by Julia Mills
She moved with renewed vigor against her mate, watching him glide in and out of her. Her mate needed no more motivation. Audrey heard his thoughts as if they were her own. Rian meant to love her as completely and thoroughly as he could.
Driving in and out of her, he rolled his hips every time their bodies touched. The change in motion made the head of his cock rub against the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her channel, and combined with the way her clit made contact with the base of his cock on every stroke, Audrey could only feel. She let go of everything but the love and devotion for her dragon and reached for his hands. His fingers slid between hers just as she screamed her release and heard Rian roar his.
Slowly returning to earth, Audrey loved the feel of Rian continuing to move in and out of her while their hands remained clasped. Opening her eyes, she smiled as he asked, “Hey there, álainn, how ya doin’?”
Purring her answer and unashamed of how amazing Rian made her feel, Audrey sighed, “Perfect, my love, just perfect.”
Rian let their hands fall apart, pulled completely out of her, picked her up, and moved to the top of their pallet. Lying back on the huge mound of pillows, Rian turned on his side, laying her next to him so they were face to face. Audrey had no idea how long they laid there before he pulled a blue velvet box from under her pillow and handed it to her.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Open it and find out.” Accompanied by his cheeky grin was Rian’s only answer.
“But you’ve given me so much already and I have nothing for you.”
“Oh, but you have given me everything. It’s all right here. It’s you. Now, open your present or I’ll tickle you until you do.”
Audrey couldn’t help but laugh and wonder if the day would ever come when she would grow tired of simply looking at him. Carefully opening the box, the princess gasped. Nothing in all the world could’ve prepared her for what she saw nestled in the royal blue fabric.
Her words came out jumbled. She stuttered and stammered, “Oh my...when did you...how did you...It’s just not possible.”
“Oh but it is possible. It just takes having a witch or twelve in the family.”
Tears ran down her face as Rian lifted the sapphire and diamond ring that had belonged to her mother from the velvet and slid it onto the ring finger on her left hand.
“Please tell me those are happy tears,” Rian said before kissing the knuckle right behind her ring.
“The happiest. But how?”
“I remembered you telling me about your mother and how she’d always promised you could have her ring when you came of age. I also remembered feeling how heartbroken you were that it was lost after her death, so I had Kyra do a locating spell to see if she could find it. It took her and several of the McKennon girls to discover its location and when they did, Rory and I went straight to the spot on their map and there it was, buried in an iron chest with what I think your mother held most dear. Things she wanted you to have, Audrey. It’s at the house, in your dressing room.”
Throwing herself into his arms, Audrey placed her hands on either side of her dragon’s face and said, “I hate to be a plagiarist but I’m stealing your words. Not heaven. Not hell. Not the Devil himself can keep me from your side, Rian O’Reilly.” Leaning forward, she laid her lips to his and spoke in the way of true dragon mates, “I will love you for all time, in this lifetime and the next.”
“And the next...and the next...and the...” Rian’s voice floated through her mind as the couple loved one another just as the Universe intended.
Epilogue
She felt the call of a man in pain. A man caught in the throes of hellhound poisoning with only a few days to live. A man whom only she could save. Clapping her gloves together to remove the dirt she’d collected while planting potatoes, Claire squinted as she looked over her shoulder for the tenth time that day and shook her head when she saw no one was there.
Damned prophecies are gonna be the death of me.
Making her way to the top of the mountain she and her family had called home since Lugh, the Celtic God of the Sun, had given it to her ancestors several millennia ago, Claire entered her cabin, slammed the door, and walked directly to her room. Throwing her gloves in the dirty clothesbasket, she took off her hiking boots and pulled on her favorite pair of cowboy boots.
Filling her pack with everything she’d need for a month-long trip, the Leader of the Clan of the Sun left her home through the back door, still cursing Fate and the Universe for what she was about to do. Heading toward the garage, Claire stopped as soon as she’d cleared the shade of the White Ash tree that was older than her and at least thirty feet tall. Throwing back her head, she watched the clouds above her and sighed. To any other being, they would look like simple fluffy white puffs of air in the sky, but to this matriarch, they told a story. She could see how the man whose spirit called to hers for help had been injured while saving others. He was honorable and strong, a true warrior. A man who could threaten her hard fought independence. A man she could call her equal. This man also was a shifter, one of the most revered of all shifters...a dragon.
