Unquiet Slumber

by Paulette Miller

  Nathaniel let her have her privacy but, after a while, he couldn’t handle feeling her pain. He rode his horse so he was at her side. He got her attention and then patted his saddle, motioning her to join him. He pleaded, “Please, come sit with me for a while.”

  She nodded, stopped her horse, and slid off. She tied her reins to the back of Nathaniel’s saddle and walked around his horse. He helped her up so she was sitting in front of him, pulled her in tight, and they continued down the trail. Having her in his arms seemed so right and where she always needed to be. He couldn’t get her kiss out of his mind and vowed to himself that he would pull her aside when they stopped for the night and talk to her privately.

  Tianna was having a similar discussion in her mind except she wasn’t sure what to make of their kiss. Since Nathaniel wasn’t talking to her about what happened, she convinced herself that it was her inexperience that caused her to imagine his reaction. Given the number of females he had kissed, she should’ve known that her kiss wouldn’t be anything special to him. They rode in silence.

  As they proceeded down the trail, Tianna would periodically reach up with her hand to touch the back of her neck. Nathaniel finally had to ask, “What’s wrong? Is your neck bothering you?”

  She shook her head. “I’m just not use to riding without my long knife. In this outfit, there’s no place for it. It’s just strange to ride not having something hard rubbing down my back.”

  Nathaniel’s old habits leaked out. He got a big grin on his face and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “My lady, if you want something long and hard rubbing on your back, all you have to do is ask.” He pulled her in tighter against his body.

  Tianna was going to yell at him but stopped herself. Although she knew he was teasing, she heard and felt real passion behind his words. The feeling cause a boldness to grow within her and, feeling the heat from his body, she decided to offer a different response.

  Tianna was sitting between his legs so she scooted back as far as she could so she was pressed hard against him. She heard him take in a deep breath as her body reached its target. She let her hands roam as she slowly wiggled and rubbed herself against the length of his torso until she could feel his body respond. She purred and rubbed a little harder.

  He gasped as his dragon moaned.

  When his pulse started to race and he was panting, she grabbed the reins, stopped the horse, and slid off. She turned and leaned forward until her breasts pressed into his leg. She put her hand on the top of his inner thigh and squeezed. He shivered and his eyes flashed with passion.

  She smiled and motioned him to lean toward her. He leaned over with her hand still intimately close to his body. She whispered in a very sexy voice, “Be careful what you ask for warrior for you may get it.”

  His dragon growled his desire at her.

  She giggled and jumped gracefully up onto her horse. She walked forward so she was right next to Nathaniel, smiled, and said in a very sweet voice, “Enjoy your long and hard ride. I hope you aren’t to…” She scanned down his body and then back to his eyes.”…uncomfortable.” She laughed while she kicked her horse into a trot to catch up with the others.

  As she rode, she realized that Nathaniel wasn’t the only one affected by her teasing. She also had a warm feeling throughout her body. She liked touching him and had other images of how she wanted to touch him forming in her mind. Realization hit her as to what she had just done, and she wasn’t sure where her actions had come from. Part of her was angry for inappropriately teasing a man, but another voice wanted her to go back and pick up where she left off. She didn’t know what to do so she just continued to ride forward in silence.

  Nathaniel shifted himself in the saddle, obviously very uncomfortable given the current state of his lower regions. He laughed and whispered, “Ohhh, revenge will be so sweet.”

  His dragon had only one word to say, “Mine,” and his eyes flashed.

  He kicked the back of his horse and cringed. He tried to find a comfortable way to ride until his body calmed down.

  Chapter 15 - The Touch

  Seth led them away from Willow and Tianna remained very quiet. She missed her magic trees and was confused by the odd feelings and urges her body was giving her whenever she peeked at or was near Nathaniel. It seemed the magic in Willow had awakened something within her. It was as if there were several people in her mind trying to talk to her all at once, making her head spin. Kissing Nathaniel again seemed to be their top priority, however, there was one corner of her mind that longed for her dark stranger. That voice was strong and seemed to be getting stronger every day. Given that the rest of her feared this stranger, the thought made her shiver.

  Her somber mood was interrupted when they all caught a scent in the air. Gabriel stopped his horse abruptly and growled in delight saying, “Meat!” In record time, he tracked and downed a large animal. That evening, they all ate nothing but meat and groaned, rubbing their extended bellies.

  Gabriel sighed. “That was wonderful. I didn’t think I could survive another day without sinking my teeth into some red meat. Now I understand why the Inari are so short. Eating bugs and twigs would stunt anyone’s growth.”

  A look of disgust grew on Tianna’s face. “I don’t know what you are all complaining about. I loved their food. I especially liked those crunchy little Gibbi. I could try to find some and make you dessert—they taught me a few bug recipes that I’m interested in trying.”

  Seth waved his hands in the air and pleaded, “Ugh! I’ll never get rid of the image of you with all of those hairy little legs sticking out of your mouth.” He cringed.

