ELEMENTAL PALADINS : BOOK TWO

Second chances. Duty. Steam.

Darius lives by the code of the paladins, almost to the point of obsession. Without a doubt, his discipline has forged him into a noble knight. But it has also cost him the woman of his dreams, and created an unrelenting hatred for his enemies, the chades. With his personal demons haunting his every step, Darius’s legendary control snaps and a sizzling affair with his long-denied love is the result. Breaking the rules never felt so good.

As a paladin of death, acceptance is at Diana’s core. So even though it cost her to deny her feelings for Darius, she accepted she had no other choice. But somehow over the years, her overwhelming attraction to her fellow knight turned into something more. Love. Unfortunately, loving a pathological rule-follower isn’t easy. And when a painful past is revealed and a bitter enemy bent on revenge strikes too close to home, Diana fears her second chance at love is doomed to fail all over again.

Can the two knights stop history from repeating itself? Or are the pair cursed to follow the same, lonely path forever? If Darius can reconcile his past values with his future desires, then maybe they stand a chance at winning the day – and each other.

Here’s a little taste…..

“Yes?” Darius asked courteously.

“The song is almost up. Will you please put on another? Your choice.” Max smiled.

He frowned slightly but immediately excused himself from the conversation and walked, straight as an arrow, to the jukebox. Diana was surprised when he seemed to give the contents a genuine perusal, eyeing it critically as if searching for a particular tune. He never really showed much interest in music unless it was Axel on the piano, of course. He preferred to spend his recreation time with his books or his darn Star Trek.

Finally, he grunted and stabbed his finger decisively at his selection. Max’s grin widened as the first four beats of the music began — a quick four-count loop of the first note — boom, boom, boom, boom. Diana’s mouth dropped open, and the entire room stopped what they were doing to stare at the oldest and most respected paladin in the room as he began to rock his hips in time to the music and mouth the words silently to … Milkshake. Darius was singing Milkshake by Kelis and shaking his arse all over the place as he made his way back to his seat.

Diana was yet to close her mouth, and the room was yet to regain activity. Milkshake. Darius was singing Milkshake. Max’s giggle had Diana tearing her avid attention away for a brief second.

“I told you. That man is plastered, my friend!” And giving her a hearty slap on the back, Max shimmied and shook her own butt over to the now very clearly inebriated Darius.