Free The Silver Dragon by Tianna Xander Page B

and stood to welcome the women. He might plan to end his life soon, but that didn’t mean he needed to exhibit bad manners. As far as he was concerned, his breeding would win out until the day he died. When he turned to greet the two women, the world stopped cold.
    He saw nothing, heard nothing, but the beautiful woman before him. Never in his life had he ever seen a female like the one standing next to his seat. He hoped to god that he wasn’t salivating over Tony’s mate. He might want to die, but he wasn’t ready to go just yet.
    Tall, and full figured, she wore her long, glossy black hair around her shoulders. Thick, sooty lashes framed her dark-violet eyes. Full lips, the color of ripe cherries, drew his gaze and made his heart pound.
    Every cell, every molecule of his being, seemed drawn to her. Slowly, as though he had all the time in the world, he drew in another long, slow breath. The delicious aroma had been her.
    He hadn’t felt physical attraction so strong in centuries. Perhaps this was the world’s good-bye gift to him. He could have one last fling with the only woman who had stirred his blood since the crusades.
    The sound of shattering glass brought him out of his reverie. He heard the distant cry of a woman’s dismay and looked around. The spell broken, he smiled at the women before him.
    “Hello, love.” Tony bent to kiss his mate. “Please allow me to introduce my partner, Jean Luc d’Argent.” He wrapped his arm around the pretty red-head and smiled at Luc. “This is my mate, Tansy, and her sister, Iris.”
    “I am enchanted.” Luc smiled into Tansy’s shining green eyes and bowed over her hand. Straightening, he released her slender fingers and turned to her sister. A powerful jolt of awareness shot up his arm when he took her hand in his.
    He swallowed thickly, enjoying the strange sense of recognition hovering between them.
    The woman’s beauty stuck him hard. Her exquisite scent permeated his very being. Everything about her made him long to spend time with her before he ended his existence.
    “Tony, why did you never mention that you had such a beautiful sister-in-law?” He stared at the woman. Perhaps he would spend some time with her. There was no reason he couldn’t take a little comfort where he could find it before he left the world, so long as she was willing.
    What was a few more days in the grand scheme of things? What difference would it make if he willed himself to the ether tomorrow, next week, or next month? What would it matter if the sorcerer found him and ended his life? Either way, he would be just as dead.
    For the first time in over a thousand years, a woman piqued his interest. What harm could possibly come from spending a few stolen moments in her arms?
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Iris’s cheeks burned. Her body reacted to the man’s sexy, French accent. She hadn’t expected that. She’d never found Frenchmen overly sexy in the past. What made this one different?
    Her heart slammed against her ribs when he took her hand. Bending, he pressed his warm lips to the backs of her fingers. Her pulse pounded and her breath hitched.
    Are you the one? He could be. He was one of Tony’s partners. That usually translated into dragon friend, as well.
    She stared up into the man’s strange, silver eyes. Did he have a title, too? Was he the leader of a dragon sept like Tony and her other sister’s husbands? Iris found that she didn’t care. The only way she could find out the things that mattered, was to kiss the man. So far, he didn’t seem as though he was in a hurry to do anything so rash.
    “d’Argent...why does that sound so familiar?” She bit her lip with a frown. Maybe she was remembering something from her high school French classes.
    “ Argent is a common word in French,” Luc replied. “It means silver.”
    “Oh.” She touched her upper lip with her tongue. “Your last name is Silver?”
    He smiled and gave her an exaggerated bow. “Jean Luc