Free INTO THE FIRE (Forbidden Love) by DANIELLE JAMES

the bed and scooted under the covers. She closed her eyes tight and forced herself to think about anything but what Rebel said. When she felt the mattress dip to her side, she flung herself over so that her back was to him. He wanted to get close, fine. She briefly considered going out into the hall herself, or even on the floor. But there was no way she was giving up the bed. She squished herself as far away as she could without tumbling out of the large bed. She had to get some sleep.
    “Good night, Leigh,” Rebel said.
    “Go to hell, Cowboy.”
    ****
    Merrick paced the small hotel room with his hands on his hips. Where had she run off to now? He had been hunting Leigh for so long that it was second nature to him. What he hadn’t counted on was those damned vampires interfering. What could they possibly want with Leigh anyway?
    If he knew Leigh, and he liked to think that he did, she wouldn’t have told them what she was. It was no matter, they had seen it for themselves. The dragon was out of the cave now. And Merrick would use it to his advantage.
    He winced when the wound on his side stretched with his movements. He chuckled. He never did mind being impaled by Leigh’s tail. The gunshot wound in his thigh was another story altogether. That damned vampire was gonna pay for that. He could have used his magic to heal it instantly, but then Leigh would be able to sense it. She would know exactly where he was. He couldn’t have that. She would use the information to get even further away from him.
    He was going to have to fight the vampires for her, he knew it. They had seen his abilities, and they would be prepared. He was going to have to figure out another way to approach this. Straight out war was out of the question. He might have been a powerful warrior, but he was outnumbered. And he knew one of those vamps. Not personally. But he had seen his mug on TV and in magazines. Angel Knight.
    But then again…. Humans had seen them fighting as well as the vampires. There would be media coverage about it. When the humans heard the story, their hearts would run over with sympathy for Merrick. Humans were notoriously bad about trying to preserve endangered species. When they heard how Leigh and himself were the last of their kind, humans would race to help find her and would be screaming for them to procreate.
    That wasn’t all he wanted Leigh for. Well, it had been at first. He wanted her for sex. But the more she evaded him, the more she fought, the more he wanted her. And he would have her. It was only a matter of time before she used her power again. The vampires had tricked her into it once, they would certainly do it again.
    As he watched the morning news, a plan began to form in his mind.
     

TEN
    Leigh was dreaming. She knew it, but she had no intention of waking up. She was stretched out on a padded table, wearing only a towel, while a man with wonderful hands massaged her back. The room was painted gold, with hieroglyphics etched into them. It looked like the old Egyptian preparation rooms that the Pharaohs used before public ceremonies. He was wearing a simple linen cloth around his waist. Leigh giggled. She was dreaming about having an Egyptian slave.
    She felt the oil dribble down her spine and then his hands working over her skin. He kneaded the muscles in her lower back and then pushed the towel down to dig his fingers into her buttocks. It was heavenly.
    The man had no face, but wow was his body was stacked. Rock hard abs that bunched and flexed as he moved, strong arms and long, muscular legs. Not an ounce of fat on her slave. His magic fingers worked their way down the back of her thighs, releasing tension that she didn’t realize she had. He worked his way down her calves, then to her feet. He rubbed the arch of one foot with his thumb, holding it in place with his other hand. Before returning her foot, he placed a gentle kiss to the arch.
    Leigh sighed. He repeated the process on her other foot,