by Judith Leger
melodious, lilted around her. “There’ll be no death in this
place tonight. If you desire to place yourself in danger once
more, kindly wait until I have departed.”
She wanted to scream, hit him, anything that would force
this man…this intruder to leave, but her strength ebbed. Her
muscles refused to obey the fight or flight message her brain
sent. She lay in his arm staring horrified at him, trying hard
to ignore the increasing feeling of security that wove around
her. She searched his face and whispered, “Leave me alone.”
He turned toward the open door, glancing at her. “One
day, but not this one.”
In that second, his clear, intense look landed on her. The
bathroom disappeared. Cold wind whipped over her face.
Closer now, still silent and foreboding, the dragon stared at
her. In the next instant, the image vanished. She gasped in
surprise and found she was once more captured by this
man’s cool blue eyes.
The vision came upon her so fast then disappeared just as
quickly. She studied his lean face, the smooth jaw, sculptured
lips, straight nose, and strong forehead. Arched golden
brows matched his light hair. His looks reminded her of
drawings she had seen of glorious archangels. He appeared
like a saint, untouchable and pure, yet the dragon’s image
nudged her to whisper while fear of his answer tightened her
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muscles. “Are you the dragon?”
He stopped at the open door, a frown marring his smooth
brow. His attention stayed focused ahead of them. A strong
citrus odor floated in the air separating them. She inhaled
the intoxicating scent.
“Depends on which dragon.”
“A white one with blue eyes.”
He glanced at her, one brow cocked before he looked
away. For a second, a flicker of surprise and recognition
appeared in his eyes.
“Perhaps.”
Unsettled by his answer, she tried to understand his
reaction to the question. He moved toward the door. The
moment he walked out of her bathroom, the blazing light
just outside the doorway dissipated. Darkness crept in on
them. She looked around, blinking to give her vision time to
adjust.
Stale air assaulted her. She wrinkled her nose. Memories
of her grandmother’s house flittered through her mind. Old,
dusty furniture, tainted with a moldy scent, filled each room
in the elderly woman’s home. Here, though, dim bluish light
from lamps situated in tarnished brackets lined the scarred,
paneled walls. The air pressed in on her, pulling her body
toward the floor. With the heaviness around her, she had to
concentrate to shift closer against his broad chest.
Shadows danced along the hallway. Cool air touched her
bare legs. Curiosity warred with panic inside her mind.
“Please, tell me where we are?” she whispered. Glad her
voice didn’t reveal her fear, Seren continued to search for
some reminder of her pristine condominium. “What do you
want with me?”
“Just to help. You are safe. I intend to keep you close
until I have departed on the rising,” he murmured, stopping
at a closed door.
Her mind awoke with his words. “No, you won’t. You’ll
take me home.”
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Before he had a chance to respond, slurred phrases
mingled with unsteady steps stomping up a staircase that
seemed to be coming from the far end of the corridor. Seren
glanced over her shoulder, and tightened her hold around his
neck.
“To return you to your home, I fear, is impossible at
present. If you desire, I can leave you here, but I will take my
coat with me.”
Seren’s heart dropped. He didn’t actually intend to leave
her here, did he? Where was this place exactly? Her stomach
roiled, nausea threatened to make this a more memorable
night. She hadn’t believed the day could get any worse, but it
had decidedly gotten much more than worse. Horrified, she
met his piercing stare and opened her mouth to speak only to
find no words would come out.
One golden brow lifted in question. “Interesting situation.
What do you suppose those men will assume when they
reach the top of the stairs and discover a naked woman?”
She balled her fists. How dare he do this to her? She
wouldn’t be humiliated like this. The heat of fury started to
rise within her, overriding the shock and setting her in
motion. “All right. I’ll go with you,” she ground out between
clenched teeth.
He had taken her choice away from her. She fumed,
nostrils flaring, inhaling to fill her lungs. She regretted the
deep intake of his scent. It filled her mind with his
intoxicating aroma and made her press her fingers into the
solid muscles of his shoulders.
With a nod, he tightened his grip on her with one arm. He
managed to unlock, twist the handle, and push the door
open. Once inside the room, he kicked it shut behind them.
“Where are we? What are you going to do to me?” She
searched his face, seeking some answer.
