Publisher: Shara Azod, LLC
Series: Dragon's Keep Series
Genre: I/R erotic paranormal romance
Author: RaeLynn Blue
Purchase link: http://www.sharaazod.com/ebook/firebreather.html
Blurb: For Angelina Brown, everything that couldn’t be proved with science was basically unnecessary; including love. Her outlook on the emotion was clinical, almost detached. That is until she found herself mated to one of the dragon shifters in a resident horde that she helped look after as an expert dragontologist.
Ryuu had two issues. One, he needed to find a mate and fast. Two, he needed to solve a murder even faster. The first issue is taken care of when his mating to Angelina pretty much drops into his lap. But after an incident that leaves his confidence shaken, he begins to wonder, is the good doctor with him because of her heart’s curiosity or her brain’s?
Stuck together through an unbreakable bond that is as old as time and just as strong; the pair finds themselves not only trying to figure out the surprise arsonist, but whether or not they should follow the lead of their emotions.
Excerpt:
Ryuu and Pax walked down the winding tunnel, snaking its way through rock until it emptied out at the base of a round open room. Lit torches flickered and kept the darkness at bay. The flames flickered, and cast shadows onto the room’s domed walls. In the front of the dining hall, a wide hearth burned. Food sizzled and scented the space with aromas so delicious, Ryuu’s stomach rumbled in agreement. Damn. He was hungry. With so many already in the dining hall, boisterous noise and conversation greeted Pax and Ryuu. Each of them bore the tattoo of the Azure Dragon on the base of their throat. General Shan Xiongxin had been reincarnated as a man, and all of them could trace their ancestry back to him, the first great Azure Dragon.
No sooner had Ryuu sat down at the table, then Gou, the Elder, flashed into the open seat beside him. Pax placed a plate in front of him filled with meat, and walked away just as quickly.
“Pax?” Ryuu called after him, but he disappeared into the constantly moving crowd of people in the dining hall. Removing his parka, Ryuu wondered if his friend had set him up for Elder Gou.
“Ah, yes, Ryuu.” The Elder grinned. “Firebreather.”
“Yes.” Ryuu bowed to Elder Gou. Every time Elder Gou smiled like that, it meant more work or heartburn for him.
“Eat while I talk because, yes, you will need your strength.”
Ryuu ate leftovers for supper, but he hardly tasted it. Something had gone horribly wrong for the Elder to come into the dining hall, of all things, to discuss council business.
“You know, Angelina, our resident dracontologist. Yes?” Elder Gou waved his hand, at Angelina Brown.
Ryuu wheezed out a “yes.”
How could he not? The human female had decided to live among them here, helping with their births, studying their world, and chronicling their history into words. Every male in the keep knew her. With moist lips, a wide nose, and round, inquisitive eyes, her face was a flourish of softly drawn lines. Mahogany skin like unblemished marble coated her every exposed body part. An ivory, cable-knit sweater and jeans covered up most of her body today, but Ryuu had seen her in spring and summer, had memorized everything about her. Angelina had thick, dark brown hair that rippled in loopy curls down to her navel. Bright eyes shined black in the low light of the fireplace. She ate with quick tears into the meat, ripping out hunks of chicken in an efficient manner that turned him on. Pieces slipped between her full, moist lips, and her eyes lowered in pleasure at the taste. For Ryuu, the chicken stuck in his throat, and he used the watery tea to wash down the flavorless meat. Not that he complained. This quieted his rumbling hunger, but his carnal craving to possess the beautiful woman raged on. He shouldn’t be turned on by watching her eat—something very common and ordinary—but he was. Mainly because when Angelina ate, it was extraordinary.
“I see.” Elder Gou sounded amused.
Angelina took another bite and swallowed. Ryuu couldn’t take his eyes from her throat as it worked. Her fingers were quick, and he imagined how they would feel on his skin, skipping across his nipples, tweaking them in between her full lips. Her lips, thick and deep cherry in color, were guilty of making him hard and horny.
“Angelina, could you join us?” Elder Gou called her over with a wave.
She nodded and excused herself from the conversation she was having. Carrying her food and drink, she got up and came down to where they sat. This close to him, she was even more beautiful.
Elder Gou winked at Ryuu. “You know Ryuu Sho Jin.”
She gave him a thin smile. “The Firebreather? Yes, I know him.”
Ryuu didn’t know where this was going, but he trusted Elder Gou to tell him. Like all men of wisdom and knowledge, the Elder would take his sweet time getting to the point. Yes, Ryuu found Angelina extremely attractive, but she wasn’t a shifter.
“What can I do for you Elder, Ryuu?” Angelina’s soft husky voice brushed across Ryuu’s body as if she’d touched him.
“There’s been an incident in North Carolina with one of our kind, from our keep. A human has died in a house fire. The fire investigators have determined it to be the work of a dragon.”
Angelina glanced at Ryuu but then back to Elder Gou. “A dragon burned a house down?”
Elder Gou nodded.
“Someone died in the fire.”
Elder Gou nodded again.
“Can’t the local authorities handle it?” Angelina asked. “The law states that the offending dragon be captured, and if convicted, executed.”