  “They weren’t hairy!” Tianna argued in response. Since she was part Inari, she was ready to defend her people’s ways.

  As Seth and Tianna argued about the Inari’s choice of food items, Seth decided that he would inspect all of the food Tianna prepared a little closer from now on. Marcus retrieved his bottle of Fire Wine and said, “Okay you two. Why don’t you continue your debate while double-checking our camp? We were so focused on eating when we arrived, I’m not sure if our border is as secure as it should be.”

  After Tianna and Seth redid the spells to secure their camp, she pulled him to the side and asked, “Can you tell me about your inner dragon? What does it feel like, especially when you lose control?”

  Seth tried to explain. “It’s hard to describe. My dragon is just a part of me. Others may refer to their inner dragon as an entity of its own because it’s just easier to describe it that way.”

  “What did it feel like when he first stirred within you?”

  He pondered on her question for a moment before answering. “It’s hard to put my feelings into words. I guess I would describe it as a strong, overwhelming desire. Think about when you argue with yourself over doing or saying something. My dragon is that inner voice that I talk with in my mind. He’s a very determined voice with strong opinions. He’s an animal so he has an animal’s instincts and reactions to my surroundings.”

  He chuckled at some memories. “At first, my dragon would win most arguments and I’d find myself doing or saying things without even realizing it. Everyone around me had to be careful because they knew that they couldn’t predict my actions. Since all Draak have to go through this, everyone helped me stay out of trouble as best they could. I’ve learned that I can’t blame my actions on my dragon. He’s me, but I’m slowly learning to control my reactions to his influences and making more sound decisions.”

  Tianna smiled saying, “Like saying no to a second piece of pie?”

  He laughed in response. “Something like that.”

  She got a more serious look on her face. “What does it feel like to shift?”

  A dreamy look washed over his face. “It’s absolutely amazing, but I have to tell you. It also hurts. It took several years before my body adjusted to the change.”

  She cringed at the thought of what the body had to do in order to change from a human to a large dragon for
m.

  He lowered his head and fidgeted. “I wish I could control my shifting. It makes me feel so young when I can’t partial shift.” Seth glanced up at Tianna, curiosity growing on his face. “Why all of the questions about my dragon? Have you begun to feel yours stir?”

  Tianna really didn’t know what to say. “I’m not sure. Since leaving Willow, I’ve had urges I can’t explain, except I seem to be arguing with several inner voices. It’s hard to keep it straight in my mind. My inner voices don’t always agree.”

  He nodded as if understanding. “I know that one. My inner dragon and I don’t always agree either. You need to tell the others about what you’re feeling. I did some stupid things when my inner dragon first started to stir. Actually, I’m still doing stupid things. We all need to be prepared for the unexpected.”

  Tianna nodded.

  Soon Tianna and Seth rejoined the rest of their camp mates. With a little prodding from Seth, Tianna explained what she was starting to feel.

  Marcus thanked her for sharing the information by reiterating, “You must keep us informed as you feel more inner dragons stirring. This can be a dangerous time for all of us.”

  They spent the next few hours sharing funny and scary stories of when they first started to shift. Tianna decided that she was glad she wasn’t around Gabriel when he was Seth’s age. An uncontrollable shifted warrior dragon wasn’t something she was anxious to see.

  Before going to bed, Tianna pulled out her wizard book and proudly added several additional notes about the village of Willow and the Inari culture. She also added a rather large entry in her journal about her kiss with Nathaniel.

  Over the next few days, Nathaniel seemed uncharacteristically quiet. Tianna often caught him staring at her deep in thought. Several times he had approached her like he wanted to talk but, at the last second, he found something else to do. He even stopped teasing her. Although she wanted to jump into his arms, she held back. She worried that it was her teasing him that may have caused his change in attitude toward her. Maybe all of his actions were just pretend and, now that he knew she did have real feelings for him, the challenge was over. She feared that he regretted his actions and was afraid to tell her he wasn’t really interested. A sense of disappointment and doubt quickly grew within her.

  Their group was going to travel close to a human village, and Marcus decided to stop to pick up some supplies. Tianna thought it was best if she stayed back at the camp and no one argued. They didn’t want her to go through what she went through at the last human village. They wouldn’t allow her to stay alone so someone had to stay behind. To her surprise, Nathaniel was the one that insisted he remain as her guard. She expected him to go into town and find companionship. She feared what was coming.

  After everyone had left for the village, Nathaniel approached Tianna. “Would you like to join me for a walk? I thought we could look for some of the ingredients the Inari taught us about.”

  Tianna smiled enthusiastically. “That’s a wonderful idea. I’m almost out of several herbs and other molds and fungus.” As they started to walk out of the camp, she added, “Maybe I can find something crawling around to add to our evening meal.” She giggled when she heard his low growl.

  As they searched through the trees, their conversation remained on the task of finding healing ingredients. Although the mood in the air was somewhat tense, she was relieved. She had feared he stayed behind to tell her something she wasn’t going to like to hear.

