by Alexis Davie
Hayden stared at her with his compassionate grey eyes.
“I know this is a lot to process,” he told her quietly. “But I can help you. Trust me. All is not hopeless.”
Betty swallowed miserably.
“There is nothing you can do,” she whispered, lowering her bloodshot eyes and sniffling.
“You might be surprised,” he said, his fingers tenderly trailing along her cheek.
Betty turned her head up to stare at him hopefully. A look of naked desire was in his eyes—there was nothing etched in the depths of his grey irises but sheer lust for her.
Staring into his eyes, Betty was overcome with an irresistible urge to kiss his full, parted lips. Slowly, she leaned forward, a hand on either side of his face as she drew him toward herself, half expecting that he might resist.
Hayden, however, did not resist her, and when their mouths met, a spark of electricity slid through both of them.
Even the feeling of kissing him was familiar, and Betty was sure she had felt his slightly scruffy cheek beneath her fingertips before. She didn’t question the comfort of his mouth against hers as her grip grew firmer and his own hands slipped up into her hair, gently tugging at the silken strands. The motion sent a rush of warmth through her body, her neck tipping back against his pull to expose the skin of her throat.
Hayden’s mouth trailed along her flesh, each breath causing her to shiver with pleasure, her fingers tightening in his dark tresses. He fell onto her, pressing her to the floor of the ambulance, and Betty felt herself melt against the firm, defined lines of his body through his lab coat.
Betty raised her legs, encircling his waist with her smooth thighs as Hayden pulled her tank top and bikini top from her body. One hand caressed her right breast, his tongue teasing at the tight skin of her left nipple, and a flush of wetness soaked her bikini bottoms as she arched her body upward.
“There’s something about you,” he murmured, his mouth falling lower, his hands following to touch the prickled skin of her stomach.
Hayden sat back, pulling her shorts off to cast them aside. Then he sighed deeply, licking his lips and peering into her face.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her, the sincerity in his voice causing another wave of heat to flow through Betty.
His mouth found her center, and with long, sweet licks, he began to bring her toward the climax she sought.
None of it seemed strange or unnatural, as if they had been together many times before, and Betty’s thighs clenched as he brought her to her first release, moaning loudly with each one of his expert strokes.
Still trembling, Hayden raised himself to level his body against hers, and Betty was ready for him, bucking her hips upward to urge him inside.
She was not prepared for the size of his shaft, and she cried out as he filled to her to the point of shock. Her nails gripping his back, she gaped at him with hazy green eyes until he lowered his lips to hers once more, and they fell into a uniformity of passion.
Each thrust brought forth more excitement that only intensified with each movement. Above her, Hayden grunted, perforating his rhythm with kisses to her face and neck until Betty felt him tense, his muscles rippling with the effort to hold back.
“Once more,” he begged her. “Betty, once more—”
Betty could not refuse him, allowing herself to release against his prodding unit.
Gasping, Hayden clenched at her shoulders, filling her with his seed, and Betty trembled as waves of pleasure pulsated through her body over and over. Her ankles locked about his buttocks, and she clung to him almost desperately as his heart pounded against hers.
Silently, they lay on the floor of the ambulance, collecting themselves. Slowly, Hayden propped himself up and stared into Betty’s face, as if memorizing her features.
“I want to show you something,” he told her after studying her face for a long moment.
She smiled warily. “You do?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I want to show you why you don’t have anything to worry about.”
Betty swallowed, disappointed that he had spoken and forced her back to reality with his words.
It doesn’t matter what you show me, she thought bitterly. It will not change the fact that my life is about to change horribly.
“I can’t really go anywhere,” she said. “My sister—”
“Your sister and brother will be fine until we get back,” he assured her, tossing Betty’s shirt at her. “I will meet you outside.”
He slipped out of the still open doors of the ambulance and disappeared from eye view.
Why not? Betty thought miserably, sighing to herself. I may as well cling to whatever time I have with this guy. He’s likely going to be the last bit of happiness I have for a long time.
She dressed quickly and stepped out of the ambulance, but to her surprise, Hayden was not there. Slowly whirling around, she scanned her surroundings, but she didn’t see him anywhere.
She instantly felt foolish and then angry with herself. How could she have even started to believe that a stranger she had talked to for a couple of minutes would magically make her situation any better?
As Betty turned to walk back into the hospital, a sound caught her attention, and she glanced behind her shoulder. Something was flying just above the building, but Betty couldn’t reconcile what it was—at least, not logically.
As if in a trance, she stepped toward the form, a mass of wings and a long, teal tail.
Is that a…?
She gasped as the creature swooped down, his face level with hers, and Betty stepped back, startled.
The beast’s eyes were a smoky grey, and they were unmistakably the same as ones she had just been peering into on the floor of the emergency vehicle.
“Hayden?” she whispered.
The beast blinked and lowered his head. Somehow, Betty understood she needed to mount his back, and she glanced around, looking for some witness to the bizarre occurrence. Of course, though, no one was to be seen.
