The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers)
Read The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) Online
Authors: Jen Robyn
The Knight of Her Dreams
By Jen Robyn
Dragons and Dreamphasers: Book One
Text Copyright © 1996 Jen Robin Kaltman
All Rights Reserved
Cover designed by
Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers.com
Cover model Jimmy
Thomas, image licensed under Romancenovelcenter.com
Castle image by
Ellerslie licensed under Fotolia.com
This book is dedicated to
Mom and Dad
Thank you for your love and support
Acknowledgments
A special thank you to my Mom for her help with the
editing, suggestions, and great patience through many read-throughs.
Your help was invaluable.
And a special thank you to my good friend who encouraged
me to self-publish this novel.
You are a great inspiration to me.
There’s someone else here.
Suddenly feeling goose bumps on
her arm, the young woman turned in her saddle, her brown eyes cautiously
scanning the beach. The secluded area looked serene, the sky as blue as the
shimmering satin gown she wore beneath her dark cloak. Not a soul in view.
Just my imagination, that’s
all.
The goose bumps remained.
Pulling her cloak closer,
Julianna accidentally tugged the reins as well.
Her ivory mare’s surprised whinny
sparked her full attention. Reining her away from the ocean’s edge, Julianna
patted the horse apologetically. “Easy, Duchess,” she soothed. “Your friend’s
just daydreaming again.” Duchess snorted her agreement.
Shutting her eyes, Julianna deeply inhaled the
crisp sea air, allowing the worry to drain out of her.
There is nothing at
all like the ocean
, she thought blissfully.
It has a way of calming the
soul.
Feeling the sweetness of freedom, Julianna smiled playfully, urging
the mare faster.
Enjoying this change of pace, Duchess whinnied
again in agreement, echoed by her rider’s laughter. Shaking her head, the hood
of Julianna’s cloak fell to loose her streaming auburn hair. Reaching well
past her shoulders, the spicy curls danced in the wind as the trave
lers flew across the
sands.
Suddenly, a pair of strong hands
gripped her waist. She screamed as she was pulled from her mare.
Duchess noticed her absence
instantly, abruptly turning to face the reason for her friend’s screams.
“Let me go, rogue!” Julianna shouted, struggling
against her captor. Her steed gave an angry whinny, raising her forelegs in
warning.
“
Hold
there, Duchess!” a deep
masculine voice called out, calming the mare almost instantly.
Julianna gasped in surprise, just before turning
to the man who held her. He too wore a hooded cloak, his face hidden except
for a smile. A man of strength, she decided, noting how the cloak molded
itself to his muscular body. And quite tall, especially against her average
height.
“Duchess rarely listens to the commands of
anyone,” she commented, finding her voice. “How is it that you know her name?”
“I know many things,” the stranger replied.
“I’ve seen you ride your steed along these banks before, sweet lady, and since
I live at the castle yonder beside this ocean, I felt an introduction was
due.” At her pout, he gave a short laugh. “Fear not, my beauty. I mean you
no ill. I merely seek a moment of your time.”
Despite his smooth words, she remained
suspicious. “I think it’s been a moment too long,” she whispered, tilting her
head to one side. “What is your name?”
“Ah, ‘tis a secret, which I will reveal when I
choose.”
Put off from solving that mystery, Julianna
became more curious to see the face of the stranger, reaching towards his cloak.
He gently stopped her hand, lifting the hood on his own and allowing it to fall
back.
Julianna blinked her eyes several times in amazement.
Having assumed the worst, she wasn’t expecting the handsome face of the man
before her.
His eyes were the most intriguing
shade of deep blue she'd ever seen. Running a hand loosely through his wavy
midnight black hair, those captivating eyes now glittered. “I hope that your
silence denotes approval,” he told her with a slight chuckle.
Realizing she was staring,
Julianna blushed but stood her ground. “Of your looks, yes. Of your barbaric
kidnapping, no. And might I ask how you managed to do that without the aid of
a horse of your own?”
He thought for a moment to consider this, and
then his expression turned cheerful. “Magic?”
“Ah, magic... the ever-popular excuse,” Julianna
said with a laugh, not masking her inner skepticism. “And I suppose this same
magic brought you here to find me.”
“Possibly.” He folded his arms with a smirk.
“Disappointed?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she decided. “If Duchess
takes to you, then I suppose there must be something within you worthy of her
favor.”
“And is there something within me worthy of
your
favor?”
At his not-so-subtle request for flattery,
Julianna gave him her brightest smile and shook her head. “No, I’m quite
positive you’re just as I dubbed you before... a rogue.” His smile faded
slightly, but he said nothing. “So then, o’ Mystery Man, now that you’ve had
your requested moment of time, Duchess and I will bid you a good day, and good
riddance.”
