Dragon's Curvy Invader

by Mychal Daniels

  He took a cautious step toward her. In the darkness of the room, the sound of her gasp magnified its force. Cool air rushed in and hit the back of her throat with the startled intake of breath. Her body froze. Amber was rooted to the spot on the bed. Her faltering breath halted until her body demanded she resumed its life-supporting cycle.

  "How are you feeling?"

  Deep with a decadent sensuality, the man's voice filled the area with a surprising sincerity and concern.

  As his words took shape into understanding, Amber's mind played with hints of familiarity. She knew him—somehow. Remembering to show manners as the best defense against hostility, she answered, "I have a bit of a headache."

  He took a few more steps toward the bed. Her body tensed again. He stopped.

  "I brought you some clothes to put on." His voice trailed off as he extended a stack of unfamiliar garments toward her.

  Amber wasn't leaving the false safety of the bed or those sheets.

  "You're too far away." She hated the next thing she needed to say, but it was necessary. "Come closer, please."

  He took another step and handed the clothes to her. There were tags still on them which brought even more confusion. Never one to like pranks, problems, or puzzles that left her in the dark, Amber gulped air, this time controlled and for strength.

  Steady as she dared, she said, "Thank you." The words sounded believable enough. Time to expand on them. "Would you mind telling me where I am?"

  Through the dimly lit room, she could make out a smile on his face. That had to count for something in her favor.

  "How about I allow you some privacy to dress and then we can talk?"

  Instead of calling out his diversion tactic, Amber said, "It's a plan. I'll get dressed and let you know when I'm done."

  There was no way she was going to reveal that she didn't know his name or what their relationship was. She needed to keep her cards close to the chest until her predicament and what had happened to get her to this bed was clearer. He might be nice, but that didn't mean she wasn't a prisoner. Amber wasn't stupid enough to believe surface appearances.

  He smiled again and left as quietly as he'd entered. His absence left a noticeable void in the bedroom, enough for Amber to miss it. Whoever he was, she had a thing for him, but this wasn't the time or place to moon over a stranger. She had to get her wits about her and figure out what had happened.

  Tossing the nonsense out of her mind, she got out of the warm bed. When she opened the first window blind, light confronted the darkness, dispelling it to the corners of the room. Once her eyes adjusted to the new level of light pouring in, Amber set about opening the other windows.

  Aware of her nakedness, she grabbed the pile of clothes and hightailed it over to a corner of the room that was far away from the revealing windows.

  "Let's see what you bought for me to wear," she said, sorting through the clothing.

  To her amazement, the man had included two complete sets of outfits, and the bras and panties were there. Even though she would have liked to wash the preservative chemicals out of the new clothes before wearing them, Amber was grateful for the gesture and put on a pair of work khakis and light cotton long sleeve top. Everything was sized to fit. Putting on a pair of the socks he'd included, Amber had to admit that this man was more thoughtful than the jock he appeared to be. Now, if only she had a pair of shoes, that would be great.

  Dressed and it was time to look for a mirror or bathroom. Bingo. She eye spied another two doors in the large room. The first opened into a large bathroom. The second was to a closet of average size. She grinned at this. Leave it to a man to have a large bedroom and adjoining bath with a standard sized closet. It was doubtful a woman shared this space.

  The thought of another woman around that man had her guts quivering in a pang of jealousy. Amber brushed off the absurdity of the reaction. She didn't know the man and whatever his relationship status was none of her business.

  In the bathroom, she found toothpaste but not an extra toothbrush. Despite her denial, only one toothbrush that appeared to be used made her tummy do a little flip of joy. Silly, she was an absolute goofball when it came to men.

  Using the toilet, washing her hands and face, and then rubbing the toothpaste as best she could with her fingers on her teeth and tongue gave Amber enough dignity to meet with the stranger.

  Thankful her hair was in braids, that was one less thing she had to worry over. Before she emerged from this bedroom, Amber wanted to try to figure out as much as she could about her time before coming here.

  The windows beckoned, and she went over to one to gaze out. The sight that met her was that of a wooded area. Based on the proximity of the bedroom, she must be in the back of the house, on an upper level. There was a clearing below that was tended and could count as a small yard that separated the house from the wooded section. The yard was devoid of the usual stuff like patio furnishings, plants or other things one might find in a backyard. This yard was like this bedroom, practical.

  Still bright, but based on its position, the sun helped her formulate a good estimate of the time of day. The sun was in the lower part of the sky which meant it was late afternoon.

  She turned away from the window when a flash of memory played in her mind's eye. A flying being, strange and beautiful rode the sky. Where had she seen that vision before? Was it a movie or event she'd attended? What had she been doing? The image triggered a desire to dig deeper. Try as she might, Amber couldn't tug the meaning behind the vision.

  Making it over to sit on the edge of the bed, Amber took her time following the thread of hope through her memories. The van! Where was her baby? How had she gotten from being in the van to here? What was this place?

  Excited to remember what she'd been doing, Amber pressed onward. She'd come to a rural area of the state based on her data readings and a hunch. Memories of driving through private unpaved roads and off the beaten path to find clearings she could set up in waded back to the front of her mind like the tides of the seashore.

