A huge orange moon hung above me and stars lit the night sky, so large they looked as if I could reach out and touch them. There was nothing but sky and forest as far as my eyes could see. I inhaled deeply and realized, as I had the last time I’d been here, that somewhere in this place were pine trees, for their sharp scent teased my senses though I could not see them from where I stood.
I leaned against the door and spoke the name of the man I had come for. The trees were slender, their bark white with leaves that shown silver in the night air. At the sound of Amras’ name they rustled and murmured softly. There was a flash of movement within the trees just as Amras stepped out. His chest was bare, as were his feet, his only clothing his leather pants, and in his hand his curved blade still in its sheath. “Princess, how may I serve you?” he asked and my heart contracted at the sound of his voice.
Behind me the door vibrated suddenly as if something very large struck it and I could hear the faint sounds of yelling while the door shook again. Amras tilted his head to the side as if listening. “Perhaps you should come away from there just now,” he urged me.
My feet moved me toward him and his arms opened to draw me close. “May I sleep with you?” I asked against his chest and felt his surge of pleasure wrap around my mind just as his arms held me to him.
“I would be honored… come,” he replied and drew me into the trees along a well-worn path. He held my hand, while we walked silently through the trees which whispered and sighed above our heads, though there was no breeze. He brought me to a small meadow and drew me to a bower at the opposite edge of the trees. His bed was lined with the softest of lichen and blankets that looked to be Elfin, they were so finely woven. He placed his blade on the ground within reach and turned to me. My fingers spread across his stomach and down to the top of his pants into the lacings, which I loosened quickly. My hands slipped inside, cupping him gently. I stared up into his eyes and licked my lips while he grew long and hard between my palms.
His hands moved over my shoulders and up my neck, then his fingers slid into my hair. He tilted my chin back with his thumbs and moaned softly just before his lips brushed against mine. His mind, usually so controlled, opened to me and I was overwhelmed by the chaos of his thoughts. “This is what you do to me,” he whispered against my lips. “What you have done to me since I first came to be with you.” My hands slid around to his sides and I eased his pants over his hips. He continued to kiss me, stepping out of the legs then drawing me in against his body. I purred deep in my throat at the feel of him and his fingers released my ties so he could ease my robe off my shoulders. My straps slid down my arms and we stood naked together in the moonlight, our bodies touching while my heartbeat echoed the pleasures to come.
Amras lifted me into his arms and held me against his chest while I slipped my arms around his neck. He turned and laid me upon his bed, following me down and covering my body with his, oh so gently. I opened my legs for him and he positioned himself between them. When he pierced my body, my eyes fluttered closed and I reached for him, holding him to me, pulling him in and drowning myself in the feel of his pleasure, vowing as I did so that this would not be the for the last time.
Read on for an excerpt from:
DRAGON ENVY
Dragonfire Romance Book 3
By Kelly Armenta
Chapter 1
I dreamt I was riding a Unicorn with huge purple eyes and a long silky mane and tail. We raced the sunrise through the surf and the sound of hooves and crashing waves filled the air. Salty spray covered my naked body, dripping from my lashes and face as I held to the beast with my legs. I bent forward, all the while the wind’s fine fingers plucked and worried at me. In that in between place where the light and darkness vie for control, we ran. I clung to my beast and suddenly it was no longer a pale Unicorn, but something dark as midnight with glowing red eyes and long jagged fangs. The fur on its back was as smooth as velvet between my legs. I buried my hands in its silky mane and held on, as it turned and ran into deeper water. Quickly the frothy waves covered my knees. When the water was at my waist I pulled at its mane, trying to steer my beast back to the water’s edge. It shifted yet again and I found myself astride a grey beast of bones and tautly stretched skin. It turned on me and grabbed at me with skeletal hands, plunging me under the water and holding me there, while I struggled to free myself and managing only to swallow mouthfuls of water. I was conscious only of the panic I felt and the horrible taste of salty water.
“Lexi! Hear me,” a voice commanded in my panic and darkness, the speaker male, his words urgent. “You must wake, release the dream… take my hand… come back to us.” Fingers appeared before me and I reached for them, clutching tightly as I was drawn out of the dream and into the light.
I could hear my ragged breathing and cracked open an eye, moaning at the pain filling every nook and cranny in my head. I looked around and realized I lay on a bed of moss. Beside me Cursed and Amras were slumped over as if in a feint. Roral and Lira stood next to Kit and Owen; bleak eyed, and by all counts, worried looking.
Movement caused me to gag and cough up a vile smelling fluid, which spewed from my mouth and throat in a stream. Owen plucked me from the bower and turned me so that the liquid was released onto the grass of the meadow. To my horror, everything the liquid touched turned black and immediately withered. Kit assisted Owen in holding back my hair. Both urged me to vomit up every last ounce from my lungs. Fortunately my body agreed with their advice.
