by Rinelle Grey
There it was again, that intense, deep look.
It set Wayrian’s heart fluttering.
She had her answer. Now what was she going to do with it?
She licked her lips. She didn’t even know where to start.
She should do something to seduce him, to convince him to mate with her. But she didn’t know the first thing about seduction. When other dragons had talked about it, giggling and hiding behind their hands, she’d been too shy to participate.
Now that she faced this moment, she wished she had listened more. Then she would be up to this challenge.
But it wasn’t the goddess’s challenge making her knees tremble.
The real draw here was Chase himself.
She didn’t even care if the challenge was real, or just a dream. She wanted this.
The realisation shocked her, and sent her blood humming at the same time.
Maybe she should tell Chase about the dream? Maybe her reluctance was coming from the thought that she should trick him into this. But the goddess had never said she couldn’t tell him what was at stake.
If he knew, maybe he would agree to help her?
She only had until the Blood Moon, less than a month, that wasn’t long enough for a normal courtship. The only way she was going to manage this was if she could convince Chase to help her.
Her knees trembled at the thought. He would think she was crazy.
It would never work.
Would it?
There was only one way to find out.
Wayrian took a deep breath and made herself look him in the eye. “If… If you’re not in love with Lisa, then maybe…”
The heated look in his eyes strangled her words. He took a step closer, then another one.
“Yes?”
His breath was warm on her face, making it hard to think. Hard to even breathe. But she needed to explain, before…
She took a deep breath. “I… I had this dream. Before we left this morning. There was…” Her voice broke, and she had to take a deep breath.
She was sure Chase was going to interrupt her, but he was just staring at her, the intensity in his expression not dimming.
So she continued. “In the dream, this goddess said that she was going to turn all the dragons back into humans unless I mated with my fated mate.”
Chase’s eyes widened. He took a step back. “Fated mates? What do you mean? You don’t think… that I’m your fated mate? Do you?”
Wayrian opened her mouth to say yes, but the words wouldn’t come out. So instead she held her wrist up to show him the mark.
Chase stared at the mark on her wrist. “What does that have to do with anything?”
The look that had made her feel so good, and right, was gone. Replaced by nervousness.
Well, she could hardly blame him. The idea had shocked her at first too. She’d just had a bit longer to get used to it.
“It was there when I woke up,” she said. “The goddess said it was a clue about who my fated mate was, but I didn’t understand what it meant until I saw your fireworks during the battle.”
“And you think that this mark on your wrist means I’m your fated mate, and we’re supposed to be together? That this will somehow save your clan from being turned into humans?”
Somehow, when he said it, it sounded so much more outlandish and unlikely than it had in her head. And she’d had trouble believing it herself.
Wayrian’s heart sank. She shouldn’t have said anything. He’d been interested, even someone as inexperienced as she was could see that. But as soon as she’d mentioned the dream, he’d backed away. Now she had no hope of convincing him. She didn’t even know how.
She’d never even had the courage to kiss anyone. That one, fake kiss from Taurian was all she’d ever had.
What did she know about seducing anyone?
Or being a mate for that matter.
Her cheeks ablaze, she said hurriedly, “Never mind. It was a crazy idea. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
She expected him to turn away, and was sad that she’d lost what might, at least, have been a good friendship. She couldn’t look up, afraid to see the disbelief in his eyes.
She heard him move, then felt the air shift as he stepped closer to her.
His movement startled her enough that she looked up, and found herself face to face with him, unable to avoid his eyes.
“It was just a dream,” he said softly. “It doesn’t really mean anything. There is no goddess, certainly not one who comes to someone in their dreams and tells them they need to mate with virtual strangers.”
Wayrian caught her breath, his nearness having a strange effect on her stomach. Her legs were trembling, but that was nothing new, they always did when she had to have a real, honest conversation with someone.
“Then what about the mark? How do you explain that?”
Chase picked up her hand and examined her wrist again. He rubbed his fingers across it, making slow swirls around the design.
The motion set up a fluttering that was unlike her usual, nervous twitch. This one was warm, and almost pleasant, even though the way her breathing was hitching was most discomforting.
“Random chance,” Chase said quickly. His fingers paused in their motions for a second. “Would you really mate with someone just because a goddess said you should?”
His fingers resumed their motions, clouding her mind.
“I…” Wayrian started to speak, then her voice faltered. It was hard to concentrate when he was doing that, but she didn’t want him to stop. Not at all.
When she stopped talking though, he did stop, and stared into her eyes searchingly. “You would, wouldn’t you? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, since you were going to marry Taurian for the good of the clan. You are a very loyal dragon.”
She could think more clearly now his fingers had stopped moving, but unfortunately, that didn’t make the words come any more easily. Not the least because she wasn’t sure if he disapproved of her loyalty to her clan or not.
She searched his face, but could see no sign of disapproval. Only curiosity.
“I couldn’t possibly let all of Rian clan be turned human simply because I was too nervous to mate,” she explained.
