Dmitri and Luka eyed him warily.
“It’s not like you to be groggy from drink,” Dmitri said, narrowing his sea-blue eyes.
“Human grog here is quite… potent,” Alek replied, turning to look out the window. “You may continue with your report.”
Luka looked as if he was about to when they heard footsteps coming down the hall.
That would be Chelle, Talia’s roommate. Alek fought back a flush, wondering if Talia had said anything to Chelle before she’d left this morning.
Talia had slipped out before Alek was even up, so he hadn’t had time to ask her how she was doing, how she was feeling.
Things he was beginning to care about very much.
Why did he get the feeling that was unusual for him?
Chelle yawned and stretched, drawing Dmitri’s attention to her large chest, while Luka averted his eyes. She smiled at them blearily, having just woken up.
As far as Alek could see, she was the exact opposite of Talia, and not just in looks. True, she had yellow-blond hair to her shoulders that was always fluffy and full and green-brown eyes that always looked relaxed. And a small, curved body that seemed to flow as she walked.
But she also seemed to worry about nothing, thinking about nothing but the current moment, and cause Talia trouble at times.
Yet she’d been helping them, and Talia clearly trusted her, so that said something.
If Talia had trusted her with info about what had happened between her and Alek last night, Chelle showed no signs of it.
Instead, she walked over to a machine, turned it on, and poured water in it, singing a song about “hot chocolate in the morning.”
Dmitri looked at her with a broad smile, and Alek peered at him thoughtfully. He’d have to watch and make sure his bodyguard didn’t do anything stupid.
Chelle sat down across from them as Luka scowled, clearly unhappy to be interrupted. Chelle didn’t seem to be at all aware she had disturbed anything and happily lifted a mug of some kind of brown liquid in her hands. “So how are y’all doing this morning?” She took a sip of her hot chocolate right after she asked.
“We—”
Luka was about to answer, but at that moment, Chelle’s face went white and she sputtered, setting the mug down as she fanned her mouth with her hand. “Hot! Hot!” She ran to the sink and turned on some water, presumably to cool off her tongue.
“That one is always in trouble,” Dmitri said, but his smile said that was a bonus to him for some reason Alek couldn’t make out.
“Thorry,” Chelle called to them over her shoulder. “I alwayth make it too hoth.”
Alek didn’t like the thought of Talia’s roommate in pain, so without thinking, he quickly waved his hand in the direction of her mug, which was still steaming.
To his surprise, ice crystals formed around it briefly before disappearing, and the steam slowly began to abate.
Luka and Dmitri stared excitedly.
“Master, it appears your powers are returning,” Luka whispered, ice-blue eyes frozen on the mug. “Chelle, come try your drink again.”
Dmitri looked like he was going to intervene, but Chelle walked over to them, shrugging.
“I mean, it usually doesn’t cool down that fast, but…” She took a sip, then smiled and drank more of the brown liquid, letting out a little sigh that Dmitri seemed to feel down to his toenails. “Ah, that’s just perfect.”
Alek met Dmitri’s and Luka’s eyes, silently knowing each of their thoughts.
If his powers were returning, even in a small way, did that mean they would soon be back to full force? Alek could hope.
Chelle finished her drink, gave each of them a hug over the shoulders, and headed back into her room to work without much drama.
When she was gone, Alek narrowed his eyes at Dmitri. “Don’t trifle with that one, do you hear me?”
Dmitri nodded absentmindedly. “I just find her interesting is all.”
“The last thing we need is your dick getting us into trouble,” Luka said.
“Fine, fine,” Dmitri said, putting both hands up. “Of course, I will obey any order Alek gives.” He leaned on the table conspiratorially. “More importantly, what do we think has caused the return of Alek’s powers?”
“Only a bit of them,” Luka said with a scoff. “But still.”
“What were you up to last night?” Dmitri asked, lowering his eyebrows.
Alek felt blood heat his face as he tried to decide how to respond. “I just went out for a drink. With Talia.”
“I know that,” Dmitri said. “But what happened while you were gone?”
“I, uh…” Alek rubbed the back of his neck, not really wanting to say anything. “I suppose, perhaps we bonded.”
Dmitri slapped his hand down on the table, rattling it. “I knew it. That’s our lord, progressing with any eligible female.”
Alek grimaced, not feeling like that was a good endorsement of him. Had that been who he was? It certainly wasn’t now. All of his thoughts rested on Talia.
“Are you smitten?” Luka asked doubtfully. “Your thoughts appear to be somewhere else.”
So they had noticed. “I do not know,” Alek said. “Everything has been so confusing.”
“Did anything else happen between you at the bar?”
“That is for me to know,” Alek said sharply, embarrassed by his own flush.
“If something did, then perhaps it is the reason for the return of your powers,” Dmitri said.
“Or perhaps it isn’t related at all,” Luka said. Though he was handsome, Luka spent almost all of his time worrying about Alek and didn’t cavort like Dmitri did with females. Luka also wasn’t likely to trust them, for reasons of his own.
