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The Darkest Seduction
Gena Showalter
Paris – Darkest Lord of the Underworld Immortal warrior Paris is irresistible – yet this comes at a terrible price.Possessed by a depraved demon, he must seduce someone new every night, or die. But the one woman he craves has never truly been his. Sienna, possessed by the demon of Wrath, is compelled to punish everyone around her.Yet in Paris’s arms she finds peace and insatiable desire.As Paris and Sienna’s bond grows it reignites a blood feud between ancient enemies. With battle raging between gods, angels and demons, Paris and Sienna must fight a supernatural war that could destroy their love.
Dear Readers,
At long last, I’m pleased to bring you the story of Paris, keeper of the demon of Promiscuity. Yes, I finally feel like I’ve tortured him enough. After all, since the LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD were first introduced, Paris has:
1) Lost the only woman he was able to bed more than once
2) Given up his chance to find her by choosing to save one of his friends instead
3) Formed an addiction to an illicit substance
4) Choked out any light of goodness inside himself
5) Turned into a war/fighting machine.
His road to happily-ever-after has been paved with blood, sweat and tears. Mostly mine. Fine. Mostly his. Whatever. Semantics. Anyway, I knew he deserved something—and someone—special. In fact, I had an idea for him and sat down to write it. Four tries later—with three hundred pages in the trash—he showed me exactly what he wanted. OK, fine (again). I finally gave in and did things his way. And you know what? He got the “special” I wanted for him.
The characters had so much more depth than I expected, and as they interacted the puzzle pieces began to fall into place—I saw why he wanted what he wanted, and for the first time in a very long time I heard Paris laugh. (I heard this in my head, of course, but laughter is laughter.) He’d found his “mine,” and she was and is exactly what he’s needed all along.
Will I ever stand in my characters’ way again? Well, yeah. (Hey, at least I’m honest.) But this one time, giving in proved to be the best thing I could have done.
I hope you are as satisfied with Paris’s story as he is.
All my best!
Gena Showalter
Praise forNew York TimesandUSA Todaybestselling authorGENA SHOWALTER’S
LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD
The Darkest Night
“A fascinating premise, a sexy hero and non-stop action,
The Darkest Night is Showalter at her finest, and a fabulous start to an imaginative new series.” —New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning
“Dark and tormented doesn’t begin to describe these
cursed warriors called the Lords of the Underworld.
Showalter has created characters desperately fighting to
retain a semblance of humanity, which means the
heroines are in for a rough ride. This is darkly
satisfying and passionately thrilling stuff.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
“Amazing! Stupendous! Extraordinary! Gena Showalter
has done it again. The Darkest Night is the fabulous start of an edgy, thrilling series …” —Fallen Angels reviews
“Not to be missed … the hottest new paranormal series.”
—Night Owl Romance
The Darkest Kiss
“In this new chapter the Lords of the Underworld
engage in a deadly dance. Anya is a fascinating blend of
spunk, arrogance and vulnerability—a perfect match
for the tormented Lucien.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars
“Talk about one dark read … If there is one book you
must read this year, pick up The Darkest Kiss … a Gena Showalter book is the best of the best.”
—Romance Junkies
The Darkest Pleasure
“Showalter’s darkly dangerous Lords of the Underworld
trilogy, with its tortured characters, comes to a very
satisfactory conclusion … [her] compelling universe
contains the possibility of more stories to be told.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
“Of all the books in this series, this is the most moving
and compelling. The concluding chapters will simply stun
you with the drama of them … You will not be sorry if
you add this to your collection.”
—Mists and Stars
The Darkest Whisper
“If you like your paranormal dark and passionately
flavoured, this is the series for you.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
The Darkest Passion
“Showalter gives her fans another treat, sure to satisfy!”
—RT Book Reviews
Throughout the years I’ve learned that family matters. I’ve been blessed with one of the most amazing families EVER. They love me, support me, and they are always there when I need them. The bond you see between the Lords, as well as the bond between the Harpy sisters? That’s what I have with my family, and I am beyond grateful. So this one is to my husband and children, my mom and dad, sisters and brothers, in-laws (who are so much more than that), nieces and nephews, and crazy aunts and uncles. I love and adore you all!
Lords of the Underworld
In a remote fortress in Budapest, immortal warriors—
each more dangerously seductive than the last—are
bound by an ancient curse none has been able to break.
When a powerful enemy returns, they will travel the
world in search of a sacred relic of the gods—one
that threatens to destroy them all.
Gena Showalter’s LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD
continues with
THE DARKEST SEDUCTION
Also available in this series
THE DARKEST NIGHT
THE DARKEST KISS
THE DARKEST PLEASURE
THE DARKEST WHISPER
DARK BEGINNINGS
THE DARKEST PASSION
THE DARKEST LIE
THE DARKEST SECRET
THE DARKEST SURRENDER
The Darkest Seduction
Gena
Showalter
www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
From family to friends, I am blessed. To Jill Monroe, Kresley Cole and PC Cast. I love you, ladies!
I speak, and the humans tremble in fear. I speak, and my people rush to obey—and yet still they seek to destroy me. My salvation rides the wings of midnight, and my burden she carries. My rage she unleashes, delivering damnation to all with a single swing of her sword. I speak.
—A passage found in the private journals of Cronus, king of the Titans
Speak all the hell you want. I’m taking what’s mine.
—Paris, Lord of the Underworld
PROLOGUE
“HIS RAGE …”
“I know.”
High in the heavens, Zacharel watched the world below him. Watched as the once genial Paris murdered yet another of his enemy, the Hunters. How many victims that made in the past hour alone, the angel could not say. He’d long since lost count. And even if he paused to do the tally, the answer would have changed a second later as yet another body fell to the slick, blood-coated blades the warrior wielded.
Of course, the panting, sweat-soaked Paris spun to engage two others, his motions fluid, lethally graceful … as unstoppable as an avalanche. At first, he played. A punch, cracking bone. A kick, smashing lungs. Laughing, spouting the worst of curses. Soon none of that was enough for the demon-possessed soldier, and he danced his blades over the tendons in their ankles, hobbling his prey for easier elimination.
Paris had made himself Bait to purposely draw these Hunters to him. They’d come eagerly, happily, intending to steal the vile demon tethered inside him and finally end him. So Zacharel could not fault the warrior for what he did to defend himself, even as several new bodies joined the already mountainous pile enveloped by a sea of crimson and black. And yet, he could not commend the warrior, either.
These were not mercy slayings or even carried out in the name of a cold and calculated vengeance birthed in the bowels of an equally cold rage. No, these were a spew of fire, hate and desperation hotter than anything hell had ever created.
“He is like a poisoned apple,” Zacharel said to the angel beside him. And because Paris was bonded to the demon of Promiscuity, his pruning belonged not to the humans he lived amongst but to the Deity’s angels, who policed different realms of evil. “Poison of this nature spreads slowly but corrupts absolutely.”
Beads of ice fell around Zacharel, as they always fell around him these days, his breath misting in front of his face. Every crystal was to be a reminder of his own crimes, so recently brought to his attention. But unlike Paris, he did not wear misery like a winter coat, hugging it close to his body, relying on it, feeding it, helping it grow. Zacharel cared for nothing, not anymore.
In his quest to destroy the demons that had ruined his life, he had slain “innocent” humans, and this was to be his punishment—to carry his Deity’s displeasure with him always.
“As succulent as others consider this particular apple,” Lysander proclaimed, “they will be willing to taste anything he offers.”