“That certainly is taking one for the team,” Chase muttered. Wayrian wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but luckily he didn’t seem to expect a response. Instead he said, “What about me? Do I get a say in this? What if I don’t want to marry someone just to save Rian clan?”
Wayrian’s eyes widened. Did he believe her? Was he considering it?
“The goddess did say we were each other’s fated mate,” she blurted out. “If that were true, surely you’d be prepared to marry for true love?”
Then she blushed furiously.
Who was she to talk about true love? She knew nothing about it. She didn’t even know about puppy love. She’d never had a chance to get close enough to anyone to find out. She was far too shy.
In fact, she was surprised she was being this open with Chase. It wasn’t like her at all. But somehow, he was easy to talk to.
Did that mean he really was her fated mate?
She didn’t even have time to really consider that question before the expression on Chase’s face changed. He bent his head slightly, and before she had a chance to realise what he was about to do, much less stop him, his lips covered hers.
His lips were warm and firm, and it was as though his touch caused a cascade of feeling to crash through her, before plummeting tumultuously into a pool in the base of her stomach.
Wayrian had always thought a kiss was a brief affair—lips met, then it was over in an instant. But this kiss went on for longer than that. Chase’s lips moved against hers, and when she parted her lips in surprise, his tongue flicked into her mouth, causing even more tumult in her stomach.
By the time he pulled back to stare down at her, his eyes dark and deep, she could barely breathe, much less talk.
“So
what do you think?” he demanded, his voice rough and breathless. “Are you in love with me? Because I’m not feeling it, personally.”
His words of denial might have cut, except they didn’t match the expression on his face.
The expression that said he was as shaken by that kiss as she was.
Chapter 7
For a moment, Chase felt guilty for the shell-shocked expression on Wayrian’s face.
He shouldn’t have kissed her.
He’d intended to do just the opposite. The minute she’d said that she thought he was her fated mate, and she wanted to mate with him, permanently, his whole body had frozen. Every voice in his head had been screaming that it was a trap, and to run as far away as he could.
But his body had betrayed him.
The same one that had been lusting after her since that moment in the middle of the battle.
And some part of him wanted to believe it. To believe that there were such a thing as fated mates and forever. He might coat his actions in the pretence that he’d been trying to convince her that she wasn’t in love with him, but in reality, he’d done it because he wanted to.
That shook him as much as the kiss had.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Wayrian didn’t say anything, just shook her head. He wasn’t sure if she was disagreeing, or agreeing that he shouldn’t have done it. Either way, it didn’t really matter.
What was done, was done. Chase ran his hands through his hair, unsure what to do next.
He hadn’t been in this place before.
The few times he’d been involved with a woman, both of them had known the score. Both of them had been out for a night of pleasure, and he’d made very certain it was understood it was just that, one night.
No one had ever talked about true love. Certainly no one had mentioned a clan being changed back into human if they didn’t stay together forever.
That was just a dream though, wasn’t it? It couldn’t possibly be true. That sort of thing didn’t happen in real life, did it?
Wayrian certainly seemed to believe in it, or at least, not disbelieve in it.
Chase wasn’t sure what to think. Not about the dream, not about Wayrian, and certainly not about how he felt right now.
He heaved a sigh. “Look, we’re going to be here for a couple of days at least, according to Karla, let’s…” He was going to say, ‘let’s just pretend this never happened’, but somehow, what came out was, “let’s see how we feel at the end of that.”
Wayrian’s head bobbed in a nod, and she was blushing again.
Chase took a step back, just in case he was tempted. Because the innocence and hope in that blush tempted him greatly.
Who was he kidding? He just wanted to kiss her again. To see if touching her lips sent the same wave of liquid fire melting through his veins.
To see how it felt to sink himself into her.
He shook his head, trying to dispel the errant thoughts.
He’d only said they’d see how they felt in a couple of days to make her feel better. Not because he really thought he was going to fall in love with her. Because he wasn’t.
Love didn’t happen like that.
Yes, he had felt some attraction to her from the moment he’d caught her in his arms when she’d stumbled from the back of his ute, but that wasn’t love. That was just physical attraction.
And physical attraction, no matter how strong it was, wasn’t enough to base a relationship on. That would just lead to pain when the attraction faded and nothing was left. He wasn’t going there.
He needed to clear his head, that’s what he needed to do. But right now, with his house full of dragon shifters and no immediate way to get rid of them, that wasn’t going to happen. And Karla had said this could take a couple of days.
Which reminded him, he’d promised to keep Ostrian informed.
Chase heaved a sigh. “We’d better go tell your grandfather the news.”
Wayrian’s face paled. “We can’t tell him,” she protested, her voice panicked.
Chase stared at her, confused. Why didn’t she want to tell her grandfather about Karla’s call? Yes, the old man wasn’t going to be happy, but they couldn’t just not tell him.
