by Annie Dean
“You are not dragging Kitty anywhere,” Jack said firmly, grabbing Kitty's arm and stashing her behind him. “She doesn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to.”
Gruffydd looked at him as though he were a particularly interesting insect. “And who are you to stop us, mortal? We can squash you with a thought.”
“Like I said earlier, Gruff, you touch him again and I will kill you. I know that's a tall order because you're an immortal, but trust me when I say that I'll find a way to do it.” Next to Jack, Kitty shifted to her pink-haired form and slipped her hand into his. “I'm not going anywhere with you.” She raised her head to look at Jack. “I’m staying with Jack.”
Jack shut his eyes for a moment and exhaled a sigh of relief. He wrapped his arm around Kitty's shoulders and yanked her to his side, lowering his head to kiss her hair. In response, Kitty slid her arms around his waist and embraced him, pressing her cool cheek against his bare chest. They stayed that way for a moment, holding each other tightly and feeling each other breathe.
“Kiyo, you know you can't stay with him. You're an immortal, an immensely powerful being, and he's … a dung-beetle,” Gruffydd said with disgust.
Kitty lifted her head from Jack's chest and turned around so that she was facing the two dragons, but kept Jack's arm anchored around her shoulders. “I am staying with Jack, Gruff. I have made my decision.”
“I'm really glad to hear you say that, baby, but…” Kitty looked at him and Jack dragged a hand down his face, “—what about all that end of the world stuff he was talking about earlier? The 'disrupting the fabric of reality' part, I mean.”
“Pfft.” Kitty waved a dismissive hand. “That's just Gruff being a drama queen.”
“Now that she's back to her old self, she'll be able to control her powers,” Trystan said quietly. “In an effort to get away from us, she placed a cloaking spell on herself. She wanted to know what it was like to be truly human. She erased her life as a dragon from her mind and created false human memories. After a month, the spell began to fail and her powers seeped through.” His green gaze settled on Kitty. “It was a stupid thing to do, Kiyo. You could have just talked to me instead of running away.”
“Trystan, I want you to understand something here. I did not run away. I left. I fucking left, period.” Kitty stabbed the air with her finger “Let me reiterate it just in case you two stubborn males missed the point. Again. Me, Kitty Jones, I made the conscious decision to leave. I. Left. Period.”
Jack stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants and looked at Kitty who seemed to be in the middle of a staring contest with her former lover. A bolt of jealousy surged through Jack. “You gave yourself amnesia?”
Kitty looked away from the dragon to return Jack's scrutinizing gaze. “Frankly, I just got tired of … who I was. Where I lived, I was treated like a porcelain doll to be taken out of my box and played with once in a while. I wanted something more. I wanted to be treated like a woman.” She shrugged. “One day, I just took a look around and decided I couldn't live there anymore. I wanted…” A defiant looked entered her violet eyes. “I wanted something else.”
“And almost tore a cosmic hole through the fabric of reality,” Gruffydd muttered.
“Okay, you're not allowed to say 'fabric of reality' anymore.” Kitty propped her hands on her hips and gave the dark dragon a droll look. “You're not Mr. Perfect, Gruff. Remember that blackout you gave New York back in '77?”
The dragon glared at her, but didn't say a word.
Suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed himself, Jack removed his arm from Kitty's shoulder and dropped himself onto the couch, rubbing his face vigorously with his hand. He stared at Kitty who looked pretty much like she did when he saw her that morning, wearing her bathrobe and her hot pink hair pulled back from her face. How could he have thought her delicate when she had the power to destroy the world?
As much as he would love to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of his life, what kind of life could the two of them possibly have together? Even now as she stood in front of two guys who looked big enough to be linebackers, all five-foot-nothing of her, she looked strong and competent. She didn't need him.
Basically, if she were Superman, he would be … Lois Lane.
