Book excerpt: Alexis Morgan's sizzling paranormal Paladin series continues with a courageous female warrior who can't resist the man of her dreams -- even if he is her sworn enemy.... A fiercely beautiful female leader from the Other world, Lusahn q'Arc can't forget the Paladin warrior she met in battle -- his chiseled body and piercing, thoughtful eyes still haunt her dreams. While investigating the smuggling of the mysterious blue stones used to light her shadowy world, Lusahn receives word that her missing brother, Barak, is alive -- and working with the Paladins. Although angry at his betrayal, she arranges to meet him. But at the appointed time it is not Barak who arrives, but Cullen Finley -- the enemy warrior who torments her memory. Intense attraction immediately burns between Lusahn and Cullen despite their rival loyalties, and they can't help surrendering to passion. Their time together is limited, though, for soon Cullen must return to his own world -- with or without Lusahn. But when carefully laid plans go awry, together they must fight to keep their forbidden romance a secret -- and keep each other alive.