EXCERPT included below
~ NEW ~
Endre Felman has lived deep inside a mountain for centuries, adding to his hoard and looking for his mate. Meeting Adara before she goes up in smoke gives him hope, but convincing her dragons are real, that he's the dragon of her heart, and keeping her alive through what's to come proves to be more difficult than he ever imagined...
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~ ~ ~ EXCERPT ~ ~ ~
My pizza was early, and judging from the heavy, insistent knocking, the delivery guy was in a hurry. Well, so was I. My stomach had gone from grumbling to yowling with a hunger so desperate, the Donner Party would've been a breeze. Horking up fireballs and walking home in a snowstorm built up a Godzilla appetite.
"I'm coming." I swung open the front door and then quickly slammed it shut.
I pressed my back into the door and blinked fast. Had I seen...? No. No, that couldn't be right. I must be hallucinating from hunger.
More knocks sounded, each one thudding into my spine.
Should I be able to feel that?
I spun around and squinted through the peephole. Oh hell. I hadn't seen the half of it! Or him, to be more precise.
"I'm calling the police, you perv." It hadn't been the pizza guy, but a naked (OMG. So very NAKED!) man. He'd been so wide he'd filled the doorway with all his flesh.
And he was still knocking.
WTF?
"I'm not opening the door. You can just take your naked butt somewhere else." I hadn't seen much of him, but he did have a lot of muscle. Enough that I would bet his butt was quite nice.
But I refused to think about that.
Because he was probably insane.
Normal people didn't knock on doors naked. Only weirdoes, and I had a firm 'no weirdoes in my personal space' policy. They were like spiders. Outside, where they were supposed to be, they were fine, but once they came into my house? They had to die.
Except, while a shoe might squish a spider, I didn't think it would be enough to save me from the guy outside my door. I probably should have bought a gun or baseball bat at some point before this moment.
I fidgeted against the door. Gee, it was getting hot inside. It felt like a stove burner on my back. Wait a second. That wasn't normal.
Stepping to the side, I peeked out the living room window. The naked man was shooting a steady stream of fire at my door.
From his mouth.
Stunned, I just stared at him for a good long minute. What the hell? He was burning, too? And setting my house on fire? The one I'd barely been able to afford rent? I felt an angry fireball coming on. "You stop that right now, you...you...flaming weirdo!"
The man gave no indication he heard me. His brow furrowed, he continued to focus on my front door, which was now a charred black on the outside. In a minute or less, it would be easy to kick in.
Home invasion by fire. That was a new one.
Running into the kitchen, I grabbed the ice tray from the freezer and a frying pan from the stove. The ice, I crammed down my throat as fast as I could. The fireball forming in my chest felt big and way hotter than any of the other I'd let loose before. I tucked the frying pan under my arm to free up my hands for the ice tray.
I threw a handful of ice cubes in my mouth as fast as I could. They melted almost instantly. Not good.
Back at the living room window, I tapped the ice tray on the window. "Hey. Naked guy. What the hell are you doing?" Sparks sizzled from my mouth with each word. I batted them away, trying to get them before they ruined the carpet. I was already never going to see my security deposit back, might as well not owe the landlord money on top of that.
He looked at me this time. "Open the door."
I blinked, surprised at the baritone boom of his voice. It was just as full and rich as all the muscles rippling under his skin. Shoving another ice cube into my mouth, I ground it into small pieces and swallowed. Did I let him in or let him burn the door down?
The question was moot. The door was a goner. I wasn't going to keep him out, so I focused on what I could control. Tossing the ice tray on the couch, I cocked the frying pan and opened what was left of the door.
He stepped inside and I launched myself at him with a screeching battle cry. The frying pan was all set to connect with his face, but he batted it away like it was a fly. I stumbled as the force of my swing pulled me off balance. Spinning around, I recovered and went in for a second attempt.
He plucked the frying pan out of my hand like he was picking flowers. I backed up until I bumped into the wall. He was so big and so naked and...way too much for me.
"I don't know what you want, but I don't have it, whatever it is." My gaze darted around the living room. There had to be something I could use as a weapon.
"You are Adara Brenton?" He had a faint accent that made my name sound important.
"Oh her? No. She moved." I hiccupped then, the fireball inside me regrouping despite the ice. A minute spark shot out of my mouth and hung suspended in the air for a long second before it flamed out. We both stared at it.
"I think you're Adara." The man advanced on me, his gaze intense. He had a face built of strength and a rough hewed masculinity that contrasted with his ice blue eyes.
