Flashfire by Deborah Cooke Read Free Book Online Page B

did it, but it was impressive.
    The spark was hotter than it had been before, more sensual, and its impact nearly melted Cassie.
    Or was that the effect of having Lorenzo’s undivided attention?
    She halfway wished he’d put on some more clothes.
    The other half of her liked the view just fine.
    “And so, we have our third and final question,” he said in that dark chocolate voice. “From the lady who has lit my fire this afternoon.”
    The audience chuckled and Cassie felt herself flush.
    She could lose herself in those eyes. He watched her, unblinking, just his gaze making her mind turn in very basic directions. The reflection of the flames in his eyes would have made for a great photograph.
    “My question is this,” she said, speaking clearly and slowly. “Where would I find one of those dragon shape shifter guys, the
Pyr
, the ones Melissa Smith has been profiling on her television show?”
    There was one beat of silence.
    She heard Lorenzo catch his breath.
    Then his smile broadened.
    There was something calculating about that smile, something that might have worried Cassie if she’d been anywhere else in the world than in front of two thousand witnesses. A light dawned in Lorenzo’s eyes that was both wild and unpredictable, one that made her catch her breath at his raw sexuality. She sensed that he was about to surprise her.
    And she was excited by the prospect.
    Then he threw up his hands. The stage erupted in flames, as it had at the beginning of the show. This time, though, the flames burned as high as his shoulders.
    He repeated her question in his deep voice.
    Cassie was sure Lorenzo was stalling. She stared at him, not willing to back down. When he smiled at her again, she held his gaze, silently daring him.
    She expected him to come up with some palatable story.
    She expected him to try to fake out the audience.
    She expected him to do pretty much anything other than what he did do.
    Lorenzo’s eyes flashed. There was a strange shimmer of blue light around his body. The flames on the stage leapt even higher, as tall as him. He was obscured, except for that blue light. The shimmer became a glow, like a brilliant pale blue aura.
    “Right here at the
Trial by Fire
!” he cried, then leapt into the air.
    And disappeared.
    In the blink of an eye, a massive gold dragon appeared above the audience. Cassie gasped. The dragon’s scales could have been made of hammered gold, each embellished with cabochon gems. It looked as if the dragon had been made of medieval reliquaries.
    But it wasn’t mechanical. It moved with a lithe grace, a sinuous power that reminded Cassie of the swing of Lorenzo’s hips. And it was more than smoke and mirrors. Its golden wings flapped, ensuring that it hovered above the crowd, and Cassie felt the wind they created. The dragon breathed a plume of fire that crackled over the heads of the assembled crowd and Cassie felt its heat.
    “Amazing,” Stacy whispered.
    To Cassie’s surprise, the dragon even flew out over the astonished audience. She couldn’t see wires or mirrors anywhere, although there had to be some. She couldn’t see an image being projected from anywhere, either. She turned with everyone else, and watched the dragon in wonder.
    She felt its gaze lock upon her, as if it were real, as if it were a conscious creature, and her heart leapt. She was reminded of the way she’d felt when Lorenzo looked at her.
    Prey.
    Or treasure.
    The dragon swooped down over Cassie and snatched her off her feet in one great claw. She cried out in shock as she was swept into the air. It had to be a trick, but she couldn’t imagine how it worked. Dragons weren’t real.
    But this one felt real. She fingered its talons, the ones locked around her waist, and they felt solid. The dragon wasn’t cold either, but warm.
    And his eyes were a rich hazel, filled with humor.
    She looked down and she was definitely flying above the enraptured audience.
    When she touched the dragon’s nails,