Book 2 in the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling Midnight Breed vampire romance series He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror. Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm...and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself.... "Vibrant writing heightens the suspense, and hidden secrets provide many twists. This is a dark, steamy tale filled with intricate plotlines; it stands easily on its own outside of the series . . . KISS OF CRIMSON is a winner and will have readers eager for the next Midnight Breed story." -- Romance Reviews Today The Midnight Breed Series reading order: A Touch of Midnight (prequel novella - free ebook) Kiss of Midnight Kiss of Crimson Midnight Awakening Midnight Rising Veil of Midnight Ashes of Midnight Shades of Midnight Taken by Midnight Deeper Than Midnight A Taste of Midnight (novella, ebook only) Darker After Midnight The Midnight Breed Series Companion Edge of Dawn Marked by Midnight (novella) Crave the Night Tempted by Midnight (novella) Bound to Darkness Stroke of Midnight (novella) Defy the Dawn (Aug 31, 2016) Midnight Untamed (Oct 11, 2016) ...and more to come! Also by Lara Adrian: 100 Series (Billionaire contemporary romance) For 100 DaysFor 100 Nights (winter 2016)For 100 Reasons (early 2017) Phoenix Code Romantic Suspense Series (with Tina Folsom) Cut and Run Hide and Seek Masters of Seduction Paranormal Romance Series Merciless: House of Gravori Priceless: House of Ebarron To get notified of new releases and to be eligible for subscribers-only giveaways and exclusive content, be sure to visit Lara's website and sign up for the VIP Reader List! Lara Adrian is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Midnight Breed vampire romance series (Random House) and seven award-winning, newly reissued historical romances, previously released under the pen name Tina St. John--now available for Kindle and other ebook devices. To keep up to date with all of Lara's upcoming books and to be eligible for special promotions and giveaways, visit Lara's website and sign up for her private email newsletter. Chapter One Dante smoothed his thumb over sweet female flesh, lingering at the carotid, where the human's pulse throbbed the strongest. His own pulse quickened too, responding to the rush of blood flowing beneath the surface of delicate white skin. Dante leaned his dark head in and kissed that tender spot, letting his tongue play over the fluttering race of the female's heartbeat. "Tell me," he murmured against the warm skin, his voice a low growl amid the heaving beat of the club's music, "are you a good witch or a bad witch?" The female squirmed in his lap, her fishnet-clad legs straddling him, black lace-up bustier pushing her breasts up under his chin like a buffet. She twirled her finger in her bright fuchsia wig, then let it trail down suggestively, past a Celtic cross tattoo and into her swelling cleavage. "Oh, I'm a very, very bad witch." Dante grunted. "My favorite." He smiled into her drunken gaze, not bothering to hide his fangs. He was one of many vampires in the Boston dance club that Halloween night, although most of them were pretenders. Humans sporting plastic teeth, fake blood, and various ridiculous costumery. A few others--himself and a handful of males from one of the vampire nation's Darkhaven sanctuaries, hanging out near the dance floor--were the genuine article. Dante and the others were Breed, a far cry from the pale, gothic vampires of human folklore. Neither undead nor devil-spawned, Dante's kind were a hot-blooded hybrid mix of Homo sapiens and deadly otherworlder. The Breeds' forebears, a band of alien conquerors who crash-landed on Earth millennia past and who were now long-since extinct, had bred with human females and given their offspring the thirst--the primal need--for blood. Those alien genes had given the Breed great strengths and shattering weaknesses too. Only the human side of the Breed, those qualities passed down by their mortal mothers, kept the race civilize