  Since Tianna had been in a dense forest for days, she longed for the warming caress of the sun. When she spotted a bright beam of sunlight streaming through a gap in the trees, she decided to stop. The ground looked so soft and inviting that she laid down to soak up some sunrays.

  Nathaniel watched her skin begin to glisten. He approached and sat down on the ground next to her and said, “Tianna?”

  He said her name so tentatively that she sat up to look at him better. “What’s wrong Nathaniel?”

  “I had a talk with Gabriel when we were in Willow. He reminded me how important it is for our group to be open and honest with each other.” He turned and gazed into Tianna’s eyes. “I need to be honest with you about a few things.”

  Tianna sat up the rest of the way and her stomach clenched. Given the look in his eyes, she knew that she had been right earlier. He was about to tell her something she didn’t want to hear. She put her hand on his knee and said, “Nathaniel, if this is about me teasing and kissing you, I’m so sorr—”

  Nathaniel placed his fingertips on her lips to quiet her, saying, “No talking please. I need to talk.” He began, “Do you recall when we were in villages, including Trille, and I left with women in my arms?”

  Those weren’t pleasant memories for her, but she tried to keep her face neutral, nodding her acknowledgement.

  “I want you to know.” He shook his head and corrected himself. “No, I need you to know what happened between the women and me.”

  She forgot that she was supposed to remain quiet and said, “It’s none of my business what you do Nathaniel. You don’t need to explain.” The absolute last thing that she wanted to hear about was how he beds women.

  He shook his head. “You don’t understand and I need you to.” He began to fidget nervously. “When I go off with any non-Draak female, I don’t take their bodies while they’re in my bed. I only hold them.”

  Tianna gave him a look like he couldn’t possibly think she was that naive. She couldn’t understand why he was lying to her. If he didn’t want her, he could just say it.

  He knew she didn’t believe him. “It’s true. My power to heal is greater than anyone in my Sett. This power comes with a price. It requires internal energy to work. When I wield my power I’m weakened. The more I use, the weaker I get and I have to re-energize myself. I do this by taking energy from others. I could draw some power from males but not enough to make a difference. I’m assuming that is because physical touch is a critical part of the bonding process. The magic requires the intimacy be between potential mates. For me, that requires I use females. On our travels, I like to use human women because they’re very susceptible to my mind control. That allows me to fully control the situation.”

  He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her to know the truth. “It can be dangerous for a Draak to bed a non-Draak. If he were to lose control, it could go very badly.” He shivered as his mind recalled a distant but very unpleasant memory from his youth. “So, in exchange for their energy, I allow them a memory of their choice. They can choose what their mind thinks happens between them and me.”

  Tianna stared at him puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

  Nathaniel adjusted his body as if he was getting uncomfortable. He knew he needed to tell her the whole truth, except his secret was hard to talk about. He had only confessed his need to one other person, a childhood friend, who had kept his secret safe.

  He took a deep breath and began to explain. “I lay with them, usually naked since I need my skin to touch theirs. Sometimes we may kiss, but I use my mental powers to control them so nothing more happens. Once I’m strong again, I use my mind to let them fill in the gaps with whatever memory they want, as long as it’s a pleasant one. Usually they choose a memory that was very passionate. I guess I’m quite the lover in many a human woman’s mind.”

  Nathaniel smiled at Tianna trying to lessen the tension within his chest. “If I’m very low on energy, my body will give out some kind of signal and any available female that is hit by this typically comes running. They’re ready and waiting. I’ve yet to find a way to turn this signal off.”

  She wondered if she was hearing correctly. Was he telling her that he wasn’t taking all of these women in his bed? Could she believe him? She asked, “Why would you want to turn the signal off? I’d think any male would love to have women falling at their feet. I have to admit, you often appear thrilled as you walked away with these women in your arms.”

  “That’s because I don’
t want anyone to know of my need. It would make me very vulnerable as a warrior. Having people think I’m quite the lover is a better cover story.”

  “Do your brothers know this?” Tianna asked with genuine interest.

  Nathaniel spoke clearly and with confidence. “No. You’re only the second person that I’ve told. It’s difficult for me to even speak the words out loud to myself. It’s been hard to keep this secret given that I travel with only male Draaks and we are on the trail alone for many weeks at a time. Sometimes I’m so weak that by the time I enter a village the women literally come running.”

  Tianna recalled Seth’s words describing women’s reactions matching almost exactly the words she was hearing now. “Is it the same for magical females? You mentioned Draaks. Are they different?”

  He didn’t want to tell her yet about the Draak mating customs that he had indulged in regularly. “I’ll be honest with you. Draak females are different than other magical creatures and I’ve taken many to my bed. There are Draak customs that you’ll need to learn about, but we can save that conversation for another day.” The idea of Tianna engaging in their mating customs with other Draak males made his skin crawl. Just the thought made his dragon stir uncomfortably.