by Alyse Zaftig
He shook his head. "No, no. I'm the one who should be sorry. I can't…I just can't do this, Ella. I think I'll take the couch tonight. You can have my bed, it's just right around the corner there. Down the hall," he replied, sounding miserable. "I'm going to go wash up and get some sleep."
He turned on his heel without another word, heading down into said hallway until I heard a door slam shut.
Looking all around, I tried to work out in my head what had just happened, but nothing really came to me. Giving up, I waited a minute before slipping into what I assumed was his bedroom, complete with the largest bed I'd ever seen, and quietly closed the door behind me.
I wasn't going to give into the ugly cry that threatened to take over. I reminded myself that I was better than that, and climbed into the bed, aching far more than ever before.
Chapter 4
I wanted to slip out of Bram's house without him noticing, unfortunately I had no idea where the hell I was in relation to the rest of the town. So instead of gracefully bowing out before he woke up, still somewhat mortified about the way things unfolded the night before, I sheepishly asked if Bram would mind leading me back to town.
"Of course, that will be no’ a problem. And er, I just wanted to apologize for last night," he explained, running his hands through his thick reddish hair. "I was a bit of an arse to you."
Not expecting an apology, a little part of me was happy to hear him sound so regretful. Maybe I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the kiss? "That's okay. I was stupid for getting myself lost in the first place, and if I wouldn’t have done that, then we wouldn’t have…" I let my voice trail off, turning pink. Truth be told, I’d get myself lost in the moors all over again if it meant Bram would show back up.
Instead of looking as embarrassed as I felt, Bram simply nodded. "I don't know what got into me. I dinnae mean to take advantage of you like that."
That's what he thought…that he was really taking advantage of me? What in the actual hell? "You didn’t take advantage of me, Bram. I was just as into it as you were. Maybe even a little more," I said, wishing I could just shut my mouth up for once. Pretty soon I was going to wish that the moors had swallowed me up whole.
"Still, I apologize. You mentioned something about wanting peace and quiet while you were here in town. And I…I have a lot of work to get to, so we should probably go ahead and leave."
It didn't take very long for us to walk back into town, and I was surprised at just how strong my legs felt given that I nearly walked my ass off the night before. It would be hard not to be in good shape having to walk everywhere around here like this. I fully expected a toner ass and thighs when this was all said and done.
"I'm just right down the road from here," I said softly, not wanting to meet Bram's silvery eyes. I knew that if I looked at him any more, I’d probably melt into a sad, pathetic puddle right there on the ground.
"It was nice gettin' to know you," he said, placing his hand awkwardly on my shoulder as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.
I bit my lip. "Yeah. It was nice getting to know you, too."
We stood there for a beat, and even though I kept telling myself I wouldn’t, I couldn't help but look up at him, meeting his gaze. How badly I wanted to kiss him again, to feel his strong hands gripping me in all the right places. I wanted to tell him that it didn't matter if he was a shifter or not, whatever secrets he had, he could tell me. I was the queen of keeping secrets after all, given my own abilities.
Bram traced his thumb along the edge of my jawline, burning my skin just the slightest. "Now don' go wandering off into the Moors again, ya ken? I cannae promise I'll be there next time," he said with a small smile crossing his face, his accent thicker than before. I would’ve been content just to hear the man read off a grocery list, honestly.
Finally, I had to look away. Why did it feel so hard to say goodbye to him? I swallowed against the lump in my throat, wishing I had something more poignant to say than, "Duly noted."
Letting out a sigh, Bram pulled his hand away from my cheek and stood there for one more moment, looking as though he had something to say, but quickly stopping himself.
"Thank you again," I whispered.
I hated having to turn back and walk back down the road to the McKinley's cottage, but I knew if I didn't hurry up and place one foot in front of the other, I'd be stuck there in front of Bram forever…or at least until he walked away first.
--
For what felt like the millionth time already, I walked back down the main road and over the bridge, my arms full of paper bags containing an assortment of random food I thought I might actually eat. I even managed to snag some chips—or crisps, as the bag said—and a couple of tasty looking small pies. It was all I could do to not huff and puff down the road, wishing I had some kind of golf cart or something at the very least to haul my exhausted behind back to the cottage. I didn't think I had ever walked so far to grab food in my life.
"Let's see… Meat, check. Cheese, check. Lots of wine, oh yeah, check that. And of course, junk food," I said out loud to myself, hoping I didn't miss anything on my pitiful list.
It had been three days since Bram had walked me back to that very spot, and exactly three days in which I tried way harder than I should have had to, to keep him off my mind. Bram had some sort of staying power, however, because the second I wasn't thinking about food, all I could do was think about was him.
I groaned as I dropped one of the paper bags, shifting my weight and trying to lean forward to pick it up before dropping everything else in my arms. "Goddamnit," I muttered to myself, trying to scoop everything up without looking like a total idiot. Next time around I'd be bringing the closest thing resembling a basket I could find at the cottage…
I heard footsteps coming up the path behind me, and for a split second my heart leapt in my chest, but when I turned to look over my shoulder I saw it was just an older man, a newspaper tucked neatly under his arm.
