Riley Jensen is not an ordinary woman. She's not an ordinary werewolf or vampire, either. Her continually developing skills and unusual talents make her a dominating and incalculable figure in the worlds of the dead and the living. Her job as a government agency employed Guardian has allowed her to hone and nurture her skills while giving in to the animalistic side of her werewolf nature and delve into combat regularly. But this latest and most dark-natured string of crimes committed against humans by an unidentifiable foe have left her considerable strength and talents at a perilous disadvantage.

Kye Murphy is an ambiguous rogue bounty-hunting werewolf who is always for hire at the right cost and known to show little discretion in his role. To Riley, Murphy’s unexpected presence and obvious personal investigation into the human murders is an illegal intrusion worthy of arrest. His charms, however, have her heightened wolf senses going haywire, and her challenge to his strength and talents may find her in a losing battle. His knowledge and unexpected successes in the investigation prove to be a dare to her wolf nature, and the threat of battle between them may lead to a much more dangerous battlefield - the bedroom.

Riley is torn between the deep, true feelings of love she feels for Quinn, her vampire lover, and the soul-electrifying arc sizzling between Kye and herself. It's the natural state of the werewolf to find and mate for life with its one true soulmate, but Riley’s trouble and confusion arises from the fact that both men appear to fit that description. The possibility that her joined vampire and werewolf natures have caused such a disaster has her perplexity and resistance to fate heightened.

Unfortunately, the extremely unusual murders of a few legendary ancient vampires betray a connection to the still unresolved human murders. When a lead finally comes up, the unwanted but necessary alliance between Riley and Kye has the greatest chance of eliminating the evil behind the murders. Of course, the mounting desire between the two wolves is headed toward the inevitable if they survive the evil that has set out to destroy them.

Deadly Desire is a highly enjoyable concoction of an evil, supernaturally underworld-themed plot and erotic interludes that never disappoint. The unusual and continually developing talents with the key protagonist, Riley, make for a fascinating read in the character’s abilities to battle evil, as do the uncharacteristic “talents” the many other supernatural-type characters show. Inventive and definitely an outstanding representation of the well-used genre of vampires, werewolves, and the other outlandish supernatural characters toyed with throughout the novel. Keri Arthur has proven her strengths and malleability with likes of competitors such as Cynthia Eden and Anne Rice.