I shrank back into the wall. "Just go. Please, just go."
"You have the fire, just like me." He held out his palm and a small ball of fire formed. Launching it up into the air, he juggled it from hand to hand. "Only, unlike you, I'm not going to die from it."
I blinked. "Why are you the one who gets to live?"
"I'm coming." I swung open the front door and then quickly slammed it shut.
I pressed my back into the door and blinked fast. Had I seen...? No. No, that couldn't be right. I must be hallucinating from hunger.
More knocks sounded, each one thudding into my spine.
Should I be able to feel that?
I spun around and squinted through the peephole. Oh hell. I hadn't seen the half of it! Or him, to be more precise.
"I'm calling the police, you perv." It hadn't been the pizza guy, but a naked (OMG. So very NAKED!) man. He'd been so wide he'd filled the doorway with all his flesh.
And he was still knocking.
WTF?
"I'm not opening the door. You can just take your naked butt somewhere else." I hadn't seen much of him, but he did have a lot of muscle. Enough that I would bet his butt was quite nice.
But I refused to think about that.
Because he was probably insane.
Normal people didn't knock on doors naked. Only weirdoes, and I had a firm 'no weirdoes in my personal space' policy. They were like spiders. Outside, where they were supposed to be, they were fine, but once they came into my house? They had to die.
Except, while a shoe might squish a spider, I didn't think it would be enough to save me from the guy outside my door. I probably should have bought a gun or baseball bat at some point before this moment.
I fidgeted against the door. Gee, it was getting hot inside. It felt like a stove burner on my back. Wait a second. That wasn't normal.
Stepping to the side, I peeked out the living room window. The naked man was shooting a steady stream of fire at my door.
From his mouth.
Stunned, I just stared at him for a good long minute. What the hell? He was burning, too? And setting my house on fire? The one I'd barely been able to afford rent? I felt an angry fireball coming on. "You stop that right now, you...you...flaming weirdo!"
The man gave no indication he heard me. His brow furrowed, he continued to focus on my front door, which was now a charred black on the outside. In a minute or less, it would be easy to kick in.
Home invasion by fire. That was a new one.
Running into the kitchen, I grabbed the ice tray from the freezer and a frying pan from the stove. The ice, I crammed down my throat as fast as I could. The fireball forming in my chest felt big and way hotter than any of the other I'd let loose before. I tucked the frying pan under my arm to free up my hands for the ice tray.
I threw a handful of ice cubes in my mouth as fast as I could. They melted almost instantly. Not good.
Back at the living room window, I tapped the ice tray on the window. "Hey. Naked guy. What the hell are you doing?" Sparks sizzled from my mouth with each word. I batted them away, trying to get them before they ruined the carpet. I was already never going to see my security deposit back, might as well not owe the landlord money on top of that.
He looked at me this time. "Open the door."
I blinked, surprised at the baritone boom of his voice. It was just as full and rich as all the muscles rippling under his skin. Shoving another ice cube into my mouth, I ground it into small pieces and swallowed. Did I let him in or let him burn the door down?
The question was moot. The door was a goner. I wasn't going to keep him out, so I focused on what I could control. Tossing the ice tray on the couch, I cocked the frying pan and opened what was left of the door.
He stepped inside and I launched myself at him with a screeching battle cry. The frying pan was all set to connect with his face, but he batted it away like it was a fly. I stumbled as the force of my swing pulled me off balance. Spinning around, I recovered and went in for a second attempt.
He plucked the frying pan out of my hand like he was picking flowers. I backed up until I bumped into the wall. He was so big and so naked and...way too much for me.
"I don't know what you want, but I don't have it, whatever it is." My gaze darted around the living room. There had to be something I could use as a weapon.
"You are Adara Brenton?" He had a faint accent that made my name sound important.
"Oh her? No. She moved." I hiccupped then, the fireball inside me regrouping despite the ice. A minute spark shot out of my mouth and hung suspended in the air for a long second before it flamed out. We both stared at it.
"I think you're Adara." The man advanced on me, his gaze intense. He had a face built of strength and a rough hewed masculinity that contrasted with his ice blue eyes.
I shrank back into the wall. "Just go. Please, just go."
"You have the fire, just like me." He held out his palm and a small ball of fire formed. Launching it up into the air, he juggled it from hand to hand. "Only, unlike you, I'm not going to die from it."
I blinked. "Why are you the one who gets to live?"