My Wild Irish Dragon
Page 29
* * *
Drake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His weakness might be beautiful brunettes, but did she honestly expect him to risk his life for an object that could be replaced? Could she not see smoke pouring out of the building? Sure, he could probably manage it, being fireproof and all, but after the chewing out he got the last time…
“Don’t you keep a backup file online?”
“No. I don’t trust the Internet,” she said with the saddest expression in her beautiful brown eyes. “There are too many hackers out there, and this greeting card competition is outrageously competitive. Pleeeease!”
All this hoopla for a piece of paper that reads, “Roses are red. Violets are blue?” The brunette didn’t appear to be insane, no matter how stupid this reality show sounded. There were crazier things on TV.
His chief had already warned Drake about risking his neck and told him to knock off taking stupid chances. He’d lucked out the last time. The mayor, a big dog lover, heard that Drake had gone back into a two-alarm blaze to rescue a greyhound. Then Mr. Mayor made the chief disregard any thought of suspending Drake by giving him a medal. But that sort of luck wouldn’t hold, especially if this insubordination was about an inanimate object.
Drake reached out and physically turned the woman around so she could see the inferno behind her. The feel of her soft, warm skin sent an unexpected jolt of awareness through him.
Her hands flew to cover her mouth, and the same sad, desperate sound all fire victims made as they witnessed the destruction and loss of something precious eked out. The tears forming in her eyes did him in.
If he weren’t fireproof, running back into that building would toast him like a marshmallow, but being a dragon, he knew he could do it.
“Ah, hell.” Before anyone could stop him, he dashed in the side entrance. He could always say he thought he heard a call for help.
“Stop. Oh crap,” was what he really heard. Apparently the brunette had changed her mind, but he was committed now.
Second floor, halfway down the hall, he repeated to himself until he found it. She had left her door open. Fortunate for him, not so much for her apartment. Smoke and flames were everywhere. He felt the familiar tingle just under his skin that signaled an impending shift. Fan-fucking-tastic. Skin became scales. Fingers became claws. His neck elongated, and out popped his tail, creating an unsightly bulge in the back of his loose coveralls. His wings were cramped and folded up under his jacket, but it couldn’t be helped.
His sight was greatly improved in his alternate form, and he spotted the Mac on her glass tabletop. The flames hadn’t reached it yet, so he did his best to grab it with his eagle-like talons and carry it against his chest.
Lumbering down the hall, he wondered where, and if, he’d be able to shift back before anyone saw him. Maybe it’s cooler in the basement—but what if I get trapped down there?
Instead of heading down another level, he opened the emergency door just enough to toss the laptop onto the grass outside. The outside air was so much cooler that he thought he might be able to shift back right there.
Concentrating on his human form, he inhaled the fresh air and sensed his head and body shrinking and compacting. He glanced down and saw his human hands again. His back felt enormously better without squished wings digging into it.
Ah… I made it undetected.
Or had he? The brunette was standing a few feet away, wide-eyed and open mouthed—hugging her computer.
For more Ashlyn Chase
check out the Flirting with Fangs series
How to Date a Dragon
On sale now
Acknowledgments
Major thanks go to Susan Vallera, a Massachusetts firefighter, who let me interview her, gave me a tour of the fire station, and made me a cup of real firefighter coffee. (It wasn’t that bad…with lots of cream.)
Also to another Massachusetts firefighter, Tom Madigan, who beta reads all my firefighting scenes and wipes the potential egg off my face.
Thanks, of course, to my wonderful critique partner, Mia Marlowe, a.k.a. Lexie Eddings, who keeps improving my first drafts, and to my editor, Cat Clyne. She “gets” my sense of humor and has one of her own—thank goodness! When many travels derailed my writing, she gave me a deadline extension and just said, “Make it exactly how you want it.” She’s awesome.
Big love to my agent, Nicole. Without her in my corner I’d be a lot less successful with contracts and such. By the way, she just landed me a five-book contract to tell the Fierro brothers’ stories! Stay tuned for news of this new series!
About the Author
Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar: a little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet, wanting only to give her readers a satisfying experience.
She holds a degree in behavioral sciences, worked as a psychiatric RN for fifteen years, and spent a few more years working for the American Red Cross. She credits her sense of humor to her former careers since comedy helped preserve whatever was left of her sanity. She is a multi-published, award-winning author of humorous erotic and paranormal romances, represented by the Seymour Agency.
Ashlyn lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her true-life hero husband who looks like Hugh Jackman with a salt-and-pepper dye job, and they’re owned by a spoiled brat cat.
Ashlyn loves to hear from readers!
Visit www.ashlynchase.com to sign up for her newsletter. She’s also on Facebook (AuthorAshlynChase), Twitter (@GoddessAsh), Yahoo groups (ashlynsnewbestfriends), and you can ask her to sign your ebook at www.authorgraph.com.
Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing
by Terry Spear
USA Today Bestselling Author
He wants answers…
Real estate mogul werewolf Rafe Denali didn’t get where he is in life by being a pushover. When sexy she-wolf Jade Ashton nearly drowns in the surf outside his beach house, he knows better than to bring her into his home and his heart. But there’s something about her that brings out his strongest instincts.
Rafe has good reason to be suspicious. Jade Ashton and her baby son are pawns in an evil wolf’s fatal plan. How can Jade betray the gorgeous man who rescued her? But if she doesn’t, her baby will die, and her own life hangs in the balance.
To get to the truth, Rafe is going to have to gain Jade’s trust. If he can do that, he just might be her last—and best—hope…
Praise for Terry Spear:
“Terry Spear has a gift for bringing her lupus garous to life and winning the hearts of readers.” —Paranormal Haven
For more Terry Spear, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
Undiscovered
Amoveo Rising
by Sara Humphreys
Award-winning author Sara Humphreys expands the world of the Amoveo Legend with dragon shapeshifters!
In a world where shapeshifters and humans live uneasily side by side, and where dragons haven’t been seen in over five hundred years, shapeshifter Rena McHale from the Fox Clan dreams every night of a gorgeous dragon shifter. Zander Lorens’s Dragon Clan powers have been cursed and he’s been aimlessly roaming the planet for weary centuries. When he finally meets Rena, he knows that she is what he’s been searching for all this time…
Praise for Sara Humphreys:
“Spellbinding… This fast-paced, jam-packed thrill ride will delight paranormal romance fans.” —Publishers Weekly for Undone
“Humphreys’ stories get better with each book! The world that she has created is so fascinating, and the characters so engaging, that each new book is like catching up with old friends.” —RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars, Top Pick for Unclaimed
For more Sara Humphreys, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
A Promise of Fire
The Kingmaker Chronicles
by Amanda Bouch
et
Kingdoms will rise and fall for her…
Catalia “Cat” Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus. She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods—and her homicidal mother—have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever.
But not if she can help it
Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm—until he realizes he wants her for much more than her magic. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin’s fairness, loyalty, and smoldering advances make him hard to resist and leave her wondering if life really does have to be short, and lived alone.
“Fantasy romance at its finest! Fall in love with these delicious characters.” —Darynda Jones, New York Times bestselling author
For more Amanda Bouchet, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
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