by Lisa Daniels
Kerensa sighed and leaned forward, resting her face on Heath’s neck. It was cool, but not freezing. Something about his light blue scales made her feel relaxed and comforted. She watched the water beneath them as she continued her tale. “Over the next few years after Chadwick asked for my advice, I saw him with a few girls. He was holding their hands or laughing with them with a look in his eye that I had not seen before. One night I saw him in the garden, though he did not see me. As I approached, I realized that he was not alone. Nor was he dressed. For a few moments I was frozen to the spot as I watched him and the woman…well, I hardly need to spell it out what they were doing. It shocked me, and I think I fancied that I was in love at the time. Even I was impressionable at 17, and some stupid part of me wanted romance and love.
“I spent the next few months trying to avoid him. It took him a while to notice, but one day when he saw me in the garden, I completely ignored him and ran away as he tried to say hello. It didn’t take long after that before he made sure to talk to me. I was completely emotional and stupid. I accused him of all kinds of things, and of course, he had no idea what I was talking about. I blew up at the end and told him I never wanted to see him again. When I learned that he had left our home two days later, of course I tracked him down. I started crying when I found him, and he held me for as long as I cried. That’s when I started telling him that I loved him. He was completely shocked and let go of me. He told me if that were true, then there was no way he could return to my father’s home. I don’t remember how it happened, but less than two months later he was back under our roof.
“Too afraid that talking about love would scare him again, one day I asked him to help me with an experiment. He quickly agreed, never once asking what it was. I had to make a trip to one of my father’s friend’s homes over a day away, so I had Chadwick come with me. While we were at the inn that night, I reminded him that he said he would help me with an experiment. When he asked me what it was, I told him that I wanted him to sleep with me. I thought he was going to run away, but instead he kissed me, much rougher than I had been expecting. He took me that night, and it hurt so bad. I don’t know why people enjoy doing that to be honest. It never happened again, and we never talked about it. After that, it was like everything went back to the way things used to be, I just had a completely different understanding of love. Clearly I was not cut out for something like that, and I dare say he felt the same way. He’s been with several different women since them, which makes me glad. It would have hurt to think that he had loved me.
She closed her eyes, “I don’t know why I’m saying all of this. It’s not like you are interested in my human stupidity or entitlements. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this story makes you sick. I’m so pathetic, it’s not even funny. I want to be intelligent, but I’m a woman. I want to be useful, but all I do is get in the way or get hurt. I want so much without giving back. If you have encountered a number of people like me it is no wonder you don’t like humans. We are a very pathetic creature. Gods, I hope you can’t understand me because I don’t think I can bare the judgement you are sure to have in your eyes if you do understand. The idea of driving you away is unbearable.”
Kerensa kept her face on Heath’s neck, her eyes catching all kinds of details about the landscape. She knew she should be paying attention to everything around her, but somehow she just could not bring herself to focus on it.
She had no idea how much time had passed, but the young woman noticed that they were heading back toward the ground. The place where they were landing looked like it was covered in ice and snow, but it was clearly land underneath it all. Heath was heading toward a small clearing with a cabin. Kerensa said nothing when the dragon landed. As she lowered herself off of Heath’s shoulders, the young woman forgot about her leg and landed too hard on it. As she crumpled a strong pair of arms caught her. Without a word, Heath picked her up and took her inside the cabin.
Once inside, he started a fire. He lit it just the same way that Kerensa would have if she were building a fire, a sight she thought she would never see.
“Whose place is this?” She asked looking around.
“It’s mine.” He said, his attention focused on the fire now beginning to spread in the hearth.
“You have a home in the middle of nowhere?”
“I have many small homes all over the world. I am somewhat restless and so I make sure that I can escape as often as possible.” Something in his tone sounded sad, and Kerensa did not want to ask him anything that would upset him. Instead she decided to follow a different train of thought.
“So you can’t make fire, but you can make ice?” She asked him, her mind already working on a wide range of questions.
Heath turned to look at her, then nodded. Yes, we are entirely unlike the dragons you know. Most humans don’t even know we exist, but I am not surprised that you have heard of us.” There was a sad smile on his lips.
“Is something wrong?”
Heath got up and moved to the chair near the bed, “Nothing serious. Just a long day, and I am a bit tired.”
“Flying makes you tired?”
“Does walking make you tired?
She smiled at him, “Alright, I admit that was a stupid question. I’m sorry, I just-It was stupid and I will try to keep those kinds of questions to myself.” Her face turned to the floor as she apologized.
A cool hand tilted her face back up, and she was looking into the cool blue eyes that were so familiar, even with their disapproving look in them, “I never said it was a stupid question. I gave you a comparison so that you would understand what it is like based on your own experiences.”
“Oh, well that was very kind, and I took it the wrong way. I’m sorry-”
“No more sorry, no more apologies. Stop being so hard on yourself.”
Kerensa ran her hand through her long blond hair, “But you don’t like humans. Or at least you already think we are incredibly dim.”
“Not all humans are, just like all dragons don’t breathe fire. There are many different types of humans, some are common and predictable. Some are rare and beautiful. And a few are gems that you only see once in a lifetime.”
