“I don’t trust doctors,” Grandmother said darkly. “They take perfectly functional bits out of you and too late realize they didn’t need to after all.”
Chandra broke into a smile. “I said a good doctor. Whenever you need looking after, old Crow, you come and see me.”
“Humph,” Grandmother said.
* * *
Janet
The feasting lasted well into the night, as did the dancing as we circled Dad and Gina, singing and chanting. Colby really got into the dancing, asking my cousins to teach him some of the more intricate steps. Even Drake and Titus—Grandmother insisted on inviting them—unbent and clasped hands with Dad’s friends as they moved around the circle in the firelight.
At last, it was time to go, to leave my father and his bride to begin their life together.
I hugged my dad and kissed his cheek. “Be well.” I tried to keep my tears at bay, but they slipped out. His eyes were wet too, and when he hugged me, his wiry strength was comforting.
“Blessings go with you, child.” He smoothed a strand of hair from my face. “Mick will take care of you now.”
“He already does.” I hastily wiped away my tears and pointed a finger at my father’s chest. “You’d better give me away at my wedding.”
Dad’s face creased with his kind smile. “I will. And if your grandmother has her way, it will be an even bigger ceremony than mine.”
I groaned and Dad chuckled. We hugged again, then I turned away, happy for him and sad for me, and left him.
Mick and I took Grandmother with us to the Crossroads so she wouldn’t have to face an empty house that night, as Dad and Gina were staying in Farmington. They would leave soon for a honeymoon trip to Hawaii, courtesy of Mick. Dad wasn’t much for traveling, but he’d gladly taken up Mick’s offer, saying he’d always wanted to see the place. Gina vowed she was going to learn to surf. I imagined her, large and calm, standing on a surfboard, wind in her hair, daring the board to dump her over.
At the Crossroads, the extra guests had emptied out. Cassandra was very happy with the money we’d made, though she hadn’t charged full price to those staying in the lobby or outside in tents. She stated that the Crossroads was a haven, and she was not out to gouge those in trouble.
Most of the guests had insisted on paying for our hospitality even so, which pleased Elena, because they’d eaten a lot of food.
Mick and I escaped very late and wandered to the railroad bed, where we stood to look up at the stars.
“Our wedding next,” Mick said.
“I know.”
“Hey.” Mick turned me to face him. “I heard that gloom in your voice. You want out of it?”
His question was teasing but I saw the trepidation in his eyes, his fear that I’d tell him, Yes, let’s call it off.
I let out a heavy breath. “Do you think we can have a wedding without Earth entities, dragon slayers, demons, Nightwalker attacks, dragon binding spells, vortexes opening, or you fighting to the death in an arena?”
Mick pretended to consider this. “We can try.”
I laughed, and then I folded my arms, shivering in the sudden coolness. “It’s going to be like this all our lives, isn’t it? A Stormwalker and a dragon will never be able to stay out of trouble.”
“Or cease saving the world.” Mick moved behind me and slid his arms around me, his warm lips touching my hair. “But if I’m going to spend my life fighting demons, Nightwalkers, dragon slayers, entities, and goddesses from hell, I want to do it with you at my side.”
“Why, so you can watch me get my ass kicked?”
“No, so I can watch you kicking ass. Like the amazing woman you are.”
I turned in his arms and laced my hands behind his back. “Well, if you put it that way …”
Mick answered me with a kiss. I rose into him, his strong arms holding me safely, while his wickedly sexy kiss stirred up desires I would definitely act upon as soon as we were back inside the hotel.
I ignored the yip of the far-off coyote, which sounded too much like satisfied laughter.
* * *
Gabrielle
“Maybe they’ll go inside,” I said as Colby and I watched Mick and Janet rise into their kiss a little way down the railroad bed. Mick scooped Janet closer to him, and she slid her leg around his thigh.
“Sweet,” Colby said. “You know what they’ll be doing tonight.” He turned to me, his eyes dark in the starlight. “What will we be doing?”
“Sneaking back to Vegas?” I asked hopefully.
