By Daylight Come (originally released in Enter the Dragon) will be released as a single title on April 5. This has always been one of my favorite stories. It's the first one that I was really tempted to have my two heroes make love. Didn't happen but it gave me good inspiration for the next book.
Here is an adult (just have to say it) and amusing excerpt from the book. Don't forget. April 5! Mark your calendars...okay, I'll mark my calendar, how about that?
By Daylight Come
by Tielle St. Clare
(available April 5...just a bit of shameless self-promotion).
The irritating “bing-bong” of her doorbell jerked her from a pleasant dream that involved Dane, Raython and a can of whipped cream. Her eyes snapped open and she glared at the clock. It was nine in the morning.
Tina twisted out of Raython’s binding embrace, grousing softly as she stumbled from her bed. She peeked out the upstairs window and yelped. Four cars and two vans filled her driveway and the road leading toward her house. And there were men. Lots of men. Pouring out of the vans and cars, dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles of some sort.
“What the hell?”
The doorbell rang again. She glanced down and saw a familiar form. Dane. And another man she didn’t recognize. With a quick glance toward Raython, she dragged on her robe and left the room, leaving the door open enough so the click didn’t wake the sleeping dragon.
She hurried downstairs, scraping her fingers through her hair as she moved. Raython’s hands had made a mess of her long brown strands but with the insistent ring of the doorbell a third time, she knew she didn’t have time to stop and brush.
Streaks of apprehension streaked raced down her spine. There was only one reason strangers would be on her front porch at nine on a Saturday morning. And that reason was lying naked in her bed.
Trying to act confused but not too panicked, Tina opened the door. A little flutter went through her stomach as she smiled up at the local sheriff. It had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with lust. You’d think after last night, I’d have every bit of arousal out of my system. But Dane’s serious face still made her ache.
Beside him stood another man—dressed in a black suit and with a face dominated by grim eyes and lips. Two others, dressed in the same dark suits, climbed the three steps up to her porch and stood behind Dane.
Dane, wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants, looked more casual than the others.
“Dane? What’s going on?” she asked, deciding to attack directly.
“Mornin’, Tina, sorry to bother you so early.”
The deep, gravelly sound of his voice sent another tingle into her sex. She pressed her lips together to stifle a moan that threatened. What was wrong with her? She’d been around Dane a lot in the past four years and while she’d been tempted to jump him any number of times, it had never been this acute.
“Can we come inside, ma’am?” The man in the dark suit beside Dane moved forward.
Tina didn’t open the door any farther, waiting for a nod from Dane. Him she trusted. She didn’t know these other men.
“What’s going on?” she asked, hopefully with enough innocence. “Who are these guys?” She lifted her chin toward the cars behind Dane’s shoulder.
He grimaced. She didn’t know if it was real or faked for the purpose of putting her at ease.
“Can we come in?”
She hesitated for a moment longer then opened the door, trying to focus on being a helpful, curious citizen. Not someone who knew that the creature they were seeking was currently naked in her bed.
Dane and the others stepped into her living room. She backed up just enough to let them in but didn’t walk down the three steps into the seating area. She didn’t want these men here—except for Dane. She definitely wanted him there. Actually she wanted him upstairs in her bed but that was currently occupied by a creature from another world.
Stifling the bubble of hysterical laughter that threatened, she gathered the edge of her robe and tried to look serene.
“What’s this all about?” she asked, her nerves snapping.
“Did you watch the news yesterday or this morning? All those reports about a flying dinosaur?” Dane asked. She nodded. Her heart moved into her throat and she was glad she didn’t have to speak. “Well, this is Special Agent Frank Donavon with the FBI. They are investigating that incident.”
Donavon stepped forward as if he was trying to capture some of the room space that Dane’s presence held. “Ma’am, we are sorry to bother you this morning. In reality, what everyone saw yesterday was a test plane. A glider really. The crew thought it would be funny to paint a dinosaur head on it before it made its first flight.”
Tina didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure if she could lie to the FBI. Then again, he was lying to her.
And he did so with friendly smile.
“They think it crashed on your property, Tina,” Dane interjected. “They’d like to search your lot.”
It was a lot of land and they wouldn’t find anything.
“Well, I think that…” She stopped speaking when the four men in front of her stopped listening. One by one she watched their eyes leave her and turn to the stairs. Bracing herself for what she knew was behind her, hoping that Raython had put on the shorts she’d left lying at the end of the bed, she slowly turned.
Nope. He was naked. Gorgeous, sensual, and definitely naked. Raython stood halfway down the stairs, his hair brushed back over his shoulders baring his body to everyone in the room. Even more revealing was the look on his face. He had that aura about him that said he was satisfied. Even Tina could see it. He gave off the attitude of having fucked the night away.
Which he could have, she thought with a silent groan, except he’d made his little discovery and refused to touch her except to hold her while she slept. It had been sweet and loving but her body craved more. The telltale ache in the pit of her stomach rumbled again.
He strolled down the stairs and snapped her out of her arousal. Unaware or uncaring that the four men stared at him, Raython directly toward Dane. Raython stopped in front of him and with a blatant inspection, he scanned down Dane’s body. Pausing at his chest and his crotch, and finally reaching his feet. Tina held her breath.
“Excellent choice, Maiden. He will make a fine Warrior and bear you strong sons.”
“What the f—”
“Uh, sorry.” She grabbed Raython’s arm and pulled him backwards until he stood beside and a little behind her. “This is Rayth—uh, Ray. He’s my brother…” She saw another widening of the eyes from the FBI agents. “In-law. Ex-brother-in-law.”
The three FBI men nodded wisely. She wasn’t doing a good job of lying about this, but none of them seemed to mind. They just thought she was trying to cover up an illicit love affair. Dane wasn’t so easy. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Raython. Raython stared back, not cowed at all by Dane’s stare.
“Don’t you have some clothes to put on?” Dane asked.
Raython tilted his head to the side then looked down at his body. After a long moment of self-inspection he looked back up to Dane. “Why? Am I not pleasing? Do you find my form offensive?”
A hint of red marked the base of Dane’s neck. “No, but there is a lady present.”
Raython shook his head, causing his hair to drape forward over his chest. “Tina does not mind. She finds my shape and size most enjoyable.”