She gave him a quick smile meant to comfort before facing the two dragons again. “Okay, seriously, this is why I left. I could never get away from you guys. The two of you were always hovering over me, treating me like a brain-dead idiot when the truth is … no power in this entire universe could stop me.” She sighed and shook her head. “I need you to leave now. Go away. Don't show up again unless I call you. Just … leave.”
Gruffydd didn't need to be told twice. He gave Jack one last glare and poofed away. The other dragon, on the other hand, just had to touch Kitty on the face one last time before disappearing. Jack had to restrain himself from shoving him to the ground and punching him.
When they were finally alone, Kitty sat down next to him and took his hand. With a sad smile, she lifted it to her lips. “Is it still the most fun date you've ever been on?”
Jack closed his eyes as she kissed his palm. She was so beautiful that it actually hurt to look at her. He felt her raise his arm, so she could cuddle against his side, setting his arm around her shoulders. Jack looked down at his chest where her pale hand lay against his skin.
“What do we do now, Jack?”
He hugged her to him, kissing the tip of her nose. “We go to bed, Kitty.”
Chapter Nine
Kitty allowed Jack to sweep her into his arms and carry her into his bedroom. At the door, he stopped and muttered a curse. Though he had worked hard to make his living room presentable for her, he had forgotten to clean his room. There was no place for him to put her. On his bed was an impressive mountain of clothes both clean and dirty as well as assorted books and magazines.
“Well, so much for my grand romantic gesture.” He set her down on her feet and rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe we can get a room at the Drake.”
Kitty covered her mouth to stifle a sob. God, after the horrible night they'd had, he was still concerned with trying to impress her. He was so wonderful. “Jack, I know I'm supposed to be an omnipotent being and all that, but even I can't get us a room there at this hour.” She raised herself on the tips of her toes, slipped her arms around his neck, and snapped her fingers behind him. “There.”
Jack turned around, his mouth dropping open in surprise. His bed was made, the books were returned to the bookcase, the dirty clothes were piled in a hamper, and the clean clothes hung in the closet. On the nightstand was a neat pile of the magazines and newspapers he had scattered all over the bed and his shoes were lined up against the wall. He placed his hands on his head and whirled around to face Kitty.
“I feel like Darren on Bewitched.” He sat on the bed, staring at her in wonder. “Babe, I don't know if I'll ever get used to you doing that. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll ever get used…” he waved his arm around, “…to any of this.”
A heaviness settled in Kitty's stomach. Now that she had all of her memories back, she could honestly say she still felt the same about Jack, but how did he feel? He was the one who woke up this morning probably thinking he was going to have a pretty ordinary day, only to wind up with a girlfriend—was that what she was to him?—who once accidentally created an island in the middle of the Pacific with a sneeze. She wanted to be with him, she knew that much. She barely knew him, and yet somehow, he had managed to become more important to her than anything in the entire universe.
“Jack.” She sat next to him on the bed and placed her hand on his thigh.
He laughed bitterly “God, Kitty, I want very badly to kiss you, but it's almost weird now. Gruffydd is right. You're a goddess and I'm … it'd be like a frog asking the pink-haired princess to kiss him.”
Kitty wondered how he would react if she just shoved him to the bed and kissed him. “If I remember my fairy tales correctly, the
princess did kiss the frog and he turned into a prince.”
His face seemed to darken even more at that. “I'm no prince, sweetheart. I'm a former junkie has-been reporter with nothing to offer you.” He looked at her and a crooked smile twisted his lips. “There's only me, Kitty … and that's not very much.”
“No, Jack, you're everything.” She wrapped his fingers around his wrist. “Come lie down with me. Will you hold me? That's all I want right now.”
He nodded and rose from the bed, taking her with him. They stood chest to face. In Kitty's human form, the top of her head didn't even reach his shoulders and she found that she liked looking up at him. She stroked her hand from his collarbone down to the ridges of his muscled stomach. He shivered under her touch.
“Kitty,” he murmured huskily, tugging at the cord that kept her robe closed. “Do you realize we’ve barely shared a decent kiss?”
