Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series)
Read Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) Online
Authors: Trish F Leger
Her
Druid Desire
≈
Book
One of the Amber Druid Series
Published
by
CAJUNFLAIR
PUBLISHING
“It is dangerously sensual and the story simply
mesmerized me. Author Trish F. Leger could not have written a better teaser for
her AMBER DRUID series than HER DRUID TEMPTATION.
”
Pamela
@ Romance Junkies (4 ribbons)
~
Amber
Druids, dangerous men, an investigation, hostility, and sexy, steamy love
scenes are all rolled up in Trish F. Legers “Her Druid Temptation”.
InD’Tale
Magazine (4 ½ Gold stars and a Crowned Heart)
~
“
I really enjoyed reading Liana and
Trevan's
story...the characters are likeable and their
sexual chemistry is smokin
g
hot
!
”
Amazon Reviewers
Also
by Trish F. Leger
Scorching
and Sensual Romances…
HER
DRUID TEMPTATION-
prequel
to the Amber Druid Series (e-book only)
HER
DRUID DESIRE-Book One of the Amber Druid Series
HER
DRUID FANTASY-coming
Summer
2013
Sweet
Romances…
SEASONS OF LOVE:
Hearts, Hearths & Holidays (Anthology)
THREE
WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Connect
with Trish:
Facebook
:
Trish F. Leger-author
Copyright
© 2012 by Trish F. Leger
CAJUNFLAIR
PUBLISHING
All
rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever. This story is a complete work of fiction.
Names,
characters, places
and incidents are either products of
the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events
or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental
.
Dedication…
To
those out there who have the courage to hold out hope for the things they want
most of all.
Acknowledgments…
I
would like to thank my husband, for putting up with me sitting in front of my
computer, ALL THE TIME. See babe, me being on the computer does have an end
result!
For
family and friends, always.
For
the most awesome book club ever!
To
Kim @ The
Killion
Group, for the great cover, thanks!
And
thanks to everyone for being so patient with me while readying this book for
publication.
Chapter 1
Anger, rage, pettiness-those were things she could deal with. This…this
pain-that by all rights she shouldn’t even feel, was something so very new to
her.
Nadia Morales gripped the steering wheel tightly between her fingers. The
weather matched her mood, wild and unmanageable. Wind buffeted the Land Rover,
causing the powerful vehicle to lurch, which of course caused Nadia to focus on
staying on the road instead of swimming in the ditch.
Hated tears burned in her eyes, causing her focus to haze. She longed to hang
her head against the steering wheel and give into the absurd female emotions
that were pulling her under, but she couldn’t. She needed to get home. She
needed the cozy, inviting retreat of her cottage to soothe her shock, and bring
her peace of mind back.
Nadia needed to calm down, but saying
that was easier than doing it.
Another bright flash of lightning was instantly followed by a sharp,
threatening clap of thunder. Nadia jumped as the sound receded to a mere
rumble. Trying valiantly to steer the large vehicle in the blinding rain was
becoming increasingly hard.
“Breath, just breathe, and keep calm,” she said out loud, hoping to quiet
herself with the sound of her voice.
Bad weather had always been her Achilles heel. Ever since she was a young girl,
storms had pricked her curiosity and her fear. Hiding in her bed with pillows
and blankets over her head was the norm. Living in southern Texas hadn’t helped
one bit. The weather was always unpredictable and ferocious.
The rainstorm, the emotions of the moment, and the fear that slid through her
veins like slick black oil, all coalesced together. It took everything inside
Nadia to bully through the moment as if nothing bothered her, when that was a
lie.
There was only about a mile to go and then she could let go in the privacy of
her own home. Then a black blur ran out in front of the truck.
“NO!”
She jerked the wheel to the right, but it didn’t help. She felt, more than
heard, the sickening thud of the blur hitting the left front of her bumper.
Ever so slowly she pumped the brakes, not wanting to risk slamming them and
sliding off the road.
Hands trembling, she glided the large vehicle to the curb and put on her
flashers. A glance in the rearview mirror showed a distinct black mound lying
against the rain drenched blacktop. Through the rivulets of rain, she determined
the shape to be that of a small dog.
“Why?” she whispered to herself.