Kerensa smiled, “Whose lifetime do you mean? The short life of a human, or-”
“I mean the life time of an ice dragon, more than 1,000 years.”
“That long?” Her eyes were wide.
Heath grinned and nodded, “Yes. I’m still quite young for my type.”
“And yet you were willing to die today?”
Heath nodded again.
“For a bunch of humans?”
“One life or more than 200, which would you save?”
Kerensa shook her head, “A thousand years! You would have thrown away about 850 years of life for a bunch of creatures who didn’t even know your species existed, and who probably would not remember you 5 years from now.”
Heath titled his head, “Would you have remembered me?”
Kerensa felt her heart skip a beat, and she had to look away, “I will remember you until the day that I die.”
Heath moved closer to her, his face just a few inches away. Kerensa looked into his eyes and did not notice as her hand reached up and touched his cool cheek. The shifter placed a hand over hers, and stroked her hair with the other.
His voice was low as he asked, “May I, Kerensa?”
A shiver went through the young woman as her name left the man’s lips. “You’ve never called me by my name before,” she responded as her other hand move up Heath’s shoulder and around his neck.
“It was a misunderstanding on my part.” He moved a little closer, his lips so close that she could feel his cool breath on her face.
“Yes,” she murmured, closing her eyes.
She had expected the same kind of roughness that she had experienced with Chadwick. What happened was far more tender and sweet. Heath’s kiss was like the beat of a heart, firm and steady, but comforting and brief. When he pulle
d away, Kerensa leaned forward, her eyes still closed. She heard a little laugh and opened her eyes. “Again?” The smile on his lips was playful.
The young woman gave an eager nod of her head.
Heath leaned in again, this time his kiss a little more passionate, but not insistent. Kerensa opened her mouth a little and felt a cool tongue slide in. Throwing her arms around the shifter’s neck, the young woman began pressing her chest into his. Heath’s reaction was immediate and just as passionate. His hand slide down her back and onto her lower back, pulling her into his body. With his other hand, he gently stroked her leg where it had been injured, and soon Kerensa could not feel any pain at all.
“How did you-What did you-”
“Shh,” he murmured in her ear as he gently pressed her down onto the bed. Kerensa felt her heart skip a beat and she moaned as he placed his weight on her body. Wrapping a leg around him, she began to unfasten his pants.
“Are you sure?” Heath’s voice was low and full of worry.
Kerensa opened her eyes and looked at his face, and was touched by the way he was looking at her. “Believe it or not, I won’t break.”
“I don’t think I can believe it given how many parts of you have been broken up to this point.”
Kerensa gave a little laugh, then leaned up into Heath. Her mouth covered his, stopping any further discussion. Slowly he unfastened her clothing as she undid his. The feel of his cool skin on her body was like a spring on a hot summer’s day. Kerensa moaned as she buried her face in his shoulder.
Slowly, Heath began to press into her. At first the young woman was braced for the pain, but the shifter’s movements were so slow and gentle, that she soon found that she was getting impatient.
Her body began to press into him harder as she tried to slide him further into her. “Please, Heath.” Her voice sounded like someone else’s as she begged him.
“Again,” he said. His voice caused her to look up. The handsome young shifter was looking at her with amusement in his eyes.
“Please Heath.” She murmured. “Please Heath. Oh!” She responded to his sudden thrust into her. “Oh gods! Please Heath! Please more!” She was again rewarded with another hard thrust. She dug her fingers into his back, pulling him to her as she called his name repeatedly. After a minute or two, their bodies fell into a steady rhythm that caused them both to moan.
Chapter 10
A Growing Misunderstanding
Kerensa woke the next morning feeling incredibly sore, but it took a few minutes to remember why. A few scenes from the night before played through her mind, causing the young woman to sit bolt upright in the bed. Her eyes immediately went to the part of the bed where she thought Heath would be, but he was not there. Feeling a sense of panic, the young woman looked around the room. The fire was roaring, but other than that, the room was completely still.
Springing out of the bed, Kerensa immediately stumbled, and nearly hit the nightstand with her hip. “Woah, stupid, slow down,” she muttered at herself.
The door flew open, “If I hear you say that one more time, so help me, I will teach you what stupid is.” Standing in the door was Heath, a dead deer in his arms. Looking down at the kill, he tried to hide it behind his back. A little shaken, he said “I wasn’t going to bring this inside, but I cannot just sit by and listen to you talk about yourself that way. Honestly!” With that he shut the door and the room fell quiet.
Kerensa looked at the door and said just above a whisper, “So you can hear me all the way out there?”
“Yes, but I am trying to make breakfast, so please stop trying to experiment on me and focus on learning to be nice to yourself. You are going to need it.”
The threat hung in the air as Kerensa looked at the door. Uncertain what he meant, the young woman sat back down on the bed.
The shifter called through the door, “There is a book you may enjoy in the drawer on the other side of the bed. That should keep you occupied until I am done. By the way, are you alright?”
“Uh?” she asked the door.
“It sounded like you hit the nightstand. Are you alright?”
