Red: Into the Dark (14 page)

Red

I’m exhausted when I finally find my way into the innermost area of the cave. There was a long tunnel lit with wall lamps that reminded me of a medieval dungeon. Now I’m standing in a center room and I’m more than a little relieved to be around shifters who look like real, actual, clothed people.

Everyone is laughing and celebrating. Drinks are being passed around and someone is frying some meat. It smells delicious, but as I stand alone, I realize that I don’t know a single person here, save Thorn and Ryder.

Luckily, they come over to me almost immediately and begin introducing me as the Alpha’s mate.

“But we aren’t married yet,” I tell Ryder, and he just waves it off.

“You basically are,” he says. “Nash has claimed you. That makes you his mate.”

I realize that I have a lot to learn about wolf culture, but I don’t worry too much about it. It’s not long before Nash joins us and whisks me off to his quarters. His old room has already been reassigned to someone, but he says that he’ll sleep in the Alpha’s quarters.

“Jeffrey’s old room?” I ask, and Nash nods reluctantly.

“It’s tradition,” he says. “I know it’s totally weird. I’m sorry. It’s one thing old Mrs. Beaver isn’t going to budge on.”

“It’s fine,” I insist. We get to the room and he unlocks the door with a silver key that hangs around his neck. I didn’t even notice him getting it. I wonder if he took it from Jeffrey or if someone else was holding it. Either way, we step into the room and I gasp.

It’s beautiful.

“A few of the ladies came in while we were being congratulated,” he explains. “They cleaned the place up pretty quickly. Jeffrey’s things have been put in storage, but they’re yours if you want them,” he says quickly.

I just shake my head.

“No way,” I say. “This is my fresh start.” Things have been rough for a long time, but I’m ready for something new.

Looking around the room, I try to take it all in. I can see why Nash calls it the Alpha’s “quarters.” It really is more of a suite than anything else. At the front of the room is a sitting area and a kitchen. It’s not a huge kitchen, but there’s a stove, which is nice. Towards the back is a bed that’s big enough for at least four people. I can’t imagine why we’d need  a bed so big, but I bet we’re both going to sleep great.

To the right, I can see the bathroom. I don’t even want to go in there. Chances are, it’s bigger than my old apartment and more beautiful to boot. My favorite thing of all, though, is the hot tub in the room. Yes, in the room. In the back left corner, there’s a huge hot tub that I could just sink into.

Maybe another night, though.

Right now, I want a long, hot shower with Nash.

I take his hand and close the door to the room, then kiss him.

“Follow me,” I say, and lead him into the bathroom. I gasp as we enter. It’s even more amazing than I imagined it would be, but before I can stare too much, he pulls me close to himself.

“There will be plenty of time to ooh and ah over the room, darling,” he whispers. “Tonight is for us, though. Tonight is for us.”

Nash wastes no time in stripping me down with reckless abandon. My clothes all end up in a pile on the floor. Soon I’m naked on the counter and without hesitation, he thrusts into me. I cry out, running my nails down his chest, then his back. He bites and sucks on my neck as he kisses me.

Nash is wild, feral. He might be a little bloodthirsty and on a bit of a power trip after tonight, but I don’t care. The sex is amazing. He takes me like he’s never taken me before, like he owns every bit of my body, because the truth is that he does.

Nash is mine, but I’m also his.

Totally, completely his.

“I need you baby,” he murmurs, and I bite his shoulder, encouraging him. My arms wrap tightly around him and I whisper sweet nothings, lusty little words to make him keep fucking me. He takes me like this is the most important thing in the world, and in this moment, it is.

He thrusts hard and fast, plunging to my core. My body tightens around him and I feel my orgasm bubbling inside of me. Nash licks my neck, bites my hear, tells me I’m his. All it takes is a soft flick of his fingers between my legs to make me fall apart in his arms. Waves of pleasure cover me. This is what I’ve been waiting for. I cry out, oblivious to the fact that wolves have great hearing and the whole pack can likely hear us.

Our lovemaking is quick, but passionate. He comes on my stomach, marking me. I run my finger through the juices and lick my hand slowly, like a little cat. He growls and dives down, licking my pussy as I’m eating his come. Soon I’m the one coming undone on the counter, crying out as I climax on his face.

While I’m still woozy from the orgasm, still a bit dizzy with lust, he carries me into the walk-in shower and sits down on the bench, holding me in his lap. He adjusts the water and it rains down on us while he’s holding me.

I’ve never felt so safe, so secure, so valued.

I’ve never felt so perfect or so alive.

“Nash,” I whisper.

“Yes, baby?”

“I love you.” He’s the only man I’ve ever whispered those words to, the only one I’ve ever wanted to tell. I love him. He saved me and he didn’t have to. He rescued me. He gave me a reason to live.

“I love you, too, Scarlett,” he whispers.

When I walked into the dark of the forest, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought I might find death and destruction, but love?

