Book & Author Details:
Dragon Splendor
by Ophelia Bell
(Immortal Dragons #3)
Publication date: April 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal,
by Ophelia Bell
(Immortal Dragons #3)
Publication date: April 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal,
Synopsis:
Nobody
said finding your fated mates would mean an instant happily ever after.
But for Aurum, an immortal gold dragon gifted with the power of psychic
empathy, love has never been simple.
Night after night, she has endured prophetic dreams about her pair of lovers, but finding them brings her no respite—the beautiful satyr, Calder, abandons her upon their first meeting, forsaking love for revenge, while royal ursa Nicholas…
Well, he looks nothing like the dark-haired man Fate promised her. So why does she find him so irresistible?
As war between ancient allies darkens the horizon, Aurum realizes the long-lost prince may hold the key to solving both her and Calder’s problems, bringing together the fated mates for good—as long as he doesn’t get them all killed first.
Their Fated connection doesn’t make things easy. But for Aurum, Calder, and Nicholas, victory might just go hand in hand with surrender where matters of the heart are concerned.
Night after night, she has endured prophetic dreams about her pair of lovers, but finding them brings her no respite—the beautiful satyr, Calder, abandons her upon their first meeting, forsaking love for revenge, while royal ursa Nicholas…
Well, he looks nothing like the dark-haired man Fate promised her. So why does she find him so irresistible?
As war between ancient allies darkens the horizon, Aurum realizes the long-lost prince may hold the key to solving both her and Calder’s problems, bringing together the fated mates for good—as long as he doesn’t get them all killed first.
Their Fated connection doesn’t make things easy. But for Aurum, Calder, and Nicholas, victory might just go hand in hand with surrender where matters of the heart are concerned.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Ophelia
Bell loves a good bad-boy and especially strong women in her stories.
Women who aren't apologetic about enjoying sex and bad boys who don't
mind being with a woman who's in charge, at least on the surface,
because pretty much anything goes in the bedroom.
Ophelia grew up on a rural farm in North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles with her own tattooed bad-boy husband and four attention-whoring cats.
If you'd like to receive regular updates on Ophelia's publications, freebies, and discounts, please subscribe to her mailing list: http://opheliabell.com/
Ophelia grew up on a rural farm in North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles with her own tattooed bad-boy husband and four attention-whoring cats.
If you'd like to receive regular updates on Ophelia's publications, freebies, and discounts, please subscribe to her mailing list: http://opheliabell.com/
Author links:
Chocolate Excerpt:
“Almost
finished,” Aurum said, dipping a spoon into a bowl, scooping out a huge dollop
of creamy chocolate, and spreading it on top of a large, brick-shaped cake
she’d just finished building, layering each tier with an assortment of
fillings.
Nicholas
swallowed a fresh mouthful of saliva to keep from drooling.
“I can’t
wait.” He really couldn’t, and finally gave into the urge to interfere. The
multitude of platters and trays that were now arranged around her counters,
piled with delicious-looking confections, looked so good. He stood and wandered
over to her, inspecting each item, wondering where she’d let him begin. He
stopped behind her, peering over her shoulder into the bowl.
Her hands
were streaked with the different substances she’d cooked with, and when his
nose hovered near her neck, he smelled her familiar citrusy scent beneath all
the other aromas that clung to her now.
“Only a
few more minutes,” she said.
“I might
need a bite of something to tide me over.” He dipped his head lower and
inhaled, not even trying to disguise his hunger. His stomach rumbled just as he
brushed his lips down the side of her neck, darting his tongue out for a taste.
Aurum
twisted away from him, turning, but he gripped the edges of the counter, caging
her in his arms and bending his head to chase her movement. Before he could
reach her neck again, she shoved a spoon into his face.
“Here,”
she said, laughing. “Have a bite of this, you hungry bear.”
She turned
fully in his arms and he leaned back slightly, looking down at the proffered
utensil, the sweet, chocolaty scent filling his nostrils. He opened his mouth
and she inserted it, the flavor exploding on his tongue like an orgasm.
Nicholas
growled low in his chest. Pleasure had never in his life originated from his
mouth to such a degree, except for the moments when he had Calder’s cock
between his lips, or just recently tasting his own juices mixed with Aurum’s
between her thighs. But even then, the tangy taste of sex didn’t compare to the
sensations of ecstasy he experienced now.
He sucked
the spoon clean and opened his eyes. Aurum beamed at him, her cheeks flushed pink.
“You
like?” she asked.
“Mmm,” he
murmured, taking the spoon from her hand and dipping it into the bowl again
over her shoulder. He scooped as much as the spoon could hold, bringing it to
his mouth. On the way up, a dollop of the delicious concoction fell, landing
with a little plop on the swell of Aurum’s breast.
“Hey,
you’re making a mess, and spoiling your lunch. Save room for the meal before
you fill up on dessert.”
The spoon
was already in his mouth, being sucked clean for the second time when he saw
her grab a cloth and move to wipe the fallen chocolate from her skin. He
dropped the spoon into the bowl and grabbed her hand.
“Mine,” he
said, swiftly bending to lick the chocolate off her breast. It had begun to
run, a trail of it arcing over the curve toward her sternum. Aurum gasped when
he darted out his tongue, trailing it over her bare skin and in between her
breasts to make sure he caught every last drop. The chocolate tasted even
better licked off her than it had coming straight from the bowl.