Colby took a step closer to me. “That’s a long drive. Be morning by the time we get there, and we’ll miss breakfast.”
“True. But I don’t think we’ll get much privacy here.”
“That is a point.” Colby snaked his arm around my waist. “You really like your job at the C, don’t you?”
“I do.” My heart squeezed. “It’s something I can do—something I’m good at. And there’s a place for me there. I’m not Janet’s appendage, or her insane sister, or what-trouble-is-she-getting-into-now? Cornelius is the first person who’s seen me as me, you know what I mean?”
Colby looked affronted. “Hey, I met you before he did.”
I pushed at him but not so hard that I’d dislodge his hold. I liked his arm around me. “Yeah, but you just wanted to boink me.”
“Huh. That’s what you think. I wanted to know you—the beautiful, strong, totally out of the ordinary woman.”
I went toasty all over. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Colby’s eyes twinkled like the myriad stars above us. “That is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
I nestled against him, touching a kiss to his sweatshirted chest. “You should have told me.”
“Well, I’m telling you now.”
I snuggled in, hearing his heart pound strongly beneath the warm shirt. Colby had not shown any ill effects from being dead for a few minutes. Chandra was right—she was a hell of a good doctor.
Colby and I had been a little shy with each other since then. During the battle, we’d given each other our true names, a large piece of what we were. That sharing was intimate, profound, and we weren’t quite sure how to act with each other yet.
“You know,” I said, making my voice light. “Vegas is a bit far, but there’s a very nice hotel in Winslow, less than an hour from here.”
“Mmm, that’s true. And my motorcycle is big enough for two. Of course, the hotel might be locked up for the night by now.”
“Nothing we can’t get around. We’ll pay up in the morning. Their computer won’t know we never checked in. Think we should go for a suite?”
Colby’s arms tightened around me. “I like the way you think, Gabrielle. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”
I popped my head up in confusion. “Friendship?”
Colby rumbled a laugh. “It’s a line from Casablanca. I meant, you and me could have a lot of fun together.”
I relaxed. “We can. And we will.” I sent him a mischievous smile. “Just because I’ve realized I’m not totally evil doesn’t make me good.”
He caressed my back, his fingers strong. “Thank all the gods for that.” He glanced down the railroad bed. “Wait, I think they’re leaving. Libido grew too much for them, I bet.”
Mick was leading Janet down the bank, steadying her until they reached the flat land behind the Crossroads. He caught her hand, and they ran for the hotel and the private entrance to her suite, Janet’s laughter trailing behind her.
“Aw,” I said, my heart warming. “I’m so glad she found someone like Mick. Janet needs to be happy.”
Colby kissed the top of my head. He slid his arms from me but clasped both my hands. “Am I hearing you say good-bye to sibling rivalry?”
I watched Mick tow Janet inside the hotel and shut the door, the heat of her need for him reaching me through whatever bond she and I shared.
I turned back to Colby, tilting my head to regard him. “Oh, I�
�ll keep her on her toes. No need to get maudlin.” I glanced back at the hotel, chuckling to myself when the light flicked on in Janet’s bedroom and then as quickly off. “But my big sis—she’s not so bad.”
“No, she’s not,” Colby agreed. “And I can even put up with Mickey. But I’m happy I’m with little sis.” He grinned down at me. “Ready to go?”
“Oh, hell yeah.” I started down the railroad bed at a run, Colby giving a startled shout before he ran after me.
I headed for the shed where his bike was, the keys to his Harley flashing in my hand—I’d lifted them from his pocket.
Behind us, the coyote, who hadn’t ceased his yipping, raised his head and let his howls rise to the vast sweep of stars.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading! It’s always a joy to return to the Stormwalker world and all its inhabitants.
As you saw, I chose to go into the points-of-view of other characters in this installment, which was both a challenge to write and a lot of fun. Gabrielle kind of took over whenever I wrote her scenes—I never knew what she was going to do! But I learned a lot about her. I adored writing Colby’s point of view as well, and also getting inside Mick’s head a bit. I hope to explore them further in this way, plus more characters in the future.