“I don’t know,” Alek said. “But it is worth exploring.” He didn’t know if anything was related to Talia, but either way, it was an excuse to explore more of the fascinating feelings she was bringing up inside. If he was going to woo her further…
“I will need your help, please,” Alek said, standing abruptly as he addressed both Luka and Dmitri. “It might take a bit of time.”
Both men nodded and answered immediately. “Anything you need, my lord.”
* * *
As Talia ran IR spectrographs on some ice samples that had been delivered with Alek, she scolded herself for her foolishness the night before.
She’d drunk too much, for one thing, and her head was pounding and making it hard to focus on her tests. For another, she’d kissed the lord of winter…
Oh God, was she really at the point where she even called him that?
For some reason, despite his obvious lack of anything to rule, or any of the powers he claimed, it just kind of… fit him.
He took no prisoners, refused to listen to reason, stood up for what he believed in, and took what he wanted…
And last night, he had wanted her kiss.
She hadn’t even thought to refuse him. Even though she was a scientist, she’d gotten caught up in the alpha male battle taking place before her eyes. The feeling that she was some sort of prize to be won or defended was both shameful and a little gratifying at the same time.
She knew nothing like that would ever happen again.
Still, as hard as she tried to find anything remarkable about the ice that had frozen Alek and his friends, all she could think about was the way she’d felt when she’d been swept into Alek’s arms.
It wasn’t conducive to good research.
She walked to her main computer just as she heard a ding that signaled a new email.
Her mentor had finally responded, saying that he would be home sooner than she thought, maybe in just a few days.
She slumped in her chair, not sure if she should be relieved or horrified by the news. She’d kept her emails to him fairly vague, just said there were some unexpected findings.
But now she felt even more protective over Alek. She respected Dr. Henrick, but at the same time, she knew he was cutthroat, all
about the discovery, and wouldn’t let a little thing like feelings come between him and a plaque at the Smithsonian.
She drummed her fingers on the desk, trying to figure out what to do.
Just then, her phone buzzed. She looked down at it, wondering who would be texting her right now. She’d told Chelle she didn’t want to be bothered unless there was an emergency at home.
It was the least Chelle could do since she was getting free rent this month in exchange for helping out.
But when she swiped to unlock her phone, she saw an unfamiliar number.
Aha! This device has been explained to me, and I can communicate with you at my leisure! From Alek.
She quickly added Alek to her contacts, wondering how the hell he’d gotten his hands on a phone. Clearly, he was adapting to the modern world quickly.
You don’t need to say “from Alek” from here on out. How did you get a phone and my number?
Her phone buzzed, and she looked down.
I ran errands with my cohorts, having seen this device on the TV, and your roommate gave me your number because I told her it was an emergency.
She bit her lower lip as she typed a reply. What’s wrong? What’s the emergency?
I need you to come somewhere with me.
Why? Are you hurt? Did something happen?
No, I believe I mean to ask you on what humans call a date.
She wrinkled her nose and fought back a giggle. So weird. Then she frowned, not knowing how to answer him. Scientists didn’t simply date their discoveries.
She was crossing lines that she knew not to cross, yet she was also in a situation no one had ever experienced, at least that she knew of. She rested her chin on her hand, thinking, as her phone buzzed again.
You will go on a date with me! The lord of winter commands it!
She snorted as she typed her response. Excuse me?!
There was a long pause then, as if even the lord of winter had been stymied, and she walked back over to look at her test results while she waited for her phone to buzz again.
Sure enough, it did.
I am sorry. I am used to giving orders. I have been informed that I was rude. I would be most gratified if you would join me for a night of victuals and amusement. There are things I would like to show you as well.
She sighed. Now he had her attention. And he was behaving as well, which made her more apt to go along with his plans.
What else did she have to do? After all, he was still recovering his memory, and as long as she kept him busy, he couldn’t be out in the world causing trouble.
At least, that was her excuse.
Deep down, she knew it had more to do with the way he kissed her and the possessive way he looked at her sometimes, as if he thought she didn’t know he was watching.
She bit her lower lip as she wrote her response. Okay. I’ll go. Where should I meet you and when?
The apartment. 6:30. See you there.
Wow. Just then, he’d sounded almost like a normal human.
She looked around her lab, seeing broken crates, damaged equipment, the remains of a fire, and everything else that proved he and this situation were anything but normal.
She pulled out a directory to start dialing undergrads to come in. If her mentor was coming back, she’d better make sure and get the place cleaned up. Plus, getting the lab back in shape would help distract her from the fact that she’d just said yes to a date with a man who thought he was the lord of winter.
Chapter 8
Alek felt a twinge of anticipation as he paced at the bottom of the steps outside Talia’s redbrick building. Even though it had been the only thing he’d known as home since awakening, his thoughts were increasingly more familiar toward it, though he could still recall the castle he’d known long before this.
Perhaps all that mattered was that Talia was here. If she, too, had lived in a stone-hewn castle that had stood for ages, then he would have called it home as well.
The handle at the doorway clicked, and his ears perked at the sound. When he looked up, Talia was emerging from the portal, hair long and straight like it had been last night, wearing similar garb but in different colors, all of it accentuating her feminine shape.
