Amanda Ashley - Midnight Pleasures

"What the bloody hell," her uncle whispered, still backing from Sterling. "What have you gotten yourself involved with, Elise?"

Sterling was still enough of a man to register her uncle's words, because he glanced at Elise, sudden hurt shining within the glowing depths of his eyes.

"The man I love," she answered. "Regardless of what he is." She glanced around to include the troupe members. "A man we all love."

"He's a monster," her uncle croaked.

Sterling's teeth had become pointed and now hair covered his cheeks, but Elise felt no fear of him. "No, Uncle, you're the monster. You have no heart. You care for no one save yourself. It is the heart and the ability to love that makes us human."

Elise expected the pain to rip through Sterling as it had the last time she saw him change, but the transformation came within the blink of an eye. She supposed because he did not fight it, but seemed to embrace it under the circumstances. His clothes fell away and the great wolf appeared in his place.

The beast bared his fangs and stalked toward her uncle. Elise knew Sterling's intent. He planned to rid them of Lord Collins once and for all. Her uncle had backed up until he'd tripped over his own feet and lay in the dirt. He clutched his chest, gasping for breath, his eyes huge.

Elise stepped between them, the man she loved and the uncle who had raised her. "No, Sterling," she said. "He has no heart, but I do. I cannot allow you to kill him. He is my flesh and blood, my father's brother, and out of love for one man, I must ask you to spare this one."

The wolf with Sterling's eyes stared at her for a moment, glanced at her uncle, and growled again, but made no move toward the fallen man.

"Leave while you can," Elise instructed her uncle. "And never come looking for me again. Next time, I may not have the heart to stop him."

Her uncle needed no further prodding. He was up and running for his coach in an instant. Elise watched him go, saddened that their relationship could not have been more than it was. The coach drove away at breakneck speed. She felt certain that she would never see her uncle again.

The wolf stood staring at her. Elise didn't know if Sterling understood her while in animal form, but she said, "Go now into the night, but come daylight, return to us. We love you. I love you."

For a brief moment, their eyes held and Elise felt that Sterling could understand her; then he was gone. An arm went around her waist and she glanced down at Dawn.

"He'll come back," she said, then motioned for her parents to join them, and the girl slipped an arm around her mother's small shoulders. They formed a circle, the ragtag group of misfits. They stayed that way for a long time; then, as if all understood that, due to the night's events, they could not stay, they began to pack up their wagons.

Morning broke in a display of pink and purple, a glorious day to be alive and traveling the road. Elise stood by the wagon, her insides twisted, heart pounding. She stared at the woods, silently praying.

The other members joined her. A blond head appeared, a man wearing the clothing Elise had left in the woods for him. He glanced up at them and smiled; then his eyes found hers and his smile widened.

"Hurry it up, Beast Tamer!" Philip boomed in his big voice. "We need to get down the road!"

Raja and Leena both growled a greeting to the approaching man. Elise felt that the cats had come to accept their changed master, even as the troupe had come to accept him. Nowhere on earth could Sterling fit in among humanity more than with his troupe of misfits. The others melted away, and then it was only Elise and Sterling, staring into each other's eyes.

"Have you come home?" Elise asked.

Sterling reached forward and pulled her to him. "If a man can love and be loved in return while cursed, is he really cursed at all?"

She smiled up at him. "I would say we are blessed. Few find what we have found together."

"Will you stay with me, Elise? Be my love? Be my life?'

In answer, she leaned forward, brushing her lips over his. "Yes, Sterling," she whispered. "I will have you by my side until we are old, and I will have my adventures, and then some."

Theirs lips met, sealing the bargain.

Madeline Baker (a.k.a. Amanda Ashley) is one of those rare birds—a California native. She's lived in Southern California her whole life and loves it. She married her high school sweetheart, and they have three sons, all handsome enough to be cover models. Writing as Madeline Baker and Amanda Ashley, she has published 40 books and 8 short stories.

USA Today bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is the author of several series including The Dark-Hunters, Brotherhood of the Sword, The MacAllisters, Sex Camp Diaries and BAD Boys . Her novel Fantasy Lover was voted as one of the Top Ten Romances of 2002 by Romance Writers of America. You can find her online at Dark-Hunter.com or SherrilynKenyon.com.

Maggie Shayne is a Wiccan High Priestess, a bestselling author of more than 30 novels, a seven-time RITA Award nominee, and the author of Thicker Than Water , a romantic suspense novel on sale now. Visit her on the Web at www.maggieshayne.com.

Ronda Thompson is a multi-published author who makes her home in Texas. Ronda loves to hear from readers. Visit Ms. Thompson at www.rondathompson.com or drop her an e-mail at ronda@rondathompson.com.