Well, that’s a fairy tale come true.

***

Nash and Scarlett’s story isn’t over! Find out all about the Silent Canines and how Nash does as the Alpha in book 2. Want to be the first to know when Red: Through the Dark comes out? Join my mailing list here:
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Sophie Stern is an erotic romance novelist who lives in the Midwest with her husband. She loves hearing from readers! Please feel free to connect on
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Other stories by Sophie Stern

Billionaire on Top

Dragon Isle

Stepdragon (Dragon Isle Book 0.5)

My Lord and Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 1)
The Dragon Fighter (Dragon Isle Book 2)

A Dragon's Bite (Dragon Isle Book 3)

Lost to the Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 4)

Beware of Dragons (Dragon Isle Book 5)

Did you enjoy this story? Want to read more? Turn the page for THREE special excerpts from my other shifter stories!

The Dragon Fighter
is the second Dragon Isle novella and features a strong leader who needs a human’s gentle touch. Will Emerson be able to find that in Janae?

Red Says the Dragon
is a historical dragon shifter story. This is more erotic than romantic, but there’s still a happy ending! I promise! When a mischievous princess wanders into the woods, she has no idea what danger is lurking in the darkness of the forest. What could possibly go wrong?

Staff Sergeant Polar Bear
is the first story in my
Polar Bears of the Air Force
series. When a single father picks his daughter up from daycare, the last person he expects to meet is his mate, but that’s exactly what happens. Will Heather recognize the connection? Can her heart handle loving an airman?

This story features dragons, but takes place in the same world as Red: Into the Dark.

Read the full book on Amazon here:
The Dragon Fighter (Dragon Isle Book 2)

Chapter One

Emerson stared at the old woman in front of him as she listed her complaints. She was upset about the cost of electricity and the price of milk and most of all, she didn’t like having to pay taxes to live on Dragon Isle.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Helsley,” Emerson finally said. “I’m not in charge of the prices. Importing things from the mainland costs money and the prices here reflect that.”

“But it’s not
fair
,” she whined.

Emerson gritted his teeth. He would
not
hit a woman. He would not hit this old woman. He wouldn’t yell at her, he wouldn’t raise his voice, he wouldn’t lash out. He was beyond that. He was better than that.

But he didn’t know how much more he could take before he snapped.

When Mrs. Helsley finally left his office, she was threatening to move away from the island. While he said, “We’d hate to see you leave,” what he really meant was, “Okay, please go ahead.”

“I’m going out,” Emerson grunted to his tiny secretary, Penny. She nodded, but didn’t bother asking where he was going or how long he’d be out.

“I’ll clear your schedule,” she said simply. For that, Emerson was grateful. He didn’t deserve Penny and made a mental note to get her something good for her birthday this year. She put up with all of his crap. It was the least he could do. Maybe he’d get her a gift certificate to a nice restaurant off the island. Hell, he should just give her an extra week’s paid vacation. That would do it.

Emerson walked outside and stripped, tossing his clothes in one of the many baskets that decorated the tiny village on Dragon Isle. The baskets each held robes that dragons could don if they accidentally shifted and ruined their clothes, but they also doubled as storage space for dragons who needed to fly somewhere for any length of time.

Today, Emerson wasn’t sure how far he was going to go.

Emerson wasn’t sure how long he was going to fly.

He shifted quickly and easily. It wasn’t hard for a dragon his age. The older a dragon got, the more difficult shifting was, but he was still fairly young. He was old enough to be able to control his shifts, yet youthful enough that it wasn’t challenging.

In other words, Emerson was the perfect age to find a mate.

Yet somehow, he hadn’t.

He knew when he took the position as clan leader that he would one day be pressured to find a mate. He just didn’t know that after a few years leading a group of dragonmen and women, he’d be
wishing
to find a mate.

No, that’s not really what Emerson wanted at all.

He wasn’t the marrying type.

Yet somehow, after a long day dealing with dragons who just couldn’t be pleased, Emerson wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of the fire with a beautiful female and have her promise that everything would be okay.

And how wimpy was that?

No, Emerson didn’t need all that.

Not just now.

Maybe not ever.

He closed his eyes and flapped his wings, leaping into the air, spinning straight into flight. Within seconds he was soaring high above the trees that surrounded the main village on Dragon Isle. Within minutes, he was coasting over the forest.

The world was simpler up here, quieter. The world was more peaceful.

Yet somehow, Emerson knew that without a female, his life would never stop being lonely.

Too bad he was so damaged that no one would ever want him. 

Read the full book on Amazon here:
The Dragon Fighter (Dragon Isle Book 2)

Kaira is an ordinary princess: spoiled, stubborn, and secluded. 
When Kaira becomes lost in the forest, however, everything changes. 
The Dragon of Naga, Sanguine, takes no prisoners. When Kaira finds herself in his lair, she begs him to spare her life. 
“I’ll do anything,” she tells him, and that’s exactly what the dragon requires. 
Red Says the Dragon is an erotic novel about a princess, a dragon, and the relationship they forge in the darkness of the forbidden forest.