“Oh, thank you I am fine.” She leaned over the bed and pulled the book out of the drawer. It was a journal written in a very elegant hand.
“Do you mean this journal?”
“Do you see any other books in the drawer?”
Kerensa looked again. “No?” her voice more of a question than answer.
“Then yes, the journal. It’s mine and I’m telling you that you can use it.”
“Oh, thank you. You have very beautiful handwriting. It is much prettier than mine.”
“I do not agree, but thank you.”
Kerensa began pouring through the journal. More than a couple of times she lamented not having a pen or something to write with, then she reminded herself that she could not scribble in this book.
She was about half through, when Heath entered the cabin with some meat. He moved over to the fire and began cooking.
“Would you like some help?” She asked as he fumbled with a few of the tools.
“You are a guest, so that would be quite rude to ask of you.”
Kerensa stood up and slowly made her way over to him, “It would be far ruder to expect you to cook for me. Clearly you were not expecting company, so I know you are doing this for me.”
Heath looked at her, his clear eyes causing her heart to skip a beat. An image from the night before ran through her mind and she forced her eyes to look at the pan. She picked it up and began to cook the meat.
“I didn’t realize they taught young ladies to cook.” Heath’s voice was close. So close that Kerensa imagined throwing the food down and starting where they had left off the night before. It was only through reminding herself what Heath had been through to get that food that she was able to keep cooking.
“They don’t, but I insisted on it. Obviously not because I thought I would want to cook my husband a good meal, but because I was interested in the reactions. The results were also quite delicious as often as not. Chadwick used to help me when I burnt something. He really is quite a good cook. How would you like your part cooked?”
“I’m not hungry. This is for you.”
Kerensa turned to look at him, “You must be joking. How big do you think I am? I can’t possibly eat all of this!”
“What about jerky? I hear people make jerky out of meat.”
Kerensa shook her head, “I have no idea how to make it. I think it has something to do with leaving it in the sun or something though. It’s not something I ever considered. Please eat.”
Heath shrugged and moved to the other side of the room. Kerensa tried to watch him to see what he was up to, but his back was to her. She frowned, but decided to try a few different approaches with the spices and sauces he had on hand. It was clear that he came here at least a few times a year as there were a number of items there. Upon closer inspection, she realized that none of them had been used before she opened them. Looking from the items to the shifter, she wondered when he had gotten them, but she was too afraid to ask.
Several minutes later she spoke up, “Alright. Come an eat.”
“I am fine, thank you,” the shifter’s voice was cold and firm.
“Yes, I can see that you are, but I made this for you, and I would appreciate it if you would eat it.”
“There is no reason to be concerned about my diet. Eat what you will, and take the rest when we leave.”
“Leave?” Kerensa could not hide her surprise.
Heath turned to look at her, “Of course. You didn’t think this was the final destination, did you?”
“No, I guess I just thought we would stay here for a few days.”
He gave her an incredulous look, “Why would we do that?”
“You just got all of these,” she pointed to the items she had used to cook.
“Those have been here for a while.”
“And no one had used them?”
Heath opened his mouth then closed it again. “Fine, I picked them up this morning, but not so that we could stay. I do have something I need to do.”
“Yes, I know something dangerous. Well, if it can’t wait, come and eat, then we will go.”
“I am not hungry.” If she hadn’t known better, it almost sounded like he was pouting.
Kerensa sighed, “You are right. I’m being stupid again aren’t I?”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Heath was towering over her with a huge frown on his face. “What did I tell you-”
“Good. Now that you are here, sit down and eat.”
The shifter looked at her, then at the range of differently cooked meat. With a sigh, he sat down and began eating a leg. Kerensa watched with a smile on her face.
The look on his face was less than kind as he said, “I thought we both needed to eat.”
“Oh, right.” Together they ate in silence.
Once the food was gone, Kerensa began to clean up the dishes.
“I can do that later,” Heath said.
“Are you that eager to get rid of me?”
“I would think you would want to get back to your family to let them know you are alright. If nothing else, Chadwick is going to be very worried about you.”
Kerensa waved a hand, “He will be perfectly fine. After all, you gave him something to do. Actually,” she turned and looked at Heath, “what was in the note you gave him?”
Heath shrugged, “It’s not something for you to worry about.”
Frowning, the young woman responded, “I am not worried, but I am interested in what it is you have to tell my father about me.”
“It is my contact information and a short recording of the incident.”
“What do you mean a short recording?”
Heath sighed knowing that it was going to be difficult to explain, “It’s one of the skills I have – a skill that some ice dragons have. When I want to offer proof over something, I am able to freeze a moment in time and it can be reproduced and viewed later. Given what was happening, I made sure to provide only a small part of the recording so that he could hear the admission, but not see what the cretin had done. I’ve heard that he has used a couple of the cards before, so there is some detail in how to contact me so that we can discuss it further. I expect that given your gender, you will need some backup. Of course, it is going to take them a while to get back because where they are going they will be stranded for a bit. Not a lot of merchants are up this way at this time of year. However, it was the only choice given the location and the need to get off of the water as quickly as possible.”