“Thank you,” Hannah replied, “I really appreciate it.”
“Huh, don’t thank me yet. You’re a city girl, I can tell. If you want heat in that place, you need to burn a log fire. If you don’t, you’ll freeze your backside off.” The man gave a short bark of laughter at his own joke, and Hannah smiled weakly.
“Ah, don’t mind me. There’s plenty of wood in there for you, you need more, just come down and holler.”
The man shuffled over to a wooden cabinet on the wall and retrieved a set of keys.
“These are them. There’s a manual in the cabin, tell you anything you need to know.” He placed the keys in Hannah’s palm. “What you here for anyway? One of those marine biologists? You lot are always coming and poking around.”
“No, I’m… I’m a medical doctor. I’m just looking for a friend. Brad Crawford?”
“Ah. Yeah, I know the guy. What you want with the likes of him?”
“We went to high school together.” The old man’s tone didn’t really surprise Hannah. It reminded her of the way teachers at school would refer to Brad. He was obviously still making a name for himself by being a little bit wilder and more reckless than the next guy.
“Huh. Surprised he went to school at all. Well, you’ll find him at the garage.” He shuffled around looking for something in his desk drawers. “Here–map of the area. Brad’s on the other side of the island, but it’s only about a twenty-minute drive. He’ll be closed by now though–likes to get off early that one.” The man grunted, clearly unimpressed by Brad’s work ethic.
“Great, thank you,” Hannah took the map and shoved it in her purse.
The old man saw her out, nodding in approval at her SUV, and gave her the directions to the cabin.
Hannah drove her vehicle slowly, following the rough track to the cabin. On arrival, she lugged her small suitcase out of the back seat and ventured inside.
It certainly had plenty of rustic charm, she told herself, whilst shivering violently, as she closed the door behind her. Before doing anything, she needed to light the fire. Hastily she pushed the logs onto the grate and crumpled up some old newspaper. Flicking the match, she was relieved to see it rapidly come to life, but it would be a while before she’d be able to remove her coat.
Next, she checked the sleeping arrangements. The bed was in the same room, which was a relief. It wasn’t damp, either, but with only a duvet for night time warmth, Hannah thought it would be wise to invest in a sleeping bag, even if it was just for the night.
She checked her map and found a camping supplies store in the center of the town. Hopefully it would still be open, and plus, she was starving and far too tired to cook. It would be dinner for one tonight at the nearest, least touristy looking restaurant.
The storefront lights were still glowing when she reached Sterling Outfitters. It was by far the largest and grandest looking store on the street, and Hannah vaguely recalled seeing a few from the same chain in Chicago. She stepped in and was welcomed by a blast of heat and a genuine smile from the rugged looking man behind the counter.
“Can I help you?” he asked as Hannah approached.
“Please. I’m looking for a sleeping bag.”
The door chime rang as a family entered behind Hannah. Two children ran in, followed by their mother.
“Be with you in a sec,” the assistant called to them, and gestured Hannah over to the neatly stacked sleeping bags. “We’ve got pretty much every type. Are you looking for a one man or two man?”
“One man would probably be best, as long as it’s seriously warm.”
The assistant laughed, “You staying at one of Burke’s cabins?”
“How did you guess?”
“My aunt stayed there one winter during my wedding–house was full. She didn’t stop complaining about the cold. The local motel closes over winter till start of June, so sadly there’s nowhere else to stay.”
“It’s okay, charming really, as long as I can keep warm tonight. It’s only for a night.”
The man nodded and pulled down one of the bags, “This is filled with duck down, as well as some Japanese-made synthetic materials. Can’t really go wrong.”
“Perfect,” Hannah smiled gratefully. She was about to say something else, but froze to listen to the sounds of sharp gurgling gasps coming from behind her, followed by silence.
“Jamie, Jamie!” The little boy’s mother rushed over to him, waving her arms about helplessly.
The boy’s eyes were wide open and desperate. His face blossomed bright red and then rapidly started to lose color. Hannah dropped the sleeping bag and was beside him in less than a second.
4
From his chair in the back office, Colton heard a commotion coming from up front. It almost sounded like the place was being held up—a loud, blood-curdling cry was emanating from a woman, and he rushed to the door anticipating wolf trouble.
He burst into the main store, his primitive bear senses kicking in as his eyes rapidly surveyed the scene. He relaxed at the absence of wolves, and mere presence of one hysterical woman crying over a child. There was also a second woman, who at the moment was standing behind the child executing an efficient Heimlich maneuver. Giving one final thrust, a bright blue object flew through the air and smacked against the glass display case. The child started crying.
“You need to get him to his pediatrician. He may have damaged his airways,” the woman calmly addressed the mother of the child, whilst soothing the crying boy.
“Thank you! Oh, I can’t thank you enough!” The mother took the boy back in her arms.
“Lego,” the woman commented, picking up the bright blue object, “Happens all the time.”
“We can’t get to the doctor. We can’t cross on the ferry in this weather and the flight path’s closed, do you think he’ll be alright until next week?” The tinge of hysteria was edging back up in the woman’s voice.