"G'day there," the man called out to me, waving. "Looks like yeh've got yer arms full there, lass."
Trying to pick up everything as dignifiedly as I could, I pushed a chunk of my hair out of my face, giving him the most polite smile I could muster up. "I do, but I've got it, thanks."
Just then, a weirdly out of place whooshing noise came from the sky, faintly fading away. I raised a brow at the man and pointed upwards. "Do know what that was?" The nearest airport I knew of was over thirty-five kilometers away, and the plane sounded pretty low for it not to be taking off or landing somewhere.
The man just looked at me, a funny little smile on his face. "Oh that? No use in worrying yer pretty little head over that, lass. I reckon yeh'll hear more of the same o’er the next couple ‘o days or so."
He tipped his hat at me before walking past, whistling to himself. Well, that was oddly cryptic and somewhat weird.
Shrugging my shoulders, I heaved everything back against my chest, hoping I didn’t drop anything else, and headed back down the road again. The same noise whooshed overhead, sounding even closer, and when I looked up in the sky I could've sworn I saw something dipping under the low-clearing clouds for just a moment, before it hid behind the hazy gray once more.
"What the hell?" I said to myself, swallowing hard. The thing was far too big to be just some bird...
Being the persistent and somewhat nosy person that I am, I decided to find out just what the hell was flying above the valley, debating on whether or not I should drop my things off at the cottage first.
I came to the realization that yes, of course I needed to put everything away, and made a mad dash for the cottage, surprised to see just how my curiosity was strong enough to get me to the cottage and back faster than the hunger that was growling in my stomach.
"Where did you go?" I mumbled, searching the skies as I walked back outside the cottage, shielding my eyes from the sun as it slowly faded back into view.
I couldn't believe how dumb I was being; what sense did it
make to go chasing after something that I probably just conjured up in my own head somehow? But I couldn’t deny that there was a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, compelling me to find out nonetheless.
Making sure I didn't make the same mistake twice, I kept the mountain to the left of me, not veering too far off the main road behind the cottages that dotted the sides of it. I probably looked like a crazy person, searching around for this imaginary whatever it was I thought I saw. At the very least, I was getting my exercising for the day, for sure.
There was the whooshing sound again, and I scanned the skies, my eyes wide as I realized that there was indeed something huge flying above me up there. How can I be the only one to see it?
I began stumbling across the quarry of rocks jutting up out of the ground here and there, so I carefully picked my way across them the best I could, trying to move fast so I didn't lose sight of whatever it was flying in the sky.
I should've been scared. I should've turned back. But I couldn't, I had to know…
I just made it over the top edge of a wide grassy knoll, practically climbing at the steep height, when I looked down and nearly fell flat on my ass, in complete surprise.
Down below me, tucked up under the grassy knoll, was the large tail of a creature I had never seen before, curling in on itself. What could have only been scales on the beast, were shining in shimmering shades of gray and white, a dappled pattern lacing up and back along the side of it. I could hear it breathing, such a huge gust of breath that the nearby grass blew around as if a sudden wind had picked up.
My heart raced. I knew I shouldn't look over, I didn't know what I was going to find, and even as good as I was with weird, this had definitely taken the cake. Whatever this animal was, it was huge—larger than some of the bigger cottages in town—and judging by its tail, incredibly powerful too.
I swallowed hard, telling myself that no matter what happened, I would be okay. It was a soothing lie at least. Something told me that I needed to look, though, and that there was no choice in the matter.
Slowly I edged my way over until I could look just underneath the knoll, and I laid down as low as I could in the grass and peeked over the edge. What I saw completely took what little breath I had left, away.
It was a dragon, simply put. It was more than a dragon, of course, but there was nothing else in the world I could’ve dreamt up that would’ve defined such a beautiful beast.
The dragon's triangular shaped head was thick and knobby, and it was breathing out huge plumes of dark smoke from its thin nostrils. Its massive limbs were easily the size of large tree trunks, and the noise that kept emitting from the back of its throat reminded me of someone quickly lighting a Zippo lighter over and over. Click. Click. Whoosh.
It shouldn't exist, but there it was underneath me, lying there real as could be. I found myself deliriously smiling, unable to do much else. Did anyone else know about the dragon? I couldn't have been the only one who had seen the thing, as huge as it was just flying around the town. Right?
There was no doubt in my mind that the old man I had just come across knew about it, so that was at least a start. Was this like one of those legends that the locals just keep to themselves? I had so many random questions popping into my mind that I nearly shrieked when I looked back down and realized that the dragon was no longer there, and instead, something else was lying in its place.
And not just something, but someone. A certain redhead with a literally smoldering body, soot smeared all across his pale skin. I was in for the surprise of my life when I saw Bram stretch his arms out wide to stretch, small slits right along his shoulder blades slowly closing up until they were no longer there. What the…
All at once, everything was starting to click into place like a magnetic puzzle, finally making sense. So Bram was a shifter…apparently a dragon shifter.
I didn't know what to think, much less what to do, but one thing was for sure. I wasn't about to give up on a chance with him just yet.