He wanted to pull her into him and kiss her like last night. But even then, he’d worried he’d acted untoward, in spite of the heat of the moment.
This time he planned to woo her correctly.
“Well, you certainly look different,” Talia remarked, pulling her shoulder bag higher as she took the first step down.
Alek appraised himself, worried he’d missed his intended mark. Blue wool coat, long blue jeans, and a long-sleeve shirt bearing the logo of the linen maker from whence it was derived. “Different? But my intention was to look more normal. More ‘human.’”
Talia laughed, a light, tinkling sound like icicles. “Exactly. You look like you’re starting to fit in.”
He preened a bit, feeling satisfied and reaching a hand up to help her down the last few steps in case there was ice.
“I’m pleased you think so.” He offered his arm for her to take.
She looked at him for a moment, eyebrow raised. Then she wrapped her arm around his. “Did Chelle help you?”
“She directed me to vendors where I might acquire modern garb, but the selections were of my own choosing. I must say, the variation is astounding.” As he spoke, he led them toward their first destination, an eatery that Luka had scouted out earlier that day.
“Really? How did you get money for that? Please don’t tell me Chelle let you use her card…”
“Actually, no. Dmitri, thankfully, had on his person a large sum of gold ore, which we were able to exchange for currency. Quite a lot of it, actually.”
Talia seemed pleased and confused at the same time. “How… resourceful. I didn’t know you guys were carrying it around with you. Though, I guess I never asked.”
The night was crisp and cold around them, the slightest of breezes carrying on it a thousand faint scents from around the neighborhood. And even if the air here was never quite as clean as the air he’d remembered once having, the still-familiar scent of nearby pines from the outlying forests warmed his heart.
A few minutes later, they were at a little restaurant named Susan’s Sandwiches, where they ordered some hot soup and grilled bread with melted cheese between the slices. After they’d seated themselves, Talia opened her container with the soup inside and started to blow on it.
Alek wanted to use his powers, even for something as small a task as cooling hot liquid. But he couldn’t risk her knowing his true identity as a dragon. At least not yet.
When he’d first mentioned dragons, it had been plain that she didn’t even know of the existence of his kind. And as a woman of science, she trusted in what her mind could comprehend.
“Here, allow me,” he offered. She handed him the container, and he blew over it, trying hard to keep from exposing himself.
As the lord of winter, Alek was used to other people doing his bidding. That much he could recall. But in this new world, this new life he was discovering with Talia, all the rules were changing.
Satisfied, he handed Talia back her soup, and she tested it with the tip of her spoon, eating it cautiously at first.
“Thanks, that’s perfect.” As she took a larger spoonful, she moaned lightly, making his senses stand at attention. Her full lips were red tonight, sensual even, as she enjoyed such a simple pleasure as food.
Perhaps the simplest pleasures were sometimes the greatest.
He turned to his own meal, unwrapping his sandwich and taking a delicious bite.
“So tell me about your science, Talia,” he said, gulping down his mouthful, hoping to distract himself from staring at the angel across from him.
Talia paused, eyeing him suspiciously. “Are you sure you want to know? I warn you; it’s both boring and complicated.”
He shrugged. “I can’t promise that I’ll understand. But I’m curious
nonetheless.”
“I’m studying microbiomes found specifically in ice and other sub-zero climes.” The animation in her voice was infectious.
“Micro… biomes?”
“Ah… hm.” She paused for a second. “So our bodies are made up of billions of tiny organisms called cells. And those same cells make up other plants, creatures, you know. Well, sometimes those cells also survive in places with really bad weather where most living things can’t.”
Alek shivered at the idea of so many tiny things moving around inside him, so he just nodded and listened as she explained more. By the time they were done eating, he felt like he had a rudimentary understanding of what she did. Or at least what her intended goals were.
Luka would have to explain the rest to him later, probably.
“So what got you into science in the first place?” he asked, discarding their refuse and opening the door for them to go outside again. High above them, stars twinkled in the night sky. Somehow, it was the same sky he’d remembered as a child, yet now it felt so different.
And that damned ache in the back of his head wouldn’t go away.
“You okay?” she asked, this time taking his arm immediately when offered.
“I’m fine. But about you?”
“Ah, yes. Me. Hm.” She went silent for a moment, a far-off look in her eyes that he recognized in himself. Memories. “I guess it was something I was good at.”
“Good at? I’m good at striking blows, but that doesn’t mean I intend to make a career of it,” he remarked, relishing the feel of her bundled-up body next to his as they strode into the darkness toward their next destination.
“I was always better off by myself. Growing up was hard for me, always someone who liked reading, liked learning new things.”
“You and Luka are similar in that regard.”
“Yeah, I guess. Hopefully, his childhood wasn’t as rough as mine. In this day and age, being an intellectual, being called a nerd, a geek, it singles you out as someone who’s lesser than the rest. You’re made fun of, pushed to the bottom of the social hierarchy.”
Lord of Winter Page 5