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       Praise for the Novels of J.R. Ward Writing as Jessica Bird

      ‘Jessica Bird gives us a romance of rare depth, humour and sensuality…’

       —RT Book Reviews on Beauty and the Black Sheep

      ‘Dramatic, edgy and intense, this story has a largerthan- life, dark hero who takes the sweet heroine (and the reader) to some exciting places.’

       —RT Book Reviews on His Comfort and Joy

      ‘Jessica Bird’s A Man in a Million features a largerthan- life, irresistible hero and an equally complex, intriguing heroine. Top-notch.’

       —RT Book Reviews

       Praise for No.1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward

      ‘Terrific…explosive…exciting… Ward has outdone herself.’

       —Publishers Weekly

      ‘Ward wields a commanding voice perfect for the genre… Hold on tight for an intriguing, adrenaline-pumping ride.’

       —Booklist

      ‘J.R. Ward has a great style of writing and she shines… You will lose yourself in this world.’

       —All About Romance on Dark Lover

       Also available

      WHEN YOU WALKED IN

      UNTIL YOU’RE MINE ME WITHOUT YOU

      The Perfect Distraction

      

      J. R. WARD

       Writing as Jessica Bird

      J.R. Ward is a No.1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of erotic paranormal romance. She lives in the outh with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. After graduating from law school, she began orking in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centres in the nation. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.

      Visit the J.R. Ward Message Boards or e-mail her at [email protected].

      With love to the better half of WriterDog

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Spike Moriarty raced down Park Avenue, legs pumping, arms swinging, black leather jacket flapping behind him in the night air. Big, in great shape and properly motivated, he was like an SUV tooling down the sidewalk. Oncoming pedestrians got out of the way.

      Damn, he was late.

      And this was no fifteen minute, margin-of-error kind of thing. This was a two-hour black hole of social impropriety.

      Usually the rules and regulations of polite behavior weren’t high on his priority list. He never went out of his way to offend people, but he wasn’t in bed with Emily Post, either. But tonight was different. Two of his favorite people were getting married and this was their engagement party. He was supposed to be helping the host and giving a little speech.

      Sean O’Banyon, master of ceremonies, was going to kill him. Good thing they were buddies. It might buy him a quick and easy end.

      Although it wasn’t as if he’d been dogging it on his couch. The drive from upstate New York to Manhattan had taken twice as long as it should have on account of a fiesta of automotive trouble.

      The kickoff had been an eighteen wheeler jackknifing on the Northway right in front of him. Fortunately, no one had been injured, but the semi fell over onto its side and shut down the southbound lanes entirely. Like everyone else, he’d been diverted to Route 9 and had become tangled in rural traffic.

      Tangled, that was, until he got nailed by an eighty-five-year-old man driving an ancient Pontiac. Then he’d been stopped dead in the road. Thank God only the Honda had been hurt, but then the real fun and games had begun.

      Local cops showed up. The pair of them took one look at Spike’s hair and his tattoos and ran everything but his jockey shorts through every criminal check they could find. They probably even called Interpol overseas. The two had seemed bitterly disappointed when they’d found no outstanding warrants or parole violations. And to work off the frustration at not getting to use the cuffs, they’d detained him at the side of the road for about two hours.

      By the time Spike finally made it back onto a highway, he knew he could kiss off any hope of making it to the party before the speeches started. Hell, he’d be lucky if he made it before folks left. After dropping a voice mail message at Sean’s, he’d had to resist the urge to red line the Honda’s speedometer. What stopped him was knowing that the last thing he needed was another run in with some badges.

      Once he’d made it to the city, he’d dumped the car in a lot and started hightailing it. For the middle of May, the night was blessedly cool and clear so at least he wasn’t going to look like a total mess when he arrived.

      Spike glanced at a street sign. Thank God. Only a couple more blocks to go. If he made good time, he figured he’d get to Sean’s before Alex and Cass—

      The taxi came out of nowhere. One minute Spike was shooting across 71st Street, the next he was looking the grill of a yellow Chevrolet right in the teeth. Years of physical conditioning gave him the reflexes and strength to yank his six-foot-four body out of the way. But he did bounce off the car before ending up on his ass in the street.

      The taxi skidded to a halt, and evidently the driver didn’t appreciate the assault on his hood ornament. He flipped the bird and hit the gas, kicking up some loose stones that pinged off Spike’s biker jacket.

      Much as he could have used a breather, he didn’t hang around resting on his laurels. One: there was no time, not even to swear a little. Two: the asphalt was hard. Three, and most important of all: he had on black clothes, because that’s all he ever wore, so he was indistinguishable from the street. He probably looked like an odd-shaped pothole.

      He bolted up and kept running, figuring he’d find out soon enough if anything hurt. When nothing howled, he went faster, letting the motion of his body clean any debris off his slacks.

      Finally, he saw Sean’s building up ahead. He shot under the red and tan awning, peeled back the glass door and headed right for the elevators.

      As he punched the Up button, a nasal voice cracked through the marble lobby. “Excuse me?”

      Spike turned around toward the receiving desk. The doorman he knew wasn’t on duty tonight. But Colonel Klink’s evil twin was. The guy was a dead ringer for the Hogan’s Heroes commandant, just

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