Serpent's Kiss: A Dragonfire Novel (43 page)

BOOK: Serpent's Kiss: A Dragonfire Novel

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He certainly couldn’t reply in kind.

Already, much of what he had known was slipping away. He had doubts. He felt fear. He’d never been vulnerable before and he didn’t like it.

The brilliant light faded and when he opened his eyes, he was alone in an empty building.

No, not alone. A woman stepped out of the shadows and smiled.

“Raziel,” he whispered in amazement, forcing his first word over his tongue and past his lips. It was slow and lacked elegance. He didn’t like the sound of his voice.

“They call me Rachel here,” she said with the confident ease he had always associated with her.

She offered him a pile of dark cloth and he took it, because she expected as much. His fingers stroked the surfaces—leather, fur, velvet—sensation overwhelming his thoughts.

“Come on, Adam Montgomery, I’ll show you around.”

“Adam Montgomery?” He repeated the unfamiliar name, pleased to hear his words becoming more fluid. Was the mortal realm completely without grace?

“That’s you, at least in this place. It’s all set up. I’ll tell you more as we walk.”

“Adam Montgomery,” he repeated.

“It was as close as I could get, what with the list of authorized names and all.”

“As close to what?”

She smiled, a bit of that old radiance in her eyes. “You’re forgetting already. That’s okay: it’s easier.”

He dressed with Rachel’s assistance. Her presence made it simpler to adjust to so many changes in short order. As he finished, she tapped her toe and checked her left hand, her impatience obvious.

“We’re running out of time,” she said and he understood her urgency. “I’m glad you volunteered, especially now. You were always the best at reading the secrets of men, and I’m not sure who’s telling me the truth anymore.” Montgomery’s confusion must have been obvious, because she laughed. “Don’t worry: you’ll learn fast. It’s just the shock that slows you down at first.”

She took his hand and they left the building, each step increasing his familiarity with his body and how it worked. He found pleasure in the flex of his muscles, in the soft fur brushing his chin, in the weight of Rachel’s hand in his own.

Dawn tinged the eastern horizon. The sky was deep indigo overhead, and Montgomery marveled at its color.

A shooting star suddenly etched a blazing line across the sky, heading for the rosy eastern horizon.

“That one must be for you,” Rachel said.

Montgomery didn’t reply. He watched the star, feeling his memory slip away. He knew it had to be so, but regretted the loss all the same.

By the time the star was lost in the light of the rising sun, he remembered only his mission.

He was to aid Rachel in saving the earth.

It was the only thing he needed to know.

* * *

Fallen

Available in a new print and digital edition,

with new bonus content.

About the Author

Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called
The Romance of the Rose
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.

Currently, she writes the Dragonfire series of paranormal romances featuring dragon shape shifter heroes under the name Deborah Cooke. She also is writing the True Love Brides series of medieval romances as Claire Delacroix, which continues the story of the family introduced in her popular title
The Beauty Bride
. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.

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Books by Deborah Cooke

Paranormal Romances

- The Dragonfire Series -

Kiss of Fire

Kiss of Fury

Kiss of Fate

Winter Kiss