Bedeviled Angel (40 page)

"I am Rose of Valinor and I am fleeing for my life. Venya and Valinor were allies for many years and the breaking of that alliance is something I regret with all my heart. Venyans have ever acted with honor toward my people; for that I dare appeal to you to help me to Sorlain."

Yes. That was it. Calm, dignified, yet spirited—if only she could remember it. She drew a breath and closed her eyes.

"Your Highness," she murmured. "I am Rose of Valinor and—and—oh, bloody hell, I've forgotten it already. Where in blazes is he?"

"I'm sorry?"

Her head whipped toward the clerk. "Listen, can you possibly hurry things up a bit? I haven't got all day."

"Nor have I. Your pardon, lady, but the letter could not wait."

For a clerk, his voice was oddly cultured, the words tinged with an accent she could not quite define.

He stood and stepped from behind the writing table. He was clad entirely in black, but now that she saw him fully, she could not call it sober. His flowing shirt was unlaced halfway down his chest and tucked into a pair of sable breeches that clung to the hard muscles of his thighs. Bare feet were silent on the wooden floor as he approached.

This is no mere clerk
, she thought uneasily. He must be one of the prince's men.

She swallowed hard and sat a little straighten The Prince of Venya might commit acts of piracy, but he had been driven to such desperate measures by cruel necessity. At heart, he was no pirate, but a nobleman. What she had not considered was that his crew—even his clerk—would be the real thing.

A thin white scar, very prominent against his sun-bronzed skin, ran down one cheek; another through an eyebrow. A gold ring glittered in his ear. Looking into that hard young face, Rose sensed instinctively that this man knew more about survival than she could ever hope to learn.

Or wanted to.

She swallowed hard and stood, taking a step back as he continued to advance.

The stool overturned with a small clatter that she barely noticed. Another step and her back was to the wall.

"I suppose an introduction is in order," he said, sweeping her a bow that no courtier could have bettered for its grace. There was nothing of the humble clerk about him now. How could she have ever been so blind as to mistake this man for a servant?

Stupid, credulous fool
, she raged at herself,
they never meant for me to see the
prince at all. I have been tricked, trapped… and sold? Oh, Jehan, not that, not
sold. Not me
! But why not her? It happened every day, women carried off by pirates and never seen again.
At least now I'll know what becomes of them
, she thought.

She almost laughed, but the sound tangled in her throat and came out as a gasping sob.

She shot a desperate glance toward the door, praying that even now the prince would walk in and rescue her. But that hope died when the pirate spoke again.

"Rorian of Venya at your service."

BERKLEY SENSATION

COMING IN NOVEMBER

Miss Fortune
by Julia London

The third book in the Lear sisters trilogy, in which the last of the sisters must get her head out of the clouds and her feet on the ground to find love in order to fulfill her father's last dying wish.

The Demon's Daughter

by Emma Holly

Inspector Adrian Philips' job is to keep the peace

between humans and demons, and he's hated by both

sides. But when he meets Roxanne, a fellow outcast,

he will risk everything for a dangerous love.

Arouse Suspicion
by Maureen McKade

Ex-cop Danni Hawkins must come to terms with her father's murder and, along with the help of an ex-Army Ranger, she must track the path to a brutal murderer.

The Prince
by Elizabeth Minogue

Prince Florian wants only to reclaim his throne. But when he is forced to help Rose of Valinor, he finds the last thing he ever expected—love.

Available wherever books are sold or at www.penguin.com