by Blue Saffire
I gasp, and the dragon’s large head swings to me. Eyes with red elongated pupils narrow at me. I don’t know if it’s the lack of oxygen, the adrenaline, or the sight of this incredible creature, but my world goes black.
***
I come awake quickly, springing up in bed.
“Careful.” Wei is there beside me. He sits up in bed, stroking his hand down my back. “You should take it easy.”
The moment I go to speak, my throat reminds me of what happened today. Nothing but a croak comes out.
“Here, take this.” I look down and he’s handing me a small mug with what looks like tea. Taking the mug from him, I take a sip. The warm fluids soothe my throat.
“Thank you,” I say, sounding like a ninety-year old chronic smoker. I take another sip before handing the mug back to Wei. He turns, showing off his back and the intricate tattoo before turning back to me.
“Are you all right? Do you remember what happened?”
I close my eyes trying to make my brain recall today’s events.
“I went to get my stuff.” That part comes back clear. “Scott was drunk and belligerent. I tried to walk past him and he grabbed me.” It all gets hazy after this. “He was choking me, and I thought I was going to die and then I woke up here.”
Wei nods his head.
“Wait.” An image fills my mind. “There was a dragon.”
A lift of his dark thick eyebrow is the only indication that I sound as crazy as I think I do.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. No. That sounds crazy, right?”
He places a hand to my cheek.
“You went through a traumatic experience. He tried to kill you,” Wei says the last part through gritted teeth. “The police think that he must have thought you were dead. Which is why he left you there.”
“The police are involved?”
“When you did not come into work, I began to worry. You also did not answer your phone. I had Zhong go through your application in order to find your last known address.
“I had prayed you were not there, especially considering I told you not to go without me.” I don’t miss the hard look he gives me. “When I arrived, his door was unlocked and you were lying on the floor unconscious. He was gone.”
I can’t believe this. He actually tried to kill me.
“Did the police find him?”
A shake of his head. “No, but I don’t think you will have to worry about him.” He pulls me into his chest, and I bury my face in his shoulder.
“I was scared, Wei,” I admit the words on a whisper.
“Anyone would have been in your predicament.”
I lift up to look in his face. “All I could think about at the time was my brothers. How they would be left without me and how no one would care about them.” I shake my head. “And I thought of you.” I take a deep breath as I finally have enough courage to admit my truth. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Wei closes his eyes and a shiver runs over his body. When he opens them again, his feelings for me reflect in his brown irises. I know from one look that he feels the same way I do.
“Say it again, my love.”
I smile. The words come easier now. So many years I searched for love in all the wrong men. Searching for that feeling that I longed for. The scars that I carried after being abandoned by a father I never knew, and a mother that loved her high more than her daughter. I felt it briefly when I was with my grandmother, but it was torn away from me too early.
I thought I got it from Robert. I confused sex with love. Giving my body in payment for kindness.
The boys taught me unconditional love. I would give my life for them, but that love didn’t fill the void I was searching for. Then Scott came offering me friendship, and I thought that was what I was missing.
He was the first man that showed me true interest. He was worried about my safety, and he wanted me to spend time with him. I was so caught up in finding what I was missing that I ignored all the other signs. His possessiveness, the control, and the abuse.
Now I have the real thing. It feels good to be able to say the words so freely and truly mean them.
“I’m falling in love with you.”
He kisses me. Kisses me so deep and passionately, my toes curl. I never want to let go of this feeling. I never want to let him go.
That night Wei put me to bed by making slow sweet love to me. He rocked my body to three orgasms before finally coming to his own. I fell asleep like I do all the time, him spooning me from behind, and my body fully sated.
Chapter 13
Crumbling Down
Wei
Her legs sway as she lies on her stomach reading a book from my library. Her long dreads are loose today, pooling around her back and shoulders like a waterfall. The sun is shining on her body, highlighting the golden undertones in her dark brown skin. She looks like a Nubian goddess. My Love.
I have finally found that thing I have searched for, for so long. Even though the clock is winding down. The time mark is nearly gone, and she only has one wish left. I am confident that this time it will be different.
“I know you’re back there,” she calls out without taking her face out of the story she is reading.
We are in my garden again. She’s lying on a blanket near the cherry blossom trees. We can’t see the waterfall from here, but the sound of it is clear.
“I did not want to disturb you.” That is not true. I just enjoy watching her. I spend so much time staring at her when she is sleeping, lying in my arms. You would think I would become tired of it.
She shuts the book and places it out of reach, then turns over on her back. I join her on the blanket, climbing on top of her, sealing my lips to hers for a kiss. The way her body softens, and her legs open for me to fit snuggly between her thighs drives me wild.
She is always so ready to receive me. It doesn’t matter the time or if she is in the middle of doing something else—like the day I had her pinned against the laundry machine. She never turns me away.
I finally pull away from her lips and trail kisses down her chin.
“I’m happy, Wei.”