She smiled as her fingers unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. “I don't kiss on the first date, Jack. I'm not that kind of girl.”
He laughed and briefly hugged her to him, nuzzling her neck. “Well, technically, we are on the second day of our first date.” He slowly opened her robe and pushed it off her shoulders.
“But it's still the first date.” It felt good to laugh with him. The ring of ice that had formed around Kitty's middle began to thaw. If they could laugh together, they had a chance.
“I suppose it is.” He lowered his head to kiss the tops of her breasts, then straightened to help her push his pants down his legs. Stepping out of his pants, he kicked them to the side and stood before her in his boxers. “Maybe you could make an exception just this once. On account of what we've been through tonight together and all.”
“I'll think about it.” She watched as he pulled down the covers on the bed and was positively charmed when he stood aside to let her in first. They smiled at each other. “You may get that kiss after all, Jack.”
“Oh, good, that's what I've been angling for all night.” He slipped under the covers after her and immediately gathered her into his arms. “You're a horrible movie date, by the way. You only watched one movie out of an eight-hour marathon and were zonked out through the rest. I may never take you to another Bruce Lee film fest again.”
“Oh no, how can I go on living now?” She chuckled and snuggled closer to him, enjoying the feeling of her bare breasts brushing the soft hairs on his chest. He felt so good against her, so warm and … so hard. And he smelled so good … so male. So alive.
“I probably sound like a broken record by now, but have I told you today how beautiful I think you are?” Jack combed his fingers through her hair, spilling its mass all over his chest. “Even your … um … other form. I was … pretty surprised by how sexy it was. I couldn't wait to get your toga off so I could look at your boobs.”
“You're so bad.” She planted her hands on his chest and dropped her chin on them. “Do you really think my dragon form is sexy?”
He cupped her face in his palm, stroking her cheek with his thumb. The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. “I think you'd be sexy no matter what form you take. Especially if you morph right now and turn into Monica Belluci.”
He sounded so serious that Kitty gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. His lips slowly curled into a smile. “Oh, you rat!” She sat up, took the pillow she was lying on, and smacked him in the face with it. “Don't tease me like that.”
A dangerous glint entered his eyes. “Oh, I think you liked to be teased.”
Kitty only had a second to think about what he meant before Jack tackled her to the bed, pinning her wrists over her head with one hand, while his other hand tickled her until she was breathless with laughter. They stayed that way for a while with Jack on top of her, holding himself up on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her and running her hair through his fingers like it was the finest silk. Kitty looked up at him, wondering how it was possible that a mortal could make her feel so cherished and loved. Her throat tightened with the force of her emotions and tears sprang to her eyes.
“Hey,” said Jack gently, stroking a finger down her cheek. “What's this? Why are you getting teary on me now? We don't have two dragons threatening to eat us anymore.”
Kitty sniffed and slapped his chest. “Dragons don't eat people.” A small laugh escaped from her lips and she slipped her arms around his neck. “I'm just … really happy you're here, Jack.”
His silver eyes darkened until they were almost black. For a moment, he didn't say anything and Kitty began to get nervous. And then he smiled. “I'm happy I'm here too, Kitty.” He framed her face between his large hands and lowered his head. “I'm going to kiss you now.”
The first touch of Jack's firm lips on hers had Kitty gasping. She had existed since the beginning of time, before kissing was even invented, but Kitty knew she had never felt knock-you-off-your-feet and set-your-hair-on-fire passion over a little kiss. Oh, Kitty, it's a lot more than a little kiss, said a voice in her head and she wasn't sure if it was her thought or Jack's, but discovered she didn't care. She tightened her arms around him and lifted her legs so she could wrap them around his lean hips. As he devoured her mouth, she clung to him as if he were the last gulp of oxygen in her lungs, as if he were the only thing that stood between her and a deep, gaping black hole of oblivion, and gave as good as she's got. In the end, he was more than a little breathless too.
When Jack finally raised his head, his silver eyes were sparkling and his lower lip was a little swollen. “Okay, this is officially the most fun date I've ever had.”
