by Anna Lewis
“Don't you want to come?” Arden asked incredulously. “Aren't you intrigued to see what it's like? I mean, I'm just interested to see Sephy's change, so the suspense must be killing you.”
They wanted me to go with them? But wasn't shapeshifting normally a very private moment? Oh God, I wanted to see so damn badly, there was no way I could refuse. “Yeah, okay, sounds good,” I whispered as a massive smile spread across my cheeks. “Let's go… where do we need to go?”
“There are some woodlands out the back, let's go there.”
As we raced off, I felt adrenaline rushing through my body. This was exciting, the most daring thing that I'd ever done, and it was making me feel dizzy and excitable with it. This was wild! And I was going to get to witness them changing shape. I couldn't wait for it, I hadn't even seen a wolf or dragon in their natural state in real life before… this was almost too much! Sephy eventually stopped us both, panting heavily. “Okay, this will do, don't you think?” She and Arden nodded enthusiastically at one another. “Shall I go first? I can give you both a ride on my back if you like?”
“Oh my God, are you serious?” I gasped and squealed, jumping up and down, not at all caring about looking like a doofus. I was ecstatic damn it, and I didn't care who knew it. “I would love that!”
She shook off her cardigan, then started to tug her top up over her head. I turned to glance at Arden with shock in my eyes, but he was looking at the ground, pointedly avoiding eye contact. This was obviously something that they were used to, nakedness must have been necessary for the change. This was the sort of thing that I felt I should have known by now, but at least I was learning.
Then I heard a rumbling sound, one that caused me to glance up without even thinking, and there I witnessed a miracle happening. My beautiful, petite friend was becoming something big, furry, and absolutely gorgeous. “Woah,” I gasped out in shock. “That's…” I was dumbfounded, I didn't even think I sounded like myself anymore.
“Come on,” Arden laughed at my stunned silence. “Let's get on her back for a run. And don't forget to hold on tight, wolves famously run very fast.” I knew that, but it still was stunning to think about that in real life terms. It somehow felt very different.
As Sephy raced through the woodlands, Arden screamed and shrieked like he was having the best time of his whole life. I, however, felt travel sick and dizzy as all hell. My human eyes couldn't take everything in quickly enough, and it was having a very negative effect on my body. So much so, that when Sephy finally came to an exhilarating halt, I collapsed to the ground, practically whimpering.
Arden suggested I might like to fly with him. “No more,” I begged. “I can't take it.”
“Don't worry,” he did his best to reassure me. “Dragons glide, we go much slower… we're much more graceful.”
“I'll be with you the entire time,” joined in a now dressed Sephy, as she totally ignored Arden's derogatory comment in favor of looking after me instead. “It'll be fine. They really are slow bastards.”
It was only curiosity that had me nodding, even though rationally I knew that I probably shouldn't. I was just so aware that this opportunity wouldn't come around again, and that I would likely regret it if I didn't take the chance while I was there… however much it damn near killed me.
“Okay,” I gasped through the near-vomit. “Okay…”
Then Arden started to strip down his clothing, and I had to really focus on the floor beneath me. I couldn't look, not yet. I had to resist…
But I couldn't, and just for a brief second I caught glimpse of the tautest, sexiest body that I'd ever seen. One that made me feel all fuzzy inside. This was going to be difficult enough, and now I would have that image in my mind forever more.
That beautiful, wonderful image…
“Look,” Sephy whispered. “He's changing…”
***
“That was amazing!” I screamed excitedly as I found my feet back on the ground. “Wow!” Flying on a dragon's back was absolutely nothing like riding on a wolf's back. It was smooth sailing, and wonderful to look down on the Earth from that height. I didn't feel sick even once.
And to see Arden in his dragon form… my goodness, that was something else. If I thought the sight of his naked human body had turned me on, then that was nothing compared to how he looked as an animal.
His red, scaly skin was a sight to behold, and his yellowy fiery eyes were incredible to look into. I could still see him, but it was an animalistic, very exciting experience too. Then there was the fire that he breathed... I didn't even know what to think about it.
“Did you enjoy yourself? I told you that you would!” Arden exclaimed as he pulled his top back on over his very toned, muscular torso...
“I did,” Sephy said. Luckily she jumped in before me, just at the moment I was about to open and close my mouth at him a few times, like an idiot. “It was awesome being up there in the sky!” she paused for a second, while I stared at her thoughtfully. “Hang on, my wolf ears are pricking up. I think that I might be able to hear something. Wait there…”
“Wow, she's still pretty fast, even in her human form,” I quipped as she vanished from sight. “I wouldn't want to race her.”
I turned back to Arden, expecting him to have a smile on his face, but instead I found a very serious expression looking back at me. “Did you have fun? Up there?” he asked with a gravity to his tone. Something about this question was extremely important to him, I just wasn't quite sure what yet.
“I really did,” I told him, automatically slipping my hands into his. “It was an incredible view.”
“Then… maybe, would you like to go out with me tonight? To dinner, I mean.”