“Let me have a look,” the red-haired woman turned and addressed the boy, “Will you open wide for me?”
Amidst his sobs, the boy did as he was told.
“He looks okay. Get him to a doctor as soon as you can, though. Is there really no one around here, not even a general practitioner?”
The mother shook her head.
Colton stepped forward to offer his assistance, then halted mid-stride. The mother had moved, clearing his line of vision and now he could clearly see the little boy’s savior.
For Colton, it was as if time stood still. Her hair flowed loosely down her shoulders, thick, deep red with natural golden highlights. Her skin was alabaster white, contrasting strikingly with full pink lips. She was curvy. Beautiful, voluptuous curves that made Colton’s mouth water. Her eyes were a piercing artic blue, and right now they were looking expectantly at Colton, as if waiting for him to speak.
“I have a plane you can use to take your boy to the mainland if you need it.” Colton addressed the mother. He vaguely recognized her; she was fairly new to Port Ursa.
“Thank you, that would be wonderful. It’s really so kind of you…”
“Colton.”
He glanced over at the redhead. She had broken eye contact with him and was now rising to her feet. He wanted to speak to her before she left.
“Jake, will you get the flight charted?” he spoke to the shop clerk, who rapidly ushered the boy and his mother into the back room.
The redhead made her way over to the camping equipment, picking up a sleeping bag that had been dropped. Colton watched her bend down to retrieve it, admiring her thick, curvy ass encased in hip-hugging jeans.
There was something about her, besides her amazing figure, that had his bear wanting to rip out of his skin. Moments ago he had thought it was just the false threat of wolf attack, but now he wasn’t so sure. His bear was screaming to be let loose, his blood bubbling under the surface of his skin. The pounding in his chest grew more insistent, thundering within his ribcage. His muscles became tauter, tensing as they physically prepared fo
r the change his body instinctively knew was coming his way. It took effort for Colton to hold back the transformation—to halt nature’s will as it strived for his metamorphosis.
“Do you work here?” the woman looked up at him.
“Yeah, hi.” Colton moved behind the cash register, “It was amazing what you did back there. Are you a medic of some kind?”
“I’m a doctor, I work in Chicago.” She passed him the sleeping bag, “I’m just visiting.”
“Staying at Burke’s place?”
“I am–hence the sleeping bag.”
Colton nodded. Her smile was distracting, not helping his inability to recall how the cash register worked. They had upgraded the machinery since the days when he’d had to work behind a register, the multiple buttons and scanning codes were alien to Colton.
“You know what? Have it for free. A thank you for saving one of my customers.”
“No, really, I couldn’t. I was just doing what anyone would do, and a kid choking on Lego is nothing, trust me.”
“I insist. How long are you staying for?”
“Just tonight. I’m looking up an old friend.”
Colton wanted to ask who, but restrained himself.
“Not staying to explore?”
“I wish I could. It’s beautiful here.” Moving to leave, the woman smiled blandly at Colton, “Thank you for this. Much appreciated, really.”
“It’s no problem. I’m Colton Sterling, by the way.”
He was racking his brain to come up with some excuse to keep the conversation going. In truth, this wasn’t usually a problem for him. Women were usually happily flocking around him, hanging on to his every word.
“Hannah Cooper. Nice to meet you.”
It was getting awkward now. The woman, Hannah, clearly wanted to get going. Colton came out from behind the counter to see her out. Holding the door open for her, he got a hit of her scent as she walked past. It almost knocked him to his knees.
He watched her get into the SUV and drive off into town. Colton groaned. He may not have experienced it before, but his instincts categorically knew that the doctor making a one-night appearance in Port Ursa was his. His mate. She also appeared to be completely unaffected by him. Not only was it a blow to his ego, but it was also damn inconvenient. Colton had less than twenty-four hours to make Hannah fall in love with him.
Hannah smiled to herself as she drove around town, looking for a suitable restaurant. It had been a while since she’d laid eyes on such a magnificent specimen of man. That guy had been hot. He’d been about a foot taller than Hannah, a quality she always appreciated, with a huge, broad frame. Even under his thermal hoodie, she’d been able to see a taut, well-defined body, but it was his face that Hannah knew wouldn’t leave her memory for a long time. He wore his dark brown hair a little long so it hung slightly over his forehead, had a defined jawline covered in stubble, and bright green eyes that were shaded by thick lashes. His face was undoubtedly handsome by any standard, but it was his wicked smile that definitely made her girly parts take notice. As she backed into a restaurant parking lot, she caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror and realized she was smirking. Get a grip, lady.
It was nice, she reflected, to know that she was still susceptible to the charms of the opposite sex. It often felt like she’d completely shut herself off from the potential of having any romantic interest in the last four years. Work had come first, and the thought of having her much-needed sleep interrupted by male companionship hadn’t been at all appealing. She just hadn’t had time to entertain the idea of a relationship—not with the kind of time and effort that they required. Laura swore by one-night stands, and they had been appealing during Hannah’s college years, but the longer she’d gone without any intimate contact, the more the idea of sex with a stranger had started to seem like more of a hassle than it was worth.