When I was done and my ribs hurt from dry heaving, Owen carefully lifted me into his arms and seated us on the meadow floor, away from the charred ground. Lira and Roral helped Amras and Cursed, who appeared to be coming around. Both were moaning, clutching their heads and attempting to push themselves upright.
My own head rolled against Owen’s shoulder, my body felt deprived of oxygen and was just now coming back to life. Pins and needles radiated throughout my limbs and I too moaned and shifted uncomfortably in his lap, wanting to scream but somehow managing to restrain myself. The feeling lasted several agonizing minutes. It was long enough for Amras and Cursed to manage a position more vertical, less horizontal. While they still looked unsteady, they both managed to remain upright, heads held in hands.
When the worst of the pain had fled, I tried pushing myself to my feet, only to be gently restrained by Owen. “I need to help them,” I breathed a sigh when he rose and carried me across the distance that separated us. He went to a knee, balancing me so that I could place a hand on each of them. I pulled air into my aching lungs and forced the healing out of my body and into theirs. And then sweet bliss rose up to enfold me. I felt Owen grab my arms as I slipped sideways.
“That was not wise, My Lady,” Cursed chastised me when I came around the second time. I smiled wanly up into his now healthy looking complexion and stretched out a shaky hand to cup his cheek.
“Were hurting,” I whispered, my throat feeling like I had swallowed dry sandpaper.
He reached for my hand and bit me softly, his sharp teeth leaving indentations in my skin. “I am sorry,” he whispered when his tongue lathed the pressure marks. I sighed and curled into a ball in Owen’s lap, struggling to keep my eyes open.
“S’okay,” I rasped and rubbed my cheek against the soft hair as I wrapped myself around Owen’s arm. “Feels good.”
And then Amras was there and his fingers pushed back the hair from my face. “Princess, you must not sleep,” he told me firmly and plucked me from Owen’s lap. “You must wake and change now.”
“Mmm… already naked,” I rasped, as I looked at him from beneath my lashes. He smiled tightly and shook his head, his hair spilling around him so that it brushed my cheek and hand. I moved my fingers slightly and grasped a lock. “So beautiful, like liquid silk,” I breathed.
“It’s like she’s drugged,” I heard Owen remark.
“Or drunk,” Kit offered as I moved my body suggestively against Amras.
“I’ve never se
en her like this before,” Owen muttered while I ran my tongue over Amras nipple.
I blinked then stared in wonder at the strobing lights reflected on Amras’ chest, murmuring softly. My finger traced the lights across his smooth skin for several seconds and then I turned my head and stared at Cursed, my nostrils flaring as I pulled the scent of him into my lungs. The lights increased and I struggled suddenly, my body arching toward Cursed. My eyes narrowed and in the next instant I was fighting Amras in my attempt to reach Cursed. A low hissing noise filling the air as my agitation grew and speech left me.
“Stay back,” Owen growled when Cursed lifted his hand toward my outstretched fingers.
Lira and Roral reached for me and Lira cried out as I raked him with nails gone sharp and not quite human. They dragged me to the ground where I continued to struggle trying to reach Cursed, who stared back at me in amazement.
“Get Gareth and Jace,” Owen told Kit harshly. “She’s been poisoned and needs to shift.”
Voices filled the air while I clawed and bit anything within reach in my insane attempt to get to Cursed. It was like a burning in me, excluding all other thought. I had to have him. Smoke leaked from my nostrils and someone cried out sharply.
Then minds pressed in on me and I screamed and choked from the internal pressure, my nerves and muscles feeling like they were tearing me apart from the inside out. More hands held me while alien thoughts forced themselves into my brain. I screamed again and thrashed about against the something or someone inside me their voices all coaxing, and wheedling. I writhed and my scream turned to a roar as I abruptly shifted, then shifted once again. When the shifting ceased, I found myself at the bottom of a pile of six or seven people, everything smelled of blood and fear, and the air nearly vibrated with heavy breathing and angst.
Author’s Note
Thanks so much for reading! I hate deadlines so if you want to know when the next book will be released you can follow me on Facebook (kellyarmenta) or Twitter (@KellyArmenta). Or you can check out my website at www.kellyarmenta.com for some of my favorite art.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Editing was handled by me. So if you see something you believe needs changing, feel free to contact me. If you like the artwork I can recommend www.hotdamndesigns.com and you can get some awesome artwork for yourself.
A special thanks to my family for their encouragement and my fans for their continued patience and support.
Other novels by Kelly Armenta
Dragonfire Series
Dragon Lust
Dragon Envy
Western Romance
Willful Deception
Golden Dream
The Right Man
Coming Soon
Dragon Greed
Dragon Rage Page 28