“I am glad,” I reply sucking the sensitive skin of her neck into my mouth.
“Do you want to know why?”
I want to continue to kiss her. To taste her skin on my tongue, but my love will always have my undivided attention. I look down into those soothing eyes, my hair falling around us like a curtain. She runs her fingers in the strands, pushing one side behind my ear.
“In two weeks, school starts back up, and I will get to see my brothers again.”
I smile down at her. Not seeing the boys has been a hard pill for her to swallow. Many times, she has cried in my arms worrying about them, wondering if they were eating, and being taken care of. It pleases me that she will be able to see them again soon.
“I am glad this makes you happy.” I show my gratitude with a kiss to her lips.
“That isn’t all that makes me happy.” She laughs.
“What else makes you happy?”
Her hands cup my cheeks as she stares into my eyes. “You.” The word is sweetly whispered with sincerity. “Having you in my life. Being with you every day makes me happy. I never thought I would find this type of happiness.” I turn my head and place a kiss to her palm.
“I will always be here to make you happy.” I pray that those words are true.
“You will, and I decided that I’m going to keep going forward with the foster plan.”
This brings me great pleasure. I couldn’t tell Brianna that her wish made the tapes disappear. There is no more proof of the things she did as a young misguided teen. She has nothing holding her back now.
“Soon, I’ll have enough money for the down payment for a really nice three-bedroom apartment. Then I’ll have you, my boys, and the baby.”
I stiffen. I wondered when she would discover that little tidbit. I’ve sensed her pregnancy for a few w
eeks now.
“Baby?” I respond as if it’s news to me.
She looks away shyly. “Yeah, I um, found out a few days ago. I’m on birth control. Have been since I was thirteen, but for some reason the birth control failed. It’s never done that before, I promise,” she rambles. “Well, I’ve also never had unprotected sex before. And I wasn’t trying to—” I cut the rest of her words off with a searing kiss. It does not surprise me that her birth control failed. I’m a dragon, and my sperm is potent. However, it is my dragon that plants its seed for breeding, not me. The sneaky bastard has been preening inside me since the first time I scented my offspring on her. He knew exactly what he was doing, marking his territory.
I don’t tell Brianna that it will not be a baby, but two. Dragons breed in twos, my birth was an anomaly. Instead, I push the large T-shirt she has on further up her thighs, finding her warm center with my hands.
Her panties are the only barrier between me and where I want to be. I push the material out of the way as I find her already soaked. I groan at the way I slip my fingers over her glistening nub and glide into her tightness.
If I didn’t think I would scare her off, I would magically dissolve my clothes so that I could slide into her heat. The ringing of a phone drowns the moment, causing us both to groan in displeasure.
Brianna reaches for her cellphone over her head and sits up. I roll off of her onto my back and lie beside her. My cock tenting my pants.
“Hello?” she answers the phone breathlessly. “Wait, Mason, slow down.”
The panic in her voice has my erection fading and me fully alert.
“What?” her hand comes to her mouth and her eyes fill with tears. “I’m on my way.”
She hangs up the phone and I have her in my arms instantly. “What’s wrong, my love?”
“It’s Tyrie. He’s in the hospital.”
We quickly dress. When we are done, Zhong has the car outside waiting for us. We take the Mercedes Maybach to the hospital. I hold tight to an inconsolable Brianna the entire trip.
She blames herself for the incident, no matter how many times I tell her it isn’t her fault. Ro rushes into Brianna’s arms as soon as he sees us enter the waiting room.
“They had to take him to the operating room,” he explains. “She kept him in their too long. I tried to calm him down, to keep him from hitting his head but he wouldn’t.”
Brianna squats down in front Kyro, wiping his tear stained face with the back of her hands.
“This isn’t your fault, do you hear me?” He nods and then wraps his arms around her neck.
“Where is Mason?”
Just then Mason comes around the corner with a woman wearing pants and heels. Her hair is in a low bun at the back of her head and she’s talking to a police officer. Brianna shoots to her feet. The moment Mason spots her he rushes to her, wrapping his arms around her for a tight hug.
“I’m sorry,” he says the words over and over.
“Can I speak to you for a moment?” The woman says to Brianna before eyeing me warily.
Brianna steps away from the boy’s embrace. “Have you eaten anything?”
They both shake their heads no. She goes into her purse and pulls out cash. Again, it is in moments like this that I truly despise the curse. I cannot even offer her a measly twenty dollars without her asking.
“Go to the café and grab some food.” The boys nod. Mason grabs Kyro’s hand and walks off.
The woman waits until the boys are a good enough distance away before she speaks. “Is it all right if I speak freely in front of him?” She nods toward me.
Brianna glances at me and replies, “Yes, it’s fine, he’s my boyfriend.” Had the circumstances been different I would have taken great pride in that, but not now.
“It’s bad,” the lady says. “The doctor’s believe Tyrie suffered a mild concussion.”
