Assassin's Heart
(Order of the Sicari #2)
by Monica Burns
Blurb:
Can the truth of the soul Conquer the pain of its ancient past.
Unlike other Sicari, Lysander Condellaire has telepathic and telekinetic powers. Not until the night a Praetorian tortured him and left him for dead did he understand why. Now, the half-angelic, half-demonic face he sees in the mirror is a reminder of the monster he must keep hidden or face expulsion from the order of assassins known as the Sicari. But his dreams of ancient Rome hint at a destiny difficult to accept, especially when it involves the woman he loves, but can never have.
A gifted healer in the Order, Phaedra DeLuca witnessed her mother’s murder when she was a little girl. The haunting memory makes her loathe everything Praetorian. When she travels to Rome in search of an ancient artifact, she must work alongside a man who once cruelly rejected her love and healing touch. But her dreams of ancient Rome tell of an irreversible and possibly dangerous future. For the distant past and present are about to collide–with the one man she is destined to love.
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Excerpts
Phaedra made
a soft noise and a moment later, he sprang to his feet as she screamed and shot
upright in bed. He reached her in two quick strides and sank down onto the bed
then pulled her into his arms. She was shaking so badly her teeth were
chattering. He didn’t say anything, he just held her. As her trembling slowly
subsided, she raised her head off his chest to look up at him.
“Better?” He
eyed her carefully as she raked her fingers through her hair and nodded. “Then
back into bed.”
“You’ll
stay?”
“I’m not
going anywhere for the moment.”
She slipped
back under the covers and turned her back to him. Quietly, he returned to his
chair and waited for her to fall asleep again. Every minute or two, she’d turn
over in bed in an effort to achieve a more comfortable position. After about fifteen
minutes, she sat up and sent him a pleading look.
“I know it’s
a lot to ask . . . considering the way things are between us, but would you
mind holding me until I go to sleep?” The request made him go still as a
statue, and she immediately cringed with embarrassment. She waved her hand in
dismissal. “It’s okay. Never mind.”
Frozen in
his chair, he watched her fall back onto the mattress and turn her back on him.
Fotte, he needed to have his head
examined for what he was about to do. Despite the warning going off in the back
of his mind, he removed his boots and went to join her on the bed. She jerked
her head to look over her shoulder as his weight shifted the mattress, and the
gratitude in her beautiful brown eyes swelled his heart.
Cautiously,
he stretched out beside her and pulled her backside into his chest. The minute
his arms wrapped around her, it was as if she’d never left his side. Her warmth
pushed its way through his clothing until it penetrated his skin. Holding her
like this was like walking into a burning building. There was no way he was
going to come out unscathed.
Suddenly, a strong hand gripped her wrist,
and in less than a second, he’d pulled her to her feet. Stark need tightened
his features, but he released her and turned away. A wave of fury crashed over
her, and she drew in a sharp hiss of air. The son of a bitch didn’t have the
courage to love her, even though she knew he wanted to.
Every fiber in the man’s body was drawn to
her, and he didn’t have the guts to admit it. A growl rumbled out of him as he
slowly turned to face her. Her gaze flitted from the horrible disfigurement of
his demonic side to his angelic profile, which was drawn up hard with anger.
She glared at him.
“What?” she said angrily.
He didn’t answer her. Instead, he stepped
back into her, his fingers slipping between her breasts to the fragile strip of
material holding her bra cups together. The touch made her gasp, and she was
suddenly aware of the cool air on her shoulders. She’d been so determined to
chew him out that she’d forgotten she wasn’t wearing a shirt.
The heat of his fingers pressed against her
skin, and with a sharp tug, his fingers broke the bra, the cups sliding off her
breasts to expose her completely. Her immediate reaction was to cover herself.
She’d been expecting him to pull her toward him, not undress her.
At least not yet.
She reached out with her senses and caught
the faintest whisper of something dark. It was a part of him, and yet she could
tell he fought it constantly. Surprised by it, she retreated from him until her
back was against the wall. A savage look tightened his ravaged profile, and his
unmarred side reflected an emotion she couldn’t describe.
Invisible hands caught her wrists and pulled
them up over her head to pin them to the wall. She drew in a quick breath of
surprise but didn’t take her eyes off his face. The terrible emotion he was
struggling with wouldn’t win, she was certain of it. He would never hurt her.
His features darkened, and he moved forward to brush his mouth over her
shoulder. A primitive noise rumbled out of him.
“Is this what you want, Phaedra? A half man,
half monster?”
With a turn of his head, he gave her a
magnified view of his horribly scarred face. There was no eye patch to hide the
eyelid sealed shut over the indentation where his eye had once been. From his
scalp to his jaw, the twisted flesh was there for her to see in all its glory.
His marred flesh broke her heart, not because of what he looked like, but
because of the bleak note in his voice. His pain was deep. So far down, she
wondered if her love was strong enough to help heal his spirit.
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Order of the Sicari Series
Assassin's Honor
(Order of the Sicari #1)
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About the Author
Monica Burns is a bestselling author of spicy historical and paranormal romance. She penned her first romance at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. Her historical book awards include the 2011 RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice Award and the 2012 Gayle Wilson Heart of Excellence Award for Pleasure Me.
She is also the recipient of the prestigious paranormal romance award, the 2011 PRISM Best of the Best award for Assassin’s Heart. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica is a survivor who believes every hero and heroine deserves a HEA (Happily Ever After), especially if she’s writing the story.
You can find Monica at
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