Book Six in the award-winning Dragon's Heir series
Cal is everything Kevan wants -- or at least everything he thinks he wants. But as the crown prince of the dragon kingdom, Kevan is expected to marry and carry on the royal line. When Kevan brings the handsome young human back to Djarera, Melgara, the queen, orders him to keep Cal a secret -- after all, what sane dragon would be willing to share her husband's affection with a human male?
In love with Kevan since she was nine years old, Melina Westron is determined to win the prince's trust -- especially when she discovers the secret he's hiding is a man every bit as delicious as Kevan himself! Even better, she's delighted to find that the way to a dragon's heart... is through his lover.
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Reviews
5 Blue Ribbons! "This series from acclaimed author Sierra Dafoe just gets hotter and hotter. The gentleness each man shows Melina when they bring her into their binding is exquisite... This is one of those rare series of books that makes my heart feel content as I read." -- Romance Junkies
5 Cherries! "I loved this book! Sierra Dafoe is a voice to be reckoned with." -- Whipped Cream Reviews
4 1/2 Nymphs! "This series just keeps getting better..." -- Literary Nymphs
"Fans of the Dragon's Heir series won't be disappointed with Double Dragon, a wickedly hot, character-driven story of lust and love. This is easily a stand alone story, though I think readers shouldn't miss the rest of this fun and sexy series... [S]corching hot sexual encounters, great characterization, and an overall enchanting plot...a surefire winner." -- Joyfully Reviewed
Just about every eligible young female on Djarera had been invited to Prince Kevan's birthday celebration, and most of them were gathered now in a large, shifting throng near the stone steps, determined to be the first to catch Kevan's eye when he descended. Lisha Hausther, tall and elegant in the plunging black dress that ostentatiously displayed her ample charms -- charms that, if rumor were true, had already been sampled by half the young lords on Djarera -- jabbed an elbow into Riva Aurorea's ribs, brazenly shoving the curvaceous blonde out of the way and taking her spot at the forefront of the group. Sullen fury flashed in Riva's eyes, but she didn't quite dare shove Lisha back.
Torn between amusement and disgust, Melina shook her head wryly. If we weren't in the dragon queen's own castle, she thought, those two would be clawing at each other's throats by now.
Everybody knew that Melgara was anxious to find a bride for her son. After the scandal with Elara (who had been heir to the throne before practically eloping with Melina's infamous uncle, Zendar), it was completely understandable that the aging queen would want the royal line finally assured -- which explained the less than cordial attitude of the girls, although it hardly excused it.
Melina grinned to herself, imagining the black stares that would ensue if Prince Kevan were to pick her out of the crowd. She wouldn't in the least mind seeing Lisha seething with jealous fury -- she'd never cared much for the arrogant Hausther girl who too obviously thought her willowy frame and high, rounded breasts entitled her to the hand of a prince... or any other male she cared to claim, apparently.
Envy tugged at Melina again as she surreptitiously studied the tall, black-haired girl. Oh, sure, Lisha's dark eyes flashed with a certain fire -- but Melina knew full well that fire was mostly pride and self-conceit. And her breasts, as lavishly displayed as they were, were no fuller or rounder than Melina's own.
Then again, I don't go around shoving mine at every male in the vicinity, she thought tartly. Of course, up until three years ago, she'd had nothing to shove -- she'd been flat as a board almost till her sixteenth birthday, and by the time she had finally started blooming, she'd been too old to be impressed by the antics of the adolescent males around her, or to be interested in trying to impress them.
That hadn't kept her from sleeping with two of them -- after all, sex in human form was considered to be little more than a pleasant diversion, freely indulged in and with, of course, no concerns about conception. She'd been curious more than anything else, but both encounters had left her perplexed as to what all the fuss was about. It hadn't been at all what she'd expected, and certainly nothing like the fiery, blinding passion that supposedly occurred during khef matings.
Khef. Melina swallowed nervously. She, and all the other girls there, were nearing the age when most female dragons went into khef for the first time -- the uncontrollable mating fever that came upon them when they were fertile. Once again, Melina tried to imagine what that would be like, to be so enthralled by mating lust that you would couple like beasts with whatever male claimed you...
She shuddered, even though the spring night air was pleasantly mild. Most of the girls here would be married before the year was out for precisely that reason -- an unbonded female going into khef could incite all the males around her into a killing frenzy as they fought for the right to claim her.
Melina could only avoid that hideous possibility by bonding herself to a male before it happened. She'd had offers -- two young Westrons, both eager to curry favor with her kinsman Gerdain, leader of the Westron clan. But she'd held back, telling herself it was because they were more interested in her rank than in her. Which was true enough -- but it wasn't the real truth. The real truth was far more mortifying.
And the real truth was she'd been in love with Kevan Southerlin since she was nine years old.