  Yes, she remembered some of her past few days, not all of it. Amber had been in the field doing research. It felt like she was getting closer to concrete proof of something. She strained to remember more, but the memories refused to come. As usual, her mind felt like a malevolent entity had highlighted sections of her life and pressed the permanent delete key.

  One thing was certain, Amber knew she had a research van. That van had been her home, and now she was here. Amber stomped over to the door of the bedroom, flung it open and stopped dead in her tracks. Seated on the floor in what must be a hallway sat the most gorgeous man she'd ever been this close too. Eyes so green, they might as well be hypnotic orbs stared up at her.

  Determined to stay the course and get what she wanted, Amber blurted out, "Where's my van?"

  8

  Amber

  Amber's hands rested on either side of the hot cup. Wisps of steam rose from the tea inside. It curled and scented the air with a custom blend of delicate peppermint and spice loose tea leaves. She’d done little talking while the stranger fixed her tea using an impressive tea service.

  Thankful to finally have something to do with her hands, Amber anchored them as close to the hot cup as possible and concentrated on not fidgeting. Surprised a man who looked more like a heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts fighter would have an impressive array of herbal teas on hand, she stayed on alert looking for any small clues that would trigger her memory of who he might be to her.

  His home was neat, comfortable, gracefully decorated with quality furnishings, and boasted a distinctive air of subdued elegance. He was no slouch in the intelligence department either. Amber had keyed in on how refined his manner was and the words he chose when speaking with her. They might be in rural Georgia, but the man had an international vibe to him. If her plan to learn more about what happened to her was going to work, Amber had to come off as equally intelligent, calm and controlled. Freaking out or becoming excitable w
ould do her no good.

  "Thank you for the hospitality so far, but I still need to know where my van is."

  The man smiled, launching that megawatt weapon of masculine seduction.

  "Kind Amber, not to worry, your van is fine—safe and sound."

  Wait, he knew her name and what was with that "kind" part? Up to the moment, she'd been able to play it off that she didn't know his name or how she'd gotten here.

  When he'd offered to speak with her over a bite to eat, her stomach had answered before she could mouth the words of thanks. They sat in the kitchen. Amber looked around taking in the mood and deciding she liked it. A significant portion of the kitchen's walls was covered in stonework, casting its atmosphere as warm, inviting, with a hearth-like mood. With a bountiful rustic decor and feel to it, Amber could see herself taking her morning coffee here in the little dining nook they inhabited.

  The guy might be wily in being forthcoming with information, but so far, she liked his taste in home decorations.

  Green eyes with the vitality of living jewels caught her own in their intense gaze.

  "Amber?"

  "Yes?"

  She didn't know what he was up to, but it couldn't be good for her if he wanted to do her harm. She might as well be putty in his hands. Everything about him had her insides screaming in an odd mix of confusion, lust, curiosity, and wariness. It was evident he was up to something. What? She didn't know yet, but she was all about getting her van and getting out of here too. Scratch that. She wanted her van, yes, but getting away from him, Amber was still on the fence about where she stood on that point.

  The gorgeous guy leaned in, his muscular frame engulfing the space the bistro sized round table between them occupied. When he had her squarely in his sights, almost daring Amber to try to look away, he asked, "How much do you remember before waking up?"

  "What? Um... " wheels turned too fast, Amber didn't doubt he could see the spinning in her eyes. She had to think, divert, deny, and hell—outright lie if necessary. "Why do you ask?" Her pitiful attempt at projecting coyness in that last bit was excruciating and painful to hear.

  The man didn't retreat in form or persistence.

  "Amber?"

  "Huh?"

  "That isn't a trick question."

  "I know."

  "Then, please, answer."

  "Why?"

  "Because it will help me help you. I'll know where to start, and we can get you to your van."

  "What? Are you kidding me? You know that makes no sense. How does my telling you what I remember have to do with you handing over my property?"

  "Everything." He pulled back, eyes still focused on hers and gave her a panty dropping grin. "I know, let's start with something easy. What's my name?"

  No way. This was how he wanted to play? Seriously, was this question his idea of an easy start? Amber doubled down. Tangling with him was like when she played mental dodgeball with her colleagues at BMEG. Never let them see you sweat, right?

  "This is what you lead off with, your name?"

  "Yes. Now, are you going to answer, kind, dear, Amber Chastain? Come, say it. Say my name."

  What. The. Fuck?

  How much sexier could that be. Hoping drool hadn't escaped as her mouth hung open, Amber tried to save face by taking a sip of her still way too hot tea.

  "Tick, tock," the deep voice said, taunting her with a hint of a tease in it. He knew. Had to by now, that she couldn't even remember his name. Him teasing her like this was a shame. Little did he know that if he weren't so arrogant and smug, she would have quickly blurted out, your name is MINE.

  Instead, she went with, "Don't be a jerk. Nobody likes a jerk, you know."

  He raised hands that were perfect in every way and matched that large body of his. What she wouldn't give to have them explore hers. Whoa--she had to keep it together. Why did everything the man do send her mind to the naughty corner? This guy's presence transformed her into a little horny toad.

