Excerpt from The Black Dragon

I’m a big fan of the slow burn. Why? Because the anticipation can be so strong that when they finally get together, there’s a huge amount of satisfaction. You’ve been waiting so long and the – BAM – that passion hits. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything more satisfying.

That’s the situation with The Black Dragon. It’s a slow burn, but when it ignites, look out. Addax al-Kort, our hero, has always been a secondary character. He was seen for the first time – and most strongly – in The Dark Spawn. He and Cole de Velt have a great friendship. But it really painted a picture of Addax and Essien having a really detailed past, which I get into in The Black Dragon. But more than that? Addax wants a love like his parents had. He speaks of it in the novel. But he has his own ideas on love, too. He’s really sweet about it.

But this excerpt doesn’t have anything to do with the romance, mostly because I wanted to give you a taste of a few cameos in this book – William de Wolfe, Kieran Hage, and Paris de Norville. They’re in their mid-twenties at this time in history, about eight years before Jordan Scott enters the picture (hopefully you’ve read The Wolfe because you’ll know what I’m talking about). In this excerpt, Addax is looking for a missing friend – Maximilian – and he and William and Kieran and Paris are on the hunt for him. Addax knows William and the others through the tournament circuit because William has a past as a tournament champion. Didn’t know that, did you? William de Wolfe can do anything!

This is a fun scene!

Strangely enough, the exterior of the unassuming tavern had been quiet as they approached it, the third tavern they’d visited on their hunt for Maximilian. Kieran opened the door and walked through, only to be hit in the face by a chair that someone had thrown. Kieran may have been enormous and powerful, but a chair straight into his forehead was enough to knock him sideways. As he toppled over, William and Paris charged in, followed by Addax and Essien. As Paris went to pull Kieran back to his feet, William and Addax and Essien tried to stay out of the way of flying furniture.

“Mayhap this is not such a good idea,” William said, ducking when a three-legged stool came sailing at his head. “Surely Max is not here.”

Addax had to put up an arm to deflect a cup that nearly smashed into his nose. “That was my initial thought when we entered, but now I am not so certain,” he said, trying to get a look at the men in the room, but it was one giant, undulating mass of flying fists. “Let us make sure before we move on.”

Kieran was up now, shaking off the stars that were still dancing in front of his eyes. He was surprisingly enraged by the chair to the head, and he pushed Paris away when the man tried to get a look at the gash on his forehead.

“Who threw that?” he demanded, clenching fists that were the size of a man’s head. “I’ll make sure he does not do it again.”

William and Addax looked at Kieran, surprised by his anger. “It wasn’t personal,” William said, putting a hand on Kieran’s shoulder. “But you should let Paris tend that gash.”

Kieran ignored him, his dark eyes searching the room for whoever had it out for him. Two men were fighting off to his left, and they were unfortunate enough to stumble into him, so he picked up one and literally threw him into a group of fighting men. When the other tried to escape, Kieran grabbed the man by the neck and flung him toward a doorway that led back to the kitchen. Both William and Addax winced as the man smacked into the wall, headfirst.

They could hear the skull crack.

“Feel better?” William asked.

Kieran took a deep breath, composing himself, and nodded. “Much,” he said. “Now, let’s see if we can locate Max in this mess.”

“Addax!”

Someone was shouting. Addax turned toward the sound of his name, seeing the very man they’d been searching for. Maximilian was off to his right, tucked back in the corner. He was part of the fight because, as Addax watched, Maximilian brained some man with a pewter cup. He hit him twice, on the top of the head, and the man went down.

Addax, Essien, Kieran, William, and Paris headed in Maximilian’s direction.

“Max, get out of here,” Addax said, waving the man toward him. “What in the hell are you doing?”

Maximilian was fairly drunk. He kept tripping as he tried to move toward Addax, shoving men aside who got in his way.

“They are trying to kill me,” Maximilian declared. Then he noticed William behind Addax, and his features lit up with outrage. “You! I have something to say to you!”

William was not amused. “And I do not care.”

“You should not have won our bout today!”

Addax rolled his eyes as he grabbed Maximilian. “Shut your lips,” he hissed. “If de Wolfe throws a punch at your head, he will kill you, so do yourself a favor and shut your mouth.”

Maximilian didn’t seem to care that he was in mortal danger. Addax was pulling him through the fight, but that meant William and Paris and Kieran had to get involved in it because men were turning on them, trying to fight the newcomers. Essien was already involved in it, beating back a man who had come at him with a broken table leg. All of them were fighting off men trying to do them harm as they moved Maximilian toward the entry door, which was no simple feat considering Maximilian didn’t want to leave.

But Addax wasn’t going to let him stay.

And that’s it for now! THE BLACK DRAGON comes out on April 4th and I think you’re going to love this book with it’s slow burn romance and fun cameos. It will also release straight into Kindle Unlimited, so you can read it there as well. In fact, a lot of readers read it in KU first and then purchase it to keep!

Happy Reading!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/47qH2Jt