Nightbloom
The Nightwing Series
Book 3
Juliette Cross
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Date of Publication: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-161650576-9
ASIN: B00QP3CZR2
Word Count: 36K
Book Description:
The love between a human and a Morgon, the dragon-hybrid race, tempts fate once more…
All her life, Ella Barrow has allowed others to make her decisions. Forced to stifle her artistic talents and stay in a loveless relationship with Clayton Kerrington, the man her mother believes to be her perfect match, Ella’s life may be safe—but it’s not her own. Paxon Nightwing, on the other hand, is anything but the safe choice.
A charming and alluring Morgon, Paxon sees Ella for the woman she truly is. His bold confidence and protective nature ignites a passion she’s never felt before. But a dark family tragedy forces their secrecy—until Clayton makes it impossible to hide their clandestine affair. Will Ella be strong enough to fight for herself at last?
Or will she succumb once more and risk losing the only man she’s ever loved?
Excerpt:
I blotted my Petal Pink lips on a piece of memo paper and capped the lipstick.
“Dangit!”
Trying to retrieve the tube with the tip of my open-toe heel, I only succeeded in pushing the lipstick farther away. “Ugh.”
Unable to bend that far in my pencil skirt, I hiked the hem up to my thighs and crawled on all fours, shimmying my behind, then stretching my arm till my fingers finally gripped my favorite lipstick.
That’s when I heard a low, masculine whistle from someone standing behind me.
Scooting back, I shot off the floor and slid my hemline back to my knee, all under the steady gaze of Paxon Nightwing, silhouetted by the sunlight that filtered into the foyer of Linden and Burke.
Towering above me with jet-black hair and matching sharp-edged wings, wearing a charcoal button-down, black slacks, and a devilish smile, his voice crooned when he spoke. “Now that’s what I call a warm welcome.”
“I, um, well, I…”
He extended a bronzed hand. I reached out with my right, nearly dropping the lipstick again. I shifted it to my left hand. “I like pink.”
I like pink? I like pink! For God’s sake, Ella. How old was I? Five?
His extended hand engulfed mine, then he drew our bodies closer. Grinning wide and stroking his thumb across my knuckles, his melodious voice sounded sultry and sinful.
“So do I.”
I blinked stupidly till my brain started functioning again. He didn’t say a word, mesmerizing me with ridiculously deep brown eyes.
“I’m, uh, Ella Barrow.”
“Paxon Nightwing. Pleasure to meet you. But I think we’ve met before.”
I tugged on my hand. He didn’t let go, tightening his hold.
“Uh, well, I’m friends with Sorcha and Jessen.”
“Yes.”
I knew this guy was a player, the kind to make a girl swoon with a glance and charm the pants right off her. Literally. Jessen had even kissed him in a club once. And while his carousing behavior should make me want to run away, I couldn’t forget that Jessen had said on a scale of one to ten, his kiss was a ninety-nine.
He still held my hand, angling his body closer. “I’ve also seen you at the Vaengar games. With Kerrington.”
“Yeah. We’re, um, dating.”
“That’s a shame.”
I tugged again.
He released me. “I have an appointment with Sorcha Nightwing.”
“Yes. I know.”
Pulling myself together, I pressed the comm device on my desk and cleared my throat. “Mr. Nightwing is here.”
“Thanks, Ella. Show him to my office, please.”
Rounding behind the desk, I gestured down the hall. “This way.”
“After you.” A sly grin.
I tilted up my chin, pretending I wasn’t afraid of him, then led him toward Sorcha’s office. I was good at pretending.
As soon as I stepped in front of him, a primal shiver vibrated through my bones.
His eyes were on me. I felt his gaze, as if his gaze were a caress, brushing up my legs, curving over my behind, rounding my hips to the dip of my waist and finally settling on the blond waves that fell past my shoulders. By the time we reached the door to the office, my heartbeat hammered in my throat.
Gesturing for him to enter, I kept my eyes on the floor, trying desperately to regain control. He stopped in front of me, but I held my gaze until I realized I was fixated on his crotch. I jerked my head up. Amusement flickered across chiseled features. He was about to say something, but I didn’t give him the chance. I marched back up the hall to the receptionist area.
My Review
This series is MAGNIFICENT!!! Here's the Kicker, this is the last of the night wing series, which takes place before the Vale of Stars series. So if you read Waking the dragon, you know how this one ended, BUT I am still so freaking glad that this one is here, because I loved this one. With Jessen and Sacha, they are independent strong willed ladies who will fight for what they want. Ella has always been their timid, soft spoken, even meek friend. I now completely understand why. I am also seriously pumped that she learned how to fight her battles, because things would have turned out really bad for her. And who wouldn't swoon at Paxon. I mean, seriously, he's freaking gorgeous!
Ella is shy, but smart. She is timid, and yet she has the mind to be strong willed she just has to use her back bone. She has a degree in fine arts, and she's magical when she creates it. Yet, she still lives at home with her parents, doing what they think she needs to do, dating who they think she needs to date. She loves her parents, but sometimes biases will keep you down, not help lift you up, and her parents have several. So when she helps out Sacha at her office, and runs into Paxon, a whole slew of crazy begins. With Clayton, she is dating him because she should, yet, she doesn't even want him to touch her. With Paxon, she knows she can't have him and yet she's wants to strip her clothes off and climb him like a tree. It was a fantastic little picture she painted when she talks about him :)
Paxon is willing to throw a lot of things away for Ella. His dragon wants her something fierce. Yet, when it comes down to it, he lets her chose. It was quite romantic how he did it. He's thing big, masculine, heep of goodness and yet when things come down to it, he let her have all the power. Yeah, I loved him. :) And when Clayton threats Ella, and by fault Paxon, Ella needs to let Paxon go, but she can't. Some secrets revealed had her head whipping, but she finally found her footing to make things work.
I think this one is the most complex of the stories, for the ladies at least. Jessen and Sacha are so different from Ella, so she changed the most. In my eyes, anyways. And she also seems to have the hardest time. She always believed what people told her. She was prim and proper and appropriate. Always interesting when those things go out the window. :) I absolutely love this whole series, and the companion series, and I adore this this author. Seriously, whatever she touches is like magical fairy dust :) I think everyone should read at least one of her books, just once. Because it's like drugs, you'll be hooked for life. I am anyway :) LOL 5 BEAUTIFULLY MAGICAL DRAGON PAWS :)
About the Author:
Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
Juliette is a multi-published author, including her Nightwing series with Kensington Publishing and The Vessel Trilogy with Samhain Publishing.
Website: https://www.juliettecross.com/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Juliette-Cross/e/B00MQ18Z1W/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Juliette__Cross
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/crossjuliette/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/XeKIn
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