  Not cool, Amber, not cool.

  "You're absolutely right. That behavior is unacceptable. Not even in my own home. Please, I beg your pardon."

  Well, he'd gotten her with that one. This was his place. If the roles were reversed, she'd have put him out for talking to her like she had.

  Geez, this was hard. Who knew eating crow was so hard. She'd rather confront public shame than this torture. Amber would even endure peer embarrassment by running an obstacle course through the legendary Apple Headquarters campus--naked than admit she didn't know his name.

  Still, he waited.

  Heavy manly eyebrows waggled at her as she sat and squirmed. Ooh, he was exasperatingly smug. Damn him and his know-it-all ways too.

  After a pregnant pause, too obvious to cover up, she decided to give up the gig.

  "Okay, fine, you've got me. I don't remember." Amber ignored what had to be feigned shock on his face as she continued. "Yeah, that's right. I don't remember. And, if I, or we, you know, had a moment or did something, neither my mind or body remember that either. So there!"

  Laughter boomed through the kitchen making her slosh a bit of her tea.

  "Ouch!"

  "Oh, pardon me," he said, rising to grab a towel from a counter by the sink.

  "Why do you think that's so funny?"

  Incredulity laced her words, and she didn't care. He mocked her underneath the laughter.

  "Again, pardon me, but I thought that after the adventurous night we shared, you'd at least remember my name."

  "Adventurous night? What happened?" Thudding made its way to her temples. Amber couldn't have her pressure rise like this. "Hey, you, did we do anything illegal? Are we holed up here on the run?"

  He stopped grinning long enough to look at her like she had an object protruding out of her face.

  "No, we did nothing illegal, kind Amber." Green eyes warmed and softened. "Instead, you helped me when I was injured due to a dangerous storm last evening. Do you remember any of that?"

  Nothing came to mind. Those eyes were doing her in. Amber had to let up on the guy and play nice. She shook her head no.

  "I see. Let me start from when we met." He paused, she remained quiet, wanting to know how they'd come to meet. "You found me injured during the thunderstorm last night." He looked at her as if waiting to see if she confirmed what he said as true. She had nothing and sat there, taking a sip of the tea. He continued. "You helped me to your van to tend to my wounds. During our initial conversation, you blacked out. Unable to rouse you, I brought you here to my home as a way to make sure you'd regain your consciousness and strength."

  "And my van?"

  "Ah, you're very focused on that van. What's in it that makes you so anxious to get back to it?"

  "Anxious? Who says I'm anxious? I just want to be certain my belongings are intact."

  "About that?"

  "Wait, you didn't do anything to my van, did you?"

  "Not exactly."

  "Then what? Where is it?"

  "Your van is being cleaned and checked to make sure it's serviceable enough for you to return to your home."

  "Huh? How dare you mess with my property like that." Heat suffused her cheeks. "Who says I was finished doing what I came to do?"

  "I do, since this is my property, and you're trespassing, that's who." Those eyes were now the color of a tumultuous forest. "You're free to camp or whatever you were doing out there somewhere else, just not here on private property."

  He punctuated the statement with a tilt of his head.

  "But I was onto something. I..."

  He leaned back in, hanging on her words.

  "What were you onto?"

  "I can't seem to remember. It was something to do with my research."

  "Your research? You said you were a scientist. What is your field of study?"

  "Bioelectromagnetic energy."

  "Which is?"

  "Oh, sorry. Most folks don't get that. I look for paranormal and extraterrestrial activity and biological
forms."

  "I see." His mood grew somber.

  She wanted to assure him it wasn't bad. "Hey, don't worry, I don't think your property is haunted or overrun with ghosts, at least I don't remember that as part of why I came here."

  "Then why did you come to this particular area?"

  She had to think about it for a moment.

  "Because this is where my data led me."

  "How did your data do that?" he asked, excitement in his voice.

  Pausing to consider how interested he was in what she did as a scientist, Amber took a side trail.

  "Hey, what do you do for a living?"

  "I'm retired."

  "Retired? You're so young, compared to most folks I know who are retired. Were you a professional athlete?"

  He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.

  "No, not an athlete, more like a fighter."

  "Ah, that would make sense then. Unfortunately, most pugilists' careers are short-lived."

  He wore an odd expression in response but managed to get out a, "Thank you." Sitting up in his chair, he asked his previous question again. "Why did your research lead you here?"

  He focused on why she'd come to his land. As a trespasser, Amber knew it would be better to give him an answer than to get on his bad side and end up in jail.

  "What the hell. It's not like you'd believe me anyway." She let out a long breath and said, "I picked up a high Bioelectromagnetic signature that's not... human, or at least not originally from Earth."

  "What are you saying, then?"

  "Haha, I first want to say that I'm perfectly sane before I go on. Don't want you calling the authorities to have me carted away to the insane asylum."

  His demeanor relaxed a bit. "I wouldn't do that. Please, tell me the truth. You were about to say?"

  He waited, she sighed.

  "I was about to say that I came here because my data says there's a greater than average possibility that alien life is somewhere here on your property."