I’m deep into edits on Book 3 of my dragon series, Trial By Fire. I don’t have a release day to share yet, so I thought I’d share an excerpt.  FYI: Valmont is going to class with Bryn because he is acting as her bodyguard.

 

In Elemental Science, Mr. Stanton approached Valmont and had a quick whispered conversation before class started.

“What was that about?” Bryn asked.

“You’ll see.” Valmont grinned like a kid who’d been offered a trip to Disneyland.

Mr. Stanton stood behind his desk and waited for everyone to settle down and face him. “As you can see we have a visitor today and he has generously agreed to help with today’s lesson.”

This could be really great, or really awful.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard that Valmont is Bryn’s knight. I’ve asked him to explain how this came to be.”

Oh crap. She grabbed Valmont’s hand as he stood. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Afraid I’ll name names?” he asked.

Did she care about that? “Maybe.”

He laughed. “Fine. I’ll just use an unflattering description.”

And everyone would know who he was talking about, anyway. She wanted to crawl under her desk.

Valmont strode to the front of the room exuding confidence and way too much sex appeal. He leaned his left hip against Mr. Stanton’s desk and winked at her.

“Once upon a time—”

Several students laughed.

“What? It really does start like that.” He cleared his throat. “Once upon a time, Bryn and several of her friends came to Fonzoli’s for lunch. We met, and I could tell there was something special about her.”

Bryn felt her face color.

“A few days later, she returned to the restaurant, asking for a gallon of lemon ice and a spoon. Given my experience with females, I knew this meant something wasn’t right in her world. We talked, and then the source of her irritation, who we shall refer to as the spiky haired moron, showed up and tried to push past me to continue his confrontation.”

Oh, God. Zavien would hear about this. She was sure of it.

“As any good descendant of a knight would do, I blocked his path to protect Bryn from more verbal abuse.” Valmont zeroed in on Bryn. “And in that moment, she became my world, the only thing worth living for, and I knew I would lay down my life or take another’s to protect her.”

A tingling sensation started on Bryn’s scalp and traveled through her core all the way down to her toes. It was like magic pulsed in the air between them. Female students from all Clans whispered among themselves, while the male students muttered under their breath. Not that she could blame the girls for being impressed and the boys for being jealous. Her knight was awesome, and hot, and why did these I must kiss him feelings always seem to hit her when they were in a crowd. It was damn inconvenient.

“Thank you for that illuminating explanation, Valmont.” Mr. Stanton shuffled papers on his desk. “You may return to your seat.”

Seeming larger than life, Valmont strode back toward her. More than half the girls tracked his progress across the room, which earned more scowls from the boys. Did Valmont mind? Of course not. Maybe that was the reaction he’d been going for. He did love to stir up trouble, but in her heart she knew he’d meant every word he’d said.

When he reached her, he moved the chair so he sat beside her, took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. It was only by sheer willpower that she didn’t crawl onto his lap.

He leaned in and whispered. “I know what you’re thinking.”

Her face grew hot. “No. You don’t.”

“You’re blushing.” He sat back in his seat and gave a self-satisfied grin.

She tried narrowing her eyes at him, but ended up laughing instead. “Knock it off.”