Dare centuries-old vampire Louis Redman believe an inquisitive researcher's claim that she's close to finding a cure for his age-old curse? Determined to become human again, he must trust the lovely geneticist who has pushed her way into his guarded life . . . and heart . . . not to betray him to the government agency that wants to uncover his secrets for their own purposes.
Scientist Stacy Kimball discovers potential fame and the answer to immortality in a murder victim's blood sample. But as she gets closer to the truth, danger stalks her from the shadows. Who wants to silence her from making the breakthrough of a lifetime? The agency that funds her work, the mysterious donor who threatens her emotions, or the killer who terrorizes Seattle's night scene?
"The best one yet! Combine a stand-out heroine with the sharp and sassy
writing style and you have a winner!"
- The Romance Journal
"Ms. Gideon is to vampire romance what Charles Goren is to bridge - definitely
a leader in her field and one of the very best at what she does. MIDNIGHT REDEEMER
is an excellent example of this lady's talent and imagination. I never put this
book down once I started it."
- ReadertoReader
"Five Stars! Reviewer's Choice Award! A powerful story of intrigue, hope
and love. More seductive than a vampire, her writing sucked me in - 'Page Turner'
isn't strong enough to reflect the pull!"
- Scribes World Reviews
"Vampire romance fans who have not discovered Nancy Gideon's marvelous
novels are in for a rare treat. This exciting thriller will keep you up all
night as Ms. Gideon weaves her spell. 4 ½ Stars-Exceptional!"
- Romantic Times
"Five Stars! An exhilarating supernatural love story. Fans will relish
this neck biter that turns state of the edge genetics, a serial killer, and
a cross species romance into a near perfect novel."
- Harriet Klausner, BookBrowser / Midwest Book Review
"Perfectly written, character driven plot well done and delivered with
a touch of irony. Place this one right on the keeper shelf!"
- Romance Reviews Today
What did they want from one anther?
For a human female, Stacy was difficult to read. She seemed to have mastered the usually easy to read mask of emotions that mortals wore so sloppily. She was stingy with her feelings, keeping them zealously close and out of his reach. A good thing, for he found himself all too vulnerable to her rare displays of heartache.
Though she didn't weep over this mother she had lost, the tears hovered near the surface, glimmering as her gaze shifted uncomfortably away, hanging heavy in the rough clearing of her throat that would deny sentiment's grip upon her. Such strength of purpose and compassion - an intriguing combination. He found he liked Stacy Kimball, the quixotic scientist with the brilliant mind made for discovery and a lush body fashioned for pleasure. A pleasure he could not afford to enjoy.
He got up suddenly. She jumped back, alarm stamped upon her expression like a passport destination.
"I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to startle you."
But he had.
Why did she fear him? Had she guessed the truth? Would her analytical mind let her investigate possibilities beyond the realm of reason? He didn't know whether to hope or worry. It had been so long, so very long since he'd shared his secret with someone of the regular world. The weight of it had grown so burdensome of late. What a relief it would be to release some of its crushing consequence. He sensed the strength to bear such a terrible knowledge in the graceful slope of Stacy's shoulders. But strength was not enough. Trust was tantamount.
Could he trust her with the truth? Could she help him without knowing the entire sordid tale?
Would her love of facts versus fiction keep her from fleeing him in terror? Would her rational intelligence allow her to accept without judgment? Could she been tempted with what he offered without been scared away by what he was?
Would she work with him toward a common goal if she got a glimpse of what he was?
He wished he knew. But such certainty could not be rushed no matter how desperate he was to confide all and go from there. Patience. Let her come to terms with the truth at her own pace. He knew she had suspicions and yet, still, she was here. She was no coward. And he found himself anxious to discover what else she was.
But not tonight.
Not tonight when he was looking at her as something other than a practical scientist.
"It is late," he announced abruptly. "You should go now."
It was already too late to contain the attraction. He should have known better than to arrange this intimate face to face. Across the phone lines, the temptation would not be so great. Through the receiver he could not sense her heat or scent her very humanity. With such impersonal distance between them, he wouldn't be thinking of how alone he'd been these last decades, of how fine it would feel to hold a woman in his arms again for a purpose other than that of sating his nightly hunger. He had other appetites, other cravings that suddenly stirred and demanded satisfaction. A yearning for the taste of a sweet kiss, the sound of a soulful sigh, the quickening of passion within a lover's embrace. He'd denied these things as dangerous but never deceived himself into believing them unimportant. He'd been human once, and a trace of that frailty yet lingered to eternally torment him. Though he chose a solitary life, it wasn't his preference. It was for his protection - protection of his way of life, of his sanity, of his heart. Of the three, his treacherous once human heart offered the most challenge and put up the greatest resistance to his plans.
He wouldn't care for Stacy Kimball. He could work with her, he could like her, but he could never, ever let himself get close to her. That would spell disaster for both of them.
She rose from the over-stuffed chair, leaning forward as she did to unconsciously present him with a glimpse of delightful bounty as the low, rounded neck of her sweater gapped away from her breasts. Warmth teased through him, through his belly, through his loins, exciting twin hungers both best ignored. Stacy was not here to fulfill fantasy or necessity. She was here to grant him a rare glimpse of hope, for that was all that kept him going in this newest, most optimistic millennia.
The hope of finding happiness and his lost humanity once again.
The spell Louis Redman cast over her sensibilities finally waned as she rode down in the elevator.
Stacy sagged back against the polished paneled wall and sighed in exasperation. She'd let opportunity slip away. She'd let him coax memories and motivations from her without revealing any of his own. She knew nothing more about him than she had while taking the ride up a scant hour ago. He'd never really answered any of her questions. How had she so completely lost control of her situation? Was it Redman and the lure of his masculine magnetism? Or was it her own sad state of affairs, or rather the lack thereof? If she couldn't rein in her raging hormones when around the man, how could she ever expect to learn anything?
He might well be a killer.
And it scared her to death when that sentiment failed to stir the proper amount of caution.
She would see him again. Not because she needed to know more but because she didn't want to stay away.
Return to Nancy's Home Paranormal Books Booklists
This
page is designed and maintained by The Literary
Times