Nodding in mock politeness, she strode
purposefully back to her waiting mare. But just as she was about to pull
herself up on the saddle again, once more she was pulled free. This time
anger, not fear, brought a scream to her lips as she turned to strike the man.
Before she could, he spun her around and pulled
her close, his face mere inches from hers. “Do you truly hate me so much for
merely startling you earlier?” he asked softly, his voice underlying a shade of
hurt.
She struggled against him. “A true gentleman
wouldn’t displace a lady from her horse as you did. Twice!”
“Ah, but then you labeled me a rogue, did you
not?”
“Well, aren’t you?”
He was silent for a moment, his expression
serious. “I thought not earlier... but I believe you could turn me into one.”
Not giving her a chance to reply, his arms tightened around her as he leaned
forward to kiss her. Unable to say anything, Julianna beat her fists against
his chest. For a few moments he let her, and then broke away from her slightly
to speak. “I’m sorry about that,” he whispered with a smile. “I’m afraid I
seemed a bit unable to help myself.”
Julianna wanted to protest, but instead merely
glared at him. “Who
are
you?”
His confident look returned as he
raised one brow. “I’ll tell you what, my sweet lady. Grant me one kiss
freely, and I’ll tell you my name.”
“You have a rather high price for information.”
“The high price being a mere kiss?”
She sighed heavily, but her curiosity remained.
Not that his last kiss had been unpleasant. She’d never been kissed with such
passion before. “All right,” she replied, if only to silence her last
thought. “One kiss for your name. But that’s it!”
“That’s it.” He brushed her hair back to cradle
her face in his hands. Julianna stared into his eyes curiously.
“What are you doing?”
“If I’ve only the luxury of one kiss, I intend to
make the most of it,” he replied, his fingers lightly caressing her cheeks.
“By all the heavens, with the sun casting light to the flames of your hair and
the fire in your eyes, you are indeed a beauty, my lady.”
She blushed beneath his gaze, shutting her eyes
as he lowered his head to kiss her again. This kiss was different from the
first, gentle yet seeking. Oddly enough, despite his behavior earlier,
Julianna found the sensation of his kiss most pleasant and began to respond in
kind. As soon as he sensed this, he smiled, his hands threading through her
thick reddish-brown curls, as he’d wanted to from the start.
Shifting slightly to kiss her cheek, he murmured
against it, “Do you still wish to know my name?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“You can call me Dominick.”
“Dominick…” she repeated,
allowing another moment to pass before reality returned. Eyes narrowing, she
pressed her hands against his chest. “You said just one kiss.”
“And I gave you my name,” he agreed.
Julianna’s eyes narrowed. If this rogue thought
she was going to
extend
their bargain, he was sorely mistaken.
Glancing down, she raised the heel from her boot and brought it down sharply on
the man’s foot. Cursing in fury, he was unable to recover immediately, giving
her a chance to leap astride Duchess again.
Reining her steed around as Dominick looked up
from his injured foot with an angry grimace, Julianna glanced down at him
smugly. “I’m sorry about that. I’m afraid I seemed a bit unable to help
myself.”
Recognizing his own words, Dominick’s expression
gradually faded into a knowing grin.
“As you were unable to help yourself from
reacting to our shared kiss?”
At first she blushed, but then smiled as well.
“You
are
a rogue,” she laughed.
He moved to stand closer to her, resting a hand
gently upon Duchess’ head to keep her calm. “You didn’t seem to mind just now.
Am I wrong?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “No,” she replied
softly. For a moment their gazes remained locked, but before he could speak
again, Julianna gave Dominick a casual wave and rode off.
She smiled as she heard his footsteps following
close behind, yet was startled to see him keeping pace with her swift mare.
“I never had the chance to inquire, my lady. You
know my name now, but what is your own?”
Julianna flashed him a grin. “Ah, ‘tis a secret,
Dominick!” she called out through hearty laughter, urging Duchess to a faster
pace and leaving him behind.
*****
As she disappeared towards the horizon, Dominick
ceased following her, breathing heavily as he watched her vanish.
“‘Tis a secret!’” he echoed, shaking his head.
Turning the other way, he whistled to a steed of his own, which seemed to
magically appear out of nowhere. As he mounted up, preparing to ride off,
Dominick shook his head again with a smirk. “Saucy wench!” he murmured through
a chuckle, clicking his heels against the stallion to send it riding in the
opposite direction.
A moment before he literally
vanished
,
steed and all.
It was all a strangely unusual memory to her now.
Although he remained ever elusive, the mysterious
Dominick remained in Julianna Sherborne’s thoughts. Even though she believed
herself far too ordinary for a man like him, she secretly hoped that her
dashing knight would return, chasing away her sorrows.