He blinked. His eyes remained closed longer than she
thought necessary. Moments continued to slip by. Why
wouldn’t he answer her? The wet streak on his cheek caught
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her attention. She reached over and wiped it off. He moved
his head back away from her fingers and spoke. Her body
jerked in reaction, her nerves stretched taut by everything
that had happened to her. His words, though, had nothing to
do with her questions. “You are here with me because I saw a
shooting star, and fool that I am, made a wish.”
“Wishes on stars don’t come true.”
Curtains at the window were pulled wide, admitting more
light than the small blue-flamed candles situated around the
room. The soft moonlight emphasized the shadows on his
face, giving him a menacing look. She swallowed against the
lump of fear tightening her throat.
His low laugh rumbled in his chest as he moved to a small
bed against the far wall. “Perhaps for those who do not
believe.”
He leaned over and slid his arms from under her. She
sank into the soft mattress. The coat’s edges separated. Her
hands braced behind her, she stared at him. He towered
above her, his features half-shaded.
She held her breath for a few seconds.
He tilted his head. His gaze roamed over her face, glided
down her throat to linger on her breasts, her waist, and
stopped lower, at the junction of her legs.
Frightened of him, she should have curled away, but right
now, she cared little that the coat had fallen off, and she sat
with her arms behind her, her legs bent at the knees,
spreading her body for his view. A sharp slice of desire cut
into her, hardening her nipples and swelling her nether lips.
&nb
sp; Shame followed, chasing away the sudden rise of passion.
She jerked the edges of the coat over herself. Her body
heated in embarrassment.
He turned his back to her, took several deep breaths
before moving with slow steps to the windows. “Go to sleep.
The night is yet young, but I am tired. Crawl under the
covers. I’ll not have you sickened because you are wet and
might catch a chill.”
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Each step echoed in the quiet room. For the first time,
Seren saw the true length of his hair. The light strands
streamed down his back and were tied just below his
shoulders with a black band. Thick and straight, the pointed
tips ended at his hips.
Cold numbness swept over her mind and body, mingling
with the heaviness in the air. She struggled to scoot up in the
bed to tug the covers back. Breathless, she slid under them.
Once settled, she noticed the coat where she’d left it,
crumpled and spread on the edge of the bed. She reached out
and touched the satiny material, wondering if she could read
something about him through the cloth. Seren rubbed the
softness between her fingers. Nothing came to her. She
recalled his comment concerning a wish. Had he wished for
her? No, not her in particular, but any woman? But she’d
brought him bad luck by being the answer for his wish. She
stifled an insane need to giggle. He came out the loser on his
wish. She was useless to a man.
The smooth fabric calmed her tremulous thoughts some.
She stared at the cloth. Why did she notice such a mundane
thing like the soft material? Instead, she should figure out a
way to escape. A means to return home.
Anger pulled at her. She considered slipping the coat on
and making a run for the door. She glanced at where he
stood before the window, staring into the night sky. He’d
stop her, even just to retrieve his coat.
Her anger melted into consternation. She didn’t even
know where she was.
He’d never answered her. She
considered asking him again, but something inside her
warned that he wouldn’t respond. She jerked the coat up and
tossed it over the end of the bed. Refusing to lie down, she
sat, keeping her focus on him.
Silently, Seren waited for him to move. Her mind raced
with a menagerie of scenes from earlier. She tried to find an
explanation for what had happened tonight but failed. She
narrowed her gaze at his profile. He’d saved her life. If the
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radio had hit the water in the tub, she’d be dead. She
released a shaky breath. Minutes slipped by. The weeks of
sleeplessness crashed over her, making her sag, no longer
able to fight the exhaustion.
* * * *
Paladin studied her, hoping the shadows concealed his
features so she wouldn’t notice his stare. He had never
expected to find a woman on the other side of the doorway.
Over a thousand years ago, the connection between
Avaris and all other worlds he’d learned about during the
history lessons of his youth had been destroyed. Time had
brought about the realization that the worlds beyond were
found to be unsuitable for magic and deadly to dragons—that
was incomprehensible. But all this knowledge had not
prepared him for her. A chill touched his back. He stiffened
under the frigid tingles moving up his spine. From the
moment her haunted glance met his, he had experienced a
flood of desire. Something he hadn’t expected or yearned for
since his dead wife’s betrayal.
He glanced out at the dark sky with the multitude of
twinkling stars while his mind whipped through all that had
occurred on this night. Had the dragons reacted to his wish?