Although my writing schedule is so packed I can’t always get to every series in a timely fashion, I plan for more books in the Stormwalker series. Janet and Mick have to have their wedding, and there’s always something going on in Magellan and surrounding areas. I’ll need to check in with Fremont, Cassandra, Drake, and others, and also explore the new dragon in town, Titus.
I was inspired to write Stormwalker a long time ago when driving the roads of northern Arizona, particularly north of Flagstaff and around east toward Monument Valley and Four Corners, and down to Chinle and Canyon de Chelley. You can experience several different climates in one day, and the lands are amazing. I pictured Janet screaming down these roads on her Harley and pulling off to a tiny house in Many Farms, to be greeted by her quietly loving father and her formidable but equally loving grandmother. And then Mick came along, and the first book was born.
I highly recommend a trip to see the Hopi and Navajo lands in Arizona and New Mexico—take several days to wander around Canyon de Chelley and Monument Valley then back to the San Francisco Peaks and Sunset Crater, and plan a trip to Chaco in New Mexico.
The hotel I mention in several of the books, in Winslow, AZ, is real, the La Posada. It’s a Harvey Girls railroad hotel, brilliantly restored and absolutely beautiful. It’s a good base from which to explore Northern Arizona—it’s not far from the painted desert and the meteor crater as well as Chocolate Falls (which run only in spring) and Homolovi, ancient ruins where I set some scenes of Firewalker. It’s also on the edge of the Hopi and Navajo lands with their spectacular scenery, plus it’s an hour from Flagstaff with the Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered), Walnut Canyon, and Sedona. There are a number of lovely hotels in the Navajo reservation as well, and you can even stay in a hogan if you wish!
Northern Arizona is a truly beautiful place with a deep history and much to see. The La Posada also has a fantastic restaurant, the Turquoise Room—I highly recommend the squash blossom tamales when they have them.
I hope you enjoyed this trip to the Stormwalker world, and I will see you next time!
Best wishes,
Allyson James
(aka Jennifer Ashley)
Also by Allyson James / Jennifer Ashley
Stormwalker
(Fantasy)
Stormwalker
Firewalker
Shadow Walker
“Double Hexed”
Nightwalker
Dreamwalker
Dragon Bites
Shifters Unbound
(Paranormal Romance
w/a Jennifer Ashley)
Pride Mates
Primal Bonds
Bodyguard
Wild Cat
Hard Mated
Mate Claimed
“Perfect Mate” (novella)
Lone Wolf
Tiger Magic
Feral Heat
Wild Wolf
Bear Attraction
Mate Bond
Lion Eyes
Bad Wolf
Wild Things
White Tiger
Guardian’s Mate
Red Wolf
Midnight Wolf
Tiger Striped
(novella)
Shifter Made ("Prequel" short story)
Immortals
(Paranormal Romance
multi-author series)
The Calling (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Darkening (by Robin Popp)
The Awakening (by Joy Nash)
The Gathering (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Redeeming (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Crossing (by Joy Nash)
The Haunting (by Robin Popp)
Blood Debt (by Joy Nash)
Wolf Hunt (by Jennifer Ashley)
Forbidden Taste (by Jennifer Ashley)
About the Author
Award-winning author Allyson James is a pen name of New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ashley. Allyson has written more than 100 published novels and novellas in romance, urban fantasy, and mystery under the names Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Allyson’s books have been nominated for and won Romance Writers of America’s RITA (given for the best romance novels and novellas of the year), and several RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice awards (including Best Urban Fantasy, Best Shapeshifter Romance, and Career Achievement in Historical Romance), and Prism awards for her paranormal romances and urban fantasy.
More about Allyson’s books can be found at the website
www.jenniferashley.com or join her newsletter at
http://eepurl.com/47kLL.
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Copyright
Dragon Bites
Stormwalker, Book 6
Copyright © 2018 by Jennifer Ashley / Allyson James
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
* * *
Cover design by Kim Killion
Dragon Bites Page 24
