Lara Adrian - Taken by Midnight

PRAISE FOR
LARA ADRIANS
MIDNIGHT BREED SERIES

SHADES OF MIDNIGHT

[Lara Adrian] once again serves up a blockbuster hit. With a fast-paced tale of romantic suspense and intense and realistic characters Lara Adrian compels readers to get hooked on her storylines, and thats why Shades of Midnight deserves a Perfect 10.
Romance Reviews Today

[A] rapid fire story Besides delivering wonderful paranormal romances, the Midnight Breed series also continues to add complexity. A twist at the end could prove quite interesting. This is time well spent!
Romantic Times

ASHES OF MIDNIGHT

Ashes of Midnight will scorch its way into your heart.
Romance Junkies

Lara Adrian continues to kick butt with her latest release. Ashes of Midnight is an entertaining ride and as usual kept me riveted from page one.
The Romance Reader Connection

VEIL OF MIDNIGHT

Adrians newest heroine has a backbone of pure steel. Rapid-pace adventures deliver equal quantities of supernatural thrills and high-impact passion. This is one of the best vampire series on the market!
Romantic Times

Veil of Midnight will enthrall you and leave you breathless for more.
Wild on Books

MIDNIGHT RISING

Fans are in for a treat. Ms. Adrian has a gift for drawing her readers deeper and deeper into the amazing world she creates. I eagerly await the next installment of this entertaining series!
Fresh Fiction

Packed with danger and action, this book also explores the tumultuous emotions of guilt, anger, betrayal and forgiveness. Adrian has hit on an unbeatable story mix.
Romantic Times

MIDNIGHT AWAKENING

This is one of the best paranormal series around. Compelling characters and good world-building make this a must-read series.
Fresh Fiction

One of the Top 10 Best Romance Novels of 2007.
Selected by the Editors at Amazon.com

Ms. Adrians series just gets better and better. Midnight Awakening was exactly what I hoped it would be then so much more. Im intrigued and without a doubt completely hooked.
Romance Junkies

Vengeance is the driving force behind this entry in the intense Midnight Breed series. Things look bad for the characters, but for the readers its nothing but net!
Romantic Times

KISS OF CRIMSON

Vibrant writing heightens the suspense, and hidden secrets provide many twists. This dark and steamy tale is a winner and will have readers eager for the next Midnight Breed story.
Romance Reviews Today

Hot sensuality with emotional drama and high-stakes danger [Adrian] ensures that her latest is terrific supernatural entertainment.
Romantic Times

[Adrian] pens hot erotic scenes and vivid action sequences.
The Romance Reader

KISS OF MIDNIGHT

Evocative, enticing, erotic. Enter Lara Adrians vampire world and be enchanted!
J. R. Ward, bestselling author

Kiss of Midnight is dark, edgy and passionate, an irresistible vampire romance.
Chicago Tribune

Lara Adrian delivers a fast-paced, sexy romantic suspense that stands above the rest. A gripping, sensual love story.
The Romance Reader

Gritty and dangerous, this terrific launch book sets up an alternate reality filled with treachery and loss. The Midnight Breed series is poised to deliver outstanding supernatural thrills.
Romantic Times

Also by Lara Adrian

KISS OF MIDNIGHT

KISS OF CRIMSON

MIDNIGHT AWAKENING

MIDNIGHT RISING

VEIL OF MIDNIGHT

ASHES OF MIDNIGHT

SHADES OF MIDNIGHT

Taken by Midnight is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Dell Mass Market Original

Copyright 2010 by Lara Adrian, LLC
Excerpt of Deeper Than Midnight 2010 by Lara Adrian, LLC

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of The Random House

Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

DELL is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

eISBN: 978-0-440-33968-7

www.bantamdell.com

v3.1

To Heather Rogers,
for being awesome

With each book I write, I am reminded how fortunate I am to be working with so many talented, conscientious people who comprise my publishing and literary representation teams, both in the United States and abroad. Thank you very much for everything you do. Its a privilege to be working with all of you.

Special thanks to my home team for basic care and feeding, and for handling all the countless things that tend to slip while Im happily immersed in my writing. I couldnt do this without your love and support.

And to my readers, a debt of gratitude for embracing my characters and for honoring me with the gift of your time and friendship whenever you sit down to read one of my books. I hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

L ife or death?

The words drifted at her through the darkness. Detached syllables. The rough scrape of a flat, airless voice that reached into the heavy drowse of her mind and forced her to come awake, to listen. To make a choice.

Life?

Or death?

She groaned against the cold plank floor beneath her cheek, trying to bar the voiceand the relentless decision it demandedfrom her mind. This wasnt the first time shed heard these words, this question. Not the first time in the space of some endless hours that shed peeled one heavy eyelid open in the frigid stillness of her cabin home and found herself looking into the terrible face of a monster.

Vampire.

Choose, the creature whispered thinly, the word drawn out in a slow hiss. He crouched over her where she lay, curled and shivering on the floor near the cold fireplace. His fangs glistened in the moonlight, razor sharp, lethal. The tips of them were still stained with fresh bloodher blood, drawn from the bite hed made in her throat only moments before.

She tried to get up, but couldnt rouse her weakened muscles to so much as flex in response. She tried to speak, managed only a rasping moan. Her throat felt as dry as ash, her tongue thick and listless in her mouth.

Outside, the Alaskan winter roared, bitter and unforgiving, filling her ears. No one to hear her screams, even if shed tried.

This creature could kill her in an instant. She didnt know why he hadnt. She didnt know why he kept pressing her for the answer to a question she had been asking herself nearly every day of her life for the past four years.