“He thinks the dream is nonsense. Even if he didn’t, he would never accept me mating with a human.”
Dream? Mating? She didn’t mean..?
Chase felt himself blushing. He certainly had no intention of telling her grandfather about that. Then the implications hit him. “You’ve already told him about your dream? Did you tell him you thought it was referring to me?”
He couldn’t explain why, but that thought made him very uncomfortable. He still wasn’t used to the fact that these dragons would just arrange for someone to mate with their princes and princesses to heal them. Let alone arranging an actual marriage of sorts.
“No,” Wayrian said quickly. “I mean, I told him about the dream, but not about you. At first I didn’t realise… Not until we were in the middle of the battle and I saw your fireworks.”
He remembered that moment. She’d stood up, and moved closer to him. Right in the middle of the life dragon’s fear attack. At the time, he been impressed by her bravery, but maybe it hadn’t been just her. Maybe this connection he felt to her had… helped her somehow. That thought made him feel good, even though he didn’t really understand it.
He shook off the thought that maybe this connection between them did mean something. He didn’t want to know. The possibility that something bigger than either of them was happening here right now was too much responsibility. And too unsettling. He had a plan for the life he wanted, and it didn’t involve falling in love.
Especially not right now, he had other things to worry about.
“Well, what I meant was that we need to tell your grandfather about Karla’s call, and the fact that you’re probably going to be here for a couple of days.”
Wayrian didn’t look any happier at that news. “Grandfather is not going to be impressed,” she warned.
Chase gave a short laugh. “That makes two of us. He’s going to have to deal with it.”
Wayrian stared at him, as though surprised at his attitude. Then her lips curled into a smile. “Yes, I suppose he will.” She seemed pleased at the thought.
When they went inside though, they found Ostrian fast asleep on Chase’s bed.
Closing the door quietly, Chase said, “We can tell him later.”
“But he said he wanted to know as soon as we heard anything,” Wayrian protested, her voice worried. Her forehead was wrinkled, and her eyes drawn.
Her grandfather really made her feel nervous. Not surprising, given the fact that the old man hassled her so much.
Chase wasn’t going to let Ostrian’s attitude get to him. He shrugged. “He’s here for a couple of days whether he likes it or not. It won’t make any difference if he hears it in a couple of hours, or now. He might be less grumpy if he’s well rested.”
Wayrian hesitated, but his last comment seemed to convince her. “Okay,” she agreed. “But what are we going to do while we wait?”
His first thought, which was to have a nap, wasn’t going to happen with the dragon elder asleep in his bed. Before he had time to think of any other plans, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since that morning. Neither had Wayrian. But what did one feed a dragon?
Chase thought back to the meals he’d eaten in the Rian lair. Mostly meat, but with some vegetables and grains. Pretty similar to human food, all considered. So he made them some roast beef sandwiches, and while they ate, he considered his options.
He briefly considered taking her around the station for a bit, show her some of it, and maybe get some chores done while he did, but one look at her face, drawn and pale, and he threw that idea out. It might only be lunchtime, but their day had been more than exciting enough. He needed something more restful.
So after the
y’d finished eating, he said, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
Wayrian’s nose wrinkled. “What’s a movie?”
Of course she hadn’t seen a movie before. For some reason, the fact made Chase smile. He was kind of glad he got to be the one to introduce her to them.
“Come and I’ll show you,” he said, holding out his hand.
It was only once she put hers into his, warm and trusting, that he realised that might have been a mistake.
He was trying to dissuade her of this idea that they were going to be a couple, wasn’t he?
Who was he kidding? He was trying to dissuade himself. Trying not to pretend that her hand in his felt nice.
Trying not to think that being alone in this house day in day out was rather lonely.
Definitely a mistake.
But it was too late to pull his hand out now, that would have been rude. So he led her into the lounge, and indicated she sit down on the chair before dropping her hand.
Wayrian settled into a corner of the lounge, tucking her feet up under her, while Chase tried to pick a movie.
Which was easier said than done. He certainly wasn’t going to pick something romantic, that might give her the wrong idea. And he didn’t think action would be appropriate, he didn’t want to scare her. He’d seen how she reacted to the battle at Verrian’s Mesmer chamber.
No, he needed something calming.
A movie with dragons in? He stared at the one in his hand, reviewing the scenes—lots of people trying to kill a dragon.
Nope, not that one either.
What then?
Finally, he picked an animated fairy tale. One without dragons. Just a girl with very long hair.
Wayrian stared at it in shock as the movie started. “What is this?”
“It’s a story,” Chase explained. “Told in moving pictures.” He sat down on the two-seater couch next to her, but far enough away that there was no danger of them touching.
Wayrian looked disbelieving.
“Just watch and you’ll see,” Chase insisted.
Obediently, Wayrian turned her eyes back to the screen, and as Chase had guessed, she was quickly drawn into the story. She stared at the movie, hardly moving, her eyes wide and her lips parted for the full movie.