My heart started to thunder quickly in my chest, a buzzing sound filled my ears... Was this really happening? Was he asking me out? I wasn't quite sure, and I needed to clarify that before I said anything stupid. “How… how do you mean?” I stammered, feeling a hot blush fill my entire body.
“Like on a date, of course.” He gave me that amazing smile, the one that made my heart melt and I found myself nodding along with him. This was what I'd been wanting for ages, just because I didn't quite feel ready for it and thought he was out of my league didn't mean I had to say no. If that flight had taught me anything, it was that I needed to be more open to things.
Hattie Smith, going out with a dragon, whoever would have thought it?
“Okay great, I'll meet you at eight then? We'll go out somewhere nice.”
With that Sephy raced back and announced that there was someone coming, so we quickly made our way back to lessons, each of us feeling a lot lighter.
***
“He did what?” Sephy exclaimed as we finally found ourselves alone. “He asked you out? And you're going out tonight? How do you feel about that? I didn't realize that you even liked him!”
“I know,” I crossed my arms across my chest, trying to keep my shyness inside. “I know, it sort of… crept up on me. I was going to tell you anyway, then this happened…”
“Huh,” she replied, looking slightly confused. “That's so weird. I could have sworn that there was some sort of… unspoken chemistry between you and Muth the other day.”
Oh God, she felt it too?
My silence and shocked expression must have said it all, because she leapt right on that. “I'm right, aren't I? You felt something for him too?”
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to keep my emotions inside. “Oh, I don't know,” I said. “He's cute, I guess, but he's never going to look at me. Arden likes me, he asked me out. Muth is… he's a different story completely.” For a brief second I remembered someone telling me that dragons were the kinky ones, and it had a hundred images floating through my brain, almost leading me into a panicked meltdown.
No, I didn't need to be thinking about that, any of it, not when there was already enough pressure heaped on my shoulders.
“Look, just help me get dressed,” I pleaded, clasping my hands to
gether to prove my point. “I'm so nervous about this. And maybe give me some pointers too… this is my first date.”
“With a dragon?” she asked curiously, forcing me to shake my head rapidly. “What… ever? Oh God, you really are going to need some help here!”
As she talked about a million miles an hour, the entire time she was tossing my clothes haphazardly out of my closet, I tried my best to let it all soak in. She was making it sound too much like a military operation, which was only serving to increase the anxiety… but it was helping too. Sephy knew these things, I didn't.
“You need to dress sexy, but not slutty.”
“Talk… let him know lots about you, but ask questions too…”
“Offer to pay, but let him do it… he will like that.”
Oh God, it was all too much. Listening to ‘the rules' was making me feel a bit sick. Did all girls go through this rigmarole before their first date? Was this some sort of ritual that I'd missed out on in the past? I tried to remember all my friends going out with guys, but I couldn't really. Either they'd been too obsessed with shapeshifters to bother, or I'd blocked it all out because at the time, I foolishly hadn't cared.
How was I going to do this? How would I survive it? Arden was the first guy that I'd ever wanted to like me, that I'd enjoyed the idea of going out on a date with… I just hoped that it would all go well!
***
“This is a nice place,” I said gratefully to Arden as he walked me in to a pizza place. Despite what Sephy had done her best to insist, I assured her that I wasn't under any circumstances going to be wearing high heels, and now I was glad I'd stuck with that decision. This place was fancy, but not that fancy.
My long sleeved, knee length black dress went well with my pale skin, and my hair was twisted up in what I hoped was a sexy chignon. Sephy had told me it was at any rate. At first, I'd let her loose on my face, but the makeup felt too heavy for me, so I'd wiped some of it off.
Considering the fact that Arden was wearing a shirt and jeans, we were both the perfect combination between smart and casual.
My biggest fear was that it would feel strange, going from friends to out on a date, but luckily it wasn't. Thankfully, Arden was still his friendly, silly self. There was a thick sexual tension clinging in the air, but it wasn't enough to make things awkward.
Because of that, I'd mentally thrown all of Sephy's date rules out of the window. I just wanted to be myself, to see how that went. Arden knew me anyway, so there wasn't much point in trying to disguise my true self.
“I haven't been here before, but I've heard good things,” Arden grinned that beautiful smile at me. “I thought it would be the sort of place that you'd like.”
That sent me into a mental tailspin. How long had he been planning to ask me out? How much had he thought this date through? Had he been harboring secret feelings for me too? It was all too much. My chest was becoming tight with panic, my mind whirring.
“Would you like anything to drink?” a waiter asked, appearing as if by magic.
“Yes,” I gasped in a bit of a state of shock. “Yes, please.”
***
It took almost a whole bottle of wine for me to forget all of my worries, but luckily that didn't take long for us to drink. Once that was gone, we laughed, joked, and had a really great time with one another. I found myself incredibly disappointed for the evening to come to an end.
“Come on,” Arden grinned as he paid the bill. “Let me walk you home, my lady.”
I was just about to insist that I didn't need him to, when I found myself swaying on my feet. Oops, maybe I'd actually drunk a little bit too much after all…
“Yeah, okay, sounds good,” I chuckled. “Thank you.”