Kneeling down, she unchained her German Shepherd, Duke, and commanded, “Go find Homer. Stay till I come for you.”
The dog she’d saved from certain death at the hands of an evil shaman looked at her with an understanding most humans couldn’t muster. He wagged his tail and headed down the mountain to the home of the Chief of the Choctaws, only looking back when he was almost out of sight. She could feel her canine companion telling her in his own way to be safe and hurry home.
I’m gonna try, Duke. I’m sure gonna try.
Claire threw her leg over her Harley and took one last look at the sky. She would have to travel day and night for three full days to reach the man they called Rory in time. There was no doubt in her mind the small cluster of clouds she saw moving against the flow of the others was a sign his clan had sent trackers to bring her to their brother’s aide. It was what she’d have done had the roles been reversed.
Any other time, Claire would’ve waited for them. It was what she’d been taught. How those of her kind had survived for thousands and thousands of years. Never rush in, let them come to you, her mother’s motto floated through her mind. She snorted aloud at the misguided teachings of her people. Just because her mother and grandmother and every matriarch of her clan since the beginning of time would’ve left the man’s fate to chance, it was not something Claire was willing to do. This one was different. There was more at stake than just the life of one man or the soul of a dragon king who’d given his very freedom to ensure the continuation of all creatures of the light—this one was personal.
The rumble of the engine of her Soft Tail coming to life eased her tension, cleared her mind, and forced her to face a fact she hadn’t even yet truly admitted to herself. The man and his beast, the being Claire Featherstone was riding off to save...was her mate. Like the real deal, forever and ever and always together mate. It was the first time in five millennia a true mate to the Leader of the Clan of the Sun walked the earth. She should be overjoyed. It was what her kind had been waiting for...literally forever. This one man could ensure her continued humanity. And the continuation of her clan.
It should be a blessing.
So why does it feel like a curse?
ROMAN: Fury of Her King ~ Kings of the Blood ~ Book 2
AVAILABLE SUMMER 2016!
“Well, la dee da, lookie here, Miss Fancy Pants. You have an invitation to the gala celebrating the Katsaros Industries and Roma Tech merger.” Cyn’s admin and long-time friend, Adele, sing-songed as she fanned herself with what looked to be an expensive off-white linen envelope while doing her best model walk into Cynthia’s office.
“I have no idea why I would be invited to that. I’m just sales consultant for a drug company. I don’t know diddly about tech. And besides, I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Well, you better get your butt in gear. Dust
off that credit card, baby, cause you’ve got the golden ticket.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What golden ticket?”
“Girl, get your head out of the books and catch up on your pop culture. There is more to life than the newest anti-inflammatory or anti-depressant. You have a VIP ticket to the big show. It says you’ll be sitting at one of the tables next to the head guy, his new wife, and the other big wigs. You have to go so I can live vicariously through you.”
Cyn shook her head. How in the hell had she ever gotten on the guest list for something so prestigious? These people were the movers and shakers, kings of industry. Hell, most of them were from other countries, highly educated, rich from birth, and way out of her league.
Grabbing the invitation from Adele, Cyn saw the signature that had obviously been signed with the sender’s own hand at the bottom of the beautifully embossed correspondence and had to sit down before she fell down from shock. Running the pad of her thumb over the signature, a chill ran down her spine and an image formed in her mind.
It had only taken one time, just a chance encounter at Starbucks two years ago in Dallas, and Cyn had been hooked. The spark of recognition between them when they’d touched had been electric. Sort of like déjà vu but stronger, and maybe a little different. It didn’t make sense but it was oh so real. Long after they’d parted ways, Cyn couldn’t shake the feeling that their meeting wasn’t completely coincidental. Not that he’d planned it or anything stalkerish, but that they were ‘supposed’ to meet, like it was a destiny kind of thing.
