“I’ve never been happier to see someone in my life.” Beck kissed her again, having to pull away so that he could pull her dress over her head. He cupped her breasts.
Alex could hardly believe that Beck was there. She was almost too afraid to close her eyes in case he disappeared. A crazy thought and yet…she kept wanting to pinch herself all the same. She’d been miserable since he left. Had been driving herself crazy trying to figure out a way to get a message to him. Even though she had his number, it would only work if he was within signal range. She’d sent dozens of messages, in the hopes that one would reach him, and so far, nothing. Alex had tried to think of another way and had come up with blanks. They did belong together. A more unlikely combination had probably never existed and yet, here they were. Her heart raced just looking at him. They didn’t know all that much about one another, but that was about to change.
“Are you moving in?” her voice was breathy, as Beck kissed her neck. “Staying here with me? Or are you getting your own place?” This was all so new. She didn’t want to assume.
He pulled back, a look of concern in his eyes. “If you’ll have me. I want to stay with you.”
“Of course. I would love it if you moved in,” her voice was animated.
Beck smiled. “Great!” Then his eyes turned serious. “I’ll send word to Torrent, my king. I will let him know what’s happening. That I’m staying and about us. I will try to explain it all to him.”
The last thing she wanted was for him to have regrets. It was a major decision and, if she was honest with herself, it looked like he’d made it spur of the moment. Given that he had shown up on her doorstep naked. “Are you really sure you…?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything. I told you, Alex, I love you. I know we come from opposite backgrounds. We were raised to be enemies but…we’re the opposite of enemies. We’re partners. We belong together and none of that other stuff matters. Only this…” He covered her mouth with his. Alex pushed herself against him.
She pulled away after a few seconds though. “I’m glad you came back. I would love it if we lived together…”
He groaned. “I’m sensing a but…”
She nodded once. “But we’re not rushing into anything.” She laughed at how crestfallen he looked.
“You do know that non-humans, once they’ve chosen a life partner, tend to like things to move along quickly?”
“I didn’t know that,” she smiled. “How quickly?”
“Um…we very quickly decide about a person. It can take anything from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Never more than that. Usually closer to days. Ultimately, once we decide we want someone, that’s it. Done deal! It’s how we are. I want you to know that I’m sure about this. If it would make you feel better, we can wait.”
“I just want you to be one hundred percent sure before…”
“I am, but we’ll wait…I will wait as long as you want. I’m not going anywhere, I want it all with you, Alex. I want a whole lifetime of memories. I want to make little shifter babies. They’ll have your blue eyes.”
She laughed. “You know, I never wanted kids.”
His eyes widened. “Why not?” He grabbed her hands and squeezed them “You would make the best mother. Caring and yet, kick-ass.” He winked at her.
Alex laughed. “I said I never wanted them before. The thought of having kids with you though makes me feel warm and fuzzy.”
“It does?”
She nodded and then squealed as he picked her up and spun her around. “Easy there, tiger. Not right now though. We need to wait until…the time is right. My father will try to find me. It’s not safe.”
He put her down. “I will keep you safe but I understand your apprehension. Maybe one day my people will accept you. Maybe then?”
She nodded. “Definitely!”
He pulled her in for a hug. “Looks like you might be stuck with me, slayer.”
“I told you to stop calling me that.” She pretended to be angry with him.
His eyes softened as he locked them with hers. “You have slayed me though, Alex. Completely and utterly. With your beauty, the way you handle a gun…”
She burst out laughing. “The way I handle a gun?”
“Oh yes, and with your fantastic mind and—not forgetting—your amazing body.” His eyes dipped down, heating as he took her in. “Which reminds me.” Beck picked her up. “I think we should start practicing baby-making.”
Alex laughed harder. “Sounds like a plan, shifter. Sounds like one hell of a plan.”
Chapter 22
Mountain pushed the branches aside and continued towards the strange scents that permeated the air. Fire, smoke and female. Human female. He sniffed the air again.
The last, was expected. This was a hunt after all. The scent of fire on the other hand…not so much.
Especially considering how acrid the scent was. This wasn’t someone lighting a nice little bonfire. This was…something else. His forehead scrunched up in confusion. He walked carefully, not wanting to make too much noise. There had been a fair amount of hunters about as of late. This stank of funny business.
The last hunt had turned into a disaster with four females and one of the water dragons being abducted. Recently, another water dragon had been taken and…Mountain stopped, allowing his senses to wander.
Yep, he’d heard correctly, there was another snap of a twig. Then a footfall. He could just hear it, followed by another. Given the strange scents in the air, he decided to tread carefully. Rather safe than sorry.
He was a big SOB, so hiding wasn’t an option. He was, however, quiet. This despite his sheer size. He was going to give the approaching individual a wide berth. Adrenaline rushed. Maybe it was a human. There was another footfall a few minutes later, and he could definitely scent human…definitely female. Males didn’t scent as sweet.
Great!
