Tempted by Midnight (1001 Dark Nights)

1001 Dark Nights is a collection of breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic novellas inspired by the exotic tales of The Arabian Nights. In the original, Scheherazade desperately attempts to entertain her husband, the King of Persia, with nightly stories so that he will postpone her execution. In our versions, each of our fabulous authors puts a unique spin on the premise and creates a tale that a new Scheherazade tells long into the dark, dark night. Once, they lived in secret alongside mankind. Now, emerged from the shadows, the Breed faces enemies on both sides―human and vampire alike. No one knows that better than Lazaro Archer, one of the eldest, most powerful of his kind. His beloved Breedmate and family massacred by a madman twenty years ago, Lazaro refuses to open his heart again. Sworn to his duty as the leader of the Order’s command center in Italy, the last thing the hardened warrior wants is to be tasked with the rescue and safekeeping of an innocent woman in need of his protection. But when a covert mission takes a deadly wrong turn, Lazaro finds himself in the unlikely role of hero with a familiar, intriguing beauty he should not desire, but cannot resist. Melena Walsh has never forgotten the dashing Breed male who saved her life as a child. But the chivalrous hero of her past is in hard contrast to the embittered, dangerous man on whom her safety now depends. And with an unwanted―yet undeniable―desire igniting between them, Melena fears that Lazaro’s protection may come at the price of her heart….