“It’s the pantry,” Brianna tries to explain. “He hates being put in there. He bangs his head until someone lets him out.”
The woman lifts her hand to stop any further explanation. “Mason has explained all that. We are removing the boys from the home. We have a temporary family for Kyro, but Mason will probably have to go to a group home.”
“You can’t separate them. What about my application? They can stay with me.”
“Where are you living?”
“I’m with my boyfriend right now, but he doesn’t mind.” I am about to tell her that I indeed did not mind, but the woman speaks.
“You know the rules. You have to have your own place in your name. I cannot let them stay with you someplace that could possibly be temporary for you as well.” My home would never be temporary for Brianna.
“Then give me a few weeks. I’ll find some place. Just keep them together,” Brianna pleas. It hurts me to see her this way. I place a hand at the small of her back.
“Brianna,” the woman says soothingly. She too must notice the desperation in her eyes. “I think you should focus on taking care of yourself. These boys need stability.”
“I can give them stability.” Her voice wavers as she starts to cry. “I love them.”
“I know you do, but they need more than that, especially Tyrie. The doctors will release him in three days, we’re sending him to a home for special needs children in Fairmont.”
“No. Fairmont’s six hours away. You can’t do that. You can’t take him from his brothers. Please?”
The social worker shakes her head. “It’s out of my hands.” She goes to walk off, but Brianna grabs her arm.
“Don’t do this. Please don’t take them from me.” She’s sobbing now as she grips the lady’s arm.
“Brianna, control yourself,” the woman states.
Clearly this woman has no idea how much Brianna loves those boys. She couldn’t fathom how she needs them, how they mean the world to her. They were the first ones to show her unconditional love when she had gone so long without it. If the woman had known any of this, she would not tell her to calm down when Brianna’s world is falling apart around her.
I pry her fingers from around the woman’s wrist. The woman storms off, not glancing back at the girl falling apart in my arms. I hold Brianna there on the floor of the hospital waiting room as she sobs in my arms. Never have I felt so weak, so defenseless. Even with all my power as the mighty dragon warrior, I am useless to do anything for her.
Except one thing.
***
I left Brianna at the hospital. She needs time alone with the boys before they are taken away. I held her until she had no more tears left to give. I told her that when she was ready, the car would be there to bring her back to the house. The moment I walk back into my home, Zhong is waiting for me.
“Is everything all right?” He follows me into my room.
“No,” I reply simply and then explain what has transpired. The silence around us is somber. “I will need you to make the legal arrangements. All my assets will go to my offspring.”
Zhong’s head lifts, his eyes lock onto me. “What are you talking about? Surely, she will choose you now that she is expecting your young.”
“Have you not heard anything I said about her brothers? She is about to lose them.”
“And your response to this is to make her send you back to that tomb?”
“She can live without me. She cannot live without the boys.”
Zhong scoffs and turns his head away from me. “Unbelievable,” he murmurs.
“I do not understand your anger in this. It is not you that has to go back into that statue. It is not you that forfeits his freedom.”
“You do not think I suffer in this?” His voice is so loud, it echoes in the room. “For centuries, I have watched those I love die. Wives, children, grandchildren. I have loved and lost so much I have become numb to it. My last living descendent works as your maid.
“You think it was hard being imprisoned, imagine immortality. Imagine living thousands of lives, impacting millions of people, a
nd then watching them all slip away. I do not live in the same prison as you Longwei, but I am a prisoner just the same.”
His words finally register. It isn’t just my freedom Zhong wants so badly; it is his death. As long as I am bound to that statue he is bound to a life of immortality. And the only thing that will unbind me from the statue is for Brianna to choose me, or if I die.
“I am sorry, Zhong.” The words are spoken with truth but still do not convey my deepest sympathies for what I have done to him. “You were right, I was never meant to fall in love or know the feeling of someone falling in love with me. My job was to protect humans, to watch over them and guide them. I am sorry that I got you tangled up in my selfish quest for love. As bad as I feel about where we are, I cannot apologize for loving her. Or the decision I have come to make.”
Zhong shrugs. His face filled with despair. “So, it shall be then.”
He turns his back to me. I pick up the statue of the dragon on my nightstand. My prison. Without thought I toss it to the wall with so much force it shatters to dust upon impact.
Zhong swings around, his eyes wide in shock. “What have you done?”
“Today, I am freeing you my old friend.”
“Longwei, do not do this.”
I allow my dragon to take over me. My large body fills out the room. The next time I take this form will be the end of this. The moment I reveal myself to Brianna, the time stamp will disappear and my time will be up. I have made my decision. My dragon agrees with it.
I’m starting to think he already knew this would be the outcome, which is why he planted his seed. I take flight, my massive wings causing Zhong to fall to the ground. I push my body up and out through the large sunroof. It was placed there for this reason, so that I may have a quick exit from my bedroom. I fly as high and as far as I can go. I fly until I feel her summons pulling me back to the house.
It is time for this to end.
Chapter 14
Final Wish