Want more shifters? Check out Sophie’s medieval dragon book:
Red Says the Dragon
.
You can read chapter one here. The full story is now available on Amazon.

“The forest is no place for a princess,” the King told his daughter sternly. Headstrong and determined, 19-year-old Kaira was not interested in her father’s rules.

“There’s nothing wrong with the forest, Father,” she said simply, blatantly ignoring his comment. “And besides, Ian will be there with me.”

She nodded her head toward her servant: the lowly Ian. The poor boy said nothing as the King’s angry gaze passed over him. Ian didn’t want trouble. He didn’t even want to be here today. All Ian wanted, really, was to run home to his mother and enjoy a bowl of hot lamb stew.

Unfortunately, the princess had other plans: plans that practically guaranteed a delay in his arrival home. If she did convince her father to let her go into the forest, after all, she might be gone for a day or two. Maybe, Ian thought suddenly, they would be gone for an entire fortnight.

And he wished silently to himself that the King would be able to convince his daughter that exploring the forest was a horrible idea.

“Why do you want to explore the forest, Kaira?” The King asked quietly, returning his gaze to the girl. The dirt beneath her fingernails betrayed her luscious gown. She might be a princess by blood, but she was not one in her heart.

“To see all that my Kingdom has to hold,” she replied without missing a beat. Despite the fact that she had practiced her lie a thousand times in her bedroom mirror that morning, both the King and Ian knew that Kaira was hiding the truth.

“And what is so special about the forest this week, Kaira?” The King inquired, stroking his beard. His daughter reminded him greatly of his late wife: headstrong, determined, and stubborn. He remembered the day that his queen had begged to go into the forest, as well, though she had been honest enough to tell him why and smart enough to decide against it.

“It’s just that,” Kaira paused. This was a question she hadn’t anticipated. “It’s so beautiful this week. The weather is good,” she waved her hand to the open window, where a gentle breeze was flowing inside.

No one could argue that it was, in fact, a beautiful day.

“It’s lovely out, Father. If I’m to be Queen one day, don’t you think I ought to know my Kingdom better than anyone else? Don’t you think it’s wise to let me discover all of the secrets that my land has to hold? Don’t you-“

“That’s quite enough,” the King held up his hand and cut his daughter off mid-sentence.

Kaira looked surprised: and she was. The King wasn’t one to interrupt her speeches, nor was he one to ignore her desires. There was something about the forest that Kaira didn’t know, though, that the King knew all too well.

And King Liam was not one to take risks with his most prized possession.

It was simply not his style.

“Ian, leave us,” the King commanded. The poor servant boy stumbled over his too-big feet as he hurried to escape the King’s gaze. He closed the heavy doors behind him and waited in the hallway with the lone guard.

“Trouble in paradise,” the guard commented softly.

Ian just nodded.

**

Inside the room, the King was struggling to deal with Kaira.

“Why won’t you let me go?” She whined. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. You just don’t want me to be happy,” she pouted. “You wish I was boring and dull like all the lords and ladies. You wish I was bored.”

The King frowned at Kaira. 

“You may not go to the forest, Kaira. There are wild things – horrible things – that a princess need not know about. The castle is where you belong. You have full range of the gardens and full freedom to explore the village, but the forest is one place where you may not go. I forbid it.”

Kaira growled at her father, furious with his lack of understanding. Frowning, she turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her like a toddler who didn’t get his way.

When she was gone, King Liam collapsed in his throne and closed his eyes. How could he tell his daughter why he didn’t want her to go? How could he warn her about the dangers that she was so frequently drawn to? He knew perfectly well why she wanted to go into the forest this week: trolls. It was troll season and all the best knights were out hunting them, fighting them, and killing them to prove their strength.

He
knew
Kaira wanted to find a troll.

He also knew that it would kill her in an instant.

That wasn’t why King Liam forbade his daughter to enter the forest, though.

In actuality, a much bigger threat resided in the mountainside behind the darkness of the trees: a threat that would love to get its hands on a princess, especially one as young and tasty as Kaira.

Though the risk of being captured was small, it was less small when you were royalty. And though many believed the fables to simply be myths that had been passed on for generations, the King knew better.

As a young prince, he had wandered too far into the depths of the forest and eventually found himself in a deep, dark cave.

With nothing but his bravery, the King had encountered a monster so great that he had spoken of it only to his one-legged, dim-witted brother Percy who had died later that year. How the King managed to escape, he still didn’t know. How he managed to find his way home, he never knew. How the King managed to find a cavern that few had ever seen, he couldn’t comprehend.

Despite years of searching, he had never been able to find the cave again.

But he knew it was there.

And the King knew that if he warned his daughter of a dragon in their country, she would be running for its cave even faster than she was running for the trolls.

Red Says the Dragon
is now available on Amazon!