He was tall, had light brown hair that she knew would be wavy if he didn’t tame it with products, and hazel eyes that mesmerized as the smooth golden in the center spread to an almost green before turning brown at the edge. To say Roman Marinos was good-looking was like saying South Fork was a farm. He was amazing and had an accent so exotic it curled her toes. She hadn’t even told Adele about their chance encounter and Cyn told her friend everything.
Lost in thought, Cyn jumped when the intercom on her office phone buzzed. “Sexy man voice on line two,” Adele chirped.
“I have told you a million times not to give the people on the phone nicknames.”
Cyn cut off Adele’s rebuttal by answering the phone. “Cynthia St. James, how can I help you?”
“You can accept my invitation to the KI/Roma Tech gala.”
Her mind went blank. Her palms began to sweat. Her heart beat like a bass drum. Cyn thought she might pass out. Recognition like no other filled her mind. Dumb luck had walked up and smacked her in the back of the head again. How could it be possible? How could the man who’d she dreamed about every night for two years be on the phone? Wasn’t it enough that she thought about him every spare minute of the day? Now, he was on her phone?
He owed her nothing, just as she owed him nothing. He’d replaced her favorite London Fog trench coat after spilling coffee on it and even bought the dark brown leather gloves she’d been eyeing for weeks, almost as if he read her mind. She’d tried repeatedly to return them only to have him refuse.
“Well...it’s just that...” Taking a deep breath to stop further embarrassment, Cyn began again. “I have a previous engagement and to be honest Mr. Marinos, I’m in pharmaceuticals not tech. I think there’s been some mistake.”
For several seconds, Cyn could only hear him breathing on the other end of the phone. She was just about to apologize for seeming ungrateful when the rumble of his deep voice floated from the phone. If possible, his accent seemed thicker and his voice more intense. “My invitation has little to do with the gala and everything to do with you, Cynthia St. James.”
Unsure what Marinos meant and with no idea how to answer, Cyn fell back on the one tried and true excuse she always used when she wanted to get out of something. “I appreciate your invitation. I am truly humbled but as I said, I have a previous engagement.”
Chuckling like she’d said something funny, Marinos’ only reply was, “No you don’t. Pick you up at eight.”
He disconnected the call while Cyn was still dumbfounded by his response. It took several minutes before she returned the receiver to its cradle. Shaking her head, she just stared out her window at the cars on the freeway.
I have no clue what just happened but I’m sure I’d be safer directing traffic out there on the highway than spending a night with Roman Marinos.
VIKTOR: Heart of Her King ~ Kings of the Blood ~ Book1
AVAILABLE NOW!
Three millennium brought the Supreme Commander to this place at this time to meet the one woman who can save not only his soul but his very existence.
Too many days pondering her life. Too many nights dreaming of the nameless, faceless man who makes her feel things she never thought possible.
One has a chance for revenge, the other a chance for redemption. Together they must make a choice. Together they hold the key.
Together only they can save the heart of her king.
ZOEY: A ‘Not-Quite’ Zombie Love Story
AVAILABLE NOW!
Fluorescent orange goo, one deranged raccoon and a road trip to the bottom of the lake can be life-changing. Goodness knows Zoey’s life was never the same but like everything else in her twenty plus years even returning from the dead didn’t go as planned.
Can she save her town, have the love she deserves and NOT lose what’s left of her ‘almost-undead’ sanity?
Only time will tell...
About Julia
Julia Mills is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Dragon Guard Series. She admits to being a sarcastic, southern woman that would rather spend all day laughing than a minute crying. She has two of the most amazing daughters ever created, a menagerie of animals, and a voracious appetite for reading. She decided to write the stories running through her brain and is having an absolute blast!! She read her first book, Dr Seuss' Cat in The Hat and has been hooked ever since.
She believes a good book along with shoes, makeup, and purses will never let a girl down. She knows for a fact that all heroes in all the books she has ever read or will ever write pale in comparison to her hero, her dad! She's a sucker for a happy ending and loves some hot sweaty sex with a healthy dose of romance.
She's still working on her story but can guarantee you that it'll contain as much love and laughter as she can cram into it!!!!! Dare to Dream! Have the Strength to Try EVERYTHING! Never Look Back!
Julia absolutely adores stalkers so look her up on Facebook and sign up for her newsletter at JuliaMillsAuthor.com.