He wrapped his arms around me, and held me close to him, allowing me to inhale his sweet, citrusy scent. There was something amazing about that smell, something that made me feel safe and needed. My heart fluttered with anticipation of where this night might end. I hadn't much thought about anything past actually getting in to the restaurant and having dinner. Now all that I could concentrate on was what might happen next…
I could still feel it, that feeling between us, the chemistry that wasn't going anywhere. I knew that there had definitely been something between me and Muth, but there was no denying that I felt a lot for Arden too. I liked him and I wanted him. A lot, as a matter of fact.
“So, how are you finding it here?” he asked as we walked, making me notice that we'd been in silence for far too long. “Do you like it as much as you thought you would? I could never wait to get here.”
“I didn't actually know that I was coming until just before. My grandma never told me.”
“Why not?” he asked, totally shocked by the idea. “Why on Earth would she keep that from you?”
“Well, I suppose I never showed any interest in the outside world,” I said. I cringed as I admitted this, remembering the sheltered person I'd once been. “But now I'm so glad that I'm here. I don't know what I'd be doing otherwise. I don't know how I would even live!”
He laughed appreciatively at this, sensing my drunken exaggeration. “Well I have to say that I'm glad you're here too. I never had much experience with humans before, and I have to say that you're an interesting bunch. Especially if you are anything to go by!”
“What?” I screeched, unable to believe what he was saying. “But humans are so boring. We don't change, we don't have any cool powers, we're just… normal.”
“No, you aren't,” he replied with a wistfulness to his voice. “You might not have the obvious powers that you think we do, but the way that your emotions wash over you, the way that you express yourselves, the depth that you feel things… it's intoxicating. I can finally see how shapeshifters fall for humans.”
His voice had changed now. It had become huskier, filled with something intense, and it made every part of my body prick up with desire. He turned me to face him, with desire flooding his gaze, and I had to gulp noisily to stop myself from moaning with passion. He was about to kiss me, I could sense it emanating from him, and I was conflicted.
I wanted him to kiss me, so damn badly, but I was afraid too. I had no idea what it would be like, how good I would be, how it would make me feel, and all my anxieties simply flooded to the surface.
He grew nearer, and my heart almost stopped beating completely. His breath tickled my lips and I felt like I might melt. I could almost sense the hum of his body as it pressed up against mine. This was it, it was really happening, I was finally getting my first real kiss…
Then his lips crashed hard against mine, and absolutely everything changed.
***
Oh my God, oh my God…
I was pacing my room, getting increasingly worked up, all by the memory of Arden's lips. That kiss was incredible, better than I'd ever experienced, and it was making me breathless just thinking about it.
He started off slow and sweet, turning me into a puddle in front of him. I had to hold onto him, just to keep myself upright. Then, he kicked things up a notch by snaking his tongue between my lips and making things harder and faster. As the pressure changed, his hands got themselves all tangled up in my hair, and I found myself pressing up against him, losing myself in his body.
He was amazing. So phenomenal. I felt like I was absolutely addicted to him.
As we pulled away from one another, I almost ended up inviting him up to my bedroom. I mean, I never thought that I was the sort of girl who would have her first kiss and lose her virginity on the same night, but Arden made me forget everything sensible.
Luckily, he said a swift goodbye and left before I got the chance to. Although I was disappointed about it, I was also glad. Things were already moving quickly enough.
I needed to speak to someone, and I knew that Sephy would be asleep, which left me with only one other person. I picked up the phone and dialed.
While I waited for Grandma to answer, I hopped from foot to foot, unable to keep still for e
ven a second.
Ring, ring…
Oh God, why wasn't she answering yet? Was she asleep? I felt like I might just burst if I couldn't share it with anyone…
“Hello?”
“Oh thank God, you're there,” I burst out with exhilaration as soon as she answered. “I have so much to tell you.”
“Sounds like you're having fun,” she chuckled happily. “I've been thinking about you a lot.”
All of a sudden that guilt filled me up once more. Grandma was probably missing me like crazy, and I'd barely even given her a second thought. “Oh… I'm sorry, are things okay?”
“Things are great, dear, I've been out having lots of fun with my friends. Doesn't mean I can't wonder what you're up to as well.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. That sounded positive, like she wasn't heartbroken and suffering from empty nest syndrome. “Oh well, things have been crazy here…” I paused for a second, just for dramatic effect. “I even went out on a date.”
“You did?” she sounded thrilled for me. “That's such wonderful news. Tell me all about it.”
“It was with Arden, did I tell you about him? The dragon?”
“Ah, dragons...” She sounded wistful at the memory. “I remember the dragon boy that I had a fling with.”
“You did?” I practically screamed. I couldn't imagine my grandma being with anyone else other than my grandpa, but I guessed it made sense. It wasn't common to have just one partner forever now, was it? “Wow, what was he like?”
“Ooh, he was handsome… you know what they're like. But it didn't last long.”
“Why not?” I was so intrigued by her story that it took my mind off my own… if only for a few moments. I slumped on my bed and listened intently.