The magical blood in his veins would have responded to his
desire. The great clan leaders, each a mighty and terrible
creature, would have felt his need. He gritted his teeth but
kept his body relaxed. Why his wish and none other? There
had been others, wizards along with their apprentices, who
had tried to invoke the dragons to open the portal, but their
efforts had always failed. Yet his had not only opened a
doorway but brought him this woman.
His gaze strayed back to her. She held no answer to his
wish. His body reacted to her, but he still maintained control
over his baser needs. The dragons must have a purpose for
her presence on Avaris. His desire for a son had nothing to
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do with their manipulations. Or did it?
Her question came to him. Are you the dragon? Coming
from a different world, how had she known of his
relationship to the dragons? In particular, a white one.
Time would reveal why this had happened. He would
keep her close until he departed in the morning. Afterward,
he intended to put her from his mind. Let the dragons find
her since they had brought her here.
Mind still dulled by the liquor he’d consumed earlier and
no longer able think clearly, he gave up trying to figure out
the meaning for what had occurred for the moment.
* * * *
The click of his heels forced Seren’s drooping lids open.
He moved to a chair on the side of a small round table in the
center of the room. There, he started to undress.
She narrowed her eyes, trying to see clearer in the room’s
dimness. He slid the long and short swords free before
unclasping his belt. He laid them on the table. Next came his
shirt. He draped it over the back of the chair. Seren’s breath
caught in her throat. The outrage from moments ago
vanished with the slow slide of material over bare skin. As
the moonbeams highlighted his back, revealing valleys and
peaks of muscle, she was enthralled by the beauty of his
body. Dark smudges marked his left arm from wrist to
shoulder. Puzzled, she just managed to make out a design on
the mark—a raised tattoo with frills and sharp angles. He sat
and pulled off one boot then the other before he stood to
remove his pants.
Seren, more awake now, stared at the man before her. At
twenty-eight and living in New Orleans, she had seen a lot,
but she’d never viewed such a fine specimen of the male
body. Flawless, his long legs rose to meet his tapered waist
which accented the width of his shoulders and joined to his
muscled chest. And his…
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Heat crept into her cheeks. As hard as it was, she forced
herself to look away. She enjoyed the view, but she would not
be caught staring at him!
He extinguished the candles. On silent feet, he returned
to the bed. Keeping her face averted, she whispered. “How
can you be so perfect?”
His low answer reached her. “I am not perfect. Now
sleep.”
“You’re not sleeping here.”
He grunted at her comment and sat on the side of the
table next to the bed. He lay with his back to her. The
mattress shifted. After she sat there for a couple of minutes,
the reality that he did intend to sleep next to her struck. She
glanced toward the foot of the bed, trying to decide what to
do. Emotionally tired, her body sluggish, she sighed. She had
nowhere to go. Several quiet seconds passed. She scooted
down and curled into a ball.
Turbulent thoughts about the events of the night, what
happened, and how she’d ended up in bed with him rifled
through her mind. Had the radio fallen into the water? Had
she died? She’d seen the light mentioned by people after near
death experiences, but she didn’t feel dead. Maybe she was
insane. Had the vision gripping her mind these last few
weeks forced her to slip away from the real world and to this
place?
Too upset to voice her thoughts, she clasped a hand over
her mouth, cutting off a cry of denial. Tremors racked her
body. She was so cold, empty. Alone.
At her muffled sound, he released a low sigh. The bed
sank under his weight as he turned. He wrapped his arms
around her, pulling her against his chest. She stiffened.
“Easy, my sweet. I mean you no harm,” he murmured against
her hair. Soon, his warmth seeped into her frozen flesh. She
relaxed, the tension oozing out.
After a soft sigh, she swiped her tongue over her lips to
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wet the dryness there. Unable to stop, she scrubbed her
cheek against his muscled chest and drifted off to sleep, his
wonderful smell surrounding her.
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Chapter Two
Seren dreamed of a glorious angel.
She inhaled the sandalwood scent which had a slight
citrus flare that had followed her into sleep. Her angel held
her clasped against him. She pressed her lips against the
pulsing vein in his neck. From the back of his throat, a needy
groan rumbled.
He lowered his head, grasped her jaw and kissed her. She
opened her mouth wider to allow his entrance, wanting him
to stop her terrorizing visions of the dragon. Only he had the
power to erase the nightmare she’d lived in over the last few
weeks. She wanted to feel alive, no longer heavy with worry.
She didn’t want to be alone any more. She needed someone
to love, to desire her without conditions.