Gulping, she climbed atop the dragon’s back and squealed slightly as he soared back into the air, disappearing into the clouds.
“Where are we going?” she whispered, but she received no response.
As they flew, Betty wondered if she was dreaming. She had never felt more alive, more conscious, than when the fluffy white clouds parted and Hayden swept lower toward an imposing castle below.
Where are we? she wondered in awe as he gracefully landed in a courtyard. She slid off his back, shivering in anticipation as she watched him transform back into the gorgeous doctor with whom she had just had sex.
“What is happening?” she gasped, but Hayden only smiled, taking her hand.
“I have something to show you, remember?” he said, leading the way into the stone walls. “This is my castle.”
Again, the words made little sense to Betty, but she could do nothing except allow herself to be brought into the dank, cold walls, her pulse racing. She stared warily at Hayden, certain she was imagining everything she was seeing, even though she had little recourse or desire to end the fantasy she had concocted.
Grief and stress have gotten the best of me, she realized. When they stopped walking once they had reached a foyer, however, Betty’s breath was knocked from her chest.
She gazed up at the portraits hanging on the foyer’s wall and then back at Hayden. Her green eyes locked onto the painting of a regal-looking redhead in a stunning jade dress, standing beside a man who looked remarkably like Hayden.
But it can’t be, she thought. These portraits must be hundreds of years old, right?
“Do you recognize them?” Hayden asked quietly, watching her face.
“No way!” she gasped. “It’s just an uncanny resemblance.”
But her mind went to the magical, strange ride she had just taken, and it suddenly didn’t look like just an uncanny resemblance between the couple in the painting and herself and Hayden.
“She is you, and he is m
e,” Hayden told her softly. “This portrait was painted two hundred years ago.”
Betty gaped uncomprehendingly at him. “That doesn’t make any sense…”
He smiled sadly. “That is only because you don’t remember. But you will. Now that we have found one another again.”
Betty bit on her lip, and suddenly, flashes of memories began to swim through her mind, but they were gone before she could capture them fully.
“You are my mate,” Hayden said, as if the answer was obvious. “And I am yours.”
An explosion of relief rocked Betty’s body, but she could not say why. It was as if she inherently understood that everything was not hopeless, and that all Hayden had said was the truth.
“But my family—”
“Will be taken care of,” he assured her. “Your father will receive the finest medical care that money can buy. Your sister and brother will be moved into a lovely home in Gulfport.”
Betty did not claim to know why this was happening, but that didn’t stop her from being consumed with gratitude and comfort.
She averted her eyes and looked at her hands.
“And me?” she whispered. “What about me?”
Hayden’s grin widened broadly. “You will finish your school without having to work three jobs at the same time.”
She stared up at him hopefully. “And you?”
“I will wait for you like I always have,” Hayden responded, pulling her into his arms. “And then we will be together, as we should have been from the very beginning.”
Betty lowered her head into his chest and listened to the constant thud of his strong heartbeat.
And suddenly the memories of a past life she hadn’t believed in rushed back to her.
Whipping her head back, she gaped at Hayden, her mouth parting in shock.
“You remember now, don’t you?” he asked, and she nodded, tears of happiness filling her eyes. Memories her soul had buried deep within her flooded her mind, flashes of her past lives screening through her mind like a movie.
It was not a dream, nor was it a mere fantasy—past lives did exist.
Hayden was her soul mate, just as he had claimed.
I am in love with a dragon, Betty thought, the idea incredulous, even though that didn’t make it any less true.
For the first time in her life, she was filled with realization that everything was going to be all right not only for her family, but for herself, too.
* * *
THE END
15
Discovering the Dragon
The last note was struck, and there was an uncomfortable silence as the group looked at one another, knowing they had not done their best work.
And we all know whose fault it is, Erin thought angrily. Before she could say anything, she was overrun by the conductor’s voice.
“Let’s take it again from the top,” Andy called, tapping his baton against the music stand and stifling a sigh. “Brianne, try to focus this time, please?”
Erin scoffed and scowled at the keyboardist with annoyance. “Would it kill her to practice?” she grumbled, blowing her brown bangs away from her face. She had spoken loud enough to catch everyone’s attention, but Erin didn’t care. “We go through the same thing every rehearsal. If everyone else can put in the effort, why can’t she?”
Erin always felt that she put in more than enough attention to her craft, and it angered her that others didn’t take their music as seriously as she did.
What’s the point of doing something if you’re not going to do it well? she wondered, casting Brianne a baleful look.
The skinny blonde averted her eyes purposefully, but Erin was sure Brianne could hear the almost palpable glowering emanating from her body. Andy chose to ignore her outburst, once more rapping his baton and commanding focus.
Sighing, Erin put her silver flute to her lips, arms poised to begin the piece. They started again, and she noted with satisfaction that Brianne was playing better now.
See? She just needed a little push in the right direction, Erin thought smugly.
Her irritated words had inspired Brianne to do better, no matter how harsh the others believed she behaved. The piece ended, and the band applauded at the smoothness of the final round.
