The Dark Knight. Tori Phillips

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      His eyes widened when he saw her and the naked blade she held.

      “Missed me?” he asked with a half smile. His gaze searched hers for the answer.

      Her knife clattered to the floor; its blade rang against the stones. With a cry of “Sandor!” Tonia threw herself against him. The bulk of his body and the warmth that emanated from him soothed her fears.

      Time stood still.

      He did not speak, but his hand slid down her spine, exploring each hollow of her back. His touch was oddly soft and caressing. A delicious shudder heated her body. Tonia knew that she should fight against her growing desire to move closer to him. A lifetime of prudence counseled her to resist. It was not too late to turn away and put him back in his place. She was a chaste virgin dedicated to God; he was a wild, unpredictable Gypsy….

      The Dark Knight

      Harlequin Historical #612

      Praise for Tori Phillips’s previous titles

      One Knight in Venice

      “…filled with intrigue, excitement, romance and imaginative characters. Truly superb!”

      —Affaire de Coeur

      Lady of the Knight

      “Ms. Phillips weaves an adventurous story…a good, fast-paced read.”

      —Romantic Times

      Three Dog Knight

      “Readers will be held in thrall…a gem of a tale.”

      —Romantic Times

      Midsummer’s Knight

      “…a fast paced plot…fully and funnily Shakespearean…wonderfully written…”

      —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

      #611 MY LADY’S PLEASURE

      Julia Justiss

      #613 THE COURTSHIP

      Lynna Banning

      #614 THE PERFECT WIFE

      Mary Burton

      The Dark Knight

      Tori Phillips

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      Available from Harlequin Historicals and

      TORI PHILLIPS

      Fool’s Paradise #307

      *Silent Knight #343

      *Midsummer’s Knight #415

      *Three Dog Knight #438

      *Lady of the Knight #476

      *Halloween Knight #527

      *One Knight in Venice #555

      *The Dark Knight #612

      To my great-nephew, Tyler Andrehsen, Dinosaur Trainer, Pirate Captain and Romance Hero-in-training!

      Contents

       Prologue

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Chapter Twenty

       Chapter Twenty-One

       Epilogue

       Author Note

      Prologue

      “Have I not here the best cards for the game to coin this easy match?”

      —Shakespeare’s King John

      The Gypsy Encampment on

      Hampstead Heath outside of London

      April 1553

      “Remember, Sandor, no blood is to be shed—not a drop when you kill the gadji.” Uncle Gheorghe paused while he coughed up more green phlegm.

      Sandor Matskella looked down at his hands, hands that were expected to snuff out the life of an unknown Christian woman somewhere in the north of England. “I am a horse master,” he