by Milana Jacks
Definitely a glitch.
My car started to shake, then Diego disengaged, ripping off Nano’s door as the force field pulled away. I stayed suspended in the air, my car not working, the force that kept it flying drained. The car tilted, and Nano rolled out. I hadn’t worn my seat belt, so I rolled after it.
I screamed as I fell.
I closed my eyes.
My life flashed before me.
Thump.
I hit the ground. My body bounced back. Wind blew my hair over my face, and I snapped my eyes open. The plasma barrier above me turned bright red and pulsed. Shouts came from below. I sat up and touched the dragon’s skin.
Wings flapped on either side of me, and I held on for dear life as he made a turn over the habitat and headed for the plasma construction site. It was the only place where the plasma was as clear as it’d been before. Everywhere else, it pulsed red.
We broke through.
Cyborgs opened fire. Laser lights covered us, hitting his skin and putting holes in his body. The dragon shrieked and spun around.
“No, no, no.” My hands came away bloody. “Fly away, fly away.”
But he didn’t. He threw back his head and roared. My body vibrated. My ears rang.
Then I clearly heard “Rise” come from the dragon’s mouth.
A loud noise came from behind me, and the sea rose above us, forming a wave as big as the habitat. Down there, seashells could be seen in the dry sand. The dragon had sucked up all the water and brought it together in a giant wave that hovered, thundering like a storm from nightmares.
The dragon flapped his wings, waiting for the cyborgs to retreat. They fired, and the wave folded over us. Inside it, not a drop of wetness touched me or the dragon. I couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything beside the angry blue around me. I climbed up his body and onto his head, where I sat inside my little human cupholder and leaned against the horn.
The water came away.
Waves splashed against the coast.
The red plasma short-circuited. The military washed away into the sea, the streets flooded, the cyborgs peeked out of their homes, came out of the bars, snapped pictures from the streets.
Cy aliens were everywhere in the habitat. On the streets, on the buildings, in the bars. Everywhere. Their tall, willowy silver bodies couldn’t be missed. “Oh my God, they were living among us!”
The plasma flashed red and then returned to its clear yet visible form. The Cy disappeared, but I knew what I’d seen. The plasma barrier made the Cy invisible. For years, we’d believed the Cy never touched our ground, but they had been on Earth for God knew how long. But why? Why were they hiding from us?
The dragon spun around and flew back to the castle. He landed on the top with a thud, his face slapping the concrete. I slid down his nose and hugged it. “I missed you.”
Smoke came out his nostrils, followed by a whine.
“You’re hurt.” I didn’t see any wounds on his face, so I rounded his body. Blood and laser lacerations covered his side, and they’d even gotten his wing. “Mandy!” I screamed, but she was already bursting through the door, as were Jake and Belle and perhaps the entire pack.
“Is there anything we can do for him?” I asked everyone at once.
Jake shook his head. “No. We have to hope he heals.”
“But he will heal, right?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
The dragon snorted.
Jake smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Okay, then. Excuse me.” I tried to get past the crowd, but Jake grabbed my shoulders. “Where are you going?”
“I need a blanket. Or ten, if I’m going to spend the night up here.”
“I’ll get those,” Belle said.
And so she did. Once again, I climbed over the beast’s nose and crawled onto his muzzle, then lay over the length of it and covered myself with three thermal blankets. They had nothing on the heat that warmed my belly from below.
16
Lance
Ever tried looking down your nose? It’s incredibly difficult to focus, and dragons aren’t exempt from this. Cross-eyed, I stared at my spirit, who snored softly, sprawled over my muzzle. Her entire body was covered. I could only see the mane of brown hair peeking from under the blankets. I scrunched up my nose.
Nothing.
I huffed out a breath.
Nothing.
I tilted my head.
She slid off and thumped on the floor. “Ouch,” she mumbled and crawled out from under the blankets. She sat and looked up, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. “What time is it?”
“Around nine,” I answered in my head.
“I heard you.” She smiled.
“I thought you might.” Then I shifted back into a man.
Selena stood and watched, mesmerized, as if it was the first time seeing me. My human form came first, and I hurried to kiss her before the scales covered my body, but she stepped back and looked down at my foot where the scales started forming. They climbed up my calf, my leg, over my hips, torso, and finally covered my face. Selena touched the nasty bruise on my ribs. I groaned.
“Sorry.”
I caught her hand, turned it over, and kissed her palm, then put it back over the bruise. She stepped closer and got up on her toes, and I closed the distance between us. Though it was only a kiss, a brief stroke of tongues, it felt like a promise to me.
“Lance?” she said, her brown eyes wide and bright. “Did you miss me?”
I chuckled. “If you only knew.”
“Tell me, because I don’t know what to do next.”
“You are my spirit, Selena. My dragon’s one mate. I love you and need you like the seas need the rain. Marry me.”
Selena paled.
I waited.
And waited. Uh-oh. Selena was sweet and was probably thinking of a polite way to reject me. I squared my shoulders. I’d just have to wow her, because I wouldn’t let her go this time.
“Yes,” she said, “I love you as you are.”
Longest ten seconds of my life! I pecked her soft lips. “Lance Salazar it is, then.”
“Oh, you don’t have to take my last name.”
“I don’t see why not.”
As I walked my mate down the tower intent on showing her my jewel collection, our future shone brightly. Still, I couldn’t ignore what I’d seen when the plasma disengaged and exposed the Cy living among the humans. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew my brothers needed to find their mates quickly and end the Ice Age so that Selena could pick fresh spring flowers for her bridal bouquet.
