Smitten by the Dragon

by Tully Belle

  “I will as long as you give her a chance.”

  “Agreed.”

  11

  The winding roads that led up Mount Pike were narrow and if you made one wrong turn Caran was sure that you would plummet to your death off the side. Even though she knew Ash had made this journey many times, it didn’t stop her from gripping the sides of her seat, her heart jumping into her throat with each turn.

  Ash seemed amused by her reaction, although he didn’t say anything. She appreciated that.

  When he finally turned off the main road to a one car wide laneway she allowed herself to relax. The laneway, if you could call it that, narrowed again before opening up to a small parking lot for four cars. Three other cars were already here and Ash pulled his into the remaining open space.

  Caran got out, looking up in awe. Dragonspark was built inside the mountain. No wonder Princess hadn't found it before. From above and most angles it would look like a regular mountain, but from here at the front of it, there were windows dotted randomly up the side. Thick doors served as the entrance. Caran swayed from dizziness.

  “What do you think?” asked Ash.

  “When you said you lived here, I expected a building, not inside the actual mountain itself.” She looked up as high as she could but couldn’t see the peak from here. A chill travelled up and down her spine at the thought of being trapped inside, crushed under tons of dirt. “Is it big inside?”

  “Come and see for yourself.” He walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk pulling out her suitcase.

  A man in his early twenties strode over to them. Ash greeted him, patting him on the back before handing him the case. He instructed the man, who he called John, to take it to her room, and then turned back to her.

  She hesitated, her gaze still on the thick earth walls covered in trees and moss. It was out of a fantasy novel, a place where an ogre might live. A feeling of claustrophobia washed over her. “Maybe, this wasn’t a good idea.”

  “Come on,” said Ash grinning. “Time for a tour.” Caran raised a brow and Ash laughed. “I mean a proper tour of the facility, not a bedroom tour.” He leaned in closer. “There’s plenty of time for that one later.”

  When they stepped inside the main doors, Caran's mouth fell open. It was large and spacious. Nothing like she imagined. She was standing at the bottom of a huge hall that reached up and up, a winding staircase circling five main floors about her. The floor was intricately tiled and lights were dotted everywhere. A few people walked to and fro, heading up the stairs, down corridors. She looked up and her jaw dropped open. Above her head, painted onto the ceiling was a large dragon in full flight. Caran gasped, her breath hitching. Ash smiled and took her hand.

  “Mac had it painted a few years ago.”

  “It’s . . . powerful, breathtaking.”

  “Yeah, that’s what he was going for.”

  “It’s more spacious in here than I was expecting,” said Caran.

  Ash walked forward and pointed out two corridors that led off this one. “We’ve got a gym and training rooms through there, and over on this side we have a small hydroponic garden. It’s still a way off providing all our meals, but we hope it to be more sustainable over the next few years.”

  “You have your own garden?” Caran walked forward trying to see down the corridor.

  “Upstairs are the kitchens and bedrooms.”

  “Kitchens, as in, more than one?”

  Ash shrugged. “We get hungry.”

  “How many people are here?”

  “Between ten to twenty at any one time. People come and go as they please. Besides, Mac doesn’t like to keep too many people close. Speaking of which, would you like to meet him?”

  Caran turned to see a man with striking similarities to Ash come down the staircase. He wore a casual loose fitting long sleeved tee and shorts. He smiled as he approached. “Caran Rivers, I presume.”

  “Yes,” Caran held her hand out for him to shake but instead he pulled her into a warm hug. She didn’t expect it, and at first stood stiffly while he held her, before allowing herself to relax. She wasn’t used to such warmth from people. It wasn’t like this at Princess. Tessa would never hug anyone she didn’t know, and even if she did, Caran doubted she would embrace them in public like this.

  “Ash tells me you’re a doctor.”

  “Well.” Caran could feel her cheeks warming. “Not quite, I didn’t finish my residency. Nearly though.”

  “Why didn’t you finish it?”

  “I, er, there was a friend of mine who died, I needed to take time off.”

  “Are you over that now?”

  “Over my friend dying? I’ll never be over that.” Mac glanced over at Ash. Caran bit her tongue. If she wasn’t careful she’d let slip more details than she would intend. “But I’m not grieving anymore, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “I wasn’t implying anything. Have you considered finishing your residency? The Greenslopes County hospital is always looking for good staff.”

  Finish her residency? It wasn’t something she’d ever considered doing, but now the idea didn’t seem so crazy. Not here, of course, but once she finished her assignment and got back to Princess it could give her something else to do. A new purpose rather than sitting around waiting. “I’ll definitely consider it,” she said.

  “Good.”

  “Where’s your other brother?” asked Caran. “Lyson, was it?”

  “He’s upstairs resting. Not feeling the best today. I’m sure he’ll be back to himself by tomorrow, you can meet him then,” said Ash.

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  “Have you seen your room yet?” asked Mac.

  “Not yet,” interrupted Ash. “I was just about to take her up.”

  “Don’t be too long,” said Mac. “We can all have dinner together.”

  “Of course,” said Caran. “I’d like that.”

