Within Arm's Reach Book Novels & Stories

The Dragon Royals were mere centimeters away when she turned around and pulled April into her arms. "It took you long enough!" Nefele exclaimed as April wept for joy in her arms. THE END. Please read the following pages to get sneak peeks of His Achilles Heel and Queen of the Wolves, or continue on with the Dragons of Desdayos in the Fire and Ice trilogy.

The crumpled, rejected skin gathering ‘round her elbow. Where she moved, the book followed. Feeding off her terror, it seemed, her helplessness quenching its thirst, the pages raced toward her bicep. She sat. Leaned back. Pulled away. Yanked and tugged. Struggled to twist her arm clear, not caring if what emerged was a bloody stump of snapping tendons and splintered bone. Brought her feet up, knees to chest, her shoes pushing against the book. First one foot disappeared, then the other. The extravagant paper opening wide once, twice, three times, her calves, then knees, then thighs inhaled in big bites.

~ LAYLA ~ My eyes open and I realise I’m enveloped in a warm embrace, strong arms are wrapped around me protectively. One arm is draped over me, my breasts are pressed against his forearm as his hand rests on my shoulder. The other arm is under my head, bent so his hand is resting upon my head. The heat of the body behind me is comforting; the deep, heavy breathing a soothing lullaby. In the arms of someone I don’t really know, I feel safe.

That at one point, his arm moved just enough that their forearms brushed, skin warm where his shirt had ridden up. He didn’t move away. Neither did she.

I immediately averted my face. "For your fast recovery" he simply said and read again. I just stared at him even though I could hardly breathe. I opened the book to distract myself from how I was feeling. I try to read the words in the book but I can't really focus because I'm having trouble breathing. I almost jumped in shock as I felt a little heat in my right arm. I looked at my arm and saw that our arms were touching. I felt the heat of his arm so I was more nervous. I went back to reading.

I just wanted to escape. "I only have one umbrella." He stood in front of the door, almost blocking my view with his broad chest. His words came lightly from above me. The implication was clear. If I took the umbrella, what would he use? I gave up. I gathered Louisa close and squeezed under the umbrella with him. We were close—close enough that he could smell the faint scent of detergent clinging to me. For some reason, it felt familiar, and his heartbeat became uneven.

Just then, my phone rang in my bag. Before I could pulled it out from my bag, I suddenly collided with someone, and I felt myself tumbling backward. My hand grasped for something— anything to hold onto, but it never came. I shut my eyes tightly, ready to feel my butt on the floor, even though I was so scared for my baby. Then, I felt strong yet warm hands caught me, wrapping around my waist, pulling me close to their chest. I gasped softly, fluttering my eyes opened, my chest heaving against the person as Mason’s piercing gaze locked onto mine.

The specific warmth of something that has been building for a long time and has finally been given somewhere to go. I put my arms around him. Not reaching up. Not the hand on his jaw or the hand on his chest. My arms around him and my face against his shoulder and the specific relief of stopping. Of not running the numbers. Of being somewhere and not calculating what it meant to be there. His arms came around me. Both of them. Holding. His hand flat against my back and his other hand at the back of my head and the specific warmth of a man who is not performing anything.

I slipped my hand through his arm, feeling the solid warmth of him, the rightness of it. “Yeah,” I said, and meant it with everything I had. “I’m ready.” THE END OF BOOK ONE

My core clenches hard. Back at the office, we sink onto the leather couch. It creaks beneath us. He pulls me in close. His arm drapes around my shoulders. His warmth seeps through the shirt and into my skin. We scroll through new designs for Aurora Press on his phone. His excitement is contagious. His eyes light up. His free hand gestures as he talks. I lean into him and breathe in the scent of his skin. It feels like home.