<<<<>>>>
Hello! Milana here. This has been Rise the Seas, first in a four book series. If you are new-to-me reader thank you for taking this wild ride with me! If you came here from the Beasts—welcome back my loyal sexy pumpkin!
Okay, so two things now.
1. I write short stories with my series’ because I love a good smutty shorty. Jake and Belle - April 8 release day and exclusively on my website. Get on the waiting list for a free story delivered to your inbox. CLICK HERE.
2. For Nentres’ story teaser flip the page.
Cradle the Fire
UNCORRECTED PROOF PENDING RELEASE
Nentres
Let the record show that I, the great fire dragon, was supposed to deflower all the virgins, hoard all the jewels, and burn all the habitats. I had maidens banging on my door. Life was excellent, with the exception of this pretty girl who wasn’t even remotely interested in me. She’d walked inside the room and paid more attention to my furniture and rugs than to me. And I was supposed to forgo my ball, forgo hundreds of women throwing themselves at me, and marry this Yankee cowgirl who didn’t even find me attractive? I didn’t think so.
I addressed the cyborg matriarch, as the girl’s opinion seldom mattered in these circumstances. “Most women want to jump me on sight. You brought me a girl who would rather look at George than at me.�
�
George, the head of my household, cleared his throat.
“No offense,” I said to George.
“Mm-hm.”
“She’s just shy,” the cyborg answered.
“And an implant reject,” George added and looked pointedly at me, then at the briefcase near the cyborg’s mechatronic foot. He was trying to tell me something. I drummed my fingers on the couch’s armrest. The cyborg intended to bribe me, I believed, and she was smart enough to offer me the girl for free first, then see where it led.
I had nothing to lose by presuming the briefcase was filled with money or gold or family heirlooms. I’d never refused a good bribe, and I wasn’t gonna start now. Let the business begin. The girl…hell, I already forgot her name. It started with an A… “Annie, are you shy?” I asked her.
“No.”
“So your mother’s a liar?”
At first, she didn’t answer, then said, “I simply didn’t expect to be married off.”
Ah. Poor thing. Cyborgs could be vicious. I wondered if the Cy tech on their bodies took away some their humanity too. I smiled at the poor girl, making sure my dimples showed. The girl didn’t blink or swoon or sigh or at least whimper. This pissed me off. I’d never met a more indifferent woman in my life. “My answer remains the same. I need to keep my options open. I’ll marry only once. She’ll be someone who, at the very least, is interested in me and finds me attractive.” A lie. I would marry the spirit who would light my fire element outside the bedroom. In return, I would light her world on fire inside my bedroom. Mother Nature predicted the spirit would attend the ball, and so I kept my eye out for a woman who caught my attention. The problem? They all caught my attention, because I loved women. It helped I didn’t have to work too hard to get them, and I wasn’t gonna work for this little peach either.
Mechatronic fingers flexed, the noise grating on my foul mood. The cyborg reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple velvet pouch. She tossed it to me. “The girl’s dowry.”
My mood improved. I caught the pouch and weighed it in my hand but didn’t open it. I dumped it on the table. “You insult me. First you imply that the women are forced to come here. I assure you, they are all very willing. Apart from this one.” I pointed at the girl, who kept standing. She seemed frozen in that state. “And then you offer me…what? A few hundred grams of gold worth maybe ten grand? I wouldn’t buy a bitch for my dog for ten grand.”
“And besides, the girl’s nothing special. She’s simple and, frankly, would bore me by tomorrow.” Annie Trahan had the most exquisite black-rimmed green eyes, which stood in stark contrast with her flawless caramel complexion, small nose, and wide, puffy lips. Her kinky brown hair framed a cute oval face, and she had hips a man could grip real well when he fucked her doggy style. I found her pretty, another thing that annoyed me since she found me…plain.
But I needed to see the contents of that briefcase. The less interested I appeared, the more money the stepmom would offer me. I would take her money and dump the girl the moment I found my spirit. This cyborg couldn’t keep a reject who hurt her social status and blocked her Cy benefits. The girl couldn’t carry the Trahan family name and work at the bottom of the habitat either. My gut said the stepmom didn’t have a choice, which meant she would pay me every last penny she’d brought with her. If she was smart, she’d know to leave the jewelry on the table as well. It might be only a few hundred grams, but I hoarded jewels. All dragons hoarded jewels.
I expected the cyborg to argue some more, but she reached for the black case and put it on the table. She spun it around, pressed a finger on the scan reader, and opened the case to reveal stacks of cash. I estimated a quarter of a million roges, which would pay for the ball.
I closed the case. I loved money, but I was pretty sure I could milk some more from this cyborg. “Nice. I ain’t offended anymore.”
The stepmom assumed her poker face, letting me stew on her offer.
“Have a seat, Annie,” I told the girl.
“Thank you.”
“Welcome.” Annie seemed scared out of her mind.
I had no need to buy brides or even accept money for brides, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna force myself on one. “Would you marry me?” I asked her. CLICK!
About the Author
Milana Jacks grew up with tales of water fairies that seduced men, vampires that seduced women, and Babaroga who’d come to take her away if she didn’t eat her bean soup. She specializes in dark, fun & steamy paranormal romance set in dystopian world where sexy alpha males are unapologetic and supportive at the same time. Her home is on Earth with her mate and their three little monsters.
• Before publication, she releases stories for the readers on her mailing list as they await for books in the series. If you want in, join other readers HERE. •
Meet me at
www.milanajacks.com
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