Dragon in the System
Computer science professor Eric Gordon has been asked to find the hacker responsible for a virus that is embezzling from University accounts. When his investigations indicate that some sort of large reptile may be living in the steam tunnels under campus, he turns to biology professor Lori Tremain for help. Lori’s life is crazy with her tenure review looming, but she’s too curious and attracted to turn down Eric’s request. Together, Lori and Eric start to uncover things that their scientific minds can barely imagine. Can they find the thief and still find time to fall in love? Is everything on, and under, campus what it appears? Or could there truly be a dragon in the system? Excerpt: Eric has traced the origin of the virus to the steam tunnels under campus. While investigating, he thought he saw a large, scaly tail. So he has brought herpetologist Lori down for a closer look… The subbasements had never been modernized. The old stonework corridor was silent and dark and a damp, musty odor hung in the chilly air. Using the narrow beam of the flashlight, Eric led the way down the dank passage to the old janitor’ s closet. Upon finding it empty, as expected, he pulled Lori inside, closed the door behind them and then turned on the light, reluctantly releasing her hand to do so. The single bare bulb cast a sickly yellow-white circle of light from the cobweb-covered ceiling. Lori looked around. “You were right about one thing,” she sniffled, stifling a sneeze. “Lots of dust.” Wiping her nose impatiently with the back of her hand, she studied the floor intently. “The only footprints are ours,” she added agreeably, pointing out the marks from his size-fourteen sneakers and her own tiny bare feet. She began to look around the cluttered and dusty space, finally letting out an excited squeal. “Eric, look over here!” Eric turned toward a corner of the room piled with a few dirty cardboard boxes and some old tin buckets–the kind with the rollers and mop-squeezers that weigh about half a ton each. “There’s a mouse in this bucket,” she whispered excitedly. “Alive?” he asked. He didn’t see why she’d be getting excited about a rodent. It was an old building, after all, but, heck, she was a zoologist. Lori giggled. “Not that kind of mouse, silly. Your kind of mouse.” She lifted an old two-button parallel port computer mouse by the cable. “Looks like our hacker has been upgrading his equipment.” Eric nodded. “Probably went for a decent serial mouse, or maybe a trackball. Faster.” Lori cheerfully stuck the mouse into the plastic bag she’d pulled out of her pocket and then resumed her detailed examination of the room. Eric guessed that she probably read a lot of mysteries and was really getting into the idea of searching for clues. Her enthusiasm was contagious, however and he found himself enjoying the search. “Aha!” she cried. “Now what?” He was almost afraid to ask. “Skin,” she whispered, apparently remembering sporadically that this was supposed to be a stealthy operation. Now even Eric was excited. “Skin?” She whipped her keys out of the front pocket of her skirt and pulled a tiny pair of tweezers from the miniature Swiss Army knife she used as a key chain. The lady was full of surprises. Carefully, she lifted a maybe one-square-inch piece of translucent white stuff and added it to the bag. “Reptile skin, Eric,” she told him seriously. “Somebody has had some kind of reptile down here and it was shedding.” She was practically quivering with excitement. “There’s a tiny bit of flesh attached, too, like this got snagged on something sharp.” Eric took the bag from her hands and gazed reverently through the clear plastic to the white stuff inside. Sure enough, it resembled the snake sheds he’d occasionally found as a child poking through the wooded parts of Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park. Then the meaning finally sunk in and he heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Then I’m not crazy,” he told Lori, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. “I really did see a lizard!” She grinned. “Well, you saw something, but I’m not sure that means you’re not crazy.” Her dark eyes looked up at him, crinkled mischievously, gleaming almost black in the harsh light. A lump the size of a dragon’s egg formed in Eric’s throat. She didn’t move, just kept looking up at him and he couldn’t help himself. Her eyes drifted shut as he lowered his face to hers and kissed her. ***** It had been quite a while since Lori had been kissed. Her first thought after Eric’s lips had closed on hers was that he was way better at this than she’d have expected. That was also her last conscious thought for several minutes. He was so tall that she had to strain upwards to reach him comfortably and her arms just sort of naturally wound themselves around his neck for support. There was well-toned muscle under the thick fabric of his borrowed sweatshirt, she noticed in some distant portion of her mind and his lips were firm but gentle, showing no hesitation as they expertly coaxed hers into opening for him. Eric nibbled gently at her lower lip, pausing to suck lightly at its center. She could smell the warm, masculine scent of his skin, even above the musty odor of the storeroom and it made her insides puddle. The kiss continued. Lori gasped softly as Eric’s tongue slid slowly, exploring along her front teeth. She returned the caress, slipping her own tongue alongside his and he groaned huskily, tightening his hold around her waist. Lori squirmed against him, wanting to get even closer. As he deepened the kiss, she could feel his erection pressing hard into her stomach. What the hell am I doing? Panic struck, just as Eric began to slip his big, warm hands up under Lori’s t-shirt. She desperately wanted his hands on her aching flesh, but now that her brain had kicked in, she realized that this was a very, very bad idea. She’d only known him for what—two hours? Heck, he could even be married or something. Whimpering a little, she reluctantly pulled away. Eric groaned again, but probably in frustration instead of pleasure. Nonetheless, he immediately dropped his hands back down to Lori’s denim-clad hips and leaned over her, resting his forehead on the top of her head. “I’d say I was sorry, but I’ d be lying,” he muttered thickly. She giggled nervously, then swallowed several times in rapid succession. “Are you married?” she blurted, immediately embarrassed for not being able to control her tongue. Eric chuckled wryly. “That’s what stopped you?” He tightened his grip, tugging her closer. She buried her face in his chest as he gently smoothed her tangled hair down her back. “Nope. No wife, no girlfriend, no infectious diseases. What about you?” She shook her head, rubbing her face across the lettering on the sweatshirt. “No. I…uh…haven’t been involved with anybody in a while,” she admitted. And she’d never been this attracted to anybody this fast, she added mentally. “Good,” he said gently. He took one hand away from her hips and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes and for just a moment it felt like he was looking directly into her soul. “Because I’d like to see you again.” |
| Praise for Dragon in the System: supermodel perfect but normal people. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and encourage everyone to read it. Even if paranormal is not your thing, you will enjoy this mystical story of love and intrigue." --Lototy from Coffee Time Romance Reviews read the review "Humor, romance, mystery, suspense, and magic blend perfectly into a highly entertaining novel sure to appeal to both women and men who love a good tale."--Amanda K from Huntress Reviews read the review The lovely romance, skillfully woven with the mystery is surprisingly hot (fans self)...and hot! Run right out and get your Dragon in the System!" -- author Anny Cook read the review Dragon in the System by Cindy Spencer Pape had me hooked from the get-go. This is a smart, funny and sexy book. I read it in a night I was so caught up in it. I particularly loved the character called Drake. If you believe in the possibility of dragons, if you know true love is just around the corner and if you want a page turner of a book snap up Dragon in System. -- Author Amarinda Jones read the review A Dragon in the System gets your attention from page one and never lets you rest until the book is completed! -- Mary Gramlich from the Historical Romance Club read the review |
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