Free Serpent's Kiss: A Dragonfire Novel by Deborah Cooke Page A

melted Chandra’s protest from her lips and had her leaning toward him, yearning for another sweet kiss. She was losing her mind but when the firestorm burned so hot, she didn’t care.
    If she let him kiss her again, there was no telling where this would stop.
    She shook off Thorolf’s touch. “There’s too much at stake,” she said flatly, and he studied her. She felt herself blushing, as she never did, and wishing he didn’t agitate her so much.
    “Maybe the firestorm will change your mind,” Rafferty said with a smile. He lifted a finger and a moment later Chandra heard the distant sound of police sirens. “You need to leave.”
    “We’ll go to my sanctuary,” Chandra said, her words coming quickly. It wasn’t an ideal plan, but she didn’t have a better one—and she couldn’t think with him standing so close to her. “We can argue about the details there.”
    “We can consummate the firestorm there,” Thorolf countered, that pale blue shimmer appearing around his body as he prepared to shift shape. “Is it far?”
    Chandra nodded, not at all confident that she’d be able to resist the firestorm’s call when he held her against his chest. Even having a small increment of space between them helped her to remember everything she had to do, every detail she’d put in place for this last battle.
    No doubt about it: the firestorm was every bit as much trouble as Thorolf.
    “Let me give you a firestorm gift,” Rafferty suggested. “Confide the sanctuary’s location to me and I’ll take you there.”
    Chandra shook her head at the very possibility. “I won’t tell anyone…”
    “Then think of it,” Rafferty commanded, his manner terse. “Fill your mind with the vision of it, the scent and sound of it, your every memory of it. We haven’t much time and Thorolf is tired.”
    “Rafferty can spontaneously manifest elsewhere,” Thorolf contributed when Chandra hesitated. “He can take us anywhere pronto.”
    Chandra could do the same trick, but didn’t trust herself to stay focused while in contact with Thorolf and distracted by the firestorm’s burn. She remembered only now that Rafferty was the Pyr who had been so changed by the darkfire. That must be why he could spontaneously manifest as some Slayers did. “Thank you. That would be best.”
    Thorolf eyed the other Pyr with concern. “If it’s not too much for you.”
    Rafferty didn’t even nod, much less leave more time for protest, before a shimmer of pale blue outlined his body. He shifted shape, becoming an opal and gold dragon again, then offered one claw to Chandra. She gripped one of his talons.
    Thorolf shifted shape in turn, and Chandra averted her gaze as Thorolf caught her around the waist. She didn’t want to look at how magnificent he was, in the form of a moonstone and silver dragon. It was bad enough being held in the crook of his powerful arm, feeling the firestorm’s burn dissolve every conviction she held to be true.
    She’d been right about the firestorm. Its light was brilliant yellow, almost white, and the heated desire it sent surging through her body made her wonder how anyone could resist it. Thorolf crushed her against his chest, and she leaned her forehead against him.
    He felt so good.
    She was never going to be able to keep her vow of chastity if this temptation kept up.
    She shivered, realizing that she didn’t even know the price of breaking it.
    She’d never find out because she couldn’t risk failing in her mission.
    Rafferty took a deep breath, and then another. Chandra felt a weird quiver slide through her body, even as the scene around them began to waver. It was like the reflection on the surface of a lake, rippling slightly, revealing that it wasn’t real.
    How interesting that his ability to move through space and time felt so different from her own. When Chandra moved, she felt nothing. The transition was instant and without sensation.
    As the scene around them vibrated with greater force,