Chapter 5
It was the warmest day yet for flying, but my heart wasn't in it. I found myself straying closer to town, not diving past the mountains and flying over to Skye like I enjoyed every other full moon. The change was constantly pulling at me around this time of the month, until my back ached with pains, the dragon desperate to get out.
In all my one hundred and fourteen years, I'd never fought against shifting. It always felt right, even natural, to shed my human self and come back to form in the body of my dragon, my new self dominating over everything else around it. Years of experience taught me that it was a part of me, maybe not the only thing about me, but it wasn’t something I could deny.
But this was different...this was me trying to play protector. With a certain brown-haired lass on my mind, I didn’t want to shift, and my dragon was ready to tear me over, itching to spread its wings. I didn’t want her to find out, no matter the burden it would inevitably lift from my shoulders. The woman had clearly gone through enough in America, having to listen in on stranger’s terrible and mundane thoughts everywhere she went traipsing.
I felt for her, truth be told. I was glad that she was getting a bit of a break here, from all that racket.
After finally giving in to my wilder side, every so often I would fly down and search for the McKinley cottage, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ella and her pale moon face. The hazel eyes that warmed my thoughts days ago, kept haunting my dreams.
I scoffed at the ideas my damned beast kept trying to plant in my head…about mates and bonds that lasted eternally. I didn't want to think too deeply—and the dragon was the perfect way of escaping my own complicated thoughts. That is, until after a while he could only picture her as well, the want I felt over her turning into absolute need in the dragon's eyes.
I had tried taking on a mate before, but that didn't turn out so well. I s'ppose that's what I get for falling in love with a Nazi spy during the war…
The more I thought about Ella, the harder it was to concentrate on the direction I was flying in, or where I was heading. I gave up, frustrated with the damned beast almost as much as I was irritated with myself. I shouldnae be letting some woman get to me like this. As much as I'm gantin' for it, I cannae expect to just show up to her place and take her right then and there.
The dragon felt different, strongly in favor of that very scenario. Keep the heid, you bastard. She'll be gone before the next full moon. But I didn't want her to be gone just like that. And neither did my so-called roommate.
After getting my clothes together, I made the trek back along the lower ridge until I was home. I had accidentally torched the bottom part of my trousers, and rolling my eyes at the pathetic, smoking pile of clothing, I tossed them over my shoulder and headed up the steps.
My dragon was on alert, breathing heavily in the back of my mind. Intruder. Someone is here who shouldn't be, it said, its eyes narrowing at the front door.
I felt it too, although I wasn't exactly shakin' in my boots over it. Nothing tended to scare me anymore these days, much less some dobber who thought it was a good idea to go snooping around someone's house.…
The moment her scent hit me, my dragon reeled, struck by pure lust that tightened every single fiber in my body. I went rigid, afraid to move and lose control over the animal inside me. I never had problems keeping the beast at bay, but when it came to Ella, I was dealing with a dragon untamed.
I cleared my throat, grabbing the doorknob tightly in my hand, willing my body to relax. Regardless of the fact that my dragon wanted to bring Ella to her knees with pleasure—the only comprehensible thought it had milling around in a sea of dirtier thoughts—I had to keep calm. I grit my teeth because it was much easier said than done.
Taking one last whiff of the air, I braced myself as I opened the door, hit by the full force of want that pulled me over the threshold. And the moment I made eye contact with her, her pupils dilated, her pulse rate picked up, and I could already smell her heady scent. My d
ragon was tearing at my insides, clawing and roaring for me to take what was mine.
Ella was sitting on the very edge of a couch cushion, fussing with her hair, twining her hands around it as I walked in. "Hi," she said softly, tugging the corner of her lip between her teeth.
Sucking in a quick breath, I nodded the best I could, wringing my hands behind my back. "I wasnae' expecting you, lass."
She immediately looked away as if she had done something wrong, which pained both me and my dragon. I didn't want her to be upset or embarrassed, and the more I tried to hide it, the more it was made plain clear as day…I cared about her. More than anyone else. Deep inside, the dragon hissed in agreement, ready for what it hoped would happen next.
Patience, I tried to make it understand.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, o' course," I finally added, an easy smile on my face. I couldn't remember the last time I found myself smiling this way.
This seemed to please Ella, and she slowly pulled herself to a stand. "I saw you today," she said, her voice quieter even still. "Out in the valley."
Blood quickly drained from my face. What had she seen? "I dunno…I dunno what you mean, Ella."
Placing one hand on her slim hip, she gave me a knowing look. "You don't need to worry. I know about shifters. I figured it out when I first met you."
Struggling to find the right words, my mouth opened and closed several times, surely making me look like some blasted fish out of water. "What… That doesnae’ mean…"
She took a few steps forward, searching my face. "It's okay, Bram. I won't tell a soul what you really are. I know that might be a concern of yours, but believe me, if anyone knows how to keep a big secret like this, it's me." Two more steps closer, still. "And if I'm being honest, I've never seen anything more beautiful. I didn't even know dragons existed!" She softly chuckled to herself in amazement, reaching out for my hand and twining her fingers through mine.