Bree’s blade shone in the golden light of Maeve’s spell. She hesitated only a moment, then lifted the scale on his chest right in front of her and plunged the blade into his exposed flesh.
Red blood spurted and he gave a cry that was more of surprise than pain. Comparatively, the blade was small, but the wound would still hurt. She expected him to shred her and braced herself to fight. He sent a plume of dragonfire into the air and loosened his grip on her slightly. He swirled around and bent his head, lifting his claw, obviously intending to have a good look at her.
Bree took advantage of the opportunity to shift shape and slip between his talons, soaring high above him on her own wings. He stared at her in astonishment. She was much smaller than he was, and surprise was the only asset on her side. She had to attack his most vulnerable points. His eyes. She heard him exhale and then he reached for her, his slow smile of admiration doing nothing to bolster her resolve.
“A Valkyrie,” he saw with an awe that matched her own and Bree was the one surprised.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she protested.
“Oh, but I do,” he said and his eyes glowed with pleasure. “What a worthy mate. What a gift unforeseen.” His satisfaction with the situation explained why he didn’t breathe fire.
Bree wasn’t going to be charmed. Not by a dragon. Not even by one who knew and respected what she was. She dove down at his golden talons, sliced at one of them but missed because he moved. He snatched at her, but she evaded him, slashing with her blade twice more and missing both times.
Infuriating, agile, majestic dragon! He dodged every blow and never retaliated. If he intended to tire her out, he’d wait a while. He seemed to want to study her. They flew in tight circles around each other, but no matter how often she stabbed, he slipped out of range. It was strange how certain she was that he wouldn’t hurt her, but she wasn’t going to be trapped and held captive all the same.
“How can this be?” he murmured, almost to himself, and she feared he would figure out that the firestorm wasn’t real. Dragons were supposed to be good at solving riddles. Something about the firestorm wasn’t adding up to him—he’d recognized what she was, so he must know more than the name of her kind.
She had to finish her task before he realized the firestorm was fake.
Bree ducked beneath his wings, flying so closely around him that her wings brushed against his scales. He spun in place, trying to keep her in sight, looking amused and intrigued. She ducked under his tail. He grabbed and she slipped through his talons again, then raced away from him. She flew as quickly as she could, beating her wings hard, knowing that he had the advantage of size.
She needed a place to take a stand, to compel him to fight. She needed a place to defeat him, and he was more agile than she’d expected in the air. If he’d just fight, she could injure him and Maeve’s warriors could imprison him.
The light of the firestorm faded with distance, letting Bree survey the landscape of Fae in its own endless twilight. There was a shimmer on the horizon, as if the sun had just set, but Bree knew there would be no stars overhead. No moon. No dawn. Fae was trapped forever in the gloaming.
She spotted a hill in the distance. Perfect! There had to be a Fae court beneath it, maybe the royal court. Bree headed for it with purpose. Her dragon gave chase, a flurry of sparks telling her that he was gaining on her. Bree looked back to find him perilously close behind her. He was breathing smoke and his eyes shone with intent. He reached out a claw and a spark flew between them, making her cry out when it touched her chest. Raw desire flowed through her veins, making her simmer so that she had a hard time thinking of anything other than seduction.
And satisfaction.
What would it be like? Her curiosity was perfectly natural.
Wasn’t it?
She watched the dragon smile slowly, as if he knew exactly what he’d done. She hoped she won this fight, otherwise he’d seduce her thoroughly. Under the influence of the firestorm, Bree had a hard time seeing that as a problem, but she knew that she had to remember her goal.
She had to defeat him to save Kara.
Magick wasn’t going to help her now.
And neither, she suspected, would Maeve.
Excerpt from Dragon's Kiss
Copyright ©2019 Deborah A. Cooke
Dragon’s Kiss
The DragonFate Novels #2
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Coming December 2019
About the Author
Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.
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Currently, she writes paranormal romances and contemporary romances under the name Deborah Cooke. She also writes medieval romances as Claire Delacroix. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.
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Visit Deborah’s Website and Blog
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Visit the Dragonfire Website and Blog
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Visit Claire Delacroix’s Website and Blog
More Books by the Author
Books by Deborah Cooke
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Paranormal Romances:
The Dragonfire Novels
KISS OF FIRE
KISS OF FURY
KISS OF FATE
WINTER KISS
Harmonia’s Kiss
WHISPER KISS
DARKFIRE KISS
FLASHFIRE
EMBER’S KISS
Kiss of Danger
Kiss of Darkness
Kiss of Destiny
SERPENT’S KISS
FIRESTORM FOREVER
HERE BE DRAGONS: A Dragonfire Companion
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The DragonFate Novels
Maeve’s Book of Beasts
DRAGON’S KISS
DRAGON’S MATE (October 2020)
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Paranormal Young Adult:
The Dragon Diaries
FLYING BLIND
WINGING IT
BLAZING THE TRAIL
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The Dragons of Incendium
WYVERN’S MATE
Nero’s Dream
WYVERN’S PRINCE
Arista’s Legacy
WYVERN’S WARRIOR
Kraw’s Secret
WYVERN’S OUTLAW
Celo’s Quest
WYVERN’S ANGEL
Nimue’s Gift
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Urban Fantasy Romance
The Prometheus Project
FALLEN
GUARDIAN
REBEL
ABYSS
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Contemporary Romance:
The Coxwells
THIRD TIME LUCKY
DOUBLE TROUBLE
ONE MORE TIME
ALL OR NOTHING
Christmas with the Coxwells
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Flatiron Five
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
ADDICTED TO LOVE
IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK
Going to the Chapel
BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU
SOME LIKE IT HOT
(2020)
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Secret Heart Ink
SNOWBOUND
SPRING FEVER
ONE HOT SUMMER NIGHT
UNDER THE MISTLETOE
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Novellas
A Berry Merry Christmas
Learn about Claire Delacroix
historical romances on
Claire’s website.