Experienced at feeling unwanted, Clarissa Rue Hawthorne lives her life alone with those few friends who know little of her secrets. She is a Halfling--half drakon, known in mythology as a dragon; and a half human. Anyone of mixed breeding should not have had the ability, but the elders were wrong. When she matured into womanhood, she discovered that like the males of her species, she can change into a drakon. She is the first female of their kind after four generations that can change from appearing human to smoke to dragon and back again. Charissa fakes her own death and escapes from their small community to live amongst mankind in London.
Christoff, Marques of Langford, or Kit, is alpha leader of the tribe of drakon. He is used to having his way and always winning. There is no alternative. To lose could mean revealing that dragons still exist and their extinction.
Kit uses the Langford Diamond's display at London to catch what can only be an escaped drakon. He's in for more than one surprise. The press dubbed "Smoke Thief" is Clarissa. How could he have forgotten the compelling child perched in the trees and spying on him? When she dissolves into fog, his plans for the runner's death drastically changes. Her jail will no longer be a tiny cell within their prison, but on his arm as his wife. Holding only her clothes to remind him of her extraordinary beauty, the Langford Diamond is stolen.
Kit's goal is not just the death of the fugitives. He must find the diamond and make Clarrissa his bride. She has no intention of letting that happen. She won't let a silly childhood crush keep her bound to a man who doesn't love her or bound to people who taunted and punished her as a child.
When Kit is successful in capturing Clarrissa on his terms, she makes a bargain. For retrieving the diamond and turning in the fugitive, in exchange, they would grant her freedom. He accepts her conditions. Of course, he's lying.
This is a wonderful book. Kit is definitely your alpha male. When I read that Kit had no qualms about not keeping his word to Clarrissa, I was so caught up in the story that I got angry. I had to find out how Clarrissa would get away and stay away.
For centuries theyβve lived in secret among northern
Englandβs green and misted hills. Creatures of
extraordinary beauty, power, and sensuality, they possess
the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back
again. Now their secretβand their survivalβis threatened by
a temptation that will break every boundary....
Dubbed the Smoke Thief, a daring jewel thief is confounding
the London police. His wealthy victims claim the master
burglar can walk through walls and vanish into thin air.
But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, knows
the truth: the thief is no ordinary human but a βrunnerβ
whoβs fled Darkfrith without permission. As Alpha leader of
the draΒ΄kon, itβs Kitβs duty to capture the fugitive before
the secrets of the tribe are revealed to mortals. But not
even Kit suspects that the Smoke Thief could be a woman.
Clarissa Rue Hawthorne knew her dangerous exploits would
attract the attention of the draΒ΄kon. But she didnβt expect
Christoff himself to come to London, dangling the tribeβs
most valuable jewelβthe Langford Diamondβas bait. For as
long as she could remember, Rue had lived the life of a
halflingβhalf draΒ΄kon, half mortalβand an outcast in both
worlds. Sheβd always loved the handsome and willful Kit
from the only place it was safe: from afar. But now she was
no longer the shy, timid girl sheβd once been. She was the
first woman capable of making the Turn in four generations.
So why did she still feel the same dizzying sense of
vulnerability whenever he was near?
From the moment he saw her, Kit knew that the alluring and
powerful beauty was every bit his Alpha equal and destined
to be his bride. And by the harsh laws of the draΒ΄kon, Rue
knew that she was the property of the marquess. But they
will risk banishment and worse for a chance at something
greater. For now Rue is his
prisoner, the diamond has disappeared, and sheβs made the
kind of dangerous proposition a man like Kit cannot
resist....
In this bewitching novel, Shana AbΓ© transports us into a
world of exhilarating romance and magic.
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