  Mac said goodbye and walked back up the stairs.

  “Your room is on the fifth floor,” said Ash. He took his hand in hers. “Come and see it.”

  “I get the top floor penthouse,” she said. “How lucky.”

  “Not quite. Mac, Lyson and me have rooms above that, although they’re closed off to the rest of the people here.”

  “I see.” Caran’s interest peaked. If the brothers had private floors that meant they had secrets to hide. Maybe dragons? She doubted they’d keep them so close to where the members were, for safety, but she’d bet anything they had something up there that would tell her where they would be.

  They headed up the stairs and turned down another corridor once they reached the fifth floor. Caran’s room was at the far end and when Ash opened it she widened her eyes. It was a large room and had a huge window, the glass open to let in fresh mountain air. It was what you would expect when visiting an old lodge with dark timber walls and a fireplace to one side. The bed was also large and made up with crisp white sheets and a quilted cover. A private bathroom with a shower and toilet were to the side. It was cozy and inviting. Nothing like at Princess with its sleek and modern lines, yet still made her feel at home.

  “I’ll let you unpack and come and check on you later,” said Ash.

  “You’re leaving me already?”

  “Only for half an hour, just to let you get settled.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon.” He shut the door behind him leaving Caran alone. Her suitcase was next to a large dark oak armoire, so she unpacked her belongings. She didn’t know how long she was staying here, but it felt right that she would unpack anyway. It made her feel more like she belonged.

  Not that she could get too comfortable.

  Once she’d finished she took out her cell phone to tell Tessa she was here. Except there was no reception in her room. She walked over to the window and tried holding her phone out, but still couldn’t get any bars. That was annoying. She’d have to ask Ash about that. She couldn’t tell him why she needed it, of course, but s
taying in a place without cell reception in this day and age? They needed to fix that.

  Until then she had nothing else to do except wait.

  No, she would have a look around by herself. Ash would have to understand that a regular girl would do the same thing and want to explore and she was just a regular girl. A lump caught in her throat. Mostly.

  12

  When she wasn’t in her room, Ash searched the rest of the facility. Juliana had told him that she saw Caran walking around the bottom floor so he headed in that direction.

  “There you are,” said Ash. He found Caran inside the training hall. “I came to fetch you for dinner but you’d disappeared.”

  “This place is amazing,” said Caran. She let her fingers trail against the wall as she walked around the perimeter. “It doesn’t feel like I’m in the middle of a mountain. I thought I would feel claustrophobic, but I don’t at all. How long did it take to build all this?”

  Ash watched her, amused at her awe. “Some of it was already here, but we’ve made a lot of changes. I don’t know, probably close to seven years now.”

  “Seven years, wow.”

  “It doesn’t seem that long.” He kept his distance as he watched her taking everything in. “What type of training do you do?”

  She turned quickly, “What do you mean?”

  “You’re fit and you know what this room is. Can you fight?”

  She laughed. “I wish.” She walked over to him. “I’ve done a bit of self defense but that’s all. I’m a single girl in the city; I need to look after myself. Mostly I do boring old gym work.”

  Ash considered her words. She was either avoiding the subject or he was being paranoid. The way she carried herself indicated a confidence that only came from someone who knew how to look after themselves, and that took more than a few self-defense lessons. Was she lying about it? It intrigued him more than worried him, and now he wanted to find out more about her. And he would, as long as he kept his wits about him.

  “I’m sure you’re hungry. Come to dinner.” He held out his hand for her and she took it, sliding her slender fingers between his.

  “I’d love to.”

  Dinner went smoothly with no obvious problems. They had six people at dinner tonight. Caran, Mac, himself and three other members of the Dragonspark crew: Juliana, Pete, and John.

  Even Mac was beginning to warm to Caran, which would make things easier. Maybe his brother was changing and his distrust of outsiders was weakening. That could only be a good thing for Dragonspark. Ash leaned back and watched Caran interact with the other people at the table. She was open, friendly and relaxed.

  Caran laughed as Juliana whispered something in her ear. Juliana was in her late twenties and had been here for six months. They would make good friends. It pleased him to see her enjoying herself and getting along with the others. If she worked out and decided to stay, she’d need to win the trust of everyone and now he doubted she’d have any problems with that.

  Mac stood up and walked toward the doorway to the rest of the dining hall. Ash decided it was a good time to follow him.

  “What do you think?” he asked. “You’ve had a chance to get to know her in a more relaxed environment, I’m interested.” Ash didn’t need Mac’s approval, not really, but hearing him say that he thought Caran was nice would ease this tension between them.

  “I can see why you like her. She’s smart and, of course, sexy.”

  “Don’t go getting any ideas about her,” joked Ash. He knew Mac wouldn’t. Mac had only had one serious long-term girlfriend that had ended five years ago. Everyone was sure they were going to get married, but it hadn’t worked out for reasons Ash was never truly clear on. Even so, he knew Mac had never gotten over her, so it would take a very strong woman to turn his attention back to considering a relationship.

  “I still think sex is clouding your vision, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, for now.”

