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And then Wrath came in with a squeeze bottle of Hershey’s syrup.

“Bacon’s on the way.” He smiled. “Hey, they like you.”

“And thank God for that,” she murmured, looking down at the daggers.

—DARK LOVER, p. 284-285

The Brothers are greeting their new queen here, although Beth is unaware of the role she’ll play in the future, so she actually had two transitions that night: the first her becoming a vampire, and the second this welcome into Wrath and the Brotherhood’s private world as his leelan, his “dearest one.”

One of the most erotic scenes in the book? Aside from the first time they hook up, I think it’s when they’re having their date at Darius’s. The evening starts off rough (thanks to, among other things, Wrath getting into an argument with Tohr, whereupon Tohr feeds him the classic line, “Nice. Fucking. Suit”). However, the couple’s private time ends with . . . well, Wrath talking about how much he loves peaches. The mood goes from dark and tense to sensual with this:

Beth tilted forward in her chair, opened her mouth, and put her lips around the strawberry, taking it whole. Wrath’s nostrils flared as he watched her bite down. When some of the sweet juice escaped and dropped onto her chin, he hissed.

“I want to lick that off,” he muttered under his breath. He reached forward and took hold of her jaw. Lifted his napkin.

She put her hand on his. “Use your mouth.”

A low sound, from deep inside his chest, cut through the room.

Wrath leaned toward her, tilting his head. She caught a flash of his fangs as his lips opened and his tongue came out. He stroked the juice from her skin and then pulled away.

He stared at her. She looked back at him. The candles flickered.

“Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand.

—DARK LOVER, p. 201

Most touching scene? For me, it has to be the one at Havers’s clinic at the end. Wrath is still pretty wiped after having been shot in the stomach, and he’s just come out of a coma. Beth is trying to communicate with him because he’s agitated and upset, but he’s having trouble talking. She’s asked him if he needs her to get the doctor or food or drink or blood, and none of that is what he’s looking for:

His eyes fixated on their linked hands and came back to her face. Then his gaze locked on their hands and returned again.

“Me?” she whispered. “You need me?”

He squeezed and wouldn’t stop.

“Oh, Wrath . . . You have me. We’re together, love.”

Tears poured out of him in a mad rush, his chest quaking from the sobs, his breathing jagged and raw.

She took his face in her hands, trying to soothe him. “It’s all right. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to leave you. I promise you. Oh, love . . .”

Eventually he relaxed a little. The tears slowed.

A croak came out of his mouth.

“What?” She leaned down.

“Wanted to . . . save you.”

“You did. Wrath, you did save me.”

His lips trembled. “Love. You.”

She kissed him gently on the mouth. “I love you, too.”

“You. Go. Sleep. Now.”

And then he closed his eyes from exhaustion.

Her vision went blurry as she put her hand over her mouth and started to smile. Her beautiful warrior was back. And trying to order her around from his hospital bed.

—DARK LOVER, p. 373

I think that pretty much says it all about them. So I’ll leave it at that.

Dark Lover was the launching pad for all the Brothers, not just for Wrath and Beth. I was very clear, even way back then, where the original seven in the Brotherhood were headed and who else was going to join the ranks. And as with all the books, the plotlines of things that wouldn’t see the light for years were started. This wasn’t because I was brilliant—but a case of scenes landing in my head that would come into play much later.

As I said, Wrath’s story is the book I’m proudest of—it was a totally fresh start that was, for the first time, truly authentic to what’s in my head. It would shock me if I ever do something like it again and pull it off to the extent I did. Wrath was a complete about-face of subject matter, tone,