Kitty chuckled and drew his head back down to hers, moaning into his mouth as his fingers traced a path down the side of her body and tugged at the waistband of her panties. She lifted her hips as Jack pulled the flimsy scrap of cloth over them and down the length of her legs, his knuckles brushing softly against her skin. Within seconds, Jack had stripped her of her robe and himself of his boxers. For a moment the two of them merely lay together, with Jack fully nude on top of her, his chin propped up on his fist while his free hand traced drew tiny circles on her collarbone. Kitty reached up to tug on his earlobe. He smiled.
“Let's make love, Jack.”
Jack didn't say a word. Instead he covered her mouth with his own and Kitty opened her legs so he could lay his lower body in between them. Wrapping her arms around him, Kitty surrendered herself to the sheer pleasure of Jack's wicked, clever ministrations. His tongue, his fingers, worked their magic moving in and out of her … licking, caressing, savoring her. Jack was relentless in his pursuit to make her body sing. He seemed to be everywhere … under her, next to her, inside of her … until the only thing that existed in Kitty's universe was Jack and his severely addicting kisses. Kitty found herself dizzy with the sensations assaulting her flesh, breathless with anticipation of what Jack would do next.
Kitty could only stare at him in wonder as he paused to reach over for something in the drawer next to the bed. When she raised her eyebrows askance, he triumphantly shook a silver square foil in front of her. Kitty laughed, raised herself on her elbows, and watched as he carefully slipped on the rubber sheath over himself. As soon as he was finished, Jack looked up and they smiled at each other with giddy happiness. Kitty bit her lip. Jack chuckled. Kitty guided him into her body and slipped her arms and legs around him, burying her face into his neck and inhaling the pure masculine scent of him.
They rose and sank together in sweaty, tangled limbs and mingled breaths. Kitty luxuriated in the feel of Jack pumping in and out of her body, reveled in the painful pleasure of his sweet invasion. Beneath her hands, she could feel the powerful rippling of the muscles of his lower back as he thrust harder and deeper into her, his breathing becoming harsher and shallower in her ear. As Jack poured himself into her, Kitty embraced him tighter against her body as though she meant to absorb him into herself. He whispered her name into her ear and that was all it took. It was an explosion she felt from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
It left her boneless and gasping for air.
And in that moment, she felt … satisfied.
An eternity later, Jack lifted his head and rubbed his nose against hers. “Best. Date. Ever. We're really going to have to do this again.”
Kitty started to respond when she felt Jack freeze against her. He looked closely at her, then sniffed her hair. A frown twisted his mouth. He ducked his head and sniffed her neck.
Kitty cupped his face between her hands. “What are you sniffing?”
“Flowers.” He eased himself off her and looked around, his silver eyes widening in shock. “Holy shit.” On his nightstand, his cell phone began to vibrate. He snatched it up and put it to his ear. “Yeah, Harry, I know. Flowers fucking everywhere. I'm already on the scene. I've got it covered. No, don't send Kenny and Tiff.” He hung up and tossed the phone back on the nightstand, looking more than a little dazed.
Kitty placed her palms on the bed to push herself up and encountered only … flowers. She jack-knifed into a sitting position and scanned Jack's room. There were indeed flowers all over the place, growing on the walls, the floor of his bedroom, and slowly spreading toward the window. They sprang up and bloomed until they covered every surface of Jack's bedroom, growing on his bed, his bookcases, his desk, his TV, his sneakers, the clothes hamper, the door to his bedroom. Roses, daisies, gladiolas, orchids, sunflowers, daffodils, forget-me-nots, and bluebells. There were no leaves, no thorns, no stems … just the flowers themselves.
“Oh no,” Kitty murmured, grabbing a blanket from the foot of Jack's bed and wrapping it around herself. Petals and blooms clung to every square-inch of the blanket, making it look like she was wearing a dress made of flowers. She stopped to admire herself for a moment before running to the window to see if the outside world was affected as well.