Ryuu agreed. “The laws governing our integration into human society are clear.”
Elder Gou cleared his throat. “They’re calling it murder. Premeditated murder.”
“Are they certain it was a dragon shifter, and not say, someone with pyrokinesis?” Angelina leaned forward to talk toward Ryuu.
So close, Ryuu wanted to touch her.
“The humans do not always distinguish between dragons and other creatures successfully or with close scrutiny. It is often convenient to blame dragons for fires, because they believe all of us breathe fire. No offense, Angelina.”
“None taken, Great Elder. So, what exactly are you asking me to do? I’m not an investigator.”
“No, but you are a scientist. As a dracontologist, you can be objective, and being human, you can help your kind understand the subtleties of ours.”
Ryuu nodded and he agreed. Angelina should go.
“As for you, Ryuu, you are one of the council. You must go represent us.”
Ryuu cast a weary glance at Angelina. He didn’t know how much she knew about his so-called condition, but he didn’t want to discuss it in from of her.
“Elder Gou, I’m not fit to travel at this time.”
Elder Gou’s busy eyebrow rose and he stroked his long, ivory goatee. “Unfit to travel, you say?”
Ryuu nodded and secretly hoped he didn’t want an explanation. Most of the council knew he hadn’t mated. Hell, they’d all commented on it, cajoled him and teased him about his reluctance to just accept any mate. The job required sensitivity, and Angelina’s calm, no-nonsense manner would go over well with the police. She didn’t ruffle easily, but at this stage of his life—30 years old—and two years overdue for mating, Ryuu’s temper and emotions had been reduced to the impulsivity of a three year old. Not a good choice around the police—or people. Hence the reason he’d returned to the keep.
Elder Gou nodded. “I see.”
Angelina stood, a wrinkle of concern on her face. “I’m going to go pack. I guess I’m leaving in a few hours?”
Elder Gou turned to her. “Yes. Within the hour if the weather holds clear. This is time sensitive, as you can imagine.”
“Yes, of course, but I do have two very pregnant females…”
“They will be cared for, as we have done before the age of dracontologists.”
“Yes, of course.” Angelina nodded at Ryuu and left.
When Angelina was out of earshot, Ryuu leaned over to Elder Gou. “I’m not myself as of late, Elder, as you are aware.”
“I am. Your delay in mating seemed harmless, but reckless, as I have said. It is unfortunate. You have been reduced to such a fragile state of constant unrest. Still, your duty is to this keep and those spawned from it.”
Ryuu frowned. “What do you mean?”
Elder Gou sighed. “The dragon they suspect is responsible for the murder and the fire is Draco.”
Ryuu shot out of his seat. “No!”
He slammed his fist on the table, as everything turned scarlet. His vision shifted and a slow burning cradled in his chest. Puffing as his anger grew, Ryuu struggled to contain the fire inside. It couldn’t be Draco.
The gods had a cruel and dark humor. To cast his own brother into the proverbial fire.
And he, Ryuu at his weakest.
Roaring out his displeasure, azure flames shout out of his mouth, and into the dining hall’s air. A hush descended over the room, no one spoke or even moved. A sizzling burn broke out all over Ryuu’s body, as he hunched over in pain. He was shifting? Shrieking, he roared back again, and shot forth fire. He could hear others stumbling, running, to avoid his fury, but he could only see the heat of their bodies. Deep into the metamorphosis of shifting, he was at his most vulnerable.
“Clear the hall!” Elder Gou shouted. “Get everyone out! He breaths fire! Go!”
He sounded angry, but then Ryuu’s senses had been seriously muted as he hovered between man and dragon. Damn, he should have more control than this. Why did it hurt so badly? Pain erupted across his shoulder blades where his wings would normally emerge.
Not now! He struggled to get a grip on his mind.
“Ryuu?”
He shifted his head to the gentle call of his name. A female. In this state, his heart exploded in a galloping race, his blood burned and agony rocked through him. Shifting had never hurt so much in his life—well, not since his first time as a young boy. Roaring again in anguish, he spewed flames, coughing out smoke.
“Whoa! That was close,” the female said again. “It’s a good thing we don’t have a ceiling here. You’d burned the entire thing down.”
Something about the gentle cadence of her voice lessened the searing heat ripping through his skin, his blood, and his very body. Whatever she had done, he needed her to keep doing it.
“Please, please,” he managed in his dragon tongue, before too long, once he’d completely changed, he wouldn’t be able to communicate with the female at all—not until she shifted too. A telepathic link was shared between the members of their clan when in dragon form.
“Help him!” Elder Gou command. “Now!”
“I will,” the female said again.
The burning increased, flaring back up, stubbornly refusing to subside. Words ceased to exist. He shut his eyes in agony. He collapsed to the floor, wrapping himself into a tight ball of fire. What the hell was going on? All he could do was shriek in pain. If only he could shift completely to one or the other, human or dragon, he’d be all right. As for now, he sat trapped between both worlds.
And it was in this anguish-filled darkness, Ryuu realized who had agreed to help him.
Angelina.
End excerpt
No comments:
Post a Comment