Enjoy an Excerpt from The Dragon's Flame

She tied his wrists and ankles to the bedposts, a reasonable precaution, she reassured herself, since she was pretty sure he would have something not nice to say about her giving him the sleeping herbs. 

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Reluctantly, she scooted out of reach just as his eyes snapped open. He blinked startling blue eyes once, then again, his sluggish brain attempting to figure out what had happened and where he was. She expected nothing less, except that it couldn’t be good. He'd recovered too fast.

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“What are you doing, woman?” The words were slurred, but the heated look pinning her in place was rapidly clearing. Carlton Pen tugged weakly on his arms and leered. “If you want some bondage action, all you have to do is ask.”

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Seraphina stiffened before she remembered the part she was supposed to be playing. Climbing onto the bed, she straddled one muscular leg. Looking for a clue—any clue—she started at his broad shoulders and ran her hands slowly over his chest. 

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His eyes flooded with molten arousal.

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“I thought we would have more fun this way.” She'd been trying for sultry but winced when sexy-girl-here wasn’t what came out. 

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“For you, maybe. I like my hands on my woman when I make her scream.” 

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An image of him taking her to a place no other man had, stilled her hands. Heat flamed low in her belly. She had to hurry. She was running out of time—in more ways than one. “You’ll get your chance.”

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Heart hammering, she patted down the pockets of his shirt, refusing to think about the sculpted muscles she could feel beneath the cotton of his clothes.

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“Do you know who I am?” He watched her lazily, remaining pliant under her seeking hands. 

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The man and the scent of pine wrapping around her was a diversion Seraphina didn’t need. “You’re Carlton Pen, youngest of five halflings born on the night of change. You are Naga.” 

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Her hands stilled. She'd never been good at making conversation with boys, or men for that matter, and now she'd said too much. Shrugging, she continued her search.

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“And who are you, Little Bird?” He casually asked, but the flame igniting in his blue eyes was not so innocent.

Startled at Pen's use of her Navajo name, she carefully considered her answer. Not a good liar, she didn’t bother. “Seraphina.” 

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One brow arched. So, he hadn’t lost his arrogance. Long ago, during a winter solstice, he’d come to the camp with his kin to bring food to the starving outlanders, those forgotten ones whose every breath after their world had come apart was a struggle for survival. He didn’t remember her, of course, or the cocky wink he’d sent flying across the bonfire. It was her first taste of a boy's interest. And at fourteen, she’d been tempted by the handsome creature he’d been, but her grandmother, who'd told her who he was, would have sent Sam to kill him if he’d shown anything more than casual interest. 

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Back then, she'd had no desire to have a Naga’s blood on her hands. Still didn’t. Even so, she’d admired his easy connection with his kin and the cloak of power that rested so familiarly on his young shoulders. She’d envied him for his natural confidence.

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None of that mattered. Whether Carlton Pen wanted to or not, he was going to help her. Again. She pressed her lips together. What she had to take from him would keep the dragon alive. And because dragons could find hidden treasure, his dragon would make it possible to reclaim her power of rebirth so that she could keep the vow she’d long ago made to her grandfather. 

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“Well, Seraphina, whoever-you-are, if you set me free, I’ll show you just what I can do for you.” 

The husky words were almost irresistible, a promise she'd be better off ignoring. Her pulse skipped at the image of the two of them, entwined together as she slipped her hand into his pant pocket and found nothing but the hard length of him.

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He smirked, the fog she'd induced almost gone. “It appears not everything is broken.”

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Caught in the powerful depths of his brilliant blue eyes, she swallowed hard on the forgotten sensation of her fire licking her skin warm. Lingering for a moment too long, she almost became the harlot she was pretending to be before quickly removing her hand. 

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His eyes darkened to liquid blue flame.