Mountain smiled to himself like a total goofball. So not a hunter, after all. The hunt was on. He was going to catch her and make her his. Come hell or…A shadow passed overhead.
What the fuck?
Anyone out there would be competing for a female and that meant staying in your human skin, or forfeiting your opportunity to mate one. No one ever forfeited unless trouble was in the air. A male needed to stay in his skin until he returned to his lair. No shifting to fight, to flee, or to get back. No exceptions! That was why it was important for a male to really get his scent on a female and quickly. Otherwise he might lose her to someone else.
Another shadow blocked the sun for a moment or two. He looked up. What was going on? There was more than one male in their dragon form. That spelled trouble. There was something afoot. He didn’t like it one bit.
He heard gravel crunch to his direct left. The female was close. Enough fooling around. He needed to find out what the heck was going on. He began to run, watching vigilantly where he put his feet down, careful to stay quiet and undetected. Once he was in position at the rear of his quarry, he began to stalk, moving quickly and noiselessly.
It didn’t take him long to reach her. A blonde. Hair up to midway down her back. He crinkled his nose. She smelled of smoke. It didn’t make any sense. Mountain made his way closer. She wore jeans and a dirty long-sleeve top. One of the sleeves was torn and…he sniffed again. He could see that she was bleeding. Mountain stopped again. Blood? Why? He struggled to pick up the coppery scent because of the stench of smoke coming off her.
He sucked in a breath as she turned to the side, her eyes darting about. No! What? Come on! He had to be seeing wrong.
“Is somebody there?” Then she turned around completely.
His mouth fell open. It was her. The female! No doubt about it. None whatso-fucking-ever. Blue eyes, blonde hair, pouty lips and a killer rack. He was ashamed to say he’d jerked off to the picture they circulated of her. Slayer or no slayer, she was sexy as fuck.
It wasn’t like you could blame him. Females were in short supply, henc
e the need for the hunt in the first place.
Her eyes widened as they landed on him, snapping him out of his funk. Within three seconds flat, he had her hands pinned above her head against a large tree. “You’re that slayer,” he snarled. “You’re wanted by the dragon shifters. I’m taking you in.”
She frowned. “No, I’m not. You have it all wrong.” Her chest heaved. She didn’t struggle against him though.
“Nope, you’re her…that female…Alex Bell. I saw your picture and now, I’m—”
“No, I’m not…” she said forcefully and then looked up at her hands, the ones he was holding tightly. “…look, I don’t have the tattoo. I’m not a slayer. If I was, I would be marked. Alex Bell is marked. I never got that far in my training, I left…I ran away, so no tattoo.”
He laughed. “Please, you expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t want you to believe anything…take a look.” She gestured to her hands. “See for yourself.”
Still clasping her wrists, Mountain took down her hands and inspected them, front side, underside…left arm and then right. Nothing. Her skin was clear. He rubbed his thumbs over the surface. The dragons used make up to cover their chest markings whenever they went on the stag run. He rubbed slightly harder. Maybe she was…no…it was clean. No tattoo. What? How?
“See. I’m not her. I’m not Alex Bell. In fact, I’m here to see her. I’m trying to find her.”
“Bullshit! You look just like her,” he growled. “You have to be her. There is no other explanation.” He shook his head, frowning hard.
“Yes there is, I’m her identical twin sister. My name is Page.”
Dragon Guard is out now
About the Author
Charlene Hartnady is a USA Today Bestselling author. She loves to write about all things paranormal, including vampires, elves and shifters of all kinds. She lives on a couple of acres in the country with her husband and three sons. They have an array of pets including horses and a gecko named Pickle.
She is lucky enough to be able to write full time, so most days you can find her at her computer writing like mad. Charlene believes that it is the small things that truly matter, like that feeling you get when you start a new book, or when you look at a particularly beautiful sunset.