Hungry for
more, he looked into the bowl, then down at her. Aurum was still smiling, but
had a bewildered look of amazement on her face, her mouth open and the breath
of a laugh escaping her.
“What are
you thinking?”
“That I
want to do a cooking experiment. See how good the rest of you tastes with
chocolate.”
Sunshine Excerpt:
Aurum
waited as still as possible, debating whether to leave and fly solo, or make
herself known and go sit beside her sister. She itched for some kind of
physical activity to alleviate the ever-growing craving for sexual energy, and
a good, long fly would do wonders.
Nicholas’s
masculine musk reached her, and her mouth watered at the scent. He smelled
fertile, his aroma promising an abundance of energy if she had any inclination
to take him to bed.
She
didn’t, of course. The heat pulsing between her thighs was just evidence of her
waning power, which she was sure would last long enough for her to reach the
male who still regularly haunted her dreams even after finally seeing him in
the flesh.
Males,
she reminded herself. There was a second male in her dreams besides Calder, but
she had begun to doubt Fate’s message, because that second dark-haired man had
yet to appear. Still, that he continued to be a regular presence in those
nighttime visions gave her some hope. She’d first believed that he was an ursa
male, though she was more inclined to think he might be another satyr with the
way he kept appearing at the river’s edge in her dreams, and was more convinced
than ever that getting into the Haven was how she would find him. Maybe Calder
had a brother or friend who was fated to be her second mate? And if he was
indeed an ursa, then passing through the Sanctuary would give her more
opportunities to meet him.
Closing
her eyes, she could remember the scent of that second male, as wet and fertile
as Nicholas, but the difference was that the stranger from her dream was hers
as much as Calder was, and he was most certainly dark-haired and green-eyed
with golden, sun-drenched skin and an aura that drew her own energy to it like
a seedling reaching for the sun.
The
thoughts made her cravings even stronger and she shifted on her seat, squeezing
her thighs together to ease a bit of the pressure in her core.
Through
the branches, she saw Nicholas rake his fingers through his hair and turn his
head slightly, lifting his chin and inhaling as though savoring his freedom.
In a low,
deep voice, he said, “I know you’re there, Goldilocks. And I’m guessing it
isn’t watching your brothers that has you so worked up. Do you know you smell
like sunshine when you’re excited? It’s the oddest thing, because I only pick
that up from you. Your sister’s not shy, but she’s also nowhere near as worked
up whenever I’m around her. Not at all, in fact.”
Aurum
tensed, irritated by the fact that he’d sensed her presence. She shouldn’t have
been surprised—he was an ursa prince, after all, being the firstborn son of
Maia Stonetree. She’d just rather not have to have a conversation with him
again after their failed first interaction.
“It isn’t
you, I assure you,” she said. “My sister and I simply have different thresholds
…”
His
booming laugh stopped her and her eyes widened as he turned. His pale silver
gaze bored into her as he stalked over, ignoring the scratch of branches
against his bare chest. He was uncomfortably close when he bent over, his nose
millimeters from hers. She leaned back, scooting as far as she could, her heart
pounding. He inhaled again and grinned.
“Sunshine,
Goldilocks. I bet if I spread your thighs, light would pour out from between
them the same way water gushes from Gaia’s Source. Yet you seem intent on
locking it up for a man who abandoned you.”
“Us …”
Aurum whispered, barely able to get the word out past the tightness in her
throat. Nicholas inundated her senses, heat pouring off him in waves along with
that unbearably delicious aroma. He leaned closer to her, hands braced on
either side of her thighs.
“What was
that? I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of that rushing river between
your legs.”
“He
abandoned us, Nicholas. You said so yourself.”
His jaw
clenched and his irreverent, playful look vanished. “No … for him to have
abandoned me, I’d have had to belong to him. But I don’t. You’re the one who
does. Unlike you, I am free, for the first time in my life. Free to choose …”
He trailed
off, and the flecks of green in his eyes seemed to burn with inner light, like
his irises were a pair of opals filled with verdant fire. He swallowed thickly
and swept his gaze over her again before shaking his head as if to clear it. He
stepped back so abruptly, Aurum blinked in surprise. His eyes widened for a
second, then he turned and crashed away through the brush, not even caring that
there was an easy path not two steps away.
Aurum sat
staring after him, her mouth agape and her pulse racing in her throat. She
stood on wobbly legs, her vision swimming for a moment before she made her way
out onto the sparring platform where her brothers and sister had stopped what
they were doing to stare off in the direction of the ruckus of the huge ursa’s
retreat.
“What the
fuck is up with him?” Gavra asked. “Thought he still had a few rounds left in
him. He has more energy than Kris on a good day.”
“I don’t
know and don’t care,” Aurum said. “I need to fly. Are you three with me?” She
spread her arms out and called on her powers to shift. Without waiting for the
others, she launched herself into the air, aiming directly for the giant,
glowing orb in the sky.
Sunshine, Goldilocks.
She closed
her eyes and let the winds buoy her as she soared into the light. Nicholas’s
voice reverberated in her ear, sending a shiver through her entire body, though
her core heated even more. She inhaled the cold wind, seeking to flush the
scent of him out of her head and the lust out of her body.
He wasn’t
the one. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
- Signed paperback of Dragon Splendor, swag, and a $25 Amazon gift card
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