Burning Desire (36 page)

“I did. I want to sell it, but it appears that I can’t.”

The door to the pub opened and Sammi walked in, her powder blue eyes crinkled from her smile and her sandy-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Hey, Laith.”

“Hey, Sammi,” he called.

She came around the bar and put her purse beneath it, and then flashed a smile to Iona. “Hello there. You must be who everyone is talking about.”

“That’s me,” Iona said ruefully with a lift of the ale.

Sammi stuck out her hand. “I’m Sammi. I work with Laith.”

“Nice to meet you,” Iona said as they shook hands.

“Same to you. We should have a dr—” Sammi began, but was cut off when the door opened again.

Laith had kept his connection to Dreagan from Iona so far, but with Tristan and Ryder strolling in, he wasn’t sure how long that would last.

“Hang on,” Sammi said and rushed around the bar to Tristan who grabbed her against him for a quick kiss.

Iona watched the scene before she turned her head to Laith. “Who is that?”

“That’s Tristan, Sammi’s husband, who just happens to be a part of Dreagan.”

Iona watched the pair carefully. “They seem to really care for each other.”

“They genuinely do,” he said, unable to keep from frowning at her choice of words.

She turned back to him. “I’m usually on my own. I sometimes forget that I say things out loud that I should keep to myself.”

“Doona worry about that here.” He spotted Sammi bringing over Ryder and Tristan so nodded in their direction. “You’re about to meet more people.”

Iona sat straight and swiveled on the stool to face the three.

“Iona,” Sammi said. “This is my husband, Tristan, and our friend Ryder.”

Iona wore a friendly smile as she greeted them. “Hello.”

Tristan bowed his head, but Ryder took her hand and gave her a charming smile. Laith didn’t like the way she blushed in return.

“I was just telling Iona that she and I needed to get a drink sometime.” She turned back to Iona. “I used to be on my own, and then I met Tristan. Now, I can’t seem to have enough friends.”

“You got me, love. Is that no’ enough?” Tristan asked Sammi with a wink.

Sammi pulled on his long brown hair. “You know it is.”

Tristan yanked her against him. “When do you get off work?”

“No’ until closing,” Laith said with a chuckle. “You’ll have to wait to have some alone time with your wife.”

Ryder sat on the stool next to Iona. “Have you been to Dreagan yet?”

“No,” she said and glanced at Laith. “I did meet Constantine however.”

Laith tossed aside his towel. “At the funeral.”

“We tried to speak to you,” Ryder said, “But Con asked us no’ to overwhelm you.”

Iona frowned. “I’m sorry. There were so many people there and I don’t remember many of them.”

“No one blames you,” Sammi said. She put a comforting hand on Iona’s arm. “It’s probably better that only Con approached you instead of a slew of men from Dreagan.”

Laith watched Iona fidget under her embarrassment before she asked, “So what do each of you do at Dreagan?”

“Many things,” Tristan answered.

Ryder raised a blond brow. “We doona just make whisky, lass. We run thousands of sheep and cattle.”

“I had no idea,” Iona said.

“Most of that land Dreagan is using for conservation,” Tristan added. “The forests, the mountains, and such are all protected natural habitats.”

Her smile faded as she stared into his eyes. “That’s nice to hear. I’ve run into plenty of people who could care less about conserving nature.”

“No’ everyone is a bad person,” Laith said. Though there were more of them out there than she could guess.

Her coffee-colored eyes softened as they looked at him. “No, they aren’t.”

NOVELS BY DONNA GRANT

FROM ST. MARTIN’S PAPERBACKS

THE DARK KINGS SERIES

Dark Heat

Darkest Flame

Fire Rising

THE DARK WARRIOR SERIES

Midnight’s Master

Midnight’s Lover

Midnight’s Seduction

Midnight’s Warrior

Midnight’s Kiss

Midnight’s Captive

Midnight’s Temptation

Midnight’s Promise

THE DARK SWORD SERIES

Dangerous Highlander

Forbidden Highlander

Wicked Highlander

Untamed Highlander

Shadow Highlander

Darkest Highlander

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s written more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance including the bestselling Dark King stories,
Dark Craving
,
Night’s Awakening
, and
Dawn’s Desire
. Her acclaimed series, Dark Warriors, feature a thrilling combination of Druids, primeval gods, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and four cats in Texas. Visit
donnagrant.com
.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

BURNING DESIRE

Copyright © 2014 by Donna Grant.

Excerpt from
Hot Blooded
copyright © 2014 by Donna Grant.

Cover photo credit © Patricia Schmitt (Picky Me)

All rights reserved.

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St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / October 2014

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