Authors: Amanda Ashley
Quinn stood outside, letting the cool night air envelop him. Crickets and tree frogs serenaded the night. A faint breeze stirred the leaves of the trees. He had been vaguely troubled for the last few weeks, though he could not say why. But for this moment, as he gazed up at Brynn Tor’s twin moons, he felt utterly at peace. Seleena was waiting for him in their bed. Their son slept in his cradle, and all was right with the world.
Earlier, they had attended Annis’ wedding. The bride had been beautiful, the groom obviously ill-at-ease in the company of so many high-ranking men and women. Quinn didn’t know if it had been the press of so many bodies, the stink of so much cooked food, the scent of so much blood, or the beating of so many hearts, but it had filled with him a growing restlessness.
The dragon had sensed his agitation. Quinn had felt the whip of its tail. Seleena, bless the woman, had also been aware of his distress. Taking him aside, she had suggested they leave when the first toast to the happy couple was over.
He had felt better when they were back home, but now, he was again plagued by the same sense of unease that had never been far from his mind. He told himself he was imagining trouble where there was none.
His love for Seleena and his son grew stronger, deeper, every day.
Steffon was thriving, a happy, healthy child more given to laughter than tears.
There had been peace in the land for the last seven months. Save for Alexxa, they had vanquished all their enemies. Still, it troubled him that the witch had so easily given Nardik the slip back on Callidori. Even more troubling was the fact that she lived on Brynn Tor. Had she returned to her home in Ironntown? He told himself the witch would not be so foolish as to come back here looking for revenge, not when it meant contending with the dragon.
And yet, he had killed her sister, scattered Wyrick’s coven, threatened her life. People had sought vengeance for far less.
He lifted a hand to the tattoo on his shoulder, wondering, as he had in the past, exactly how powerful the dragon was. Sometimes he had the feeling that the creature was an actual, living, thinking being and not just some magical hologram capable of inflicting death and destruction.
Quinn?
Seleena’s voice whispered in the back of his mind, soft and sexy and filled with promise.
It grows late and my arms grow lonely without you.
A thought took him to her side.
“What troubles you?” she asked as he slid into bed beside her.
“Nothing for you to fret about, Red,” he assured her as he drew her into his embrace. Her body molded to his, a living flame in his arms, stirring his passion and his hunger. And his never-ending need for this woman and no other.
He moaned softly as she caressed him, her touch igniting his desire even as it soothed his hunger.
He rose over her, lost in the love he read in her eyes. His worries about the future would keep until tomorrow.
Tonight, he wanted only the warmth of his woman’s body against his, her arms tight around him, her love enfolding him this night and every night for as long as he lived.
The dragon stirred when it was certain its host was asleep. It slithered down the vampire’s arm, growing in size and shape as its feet touched the floor.
The witch’s cat hissed and darted under the bed, then stared out at him through unblinking yellow eyes.
Amused by the furry little creature, the dragon left the house by the back door.
Outside, he rose to his full twelve-foot height. It felt good to stretch his legs and his wings. He lifted his head, breathing in the cool night air, drinking in the sights, and the smells born to him on the breeze. Lesser creatures scurried out of his path as he strolled through the gardens.
The dragon glanced back at the house. His host, the woman, and the child, all slept peacefully, unaware that he took on physical form every night in order to guard their home and their lives. Unaware of the danger heading this way. He could smell it, taste it on his tongue.
It tasted like death.
Taking to the skies, he soared over the sleeping village, ever alert to the slightest movement below, to any hint of danger.
When he was certain all was well, he returned to the yard. His charges slept on, ignorant of the fact that it hadn’t been a spell gone wrong that bound him to the man Quinn, and his family.
No, the dragon thought, folding his wings, it had been his own choice to accept Quinn as his master. Though the evil witch, Serepta, had conjured him from ink, the blood of a young dragon, and her own dark magic, she had also imbued with him with greater power than she realized.
It made him the master of his own fate, granted him the ability to decide who he would serve. And who he would destroy.
Someday, he would tell Quinn.
And it would change everything.
Amanda Ashley is one of those rare birds—a California native. She’s lived in Southern California her whole life and loves it. She married her high school sweetheart and they have three sons, all handsome enough to be cover models!
Amanda never intended to be a published author. It just happened. She has always loved to read, though. The Black Stallion books, Nancy Drew, Mary Stewart. And then she discovered romance novels. One night when her husband was at work, her kids were in bed and there was nothing on TV, she sat down and started writing a book of her own. And she’s been writing ever since.
Amanda and her alter ego, Madeline Baker, have written over seventy books, many of which have appeared on various bestseller lists, including the New York Times list, the Waldenbooks Bestseller list, and the USA Today list. Not bad for someone who started writing just for the fun of it.
Copyright © 2016 Amanda Ashley
Published by Butterfly Kisses Press
Cover design by Cindy Lucas