“Good work, everyone!” Andy called, and Erin could hear the pride in his voice. “See you on Thursday!”
“Andy,” Brianne called tentatively, nervously glancing around. “I can’t make it on Thursday. I have a family function, and—”
“Are you kidding me?” Erin demanded, interrupting her. She spun, her dark waves fanning behind her as she glared at the keyboard player. “We have to practice,” she said, “and now you’re skipping out on sessions you so desperately need? No way! This is the fourth practice you’ve skipped this month.”
“Erin,” Andy said warningly. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Doesn’t concern me?” Erin echoed, folding her arms over her chest. “I am part of this band, aren’t I? We all made a commitment when we joined, but it seems Brianne isn’t very committed. I’d understand if she needed to miss rehearsal because of an emergency, but seriously, four practices in one month is ridiculous!”
“Why are you always so mean to me?!” Brianne cried suddenly, tears filling her brown eyes. “I try to be your friend and you’re always so angry at everything I do!”
Erin was taken aback by the words, and she stared at the girl in genuine surprise.
“I am not being mean to you,” she replied, shaking her head, her brow furrowed. “I’m just stating a fact. We need to practice harder because you refuse to work on your own. You can’t just miss rehearsal again! If you don’t show, there’s no point in any of us showing. Why should we work extra hard to hide your mistakes?”
“Erin!” Andy snapped, his patience exhausted as Brianne began to cry. “Wait outside for me.” Erin opened her mouth to protest, but Andy pointed toward the door sternly. “Go!”
Sighing, Erin shrugged, grabbing her purse off the floor and gliding toward the exit with her usual grace. She leaned against the exposed brick in the hallway, examining her perfectly manicured nails as she waited for the graduate student to come out and give her a lecture.
It wouldn’t be the first time she had been reprimanded by the conductor, and it likely wouldn’t be the last.
He should be praising me for saying what he won’t, Erin reasoned, but she knew he had to remain diplomatic in his position. It wasn’t her problem. If Andy would be a little stricter with the players, Erin wouldn’t have to open her mouth and do his job for him.
She pulled out her cellphone and began texting her sisters at Kappa Mu Pi.
Bri screwed us again. Need a drink, she wrote, sending it in a mass text.
In seconds, the responses came back.
Can’t. Studying, Ali replied.
No great shock there, Erin thought wryly.
Beth and I are at Benny’s, Kellie answered. Come join us!
No, thank you, Erin laughed to herself. That can only mean they’re on the prowl tonight. I just want a quiet, no-nonsense drink and someone to vent to.
She told Kellie as much.
Not tonight, came several other messages, but Erin was not discouraged. She was not above going for a drink alone.
Maybe I’ll ask Andy to come, depending on how annoyed he is with me, she joked to herself, swallowing a mischievous grin at the idea of taking the uptight grad student to a bar.
As if on cue, the door flew open, and Brianne stormed off down the hall without looking at Erin, tears still streaking her face.
For a moment, Erin felt a smidgen of guilt, though she immediately dismissed it.
I do it for the greater good. She has to toughen up, especially if she wants to be a musician.
“Erin.” Andy appeared at the doorway, and with a sigh, he said, “Come in, please.”
“If you expect me to apologize, it’s not going to happen,” Erin informed him, her heels clicking agai
nst the tile as she rejoined him in the music room. “We’ve asked her a thousand times to—”
“Erin, you need to be a little less…” Andy paused, like he was searching for the right word to use as Erin waited impatiently.
“Assertive? Bossy? Demanding?” she offered, hoping to speed the process along. They were all words she had heard before, but they didn’t faze her. Erin knew what she wanted and had no problem getting it.
Sticks and stones, she thought ruefully.
Andy’s mouth became a small frown. “Listen, I know you take music seriously, which is great,” he said, “but this is also supposed to be fun. Sometimes your criticisms are too harsh.”
Good! Erin wanted to scream. That means they’re learning their own flaws! She didn’t want to admit that the words gave her a spark of pride because she knew that was not the answer Andy wanted. Instead, she managed a solemn expression.
“Well, I am sorry that no one takes you seriously,” Erin told him gravely. “But I see that you’re okay with that, so who am I to say anything, right?”
She relished the look of anger flashing over his pale, freckled face.
“Of course they take me seriously!” Andy sputtered.
Erin shook her head, managing a look of sympathy on her face. “Obviously not, Andy. You allow everyone to walk all over you, and it shows in the music. But if it doesn’t bother you—”
“Erin!” he snapped, as if realizing he was being played. “I need you to stop being so hard on the other members of the band. We are a team, a family!”
“And I need the other members to get their acts together!” she retorted. “So that we can be a functional family.”
Andy paused and studied her face for a long moment before speaking again. “Erin,” he began solemnly, “I think that you should take a break from band for a while.”
Erin began to laugh. “You’re funny,” she chuckled. “I’m the best player you have.”
Andy nodded in agreement. “You are by far the most driven woman I have ever met,” he conceded. “But you are bad for morale.”
Abruptly, the smile slipped off Erin’s face as she realized he was serious.