On her way home from work after working a double shift, Doctor Novalie Milligan ignores the alert on the radio of the threatening tornado. She figures she can make it home in time.
But the unforgiving tornado appears sooner than she expects and before she even has time to think, the funnel picks up her aircar and tosses it around like a toy. Nova knows this is the end.
She wakes up to see Satan walking toward her. Except Satan has a name…Marcello Octavito…and he is gorgeous… This is Hell. Except, Hell is not quite what she expects it to be…
The door locks clicked, the auto spray came on, and long wipers in the shape of the dome efficiently cleaned away the grime. Whatever the raptors were, they surely would not attack a car…
The sun had dried the dome almost immediately, and Nova looked up again. The creatures were now very close. Their wingspan had to be at least forty feet or more. Giant birds! Unheard of! Where in the hell was this place? Where had the tornado taken her? To Hell? Maybe the afterlife was true and real after all… Was she dead?
Her heart sped up. She gripped the sides of the seat as the huge wings sent their shadow over the car. She looked up again and noticed their claws were almost big enough to pick up her smallish vehicle. Were those scales glittering in the sunlight?
Expecting the worst, she closed her eyes, but nothing happened. After a minute or so, she opened them again. No birds. Where did they go?
Instead, a group of six men came walking toward the aircar.
“I am losing it,” she muttered. “How could six guys suddenly appear out of nowhere?” She gazed behind, to the sides, but saw no transportation of any kind. And the giant birds were definitely gone. My imagination is playing tricks on me…
The men had reached her vehicle and stopped. One of them, the tallest of the six, came to the side and knocked on the dome. Nova looked at him, her heart still beating a staccato rhythm, her stomach churning because these guys were armed.
And with more than just weapons…
Man alive, were they ever hot. All six wore bodysuits that looked glued to their skin and knee-high black boots. The only difference in the clothing was that five wore black bodysuits. The one knocking on the window was dressed in red. His bodysuit had quite a few gold decorations, whereas the others were quite plain. He had silvery white braided long hair, brilliant golden eyes, and a face to die for.
The other five guys had long braided hair in various shades of brown to black. The weapons they all carried strapped to their hips and over their shoulders looked ultra-futuristic. This guy didn’t come across as dangerous, though. He had a rather kind face. Kind? Fuck…he was handsome enough to be a movie star.
She had taken everything in at a glance before issuing her next command. “Open driver door.”
Mm, was that even a good decision? After all, where was this place? A different country? Was that even possible? Or was it like she’d thought. She’d died, and this was Heaven. Or Hell… It was blazing hot enough for Hell. And these guys had to be demons. Satan’s helpers… Or maybe the guy in the red suit was Satan himself… Did Satan collect his victims personally?
The door lifted upward slowly. The white-haired man bent and looked at her. “Are you okay?” he asked in a sexy low baritone in perfect English.
“Yes…I am fine…just thirsty,” she answered in a quivering voice feeling very much afraid and quite stupid.
“I am Marcello Octavito. What is your name?”
Wouldn’t the devil know who she was? And Satan had a name? And was sexy as all hell?
She coughed. “Doctor Novalie Milligan. Where am I?”
“You have landed on the Barren Lands. Where did you come from?” he said in that deep, sexy voice. “Your vehicle is badly damaged.”
She noticed his golden eyes appraising her, scanning her body, resting on her breasts. Shit, I’m half-naked, not wearing a bra… She quickly folded her arms over her chest to cover her breasts. But too late, he and his buddies had seen it all.
“Oklahoma. I am…from…Oklahoma,” she stammered. “Where is this? Where d-d-did those b-b-birds go? Did…did… you chase them away somehow?”
He gave her a curious look. “Birds? Oh, I see. That was us. We are dragons.”
For the second time—within what…twenty-four hours—in her almost thirty-seven years, Nova felt her world suddenly spin. She felt nauseated and faint, and everything went dark…
