Part 29 (2/2)

He grinned. ”I think we can handle little Louisa Catherine Hartley-Gray.”

”Our little warrior.”

Louisa meant ”warrior” and Catherine was for Catherine the Great of Russia. Both he and Nikki had high hopes for their daughter.

Kissing Nikki's forehead, Rafe settled next to her on the bed and held his new family close.

The stresses of his new job as army liaison, the recent attacks on Stonefire, and the tested alliances with the various dragon clans didn't matter. At that moment, he was with the woman he loved and their daughter. Everything else could wait.

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The next Stonefire Dragons story is Cured by the Dragon and will feature Dr. Ca.s.sidy ”Sid” Jackson and Dr. Gregor Innes. It will be out in early October 2016, but in the mean time, have you checked out my Lochguard Highland Dragons series? Or, my Cascade s.h.i.+fters series? Turn the page for an excerpt of The Dragon's Dilemma and for glimpses of my other works. Also, make sure to sign-up for my newsletter for updates, new release alerts, and exclusive contests.

The Dragon's Dilemma.

(Lochguard Highland Dragons #1).

In order to pay for her father's life-saving cancer treatment, Holly Anderson offers herself up as a sacrifice and sells the vial of dragon's blood. In return, she will try to bear a Scottish dragon-s.h.i.+fter a child. While the dragonman a.s.signed to her is kind, Holly can't stop looking at his twin brother. It's going to take everything she has to sleep with her a.s.signed dragonman. If she breaks the sacrifice contract and follows her heart, she'll go to jail and not be able to take care of her father.

Even though he's not ready to settle down, Fraser MacKenzie supports his twin brother's choice to take a female sacrifice to help repopulate the clan. Yet as Fraser gets to know the la.s.s, his dragon starts demanding something he can't have-his brother's sacrifice.

Holly and Fraser fight the pull between them, but one nearly stolen kiss will change everything. Will they risk breaking the law and betraying Fraser's twin? Or, will they find a way out of the sacrifice contract and live their own happily ever after?

----------- The Dragon's Dilemma is a full-length book and is available on Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Amazon AU / Amazon DE.

----------- Excerpt:.

Chapter One.

Holly Anderson paid the taxi driver and turned toward the large stone and metal gates behind her. Looking up, she saw ”Lochguard” spelled out in twisting metal, as well as some words written in a language she couldn't read.

The strange words only reminded her of where she was standing-at the entrance to the Scottish dragon-s.h.i.+fter clan lands.

Taking a deep breath, Holly willed her stomach to settle. She'd signed up for this. In exchange for trying to conceive a dragon-s.h.i.+fter's child, Clan Lochguard had given her a vial of dragon's blood. The money from the sale of that dragon's blood was funding her father's experimental cancer treatments.

All she had to do was spend the next six months sleeping with a dragon-s.h.i.+fter. If she didn't conceive, she could go home. If she did, then she would stay until the baby was born.

What was a minimum of six months of her life if it meant her father could live?

That's if you don't die giving birth to a half-dragon-s.h.i.+fter baby.

Readjusting the grip on her suitcase, Holly pushed aside the possibility. From everything she'd read, great scientific strides were being made when it came to the role dragon hormones played on a human's body. If she were lucky, there might even be a way to prevent her from dying in nine to fifteen months' time, depending on the date of conception.

This isn't work. Stop thinking about conception dates and birthing babies. After all, she might luck out and never conceive at all.

Holly moved toward the front entrance and took in the view of the loch off to the side. The dull color of the lake's surface was calm, with rugged hills and mountains framing it. Considering she was in the Scottish Highlands in November, she was just grateful that it wasn't raining.

She wondered if it was raining back in Aberdeen.

Thinking of home and her father brought tears to her eyes. He was recovering well from his first course of cancer treatments, but her father's health could decline at any moment. If only dragon's blood could cure cancer, then she wouldn't have to worry.

But since cancer was one of the illnesses dragon's blood couldn't cure, surely the Department of Dragon Affairs would grant her another few weeks to help take care of her father if she asked.

As the taxi backed down the drive, Holly turned around and flagged for the driver to come back. However, before she could barely raise a hand, a voice boomed from the right. ”La.s.s, over here.”

She turned toward the voice and a tall, blond man waved her over with a smile.

Between his wind-tousled hair, twinkling eyes, and his grin, the man was gorgeous.

Not only that, he'd distracted her from doing something daft. If Holly ran away before finis.h.i.+ng her contract, she'd end up in jail. And then who would take care of her father?

The man motioned again. ”Come, la.s.s. I won't bite.”

When he winked, some of Holly's nervousness faded. Despite the rumors of dragon-s.h.i.+fters being monsters, she'd followed the news stories over the last year and knew Lochguard was one of the good dragon clans. Rumors even said the Lochguard dragons and the local humans had once set up their own sacrifice system long before the British government had implemented one nationwide.

It was time to experience the dragon-s.h.i.+fters firsthand and learn the truth.

Pus.h.i.+ng her shoulders back, Holly put on her take no-c.r.a.p nurse expression and walked over to the dragonman. When she was close enough, she asked, ”Who are you?”

The man grinned wider. ”I'm glad to see you're not afraid of me, la.s.s. That makes all of this a lot easier.”

Before she could stop herself, Holly blurted, ”Are you really a dragon-s.h.i.+fter?'

The dragonman laughed. ”Aye, I am. I'm the clan leader, in fact. The name's Finn. What's yours?”

The easygoing man didn't match the gruff picture she'd conjured up inside her head over the past few weeks.

Still, dragons liked strength, or so her Department of Dragon Affairs counselor had advised her. Her past decade spent as a maternity nurse would serve her well-if she could handle frantic fathers and mothers during labor, she could handle anything. ”You're not a very good clan leader if you don't know my name.”

Finn chuckled. ”I was trying to be polite, Holly.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. ”Some say we're monsters that eat bairns for breakfast. I was just trying to a.s.sure you we can be friendly.”

Confident the smiling man wouldn't hurt her for questioning him, she stated, ”You could be acting.”

”I think my mate is going to like you.”

At the mention of the word ”mate,” Holly's confidence slipped a fraction. After all, she'd soon be having s.e.x with a dragon-s.h.i.+fter to try to conceive a child. That was the price all sacrifices had to pay.

And there was always a small chance she turned out to be the dragon-s.h.i.+fter's true mate. If that happened, she might never be able to see her father again. Dragons were notoriously possessive. She didn't think they'd let a mate go once they found one.

Finn's voice interrupted her thoughts. ”Let me take that suitcase, Holly. The sooner we get you to my place, the sooner we can settle you in and answer some of your questions.”

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