paused at the wicked image in her mind - Come to think of it, a gorgeous, begging, naked man... that's the stuff of fantasies. Begging won't get you your clothes, but it could get you somthing else - she wiggled her eyebrows at him.
His fist tightened on the sheet he held around his waist. She could sense that he was both offended and yet oddly amused by her.
She cocked her head at him - You know, you are Roman. You could just make a toga out of the bedsheet -  (...)