If you want to be kept updated on new releases please sign up to my Latest Release Newsletter to ensure that you don’t miss out http://mad.ly/signups/96708/join. I promise not to spam you or divulge your email address to a third party. I send my mailing list an exclusive sneak peek prior to every release, as well as info on sales and freebies. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Also by Charlene Hartnady
The Chosen Series:
1# Chosen by the Vampire Kings
2# Stolen by the Alpha Wolf
3# Unlikely Mates
4# Awakened by the Vampire Prince
5#Mated to the Vampire Kings (Short Novel)
6#Wolf Whisperer (Novella)
7# Wanted by the Elven King
The Chosen Box Set Books 1-3
The Program Series (Vampire Novels):
Book 1: A Mate for York
Book 2: A Mate for Gideon
Book 3: A Mate for Lazarus
Book 4: A Mate for Griffin
Book 5: A Mate for Lance
Book 6: A Mate for Kai
Book 7: A Mate for Titan
The Bride Hunt Series (Dragon Shifter Novels):
Book 1: Royal Dragon
Book 2: Water Dragon
Book 3: Dragon King
Book 4: Lightning Dragon
Book 5: Forbidden Dragon
Book 6: Dragon Prince
The Bride Hunt Box Set Books 1-3
Water Dragons (Spin-off to The Bride Hunt):
Book 1: Dragon Hunt
Book 2: Captured Dragon
Book 3: Blood Dragon
Book 4: Dragon Betrayal
Earth Dragons :
Book 1: Dragon Guard
Book 2: Savage Dragon
Book 3: Dragon Whelps
Book 4: Slave Dragon
Book 5: Feral Dragon
Book 6: Doctor Dragon
The Shifter Night Series:
1# Untethered
2 Unbound
3# Unchained
Complete Box Set Books 1 - 3
The Feral Series:
Book 1: Hunger Awakened
Book 2: Power Awakened
Book 3: Hate Awakened
The Dragon Demigods:
Book 1: Lord of Fire
Book 2: Lord of Hell
Book 3: Little Lords
Book 4: Lord of Life
Demon Chaser Series (No cliffhangers):
Book 1 Omega
Book 2 Alpha
Book 3 Hybrid
Book 4 Skin
Demon Chaser Boxed Set Book 1-3
Excerpt of Dragon Guard
Chapter 1
“Why do you need to take another vacation?” her boss asked. “You just took one.” He shook his head, looking irritated. “You know how anxious I get when you’re not here.”
More like, her stingy-ass boss didn’t like having to pay a temp. Losing cash made him anxious. It had nothing to do with her not being there.
She pushed out a breath, trying not to look or sound upset, because she sure as hell was feeling a little upset. “I took two days a couple of weeks back.” Two measly days! “I needed to go to a training class, so it wasn’t a real break.”
“It’s just that…well… it’s a bad time of year.”
It was always a bad time of year. “I understand. I have so many days owing to me though. HR advised…”
“I will speak to Tamara.” Sheldon rolled his shoulders, looking stressed. “Couldn’t you postpone for two weeks?” It was always the same. The only time he ever signed off on her leave was when Shaun intervened, which wasn’t happening this time. He went on before she could answer. “Just think about it. It would be a great help to me.” Funny how he was making it sound like she actually had a choice in the matter.
She wanted to scream the word ‘no’. To tell him to go to hell. Erin had always bent over backwards for the Jones family. Her whole life had changed after meeting Shaun. Things would have been so different if they hadn’t gotten together. They’d be different now too if he hadn’t— She pushed that thought aside. “Okay,” she conceded. “I’ll think about it.” What choice did she have?
Sheldon’s face lit up. “I’m sure that nephew of mine will come to his senses really soon. You’re a catch, Erin. A real catch.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled. This was definitely a conversation she didn’t want to have. Certainly not with her boss, who just happened to be her fiancé…her ex fiancé’s uncle. She needed to stop thinking of Shaun as hers. He wasn’t! They might never get back together.
“I just put a pile of orders on your desk.” He pointed to her already cluttered work surface. Hinting that she should hop to it and right then.
“My lunch hour started a few minutes ago.” She forced a smile.
“They’re urgent.” He widened his. eyes
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I have plans that I can’t cancel. I will get it done by the end of business.”
“Fine,” he groaned, looking hard done by.
Erin turned and walked out, holding back an eye-roll of epic proportions. It was rare for her to take lunch. She normally ate at her desk, working between bites. Yet he was acting like he was doing her a favor by letting her go.
Once she made it to her car, she dug in her purse and pulled out the burner phone tucked away in the side pocket. There was only one number programed into the device. Erin dialed it.
“Hey,” a voice on the
other end answered after a couple of rings. “How are you? I’m so looking forward to…”
“I’m postponing the mission.”
“What? I thought we had everything all planned out. We were looking forward to seeing you…both of you. To having you join our group.”
“Me too,” she said. “I’m having trouble getting off work.”
“Leave. Pack a bag and walk out. There’s nothing keeping you there anymore, is there?”
That made Erin think of Shaun. Was she being silly holding out? Maybe Deborah was right. Maybe she should just walk out. Start over.
“I’d prefer to do this my way,” she finally said. “My boss has promised I can take the time I need in two weeks. I’ve done the training. The prep. I’m ready. Two weeks is all I’m asking for. Unless there’s been some news?” She heard a desperate edge to her voice.
“No. It’s like she’s in the wind.”
“That’s good though, isn’t it?”
‘Yeah, no news is good news.
“Two weeks,” Erin said.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Okay.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
“Definitely.” The line went dead. Erin tucked the phone back in her bag, still wondering if she was being stupid. Shit! She checked the time. At this rate she was going to be late.
It was Jenna’s birthday. Her best friend was celebrating with her family that evening, so it was now or never if she wanted to spend some time with her. She did! She didn’t have many people in her life. In fact, Jenna was ‘it’ right then. Her eyes stung, and her chest felt tight. She blinked a few times, holding back tears.
She headed for her car and drove to Java Hut, which was a few blocks up the road. Her phone buzzed with a message as she pulled into a parking space.
The Water Dragons Box Set: Books 1 - 4 (Complete) Page 69