  “How generous of you,” said Ash. Mac was wrong that sleeping with Caran was influencing how he felt about and trusted her, but it still didn’t hurt to be cautious, especially now that she was here.

  “I want to test her medical skills and see how good she is. Tomorrow, get Pete to take her through some basic wound repair and see what she knows.”

  Ash nodded. “I was also thinking of taking her to see her mother later this week. I want them to fix the reason they aren’t talking.”

  “You didn’t tell me there is an issue there, that’s troubling.”

  “I don’t get that it’s serious. They just need to talk it out and understand each other’s point of view. It’s certainly nothing that would affect us.”

  “I hope not.”

  Ash glanced over at Caran. She looked over at him and smiled. He winked at her and she grinned before turning back to her conversation. “How’s Lyson doing?” asked Ash.

  “I’m going to check on him later. There are beginning signs that the transition is about to start, but we know that it still might take hours, possibly days.”

  “I should go and see him too.”

  “Yes you should.”

  “I will.” Ash glanced back at Caran. He had planned on spending the night with her tonight, but Mac was right, he needed to check on his brother, and he couldn’t do that while he was with Caran. One night apart wouldn’t hurt, and it might just help him to consolidate how he felt about her. Was it just sex? There could be something more, but he’d have to figure that out first.

  He walked over to her and sat down. She rested her hand over his. “The people here are really lovely,” she said. “So warm and friendly.”

  “You’re surprised about that?”

  “Yes, truthfully.”

  “What did you expect them to be like?”

  “Business like. Professional. I don’t really know.”

  “We’re all just trying to be the best we can be. Don’t you have friends in the city?”

  Caran crinkled her forehead. “Yes, but its different there.” She sighed. “I forget sometimes what it feels like to be a family.”

  “Come on, it’s time I had you to myself for a while.” He stood up and took her hand.

  He led Caran out of the dining area and back toward the stairs, his arm around her shoulder. “I know it’s early, and you can hang out with the gang if you prefer.”

  “I’m fine with just your company. I like being with you.” She smiled as she leaned into his side.

  “And do you like being here?” He waved his hand to indicate the facility.

  “Actually I do.”

  They reached the stairs. “Mac wants to test your medical prowess tomorrow. Are you okay with that?”

  “Of course, I expected as much. He’s very committed to making sure that everyone here has a role and purpose, but he’s also relaxed around everyone. It’s nice to see a leader like that.”

  “Mac’s had issues in the past with trust, but he’s getting through that.”

  “And what about you? Do you have trust issues?”

  “Are you saying I can’t trust you?” They reached the door to her bedroom and stopped. Ash leaned against the wall, waiting for her to answer.

  “I could say yes or no, but whatever answer I give won’t be good enough. You have to earn trust.”

  “And that takes time.” Ash leaned down and kissed Caran. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently pulling him closer. He enjoyed kissing her, and for a moment, as his arms slipped around her waist he forgot about his plan to visit Lyson.

  “Are you coming in?” she asked, her voice becoming husky and low. She wanted him to stay.

  He could. Except. Ash groaned and held her to his chest, stroking her hair. “I can’t. Not tonight, I’m sorry.” He was already regretting his promise to Mac.

  “Oh, okay.” She pulled away.

  He lifted her chin and kissed her again to reassure her. “It’s not because I don’t want to, believe me I do, but because I need to see my brother. He�
�s still unwell.”

  Caran looked worried. “Are you sure you don’t want me to check on him? Perhaps it’s something more serious than you thought.”

  Ash smiled. “He’ll be okay and we’ll spend tomorrow night together. I promise. You have a television and books if you need entertainment.”

  “But no cell coverage.”

  Ash raised a brow. “You want to call someone?”

  “Not really. I just noticed.”

  “Lyson’s shut down this place for security reasons. There are only a few frequencies that work. If you need to make a call let me know.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  He brushed his finger across her soft lips and kissed her one last time before he opened the door for her. She dropped her head and frowned. It was hard to not stay and take away her doubts. He wanted to.

  As he closed the door he leaned his forehead on it and sighed a deep shuddering breath.

  She’d be fine by herself.

  His brothers had to come first.

  13

  Even though Caran understood Ash’s need to be with his brother, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She tried to reason with herself that it didn’t matter what happened now, she was inside Dragonspark and that was more important than anything. Just because she liked being here and around Ash had nothing to do with her mission. In fact it was to be successful she was going to have to cut herself off from feeling anything.

  Now that she knew that she’d have no cell phone coverage while she was inside Mount Pike, she’d have to make an excuse about why she would need to leave. Not for long, just to give her enough time to check in with Tessa. She had to be wondering what was going on by now.

  Caran considered what Tessa would do if she were in danger. The needs of Princess would come before her own personal safety, but she was sure that Tessa would at least attempt to help her if she was in trouble.

  They were so different here. The evening swirled in her mind. Everyone was so nice. The food was delicious and hearty, the conversation was light and jovial and she hadn’t laughed so much when Juliana did her impression of Ash at one of his training sessions. Now she wanted to see just how close to the mark it was.