As if the past hour hadn’t been hard enough on her, and now she might even be
the murderer of some innocent dog. Nadia peered through the rain-distorted
glass on the back of the Rover, but she couldn’t make out movement. She
adamantly refused to leave an animal out there in the elements, especially if
it wasn’t dead.
She grabbed a bat that was under the back seat of the Rover, then opened the
door and cautiously went to check on the injured animal. It might be injured,
but living in the country had prepared her for animals infected with rabies,
and wild, half-crazed, hungry dogs that roamed freely when she was young. She
felt remorse, but she wouldn’t be a chew toy for a vicious dog, half-crazed or
not.
Cool raindrops slid under the collar of her shirt as she cautiously moved her
way towards the black mound. Steam rose up from the hot pavement as the cool
rain hit the blacktop. Dark woods on each side of the road teemed with wildlife
that chattered amid the noise of the now-dying storm.
Wind whipped her long black hair into her face, but she heedlessly shoved it
away, and noticed the rise and fall of the animal’s torso as she approached. In
some macabre, weird way she could thank this small animal for running out in
front of her because the spotlight was off of her pain for one second.
She stopped about three feet from it when it lifted its head in her direction.
Even though the wind blew rain and hair into her face, she could clearly see
large brown eyes peering at her wearily. Her heart all but melted, and then she
heard a soft whine, followed by a slow wag of the dog’s tail.
“Oh, poor baby, I’m so sorry.”
The black and white fur of the Border
Collie
was
matted with rain and blood, and the more she looked, the more she knew what
needed to be done. Another soft whine cemented her decision.
“Baby, you are going to be fine. I’m going to get you some help.”
She spoke softly to the dog and moved closer. It seemed to understand her,
which Nadia sensed was odd. Tentatively, she reached out to stroke its fur,
gripping the bat tightly in the other hand in case she might need it. To her
astonishment, the dog didn’t seem to mind being touched. She then placed the
dog in the back seat of the Rover, feeling the warmth curling through her
system at having been able to do something right tonight.
For one moment something else needed her attention, and it wasn’t her problems;
for that, Nadia was grateful. She pulled out her
iphone
and scrolled through listings for twenty-four hour vet services. When the list
came up with Safe Haven Animal Shelter and Clinic among the names, her heart
stopped. She glared at it for a few seconds, long enough to still her beating
heart and then realized she was closer to the clinic than she first thought.
Thirty minutes later she was pulling into the parking area. As a large, state
of the art facility on the outskirts of Beaumont, Safe Haven came about more
than twelve years ago. Local man Drake Thompson, business owner, investment
guru, and the guy with an all-around lucky touch with everything in life,
started this place to do exactly what it is called. The haven also included a
vet’s clinic. At the moment, the whole place was dark, except for security
lights on all sides, and around back where the large pens were. A
heart-wrenching whine echoed from the backseat.
“I know baby, I’m trying to get you some help.”
She opened the door and dodged fat raindrops to bang on the door. That was when
she noticed the hand written sign taped to the door. When lightning flashed,
Nadia jumped, but she held her phone up to the door to read the sign.
Emergency on ranch outside of town.
Call 555-3927 if
in need of assistance.
Why in the world would the vet leave a contact number belonging to the owner of
the shelter? Nadia itched to know, but kept her questions to herself. “Damn
it,” she muttered, thumbing through the list of numbers on her phone, because
she already had his number stored. Then she ran back towards the Rover,
wondering what in the world she had done to piss God off this time. This run of
bad luck was turning legendary already.
On the third ring, she realized God’s twisted sense of humor, as a deeply
accented, Texas drawl slid over the line. Out of the frying pan and into the
fire. Nadia calmed her rapid breathing and tried to remember what she was
calling for, instead of her reaction whenever she heard this
man’s
voice.
“Drake, this is Nadia. I have a dog here and I believe it needs medical
attention. I found your number taped to the Safe Haven clinic door for use in
an emergency. What should I do now?” She hoped she sounded calm, cool and
collected, but she highly doubted it. After having the worst surprise of the
year, hitting an adorable dog, and now having to hear
his
voice, she had
come to the conclusion that her night couldn’t get worse.