Page 1 of The Mating Fire
Chapter 1
Her heart would always belong to him.
Problem was, she couldn’t recall who he was. He was a figment of her imagination, a dream lover.
That night, the same dream came to Harper Ashley in an ethereal mist of vague images.
Swirling, the opaque mist became solid, transforming into a scene much like a movie. She saw herself, dressed in long gown with sprigged violets, black ringlets spilling down her shoulders.
Her name in the dream was Isabella. She had magick, though weak magick.
Her powers were fledgling. Inconsequential. She hid them from the human who professed to make her his wife.
A warm sun beamed down upon a lovely, bucolic meadow, chasing away the bitter cold of winter with the renewal of spring. All of nature experienced rebirth, the green, lush meadow outside her fiancé’s country house bursting with delicate blossoms of primroses, bluebells, and violets. Meadow grass swayed gently in the breeze, creating a soothing rustle that accompanied the joyous chorus of birdsong.
There was no joy for her as she walked the familiar path through the meadow.
She was marrying to save her parents from ruin. Once they traveled extensively, living large off her father’s inheritance as he sought a way to increase his magick powers. Though her father was a pyrokinetic with the ability to shoot fire from his fingertips, he could barely summon a flame hot enough to ignite the wood in their hearth.
Then, visiting the island of Java, they became enchanted with the Kawah Ijen volcano and the villagers who lived beneath the slopes. Her father declared here was the place where he would regain his powers. They boarded a boat to sail back to London where her father planned to purchase land around the mighty volcano.
It never happened.
Days after they set sail, the volcano erupted, blasting out the crater lake and destroying enormous swaths of land. Entire villages were swallowed by destruction, with countless people and their animals dying.
The tragedy shook her father so deeply, he fell into a depression and began to drink, losing all their money. Eventually he lost the English country house as well.
Without money, with feeble magick, she had nothing to offer but her body to a wealthy human man who treated her like a servant, but wanted her in his bed.
Harper felt the utter loneliness and despair at an impending marriage Isabella did not want.
“Isabella,” the deep voice whispered on the breeze. “My Isabella.”
She looked up and sawhimstanding before him. Jared, her lover, the incubus demon who came to her at night.
She feared him not, for he was truly the only friend she had in this world. Every night he made love to her, his touch gentle and yet filling her with fire.
Never had she felt so alive, so connected to another.
He stood before her now, not in his incubus form of a muscular male with powerful wings and a sensual air, but an ordinary man. His trousers were dark as was his shirt, and his paisley waistcoat hid the strong male beneath.
“Bella, I cannot let you marry this man.”
“Jared.” Her gaze whipping about, she shook her head. “You must not be here in the daylight…oh no… am I imagining this?”
He shook his head. “This is real. Look, Bella. See the bird you described to me last night? The goldfinch? I’ve been watching him.”
Together they watched the ginger-brown small bird, its black and yellow wings in view as it sat upon a nearby tree branch.
“Bird watching,” she mused. “A demon who enjoys birds as I do. Because they have wings?”
His smile brought a surge of pure happiness. “Because you enjoy winged creatures as well. And they do fascinate me with their freedom, their joy for life.”
Her own smile vanished. “You must leave.”
“I can save you from your marriage, Bella. Come with me. Be my mate, forever.”
His hand stretched out to her. She took a tentative step forward, and then backed away in misery.
