Author: Isabel
Cooper
Series: Highland
Dragons, #3
Pubdate: June 2nd,
2015
ISBN: 9781402284731
“They say,” said the girl, “that people disappear up there. And I heard
that the lady doesna’ ever grow any older.”
“The lady?” William asked.
“Lady MacAlasdair. She lives in the castle, and she’s been there years,
but she stays young and beautiful forever.”
In the Scottish Highlands, legend is as powerful as the sword—and nowhere
is that more true than in the remote village of Loch Aranoch. Its mysterious
ruler, Judith MacAlasdair, is fiercely protective of her land—and her secrets.
If anyone were to find out what she really was, she and her entire clan would
be hunted down as monsters.
William Arundell is on the trail of a killer. Special agent for an arcane
branch of the English government, his latest assignment has led him to a remote
Highland castle and the undeniably magnetic lady who rules there. Yet as lies
begin to unravel and a dark threat gathers, William finds himself drawn deeper
and deeper into the mystery of the Highlands…and the woman he can neither trust
nor deny.
He prays she isn’t the murderer; he never dreamed she was a dragon.
An Exclusive Excerpt:
Stopping, Arundell turned to face her. “Ah,” he said, “but nothing’s
ever really safe. We’re both old enough to know that.”
Coming from a mortal, the phrase should have struck her as funny. It
didn’t.
However old Arundell might be, the knowledge in his voice and eyes made
him seem as if he’d seen as many years as she had—and there was a carnal aspect
to that knowledge that made Judith catch her breath.
She could have kept on walking, she knew. She could have shaken off
Arundell’s hand when he placed it on her shoulder, turning her toward him, or
pulled back when he pulled her close. But her body found its own voice at his
touch, as loud as an avalanche, and she went willingly, eagerly.
Judith hadn’t kissed anyone for a long time. She’d clearly forgotten
the intensity of it, the way it made the world fade into the background, the
heady and terrifying joy of being lost in sensation. But she couldn’t believe
that she would forget anything like this.
Arundell’s lips were firm when
they met hers, his kiss demanding in a way that had nothing to do with
roughness or urgency. He was thorough instead, determined, and very, very
skilled. Before long, Judith was clinging to his shoulders, not out of any need
for support—although her legs, strong as they usually were, suddenly were far
less inclined to hold her up than usual—but out of the consuming desire to get
closer.
From the way Arundell reacted, she was sure she wasn’t alone in her
feelings, and that this was no mere display of his skill. His arms were like
steel around her. The hand that had been on her shoulder now cupped the back of
her head. The other hand rested at the small of her back, fingers spread wide,
and pulled Judith’s body against his.
There she could feel his chest against her breasts, the friction
increasing with each quick, unsteady breath either of them took. Her nipples,
already hard, rubbed against the inside of her corset, the contact
frustratingly pleasurable. She made an incoherent sound low in her throat and
leaned up into the kiss, taking the lead back from him.
Some men, not many but some, objected at that point or at least
hesitated for a moment. Arundell didn’t. His lips parted for her as readily as
hers had done for him, and he let out a gratified sigh when her tongue slipped
past them. His hand slid lower, cupped the curve of her backside, and squeezed
gently—appreciatively, Judith thought, and smiled against his mouth.
***
During the day, Isabel Cooper maintains her guise as a
mild-mannered project manager in legal publishing. In her spare time, she
enjoys video games, ballroom dancing, various geeky hobbies, and figuring out
what wine goes best with leftover egg rolls. Cooper lives with two thriving
houseplants in Boston, Massachusetts.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1B88hlG
Chapters: http://bit.ly/1Ab2zVi
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1ESXrkb
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Agv3Nb
Love the characters already! Congrats on your release, Isabel.
ReplyDeleteLove the excerpt. Congratulations on your release! :D
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun and exciting story, and I love dragons! Good luck on the release!
ReplyDelete