Burning Up
Authors: Angela Knight,Nalini Singh,Virginia Kantra,Meljean Brook
Tags: #Romance, #Fantasy, #Fiction, #General, #Short Stories, #Paranormal, #Anthologies (Multiple Authors), #Paranormal Romance Stories, #Paranormal Romance Stories; American
Table of Contents
BLOOD AND ROSES - Angela Knight
SHIFTING SEA - Virginia Kantra
HERE THERE BE MONSTERS - Meljean Brook
PRAISE FOR THE
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLING AUTHORS
Angela Knight
“Wild rides and pages that sizzle in your hand.”
—J. R. Ward, New York Times bestselling author
“Powerful romantic suspense . . . Hot enough to burn.”
—Romance Reviews Today
Nalini Singh
“Craving the passionate and electrifying world created by the mega-talented Singh? Your next fix is here! Original and thrilling . . . Mind-blowing!”
—Romantic Times
“Paranormal romance at its best.”
—Publishers Weekly
Virginia Kantra
“Virginia Kantra delivers intense paranormal suspense and intense romance. A perfect combination.”
—Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
“Lush writing, vivid descriptions, and smoldering sensuality.”
—Romance Novel TV
Meljean Brook
“A read that goes down hot and sweet—utterly unique—and one hell of a ride.”
—Marjorie M. Liu, New York Times bestselling author
“Meljean Brook . . . turns up the heat.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“[Brook] is truly one of the best voices out there. Sexy, exciting . . . A dark and sultry world.”
—Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author
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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.
BURNING UP
A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the authors
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / August 2010
Copyright © 2010 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
“Whisper of Sin” by Nalini Singh copyright © 2010 by Nalini Singh.
“Blood and Roses” by Angela Knight copyright © 2010 by Julie Woodcock.
“Shifting Sea” by Virginia Kantra copyright © 2010 by Virginia Kantra.
“Here There Be Monsters” by Meljean Brook copyright © 2010 by Melissa Khan.
Excerpt from
Immortal Sea
by Virginia Kantra copyright © by Virginia Kantra.
Excerpt from
The Iron Duke
by Meljean Brook copyright © by Melissa Khan.
All rights reserved.
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eISBN : 978-1-101-18922-1
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WHISPER OF SIN
Nalini Singh
To May, Jennifer, and Kay ~ I couldn’t have asked
for better friends!
The San Francisco Gazette
August 2, 2072
CITY BEAT
Trouble in Chinatown?
Enforcement is refusing to either confirm or deny the rumors of a new organized crime family in the city. The word on the street is that this gang—known by the black “V” they scrawl at the locations of their crimes—intends to take over all illegal operations within San Francisco. So far, V has concentrated its efforts in Chinatown, but our sources say they plan to spread out across the greater Bay area.
Smith Jenson, the telepath who acts as PR manager for local government, has publicly stated that the threat from V is negligible. We beg to disagree. While Psy like Mr. Jenson and his colleagues stay safe in their high-rise apartments, humans and changelings on the ground are beginning to feel the effects of this new threat. There have been no deaths yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
This reporter believes local government needs to step up to the plate. If they don’t, San Francisco might just slip out of their grasp.
ONE
H
er hose was shredded, Ria thought, staring uncomprehendingly at the bottoms of her feet. Where were her shoes? Lost somewhere in the alley where that bastard had tried to rape her as “down payment” on the protection money her family refused to pay.
Something fluttered over her shoulders and was tucked around her, warm and thick. A blanket. She gripped it tight, then winced as her bloodied palms made contact with the wool. Her hands spasmed open. Released, the blanket began to slide to the floor of the large paramedic van.
“I’ve got you.” Following the deep voice, she blinked into a face she didn’t know. The changeling who’d thrown her attacker against the wall had been blond and blue-eyed, reminding her of the cocky youth of her younger brother, Ken. This man . . . he was hewn out of rougher material, his jaw shadowed, his eyes the rich amber shade of aged whiskey, his hair thick and dark, a hundred shades of brown and gold intertwined. “Come on, sweetheart, speak to me.”
She swallowed, tried to find words but they lost their way in the chaos of her brain, leaving her dumb. Instead, her mind filled with the terror of the lifetime she’d spent in that alley only minutes from her family home, in one of the streets surrounding the bustle of Chinatown. It had taken mere seconds for everything to change. One moment she was smiling, and the next, her excitement at finishing her final night class had given way to pain and shock as he hit and pawed—
A smooth burst of Mandarin, so unexpected, so welcome that it broke through the haze of pain and fear. She looked up again, astonished. This man, this stranger was speaking to her in the language of her grandmother, asking her if she was okay. She nodded, found the words to say, “I speak English.” She rarely had to say that. Unlike her half-Caucasian mother, Ria had inherited little from her grandmother but her bones. Her hair was stick-straight, but a dark brown instead of jet black. Her eyes were faintly almond-shaped, but only if someone was really looking. She’d gotten the majority of her features from her brown-haired, brown-eyed All-American father.
“What’s your name, darling?” A hand cupping her cheek.
She flinched, but this hand, though big, was gentle. And patient. She relaxed into the warmth after long minutes, reassured by the calluses that spoke of a man accustomed to working with his hands. “Ria. Who are you?”
“Emmett,” he said, his voice holding nothing of laughter. “And I’m in charge of you.”
Her brow furrowed, the real Ria fighting her way through the fog of shock. “Who’re you to be in charge of me?”