Until today. She almost wished she were staying longer. If Colton Sterling was single, which she doubted anyhow, he’d be more than welcome to park his boots under her bed tonight.
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Heart of the Dragon
Dragons of the Realms
Kym Dillon
Sneak Peek
Please enjoy this sneak peek from Kym Dillon. If you like this snippet, and would like to read more, you can find the book in the Amazon Kindle store.
1
A tidy row of cologne bottles slammed together and crashed to the floor as Daya swept an arm across the dresser in search of a weapon. Anything would do. The silver cufflinks. The cellphone charging on the surface. Both, tacit reminders this was not her house. (If it were, there would be something useful like a throwing knife.) She brandished the phone as a shield.
“Marco, please! You’re causing a scene,” she whisper-screamed, darting to the other side of the room. The sideways scuttle was scored by a live orchestra playing sedately below. Daya’s cyanide blue eyes widened as her lover came at her with an empty champagne bottle. Though she supposed he was her de facto ex now that he was trying to kill her.
“Don’t ‘Marco, please,’ me!” he choked out. “I don’t care who hears! Everyone already knows it was you, and the cops are on their way!”
“The cops?! For what?”
“Because you stole my grandmother’s heirloom necklace!”
“You’ve had one too many drinks, darling. Don’t embarrass yourself over a simple misunder—” Daya parried another wild flail of his arm, and her evening gown gave a loud rip. She gasped as they watched the slit race higher up her thigh. “Look what you made me do!”
He shrugged, dropping the bottle. “You have to admit, it’s an improvement.”
She parked her hands on her hips, voluptuous breasts heaving. Enough was enough. “We can talk like sensible adults, but leave the Vera out of this,” she chided.
The handsome rogue grabbed her by the garment and lifted her off the floor. He gave her a little shake, and her dangling feet kicked air. Well, this is ridiculous, she thought. He was sloshed to the gills. The odds were against talking sense into him.
“Oh, for God’s sake! The dress is a rental!”
“I’m sure you were planning on keeping it anyway,” he sneered. “Now, what am I misunderstanding about rare, priceless jewelry going missing on your watch, gold-digger?”
“Be reasonable. There’s a parlor full of people bidding on items in the estate sale. Any one of them could’ve lifted it. I’m sure the authorities will search. Don’t you have any faith in me?”
Marco grunted in the negative. “I know exactly who you are, bella. I tried to make myself believe your years of crime were behind you. But, there’s a saying: No honor amongst thieves.”
“You would know.” Daya dropped her innocent act. She used his grip to tear out of the dress. Underneath was a bodysuit. Tossing a cascade of dark curls over her pale shoulder, she smoothed a hand over the shaper. “There, that’s better,” she sighed. “And, you should also know the other saying, darling. It goes, ‘Finders, keepers.’”
Marco blinked in disbelief when she held up the million-dollar necklace. She shoved it in her bodice and quickly pulled out gloves. Wriggling her fingers into them, she opened the window with a gleeful smirk.
“You wouldn’t dare!” he said.
She scrambled out to prove she would, indeed, dare. There was already a hook jammed into the sill for just such a daring caper. She braced her designer shoes against the steeply gabled roof to lower herself the three flights to the ground.
Rappelling several feet, she called out, “Give my regards to your boss with the mafia. Or, should I say dear old grandmother?” Her smug grin morphed into a surprised O as she slid farther than expected.
Suddenly, the hook became unmoored, and Daya shrieked. She heard Mar
co laughing somewhere above her as she clawed at the shingles. A dainty high-heel skittered to the ground. When she looked up, he had disappeared from the window.
“Shit!” she swore. Casting a glance to one side, she squinted at flashing lights entering the gates and repeated the expletive with more force. She thought he had been bluffing about calling the cops. Desperate times, she mused, when a hitman gets the law involved.
Nothing had gone according to plan. Six months wasted dating the gullible gun-for-hire Marco Bernie to get closer to the jaw-dropping Blausäure sapphire! She had a buyer lined up. Unfortunately, when the mafia fell on hard times, they really fell. They were liquidating their assets.
The semi-respectable private auction would have whisked the gemstone God knew where if Daya hadn’t stolen it. Now, she was hanging thirty feet above an exquisite stonework courtyard. Really, the garden was quite beautiful, from what she could see when her head wasn’t swimming with dizziness from looking down.
“This is perfect,” she huffed. She couldn’t wait to have to never do anything like this again. Twenty-seven was a suitable age for retirement from a life of crime, right? If she made it out alive.
A voice from behind startled her. “I can get you out of here, but you must come with me.”
Daya almost lost her grip because a voice from behind was quite literally impossible. Her black hair swished around her face as she tried to look. Her lips parted in shock when she saw the wizened old man in grey robes standing on thin air.
“All you have to do is trust me and let go,” he smiled.
She had no choice. The world faded as she passed out and lost her grip.
When Daya opened her eyes, she was passing through what looked like a market. A busy street lined with merchant stalls. High noon. The sun was ungodly bright. She was surrounded by people, and the din of voices, the pungent smells of spices and body odor—everything—jarred her senses. There was something utterly disorienting about waking mid-step.
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